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Tales of Robin Hood - A Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Rogues and Kings"
BOOK EXCERPT Allan gave Robin a crooked smile. “Would serve John right if we stole the treasury from right under his nose.” Robin butted him with a clenched fist. “Which of course you said don’t even think,” Allan added, rubbing his arm. “Too dangerous,” Little John agreed as he cracked the first of five eggs into water boiling in the pot over the fire. A gleam lit Allan’s eyes. “They’ll be putting more coin in the coffers on the morrow.” He tapped the coin pouch hanging from
DK Marley
Mar 132 min read
Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "West of Santillane" by Brook Allen
BOOK EXCERPT Sheheke prodded the fire, and Lodge plopped down next to his mother, shaking a buffalo-bladder rattle and grinning playfully with his sparse teeth. Yellow Corn spoke some solemn-sounding words to Sheheke, and he nodded in obvious agreement, not taking his eyes off of me. Clearing his throat, he said, “I learn much from these years on this journey to see the Great White Father, but my greatest lesson is that the season of my people is changing. It is a storm I can
DK Marley
Mar 63 min read
Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Green Baize Door"
BOOK EXCERPT She Had to Get Out Chapter 2 — Christmas Day, 1899 “It’s too bad Grandpapa didn’t live longer,” Eliza contributed. “Perhaps Papa would have turned out better.” Mémé stiffened, and Marie broke in, “Isn’t this stuffing delicious, Lizzy? What’s in it?” There were many details Marie didn’t know, but she’d overheard enough arguments between Mémé and Papa to understand that Eliza’s words had struck a nerve. Grand-père had died when her father was still an infant. Mr. T
DK Marley
Mar 34 min read
Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "An American Slave in Barbary" by Larry Kelley
BOOK EXCERPT We were only about thirty leagues from the Straits of Gibraltar. Adjusting the sails and riggings of our twelve-man ketch, Intrepid, we made in the morning of August 2, 1801, seven days after we left Greece, ready our departure from the Mediterranean and entrance into the Atlantic. We were on our return voyage to Boston when our passage was blocked by two Muslim pirate ships. Each was a three-masted xebec, with crews of about one hundred and fourteen cannons. The
DK Marley
Feb 272 min read
Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "One Fine Voice"
BOOK EXCERPT Chapter 1 “Esther,” Daddy called. “It’s time to go.” I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay and even though it was the first day of summer, I wanted to go to Meadow Springs School and sit next to Dorothy Hoover just like I, Esther Hopkins, had done ever since my first day of school. Why, the alphabet itself had pre-ordained that we would be best friends for life! But no one ever listened to what I wanted. My voice didn’t seem to matter. When I finally climbed into
DK Marley
Feb 261 min read
A Tale of the Foreign Legion - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Deserter"
BOOK EXCERPT From Chapter 7: Setup: After five years of civilian life, Gil is back in training. The first big test is to march through the unforgiving Western Sahara in Algeria. Five years of civilian life made him soft, and he hated it. Rocks. Gravel. Scrub brush. That’s all Gil saw for miles once Fort Ste. Terese disappeared behind the hills. The singing had long since stopped, replaced by the low-level grumbling of soldiers on the march. They reached the top of a low rise
DK Marley
Feb 203 min read
The Stories Behind a Destructive Fire - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Secrets in the Woods"
BOOK EXCERPT As we rode out of the town on the wagon, I noticed that the road ahead was made of logs side-by-side, rattling our teeth and making it nearly impossible to speak. The further away from the houses, the closer to the road the monstrous trees came. I had never seen trees so large or green in my life. The invasive smell of pine nearly erased the odor of smoke. It was dim and the trunks played tricks on my eyes, making me think I was seeing people or animals walking t
DK Marley
Feb 161 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
From Star Singer to Pirate Prey - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Showboat Soubrette"
BOOK EXCERPT Sam Clemens Arrives on the Scene John Dee took out his kerchief and wiped perspiration at his brow. Who were these Burtons? This situation was spiraling and not in a good way. “So, you are going to write out a statement about Ricky’s death?” “My cub pilot Sam Clemens is gonna record my statement. Yours too. And the squaw singer’s. He’s damned good at writing things up.” The door opened and a young man with wavy red hair entered. “You called for me, Captain Martin
DK Marley
Feb 63 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
A Storm of Unrevealed Family Secrets - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Red Anemones"
BOOK EXCERPT: An hour later, after exchanging my wet clothes for dry ones, I notice that the sun has broken through the heavy overcast and is shining directly onto my desk, inviting me to sit down and begin the laborious, one word at a time task of translating a letter, written in the tiniest possible handwriting by someone named Irina. Our Dearest Rachael, I am sorrowfully writing with sad news. Your mother’s brother, who is also my husband and your Uncle Levi, and your cous
DK Marley
Jan 263 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
Two Women, Opposites Sides of the Channel - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Therein Lies the Pearl"
BOOK EXCERPT She kept her mind on other things so that she did not become too consumed with the physical task she was performing. But no matter how many times she tried to distract herself by thinking about sewing or fishing or cooking, she could not liberate herself from her current labor. Her thoughts always returned to how awful it was to dig a grave. A gravedigger suffered a double form of anguish. First, there was the spiritual upheaval and debilitating grief that ensued
DK Marley
Jan 194 min read
Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Storks in a Blue Sky"
BOOK EXCERPT He was introduced plainly as Jean Luc de Delacroix, a member of the Royal Society, whose studies were following in the path already trodden by Mark Catesby. She was aware of a ripple of anticipation going through the audience, which had become so numerous that people were having to stand at the back. She realised it was now too late to escape and sat in resignation, angry at her own recklessness. His voice was strong and clear and, in spite of her agitation, she
DK Marley
Jan 164 min read
Choices Between Life and Death - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Bright One"
Book Excerpt: Joel’s eyes roamed the room again, seeking an anchor to steady his turbulent thoughts. The canopy bed, draped in fine linens and accented by plush pillows, exuded comfort and security. Lavender lingered on the sheets, intertwining with the sweetness of the candles. It was a scene so removed from the barren trenches and the grim realities he had lived through. The suite was a testament to permanence, to wealth, to a life he wasn’t sure he deserved anymore.
DK Marley
Jan 51 min read