Win a copy of Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie! #HFVBTBlogTour

Happy Wednesday to all of my historical fiction loving peeps! Have I got a fabulous giveaway for you today! The first book in Sally Christie's new Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, The Sisters of Versailles, is currently on blog tour with HF Virtual Book Tours and I have a chance for one of you to win a copy! Check out that cover, isn't it gorgeous?! In fact, all three covers are beautiful and are going to look great on my bookshelves :)

01_The Sisters of Versailles 

The Sisters of Versailles (Mistresses of Versailles, Book One) by Sally Christie

Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Pages: 432
ISBN-10: 1501102966

Genre: Historical Fiction


Add to GR Button

A sumptuous and sensual tale of power, romance, family, and betrayal centered around four sisters and one King. Carefully researched and ornately detailed, The Sisters of Versailles is the first book in an exciting new historical fiction trilogy about King Louis XV, France's most "well-beloved" monarch, and the women who shared his heart and his bed.

Goodness, but sisters are a thing to fear.

Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters: Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne, four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.

Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife. The race is on to find a mistress for the royal bed as various factions put their best foot - and women - forward. The King's scheming ministers push Louise, the eldest of the aristocratic Nesle sisters, into the arms of the King. Over the following decade, the four sisters:sweet, naive Louise; ambitious Pauline; complacent Diane, and cunning Marie Anne, will conspire, betray, suffer, and triumph in a desperate fight for both love and power.

In the tradition of The Other Boleyn Girl, The Sisters of Versailles is a clever, intelligent, and absorbing novel that historical fiction fans will devour. Based on meticulous research on a group of women never before written about in English, Sally Christie's stunning debut is a complex exploration of power and sisterhood; of the admiration, competition, and even hatred that can coexist within a family when the stakes are high enough.

Advance Praise

“A stunning breadth of period detail, offered in a fresh, contemporary voice.” —Juliet Grey, author of the acclaimed Marie Antoinette trilogy

"Sally Christie's The Sisters of Versailles is an intriguing romp through Louis XV's France. Filled with lush backdrops, rich detail, and colorful characters, fans of historical fiction will enjoy this glimpse into the lost golden era of the French monarchy." – Allison Pataki, author of The Accidental Empress


04_Sally Christie_AuthorAbout the Author

I'm a life-long history buff - and I mean life-long. One of the first adult books I read was Antonia Fraser's masterful Mary, Queen of Scots. Wow! That book just blew my little ten year old mind: something about the way it brought the past right back to life, made it live again on the page. I date my obsession with history to that time, but I'd been writing ("writing") ever since I was able to hold a pencil.

If you'd told my 12-year old self that I'd not be a writer when I grew up, I would have laughed you out of the tree house. With a few detours along the way, to work overseas in consulting and development, as well as to go to business school, I've finally come full circle to where I think I should be.

I currently live in Toronto and when I'm not writing, I'm playing lots of tennis; doing random historical research (old census records are my favorite); playing Scrabble, and squirrel-watching (the room where I write has French doors leading out to a deck; I avidly follow, and feed, a scruffy gang).

For more information please visit Sally Christie's website. You can also find her on Goodreads and Pinterest.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 14
Review at Reading the Past

Tuesday, September 15
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Interview & Giveaway at Mina's Bookshelf

Wednesday, September 16
Review at Bookish

Friday, September 18
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Saturday, September 19
Spotlight at Romantic Historical Reviews

Monday, September 21
Review at Leeanna.me

Wednesday, September 23
Review & Giveaway at History Undressed

Friday, September 25
Spotlight at Historical Readings & Views

Monday, September 28
Review & Giveaway at View From the Birdhouse

Tuesday, September 29
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Wednesday, September 30
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Thursday, October 1
Review at Genre Queen
Review at bookramblings

Friday, October 2
Review at Curling Up By the Fire

Monday, October 5
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Tuesday, October 6
Review at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, October 7
Review at The Lit Bitch

Thursday, October 8
Interview & Giveaway at Reading Lark

Friday, October 9
Review at Romantic Historical Reviews
Review & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Obsession
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict

Giveaway

To enter to win a copy of Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie, please leave a comment below, with your email address.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 10th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.


05_The Sisters of Versailles_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

Win a copy of Oliver & Jack At Lodings in Lyme by Christina E. Pilz! #HFVBTBlogTour

Today kicks off Christina E. Pilz's Blog Tour for Oliver & Jack At Lodings in Lyme, the second book in her Fagin's Boy trilogy, and I have a chance for one of you lucky readers to win a copy!

02_Oliver & Jack_Cover 

Oliver & Jack At Lodgings in Lyme (Fagin's Boy, Book 2) by Christina E. Pilz

Publication Date: June 14, 2015
Blue Rain Press
eBook & Paperback; 450 Pages

Genre: Historical/LGBT/M/M Romance

Add to GR Button

An ex-apprentice and his street thief companion flee the dangers of Victorian London and the threat of the hangman’s noose in search of family and the promise of a better life.

After Oliver Twist commits murder to protect Jack Dawkins (The Artful Dodger), both must flee London’s familiar but dangerous environs for safety elsewhere. Together they travel to Lyme Regis in the hopes of finding Oliver’s family. Along the way, Jack becomes gravely ill and Oliver is forced to perform manual labor to pay for the doctor’s bills.

While Oliver struggles to balance his need for respectability with his growing love for Jack, Jack becomes disenchanted with the staid nature of village life and his inability to practice his trade. But in spite of their personal struggles, and in the face of dire circumstances, they discover the depth of their love for each other.


03_Christina E. PilzAbout the Author

Christina was born in Waco, Texas in 1962. After living on a variety of air force bases, in 1972 her Dad retired and the family moved to Boulder, Colorado. There amidst the clear, dry air of the high plains, as the moss started to grow beneath her feet, her love for historical fiction began with a classroom reading of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

She attended a variety of community colleges (Tacoma Community College) and state universities (UNC-Greeley, CU-Boulder, CU-Denver), and finally found her career in technical writing, which, between layoffs, she has been doing for 18 years. During that time, her love for historical fiction and old-fashioned objects, ideas, and eras has never waned.

In addition to writing, her interests include road trips around the U.S. and frequent flights to England, where she eats fish and chips, drinks hard cider, and listens to the voices in the pub around her. She also loves coffee shops, mountain sunsets, prairie storms, and the smell of lavender. She is a staunch supporter of the Oxford comma.


Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 28
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, September 29
Review at Bibliotica
Spotlight at I Heart Reading

Wednesday, September 30
Guest Post & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Friday, October 1
Spotlight at Book Nerd

Monday, October 5
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, October 6
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, October 9
Spotlight at History Undressed

Tuesday, October 13
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Wednesday, October 14
Review at Broken Teepee

Giveaway

To enter to win a copy of Oliver & Jack At Lodgings in Lyme (eBook or print, winner's choice), please leave a comment below, with your email address.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 8th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

04_Oliver & Jack_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

Spotlight & eBook Giveaway: Jasper's Lament by Katherine Pym

Happy Friday, all! Today on the blog I am hosting Katherine Pym's HFVBT Blog Tour for Jasper's Lament and I have a chance for one of you to win a copy!

02_Jasper's Lament 

Jasper's Lament by Katherine Pym

Publication Date: June 29, 2015
Books We Love, Ltd.
eBook; 301 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Add to GR Button

London 1664. The 2nd Anglo/Dutch war is imminent, and England prepares against the threat.

After his father’s mysterious death, Jasper’s world is thrown into chaos. Coded messages, letters penned with invisible ink, and chests of gold appear from unknown sources. Dangerous symbols in unexpected places drag Jasper deeper into a conspiracy not of his making.

Torn between his newfound love for a Dutchman’s daughter, and his loyalty to the king, Jasper struggles with dark forces. If he ferrets out the plotters that plan to tear England apart, will he lose the one woman he loves?


Praise

"Jasper's Lament is as well-named as well-written. Pym has a wonderful ability to tell a good tale with admirable ease and conviction. It reaches heart-strings, cleverly molding so many little side-plots around the major one, yet never losing its racy pace." -Kev Richardson, Historian

"A highly polished and well written book, with excellent historical accuracy and a real flavor of the age. Jasper’s Lament is a great read and hugely atmospheric." -Grace Elliot, veterinarian by day, and author of historical romance by night.


03_Katherine PymAbout the Author

Katherine Pym is an author of historical novels set in 1660's London with one novel of the French Revolution, including The Barbers and Jasper's Lament. She divides her time between Seattle, WA & Austin, TX with her husband and puppy-dog.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 14
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Tuesday, September 15
Spotlight & Giveaway at Raven Haired Girl

Wednesday, September 16
Review at Book Nerd

Saturday, September 19
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Monday, September 21
Character Interview at Boom Baby Reviews

Tuesday, September 22
Spotlight & Giveaway at Unshelfish
Review, Interview, & Giveaway at Singing Librarian Books

Wednesday, September 23
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Friday, September 25
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past


Giveaway

To enter to win an eBook of Jasper's Lament, please leave a comment below, with your email address.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 5th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

04_Jasper's Lament_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

Spotlight & Giveaway: Living in the Shadows by Judith Barrow

Layout 1

Living in the Shadows by Judith Barrow

 Publication Date: July 16, 2015
Honno Press
eBook & Paperback; 320 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Family Saga

Add to GR Button

It's 1969 and Mary Schormann is living quietly in Wales with her ex-POW husband, Peter, and her teenage twins, Richard and Victoria. Her niece, Linda Booth, is a nurse - following in Mary's footsteps - and works in the maternity ward of her local hospital in Lancashire.

At the end of a long night shift, a bullying new father visits the maternity ward and brings back Linda's darkest nightmares, her terror of being locked in. Who is this man, and why does he scare her so?

There are secrets dating back to the war that still haunt the family, and finding out what lies at their root might be the only way Linda can escape their murderous consequences.

Sequel to the acclaimed Changing Patterns and Pattern of Shadows.


03_Judith Barrow_AuthorAbout the Author

Judith Barrow has lived in Pembrokeshire for thirty years. She is the author of three novels, and has published poetry and short fiction, winning several poetry competitions, as well as writing three children's books and a play performed at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Judith grew up in the Pennines, has degrees in literature and creative writing and makes regular appearances at literary festivals.


Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 21
Spotlight & Giveaway at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Tuesday, September 22
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, September 23
Spotlight at I'd So Rather Be Reading

Thursday, September 24
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Saturday, September 26
Guest Post at The Writing Desk

Sunday, September 27
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Monday, September 28
Review at Book Nerd
Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

Giveaway

To enter to win a copy of Living in the Shadows, please leave a comment below, with your email address.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

04_Living in the Shadows_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

Guest Post & Giveaway: Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

Hi all! Today on the blog I welcome Amy Stewart, author of Girl Waits With Gun! Amy is currently on Blog Tour with HF Virtual Book Tours and today she has for us a guest post & a chance to win a copy of her book!

Please enjoy and good luck to all who enter!

Girl vs. Black Hand

In 1914, a thirty-five year-old New Jersey woman named Constance Kopp was out for the afternoon in her horse and buggy, along with her sisters, Norma and Fleurette. A drunk and restless factory owner, Henry Kaufman, ran his car right into them, destroying the buggy and tossing them into the street. When Constance made the entirely reasonable demand that he pay for the damages, their real trouble started.

Henry Kaufman didn’t appreciate being ordered around by a woman. He was a thug who moved through the world in a thuggish way. Pretty soon, shots were being fired at the Kopp sisters’ house, bricks were flying through windows, and threatening letters started arriving, promising kidnapping and worse if they didn’t pay $1000. Constance and her sisters teamed up with the sheriff, took up arms themselves, and fought back in a way that just wasn’t done if you were a woman in 1914.

This story is entirely true. I dug it out of hundred year-old newspaper archives and court records. It forms the backbone of my new novel, Girl Waits with Gun, in which I tell the Kopps’ true story and embellish it with a little fiction where the historical record was lacking.

One particularly interesting footnote to my research was the way reporters kept referring to Henry Kaufman’s threatening letters as “Black Hand letters.” I knew the term Black Hand as it applied to Italian mafia-style gangs who sent threatening letters to extort money—but was Henry Kaufman, with his German name, really a Black Hander?

Probably not, as it turns out. Newspapers couldn’t resist a story about blackmail and death threats, and as the stories grew more salacious, more and more criminals and lowlifes decided to get in on the act. Remember, people didn’t have TV in those days, or even radio programs. A story about a man who was told to take a train and deliver $1000 to a man leading a black dog, or a woman ordered to take a parcel of twenty-dollar bills to a fortune-teller in New York (both of which are described in a single glorious New York Times story)—well, that’s entertainment, and that sells papers.

Pretty soon, any thug with a little imagination was sending anonymous letters to victims who looked like they were prosperous enough to yield to a little shake-down. The letters shared common themes, easy enough to figure out if you read the papers: Poor grammar meant to sound like crude Italian; cryptic, hand-drawn symbols such as daggers, hands, and guns, a demand for money; and an exotic-sounding meeting place. Check out this fantastic example, with its ludicrous writing (“You puta da $200 dollars in a the alley…”) and its silly drawings.

People did fall for these threats. Enrico Caruso paid off Black Handers several times until he realized that there would be no end to it, and turned to the police for help. By the 1920s, it was becoming obvious to everyone that Black Hand letters were nothing but a hoax perpetuated by run-of-the-mill criminals, and the whole thing died of embarrassment.

But Constance Kopp took the threat seriously, as any woman of 1914 would have. She refused to pay and she refused to back down. Henry Kaufman might have thought he stumbled into easy prey when he ran his car into that buggy, but the formidable Kopp sisters proved him wrong.

02_Girl Waits With Gun

Girl Waits With Gun
by Amy Stewart

Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Formats: Ebook, Hardcover
Pages:

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Add to GR Button

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling debut novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.

Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared

Praise

"A sheer delight to read and based on actual events, this debut historical mystery packs the unexpected, the unconventional, and a serendipitous humor into every chapter. Details from the historical record are accurately portrayed by villains and good guys alike, and readers will cross their fingers for the further adventures of Constance and Sheriff Heath. For fans of the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood, and the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Laurie R. King."—Booklist, starred

"Stewart crafts a solid, absorbing novel based on real-life events—though they're unusual enough to seem invented. Stewart deftly tangles and then unwinds a complicated plot with nice period detail...More adventures involving gutsy Constance, quietly determined Sheriff Heath, and a lively cast of supporting characters would be most welcome."—Kirkus, starred

"In her engaging first novel, Stewart (The Drunken Botanist) draws from the true story of the Kopp sisters (Constance became one of the country’s first female deputy sheriffs) and creates a welcome addition to the genre of the unconventional female sleuth. Colorful, well-drawn characters come to life on the page, and historical details are woven tightly into the narrative. The satisfying conclusion sets up an opening for future Constance Kopp novels. VERDICT: Historical fiction fans and followers of Rhys Bowen’s 'Molly Murphy' mysteries and Victoria Thompson’s 'Gaslight Mystery' series will delight in the eccentric and feisty Kopp women."—Library Journal, starred

“A smart, romping adventure, featuring some of the most memorable and powerful female characters I've seen in print for a long time. I loved every page as I followed the Kopp sisters through a too-good-to-be-true (but mostly true!) tale of violence, courage, stubbornness, and resourcefulness."—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

"How could you not fall in love with a book about one of the first female deputy sheriffs and her sisters--especially when it’s written by the enthralling Amy Stewart? Full of long-held secrets, kicked-up dust, simmering danger, and oh yes, that gun—this gritty romp illuminates one of history’s strongest women with a hold-your-breath panache."—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Is This Tomorrow and Pictures of You

“Girl Waits With Gun makes excellent use of history to put a fresh spin on classic cop-and-crook types. Amy Stewart's true-life protagonist is a ‘rough and tumble’ version of the early 20th century's New Woman. She is witty, sharply-drawn, and suffers no fools!”—Suzanne Rindell, author of The Other Typist

“Yowza! Amy Stewart’s debut boasts pomaded gangsters, pistol-packin’ dames, kidnappings, shots in the dark, and everything from Girls Gone Wrong to carrier pigeons finding their way home. You might want to stay up all night reading, you might want to lie down on your fainting couch with a cool cloth on your forehead. Either way, you’ll have the time of your life.” —Robert Goolrick, New York Times bestselling author of A Reliable Wife

"Girl Waits with Gun is fresh, funny and utterly compelling-- and Constance Kopp and her sisters are not just great investigators, but completely original women. It was a blast from start to finish and I can’t wait to see what Deputy Kopp gets up to next."— Lisa Lutz, author of The Spellman Files, How to Start a Fire, and others

“Amy Stewart has crafted the best kind of historical novel; she uncovers an intriguing, all-but-forgotten historical nugget and spins it into a wildly entertaining tale with an engaging, tough-minded heroine. Girl Waits With Gun hits the bulls-eye.”—Daniel Stashower, author of The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War

“Amy Stewart’s debut novel Girl Waits With Gun is an irresistible and thoroughly enjoyable book, a suspenseful historical mystery spiced with marvelous characters, wit, and humor. Is it too soon to beg for a sequel?” —Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule

“Engaging, lively, and substantive, Girl Waits with Gun is a perfect mystery, and the Kopp sisters are my new best friends. Amy Stewart writes about crime as well as she writes about plants and poisons. I loved this book, and will be first in line for the next installment.”—Sara Gran, author of Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway


About the Author

03_Amy StewartAmy Stewart is the author of seven books. Her latest, Girl Waits With Gun, is a novel based on a true story. She has also written six nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including four New York Times bestsellers: The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs, Wicked Plants, and Flower Confidential. She lives in Eureka, California, with her husband Scott Brown, who is a rare book dealer. They own a bookstore called Eureka Books. The store is housed in a classic nineteenth-century Victorian building that Amy very much hopes is haunted.

Stewart has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other newspapers and magazines, and has appeared frequently on National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, and--just once--on TLC's Cake Boss. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the American Horticulture Society's Book Award, and an International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Award.

For more information visit Amy Stewart's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, September 1
Spotlight at Build a Bookshelf
Spotlight at Please Pass the Books

Wednesday, September 2
Spotlight at Library Educated
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Thursday, September 3
Review at Book Nerd

Friday, September 4
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Thursday, September 10
Review at Library Educated

Friday, September 11
Spotlight & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Monday, September 14
Review at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, September 15
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Wednesday, September 16
Review at The Worm Hole
Spotlight & Giveaway at The True Book Addict

Thursday, September 17
Spotlight at Books and Benches

Saturday, September 19
Review & Giveaway at 100 Pages a Day

Monday, September 21
Review & Giveaway at Unshelfish

Tuesday, September 22
Guest Post & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Thursday, September 24
Review at A Bookish Affair

Friday, September 25
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Spotlight at Boom Baby Reviews

Monday, September 28
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views
Review & Giveaway at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, September 29
Review at A Fold in the Spine

Wednesday, September 30
Spotlight at Build a Bookshelf

Thursday, October 1
Review & Giveaway at To Read, or Not to Read

Friday, October 2
Interview & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Monday, October 5
Review & Giveaway at Mina's Bookshelf
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Tuesday, October 6
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

Giveaway

To enter to win a copy of Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart, please leave a comment below, with your email address.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on October 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

04_Girl Waits With Gun_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

Guest Post & Giveaway: Orphans, Assassins, and the Existential Eggplant by JT Gillett

Happy Sunday, all! Today on the blog I am proud to be hosting JT Gillett, author of Orphans, Assassins, and the Existential Eggplant (Isn't that a great title?!) during his blog tour with HF Virtual Book Tours! Read all about the novel and enter to win a copy of the book!

What's with The Existential Eggplant?

Inanimate objects and animals that possess some form of consciousness have appeared in several modern American novels. From Tom Robbins’ spoon, soup can and socks to Pynchon’s talking dogs, a wisecracking eggplant isn’t far off. The eggplant in Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant, which takes place in the 13th century, is unique in several ways:

“This was no ordinary eggplant—this one was the size of a small toe, hard as polished marble, rich like a deep purple-black jewel and more than handsome—it possessed a certain intelligence, magnetism and ‘voice’ that set it apart from the rest of the vegetable kingdom. It was a magnificent little companion.”

As the story unfolds, we learn that when this eggplant was fresh, it was extremely edible and probably quite delicious if anyone had been foolish enough to eat it. But unlike other vegetables, this amazing eggplant was preserved to last forever.

An old woman in the Arabian Desert grew the eggplant almost 600 years before our story begins. She was a midwife who people chased from villages every time a baby died and one day she was tired of being chased so she moved to the desert, where she lived alone, grew a sparse crop of vegetables each year and raised a few goats. She lived quietly until a thief burst into her hut one night and demanded jewelry he thought was hidden in her tent. When she explained she had nothing but two eggplants and three goats, the thief killed her goats and threatened to kill her if she didn’t give him her jewelry. But before the thief could raise his knife, an archer shot a single arrow into the tent and killed the thief.

According to the eggplant, “The old midwife gave the eggplants to the archer, and wished she had more to offer him. They shared one of the eggplants for dinner, my only sibling, along with fresh goat stew. After their meal, the archer pulled a small golden globe from a pouch at his side, opened it and revealed a shiny salve he rubbed over my entire eggplant body, then instructed the midwife to carefully dry me in the shade and protect me as if I was her only child. He told her he charmed this eggplant, and I would keep her company and provide for the old woman and whoever possessed me thereafter. She dried me with great care, making sure I was always in the shade. And I slowly became smaller and harder and shinier, keeping my eggplant form and smooth skin until I looked like a tiny, polished stone…”

The eggplant had a higher stake than most when it came to existence. As far as it was concerned, its self-awareness was all the proof of existence it needed. It had memories and was quite aware of how others felt about it—even if they had no feelings about the vegetable. But the eggplant also understood it needed others to offer credible reassurance from time to time, otherwise it could never be 100% sure if it did exist, or if it was the imaginary product of a few humans giving the little vegetable make-believe qualities, like a human consciousness. There are several other existential scenarios the eggplant routinely considers, but none of them provide any certainty, so it continues to think of itself as a real being who can observe and interpret the world and is recognized as an independent consciousness by at least one human at a time. Unlike the Non-existent Knight, the eggplant needed no official papers to exist.

In addition to the eggplant, Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant includes a host of quirky historic and fictional characters who take readers on wild, cross-continental adventure in search of the fabled Lost Stone of Eden. There’s Layla the wise alchemist, Mina the devoted desert saint, Aaron the teenage language prodigy, Stephen who led the Children’s Crusade, Hassan i Sabbah and his Assassins, the aforementioned Non-existent Knight, and many others.
As one reviewers said, “Who could imagine a shriveled up eggplant as a conduit of guidance, wisdom, sarcasm and humor. Even if this isn’t your usual style of book—venture out of your comfort zone and hitch on for the ride.”

Orphans, Assassins, and the Existential Eggplant 

Publication Date: February 19, 2015 | Homunculus Press | Formats: Kindle eBook, Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0692391662 | Pages: 279

Genre: Historical Fiction

Add to GR Button

Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant explores the quirky side of historical fiction. The novel takes you on wild ride through the early 13th century with a female alchemist, orphan teenager and a 600-year-old, shrunken eggplant that can speak to whomever wears it. In search of the fabled Lost Stone of Eden, they cross Europe and the Mediterranean with the Children’s Crusade, hijack a caravan in the Sahara desert, live with hashish-fueled Assassins in the mountains of Persia and rediscover paradise on the island of Bahrain.

Excerpt

Aaron and the girls slept for a few hours during the hottest part of the day, then rode through the evening and the entire night, taking only a few breaks to rest the camels. They didn’t catch up to any slow-moving caravans, come upon an oasis or see fires in the night. Everything around them seemed the same, day after day. Same mirrored sky. Same scorching sun. Same sound of camel farting and plodding. Same sad, ivory scent of emptiness.

“Are we dead?” asked Donatelle as they shared the last of the water. They were sitting atop a tall dune and could see nothing but more dunes in every direction.

“Do you feel dead?” Aaron had to ask, knowing that in the middle of this terminal landscape, it was a good question.

“I can’t tell because I don’t know what it’s like to be dead, but it might be like this. Just nothing,” Donatelle shrugged.

“Death is much different—and much luckier,” guessed the eggplant.

Aaron hoped the eggplant was right, but he chose a different answer for Donatelle. “Whenever I’m not sure, I listen for my heartbeat. The pounding inside me says I’m alive in this world and even though we’re in a dead place, we’ll survive. We’ll find something soon, or something will find us.”

Something took the form of a humming dark cloud on the horizon. They watched as it grew darker, stretched across the dunes and started to roar like steady, rolling thunder.

Praise

"Good stories rise and fall like empires in the endless pursuit of happiness, like armies of lovers marching to paradise - good stories change the world." So begins Part One of Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant. This book is such a good read. I read it on the plane to Hawaii, and it soared with me through the sky. My wife kept asking what was so funny as I giggled and laughed in my seat. This story changed me, in that flying is such a drag these days, and this book kept coming up with surprises, weaving together stories of gods, goddesses, orphans and assassins, the pursuit of the unattainable, and existential conundrums.

I have had the opportunity to read some of Mr. Gillett's poetry (especially "This is My Last Poem" - I hope this is not his last novel), and in this novel, he brings his poetic ability to sublimely transport the reader to new views of the mundane, new opportunities for transformation, and new ways of understanding my own self. What more could I ask for in a book.

Steal this book if you need to, but get it and read it with joy." - Paul Rerucha, Amazon Reviewer

"I don't read a ton of books for pleasure but I did read this one on the recommendation of a friend. It kept me captivated and I ended up finishing it in 2.5 days. This is the kind of book that makes me want to read more often." - B. H., Amazon Reviewer


About the Author

J.T Gillett holds degrees in philosophy and journalism from the University of Oregon and studied at Naropa Institute’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. His stories and poems have appeared in a variety of Literary Journals, including City Lights Journal, edited by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

For more information please visit the Orphans and Assassins website and blog.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 7
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, September 8
Review & Giveaway at Laura's Interests
Spotlight at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, September 9
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Thursday, September 10
Review at Boom Baby Reviews
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, September 11
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Sunday, September 13
Guest Post & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Giveaway

To enter to win a copy of Orphans, Assassins, and the Existential Eggplant by JT Gillett, please leave a comment below, with your email address.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on September 23rd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

03_OAATEE_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: September Reviews


Welcome to the September link page for the 2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. This is the page where you will enter the links to your reviews during the month of September 2015.

Visit the link pages for past months:

January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015

If you haven't already signed up for the challenge, it's not too late! The sign up post is here.

HF Reading Challenge Instructions...

  • Add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review). A direct link to your Goodreads review is also acceptable
  • Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, etc.)
  • Don't forget to look some of the other links that are present. You never know when you will discover new blogs or books!

Please leave your links for your September reviews in Mr. Linky below or if you don't have a blog, in the comments below.

If you have any questions or need assistance please email Amy at passagestothepast.com.

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
If this widget does not appear, click here to display it.



Related Posts with Thumbnails
 

Passages to the Past
All rights reserved © 2013

Custom Blog Design by Blogger Boutique

Blogger Boutique