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She Yearned for the Sun - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Queen of Shadows"
BOOK EXCERPT Alma felt safer the moment she entered her city. One of the guards at the city gate recognised her and asked her to give his regards to her mother. She slowed her pace along the familiar streets, passed by the huge cathedral just as the bells in the Giralda rang out the noon hour, and came to an abrupt stop at the sight of her childhood home. The gates stood wide open, people spilling out from the courtyard within to stand in the street. She pushed her way throug
DK Marley
18 hours ago3 min read
Passing Through History Without a Trace - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Lost Voices"
BOOK EXCERPT A city is not a place you enter, but a series of experiences closing around you. You only realise how far in you are when it’s too late. Leeds greeted them with noise, filth, and ceaseless movement. Houses pressed in, streets thick with smoke, dung, and bodies—beggars, thieves, merchants, wounded soldiers moving without distinction. Robert’s coin vanished before nightfall—lifted cleanly, without witness. Gone as if it had never been his. After Robert’s loss, they
DK Marley
3 days ago1 min read
Cover Reveal for "The Adoration of Simonetta" by Mary J Thurlow
Congratulations to Mary J Thurlow for her upcoming novel exploring the relationship between Sandro Botticelli and Simonetta, his artistic muse for so many of his paintings. Covers by White Rabbit Arts (using Botticelli paintings and sketches) at The Historical Fiction Company Releasing early September 2026 USA VERSION UK VERSION
DK Marley
7 days ago1 min read
The Most Dangerous Weapons Are the People - an Editorial Review of "The Hazard Trade"
Book Blurb: In British-occupied Newport, Rhode Island, the most dangerous weapons are the people the enemy refuses to see. Newport, Rhode Island is the crown jewel of the colonies—one of the most beautiful cities, one of the wealthiest, with the finest natural harbor in the new world. Rhode Island is a hotbed of rebellion, and the British have made an example of it: brutally occupying the city, blockading the harbor, and cutting off trade. More than half the population has fl
DK Marley
Jun 165 min read
The High Stakes World of Classical Music - an Editorial Review of "Descending Thirds"
Book Blurb: In the high-stakes world of classical music, Alexandra von Triessen, a gifted but insecure pianist, navigates the cutthroat International Ketterling Piano Competition. Dazzled by the charming Sebastian D'Antonio, she finds herself drawn into a web of intrigue surrounding his enigmatic and estranged brother, Conrad. Just as Alexandra's star begins to rise, a shocking discovery sends her world crashing down, exposing secrets and lies that threaten to destroy everyth
DK Marley
Jun 144 min read
The Legend of the First Named Author - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Enhudanna's Song"
BOOK EXCERPT Inanna, supreme in Heaven and Earth, ruler over all gods, I beg of you: restore me to my temple, bring me home! In the ancient city of Ur, I no longer breathe the salty air, lift myself from the sacred bed, or unravel Ningal’s dreams for my followers. The southern stars have slipped away from me; now I walk the thorny brush of the northern mountainside. As I sing your blessed song, I am dying. Lugalanne made me fly from Ur like a swallow swept from its home. He r
DK Marley
Jun 121 min read
Behind the Scenes of a Tudor Life - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Queen's Sister"
BOOK EXCERPT Accompanied by Madeleine, wearing large cloaks and carrying baskets so we look like a merchant’s wife and her servant, we hasten to the Cathedral to pray for Queen Anne’s soul and for the souls of the men who were accused with her and died. Their heads brutally struck from their bodies, those handsome proud courtiers once gorgeously clothed in colourful velvets and silks are no more. Often people gather in the Cathedral to discuss news as well as pray. The column
DK Marley
Jun 102 min read
Every Good Folktale Reveals Both Heroes and Villains - an Editorial Review of "The Fern Flower"
Book Blurb: Russia 1908-1917 Every good folktale reveals villains and heroes. Mila Belova’s world is overflowing with both. Born into privilege as the daughter of the Tsar’s favored vodka maker, Mila appears to have everything: wealth, status, and a household devoted to her happiness. But behind the gilded doors of her family estate, she is trapped by the cruelty of a stepmother whose greatest wish is to give birth to her own child. Each summer on Ivan Kupala Eve, Russia turn
DK Marley
Jun 35 min read
One Small Island in the Crossfire - an Editorial Review of "Voices on the Wind"
Book Blurb: Early 1942: the fate of the Suez Canal and access to Middle East oil hangs on the fate of an island just 17 miles long by 9 miles wide: Malta. Determined to destroy the British forces threatening Rommel’s supply lines, the Axis powers drop more bombs on Malta than London endured throughout the Blitz. The population is forced underground, while the RAF struggles with inadequate resources to fend off defeat. Meanwhile, Britain’s Atlantic lifeline is fraying…. Voices
DK Marley
Jun 24 min read
The Fight for Democracy in Ancient Greece - an Editorial Review of "The Philosopher Kings"
Book Blurb: In the year 404 BCE, democracy is dismantled in Athens by the Lacedaemonians at the end of the Peloponnesian War. Installed in its place is a group of ruthless oligarchs known as the Thirty Tyrants. Athenian exiles, under the command of Thrasybulus and his partners, rebel against their despotic regime as they endeavor to restore democracy. The Philosopher Kings is the extraordinary true story of the fight for democracy and the quest for truth in ancient Greece. Th
DK Marley
Jun 14 min read
Shipwrecked After Escaping the Irish Potato Famine - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for 'What the Ocean Brings'
BOOK EXCERPT “Sir, we are looking for a family that may have been brought here about three weeks ago. It is the Clarey family. They arrived, rather abruptly, from Sligo, Ireland, and crashed upon the shore at Gaspé. They would be a family of five, a father, mother, and three daughters.” The doctor rubbed his chin in thought. “I do recall an unfortunate shipwreck, but from what I’ve heard, there were very few survivors. A small group of Irish was brought in the most unconvent
DK Marley
Jun 15 min read
When All is Taken, the Spirit Remains - an Editorial Review of "A Heart That's True"
Book Blurb: “A heartfelt and deeply moving story of courage, identity, and hope. This is historical fiction at its most compassionate. A powerful, engrossing and memorable read.” Artisan Book Reviews When all is taken, what remains? In 1912, twelve-year-old Joseph Cross and his cousin Elizabeth White Cloud are torn from the foothills of Montana and sent across the country to the Carlisle Indian School, where children are stripped of their language, their traditions, and even
DK Marley
May 305 min read
Two Brothers, Two Paths, One Master of Lies - an Editorial Review of "The Sewers of Stalingrad"
Book Blurb: "A massively grand novel of ideas." — Satakunnan Kansa (Regional daily newspaper) "Brilliant." — Kulttuuritoimitus (Independent arts & culture journal) The lies were crafted in Berlin. The price was paid in the ruins of Stalingrad. Berlin, 1928. The Weimar Republic is dancing on the edge of a volcano. Two brothers, Werner and Valter Greiser, arrive in the city with nothing but ambition. They seek a future in the glittering metropolis, but they find themselves swep
DK Marley
May 285 min read
Ensuring a Wealthy Bride By Any Means Necessary - an Editorial Review of "A Winter's Disgrace"
Book Blurb: Cyprian, a marquess’s heir, will not let his mother choose his next bride. Leaving a house party in a blizzard to avoid her stratagems, he finds a woman trudging half frozen toward the London road. Rosamund fled disgrace hoping to reach the one person who might shelter her, but even if she reaches a coaching inn, she has too little coin to reach London. When a gentleman offers to take her to the nearest inn, can she trust him or will it lead to worse than lying do
DK Marley
May 274 min read
Release Day for "Mrs R Pacheco" by Rose Ann Woolpert - a Revealing Tale of a First Lady of California
BOOK BUY LINK: https://geni.us/kMXN It is 1859, and the glittering promise of the California Gold Rush has faded into dust, leaving behind a land suspended between ambition and uncertainty. Into this shifting world steps Mary Catherine "Molly" McIntyre, a young woman newly unmoored by loss, carrying both the weight of family duty and the quiet, persistent call of her own dreams. Based on the remarkable life of Mary McIntyre Pacheco, Mrs. R. Pacheco unfolds as an intimate port
DK Marley
May 261 min read
Love and Perseverance Spanning Three Continents - an Editorial Review of "The Soap Maker"
Book Blurb: From the French Resistance to the liberation of Paris, to the high fashion industry of post-WWII New York, and to the bucolic valley of Sonoma California, "The Soap Maker" is a story of tragedy, love, revenge, and finally a life fulfilled. Anton is thirteen years old when WWII starts and turns his idyllic family farm life upside-down. He grows rapidly to manhood, guided by his Papy (grandfather), known as the "Soap Maker" and a member of the French Resistance. One
DK Marley
May 265 min read
An Act of God or Something Earthly and Sinister? - an Editorial Review of "Death in the Church"
Book Blurb: A controversial priest dies suddenly on the steps of the great cathedral, moments before his long-awaited restoration after years of excommunication. Church leaders hail his death as a divine sign. But Captain Aurelius - the trusted imperial aide assigned by Constantine himself to investigate - is not convinced. Was this truly an act of God, or the work of someone far more earthly? As he retraces the priest's final moments and unravels the decades of disputes that
DK Marley
May 254 min read