Tuesday, 4 August 2026

Renaissance Rivals by Karen Essex



Publication Date: July 18th, 2026
Publisher: Kleopatra Books
Pages: 311
Genre: Historical Fiction


Renaissance Rivals, the long-awaited sequel to the global bestseller Leonardo’s Swans, brings to life the brutal rivalry between two of history’s most fascinating women: Isabella d’Este, Marchesa of Mantua, celebrated in her own lifetime as “The First Lady of the World,” and Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara, daughter of the infamous Pope Alexander VI and one of the most maligned women in history.

Before the doomed duchess of Maggie O'Farrel's The Marriage Portrait, there were women who built the courts, forged the alliances, and turned power into art. Renaissance Rivals invites readers to step back one generation into the glittering, dangerous world that shaped the Italy of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Niccolò Machiavelli.

Pitted against each other by the ruthless political landscape and by the men they loved, Isabella and Lucrezia must learn how to survive in a world where women are treated as prizes, pawns, and weapons. Their battle is intimate, brilliant, and borders on the fatal, a war fought with jewels, letters, seduction, betrayal, and the strategic intelligence of women who refuse to disappear.



Buy Links:


Karen Essex


Karen Essex is the national and international bestselling author of Run, Darling, Kleopatra, Pharaoh, Leonardo's Swans, Stealing Athena, Dracula in Love, and Bettie Page: Life of a PinUp Legend.

All feature iconic women—powerful women that seduced the world and ruled it. Essex is also an active screenwriter and speaker, and an award-winning journalist.

She divides her time between Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Europe. Her novels are published in twenty-nine languages.

Leonardo’s Swans, the prequel to Renaissance Rivals, was a runaway bestseller in Italy and won the prestigious Premio Roma for Foreign Fiction.


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Tuesday, 28 July 2026

One More Hour of Daylight by C.M. Gray



Publication Date: June, 2026
Publisher: Constance Books
Pages: 417
Genre: Historical Fiction / WWII Thriller

From the Bestselling Author of Shadowland

On the first day of World War II, a young man makes a promise—one that will shape every choice he makes for the next four years.

Essex. September 1939.

A wounded German pilot drops from a clear autumn sky into a quiet English field. Seventeen-year-old Derrick finds him—broken and feverish. Not an enemy. Just a young man asking for one small mercy before everything ends.

One more hour of daylight. That is all I ask. A chance to breathe free air before whatever comes next.

Derrick gives him until morning.

When the stretcher comes, the pilot’s last words strike Derrick like a blow he will never stop feeling.

Scotland. France. Germany. 1941–1943.

In the mountains of Scotland, they teach him how to kill, how to lie, and how to endure things that break most men. Then they give him a new name, put him on a plane, and drop him into the dark.

As an SOE operative deep inside occupied Europe, Derrick Sedgley lives on false papers, borrowed names, and nerves worn to nothing by years in the shadows. He moves agents to safety, builds escape routes, and stays one breath ahead of the Gestapo.

Then a mission collapses—and everything changes.

Forced to run, Derrick finds himself moving through the most dangerous corners of occupied Europe alongside someone whose connection to his past he cannot yet see. As safe houses fall, loyalties fracture, and the frozen passes of the Pyrenees rise ahead like the edge of the world, Derrick begins to understand something.

The choice he made in an Essex field on the first day of the war has been leading him here all along.

Some debts cannot be paid.
Some can only be carried.
And some—if you are brave enough, and fortunate enough—can finally be laid to rest.

From the quiet fields of Essex to the mountains of Scotland, from the dangerous streets of Lyon to the shadows of wartime Hamburg and the high passes of the Pyrenees, One More Hour of Daylight is an unforgettable story of courage, guilt and redemption—of ordinary people forced to make impossible choices in extraordinary times.

Some promises can survive a war.
Some people can too.

For readers who believe that even in war, what matters most is who we choose to be.




Praise for One More Hour of Daylight:

"A beautifully written book with a perfect pace that kept me reading
from start to finish."
~ Bookcollector, Amazon 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"A confident, carefully crafted novel that handles its subject matter with restraint, earning the weight it carries."
~ Indie Library, Goodreads 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


Buy Link:
This novel is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.


C.M. Gray


C.M. Gray's first book, The Flight of the Griffin, was longlisted in the 2015 Times Chicken House Writing Competition. Shadowland, the first book in the Pendragon Saga, has so far received over 900 five-star reviews on Amazon. These things still genuinely astonish him, and he is deeply grateful for every one of them.

Most of his previous work has been fantasy: either pure fantasy or historical fantasy, the kind of writing where druids turn up uninvited and one of your main characters develops an unsettling affinity with wolves before you have quite decided what sort of book you are writing. Shadowland began with every intention of staying grounded in historical reality, the story of Uther Pendragon. It did not. It has turned out to be a popular book, so he does not complain.

His years travelling through Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East have a habit of finding their way onto the page. He has seen and done some fairly strange things along the way and met some extraordinary people, and writing fantasy has always felt, to him, only a short step from writing fact.

New for 2026

One More Hour of Daylight, marks C.M. Gray's return to writing. It was published in June 2026, marking a departure: pure historical fiction, no druids, no wolves. It follows Derrick Sedgley, a seventeen-year-old from Essex who makes a single moral choice in a field one September morning in 1939 and spends the next four years living with the consequences. From the Essex countryside to occupied France, from the mountains of Burgundy to the Pyrenees, it is a story about promises, betrayal, courage and the cost of doing the right thing too late.

And for those who have been waiting patiently for the Pendragon Saga to continue: the third book, Shadow's Heir, the story of Arthur Pendragon, follows in September 2026. More on that very soon.

C.M. Gray was born in England and grew up in the Essex countryside near the Suffolk border, which is where Derrick Sedgley grows up, too. The flat fields, the big skies and the particular quality of Essex light found their way into the book, whether he intended them to or not.

C.M. Gray is now very happily settled just outside Barcelona with his wonderful wife and partner in life, Adriana.

Connect with C.M.:
Amazon Author Page • Goodreads

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Monday, 27 July 2026

Marie Conner – A Leading Lady by Elle Mott


Publication Date: February 11th, 2026
Publisher: Luminare Press
Pages: 303
Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction / Historical Non-Fiction


Marie was born a girl. That was only her first mistake, according to her father.


    In an era when daughters and wives are not supposed to be concerned with matters outside the home, Marie is determined to prove him wrong. To do this, she must break down barriers placed on women in society, overcome difficulties that befall her, surpass hardships from the Great Depression, and then face an inevitable relocation.


         Marie steps into her community and into the hearts of many people to give her time and help with their needs. She wants nothing in return other than her father's acceptance as a worthy woman and yet, she gains much in return, even if it is not her father's praise. This is Marie’s story—of a rise from her girlhood angsts to become a leading lady—and much more.


This definitive biography is the empowering true story of one trailblazing woman who, in the mid-1900s in small-town America, changed her community and beyond for the better and forevermore.




Praise for Marie Conner – A Leading Lady:

"I enjoyed the fact that this was a personal story, since Marie was the author's great-grandmother. It was also wonderful to read about a time when women were honored for their charitable work and valued for being caring neighbors. In our age of materialism, we often lose sight of just how meaningful it can be to be part of a caring community. I especially appreciated the inclusion of several excerpts from Marie's articles describing the needs of others. Her willingness to serve was astonishing and inspiring. Those who enjoy reading the histories and personal stories of women, who are far too often overlooked, will enjoy Marie's story."
~ Samantha Wilcoxson, award-winning author of Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"A deeply powerful memoir detailing the life of Marie Conner and the struggles she encountered as a woman growing up in a male-dominated society. The level of detail in this story is astonishing; I felt as though I could step right into Marie’s shoes, experiencing her triumphs and setbacks alongside her."
~ Kayla Frederick, bestselling author. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Buy Link:



Elle Mott


Elle Mott is a creative nonfiction author who weaves advocacy and strength into her writing, empowering readers to find their purpose.

“Marie Conner, A Leading Lady" is her third book. She is also the author of “Out of Chaos: A Memoir” and “People Helping People”. 

Her next book, releasing this fall, will be as a contributing co-author to “When Women Talk, Notes From the Future: What I Would Tell My Younger Self”. Her other publications have been featured in literary journals, news magazines, and anthologies.

She has a background working in libraries, both at the college level and, for more than ten years, at the public library in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. While library work is her livelihood, writing is her passion. 

Elle grew up in Oregon and now makes her home in the suburbs of northern Kentucky with two cats and several pet birds.


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Wednesday, 22 July 2026

The Duty of Daughters – El Deber de las Hijas – by Wendy J. Dunn


The Duty of Daughters – El Deber de las Hijas – by Wendy J. Dunn


Publication Date: November 17th, 2019
Publisher: Poesy Quill
Pages: 310
Genre: Historical Fiction / Tudor Fiction



Spanish Version:
Publication Date: June 1st, 2026
Publisher: Libros de Seda S.L.
Pages: 320


Castile, 1490.


Doña Beatriz Galindo is an uneasy witness to the Holy War of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband, Ferdinand, King of Aragon. A holy war pushing the Moors out of territories ruled by them for centuries.


Beatriz does not want a life like other women. She desires power over her own destiny. Even if this means walking a far harder road.


A passionate and respected scholar, Beatriz serves her friend Queen Isabel of Castile as her advisor. She also tutors the queen’s youngest child, Catalina of Aragon.


Dedicated to Queen Isabel and her children, Beatriz guides the young Catalina of Aragon to walk her own hard life road.


But can she prepare Catalina to be England’s queen?


Finalist in the 2020 CHAUCER Book Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction.



Praise for The Duty of Daughters:

"This is a captivating read, written with heart, significance and sensibility. Dunn is a careful writer. She doesn't exploit her characters; rather, she explores them and brings us along for the journey. This is a novel researched with integrity, and Dunn reaches out and lands beautifully in the winner's circle."
~ Historical Novel Reviews

"This profoundly moving story helps us appreciate today's more enlightened world. The Duty of Daughters is historical fiction at its best!"
~ Readers’ Favorite ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Buy Links:


Wendy J. Dunn


Award-winning Australian author of Tudor historical fiction, specialising in Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon novels.

Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian author, playwright and poet fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel narrating the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally.

Her second novel, The Light in the Labyrinth, set during final days of Anne Boleyn's life, revisits the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of her niece Catherine Carey. The Duty of Daughters and All Manner of Things tells the story of Katherine of Aragon. Shades of Yellow tells the story of a woman writing a novel about Amy Robsart.

All Dunn's award-winning works weave together the lyricism of poetry with the pulse of history, creating stories of love, loss, and the endurance of the human spirit.

 

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Renaissance Rivals by Karen Essex

Publication Date: July 18th, 2026 Publisher: Kleopatra Books Pages: 311 Genre: Historical Fiction Renaissance Rivals , the long-awaited sequ...