In Praise of Indie Authors I
Discover must-read indie books celebrating historical fiction, romance, and adventure—from Brandy Purdy’s The Confession of Piers Gaveston to Juliet Waldron’s Mozart's Wife. Explore this curated praise-worthy list of authors, from Tudor intrigue to Civil War comedy, perfect for book lovers seeking hidden gems.
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The Confession of Piers Gaveston
by Brandy Purdy
The history books tell us that Piers Gaveston was many things: arrogant, ambitious, avaricious, flamboyant, extravagant, reckless, brave, and daring, indiscreet, handsome, witty, vivacious, vain, and peacock-proud, a soldier and champion jouster, the son of a condemned witch, who used witchcraft, his own wicked wiles, and forbidden sex to entice and enslave King Edward II, alienate him from his nobles and advisors, and keep him from the bed of his beautiful bride Isabelle. Edward's infatuation with Gaveston, and the deluge of riches he showered on him, nearly plunged England into civil war. Now the object of that scandalous and legendary obsession tells his side of the story in The Confession of Piers Gaveston: "Mayhap even now, when I have only just begun, it is already too late to set the story straight. My infamy, I fear, is too well entrenched. Whenever they tell the story of Edward's reign I will always be the villain and Edward, the poor, weak-willed, pliant king who fell under my spell, the golden victim of a dark enchantment. There are two sides to every coin; but when the bards and chroniclers, the men who write the histories, tell this story, will anyone remember that?"
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Dear Heart, How Like You This?
by Wendy Dunn
A king who would not be denied, a woman who would be queen, and a gentle poet forced to watch helplessly, as his one true love slips out of his arms forever... Dear Heart tells the story of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. The story is told from the point of view of Anne's cousin, Sir Thomas Wyatt. Tom has secretly loved Anne his entire life, but has always been told he is not highly born enough to pursue her. He carefully hides his feelings, especially after Anne catches the eye of the king, but he remains at Anne's side as one of her staunchest friends and supporters. Then the unthinkable happens. After marrying Anne, the king tires of her and falsely accuses her of adultery. Imprisoned himself on the whim of the king's arrogant brother-in-law, Tom watches helplessly as his true love and his closest friends go on trial for their lives... This is is a novel that grips you before the end of the first sentence and doesn't let go until the bitter end. In Dunn's more than capable hands, Anne Boleyn comes to life, first as a whimsical child, then as a hurt and angry teenager, then as a woman both frightened and exhilarated by the dangerous game she is playing, and finally as a bruised, but not broken, victim of the king's cruelty. Through Anne's tumultuous life, her cousin Thomas is a spellbinding narrator, reporting the events around him with a reporter's keen eye and a poet's tender heart. Reviews "...an evocative and engaging story of love and friendship, blossoming from the bonds of early childhood, only to be torn apart by the sensual desires of a selfish king." "Though framed as an account of arguably the most famous of Henry VIII's six wives, Dear Heart is far more than another re-telling of a well-trodden tale. For entwined with the glamorous, ultimately tragic, story of Anne Boleyn's life and death, is that of an inherently good man's struggle with the evils of his time, and of the toll that is often exacted of those who finds themselves immersed in the sweeping tides of historical change." "I have read every novel I ever found about Queen Anne Boleyn and enjoyed them all. This one was special and very refreshing While adhering to main historical events, Wendy Dunn takes us on a mental and emotional adventure into possibilities of personal relationships." "A wonderful, wonderful novel. Seriously the greatest book I have read about Anne Boleyn. This book takes you inside their world and you have a hard time leaving it... "
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Mozart's Wife
by Juliet Waldron
Based on original sources, including family letters and scholarly biographies this is a biographical novel about Constanze, Moazrt's wife.
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Pemberley Remembered
by Mary Lydon Simonsen
While visiting Montclair, an 18th Century Georgian country house located in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, Maggie Joyce, a 22-year old American living in postwar London, is told that the former residents of the mansion, William Lacey and Elizabeth Garrison, were the inspiration for the characters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen's masterpiece, Pride & Prejudice, and that Montclair is the novel's Pemberley. During her visit to the nearby Village of Crofton, Maggie meets Beth and Jack Crowell, both of whom have ties to the Lacey family and Montclair, and who know if the legends associated with the house and Fitzwilliam Darcy are true. While exploring the truth behind the romance of Darcy and Elizabeth, Maggie is drawn into the love story of the Crowells, who married in the midst of the horrors of World War I, as well as her own love story with Rob McAllister, an American who flew on bombing missions over Germany during World War II, and who has returned to England for his own deeply personal reasons. Pemberley Remembered is a story of lovers who bridge class differences in Regency England, but it is also speaks to love and loss in postwar England.
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Scarecrow in Gray
by Barry Yelton
We ran headlong across the fields. Minie balls filled the air with that strange, buzzing sound. Every now and again I could feel the air whip my neck as one flew close by. One of the balls ripped a chunk out of my left ear. Dirt flew up all around us where balls struck the ground. Men were dropped everywhere, most dead where they fell. A peaceful hill country farmer from North Carolina, Francis Marion Yelton, is torn from his beloved family and thrust into the barbarity of America's deadliest conflict: the War Between the States. Forced to become a soldier and fight a war in which he has no stake, Francis struggles to come to grips with his new role. Blood and battle threaten to transform Francis from a man of peace to a brutal warrior, and he struggles to hold on to his ideals. Wracked with doubt and guilt, tormented by the violent acts he has been forced to commit, Francis looks to his faith in God and to the memory of his devoted wife and loving children to sustain him through the dark night of war's insensate butchery. Battle after battle, through hailstorms of lead and waves of cold steel, Francis fights to survive. Will he ever see home again?
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Soldier Of Rome The Legionary A Novel Of The Twentieth Legion During The Campaigns Of Germanicus Caesar
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