WELCOME TO RACHEL’S FICTION WRITING AND REVIEWS BLOG
This is where Rachel keeps you up to date with her novels and stories and also shares reviews, highlights and extracts from other authors.
Ravenscourt by Samantha Ward-Smith
He wanted to be gone from the dark enclosing room, with its mocking misery, to be gone from this house of nightmares, of shattered dreams, and discovered secrets which could not be put back in the box.
Venice, 1880.
Alexander, Viscount Dundarran, seeks refuge from scandal amidst the fading grandeur of crumbling palazzos during the infamous Carnival in the city. There he encounters the enigmatic Lady Arabella Pembrook—a young, beautiful widow. Both are scarred by their pasts but find solace in each other and a chance at redemption.
But when duty calls Alexander back to England upon his father's death, a darker journey begins. Travelling to Ravenscourt, the decaying estate once belonging to Arabella’s late husband, Alexander must confront the house’s disturbing legacy which has echoed through the generations. Within its walls lie secrets that refuse to stay buried and will threaten everything he thought he knew. But can Alex uncover the truth in time?
Hugh de Morville: The Knight Who Would Not Repent
Lord of Westmorland and Knaresborough, de Morville escaped execution, but not history’s judgment.
When Thomas Becket fell beneath the knights’ swords on that winter night in Canterbury, Hugh de Morville was there, but whether he struck or simply stood aside remains one of history’s greyest shadows.
He was the oldest of the four and the most powerful: Lord of Westmorland and Knaresborough, baron of the north, and keeper of one of the most formidable castles in England. While Reginald FitzUrse raged, William de Tracy hesitated, and Richard de Brito delivered the fatal blow, de Morville watched . But his silence proved to be as damning as any sword.
Lady of Lincoln Receives a 5-Star Review from The Coffee Pot Book Club!
I’m absolutely delighted, and a little bit overwhelmed, to share that Lady of Lincoln has received a 5-star review from the highly respected Coffee Pot Book Club!
For those who don’t know, The Coffee Pot Book Club is one of the most trusted and independent voices in the historical fiction community, known for its thoughtful, in-depth reviews and support for authors who bring history vividly to life.
As a debut author, it’s both humbling and thrilling to have Lady of Lincoln recognised by such an esteemed platform.
Claudia Procula, Pontius Pilate’s wife
Most of us know Pontius Pilate — the Roman governor who condemned Jesus to death. But how many of us know the woman who tried to stop him?
Claudia Procula (sometimes called Procula or Procla) appears only once in the New Testament, yet her brief act of conscience made her one of the most intriguing women in early Christian history, a woman caught between empire, superstition, and moral conviction.
A Virtuoso in America: Adrian by Fred Raymond Goldman
Today’s Coffee Pot Blog Tour features A Virtuoso in America: Adrian, book two in the Holocaust-related series. I’m providing an excerpt (see below), but first, take a look at the book description.
How do you reconcile a decision you made in the past when the world erupts in war, threatening the life of someone you love and believe you were protecting?
Adrian Mazurek immigrated to the United States from Krakow, Poland, 14 years ago and is now a successful violin soloist and concertmaster of The Eleventh State Symphony Orchestra in New York. But despite his outward success, Adrian is inwardly harboring a shameful secret, one he has not revealed to anyone.