Wednesday, 3 June 2026

The Agincourt King – Audiobook Plantagenet Legacy Series by Mercedes Rochelle


The Agincourt King – Audiobook

Plantagenet Legacy Series
By Mercedes Rochelle



Publication Date: April 8th, 2024
Publisher: Sergeant Press
Pages: 260
Genre: Historical Fiction

Audiobook :
Publication Date: May 4th, 2026
Publisher: Sergeant Press
Narrator: Kevin E. Green
Listening Length: 8 hours 36 minutes


From the day he was crowned, Henry V was determined to prove the legitimacy of his house.

His father's usurpation weighed heavily on his mind. Only a grand gesture would capture the respect of his own countrymen and the rest of Europe. He would follow in his great-grandfather Edward III's footsteps, and recover lost territory in France. Better yet, why not go for the crown?

Poor, deranged Charles VI couldn't manage his own barons. The civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs was more of a threat to his country than the English, even after Henry laid siege to Harfleur.

But once Harfleur had fallen, the French came to their senses and determined to block his path to Calais and destroy him. By the time the English reached Agincourt, they were starving, exhausted, and easy pickings. Or so the French thought.

Little did they reckon on Henry's leadership and the stout-hearted English archers who proved, once again, that numbers didn't matter when God was on their side.



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All titles in the series are available to read on #KindleUnlimited.




Mercedes Rochelle


Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history, and has channeled this interest into fiction writing.

Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. The next series is called The Plantagenet Legacy about the struggles and abdication of Richard II, leading to the troubled reigns of the Lancastrian Kings. 

She also writes a blog: HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story.

Born in St. Louis, MO, she received by BA in Literature at the University of Missouri St.Louis in 1979 then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to “see the world”. The search hasn’t ended!

Today she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.

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Monday, 1 June 2026

What the Ocean Brings by Tonya Ulynn Brown


What the Ocean Brings

By Tonya Ulynn Brown



Publication Date: June 4th, 2026
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 393
Genre: Historical Romance


Quebec, Canada, 1847. While trying to escape the Potato Famine, shipwrecked Irish immigrant Breanna Clarey awakens injured and alone on an unfamiliar beach. To make matters worse, she has been separated from her family, and her friend, Crow, is lying dead at her feet. But when Dawson Roberts, a reclusive fisherman with a guarded past and big dreams for his future, finds Breanna, he puts his plans on hold to offer her shelter and help find her family.

But life for an Irish immigrant isn't easy. Facing a deadly quarantine station, dangerous immigration officials, and grief over her missing family, Breanna struggles to exert her independence and navigate her new world. While Breanna confronts an unknown future, Dawson is plagued by a painful past. They each must determine their own course, even if it means ignoring the pull they have on each other.

When the future takes an unexpected turn, only the ocean that has brought them so much devastation can help them find their way back to where they belong.




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Tonya Ulynn Brown


Tonya Ulynn Brown is an award-winning historical romance author who writes emotionally rich tales of ancient castles, treacherous plots, and forbidden love. With a deep passion for the turbulent histories of England and Scotland, she brings the past vividly to life through stories where danger and desire walk hand in hand.

Tonya holds a master’s degree and teaches Reading and Writing at the elementary level. Fueled by iced coffees, beautiful books, and an enduring obsession with Mary, Queen of Scots, she fills her days writing, teaching, and researching the lives of long-dead monarchs and other historical figures.

Most of all, she loves spending time with her husband, two sons, and one very spoiled French bulldog.


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Thursday, 21 May 2026

Read an excerpt from HEROICA by Alison Morton



HEROICA:

Three women, three centuries, three reckonings
Roma Nova
By Alison Morton



Publication Date: May 14th, 2026
Publisher: Pulcheria Press
Pages: 162
Genre: Collection of alternative history short(ish) stories


Even the strongest state is vulnerable to its past.

2020, Roma Nova. Carina Mitela investigates a potential rebellion but discovers the long-buried secret that ignited the attempted uprising links directly to her own powerful family.

1683, Vienna. As Europe struggles against the Ottoman onslaught, Honoria Mitela leads her troops into the desperate battle to save besieged Vienna. The fate of Europe – and of Roma Nova itself – hangs in the balance.

1849, Central Italy. Statia Mitela’s impulsive act saves one life but jeopardises Roma Nova’s very existence and threatens her descendants with public disgrace, financial ruin and permanent exile. 
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Three stories of the women of the Mitela family, descendants of the founders of Roma Nova, bound by blood and courage.



Praise for HEROICA:

“All three stories in this collection deal with honour and the question of being true to oneself, especially if this entails running the risk of coming into conflict with the state and the status quo. All three central women are physically and morally brave, even rash. Their strength of spirit is never in doubt.”
~ Lorna Fergusson, Fictionfire

“For anyone who has read and enjoyed the Roma Nova stories before, this collection of novellas is a must. And if you haven’t, then please start from the beginning with INCEPTIO – you’ll be hooked!”
~ Christina Courtenay, bestselling author of romantic time-travel fiction

Excerpt

Excerpt from Revolution?, the first story in the HEROICA collection

Set in 2020 in the European country of Roma Nova, the last part of the Roman Empire that has survived from the late 4th century into the 21st.. Carina Mitela is undercover as an innocent seeming market researcher in Brancadorum, a sleepy, rural town in the east. Apparently, somebody is stirring people up for a revolution.

I rented a small office at the local enterprise centre in Brancadorum. At about four and a half metres square, it boasted a desk, some shelving, a lockable cupboard and a corner couch where I could crash if necessary. The window gave onto the parking lot, then other light industrial workshop buildings. Beyond them rose the slopes growing grapes for the famous Brancadorum champagne. I knew the French didn’t like us calling it that and the labels stated vinum bullescens – sparkling wine – but we all knew what we meant.

After I’d pulled down the blind against the spring sunshine shining right onto the desk, I set up my laptop and tested the Wi-Fi. Next, I tried Fornax’s cell phone, but received no reply – not even a recorded voice message – so I’d need to take a trip out to his farm and knock on his door. Hopefully, the poor guy wasn’t sick. Conrad said he had a couple of helpers on the farm so they would have supported him if he were ill.

Meanwhile, I originated the questionnaire. Being on paper it would seem old-fashioned, but current research held that people didn’t like being accosted in the street by a stranger brandishing an el-pad. Paper and pen were supposed to be more friendly. As I picked up the printed sheets at the central service desk, I asked the assistant if he could recommend a nearby hotel.

‘The Vitis Aurea. It’s a bit bland. Local groups and businesses use it for meetings and networking. You’ll find it just down the end of this road. The bar does get busy, though.’

‘That’s great. I can get some further opinions for my market research in a relaxed atmosphere.’

He grinned at me.

‘Do you mean they’ll say more than they should if they’ve had a few?’

‘All’s fair in market research.’ I winked at him and he laughed with a warm expression in his eyes. I glanced at his name badge. ‘Well, thank you, Palucus. I’ll let you get on with your work.’

Deciding I’d flirted enough, I drove to the Vitis Aurea and once I’d checked in, I discovered it was perfectly comfortable. A good bed, strong flow of hot water in the shower and, joy of joys, a coffee machine. So much for Palucus’s assessment. No sign of the golden vine of its name, but I’d operated in far worse places. 

As it was only four in the afternoon, I took a walk into the centre of Brancadorum to ‘sniff the air’ as the political analysts called it. The town was an old settlement from the earliest days of Roma Nova. Legend had it that the original owner of the land, Brancus, from one of the Twelve Families who founded Roma Nova, was such a corrupt operator that the imperatrix of the time took the land away from him and gave it to his daughter to run. Maybe that was just a legend, but an interesting one. Even so, the eastern settlement had taken a form of his family’s name. The gods knew how he’d persuaded them to do that. 

Only a few of the original buildings still existed, but the theatre was one of them, carved into the hillside and giving a wonderful view across to the mountains on the other side of the valley. Still, the town had retained its original layout and had been enhanced over the centuries. In the forum, I wandered along the Saepta Apulia colonnade, checking out the shops. A few posters curling at the edges or completely tattered clung to the windows of one that had obviously shut a while ago. Then I saw it. 

A stylised cartoon of a man in a short-sleeved shirt and khaki trousers, no tie, brandishing a traditional broom in two hands and standing against the background of a line drawing depicting a run-down Roma Nova city with crumbling buildings. He was sweeping away cartoon figures of the imperatrix, a fat capitalist grasping a moneybag and a senator in a traditional toga. 

Citizens Forward!
Saturday is our day of action
Our day of destroying those who oppress us
Our day of recovering our dignity
Our day of freedom!

Underneath were the date, time and venue.  

Mercury save us, this was plain sedition. I squinted at the bottom of the poster to see who the printer was. Nothing. Well, that was illegal to start with. Then it hit me. Today was Friday. This meeting, rally, whatever, would be tomorrow. 

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Alison Morton


Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her twelve-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but use a sharp line in dialogue. 

She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history.  

Alison lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her three contemporary thrillers, Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes.

For the latest news, subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.alison-morton.com/newsletter/ and receive 'Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds' as a thank you gift.

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Check out Escape of the Grand Duchess by Susan Appleyard


Escape of the Grand Duchess
By Susan Appleyard


Publication Date: 27th July 2025
Publisher: Ingenium Books Publishing Inc.
Page Length: 412
Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction 

Escape of the Grand Duchess by Susan Appleyard is a gripping historical novel that shatters the notion that royalty is synonymous with privilege and ease. At its heart is Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II—a Romanov who defied a doomed destiny and survived.

Unlike her ill-fated brother and his family, Olga’s story is one of resilience, sacrifice, and daring escape. Trapped in a loveless marriage to a reckless gambler—who harbours secrets of his own—she finds hope in the arms of a dashing army lieutenant. But before she can claim her own happiness, she must first endure the brutal realities of World War I, where she serves as a nurse on the frontlines.

As the Russian Empire teeters on the brink of collapse, the infamous Siberian mystic Rasputin tightens his grip on the imperial court, setting the stage for revolution. With the Bolsheviks seizing power and the Romanovs marked for death, Olga faces an impossible choice: risk everything to stay or flee into the unknown with her true love and their children.

Rich in historical detail and driven by an unforgettable heroine, Escape of the Grand Duchess is a sweeping riches-to-rags tale of survival, love, and the strength it takes to forge a new life in the face of unimaginable upheaval.



Susan Appleyard



Susan was born in England, which is where she learned to love English history, and now lives in Canada in the summer. In winter she and her husband flee the cold for their second home in Mexico. Susan divides her time between writing and her hobby, oil painting, although writing will always be her first love. She was fortunate in having had two books published traditionally. Since joining the ebook crowd, she has published nine books, some of which have won various awards.

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Tuesday, 19 May 2026

In the spotlight today is Some Starry Night by Irene Latham






Some Starry Night
By Irene Latham


Publication Date: April 14th, 2026
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 264
Genre: Historical Fiction

Under the pale glow of a Parisian spring in 1886, two restless souls move toward the same horizon-unaware that their meeting will ignite a love as luminous and fleeting as the stars themselves.


Vincent van Gogh arrives in Paris with little more than paint-stained hands and an aching determination to create something worthy of the world. Living in the cramped apartment of his brother Theo, he struggles against poverty, doubt, and the relentless pull of his own restless mind.


Across the ocean in Amherst, Emily Dickinson receives news that changes everything. Faced with the nearness of death, the reclusive poet does the unthinkable: she leaves the quiet safety of the Homestead and sails for Paris, determined to taste life before it slips beyond her reach.


When Emily agrees to sit for Vincent's portrait, their worlds collide in a blaze of color, poetry, and dangerous intimacy. Through letters, poems, and whispered confessions, the two artists discover in one another a fierce, unguarded understanding-one that will shape their art, their faith, and the fragile hours they have left.


But love between stars is never simple. As time grows short and darkness gathers, Vincent and Emily must decide whether beauty is meant to last...or simply to burn bright enough to change the night forever.


Some Starry Night is a sweeping, lyrical imagining of the hidden story behind Vincent van Gogh's most iconic painting – an unforgettable tale of love, creativity, and the courage to live fiercely, even in the shadow of the end.



Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link

Historium Press Buy Link


Irene Latham


Irene Latham writes poems and stories from the Purple Horse Poetry Studio & Music Room in Blount County, Alabama. She is the author or co-author of many books for young people, including African Town, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Outstanding Historical Fiction.

This is her first novel for adults.





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The Agincourt King – Audiobook Plantagenet Legacy Series by Mercedes Rochelle

The Agincourt King – Audiobook Plantagenet Legacy Series By Mercedes Rochelle Publication Date: April 8th, 2024 Publisher: Sergeant Press P...