Book Two in Heart of Evergreen Trilogy

Prologue

“What did you just say? The senior officer (Special Agent Thompson) of the two men from Homeland Security, that both Nancy and Kim knew prior, repeated, ‘Rob and Liza Caldwell were taken out as a hit’ in Boston last night and we think their assassin is the agent handler extraordinaire, who put out the hit job on the President, and on you, Kim, last November. The hit man’s name is Jeffrey Sanders, we do not know any alias, ethnicity, or if male or female. Security cameras were disabled before the actual hit. Rob and Liza were asleep when it happened early this morning. A silencer was used, and neighbors heard their dog barking non-stop and became worried. The couple checked on them, found them dead in their bed, and called 911. The police detectives could tell it was a professional hit and called us. Special Agent Hughes and I flew directly here from Washington, DC. A note left at the scene read, ‘Two down, eleven to go’ and the eleven to go are both of you, the President, and people unidentified. Make no mistake. The hit man will take out anyone with you, when, NOT if, they find you.” 

***

“How dare you take out my two best assets! I am coming for you, Kim, and your friend, Nancy! Never mind, my best assets died in a roll-over accident! They were after you, Kim! Now I am going to finish the job! Both of you and yours are going down! I know where you are and who you have in your life! Tit for tat. The same back to both of you!”

On Monday, 11 March 2024, of all the things to happen on my street was a cow in the yard across the street after having run away from the butcher and made a break for it. For real. It was breathing hard, had all the saliva and mucous pouring from its nose and mouth, had the nerve to pee in the yard across from me. Look at the saliva. It had been running and was chased by vehicles and police cars. Right in front of me so photos are through glass as I wasn’t going outside. It was funny, yet terrible, as the cow was so anxious and upset.

They failed to get it and it ran north two blocks and kept going. Small town of 2,500 people and police, packing plant people, and the public tried to capture three that broke loose and made a run for it. The THREE on the loose and running. It was sad to me. Hopefully, the butcher fixed their pens.

Then, mounted cowboys got into the act. It became nuttier. Finally the cattle were caught, two steers, and one bull, and placed in pens. I think if they hadn’t chased them to no end, retrieval would have gone easier on everyone involved, most the especially the cattle. Your thoughts?

Book Title: A Matter of Time: Henry VIII, the Dying of the Light (Book Three)

Series: The Henrician Chronicle

Author: Judith Arnopp

Publication Date: 2^nd February 2024

Publisher: independently published

Page Length: 302

Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @JudithArnopp @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @tudor_juditharnopp @thecoffeepotbookclub

Bluesky Handle: @jarnopp.bsky.social @cathiedunn.bsky.social

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #Tudor #HenryVIII #NewRelease #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2024/02/blog-tour-a-matter-of-time-by-judith-arnopp.html

Book Title and Author Name:

A Matter of Time: Henry VIII, the Dying of the Light

Judith Arnopp

Blurb:

With youth now far behind him, King Henry VIII has only produced one infant son and two bastard daughters. More sons are essential to secure the Tudor line and with his third wife, Jane Seymour dead, Henry hunts for a suitable replacement.

After the break from Rome, trouble is brewing with France and Scotland. Thomas Cromwell arranges a diplomatic marriage with the sister of the Duke of Cleves but when it comes to women, Henry is fastidious, and the new bride does not please him. The increasingly unpredictable king sets his sights instead upon Katherine Howard and instructs Cromwell to free him from the match with Cleves.

Failure to rid the king of his unloved wife could cost Cromwell his head.

Henry, now ailing and ageing, is invigorated by his flighty new bride but despite the favours he heaps upon her, he cannot win Katherine’s heart. A little over a year later, broken by her infidelity, she becomes the second of his wives to die on the scaffold, leaving Henry friendless and alone.

But his stout heart will not surrender and leaving his sixth wife, Katheryn Parr, installed as regent over England, Henry embarks on a final war to win back territories lost to the French more than a century before. Hungry for glory, the king is determined that the name Henry VIII will shine brighter and longer than that of his hero, Henry V.

Told from the king’s perspective, A Matter of Time: Henry VIII: the Dying of the Light shines a torch into the heart and mind of England’s most tyrannical king.

A Matter of Time

Snippet 1

Summer 1539 Greenwich – Henry looking at a painting

Ah, the discomfiture of love. I’ve been in love with one woman or another since before I reached manhood. I first met Caterina when I was a boy of ten, and when I tired of her, Anne was waiting who, in turn, was usurped in my heart by Jane.

I had not yet wearied of Jane when she was taken from me after giving me my heart’s desire – my son. I was not ready to lose her, and there was no woman waiting to take her place as my queen. Now, there is just a void where she once was and, according to my Council, it is a queen I need.

I have my son, my heir, but one boy is never enough, not for any king and especially not for me. They tell me a political match will not only secure the realm against the threat posed by the Holy Roman Emperor but will also provide a brother for Prince Edward; a young Duke of York who will stand at his sibling’s side in times of crisis – a younger stalwart brother such as I never had.

Although I did well enough.

A door opens, the curtain drifts in the movement of air, but I do not take my eyes from hers. I will make this woman my queen; she will warm my bed, she will soothe my aching need and she will further strengthen the Tudor line. She will bear my children. If anyone can give me strong sons, it is she.

A footstep, a light touch upon my arm.

I turn, still dazed by the painted vision of Christina.

“Anne,” I say, my voice husky from prolonged silence. “Is it that time already?”

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Links to the three titles in the series:

A Matter of Conscience: https://mybook.to/amoc

A Matter of Faith: https://mybook.to/amofaith 

A Matter of Time: https://mybook.to/amot

Author Bio:

A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and an MA in Medieval Studies. She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for her novels set in the Medieval and Tudor period, focusing on the perspective of historical women but recently she has been writing from the perspective of Henry VIII himself.

Book Link

From Amazon:

Take a tiger, an orangutan, an elephant, an eagle, a rhino, a dragon, a spider, and a turtle. Mix with music till loud – you might want to stand back.

My Review:

This is a darling rhyming book about animals and others who play instruments in a band. The illustrations are colorful and draw the eye. Highly recommend.

Media Kit—Debra Borchert, Château de Verzat Series

Book Titles:

Her Own Legacy (Book 1)

Her Own Revolution (Book 2)

Series: Château de Verzat

Author: Debra Borchert

Publication Date:

HOL: 9/1/22

HOR: 7/14/23

Publisher: Le Vin Press

Page Length:

HOL: 568

HOR: 422

Genre: Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @debraborchert @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @debraborchertauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #ChateauDeVerzatSeries #HerOwnLegacy #HerOwnRevolution #DebraBorchertAuthor #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2024/02/blog-tour-chateau-de-verzat-series-by-debra-borchert.html

Book Title and Author Name:

Her Own Legacy, Book 1 of Château de Verzat

Her Own Revolution, Book 2 of Château de Verzat

Debra Borchert

Blurb:

Her Own Legacy:

A Woman Fights for Her Legacy as the French Revolution Erupts

Determined to inherit her family’s vineyard, Countess Joliette de Verzat defies society’s rules, only to learn of her illegitimate half-brother, the rightful heir.

Her Own Revolution:

A Woman Forges a Treacherous Path to Save Hundreds from the Guillotine

If Geneviève Fouquier-Tinville had the same rights as a man, she wouldn’t have to dress like one. A suspenseful page-turner led by a renegade heroine whose compassion for innocent people leads to both loss and love.

Excerpt # 3

Her Own Revolution, Paris, August 7, 1793

Geneviève visits Louis LaGarde in prison

I took a deep breath and stepped into the dark cell. Straw cracked beneath my boots. The door slammed shut. I jolted. The key grinded in the lock. The sour stink of an unemptied slop bucket made me want to cover my nose. LaGarde stood in the corner, his shoulders hunched, his blond hair hanging in greasy strands. The sound of the guard’s footsteps faded.

My legs trembled. I could be thrown into such a cell. “Do you remember me?” My voice was as weak as the light.

He peered at me and then a grin slowly emerged. “Who could forget your charms?”

My face warmed as the memory of his exposing my breasts rushed me.

“So, my execution has been delayed so you—Monsieur Fouquier—could gloat.”

I shook my head and held out the wine. He didn’t move, so I placed the bottle near his feet. “It’s not what you’re accustomed to, but the guard enjoyed some of it.” I pulled out bread, sausage, and cheese.

He rubbed his forehead. “Ah, a last meal.”

I ripped off a piece of bread and offered it. He snatched it and gnawed, catching the crumbs with his hand, and licking them from his palm.

I detested the pity I felt. I couldn’t be the only one who cared about him. “Has your family been to visit?” Withdrawing my dagger, I cut a hunk of sausage and tossed it to him.

He caught it and waved his fingers at the cheese, which I also tossed. “What family? My brother? Killed defending the King at the Tuileries. My parents? Murdered in the September Massacres.”

“I’m sorry.” His losses seemed not to affect his appetite in the least, but still, I would have to break down his defenses to save him. “Any friends visit?”

He bit into the cheese and closed his eyes as he chewed. “I have no friends.”

That, I believed.

He chomped at the bread. But as he turned his head away and stopped chewing, I knew it was not from lack of hunger. He was missing someone. “A lady?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He snorted. “My whore.” His low voice rumbled against the stone walls. “What about you, Fouquier? Got a whore of your own?”

“Wish I did.”

He laughed.

Had there been more time I’d have laughed, too. “Has your mistress been to see you?”

“Like I, she is a guest of Bicêtre prison.” He tilted his head back as if praying for patience.

“For prostitution?”

“For Royalist sympathies!” He swatted at a fly on his neck. “She despised the Queen.” He laughed. “Even a whore has more courage to be honest than I have.”

It was only a matter of time before her name would appear on another list. The binding around my chest tightened as sympathy filled me. “I can get a message to her.”

“Why would you give her a message from me? To taunt her?” He kicked a clump of straw. “Torture us both?”

“To let her know you’re alive.” The muscles in his face flinched. He resembled a beggar, a depth to which, I imagined, he had never dreamed of falling. “What should I tell her?”

“What else can a dead man say?” He cried a laugh. “Adieu!” He slid down against the wall until he sat in the straw with his legs stretched out.

I crouched down and whispered, “Did you tell anyone you’ve been sentenced?”

He shook his head.

“Guards? Prisoners?”

“No.”

“You must not tell anyone of your sentence. No one. Do you promise?”

He cocked his head and, for a moment, he was the old arrogant LaGarde. “Why?”

“Hush.” I listened for footsteps. “So long as they do not call your name, you live. Understand?”

“They will call. I have been condemned.”

“Your name will not be called. You will not go to the guillotine. Do you understand?” He sat lifeless. I pinched his arm.

“Ow!” He jerked his head and looked at me, his eyebrows peaked high above his dark eyes.

“Do you?”

The taut skin around his eyes began to relax as he stared at me. “Yes.” His voice was hesitant, like a child’s.

A feeling of wanting to take him out of this hell swept over me. I should have thought he deserved this punishment after exposing me as a woman at University, but now my compassion surprised me. I gripped his hand. Although filthy, it was still the soft hand of a person who ordered others to do his work. “What’s her name?”

“Magdeleine Corrié.” He winced, as if hearing her name pained his heart.

“The message?”

He stared at the ceiling.

I squeezed his hand. “We have but a few minutes more.”

He pressed his lips together, his nostrils widening as he sucked in the dank air.

I hated pushing him. I softened my voice. “Do you wish me to tell her of your love?”

He nodded, then pulled me close. “She is with child. Ask her…if she will marry me.”

“That is honorable.”

“It is not honor.” The muscles around his mouth quivered.

I patted his arm. “I will bring her food and your message.” I stood and prayed I would be the clerk to receive the list with her name. “Remember, say nothing. I do not wish to join you at the guillotine.”

He squinted. “You leave me to rot in this hell?”

His words hit me like a slap. Why wasn’t he grateful? I’d saved his life, and he was angry? “I’d think anyone would prefer to live, even if among rats.”

He lifted his chin. “You get me out of here, or you will go to the guillotine with me.”

I was a cowering bug beneath a rock, taunted by the snapping tongue of a warty toad dressed in a ruined golden silk waistcoat. If I could have felt one drop of sympathy for this arrogant bastard, I’d not feel so ashamed. He’d exposed me once, and he’d do it again.

Buy Links:

*Her Own Legacy will be only 0.99 in the UK, CA and AU stores from March 5^th – 15^th, 2024!*

Universal Buy Links:  

Her Own Legacy: https://books2read.com/u/bWYod1

Her Own Revolution: https://books2read.com/u/m0aJVl

Series Buy Links:

US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9KN1536

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B9KN1536

Author Bio:

Debra’s the author of the Château de Verzat series that follows headstrong and independent women and the four-hundred loyal families who protect a Loire Valley château and vineyard, and its legacy of producing the finest wines in France during the French Revolution. Her Own Legacy published 2022, Her Own Revolution published 2023, and Her Own War will be published in 2024. A passionate cook, she also wrote a companion cookbook to the series: Soups of Château de Verzat, A Culinary Tribute to the French Revolution, 2023.

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical fiction. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and standard poodle, named after a fine French Champagne.

Author Links:

Website: https://debraborchert.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/debraborchert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebraBorchertAuthor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-borchert-10b8305/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debraborchertauthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraborchert/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/debra-borchert

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Debra-Borchert/author/B00CSW9MH0 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7787729.Debra_Borchert