Showing posts with label Bath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bath. Show all posts

Tuesday, 1 December 2015

Holiday Historical Fiction Blowout - Eight Historical Fiction Writers Showcased. Grab their work for just 99 cents!

Holiday Historical Fiction Blowout!



(December 1st)

A Similar Taste in Books – by Linda Banche



Historical Period: Regency

Synopsis:

Book 1 of Love and the Library: Clara and Justin

"Pride and Prejudice" has always brought lovers together, even in the Regency.

Justin has a deep, dark secret—he likes that most despised form of literature, the novel. His favorite novel is "Pride and Prejudice", and, especially, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Intelligent, lively, fiercely loyal Miss Elizabeth. How he would love to meet a lady like her.

Clara’s favorite novel is "Pride and Prejudice" and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Intelligent, steadfast and willing to admit when he is wrong. Can such a splendid man exist? And can she find him?

One day in the library, they both check out copies of their favorite book. When Justin bumps into Clara, the magic of their similar taste in books just might make their wishes come true.

A sweet, traditional Regency romantic comedy novella, but not a retelling of "Pride and Prejudice".


Website: http://lindabanche.blogspot.com
Historical Fiction Blowout Page 
On sale for 99 cents at Smashwords only with coupon code FF67C (not case sensitive)




(December 2)




Kingdom of Rebels – by Derek Birks



Historical Period: Fifteenth Century – the Wars of the Roses


Sales links

Synopsis:

When all hope is gone, only death lies in wait…


England in 1468 is a nervous kingdom. King Edward IV has fallen out with his chief ally during the Wars of the Roses, the powerful Earl of Warwick. 
Ned Elder, a young lord whose sword helped to put Edward on the throne, has been forced out of England by Warwick.
Far away on the Scottish border, a beleaguered fort, Crag Tower, desperately awaits Ned’s return. Led by his fiery sister, Eleanor, the dwindling garrison is all that remains of his brave army of retainers. Unknown to all except the loyal knight, Ragwulf, Eleanor has Ned’s young son in her charge - a son who has never seen his father. But, as border clansmen batter the gates with fire, the castle seems certain to fall. 

One by one Ned’s family and friends are caught up in Warwick’s web of treason. The fate of the Elders and those who serve them lies once more in the balance as all are drawn back to Yorkshire where they face old enemies once more. Eleanor can only hope that Ned will soon return. She must fight to keep that hope alive… and when Lady Eleanor fights, she takes no prisoners...








(December 3)

Search for the Golden Serpent              
(Servant of the Gods, Book 1) – by Luciana Cavallaro

Historical period – 600 BCE Ancient Greece

Synopsis:

The story is about Evan, an architect whose been having strange dreams. He received an unexpected phone call from an entrepreneur from Greece who wants Evan to restore his Family’s home. He dismissed the caller and regarded the person as a crank. During a dream, he met the mysterious entrepreneur, Zeus, who catapulted him back in time, five hundred years before the birth of Christ. Evan, an unwilling participant finds himself entangled in an epic struggle between the gods and his life.


Bloglink to 99Cents offer http://luccav.com/2015/11/28/hhfb/




(December 4)

Children of Apollo (Eagles and Dragons – Book I) – by Adam Alexander Haviaras



Historical Period:   The Roman Empire, A.D. 202

Synopsis:

At the peak of Rome’s might a dragon is born among eagles, an heir to a line both blessed and cursed by the Gods for ages.

Lucius Metellus Anguis is a young warrior who is inspired by the deeds of his glorious ancestors and burdened by the knowledge that he must raise his family name from the ashes of the past. Having achieved a measure of success in the emperor’s legions in North Africa, Lucius is recalled to Rome where he finds himself surrounded by enemies, cast into the deadly arena of Roman politics.

Amid growing fears of treachery, Lucius meets a young Athenian woman who fills his darkening world with new-found hope. Their love grows, as does their belief that the Gods have planned their meeting, but when an ancient oracle of Apollo utters a terrifying prophecy regarding his future, Lucius’ world is once more thrown into chaos. Ultimately, he must choose sides in a war that threatens to destroy his family, his faith and all that he has worked for.











(December 5)

Sea Witch (Voyage One) – by Helen Hollick


Historical Period: The Golden Age of Piracy – 1716

Synopsis:

Escaping the bullying of his elder half brother, from the age of fifteen Jesamiah Acorne has been a pirate with only two loves - his ship and his freedom. But his life is to change when he and his crewmates unsuccessfully attack a merchant ship off the coast of South Africa.
He is to meet Tiola Oldstagh an insignificant girl, or so he assumes - until she rescues him from a vicious attack, and almost certain death, by pirate hunters. And then he discovers what she really is; a healer, a midwife - and a white witch. Her name, an anagram of "all that is good." Tiola and Jesamiah become lovers, but the wealthy Stefan van Overstratten, a Cape Town Dutchman, also wants Tiola as his wife and Jesamiah's jealous brother, Phillipe Mereno, is determined to seek revenge for resentments of the past, a stolen ship and the insult of being cuckolded in his own home.
When the call of the sea and an opportunity to commandeer a beautiful ship - the Sea Witch - is put in Jesamiah's path he must make a choice between his life as a pirate or his love for Tiola. He wants both, but Mereno and van Overstratten want him dead.
In trouble, imprisoned in the darkness and stench that is the lowest part of his brother's ship, can Tiola with her gift of Craft, and the aid of his loyal crew, save him?
Using all her skills Tiola must conjure up a wind to rescue her lover, but first she must brave the darkness of the ocean depths and confront the supernatural being, Tethys, the Spirit of the Sea, an elemental who will stop at nothing to claim Jesamiah Acorne's soul and bones as a trophy.

Link to 99 Cents Holiday Historicals offer here



Amazon Author link: viewAuthor.at/HelenHollick
Universal Amazon link:  viewBook.at/SeaWitch 




(December 6)

INCEPTIO – by Alison Morton



Historic Period: Modern/Roman (alternate history)

Synopsis:
New York, present day, alternate timeline. Karen Brown, angry and frightened after surviving a kidnap attempt, has a harsh choice - being eliminated by government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to mysterious Roma Nova, her dead mother's homeland in Europe.

Founded sixteen centuries ago by Roman exiles and ruled by women, Roma Nova gives Karen safety, at a price, and a ready-made family in a strange culture she often struggles with. Just as she's finding her feet, a shocking discovery about her new lover, Praetorian special forces officer Conrad Tellus, isolates her.

And the enforcer, Renschman, is stalking her in her new home and nearly kills her. Recovering, she is desperate to find out why this Renschman is hunting her so viciously. Unable to rely on anybody else, she undergoes intensive training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover cop. But crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it...


Purchase links:

Amazon (universal link): http://authl.it/B00K5OO4QW?d








(December 7)

Men of the Cross (Battle Scars I) – by Charlene Newcomb


Historical period: Medieval - 12th century

Synopsis:

War, political intrigue and passion… heroes… friends and lovers… and the seeds for a new Robin Hood legend await you…


Two young knights’  journey to war at Richard the Lionheart’s side sweeps them from England to the Holy Land in this historical adventure set against the backdrop of the Third Crusade.

Henry de Grey leaves Southampton in high spirits, strong in his faith and passionate about the mission to take Jerusalem back from Saladin’s army. Stephan l’Aigle’s prowess on the battlefield is well known, as are his exploits in the arms of other men. He prizes duty, honour and loyalty to his king above all else. But God and the Church? Stephan has little use for either.

Henry’s convictions are challenged by loss and the harsh realities of bloody battles, unforgiving marches, and the politics of the day. Man against man. Man against the elements. Man against his own heart. Survival will depend on more than a strong sword arm.








(December 8)

Flavia's Secret – by Lindsay Townsend


Historical Period:    Ancient Roman Britain, 206 AD

Synopsis:

Spirited young scribe Flavia hopes for freedom. She and her fellow slaves in Aquae Sulis (modern Bath) have served the Lady Valeria for many years, but their mistress' death brings a threat to Flavia's dream: her new master Marcus Brucetus, a charismatic, widowed officer toughened in the forests of Germania. Flavia finds him overwhelmingly attractive but she is aware of the danger. To save her life and those of her 'family' she has forged a note from her mistress. If her deception is discovered, all the slaves may die.

For his part torn between attraction and respect, Marcus will not force himself on Flavia. Flavia by now knows of his grief over the deaths of his wife Drusilla and child. But how can she match up to the serene, flame-haired Drusilla?

As the wild mid-winter festival of Saturnalia approaches, many lives will be changed forever.




On sale at Bookstrand for 99cents:  http://www.bookstrand.com/flavias-secret



Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Io, Saturnalia! - plus new excerpt from historical Roman Romance, 'Flavia's Secret,' 99c, 99p

It may not have been Christmas exactly, but the ancient Roman Saturnalia (17th-23rd. December) was certainly an opportunity for feasting and gift-giving. Over the years, this time of merry-making, sacrifices and gift-giving expanded to a week and the poet Catullus - who knew a thing or two about parties - called it 'the best of days'.

In many ways this ancient festival was rather like Christmas:

Schools were on holiday.

Gambling was allowed.

Shopping at special markets was encouraged.

Holiday clothes were worn - the informal, colourful 'dining clothes' instead of the plain, bulky toga.

Presents were given - parrots, wax candles, dice, combs, perfumes, little pottery dolls.

Feasting was indulged, with Saturn himself in charge as Lord of Misrule.

People wished each other a merry Saturnalia with the evocation, 'io Saturnalia!' ('Yo Saturnalia!')

My ancient Roman historical romance Flavia's Secret has its climax and ending during the Saturnalia.

The Pompeiian partygoers in the picture come from the BBC's Ancient Rome pages.

Here is an excerpt from Flavia's Secret. Flavia is in ancient Roman Bath, Aqaue Sulis, shopping for last-minute items needed for the Saturnalia.


EXCERPT. 


Flavia was as quick as she could be but there were queues everywhere in the food shops and spice and trinket stalls as slaves and even citizens shopped for last minute items for the Saturnalia. It was the first time she had been in the city this close to the festival. In other years, Lady Valeria had given her people small gifts of pickled fish and nuts but had otherwise ignored the Saturnalia, insisting that her servants remain indoors and serve her, rather than follow the tradition that at the Saturnalia the household slaves for one day at least were waited on by their masters.

‘The Saturnalia is a rowdy, vulgar, drunken festival, little more than an orgy,’ Lady Valeria had complained. ‘I will have no part of it in my house.’

Her words may have been true, but as the morning progressed, Flavia saw little to alarm her. The people in these snowy streets were intent on their money or goods. A few roughly-dressed men were crouched over gaming tables and she passed a group of giggling young slave girls, all waving napkins given to them as presents, but there was no sign of drunkenness or of wild orgies. Many workshops were shuttered and closed and houses the same. There was a distant grumble of noise coming from the theatre, close to the great bathing complex, but no raised voices.

Unsure whether to be glad or disappointed, Flavia swapped her basket from one arm to the other and sped on through the slushy snow. She longed to stay and find some gifts for Gaius and the others - especially for Marcus, her heart whispered - but she still had not enough money of her own. With a sigh, her final purchase haggled for and bought, she turned to make her way home, avoiding the wine shops and taverns and drawing her shawl over her blonde hair each time she crossed a busy street.

She was close to the blank front entrance of the deserted villa where she had taken Marcus to see the secret garden and pool when she heard the sounds of flutes and drums approaching from a narrow, snow-filled alleyway.

‘Ow!’ She put a hand to her ear, which had just begun to sting. A small apple lay at her feet in the snow and as she stared at it, she realized  that it must have been thrown down at her from the upper living quarters over one of the shuttered shops.

‘To Saturnalia!’ roared a good-natured male voice overhead. More small apples and nuts and then a cluster of sweetmeats rained down on Flavia and others in the street. People scrambled on hands and knees to pick up the fruit and other foods, while the racket of the flutes and drums drew nearer.

A prickle of alarm, cold as an icicle, shot down the length of Flavia’s back. Trusting her instincts, honed by years of slavery, she flattened herself into the nearest shadowy doorway, glad of her inconspicuous brown gown as she veiled her face with one end of the shawl. Scarcely breathing, she waited for this parade to go by.

They were all men. At least a score of brightly-dressed young men, several puffing cheerfully on long flutes or banging on drums and all with the rich, sleek look of Roman aristocrats and the free-born. These were revelers: quite a few clutched jugs of beer or wine which they carelessly drank from. Flavia prayed they would not notice her.

The last stragglers swayed past her hiding place. One, stumbling in the snow with heavy deliberateness, dropped to his knees close to where she was. He did not see her, but his two friends, slithering over the slush and ice to haul him up, spotted the small, wary figure in the shadows and shouted.

 ‘Hey, girl, join us!’

‘Let me give you something,’ the second leered, making a crude gesture with his hand.

Flavia darted away before the two men trapped her in the doorway.

‘Hey, come back!’

‘Party time!’

‘We have the wine and you are the orgy!’

Backing along the street, Flavia heard an ominous silence descend among the flute players and drummers. Walking as rapidly as she could in a clumsy, sideways fashion, she did not speak, or run. She did not want to provoke them.

Under her fear, her mind was still working. If she could only reach the crossroads, she would take the short-cut down the street of the fullers and make for the shrine of the goddess Sulis at the Roman baths. She was Christian but these men were pagans. Surely they would respect their own sacred place? Surely the goddess would protect her?

None of the other bystanders or shoppers raised a word against the rich, spoilt Romans. Flavia knew she was alone and would have to deal with them herself. She thought of Marcus, going into battle, facing down his enemies. He had not turned and run, and she would not.

One step after another, she edged along the twisting, foul-smelling street of the fullers, who today at least were not laboring over their vats of washing.

‘Hey, she is leaving us!’

‘Going away, the stuck-up -’

Flavia closed her ears and tightened her grip on her basket. She could see the flute players and drummers returning to join their more drunk companions, see them pointing at her, muttering among themselves.
But I am going to make it, she thought desperately, just as the hue and cry began:

‘Get her!’

‘Run her down!’

‘We need no toga girls if we grab her!’

‘Why pay for pleasure when we can have it for free?’

‘Get her!’

Flavia was already running, pelting along the street as if there was no snow underfoot, losing things out of her basket and not caring what they were. Panting, her vision beginning to double as she sprinted at the very limit of her speed, she fixed on the temple of the goddess Sulis and fled her leaden-footed, cursing pursers.

‘Come here, you -’

Behind her, a coarse hand grabbed at her shawl. She tore it away, escaping again, and passed bare-headed into the temple preci nct of the shrine and bathing complex where she collapsed, sobbing but safe, against one of the many smoking altars.

Flavia's Secret - an ebook, print and audio book. Free to read with Kindle Unlimited


FLAVIA’S SECRET #99cents https://amzn.to/2Mk5zqS
#99p https://amzn.to/2Hi2B7r

Happy Saturnalia!


Sunday, 7 April 2013

The Fortune Hunters

THE FORTUNE HUNTERS, a Regency by Carola Dunn

Jessica Franklin came to Bath to marry a rich man--and she was delighted to find handsome Matthew Walsingham with every qualification. Matthew, however, had come to Bath for the same purpose, regarding Miss Franklin as the perfect wife--wealthy and beautiful. When they discovered the truth, they had to reassess the situation--and their hearts. Originally published by Harlequin

Jessica's story:

Jessica gazed unseeing at her plate. "Mr. Scunthwaite wants to marry me."

After a moment of heavy silence her brother said tentatively, "I don't suppose..."

"Nathan, he's fifty and fat!"

"And shockingly vulgar," Miss Tibbett added.

"I see. Then of course that's out of the question." This time he took her hand. She knew the despair in his hazel eyes was mirrored in her own.

"Marriage!" said Miss Tibbett in a portentous voice. They both turned and stared at her. The long, narrow face bore a look of excitement usually reserved for the acquisition of a new volume of some obscure treatise on Roman Britain. As she nodded meaningfully, her spec­tacles, perched on top of her head, slid down to entan­gle themselves in loops of iron grey hair and the ribbons of her plain cambric cap. "That is the answer," she continued, fiddling in an absentminded way with the eyeglasses which now dangled over one ear. "I wonder that I did not think of it sooner."

"But Tibby, you agreed that I cannot possibly marry that dreadful man." As she spoke, Jessica moved around the table to assist in the disentanglement, a task she performed so frequently as to make it automatic.

"There is more than one fish in the sea. Thank you, dear." She returned the spectacles to her nose and peered over them as Jessica resumed her seat. "One of you must find a wealthy spouse."

Sunk in gloom, Nathan did not respond.

"That is all very well," Jessica objected, "but, though I don't mean to boast, most of the eligible gen­tlemen in the county have been my suitors at one time or another and the few rich ones are already wed."

"County Durham is a desert. We must go to Aquae Sulis!”

"To Bath? It's true that the heroines of novels are forever finding husbands there. I suppose there is no other reason for choosing that city?"

Miss Tibbett blushed. "I cannot deny an ulterior motive," she said guiltily. "I have longed this age to see the Roman remains. However, Bath has other advan­tages. The London Season is almost over, and besides, London is bound to be more expensive."

"And it is easier to gain entrée to Bath Society, I be­lieve." Jessica was beginning to consider the sugges­tion seriously. "The cost of post horses would be prohibitive, but we could go on the stage, and there must be cheap lodgings to be found."

"Oh dear no, that will never do. If you wish to at­tract the right sort of person, you must keep up ap­pearances."

"Yes, of course. I shall sell Great-Aunt Matilda's di­amonds and we shall do the thing in style."

"No!" Nathan exploded. "I cannot allow you to sell your most valuable jewels for my sake."

"They are too hideously old-fashioned to wear," Jessica pointed out. "Besides, it will be for my sake, too. I have no objection to catching a wealthy hus­band, just so he be amiable, and even if we fail it will be a famous adventure. You have been all the way to America, but I have never gone farther afield than Eboracum and Hadrian's Wall."

"Eboracum?" Nathan looked blank. He had spent fewer years under Miss Tibbett's tutelage than his sis­ter.

"The Roman name for York," the governess re­minded him.

He made an impatient gesture. "If you are willing to sell the diamonds, Jess, will they not bring enough to pay for the lease?" he asked.

"No, I had already thought of that and had them valued in Durham, but they would pay for a few weeks in Bath and even enable us to cut a dash." Jessica's ha­zel eyes sparkled at the prospect.

"I cannot countenance such deceit!" cried Nathan. "To put on a show so as to lure innocents into our net would be utterly dishonourable. I had rather resign myself to living in genteel poverty."

"So should not I." The sparkle in her eyes was now militant. "I don't mean to suggest that you should elope with an heiress without her parents' permission. If I am so lucky as to receive an offer from the right sort of gentleman, you may be sure I shall not accept it with­out revealing my true circumstances. Think of Langdale, Nathan. Can you bear to let it go, after it has been in the family for two centuries, without making every effort to keep it?"

"Of course not," he said wretchedly. "If only there was another way! Surely it would be enough for one of us to marry?"

"To be sure, but if we both make the attempt it will double our chances. You might succeed where I fail. On the other hand, if I am betrothed before you, then you can withdraw from the hunt. The search, I mean," she amended. "Hunt" sounded shockingly mercenary, and her brother's tender sensibilities must be spared.

"I wish I had not sold out," he groaned. "Perhaps I should re-enlist and dash over to Belgium to fight Boney."

"Nathan, no!" Jessica was aghast. "You have done your duty for your country and now it's time to think of yourself and your family."

"Don't worry, Jess, I'm tired of fighting." He man­aged to smile. "All I want is to settle down and raise sheep. It did not seem too much to hope for."

Matthew's story:
 
His aunt patted his arm. "I have often thought that your enthusiastic embrace of the amusements of Town was more of an attempt to forget the horrors of war than a defect of character."

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. Half his friends dead in the Peninsula and himself laid up for the better part of a year, not knowing if he would ever walk again—yes, the horrors of war was one way to describe it. "Dearest Aunt, you may just be right." His smile was crooked. "However, it's past time to put the wretched business behind me. I shall strive to become a useful citizen."

"That seems to be your best course," she said, laughing at his dismal tone, "unless you can find an heiress to marry."

His fork half way to his mouth, he stopped with an arrested look. "Now there is a famous notion. It will take some time to set up as an architect, so I might as well look about me for a rich bride in the meantime."

"Why not? Bath was said to be a fertile ground for fortune hunters in my youth. The living was cheaper and the competition less than in London."

She was teasing, but the more Matthew thought about it the more it seemed an excellent solution. At worst. Bath would provide superb buildings for him to study in pursuit of his new profession.

"And it's only fifteen miles," he said, "so I shan't spend a penny on post horses getting there."

"You really mean to do it?"

"Don't look so worried. Aunt. I've no intention of abducting my heiress should I be so lucky as to find one. All fair and square and above board." Well, nearly, he admitted to himself. If he was perfectly honest about his comparative poverty he would never meet an heiress in the first place. He'd have to put up a show. "I don't suppose it would be possible to stay at Uncle Horace's house on North Parade?"

"He never goes there," she said doubtfully, "since he blames the waters for ruining his digestion. Certainly they always made him bilious. He has really only kept the house because when there are no tenants I like to spend a few days there occasionally. In fact he was talking of selling it, and it is not let at present, I be­lieve."

"Be a dear and give me a letter to the housekeeper," he coaxed. "Is it still the same woman?"

"Yes. She always had a soft spot for you and never fails to ask after you. Very well, Matthew, I shall aid and abet you in this horrid scheme, and we must hope that my brother never comes to hear of it."

"On the contrary. I cannot think of anything more like to persuade him of my respect for money than to turn up with a wealthy wife on my arm."

"Possibly." She shook her head wryly. "I can let you have twenty pounds to keep the wolf from the door for the present."

"Bless you, but if I am to save the cost of lodgings by staying in North Parade, I can manage until quarter day. That's what is so infuriating about the whole busi­ness," he added with a rueful grin. "Uncle Horace is on his high ropes because of that wager—and I won it!"

Available for Nook, Kindle, and other ebook formats.