Passages to the Past: August 2017

The Quest for the Crown of Thorns by Cynthia Ripley Miller

Publication Date: June 12, 2017

Knox Robinson Publishing

eBook & Paperback; 308 Pages

Series: The Long - Hair Saga, Book 2

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

AD 454. Three years after the Roman victory over Attila the Hun at Catalaunum, Arria Felix and Garic the Frank are married and enjoying life on Garic's farm in northern Gaul (France). Their happy life is interrupted, when a cryptic message arrives from Rome, calling Arria home to her father, the esteemed Senator Felix. At Arria's insistence, but against Garic's better judgment, they leave at once.

Upon their arrival at Villa Solis, they are confronted with a brutal murder and the dangerous mission that awaits them. The fate of a profound and sacred object--Christ's Crown of Thorns--rests in their hands. They must carry the holy relic to the safety of Constantinople, away from a corrupt emperor and old enemies determined to steal it for their own gain.

But an even greater force arises to derail their quest--a secret cult willing to commit any atrocity to capture the Crown of Thorns. And all the while, the gruesome murder and the conspiracy behind it haunt Arria's thoughts.

Arria and Garic's marital bonds are tested but forged as they partner together to fulfill one of history's most challenging missions, The Quest for the Crown of Thorns.

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Praise

"Ripley Miller astutely brings to life a Rome teetering precariously on the brink of collapse ...the combination of political and romantic drama--spiritual as well--is rousing. The reader should be glad to have read this volume and eager for a third. Intelligent and artfully crafted historical fiction..." -Kirkus Reviews

"From cover to cover a gripping read - in all senses of the word! Grips your interest and imagination, your held breath and your pounding heart! A thumping good novel!" -Helen Hollick USA Today bestselling author of the Sea Witch Voyages

"Forbidden love, a turbulent time period, and world-changing events combine to produce a real page-turner." -India Edghill, author of Queenmaker, Wisdom's Daughter, and Delilah.

"A passionate and intriguing take on the often overlooked clash of three brutal and powerful empires: the Romans, Franks, and Huns. A Compelling read!" -Stephanie Thornton, author of The Secret History and The Tiger Queens

"Readers will be absorbed by a setting of barbarian Gaul and the constancy of Arria's and Garic's destined love amid the strife of a dying Roman Empire." -Albert Noyer, author of The Getorius and Arcadia Mysteries

"The Quest for the Crown of Thorns, is an elegant masterpiece of historical fiction. This book totally ensnared me in its clasps, and it did not release me until I had read it all. The attention to detail was exquisite The characterisation was sublime, and the romance was breathtakingly beautiful. I adored the world that Miller has created, as well as the characters in it. This is a sit-down and finish book and is one I would Highly Recommend." -Mary Anne Yarde author of the Du Lac Chronicles

Interview with Cynthia Ripley Miller

Tell us a little about yourself and your background? I’m the author of On the Edge of Sunrise, the first novel in the Long-Hair Saga, a series set in late ancient Rome and France, and a Chanticleer International Chatelaine Award finalist. I’ve lived and travelled in Europe, Africa, North America and the Caribbean, taught history and currently, I teach English. My short stories have appeared in the anthology Summer Tapestry, The Scriptor, and at Orchard Press Mysteries.com. I also blog at Historical Happenings and Oddities: A Distant Focus and on my website, http://www.cynthiaripleymiller.com. I live with my husband and our cat, Romulus, and German Shepherd, Jessie, in a suburb of Chicago. Book Two: The Quest for the Crown of Thorns was published on June 13, 2017.

Discuss your newest book. The Quest for the Crown of Thorns is the sequel to On the Edge of Sunrise. My heroine and hero are drawn into mysterious death and propelled on a dangerous mission when they are entrusted to get a sacred relic to Constantinople. Secrets from book one are also revealed.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? When I went to college, my teachers praised my writing, and later, when I discovered that a line I used in a letter to the Oprah Winfrey Show in America made it into the script of one of her television shows, it was a boost to my confidence.

What are your current projects? I’m working on book 3 in my series, The Long-Hair Saga set in late ancient Rome.

What books have most influenced your life? I studied World and English literature and so many authors stand out in my mind. Tolstoy, Dickens, Bronte, and Austen have inspired my romantic historical edge. Lewis and Irving brought the human condition to light for me.

What inspired you to write your first book? Reading the romantic historical adventure series, Outlander—it had all the elements of entertaining genre fiction that I enjoyed and getting my own laptop computer.

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special? Arria Felix is a Roman senator’s daughter. An only child, she’s been educated unconventionally for the times by a progressive father. She’s known in Rome and the countryside for her sharp sense of reason and deduction. Suffering from the loss of her soldier husband and looking for a purpose in her life, she accepts the position of political envoy to the barbarian tribes in Gaul. She will recruit their help against Attila the Hun who has invaded the empire.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? On the Edge of Sunrise is crafted as a romantic historical suspense and adventure novel. The foremost themes blended into the story are courage, love at first sight—an aspect of life that still occurs today—and loyalty.

What is the hardest thing about writing? For me it’s carving out long blocks of uninterrupted time. Once I start, time grabs me and accelerates. If I’m undisturbed, hours fly by before I know it. When something interrupts me, I feel jarred into the present. I have found that the library over my office is the perfect writing hideaway for me.

What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book? Research. Everything must be fact checked for the time period and locations. From flowers and trees to garments, food, vehicles, customs and weapons, it’s best not to assume. I once had a character put her hand in a dress pocket. It didn’t occur to me until much later that—wait! I don’t think the pocket came into use until the Middle Ages. People did not use pockets in late ancient Rome. Or, the sunflower is not indigenous to Tuscany, but the poppy is a native flower.

What is the easiest thing about writing? For me, it’s writing dialogue. I‘m generally not that talkative, but for some reason, my characters have plenty to say!

What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Do your homework on all levels. Know what the industry is about, write a good story, trust your instincts, and join a writer’s group.

About the Author

Cynthia Ripley Miller is a first generation Italian-American writer with a love for history, languages and books. She has lived, worked, and travelled in Europe, Africa, North America and the Caribbean. As a girl, she often wondered what it would be like to journey through time (she still does), yet knew, it could only be through the imagination and words of writers and their stories. Today, she writes to bring the past to life.

She holds two degrees and has taught history and teaches English. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology Summer Tapestry, at Orchard Press Mysteries.com and The Scriptor. A Chanticleer International Chatelaine Award finalist for her novel, On the Edge of Sunrise, she has reviewed for UNRV Roman History, and blogs at Historical Happenings and Oddities: A Distant Focus

Cynthia has four children and lives with her husband, twin cats, Romulus and Remus, and Jessie, a German Shepherd, in a suburb of Chicago.

On the Edge of Sunrise is the first in the Long-Hair Saga; a series set in late ancient Rome and France and published by Knox Robinson Publishing. The second book in the series, The Quest for the Crown of Thorns, was released in June 2017.

For more information please visit Cynthia Ripley Miller's website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 7
Feature at Mello & June, It's a Book Thang!

Tuesday, August 8
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, August 9
Feature at Aurora B's Book Blog
Feature at The Never-Ending Book

Thursday, August 10
Feature at CelticLady's Reviews
Feature at What Is That Book About

Friday, August 11
Feature at Just One More Chapter

Sunday, August 13
Feature at A Holland Reads

Monday, August 14
Interview at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, August 15
Review at Bookramblings
Feature at Impressions In Ink

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we are giving away a copy of The Quest for the Crown of Thorns to one lucky winner! To enter, please see the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on August 15th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to residents in the US 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.

Sarah's Secret by Beverly Scott ~ Blog Tour & Giveaway

Today, Passages to the Past is thrilled to be kicking off Beverly Scott's Blog Tour for Sarah's Secret: A Western Tale of Betrayal and Forgiveness! You can read all about the book below & enter to win a paperback!

Sarah's Secret: A Western Tale of Betrayal and Forgiveness by Beverly Scott

Publication Date: January 31, 2017

eBook & Paperback; 306 Pages

Word Project Press

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Western

Follow the paths of Sarah and Will (or Sam) as they tell their stories of trust, secrets, and betrayal on the frontier in the old West. Their pioneer spirit helped to fuel the expansion into the Western territories of the United States. The two are historically on their separate journeys, yet they remain intimately connected. Through the fictionalized Western frontier tale of Sam and Sarah, the author, Beverly Scott, was inspired to reveal rumored secrets from her family history.

In 1878, Will is on the run after killing a man in a barroom gunfight. He escapes the Texas Rangers by joining a cattle drive as a cook headed to Dodge City. He struggles with the dilemma of saving his life or attempting to return to his pregnant wife and five children. Just when he thinks he might be able to return home, he is confronted by a bounty hunter who captures him and plans to return him to Fort Worth, Texas to be hanged.

Although Will changes his name to Sam, he remains an irresponsible, lonely and untrustworthy man on the dodge from the law who abandons the women he loves. He ultimately seeks redemption and marries Sarah.

In 1911, Sarah, a pioneer woman and widow with five children struggles to find the inner strength to overcome betrayal, loneliness, fears, and self-doubt. Her husband, Sam, thirty years her senior, died with a mysterious and defiant declaration, “I won’t answer!”. Despite poverty and a crippling illness, she draws on her pioneer spirit to hold her family together and return to Nebraska to be near her parents and siblings.

When Sarah returns to Nebraska she receives staggering news which complicates her efforts to support her children. She is shocked, angry and emotionally devastated. Since she is attempting to establish herself in the community as a teacher, she believes she must keep her secret even from her own family. Will Sarah find forgiveness in her heart and the resolve to accept her new life alone?

Praise for Sarah's Secret

“In the flash of one moment, the trajectory of a man’s life and of those who loved and depended on him changes forever. The developing plot draws the reader in as we wait to see how this one action reaches into and impacts the lives of future generations. Set against the backdrop of a post-Civil War nation, when thousands headed west to escape their past, disappear into the horizon, and remake themselves, this biography is a rich study of pioneer ethos and the risks faced every day. The women touched by this man, who kept his secrets close, are heroines of courage, steadfastness and goodness. Beverly Scott is an author who has a way of painting word pictures that make you feel like you are a part of the story as it unfolds towards the discovery of his devastating secrets.” -Patricia and Craig Neal, co-founders, Heartland Inc.

“Using the plain spoken language of the women and men who scratched out life on the hard scrabble plains in the early days of this young country Bev Scott crafts a sharp picture of the violence and the love that shaped the middle of this nation. Every river crossing, each spring planting reveals the conflicts inside the characters and their struggle to survive in contested territories.” -Jewell Gomez, Author, The Gilda Stories

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