Amanda Geard has proven herself a master of evocative, triple timeline mysteries, linking generations across the abandoned clues of family history. A faded photograph....  An abandoned house. And a wartime mystery that might have remained buried forever.

Hi, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and on the Binge Reading show this week, Amanda talks about her latest book, The Moon Gate, telling a story that reaches from wartime Britain to Tasmania and back to Ireland.  And she shares the timeline story that first captivated, her imagination, and inspired her to swap jobs. from being a geologist in the world's far off corners, to a fictional author who's immediately attracted positive reviews.

This week's Giveaway

Our Giveaway this week is Fall Romance Freebies for the month of September, including Sadie's Vow Book #1 in my latest trilogy Home At Last. You've got a library full of great romances here on offer, and you can select however many you like and Download For Free.

And remember if you enjoy the show. leave us a review, so others will find us too. Word of mouth is still the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will love to read.

DOWNLOAD FREE ROMANCE

Things discussed in this episode

Listowel Writer's Week: https://writersweek.ie/

What Amanda is reading:

Louise Fein: People Like Us: https://www.louisefein.com/people-like-us

The Echoes of Love Jenny Ashcroft: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-echoes-of-love-jenny-ashcroft

I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31122.I_Capture_the_Castle

Where To Find Amanda Online

Website: www.amandageard.com

Instagram and X: @AmandaGeard

Introducing author Amanda Geard

Jenny Wheeler: But now, here’s Amanda.

Hello there, Amanda, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Amanda Geard: Hi, Jenny. Thanks so much for having me.

Jenny Wheeler: Amanda, The Moon Gate, which is your second historical timeline mystery refers to a particularly striking architectural feature in an old house in Ireland. It has both symbolic and real significance to the story. Tell us about The Moon Gate.

Amanda Geard: Thanks, Jenny. Yes. Gosh, I love moon gates. They're these wonderful follies that are often found in Chinese gardens. But the idea was of course pinched and went around the world with the British Empire, and so you see them in a lot of old British gardens.

And they're a circular structure, mostly often made of stone or brick, but timber as well, or willow wicks, but the idea is that they separate one part of the garden from another, but they rise up out of the earth.

And, the mentality is that to walk through one is to be reborn. I really wanted to put one of these in what became called The Moon Gate because one of my protagonists, Grace, who's a young woman who leaves Grosvenor Square in London just before the outbreak of World War Two.

She travels to Tasmania, where I'm from originally, and she sheds her skin there. And actually the Moon Gate is in the house there at, at the back of the house there in Tasmania, between the small garden around the house and this wild rainforest.

She captures her own wilderness, I think. It was just this lovely lovely symbol I wanted to weave in.

Organising a Moon Gate Tour? There's a thought!

Jenny Wheeler: And are there any actual moon gates in Tasmania?

Amanda Geard: Oh, I think there are some in some private gardens.

And then here in Ireland, I really want to do a moon gate tour. And I've been collecting a very short list of moon gates, but some people in the UK who've read the book have sent me pictures of moon gates in their nearby big houses, or a lot of people have them in their gardens now as well.

They've built them from all kinds of things. I love the ones where people have taken rounds of logs and built them up into an archway that's round and then grown ivy up it.

M.J. Porter has developed an enthusiastic readership for her ninth century Saxon Chronicles set in the depths of a divided Britain. She writes action-packed and completely addictive Dark Ages historicals that have readers howling for more.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And today on Binge Reading, M.J. talks about the books that critics describe as “Game of Thrones meets The Last Kingdom.”

Our Giveaway this week is called Is Your Library Fully Booked? It features a great range of stories from many different authors, all free to download, including Sadie's Vow Book #1 in my Home At Last series.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/fullybooked/1qbif7i7yc

DOWNLOAD SADIE'S VOW for free

And remember if you enjoy the show, leave us a review so others will find us too. Word of mouth is still the best way for people to discover the show and great books they will love to read.

Things mentioned in this episode

First Viking Age: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Viking-people

Lindisfarne: https://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/

King Alfred: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-king-of-Wessex

Dark Age Britain: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Anglo-Saxon-Kingdoms-Dark-Ages/

Bede: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Bede-the-Venerable

Ceolwulf: Last King of Mercia: https://www.britannica.com/place/Wessex-historical-kingdom

The Battle of Brunanburh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brunanburh

King Athelstan: https://www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/malmesbury-history/people/king-athelstan/

Bernard Cornwell: https://www.bernardcornwell.net/

Uhtred series:   https://www.bernardcornwell.net/series/the-last-kingdom-series/

Queen Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aethelflaed

The Last Kingdom BBC series: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08jnzwp

Ealdorman: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ealdorman

Ealdorman Athelwine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelwine,_Ealdorman_of_East_Anglia

Queen Elfride:  https://www.history.org.uk/historian/resource/8630/elfrida-the-first-crowned-queen-of-england

Ethelred II:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ethelred-the-Unready

M J Porter: Custard Corpses, https://mjporterauthor.blog/the-custard-corpses-a-delicious-1940s-mystery-is-on-tour-with-the-coffee-pot-book-club/

Michelles Salter: https://www.michellesalter.com/

Sarah Hawkswood: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sarah-Hawkswood/author/B00MLCK41U

Theodore Brun: https://www.theodorebrun.com/

Simon Turney:  https://simonturney.com/

Jane Adams: Murder On The Farm, https://www.amazon.com/MURDER-gripping-mystery-twists-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BL86FQ9Q#:

Where to find MJ Porter online

Website: www.mjporterauthor.com

Twitter or X: @coloursofunison

Introducing historical fiction author M.J. Porter

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's MJ. Hello there MJ and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

M.J. Porter: Hello, thank you so much for inviting me on today. I'm really looking forward to our chat.

Jenny Wheeler: MJ you've developed a terrific following of historical fiction readers fascinated by the stories of ancient Britain, and we're talking basically ninth and tenth centuries, mainly Saxon Britain. Tell us first off, what is the appeal of this period for people who haven't perhaps delved into it before?

M.J. Porter: The appeal of the period for me is that it's quite exciting. We're at the very beginning of what would become known as the First Viking Age. We've had our attack on Lindisfarne and then the records go a little bit quiet, we don't hear a lot more, and then all of a sudden in about the 830s we start to get a little bit of a rumble, and therefore, it's quite exciting.

We haven't had the great heathen army yet of the 860s. We've got this king in Wessex who's going to be King Alfred's grandfather,

T.A. Williams writes highly entertaining, escapist romance and cozy mysteries. that take you to exotic locations without you having to leave your armchair. Great in a time like this.

Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and T.A. or Trevor as his friends called him, came very close to getting published in his early twenties. And then he waited 40 years for the chance to come around again. When it did, he grabbed it with both hands and hasn't looked back since.

This Week's Giveaway

Our Giveaway this week is another BookSweeps Draw. This one is the Read and Reflect Literary, Historicals and Book Club Fiction draw - 40 books, $450 in value and a new E reader to the Grand lucky winner.

Take a chance and enter the drawer, get yourself a library of literary historical and book club fiction. You'll have reading for the next season, including Sadie's Vow, Book #! in the Home At Last series.

ENTER BOOKSWEEPS DRAW

Links to thing mentioned in this episode:

Cathy Rentzenbrink: thttps://cathyreadsbooks.com

John Le Carré:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_le_Carré 

Agatha Christie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie

Hilary Mantel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_Mantel

Via Francigena:  https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/

Sigoric The Serious – founder of the Via Francigena::  https://www.onefootabroad.com/blog/explanation-via-francigena/

Where to find T.A. Williams online

Website: www.tawilliamsbooks.com

Facebook: @tawilliamsauthor

X: @TAWilliamsbooks

And remember if you enjoy the show, leave us a review so others will find us too. Word of mouth is the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will love to read.

Introducing author T.A. Williams

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's T.A. or Trevor. Welcome to the show, Trevor. It's great to have you with us.

T.A. Williams - (Trevor) Moves easily from romance to cozy mystery in escapist locations

T.A. Williams: Thank you, Jenny. It's very kind of you to invite me on.

Jenny Wheeler: You've been writing very successfully fiction for a number of years now, but you did have a very successful entrepreneurial career and it is a later in life thing for you. Tell us how you got into the writing

T.A. Williams: To be honest, my first ever attempt at a book was at age 14. It was called it was a shameless rip off of Arthur Ransom's story, set up on Lake Windermere, Swallows and Amazons.

That obviously didn't get very far, all 44 handwritten pages of it. But in my twenties, I wrote a thriller - I was quite into thrillers in those days.

And I still have a letter from Collins publishers before they became Harper Collins, where they actually read the manuscript that I sent them twice, and then came this letter saying, “We liked it a lot, but due to the parlous economic situation in the country at the moment, we can't splash out on a new author.”

So that rather shot that one. So yes, had that all worked, then back in the seventies, I might have been a published author. As it is. I had to wait until 2013, 10 years ago.

A medieval trilogy which captivated him

Jenny Wheeler: Did you continue to write in that interim?

T.A. Williams: I wrote another couple of thrillers. They are just sitting there, gathering dust. But I got hooked, to be quite honest, on medieval history. And I wrote a series of three books set around the time of the Crusades.

And then - I don't know if you've come across people called the Cathars in southern France. They were basically a Christian sect, but they were deemed heretical by the Pope at the time, mainly because they weren't prepared to pay their subs to Rome. And as a result of which, he sent a crusade against them.

It was the only crusade called by Christians on Christians in Western Europe. I got hooked on that, and wrote the books.

Needless to say, nobody wanted to publish them, and it was over the course of years that I gradually changed from that to...

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Sharon Sala is a queen of romantic suspense with more than 130 books published in multiple genres, but particularly she concentrates on writing small town romance and thrilling romantic suspense.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And on Binge Reading today, we've got a real treat. Multiple award-winning author Sharon Sala talks about her latest two releases; Don't Back Down, her new romantic suspense and a new series, and the small town romance The Next Best Day.

She also talks about her remarkable gift for dreaming the stories she writes and the native American heritage from two great grandmothers she is happy to claim as her own.

Our Giveaway this week

Our giveaway this week is free genre fiction on Kobo, a fantastic range of popular genre fiction from top authors. Take your pick, whether you like mystery, romance, sci-fi or audio books, all of them freely available for a limited time.

That includes Poisoned Legacy Book #1 of my Of Gold & Blood mystery series. And we've also got a Box Set 30% Off Sale.

Visit the following link(s) to see the promotion: https://www.kobo.com/p/free-ebooks! If you live in a country that isn't included in this promotion, you may have trouble accessing the download link. If this happens, change the flag at the top of the Kobo homepage to one of the included countries to see the sale link properly.

FREE GENRE FICTION DOWNLOAD

BOXED SET 30% OFF SALE

I've got the first three books in Of Gold & Blood included; that's Poisoned Legacy, Brother Betrayed and Double Jeopardy - all available in a Boxed Set E-book at 30% off

Visit the following link(s) to see the promotion: ​https://kobo.com/p/august-boxset-sale​! The promo code for this campaign is: AUGBOX.

bOXED SET SALE 30% OFF

And remember if you enjoy the show, leave a review so others will find us too.

Links to things mentioned in the episode

Dinah McCall: https://www.fictiondb.com/series/prophecy-dinah-mccall~37613.htm

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/40571.Dinah_McCall

Dreamcatcher: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71819.Dreamcatcher

The Survivors: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243251.The_Survivors

There's A Squirrel in the Attic: https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Squirrel-Attic-Sharon-Sala/dp/0989628671

Killers of the Flower Moon: (Books) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killers_of_the_Flower_Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon movie: (Due for release later this year) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killers_of_the_Flower_Moon_(film)

John Harte: https://www.johnhartebooks.com/

The Last Child: (John Harte): https://www.amazon.com/Last-Child-Novel-John-Hart/dp/031238033X

Where to find Sharon online

Website: www.sharonsalaauthor.com

Blog: https://www.facebook.com/sharonsala

Contact: https://sharonsalaauthor.com/contact/

Introducing Sharon Sala romance author

Sharon Sala - Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award author of romance and romantic suspense

But now here's Sharon. Hello there, Sharon, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Sharon Sala: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Jenny Wheeler: You're a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, you've got 132+ plus books published in seven different genres, first published in 1991, and you still have a passion for writing 40 years later. What drives that passion?

Sharon Sala: Oh, I don't know. I always loved storytelling. I was a reader from a very early age and a dreamer. I just daydreamed. Everything in my sleep was dreams.

It's like going to the movies when I go to bed.

I just wanted to put them on paper and share them with people who like to read.

Jenny Wheeler: And so, did you start writing at a very young age?

Sharon Sala's latest books

Sharon Sala: No. I was just an avid reader. It was probably the early 80s when I first thought about it, and I wrote two books and put them under the bed and ne...

Australian author Kerry McGinnis makes the Australian landscape come alive in suspenseful, best selling rural mysteries that capture the soul and spirit of the Outback.

Hi I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today on The Joys of Binge Reading Kerry McGinnis talks about her childhood in the bush with her father and four siblings – years that helped form her deep understanding of nature, and how she got established as a best selling author while working an outback cattle station with her siblings.

This Week's Giveaway

Our Giveaway this week is historic fiction freebies for August including Sadie’s Vow Book #1 in my Home At Last Series.

HISTORICAL FICTION FREEBIES

Sadie's Vow, Book #1 in Home At Last INCLUDED

A bunch of top authors have got together and offered a great range of historic fiction - Take your pick.

​https://books.bookfunnel.com/historicalfictionfreebiesaugust2023/dm9y0sujx9

download free historic fiction

Audio Book Sale Offer

AUDIO BOOK SALE

Offers are Audio books Galore sale

ENJOY BOOKS EVERYWHERE PROMO

Poisoned Legacy, Book #1 in Of Gold & Blood INCLUDED

​https://books.bookfunnel.com/audioeverywhereaug2023/kgr0xzcoio​

ENJOY BOOKS EVERYWHERE AUDIO SALE

And we also have an Audio Book Sale – Enjoy Books Everywhere – with a range of entertaining fiction – including Poisoned Legacy – Book #1 in Of Gold & Blood series – available at special sale prices for a limited time. Links to follow up on these offers in the show notes for this episode on the website at The Joys of Binge Reading .com.

A mention too, that my latest mystery romance Rosie’s Rebellion - #3 in the Home At Last series – is on preorder at a special launch price of .99 cents for two weeks. Order online at your favorite E book store..

And remember – if you enjoy the show. Leave us a review so others will find us too. Word of mouth is the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will love to read.

Links to things in this episode

The Bombing of Darwin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin

Katherine:  https://northernterritory.com/katherine-and-surrounds

Adelaide River: https://northernterritory.com/darwin-and-surrounds/destinations/adelaide-river-town

The Waddi Tree, Kerry McGiness:  https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/the-waddi-tree-9781742280141

Kerry’s Two Memoir books: Pieces of Blue: https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Blue-Kerry-McGinnis/dp/0655632727

and Heart Country: https://www.amazon.com.au/Heart-Country-Kerry-McGinnis/dp/0670899216

Siege of Tobruk:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tobruk

The Renmark Flood: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/disaster/flood/display/51616-the-1956-flood#:

Meanjin Quarterly: https://meanjin.com.au/

Charters Towers:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charters_Towers

Kerry’s Fantasies:

Far Seeker: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=far+seeker&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&crid=3EFWXC6Q2YS1V

The Burning Mountain; https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Mountain-Far-Seeker-Trilogy/dp/064680667X

The Crow Road: https://www.amazon.com/Crow-Road-Kerry-McGinnis/dp/0646833707/

Kerry's Favourite Authors

Kate Morton: https://www.katemorton.com/

Robert Galbraith: https://robert-galbraith.com/

Jodie Picoult: https://www.jodipicoult.com/

Reginald Hill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Hill

Robin Hobb: http://www.robinhobb.com/

Linwood Barclay: Lindwoodbarclay.com

Rebecca Yarros:  https://www.rebeccayarros.com/

Mary Stewart:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Stewart_(novelist)

Where to find Kerry McGiness

https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/kerry-mcginnis

Introducing author Kerry McGiness

Australian mystery author Kerry McGiness and Outback stories

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Kerry. Hello there, Kerry, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Kerry McGinnis: Thank you, Jenny. Thank you for asking me. It's great to be here.

Adrienne Chinn's Three Sisters, Great War series offers readers an epic sweeping historical saga, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, and we've got The Paris Sister, Book #2, of this evocative saga, featured on the show today.

 Hi there. I'm your host Jenny Wheeler. And on this week's show Adrienne follows the Fry sisters as they enter the Roaring Twenties, forever changed by their experiences during the devastating years of war.

Bound by love, but separated by distance, their lives unfold in different corners of the globe, as they come to realize that the most important bond of all is family.

This week's Book Giveaway

Our Giveaway this week is Historic Fiction Freebies in August offering some lovely books. They're free to download, including Sadie's Vow Book #1 in my own Home At Last series.

HISTORIC FREEBIES - AUGUST

Get your selection of historic novels free to download.

historic freebies download

​https://books.bookfunnel.com/historicalfictionfreebiesaugust2023/dm9y0sujx9​

ENJOY BOOKS EVERYWHERE AUDIO SALE

We have an Audio Book Sale, Enjoy Books Everywhere, with a fantastic range of entertaining fiction, including Poisoned Legacy, Book #1 in my Of Gold & Blood series available at special sale prices, or a limited time.

AUDIO BOOK SALE

Sales Special on Audio books for a limited time!

​https://books.bookfunnel.com/audioeverywhereaug2023/kgr0xzcoio

I mentioned too, that my latest mystery romance Rosie's Rebellion Book #3in the Home At Last series is on pre-order at a special launch price of 99 cents for two weeks from August 16.

Order online at your favorite e-book store this week. And remember, if you enjoy the show, leave us a review so others will find us too.

Word of mouth is still the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will love to read.

Links to items mentioned in this episode

Syrie Maugham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrie_Maugham

The background to The Lost Letter, Adrienne's first novel: Amazighs Culture: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/berbers/#:~:text=Amazighs%

What Adrienne is reading now:

Sarah Waters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Waters

Lawrence Osborne: https://www.lawrenceosborne.net/

Isabella Allende: https://www.isabelallende.com/en

Aala Al Aswany: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaa_Al_Aswany

Elif Safak: https://www.elifsafak.com.tr/home

Stacey Halls. www.staceyhalls.com

Where to find Adrienne Chinn online

Website: https://www.adrienne-chinn.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adriennechinnauthor

Introducing Adrienne Chinn best selling author

Adrienne Chinn, interior decorator and best selling novelist

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Adrienne. Welcome to the show, Adrienne. It's great to have you with us.

Adrienne Chinn: Thank you so much, Jenny. I'm delighted to be here.

Jenny Wheeler: You've made a name for yourself as the author of beautifully crafted historical fiction.

Not to say that it doesn't have a lot of action as well, but you're very much known for the beauty of your locations, the sensory detail.

And that's often more associated with standalone books and you have done some standalones, but you're now engaged in this series, with Book #2 recently published.

Tell us, how did you translate from doing standalones to your Fry Sisters project?

Adrienne Chinn: It has been a learning curve for me, I have to say, but I've always been really fascinated about women's development and women's lives from the first 20th century.

I felt that required more than one book to do it properly. I was very much inspired by some of the stories of my great aunts, and my grandmother.

I decided to develop a series of four books starting in 1913 and covering the First World War in the first book, Love in a Time of War. And then the second book, as you said, which has just come out, The Paris Sister, set in the 1920s.

On Binge Reading today, USA Today bestselling author A.W. Hartoin talks about her World War II, Stella Bled spy thriller series, and the young American honeymooner who becomes a double agent, trapped into working for both Germany and England.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler, and on Binge Reading today, A.W. talks about the sixth book in the series, Her London Season.

It's 1940 and the Battle of Britain rages in the skies overhead. Stella is stuck, frustrated, in a lowly administrative job at the Special Operations Executive, the SOE. Until a mysterious set of orders arrives.

A.W. talks about crafting a story that challenges all the assumptions you may make about truth and power.

Our Book Giveaway this week

Our Giveaway this week is another Kobo Free Genre offer, a wonderful range of books from several genres - mystery, thriller  and romance, and all of them First in Series, including Poisoned Legacy, my Book #1 in the Of Gold & Blood series.

Find the download link in the show notes for this episode on The Joys of Binge Reading website, that's www.thejoysofbinge reading.com.

FREE KOBO GENRE LIST BOOKS

​https://www.kobo.com/nz/en/p/free-ebooks​​Kob​​o

And remember. If you enjoy the show, leave us a review, so others will find us too. Word of mouth is still the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will definitely want to read.

Links to subjects mentioned in today’s episode

Kristallnacht: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht

(*See Editor’s note at the end of the transcript.)

Kelly Rimmer, The Paris Agent, https://www.kellyrimmer.com/books/the-paris-agent

Pam Jenoff, The Lost Girls of Paris, https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Girls-Paris-Pam-Jenoff/dp/0778308618

Martha Hall Kelly: Lilac Girls, https://marthahallkelly.com/books/lilac-girls/

Janet Evanovich:  https://evanovich.com/

Jana DeLeon:  https://janadeleon.com/

Brian Cann, photographer:  https://brian-cann.format.com/about

Laser guided bomb systems:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser-guided_bomb

The House Witch by Delemhach   https://www.amazon.com.au/House-Witch-Humorous-Romantic-Fantasy/dp/1039410251

Stephen King: The Shining, https://stephenking.com/works/novel/shining.html

EM Powell: Stanton and Barling series. https://www.empowell.com/stanton-and-barling-mysteries

Liane Moriarty: What Alice Forgot, https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743535493/

The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson: https://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Vile-Churchill-Family-Defiance/dp/0385348711.

The Rape of Europa by Lynn K Nicholas: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/121563/the-rape-of-europa-by-lynn-h-nicholas/

Kristin Hannah The Nightingale:  https://www.amazon.com/Nightingale-Novel-Kristin-Hannah/dp/1250080401

Where to find A.W. Hartoin online

Website:  https://www.awhartoin.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/A.W.Hartoin/

Introducing mystery author A. W. Hartoin

A.W. Hartoin - Best Selling mystery author.

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's A.W. Hello there, A.W. and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

A.W. Hartoin: Hi Jenny. Thanks for having me.

Jenny Wheeler: You've done a remarkably wide range of genres. You've done fantasy, you've done YA.

But I think the bulk of your work has been in mystery, either Second World War, a series with Stella Bled, or a more contemporary cozy mystery series with Mercy Watts.

So we'll be focusing on those two today because most of our listeners are really interested in those mainstream genres. I wondered first what has attracted you to the mystery genre.

A.W. Hartoin: I've always loved my mystery since I was a child, but I think it's the puzzle pieces and how they come together, and planting little clues here and there. I've always loved plotting and mystery's all about the plotting And Cozy Mystery in particular is about characters and having really interesting people in t...

Madeleine  Eskedahl is the best-selling author of crime thrillers set in seaside, New Zealand. Local policemen, Bill Granger is hoping for a quiet off season, but when a narcotics drop goes badly wrong and a man ends up overboard a straightforward case turns into a complex web of small town secrets.

Hi, I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler and on binge reading today, Madeleine talks about growing up on a beautiful Norwegian island. and then exchanging it all for the Kiwi coastline, as well as about the creative spark she's always felt within her and has always nurtured.

Giveaway This Week

In our giveaway this week, Cool Off With A New Book, a wonderful selection of entertaining fiction, free to download for a limited time. It includes Susannah’s Secret my own #2 book in the Home At Last series set in 19th century San Francisco.

DOWNLOAD FREE BOOKS

https://books.bookfunnel.com/cooloffwithanewbook/8tho8xx8vh

Details for where to find the books to download, as well as links to the things we discuss including Madeleine talking about the book she's reading at the moment, can be found in the show notes for this episode on the website, www.thejoysofbingereading.com.

And remember if you enjoy the show, do leave us a review, so others will find us too. Word of mouth is still the best form of recommendation and a wonderful way for people to find the show and great books they will love to read.

Links in Madeleine Eskedahl episode

Scandinavian Writers Madeleine loves:

Camilla Lackberg: https://camillalackberg.se/en/

Mari Jungstedt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Jungstedt

Linda Olsson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Olsson

Anna Jansson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Jansson

Other books she is reading:

Nikki Crutchley: To The Sea and In The Blood. https://www.nikkicrutchley.com/

Paul Cleave: The Pain Tourist.  https://www.paulcleave.com/

https://www.paulcleave.com/books#/new-gallery-1

Vanda Simon: Expectant and the Sam Shepard series. https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Vanda-Symon/157008107

Jane Harper: Exiles. https://janeharper.com.au/

Adrian McKinty: The Chain.  http://officialadrianmckinty.com/

Tom Mitchell: The Penguin Lessons..  https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/26192990

Ngaio Marsh Awards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngaio_Marsh_Awards

Where to find Madeleine Eskedhal online

Website: https://www.madeleineeskedahlauthor.com/

Instagram: @madeleineeskedahlauthor/

Facebook: @madeleineeskedahlauthor/

Email: [email protected]

Introducing Madeline Eskedahl thriller author

Madeleine Eskedahl - Matakana Seaside thrillers

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Madeleine. Hello, Madeleine, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Madeleine Eskedahl: Hello, Jenny. Thank you so much for having me on the show.

Jenny Wheeler: It's really fun to be able to interview a fellow Kiwi because this is an international show. And you're not that far away from me, are you? Give international readers a sense of where you are in New Zealand.

Madeleine Eskedahl: I'm located north of Auckland, about 70 km. iI's about an hour's drive in an area called Matakana, which is quite a famous wine area.

And it's full of beautiful beaches, incredible bushwalks and just the most beautiful environment. And we have lots of visitors come through both in the summer and on a weekend.

It makes it the perfect place to sit a pacey crime thriller.

How Madeleine settled on the crime genre

Jenny Wheeler: That's it. And this book we're going to be talking about today, Rings On Water, is the second in a crime series called The Matakana Series. So very appropriate.

When I first met you, which was quite a few years ago now, we were both vaguely circling in the romance writer area. And I was assuming you would be writing romances, so what made you get into the crime genre?

Madeleine Eskedahl: I don't write romance,

This week on Binge Reading, Annabel Monaghan and the ultimate summer nostalgia read about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn't seen in 14 years. What happens next calls into question, everything she thought she knew about their love story and herself.

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler, and on Binge Reading today, Annabel talks about Same Time Next Summer, her latest funny good-hearted romcom, just the thing to get through the winter or to laugh over at the beach.

Giveaways - more than 100 books on offer

We've got a great lucky dip of Giveaways this week from a BookSweeps mystery draw, to Kobo free genre fiction, and Bookfunnel free books.

Three different offers. with in total more than 100 books available, so get online to make your choice.

I’ve teamed up with 40 fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense novels to 2 lucky winners! Oh, and did I mention the Grand Prize winner gets a BRAND NEW eReader? 😁

You can win two of my books in the Of Gold & Blood Book Bundle 2, plus books from authors like Gabriel Farago (on ​Binge Reading podcast​) and Rosalind Barden.

Enter the giveaway by clicking here 👉 https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/july23-win-a-bundle-of-mysteries-thrillers-suspense/ Enter now and Good Luck!

BOOKSWEEPS DRAW

GIVEAWAY - JULY CHILLS FOR BEACH READING

Ready for some great beach reading?

Look no further! These bestselling authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of new books.

Including Sadie's Vow, #1 in my Home At Last trilogy.

july chills for beach reading

​https://books.bookfunnel.com/julychillsbeach/7jggzr5fey

Available for a limited time.

KOBO FREE GENRE FICTION

KOBO genre free fiction: This is a truly international offer - but you may need to change the flag on the Kobo homepage to access it.... FOR ONE WEEK ONLY

A wonderful range of thrillers and mysteries in this truly international offer from Kobo - including Poisoned Legacy, #1 in the Of Gold & Blood series

Visit the following link(s) to see the promotion: ​https://www.kobo.com/p/free-ebooks​! If you live in a country that isn't included in this promotion, you may have trouble accessing the sale link. If this happens, change the flag at the top of the Kobo homepage to one of the included countries to see the sale link properly.

KOBO FREE GENRE FICTION

And do remember if you enjoy the show, leave us a review, so others will find us too. Word of mouth is still the best way for others to discover the show and great books they'll love to read.

Where to find topics mentioned in the show

Carley Fortune: https://www.carleyfortune.com/

The Philadelphia Story: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032904/

The Proposal:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041829/

Romance Tropes: https://eviealexanderauthor.com/150-romance-novel-tropes/

Annabel Monaghan Column: https://annabelmonaghan.com/category/column/

Amy Poepell: https://www.amypoeppel.com/

Amy On Binge Reading:  https://thejoysofbingereading.com/amy-poeppel-fresh-funny-romcoms/

Lisa Jewell:  https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Lisa-Jewell/75656043

Elizabeth George:  http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/

Where to find Annabel Monaghan online

Website: annabelmonaghan.com

Social media @annabelmonaghan (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook)

Introducing romcom author Annabel Monaghan

Annabel Monaghan

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Annabel. Hello there, Annabel, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Annabel Monaghan: Thank you. I am so happy to be here

Jenny Wheeler: Romance is a genre I notice is changing quite remarkably from maybe five or seven years ago. There's a lot more “life” in the stories as well as the romance, and your stories are a typical example of that.

These days it's about much more than finding the right guy, isn't it?

Mark Brandi is an award-winning crime novelist whose fifth book. Southern Aurora - as one reviewer noted, “takes hold of your heart. Breaks it a little, as well as fills it with childlike hope and compassion.”

Hi there. I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler. And on Binge Reading today, author Mark Brandi talks about how his own experience as an Italian-born Australian has attracted him to write stories about young boys coming of age in hard times,

Like Jimmy his lead in Southern Aurora, a character who as one critic said was “impossible not to fall in love with. There's a Mark Twain innocence and inner wisdom to Jimmy one far beyond most adults as he skirts his underprivileged life, seeking meaning and dreaming of a larger existence.”

That's coming up with Mark in a moment or two

Links mentioned in this episode

Wimmera, Mark’s award-winning debut novel:

https://www.hachette.com.au/mark-brandi/wimmera-the-bestselling-australian-debut-from-the-crime-writers-association-dagger-winner

The Rip: https://www.hachette.com.au/mark-brandi/the-rip-from-the-award-winning-author-of-wimmera

The Others: https://www.hachette.com.au/mark-brandi/the-others

Jane Harper's The Dry:  https://janeharper.com.au/

Willy Vlautin: https://www.willyvlautin.com/

Sofie Laguna:  http://sofielaguna.com/

Tony Birch:  https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/tony-birch-202213710733

The Overland train: https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/journeys/overland/

Mark’s Writing teacher: Ania Walwicz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ania_Walwicz

The Southern Aurora: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Aurora

‘Grief Invites This Kind Of Magical Thinking.”

https://www.theage.com.au/culture/books/mark-brandi-grief-invites-this-kind-of-magical-thinking-20211109-p597eo.html

The Anniversary, Stephanie Bishop:  https://www.amazon.com/Anniversary-Stephanie-Bishop/dp/0802161677

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_(novel)

Where to find Mark Brandi online

Website: www.markbrandi.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/markbrandiwriter/

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

Twitter: @mb_randi/

Ultimate Murder She Wrote Booksweeps Draw

For our giveaway this week, we've got the BookSweeps, Ultimate Murder She Wrote Swag Pack and Book Basket Draw.

For mystery fans, what a prize! $550 worth in full value. A library of mysteries and Murder She Wrote Swag, including an adorable Angela Lansbury t-shirt and tote bag.

Included is my Of Gold & Blood Book Bundle 2 - a full length historical mystery - Poisoned Legacy - and a New York Christmas novella, Tangled Destiny.

Enter the draw in the show notes for this episode on the website, the joys of binge reading.com.

enter ultimate murder she wrote draw

https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/july2023-win-the-ultimate-murder-she-wrote/

And remember if you enjoy the show, leave us a review, so others will find us too.  Word of mouth is the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will love to read.

Introducing award winning author Mark Brandi

Australian literary crime author Mark Brandi

Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Mark. Hello there, Mark, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Mark Brandi: Hi, Jenny. It's great to be with you. Thanks for inviting me on.

Jenny Wheeler: Southern Aurora is the book we're talking about particularly today. It's your fifth novel, but it's set in similar locations to the first books that you've written.

They're all small town, rural Australia, with characters who generally live on the wrong side of town. They're seen as literary crime novels.

That's how they're defined. But the crime aspect in Southern Aurora is slightly downplayed. It's more of a coming of age novel. Would you agree with that?

Mark Brandi: Yes, I think that's a fair assessment. Jenny.