Thursday, July 2, 2026

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: Unbelonging by David J. Jepsen




Seattle, 1945. The war is ending-but for many, the hardest battles are just beginning.

In a city transformed by global conflict, four families struggle to find their place amid rising tensions, buried prejudice, and shifting identities. Victory overseas has brought hope, but at home, fear, suspicion, and inequality continue to shape everyday life.

A female defense worker, newly awakened to injustice, risks everything as she steps into the dangerous world of labor activism-threatening not only her future, but the safety of those she loves. A decorated Black war hero returns home expecting honor and opportunity, only to face a different kind of battlefield, where racism and exclusion deny him the freedoms he fought to defend. A Japanese American, released from internment, discovers that the end of war does not mean the end of hatred, and that rebuilding a life in a community that no longer trusts him may be the greatest challenge of all. A hopeful British war bride arrives chasing the promise of a new beginning, only to learn that the American dream is complicated, fragile, and not equally shared.

As labor strikes ripple through the city, racial tensions simmer, and the first shadows of Cold War hysteria begin to take hold, Seattle reveals itself as a place both beautiful and deeply divided. Old prejudices harden even as new voices rise, demanding change.

This powerful, emotionally charged novel strips away the myth of an open and enlightened city, exposing the human cost of exclusion and the quiet courage of those who refuse to accept it.

A sweeping story of resilience, identity, and the search for belonging-welcome to the City on the Sound, where no one is quite sure where they belong.


Publication Date: April 15th, 2026
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 270
Genre: Historical Fiction



Praise for Unbelonging:

"Just a great read and anyone who picks it up is guaranteed to learn a thing or two: from Guadalcanal to local labor disputes."

~ Mr. K, Amazon 5* review



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David J. Jepsen


David J. Jepsen is a historian, writer and educator teaching Pacific Northwest and U.S. history at Tacoma Community College. His novel about racial and labor conflicts in Seattle following WW II, titled Unbelonging, was released in April 2026.

He was lead author of Contested Boundaries: A New Pacific Northwest History (John Wiley and Sons, 2017), and he wrote and directed the award winning documentary Labor Wars of the Northwest, nominated in 2019 for Best Feature Film Made in Washington by the Gig Harbor Film Festival.

David writes a weekly post for the Washington State Historical Society titled “This Day in Washington.” He holds a master’s degree in history and a bachelor’s in communications from the University of Washington.

He lives with his wife, Jackie, in Gig Harbor, WA.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2026

The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes




New York City, 1937. Seventeen-year-old Marigold McGrath is coming undone.

Her mother is dead. Her father is drawn to dangerous politics. The only place she feels joy is behind a camera — where she can frame the world on her own terms.

After a series of her own missteps, she reinvents herself in London: mentored by a celebrated émigré photographer, photographing Kindertransport children, working alongside Edward R. Murrow. She falls in love with Joop, a charming Dutch student, and shrugs off the war gathering around her.

Then the Blitz begins.

Joop vanishes into the Dutch Resistance. And Marigold — who has always preferred to photograph the world as she wishes it were — must finally decide what kind of woman, and what kind of witness, she is willing to become.

A sweeping WWII coming-of-age novel set in wartime London.

For readers of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and SL Beaumont's The War Photographers

Publication Date: April 29th, 2026
Publisher: HTPH Press
Pages: 332
Genre: Historical Fiction



Praise for The Making of Marigold McGrath:

I read a lot of historical novels ... this one was one of my favorites. From the characters to the setting to the actions depicted I thoroughly enjoyed the journey—I really didn’t want it to end!
~ Netgalley Review, 5*

"The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes is the tale of a well to do American seventeen year old sent to Europe just prior to World War II. The book is exquisitely written with a well paced dialogue. The characters are well formed and interesting. Sprinkled throughout the book are bits from news outlets that help set the larger context for the reader - they are well timed and helpful. Great read, well worth it!"
~ Goodreads Review, 5*

"The Making of Marigold McGrath explores a rarely examined aspect of WWII: the complex journeys to maturity of young adults in war-torn Europe as they seek human connection and meaning. Marigold finds both, using her skills as a photographer to document the stories of refugee children. With gobs of historical references and vivid imagery, interlaced with intrigue and romance, The Making of Marigold McGrath is a great read!"
~ Goodreads Review, 5*


A conversation with Carrie Hayes

What inspired you to start writing? 

I grew up surrounded by writers and swore to myself that I would never, NEVER become a writer. But my dad used to insist that I would be a writer and invariably, I would roll my eyes and vow that would never be the case. He died when I was 24 years old. Lo and behold, by my fiftieth birthday, I realized that yes, indeed, I was in fact writing a lot of the time, and that I wanted, very much, to write fiction.  

What was the hardest part about writing this book? 

The most challenging part was how to describe the magnitude of suffering that occurred, right across the board. It was very important to me that it not be a doom-and-gloom read, filled with the endless horrors of war. At the same time, I wanted to show how ordinary people were grappling with the incessant destruction during the Blitz and how ordinary people responded to the Nazi occupation in Holland. Figuring out how to deal with that reality in my story was an enormous challenge. 

Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why? 

It’s probably Falaise Cooper. We don’t see a lot of her, but for me, she is the essential tower of strength. She doesn’t waiver and she is loving and kind. Falaise is based upon an old lady who really helped me when I was growing up.  I was constantly in a muddle and an absolute adolescent mess. The woman who Falaise was based upon simply showed me unwavering kindness. 

If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it? 

An actor named Maisy Stella would be a wonderful Marigold. I saw her in a film called “My Old Ass” and she completely bowled me over- with the right amount of vulnerability, awkwardness and gumption. Hunter Schafer who folks would recognize from “Euphoria” would be a great Trude- Harris Dickinson would make a good Joop. 

What do you hope your readers take away from this book? 

The idea behind the book is my belief that heroes show up in the most unexpected people and in the most unexpected ways, and that all of us truly are connected. 
 





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Carrie Hayes


Carrie’s first two novels, Naked Truth or Equality and Well Dressed Lies, follow the lives of the iconoclastic suffragist sisters, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin.

Carrie lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in a rambling Victorian house just outside of New York City.




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Tuesday, June 30, 2026

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: The Cleansing (A Novel of Ancient Rome. Based on a True Story) by Victoria Alvear




Based on a true story, this is not the enlightened Rome of myth. This is a city choking on fear, where blood flows on both the battlefield and altar, and where generals and politicians alike are desperate to appease rageful gods.

When 50,000 Romans fall in a single day at the Battle of Cannae, priests claim there can be only one reason the gods abandoned Rome: a Vestal Virgin has broken her vow of chastity. And they accuse Opimia (Mia), the strongest, most defiant of the six sacred Vestal priestesses.

Forced as a child into serving Vesta, the goddess of fire, Mia has always chafed against Rome’s control of her every move—especially after being separated from her childhood love, Attius. Now, accused of a crime she did not commit, she must defend herself in a hostile court to avoid being buried alive for her “crime.”

Betrayed by the high priestess, hunted by Rome’s political and religious elite, Mia must either accept her fate — or join with the Sybil of Cumae to expose the truth behind a world built on superstition, fear, and lies.

A story of personal awakening amid public catastrophe, The Cleansing is a haunting journey through a city at war with itself — and a woman who risks everything to survive it.


Publication Date: January 20th, 2026
Publisher: Hypatia Press
Pages: 314
Genre: Historical Fiction



Praise for The Cleansing:

"Original, deftly crafted...[and a] historical thriller with an impressive level of literary excellence."
~ Midwest Book Review





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Victoria Alvear


Victoria Alvear has written multiple books and novels set in the ancient world, including A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii, A Song of War: A Novel of Troy, Cleopatra’s Moon, and others.

She is known as Vicky Alvear Shecter for her children’s books, which include Warrior Queens, Anubis Speaks!, Hades Speaks!, and Thor Speaks!.

Victoria has served as a docent at the museum of antiquities at Emory University for nearly twenty years.

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Monday, June 29, 2026

On tour with Yarde Book Promotions: Tides of Treachery (Beyond the Faerie Rath Book) By Hanna Par

  



Power was never the danger. Want was.

On Samhain night, with treachery seated beside the throne and the dead stirring beneath the House of Faces, Macha felt him at her back—steady, lethal, far too close. She was meant to hold Ulaid together, not crave the man sworn to protect her. But desire turned every choice into something dangerous.

Ruairi had already crossed death once. Macha was far more dangerous.

Macha stood before him with fire in her eyes while Ulaid cracked apart around her, and every vow he’d sworn strained toward breaking. He was her blade, her shield, the last thing standing between her and the darkness rising through the court. He was never meant to want her like this.

The dead had always spoken to Breda. She never expected them to speak his name.

As the House of Faces began to fracture, the whispers pulled her toward truths long buried within Ulaid—and toward a shadowed man who felt more like a warning than salvation. The dead were no longer content to whisper.

Cian lived with the damage he helped create—and the woman he could not save.

Old magic bound him to grief, guilt, and a past that refused to stay buried. Love had failed them before. It might fail them again.

As Samhain descends, loyalties fracture, the dead grow restless, and Ulaid begins to unravel.

Review - 5 Stars

I've been reading fantasy for many years now, and these days it takes quite a lot to surprise me. Tides of Treachery managed it.

What I enjoyed most was the richness of the world. There is a depth to the mythology that made me feel as though I was stepping into a place with a long history rather than simply reading about a fantasy kingdom. The Celtic influences gave the story a distinctive flavour that I found refreshing.

Macha was a heroine I quickly warmed to. She possesses courage and determination, but also compassion, which made her easy to admire. I was equally drawn to Ruairi. There is a sadness about him that touched me, and I found myself hoping things would work out for him.

The romance was beautifully handled. As someone who has read more than her fair share of books over the years, I appreciated that the relationship was allowed to develop naturally. The growing affection between Macha and Ruairi felt genuine, and some of the quieter moments between them were among my favourites in the book.

I must also mention the House of Faces, which I found both fascinating and rather unsettling. The older I get, the more I appreciate stories that can still send a little shiver down my spine, and this certainly managed that on occasion.

I found myself lingering over this book rather than racing through it. Not because it was slow, but because I enjoyed spending time in the world Hanna Park has created. There is a great deal to absorb, and I wanted to savour it.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, and one that reminded me why I fell in love with fantasy in the first place.



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Hanna Park


I began my writing career in the pre-dawn of a winter morning while my husband snored like a train. We could call my husband the catalyst. If it weren’t for him, I would never have gone to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, feed the cat, and sit on the loveseat in front of the fire. It was there, in those moments of wondrous quiet, that I did something I had never thought possible. I opened my laptop, and while the coffee went cold, I wrote a story. My husband had no idea that these sojourns to the loveseat in front of the fire would become a daily occurrence, that writing would become an obsession, but the cat knew. She knows everything.

I write stories that make you laugh, make you cry, and make you love. Thank you, friends, for reading!

In the beginning, there was an empty page.

I am a writer who lives in Muskoka, Canada, with a husband who snores, a hungry cat, and an almost perfect canine––he’s an adorable little shit.

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On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: The Daredevil: The Dawn of America Book #3 by Regan Walker

 



Before there was a Continental Navy, there was one man’s courage...

When young merchant captain Samuel Tucker learns that war has broken out between Britain and the Colonies, he cannot stand idle. Leaving the safety of London’s port, he races home across a storm-tossed Atlantic to offer his sword to liberty’s cause. Along the way, he saves a valuable ship, her crew, and her cargo—a deed that brings him before General Washington himself. The grateful commander offers Sam command of one of his newly armed schooners.

From those perilous beginnings in Washington’s shadow fleet, Sam rises through the ranks of the Continental Navy and beyond, eventually commanding a privateer that strikes deep into the British supply lines. From the fogbound wharves of Marblehead to the treacherous shoals of Halifax and Europe, he wages war with the daring of a man who seems to fear neither sea nor shot. To his men he is “the Daredevil”—fearless, quick-witted, and guided by an unshakable faith.

Yet amid the thunder of broadsides and the peril of capture, Tucker’s heart is not immune to gentler battles. Mary Gatchell, the steadfast Marblehead woman whose prayers sustain him from shore, anchors the life he risks with every voyage. But the sea is a jealous mistress, and every homecoming may be his last.

Publication Date: April 14th, 2026
Publisher: Patriotic Books Publishing
Pages: 408
Genre: Historical Fiction


Image (c) Yarde Book Promotions


Praise for The Daredevil:

"Fast paced, on the edge of your seat adventures, sea battles, romance, faith, courage and love. I think THe DAREDEVIL is my favorite of THE DAWN OF AMERICA series. A must read for American Revolution enthusiasts, and romance readers alike. An absolute pleasure to read.."
~ April R, Amazon 5* Review




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Regan Walker


Regan Walker is an award-winning author of more than twenty historical novels spanning the Georgian, Regency, Medieval and Revolutionary eras.

With meticulous research and a storyteller’s eye for drama, she transports readers from the intrigues of medieval England and the courts of eighteenth-century France to Scotland’s mist-shrouded Highlands, the cobbled streets of early nineteenth-century London, and ships riding dangerous seas. 

From spies, smugglers, and pirates to masked balls and opulent palaces, her novels reveal the courage, faith, and love that endure through history’s most turbulent days.





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Tuesday, June 23, 2026

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: The Lost Voices by Paul Rushworth-Brown




Some lives pass through history without leaving a trace.

The Lost Voices is a work of historical fiction that brings to light those whose stories were never formally recorded—not because they lacked significance, but because their lives unfolded beyond the reach of power, authorship, and recognition.

This is the story of ordinary people forced into extraordinary circumstances—individuals navigating a rigid social order shaped by obligation, fear, and quiet resistance. Here, survival depends as much on silence as on action, and choices are made not in moments of glory, but in private, under pressure, and with consequences rarely acknowledged.

The novel explores how personal truth is shaped—and sometimes erased—by authority, custom, and the need to endure. What remains are the lives history does not celebrate: the unspoken loyalties, the moral compromises, and the quiet cost of being unheard.

The Lost Voices is an intimate and powerful reflection on what history forgets—and what it leaves behind.


Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 466
Genre: Historical Fiction


Praise for The Lost Voices:

"Another great work by a very talented author who loves his period works and characters from his great plots. He writes with verve and intent to deliver the imagination something unexpected and greatly appreciated... Brilliant..."

Gavin, Readalot Magazine reviewer



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Paul Rushworth-Brown



Paul Rushworth-Brown is an Australian historical fiction author whose work explores ordinary people navigating forces far greater than themselves.

His writing focuses on identity, survival, and the lasting impact of historical events, examining how lives are shaped not only by what history records, but by what it leaves behind. His work has reached international audiences across the United States and the United Kingdom, including appearances on PSI TV and U.S. radio, including Moments with Marianne Pestana on ABC-affiliated KMET 1490AM/98.1FM.

Through his fiction, he brings attention to the human cost of history and the individuals often overlooked within it.

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On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: Unbelonging by David J. Jepsen

Seattle, 1945. The war is ending-but for many, the hardest battles are just beginning. In a city transformed by global conflict, four famili...