30 March 2023

Stars on Fire by Sky Gold Book Blitz! ⁣⁣#StarsOnFire #SkyGold #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

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Stars on Fire
Sky Gold


(The Sable Riders, #1)
Publication date: February 26th 2023
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction

The thing is, Selene, I don’t do forever. It’s not what this is.’ – Kainan Sable.

He’s lethal, wraith-like, a warrior who lives in the twilight, the hidden inferno amongst the stars.

She’s driven, ambitious, and unrelenting, with an allure that forces him from the shadows.

He needs to control the intensity of his reaction to her.

 

She fights the temptation glinting in his sapphire wildfire eyes.

He wants revenge.

She wants forever.

But he can’t give her ‘forever’.

Or can he?

War is stirring in the skies and stars above Eden II. Between empires in ascension and realms in decline. Kainan and Selene find themselves caught up in the maelstrom. Together they’ll light the stars on fire, even as darkness beyond their control seeks to turn their destiny – and their forever – to ashes.

__________________________

If you’re in the mood for:

  • A strong, smart heroine AND a sexy, badass anti-hero
  • Unrequited love and a personal growth saga that spans a universe
  • Steamy, hot epic jolts!
  • Paranormal action
  • All the feels AND heartfelt escapism

Then take to the Skies Above Eden II. A whole new world awaits you.

Goodreads / Amazon

The four men looked up and studied her coolly.

Kainan’s voice rumbled behind her. ‘Selene Munene, meet the Sable Riders, also known in our official capacity as The Sable Group.’

She stepped closer to the table and gazed at her new acquaintances as calmly as she could manage.

The one closest to her was just as significant in size as Kainan, a hulking figure with a mass of short jet-black hair with blue streaks, a bushy black beard and silver grey eyes, with a stubborn jaw and a swathe of jagged scars down one side of his face. His massive feet were slung up and crossed on top of the table.

The man beside him was also tall, with angular, dark features, a roughly shaven jaw, a beard and penetrating eyes with hazel irises ringed with glowing sapphire flecks. He leaned back in his oversized chair to study her unhurriedly.

Kainan pointed to the scar-faced man. ‘This is Kage, call name Shadow. He’s our ship designer, tech head and all-around maestro. He also runs our mini armada. Next to him is Xion, call name Phoenix – head of internal security on Eden II, privately overseeing law and order on the rock.’

Two other men glanced at her from the other side of the room.

One sported a magnificent sheathe of dead straight white and silver hair that fell to his back in a long, smooth sheet with a braid to one side. His skin was pale, and so were his white irised eyes that he seemed a ghoul, albeit a very handsome one. He wore a close-fitted black jumpsuit with the same crest on his shoulder as Kainan. She assumed this was The Sable Group’s insignia.

He jerked his chin to her, his pale eyes keenly raking her face.

Next to him was a lean, long, striking, powerfully built man in a beautifully cut suit with dark thick hair, a neat moustache and a beard with piercing blue eyes. His elegant presence contrasted sharply with his more casually dressed companions. He nodded to her cordially.

‘At the far back is Riv, call name Wraith. He runs our armouries. He occasionally moonlights as the head of our private surveillance ops and militia, and on his off days, he dallies as a bounty hunter. With him is Zane, call name Phantom. Our business and financial controller. He runs our sales, logistics, private equity and finance division.’

Selene nodded her head formally in acknowledgement, momentarily unable to speak. As it were, her breath had been snatched from her lungs by the presence of these five devastatingly powerful creatures. She saw sleek blasters strapped to their powerful thighs and hips and imagined the various other weapons tucked in places unseen. These were no boy scouts she was dealing with.

‘You remember Mirage,’ Kainan added drily, gesturing toward the gyrfalcon with silver wings and feet.

Selene’s eyebrow rose. ‘Really?’

‘It is indeed, Selene,’ said the gyrfalcon in the AI’s harmonious tone. ‘As a nano-engineered AI, I can take various forms, but this is the one I tend to prefer when I’m off Kainan’s ship. But, of course, I’m also still on the ship due to my split consciousness and various remote capabilities.’

‘Mirage is our eyes and ears across the rock, and she oversees all AI on all our ships and holdings,’ Kainan explained.

‘I’m also taking an encrypted recording of these proceedings,’ Mirage piped up. ‘Which will be shared to all your comm tabs after the meeting and only accessible with your bio authentication.’

Kainan inclined his head. ‘As you can see, she’s a very valued member of The Sable Riders.’

‘Wow,’ Selene said, genuinely astonished. ‘Incredible.’

The gyrfalcon bent her sleek silver head in a bow.

‘Sit,’ Kainan ordered Selene, pulling out a plush chair.

‘What’s your call name?’ she managed to ask him softly as she sat down.

He paused for a moment.

‘Chimera,’ he said quietly.

Fitting, she thought, given the strange ability he had to switch her feelings, from hot to cold, in seconds.

Sky Gold is a best selling author, writer and lover of all things delicious, fun and courageously life affirming. She imagines herself a warrior for the people she loves and values she stands for! She looks to her gorgeous husband, her whimsical kids, her loyal friends, her sweet Russian Blue Cat, and the stars themselves for her heavenly inspiration.



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Peace in the Midst of the Storm by Kaleb Thompson Blog Tour! @iReadBookTours #poetry #christianity #christianinspiration #giveaway

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Book Title:  Peace in the Midst of the Storm by Kaleb Thompson
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 86 pages
Genre:  Poetry
Publisher:  Wipf and Stock
Release date:   December, 2021
Content RatingG because it provides positive, wholesome content through spiritual poetry that seeks to encourage and inspire others.
Anxiety and fear seek to prey on the damaged and create heavy burdens that scar the soul, being heartless and insensitive to the lost, unkempt, and broken-spirited in a troubled, unwholesome world. However, they do not reign for eternity, as faith, resilience, and empowerment remain planted from within to help overcome pressing obstacles, regardless of how difficult they may be. Peace in the Midst of the Storm primarily focuses on the beauty of positivity, selflessness, and honorable confidence that symbolizes the importance of light being present within darkness. This book also holds accountability in facing the realization that as life may prove frustrating at times, giving up is never an option! This shows that regardless of our mistakes, life does not promise us that we will remain positioned in negativity. What we were in our pasts will not seep into who we have grown to be as positive individuals. What we have now realized is that we often must prepare to speak victory over our storms and, as we continue to encourage ourselves to do that, we will overcome anything.
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Kaleb Thompson is a dedicated and optimistic individual who enjoys living life to the fullest. Being a native of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Kaleb received his Bachelor's degree and Master's Degree from Coastal Carolina University where he has valued much of his educational experience and career within the hospitality and tourism industry. He has recently started to write poetry to not only inspire others but to help relieve stress as a whole.

connect to the author: website GoodReads

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PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM

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Second Chance Omegas by Will Okati New Release Blitz! #PNR #urbanfantasy #gay #LGBTQ

 

#steamyreads #sexybooks #shifterromance #changelingpress #actionadventurefiction #LGBTreads #gayromance @changelingpress

Title:  Second Chance Omegas

Author: Will Okati

Publisher: Changeling Press

Release Date: March 24

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 394 pages

Genre: Romance, New Adult, Action Adventure, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Gay, Second Chances, Sex/Gender Shifters & MPreg

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Second Chance -- a small town where anything can happen -- and it usually does.

Only You: Once upon a time a teenaged Alpha fell in love with a pretty Omega from the wrong side of the tracks. Zachary was everything Alex wanted -- sweet, sassy, and sexy as hell. Alex would have married that boy if Zachary hadn’t run. When the secrets they’ve been keeping come to light, will they shatter their bond for keeps, or bring them together in a forever kind of love?

Yes, You Are: Everyone assumed petite Darian would be an Omega, and big, athletic Coby would be an Alpha. When they met as teenagers, they had no reason to doubt that was who they’d be. But everyone was wrong. Opposites attract like lightning and steel rods when they meet again in Second Chance, but do they have what it takes to overcome the unexpected for the long haul?

Come for You: Gabriel, a dreamer and a librarian, is so shy and introverted that he’s still a virgin Omega at twenty-five -- but he can’t help wishing for a fairy-tale Prince Charming. Meet captivating quarryman Alpha Wynn. For them, it’s love at first sight. But the happy ending is harder to come by. Who will rescue who?

Take You There: Ethan teaches music at the university. He’s not looking for Mr. Right, just Mr. Right Now. A quick, dirty alley encounter should have satisfied him. But now Ethan can’t get Blue out of his mind. The smoldering musician who caught Blue’s eye and what they did in the alley, should have been enough. Until Ethan finds him. And then, everything changes. Again.

Copyright ©2023 Will Okati 
Excerpt from Only You 

“Coffee, sir?”

“As much of it as you can fit in a cup. No cream but double the sugar. Please.”

The train attendant shook his head, but with a smile and a finger briefly pressed to his lips as he passed over not one but two Styrofoam cups filled to the brim. He was an Omega too, in his mid-thirties by the look of him, and he wore a black jet widower’s ring instead of a wedding band. Things weren’t much easier for the widowed than the unmated or separated. He understood.

Zach took a grateful gulp, not caring that the coffee was hot enough to scald his throat, and asked, “How far behind schedule are we?” Stretching his legs at the next station would do him good; they ached when he stayed still for too long.

“About half an hour, at this point."

Wishing wouldn’t make the wheels turn faster, but with nothing to look at outside in the dark, Zach adjusted his position so he could get a better view of the passengers in his car. Like most Omegas, he wasn’t very tall. Some new folks had gotten on and others disembarked while he’d dozed, and he liked wondering what their stories were. Two young Alphas who acted like frat bros; interesting, they weren’t the usual size for Alphas, but small and compact and they weren’t at each other’s throats but laughed and joked like best friends. A couple that had to be recently married from the way they could barely resist climbing all over each other; an Omega with a contented smile, probably on his way back home, and --

Oh.

Oh, God.

Zach’s heart jumped into his throat and wedged stuck there even around the burn of his beverage. Three rows ahead, dark wheat-blond hair and a profile almost as familiar as his own turned to smile at the attendant as he refused their offer of coffee. It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be, he hadn’t seen that profile since he was eighteen, but --
He’d changed -- well, he’d grown up, the way everyone did, the bones of his face maturing from soft boyish cuteness to strong, masculine definition. A short beard, trimmed and shaped, that suited his strong, stubborn jaw. The kind of casual suit that would have cost the equivalent of a month’s rent in Manhattan. Elegant hands with sturdy knuckles and deft fingers, and a smile that lit up the train.

He did and didn’t look a thing like the boy Zach remembered but it was, it was, it was him.

Alex.

Zach would have known him anywhere, even if he’d shaved his head and started scowling instead of smiling. If he closed his eyes, he could feel those hands on the bare skin of memory. After all, you never forgot your first.

I love you. And I know you love me too.”

He should stop staring. Alex would sense it any second now, and he might look around, and --

His gaze drifted back up, drawn like a moth to a flame.

Alex. Oh, Alex.

Zach’s body twitched with the first pangs of arousal, wanting what he’d had once upon a time. He remembered it all, and he remembered it perfectly. He dreamed about it, when he slept. The taste of Alex’s skin, the softness and hardness of his mouth and how his eagerness had nearly rubbed the insides of Zach’s thighs raw. The fullness, almost too much and too tight, when he slid inside Zach.

“I love you. And I know you love me too.”

Anger slowly took alarm and unhappiness’s place – anger, and frustration with himself. Zach should have sensed this train was to be avoided. Dodged. Something! And Alex, sitting there as if he didn’t have a care in the world – it was everything Zach had wanted for him, the entire reason he’d left Alex in the first place, but seeing it in the flesh opened all those old wounds back up and made them bleed afresh. The pain from that moment of saying no to what Alex had offered with all his big, warm heart cut sharper than any knife – but he’d had to. You didn’t do that to your first boyfriend, did you? Take him up on a marriage proprosal and tie him down to a shitty life based on a few promises made in the afterglow?

He’d done the right thing by saying no, leaving, and giving Alex his freedom. Zach knew that. Was sure of it. Even if none of that had ever made him feel any better about it.

They must have been traveling farther and faster than Zach had realized, or he was more out of it than he’d known. Between one blink and the next the train’s PA system crackled to far-too-loud life again, announcing they’d reach their next station at Second Chance in ten minutes. Second Chance? What kind of name was that for a town?

Alex looked up at the speaker, nodded in an absent sort of way, and stood to open the overhead compartment. He took out a bulging messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder and stuffed a pair of thick gloves and a warm knit hat in the pockets of his coat. This would be his stop.

Zach caught his lip between his teeth, torn between – it was pure foolishness, the idea of going to him -- and sanity, staying right where he was.

Let it go.

Zach would have, really he would. But as Alex walked past him – always so eager to do things, that one; he would start heading for the exits before the train had even come to a halt -- he only made it two steps past Zach’s seat before he stopped. As Zach’s heart sank down past the pit of his stomach he saw Alex pause, then turn to look back.

He stopped, just like Zach had, blank with surprise. “Do I know you?”

Zach held his breath. Could he lie? Yes, but this new, matured Alex would have the life experience not to believe him, and he hadn’t changed nearly as much as Alex had. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“I do know you. I know your face,” Alex said. His voice had matured with the rest of him as he aged, going from sweet to firm with a raspy vocal fry on the edges. “Zach?”

Changeling Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes


Will Okati (formerly known as Willa) has lived through a few Interesting Times, but come out the other side a little grayer, a little wiser, and ready to get writing. Still as passionate about coffee, cats, and crafts as ever, but knowing that to your own self you must be true. Also still one of the quiet ones to watch out for, but life -- like storytelling -- is always a work in progress.

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One lucky winner will receive a $10.00 Changeling Press Gift Code! 

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Omen: The Stained Sea by Paul Carver Williams Book Blitz! ⁣⁣#Omen #TheStainedSea #PaulCarverWilliams #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

 #bookstagram #instabooks #bookish #booklover #greatreads #booknerd #nowavailable #fortheloveofreading #bookstagrammer #bibliophile #bookaholic #mustread #authorsofinstagram #bookblogger #amreading

Omen: The Stained Sea
Paul Carver Williams


Publication date: March 31st 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, New Adult

In the wake of a lost messiah, an oppressed religious sect known as the ‘singers of Oros’ are targeted by those in power. A lone singer calling himself Runo works tirelessly to revive the faith of his people by any means necessary, involving a hunt for a witness who could expose his darker actions

Meanwhile, a young slave named Cai is called on by a philosopher to aid in a catalogue of the wealthiest families in Grecuria, starting with the owner of the library where he works. On his journey he must confront a past that isn’t his own.

Lastly, sailing on a sky ship surrounded by merchants, Mele Amahki was given passage to begin a new life. However, everything changes when they find themselves in a new, unexpected world. Mele is thrust into power, unsure of what is best for her crew.

Knowledge, religion, power, and blood run through the veins of the Grecurian islands, but through these three headstrong individuals, the veins will be cut and darkness will stain the sea.

Goodreads / Amazon

“Something has already happened to Akamai. And what— we’re to trust this, this Lili Mele in his place?”

Mele bristled, but tempered herself with a glance to Akamai, finding his eyes staring dead into hers. To her surprise, he tapped his lips. A gesture on a list he wrote. It meant she was allowed to speak freely. Mele burst from her seat and pressed her hands into the table. “Lili Mele? I am not the one who sold myself to the council of nobles in exchange for a good word with the emperor. Don’t fool yourself, Lili Takaahae, this is not the world we used to live in, and I am the most valuable asset you sniveling council of cowards has. What choice is there but to wait for now? Min needs the energy when he returns. I’d imagine tracing the edge of the land has drained his stores far lower than any of ours. Now I’m begging to return to our plans for when the search parties return. My brain has been decaying with every syllable that exits your mouth.”


An LGBTQ, Black-Latino young adult, Paul Williams has struggled with his identity, eventually leading to mental illness. However, with support from his siblings, he gained new confidence to express his inner emotions through art and writing. At age seventeen, he published his first book. He is now working endlessly to carve a place for himself among the creative professionals and pave the way for other talented 'students' of art and literature.


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29 March 2023

I Dream of Demigods (The Law of Love Book 1) by Alexa Sullivan Book Blast! @alexa_s_writes @GoddessFish

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Alexa Sullivan will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Ro Baird can't cast a spell without setting her own pants on fire—until she kisses her hot new boss, Alex. Suddenly, she's able to access her magic…sort of…and she now has a familiar, who may be more trouble than she is helpful.

Alex Kouris happens to be a soul-stealing demigod of the Underworld. He claims he's trying to leave the life, but can she really trust a man whose magical talents are manipulation and charm? When Alex enlists a shady ex to help him, Ro must risk her heart and her life to save him and humanity from Hades’s evil scheme.

Can she harness her true power to set Alex and herself free?

I turned from side to side in front of the mirror, examining my half French braid. My dark-brown hair wound across the top of my head, like a crown. I tucked the end under the rest of my hair and twisted it into a side ponytail, tying it off with a clear elastic.

“Pretty.” Tabitha stood in my bathroom doorway. With her flat tone of voice, she might as well have been describing broccoli or glue.

I plucked a beaded fringe earring off the counter and slipped it through the hole in my right earlobe.

Lenti, who sat on the counter, trilled and swiped the earring with her paw.

“Nope.” I jerked my head away. “I got these at a craft fair, and you’re not destroying them.”

“What’s that?”

“Never mind.” Should’ve known this was going to happen. Gritting my teeth, I removed the earring and tucked it into a drawer. I tugged the neckline of my clingy black dress a little lower, then turned to Tabitha. “Is it too much? Should I wear my strappy sandals or my ankle boots?”

She crossed her arms. “Explain to me how this happened. You were supposed to talk to him, not go out with him.”


Alexa Sullivan writes humorous, contemporary paranormal romance. She imagines a world where the mundane meets magic -- and where vampires, werewolves and witches have normal jobs. Oh, and there are cats, too. She sets all her books in the beautiful state of Oregon. When not writing, she can be found walking her cat on a leash, hanging out with her husband, and watching far too much Bravo reality TV.

Giveaway! 

Alexa Sullivan will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.


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The Mazzard Tree The Hartford Manor Series by Marcia Clayton Blog Tour! @MarciaC89111861 @cathiedunn@marciaclayton97/ @thecoffeepotbookclub

 #romance #FamilySaga #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Book Title: The Mazzard Tree

Series: The Hartford Manor Series: Book One

Author: Marcia Clayton

Publication Date: 2016

Publisher: Sunhillow Publishing

Page Length: 384

Genre: Historical Fiction, Family Saga, Romance


1880 North Devon, England


Annie Carter is a farm labourer’s daughter, and life is a continual struggle for survival. When her father dies of consumption, her mother, Sabina, is left with seven hungry mouths to feed and another child on the way. To save them from the workhouse or starvation, Annie steals vegetables from the Manor House garden, risking jail or transportation.  Unknown to her, she is watched by Robert, the wealthy heir to the Hartford Estate, but far from turning her in, he befriends her.


Despite their different social backgrounds, Annie and Robert develop feelings they know can have no future.  Harry Rudd, the village blacksmith, has long admired Annie, and when he proposes, her mother urges her to accept.  She reminds Annie, that as a kitchen maid, she will never be allowed to marry Robert.  Harry is a good man, and Annie is fond of him.  Her head knows what she should do, but will her heart listen?


Set against the harsh background of the rough, class-divided society of Victorian England, this heart-warming and captivating novel portrays a young woman who uses her determination and willpower to defy the circumstances of her birth in her search for happiness.



This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited


Universal Link: http://mybook.to/TheMazzardTree


Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R65BLQV 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R65BLQV 

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08R65BLQV 

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08R65BLQV 

Barnes and Noble: Barnes & Noble: The Mazzard Tree

Allauthor: https://allauthor.com/author/marciaclayton/


All the books in The Hartford Manor Series can be ordered from any bookshop.


The Mazzard Tree


Sabina dried her hands and signalled Annie to do the same, and then they followed Hannah into her house. Chickens ran in and out, leaving a mess all over the floor. Tommy, the youngest child, was crawling around in all the filth, for although he was two, he had rickets and could not walk. His face was covered in sores, and his nose was running. Rachael, at four, was sitting by her sick sister's bed, tugging her hand.


"Come an' play with me, Mary."


Annie picked up Rachael and settled her on her knee. Rachael loved the attention and Tommy crawled up to sit on the other knee. Annie wiped his nose, brushed his brown curly hair out of his eyes, and gave them both a cuddle. She wondered if her own hair would be crawling with lice by the time she went home.


Sabina put her hand on Mary's forehead, which was hot, and the child was pale and listless. "What's the matter, Mary?  Where does it hurt?"


Mary pointed to her throat and whispered hoarsely, "It hurts in there, and my head, and everywhere."


"Never mind, we'll soon have you better, don't worry. Could you eat some stew?"


Mary shook her head miserably. She was six years old, but small for her age, and Sabina could see many clusters of nits stuck to her wispy brown hair.


"Sabina, I could eat some stew if you've any to spare, and I'll bet Rachael and Tommy could manage some too."


Hannah, and her husband, John, were both fat and lazy, but the children were thin, dirty, and ill-kempt. Sabina’s eyes flashed with anger.


"I've plenty of food in my kitchen, Hannah because I work hard. I'll take Rachael and Tommy home with me to have some, and I'll bathe them too because they're filthy. I know you're poor but look at the state of this place. When did you last clean up, or do any cooking? Or does all your money go on that bloody scrumpy?  I'm sorry, but it’s time someone told you a few home truths; you should be ashamed of yourself. Now, I could leave Annie here with you, if she'll stay, to help you clean up. I'll come back at teatime, and if the place is clean, I'll bring rabbit stew for all of you. Just this once though, for you have a man to provide for you, which is more than I have."


“How dare you!  It’s none of your business how I keep my house. Things have got on top of me a bit, that’s all."


"Please yourself then; it’s no odds to me. Mary certainly isn't well, but it might just be a nasty cold. Now, do you want Annie’s help, or not?  It’s up to you."


"Aye, I suppose the place could do with a bit of a clean, and you'll bring enough supper for all of us?"


"Yes, I'll bring some later, and see how Mary is. Annie, would you mind helping Hannah?"


Annie, facing away from Hannah, pulled a face and screwed up her nose, but she nodded. Sabina grinned as she left with the two children. As she entered her own cottage, Sabina called to Liza.


"Liza, could you put a couple of pans of water on the fire, please? I want to bathe these two. I don't suppose they've ever had a bath, so they may not think a lot to it, but they certainly need one."


Sabina explained about Mary, and how Annie was helping Hannah to clean up.


"She's a lazy slut, that woman, and it will soon be like it again, you know. She's too lazy to lift a finger to care for that family properly, and her mother was just the same. They don't deserve to have children, and they don't deserve your help either, Sabina. Goodness, you've enough to do to feed and look after your own."


"Aye, you're right, of course, but I felt so sorry for the children. It isn't their fault, and Mary, poor little thing, she was so poorly."


Liza pulled the old tin bath in front of the fire and filled it with warm water. Rachael and Tommy sat wide-eyed, anxiously watching the activity around them. Sabina decided to start with Rachael and sat her on her knee.


"Now, Rachael, I'm going to take off these dirty clothes and bathe you. You'll like it in that lovely warm water, and afterwards, you'll feel much better. Then we’ll see if we can find you something clean to wear, while I wash your clothes."


Sabina gently undressed the little girl, chatting all the time as she lowered her into the bath. Rachael went stiff with fright and kept her legs rigid. She started to thrash about and scream.

"No, no, don't. I don't wanna get wet. No, don't. Let me go! Mummy, I want my mummy. Don’t."


Sabina held her gently, but firmly. "Come on, Rachael, I want you to show Tommy what a big, brave girl you are. You'll like it in the water when you sit down, and if you let me wash you, I'll find you a bowl of rabbit stew, with a big slice of bread. Are you hungry?"


At the mention of food, Rachael immediately became more cooperative and sat down gingerly. She still seemed frightened, but as Sabina began to splash the warm water gently over her tiny body, she began to relax. It saddened Sabina to see that she was covered in flea bites, and her hair was crawling with lice. There were also a few suspicious bruises. Gently, Sabina soaped the grime from the child’s body, cut her hair short, and then washed what was left to get rid of the lice. Rachael began to enjoy herself and suddenly grinned at Sabina.


"This is nice like you said. I like it in here. Can I stay a bit longer?"


Sabina let her stay a few minutes longer, then lifted her out and dried her. She reached for an old blue dress and popped it over Rachael's head.


"There, you look beautiful now. Liza will give you some stew for being so brave. Right then, Tommy, it’s your turn now, but I think we’ll need some clean water first."


Marcia Clayton was born in North Devon, a rural and picturesque area in the far South West of England. She is a farmer's daughter and often helped to milk the cows and clean out the shippens in her younger days.

When Marcia left school she worked in a bank for several years until she married her husband, Bryan, and then stayed at home for a few years to care for her three sons, Stuart, Paul and David. As the children grew older, Marcia worked as a Marie Curie nurse caring for the terminally ill, and later for the local authority managing school transport.

Now a grandmother, Marcia enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She’s a keen researcher of family history, and it was this hobby that inspired some of the characters in her books. A keen gardener, Marcia grows many of her own vegetables. She is also an avid reader and mainly enjoys historical fiction, romance and crime books.


Website: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarciaC89111861

Facebook: Marcia Clayton - Author | Facebook

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marciaclayton97/

Book Bub: Bookbub: Marcia Clayton

Amazon

Author Page Amazon: Marcia Clayton

Goodreads: Marcia Clayton: Goodreads


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