Check out Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits of North Devon by Helen Hollick with Kathy Hollick #GhostEncounters #Ghosts #NorthDevon #FriendlyGhosts #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @HelenHollick @cathiedunn

Ghost Encounters: 
The Lingering Spirits of North Devon
By Helen Hollick with Kathy Hollick

Publication Date: 27th February 2025

Publisher: Taw River Press

Pages: 201Pages

Genre: Non-Fiction (with a bonus of two short stories)

Everyone assumes that ghosts are hostile. Actually, most of them are not.

You either believe in ghosts or you don’t. It depends on whether you’ve encountered something supernatural or not. But when you share a home with several companionable spirits, or discover benign ghosts in public places who appear as real as any living person, scepticism is abandoned and the myth that ghosts are to be feared is realised as nonsense.

It is a matter for individual consideration whether you believe in ghosts or not, but for those who have the gift to see, hear or be aware of people from the past, meeting with them in today’s environment can generate a connection to years gone by. Kathy and Helen Hollick have come across several such departed souls in and around North Devon and at their 18th-century home, which they share with several ‘past residents’.

In GHOST ENCOUNTERS: The Lingering Spirits Of North Devon, mother and daughter share their personal experiences, dispelling the belief that spirits are to be feared.

Ghost Encounters will fascinate all who enjoy this beautiful region of rural South-West England, as well as interest those who wish to discover more about its history... and a few of its ghosts.

(Includes a bonus of two short stories and photographs connected to North Devon)

Cover design: Avalon Graphics

Cover artwork: Chris Collingwood

Excerpt

Here in North Devon, spirits from the past might be encountered where they would be expected – on battle sites, in old pubs and inns, walking the corridors of old houses or lingering on the dockside where tall ships once dropped anchor. But they can also be found beside busy roads, strolling along quiet country lanes, and even keeping an eye on a busy modern car park. And lingering spirits are not limited to people, for animals remain among us as well. It is, I think, comforting to know that our loved ones – human and pets – are, in some way, still with us.

Whether you believe in the supernatural or not is a matter for individual consideration, but for those who have the gift to see, hear or be aware of people from the past, meeting with them in today’s environment can generate a connection to years gone by. Those who came before us and who chose to remain among us, whether strangers or relatives and ancestors, are to be welcomed, not feared.

Many of the encounters related in this narrative are personal in origin, not second-hand anecdotes or over-dramatised (and mostly unbelievable) tales to deliberately scare and frighten. Some of the private locations mentioned are inaccessible to public scrutiny, but there are enough public places, such as old pubs, villages and beaches, for ghost enthusiasts to explore, and maybe experience a friendly encounter or two.

Accompanied by photographs of some of the locations and animals featured in the text, Ghost Encounters will fascinate all who enjoy this beautiful region of South-West England, as well as interest those who wish to discover more about its history. And a few of its ghosts.

Find out more – and meet a few ghosts – in Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits of North Devon

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Helen & Kathy Hollick

Helen Hollick

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen might not see ghosts herself, but her nautical adventure series, and some of her short stories, skilfully blend the past with the supernatural, inviting readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur. 

In addition to her historical fiction, Helen has written several short stories, further exploring themes of historical adventure or the supernatural with her signature style. Whether dealing with the echoes of the past or the weight of lost souls, her stories are as compelling as they are convincing. Through her work, she invites readers into a world where the past never truly lets us go.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was published in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant.

Helen, husband Ron and daughter Kathy moved from London to Devon in January 2013 after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden and orchard, fending off the geese, helping with the horses and, when she gets a moment, writing the next book...

Kathy Hollick

Diagnosed as severely dyslexic when she was ten, Helen pulled Kathy out of school at fifteen to concentrate on everything equine.

When not encountering friendly ghosts, Kathy's passion is horses and mental well-being. She started riding at the age of three, had her own Welsh pony at thirteen, and discovered showjumping soon after. Kathy now runs her own Taw River Equine Events, and coaches riders of any age or experience, specialising in positive mindset and overcoming confidence issues via her Centre10 accreditation and Emotional Freedom Technique training. EFT, or ‘tapping’, uses the body’s pressure points to aid calm relaxation and to promote gentle healing around emotional, mental or physical issues.

Kathy lives with her farmer partner, Andrew, in their flat adjoining the main farmhouse. She regularly competes at affiliated British Showjumping, and rides side-saddle (‘aside’) when she has the opportunity. She produces her own horses, several from home-bred foals.

She also has a fun diploma in Dragons and Dragon Energy, which was something amusing to study during the Covid lockdown.

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Check out The Midnight of Eights by Justin Newland #HistoricalFiction #ElizabethanFiction #AgeOfDiscovery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

 

The Midnight of Eights

By Justin Newland

Publication Date: 28th October 2024

Publisher: The Book Guild 

Page Length: 288 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction 

1580.

Nelan Michaels docks at Plymouth after sailing around the world aboard the Golden Hind. He seeks only to master his mystical powers – the mark of the salamander, that mysterious spirit of fire – and reunite with his beloved Eleanor. 

After delivering a message to Francis Walsingham, he’s recruited into the service of the Queen’s spymaster, where his astral abilities help him to predict and thwart future plots against the realm.

But in 1588, the Spanish Armada threatens England’s shores.

So how could the fledgling navy of a small, misty isle on the edge of mainland Europe repulse the greatest fleet in the world?

Was the Queen right when she claimed it was divine intervention, saying, ‘He blew with His winds, and they were scattered!’?

Or was it an entirely different intervention – the extraordinary conjunction of coincidences that Nelan’s astral powers brought to bear on that fateful Midnight of Eights?

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Justin Newland

JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism. 

Undeterred by the award of a Maths Doctorate, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (ISBN 9781789014860, Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies. 

His second book, The Old Dragon’s Head (ISBN 9781789015829, Matador, 2018), and is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall. 

Set during the Great Enlightenment, The Coronation (ISBN 9781838591885, Matador, 2019) speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution. 

The Abdication (ISBN 9781800463950, Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.

The Mark of the Salamander (ISBN 9781915853271, Book Guild, 2023), is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age. 

The latest is The Midnight of Eights (ISBN 9781835740 330, Book Guild, 2024), the second in The Island of Angels series, which charts the uncanny coincidences of time and tide that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada. 

His work in progress is The Spirit of the Times which explores the events of the 14th Century featuring an unlikely cast of the Silk Road, Genghis Khan, the Black Plague, and a nursery rhyme that begins ‘Ring a-ring a-roses’. 

Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin gives talks to historical associations and libraries, appears on LitFest panels, and enjoys giving radio interviews. He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.

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Check out Viva Violetta & Verdi by Howard Jay Smith #HistoricalFiction #BiographicalHistoricalFiction #Verdi #ClassicalMusic #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBook Club

 

Viva Violetta & Verdi

By Howard Jay Smith

Publication Date: January 28th, 2025
Publisher:  Historium Press
Pages: 256 Pages 
Genre: Historical Fiction

A Love Affair Inspiring the World's Most Unforgettable Operas:

Experience the intense, lifelong love affair between Giuseppe Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi, the brilliant and seductive soprano who shaped his legacy. As his muse, lover, and wife, Strepponi was the inspiration behind Verdi's most iconic works, including La Traviata and Aida. Her influence was pivotal, as she became the architect of his creative triumphs and the heart of his operatic genius.

Set against the backdrop of Italy's Risorgimento, this sweeping novel intertwines their turbulent relationship with the nation's fierce struggle for independence. Through the heartbreak of three brutal wars, Verdi and Strepponi's passion, betrayal, and artistic ambition come alive, mirroring the era's fiery spirit.

Rich with themes of love, power, food, wine, and unrelenting passion, Viva Violetta & Verdi is an unforgettable exploration of art, resilience, and the enduring bond that transformed both an artist and a nation.

Praise for Violetta & Verdi:

"A stunning, significant book...that is rich, lush and drenched in knowledge. It is nothing less than a gift." - Sheila Weller

"Smith's historic drama embraces universal themes of class and religious persecution, and weaves gorgeous language with an intimate knowledge of Italian food, music, and political hypocrisy that contemporary readers will find irresistible." - Jessica Keener

"Viva Violetta & Verdi is a well-researched love letter to Verdi; fans are sure to love." - Leslie Zemeckis

"Perfection. You are right there, inhaling and breathing in the words, the smell, and each piece of music. Bravo. It is both a love song and a love letter to the irrefutable power of Verdi's muse, Violetta." - Amy Ferris

Excerpt

Violetta

Eventually we reached Turin, the capital of Savoy. With the future King of Italy, Victor Emanuel II, in the audience, Strepponi took to the stage of Teatro Regio to perform as the young ingénue of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.  But a problem arose for which there was no simple solution. No matter how the costume mistress dressed Signorina Strepponi, there was, unfortunately, no way to hide the fact that our diva was at least seven months pregnant.     

Who was the father?

In her rise to stardom Strepponi’s social whirl had spun ever faster. Like a queen bee anointed in honey perfume, she found suitors swarming around her. And most were rich. Most were aristocrats. And most were already married. But they all wanted to bed her, this impassioned diva, whose voice intoxicated them. Or so these lotharios all would claim. But Strepponi was no innocent fool. In fact, I still regard her as one of the smartest, most well-studied people I have ever known. Her intellect was right up there with Verdi himself. In addition to her native Italian, she could banter with the best in fluent French and Spanish and she even had a rudimentary knowledge of English, sufficient enough to read Shakespeare’s plays while we were traveling. This wise woman saw no reason not to take advantage of these affairs and relationship and use them to benefit her career. If the men of the opera world could do that, so, she determined, could she.

And though Strepponi confided that she did her best to take precautions, the inevitable happened. The father? Strepponi acknowledged that it could have been Lanari, Donizetti, her Vienna violinist or anyone of the leading men she had an affair within in the recent the course of our travels. In the end, it turned out to be an associate of Lanari, Camillo Cirelli, a minor impresario more than twice her age who had occasionally joined us on tour. Cirelli took some responsibility for the child, but in the end, not enough. After all, he too was already married and not about to divorce a wife of many decades.

Despite her noticeable pregnancy, Strepponi performed right up until her January delivery date. She had a boy, who was quickly given up for adoption. 

But there were consequences.

In the rarified world of Italian society, it was one thing to be a goddess desired and taken by men, but another to advertise those affairs by becoming pregnant. On one side of the scale, the scandal was great for the box office as her bookings continued at a frenetic pace. The downside was that invitations to high society salons fell off ever more rapidly. In each city we toured, the diva had suddenly become a social pariah. Among the aristocracy, wives were scandalized, but their husbands, well, they kept calling. Of course, they did.

Never more than a thin whisp of a girl, the constant touring, the non-stop performances, the demands upon her voice, were often too much of a demand upon Strepponi’s stamina and her overall constitution. I urged her to slow down, but she would not listen. The pregnancy and her rush to get back on stage as soon as possible, added to the negative impact on her health. Though she was only twenty-three – yes, only twenty-three - there many were nights when she simply could not go on stage. She began to miss and cancel performances, which raised ever more concerns among the managers that ran the opera houses in each city we toured.

Strepponi was a realist. She tried to continue on as if nothing had happened but in her heart of hearts, she knew the world around her had begun to change, both brutally and permanently. In the self-righteous, male dominated society of the 1800’s she had become “the fallen woman,” “the one who has gone astray,” or as they say in the Milanese dialect, “La Traviata.” 

This pained her but such was the way of the world back then. Of course, none of her male lovers suffered any consequences. Call it unfair – it was – or consider it one sided – it was – but such was life for a woman in the theater back then. Ironically, this new and undeserved reputation as a fallen woman, a woman little better than a courtesan, now made Strepponi even more attractive to lovers who sought her out in private. 

And so, her tour continued so she could continue to fill up that pot of gold. And, yes, the affairs continued. A year later she was pregnant again. And the father this time? Chi lo sa? Who knows? Once more, there were too many suspects. She performed right up until the day she delivered. After she gave birth, I was the one tasked with bringing the poor infant – in secret - to the foundling orphanage, the Ospedale degli Innocenti, in Florence. I placed the baby in the little revolving door outside the orphanage and when it closed, that child entered another world, one none of us would ever know or experience. The impression that experience left upon me was as deep as witnessing poor Piero Lusardi being shot down by the Austrians in cold blood. I never wanted to be in that position again.

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Howard Jay Smith

VIVA VIOLETTA & VERDI, is his third novel in his series on great composers, including BEETHOVEN IN LOVE; OPUS 139 and MEETING MOZART: FROM THE SECRET DIARIES OF LORENZO DA PONTE. 

His other books include OPENING THE DOORS TO HOLLYWOOD (Random House) and JOHN GARDNER: AN INTERVIEW (New London Press). He was recently awarded a Profant Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Excellence in Writing. 

Smith is a former two-time Bread Loaf Scholar and three-time Washington, D.C. Commission for the Arts Fellow, who taught for many years in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program and has lectured nationally. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, American Heritage Magazine, the Beethoven Journal, Horizon Magazine, Fig Tree Press, the Journal of the Writers Guild of America, the Ojai Quarterly, and numerous trade publications. While an executive at the ABC Television, Embassy TV, and Academy Home Entertainment he worked on numerous film, television, radio and commercial projects.

He serves on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Symphony and is a member of the American Beethoven Society.

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Check out Sword Brethren by Jon Byrne #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalAdventure #medieval #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn

Sword Brethren 

By Jon Byrne

Publication Date: 28th November 2024

Publisher: The Book Guild

Pages: 416 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction (Action/Adventure)

1242. After being wounded in the Battle on the Ice, Richard Fitz Simon becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Alexander, intrigued by his captive’s story, instructs his scholar to assist Richard in writing about his life.

Richard’s chronicle begins in 1203, when his training to be a knight is disrupted by treachery. He is forced to flee England for Lübeck, where he begins work for a greedy salt merchant. After an illicit love affair, his new life is thrown into turmoil, and he joins the Livonian Brothers of the Sword as they embark on imposing the will of God on the pagans of the eastern Baltic. Here, he must reconcile with his new life of prayer, danger and duty – despite his own religious doubts, with as many enemies within the fortified commandery as the wilderness outside. However, when their small outpost in Riga is threatened by a large pagan army, Richard is compelled to make a crucial decision and fight like never before.

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Jon Byrne

Jon Byrne, originally from London, now lives with his German family by a lake in Bavaria with stunning views of the Alps. As well as writing, he works as a translator for a local IT company and occasionally as a lumberjack. 

He has always been fascinated by history and has studied the Medieval world for over twenty years, building up a comprehensive library of books. In his research, he has travelled to all of the locations mentioned in the book (East Anglia, Bremen, Lübeck, Latvia, etc). 

Sword Brethren (formerly Brothers of the Sword) made it to the shortlist of the Yeovil Literary Prize 2022 and the longlist of the prestigious Grindstone International Novel Prize 2022. It is the first book in The Northern Crusader Chronicles.

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Check out Strait Lace by Rosemary Hayward #StraitLace #HistoricalFiction #WomenInHistory #Suffragettes #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn

 

Strait Lace 
By Rosemary Hayward

Publication Date: 8th March 2025

Publisher: Rosemary Hayward

Pages: 400 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

It is 1905. Edwardian England. Harriet Loxley, the daughter of a vicar and niece to a prominent Nottingham lace manufacturer, spends her days playing cricket with her brother, scouring the countryside for botanical specimens, and never missing an opportunity to argue the case for political power for women. Given the chance to visit the House of Commons, Harriet witnesses the failure of a historic bill for women’s voting rights. She also meets the formidable Pankhurst women.

 

When Harriet gets the chance to study biology at Bedford College, London, she finds her opportunity to be at the heart of the fight. From marching in the street, to speaking to hostile crowds, to hurling stones through windows, just how far will Harriet go?

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Rosemary Hayward

Rosemary Hayward is the author of Margaret Leaving, a historical mystery uncovering little known events that occurred in the immediate aftermath to World War II. She is also the creator of Your Next Book, a deeply nerdy monthly newsletter describing a book picked from her bookshelf, or Kindle. 

She is British by birth but now lives part of the year in California and part in southern Spain.

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Check out The Rune Stone by Julia Ibbotson TimeTravel #AngloSaxon #HistoricalMystery #HistoricalRomance #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @JuliaIbbotson @cathiedunn

The Rune Stone 
By Julia Ibbotson

Publication Date: December 8th, 2021

Publisher: Archbury Books 

Pages: 294 (ebook) / 376 (paperback)

Genre: historical romance (timeslip mystery)

A haunting time-slip mystery of runes and romance

When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village church, she unwittingly sets off a chain of circumstances that disturb their quiet lives in ways she never expected.

She, once again, feels the echoes of the past resonate through time and into the present. Can she unlock the secrets of the runes in the life of the 6th century Lady Vivianne and in Viv’s own life?

Again, lives of the past and present intertwine alarmingly as Viv desperately tries to save them both, without changing the course of history.

For fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, Christina Courtenay.

Praise for Julia Ibbotson

(for A Shape on the Air) “In the best Barbara Erskine tradition …I would highly recommend this novel” -Historical Novel Society

(for the series) “Julia does an incredible job of setting up the idea of time-shift so that it’s believable and makes sense” – book tour reviewer

(for The Rune Stone) “beautifully written”, “absorbing and captivating”, “fully immersive”, “wonderfully written characters”, “a skilled story teller” – Amazon reviewers

“Dr Ibbotson has created living, breathing characters that will remain in the reader’s mind long after the book is read … The characters are brought to life beautifully with perfect economy of description … fabulous!” – Melissa Morgan 

“A rich and evocative time-slip novel that beautifully and satisfyingly concludes this superb trilogy. The story is woven seamlessly and skilfully between the past and the present and the reader is drawn deeply into both worlds.  Her portrayal of the 6th century and its way of life are authoritative, vivid and memorable.” – Kate Sullivan

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Julia Ibbotson 

Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries. 

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/ literature/ history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. 

After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s. 

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her work in progress is a new series of Anglo-Saxon mystery romances, beginning with Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries. 

Julia’s novels will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.

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Check out The Absolution of Mars by T F Troy #TheAbsolutionOfMars #HistoricalFiction #AmericanHistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn

 

The Absolution of Mars

By T F Troy

Publication Date: 21st January 2025

Publisher: Historium Press

Page Length: 327 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction / Historical Thriller

Politics, Friendship, or Greed? Which of these was the true author of the Confederate conspiracy to decapitate the Union? 

The Absolution of Mars by T.F. Troy is a masterful blend of historical fiction, human drama and moral exploration. Set against the backdrop of a racially fraught period in American history, the story does not back away from the harsh realities or racial biases of the day. 

The narrative introduces Jemm Pender, a former slave with a superior intellect, who rises to become a key agent in the National Detective Police Force. Jemm is tasked to trace the movements of J. W. Boyd, a Confederate spy working out of Canada.

From its intriguing opening scene, where playful dialogue among children hints at deeper mysteries, the story captivates with a blend of vivid detail and emotional depth. Jemm's quest intertwines with his wife Marnie and Aunt Cordelia, both blessed with remarkable capabilities that are being lost to the scientific thought of the day.

Troy tackles difficult topics with honesty and precision, creating moments that are as painful as they are profound. The prose is rich and evocative, with dialogue that breathes life into the characters and their struggles. The Absolution of Mars is a poignant, thought-provoking exploration of history, identity, and humanity, recommended for readers seeking depth and nuance.

Excerpt

Stanton nods quickly once again, a lieutenant close by leads Jemm into the room, as soon as a general leaves to make enough room. Jemm feels a sense of pride at being allowed into a room, which is closed to most. He is at the absolute highest levels of government and is trusted. But still doesn’t understand why he is there. 

The President lay, his head bandaged on his left side, the dried blood now turning brown and cracking. There is blood on the linens that has spilled over onto the floor that is also beginning to dry. The president’s right eye is swollen but oddly shut, just like Jemm had seen with Sam’s eye the night of his beating for simply reporting a crime. And the President’s mouth is cocked oddly to his right, like he’d been punched in the side of the head. 

There are two physicians in the room, arguing quietly on how to extend the President’s life. The President draws long hard breaths, his chest heaving upward each time, but they grow fewer and fewer. Jemm sees his large strong arms, much larger than would seem possible for his tall lanky frame. 

A rail splitter, Jemm thinks, and quite a wrestler. 

A third physician, and obviously senior to the other two, shows up and concurs with one of the younger physicians that the wound is “absolutely mortal, and it is impossible for the President to recover.” 

But Jemm decides to make his own cursory examination. 

The ball was large enough in size to do extensive damage, but had not exited the cranial cavity, meaning that it was probably of a lower velocity. The bullet had entered through the occipital bone, about an inch to the left of the median line and just above the left lateral sinus, which it had opened judging from the blood that has dried when coming out of the President’s nose, down his mouth and onto his beard. 

But the bleeding here has not been excessive, no major arteries have been destroyed. Judging from the President’s bulging right eye, the projectile has lodged somewhere underneath the right orbital, or perhaps coming to rest under the right corpus striatum. 

The projectile has pierced the dura matter of the brain, and there would be some damage from bone fragments, but the wound is not “absolutely mortal.” 

Had the projectile hit a major artery, the President would already be dead. A skilled surgeon could ascertain the projectile’s velocity and make an educated guess as to where it came to rest. 

Then, using techniques that were perfected by the ancient Egyptians and still taught by Mauser’s work on brain surgery, remove the bullet from the other side, thus alleviating pressure on the brain caused by internal hemorrhaging within the cranial cavity. There would be no need to be continually poking fingers or probes into the President’s wound to alleviate the growing pressure within the cranial cavity. Of course, there was always the risk of hemorrhagic stroke... 

The president could live but might wind up a vegetable. Still, where there’s breath, there’s always hope, Jemm thinks. 

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T F Troy

A student of the American Civil War, T.F. Troy has an award-winning journalism career spanning more than 40 years. He currently serves as Executive Editor of Cleveland Magazine’s Community Leader as well as the Editor of Ohio Business Magazine. He also writes features for Northern Kentucky Magazine and Dayton Magazine, among other regional publications. His work with those publications has won him numerous awards, taking first, second and third place in Ohio for Magazine Feature Writing. Troy’s work has appeared in major metropolitan daily newspapers including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

In addition to the previously mentioned publications, Troy also held positions as a Senior Editor for both ABC/Capital Cities and ICD Publications in New York. His work has appeared in numerous national consumer and trade periodicals throughout his career. In his first book Cleveland Classics: Great Tales from the North Coast, Troy interviewed local and national Cleveland celebrities such as: Jim Brown, Bob Feller, Patricia Heaton and Arsenio Hall among others. The Absolution of Mars, set just after the Civil War, is his first novel, but third book. 

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