It is 1294 and Eustace de Lamont is back in England after five years in exile. He will stop at nothing to ruin Robert FitzStephan and his wife, Noor d’Outremer.
Robert’s half brother, Eustace de Lamont, has not mellowed during his absence. He is more ruthless than ever, and this time he targets Robert’s and Noor’s foster son, Lionel.
Lionel is serving King Edward as a page when Eustace appears at court. Not only does Lionel become the horrified witness to Eustace’s violent streak, Eustace also starts voicing his suspicions about Lionel’s parentage. The truth about Lionel’s heritage is explosive—should King Edward find out, all would be lost for Robert and Noor.
In October of 1294, Wales rises in rebellion. Robert must leave his family unprotected to fight the Welsh rebels on the king’s behalf, comforted only by the fact that Eustace too is called to fight.
Except that Eustace has no intention of allowing his duty to his king—or a mere rebellion—come between him and his desire to destroy Robert FitzStephan . . .
Every time I say goodbye, I die a little
It is hard to write the last book in a series. After so many years with daily interaction with my characters, the journey is over. Not that my characters’ lives are—they have new adventures to look forward to, new challenges to address—but I am no longer steering their fate.
This, of course, is where things get really, really difficult, because I am, by nature, curious, and as I love my characters, I want to know what happens next. In one of my series, The Graham Saga, curiosity had me sticking with my protagonists well into their sixties, and boy, was that an exciting ride! Doing so with medieval characters, like Robert FitzStephan and Noor in Their Castilian Orphan, is somewhat more dangerous, in that death was a constant companion in times as fraught with conflict as the last decade or so of Edward I’s reign.
Thing is, as a writer one needs to be true to the period. Noor has so far survived all her childbirths—but the probability of her dying next time is high. Robert has suffered injuries, some very severe, but he is still alive. But what if Edward I calls on him to serve in his Scottish campaign? I gulp at the thought.
People who do not write find the attachment writers develop for their characters amusing—and a bit strange. “They don’t exist,” people tell me. Huh: they sure exist in my head and heart! They live and breathe, they have flaws and virtues. I know that Robert has a fondness for cheese, that Noor knows the name of every single ewe in her flocks and that Robert’s best friend, John the Gascon, is more than adept with needle and thread. I know little Alonso has a voice that will carry him out into the world and that Father Alain has a son he has never seen. So yes, to me they are real.
When I first started writing The Castilian Saga, my intention was to write one book. One, set against the backdrop of Edward I’s conquest of Wales in 1282/3. I have so far never managed to write only one book—all my stories expand into series—so I should not have been surprised when I reached the end of His Castilian Hawk only to immediately begin the sequel, The Castilian Pomegranate. But while writing the second book, I took a conscious decision not to expand the series beyond the events of 1294/95. Why that cut-off date, you may ask? Well, that is because in 1294, Wales exploded into a massive rebellion, surprising the English. I wanted to write about this, especially as the rebellion coincided with the French stealing Gascony from Edward I.
The king, to put it mildly, was not a happy bunny in 1294. He’d not been a happy bunny since late 1290 when his beloved wife, Eleanor of Castile, died. Writing Their Castilian Orphan gave me an opportunity to portray this somewhat terrifying king, now an older man afflicted by gout—and loneliness, because apparently he held himself to the memory of his dead wife.
Obviously, no one is going to tell me Edward I didn’t exist, and I love having my fictional characters interacting with the IRL peeps of their time, which is why Roger Mortimer of Chirk also plays a central role in The Castilian Saga. My Roger Mortimer is probably far more sympathetic than the real deal—this, after all, is a man suspected of having drowned his two Welsh wards to claim their lands—but people have many facets, and while Roger may have been horribly ruthless and callous towards others, to Robert FitzStephan he is a loyal friend.
Writing those final pages of Their Castilian Orphan meant not only saying farewell to Robert, Noor, their family and extended household. It also meant waving bye-bye to my interpretation of Edward I and Roger Mortimer. (Although Mortimer plays a central role in the first book of my series The King’s Greatest Enemy. In In the Shadow of the Storm, my Roger is pushing sixty and is the loyal supporter of his nephew and name sake, Baron Roger Mortimer who rebelled against Edward II.)
It is hard to let go, peeps. It is hard to lie awake at night and wonder if Noor and Robert will ever leave their home again only to hear Robert chuckle and tell me they’re off to Castile. “What?” I sit up straight in bed. “To Castile?” “Aye. The king has requested we travel there to offer his aid to Queen Maria, now that her husband is dead and her nefarious brother-in-law is threatening her and her son.” That, dear peeps, changes everything! No way am I letting Robert and Noor set off on such an adventure without me, no way! Or maybe I should: maybe I should take a deep breath and let them go, wishing them well. I sink back into my bed and close my eyes. In my head, new characters whisper new stories, while Noor blows me a kiss before taking her man by his hand and walking away. And yes, seeing as I am utter romantic, of course they walk off into a glowing sunset, surrounded by their children and that horribly ugly dog, Goblin.
Buy Links:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history, romance and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England. Anna has just released the final instalment, Their Castilian Orphan, in her other medieval series, The Castilian Saga ,which is set against the conquest of Wales. She has recently released Times of Turmoil, a sequel to her time travel romance, The Whirlpools of Time, and is now considering just how to wiggle out of setting the next book in that series in Peter the Great’s Russia, as her characters are demanding. . .
All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.
“A master storyteller”
“This is what all historical fiction should be like. Superb.”
Find out more about Anna, her books and enjoy her eclectic historical blog on her website, www.annabelfrage.com
Sign up to Anna’s newsletter to keep up with new releases, give-ways and other fun stuff: http://eepurl.com/cjgatT
21 tales of love, loss and the unexpected . . . exploring what it is to be human.
This collection encompasses the cycle of life, from finding love to challenging children, parents who misbehave, and beyond, with a sprinkling of mystery along the way to keep things interesting. Read cover to cover or dip in at random. There’s something for the briefest of moments to a well-earned break. Whatever time you have, Lily Lawson has a story to share with you …
I found this book to be quite touching and meaningful in nature. The poet writes about many subjects and I won’t write about them all. A dog, abandoned, found by a gentle woman, fed and slept part of the winter day, awoke, worried he might make a mess on her floor, not trustful that he won’t be abused, let out the front door and his business done, he looked back, she welcomed him back inside. After a very long time, the dog finally began to trust the human who gave him a forever home with food, love, water, warmth, caring, no longer fearful of being abused. Who does that not evoke thoughts of how some humans treat animals and each other. Food for thought. One more to touch on. I’ve two children in heaven. A man at age 22 becomes a father, and that information is kept from him for 22 years by his mother. Another tough read. To be the father of a 22 year old woman, never seen her, and he always wanted kids, his wife divorced him, and then he finds out the deep betrayal by his mother. She was wrong.
Please welcome Stacey Pierson to my blog this morning. Good morning, Stacey! I’m glad you were able to join us today. Shall we have a chat?
Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.
I’m Stacey L. Pierson. I am a horror writer living in Louisiana. By day I take notes and door dash, by night I write.
Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?
For me writing has always been my escape and the one thing I constantly had morning, noon, and night. I was a military brat, so moving around it was hard to keep friendships. But I never lost and made friends with the characters I created in wild adventures I put them through.
How difficult was it writing your first book?
With Vale, my YA bayou murder mystery I rewrote it 17 times. I didn’t have the voice for a long time until one day I placed a new character into it. Dark Descendants, my Creole Island horror, I knew what was happening with every key stroke. And my third not yet out Static, had it own floe. I was just riding the waves.
Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?
Oh yeah. I love twisting tropes in everything I write. When it came to finding my novels homes, it was hard. With every query, I felt I was taking a few steps back when someone said that what I was writing was too different. I wanted to quit, but didn’t because if I love the idea, then someone out there will too.
Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
My parents for sure. They are the best when it comes to beta reading and tossing ideas out. They have never had a problem telling this or that could be better, work on this, and I am blown away I forgot I was reading your word. And always telling how proud and howe much they love me.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Get through the first chapter. Lean into the characters words, and more importantly remember you are not in control when you fall for the words. And enjoy the ride because things are going to get bumpy with my stories. But fun.
What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?
Look at everything like a reader. Would you read that book? Would you read that type of story? If yes, then write it because if you love it, then others will too. And the person who told me this is my mom.
What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
I love horror. I want to have horror readers on the edge of their chairs like they are watching a movie. But I also love good thrillers. I want thriller readers to find the thrill inside the lines between the horror. It may be hidden but it’s there. I love the aspect of my writing, always asking the question what if in everything chapter. You never know where and how far I will write a character and scene.
Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?
For Dark Descendants I had a wonderful cover designer, A.A. Medina. All I did was mentioned a few things and let him take over. He buried the body in the right place with DD’s cover. Pure horror love.
What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?
I am working on a few things right now. But yes, I can share a line from one of them. It’s from my smalltown horror – “I might regret it in the end, but I am going to do everything I can to prove what I saw.”
Any last words before we wrap things up?
When writing a fist draft, don’t worry how long it is, how many notes you write in the margins, or writing in caps PUT SOMETHING HERE…just get it done. Once you feel you have sone the best you can, print it off, and have a blast editing and adding all through it.
My poem, “My Little Dragonfly,” appeared in Collected Whispers, The International Library of Poetry, in 2008. My YA novel, Vale, was released by Darkstroke Publishing in July 2022, as was my haunting poetry, Carnival, which appeared in Abditory Literary Journal’s Issue One: Mirabilia. Dark Descendants, my Creole Island horror novel, was published by Anuci Press and came out in May. Static, a different kind of ghost story, will be released in October 2024.
Of all these book awards, the most prestigious are the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, the International Booker Prize, PEN America Literary Awards, and the National Book Award. These awards are highly coveted, being recognized globally by authors alike across all genres.
Reader’s Favorite, Pencraft, Pinnacle, Readers Choice, Firebrand, Literary Titan, The Bookfest, Author Shout, etc to list a few that have legitimate contests despite the money required to enter them. They don’t make up categories or change their awards. Quality books in set genres win different levels. They are run with the style of a true awards should be. I now bring you the CROOKED one. This is NOT Libel or Slanderous as it is posted with the Better Business Bureau and the repost and complaint are visible for anyone to see and read.
On the image above, I see no mention of Her Alibi being a fiction book whatsoever. I will elucidate further. Please read the actual categories I never entered into. This will change as you will see if you read this post.
From Steven Seril:
Your Awards! ” Hi Mary! Congratulations on your huge success in our recent Outstanding Creator Awards contest! Attached below are your award certificates and two versions of our award seal that you are now free to use! — Steven Seril Outstanding Creator Awards OutstandingCreator.com
From Mary Schmidt:
Steven, Sorry, but I can’t accept the award because they are wrong for many reasons, sadly my efforts for awards have been destroyed and money wasted. I’m in tears! 1. Her Alibi is NOT fiction – thus it cannot take third place for best fiction spring 2024. I lived this hell for my entire life and now it is reliving a different hell for the categories to be so messed up. 2. Pseudo-Memoirs – what does that mean? 3. Parenting 2nd place? You can use that one. But what parenting did my mother do? She did none! 4. Psychological Fiction 2nd place? Her Alibi is NOT fiction! It should be Psychological Non-Fiction! But then it wasn’t judged in that category. I lived this entire book and it is a true memoir. Please don’t drag my book down publically with any news release. It’s not fair. 5. Horror 1rst place. I did live the horror of the entire book. 6. Best Supporting Character Honorable Mention? What is that? Who supported who? 7. Best Villain – Honorable Mention? How can that be? My mother was untreated for her mental illness from birth to age 82 years. My BISAC subjects are: TRUE CRIME / Forensics PSYCHOLOGY / Forensic Psychology FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse My THEMA subjects are: Memoirs True crime Coping with / advice about abuse True stories of heroism, endurance & survival Coping with / advice about death and bereavement Family psychology Psychological thriller My keywords are: shooting;gunshot;force feeding;abuse;gaslighting;alibi;crime;true crime;jailed;whipped;despicable;police;hid gun;fingerprints;psychotic;1960s;1970s The ONLY solution I see is to have HER ALIBI run in the current Summer contests which is unfair to me as I was judged with Spring books. What do you suggest? Those certificates are trashed. I won’t, and can’t, use them for publicity for the obvious reasons listed above. Those categories below can’t be rejudged for the spring or not? My BISAC subjects are: TRUE CRIME / Forensics PSYCHOLOGY / Forensic Psychology FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse My THEMA subjects are: Memoirs True crime Coping with / advice about abuse True stories of heroism, endurance & survival Coping with / advice about death and bereavement Family psychology Psychological thriller If you reply back, please reply to this email and CC to as I’m with doctors for the next few days, but I can read it via my phone email. I must go now, as the tears just won’t stop and I see no way to repair this. — Thank you so much! Mary Schmidt aka S. Jackson https://whenangelsfly.net/ M. Schmidt Productions
Steven:
Hi Mary, I hear what you’re saying and can understand your frustration. However, did you realize that at the beginning of “Her Alibi” it clearly states that this is a fictitious memoir, so we had to judge it based on that? I’ve attached a screenshot of that passage from the PDF that you submitted. So, we had to go based on that information. I’m sorry for all you’ve gone through with your real-life mother, and we really enjoyed your book and gave it a lot of props and credit. That’s why it won so many awards. We didn’t do that to hurt or spite you–of course not. We care about our authors and do what we can to elevate them. At the same time, we don’t feel it’s our fault that the book was stated to be a fictitious memoir in the book itself and went with that interpretation. I would also advise that you not take things so personally. The grand majority of people don’t respond to winning awards like this. We didn’t name the mother “Best Villain” or Harold as “Best Supporting Character” to be real-life, personal digs or insults at you or anyone else. We named them that because they’re compelling figures in your book that people might be intrigued to read about. They’re reasons to buy the book, in other words. Numerous other authors of memoirs and biographies have had themselves or people they knew named Best Villain, Best Character, or Best Supporting Character without issue. They all understand that it just shows that their book was read and that the person or persons described in it stood out to the reader. Regarding the Parenting category, this book is a good example of bad parenting. Don’t you think? It’s a book that focuses on what not to do and how not to be. Joseph Fagarazzi’s book in this contest also involved a very bad parent. Same with G.L. Franklin. They understood that their books were in those categories because they focused on parents, that includes bad or even horrifically bad ones. If you would like, we can adjust the entry to be third in Non-Fiction, change the category on the certificate to simply Memoir, remove it from Psychological Fiction, and remove the mentions of characters in the Special Awards. Again, attached below is the passage from the book describing it as a fictitious memoir. – Steven
Mary:
Steven, Please make sure my book is removed from whatever site it’s listed since the awards don’t fit my book. Can that be done ASAP please? I was going to go big on social media but I can’t. How to fix? How to fix fairly since spring books are done and those are the ones I competed in? If run in the right categories for summer then my book is up against books that are unfair to run against. Maybe you should refund my money for this terrible screwup? As it stands, I can’t recommend your awards at this time, depending on how you will fix this I’m so upset, I’m still crying. Hubby just suggested for me to not send anymore emails to reduce my stress level until you have a real plan, if any. Last resort if you can’t fix this fairly, refund my money and I report you to the Better Business Bureau how badly you and your people messed up. Then I post on social media everything that happened so wrongly done by my book, that no one looked at it to see it’s true story and not fiction.
Steven:
Mary, I can’t emphasize enough that we spent a lot of time reading and reviewing your books. We put a lot of thought, effort, and energy into doing so. We have a reputation for being thorough and brutally honest. It’s in our description. The scores and rankings you received were fair and reflected our feelings about the books and experiences with them. Keep in mind that you’re competing against dense books that have been edited, proofread, beta-read, and rewritten numerous times by professionals. Some of them were objectively better performing books than yours. I hope you understand that we can’t just move you up a spot or into 1st-place. That isn’t fair. I can offer to change the placement of the book into categories relating to points 1 and 3 (Non-Fiction, Autobiographies & Memoirs), then add your book to our Crime category (which will be noted to include True Crime / Forensics). In fact, I’ve spoken to some of the judges and we wouldn’t mind putting it in 1st-place in Crime since it is better and more interesting than the books currently in 2nd place in that category. You can be sent a new digital certificate reflecting that if you choose. – Steven
Steven:
Hi Mary, As a good faith gesture, here is an updated version of your award certificate with the desired categories. Mentions of it as fiction have been changed as well. It was also elevated to 2nd place in Non-Fiction (instead of 3rd-place in Fiction) due to being seen as comparable in quality and style to another book in that tier called “Swerve” by G.L. Franklyn. It was also placed in 1st-place in True Crime/Forensics as mentioned in the previous e-mail. – Steven
Mary:Funny how Steven can then change his verbiage and thoughts on my books! So now my books is comparable to quality and style of another?
Steven, That won’t work. You didn’t live this and you don’t understand. The psychological aspect and forensics are not mentioned. At All. Please see my attachments. You can’t simply read one sentence of a disclaimer and go by that. What about the last sentence of the disclaimer? I’ve thought long and hard on this. 1. Change Best Fiction book to Best Non-Fiction and a higher award level. 2. Change Pseudo – Memoir to True Memoir and up one level. 3. Add in True Crime/Forensics as I entered by typing that category. It needs a good rating for explicit descriptions of what happened throughout the book. I want you to read the book. A two hour read. 4. Leave Parenting, Horror, Best Supporting and Best Villian. Please see attachments. Thank you. PS: You dinged Christmas in Evergreen bad even though it had twists and turns and was heavily researched. Assassins, the KGB, what were you all thinking? My 50th book wasn’t good enough for anything better than one Second Place?
Steven, I truly can’t imagine spending a lot of time reading Her Alibi which is a short two hour read and with 12 actual photos makes it even less to read. I fail to understand how “a lot of time was used” looked at, most of this would have been non-issues.
You are the only award contest who didn’t look enough to see why the first sentence was a disclaimer. Every other contest looks at the categories and you didn’t! I even wrote that the focus was on the psychological aspect of having untreated mental illnesses until age 82.
It’s not that she got away with the shooting. It’s the mental, child, and grandchild, until she died in November of 2012. You write rankings were fair and brutally honest, yet the awards on my attached front cover shows how compelling Her Alibi truly is. Please take a good look. You slammed my writing style unfairly. True Crime / Forensics should have been noted right away. The certificate looks better, but take a good look at my cover. My book was professionally edited. So, how do you plan to FIX Christmas in Evergreen? I have that cover attached as well. By the way, this one was my 50th book! There are FOUR GOLD awards on it right now and I’m sure November. You don’t know me, and you don’t know my work and creativity. My reach on X (formerly known as Twitter) is over 50 million and I have the proof. I also hand painted my cover. Christmas in Evergreen to fix.
Mary, Your demanding and rude behavior is inappropriate and uncalled for. We will make no further accommodations in your favor. We have already gone above and beyond in fulfilling our obligations as a service including providing you with $10 discounts for each of your books, bonus categories at no additional cost, multiple awards, and redoing the digital certificate by request. Meanwhile, you have violated the Terms & Conditions that you agreed to when you entered our contest. Those are: – You acknowledge that by participating in the Outstanding Creator Awards contests that you are not guaranteed a satisfactory outcome (i.e. victory). – You also agree that you will not seek retribution against the judges or organizers of Outstanding Creator Awards for a perceived wrong (such as not winning or placing) such as by posting or sharing defamatory or slanderous statements on social media or to your associates Earlier, you had attempted to pressure us into improving your placement and ranking. That in itself is unethical in a competition. Furthermore, if we did not do this, you demanded your money back for a service that was already fulfilled that you signed up for almost 100 days ago. That’s over three times longer than our 30-day refund limit. You also threatened to go to social media or the BBB if your demands were not met, further trying to pressure us into giving you a more favorable result. We are not those other book contests. We don’t know how they may have handled similar demands, but we will also not compromise our integrity by being pressured, intimidated, extorted, or blackmailed into providing a result that is undeserved and unearned. The services you paid for at a discounted rate were fulfilled and exceeded. You now have two options: 1. Take the awards that you have from us and move on in peace, or 2. Continue to make demands and attempt to pressure us into giving you a more favorable outcome. If you do so, you will be disqualified for violating the Terms & Conditions of our contest and all of your current awards from us will be voided and considered invalid. At that point, all mention of you and your books will also be removed along with your awards. We recommend that you take your awards and cease communication.
((((( The other awards entered kept true to form and didn’t change or make-up strange categories. This person was the only one who has ever not read categories listed as competing in nor looked at book genre. This is all public at the BBB, thus I can now post this on my blog. )))))
Mary:
Steven, Keep all awards and refund my money. If not, the BBB it is then.
Steven:
You now have two options:
Take the awards that you have from us and move on in peace, or
Continue to make demands and attempt to pressure us into giving you a more favorable outcome. If you do so, you will be disqualified for violating the Terms & Conditions of our contest and all of your current awards from us will be voided and considered invalid. At that point, all mention of you and your books will also be removed along with your awards.
We recommend that you take your awards and cease communication.
Mary: Now with this being part of the BBB
Complaint: 21685841
I am rejecting this response because: The fully egregious manner they treated me with. If they say it is $130 paid, then they need to refund the $130. Nothing else is acceptable. They need to run awards in the right manner and not flip flop on their words and verbiage back to me. Their TOU is invalid due to their inability to actually read the written word, see the categories, and the real life BISAC codes and what the books are actually about and not just a first line disclaimer to prevent libel. On Her Alibi, I was taken aback by “awards” that were not awards. Then they flopped and offered awards that “they make up” and they don’t even look at the categories chosen by me. The email manner they have treated me, and the purely vindictive manner they are using against me, for Christmas in Evergreen, a four Gold medal recipient book was the straw tha broke the camels back. The awards are a sham and a scam.
Her Alibi – they changed award categories when shown it was a true story.
Christmas in Evergreen – they abused me in my the emails back to me.
Their TOU does not include what happens when they strike back at me with agregious and spiteful verbiage. Therefore, they owe me $130. Plus they need to be listed under the BBB as a very unfavorable and untrustworty scam awards they make up categories to suit their whims. I don’t want to have to take this global in a blog post and show the numerous ways they treated me, flipping and flopping and making up things that simply don’t exist.
From Business to BBB Twice:
MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:
We stand by our initial response.
From BBB:
Mary Schmidt
Subject:
BBB complaint has been closed
Mary Schmidt
Dear Mary Schmidt,
This message is regarding Complaint ID # 21685841- Outstanding Creator Awards
Your complaint is closed for the following reason:
We understand you are NOT satisfied with the business’s response, and have noted your dissatisfaction in our files. While we were unable to reach your desired resolution, the business has provided your Better Business Bureau (BBB) with its position. As BBB is not an enforcement agency, we cannot force a business to offer any specific remedy for consumer complaints. In this case, we cannot force the business to issue a refund. This matter is now closed in BBB files, and will appear in the company’s BBB Business Profile as: “Answered – the business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer remains dissatisfied.”
Please note, the text of your response may be publicly posted on BBB’s website. BBB reserves the right to not post in accordance with BBB policy, and we may edit your response to protect privacy rights and to remove inappropriate language.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of service, and sincerely hope you will contact us for future pre-purchase information.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann R Core Services Manager maryannr@bbbinc.org Phone: 316-719-4204
MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS: We stand by our initial response.
((((( Please note, the text of your response publicly posted on BBB’s website. )))))This means I can now blog this and not break their TOU as it is public with the BBB.
I found this book, Decent Into the Hallway of Madness, serious drama from the start! The mystery and suspense are both on target and kept on building up until the climax was rreached. Each main character and their psyche are brought out as the story unfolds. Serial killers are just that. The mind of a serial killeris demented for sure, yet a serial killer always leaves a calling card of sorts. If you are into the murder/msytery/suspense type of books and don’t mind where and how blood is left at the scenes of a murder, then this book is for you.
In 1933 Berlin and Munich, fifteen-year-olds Katarina and Maria, who have never met, share the same dream: to become nurses who care for all regardless of race, creed, or colour. They achieve their dreams, but their determination to rise above prejudice brings them into conflict with the authorities and very close to danger of arrest. As a result, they both find themselves sent to the same hospital in France, more for their own safety, where they meet unexpectedly and become firm friends. They look so similar to each other that people often mistake them, which leads them to play tricks on the people they meet. The nurses find themselves on the Mediterranean Sea, bound for North Africa. Misfortune strikes when their ship, the Meer Königin (Queen of the Sea) strikes a mine and begins to sink. Alone and adrift in a life raft, Katarina and Maria want to help others live, but that will never happen unless they find a way to survive.
Such a book, for sure. The story is about two young women, both age 15 years, and looked like twins, but grew up in Berlin and the other Munich. They both became young nurses, and then early on, they became head patrons in charge of their own ward. The war had begun, and Germany was a land of either you were a Nazi or you weren’t, but you had to be careful in speech so nothing could be construed as against whichever sude you were on. War is serious business. So is nursing. The trials, the triumphs, the jubilation, the fear, and horror were pervasion. These two young women became as close as sisters, and I would not be surprised if they turn out to be twins, for that has been alluded to in the book a few times.
The few relatives who are still friendly to Lisbet spend the summer at her northern Minnesota home. Determined to discover the reason why the rest of the family hasshunned her since she was a child, she confronts Evelyn, her estranged uncle’s wife. This action exposes her and her loved ones to danger and thrusts Greta, her beloved 5-year-old granddaughter, into deadly peril.
This book is amazing. It started off slow, but it didn’t end that way! Times were tough in Minnesota, and keeping warm, penny pinching, using wonderful skills in reupholster work took time. Sperling has mixed together normal acting people in among those less normal, murderous even. Elisabet and her granddaughter, Greta, are survivors, both strong in what they had to do in order to overcome all the things tossed their way.
Of all these book awards, the most prestigious are the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, the International Booker Prize, PEN America Literary Awards, and the National Book Award. These awards are highly coveted, being recognized globally by authors alike across all genres.
I’m taking a poll on how readers view book awardsthat are not in the most coveted list above. Not all book awards are as legitimate as others.
Reader’s Favorite, Pencraft, Pinnacle, Readers Choice, Firebrand, Literary Titan, The Bookfest, Author Shout, etc to list a few that have legitimate contests despite the money required to enter them. They don’t make up categories or change their awards. Quality books in set genres win different levels. They are run with the style of a true awards should be. Do you all agree? I would love some thoughts befpre I spill all the beans about one that is truly crooked. Thank you in advance.
An abused, neglected filly is abandoned on a remote country road, left to die.A young woman grieves the loss of her best friend, the champion horse she had builther life and future around.
The heir to one of the largest ranches in Wyoming comes home to face the ire anddisappointment of his grandfather.
A world-renown scientist clashes with the U.S. government over a brutal,decades-long war to decide the fate of thousands ofmustangs, a beloved icon of the American West.
Autumn and The Silver Moon Stallion is their story of love, hatred, and death.
Will their struggles give them hope to fight for their beliefs, or tear them forever apart?
Excerpt 2
As one, Becky, Autumn, and Silver Moon looked up just in time to see a tower of water coming over the top of the canyon, right towards them.
Autumn turned to run.
Becky turned to run.
Silver Moon was still coming down the trail, watched as waves hit the ground, then rose up like a living thing several feet in the air before crashing down first on Autumn then on the girl.
More water was coming from above, splashing and crashing, ramming its way from canyon wall to canyon wall, shoving anything in its way forward, relentless and unstoppable.
Without thinking, Silver Moon jumped in.
Becky looked back, trying to see Autumn, swallowing ice-cold water in the process. She spat it out, then saw the palomino struggling to get her footing. The water was too deep and was forcing them along at an incomprehensible speed.
Becky grasped a large boulder. She couldn’t hold on to it. Her body banged against an outcrop, driving the air from her lungs.
I must watch where I’m going, she thought, don’t look back, look forward.
The filly was trying hard to get to Becky, who was just ahead of her. The water pushed her against the canyon walls, forcing her to one side, then another. Instinct took over, her legs began to move. I must keep my head up.
She was now whale-eyed, growing more terrified with each second. She couldn’t avoid the boulders and slammed into them time and again.
She began to panic.
Silver Moon was strong and big, but he was almost no match for the churning maelstrom the canyon had become.
Just ahead, he saw Autumn losing the fight to keep her head up. He saw her disappear, briefly emerge, then disappear.
Buy Links:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
V P Felmlee is the author of The Abandoned Trilogy: Price Tadpole & Princess Clara; Good Boy Ben; and the third book in the series, Autumn and the Silver Moon Stallion. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she has a degree in geology, and has been active in historic preservation and animal welfare issues. Her articles have appeared in several magazines and she has won numerous awards.
She will be the 2025 president of Women Writing the West and lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, with her husband, two dogs, and six cats.
Hazel Cane: Age: 28 Looks: Tall, red hair, and curvy Favorite Food: Candy Canes Status: Single, but has her eye on a certain social worker in town
Irving Wallace: Age: 28 Looks: Dark and handsome, accessorizing with a hip-hugging wheelchair and a furry German Shepherd Favorite Food: Sweet Potato Nachos Status: Happily single
Irving Wallace is a bit of a Grinch, a Scrooge if you will. He’s too busy opening the Bells Pass Housing Project to worry about caroling and Christmas trees. Enter Hazel Cane. Intrigued by her new colleague, she makes it her mission to help his heart grow this holiday season. With a candy cane on her lips and a song in her heart, she gets some unexpected help from an infamous diner, an angel in disguise, and a whole lot of Christmas spirit. Can Hazel convince this Grinch that Christmas can mean a whole lot more?
Inclusions: Hero is a paraplegic with a service dog
Review:
Top reviews from the United States Mary Schmidt 5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024 Verified Purchase Mettner doesn’t write a single book I’ve not loved completely. This book is no different. Many times, I wished I lived in Bells Pass. People are real with human emotions and feelings. People are real whether they use a wheelchair or not. People learn a lot about what to do to make it easier for those who must use adaptive equipment to navigate around town or in their own minds. That said, falling in love happens, so do misunderstandings. I do love a good happily ever after ending.
Life on Molly is a travel and lifestyle blog. I am a normal girl with many passions. I am an explorer of new places, a learner of new languages, creator of my ambitions, blogger, and a good pal. This blog is my little corner of the world where I am able to share my adventures with you and inspire you to live a life full of purpose.
When Angels Fly 