Special Guest Post by Crispina Kemp, Author of Hare and Adder

New from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Hegrissa should have been a granary keeper. She should have been able to find her way back to Lienershi when Kerrid, Head of the Granaries, sent her south to meet with her father. She should have been safe with the copper-smith since smiths are sworn off women. But now seduced, pregnant and with her trade lost, her only hope lies with her native family. Yet rejected there too, she finds acceptance with an eblan, a Speaker for the Dead, who believes her inspired. Can she find a new identity amongst these people, or will she reclaim what should have been hers?

Paperback available from Amazon on 10th June 2023, e-book now available on pre-order

Before I can say about Hare and Adder, first I must say about the Trilogy.

Alsaldic Lands Trilogy

Two thousand years after the events of The Spinner’s Game, Kerrid is the Head of the Kerdolan and granary traders. Though established in this role, there are still Asars who oppose her, led by Urinod who believes the moment of Kerrid’s death will return the Asars to their rightful otherworld realm. Stuck between these are the next generation, 

Brictans born of Asar-human parentage, and those who seek to make a life within the increasingly important Alsaldic Lands. The trilogy maps the development, flowering and collapse of the Alsaldic Empire as it moves from its birth within an early agricultural society, through the copper and bronze-using warrior cults, to topple at the first whisper of iron.

Hare and Adder: Of Granaries, Traders and Circles of Inspiration – A Neolithic Odyssey

Hegrissa should have been a granary keeper. She should have been able to find her way back to Lienershi when Kerrid, Head of the Granaries, sent her south to meet with her father. She should have been safe with the copper-smith since smiths are sworn off women. But now seduced, pregnant and with her trade lost, her only hope lies with her native family. 

Yet rejected there too, she finds acceptance with an eblan, a Speaker for the Dead, who believes her inspired. Can she find a new identity amongst these people, or will she reclaim what should have been hers?

Of Themes – Both Personal and Story

I’m an archaeology geek who has always loved the neolithic. When I was young, little was known about this period of prehistory – which left it wide open for a writer with imagination to fill it with stories. And through my thirties and forties that’s what I did. But I was still learning the craft and I tried every which way to create a satisfactory tale. In 2006, I thought I’d achieved it.

Hare and Adder – version one

I sent the required three chapters and synopsis to an agent. And waited. And waited. Two months later I received a handwritten response. The agent liked it but wanted some changes.

That should have delighted me but, alas, in those two months I had been rushed into hospital with a viral infection of the central nervous system. It had savagely hit my brain’s language centre. I was left with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and transient brain damage. To write just three sentences exhausted me. And I’d lost that nuanced comprehension of words that a writer needs.

Learning to Write. Again

If I was to continue to write, I had to learn the craft all over again. And I did. Six months later I had the early drafts of two fantasy stories – which I later combined with a third to produce Learning To Fly (2021).

But Hare and Adder eluded me. I could not make that neolithic plot work. I set it aside, and turned my attention to what, in my head, was the back story of Hare and Adder: The Spinner’s Game. I published those five books in 2020.

Hare and Adder – version two

After The Spinner’s Game (2020), Learning To Fly (2021), and Roots of Rookeri (2022) I worked on Alsalda Bear, which I had previously blogged as a serial. It was then the answers fell into place. Hare and Adder was to be the prequel to Alsalda. Yay! And if I worked hard on straightening the glitches in The King’s Wife (another blogged story) it would complete the trilogy.

Success Achieved By A Different Route

In Hare and Adder, Hegrissa has all her hard work and her ambitions destroyed through no fault of her own. But she and me, we’re alike. It might take time, but we succeed by taking a different route. I hope my readers find inspiration in that.

A Note about the Neolithic

When I started my nerdy love affair, we had little solid knowledge of the Neolithic. But that’s no longer the case. Yet my stories took form in those earlier days.

Therefore, I have to say these are works of imagination, inspired by mythology, anthropology and archaeology; they do not purport to be accurate or speculative accounts of the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of Western Europe.

Crispina Kemp

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About the Author

Crispina Kemp says, 'Failing to find a place on the space programme – to boldy go – I turned my vision inwards to a study of psychology and exploration of spirituality. This encouraged an outward journey to explore this wonderful world, its peoples, its beliefs, but mostly its pasts. From the exploration I returned with the core of my writing. But, for the more mundane-minded: For a shy child with a speech problem, the written word came as a release, enabling me to express myself without being asked, ‘Eh? What did you say? Say again?’ I wrote my first ‘proper’ story when I was nine. A gothic offering to scare my friends. Since then, there has been scarcely a day when I haven’t been busy writing. Novels. The short story form doesn’t appeal to me, although over recent months I have posted micro-fiction on my blog. In my early teens, I visited Grimes Graves, the Neolithic flint mines in Norfolk. The following summer, I visited Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Thence began a lifelong interest in the archaeology of prehistory. The study of myths and legends seemed a natural progression, and from there to linguistics (despite my inability to pronounce the words). Resident in Norfolk (UK) where my roots dig deep, my regular rambles into the surrounding countryside provide balance to the cerebral… and ample subjects for my camera.' Find out more at Crispina's website https://crispinakemp.com and follow her on Twitter @crispinakemp1 and @ineebrown51

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Past Encounters: a novel of courage and second chances in WW2, by Deborah Swift

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

In 1939, young sweethearts Rhoda and Peter are torn apart by the outbreak of the Second World War. Peter enlists, only to be captured in France, and sent to a German prisoner-of-war camp.

As war drags on, Rhoda hears nothing from Peter. So when a film crew arrives to capture the iconic scenes for David Lean’s Brief Encounter, Rhoda finds herself caught up the thrill of a new and exciting love affair 

But when the war ends, and Peter returns home, their secret lives begin to tear them apart. How did Peter manage to survive the brutal war years? And did Rhoda ever get over the man who captured her heart?

As they both struggle with their past encounters they have to decide if their love deserves a second chance, and if they can hope to rebuild a life shattered by the war.

PAST ENCOUNTERS encompasses the atmospheric filming of Brief Encounter and the extraordinary Great March of prisoners of war through snow-bound Poland.

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About the Author

Deborah Swift lives in North Lancashire on the edge of the Lake District and worked as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV. After gaining an MA in Creative Writing in 2007 Deborah now teach classes and courses in writing and provides editorial advice to writers and authors. Find out more at Deborah's website www.deborahswift.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @swiftstory

Blog Tour Spotlight: Try the Leopard’s Mouth, by Charles Moberly

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Africa 1970: Briony and Tom, both in their twenties, are very different characters. But opposites attract. In business, as in love, they complement each other.

They buy a farm and discover a rare drug. Tom grows it and Briony markets it. At first, they are oblivious of their responsibilities to the land and its people. But gradually they realise that they have been supporting a racist and colonialist regime.

The onset of the Rhodesian – Zimbabwean War of Independence tears at the couple’s relationship. Misunderstandings arise from their conflicting personalities and from external pressures. Events pull them apart, but also bind them together.

Try the Leopard’s Mouth is a romantic thriller set in Africa. It is also a historical novel, grounded in real events in the period 1970-80.

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About the Author

Charles Moberly lived and worked in Africa for two years. In his writing, he loves tension and how cultural differences can tear people apart, yet unite them through a common humanity. He believes that no two characters should ever have the same voice. He writes in the vernacular of the time and place, using slang where appropriate, and now lives in the UK. Find out more at Charles' website https://charlesmoberlyauthor.blogspot.com/

Book Launch Spotlight: Secrets of the Italian Island (Sisters of War Book 1) by Barbara Josselsohn

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Italy, 1943. A castle once full of love and laughter is left in ruins by the Nazis, as three sisters are torn apart by one terrible mistake…

New York, present day. Broken by the loss of her beloved grandmother Annalisa, who raised her all alone, Mia is shocked when she finds an old letter sent from Italy in her belongings. Annalisa never told Mia about the magnificent, vine-covered castle on Isola di Parissi where she spent one long summer under the Italian stars. Or that she was accused of something terrible in the darkest days of World War Two…

Arriving on the stunning Italian coast just a boat ride away from Parissi, Mia is devastated to find the island closed to visitors. Desperate to find out what her grandmother was hiding, she finds dark and brooding local guide Leo, who promises to help her sneak in.

As they explore the crumbling castle surrounded by lush olive groves, Mia begins to fall in love with passionate Leo and the beautiful country he calls home. And soon they find handwritten notes hidden in the walls, which confirm her grandmother’s heartbreaking story. Annalisa arrived on the island with her two sisters but was forced to abandon them when the Nazis invaded.

Mia soon realizes that the accusation against Annalisa might be true, and that Leo has his own reasons for wanting to dig up her family’s past. The terrible mistake Annalisa made tore apart the island community. Will it force Mia to leave Leo, and Italy, forever?

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About the Author

Barbara Josselsohn grew up on Long Island and lived for several years in her beloved New York City before moving to the northern suburbs. She began her career as a business journalist and then turned her attention to her first love, fiction. Find out more from Barbara's website https://barbarajosselsohn.com/ and find her on Facebook and Twitter @barbarajoss

Special Guest Post by B.C. Walker, Author of The Meadowlark

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

In 1885, southeastern Idaho was the last part of the country to open for homesteading. Young Cassie Rapp arrives with her family to farm a country overrun by sagebrush and lacking water. With others they meet, they harness the mighty Snake River and turn 100,000 acres of barren earth into the rich farm community it is today.

Have you ever felt like you had a story inside of you, waiting to be told? That's how I felt for decades about my "Idaho book." I grew up in Idaho and had always wanted to write about it. After writing professionally for years and winning several awards for personal narrative essays, I felt like it was time to take the plunge and start writing.

It wasn't until Memorial Day in 2017 and 2018, when I took my aging mother to visit cemeteries in southeastern Idaho, that the idea for my book really took shape. I was struck by the many graves with death dates no earlier than 1890, and I began to wonder about my ancestors. Who were they? Where did they come from? And why were all their dates post-1885?

As we drove around the area, I also noticed the networks of canals and ditches, which had terrified me as a child. I followed them on Google Maps and discovered they all came from a single outlet from the Snake River, called the "Great Feeder." I was intrigued and felt like I had found a story that had never been told before.

After many discussions with my wife and trusted advisors, I finally had the framework for my story. I named the characters after my family members and did a lot of research on familysearch.org to make sure the historical details were accurate.

The first draft of my book, "The Meadowlark," was written in about three months, but I went through at least five major drafts before I was happy with it. I used spreadsheets to track birthdates, ages, and death dates to make sure the historical details were accurate. I also separated the old line and modern line in one draft to make sure each line flowed well without too many jumps or anachronisms.

I'm currently working on another story that may or may not involve the characters from "The Meadowlark." I'm excited to see where this new story takes me, and I hope you're inspired to follow your own writing journey as well. Remember – the best stories often come from the most unexpected places.

B.C. Walker

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About The Author

B.C. Walker's passion for history began at a young age, instilled by his family's legacy of hard work and perseverance, which included being among the early settlers of America and later, the American West. This fascination with the past led him to pursue a joint degree in American Studies and Political Science, become a speechwriter, and eventually take on roles in marketing and communications for successful organizations such as Ancestry.com, Intel Corporation, and VitalSmarts. Despite his professional success, Walker has continued to hone his writing skills—winning several awards for personal narrative essays and now his debut novel, The Meadowlark, which draws on his experiences and fascination with the past to tell a rich and immersive story of life in southeastern Idaho. Find out more at https://bcwalker.com/ 

Book Review: Daughters of the Famine Road (An Irish Famine Trilogy Book 1) by Bridget Walsh

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

When they meet, Jane and Annie have much in common. As young Irish women in the 1840s, they both know the value of family, home and friendship. Even more importantly, they understand the need to survive against a backdrop of famine, disease and cruel colonial rule. With Ireland crumbling around them and peril at every turn, can these tenacious women overcome the arc of history and create a better life?

I've visited many of the places in Daughters of the Famine Road but knew little about the consequences of the potato famine in Ireland.  This book evokes a real sense of the overwhelming hardship suffered by the poor, and the desperation that led many to make the perilous voyage to America.

Well researched, with an authentic use of the Irish language, this often harrowing story is a classic 'coming of age' journey,. The subject means the plot is sadly predictable, but the characters are well-developed and believable, and there are enough twists and turns to keep readers wanting to know how it ends.

I'm happy to recommend Daughters of the Famine Road, a well-written and engaging novel that tells the story of two young women who are determined to overcome adversity.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Bridget Walsh is descended from Irish immigrants in Leicester, England, and says,  "I was steeped in Irish Catholicism and surrounded by my Irish uncles and aunts, my father’s siblings, who had followed him over to find work in England when there was non to be had in Ireland. As a second generation Irish woman, I have always been fascinated by the complex relationship between Ireland and Britain over many hundreds of years. I read about Democracy, Empires and Colonialism. I read lots of non-fiction about An Gorta Mór, the Irish Famine, but I was particularly interested in how women and their families managed in this terrible time.' When Bridget retired from full-time work in Further Education, she gained a Masters degree in Creative Writing, and began her Irish Famine Trilogy. Find out more from Bridget's website https://www.bridgetsjournal.com/ and find her on Twitter @bridgetw1807

The House of Dudley: A New History of Tudor England, by Dr Joanne Paul

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Was the House of Dudley out to steal the throne?

This was the question on the mind of Elizabeth I's courtiers when a forbidden book accused generations of the Dudley family of poisonings, plottings, murders, treason, incitement and other 'evil stratagems.'

For decades, the Dudleys had been close to the throne, rising from nobodies to the land's highest offices.

Under Henrys VII and VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and, finally, Elizabeth, they risked execution and imprisonment as they audaciously stole, murdered and swindled in the name of the monarch.

But were they loyally protecting the crown, or did they secretly covet it for themselves?

'A pacy narrative, vividly written, makes you want to read on and on. Joanne Paul is a major new talent in the field' ALISON WEIR

'Breathes new life into an old and familiar Tudor story . . . It's delightful, a joy to read' THE TIMES, 'BOOK OF THE WEEK'

'A thrilling and deeply researched study of power and conspiracy: the rise and fall of the other Tudor dynasty. The House of Dudley illuminates the fascinating men and women who almost became kings and queens in their own right' SIMON SEBAG-MONTEFIORE

'Rich and compelling. Conjures up the look and feel of Tudor life . . . You will find yourself drawn in, fascinated, and richly informed' TELEGRAPH

'Vivid, innovative and authoritative. I could not recommend The House of Dudley more highly. It's a real lesson in how to revitalise the writing of Tudor history' SARAH GRISTWOOD

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About the Author

Dr Joanne Paul is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Intellectual History at the University of Sussex. Her research focuses on the history of the Renaissance and Early Modern Periods and she has shared her work widely, including with academic presses, popular magazines and blogs and on TV and radio. Joanne has published her research widely, both in academic presses and for a general readership. Her book on the thought and writing of Thomas More was published with Polity in 2016, and led to publications in History Today, History Extra, Juncture, Prospect and elsewhere, as well as speaking engagements at BBC History Weekend, the Battle of Ideas and other events around the UK and Europe. In 2013 she was awarded the Sir John Neale Prize in Tudor History by the Institute of Historical Research. Find out more at her website: www.JoannePaul.com and find her on Twitter: @Joanne_Paul_