I am exciting to be hosting the blog tour for Bloody Dominions (The Conquest Trilogy, Book 1) by Nick Macklin #BookReview #AncientRome @NMacklinAuthor @maryanneyarde

 

 

Bloody Dominions

(The Conquest Trilogy, Book 1)

By Nick Macklin

 

Journey with those at the heart of the conflict as Caesar embarks on the tumultuous conquest of Gaul 58-51 BC. Book One 58-56 BC.

 

As Caesar’s campaign begins, tests of courage and belief will confront the three protagonists, shaping them as individuals and challenging their views of the world and each other:

 

Atticus – an impetuous but naturally gifted soldier, whose grandfather served with distinction in the legions;

 

Allerix – a Chieftain of the Aduatuci, who finds himself fighting both for and against Caesar; and

 

Epona – a fierce warrior and Allerixs’ adopted sister.

 

Experiencing the brutalities of conflict and the repercussions of both victory and defeat, Atticus, Allerix and Epona will cross paths repeatedly, their destinies bound together across time, the vast and hostile territories of Gaul and the barriers of fate that have defined them as enemies. In a twist of fate, Atticus and Allerix discover that they share a bond, a secret that nobody could ever foresee…

 

I cannot possibly give justice to how great this book is in a few sentences. This is a wonderful portrayal of the Roman conquest of Gaul.

 

This book has three main characters. First and foremost is Atticus, a Roman Legionnaire who always finds himself in the thick of it. Then, Allerix, Prince of the Aduatuci, fighting alongside the Romans while opposing their every decision. Finally, Allerix’s sister, Epona, a woman smart and strong enough to win almost every fight, no matter how big or strong her opponent may be. This book made me fall in love with all three characters, and I often found myself worrying for their safety. I would put the book down for a moment, to do something, and find myself running back to it, desperate to know what happens next, and hoping that all the characters remain unscathed.

 

There is action aplenty, although that is to be expected with a book such as this. The immense amount of detail, the concern about the characters, the story in itself – all of it is enough to pull you into the book and keep you there, forcing you to stay up later than you intended because you cannot bear to put the book down and leave it there. This book makes you want to read just one more chapter, and then one more! When I reached the end of the book, I found myself staring at the last page, astonished that the story was left where it was and that I would have to wait to find out how the story continues, as book 2 is NOT OUT YET!

 

If you want to read a good book, and you are a fan of any kind of action, this book is the one you must get, no questions asked.

 

 

Bloody Dominions (The Conquest Trilogy, Book 1) is
avaliable to purchase at the following stores:

Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon AU

Barnes and Noble,  Waterstones, Kobo, iBooks, Google Play, WHSmith

 

Nick Macklin

 

 

A history graduate, Nick enjoyed developing the skills that would stand him in good stead during the extensive research he conducted prior to writing his novel. Whilst the ancient world unfortunately didn’t feature to any extent in his history degree, (the result of failing miserably to secure the A level grades that would have permitted greater choice) he maintained a lifelong and profound interest in ancient history and especially the Roman Empire, continuing to read avidly as he embarked on a career in HR. Over the next 30 years or so Nick occupied a variety of Senior/Director roles, most recently in the NHS. Unsurprisingly, writing in these roles was largely confined to the prosaic demands of Board papers but Nick never lost the long-harboured belief, motivated by the works of writers such as Robert Fabbri, Robyn Young, Anthony Riches, Simon Scarrow, Matthew Harffy and Giles Kristian, that he too had a story to tell. When he was presented with a window of opportunity c3 years ago he took the decision to place his career on hold and see if he could convert that belief into reality.

 

Nick always knew that he wanted to set the novel against the backdrop of a significant event/period in Roman history. Looking to narrow that down to something offering the potential for meaningful character and plot development, but that hadn’t already received exhaustive coverage, he settled on Caesars tumultuous occupation of Gaul. Spanning 8 years, the prolonged clash of cultures offered ample opportunity for the kind of dual perspective from which he was hoping to tell the story, whilst the violent conflict provided a wealth of exciting material to explore the changing fortunes of war and its impact at a personal level. The switching of allegiances, nations fighting for and against Rome also provided the potential for some intriguing plot lines. As his research unfolded, he was also struck by just how heavily the Roman psyche during this period was influenced by the scare they had received 50 years earlier when Germanic tribes invaded their territories and defeated their legions. Seeing references to the veterans of that war watching their sons and grandsons enlist for a similar campaign, he started to think about developing that link on both sides of the conflict. And so, the idea for the Conquest Trilogy was born.

In Bloody Dominions Nick has sought to produce a novel in which unfolding events are experienced and described from the perspective of protagonists on both sides of Caesar’s incursion into Gaul.  Conscious that the role of women in Roman fiction, Boudica aside, is largely confined to spouse, prostitute or slave, Nick wanted to ensure that one of his lead characters was female and a prominent member of the warrior clan of her tribe. The novel is driven by these characters but the framework against which their stories unfold is historically accurate, featuring actual participants in Caesar’s campaign and drawing on real events as they occurred. As such Nick is genuinely excited about his characters and the story they have to tell.

 

Nick lives in Exeter with his two daughters and is currently juggling work as an Independent HR Consultant with writing the second novel in the Conquest Trilogy, Battle Scars. 

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Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Follow the tour - HERE.

 

 

I am exciting to be hosting the blog tour Over the Hedge by Paulette Mahurin #Historical Fiction #WW2 #BlogTour @MahurinPaulette @maryanneyarde

 

 

Over the Hedge

By Paulette Mahurin

 

During one of the darkest times in history, at the height of the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1943, members of the Dutch resistance began a mission to rescue Jewish children from the deportation center in Amsterdam. Heading the mission were Walter Süskind, a German Jew living in the Netherlands, Henriëtte Pimentel, a Sephardic Jew, and Johan van Hulst, principal of a Christian college. As Nazis rounded up Jewish families at gunpoint, the three discreetly moved children from the deportation center to the daycare across the street and over the backyard hedge to the college next door. From the college, the children were transported to live with Dutch families. Working against irate orders from Hitler to rid the Netherlands of all Jews and increasing Nazi hostilities on the Resistance, the trio worked tirelessly to overcome barriers. Ingenious plans were implemented to remove children’s names from the registry of captured Jews. To sneak them out of the college undetected past guards patrolling the deportation center. To meld them in with their new families to avoid detection. Based on actual events, Over the Hedge is the story of how against escalating Nazi brutality when millions of Jews were disposed of in camps, Walter Süskind, Henriëtte Pimentel, and Johan van Hulst worked heroically with the Dutch resistance to save Jewish children. But it is not just a story of their courageous endeavors. It is a story of the resilience of the human spirit. Of friendship and selfless love. The love that continues on in the hearts of over six hundred Dutch Jewish children.

 

Over the Hedge is avaliable on #KindleUnlimited

Amazon 

 

Paulette Mahurin

 

Paulette Mahurin is an international bestselling literary fiction and historical fiction novelist. She lives with her husband Terry and two dogs, Max and Bella, in Ventura County, California. She grew up in West Los Angeles and attended UCLA, where she received a Master’s Degree in Science.

Her first novel, The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, made it to Amazon bestseller lists and won awards, including best historical fiction 2012 in Turning the Pages Magazine. Her second novel, His Name Was Ben, originally written as an award winning short story while she was in college and later expanded into a novel, rose to bestseller lists its second week out. Her third novel, To Live Out Loud, won international critical acclaim and made it to multiple sites as favorite read book of 2015. Her fourth book, The Seven Year Dress, made it to the bestseller lists for literary fiction and historical fiction on Amazon U.S., Amazon U.K. and Amazon Australia. Her fifth book, The Day I Saw The Hummingbird, was released in 2017 to rave reviews. Her sixth book, A Different Kind of Angel, was released in the summer of 2018 also to rave reviews. Her last four books: Irma’s Endgame, The Old Gilt Clock, Where Irises Never Grow, and Over the Hedge all made it to bestselling lists on Amazon. Her new release, Over the Hedge, was #1 in Hot New Release Amazon U.K. it’s second day out. 

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, BookBub, Amazon Author Page, Goodreads 

Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for inviting me to take part in this tour.

Tour Schedule

 

 

 

I am exciting to be hosting the blog tour for THE AMBER CRANE by Malve von Hassell #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @MvonHassell @maryanneyarde

 

 

THE AMBER CRANE

By Malve von Hassell

 

Chafing at the rules of the amber guild, Peter, an apprentice during the waning years of the Thirty Years’ War, finds and keeps a forbidden piece of amber, despite the risk of severe penalties should his secret be discovered.

 

Little does he know that this amber has hidden powers, transporting him into a future far beyond anything he could imagine. In dreamlike encounters, Peter witnesses the ravages of the final months of World War II in and around his home. He becomes embroiled in the troubles faced by Lioba, a girl he meets who seeks to escape from the oncoming Russian army.

 

Peter struggles with the consequences of his actions, endangering his family, his amber master’s reputation, and his own future. How much is Peter prepared to sacrifice to right his wrongs?

 

Trigger Warnings:

References to rape, Holocaust, World War II, violence.

 

Excerpt 

 

Excerpt from Chapter 7  PATERNOSTERMAKERS

 

Peter shook his head as if to clear the fog from his mind, but only ended up banging it against a wall. He blinked and moved his hands, touching a familiar mattress stuffed with straw and a woolen blanket. He was in his bed, Cune snoring gently in the bed next to him.

 

After that, he had a hard time getting back to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he felt groggy. Confused, he gazed at the blues and reds of his blanket, the solid brown of his shoes, the dark floor planks, and the familiar walls, scuffed and gone yellow-grey from the candlelight. He lifted his hands and scrutinized them as if he had never seen them before, the pink tones under the nails, the blue veins on the inside of his wrist standing out, the white edges of his nails. Everything was blurred. In his mind, he was still in the flat black and white world of his dream. This was the third time it had happened.

 

“Are you falling asleep again?” Cune stuck his head in the door. “Come on, breakfast is on the table.”

 

Hurriedly, Peter pulled on his clothes and brushed his hair before making his way downstairs.

 

In the kitchen, Mistress Ottilie Nowak was pulling a loaf of bread out of the oven and placing large mugs of ale on the table. Small and slightly built, she rarely seemed tired.

 

Sometimes Peter would watch the fine lines around her mouth and remember that her two older sons had died a few years ago in a battle near Leipzig, fighting in the Swedish army. Her youngest child had died soon after birth. But usually Peter did not think about that. She was just the mistress, always ready with a warm meal and a comforting smile.

 

“Anne,” Mistress Nowak shouted. “Would you get the butter out of the pantry?” Her daughter complied with her usual morning grumpy expression.

 

“Oops.” Inga giggled. Anne’s little sister was playing with her spoon and some of the porridge from her bowl had splattered onto the table. Master Nowak had built a highchair for her so she could sit with everyone else.

 

“Stop that.” With deft motions, Mistress Nowak tied a towel around her little daughter’s chest and tucked it into the collar.

 

“Good morning.” Master Nowak walked in the door, returning from buying the paper. He never missed a single issue and insisted the apprentices read some of it. “You should be proud we have our own weekly paper,” he reminded them when they grumbled. “I expect my apprentices to be informed.”

 

Cune obediently stuttered his way through the main stories, sometimes begging Peter to help him. “He will ask us about it, Peter.”

 

Impatiently, Peter scanned the pages. “It is always the same—another battle, thousands killed, this time around the Swedes beat back the Imperial forces. It makes no difference. The war will just keep going until there is no one left alive to fight.” Then he relented and helped Cune decipher some of the words.

 

After eating their bread, Peter, Cune, and Anne started their day in the workshop. Master Nowak was working on his accounts that morning. Peter was relieved to be able to work for a few hours without his stern eyes on everything he did.

 

Peter drew the master’s attention almost every day. He worked too fast. His work was chipped or cracked. It needed more polish or hadn’t been soaked sufficiently. The holes were drilled off-center, or the rosary beads were not evenly sized. Master Nowak was never satisfied. He would never think Peter was ready for the exam.

 

Just yesterday, Peter had failed to soak a piece of amber sufficiently, so it cracked while he worked on it. He also managed to break off a chip on another one just because he was distracted. His thoughts wandered as he remembered walking past Marthe and two other girls on the market square whispering to each other. Marthe caught his eye and winked. He felt his face grow hot. They were talking about him, he knew it. 

 

Peter’s file and other tools tumbled to the floor with a clatter. He winced, not realizing he had been leaning against the narrow workbench until it had tipped to the side. He bent down and retrieved the amber he had been working on, the mouthpiece of a pipe, which had rolled under his chair. Dismayed, he saw there was a new chip along its edge.

 

Master Nowak came over. “You were not paying attention again,” he said mildly, taking the piece from Peter’s hand and looking at it carefully. “You are in luck. The chip is not too large; you can sand it down and polish it.”

 

Peter bent over his work, his cheeks hot. Master Nowak never raised his voice in the workshop. Sometimes Peter wished he did. It would be easier to bear than having to listen to his quiet voice, tinged with disappointment. Anne and Cune did not glance his way, seemingly absorbed by their work.

 

Today, Anne quietly headed to her work area, as usual neatly organized, clean, and swept free of all debris, where she picked up a small basket of beads that needed to be polished. Her braid was pinned back, so it did not interfere with her work.

 

Cune set to work drilling holes into beads, and Peter began the tricky process of filing away the outer layers of small rough pieces of amber.

 

Anne was the best of the three apprentices even though she had started a year later. Peter and Cune knew that perfectly well. She picked up new skills with ease. Peter thought her father should be proud of her, but instead, he criticized her every move. Anne never appeared to mind. Cheerfully flinging back her braids, she absorbed everything he said to her and carried on. Eagerly, she badgered her father for answers for everything.

 

Did people in the east really dig up amber from mines in the ground? How could amber be used to make eyeglasses? How old was it? Hundreds of years? Thousands of years? What was the biggest piece of amber he had ever seen?

 

Master Nowak was reluctant when it came to trying new methods, but because of Anne’s questions, he had begun to teach them how to fit different colored slivers together like a mosaic or inlay and how to carve more complicated shapes without cracking the amber.

 

Cune worked steadily and calmly. He always finished the work Master Nowak gave him, and he was patient. Master Nowak praised his diligence and rarely found fault with his work. He would be the first to be allowed to take the exam.

 

Cune hummed while he drilled holes into beads.  Several polished beads lay on the low table in front of his workbench. It had taken hours to get to this point. First, the raw nuggets had to get soaked so they would not crack during the work. The outer layer had to be filed away, turning the pieces into perfect rounds. Then came the tedious task of smoothing them with a pumice stone, rubbing them down with shavings. Finally, they had to be polished with slaked lime or whiting or tripoli, a porous rock. The final step was to drill a hole into each bead for the string.

 

“Do you not get tired of making these beads?” Peter stretched his back, stiff from leaning over the workbench. His thoughts confused, they traveled somewhere along torn-up fields to a girl in long trousers, with her thick hair hidden under a cap.

 

Cune shook his head and continued drilling.

 

Peter kept thinking about what he had seen in his dream. It had felt real and immediate, even though everything had appeared flat—like pictures pressed between pages of a book—and devoid of colors. Now, glancing at the pile of amber beads, butter yellow and dark golden, the tools in front of him, the brown floorboards, and Cune’s carrot-colored hair and light blue eyes, Peter was overcome by a sense of disorientation. His own world had become strange to him.

 

“It is not as if we use these beads ourselves,” he said peevishly. The biggest market for the rosary beads was in the south. “For all you know, Imperial soldiers will be praying with these rosary beads.”

 

Peter had always hated the name for amber workers—Paternostermakers.  Catholics referred to single beads on a rosary as a Paternoster. The beads were used for counting the prayers. Some of the rosaries made in Master Nowak’s workshop were more elaborate, including marker beads made of silver in addition to the regular counting bead. Sometimes, these marker beads were fashioned into shapes based on the Passion story: the hammer, the three nails, and the crown of thorns. Terminal beads, larger than regular ones, might be fashioned into a small flask for holy water or a pomander holding scent.

 

Peter put down his drill and flexed his hands before picking up the next bead. Cune worked steadily, humming softly. Irked by Cune’s contentment, Peter started the laborious process of polishing the amber while reciting the Paternoster as if it were a marching song. Admittedly, the prayer made for a nice solid rhythm for working.

 

Pater noster, qui es in cœlis;

sanctificatur nomen tuum:

Adveniat regnum tuum;

fiat voluntas tua,

sicut in cœlo, et in terra.

 

It always sounded better in Latin than in German. “Our Father, who art in heaven ...”

Cune looked up with a puzzled expression on his round face. “You should not be so disrespectful about the Lord’s Prayer.”

 

Peter shrugged. Cune was right to chide him, but he did not want to admit this. “I want to do more. I want to create beautiful pieces, not just a bunch of marbles.”

 

“I do not mind this work. At least I know what I have done at the end of the day.” Cune picked up a pumice stone and began sanding.

 

Anne was quiet, working steadily.

 

Peter glanced at her, so calm and neat. All he could see of her face was the curve of her cheekbone. Suddenly he remembered Effie. What if someone attacked Anne? But she was never alone. Mistress Nowak made sure of that. Effie should never have walked around by herself. Maybe she had done something to provoke someone into attacking her. Then he was ashamed all over again. How could he blame Effie? He shook his head. All this thinking would not do any good.

 

Trying to focus on his work, Peter breathed in the spicy scents of heated amber and amber dust. Usually, he loved the workshop with its stools and workbenches in front of long narrow tables, with wooden bars above on which they hung strings of finished beads. In front of each workstation was a box of tools, neatly organized. Every evening, Master Nowak ran an experienced eye over the workstations, reprimanding his apprentices when they failed to put their cleaned tools back into their proper places.

 

Now, Peter was restless and irritated by everything. “I just get so annoyed sometimes,” he grumbled. “Remember the other day when Master Nowak told us about his idea to use linseed oil for making amber more transparent?”

 

“Yes, so?” Cune raised his eyebrows.

“It was brilliant. You would simply soak the amber in heated linseed oil for a little while. That’s all. But can we use this? No. Of course not. The guild hasn’t approved it, and they have to approve every little bit of innovation. This is so infuriating.”

 

“I am sure the guild will introduce some of these innovations soon.”

 

“Why should we have to wait for them? Besides, we are stuck with these old tools.” Peter waved his drill around in his frustration. “In Paris, they use all sorts of new tools to produce the finest work. And then the guild members are shocked when we can’t compete in the markets. That is what they get for obsessing about tradition and protective tariffs.”

 

“Oh, Peter, stop whining,” Cune snapped. “Just do your work. Master Nowak will be upset if we do not finish what he gave us for the day.”

 

 

THE AMBER CRANE is available from:

 

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Booshop.org

Malve von Hassell 

 

 

Malve von Hassell is a freelance writer, researcher, and translator. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the New School for Social Research. Working as an independent scholar, she published The Struggle for Eden: Community Gardens in New York City (Bergin & Garvey 2002) and Homesteading in New York City 1978-1993: The Divided Heart of Loisaida (Bergin & Garvey 1996). She has also edited her grandfather Ulrich von Hassell's memoirs written in prison in 1944, Der Kreis schließt sich - Aufzeichnungen aus der Haft 1944 (Propylaen Verlag 1994). She has taught at Queens College, Baruch College, Pace University, and Suffolk County Community College, while continuing her work as a translator and writer. She has self-published two children’s picture books, Letters from the Tooth Fairy (2012/2020) and Turtle Crossing (2021), and her translation and annotation of a German children’s classic by Tamara Ramsay, Rennefarre: Dott’s Wonderful Travels and Adventures (Two Harbors Press, 2012). The Falconer’s Apprentice (namelos, 2015) was her first historical fiction novel for young adults. She has published Alina: A Song for the Telling (BHC Press, 2020), set in Jerusalem in the time of the crusades, and The Amber Crane (Odyssey Books, 2021), set in Germany in 1645 and 1945. She has completed a biographical work about a woman coming of age in Nazi Germany and is working on a historical fiction trilogy featuring Adela of Normandy.

 

Website, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BookBub, Amazon Author Page, Goodreads 

 

Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for the opportunity to be a part of this tour.  

Follow the tour - HERE.