.png)
.png)
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
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