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DK Marley
18 hours ago0 min read
For Fans of Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Making of Marigold McGrath"
BOOK EXCERPT “Mr. Murrow?” “Yes Marigold.” “Before I came here, I worked for a relief agency at Woburn House. Uh, in light of the news last week, I was hoping sir, you might give me this Friday.” Ed Murrow leant forward and put out his cigarette. “What do you have in mind?” “I’d like to photograph the children’s arrival, sir. I could photograph it, sir.” He studied her for a moment and then smiled. “We work in radio, Marigold. Radio.” Marigold straightened her back. “Well, th
DK Marley
2 days ago4 min read
Where No One is Quite Sure Where They Belong - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Unbelonging"
BOOK EXCERPT To help clear the way, Frank Sasaki obtained permission to return to Seattle in April to check on the status of their restaurant and their home on Fourteenth and Yesler. He was relieved to learn about a drop-off in violence against Japanese. But with war still raging in Asia at that time, anti-Japanese sentiment was ever present. At the invitation of his pastor at the Japanese Congregational Church, he’d attended a public hearing at Seattle City Hall on resettlem
DK Marley
4 days ago3 min read
She Yearned for the Sun - Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Queen of Shadows"
BOOK EXCERPT Alma felt safer the moment she entered her city. One of the guards at the city gate recognised her and asked her to give his regards to her mother. She slowed her pace along the familiar streets, passed by the huge cathedral just as the bells in the Giralda rang out the noon hour, and came to an abrupt stop at the sight of her childhood home. The gates stood wide open, people spilling out from the courtyard within to stand in the street. She pushed her way throug
DK Marley
Jun 243 min read
Passing Through History Without a Trace - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Lost Voices"
BOOK EXCERPT A city is not a place you enter, but a series of experiences closing around you. You only realise how far in you are when it’s too late. Leeds greeted them with noise, filth, and ceaseless movement. Houses pressed in, streets thick with smoke, dung, and bodies—beggars, thieves, merchants, wounded soldiers moving without distinction. Robert’s coin vanished before nightfall—lifted cleanly, without witness. Gone as if it had never been his. After Robert’s loss, they
DK Marley
Jun 221 min read
The Legend of the First Named Author - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Enhudanna's Song"
BOOK EXCERPT Inanna, supreme in Heaven and Earth, ruler over all gods, I beg of you: restore me to my temple, bring me home! In the ancient city of Ur, I no longer breathe the salty air, lift myself from the sacred bed, or unravel Ningal’s dreams for my followers. The southern stars have slipped away from me; now I walk the thorny brush of the northern mountainside. As I sing your blessed song, I am dying. Lugalanne made me fly from Ur like a swallow swept from its home. He r
DK Marley
Jun 121 min read
Behind the Scenes of a Tudor Life - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "The Queen's Sister"
BOOK EXCERPT Accompanied by Madeleine, wearing large cloaks and carrying baskets so we look like a merchant’s wife and her servant, we hasten to the Cathedral to pray for Queen Anne’s soul and for the souls of the men who were accused with her and died. Their heads brutally struck from their bodies, those handsome proud courtiers once gorgeously clothed in colourful velvets and silks are no more. Often people gather in the Cathedral to discuss news as well as pray. The column
DK Marley
Jun 102 min read
Shipwrecked After Escaping the Irish Potato Famine - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for 'What the Ocean Brings'
BOOK EXCERPT “Sir, we are looking for a family that may have been brought here about three weeks ago. It is the Clarey family. They arrived, rather abruptly, from Sligo, Ireland, and crashed upon the shore at Gaspé. They would be a family of five, a father, mother, and three daughters.” The doctor rubbed his chin in thought. “I do recall an unfortunate shipwreck, but from what I’ve heard, there were very few survivors. A small group of Irish was brought in the most unconvent
DK Marley
Jun 15 min read
A Dastardly Suitor, or an Honorable Rescuer? - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Rescued by the Rakish Lord"
BOOK EXCERPT Snowbound at the inn Selina’s neighbour, Clifford Fremington, has abducted her with a view to making her marry him. A snowstorm prevents them reaching his secluded hunting lodge and they have taken shelter at an inn, where Deveril has caught up with them. The landlady is heavily pregnant and Selina steps in to help her… It was not long before Selina reappeared and Deveril enquired after the landlady. ‘Aye, is the child born yet?’ asked Fremington, jumping up and
DK Marley
May 244 min read
Three Women, Three Centuries, Three Reckonings - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for "Heroica"
BOOK EXCERPT Excerpt from Honoria’s Battle, the second story in the HEROICA collection Early July 1683, Praetorian compound, Roma Nova city. Honoria Mitela has been questioning a Tatar spy and is reporting to her commanding officer. On a wider note, Vienna, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, is again under siege by Ottoman Empire forces. ‘His name is Aydar, Legate Aemelia, and he is a bastard son of Murad Giray, the Crimean Tatar khan.’ Honoria stood stiffly in front of th
DK Marley
May 194 min read
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
May 181 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
May 143 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
May 124 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
