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Friday, August 14, 2015

Cover Reveal/Giveaway: America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie


Tasty Book Tours is Pleased to Present...


AMERICA'S FIRST DAUGHTER
Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie
Releasing March 1st, 2016
William Morrow
Historical Fiction 


In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph—a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.

From her earliest days, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate in the wake of her mother’s death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France. And it is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that she learns of her father’s liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age.

Patsy too has fallen in love—with her father’s protégé, William Short, a staunch abolitionist intent on a career in Europe. Heartbroken at having to decide between being William’s wife or a devoted daughter, she returns to Virginia with her father and marries a man of his choosing, raising eleven children of her own.

Yet as family secrets come to light during her father’s presidency, Patsy must again decide how much she will sacrifice to protect his reputation, in the process defining not just Jefferson’s political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.

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LAURA CROGHAN KAMOIE is a historian specializing in colonial and revolutionary America, Virginia history, and the history of slavery. She holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from The College of William and Mary and has published two historical monographs, including Irons in the Fire: The Business History of the Tayloe Family and the Virginia Gentry, 1700-1865 (University Press of Virginia, 2007). Laura is an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy. In her fourteen years of college teaching, she has taught numerous graduate and undergraduate courses on colonial America, revolutionary America, African-American Slavery, as well as seminars on Thomas Jefferson.

As LAURA KAYE, she is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen titles in contemporary and paranormal romance. Her books have won numerous industry awards, including the EPIC eBook Award, the Golden Leaf award, the PRISM award, and the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit. She is a frequent panelist at national writing conferences and a frequent instructor of craft and social media workshops. Laura lives just outside the nation’s capital with her husband and two young daughters.

Find Laura Here




STEPHANIE DRAY is a bestselling and award-nominated author of historical women’s fiction. Her series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into six different languages, was nominated for a RITA Award and won the Golden Leaf. As STEPHANIE DRAVEN, she is a national bestselling author of paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and American-set historical women’s fiction. She is a frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near the nation’s capital. Before she became a novelist, she was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the stories of women in history to inspire the young women of today.

Find Stephanie Here


Thursday, August 13, 2015

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva by Eliza Redgold


We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don’t know her true story.

We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva’s ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for ‘peeping Tom’) and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax.

Naked is an original version of Godiva’s tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva. A tale of legendary courage and extraordinary passion, Naked brings an epic story new voice.

Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Pages: 320
Genre: Historical Fiction
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PRAISE

“Redgold’s variation on this enticing legend is often lyrical and offers a satisfying blend of history, lore, and romance.” (Booklist)

“Breathes new life into the story of the woman who would stop at nothing to protect her land and people.” (Romantic Times)

“NAKED delivers far more than the famous ride of Lady Godiva. It’s a beautifully woven story of love, loyalty, and the determination of a young woman trying to protect her people and their way of life, no matter the price. Godiva is a wonderfully strong woman in an age of dangerous men, and in NAKED, she certainly meets her match!” (Amalia Carosella, author of HELEN OF SPARTA)

“A wonderful, romantic retelling of the Lady Godiva legend. There is the colorful Anglo-Saxon backdrop, warriors, battles, peacemaking, desire, revenge and love – everything a fan of medieval romance could desire – plus a strong-willed heroin. Written with a lyrical lilt to her prose, Redgold adds realism to the myth and love to the lusty tale, allowing readers a glimpse into what might have been.” (RT Book Reviews)

 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | ITUNES | INDIEBOUND | KOBO

 

ELIZA REDGOLD is based upon the old, Gaelic meaning of her name, Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd. English folklore has it that if you help a fairy, you will be rewarded with red gold. She has presented academic papers on women and romance and is a contributor to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. As a non-fiction author she is co-author of Body Talk: a Power Guide for Girls and Stay-at-Home Mothers: Dialogues and Debates. She was born in Irvine, Scotland on Marymass Day and currently lives in Australia.

For more information visit Eliza Redgold’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Google+.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, August 10
Tuesday, August 11
Spotlight at Passages to the Past
Wednesday, August 12
Guest Post at The Maiden’s Court
Spotlight at A Book Geek
Thursday, August 13
Spotlight at Just One More Chapter
Friday, August 14
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Saturday, August 15
Guest Post at Mina’s Bookshelf
Monday, August 17
Review at A Bookish Affair
Tuesday, August 18
Review at Book Nerd
Guest Post at A Literary Vacation
Wednesday, August 19
Review at Unshelfish
Thursday, August 20
Guest Post at A Bookish Affair
Friday, August 21
Monday, August 24
Review at I’m Shelf-ish
Guest Post at Bibliotica
Tuesday, August 25
Review & Interview at History Undressed
Guest Post at Curling Up By the Fire
Wednesday, August 26
Review at Bookish
Spotlight at The True Book Addict
Thursday, August 27
Review & Guest Post at Romantic Historical Reviews
Guest Post at The Lit Bitch
Friday, August 28
Review at A Book Drunkard

GIVEAWAY

To enter to win a copy of Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva or a $50 Amazon Gift Card, please enter via the GLEAM form below. Three winners will be chosen.
Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on August 28th. 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. Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva Blog Tour

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill  at  Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.   

 This week I am waiting for:

Hardcover, 256 pages
Expected publication: October 27th 2015 by Random House Delacorte


Set in gilded age New York, These Shallow Graves follows the story of Josephine Montfort, an American aristocrat. Jo lives a life of old-money ease. Not much is expected of her other than to look good and marry well. But when her father dies due to an accidental gunshot, the gilding on Jo’s world starts to tarnish. With the help of a handsome and brash reporter, and a young medical student who moonlights in the city morgue, Jo uncovers the truth behind her father’s death and learns that if you’re going to bury the past, you’d better bury it deep. 

 
What are you waiting for?

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Guestpost with Kimberly Belle (The Ones We Trust)


I'm very excited to have Kimberly Belle (author of The Ones We Trust) here today.  I pondered the topic for todays post and this is what I presented and the nice respond I got back.  

"Mystery - Hot or Cold - how do you keep it at the right level?" 
How to keep the story line unique with enough hints without giving away the ending too soon.  Do you plot the whole book out before you begin and what happens when the story takes a different direction then originally planned?

Hi, Margaret, and thank you so much for having me!

My latest novel, The Ones We Trust, is a story about Abigail Wolff, a former DC journalist who in an attempt to rehabilitate her career, finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan. The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier's brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.

When I sat down to write this one, I had little in my head beyond what happened to the slain soldier (a man we never meet on the page, so the backstory) and a love-hate relationship between my two main characters, Abigail and Gabe. Those three things were my little story seeds.

But three seeds do not a story make. I needed a lot more before I could begin writing. I started by giving Abigail a father with something to hide, and Abigail a fierce belief in the public’s right to know the truth. This is a major conflict in this story, as the deeper Abigail digs, the less she believes her father was acting with the best intentions. I also created a painful event in her past, and threw in a couple of characters that would act as reminders of it in her present; she was constantly being confronted with her past mistakes. And I put her and Gabe together in a way that, considering their emotional baggage, meant sparks would fly—and not necessarily in a good way. These three things stirred up plenty of conflict as my characters worked their way through the novel.

For me, the biggest challenge of writing any story is taking the armature of the suspense plot—in this case, Abigail and Gabe’s search for the truth—and developing characters that feel real, and not simply reacting to the plot points I create for them. Characters have to learn and grow for a story to really resonate, and though I have their stories in my head when I sit down to write, they always end up surprising me along the way.

Yes, The Ones We Trust is a suspense story, but with some romance and family drama thrown in for good measure. Ultimately, it’s a tale about how love can provide strength and hope for the future. That’s what I hope sticks with readers most, that even after great loss, there’s a way to carry on and cope.


click on the book cover to take you to my review