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A Match Made in Art and Poetry - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for 'Some Starry Night'
BOOK EXCERPT [when Emily first sees Vincent at the Louvre] When she next looked up from her work, a group of three men caught her eye. She could only hear bits of their conversation, but their gestures indicated an intense discussion. One man in particular aroused her curiosity. He wasn’t tall, but he was stocky and solid. Red-haired with a smattering of freckles. He radiated passion and intensity, like a bullfighter ready to dance. His French wasn’t exactly French—he had an
DK Marley
3 hours ago1 min read
A Family United, a Family Divided - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Beneath the Dark Oceans"
BOOK EXCERPT: A WINTER STORM CANADA Winter 1906 If they’d thought the weather had been bad so far, this was nothing compared to the dark days of January. Now the snow took on a wilder, meaner character and no-one wanted to play in it any more. The house was very cold, and heating supplies were running low. In desperation one day, Ellen sent the two oldest boys out to find firewood wherever they could. Coal had run out in the neighbourhood and wood was scarce. Another storm ha
DK Marley
4 days ago3 min read
Breaking Conventions and Making Sacrifices - A Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Sarah's Destiny"
BOOK EXCERPT 1862 Even though she was expecting it, and – she thought – prepared herself for the inevitable, she hadn’t expected the intensity of the sorrow that surged through her. Neither could she hold back the wail that escaped as she tried to push air into her lungs to release the pain. “Daaaa! Oh, Da. Nooooo!” Mary held her sister close while Sarah’s shoulders shook, and her hands covered her face hoping to block out the image of her ashen-faced father lying on his bed,
DK Marley
6 days ago4 min read
History Tried to Forget Her - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Lady of Lincoln"
BOOK EXCERPT CHAPTER ONE The Barracks, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln, England, April 1168 Nicola coaxed a fragile flame from the hearth’s dying embers, the taper trembling in her grip. The air inside the barracks clung to her throat—thick with sweat, spilled ale, and damp straw. She raised the light. Its glow barely pierced the gloom stretching over the pallets sprawled out in uneven rows. Her gaze locked on a solitary shape in the corner. It had to be Suardinc, his bed set apart f
DK Marley
May 42 min read
The Choices We Make in the Shadow of War - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "My Enemy's Wife"
BOOK EXCERPT Shanghai, December 1941 Theodore Carter’s footsteps thudded up the stairs. ‘Dad!’ shouted Jimmy, charging out into the hall to grab him by the waist. Daisy followed, with Zofia waiting politely in the doorway. Theodore Carter was a stringy-limbed man with the neutral good looks of a clean-cut diplomat. Zofia liked him; he always paid on time without fuss. But today his face had a ravaged expression, his eyes restless. He clung to his son a moment before asking Da
DK Marley
May 14 min read
A Most Dangerous Mind at Court - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Fool"
BOOK EXCERPT I expected to be an object of curiosity—what dwarf leading a costumed goat into town wouldn’t be? Plenty of townsfolk stopped in their steps to gawp. Women stared, kept a wide berth, while children laughed and pointed. Men, however… As if my size were a challenge to their manhood. But as I thought more on it later, I believe I was a challenge to their sense of convention. Most had probably never seen a smidge of a human. I think some considered me an insult, a qu
DK Marley
Apr 161 min read
An Audiobook Blog Tour and Excerpt for the Henry VI Series by Mercedes Rochelle
BOOK EXCERPT EXCERPT FROM THE ACCURSED KING: MURDER OF THE DUKE OF ORLÉANS It was St. Clement’s day, 23 November. Isabeau of Bavaria, the Queen of France was ill and in mourning for her twelfth child, who died at birth ten days before. Louis hoped to cheer her up by arranging a supper at her Hôtel Barbette in the Rue du Temple. A merry party gathered, with all the most fashionable cavaliers and dames, who diverted the queen with pleasantries and songs of love. Despite herself
DK Marley
Apr 143 min read
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