The Dark Side of the Sun
by Michael B. Dardis

eBook Pub Date: September 10, 2018
Paperback Pub Date: September 25, 2018
Beaver’s Pond Press
430 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/War/Mystery

 

 

During the course of two wars, brave people fight through the darkness to discover that where there is hope and courage, there is also honor and love.

Living in Detroit during the Great Depression, the Schmidt family struggles to maintain loyalty to their adopted country while being drawn into the seductive shadow of Nazi Germany. One by one, they are at the center of a top-secret plot that could change the course of World War II.

Years later, two young Vietnam veterans, William O’Brien and Susan Johnson, try to find love and build a family while they struggle with the traumas they both suffered in the war.

These stories lead the reader to Michigan, Germany, the battlefields of South Vietnam, Texas, Oklahoma, and finally to Minnesota.

About the Author

A lifelong storyteller and world traveler, Michael Dardis specializes in twentieth century European history, American history, and military history. After receiving a University of Minnesota degree in history and geography, Michael went on to serve in the United States Army during the Vietnam War where he was awarded a Purple Heart and the US Army Commendation Medal for Valor.

When not writing fiction, Michael stays involved in national and local government activities, serving on several commissions for the Twin Cities, Minnesota where he and his wife, Nancy, have lived for 42 years of marriage. He is a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations Minnesota, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Minnesota Alumni Association, and the Minnesota Historical Society. Michael also works with Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People, Cornerstone Housing for Women, and University of Minnesota Foundation to provide academic scholarships.

Michael Dardis’s first novel The Dark Side of the Sun is a historical fiction that will be available fall 2018.

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A Duel for Christmas
by Rosanne E. Lortz

Publication Date: October 1, 2018
Madison Street Publishing
Paperback & eBook; 383 Pages

Series: Pevensey Mysteries, #3
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Regency

 

 

After seven long years in Devon, Lady Maud Worlington returns to London to reclaim life on her own terms, but a nefarious shadow and the prospect of financial ruin dog her steps. An impulsive and unforgettable kiss under the mistletoe creates a connection with Geoffrey, the handsome, young Duke of Tilbury. Yet as pleasant as it is to have a suitor, Maud is not sure how a boy of one-and-twenty can prove an equal partner in life and the equal of all the forces mounted against her.

The Duke of Tilbury considers himself as adept at managing matters as he is at swordplay, but his beautiful new acquaintance Lady Worlington has other ideas about how to manage her complicated life. Intrigued by their stolen kiss, Geoffrey pursues Lady Worlington’s affections, only to be foiled by the lady’s own doubts, by rivals for her hand, and by a sudden death that affects both their families. When Jacob Pevensey, the investigator from Bow Street enters the scene, the duke becomes a prime suspect in the murder case. Truths are unearthed that Geoffrey would rather keep hidden, and the twelve days of Christmas race toward a perilous end.

This novel takes the medieval events surrounding the sinking of the White Ship and transposes them to Regency London. It is the third book in the Pevensey series, but can be read as a standalone.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Rosanne E. Lortz is a writer, editor, teacher, history-lover, and mom to four boys. She loves to read, sing, draw, compose, write, and create. Education is one of her passions, particularly a classical, liberal arts education. She has taught English composition and grammar, Latin, history, music, and various other subjects for ten years at both the elementary and secondary level and is currently the Director of Academics and Admissions at Paideia Classical Christian School in Gladstone, Oregon.

Rosanne’s first book, I Serve: A Novel of the Black Prince, was released in 2009. This book explores the tumultuous landscape surrounding the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death and is a tale of arms, of death, of love, and of honor. In 2015, Rosanne began her Pevensey mysteries, novels of romantic suspense set during the British Regency (with inspiration from medieval characters and events). The first three titles are: To Wed an Heiress, The Duke’s Last Hunt, and A Duel for Christmas.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, October 1
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Tuesday, October 2
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, October 3
Review at Donna’s Book Blog

Thursday, October 4
Guest Post at Passages to the Past

Saturday, October 6
Review at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Monday, October 8
Review at A Darn Good Read

Tuesday, October 9
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a $20 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 9th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US addresses only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

A Duel for Christmas

A Pivotal Right
by K.A. Servian

Publication Date: August 15, 2018
Paperback & eBook

Series: Shaking the Tree, Book #2
Genre: Historical/Romance/Victorian

 

 

Florence struggled for breath as she stared into the face of a ghost. “Jack?”

Twenty years after being forced apart Jack and Florence have been offered a second chance at love. But can they find their way back to each other through all the misunderstandings, guilt and pain?

And what of their daughter, Viola? Her plan to become a doctor is based on the belief she has inherited her gift her medicine from Emile, the man she believed was her father. How will she reconcile her future with the discovery that she is Jack’s child?

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

As a life-long creative, Kathy gained qualifications in fashion design, applied design to fabric and jewelry making and enjoyed a twenty-year-plus career in the fashion and applied arts industries as a pattern maker, designer and owner of her own clothing and jewelry labels.

She then discovered a love of teaching and began passing on the skills accumulated over the years’design, pattern-making, sewing, Art Clay Silver, screen-printing and machine embroidery to name a few.

Creative writing started as a self-dare to see if she had the chops to write a manuscript. Writing quickly became an obsession and Kathy’s first novel, Peak Hill, which was developed from the original manuscript, was a finalist in the Romance Writers of New Zealand Pacific Hearts Full Manuscript contest in 2016.

Kathy now squeezes full-time study for an advanced diploma in creative writing in around working on her novels, knocking out the occasional short story, teaching part-time and being a wife and mother.

For more information please visit K.A. Servian’s website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. Sign up for K.A. Servian’s newsletter to receive news and updates.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, October 22
Feature at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, October 23
Excerpt at Donna’s Book Blog

Thursday, October 25
Feature at What Is That Book About

Monday, October 29
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Friday, November 2
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Excerpt at Introvert Booklover

Sunday, November 4
Excerpt at T’s Stuff

Monday, November 5
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, November 6
Review at What Cathy Read Next

Thursday, November 8
Review at A Darn Good Read

Friday, November 9
Guest Post at Jathan & Heather

Monday, November 12
Feature at Maiden of the Pages

Friday, November 16
Review & Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads

Monday, November 19
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Tuesday, November 20
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 10 eBooks of The Moral Compass, the first book in the Shaking the Tree series! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

A Pivotal Right

Let Me Fly
by Sabra Waldfogel

Publication Date: October 1, 2018
Paperback & eBook; 370 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-9913964-1-2

Genre: Historical Fiction/African American

 

 

Former slave Rachel Mannheim and former slave owner Adelaide Kaltenbach fought a war to be sisters. Now that the Civil War is over, a new fight is just beginning.

Adelaide, married to a Georgia cotton planter, never dreamed that she would side with the Union or the Freedmen’s Bureau. In Cass County, just after the Civil War, she’s done both. Her school for the county’s black children has earned her the warm appreciation of Captain Lewis Hart, Union war hero and Bureau agent, and the animosity of her neighbors and former friends.

Her half-sister Rachel, no longer Adelaide’s slave, used to dream of being free. Free to marry. Free to make a living. Free to educate her daughter Eliza. But after emancipation, freedom remains elusive—and risky. When Rachel buys a hundred acres of cotton land, with the help of the Bureau’s dashing black lawyer, Daniel Pereira, she becomes the target of the newly-formed Ku Klux Klan.

As they struggle to rebuild their lives, can each sister find the courage to face violence and hatred—and follow her heart to a new kind of freedom?

Available for Pre-Order on Amazon

About the Author

Sabra Waldfogel grew up far from the South in Minneapolis. She studied history at Harvard University and received her Ph.D. in American History from the University of Minnesota and since then, has been fascinated by the drama of slavery and freedom in the decades before and after the Civil War.

Her short story “Yemaya” appeared in the Winter 2013 Fiction Issue of Sixfold. Her first novel, Sister of Mine, published by Lake Union, was named the winner of the 2017 Audiobook Publisher’s Association Audie Award for fiction. In her free time, not tired of history, she collects antiques and helps her husband in selling them.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Lady of a Thousand Treasures
by Sandra Byrd

Publication Date: October 9, 2018
Tyndale House Publishers
Hardcover, Paperback, & eBook; 480 Pages

Series: The Victorian Ladies Series, #1
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

 

 

Miss Eleanor Sheffield is a talented evaluator of antiquities, trained to know the difference between a genuine artifact and a fraud. But with her father’s passing and her uncle’s decline into dementia, the family business is at risk. In the Victorian era, unmarried Eleanor cannot run Sheffield Brothers alone.

The death of a longtime client, Baron Lydney, offers an unexpected complication when Eleanor is appointed the temporary trustee of the baron’s legendary collection. She must choose whether to donate the priceless treasures to a museum or allow them to pass to the baron’s only living son, Harry—the man who broke Eleanor’s heart.

Eleanor distrusts the baron’s motives and her own ability to be unbiased regarding Harry’s future. Harry claims to still love her and Eleanor yearns to believe him, but his mysterious comments and actions fuel her doubts. When she learns an Italian beauty accompanied him on his return to England, her lingering hope for a future with Harry dims.

With the threat of debtor’s prison closing in, Eleanor knows that donating the baron’s collection would win her favor among potential clients, saving Sheffield Brothers. But the more time she spends with Harry, the more her faith in him grows. Might Harry be worthy of his inheritance, and her heart, after all? As pressures mount and time runs out, Eleanor must decide whom she can trust—who in her life is false or true, brass or gold—and what is meant to be treasured.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

Praise for Lady of a Thousand Treasures

“Sandra Byrd’s amazing cast of characters and Victorian settings pull the reader right into the story. I became happily lost in this compelling, lovely book.” -Karen Harper, NYT bestselling author of The Royal Nanny

“Lady of a Thousand Treasures delivers mystery, romance, and suspense in a well-researched Victorian setting.” -Julie Klassen, bestselling author

“I’m always swept away by a Sandra Byrd novel, and Lady of a Thousand Treasures will be long remembered as one of Sandra’s best.” -Jane Kirkpatrick, NYT bestselling author of All She Left Behind

“Sandra Byrd is the rare writer whose evocative, prose grabs hold and doesn’t let go. The Victorian Ladies Series is off to a stunning start!” -Laura Frantz, author of The Lacemaker

“With stunning characters and impeccable research, Sandra Byrd has woven together an exquisite treasure hunt with an ending that will leave you breathless.” -Melanie Dobson, award-winning author of Catching the Wind

“Sandra Byrd’s writing is an absolute piece of art! If I had to sum up this story all in one word, it would be satisfying.” -Michelle Griep, award-winning author of the Once Upon a Dickens Christmas series

About the Author

Bestselling author Sandra Byrd has published more than fifty books over her editing and writing career. Her traditionally published books include titles by Tyndale House Publishers, Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, WaterBrook Press, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Bethany House. She’s also an independent author.

Sandra’s series of historically sound Gothic romances launched with the best-selling Mist of Midnight, which earned a coveted Editor’s Choice award from the Historical Novel Society. The second book, Bride of a Distant Isle, has been selected by Romantic Times as a Top Pick. The third in the series, A Lady in Disguise, published in 2017 and was named by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of the Top Ten Inspirational Fiction books of the year.

Her contemporary adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, which was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2011, and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr was named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2012.

Please visit www.sandrabyrd.com to learn more or to invite Sandra to your book club via Skype. You can also connect with Sandra on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, October 9
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Review & Interview at Clarissa Reads it All

Wednesday, October 10
Review at Faery Tales Are Real

Thursday, October 11
Review at A Bookish Affair
Feature at Naomi Finley’s Blog

Friday, October 12
Review at Donna’s Book Blog

Monday, October 15
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Review at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Tuesday, October 16
Feature at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Wednesday, October 17
Review at Among the Reads
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Thursday, October 18
Review at A Darn Good Read

Friday, October 19
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Monday, October 22
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, October 23
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Wednesday, October 24
Review at Library of Clean Reads

Thursday, October 25
Feature at Let Them Read Books

Friday, October 26
Interview at Among the Reads

Monday, October 29
Review at Maiden of the Pages

Tuesday, October 30
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, November 1
Review at Bibliophile Reviews
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, November 2
Feature at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, November 6
Feature at Hisdoryan

Wednesday, November 7
Review at The Book Mind
Review at LadyJ’s Bookish Nook

Friday, November 9
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 5 copies of Lady of a Thousand Treasures by Sandra Byrd! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 9th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US & Canada residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Lady of a Thousand Treasures