A slim, dark-haired man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, leaned over the gate of the schooling paddock. He turned his head toward her and gave her a friendly smile. She smiled back, taking in twinkling brown eyes like liquid chocolate, under a shock of dark, wavy hair and a tanned, good-looking face with a slight stubble. Good looking was something of an understatement. The man was gorgeous!
Today is Bookquote Wednesday, and the word is CLIMB, this is another snippet from my sweet paranormal romance, THE MATCHMAKER'S MARE
Released on 16th May - apologies for late posting.
FATE: Tales of History, Mystery and Magic
If you had a
crystal ball to predict what lay ahead, would you be tempted to use
it? Or would you leave the future to the turn of Fate?
Tales of Variety. Tales of History,
Mystery and Magic – some comprising just one of these popular fiction genres,
others, a mild mixture of all three. Perhaps you prefer historical
fiction rather than a story about magic or fantasy? Maybe you enjoy exploring
new themes or prefer sticking to the familiar? Historical fiction can often
inform, imparting knowledge of the past, of its events and its people. Stories
of mystery exercise the ‘little grey cells’ as Poirot would say, while fantasy
and magic create new worlds and awed wonder.
Whatever result, this is where
anthologies come into their own, and where short stories are often appreciated
as enjoyable, entertaining, quick or easy reads shown through the eyes of a
variety of extraordinary characters and situations. In this instance: an
Anglo-Saxon woman facing the consequence of conquest, the pursuit of alchemy,
the concern of a mother for her daughter, the shifting of time, the necessity
of hidden identity, souls who will linger as ghosts, a warning from the
supernatural, the necessity for (justifiable?) revenge. All mingled with the
rekindling of romance through a mutual quest, and the preparations for a
Cotswold village celebration. (Along with a good tip if illicitly snaffling
cakes.)
The binding
theme? Destiny... Kismet... FATE!
Purchase Link
Amazon Universal link: https://mybook.to/FateAnthology
Author Bios
BRAMBLE CREEP BY
ANNIE WHITEHEAD
When the Normans
arrive at a peaceful Anglo-Saxon village, do the women, children and old men
submit... or fight?
ABOUT ANNIE:
Annie Whitehead is a prize-winning writer, historian, and Fellow of the
Royal Historical Society, and has written four award-winning novels set in
‘Anglo-Saxon’ Mercia. She has contributed to fiction and nonfiction anthologies
and written for various magazines. She has twice been a prize winner in the
Mail on Sunday Novel Writing Competition, and won First Prize in the 2012 New
Writer Magazine's Prose and Poetry Competition. She has been a finalist in the
Tom Howard Prize for nonfiction and was shortlisted for the Exeter Story Prize
and Trisha Ashley Award 2021. She was the winner of the inaugural Historical
Writers’ Association (HWA)/Dorothy Dunnett Prize 2017 and was subsequently a
judge for that same competition. She has also been a judge for the HNS (Historical
Novel Society) Short Story Competition, and was a 2024 judge for the HWA Crown
Nonfiction Award.
Her nonfiction books are Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom and Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon. In 2023 she contributed to a new history of English monarchs, published by Hodder & Stoughton, and in February 2025 Murder in Anglo-Saxon England was published by Amberley Books.
Website: https://anniewhiteheadauthor.co.uk/
Amazon Author Page: http://viewauthor.at/Annie-Whitehead
SIX POMEGRANATE SEEDS BY JEAN GILL
A daughter’s dream can be a mother’s nightmare.
ABOUT JEAN
Jean Gill is an award-winning Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with a scruffy dog, a beehive named 'Endeavour', a Nikon D750 and a man. First published in 1988, her twenty-six books are varied in genre, including novels, memoir, military history, dog books, poetry, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions. She taught English for many years and was the first woman to be a comprehensive school headteacher in Dyfed, Wales. Life has been hectic as she is also mother or stepmother to five children.
Website: www.jeangill.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jeangill
ONE BLACK DOG BY MARIAN L THORPE
A warning of Fate, or simply too much beer and a tale well told?
ABOUT MARIAN
A dual Canadian/British citizen who divides her year between Ontario, Canada, and Norfolk, UK, Marian published the first of her eight-book Empire’s Legacy series, historically-inspired speculative fiction, in 2015. The series is set in a world ‘on the edge of history’: reminiscent of Britain, Northern Europe, and Rome in the latter centuries of the first millennium, but a world where society evolved differently after the Eastern Empire left; a world where one young fisherwoman answers her leader’s call to defend her country, beginning a journey into uncharted territory.
Website: www.marianlthorpe.com
Amazon Author Page: https://relinks.me/MarianLThorpe
IN THE SHADOW OF GHOSTS BY HELEN
HOLLICK
Does the fate of those who survive linger forever?
ABOUT HELEN
Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and fiction blend together. Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon.
Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework...
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
A FATEFUL
ENCOUNTER BY ALISON MORTON
When time turns in the wrong direction, fate will always step in…
ABOUT ALISON
Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her eleven-book Roma Nova thriller series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue
Six years’ military service, a fascination with ancient Rome and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction have inspired her writing. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. She lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her latest two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity and Double Pursuit.
Website: https://www.alison-morton.com
Amazon Author Page: https://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon
FOLLOWING FATE BY ELIZABETH ST.JOHN
A Lost Portrait, a Hidden Conspiracy, and a Second Chance at Love
ABOUT ELIZABETH
Elizabeth St.John’s acclaimed historical fiction brings to life her ancestors – remarkable women linked to England’s royalty – offering unique insights into Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times. Inspired by family archives and historic sites like Lydiard Park and the Tower of London, her novels include The Lydiard Chronicles, The Godmother’s Secret, and The King's Intelligencer, exploring the English Civil War and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.
Website: www.elizabethjstjohn.com
Amazon Author Page: https://geni.us/AmazonElizabethStJohn
THE BLACK ONYX
BOX BY R. MARSDEN
The Bluffer’s Guide to Becoming a Famous Alchemist
R. Marsden is an author and musician, passionate about the Middle Ages. He plays the gittern, a beautiful medieval stringed instrument, ancestor of the guitar; and a thirteenth century recorder, a replica of one which was excavated from medieval ruins in modern-day Poland. He also plays the piano, and there’s nothing medieval about that!
Tales of Castle Rory are
Medieval Fantasy Adventures, in which the demesne of Lord Rory of Hambrig is
brought to life. Set in the latter part of the thirteenth century, these
stories have adventure, mystery and magic at their heart. You’ll also find
relationships, romance, friendship and the forging and breaking of ties between
people and nations. Running through the Tales are themes of family, loyalty,
trust and resilience, together with the other sides of those coins:
abandonment, betrayal, loss and disempowerment.
Website: https://talesofcastlerory.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554417124566
Amazon Author Page: https://mybook.to/TalesOfCastleRory
BEWARE THE
CROWS BY ANNA BELFRAGE
Beware the consequences of hatred. Revenge can take many forms…
ABOUT ANNA
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history, romance and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England, and The Castilian Saga, which is set against the medieval conquest of Wales. She has also published a time travel romance, The Whirlpools of Time, and its sequel Times of Turmoil, and is now considering just how to wiggle out of setting the next book in that series in Peter the Great’s Russia, as her characters are demanding. . .
All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favourite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.Website: www.annabelfrage.com
Amazon Author Page: http://Author.to/ABG
DAME FORTUNE’S
WHEEL BY J.P. REEDMAN
Fate can be in the hands of others – or held within your own...
ABOUT J.P. REEDMAN
J.P. Reedman lives in Wiltshire near to Stonehenge. Born in Canada, she has had a lifelong interest in ancient and medieval history, and is often found lurking around prehistoric sites, ruined castles and abbeys, and interesting churches with camera in hand. She became a full-time writer in 2018. Series include I, Richard Plantagenet, five books chronicling Richard’s life from childhood to Bosworth, and Medieval Babes, a set of standalone novels about lesser-known medieval queens and noblewomen.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IRichardPlantagenet/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/REEDMANHISTFIC
SAINTS ALIVE BY DEBBIE YOUNG
When children are not quite the saints we’d like them to be!
ABOUT DEBBIE
YOUNG
Debbie Young is the author of three series of cosy mystery novels set in the Cotswolds. The Sophie Sayers series starts with Best Murder in Show; the Gemma Lamb series begins with Dastardly Deeds at St Bride’s; and the Cotswold Curiosity Shop series kicks off with Death at the Old Curiosity Shop. She sometimes sends characters from one series to visit those in another. She also writes short fiction, not all of it crime-related, set in the same world, eg Christmas with Sophie Sayers. Her novels are published by Boldwood Books in English, by DP Verlag in German, and by Antonio Vallardi in Italian. She has recently written her first murder mystery play for performance by her village amateur dramatic group. She is a frequent speaker at events for writers and readers, a course tutor for Jericho Writers, and the founder and director of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival. She lives in a Victorian cottage with her Scottish husband, her student daughter, and three cats, and she writes in a little hut at the bottom of her garden.
Website: www.authordebbieyoung.com
Links to buy Debbie’s books:
https://authordebbieyoung.com/books-2/
YouTube book Trailer:
https://youtu.be/M9pSrDX8PTQ?si=sqe7R1JpQoGwUjrb
Happy Monday my dear readers. I'm excited to reveal the new book teaser for The Matchmaker's Mare.
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get around that he had the money hidden in the pack saddle of his horse.The next day, Twm rode an old, broken winded nag along the track which the highwayman frequented. When the robber accosted him, Twm tossed the pack saddle in the middle of a pool. While the
highwayman waded into the pool to fetch it, Twm switched horses and galloped off on the highwayman's own horse, a fine, swift stallion.
Today is my stop for Rosie Fiore and her book. Bram Stoker's Dracula was one of the first paranormal books I read, so Im excited to learn about this new take on the story. Here's a little about Rosie's novel:
The Death and Life of Lucy Westenra
What desperate steps will Lucy Westenra take to save her own life? Hillingham in Hampstead, once the home of the well-to-do Westenra family, is now divided into apartments. When teacher Kate Balcombe sets about renovating her flat in the attic, she finds an unsent letter written 130 years before by Lucy, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the house.
But what if the monsters who hunt Lucy are much closer to home?
As Kate begins to investigate Lucy’s story, she meets James Harker, Mina’s great-great grandson, and together they uncover a long-hidden story of deception and murder.
Author Bio –
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/rosiefiorewriter
https://bsky.app/profile/rosiefiore.bsky.social
Now for a little 'Question and Answer Session. (I do love finding out more about my author guests and their books
What made you make the shift from contemporary fiction to historical fiction?
I’ve always been an avid reader of historical fiction. I love a dual timeline story, like those Kate Morton writes, where we look for the echoes of the past with a modern-day character. I wanted to have a go at a Dracula retelling, and in doing so, absolutely fell I love with research. I write the first draft in lockdown, when I had all the time I the world to go down all sorts of online rabbit holes. It’s such fun to add depth and colour to a story with things you have learned.
What part of the research did you enjoy most?
I bought a Victorian A-Z, which shows maps of London. I spent hours with a magnifying glass, planning where my characters might walk, or live, or visit. Knowing modern London well, it’s fascinating to find how names and places have stayed the same and changed. For example, the rather plainly named Regent’s Park Road in Finchley, near where I live, was once called Ducksetter’s Lane. Much more exciting!
Lucy Westenra in your version of the story is feisty and feminist and acts in quite a modern way. Have you given her twenty-first century views in a Victorian story?
I was really careful about that: I wanted her to think and behave like a young woman of her time. So I did lots of research into what books and magazines she might read to think in the way she does. It seemed within the realms of possibility that she might pick up a copy of the North American Review in March 1894, and read Sarah Grand’s famous article, “The New Aspect of the Woman Question”:
“Man deprived us of all proper education, and then jeered at us because we had no knowledge. He narrowed our outlook on life so that our view of it should be all distorted, and then declared that our mistaken impression of it proved us to be senseless creatures. He cramped our minds so that there was no room for reason in them, and then made merry at our want of logic.”
Stoker references this article in Dracula, and suggests that Mina and Lucy may have read it. It made me feel that the version of Lucy I was writing really could have existed and been as brave and forthright as she is.
Do readers need to have read Dracula to enjoy the book?
I think everyone should read Dracula! Seriously… it’s so brilliant, and it’s very modern. There are Kodak cameras, phonographs and typewriters and speedy train travel across Europe. You don’t need to have read it to enjoy The Death & Life of Lucy Westenra, but there are so many little easter eggs which will enhance your enjoyment if you have read it!
Tell us something about Dracula and Bram Stoker we don’t know!
Dracula is the most adapted story ever: more than 700 film versions and 1200 stage, comic and other adaptations! Many people also don’t know Bram Stoker was a theatre manager at the Lyceum Theatre in London, where the Lion King is performed! There’s a plaque with his name on it at the back of the theatre.
Thank you so much, Rosie, that was fascinating. I'm off to purchase your book!
