Marie Conner – A Leading Lady by Elle Mott

 

Publication Date: February 11th, 2026
Publisher: Luminare Press
Pages: 303

Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction / Historical Non-Fiction

Marie was born a girl. That was only her first mistake, according to her father.

    In an era when daughters and wives are not supposed to be concerned with matters outside the home, Marie is determined to prove him wrong. To do this, she must break down barriers placed on women in society, overcome difficulties that befall her, surpass hardships from the Great Depression, and then face an inevitable relocation.

         Marie steps into her community and into the hearts of many people to give her time and help with their needs. She wants nothing in return other than her father's acceptance as a worthy woman and yet, she gains much in return, even if it is not her father's praise. This is Marie’s story—of a rise from her girlhood angsts to become a leading lady—and much more.

This definitive biography is the empowering true story of one trailblazing woman who, in the mid-1900s in small-town America, changed her community and beyond for the better and forevermore.

Praise for Marie Conner – A Leading Lady:

"I enjoyed the fact that this was a personal story, since Marie was the author's great-grandmother. It was also wonderful to read about a time when women were honored for their charitable work and valued for being caring neighbors. In our age of materialism, we often lose sight of just how meaningful it can be to be part of a caring community. I especially appreciated the inclusion of several excerpts from Marie's articles describing the needs of others. Her willingness to serve was astonishing and inspiring. Those who enjoy reading the histories and personal stories of women, who are far too often overlooked, will enjoy Marie's story."
~ Samantha Wilcoxson, award-winning author of Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"A deeply powerful memoir detailing the life of Marie Conner and the struggles she encountered as a woman growing up in a male-dominated society. The level of detail in this story is astonishing; I felt as though I could step right into Marie’s shoes, experiencing her triumphs and setbacks alongside her."
~ Kayla Frederick, bestselling author. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Elle Mott

Elle Mott is a creative nonfiction author who weaves advocacy and strength into her writing, empowering readers to find their purpose.

“Marie Conner, A Leading Lady" is her third book. She is also the author of “Out of Chaos: A Memoir” and “People Helping People”. 

Her next book, releasing this fall, will be as a contributing co-author to “When Women Talk, Notes From the Future: What I Would Tell My Younger Self”. Her other publications have been featured in literary journals, news magazines, and anthologies.

She has a background working in libraries, both at the college level and, for more than ten years, at the public library in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. While library work is her livelihood, writing is her passion. 

Elle grew up in Oregon and now makes her home in the suburbs of northern Kentucky with two cats and several pet birds.

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One More Hour of Daylight by C.M. Gray

 

Publication Date: June, 2026
Publisher: Constance Books
Pages: 417
Genre: Historical Fiction / WWII Thriller

From the Bestselling Author of Shadowland

On the first day of World War II, a young man makes a promise—one that will shape every choice he makes for the next four years.

Essex. September 1939.

A wounded German pilot drops from a clear autumn sky into a quiet English field. Seventeen-year-old Derrick finds him—broken and feverish. Not an enemy. Just a young man asking for one small mercy before everything ends.

One more hour of daylight. That is all I ask. A chance to breathe free air before whatever comes next.

Derrick gives him until morning.

When the stretcher comes, the pilot’s last words strike Derrick like a blow he will never stop feeling.

Scotland. France. Germany. 1941–1943.

In the mountains of Scotland, they teach him how to kill, how to lie, and how to endure things that break most men. Then they give him a new name, put him on a plane, and drop him into the dark.

As an SOE operative deep inside occupied Europe, Derrick Sedgley lives on false papers, borrowed names, and nerves worn to nothing by years in the shadows. He moves agents to safety, builds escape routes, and stays one breath ahead of the Gestapo.

Then a mission collapses—and everything changes.

Forced to run, Derrick finds himself moving through the most dangerous corners of occupied Europe alongside someone whose connection to his past he cannot yet see. As safe houses fall, loyalties fracture, and the frozen passes of the Pyrenees rise ahead like the edge of the world, Derrick begins to understand something.

The choice he made in an Essex field on the first day of the war has been leading him here all along.

Some debts cannot be paid.

Some can only be carried.

And some—if you are brave enough, and fortunate enough—can finally be laid to rest.

From the quiet fields of Essex to the mountains of Scotland, from the dangerous streets of Lyon to the shadows of wartime Hamburg and the high passes of the Pyrenees, One More Hour of Daylight is an unforgettable story of courage, guilt and redemption—of ordinary people forced to make impossible choices in extraordinary times.

Some promises can survive a war.

Some people can too.

For readers who believe that even in war, what matters most is who we choose to be.

Praise for One More Hour of Daylight:

"A beautifully written book with a perfect pace that kept me reading
from start to finish."
~ Bookcollector, Amazon 

"A confident, carefully crafted novel that handles its subject matter with restraint, earning the weight it carries."
~ Indie Library, Goodreads 

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This novel is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

C.M. Gray

C.M. Gray's first book, The Flight of the Griffin, was longlisted in the 2015 Times Chicken House Writing Competition. Shadowland, the first book in the Pendragon Saga, has so far received over 900 five-star reviews on Amazon. These things still genuinely astonish him, and he is deeply grateful for every one of them.

Most of his previous work has been fantasy: either pure fantasy or historical fantasy, the kind of writing where druids turn up uninvited and one of your main characters develops an unsettling affinity with wolves before you have quite decided what sort of book you are writing. Shadowland began with every intention of staying grounded in historical reality, the story of Uther Pendragon. It did not. It has turned out to be a popular book, so he does not complain.

His years travelling through Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East have a habit of finding their way onto the page. He has seen and done some fairly strange things along the way and met some extraordinary people, and writing fantasy has always felt, to him, only a short step from writing fact.

New for 2026

One More Hour of Daylight, marks C.M. Gray's return to writing. It was published in June 2026, marking a departure: pure historical fiction, no druids, no wolves. It follows Derrick Sedgley, a seventeen-year-old from Essex who makes a single moral choice in a field one September morning in 1939 and spends the next four years living with the consequences. From the Essex countryside to occupied France, from the mountains of Burgundy to the Pyrenees, it is a story about promises, betrayal, courage and the cost of doing the right thing too late.

And for those who have been waiting patiently for the Pendragon Saga to continue: the third book, Shadow's Heir, the story of Arthur Pendragon, follows in September 2026. More on that very soon.

C.M. Gray was born in England and grew up in the Essex countryside near the Suffolk border, which is where Derrick Sedgley grows up, too. The flat fields, the big skies and the particular quality of Essex light found their way into the book, whether he intended them to or not.

C.M. Gray is now very happily settled just outside Barcelona with his wonderful wife and partner in life, Adriana.

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Fearless Hearts Forbidden Love by Anthea Laurelton

 

Publication Date: September 8th, 2025
Publisher: Independently published
Pages: 336
Genre: Historical Romance / Historical Fantasy

To save her city, she must risk her life.

To fulfil his oath, he must harden his heart.

Together, they stand to lose everything.

Spartan warrior, Diokles, has waited years for the opportunity to right a failure that torments his heart and integrity. Sent to hunt down a threat to Sparta, this campaign may be his final chance to restore his honour and uncover the traitor whose actions blighted his life. Success is at his fingertips, but when duty forces him to take an unwilling accomplice, his plans are challenged in ways he never foresaw.

Leandra, high priestess of Apollysis, stands at the edge of revelation and ruin. Haunted by fragments of a forgotten past, she alone can uncover the truth that will save her city. To do so, she must wear the fabled Coronet of Apollo, a sacred act that could cost her life.

Bound together by necessity and desire, captor and captive race into danger the closer they draw to the shrine of Apollo. With a relentless enemy closing in, one who seeks Diokles dead and Leandra for himself, their growing passion becomes both their greatest strength and their most perilous weakness.

In a time where prophecy, honour, and blood rule, love was never part of the plan.

An epic historical adventure romance of bravery, betrayal, and forbidden desire.

Fully edited, revised version of 'Spartan Quest - Salvation' with extra scenes.

Praise for Fearless Hearts Forbidden Love:

"If you enjoy historical romance with strong characters, intriguing mythology, and a touch of adventure, this book is definitely worth reading. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series!"

~ Vanda Vadas, Scottish Historical Romance author

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Anthea Laurelton

Anthea Laurelton writes sweeping romances inspired by Ancient Sparta and Greek mythology. Her stories combine historical elements, forbidden love, dangerous quests and emotionally complex heroines for readers of mythological and historical fantasy.

A fan of sword and sandal movies, her plots blend slow-burn romance, dangerous quests, warrior culture and family intrigue for readers who crave epic adventures. Falling in love with Greek mythology at the age of thirteen, her love of the Spartans especially, came after reading Roger Lancelyn Green's THE TALE OF TROY where she cheered on Menelaus to take his queen back!

She left a career in IT to pursue her passion for storytelling and pander to an extremely spoilt German Shepherd whom she refers to as 'The Muse'.

A former equestrian, Anthea enjoys keeping active and has a bucket list of travel destinations waiting to be fulfilled.

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The Valet's Witness by Rohn Hein

 

Publication Date: July 1st, 2026
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 307
Genre: Historical Fiction

In the summer of 1776, as the Declaration of Independence takes shape within the charged chambers of the Second Continental Congress, two lives unfold in quiet, irrevocable collision-one etched into the official record, the other deliberately erased from it.

Edward Rutledge, the youngest delegate from South Carolina, moves with calculated precision through a world of rhetoric and reputation. Brilliant, ambitious, and deeply entangled in the economic realities of his homeland, he walks a perilous line between liberty and self-preservation. He argues fiercely for independence while working just as diligently to shield the institution of slavery from scrutiny, determined that the new nation will rise without unsettling the foundation upon which his power-and his prosperity-rests.

At his side stands Pompey, his enslaved valet-unseen, unacknowledged, yet ever-present. Moving silently through corridors thick with ambition and contradiction, Pompey becomes a witness to history in its most unguarded moments. He listens where others speak freely, observes where others perform, and remembers what others choose, or need, to forget. To the men shaping a nation, he is invisible; to the truth, he is indispensable.

Among the servants and valets attending the southern delegates, a hidden network begins to take shape-men bound by circumstance yet united by awareness. In kitchens, in narrow stairwells, in the shadowed edges of candlelit rooms, they exchange fragments of overheard debates and whispered concessions. They piece together a parallel record of the nation's birth: one of uneasy compromises, moral evasions, and calculated silences. They hear the arguments over freedom and tyranny; they witness the careful removal of any language that might threaten the institution that binds them.

As Rutledge maneuvers behind closed doors-pressing to strike any condemnation of slavery from the final draft-Pompey gathers something far more fragile and far more dangerous than political victory: memory. Each conversation, each omission, each moment of hesitation becomes part of a story that has no place in the official narrative. It is a story carried not in ink, but in the minds of those denied the power to write it.

Yet history has a way of resurfacing through the voices it tried to silence.

The Valet's Witness is a sweeping, intimate reimagining of America's founding, illuminating the lives that moved just beyond the margins of recorded history. With lyrical depth and moral clarity, it reveals not only how independence was declared, but what-and who-was sacrificed to secure it. In the space between liberty and bondage, between principle and profit, a hidden truth emerges-one that challenges the very meaning of freedom in a nation built on both hope and contradiction.

Praise for The Valet’s Witness:

"The historical research underpinning the novel is extensive. The atmosphere surrounding the Second Continental Congress is recreated with confidence, and the political negotiations feel carefully grounded in the historical record. Readers familiar with the American Revolution will appreciate the author's evident knowledge of the period, while those approaching it for the first time will find themselves immersed in both the personalities and the events that shaped the emergence of a new nation."
~ Ellie Yarde, Yarde Book Promotions 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"As someone who enjoys historical fiction that remains grounded in its period, I appreciated the care that had gone into recreating this pivotal moment in history."
~ Mary Anne Yarde, The Coffee Pot Book Club 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Rohn Hein

Rohn Hein is a first-time author with fifty years of involvement in non-partisan community activism. Starting as a VISTA volunteer in 1973, he worked for five different non-profit organizations working with welfare recipients, senior citizens, urban housing, racial justice, and environmental efforts in Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey. For the last 40 years Rohn was an investment adviser while volunteering with social justice activities in affordable housing, racial justice, and environmental issues. Rohn has written testimony presented in the Minnesota and New Jersey Legislature and appeared at numerous churches, city council, county, and regional government agencies.

He works with many New Jersey non-profit organizations on racial justice issues, such as The NJ Institute for Social Justice, Salvation and Social Justice, NJ NAACP, Fair Share Housing, and  UU Faith Action. He has worked on landmark affordable housing legislation and on the enactment of a racial justice impact statement on legislation in New Jersey.

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Via Malorum by G.G. MacLeod

 

Publication Date: October 3rd, 2025

Publisher: independently published

Pages: 216

Genre: Historical Fiction / Psychological Thriller / Dark Romantasy

In the shadows of Rome power bleeds red.

In the shadowed streets of ancient Rome, 37 CE, power is a blade that cuts both ways. Agrippina, a towering enigma of ambition, slips from Caligula’s gilded cage with her newborn son, Domitius, her mind a labyrinth of cold calculation. At her side prowls Messalina, a siren in scarlet, her seductive cunning as deadly as her blade. Together, they navigate a city teeming with decadence and deceit, pursued by whispers of treachery and the emperor’s wrath.

Their journey leads to the Temple of Fortuna where the enigmatic Prophet Cassandra unveils a cryptic fate – one that demands sacrifice and promises blood. As alleys echo with violence and forbidden passions ignite, Agrippina’s quest for dominion collides with Messalina’s ruthless desires. In a night where every step drips with danger, who will rise and who will fall?

VIA MALORUM is a visceral plunge into the heart of Roman darkness, blending historical intrigue with the chilling allure of giallo. Prepare for a tale where power bleeds red, and trust is a luxury none can afford.

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G.G. MacLeod

G.G. MacLeod is a 59-year-old Canadian male based in Calgary.

The author has always had a tendency of combining genres like horror and action along with drama, psychological thrillers, giallo, and sometimes even comedy.

It really depends on how the author feels from moment to moment as they write because the author likes to entertain themselves first and then hope that a smattering of other people out there in the world will like it as well.

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The Quest for the Crown of Thorns (The Long-Hair Saga) by Cynthia Ripley Miller

Publication Date: October 29th, 2018
Publisher: BookLocker
Pages: 211
Genre: Romantic Historical 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 Arria’s father, the esteemed Senator Felix, calling them to Rome. At Arria’s insistence, but against Garic’s better judgment, they leave at once.

 

On their arrival at Villa Solis, they are confronted with a brutal murder and a dangerous mission. 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 a greater force arises against them—a secret cult who will commit any atrocity to capture the Crown. 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.

Praise for The Quest for the Crown of Thorns:

"Research, writing, characterization and plot combine to make Quest for the Crown of Thorns a page turner. This is a must-read book for fans of history and romance. Don’t miss it!"

~ Amazon 5* Review

"This expertly researched saga reveals an era that rarely appears in historical fiction: AD 454 Rome. Ms. Ripley-Miller skillfully weaves the food, clothes, and over-all living environment into a unique plot."
~ Amazon 5* Review

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Cynthia Ripley Miller

Cynthia Ripley Miller is a first-generation Italian-American writer with a love for history, languages, and books. She has lived in Europe and traveled worldwide, holds two degrees, and taught history and English. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology Summer Tapestry, at Orchard Press Mysteries.com, and The Scriptor.

She is a Chanticleer International Chatelaine Award finalist with awards from Circle of Books: Rings of Honor and The Coffee Pot Book Club. She has reviewed for UNRV Roman History, and blogs at Historical Happenings and Oddities: A Distant Focus and on her website, www.cynthiaripleymiller.com.

Cynthia is the author of On the Edge of Sunrise, The Quest for the Crown of Thorns, and A Sword Among Ravens, books 1-3 in her Long-Hair Saga series set in Late Ancient Rome, France, and Jerusalem.

Cynthia lives outside of Chicago with her family and a cute but bossy cat.

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