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An Explosive Tale of Twisted Loyalties in Postwar London - an Editorial Review of "Murder & Masquerade"
Book Blurb: An explosive tale of conspiracy, betrayal and twisted loyalties in postwar London. London, 1946. The war is over — but not the danger. Irish policeman and former resistance leader Brendan O’Connor thought his battles ended with the fall of the Reich. But when a deadly fascist plot surfaces, threatening Britain’s fragile democracy, he’s dragged back into the fight. Worse still, O’Connor’s reluctant partner is a man he hates: a former SS general, now granted immunit
DK Marley
Apr 56 min read
A Suspicious Murder in Ancient Egypt - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "A Taste of Evil"
BOOK EXCERPT “Let’s get back to the dispensary and organize ourselves. Then we can return to the vizier’s house when we have specific things to ask. Besides, Grandfather was going to wait there for us, remember? He must think we’ve fallen down a well.” As they approached the gate of the little property, they could hear the wild whoops of the orphans playing in the garden. “You know,” said Neferet to Bener-ib, “Qen and Shu-roy are getting old enough to be apprenticed. We need
DK Marley
Apr 22 min read
Murder and Intrigue in San Francisco - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Twisted Road"
BOOK EXCERPT Chapter One “ 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 electr
DK Marley
Mar 305 min read
Revealing the Life of a Forgotten Woman - an Editorial Review of "The Venetian Lady of Skradin"
Book Blurb: Her name was Catarina Dandolo Šubić — a Venetian noblewoman who crossed the Adriatic in the fourteenth century to become the Lord’s Lady of Skradin, a river town in Croatia. Her life, nearly forgotten by history, unfolds here for the first time in centuries. Born in the Republic of Venice, shaped by life in the towns of Dalmatia, and forged in Croatia beside her husband, Catarina grew into her role as a noblewoman and a partner in rule. Yet even as she did, the fo
DK Marley
Mar 195 min read
Getting Ready for BookCon 2026 in New York City!
BookCon 2026 Returns to New York City: A Celebration of Storytelling, History, and New Voices Every year, readers gather in cities around the world to celebrate books, ideas, and the stories that shape our understanding of the past and present. In April 2026, one of the most exciting literary events in the United States returns to the stage: BookCon 2026 , a vibrant two-day festival bringing together readers, authors, publishers, and book lovers from across the globe. Held in
DK Marley
Mar 155 min read
Blog Tour for "Love Lost in Time" by Cathie Dunn
Love Lost in Time Cathie Dunn Blurb: A reluctant daughter. A dutiful wife. A mystery of the ages. Languedoc, France, 2018 Historian Madeleine Winters would rather research her next project than rehash the strained relationship she had with her late mother. However, to claim her inheritance, she reluctantly agrees to stay the one year required in her late mother’s French home and begins renovations. But when she’s haunted by a female voice inside the house and tremors emanatin
DK Marley
Mar 23 min read
A Soviet Circus Arrives in America - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Circus Bim Bom"
Book Blurb: 1990. The Soviet Empire is unraveling. A circus has just arrived in America. When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in America in 1990, as the Soviet Empire unraveled, its elite performers hoped 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 circl
DK Marley
Feb 232 min read
The True Story of a Forgotten Hero - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "A Theory in Vienna"
BOOK EXCERPT This excerpt establishes the main theme and the high stakes. Prologue Vienna, July 1847 Helga winces as a contraction ripples through her. She knows it is time. She dresses and then wakes her mother, who will accompany her to the lying-in clinic. Within the half-hour they are ready, shawls wrapped tightly around them. Helga clutches the banisters as she follows her mother down the stairs and out onto the street. Slivers of dawn start to separate the darkness as t
DK Marley
Feb 124 min read
Sworn Enemies Turned Lovers Face Challenges - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Gradarius: Roman Equestrian II"
BOOK EXCERPT ‘Luigsech of the Cornovii?’ Boudicca stopped short, shock widening her bright eyes. ‘What in the name of Andraste are you doing here?’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I could ask you the same. We’re a long way from the lands of the Iceni.’ Boudicca’s face darkened. ‘We were bringing the tribe’s yearly tribute to the Roman scum.’ She gestured to the water. ‘It belongs to the gods now.’ Luciana frowned, regarding the woman. Boudicca, her childhood foe in the Beltane chariot
DK Marley
Feb 94 min read
A Widowed Academic Investigates Historical Practices - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Witch of Godstow Abbey"
BOOK EXCERPT From Chapter 2 - A Garden’s Secret The abbess sat in her chambers, reviewing the abbey’s ledgers. Sister Agnes entered without waiting for the novice outside to announce her. “My child! What urgency drives you to burst in so?” “I must tell you what I’ve found, Mother. It is deeply troubling.” “Then speak, Sister.” “The piglets did not die by the blade alone. They were prepared first with a potion—I suspect monkshood, judging by the blue tint of their lips and ton
DK Marley
Feb 21 min read
An Orphan Musician Finds Her Voice in Venice - an Editorial Review of "Poinsettia Girl"
Book Blurb: Venice, 1710, Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta. Ten-year-old Agata's world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she's ever known. Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hid
DK Marley
Jan 217 min read
Featured Spotlight on Bookouture's "The Secret Twins of Paris" by Suzanne Kelman
Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State. Buy Here: https://geni.us/cHscz Https://www.suzannekelmanautho
DK Marley
Jan 2013 min read
From World Stages to the Theatre of War - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Dance of the Earth"
BOOK EXCERPT: DANCE OF THE EARTH, ACT 2 A little about Rose’s son, Walter, as a boy. Mother, when she came in, removing her gardening hat, was remarkably gentle. ‘Walter,’ she moved forward to hug him. ‘We’ve a lot to talk about. Dora, refreshments, I think.’ Dora nodded and hurried to the kitchen as Mother led him by the hand towards chairs stacked with things to pack. They moved aside a pile of cushions and settled not quite side by side, not quite facing each other. ‘ I a
DK Marley
Jan 203 min read
Author Interview and New Release with Bookouture Author Catherine Hokin
Catherine writes historical fiction set primarily in Berlin, covering the period from the 1930s up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and dealing with the long shadows left by war. The Girl Who Told the Truth will be her thirteenth novel with Bookouture and there are more to come. Her books have been published by Grand Central Publishing in the USA and translated into a number of languages including French, Italian and, most recently, German. becoming a full-time writer. She is
DK Marley
Jan 138 min read
A Young Venetian Girl Finds Her Voice - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Poinsettia Girl"
Book Excerpt Elena was struck by the cold, salty air against the water and the Lido perfectly displayed in the distance. She let the shoreline sky cleanse her, wading her conducting arms through the damp air. They sang a simple chant as they walked and made a half-circle with their backs to the water, close to the Prioress. A group of listeners stopped their errands as the rarely seen foundling girls alerted them with their song. It was uncommon for the public to interact wit
DK Marley
Jan 52 min read
Finalists in the HFC Book of the Year Contest
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GOLD MEDAL FINALISTS FOR THE 2025 HFC BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS! PLEASE NOTE: SOME CATEGORIES SHOW TIED WINNERS GRAND PRIZE & RUNNER-UP WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THIS LIST and ANNOUNCED AT 12:00 MIDNIGHT EST on DECEMBER 31st 2025 - NEW YEAR'S EVE!! All finalists will be allowed to use the displayed category badge for announcements and will be notified via email. 2026 Awards & Editorial Review requests are now open - please visit www.thehistoricalfiction
DK Marley
Dec 31, 202517 min read
Innocence is the First to Fall - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Paoletta"
BOOK EXCERPT “I doubt Saint-Thomas d’Aquin bears any resemblance to how we remember it,” Papa grumbled, his tone plain. “And Paris is not the safest place to be for anyone these days.” “There’s talk of war in Paris now,” Florian added, absently chewing on his thumbnail. His words struck me like a cold gust of wind, leaving a sharp ache in the pit of my belly. I had heard rumours of war before, but they were just rumours; they had no reason to be true. The Bastille had fallen
DK Marley
Dec 17, 20253 min read