Linnea Tanner's Blog

I’m delighted to feature Brodie Curtis as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between January 23rd –  February 13th, 2026. Brodie Curtis is the author of the Historical Fiction, Showboat Soubrette, published by Westy Vistas Books on December 10, 2025 (367 pages).

Below are highlights of Showboat Soubrette, author bio for Brodie Curtis, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-tour-showboat-soubrette-by-brodie-curtis.html

Showboat Soubrette
By Brodie Curtis

Blurb:

FROM STAR SHOWBOAT SINGER
TO PIRATE PREY ON THE WICKED RIVER!

Showboat singer Stella Parrot’s star rises in the Antebellum South with every sold-out performance along the lower Mississippi River. When a river pirate viciously assaults her, new friends Toby Freeman and John Dee Franklin foil the attack. However, the pirate’s family is bent on revenge.

Stella, Toby, and John Dee escape their riverboat with able assistance from young cub pilot Sam Clemens, only to be pursued by the notorious Burton Gang. As the trio runs for their lives, mortal perils await at every turn: a fierce storm, high-stakes gambling confrontations, deadly combat, and a cotton boat up in flames. Stella, a Cherokee Indian, and Toby, a free Black man, and their friend White man John Dee endure relentless racial prejudices and injustices in the gritty underbelly of the Wicked River while fleeing to New Orleans—where the Burtons will be waiting!

SHOWBOAT SOUBRETTE’s fast-paced lower river adventure chase features romantic showboat scenes and is unsparing in its exploration of the bigoted and sometimes lawless riverboat era.

Praise:

“Captivating characters? A fast-paced storyline? Cameos from historical figures? Brodie Curtis checks all the boxes in his novel set along the Mississippi River on the eve of the Civil War. Well done.”­—Tim Wendell, author of CASTRO’s CURVEBALL and REBEL FALLS

“SHOWBOAT SOUBRETTE is a novel that transcends a simple river chase, unfolding instead as a richly textured portrait of time and place where beauty and brutality are forced to coexist. Brodie Curtis has crafted a story that entertains without simplifying, thrills without trivializing, and ultimately delivers a powerful testament to courage and solidarity on the margins of history…For readers who crave historical fiction with pace and teeth, this novel will be a compelling and unforgettable ride.” — HISTORICAL FICTION COMPANY

 “This was an unputdownable read for me!…It’s an optimistic picture of a shocking time in American history….SHOWBOAT SOUBRETTE is ideal for fans of historical adventure fiction, especially fans of Twain himself and Percival Everett’s JAMES.—Ruth F. Stevens, author of STAGE SEVEN and THE SOUTH BAY SERIES Books 1 and 2

“Readers of historical fiction will love SHOWBOAT SOUBRETTE…a river adventure down the great Mississippi to New Orleans in the 1850s when racial tension is ripe in the Old South…an adventure worthy of Mark Twain’s pen… Curtis is a master of description and atmosphere.”—Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD and award-winning author of THE MYSTERIES OF MARQUETTE

“(E)xtensive research draws the reader in and carries them along on this fast-paced adventure, blending interesting historical facts with compelling fictional characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and recommend this voyage down the mighty Mississippi.”—Kris Abel-Helwig, author of THE HERO SERIES and the upcoming RULE OF ODDS.

­Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/boPV81

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Raised in the Midwest, Brodie Curtis was educated as a lawyer and left the corporate world to embrace life in Colorado with his wife and two sons.

Curtis is the author of THE FOUR BELLS, a novel of The Great War, which is the product of extensive historical research, including long walks through the fields of Flanders, where much of the book’s action is set. His second novel, ANGELS AND BANDITS, takes his protagonists into The Battle of Britain. Curtis’ third novel is set on a Mississippi Riverboat prior to the Civil War.

A lover of history, particularly American history and the World Wars, Curtis reviews historical fiction for the Historical Novels Review and more than 100 of his published reviews and short takes on historical novels can be found on his website: brodiecurtis.com. 

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website     Twitter / X     Facebook     Instagram

Book Bub     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

New Orleans Cemetery

A solitary caw broke the silence. John Dee’s gut tightened with wariness. The tortured soul of a cemetery resident presiding in the form of a black crow? Or a warning?

The moon hung over St. Louis Cemetery like a rich planter’s silver platter. John Dee led Toby down a gravel path, the crunch of their boots the only sound. They wove through sections of illuminated crypts with surnames of past generations. Some in French—Archambeau, Barbier, Fournier. Some Creole—Boudreaux, Thibodeaux. The vaults varied in height from quite low to peaked and featured an incongruous mix of stones of all shades and sizes, bricks, and iron—all lifted over the flood line to keep inhabitants sealed within dry.

Not until Toby’s boot hit the back of his calf did John Dee notice he’d slowed to a snail’s pace.

“Scared of the spirits, are you?” Toby asked with a snicker.

“Christ.” John Dee narrowed his eyes, but the tightly packed ghostly residences spawned dark, shadowy places untouched by the light of the moon. The unnatural quiet raised the hair on the back of his neck. “Come on.”

He turned right at a bricked, pyramid-shaped crypt surrounded by spike-topped iron fencing.

John Dee held his Colt in his right hand, close to his chest. Just what the hell are we doing here? This was a fool’s errand. A task of soon-to-be-dead fools. Cliff Burton and his men were, without a doubt, lying in wait. But neither of them could cotton sitting around to wait for Burton to start delivering Stella’s appendages. Because the evil bastard sure as hell would make good on his threat.

The God’s honest truth was no way in hell John Dee would desert Stella. But why? Sure, she was a looker and fired his loins, but so had plenty of other women. And he’d moved on from every one of them. Gotten his fill and gone back to the river and more business and adventure with Toby.

Something about Stella stirred his soul. It had happened on the Lady J’s top deck when they landed at Friars Point. When she opened her mouth to sing. In those magical moments in her bed before the fire.

He couldn’t turn his back on what was building between them. If he did, a big piece of his heart would die. Even more than that, Stella was a good soul and sure as hell didn’t deserve what Cliff Burton had done to her.

Between the crypts were shadowy patches of gray and blackness. Potential hiding places at every corner. John Dee’s neck hair stood on end. Mortal danger was out there. But where?

What did the old man say? Turn left at the Aubert crypt and it be at the end of the section. Lafon’s tomb was said to be a solid stone monstrosity with several levels of pull-out chambers towering over its ghostly neighbors.

A snap brought John Dee up short.

He and Toby raised their Colts.

“What is it?” Toby whispered.

“Quiet.”

No other sound.

“Bastards are hiding among the ghosts,” Toby whispered.

“Yeah. Come on. It’s just a little way.”

John Dee took a tentative step. Then another. Just moonlit stone death homes on either side of the path, and he couldn’t see anything between them. Perfect for an ambush. His and Toby’s Colts pointed ineffectively into the darkness.

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

I’m delighted to feature author Catherine Hughes in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between January 19th – 23rd, 2026. Catherine Hughes is the author of the Historical Fiction, Therein Lies the Pearl, published by Historium Press on January 19, 2026 (474 pages). 

Below are highlights ofTherein Lies the Pearl, Catherine Hughes’ author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2026/01/blog-tour-therein-lies-the-pearl-by-catherine-hughes.html

Therein Lies the Pearl

by Catherine Hughes

Blurb:

Normandy, 1064 

Celia Campion, a girl of humble background, finds herself caught in a web of intrigue when Duke William commands her to work as his spy, holding her younger sister hostage. Her mission: to sail across the sea to Wilton Abbey and convince Margaret, daughter of Edward the Exile, to take final vows rather than form a marriage alliance with the newly crowned king to the North, Malcolm III of Scotland. Preventing a union between the Saxons and Scots is critical to the success of the Duke’s plan to take England, and more importantly for Celia, it is the only way to keep her sister alive. 

In this sweeping epic that spans the years before and after the Conquest, two women from opposite sides of the English Channel whisper across the chasm of time to tell their story of the tumultuous days that eventually changed the course of history.  As they struggle to survive in a world marked by danger, loss, and betrayal, their lives intersect, and they soon come to realize they are both searching for the same thing–someone they can trust amidst the treachery that surrounds them. 

Together, their voices form a narrative never before told.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bolgZa

Award winning writer, Catherine Hughes, is a first-time author who, from her earliest years, immersed herself in reading. Historical fiction is her genre of choice, and her bookshelves are stocked with selections from ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Europe as well as those involving New England settlements and pioneer life in America. After double-majoring in English and business management on the undergraduate level, Catherine completed her Master’s degree in British literature at Drew University and then entered the classroom where she has been teaching American, British, and World Literature at the high school level for the last thirty years.

Aside from teaching and reading, Catherine can often be found outdoors, drawing beauty and inspiration from the world of nature. Taking the words of Thoreau to heart, “It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful,” Catherine sets aside time every day to lace up her sneakers and run with her dog in pre-dawn or late afternoon hours on the beaches of Long Island. When her furry companion isn’t busy chasing seagulls or digging up remnants of dead fish, she soaks in the tranquility of the ocean setting, freeing her mind to tap into its deepest recesses where creativity and imagination preside.

In Silence Cries the Heart, Hughes’s first book, received the Gold Medal in Romance for the Feathered Quill 2024 Book of the Year contest, the Gold Medal for Fiction in the 2024 Literary Titan competition, and the 2024 International Impact Book Award for Historical Fiction. In addition, the Historical Fiction Company gave it a five star rating and a Silver Medal in the category of Historical Fiction Romance. The book was also featured in the February 2024 Issue 31 of the Historical Times magazine and was listed as one of the Best Historical Fiction Books of 2024 by the History Bards Podcast. Therein Lies the Pearl is her second venture into the world of historical fiction.

Author Links:

Publisher’s Website: https://www.historiumpress.com/catherine-hughes

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cathy.hughes.5036

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathyhughes22/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Catherine-Hughes/author/B0CJT8MXR6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49501263.Catherine_Hughes

She kept her mind on other things so that she did not become too consumed with the physical task she was performing. But no matter how many times she tried to distract herself by thinking about sewing or fishing or cooking, she could not liberate herself from her current labor. Her thoughts always returned to how awful it was to dig a grave.

A gravedigger suffered a double form of anguish. First, there was the spiritual upheaval and debilitating grief that ensued after having lost a loved one, and second, there was the physical misery of having to complete such an onerous task. In her case, she set aside her emotional connection to what she was doing and tried to simply perform the job while commanding her mind to wander into regions far from this location. After intense effort, she was now about an arm’s length deep into the soil where, thankfully, the dirt had softened a bit and broke apart more easily than at first.

Just a few months ago, she had been at this same spot, only it was not her hand that grasped the handle but Simon’s. At the time, her father had shown no sign of understanding what was required of him, so it was her friend Simon who had come to dig the resting place that would house her mother’s body. Back then, Celia took no part in the digging. The hole stood empty and wide, fully completed by the time she, Papa, and Philippe had arrived with the cart trailing behind them. Only now with the sweat trickling down the back of her neck and along the column of her spine did she realize just how exhausting an endeavor it was. Her arms ached with strain and fatigue. Her lower back pinched and tensed each time she tossed the next batch of dirt over her shoulder. Even switching her grip and alternating sides did nothing to alleviate the pain.

An arm’s length was not deep enough to keep the scavengers away. She needed to make certain that the hole went down far enough to be beyond the reach of hungry foragers. Some small measure of dignity had to be preserved, especially since there was no ceremony or funeral to commemorate her father’s passing. He deserved that at least.

Pausing to wipe her brow with the back of her grimy hand, Celia’s eyes rested on the cart she had pulled by herself to this newly sanctioned family cemetery. The wagon made her think of Simon and of how he was still helping her despite being miles and miles away. And after a deep intake of breath and an even longer exhalation, she pointed her shovel back toward the ground and continued to deepen the trench.

She recalled the strangeness of his house. She knew it would be spartan. After all, he was a serious minded man whose time was spent dealing only in practicality and necessity. She had expected that. What was odd though was that there was no trace, no touch, no evidence that a woman had ever shared that space with him. No spindle, no comb, no brush, no clothing, no trinket, no craft, no indication at all that Giselle was once his wife. Perhaps Simon had gotten rid of all of her possessions so that no reminders of her were left behind to haunt him. Perhaps he had bartered them to find compensation for his loss. Whatever the manner with which he disposed of her belongings, it was clear he had chosen to wipe away Giselle’s entire history.

As Celia pulled more and more earth from the ground, she tried to recall Simon’s words when they had last spoken about her father’s impending death and Giselle’s prior passing. What was it that he said? Something about her wanting to leave this world because she could not abide being in it with him there too. Well, if a woman felt that way about her husband, is it any wonder then that he would want to erase everything about her from his mind? And what better place to begin than by removing all things associated with her presence? If all the physical reminders disappear, then it is only a matter of time before the mental pictures fade as well. So did he do this out of grief because of her aversion to him, or did he do this out of rage because of her rejection of him?

Was it sorrow or was it fury that drove him? Even though her task was far from done, Celia paused. Deep inside the rectangular pit she stood, cold and unmoving. But why would a woman—one who was with child—set out upon a boat during a storm? Was she trying to escape to start a new life on her own, or had she been put there against her will for someone to end it…?

Was his house empty because he was heartbroken over her death, or was it empty because he was guilty of causing it?

There are some questions that are better left unanswered, just as there are some secrets that are better left buried. The dead find release, but life remains a filthy business for the ones who are left behind. Celia readjusted her grip and plunged her spade once again into the dirt, deepening and widening the plot with each thrust.

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

I’m delighted to feature author Paula Dáil in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between January 19th – 23rd, 2026. Paula Dáil is the author of the Historical Fiction, Red Anemones, published by Historium Press on 17 October 2025 (449 pages). 

Below are highlights of Red Anemones, Paula Dáil’s author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-tour-red-anemones-by-paula-dail.html

Red Anemones
by Paula Dáil

Blurb:

Moving among generations of a German-Jewish-American family, Red Anemones is a poignant exploration of the intricate bonds, untold secrets, and unspoken legacies our ancestors bestow upon us.

Natalie Barlow’s journey of self-discovery begins when her estranged mother’s sudden death releases a storm of unrevealed family secrets reaching back to pre-WWI Germany.

As Natalie navigates the complexities of her newly discovered Jewish identity and her ancestral heritage, she comes face-to-face with the early 20th-century German immigrant experience, which included strong anti-German sentiment and deep antisemitism that prevailed across America.

Through diaries and letters her mother saved, Natalie learns of the personal costs this ugly reality extracted from generations of her own family. Ultimately, she must confront the question of her own identity.

Like Israel’s red anemones carpeting the western Negev and Dvira Forest of the Judean foothills year after year, Natalie is determined, no matter the personal costs, to find the courage, resiliency, and passion to embrace the changes that bring new beginnings. Inspired by a true story.

Praise for Red Anemones:

“Red Anemones” by Paula Dáil weaves a powerful narrative inspired by a gripping true story, infusing the text with authenticity and emotional resonance. This book is an absolute must-read for fans of the genre, as it expertly blends enthralling storytelling with fully realised characters and a rich plot.” ~ Yarde Book Promotion, Editorial 5* Review

“Poignant, disturbing, and historically and dramatically riveting.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“As I read, I found myself utterly taken by Dáil’s writing. Her prose has rhythm and patience, tight, deliberate, and quietly powerful. She writes with tenderness but never sentimentality, allowing emotion to rise naturally from her characters’ choices. I could almost feel the weight of Nathalie’s conflict between family duty and self-determination, between love and freedom. The language is lived-in, grounded, and full of quiet heat.” ~ Literary Titan, 5* Review

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Links:

Ebook:  https://geni.us/m6lqq

Paperback:  https://geni.us/oZtRC

A native Californian, Paula Dáil is an emerita research professor of social welfare and public policy and award-winning author. Widely published in the social sciences, she has also been recognized for her non-fiction and fiction writing, both under her own name and her pen name, Avery Michael.

She is the recipient of first or second place Readers Favorite, Reader’s Choice, Independent Publisher, Bookfest and Literary Titan awards, a Booklist Starred Review and several other five-star reviews, including Goodreads, The Book Commentary, and Independent Book Review. Two of her books received the Non-fiction Book of the Year Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers. She holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lives with her husband and dog in the Great Lakes Region of the Upper Midwest.

Red Anemones is her tenth book.

Author Links:

Website: www.paula-dail.com

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

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Paula-W.-Dail/author/B005W7EZ34

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/737907.Paula_Dail

Not long after seeing the newsreel, a woman who calls herself Hannah appears at the walk-in clinic, explaining that she has some knowledge of medicine and offering to volunteer. Desperate for any help we can get, Sister Mathilde and I ask few questions before accepting her offer, and within days are very impressed with her efficiency. Used to people whose English is less than perfect, we ignore her limits with the language.

Late one afternoon a few weeks later, I overhear her whispering to her husband in German when he comes to escort her home on the streetcar, which occurs each day she comes to us. They are a handsome couple, both slender, with dark hair, sad, fearful eyes and the quiet demeanor of gentle souls who keep to themselves and are determined to be invisible. Hannah works hard, dresses plainly, says little and is so capable we are soon depending on her to keep inventory straight, take care of the minimal bookkeeping we bother with, and help with anything else we ask of her. We are flooded with patients, and the more Hannah is able to do, the more time Sister Mathilde and I have to administer much needed direct patient care. Nevertheless, with my suspicions heightened after the rally. I’m not sure how much we should trust her, nor do I have any idea how to figure this out. Finally, at the end of a particularly busy day, I invite her to sit down and share a cup of tea.

“Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought I overheard you speaking German the other day,” I begin, leaking the German accent I’m normally careful to mask. Suddenly pale and obviously frightened at being discovered, Hannah fearfully admits she is a native German speaker. After a great deal of encouragement and reassurance, she reluctantly reveals she is a trained nurse, which accounts for her remarkable efficiency in the dispensary. Her husband, Chaim, is a rabbi, and they escaped Nazi Germany through Shanghai two years ago, eventually landing on the West Coast of California. A learned man, Chaim has a job cataloging books at the Los Angeles public library and she is hoping to parlay her experience with us into a paying job, perhaps in private duty nursing, which doesn’t require a license. I compliment her bravery, determination, and abilities, then suggest we have tea together more often.

The next week, she brings a tin of mouthwatering homemade pfeffernüsse, which she places near the tea canister. Slowly, we grow more trusting of each other, then begin worrying together over the growing anti-Jewish sentiment overtaking Los Angeles. Without outwardly admitting I am also a Jew, I make it clear where my sympathies lay and that I fret greatly over the growing ugliness in the world, even here in America.

One Friday, she stays later than usual, asking to speak privately with me.

“There is an underground Nazi resistance movement in Los Angeles that relies on eyes and ears in the community for information. You are German-fluent, Charlotte, and you could help enormously to fight the anti-Jewish, pro-Nazi effort,” she says, eyes wider than I have ever seen them. Several seconds pass before I respond.

“I really would like to help, Hannah, but I am not likely to overhear very much. People living in both the encampments and the barrios are barely surviving; they don’t have time to get caught up in political movements.”

“This is not entirely true. You’ve heard about the German Bund?” she asks. I nod, explaining I’ve heard it mentioned but know little about it.

“It is a German-American pro-Nazi organization with many members. They are recruiting in the barrios and encampments, promising that if the men sign up, they’ll have paying jobs after the war ends. It is very a clever idea,” Hannah explains. I admit having heard rumors about this but am surprised they are true and have no idea how I can help combat the problem.

 “There are ways…”

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

I’m delighted to spotlight the Late-Renaissance Historical Fiction, The Relic Keeper, by Heidi Eljarbo in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between January 12th – 16th 2026. The Relic Keeper was independently published by the author on 18 November 2025 (digital 142 pages; paperback 162 pages).

Below are highlights of The Relic Keeper and Heidi Eljarbo’s author bio.

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/blog-tour-the-relic-keeper-by-heidi-eljarbo.html

The Relic Keeper
by Heidi Eljarbo

Inspired by Gerrit van Honthorst’s masterpiece, The Adoration of the Child, and the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

Italy, 1620.

Angelo is an orphan, lonely and forgotten. Having been passed on from one family to the next, he ends up as a common thief, subject to and under the thumb of a ruthless robber called Tozzo.

Angelo knows no other life and has lost hope that any chance of providence will ever replace his lonely, misfortunate existence. When he loses his master, his livelihood is shaken. Tozzo’s plunder is hidden in a safe place, but what will happen if someone comes after Angelo to get their hands on the stolen relics? More than that, he feels threatened by words he’s heard too many times; that he’ll always remain unforgiven and doomed.

One day, a priest invites Angelo to help with chores around the church and rectory and, in exchange, offers him room and board. Padre Benedetto’s kindness and respect are unfamiliar and confusing, but Angelo’s safety is still a grave concern. Two older robbers have heard rumors about the hidden treasures and will stop at nothing to attain them.

With literary depictions and imagery, Angelo’s story is a gripping and emotional journey of faint hope and truth in seventeenth-century Italy—an artistic and audacious tale that crosses paths with art collector Vincenzo Giustiniani and the powerful Medici family.

Using invisible threads, Heidi Eljarbo weaves together her fictional stories with historical figures and real events.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4j6zgl

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.

Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

Author Links:

Website     Twitter / X     Facebook     Instagram

Pinterest     Book Bub     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

It’s my pleasure to feature author Lisajoy Sachs in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between January 5th – 9th, 2026. Lisajoy Sachs is the author of the Historical Fiction, Bright One (Bright One Series, Book #1), published by Historium Press on October 18, 2025 (322 pages). 

Below are highlights of Bright One, Lisajoy Sachs’ author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/blog-tour-bright-one-by-lisajoy-sachs.html

Bright One
(Bright One Series, Book #1)
by Lisajoy Sachs

Blurb:

When desperate choices mean the difference between life and death.

Inspired by true events, Bright One tells the story of Jetti Finkelthal, Lisajoy Sachs’ great-grandmother. In Czernowitz, Romania, this young Jewish mother is forced to face impossible choices as the world begins to collapse around her. As antisemitism tightens its grip and war edges ever closer, Jetti holds fast to her daughter, Berta, with the fragile belief that love and courage might still carve a way through the darkness.

Heartened by her grandmother Berta’s letters, photographs, and family oral histories, Sachs revives a story both intimate and universal—stitched with the fabric of daily life, the pull of memory, and the quiet heroism of women who refused to yield to despair. Told with vivid, sensory detail, the novel unfolds as if you are walking beside the characters, witnessing what they see and sharing in what they feel.

Through Jetti’s resilience and sacrifices, Bright One reveals the enduring strength of family ties and the shadow of trauma that lingers across generations. It is a story of survival, of loss, and of the unbreakable connection between mother and child.

For readers captivated by historical fiction that lingers long after the final page, Bright One offers a profoundly human portrait of love tested by history’s darkest hours.

Any Triggers: War, Holocaust, Depression

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/bzz8y2

Lisajoy Sachs is a dedicated writer and advocate for the preservation of history and culture through storytelling. Born and raised on Long Island and in the Catskills Mountain region of New York, Lisajoy’s early years were shaped by the picturesque landscapes of mountains and the sea. Growing up, she embraced her family’s deep connection to community and tradition.

Her professional journey is as dynamic as her personal interests. With a diverse career spanning Fine Arts, Interior Design, Metal Smithing, Lapidary, and the craft beer and hospitality industries, she has cultivated a deep and varied understanding of her many fields of interest.

Ms. Sachs holds several prestigious degrees and certifications, including a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from the City University of New York, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alfred University, and an Accredited Jewelry Professional (AJP) certification from the Gemological Institute of America. She is also a graduate of the Hop and Brew School at Yakima Chief Hops and holds a CiceroneCertified Beer Server© credential, underscoring her expertise and passion for the craft beer industry.

As a writer, Lisajoy’s work spans a variety of themes, from beer culture and community engagement to her most prized projects in historical fiction. Her writing reflects a profound appreciation for history, particularly focusing on how personal stories intertwine with larger cultural narratives. She has published multiple articles celebrating the craft beer industry’s ability to foster diversity and unity and continues to explore new ways to inspire her readers through her storytelling.

A deep passion for history, coupled with a fascination with family ancestry and vivid storytelling, is reflected in Lisajoy’s creative projects. Her fiction often delves into richly detailed settings and explores characters navigating the complexities of their times. Whether writing about the harrowing journey of her family in pre-WWII Europe or capturing the resilience of individuals in the face of change, Lisajoy brings depth, authenticity, and emotional resonance to her narratives.

Outside of her professional life, Lisajoy is an avid cyclist and skier, often traveling in her camper van with her partner and standard poodle Hops exploring new adventures. She has recently relocated to the Catskills Mountains, a decision influenced by her desire to embrace a balanced, family and community-focused lifestyle.

Lisajoy’s dedication to her craft, her community, and her passions makes her a multifaceted creative force. Through her writing and professional endeavors, she continues to bridge the gap between history, culture, and the shared human experience.

Author Links:

Website     Twitter / X     Facebook     Instagram

Threads     TikTok     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

Joel’s eyes roamed the room again, seeking an anchor to steady his turbulent thoughts. The canopy bed, draped in fine linens and accented by plush pillows, exuded comfort and security. Lavender lingered on the sheets, intertwining with the sweetness of the candles. It was a scene so removed from the barren trenches and the grim realities he had lived through. The suite was a testament to permanence, to wealth, to a life he wasn’t sure he deserved anymore.

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

It’s my pleasure to feature author Jennifer Wizbowski in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between January 5th – 9th, 2026. Jennifer Wizbowski is the author of the Historical Fiction, Poinsettia Girl, published by Historium Press on October 18, 2025 (336 pages). 

Below are highlights of Poinsettia Girl,  Jennifer Wizbowski’s author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/blog-tour-poinsettia-girl-by-jennifer-wizbowski.html

Poinsettia Girl
by Jennifer Wizbowski

Blurb:

Venice, 1710

Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.

Ten-year-old Agata’s world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she’s ever known.

Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures-not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes.

Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life-a return to the old neighborhood she’s longed for and a home she barely remembers.

Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mKQP8v

Jennifer Wizbowski spent her childhood days lost among the spines of her favorite books. Inspired by the daffodil fields of Wordsworth and the babbling brooks of Shakespeare, she earned her bachelor’s in English literature, a minor in music, and a secondary teaching credential, then wrote freelance for local business journals, taught in classrooms, and authored a Teen and Tween column for a parent magazine—all while raising her family.

As those years ended, she knew it was the right time to pursue her lifelong aspiration of bringing her own books to life. She now devotes herself to illuminating everyday women’s stories often lost in the shadows of history, revealing how they became heroines of their own time and place.

Author Links:

Website     Twitter / X     Facebook     Instagram     Bluesky

Pinterest     Book Bub     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

Some might have considered her earlier days slightly more illustrious than her current stage. She had once been a contralto, something special and different for composers to write for and crowds to be awed by. She pictured herself standing at the front of the balcony behind the metal cutout, remembering what it felt like to be seen. She ran her hands over her hips, feeling the smoothness of the deep red skirt over her narrow hips, and then moved them up to touch the heavy drape of her lace collar, forcing her shoulders back.

Her thick raven hair was brushed back in a woven bun, and the poinsettia behind her ear was striking in contrast. And now, she was a spry (well, she thought so) sixty-two-year-old, young enough that her widened hips still moved nimbly, and old enough that when her gray hair was unwound from its head covering, she could find not one of her former black strands left. She was known as the old woman in the hall, called by the name Discrete, which meant separate. That little skip flipped in her heart like it did occasionally, and she moved her hand from her gray hair to her chest.

I just push myself on some days. I can take it easier tomorrow.

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

It’s my pleasure to feature author J.R. Powell in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between December 8th – 19th, 2025. J.R. Powell is the author of the Historical Thriller, Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye, independently published on 28 November 2024 (421 pages). 

Below are highlights of Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye, J.R. Powell’s author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/blog-tour-paoletta-an-eye-for-an-eye-by-jr-powell.html

Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye
By J.R. Powell

Blurb:
Exiled to a Caribbean island, Paoletta Cadoville and her family cling to the hope of one day returning to their Parisian home. But in a single, devastating moment, that dream is shattered. Alone and horrifically scarred, Paoletta embarks on a perilous quest to uncover the truth behind her family’s tragic fate, only to become entangled in a web of political intrigue, secret societies, and dangerous alliances.

In a Paris overshadowed by the guillotine, Paoletta must decide how much of her humanity she’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of vengeance. Will she achieve justice for her family or lose herself to the darkness that threatens to consume her?

Paoletta – An Eye for an Eye is a gripping historical thriller set during the French Revolution and a stark reminder that in times of upheaval, innocence is the first to fall, and revenge demands a price paid in blood.

Any Triggers: Violence, sexual assault and rape, drug and alcohol abuse, and language and attitudes that reflect the time and culture in which it is set, but which may be considered outdated and offensive today.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4XvgEe

Originally from the UK, J.R. Powell lives in Germany, where he works as a translator and editor.

His debut novel was published in 2024, marking the first instalment of a new historical thriller series. Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye follows Paoletta Cadoville, a young woman driven by vengeance after the murder of her family during the French Revolution.

Drawing inspiration from his time living in Paris, Powell immersed himself in the city’s rich and brutal history to craft a story that brings a lesser-explored period to life with the momentum and intensity of a gritty, modern thriller.

Author Links:

Linktree     Instagram     Threads     Bluesky

Book Bub     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

Excerpt from Chapter 25

Lucie lingered in the shadows, ready to hand me the basket of bread and smear flour across my cheeks. Dwindling candlelight flickered eerily over the stage’s timbers, creaking beneath Madame Legrand’s robust frame as she strutted before a spellbound public of gawping eyes. More girls emerged from the darkness, clutching brooms and pitchforks. I knotted my neckerchief, wiped my sweaty, cold palms on my skirt, and followed them into the crowd’s gaze. Mathilde joined us, too, taking her place with Lucie next to Angélique at the front of the stage, where she was reaching the climactic moment of her impassioned monologue.

“We talk of sovereign nations, but what is a nation but its people? Is it not then obvious to whom this sovereignty belongs? But a powerful minority has usurped our sovereignty, just as they usurped our freedom and our equality, stole the bread from our mouths, and kept coming back for more. The People rule, Citizens. Our leaders must be accountable to us and us alone!”

A rapture of screams and cries erupted out of the silence, drowning Angélique’s words. Arms flailed in a desperate frenzy, and the thicket of faces rustled like a snake whipping through the undergrowth. A lone figure clawed its way to the stage. His eyes sparked like flint, his mouth agape, and he screeched the same words over and over. “For Daumont! For Daumont!”

A clap of pistol fire and a bright flash split the air. A searing heat flooded my belly, causing my knees to buckle beneath me. A haze of white smoke billowed. Cries and screams filled the air. My fellow Mariannes scattered into the wings. There, I crouched, alone, paralysed with fear. Figures poured onto the stage, encircling a girl with her head in Lucie’s lap. My gut froze and curdled as I looked up. I rose to my feet. For a mere blink, I was back in Uncle Stefano’s townhouse, staring numbly at the burning timber beams while my sight flooded with crimson.

A disembodied voice echoed through the air, its urgency piercing through the haze, “Mathilde! It’s Mathilde!” The sound seemed distant, muffled as if I were submerged in water. A firm grip fell on my shoulder, snapping my focus forward. Lucie stood before me, her scowl intense. Her touch cleared the fog from my senses.

“Fetch a doctor!” Lucie hissed, her voice flaring with urgency. To my side, a woman cradled Mathilde’s lifeless form, her sleeve drenched in scarlet and staining the timbers below.

Angélique appeared to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. Lucie shook me again to regain my focus. “I’m taking her to the Café Février, you got that?!”

I hurriedly sought out the only physician I deemed trustworthy – Dr Spice. Reluctantly, he made his appearance at the Café Février, donning his frock coat and clutching his ominous bag of blades. Naturally, we had to feign ignorance of one another, a masquerade necessary to shield us from deadly suspicion.

Once at the Café Février, we followed drops of blood to a secluded room at the top of the steps. There lay Mathilde, sprawled upon a table, her head propped on a rolled-up coat. Dr Spice brusquely elbowed Lucie and Clothilde aside and set his bag beside Mathilde’s head.

Placing a lantern on the table, he gently raised Mathilde’s hand and unbound the strips of dark red linen that the girls had hastily wrapped around her wrist. Lucie buzzed incessantly in Dr Spice’s ear, telling him what had happened, her words gushing forth like a breach in a sinking ship’s hull.

“Boiling water and some vinegar, quick!” Said Dr Spice, his words firm and directed to anyone who was able and within earshot. He swiftly poured a vial of milky fluid down her throat. She coughed and choked on it, foul stuff that I knew all too well. “Laudanum for the pain – lay still.”

Dr Spice wasted no time in tying a tourniquet tightly around Mathilde’s arm. Standing steadfastly by his side, Lucie continued to grumble and growl pleas and threats for Mathilde’s life into his ear, though Dr Spice barely cast so much as a glance her way.

“I hope for your sake, Citizen, that you save her,” Lucie snarled, sniffing and wiping her nose on the back of her hand. Dr Spice didn’t so much as twitch with unease, so Lucie carried on, “It won’t be pretty if you let her slip through your fingers.”

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

It’s my pleasure to feature author Marcia Clayton in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between December 15 – 19th, 2025. Marcia Clayton is the author of the Historical Fiction / Victorian / Family Saga / Historical Romance, Annie’s Secret (Book 6 The Hartford Manor Series), published by Sunhillow Publishing on 18 October 2025 (304 pages). 

Below are highlights of Annie’s Secret, Marcia Clayton’s author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour
Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog-tour-annies-secret-by-marcia-clayton.html

Annie’s Secret
(The Hartford Manor Series)
by Marcia Clayton

Blurb:

1887, North Devon, England

When Lady Eleanor Fellwood gave birth to a badly deformed baby, she insisted that the child be adopted as far away as possible. However, that proved difficult to accomplish, and so, in return for payment, Sabina Carter, an impoverished widow living locally, agreed to raise the little boy as a foundling. The child’s father, Lord Charles Fellwood of Hartford Manor, warned Sabina that the matter must be treated in the strictest confidence or her family would be evicted from their home. As far as Lady Eleanor was concerned, the child was being cared for miles away.

All was well for several years until fate took a hand and, against his parents’ wishes, Robert Fellwood, the heir to the Hartford Estate, married Sabina’s daughter, Annie. Robert arranged for his mother-in-law, Sabina, and her family to reside in the Lodge House, situated at the end of the Manor House driveway. A house that Lady Eleanor passed regularly, and it was not long before she spotted Danny’s dark curls among the Carter redheads. As she looked into the child’s eyes and noted his disabilities, she recognised her son.

Now, at seven years old, Danny has had numerous operations to correct his disabilities and is a happy, healthy child. However, his presence is a source of constant anguish for his birth mother as, day after day, she watches him play in the garden. Her husband, Charles, and son, Robert, are aghast when she announces that she wants him back! An impossible situation for all concerned, and a rift develops between Robert and Annie as he struggles to find a solution to suit everyone.

Over the years, Lady Eleanor has steadfastly refused to acknowledge her daughter-in-law, for she disapproves of Annie’s lower-class origins. When a freak accident forces the two women to spend time together, they inevitably find themselves drawn into conversation, and before long, the years of pent-up resentment and family secrets surface as home truths are aired.

Will the two women be rescued from their precarious situation unscathed? And, if so, will the family survive the scandal that is about to be unleashed?

Buy Links:

The Hartford Manor Series Links:

Prequel – Betsey                        

Book 1 -The Mazzard Tree             

Book 2 – The Angel Maker           

Book 3 – The Rabbit’s Foot            

Book 4 – Millie’s Escape                 

Book 5 – A Woman Scorned         

Book 6 – Annie’s Secret             

All books in The Hartford Manor Series are available to read on #KindleUnlimited, and print copies can be ordered from any bookshop.

Marcia Clayton writes historical fiction with a sprinkling of romance and mystery in a heartwarming family saga that spans the Regency period through Victorian times.

As a child, Marcia often had to amuse herself as her siblings were several years older than her, and her arrival was something of a shock to her middle-aged parents. Her favourite pastimes were writing stories and reading, and she adored the Enid Blyton books, particularly The Famous Five and The Adventure Series. These books established her love of literature, which has remained with her to this day.

A farmer’s daughter, Marcia, was born in North Devon and is proud to be a Devon Maid. Over the years, she has been employed in various occupations, primarily to work around raising her three sons, Stuart, Paul, and David. She has worked in banking and nursing and, for many years, was the School Transport Manager for the local authority. Now retired, Marcia spends a lot of her time writing historical fiction but also enjoys gardening, researching her family history, and walking in the lovely Devon countryside with Bryan, her husband of fifty-three years.

Marcia has written seven books in the historical family saga, The Hartford Manor Series. You can also read her free short story, Amelia, a spin-off tale from the first book, The Mazzard Tree. Amelia, a little orphan girl of 4, is abandoned in Victorian London with her brothers, Joseph and Matthew. To find out what happens to her, download the story here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/amelia-free-download/ 

In addition to writing books, Marcia writes blogs about a variety of subjects and a monthly newsletter, which she shares with her readers. If you would like to join Marcia’s mailing list, please subscribe to her website, The Devon Maid Book Corner: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/

Author Links:

Website      Twitter / X      Facebook      Instagram      Bluesky                            

Book Bub       Amazon Author Page        Goodreads           

Emily was unable to sleep that night. She tossed and turned as her troubled mind worried over her grandchildren. At last, in the early hours, she finally lost consciousness, but it seemed only a few minutes later that a loud hammering on the door rudely awoke her. Wearily, she sat on the side of the bed for a moment, trying to gather her strength, whilst the commotion downstairs continued. Emily couldn’t for the life of her think who could be making so much noise. Shakily, she rose to her feet, but the room swam before her, and she sank back onto the bed, afraid she might fall.

By this time, the noise had alerted her neighbours and Agnes and Ollie came out of their front door, curious to find out what was happening. A young man was hammering on Emily’s door, and behind him, a lady dressed all in black urged him to continue. Their horses were tethered to a nearby tree, one a handsome chestnut stallion and the other a roan cob.

“Can I help you, ma’am?”

The young lady looked down her nose at Ollie. Her clothing was of the finest quality, her boots highly polished, and she wore sparkling earrings. The only thing that marred her beauty was the sour expression on her face.

“Is this where that whore, Rosemary Gibbs, lives?”

“It’s where Rosemary used to live, ma’am, but I’m afraid she’s lying dead in her bed, awaiting collection by the undertaker.”

The woman glared at him. “How typical of the woman to die before I even had a chance to give her a piece of my mind. What about her two bastards? Are they here?”

“Yes, ma’am, they live with their granny, Emily Gibbs, but I should tell you she has typhoid. I would not advise you to enter the cottage for fear of contracting it yourself.”

The woman pushed the young man aside. “Get out of the way, Henry; I’ll deal with this myself. I’ve recently recovered from typhoid, so I’m not worried about that.”

Slamming the door open, the woman entered the cottage and surveyed her surroundings distastefully. She proceeded through the living room and mounted the stairs. Still lying in bed, Emily was astounded to see Lady Grantley enter the room. She struggled to sit up.

“Why, Lady Grantley, what brings you here? I’m sorry I couldn’t answer the door, but I’m so weak I couldn’t get out of bed. I’m ill with typhoid, you see. Please don’t come near; you don’t want to catch it.”

“Touching though your concern is, you do not need to worry about me, for I’ve had the beastly disease, though it managed to see off my unfaithful husband and serve him right. Now, I understand from your neighbours that his trollop, Rosemary Gibbs, has joined him. How typical that they should even leave this world together.”

Although incensed at the woman speaking about her daughter in such a way, Emily could think of nothing useful to say, so she lay back on her pillows and regarded her visitor with baleful eyes.

“So, where are your grandchildren? Where are my husband’s bastards?”

“They’re not here, ma’am. With their mother deceased and me likely to join her soon, I’ve sent them to seek out distant relatives in Somerset.”

“A likely story, as if you would send two youngsters off alone on a long journey in this weather. I expect they’re hiding somewhere; tell me, for I will find them.”

The woman turned on her heel, went across the landing, and opened a door that led into the room usually occupied by Millie and Jonathan. Seeing it was empty, she opened the next door and recoiled at the awful smell which assailed her nostrils. Putting her handkerchief to her nose, she surveyed the body lying on the bed, covered with a sheet. Unconvinced that the children were not hiding, she forced herself to peer under the bed but found nothing. Angrily, she called down the stairs to her groom.

“Henry, search everywhere downstairs and all the outbuildings. Then search every house nearby; I want them found.”

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

I’m delighted to host Suzanne Uttaro Samuels as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between November 21st – December 12th, 2025. Suzanne Uttaro Samuels is the author of the Historical Fiction / Women’s Fiction / Immigrant Fiction / Heritage Fiction / Crime Fiction, Seeds of the Pomegranate, published by Sibylline Press on September 2, 2025 (384 pages). 

Below are highlights of Seeds of the Pomegranate, the author bio of Suzanne Uttaro Samuels, and her guest post about the history behind the book.

Tour Schedule Page:  https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog-tour-seeds-of-the-pomegranate-by-suzanne-uttaro-samuels.html

Seeds of the Pomegranate
By Suzanne Uttaro Samuels

Blurb:

A gritty story of a woman learning to survive in 20th century Gangland New York

In early 20th-century Sicily, noblewoman Mimi Inglese, a talented painter, dreams of escaping the rigid expectations of her class by gaining admission to the Palermo Art Academy. But when she contracts tuberculosis, her ambitions are shattered. With the Sicilian nobility in decline, she and her family leave for New York City in search of a fresh start.

Instead of opportunity, Mimi is pulled into the dark underbelly of city life and her father’s money laundering scheme. When he is sent to prison, desperation forces her to put her artistic talent to a new use—counterfeiting $5 bills to keep her family from starvation and, perhaps, to one day reclaim her dream of painting. But as Gangland violence escalates and tragedy strikes, Mimi must summon the courage to flee before she is trapped forever in a life she never wanted.

From Sicily’s sun-bleached shores to the crowded streets of immigrant New York, Seeds of the Pomegranate is a story of courage, art, and the women who refused to disappear.

Any Triggers: some implied violence

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mZJdkD

Suzanne Uttaro Samuels writes about women who defy expectations and the secrets that shape families across generations.

Her debut novel, Seeds of the Pomegranate (Sibylline Press, 2025), follows a young Sicilian noblewoman whose search for freedom and art leads her into the hidden world of counterfeiters in early twentieth-century New York.

A former law professor turned novelist, Suzanne now lives in a lakeside cottage in the Adirondack Mountains with her husband, dog, and two cats. When she’s not writing, she’s exploring old family stories, local history, and the way memory lingers in the places we call home.

Author Links:

Website     Facebook     Instagram     Threads     Bluesky

Pinterest     Book Bub     TikTok     Amazon Author Page     Goodreads

When I began writing Seeds of the Pomegranate, I wasn’t searching for a plot so much as for a world—one that could shape a young Sicilian noblewoman at the turn of the twentieth century and ultimately propel her across an ocean. What forces would push her from everything she knows? And what possibilities—and dangers—would she find in New York, a city both dazzling and unforgiving?

The story that emerged is fictional, but its foundations are firmly embedded in the lived realities of Sicilian women, immigrant families, and the shadow economies that flourished in Italian Harlem. What follows is a glimpse into the history beneath Mimi Inglese’s journey.

By 1900, Sicily was officially part of the unified Kingdom of Italy, but for most Sicilians, daily life still resembled a feudal past. Large estates—the latifundia—concentrated wealth in the hands of a few landowners, while farmers and sharecroppers struggled under poor harvests, usurious taxes, and limited rural economies. Political unrest, food shortages, and sweeping social disruptions left families throughout the South living with constant precarity.

For families like Mimi’s, belonging to the minor nobility did not guarantee stability. Titles often persisted long after fortunes had vanished. Land values collapsed; debts mounted; family reputations frayed. Daughters, especially, bore the burden of maintaining an image of gentility even as opportunities constricted around them. Many young women lived in a tightening vise of duty, silence, and diminishing choices.

Emigration became a lifeline. Between 1880 and 1921, more than four million Italians—many from Sicily—left for the United States. As one immigrant observed, “America was the only place where hope was cheaper than bread.” Their departures were propelled as much by hunger as by possibility.

Most Sicilians traveled in crowded, unsanitary steerage. Mimi, by contrast, crosses in second class—a single rung above those below her but still far from luxury. That liminal space perfectly reflects her family’s slipping hold on nobility and money. From her railing, she can see the press of bodies on the steerage deck and knows how easily she might have been among them.

Second class offered modest privacy, yet it did not shield passengers from the rigorous medical examinations awaiting them in New York. For Mimi—who survived tuberculosis as a girl and still bears faint scars—the threat of detention at Ellis Island is real. One cough, one shadow on her cheek, could classify her as “likely to become a public charge,” a label that ended countless immigrant dreams.

Yet it is not Mimi who is detained when the ship docks—but her father. Officials flag irregularities in his paperwork and discreetly raise questions about his activities back in Sicily. Rumors, debts, old affiliations—nothing Mimi can see clearly, but enough to hold him back. The shock shatters what remains of her faith in class as protection. Whatever noble title he clings to cannot shield them in America.

Her Atlantic crossing becomes her first instruction: survival in the New World will require strength, cunning, and a willingness to step beyond the boundaries she was raised to obey.

Though many associate early Italian immigrant life with Mulberry Street, the most populous and culturally vibrant Italian community in New York was in Italian Harlem, spanning the upper reaches of East Harlem and East 116th Street. By 1910, its tenements were dense with families from Sicily and southern Italy who re-created their village networks in the narrow streets, communal courtyards, and corner shops of Manhattan.

For most immigrant women, work happened at home. Garment “piecework”—hemming skirts, stitching collars, trimming lace—paid pennies per completed piece. The kitchen table served as both workspace and dinner surface; infants slept in baskets beneath sewing machines; teenagers learned to baste seams before they learned to write English.

The labor was grinding, poorly paid, and exploited by contractors. And yet it offered women something rare: the ability to contribute directly to household survival. Italian and Eastern European immigrant women played crucial roles in early labor strikes, demanding better pay and safer conditions—voices often omitted from the larger story of American labor history.

Mimi steps directly into this world of hidden work and communal resilience. Her artistic training and engraving talent become both her livelihood and her vulnerability—gifts that open doors but also attract dangerous attention.

One of my most surprising discoveries during research was the prominence of counterfeiting in early Mafia activity. Long before the Prohibition gangsters who dominate popular imagination, Sicilian crime families in New York were deeply involved in producing fake currency. These operations were surprisingly sophisticated: chemists mixing inks, engravers cutting dies, printers running clandestine presses, and women serving as couriers, operators, or—in some cases—the masterminds.

In 1902, U.S. Secret Service agents arrested a Sicilian woman in Manhattan—reported as Stella Franto or Frauto—describing her as the “genius” behind a major counterfeiting ring. Newspapers expressed astonishment that a woman could run such an enterprise, but her arrest underscored a truth often ignored: organized crime depended on women’s skill, labor, and discretion.

Around the same time, the notorious Giuseppe Morello and Ignazio “Lupo the Wolf” Lupo were imprisoned for a counterfeiting scheme stretching from Manhattan to the Catskills. Their network relied on artisans capable of exquisite engraving—exactly the type of skill Mimi possesses.

These historical threads electrified my imagination. They revealed a hidden world where artistry and criminality overlapped, where women could wield unexpected power, and where survival demanded ingenuity. The character of Stella in the novel is shaped by these archival glimpses—not a portrait of any single historical figure, but an amalgamation of the women who moved through these underground economies with intelligence, nerve, and ambition.

Immigrant women have too often been flattened into background figures—stirring sauce in cramped kitchens, anonymous shapes behind shuttered windows. But the historical record tells a richer, more dynamic story: women crossing oceans alone, supporting households with relentless labor, joining strikes, nurturing community life, and sometimes running illicit operations with daring efficiency.

Seeds of the Pomegranate places women like Mimi and Stella where they truly belong: at the center of the narrative. Their stories illuminate a larger truth—one that underlies the history of immigration itself. The journey from Sicily to New York was never only about survival. It was about talent, ambition, courage, compromise, and above all the power of women navigating systems designed to contain them.

In writing Mimi’s story, I sought to honor those women whose names rarely made it into textbooks but whose decisions—quiet or radical—shaped families, communities, and the world around them. They are the true seeds of the pomegranate: resilient, enduring, and capable of cracking open a future no one expected.

Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

It’s my pleasure to introduce J.P. Rieger as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between November 25th – December 16th, 2025. J.P. Rieger is the author of the Historical Fiction with a touch of Magical Realism, A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance, published by Blue Cedar Press on September 23, 2025 (107 pages). 

Below are highlights of A Most Unlikely Man. J.P. Rieger’s author bio, and an excerpt from the book. 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog-tour-a-most-unlikely-man-by-jp-rieger.html

A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance
by J.P. Rieger

Blurb:

Isadore Levinsky is a survivor. No stranger to concentration camps, he’s been freighted by boxcar to yet one more, possibly his last, before death by rifle or neglect. He’s survived this far because he’s done what any person would do under the circumstances: everything possible, irrespective of the consequences for others. At the nearly deserted Natzweiler-Struthof camp, Levinsky matches wits with fellow prisoner Otto Beck, a self-proclaimed pacifist, gentile and admitted liar. Beck has decreed that all food and water will be shared equally. He’s rallied the men and challenged his Nazi overseers, willingly taking their beatings and abuse. But is Beck a charismatic con man or a liberator? Previously convicted for treachery, Beck is architect of an escape plan specifically designed to assist his Nazi captors. Can Levinsky and the men survive Beck and find their way to freedom?

A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance is a story that resonates with our own times. Uplifting and inspiring, the story draws us into a dark past we must never forget, while shining a ray of hope for our future.

Any Triggers: Killings, war, violence against prisoners

Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/boJd5L

Paul (J.P.) Rieger is a mostly retired Maryland attorney and author of five books, The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, a mystery featuring a wannabe lawyer anti-hero published in April, 2013, Clonk!, a police farce set in Baltimore and published in May, 2023 by Apprentice House Press (Loyola University, Maryland), The Big Comb Over, a slipstream comedy of manners published in April, 2024, Sunscreen Shower, a Clonk! sequel, published by Flock Publishing in October, 2024 and A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance, published by Blue Cedar Press in September, 2025.

Paul and spouse live in Towson, Maryland. His website is www.jpaulrieger.net.

Author Links:

Website: www.jpaulrieger.net

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

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jprieger.bsky.social

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-p-rieger

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.-P.-Rieger/author/B00JIO5W4S

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239777922-a-most-unlikely-man

Bauer obtained the barrels from the Polish woman and dragged them into the barracks just as Emmerich and Wittmer arrived, following behind him.

“Prisoners, form the usual line.”

Beck spoke from the back of the line. “Private Bauer, I see that young Hammel is not present today. I presume he received the evacuation order?”

“No talking, Beck!”

Wittmer barked angrily, “What is he saying? Is that the queer?”

“Yes sir. The queer.”

Beck spoke up. “For the record, Sergeant, I was not convicted for being a sexual deviant. I was convicted for the crime of treason, the same as our beloved Führer.”

With that, Wittmer pulled Beck out of the line by his collar and struck him in his face with an open hand, boxing Beck’s ear. Beck cried out in pain and dropped to one knee, holding his stinging face and ringing ear with his palm.

“Impertinent queer! Now stand up. You spoke of an evacuation order. Who informed you of such an order?”

Beck stood tentatively, defensively. “I beg your pardon, sir. A mistake on my part. I saw that Hammel was absent and presumed that the colonel had passed the order along to Lieutenant Magnus for further implementation.”

“The colonel?” Wittmer laughed gruffly. “You and the colonel now speak regularly about camp administration? And when exactly did you see the colonel?”

“Again, my apologies sir. I haven’t seen him for, perhaps a day or two. And for the record, he did not speak with me on camp matters. He made no such communication, besides a friendly wave while passing through the camp. The notion that the colonel passed along the order from Berlin to the lieutenant was mere speculation on my part. Whether the lieutenant received the order is unknown.”

Wittmer shook his head and stared at Emmerich, angrily, who shook his head in response.

Beck spoke again. “And I know it’s not my place to speculate, sir, but perhaps the lieutenant received but simply failed to share the order. With all the cavorting and such with the French woman, perhaps he was distracted?”

Emmerich barked, “What French woman?”

“Sorry, sir. I should not have repeated the rumor. We prisoners hear things. It’s inevitable. These walls are porous. You can see daylight through the cracks.” Beck pointed to the rays of sun piercing the ground through the wall. “And that’s why, sometimes at night, we hear voices outside our barracks. The language is always French, though, usually whispered. I do know a very slight amount of French, but not the words I heard last time.”

“What words did you hear?”

“I believe the words sounded something like … umm …ahh … ‘usine.’ And the other word I heard several times was ‘cible, ‘cible.’ And then the word ‘espionner.’ But I don’t know what any of those words mean. I am able to understand words like ‘bonjour,’ ‘oui,’ and ‘non.’”

Wittmer walked over to Beck again and grabbed him by his sore ear, twisting it into his scalp. Beck fell to his knees and cried out in agony.

“Worthless queer! Tell me—at any time did you see Lieutenant with a French woman or any civilian?”

“No sir! I did not! Please accept my apologies. I should not have repeated rumors. Rumors are so often lies!”

Wittmer released his grip and pushed Beck down to the ground.

“Enough! Be quiet, queer! Bauer, when you have completed this task, see me in my quarters!”

Wittmer and Emmerich exited, slamming the barracks door behind them. Bauer walked over to Beck to help him up. “You sure know how to get everyone in trouble, Beck.”

…

After Bauer left, the men surrounded Beck.

Goldenberg looked at Beck’s ear. “Are you badly hurt, Beck?”

“Just a little sore, Eli. I’ll be fine.”

Levinsky scowled. “We’re lucky he only smacked you. Those two Nazi pigs could have just as well shot you in the head and maybe the rest of us, too. If this is your ‘plan,’ Beck, I suggest you submit a new plan. Otherwise, you’re going to get us all killed.”

Heinz Gelbach spoke up. “So what, Levinsky. We are already dead men. At least we’d be going out making a little trouble. Who agrees?”

Every hand was raised, save Levinsky’s. “Okay. If you men want to follow this pied piper off his cliff, go ahead. I can’t stop you.”

Beck finally spoke. “Lev is right. My plan does hold great risks for each of us. If anyone would prefer to stay behind when the rest of us walk out of here as free men, you certainly may do so. And by the way—one down and four to go.”

Levinsky snarled. “What do you mean?”

“We helped Hammel escape. Now we have only four more left, not counting the mysterious, invisible colonel.”

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