Check back often for new Q&As, and for daily historical factoids about books. On Facebook at www.facebook.com/deborahkalbbooks. Follow me on Twitter @deborahkalb.
Mary Nida Smith is the author of the new book Heroes Beneath the Waves: Submarine Stories of the Twentieth Century. She also has written Submarine Stories of World War II. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Ozarks Mountaineer and Ozarks.
Promise of the Black Monks – The Dark Ages Saga of Tristan de Saint-Germain Book I
by Robert Hirsch is now available!
When Tristan Saint-Germain and his brother, Guillaume are sent to live with the Black Monks in Cluny, they had no idea their fates, nor those whom they are destined to encounter, would change the history of the world.
Born of nobility in France in the year 1066, the fate of seven-year-old Tristan de Saint-Germain is thrown to the winds upon the execution of his father for treason against William the Conqueror of Normandy. Then, abandoned by his mother who remarries and departs for England, Tristan and his four-year-old brother, Guillaume, find themselves thrown into the monastic world of the Benedictine Black Monks of Cluny, France. Under the tutelage of Grand Prior Odo de Lagery, who one day will ascend to the very pinnacle of power within the Catholic Church in Rome, Tristan develops into an academic and linguistic prodigy by the age of twelve and becomes known as the ‘Promise of the Black Monks’.
Tristan’s unusual talents become useful to the Benedictines as well as to Rome, and the boy soon finds himself pulled into the visceral power struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Heinrich IV as they mercilessly wage spiritual, political and military war upon each other to claim supremacy over the continent of Europe.
Hirsch, who has experienced his own adversities concerning racial stigmas and Catholic doctrine, writes with distinct accuracy of the walled façade individuals construct to insulate themselves against others and the terrors of life no less formidable than those constructed by powerful and established institutions. Contrition, his first novel (JournalStone, 2012) explores the dark underside of the conscience; that infected and decaying region of our past existence that draws each of us back to the pillories of punishment time and time again.
Hirsch received his undergraduate degree from Cameron University and began teaching history and French, then earned his Master’s Degree at the University of Southern Mississippi and Doctoral Degree from Nova Southeastern University of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale,
Robert Hirsch is a long-time resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Promise of the Black Monks’ sequels, Hammer of God (2016), Horde of Fools (2017), God’s Scarlet Fury (2017), and the final is yet to be announced, have been acquired and are being published by Argus Publishing. Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.robertehirschcom.com
Jeanne Charters, author of Shanty Gold, on Writer’s Block Blog Talk Radio LA 
http://latalkradio.com/content/writer-022516%20#audio_play
In 1849’s famine-ravaged Ireland, thirteen-year-old Mary Boland is found lying mostly dead on the side of the road to Cork Harbor, Queenstown, Ireland. She just buried her mother and baby sister after they both died of starvation. Now she is headed for Boston to find her father—no matter what. Raped and beaten by the evil crew of The Pilgrim’s Dandy, she is rescued by a fifteen-year-old Negro slave who had been used in like manner for some time and had vowed to throw himself to the sharks that very night. Together they survive the harrowing two and a half month trip, helping others as well. Their friendship is the key to the new world for both of them, carrying them through hardships and trials, and eventually to happiness.
Jeanne Charters lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband. She is the mother of five daughters who all somehow inspired her character Mary Boland. In Charters’ first iteration, Mary was the start of a novel called Daughters of Ireland, the first of four generations of women. Writing class instructors and published authors alike told her, “Each of these women deserves her own book.” They were right. So, she started over and told Mary’s story in Shanty Gold. The next woman’s story is half written and will be called Lace Curtain, and then the third, Silk Stockings.
“We sail with Mary Boland from Ireland and are immediately caught up in the challenges this young immigrant faces. Charters captures the wistfulness of leaving home, the desperation of surviving a brutal voyage, and the ultimate triumph of a girl who won’t give up.The story is taut, the characters compelling, and it left me with a new appreciation for the grit of the people who came before us to America. I highly recommend it.” — Sallie Bissell, author of the Mary Crow Mystery Series
Published by Rogue Phoenix Press Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency
For a limited time only, go to GoodReads and sign up for the GoodReads Giveaway for Promise of the Black Monks by Robert Hirsch! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/tag/historical-fiction?page=4 Third book down! Go for it!!
Published by Black Opal Books
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency
Specters and Manifestations – The Haunting of Aaron House
From that day in first grade when words began to emerge from the jumble of letters on the page, I knew I wanted to write. My father raised me from the age of six, in Lancaster, PA, the setting for The Haunting of Aaron House. He was a voracious reader, so I became one. This was the 1930’s and 40’s when television, Internet, and Xbox didn’t exist. We got our information and entertainment from movies, radio, and reading. Folklore, superstition, and the supernatural were accepted as facts of life in this then rural community. My paternal grandmother was a folk healer, or Pow-Wow Woman, or sometimes witch, as they are called. She could cast spells. I listened to many frightening stories as a child–of ghosts and supernatural happenings–so I developed a natural interest in the subject, and later, while growing up, began a reference library. My prize possession is John George Hohlman’s, Pow-Wows, Or the Long-Lost Friend, a compilation of spells to heal and ward off spirits, published first in 1830. I use the book a lot in Aaron House. The exorcism at the end of the book is from here.
When I was ready to become an author, I decided my first novel would be about an unsuspecting family haunted by ghosts who need their energy to become strong enough to destroy each other.
The main protagonists in Aaron House are Paul and Samantha Barlowe, and their son, Andy, who come to Lancaster from Chicago to shoot an historical documentary film. They temporarily reside in Aaron House as guests of the local chamber of commerce. Immediately upon their arrival the haunting begins. Your first hint is in the novel’s prologue. My characters know nothing about ghosts, and have a lot to learn about the awful dangers of ghostly possession. If you don’t believe in ghosts now, you might when you finish reading the book.
You’ll discover there are seven classifications of ghosts, according to their power. Most Western religions teach that man is two beings: the physical, which dies, and the spirit, which lives on, encouraging the idea of life after death. Thus, right after death there is Stage One, or the memory impression. Many of you have experienced this, but ignored it. This is the sense you get in a space when a presence lingers, but is not visible.
This happens often at historical sites in Eureka Springs, especially at our local cemetery, and some of our local hotels, but most visitors are not open to the idea, so don’t feel it. As the spirit lingers, instead of passing on, usually because of some unfinished business or violent death, it becomes stronger with time, taking the form of a mist, and gradually grows in strength until there is form. This is the way Amalie first appears to Sam and Paul. Older spirits can transmit thought, and move objects. Finally the last, Stage Seven, is achieved. This is the most dangerous and powerful.
Phineas is here. He has form, can enter bodies, and take over completely. He can kill. It takes years, and feeding on the energy of many humans, to reach this strength. Amalie hates Phineas and needs all of Samantha to reach level seven, so she can destroy him. When she enters Sam, flashbacks to earlier times in Amalie’s life begin, and Sam experiences some of the early American history of the region. Paul refuses to believe this can happen until Phineas invades him, during a very inopportune moment.
If Paul, Sam, and Andy are going to survive, they need the wisdom of a Pow-Wow Woman to succeed. Let the fun begin. http://www.joycezeller.blogspot.com/ Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency Published by Rogue Phoenix Press
For those who have ever served in the United States Armed Forces, Heroes Beneath the Waves – Submarine Stories of the 20th Century should be added to your library at home, in your schools and all public libraries. Please ‘like’ the Facebook page, peruse her blog spot, Submarine Stories and purchase the stories of submariners who risked and gave their all for the love of God and country. Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency Published by Skyhorse Publishing
The new book trailer for Promise of the Black Monks by Robert Hirsch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXe408pDt1c
For those who would like to meet the man you helped prosecute dictator Manuel Noriega, Judge Douglas McCullough, and get signed copies of the book detailing it, Sea of Greed, check out his events!
https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/douglas-mccullough/mccullough-events
Ed Protzel’s The Lies That Bind in DebutCity – Debuts, Reviews & Deals http://www.debutcity.com/Home.htm
