Wednesday, September 9, 2026

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: Braving the Dawn: A Novel of New France by Peggy Joque Williams





Braving the Dawn: A Novel of New France
 By Peggy Joque Williams


Banished from France by King Louis XIV, once royal favorite Sylvienne d'Aubert must make the dangerous ocean crossing with a group of young women eager to secure husbands in the French colony of Quebec as Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King). Sylvienne, however, scarred by an abusive, arranged marriage in France, vows never to wed again. She is determined to one day return to her beloved homeland and to her lover, Etienne.


Clinging to hope that her true love still lives, she must first survive hardships and challenges unique to the Canadian frontier and rebuild her life in a young colony that is at once welcoming and dangerous. She finds friendship in unexpected places and allies among the Native people while developing a resilience she didn't know she possessed.


But the king's reach is long, and Sylvienne's past haunts her at every turn in this saga of new beginnings, survival, and determination of the heart.


Publication Date: January 15th, 2026
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 371

Genre: Historical Fiction


Praise


"Peggy Joque Williams captures readers with a gripping frontier saga of love, loss, and struggle-proving even the wilderness of New France isn't far enough away from the mother country to escape the long arm of the Crown."

 Cam Torrens, bestselling author of the Tyler Zahn suspense series



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Peggy Joque Williams



Award-winning author Peggy Joque Williams writes historical fiction inspired by her love of genealogy and her deep historical research into her European, French-Canadian, and Ojibwe ancestors.


Prior to Braving the Dawn, she first penned Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles, a prequel following her character Sylvienne’s rise and fall at court. She has also co-authored two contemporary mystery novels: On the Road to Death’s Door and On the Road to Where the Bells Toll. 


A retired elementary school teacher, Peggy has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education. She enjoys travel, gardening, and spending time with family. She lives Madison, Wisconsin.


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2 comments:

  1. Thank you for featuring Braving the Sun – a fabulous romantic adventure set in New France – by Peggy Joque Williams here today. We’re thrilled you joined us.

    Take care,
    Cathie xx
    The Coffee Pot Book Club

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for sharing Braving the Dawn with your readers. This book is dear to my heart, written as an homage to my French-Canadian ancestors who took this journey and lived this life. ~ Peggy Joque Williams

    ReplyDelete

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