BECOMING JOSEPHINE

About Becoming Josephine

Publication Date: December 31, 2013

Plume Books/Penguin

Paperback; 320p

ISBN-10: 0142180653

Rose Tascher sails from her Martinique plantation to Paris to trade her Creole black magic culture for love and adventure. She arrives exultant to follow her dreams of attending Court with Alexandre, her elegant aristocrat and soldier husband. But Alexandre dashes her hopes and abandons her amid the tumult of the French Revolution.

Through her savoir faire, Rose secures her footing in high society, reveling in handsome men and glitzy balls—until the heads of her friends begin to roll.

After narrowly escaping death in the blood-drenched cells of Les Carmes prison, she reinvents herself as Josephine, a socialite of status and power. Yet her youth is fading, and Josephine must choose between a precarious independence and the love of an awkward suitor. Little does she know, he would become the most powerful man of his century- Napoleon Bonaparte.

BECOMING JOSEPHINE is a novel of one woman’s journey to find eternal love and stability, and ultimately to find herself.

Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/becomingjosephinetour

Twitter Hashtag: #BecomingJosephineTour

my thoughts:

Words cannot describe my feelings after reading this book! 

Josephine Bonaparte has always been an individual I have found to be fascinating. This story created a desire to know more!!! 

What a vivid, lively woman. The ordeals she faced and overcame.

Stunning portrait of a trying time in French history.

The reader will love her, cry with her and feel her pain and distress. You will also hate her detractors. (I hated the Bonaparte's- even Napoleon)

A book definitely worth reading, even if you are not a fan of French history. Read it for the strength and fortitude of an amazing woman.

Praise for Becoming Josephine

“Heather Webb’s epic novel captivates from its opening in a turbulent plantation society in the Caribbean, to the dramatic rise of one of France’s most fascinating women: Josephine Bonaparte. Perfectly balancing history and story, character and setting, detail and pathos, Becoming Josephine marks a debut as bewitching as its protagonist.” –Erika Robuck, author of Hemingway’s Girl

“With vivid characters and rich historical detail, Heather Webb has portrayed in Josephine a true heroine of great heart, admirable strength, and inspiring courage whose quest is that of women everywhere: to find, and claim, oneself.” –Sherry Jones, bestselling author of The Jewel of the Medina

“A fast-paced, riveting journey, Becoming Josephine captures the volatile mood of one of the most intense periods of history—libertine France, Caribbean slave revolts, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars—from the point of a view of one of its key witnesses, Josephine Bonaparte.” –Dana Gynther, author of Crossing on the Paris

“Vivid and passionate, Becoming Josephine captures the fiery spirit of the woman who stole Napoleon’s heart and enchanted an empire. –Susan Spann, author of The Shinobi Mysteries

“Spellbinding . . . Heather Webb’s novel takes us behind the mask of the Josephine we thought we knew.” –Christy English, author of How to Tame a Willful Wife and To Be Queen

“Enchanting prose takes the reader on an unforgettable journey . . . Captivating young Rose springs from the lush beauty of her family’s sugar plantation in Martinique to shine in the eighteenth century elegance of Parisian salon society. When France is torn by revolution, not even the blood-bathed terror of imprisonment can break her spirit.” –Marci Jefferson, author of Girl on the Gold Coin (Thomas Dunne Books, 2014)

About the Author

Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing.

When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.

For more information please visit Heather’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Where can I get BECOMING JOSEPHINE?

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

HOUSE OF BATHORY

In the early 1600s, Elizabeth Báthory, the infamous Blood Countess, ruled Čachtice Castle in the hinterlands of Slovakia. During bizarre nightly rites, she tortured and killed the young women she had taken on as servants. A devil, a demon, the terror of Royal Hungary—she bathed in their blood to preserve her own youth.
400 years later, echoes of the Countess’s legendary brutality reach Aspen, Colorado. Betsy Path, a psychoanalyst of uncommon intuition, has a breakthrough with sullen teenager Daisy Hart. Together, they are haunted by the past, as they struggle to understand its imprint upon the present. Betsy and her troubled but perceptive patient learn the truth: the curse of the House of Bathory lives still and has the power to do evil even now.

The story, brimming with palace intrigue, memorable characters intimately realized, and a wealth of evocative detail, travels back and forth between the familiar, modern world and a seventeenth-century Eastern Europe brought startlingly to life.

Inspired by the actual crimes of Elizabeth Báthory, The House of Bathory is another thrilling historical fiction from Linda Lafferty (The Bloodletter’s Daughter and The Drowning Guard). The novel carries readers along with suspense and the sweep of historical events both repellent and fascinating

                             
                                   my thoughts

Horrifying and fascinating at the same time. It's like passing an accident and staring. You can't help yourself. This book is very similar. It jumps between the past and the present. 

Countess Bathory, 17th century, villain. I felt nothing except disgust for this woman. She is mean, hateful and cruel. She bathes in the blood of young girls to keep her youth. The people who surround her are loyal out of fear and need. They need the few pennies she pays for their families. They fear her reaction and response if they betray her in any way.

Modern day, we have a psychologist named Betsy, treating a trauma plagued 'goth girl'. 
Modern day Count Bathory, as crazy as his ancestor and several other players.

The story goes back and forth between past and present. We follow the story and eventually it does merge. Remember, truth is stranger than fiction. Countess Bathory was a real person, her crimes of cruelty and murder were real. 

Very well written story. I was never bored or distracted while reading.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

WISHING ALL OUR FOLLOWERS 

HAPPY

HOLIDAYS

The Penny Thief

... and if someone was robbing a bank cent by cent without anyone realizing it ...

PARIS, Montmartre and La Défense, the ultra-modern business district with their office skyscrapers.

Henri Pichon is a quietly sharp programmer whose daily routine is altered by a fortuitous accident from which will change the fate of everyone around him.

A different crime/detective novel: a story of love, hate, greed, murder ... and a refreshing touch of black humor.

How far are you willing to go for the money? ...

my thoughts

What a fantastic book! I couldn't put it down. Starts with a bang and the action doesn't stop. 

The writing is spectacular, the story just flows. The characters are full and entertaining. You will either love or hate them, my favorite...Henri and Tash. 

It has been many years since I visited Paris, however, the descriptions were so well done that I could actually 'see' the places being described. 

I loved this book. It has everything a reader could want. Adventure, intrigue, romance and fun.

5/5stars

Amethyst Eyes

Media Kit for Amethyst eyes
Title: Amethyst Eyes
Author: Debbie Brown
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 242 pages
Release Date: November 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1493513284
Imprint: Mythos Press

 

The biggest thing on 15-year-old Tommy's mind is convincing Mom to let him go to the drive-in, but when an accident claims his mother's life and puts him in the hospital, the arrival of his estranged, alien father brings more changes than he had bargained for. It doesn't take his father long to figure out that Tommy knows nothing about who or what he is. Without any explanation, Tommy finds himself onboard his father's spaceship where he is forced to trust a man he does not know in a world he knows even less about.

Adapting to his new life seems overwhelming, and his father's solution may prove to be Tommy's finest challenge yet...Jayden. A few months younger than Tommy, high strung and always in a mood, the doctor's daughter definitely didn't like being 'told' to help Tommy fit in. Jayden is not the most welcoming or patient of tutors, let alone a friend. As fate would have it, Tommy quickly learns that none of these things compare to the peril that comes from being born with amethyst eyes.

Links to purchase:

http://www.amazon.com/Amethyst-Eyes-Debbie-Brown-ebook/dp/B00GPE4PEC/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1384665514&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=amethyst+eyes+debbie+brown

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/amethyst-eyes-debbie-brown/1105283804?ean=2940148748946&itm=1&usri=amethyst+eyes

 

About the Author:

Over the years I have worked as a nurse, a school teacher, a martial arts instructor, baseball, figure-skating and gymnastics coach as well as an artist, selling my paintings in an art gallery. I have been part of an orchestra, flown planes and gone on wilderness hikes. I am an officer in the Canadian Forces, and though I have taught on different military bases, for now I work primarily with cadets. Writing full time is my next goal.

Here is where you can connect with Debbie

http://amethysteyesauthor.blogspot.ca/

http://welcometomywritingworld.weebly.com/

https://twitter.com/amethysteyes01

 

Amethyst Eyes Tour Dates:

 Tuesday the 3^rd of December Fantasy Ultimatehttp://www.fantasy-ultimate.blogspot.com/ Spotlight and Guest post with Grace

Thursday the 5th December: From the Land of Empyreanhttp://empyricaltales.blogspot.com Spotlight and Guest Post with Mark

Tuesday the 10th December: Indie Author: How To
http://indieauthor-howto.blogspot.com  Spotlight and Guest post with Kisha

Wednesday the 11^th December: Deborah Jay
http://deborahjayauthor.com/  Excerpt and Spotlight with Deborah

Thursday the 12^th December: The One Saga
www.theonesaga.com Spotlight and Interview with Matthew

Friday the 13^th December: Paperback Hero Aaron
http://paperbackheroaaron.blogspot.com/  Spotlight and Guest post with Aaron

Wednesday 18th December: The Dragonian Series
http://thedragonianseries.blogspot.com Spotlight with Adrienne

Thursday 19^th December: Donna
http://bookloversparadise.blogspot.com Spotlight With Donna

Tuesday the 24^th December: Crossroad Reviews
http://www.crossroadreviews.com Spotlight with Jessica

Thursday the 26^st December: Have You Heard Book Review
http://haveyouheardbookreview.blogspot.com/ Spotlight and Guest post with Melanie

Tuesday the 31st December:  Adrienne Woods
http://woodsadrienne.wordpress.com Review and Spotlight


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