Cover Reveal: A Lady of Conscience by Mimi Matthews

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Elizabeth Olmedo

Is it July yet?! I am so beyond excited for Mimi Matthews’ A Lady of Conscience I can’t even begin to tell you. Hannah and James only made a brief appearance in Return to Satterthwaite Court but they stole the show for me. I kid you not, I reread their sections, hoping to somehow see beyond the words on the page and catch a deeper glimpse of them. Of course, that did not happen, and I’ve been dying to read their story ever since.

While we still have a little longer to wait before experiencing their story — too long if you ask me — I’m honored to share the synopsis and new cover. What do you think?

About the Book:

West Country beauty Hannah Heywood may be quiet with fashionable strangers, but when it comes to animals in need, she has no trouble finding her voice. Newly arrived in Bath for her very first season, all she desires is to find one like-minded gentleman. A man of warmth and compassion, as sensitive to animals as he is to people. But if such a man exists, he dare not approach her. Not with the tall, blond, and menacing Viscount St. Clare standing in the way.

James Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has often been described as a sentient block of ice. A man so cold and dispassionate, he would never suit a young lady of Hannah’s disposition. And she would certainly never suit him. Focused on repairing his family’s infamous reputation, James requires a diamond of the first water. The daughter of a duke or a marquess, at least, not a simple country girl with a passion for four-legged creatures.

And yet, there’s something about conscience-driven young Hannah that draws James, first to Bath, and then into one increasingly hare-brained scheme after another. She confounds him at every turn, subverting his expectations and threatening to do what no lady has succeeded in doing before—thawing his ice-cold heart.

The Cover:

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning proper Victorian romances, including Fair as a Star, a Library Journal Best Romance of 2020; Gentleman Jim, a Kirkus Best Book of 2020; and The Work of Art, winner of the 2020 HOLT Medallion. Mimi’s novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine.

In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.

Connect with Mimi through her website, Facebook, and Twitter, Pinterest.

Cover Reveal: Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Elizabeth Olmedo

A letter from the Author:

Hello Dear Readers,

Every Time We Say Goodbye was the hardest book I will ever write, and the most rewarding.

It all started when I learned about the world-famous Cinecittà movie studio in Rome being used as a war refugee camp in the 1940s. People who had been stripped of everything—homes, possessions, even their most basic humanity—suddenly found themselves confined to life inside a “dream factory.” I decided to set my third novel during a very specific, very cool time in history—la dolce vita of mid 1950s Rome—while exploring the incredibly complex and haunting legacy of that city under German occupation during the Second World War.

I also wanted to know why Vivien Lowry, a character from my book Bloomsbury Girls, had been so angry all the time! I wondered if a woman could make the biggest mistake of her life and move past the regret in a way that benefitted her and the world around her. I never intended to write a dual timeline. I had been working on Every Time We Say Goodbye for nearly a year when the voice of a young female Italian resistance fighter codenamed la scolaretta—the schoolgirl assassin—suddenly showed up on the page one day. Having witnessed the bravery and sacrifice of so many to keep us safe during our world’s most recent challenge, I wanted to pay tribute to them. How fortunate am I, through the intimate and emotional power of historical fiction, to have the opportunity to do so.

I packed everything I could into this book: love and conflict, faith and religion, censorship and resistance, art and moviemaking, fashion and food, and cameos by favorite actresses such as Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner and characters from both The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls (I, myself am terrible at goodbyes!).

I hope, more than anything, that Every Time We Say Goodbye gives readers the entertainment, inspiration and food for thought that nourished me throughout its writing.

Best wishes, Natalie

About the Story:

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is at a crossroads in life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Vivien’s last chance for theatrical success. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. There she finds a vibrant moviemaking scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeate the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also searches for the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the fate of her deceased fiancé lost in battle. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a bold and moving exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

(Every Time We Say Goodbye is linked to The Jane Austen Society, & Bloomsbury Girls by characters, but is a stand-alone novel.)

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…

The Cover:

Pre-Order Now!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Bookshop * St. Martin’s Press

About the Author:

Natalie Jenner is the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, which have been translated into more than twenty languages worldwide. Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie has been a corporate lawyer and career coach and once owned an independent bookstore in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs.

Connect with Natalie through her website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads

Cover Reveal: Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Elizabeth Olmedo

It is no secret that I love — and I mean LOVE — Mimi Matthew’s books. Her novels transport me to the Regency and Victorian eras like no other tales. They are among most reread books since I practically read them on a constant loop. Well, right now is an exciting time for Somerset Stories, my favorite series of hers. Book three Return to Satterthwaite Court releases next week (!!!!), and yesterday, the cover to Book 4, Appointment in Bath, waltzed into the world. Let me say, it. Is. GORGEOUS. But then just take a look at the entire series. It comes as no surprise.

Now, since you didn’t stop by to hear me babble about Mimi, let’s move on to synopsis and cover.

About the Story:

Shy and stammering Meg Burton-Smythe has spent the whole of her life living on the fringes of local society. She’s more comfortable with her daydreams than she is with people. But when a dashing, golden-haired hero rides to her rescue one morning, she dares to hope that her dreams might finally come true. There’s only one problem: her handsome rescuer is the son of her father’s sworn enemy.

Ivo Beresford doesn’t believe in clinging to the past. Freshly returned from a lengthy grand tour, he’s looking to the future, eager to spearhead the building of a new railway extension in Somersetshire. But an unexpected encounter with Miss Burton-Smythe, the isolated only daughter of his parents’ oldest foe, sets the past and the future colliding.

Resolved to put ancient grudges to rest—at least where innocent young ladies are concerned—Ivo encourages lonely Meg to embark on a secret acquaintance. After all, what harm can a friendship do? It isn’t as though there’s any danger of the two of them falling in love…

The Cover:

About the Author:

In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.

Connect with Mimi through her website, Facebook, and Twitter, Pinterest.

Cover Reveal: The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn Green

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Elizabeth Olmedo

Last year, Amy Lynn Green blew us away with her exquisitely penned debut novel, Things We Didn’t Say, and she is back to wow us once again. Coming in September, we will meet smokejumper Gordon Hooper and Army Corps member Dorie Armitage. Before we catch a glimpse of the cover for The Lines Between Us, let’s learn a little bit about their tale.

About the Story:

Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have done “work of national importance” in Oregon as conscientious objectors: volunteering as smokejumpers, and parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires. But the number of winter blazes they’re called to in early 1945 seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don’t add up.

A member of the Women’s Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother’s pacificism, but she’s shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report . . . and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it’s wrong to lie; she’s willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done. As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover.

The Cover:

What do you think? I love the vintage feel

Pre-Order Now!

Amazon * Baker Book House

About the Author:

Amy Lynn Green is a publicist by day and a freelance writer on nights and weekends. She was the 2014 winner of the Family Fiction short story contest, and her articles have been featured in Crosswalk, Focus on the Family magazines, and other faith-based publications over the past 10 years. This is her first novel.

Connect with Amy through her website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Cover Reveal: Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Elizabeth Olmedo

I met Amy Green in a bathroom. No, that is not a joke.

A few years ago, while visiting the United States, I was blessed to attend my first writers’ conference. While there, I secretly hoped to meet a publicist whom I had previously only interacted with via e-mail.

At one of the sessions, the speaker discussed etiquette for meeting agents, editors, authors, etc. Listed among the dos and don’ts was, “Don’t ambush them in the bathroom.” I chuckled along with everyone else; grateful that was one tidbit I wouldn’t have to worry about in a weekend of information overload.

That night, I woke up needing the restroom. I trudged down the over-lit hall, eyes half-mast, and into the equally bright bathroom. At that hour, the place was deserted except for one person. You guessed it. Amy Green.

Brain tangled in a cobweb of sleep, two thoughts simultaneous flashed my mind.

“The bathroom. Seriously?!”
“Play it cool! Don’t fangirl!”

Whether due to the haze of sleep or my fierce concentration to ensure I did not make a fool of myself and scare her away, I really don’t remember the particulars of our bathroom conversation. However, by some miracle, I returned to my room with plans to eat lunch with her the next day. (And she showed up!)

Now, several years later, Amy has a debut novel releasing on November 3, and I couldn’t be more excited to reveal her brand new cover to the world. Let me just say, it’s gorgeous! But first, let’s see what the story is about.

About the Story:

Johanna Berglund didn’t want to return to her small Midwest town for any reason, and certainly not to become a translator at a German prisoner of war camp. She arrives to find the once-sleepy community exploding with hostility toward the prisoners and those who work at the camp. Her friend Peter Ito, a military intelligence instructor, encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance, and as Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their mail, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But when the men her country is fighting become the men she is fighting for, she must decide who to trust—and whose side she’s truly on.

Wow! Doesn’t it sound like a fascinating premise? Now on to what you all came here for…