Indie Spotlight is my attempt to help Indie authors with the daunting task of marketing. It’s the biggest job they have and I am happy to help. You can help too by sharing this with all of your social media followers. Below is a book description, author bio, and book review of Wildcard by Gail Meath
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Niagara Falls, 1923. Traveling out of the city isn’t PI Jax Diamond’s cup of tea, but when he and Laura along with their courageous companion, Ace, head to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon, they’re on cloud nine. That is, until Jax carries his new bride over the threshold, and there’s a corpse in their bed that looks to have been there since the dawn of time.
A ten-year-old unsolved murder sets off a string of others with victims plunging to their deaths over the falls, and all the evidence is pointing to nightclub owner and their good pal, Orin Marino, as the killer.
Jax, Laura, Ace, and friends risk their lives trying to solve a crazy riddle and stop a killer before the next victim takes the plunge. But every step forward sends them two steps back. It’s a wild and crazy ride with twists, turns, and belly flops in this fun and fast-paced 1920s cozy thriller.
Easily reads as a standalone.
BOOK REVIEW
In this eighth book of the Jax Diamond series, Jax and Laura’s honeymoon in Niagara Falls takes an unexpected turn when they find out their good friend Orin Marino is in town, and then that he is accused of murder. Jax and Laura immediately start to investigate with the help of a wealthy hotel owner, their clever German Shepherd, Ace, and their friends Tim and Carla. When another body turns up, things get more confusing than ever.
Orin has long been my favorite character, so I was thrilled to see a book with him on the cover, and to get a peek at his backstory right away. The mystery is full of twists and turns, and I did not see the end coming. The story is engaging and will keep you guessing the whole time. Orin, always a great friend to Jax, Laura, Tim, and Carla, is suddenly in need of a friend himself, and they all drop everything to come to his aid. I loved the mystery, Orin’s determination to protect his friends, and, of course, Ace’s contributions as well. Cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this book. It can be read as a standalone. I also recommend the whole series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gail Meath is the author of the multi-award-winning Jax Diamond Mysteries, a fun 1920s series about wise-cracking PI Jax Diamond, his courageous German Shepherd partner, Ace, and Broadway star Laura Graystone, as they, along with a crazy group of friends, solve some of the toughest crimes in New York City. She is alternating that series with her new 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood mysteries series, Stone & Steele, starring Vivian Steele, a widow seeking justice, and Preston Stone, a playboy vigilante.
In both series, the author challenges readers to identify the villains before she reveals them:)
Gail also has a list of other award-winning historical romances, westerns, and fictional biographies of true heroines. She lives in a small village in Upstate New York with her husband and sweet Boston Terrier, and she spends loads of time with her grandchildren.
* Kindle Unlimited Subscribers can read each book in the series for free.
* All books in this series can be read as standalones.
BEFORE YOU GO
If you read the book, please be sure and leave a review on Amazon. It helps Indie authors so much. A review does not have to be a masterpiece. Just a sentence or two about how the book made you feel will make an author’s day and help their books succeed.
Indie Spotlight is my effort to help Indie authors with their most daunting task–marketing. If I can help even a little bit, I’m happy to do it. You can help as well by sharing this post with all your social media followers. Together, we can help Indie books succeed.
Below is a book description, author bio, and buy link for Imperiled by the late Alexander Hans Schmitt. There is also a guest post by his mother, Vonnie Schmitt, about her journey to publish his book after his death. I am currently reading Imperiled and will provide a review later.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
When the unthinkable happens, what would you do to save yourself? In debut novelist Alexander Hans Schmitt’s epic space opera, readers embark on a gripping journey with its heroine, Junior Commander Anaiya Sonra.
In the far future, an unexpected betrayal throws Commander Sonra’s life into chaos and ends her career as the emergency coordinator of a habitat-based space patrol force. Falsely accused of smuggling, Anaiya faces certain conviction, and a soul-destroying future, unless she takes immediate action. She commandeers a starship, battles her way to the nearest rift transit fold zone, and sets out on a perilous quest for the truth.
As Anaiya’s voyage progresses, she melds a dependable and resourceful crew from an unlikely bunch of castaways. Together they investigate the source of Anaiya’s undoing: the unprovoked attack and destruction of an ancient freight hauler, and they uncover the mystery of the cargo that the hauler carried on that final voyage. But as Anaiya and her team delve deeper, they discover that answers come with a devastating cost, and none of them realize the reach of the situation in which they have become enmeshed.
Packed with action, Imperiled is a must-read for fans of space opera adventure science fiction seeking an unforgettable tale of resilience and discovery.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Hans Schmitt was born in Houston, Texas in 1981. His father was a computer programmer, and his mother was a homemaker. Alex loved books; he loved time spent with his mother and father as they read to him. During his kindergarten year his mother read all seven of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia to him. But Alex struggled in school. After being tested by an educational psychologist, he was found to have a high IQ. The disparity between his IQ and his negligible progress in learning to read led the school to conclude that he had a learning disability. Alex was placed in a self-contained classroom with a small group of learning-disabled children. More one-on-one time with the teacher and/or her aide was promised. But after two years, Alex still could not read. It was then that his mother took matters into her own hands. Using a phonics-based approach, she taught him to read during the summer before third grade. By the end of the third grade, he read and enjoyed adult novels.. In fourth grade, he was placed in his school’s gifted program.
Alex suffered a seizure just as his fifth-grade year began. It occurred while he was sitting at his desk in school. After years of being thought retarded by his classmates and some teachers in the school, he had finally overcome the stigma of the learning-disabled label. Now he bore the stigma of epilepsy. Hard-won friendships evaporated. It was too much. His parents considered options other than public school. They decided to homeschool Alex and became welcome fixtures in the Washington Metro area home schooling community. Alex had a fresh start.
When Alex was fourteen, he expressed an interest in learning the piano. Lessons were arranged and, after a few years, he was able to play a wide variety of advanced pieces by Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Mozart, and Grieg.
In 2001, Alex enrolled in Northern Virginia Community College and in 2003 he transferred to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2007. He was awarded the prize for Outstanding Graduate in Philosophy that year among other academic honors.Alex was then accepted at Pace Law School. He earned a law degree with an emphasis in environmental law in 2010.
Time passed, and Alex decided that he was more suited to the life of a writer than that of an environmental lawyer. He studied books on the craft of writing and worked on the first draft of Imperiled. Chapter by chapter, the book took form. He shared his work with his mother. She edited his chapters, focusing on demonstrating how he could make his writing more concise. Slowly he became a better writer. Through eight years and four drafts, Alex worked steadily on Imperiled.
Alex took antiseizure medication from the time of his first seizure throughout his teenage years and had no more seizures until the spring of 2020, when he had a seizure at home. He was prescribed an antiseizure drug, but even with medication, he continued to suffer four or more seizures each year. He became depressed. His writing stalled, but rereading his favorite books remained a comfort. The last books he read were J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series. In June 2023, Alex died suddenly following a seizure. He was 42 years old.
THOUGHTS FROM ALEX’S MOM, VONNIE SCHMITT
Alex’s sudden death following a seizure was a great shock, and I was sunk in grief for the following year. Beginning about a year after Alex died, I began to work on Imperiled. I had been Alex’s beta reader, and he and I had great fun talking about his writing. He had so many great ideas about other books that he planned to write. And, during the eight years he worked on Imperiled, he also worked on a fantasy novel. He planned for Imperiled to be the first of a series of five science fiction novels, and he had included chapters in Imperiled that introduced characters that would play a big part in the story in the subsequent books. The first thing I did was to edit out those chapters. Then I edited the entire book, mainly making the writing more concise.
My daughter is a professional proofreader and she proofed Imperiled. My husband, Tony, meticulously went over the book and made further edits. Then my daughter proofed the final version. I felt that we were ready to self-publish, and I was fortunate to find Booklocker—a publishing company that provides services to those who want to self-publish. My husband and I struggled with learning about doing things online, but we managed in the end (with a great deal of help and patience from the folks at Booklocker).
All of us are so happy that Alex’s book was published as a paperback on his birthday! We are all very proud of Alex and the world that he created. I also set up a website that includes world-building material. It is alexhansschmitt.com.
PURCHASE LINK
*Click on the cover below for a link to Amazon. The book is also on Kindle Unlimited, so subscribers can read it for free.
BEFORE YOU GO
If you read the book, be sure to leave a review on Amazon. The review does not have to be long, or a masterpiece. Just a couple of lines about how the book made you feel will help it succeed. As mentioned above, please share this post with others who might enjoy the book.
It’s release day for The Miniaturist’s Assistant, which I reviewed for the May edition of Historical Novel’s Review, the magazine of The Historical Novel Society. The review is below, and the author graciously agreed to do a Q&A, so be sure to check that out as well!
BOOK REVIEW
In Charleston, South Carolina, in 2004, Gamble Vance is an expert at restoring miniature portraits. But there is one that she can’t forget—a woman with hazel eyes. Why does she look familiar? Then Gamble sees a young woman in Stoll’s Alley in old-fashioned dress. She appears to be a ghost, or a memory, and looks very much like the woman in the portrait. The woman even speaks to her. Gamble is impatient to share this with her best friend Tolliver. Tol is of the Geechee people, who believe in ghosts, and he will not think she is crazy.
In 1805, Daniel Petigru paints miniature portraits for Charleston’s wealthy. He is missing Gamble, who has left him and gone back to her time. She appeared in October 1804, brought home by his sister Honor, who announced she’s been seeing this woman in Stoll’s Alley since she was 12 years old. But the connections are deeper than all of them know, and Gamble is destined to come back.
This is a story with deep meaning and a message that some souls are meant to meet, regardless of where and when they happen to be. They must meet sometimes as part of their own fates—their own lives or deaths, and sometimes it is for reasons they cannot begin to understand. There do not seem to be fast rules of time travel in this novel. The rules are fluid and subject to change. The method of time travel appears to be a place, but also possibly a person. As the lives of those affected flow into each other, so do the rules and methods of time travel. The relationships—friends, lovers, siblings, parents, and children—are all well written and profoundly felt. This is an emotional and impactful novel. Highly recommended.
My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on sites with no half-star option.
I received a free copy of this book via The Historical Novel Society. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katherine Scott Crawford is the award-winning author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant and Keowee Valley. A former backpacking guide, newspaper columnist, and recovering academic, she’d rather be in the woods with her dog than anywhere else. She enjoys curious people, adventure, and snow — and believes historical fiction the best way to time travel. An eleventh-generation Southerner, she lives with her family in the North Carolina mountains.
Q&A with Katherine Scott Crawford
Bonnie: Hi Katherine, and thanks so much for answering my questions today. Let’s go beyond the bio. Tell us something about yourself that we might not know from reading your bio.
Katherine: Thanks so much for having me here, Bonnie! Hmm, let’s see: I tend to be an open book, but something many people may not know about me is that I love to draw. My parents gifted me with art classes at the Greenville Art Museum in South Carolina (where I grew up) when I was very young—and it turned out to be a class filled mostly with adults. I loved it. I constantly sketch when I travel or am researching, in the notebooks I use, of the scene I’m looking at, a piece of historical clothing, a sword, etc. I’d love to find the time for art classes again one day.
Bonnie: The Miniaturist’s Assistant is a dual timeline novel. What were the challenges in writing dual timelines?
Katherine: I didn’t find too many challenges in moving from one voice to another with The Miniaturist’s Assistant, which may seem odd, as the 2004 chapters are told from Gamble’s (a 21st century woman’s) first-person perspective, and the 1804 chapters from Daniel’s (an early 19th century man’s) third-person perspective. Their voices, thankfully, came easily to me. What was trickier was figuring out how to braid the very distinct timelines, and time periods, in a way which not only would make sense to the reader, but also would hopefully feel seamless—meant to be. I wanted every authorial choice I made in the story to reflect its main premise: that time is fluid and porous. I hope it worked!
Bonnie: One of the main characters is a Miniaturist, of course. Describe the research you did in order to create his world and show the reader his art convincingly.
Katherine: I am a sucker for research. I’m an 11th generation South Carolinian with long ties to the Lowcountry and Charleston, and my first novel was set in the Revolutionary-era Carolinas, plus I’m a huge history dork—so luckily, I already had some historical knowledge about that time period in Charleston. But I knew very little about portrait miniatures. After I discovered the incredible Miniature Portraits exhibit at The Gibbes Museum in Charleston, and decided to base one of my characters on noted Charleston artist Charles Fraser, I found an “in” into the research. I researched heavily in online archives, onsite and online at The Gibbes, and was graciously connected to an expert in miniature portraits and art conservator who shared other resources and her own experiences with me.
Bonnie: This is really Part 2 of the previous question. Much of the unveiling of Daniel’s art was done through Gamble, an art conservator, 200 years later. Before you started the novel, were you familiar at all with art restoration, and how did you approach that research?
Katherine: I’d attended grad school at the College of Charleston, which has a historic preservation program, and was lucky to spend a summer studying Italian art and literature in my 20s, so I had a bit of general knowledge about art conservation just from being around those programs. I approached that research like the ex-academic I am: I dove in headfirst, read scholarly articles, graduate theses, and interviewed people on the topic. I figure, the more I learn, the better. Not all of it shows up in the novel, but because I have that knowledge, Gamble does. I think it makes a difference.
Bonnie: I’m a huge fan of time travel fiction, especially when it’s a historical fiction mashup. What made you decide to jump into this subgenre, and have you read other time travel fiction that inspired you?
Katherine: Honestly, I did not expect Gamble to time travel. When I began the story, I’d imagined a more linear dual-timeline, with the lines crossing in more traditional ways—maybe through discovered letters, etc. But Gamble is unlike any character I’ve written, and she was determined to go back.
I’m actually not a big reader of time travel fiction. But two historical novels I really love—as a writer and a reader both—utilize the device so well: Susanna Kearsley’s The Rose Garden, and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. I guess this is to say that while I’m not a natural skeptic, I have to buy into the premise as a reader: it has to make sense on both a story and emotional level, and those novels lead us willingly headlong into an adventure we feel like we take ourselves.
Bonnie: Is this a standalone or will there be a Book 2?
Katherine: The Miniaturist’s Assistant is a standalone. (But never say never.) At present, I’m working on an entirely new historical novel.
Bonnie: I believe this is your second book, but the first book with Regal House. Can you tell the aspiring writers who read this blog something valuable you learned on your journey to get published?
Katherine: Yes, this is my second novel: my first, Keowee Valley, was published in 2012 by Bell Bridge Books, a small press based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Miniaturist’s Assistant is with Regal House Publishing, an independent literary press out of North Carolina. There were over a decade of years, two children, one graduate degree, many jobs, and lots of life lived in between.
My advice would be to remember that your writing journey is your journey, and no one else’s. Own it. All that matters is what it looks and feels like to you.
Bonnie: Katherine, thank you again! I truly enjoyed The Miniaturist’s Assistant.
PURCHASE LINK
Click on the image below to purchase the book on Amazon.
Award winning author Michael Gorton masterfully describes advanced scientific concepts intertwined in a deeply human narrative. The story follows Paula, a molecular biologist on the cusp of receiving a Nobel Prize, whose life is abruptly cut short by a tragic accident. Her close friend, Alex, has been developing groundbreaking technology capable of tunneling through spacetime. Driven by grief and determination, Alex embarks on a daring journey using this technology, leading then to a planet in Cassiopeia where they confront unforeseen challenges and emotions. Gorton’s narrative seamlessly blends elements of adventure, romance, and science fiction, inviting readers to explore profound questions about time, loss, and the lengths one might go to alter destiny. “Tachyon Tunnel” is a thought-provoking tale that challenges our understanding of reality and the human spirit.
TACHYON TUNNEL 2: THE DAKLIN EMPIRE
What if Time travel were possible, and Science Fiction is real? Time travel where humans have changed something has implications on the laws of physics. The ripple effect from inertia always catches up. Alex and the Tranquility team are aware of this when they discover the Daklin Empire that has ruled the Galaxy with an iron fist for over 50 million years without suffering a single defeat. As the Daklin take notice of Earth, the team must navigate the challenges of time’s inertia and the unintended consequences of altering history.
Tachyon Tunnel 2 explores how time travel might actually work within the laws of physics, and the implications of changing events in the past. The book combines science, adventure, romance, and the complexities of human decision-making in high-stakes situations. Part two of bestselling author Michael Gorton’s award-winning Tachyon Tunnel series will keep readers on the edge of their seats and is sure to become one of the best science fiction works of the year!
BOOK REVIEWS
Tachyon Tunnel 1
Alex is a genius who has invented a way to tunnel through time and space, with the help of a ship and his trusty AI, Emily. But when he learns his best friend Paula has died, he drops everything and uses this technology to rescue her. What happens next will strand them on another world and affect many people and civilizations.
This is a clever and science-forward novel with a genius method of time travel—tunneling through time. The author does a good job explaining the physics of it. In addition to the method, every author should also set rules of time travel that must be followed. In this book, the rules seem to be whatever science allows. However, there are actions that create paradoxes or have deadly consequences, so it could be that certain rules will be assigned as the series unfolds in order to avoid those situations.
There are also circumstances involving the use of DNA technology that are questionable and a bit unbelievable. Another situation occurred that I completely disagreed with, but it involves sacrificing individual rights for the possible safety of a civilization. These are the kind of choices one ends up making when manipulating time and changing events on entire worlds. The main characters, Alex and Paula, are easy to connect with, but the AI, Emily, steals the show. There is a twist at the end that I absolutely loved. I enjoyed this novel and was sometimes reminded of one of the masters of science fiction, Robert Heinlein. I look forward to Book 2.
Although I received a print copy from the author, I also downloaded the ebook on Kindle Unlimited, where subscribers can read it for free.
TACHYON TUNNEL 2: THE DAKLIN EMPIRE
There is a fresh start in this second book of the series, and it goes in a new direction. New characters are introduced, as well as a new enemy, the Daklin, who will wipe out any civilization that opposes their total domination. But they haven’t found Earth yet. The race to stop the Daklin from finding Earth has Alex seeking out a reclusive group who may be able to help them.
In the first book, the rules of time travel were not necessarily made clear. I would say new rules have been introduced by the author in this book, as previous mistakes are discussed and not repeated. The new characters are strong and compelling, and the evil Daklin Empire lurks as a frightening spectre to avoid. The science of time travel provided is intriguing, and the author manages to make technical discussions entertaining. The book takes a dip into the paranormal as well as science fiction, but I hope it stays science-forward as the series progresses. There is some “telling” instead of “showing” early in this book, but I found it worked and helped the reader adjust to the new direction this series is heading.
The relationship between Alex and Paula is the deepest and most meaningful in the series, and I would like to see the series delve deeper into some of the other relationships as well.
The attempts to evade and stop the Daklin kept me glued to the story, and the addition of an evil empire adds new layers to the novel. Overall, Tachyon Tunnel 2 comes in strong. Having learned lessons from the events of the past, it charges forward in a new and interesting way.
Although I received a print copy from the author, I also purchased the ebook on Amazon. It is only 99 cents at present! See link below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
(Excerpts from his website) Michael Gorton grew up as the “poor kid next door.” Because of great influence from his parents and four siblings, Michael reached for the stars. With virtually no money in his pocket, he went off to college and earned degrees in Physics, Engineering and Law—all while working full-time.
He is now best known as being a serial entrepreneur, but that title does not do him justice. With degrees in Physics, Engineering and Law, there is no limit to his curiosity. After working ten years as an engineer in corporate America, he founded 15 different companies, including Internet Global, Palo Duro Records, and Teladoc, now one of the world’s largest telemedicine companies. His forward-facing vision and expertise led him to being one of the pioneers of telemedicine and digital health, which is becoming a half-TRILLION-dollar industry. In 2022 he joined with Jay Sanders, “The Father of Telemedicine,” to write Digital Medical Home which details the harrowing tales of the history of telemedicine, something we all now take for granted. He is now working with several companies and medical doctors to develop pathways for integration of AI into medicine, with a goal of lowering costs of care and increasing access, all resulting in longer healthier lives.
An accomplished author, Michael has dabbled in both fiction and nonfiction, recently writing Tachyon Tunnel, a science fiction book series, and Calamistunity, The Secret to Success, a book on how to turn calamity and mistakes into opportunity. His first business book was Broken Handoff, an amalgamation of three decades as an entrepreneur developing companies. His novel, Forefathers & Founding Fathers, is based on the forgotten historical figures who ensured the triumph of democracy in the country that would become America.
Michael is now an in-demand speaker on the topics of innovation and entrepreneurial disruption and has delivered over 100 keynotes in the past two years alone. He has also won the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, was named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, and a Future 50 Disruptor and more.
In his “spare” time, Michael is a runner, Second Degree Black Belt in Kenpo, and a mountain climber who has so far scaled the highest point of elevation in 43 states.
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Authors who live in your state: I’ve revised it a bit to include any authors who have lived in my state. They don’t have to be there now, and they don’t have to be alive. I’m living in North Carolina now, and won’t move again, so I’m focusing on authors who have lived in North Carolina. Many of them live or have lived in Western NC, where I now live and where my mother was born and raised.
Here’s a beautiful mountain view in Western NC:
Credit to AmazingAsheville.net for some of the information in the following list.
Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) was born in Asheville at 92 Woodfin Street. His father carved gravestones, and his mother ran a boarding house at 48 Spruce Street, where Wolfe lived until he went to Chapel Hill to attend the University of North Carolina. After finishing at Chapel Hill in 1920, he went to Harvard to study playwriting. Wolfe’s first and arguably best novel, Look Homeward, Angel, is autobiographical. Eugene Gant is Wolfe, and scores of the many characters in the novel are thinly disguised real people in Asheville, which in the novel is called Altamont. Later Wolfe called Asheville Libya Hill. Many in Asheville took issue with the book and its author, and Wolfe did not return to Asheville until near his death at age 37. Of the town’s reaction to Wolfe’s first book, Wilma Dykeman wrote, “With the usual perverseness of humanity, the people of Asheville did not seem shocked at much of the deceit and folly and wickedness and waste that Wolfe found – they were shocked only that he exposed it.”
Horace Kephart: Horace Kephart (1862-1931) is best known for Our Southern Highlanders, his 1913 study of mountain people in Western North Carolina.. Born in Pennsylvania, he came to Western North Carolina in 1904 and lived in Hazel Creek, Bryson City,and Dillsboro. He was instrumental in establishing the national park in the Smokies and in creating the route for the Appalachian Trail.
Charles Frazier (1950 – Present) Frazier was born in Asheville. Possibly his most successful book was Cold Mountain, which won the National Book Award and was made into a movie in 2003. Thirteen Moons (2006), also set in Western North Carolina, traces the story of a white man’s involvement with the Cherokee Indians in the early 19th century.
Jan Karon (1937-), born in Lenoir, retired from advertising and began writing when living in Blowing Rock, the setting (as the mountain town of Mitford) of the successful Mitford series, which began with 1994’s At Home in Mitford. Karon now lives on a farm in Virginia.
Caroline Miller (1903-1992), a Georgia native, lived for several years in Waynesville, NC. Her 1933 novel, Lamb in His Bosom, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Billy Graham (1918-2018), world-renowned Christian evangelist, whose home was in Montreat, published more than 30 books on religion, salvation, and relationship with God.
His wife, Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007), was author or co-author of 14 books, including volumes of poetry and personal recollections.
Nicholas Sparks (1965 – Present) lives in New Bern, NC, and has set some of his books there, including possibly his most famous novel, The Notebook.
Ann B. Ross (1936 – Present) was born in Hendersonville, NC. She is a NY Times best-selling author of the Miss Julia series, which includes more than 20 books.
Carl Sandburg (1878 – 1967) – lived in Flat Rock, NC from 1945 until his death in 1967. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for poetry (Cornhuskers and Complete Poems, 1951) and one for history (Abraham Lincoln: The War Years).
That’ s my top 10! How about you? Which authors whose works you admire or enjoy have lived in your state?
*This is a review I did for the May issue of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of The Historical Novel Society. It was selected as an Editor’s Choice.
In 11th-century Alba (Scotland), young Gruach, the future Lady Macbeth, is sent away from her family to apprentice with a Pict healer. Five-year-old Macbeth is sent from the house of his father, the Mormaer of Moray, to the royal court of his grandfather, King Malcolm II. He comes of age alongside his foster brother, Duncan. While Macbeth is educated to be a leader, Gruach is taught healing arts and Pict traditions, and then summoned back to Malcolm’s court, where she is soon given away in marriage. The journey of the Macbeths is not the famed and false one of Shakespeare, but a mixture of both their true and imagined place in Scotland’s history. This is the first book in the Alba series.
This intriguing novel creates a glimpse of the little-known childhoods of Gruach and Macbeth. Gruach is shown in a much more sympathetic and factual light than in Shakespeare’s play. There are three points of view—Macbeth, Gruach, and a fictional poet, Lapwing. The three witches of Macbeth are replaced in this novel by three spiritual belief systems—Pict, Celtic, and Christian. Gruach’s Pict spiritual experiences are fascinating, and Lapwing still speaks of the Celtic gods, although Christianity is taking over.
The backstabbing politics of a royal court make a compelling read. Macbeth’s journey to becoming Mormaer of Moray will lead him to Gruach. She is married to the cruel, violent, and abusive Gillecomgan. As her brother Nechtan says to Macbeth, “My sister Daimhin—Gruach—know that she is no wife to Gillecomgan, but a hostage, and pregnant.” The novel ends, but not the story, as there will be a second book coming. The writing is beautiful, lyrical, and descriptive, and it captures the period perfectly. To say this book is well-researched is an understatement. Highly recommended.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (From Amazon and Her Website)
Valerie Nieman
“Upon the Corner of the Moon” is the story of the Macbeths you’ve never known: Destined to unite Scotland, they first had to survive childhoods as pawns in a dynastic struggle.
Previous novels include “Dead Hand,” a sequel for “To the Bones,” a blend of paranormal mystery, romantic suspense, with the distinctive tang of Appalachia along with Irish lore. It has some very dark elements but overall rather spritely, I think. (“To the Bones” was shortlisted for both the Manly Wade Wellman Award and the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award.) “In the Lonely Backwater” was honored with the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for the best book of fiction by a North Carolina writer. It draws on all the people I’ve been — a reporter, a farmer, a sailor, a teacher, and always, a walker and observer. It’s an official International Pulpwood Queens Book Club pick, won the Mystery/Suspense category prize from American Writing Awards, and was a finalist at Forewords INDIES.
Another recent title, “Leopard Lady: A Life in Verse,” is set in a mid-century carnival and features poems that appeared in The Missouri Review, Chautauqua, and other journals. More than 15 years of writing — and a week of study at Coney Island Museum — went into telling the story of Dinah and The Professor.
I have held grants from the NEA, and the North Carolina and West Virginia arts councils. I earned degrees from West Virginia University and Queens University of Charlotte and worked as a reporter in coal country and a writing professor at NC A&T State University.
I know it’s Wednesday, but I couldn’t post yesterday, so here’s Top Ten Tuesday a day late. Below are ten books that surprised me.
Version 1.0.0
Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green: The reason this one surprised me is that this was Amy Lynn Green’s debut novel, and it was completely epistolary (comprised of letters, articles, and other written communications). It was so well done!
The Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber: This was the first book I read by Heather Webber, and I discovered she writes wonderful small-town fiction with a touch of magical realism. What shocked me was she had already written 25 books and I’d never discovered her before.
The Thin Place by C.D. Major: This one surprised me because sadly there really is a place in the world where dogs inexplicably jump to their deaths.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg: The ending surprised me, as it did a lot of people.
A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver: I was pretty tired of WWII novels, but this is about a safe-cracking criminal family that helped British Intelligence during the war, so surprisingly I found myself reading another WWII novel.
The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee: This is so well written, and again set during WWII, but in the Philippines, and I learned a lot of shocking things about what went on there during the war.
The Exchange by John Grisham: Sadly, this one surprised me because it was so bad. It was supposed to be a sequel to THE FIRM, but it felt like Mitch McDeere was added into a totally unrelated novel just to make some sales.
Horse Show by Jess Bowers: This one is shocking and surprising. This is a collection of short stories, many about how horses were abused and neglected, such as in circuses, on movie sets, and even in the military.
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor: Everyone who reads this blog knows Jodi is my favorite author. But what you may not know is that she didn’t publish her first book until she was 60. That was when she self-published the first book of The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. She is now a best-sellling author with a major publisher. I bought this book for 99 cents when it came out because I like time travel fiction. I had no idea I was going to read a series that would become like an old friend.
The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor: I read this one just because Jodi Taylor was the author. It isn’t Time Travel, so I was skeptical. What it is is a fantasy about how a young girl’s life was saved by a magical golden horse. And it’s so good that I like it just as much as St. Mary’s. That’s what surprised me.
This week is a catch-up week for me as I have several books on Netgalley that are past their publishing date, and I’m determined to get those completed. At the same time, I only want to read books I’m enjoying, so I no longer hesitate to DNF and move on if I don’t like something.
Click on the covers for their links to Amazon.
WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW
Dare you enter the stone circle . . .? The world’s most unlikely ghost-busting duo – actress Diana and handsome young bishop Alistair – are back in this spine-tingling paranormal mystery from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author
There are stories about the dilapidated stone circle at Chipping Amesbury, going back centuries. Of people going missing, never to be seen again. Of people found dead inside the circle. Of monsters, and of demons. The villagers may tell the tales with relish to visiting tourists, but a careful observer will notice that there is no transport to the stones, no tours on offer, and the locals stay well away.
Alistair Kincaid, the youngest ever bishop of All Souls Hollow, is an expert in Britain’s ancient stone circles. That’s why, when landowner Sir Neville Chumley announces his plans to restore the circle to its ancient glory, he agrees to take part in a documentary about the project.
WHAT HAVE YOU JUST FINISHED
Stuck in a dead-end bar job in central Tokyo and barely making ends meet, Naomi Kihara’s life turns upside down when her American father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a toddler, dies. Having been brought up to believe he abandoned her, it’s a shock to learn she is his heir. But there’s a catch: Naomi must go live in his hometown for one year. Felix, Nebraska couldn’t be any more different from Tokyo, Japan. And besides, not everyone in town is happy the Johnson property now belongs to the Japanese daughter everyone forgot Mike ever had in the first place. But with the help of her new friends and neighbors, Naomi discovers a strength in herself she never knew existed.
WHAT ARE YOU READING NEXT?
Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes. In her travels, she’s wandered throughout the South, escaping a mental hospital in Alabama, working for a Louisiana circus, and dancing at a hoochy-kootch in Texas. Now for the first time in a decade, she’s allowed her winding path to bring her to the site of her grandmother’s Arkansas farmhouse, a place hallowed in her memory.
She intends only to visit briefly – to pay respects to her buried loved ones and leave. But a chance meeting with a haunted young Vietnam vet reconnects her with the remnants of a family she thought long gone, and their union becomes a catalyst for change and salvation. An abused woman and her daughters develop the courage to fight back, a ghost finds the path away from life, and a sanctimonious predator becomes the prey. In the process, Genevieve must choose between her longing for meaningful connection after years as an outsider and her equally excruciating impulse to run.
Written by a naturalist and set on the land where her family roots stretch back two centuries, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is a haunting story about letting go and the things we leave behind, the power of names, and the ties that bind. It is both harrowing and triumphant, a visceral Southern debut as otherworldly and beautiful as it is unflinching and wry.
Lynn Knight was born in Derbyshire and lives in London. The women of her family passed on many stories along with beaded bags and buttoned gauntlets, and fostered her interest in the texture and narratives of women’s lives. She is the author of The Biography of Clarice Cliff (2005), a memoir, Lemon Sherbet and Dolly Blue: The Story of an Accidental Family (2011), and The Button Box: The Story of Women in the 20th Century, Told Through the Clothes They Wore (2016).
Miss Burnham and the Loose Thread is her first novel.
BOOK REVIEW
In 1925 London, Rose Burnham is trying to make a success of her new business, a dressmaking shop, and has been encouraged by the many orders from Miss Holmes, who wants to impress a new suitor. The most recent dress is gorgeous and expensive to make, so Rose is quite concerned when Miss Holmes cannot pay for it. In tears, she explains that her suitor, Reginald, was a fraud. He talked her into advancing him 800 pounds for a business, and now he has disappeared, money and all. She explains she met him through a matrimonial agency. Outraged, Rose decides to pretend to be a client of the matrimonial agency, Cupid’s Arrow, and bring this “suitor” to justice.
I really enjoyed and connected with the characters in this book, especially Rose and her sisters. Rose has had the opportunity to leave employment with a department store and start her own business, and this book highlights the difficulties of and discrimination against women in business at that time. Rose’s determination to get justice for women being swindled is encouraging and heartwarming. The mystery surrounding the suitor, Reginald, is intriguing, and I could feel Rose’s outrage as she tries to track him down. There is a secondary mystery involving anonymous poisoned pen letters that are being left for Rose’s friend. This novel has a modern connection–everything that plays out in both of these mysteries in 1925 London is still going on today, but on social media. Recommended to all Mystery fans and fans of Women’s Fiction.
Thank you to Zooloo’s Book Tours for a free copy of this novel. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
*This is another review I did for The Historical Novel Society. It is an outstanding collection of short stories that was selected as an Editor’s Choice.
This amazing collection of short stories looks at the equine from many perspectives, from 19th-century London to New York’s Coney Island in the early 20th century to Hollywood movies and beyond. The majority of the stories are set from the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries and mostly in various parts of the United States.
“The Mammoth Horse,” set in London, is a sad look at the abuse of animals in the circuses and follies of the 19th century. “Shooting A Mule” tells of the violent execution of a mule with explosives at a military base in Willett’s Point, NY, in 1881. “The Lost Hoof of Fire Horse #12” tells the story of a lone horse’s hoof that now gathers dust in the Smithsonian. “One Trick Pony” describes the abuse of stunt horses during the 1939 movie Jesse James.
I was so impressed by “Two on a Horse,” set on the Steeplechase ride at Coney Island in the early 20th century. Although the horses were made of wood, they were part of a harrowing ride, and Bowers describes the personal stories of the riders in vivid detail. From the first lady to attempt to ride the Steeplechase astride to a sexual assault occurring during the ride itself, the story has a strong impact, and the reader can see and feel the violence of the ride as well as the trauma of the riders.
Equally fine is “Of Course, Of Course,” which on the surface is about a young newlywed couple who discover a horse abandoned on their new property. However, underneath lurks a saga of a wife awakening to her own abandonment, abuse, and neglect in 1960s California.
These perfectly crafted tales create a tragic picture that will have an emotional impact on the reader. Highly recommended.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (FROM HER WEBSITE)
Jess Bowers lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where she works as an Associate Professor of English at Maryville University. But she’s originally from York, Pennsylvania, the first capital of the United States (so they claim) and hometown of the 90s rock band Live (that one’s true).
Her debut collection, HORSE SHOW, was published by Santa Fe Writers Project, and recently named one of “The Most Exciting Debut Short Story Collections of 2024” by Electric Literature.
Her short fiction has also appeared in The Portland Review, cream city review, Redivider, StoryQuarterly, The Indiana Review, Zone 3, Oyez Review, and other journals, been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Sundress Publications’ Best of the Net Award, and other honors. She won Laurel Review‘s Midwest Short Fiction Prize and the Winter Anthology Prize, which was pretty cool.
She’s also a co-editor at Cartridge Lit, an online journal publishing literature about video games, which she’s loved since she first played Fishing Derby on her Atari 2600.
Bowers holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Goucher College, an M.A. in the same from Hollins University, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Missouri, where she studied fiction writing, film, and 19th-century literature and visual culture.
In her free time, she thinks about the hungry ghosts of silent Hollywood while riding her little yellow pony through the woods. She also watches far too much T.V.
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