I'm delighted to share my review for Adam Lofthouse's Tribune and the Sword, #historicalfiction #bookreview #RomanEra #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @AdamPLofthouse @rararesources
3 days ago
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Posts by MJ Porter
I’m sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery set in 1361 #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease
I'm sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery set in 1361 #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @KeithMorayTales @rararesources #Sacrilege
I'm sharing my review for Sacrilege by Keith Moray, a brand new historical mystery set in 1361 #bookreview #blogtour #newrelease #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @KeithMorayTales @rararesources #Sacrilege
1 week ago
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I’m sharing my review for Operation Berlin by Michael Ridpath #blogtour #bookreview
Here’s the blurb
In a city rebuilding from war, truth can be the most dangerous weapon of all.
Berlin, 1930.
Historian Archie Laverick, scarred mentally and physically by the Great War, travels to Berlin to research a famed Prussian general. His quiet study is shattered when he crosses paths with Esme Carmichael, a spirited young American intent on making her name as a foreign correspondent. When a shooting at a Saxon castle leaves a young Jewish woman accused of murder, Archie and Esme are drawn into a perilous hunt for the truth.
Their investigation cuts through the glittering façades and lingering scars of a nation still reeling from war – where resentment simmers, political alliances shift, and the first shadows of a new conflict fall across Europe. Amid whispers of blackmail and betrayal, the pair must navigate intrigue and danger to unmask a killer hiding in plain sight.
A tense, atmospheric mystery set in a world between wars – perfect for fans of Philip Kerr’s Berlin Trilogy, Robert Harris’s Fatherland, and Alan Furst’s spy novels.
Purchase Link
https://mybook.to/operationberlinsocial
My Review
Operation Berlin wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but if anything, that’s a good thing. I was expecting a somewhat taut thriller, but instead was pleasantly surprised to read something with more of a cosy crime feel, though deeply steeped in the era’s events.
Archie and Esme are entertaining characters, both with their own backstories, and while the storyline engages with the social mores of the time, it is far from shocking in this day and age. I also enjoyed the addition of Moses and hope he might appear in future books. I very much enjoyed Archie’s quest to track down information on the general he’s researching, as it meant I was educated on more than just 1930s Berlin.
Overall, a very pleasant surprise. I imagine I will try more of Michael’s books in the future.
Meet the author
Michael Ridpath is the bestselling author of over 20 crime novels and thrillers. His first novel, after a career in finance, was Free to Trade, a No 2 bestseller about the murky world of bond trading which was translated into over thirty languages. He is currently writing the Foreign Correspondent series of murder mysteries set in the capitals of Europe in the 1930s. He splits his time between London and Massachusetts.
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I’m sharing my review for Operation Berlin by Michael Ridpath #blogtour #bookreview
historical fiction · Historical Mystery · Rachel’s Random Resources
It’s always fun to help reveal a new book cover. Introducing Love Always Lindisfarne by Kimberely Adams
historical fiction
Today, I’m delighted to welcome NL Holmes and her new book, A Taste of Honey to the blog, with an excerpt #AncientHistoricalFiction #AncientEgyptianMystery #CozyHistorical #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · historical fiction · New Release
Storm of Mercia is now available. This is also known as ‘the one on the ship.’ #histficbook #newrelease #authorinspiration
Boldwood Books · historical fiction · M J Porter · New Release
I'm sharing my review for Operation Berlin by Michael Ridpath #blogtour #bookreview #OperationBerlin #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources @michaelridpathauthor
1 week ago
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Today, I’m delighted to welcome NL Holmes and her new book, A Taste of Honey to the blog, with an excerpt #AncientHistoricalFiction #AncientEgyptianMystery #CozyHistorical #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Today, I'm delighted to welcome NL Holmes and her new book, A Taste of Honey to the blog, with an excerpt #AncientHistoricalFiction #AncientEgyptianMystery #CozyHistorical #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Today, I'm delighted to welcome NL Holmes and her new book, A Taste of Honey to the blog, with an excerpt #AncientHistoricalFiction #AncientEgyptianMystery #CozyHistorical #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
2 weeks ago
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Storm of Mercia is now available. This is also known as ‘the one on the ship.’ #histficbook #newrelease #authorinspiration
Storm of Mercia is now available. This is also known as 'the one on the ship.' #histficbook #newrelease #authorinspiration
Storm of Mercia is now available. This is also known as 'the one on the ship.' #histficbook #newrelease #authorinspiration
2 weeks ago
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Storm of Mercia is now available. Let’s talk about Wynflæd #histficbook #newrelease #characterinspiration
Storm of Mercia is now available. Let's talk about Wynflæd #histficbook #newrelease #characterinspiration
Storm of Mercia is now available. Let's talk about Wynflæd #histficbook #newrelease #characterinspiration
2 weeks ago
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I’ve been working on this for a while
I’m very excited to share with readers that I have FINALLY finished (for now) compiling all my short stories, blog posts, articles and some deleted and alternative scenes from my books set in Mercia. I call the eight series combined The Tales of Mercia, and now you can enjoy all these little extras too, and all in one place (see the list below).
Now, some of these stories have been shared before (in Coelwulf’s Company, and as newsletter subscriber exclusives, and newsletter subscribers have also received an earlier version of the ebook before I’d quite compiled everything). The blog posts should also have appeared here, on the blog, but I thought it was high time they were more readily accessible to readers (and to me). (I did intend to include a character name list as well, but it is a HUGE task, so that’s not yet completed.)
Although some of these stories are only currently available on Amazon or in print/audio copy, I’ve decided to share this collection on Kobo, Apple and maybe some other platforms too, as well as Amazon. This is so readers of those stories available everywhere can also enjoy the short stories.
Check out the details and find the purchase link (or click the image above).
Mercia: A Companion Guide to the Tales of Mercia brings together, for the first time, the short stories, alternative scenes, deleted scenes, and blog posts written about the eight series by MJ Porter set in the ancient Saxon kingdom of Mercia, (The Dark Age Chronicles, The Gods and Kings Trilogy, The House of Mercia, The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, The Mercian Ninth Century, The Sundered Kingdom, The Lady of Mercia’s Daughter and the Earls of Mercia Series.)
Many of these have been published elsewhere, but never in one collection. The companion guide also includes pieces detailing the inspiration behind the many series and characters, as well as the history of the stories.
Includes:
Short Story: Transitions
Short Story: Elen (from the Dark Age Chronicles)
Short Story: A Father’s Son (from after the events of the Gods and Kings Trilogy)
Short Story: from the original Son of Mercia draft
Short Story: Cenfrith (Icel’s Uncle) (The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles)
Short Story: Wynflæd (The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles)
Short Story: A Meeting of Equals (the inspiration for The Last King)
Short Story: Ealdorman Coenwulf (from before The Last King)
Short Story: Lovers (from before The Last King)
Short Story: Icel – AD864 (originally in Coelwulf’s Company)
Short Story: Coelwulf – AD864 (originally in Coelwulf’s Company)
Short Story: Edmund – AD864 (originally in Coelwulf’s Company)
Short Story: Pybba – AD865 (originally in Coelwulf’s Company)
Short Story: Rudolf – AD871 (originally in Coelwulf’s Company)
Short Story: Gardulf – originally in The Last Alliance
Short Story: To Be A King (the Earls of Mercia series)
Short Story: The Prisoner (from after the Earls of Mercia Series)
Deleted Scene from Storm of Mercia (The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles)
Deleted Scene from The Last Shield (The Mercian Ninth Century)
Deleted Scene from The Eagle Will Rise (The Sundered Kingdom)
An Alternative Scene from A Conspiracy of Kings (The Lady of Mercia’s Daughter Duology)
Purchase Link
https://books2read.com/Mercia
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Introducing Mercia: A Companion Guide to the Tales of Mercia
M J Porter · Mercia · writing
It’s happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease #HadPossessionOfThePlaceOfSlaughter
Boldwood Books · historical fiction · M J Porter · New Release
I’m welcoming AB Michaels to the blog with an excerpt from her new release, The Twisted Road #historicalfiction MurderMystery #HistoricalThriller #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour
American History · Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club
I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended
Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · historical fiction · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources · writing
Introducing Mercia: A Companion Guide to the Tales of Mercia #ShortStories #Nonfiction #MJPorter #TalesOfMercia
2 weeks ago
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It’s happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease #HadPossessionOfThePlaceOfSlaughter
It's happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
It's happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
2 weeks ago
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I’m welcoming AB Michaels to the blog with an excerpt from her new release, The Twisted Road #historicalfiction #AmericanHistoricalFiction #NewRelease #BlogTour
I’m sharing an excerpt from chapter 1 ‘Bloody Tuesday’
Nineteen years old, with the long, skinny limbs of a colt, Jimmy Walsh crouched behind a lamppost and shivered in the early morning fog. He dropped the brick he’d been clutching and hesitated before picking it up again. “This ain’t right,” he said, just loud enough for his nearest comrade in arms to hear. “It’s like waitin’ for Beelzebub to unleash his hounds of hell.” Several yards away, the wooden barn that housed the city’s electric trolley cars remained shuttered, but the sounds inside, muted through the mist, told him the show was about to begin.
Toke Griffin, a rock in one meaty hand, took a drag of his cheroot with the other. The smoke mixed with the fog, obscuring his leathered face. Two decades older than Jimmy, he was a union man from way back. This strike was nothing new. “Yeah, well them mutts are takin’ our jobs and we got to stop ’em any way we can.” He tossed the rock a few times and caught it. “They’re scabs and rotten to the core. We got to let them know it.” The gas-powered streetlight above Jimmy hissed, letting off sparks and a sulfurous belch. Toke barked in appreciation. “Even the damn lamp’s on our side.”
“Shut the hell up!” Another hiss—this one from a fellow striker, positioned behind one of the barbed wire barriers the scabs had set up to protect the cars. “You’ll give us away.”
Toke continued to grouse but lowered his voice. “Hell, you think they don’t know we’re out here? They’re chompin’ at the bit same as us.” He tossed his rock again. “But we got right on our side, just like old Davey and Goliath. You wait and see.”
Jimmy tried to swallow but couldn’t get passed his Adam’s apple. Lord, he wished he had some water or somethin’ else to calm the jitters taking over his body. Even his lucky red flannel shirt was no help. Why didn’t he keep the grub his mother had given him as he’d left that morning? She’d been up before him, knowing he had to go and not even trying to talk him out of it. “You keep your head down,” she warned as she handed him the bag with bread and cheese and a slice of apple cake in it. She’d even put in a mason jar full of cider.
“Sure, sure, Ma,” he’d told her, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.” Giving her a peck on the cheek, he’d headed out, but once around the corner, he’d ditched the bag, thinking it would look squirrelly bringing a lunch sack to a riot. What a damn fool.
It shouldn’t have come to this. It’d been over a year since the earthquake and fire had torn up the city, and the roads were still a tangled, busted-up mess. It was tricky driving the streetcars, and there were fewer drivers to boot. All the union wanted was an eight hour day and three bucks a shift. But United Railroads kept bickering with the city over repairs and used that excuse to refuse the union’s demands. What else could the carmen do but strike? Then the company brought in the Farleymen to drive the cars—four hundred of them! It stunk to high heaven and Toke had the right of it: they had to stop the scabs from taking their jobs.
The crowd outside the barricade was growing. Jimmy saw groups of Poles and Italians and Irish, even Chinese. They weren’t members of his union, but they were workingmen all the same, showing their support. That was labor for you, sticking together to get the job done. But there were also women and kids pouring out onto the street, like it was a parade or something! Thank God Ma had stayed home; he hoped his cousin was smart enough to keep her distance, too. This kind of ruckus was no place for females.
But damn if there weren’t plenty of ladies mixed in with everybody else, a lot of them young and fired up, itchin’ for a fight just like the men. He’d never admit it, but deep down, part of him admired their courage. Like Toke said, they were sticking up for what was right.
He was chewing on those thoughts when the big wooden doors on the barn began to slide open with a screech and the streetcars lumbered out, each driven by a scab, and each protected by several men with clubs and a guard with a rifle. The clock in the tower above the car barn soon started chiming the hour, but it was nearly drowned out by all the people screaming insults as they surged through an opening where the cars were supposed to leave the yard.
The strikers rushed by Jimmy, shoving him out of the way and already throwing whatever they’d been carrying—rocks and bricks and bottles—toward the scabs. Some strikers on the roofs pushed iron girders they must have got from construction sites; the beams hit the cars with a sickening clang.
Jimmy started to throw his brick, but stopped when he got a look at the second car and who was guarding it. Damnation, it was Emmett Barnes! That sonofabitch used to be a union man—not to mention Jimmy’s best friend—and now he was a hired gun for the Farleymen! He watched Emmett shoot his rifle into the air a few times, and his shots were answered by rooftop union men protecting the strikers on the ground. He couldn’t see Emmett’s face too well, but he bet his ex-friend wasn’t happy, especially since his shots hadn’t stopped the crowd from swarming around his car. Jimmy wasn’t part of that crowd; he couldn’t make himself move—like he was paralyzed or something—as he watched it all unfold.
A brick sailed through the air and hit Emmett in the face; he dropped down, and Jimmy couldn’t see him anymore. He glanced to his left and saw a man taking photographs of everybody. “Quit takin’ pictures!” Jimmy yelled at him. “Get out of the way—you’re gonna get hurt!”
More and more people began pushing Jimmy from behind, determined to stop the cars from running. He turned back to Emmett’s car and saw … and saw the rifle pointed toward the crowd from another angle. No, pointed right at him. Emmett? It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t do that, would he? He wouldn’t—
Jimmy Walsh started to put his head down like his ma had told him, but he wasn’t fast enough. He heard the crack of the rifle and felt the thump of the bullet hitting his skull. Then he felt nothing at all.
Here’s the blurb
1907
Rising from the devastation of a massive earthquake and fire, San Francisco is once again on the move. But a strike by streetcar drivers threatens to halt the Golden City in its tracks. Protests turn to violence and violence leads to death. Soon a young guard is convicted of willfully killing a protester and the public is out for blood.
Jonathan Perris, an immigrant attorney from England, has opened a law firm with an eye toward righting wrongs, and the guard’s conviction may fall into that category. But the talented barrister soon finds his newfound career shaken by a tragic event: the gruesome murder of the beautiful and mysterious Lena Mendelssohn—a woman he’s been squiring around town. It’s difficult to run a law firm when you’ve been arrested for murder.
Purchase Link
https://books2read.com/u/479n6R
Meet the author
A native of California, A.B. Michaels holds masters’degrees in history (UCLA) and broadcasting (San Francisco State University). After working for many years as a promotional writer and editor, she turned to writing the kind of page-turning fiction she loves to read. She writes historical fiction (“The Golden City” series), historical mystery (the “Barrister Perris” series) and contemporary romantic suspense (“Sinner’s Grove Suspense.”). All three series are character-linked and all are stand-alone reads.
Michaels lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and elderly wiener dog, Teddy, who cannot see or hear, but sniffs his way from one comfortable spot to another. In addition to writing and dog-snuggling, Michaels is an avid reader, traveller, quilter and bocce player, as well as a mediocre but enthusiastic golfer.
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Follow The Twisted Road by AB Michaels blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club
If you want to stay up to date with news from author MJ Porter, join my monthly newsletter.
Posts
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I’m welcoming AB Michaels to the blog with an excerpt from her new release, The Twisted Road #historicalfiction MurderMystery #HistoricalThriller #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour
American History · Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club
I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended
Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · historical fiction · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources · writing
I’m welcoming The Queen’s Maid: Anne Boleyn in France by Rozsa Gaston to the blog #AnneBoleyn #AnneBoleynChronicles #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalSaga #TudorFiction #FrenchHistory #WomenInHistory #WomensHistoryMonth #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · Elizabethan · historical fiction · New Release
I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour #CollateralDamage
Action and adventure · Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · book review
I'm welcoming AB Michaels to the blog with an excerpt from her new release, The Twisted Road #historicalfiction #AmericanHistoricalFiction #NewRelease #BlogTour @ABMichaelsBooks @cathiedunn
@thecoffeepotbookclub #MurderMystery #HistoricalThriller #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour
3 weeks ago
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I’m delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended
I'm delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended #BoldwoodBloggers @BoldwoodBooks
I'm delighted to share my review for Murder at Big Ben by Michelle Salter, the second book in a new historical mystery series #historicalmystery #cosycrime #highlyrecommended @BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers
3 weeks ago
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I’m welcoming The Queen’s Maid: Anne Boleyn in France by Rozsa Gaston to the blog
Here’s the blurb
The Tudor series continues! For fans of Philippa Gregory, Elizabeth Chadwick, Carol McGrath and Anne O’Brien.
A new adventure begins for Anne…
France, 1514
After an enlightening period of training as a lady’s maid at Margaret of Austria’s court, Anne Boleyn has been sent to France.
She arrives at the Palace of Tournelles, home of ageing King Louis and his new English wife, Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII. As Anne speaks French, her main role is to serve as translator for Queen Mary.
Anne’s sister Mary is also at the French court, and Anne soon learns that not everyone is pleased about the union between the French king and his young queen.
The king’s cousin-in-law, Louise of Savoy, is desperate for Queen Mary not to fall pregnant, so that her son Francis will ascend the throne.
And with Louise and the English queen pulling Anne in two different directions, it will not be possible to appease everyone.
Can Anne successfully navigate the familial politics at the French royal court? Will she make her mark as one of the queen’s maids?
Or could her divided loyalties prove to be her undoing…?
THE QUEEN’S MAID is a thoroughly researched, fascinating historical novel set during the 16th century in Europe. It is the second book in the Anne Boleyn Chronicles series.
‘Wonderfully detailed and entirely enjoyable. This is a young Anne in whom I absolutely believe, and who does much to explain the woman she’d become.’ – Sarah Gristwood, author of Game of Queens
THE ANNE BOLEYN CHRONICLES SERIES:
Book One: Maid of Honour
Book Two: The Queen’s Maid
Book Three: Queen of Diamonds
Buy Links
Universal Buy Links
Book 1: https://getbook.at/MaidOfHonour
Book 2: https://getbook.at/TheQueensMaid
Book 3: https://getbook.at/QueenOfDiamondsAB
Series Buy Links
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNQHK66N
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FNQHK66N
This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Meet the author
Rozsa Gaston is a historical fiction author who writes books on women who reach for what they want out of life.
She is the author of Maid of Honour: Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court, 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 of the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for Early Historical Fiction, The Queen’s Maid: Anne Boleyn in France, Queen of Diamonds: The French Royal Court, Margaret of Austria, 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 of the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for Early Historical Fiction, the four-book Anne of Brittany Series: Anne and Charles; Anne and Louis, 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿of the 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗟𝗬 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲; Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers; and Anne and Louis Forever Bound, 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 of the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for Early Historical Fiction.
Other works include Sense of Touch, Marguerite and Gaston, The Least Foolish Woman in France, Paris Adieu, and Budapest Romance.
Gaston studied European history at Yale and received her master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia. She worked at Institutional Investor, WR Capital, and as a columnist for The Westchester Guardian before becoming a novelist.
She is currently working on Book Four of The Anne Boleyn Chronicles, covering Anne Boleyn’s time at the 1520 Field of Cloth of Gold. She lives in Bronxville, New York with her family.
Her motto? History matters.
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I’m welcoming The Queen’s Maid: Anne Boleyn in France by Rozsa Gaston to the blog #AnneBoleyn #AnneBoleynChronicles #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalSaga #TudorFiction #FrenchHistory #WomenInHistory #WomensHistoryMonth #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · Elizabethan · historical fiction · New Release
I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour #CollateralDamage
Action and adventure · Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · book review
It’s (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
Boldwood Books · historical fiction · M J Porter · New Release
The Secret Sauce is now available in audiobook format #histfic #historicalmystery
Cozy Mystery · historical fiction · M J Porter · murder mystery · Mystery · New Release
Anne Boleyn in France by Rozsa Gaston to the blog #AnneBoleyn #AnneBoleynChronicles #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalSaga #TudorFiction #FrenchHistory #WomenInHistory #WomensHistoryMonth #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @rozsagaston @cathiedunn
@rozsagastonauthor @thecoffeepotbookclu
3 weeks ago
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I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour
Here’s the blurb
Winter came for the pancakes. Hollowvale fed him the dead.
Dane Winter is unemployed and on a lonely road to nowhere. Riding his motorcycle west from New York, he spots a sign on the Interstate: Hollowvale, Pennsylvania. A place he hasn’t visited since his Redwind Security days. Back then, the town was known for its coal mines and the best pancakes he ever tasted.
A chance encounter with a distraught local woman pulls him into investigating her friend’s disappearance. When Jacob Rhodes’ body is found at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft, the local authorities are quick to label it an accident. Winter isn’t convinced…
Between the death of Jacob and the unexplained illnesses spreading through the local population, it’s clear that nothing is as it seems in the town of Hollowvale. Worse still, Winter thinks it might have something to do with his time there two years earlier.
What starts as a quest for answers becomes a fight to expose a conspiracy that reaches far beyond the small town.
But Winter is never one to give up, and he’s willing to burn it all down in order to uncover the horrific truth.
Purchase Link
https://mybook.to/CollateralDamageSocial
My Review
This is the first book in the Dane Winter series that I’ve read, although it’s the second book in the series.
Our tale takes us to a small town, Hollowvale, in the US, with a man and his motorbike, and the next few pages feel very Reacher-esque as Dane eats in the diner and then heads out on the road once more. Only then does everything change, and Dane finds himself thrust into a mystery he wasn’t expecting.
There are small-town politics, some nasty bad-guys, a cover-up of something very dodgy, a distressed woman, all coupled with Dane’s desire to uncover the truth about a company he’s worked for in the past (2 years ago).
The story moves fast, and while it might have taken me a while to get into the new character and situation, I was soon flying through the book as the tension and the stakes built.
This is a fun, if sometimes tense tale, with its fair share of jeopardy and ‘fight’ scenes. It is sure to appeal to fans of Jack Reacher.
Meet the author
Sam Cogley is the author of popular action thrillers, melding suspense-laden espionage plots with the mesmerising world of high-tech innovations. He writes the high-octane Dane Winter thrillers for Boldwood Books.
Sam lives in Victoria, Australia with his wife and children.
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I’m reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour #CollateralDamage
Action and adventure · Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · book review
It’s (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
Boldwood Books · historical fiction · M J Porter · New Release
The Secret Sauce is now available in audiobook format #histfic #historicalmystery
historical fiction · New Release · murder mystery · M J Porter · Mystery · Cozy Mystery
Introducing The Ultimate Pantsers Writers’ Notebook by yours truly
M J Porter · writing
I'm reviewing Collateral Damage by Sam Cogley #thriller #bookreview #blogtour #CollateralDamage #boldwoodbloggers @BoldwoodBooks @rararesources
3 weeks ago
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It’s (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
It's (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
It’s (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease
It's (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series.…
3 weeks ago
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The Secret Sauce is now available in audiobook format #histfic #historicalmystery
The Secret Sauce is now available in audiobook format #histfic #historicalmystery
The Secret Sauce is now available in audiobook format #histfic #historicalmystery #audiobook
4 weeks ago
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I’ve done something a little crazy
There are a lot of writing guides out there – with lovely sections for detailed planning, character development, and all the other bits that go into PLANNING a story, (there are also a lot of online resources too), but I’ve yet to find one for a Pantser (the opposite of a planner), and one that will provide a physical, handwritten record of all those pesky bits writers forget, and which can be absolutely invaluable when editing or moving onto the next book in a series.
So I’ve made one. This is a true notebook, not a guide. It has spaces for all the ‘bits’ I need to note down when writing. At the end of it, you should have a lovely book bible that will help you with future projects. I think it sounds fab:) It’s not quite A4 size (as KDP doesn’t offer that size), but it is a decent size with lots of room for recording your word count, your characters’ names, the locations you use – and with a timeline as well (see the images below). I hope my fellow pantsers will find it useful. (This is a physical book, not an ebook – see below for other options).
https://amzn.to/3NWdqPz
I’ve also set this up as a digital download on my Patreon (with slightly different colours that hopefully won’t drain your ink supply). You can find it by clicking here. You can decide how many times to print each page and each section is included.
Posts
Stay up to date with the latest from our blog.
Introducing The Ultimate Pantsers Writers’ Notebook by yours truly
historical fiction
I’m reviewing Secrets Taken to Grave, a gothic mystery by Isobel Blackthorn set in Scotland #blogtour #histfic #recommended
Blog Tour · book review · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada
Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · book review · historical fiction · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources · writing
I’m delighted to welcome Kathleen McGurl and her new release The Vanished Girl to the blog #blogtour #newrelease #BookBlast
Blog Tour · Crime Fiction · Mystery · New Release
Introducing The Ultimate Pantsers Writers' Notebook by yours truly
#Pantsers #WritingJournal
4 weeks ago
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I’m reviewing Secrets Taken to Grave, a gothic mystery by Isobel Blackthorn set in Scotland #blogtour #histfic #recommended
I'm reviewing Secrets Taken to Grave, a gothic mystery by Isobel Blackthorn set in Scotland #blogtour #histfic #recommended
I'm reviewing Secrets Taken to Grave, a gothic mystery by Isobel Blackthorn set in Scotland #blogtour #histfic #recommended @rararesources @Author.Isobel.Blackthorn @isobelblackthorn
4 weeks ago
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Advertisement
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada
Here's the blurb Born to be king. Destined to die for glory. 1066 AD, Norway Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, the Thunderbolt of the North, reigns supreme; undefeated on the battlefield and unchallenged at home. His banner, Land-Waster, flies triumphant everywhere he marches. Everything that was stolen from his brother, King Olaf, has been regained. But power does not satiate. Glory does not fill the empty void in an ambitious heart.
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada
Here's the blurb Born to be king. Destined to die for glory. 1066 AD, Norway Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, the Thunderbolt of the North, reigns supreme; undefeated on the battlefield…
1 month ago
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I’m delighted to welcome Kathleen McGurl and her new release The Vanished Girl to the blog #blogtour #newrelease #BookBlast
Here’s the blurb
The memories of that summer won’t stay buried forever…
1976. It’s a long, hot summer, and all Jo Salway wants is to bask in the freedom of the holidays with her life-long friends. But when little Pippa Jenkins suddenly vanishes without a trace, the friends must close ranks to protect themselves. And in doing so, change the course of their futures forever …
2024. Haunted by the events of fifty years ago, Jo has never returned to her childhood home of Hareton Wick. But in the aftermath of trauma and with her only respite found at the bottom of a bottle, Jo knows that the only way to start afresh is to unravel the secrets of her past. But when the tangled web of Pippa’s disappearance starts to lead closer to home, who will Jo be able to trust, and who will she betray …
Purchase Link
https://amzn.to/4bxektQ
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I’m delighted to welcome Kathleen McGurl and her new release The Vanished Girl to the blog #blogtour #newrelease #BookBlast
Blog Tour · Crime Fiction · Mystery · New Release
I’m welcoming The Teacher’s Noble Heart by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview
Blog Tour · book review · historical fiction · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources
I’m sharing my review for The Old Girls’ Island Getaway by Kate Galley, the third book featuring Dorothy and Gina #blogtour #newrelease #comedy
Blog Tour · Boldwood Books · book review · fiction · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources · writing
I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence #BothSidesOfThePond #HistoricalFiction #WorldWar2History #MyFamilysWar #maineauthor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
American History · Army Nurses · biographical historical fiction · Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · Family History · historical fiction
I'm delighted to welcome Kathleen McGurl and her new release The Vanished Girl to the blog #blogtour #newrelease #BookBlast
1 month ago
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I’m welcoming The Teacher’s Noble Heart by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview
I'm welcoming The Teacher's Noble Heart by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview
I'm welcoming The Teacher's Noble Heart by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview
1 month ago
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I’m sharing my review for The Old Girls’ Island Getaway by Kate Galley, the third book featuring Dorothy and Gina #blogtour #newrelease #comedy
I'm delighted to be sharing my review for The Old Girls' Island Getaway by Kate Galley #blogtour #newrelease #comedy
I'm sharing my review for The Old Girls' Island Getaway by Kate Galley, the third book featuring Dorothy and Gina #blogtour #newrelease #comedy#boldwoodbloggers #TheOldGirlsIslandGetaway @KateGalley1 @rararesources @theboldbookclub @BoldwoodBooks
1 month ago
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I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence
Here’s the blurb
In January of 1939 when Barbara Greene, a beautiful young British actress, met Joe Kennedy, Jr., son of the American Ambassador, she could not have expected that their relationship would lead to her emigrating to the United States and learning to pilot a plane. Neither could her brother, Kent, have foreseen his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, or his subsequent service on the frontlines in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma.
In this intensively researched war story of the author’s family, we also hear the stories of other ordinary people who survived extraordinary circumstances. Richly illustrated with photographs and documents, “Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1946” is a captivating book.
Praise for Both Sides of the Pond:
“Author Barbara Kent Lawrence weaves a rich tapestry of the lives of her British mother and uncle from 1933 to 1946, before, during, and just after World War II. …
War stories are very personal. This is such a story, and it offers insight into how two young people navigated difficult years that altered the trajectories of the lives they thought they would live. It is a worthy read, written beautifully. Don’t miss it.“
~ Patricia Walkow, Military Writers Society of America
“I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. History and the complexity of human relationships unfold with uncommon grace.“
~ Barbara Lazear Ascher, winner, most recently, of Pushcart’s Editors Book Award for Ghosting: A Widow’s Voyage Out.
Purchase Link
Amazon UK Paperback Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Both-Sides-Pond-Familys-1933-1946/dp/B0FMF2NTQZ/
Amazon US Paperback Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Both-Sides-Pond-Familys-1933-1946/dp/B0FMF2NTQZ/
Meet the author
Dr. Lawrence is the author of many articles and nine books, including an award-winning dissertation about the influence of culture on aspirations in Maine. Her new book, Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1945, is available in book stores and on amazon.com.
A former professor, she has taught courses in anthropology and sociology, research, and writing non-fiction and memoir. Lawrence grew up in New York City and Washington D.C., then earned a BA in anthropology from Bennington College, an MA in sociology from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Boston University.
In addition to teaching, Lawrence has worked for the Department of Social Services and the Housing Development Administration in New York, directed a small museum in Maine, co-run a brokerage and construction company, consulted for the Rural School and Community Trust and KnowledgeWorks, and started four non-profit organizations supporting the environment and students.
When not working she loves to garden, knit, and go for walks, pastimes she learned from her British mother. She lives in Maine and is working on the third novel in her Islands series.
Facebook
Instagram
Amazon
Goodreads
https://linktr.ee/barbarakentlawrenceauthor
https://barbaralawrence.com/
Follow the Both Sides of the Pond blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club
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I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence #BothSidesOfThePond #HistoricalFiction #WorldWar2History #MyFamilysWar #maineauthor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
American History · Army Nurses · biographical historical fiction · Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · Family History · historical fiction
I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research #CircusBimBom #CliffLovette #historicalfiction #romance #ColdWarfiction #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions
Blog Tour · The Cold War · Yarde Book Reviews
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel #LoveLostInTime #CathieDunn #DualTimeline #WomenAcrossTime#BlogTour #YardeBookPromotions
Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · historical fiction · Yarde Book Reviews
I’m welcoming Hidden Truth by CD Steele to the blog with an excerpt and a fab competition to enter #blogtour #Mystery #NewRelease
Blog Tour · Crime Fiction · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources
I'm spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence #BothSidesOfThePond #HistoricalFiction #WorldWar2History #MyFamilysWar #maineauthor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn @barbarakentlawrenceauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub
1 month ago
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I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research
THE RESEARCH NEVER ENDS
Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure
Bim Bom Books
by Cliff Lovette
In 1991, I was a young attorney at an entertainment law firm in Atlanta. In walks this long-haired road manager named Bobby Liberman. He’d just finished a tour and started telling me about his previous gig: road manager for a privately owned Soviet circus that had arrived in America in 1990—a hundred and twenty performers, crew, and families from the crumbling Soviet empire. I was hooked. More than three decades later, I’m still researching.
Following the Trail
The Circus Bim Bom saga barely made a ripple in national news—just a few newspaper articles and some local TV coverage—before the story vanished into thechaos of 1990. It was a year when the rubble of the Berlin Wall was still being cleared, Saddam invaded Kuwait, and the Soviet Union began its final unraveling. With so much history unfolding simultaneously, a Soviet circus touring America was easy to overlook. Yet fragments survived: newspaper clippings in library archives, a circus program printed in both Russian and English, photographs from a July Fourth picnic at Lake Lanier where Soviet performers celebrated America’s birthday with Georgia Rotarians. The challenge was finding these fragments—and the people who could provide them with meaning.
The Hunt for Living Memory
In 2010, I recruited a team of Emory Law students to help me organize the chaos. They compiled a fifty-four-page research packet that included contact lists for circus performers, American promoters, attorneys, and journalists who had covered the story. They created quote databases highlighting the most revealing moments fromdozens of newspaper articles, spanning publications from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to The Washington Post to The Los Angeles Times. They transcribedinterviews that captured voices I might otherwise have lost to time. But documents only tell part of any story. I needed voices—living witnesses whocould fill in what the paper trail left out. I tracked down the Nashville promoter who had worked with the tour. I found theRoswell Rotarian who had hosted that Fourth of July party, and I listened as he described, with tears in his eyes, how a towering Russian strongman had put an arm around his shoulder during the fireworks and said, “Happy Birthday, USA.” That moment stayed with me. Here was an American patriot who’d opened his home to Soviet performers—strangers from the other side of the Iron Curtain—and three decades later, he still choked up remembering it.
Over the years, I interviewed more than a dozen people connected to the tour. Some welcomed the chance to share their memories, while others were initially reluctant, surprised that anyone still cared about events from so long ago. Each conversation unlocked new details, contradictions, and mysteries, reminding me why this story matters.
The Bigger Picture
Personal testimonies provided the human story, but I needed context—the
geopolitical forces shaping what these performers experienced while their empire teetered back home. What was happening in Moscow while they performed in American arenas? What pressures weighed on Soviet officials? What were American audiences thinking as they watched these artists from behind the Iron Curtain? I studied declassified State Department documents about the Washington Summit negotiations between President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev—the high-level diplomacy that formed the backdrop for this circus tour. I traced connections between promoters on both coasts and dug through newspaper archives from Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. Every answer generated new questions. Every document pointed to another document I hadn’t yet found.
Why the Research Never Ends
M.J. Porter writes that we must “question everything and not just accept it… look at the why, the how, and everything in between, including the chance survival of the records we do have.” That philosophy resonates deeply with me.
Historical research isn’t about finding definitive answers; it’s about following threads wherever they lead, questioning assumptions even when the answers seem obvious, and accepting that some gaps can never be filled. The fragments that survive do so by chance—a newspaper clipping saved in a scrapbook, a photograph tucked in a drawer, a memory that someone chose to share before it was too late. What matters is honoring those fragments: the transcribed interviews, the faded newspaper clippings, the photographs of Soviet acrobats at a Georgia lake on the Fourth of July. Those fragments became Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure—a novel that weaves fact and imagination to bring this forgotten story back to life. The book took shape over years of drafts, each revision incorporating something new I had learned, some detail I had finally tracked down, or some connection I had made. But even now, with the book complete, I continue to find new details—a name I hadn’t encountered, a connection I hadn’t made, a question I hadn’t thought to ask. The research never ends. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here’s the blurb
Soviet circus performers arrived in America hoping to build cultural bridges. Instead, they became unwitting pawns in a Cold War game of international intrigue.
When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in 1990 in America as the Soviet Union disintegrated, its elite performers expected to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America.
Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family’s wishes, while forbidden romances and unexpected connections bloomed between Soviet performers and Americans who saw past the ideological divide. As high-stakes conspiracies threatened to tear the circus family apart, they had to choose between the authoritarian chains of home and the uncertain promise of freedom.
As the Ringmaster reminds us, “The best Soviet stories are like vodka—they burn with suffering, intoxicate with conflict, keep you stewing in reflection, and yearning for your heart’s desire.” This genre-bending tale explores whether human connection can transcend ideology—and whether storytelling can bridge the divides that separate us.
Purchase Link
https://books2read.com/u/3Gj0B
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G4FPKNPR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4FPKNPR
Join the Bim Bom Book Club – https://bimbombookclub.com/
Members receive:
✨ Discounts on Gifts and Merch
✨ Exclusive glimpses into the self-publishing journey
✨ Previews of historical curiosities about Soviet circus life that didn’t make it into the book
✨ Exclusive “Rabbit Hole” bonus stories and other literary surprises
✨ A front-row seat to the book’s development and launch
✨ Sign up for Free
YouTube Link to Book Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fafpTaJLD84
What Makes This Novel Different
Circus Bim Bom offers an innovative multimedia reading experience. The novel includes 45+ YouTube links to period music, historical speeches, and cultural moments embedded throughout—readers can listen to the actual songs characters dance to as they waltz, and watch Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate speech as it’s referenced in the text.
The companion website (www.bimbombookclub.com) extends the story beyond the page:
Character Avatars: 25+ talking video introductions where characters speak directly to readers
Re-Imagined Circus Posters
Book Club Experience: Interactive forums, live chat, and community discussions
Historians Room (under construction): A space for Cold War history buffs to fact-check the novel, explore primary sources, and debate historical accuracy
Meet the author
Father, storyteller, and dog lover living in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with London curled at his feet. Cliff Lovette is an entertainment lawyer who learned about the real Circus Bim Bom in 1991 when the circus’s American road manager became a client at his Atlanta law firm. Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure is the first book in his debut duology
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Facebook
Amazon
Goodreads
https://bimbombookclub.com/
linktr.ee/TheRingmaster606
Follow the blog tour for Circus Bim Bom run by Yarde Book Reviews
Posts
Stay up to date with the latest from the blog.
I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research #CircusBimBom #CliffLovette #historicalfiction #romance #ColdWarfiction #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions
Blog Tour · The Cold War · Yarde Book Reviews
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel #LoveLostInTime #CathieDunn #DualTimeline #WomenAcrossTime#BlogTour #YardeBookPromotions
Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · historical fiction · Yarde Book Reviews
I’m welcoming Hidden Truth by CD Steele to the blog with an excerpt and a fab competition to enter #blogtour #Mystery #NewRelease
Blog Tour · Crime Fiction · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources
I’m welcoming Dragon Kin’s Blood by Jo Gatenby to the blog #fantasy #bookreview #blogtour
historical fiction
I'm welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic - research #CircusBimBom #CliffLovette #historicalfiction #romance #ColdWarfiction #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions @bimbombookclub @yardereviews @maryanneyarde
1 month ago
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I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Ciric Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research
THE RESEARCH NEVER ENDS
Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure
Bim Bom Books
by Cliff Lovette
In 1991, I was a young attorney at an entertainment law firm in Atlanta. In walks this long-haired road manager named Bobby Liberman. He’d just finished a tour and started telling me about his previous gig: road manager for a privately owned Soviet circus that had arrived in America in 1990—a hundred and twenty performers, crew, and families from the crumbling Soviet empire. I was hooked. More than three decades later, I’m still researching.
Following the Trail
The Circus Bim Bom saga barely made a ripple in national news—just a few newspaper articles and some local TV coverage—before the story vanished into thechaos of 1990. It was a year when the rubble of the Berlin Wall was still being cleared, Saddam invaded Kuwait, and the Soviet Union began its final unraveling. With so much history unfolding simultaneously, a Soviet circus touring America was easy to overlook. Yet fragments survived: newspaper clippings in library archives, a circus program printed in both Russian and English, photographs from a July Fourth picnic at Lake Lanier where Soviet performers celebrated America’s birthday with Georgia Rotarians. The challenge was finding these fragments—and the people who could provide them with meaning.
The Hunt for Living Memory
In 2010, I recruited a team of Emory Law students to help me organize the chaos. They compiled a fifty-four-page research packet that included contact lists for circus performers, American promoters, attorneys, and journalists who had covered the story. They created quote databases highlighting the most revealing moments fromdozens of newspaper articles, spanning publications from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to The Washington Post to The Los Angeles Times. They transcribedinterviews that captured voices I might otherwise have lost to time. But documents only tell part of any story. I needed voices—living witnesses whocould fill in what the paper trail left out. I tracked down the Nashville promoter who had worked with the tour. I found theRoswell Rotarian who had hosted that Fourth of July party, and I listened as he described, with tears in his eyes, how a towering Russian strongman had put an arm around his shoulder during the fireworks and said, “Happy Birthday, USA.” That moment stayed with me. Here was an American patriot who’d opened his home to Soviet performers—strangers from the other side of the Iron Curtain—and three decades later, he still choked up remembering it.
Over the years, I interviewed more than a dozen people connected to the tour. Some welcomed the chance to share their memories, while others were initially reluctant, surprised that anyone still cared about events from so long ago. Each conversation unlocked new details, contradictions, and mysteries, reminding me why this story matters.
The Bigger Picture
Personal testimonies provided the human story, but I needed context—the
geopolitical forces shaping what these performers experienced while their empire teetered back home. What was happening in Moscow while they performed in American arenas? What pressures weighed on Soviet officials? What were American audiences thinking as they watched these artists from behind the Iron Curtain? I studied declassified State Department documents about the Washington Summit negotiations between President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev—the high-level diplomacy that formed the backdrop for this circus tour. I traced connections between promoters on both coasts and dug through newspaper archives from Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. Every answer generated new questions. Every document pointed to another document I hadn’t yet found.
Why the Research Never Ends
M.J. Porter writes that we must “question everything and not just accept it… look at the why, the how, and everything in between, including the chance survival of the records we do have.” That philosophy resonates deeply with me.
Historical research isn’t about finding definitive answers; it’s about following threads wherever they lead, questioning assumptions even when the answers seem obvious, and accepting that some gaps can never be filled. The fragments that survive do so by chance—a newspaper clipping saved in a scrapbook, a photograph tucked in a drawer, a memory that someone chose to share before it was too late. What matters is honoring those fragments: the transcribed interviews, the faded newspaper clippings, the photographs of Soviet acrobats at a Georgia lake on the Fourth of July. Those fragments became Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure—a novel that weaves fact and imagination to bring this forgotten story back to life. The book took shape over years of drafts, each revision incorporating something new I had learned, some detail I had finally tracked down, or some connection I had made. But even now, with the book complete, I continue to find new details—a name I hadn’t encountered, a connection I hadn’t made, a question I hadn’t thought to ask. The research never ends. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here’s the blurb
Soviet circus performers arrived in America hoping to build cultural bridges. Instead, they became unwitting pawns in a Cold War game of international intrigue.
When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in 1990 in America as the Soviet Union disintegrated, its elite performers expected to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America.
Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family’s wishes, while forbidden romances and unexpected connections bloomed between Soviet performers and Americans who saw past the ideological divide. As high-stakes conspiracies threatened to tear the circus family apart, they had to choose between the authoritarian chains of home and the uncertain promise of freedom.
As the Ringmaster reminds us, “The best Soviet stories are like vodka—they burn with suffering, intoxicate with conflict, keep you stewing in reflection, and yearning for your heart’s desire.” This genre-bending tale explores whether human connection can transcend ideology—and whether storytelling can bridge the divides that separate us.
Purchase Link
https://books2read.com/u/3Gj0B
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G4FPKNPR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4FPKNPR
Join the Bim Bom Book Club – https://bimbombookclub.com/
Members receive:
✨ Discounts on Gifts and Merch
✨ Exclusive glimpses into the self-publishing journey
✨ Previews of historical curiosities about Soviet circus life that didn’t make it into the book
✨ Exclusive “Rabbit Hole” bonus stories and other literary surprises
✨ A front-row seat to the book’s development and launch
✨ Sign up for Free
YouTube Link to Book Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fafpTaJLD84
What Makes This Novel Different
Circus Bim Bom offers an innovative multimedia reading experience. The novel includes 45+ YouTube links to period music, historical speeches, and cultural moments embedded throughout—readers can listen to the actual songs characters dance to as they waltz, and watch Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate speech as it’s referenced in the text.
The companion website (www.bimbombookclub.com) extends the story beyond the page:
Character Avatars: 25+ talking video introductions where characters speak directly to readers
Re-Imagined Circus Posters
Book Club Experience: Interactive forums, live chat, and community discussions
Historians Room (under construction): A space for Cold War history buffs to fact-check the novel, explore primary sources, and debate historical accuracy
Meet the author
Father, storyteller, and dog lover living in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with London curled at his feet. Cliff Lovette is an entertainment lawyer who learned about the real Circus Bim Bom in 1991 when the circus’s American road manager became a client at his Atlanta law firm. Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure is the first book in his debut duology
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Facebook
Amazon
Goodreads
https://bimbombookclub.com/
linktr.ee/TheRingmaster606
Follow the blog tour for Circus Bim Bom run by Yarde Book Reviews
Posts
Stay up to date with the latest from the blog.
I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Ciric Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research #CircusBimBom #CliffLovette #historicalfiction #romance #ColdWarfiction #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions
Blog Tour · The Cold War · Yarde Book Reviews
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel #LoveLostInTime #CathieDunn #DualTimeline #WomenAcrossTime#BlogTour #YardeBookPromotions
Blog Tour · Coffee Pot Book Club · historical fiction · Yarde Book Reviews
I’m welcoming Hidden Truth by CD Steele to the blog with an excerpt and a fab competition to enter #blogtour #Mystery #NewRelease
Blog Tour · Crime Fiction · murder mystery · New Release · Rachel’s Random Resources
I’m welcoming Dragon Kin’s Blood by Jo Gatenby to the blog #fantasy #bookreview #blogtour
historical fiction
I'm welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Ciric Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic - research #CircusBimBom #CliffLovette #historicalfiction #romance #ColdWarfiction #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions @bimbombookclub @yardereviews @maryanneyarde
1 month ago
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@cathiedunn.bsky.social @maryanneyarde.bsky.social
I'll get it right this time:)
1 month ago
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Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel #LoveLostInTime #CathieDunn #DualTimeline #WomenAcrossTime#BlogTour #YardeBookPromotions
Today, I'm delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel #LoveLostInTime #CathieDunn #DualTimeline #WomenAcrossTime#BlogTour #YardeBookPromotions
Today, I'm delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel @cathiedunn @maryanneyarde
@cathiedunnwrites @yardereviews @cathiedunn.bsky.social @maryanneyarde.bsky.social
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I’m welcoming Hidden Truth by CD Steele to the blog
This extract is from chapter 9. It is an exchange between Joe Wilde and a man named Colin Nelson. Joe is currently investigating the disappearance of Julie Turnbull and Colin Nelson had been stalking Julie for a period of time.
Just as Joe was about to pull up he saw a man walk out of his front gate and start walking in the direction of the town centre. Joe parked his car as quickly as he could, got out, then started walking at a fast pace so he could catch up with the man. When he was within earshot he called out to catch his attention.
‘Mr Nelson.’
The man turned around with a curious look on his face.
‘Sorry to bother you Mr Nelson, I just wanted to speak to you about Julie Turnbull if that’s OK.’
He looked at Joe suspiciously.
‘Wh-who are you? An-and what d-do you want?’
Colin Nelson spoke with a slight stutter. He was at least six feet tall and had a long thin face and his receding hairline made it look more elongated. The hair on top of his head or what was left of it was brushed forward, but it was so thin on top it almost looked see-through.
‘My name is Joe Wilde and I have been hired by Julie’s mother to investigate her daughter’s disappearance.’
‘That had n-nothing to do with me; the po-police questioned me at the time.’
‘I am not suggesting you did have anything to do with her disappearance, I would just like to talk to you briefly about her. Maybe we could talk while we are walking, where are you headed?’
‘I-I am going to the Po-Post Office.’
Joe had to fight to suppress a smile.
‘That’s where Julie used to work wasn’t it — you used to go in there quite often didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Sometimes it was for no other reason than just to see Julie.’
‘I-I told you I-I had nothing to do with her disappearance, I-I w-would never have done anything to hurt her, she was my friend.’
‘You wanted to be more than just friends though, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, I wa-was in love with her and I-I thought she felt the same about m-me.’
‘You knew she was married and even when she made it clear that she did not feel the same way about you, you continued to pester her in the Post Office. Then when you were banned from there you proceeded to stalk her.’
‘I just had to keep seeing her, ju-just being ne-near her, she made me happy.’
‘You do realise that your behavior really unsettled her, made her feel uncomfortable and a little scared.’
‘I-I would never have hurt her and I didn’t want to sc-scare her.’
‘But she didn’t know that, following someone around is not normal behavior, can you not see that now?’
‘Ye-yes I-I suppose, but I had stopped following her well before sh-she went missing.’
‘Only because her husband and his mate threatened to beat you up if you didn’t stop. They just threatened you didn’t they or did they take it further than that?’
‘No, they ju-just thre-threatened me that time, they didn’t beat up.’
‘What do you mean that time, are you saying they paid you another visit at a later date and beat you up that time?’
‘Yes, well th-the husband didn’t, hi-his mate did.’
‘So his mate came to see you on his own and beat you up, when was this?
‘It was only about t-two or three we-weeks after they both confronted me.’
‘Where did this altercation take place?’
‘It was at the local pa-park, I-I often go there to feed the ducks — h-he must have followed me there. At one point I-I went to the toilet block and he ju-jumped me in there. H-he punched me to the ground then st-started kicking me, it felt like it went on for a-ages but it was probably only a couple of minutes.’
‘Did he say anything whilst he was doing it or afterwards?’
‘Just that I-I sh-should stay away from Ju-Julie if I knew what’s good for me.’
‘Did you go to the police about this?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I just wanted t-to forget the wh-whole thing, try to forget about Julie and keep my head down, I-I don’t like confrontation. If he had ever done it again I might have gone to the p-po-police.’
‘Did he ever accuse you of being behind her disappearance after she went missing?’
‘No, I never saw him again.’
By now they had reached the Post Office.
‘Will y-you wa-want to speak with me more a-a-after I come back out?’
‘No that’s OK, if I need to speak with you again Mr Nelson I will get back in contact.’
Here’s the blurb
Private Investigator Joe Wilde is investigating the murder of Philippa Redmond a former Labour MP. She had been found dead in her sauna over the Christmas holidays six weeks ago. The majority of her family had been staying with her at the time, but the police didn’t regard any of them as suspects. Evidence suggested an intruder had got into her home.
Joe also takes on a cold case of a missing woman named Julie Turnbull. She had disappeared six years ago without a trace. Meanwhile Joe’s good friend DI Whatmore is investigating the horrific murder of a woman who was burnt alive in her own home. His investigation crosses over with Joe’s missing person investigation. As they conduct their own investigations there are more killings.
DI Whatmore and Joe must join forces to track down a serial killer and solve a puzzling mystery, but doing so puts them and others in grave danger.
Purchase Links
UK Paperback link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Truth-Wilde-Investigation-Book/dp/B0GDKW3HZG
US Paperback Link – https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Truth-Wilde-Investigation-Book/dp/B0GDKW3HZG
UK ebook link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Truth-Wilde-Investigation-Book-ebook/dp/B0GDHY9NP6
US ebook link – https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Truth-Wilde-Investigation-Book-ebook/dp/B0GDHY9NP6
Meet the author
C.D Steele works as an Executive Officer in the Civil Service. He has a degree in Recreation Management and lives in County Down, Northern Ireland. This is his third novel and is the next book in the Joe Wilde Series after False Truth and Dark Truth.
Amazon
Giveaway to Win 3 x copies of False Truth (book 1 in the Joe Wilde series) and 1 x copy of Dark Truth (book 2). (Open to UK Only)
Win 3 x copies of False Truth and 1 x copy of Dark Truth. (Open to UK Only)
https://gleam.io/KfGfH/win-3-x-copies-of-false-truth-and-1-x-copy-of-dark-truth-open-to-uk-only
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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1 month ago
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I’m welcoming Dragon Kin’s Blood by Jo Gatenby to the blog
Here’s the blurb
Who do you trust when you can’t go home?
After centuries of hiding themselves and their shifting abilities from outsiders, the Dragon Kin decide to send a delegation of “dragon riders” to a nearby Lowlander territory. Eager to see the world, young Lauran quickly volunteers. But not all Lowlanders can be trusted. As the visit comes to an end, Lauran finds herself trapped in her draconic form—and hunted by an evil warlock. Desperate to protect herself and her people, she flees along the Dragon Spine Mountains, away from friends and foes alike.
Meanwhile, the last place Jenny wants to be during her summer break from university is on a family vacation with her mother’s new husband and his young son, Davy. Hoping for some peace and quiet, she explores a nearby cave—only to stumble into a portal to the Kingdom of Galahar, a land of magic and mythological creatures.
As Jenny searches for Davy, who follows her through the portal, and Lauran struggles for freedom, they come together with the help of Nath, an apprentice shaman of the Anishinabe people. Between Jenny’s technology and Nath’s magic, can they help Lauran escape the warlock’s relentless pursuit before he gets his hands on the Dragon Kin’s blood?
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Kins-Blood-Kingdom-Galahar-ebook/dp/B0FXJB6PGG/
https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Kins-Blood-Kingdom-Galahar-ebook/dp/B0FXJB6PGG/
My Review
Dragon Kin’s Blood is an enchanting fantasy novel featuring a varied cast of characters and multiple points of view, bringing together a story of outsiders stumbling into a world they didn’t even know existed. And one where problems are already being faced by the dragon kin and the other people they encounter.
It is, perhaps, a little predictable, but of course, the skill there is to keep readers reading when the ending is potentially never in doubt, and the author does this very well.
It’s been a long time since I read any new fantasy featuring dragons, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and hope other readers will too. It’s not the fastest read, pace-wise, but it certainly sucks you into the world of Galahar and is a fun, satisfying read.
Meet the author
Thanks to her great-grandmother, Jo Gatenby is a status Algonquin, of the Pikwakanagan First Nation, in Canada. The mountain people in this, her first novel are heavily influenced by native beliefs, and the magic words used are Algonquin language based.
Jo writes whatever the voices shouting in her head tell her to. As a result, she has had over two dozen stories and flash fiction published in on-line magazines. Links to many of these can be found on her website: http://www.jo-gatenby-books.com. She has also self-published five children’s books, which can also be found on her website.
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I’m welcoming Eleanor Birney and her new historical mystery, Behind the Green Baize Door, to the blog with a post about about the history behind the novel
An 1828 Murder Case and the Questions It Left Behind
A guest post by Eleanor Birney, author of The Green Baize Door
I found the case that inspired The Green Baize Door nearly fifteen years ago.
It involved a man accused of murdering an elderly housekeeper. His defense was an unusual one. He admitted that he was a bad man (a liar and a thief), but insisted he was not that sort of bad man (a murderer). That distinction fascinated me, and it still does.
We prefer our stories cleaner than that. Perfectly innocent victims. Completely bad villains. It is more comfortable that way. If a person does something bad enough, it’s easier to believe that any good we thought we saw in them was a lie — a product of their deception — than to imagine that someone might be both good and bad in different measures.
Our preference for neat categories comes up fairly often in my line of work (I’m an attorney). So to see a man in 1828 engaging directly with that moral complexity — and using it as the basis of his defense — was both surprising and intriguing.
And then there was the strangeness of the crime itself: what kind of thief breaks into an otherwise empty mansion, turns the place over, kills an elderly housekeeper then steals from her, leaving behind all the wealth above stairs?
As far as I could determine, no one was ever convicted of the crime. The accused was acquitted, and his speech was so eloquent that the trial was included in collections of “notable cases” for decades after. The mystery was unresolved.
I knew I wanted to write about the case, but I did not know enough about early nineteenth-century England to do it justice. So I moved the murder to my side of the pond.
I chose Philadelphia for a number of reasons. The East coast had more polish than the West at that time, which provided more room for the upstairs/downstairs intrigue at the heart of the story. And the social upheaval at the end of the Victorian era perfectly suited the social and moral tension of the original case.
By 1900, Industrialization had drawn families off farms and into cities. Factory work was replacing inherited trades. Immigration was reshaping neighborhoods and exposing long-standing communities to new languages, religions, and political ideas. And all the while, electricity, steel, and railroads were remaking the physical landscape as quickly as fortunes were being made and lost.
America’s class system was never quite the same as Britain’s, which rested primarily on lineage, but it borrowed heavily from it. Wealth conferred status, and respectability implied virtue. An ideology that contrasted sharply with the men who were celebrated everywhere for clawing their way up to the top, seldom through virtuous dealings. The old belief that privilege reflected moral superiority had not yet disappeared, but it was under heavy siege.
1900 is also only a few years after the landmark Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson, one of the most disturbing cases in US history. In it, the highest court in the land gave constitutional sanction to racial segregation and reduced identity, and all the benefits and burdens then attendant to it, to fractions and legal classifications.
My main character, Marie Chevalier, lives inside that system.
Though her grandmother is “Colored Creole”, Marie appears “white” and receives the benefit of such. Doors open that would otherwise remain closed. And though her life is hard, the edges are softened. But nothing about that life is simple. Calling herself “colored” would feel dishonest — and disrespectful to those who bear the full weight of racial prejudice. Yet passing as white implies a shame she does not feel, and, worst of all, creates distance from the grandmother she loves and admires. What she gains in access, she risks losing in inheritance: pride, history, connection.
The 1828 case asked whether a man who was not innocent could also not be guilty. The social upheaval of the Gilded Age challenged the presumption that wealth implied virtue. And Plessy asked whether identity could be reduced to a single drop of blood. Each, in its own way, reflects the human instinct to force complex lives into simple, fixed categories.
That is the uneasy historical ground on which The Green Baize Door stands.
The murder at its center is a mystery, yes. But the deeper question is the one that first drew me in: what do we do with people who do not fit the roles society would assign to them?
Perhaps that is why the case stayed with me. Not because the crime was shocking, though it was. Or even because the defense was eloquent, though it certainly was. But because it revealed something uncomfortably familiar: how quickly we allow a single fact to define a life.
One failure becomes character. Socio-economic status assigns identity. And an arbitrary label can dictate how much respect a person deserves.
We do this instinctively. We reduce. We simplify. We decide. And in so doing, we flatten the contradictions that make people interesting — that make life interesting.
In The Green Baize Door, that instinct does more than shape reputations. It hides a killer.
The Green Baize Door by Eleanor Birney is published by Parlor & Dock Press and is available now. For more information, visit eleanorbirney.com.
Here’s the blurb
An atmospheric historical mystery where every character has their own agenda, and their own truth.
In the fashionable mansions on Chestnut Hill, a simple green baize door separates the masters’ world from the servants’. That door is thrown wide when an elderly housekeeper is found brutally murdered on the first day of the new century. Marie Chevalier, the housekeeper’s poor but ambitious granddaughter, and James Lett, the mansion owner’s kind but indolent son, suspect the killer is connected to one of their families—but which one?
From drawing rooms to alleyways, their separate investigations lead them through the sometimes lavish, sometimes brutal, landscape of turn-of-the-century New England. When long-buried secrets begin to unravel the fragile threads that hold both households together, Marie and James must find a way to bridge the gulf between them—if only to prove that the murderer belongs not to their own world, but to that strange and foreign land on the other side of the green baize door.
Inspired by real-life events, The Green Baize Door is a richly layered historical mystery that explores themes of class identity, family loyalty, and the sometimes blurry line between virtue and vice.
Purchase Link
https://books2read.com/u/mBWALv
https://books2read.com/u/mqRkOd
Meet the author
Eleanor Birney writes historical mysteries about class, moral ambiguity, and people who aren’t satisfied with life on their side of the green baize door.
She received a BA in History from UC Berkeley, and works as a legal research attorney, a day job that feeds her love of precision, research, and puzzles.
Growing up in foster care gave her a lifelong fascination with the way society steers people into assigned places—and how some of those people refuse to stay in them.
She lives in Northern California with her family. The Green Baize Door is her debut novel.
www.eleanorbirney.com
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I'm welcoming Eleanor Birney and her new historical mystery, Behind the Green Baize Door, to the blog with a post about about the history behind the novel #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalMystery #UpmarketFiction #LiteraryMystery
@EleanorBirney @cathiedunn @eleanor.birney.author @thecoffeepotbookclub
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I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, A Dowager is Done-in #bookreview #historicalmystery #blogtour #avidreader
I'm delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, A Husband is Hushed Up #bookreview #historicalmystery #blogtour #avidreader @rararesources @rachelsrandomresources @helengoldenauthor
I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, A Dowager is Done-in #bookreview #historicalmystery #blogtour #avidreader
I'm delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, A Husband is Hushed Up #bookreview #historicalmystery…
1 month ago
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