BWL Publishing New Releases December2025

 

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/tread-on-kings

                    

     1402: After leaving war-torn Wales, Sir Harry Percy, Hotspur, faces fresh threats at home. King Henry IV again fails to fund defense needs and the Scots invade. Nonetheless, at Homildon Hill, Harry triumphs and the Scots lose nearly all their army to death or capture, including their wounded leader, Douglas. Yet, in London, Henry berates Harry for not relinquishing the prisoners: Violating chivalric-military ethics, Henry wants the captives’ ransoms for himself. When Harry objects, Henry tries to stab him, labeling him a traitor.

Back in Northumberland, Harry and Douglas become friends and create a plan for peace on the northern border, while increasing England’s territory. Supported by his sweetheart, Ciarry, and others, from all social ranks, Harry also renews calls for royal reform. Fuming, Henry schemes to destroy him, as Harry ponders troubling questions:

EDITORIAL REVIEW by Victoria Chatham

To Tread on Kings – Book III in the Epic of Hotspur trilogy by Liz Sevchuk-Armstrong

In this final book of Armstrong’s Hotspur trilogy, the pace established in the previous two volumes remains relentless. Sir Harry Percy’s doubts about the actions – or lack thereof – of King Henry IV grow increasingly intense with each erratic decision or breach of trust by the monarch. As king, Henry demonstrates that he is as unscrupulous and selfish as his cousin, King Richard II, and the man whose throne he seized.

While Richard was never a skilled politician, Henry had the ability to win people over, including the Percy family. However, after Henry became king, many of the issues evident during Richard’s reign surfaced again in Henry’s rule, to the point that Harry could no longer trust or support him.

Still a man of honour, Harry tries his best to avoid battle with Henry at Shrewsbury, but once again, the king proves his treachery. This was the first battle fought on English soil where the renowned longbowmen faced each other, and Armstrong’s battle scenes clearly depict the blood, brutality, and bravery of war.

There is no secret that Harry loses his life at Shrewsbury, but what follows reveals how deeply Henry hated and feared the one man who was bold enough in his convictions to challenge him. Armstrong has crafted another outstanding retelling of a part of English history to conclude the story of Hotspur.

Is the king above the law?

Does a knight owe fealty to a ruler, or to the realm itself?

And should he be faithful to the Crown if it means he must be unfaithful to his conscience?

Answering them might change destiny—and cost Harry his life…     

   

                                    https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/recipe-for-love  

Scarlett Collins has a rule: never mix business with pleasure. As an ambitious event planner, she has her sights set on a promotion—and the grand opening of Scottsdale’s hottest new spot, the Eclipse Lounge, could be her ticket. Keeping her focus on success should be simple…if only the lounge’s irresistible manager wasn’t so distracting.

Dante Rivera has a reputation for being a playboy, but now everything is on the line. If he can turn the Eclipse Lounge into a success within a year, his father will finally back him in opening a restaurant of his own. The last thing he needs is to fall for the woman determined to keep him at arm’s length.

Yet Scarlett and Dante’s undeniable chemistry burns hotter than either of them planned. When Scarlett begins to believe love might be worth the risk, a woman from Dante’s past arrives with a shocking claim—one that shatters Scarlett’s trust and threatens everything.

Dante knows the truth, but can he prove it before Scarlett walks away forever?

Editorial Review 5 Stars, Nancy M. Bell

Ms Petrone has crafted a lovely romantic tale flavoured with the rich scents of fine dining unlaid with just enough confusion and angst to season the mix. You'll enjoy every sensory moment of Recipe for Love. Nancy M Bell

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/links-the-witchs-prophecy

Four teens. One cursed town. And a time portal straight to 1689—where witchcraft isn’t a secret, it’s a death sentence! Marcus Ballantyne the rebel with a sharp tongue, Chad Zuzansky the tech wizard, Jillian Marshall the beauty with the brains, and Peyton Sansavong the rich girl with an attitude, are four modern day teens who are dragged into a world of witches, whisperings and curses. Each must overcome their own personal demons by travelling back to history’s darkest hour, for the sake of their futures. Guided by their enigmatic teacher, Ms. Imogene Pratt, the teens must learn to better understand themselves and each other in order to confront the evil that lurks in Salem—and survive. As they embark on this spellbinding journey, the lessons they learn will be etched forever on the bones of time.

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/barclay-bear

Barclay Bear was a content young grizzly bear playing in the forest where he lived with his mother and father. He became fascinated by the other forest animals playing a curious game using sticks and blades on their feet that they called ‘hockey,’ and soon tried it himself. As he got better, the other animals invited him to play with them, which led to his invitation to play in the ‘Reindeer Games’ hockey tournament. But there was a dilemma – could he join the Forest Rangers team or did he have to hibernate for the winter?

           

A Handsome Man and a Fast Horse by Eden Monro

 

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https://books2read.com/Tomorrow-at-Daybreak

In Tomorrow at Daybreak , the breeder of fine horses, Pate Kavenagh, has a keen eye for good horseflesh. He’s also a natural-born horse trader, shrewd and patient, and that’s how Jacko, a superb black gelding, comes into his ownership.

Pate and Jacko’s time together is relatively short but far from uneventful, and the speed of that gelding is the stuff of legends.

“You’re right, he’s quite a boy!” agreed Pate about Dinah’s praise of Jacko. “He can run like the wind, maybe faster…”

Like Jacko, in real life some horses are literally born to run, to race, and it’s a matter of opinion in racing circles who is the best racehorse of all time. It depends on who is being asked of course, but one horse stands alone for many in that regard and that is Secretariat, or Big Red as he was affectionately called.

Says Britanica.com:  “Secretariat, (foaled 1970), American racehorse (Thoroughbred) who is widely considered the greatest horse of the second half of the 20th century. A record-breaking money winner, in 1973 he became the ninth winner of the U.S. Triple Crown (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes). In his short, brilliant 16-month career, he came in first 16 times, second three times, and third once, winning a total of $1,316,808. At Belmont he won by an unprecedented 31 lengths and established the dirt-track record for a 1 ½ -mile race of 2:24.

According to Britanica.com Secretariat was “one of the fastest horses ever timed and had a brilliant career on the track. He was a big horse who remarkably never seemed to tire, and that mystery of his incredible stamina was solved when he was euthanized in 1989 because of laminitis — ‘a painful degenerative disease involving an animal’s hooves,’ and treatment failed. His death made headlines because the ‘necropsy revealed that his heart was twice the size of a typical horse. Some speculated this allowed for his incredible speed. Unlike most horses—which are buried with only their head, hooves, and heart—Secretariat was interred whole.’”

Secretariat’s astonishing dirt-track records remain intact – no horse has ever beaten them.

His regular jockey was Ron Turcotte, riding the big horse in 18 of Secretariat’s 21 starts — including all of his major wins. (Ron himself participated in 20,281 races.)

There are several statutes of the great Secretariat in the US, as well as two in Canada  — one dedicated specifically to Ron Turcotte, immortalized in bronze with Secretariat. It stands in his hometown of Grand Falls (he was born in the village of Drummond), New Brunswick, Canada, actually just three hours away from where I live. It goes without saying that we are proud of this accomplished native son, and it seems only fitting that Ron will forever sit atop Secretariat as they cross the finish line (at the Belmont Stakes).

Sadly though, Ron’s racing days were over in June of 1978 when an accident just out of the starting gate at Belmont Park put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, paralyzed from the waist down. After recovery from his severe injuries (he was thrown head first onto the track) he became a tireless advocate on behalf of injured jockeys, including for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) as well as for others who had suffered spinal cord injuries.

Ron Turcotte is recognized internationally as one of the greatest figures in horse racing history with more than 3,000 wins, as well as for his unwavering devotion to the sport. He lived to be eighty-four, passing away on August 22, 2025 and was properly feted by his fellow New Brunswickers before being carried to his final resting place.

Like any sport, legends are created, and while thoroughbred racing is perhaps the most well-known form of horseracing in North America, harness racing, often considered to be descended from ancient chariot racing, still maintains a dedicated fan base. Britanica.com explains harness racing as the “sport of driving at speed a Standardbred horse pulling a light two-wheeled vehicle called a sulky...”

Also britanica.com says about Standardbreds: “Standardbred, breed of horse developed in the United States in the 19^th century and used primarily for harness racing,”

My great uncle, the late Walter Akerley, was a champion harness racer, and incredibly only quit the sport at the age of eighty-five. On that occasion, once the day’s racing was over, with finishes of firsts, seconds and thirds, he sold his horse and equipment, silks and all, right on the spot. His reason? There was a change of guard in the US Trotting Association that formerly guided harness racing in New Brunswick (the Maritime Provinces), and Walter didn’t like the choice of new president. And so he walked away, but his heart remained with the sport.

I should also note that in addition to being eighty-five years of age at the time of retirement (Walter lived to be 106 ½), he had accomplished his amazing career at the track with only one leg. He had lost a limb to gangrene as a boy after stepping on a rusty horseshoe nail, and wore a prosthesis for nearly a hundred years!

Walter was an amazing man and a great horseman who also made his mark in his younger days in rural New Brunswick ice racing. When the river froze over for the winter, the weekly races were a popular draw. He said the horses wore rubber shoes for that type of event back in the day, although now they wear specifically designed metal shoes with more sophisticated safety features.

There’s just something about a fast horse that stirs the blood of competitiveness. The stakes are usually high, but so is the glory of standing in the winner’s circle.

Like Jacko in Tomorrow at Daybreak, I prefer black horses, but as with Secretariat and also in the cover image for Tomorrow at Daybreak, a chestnut horse is also a beautiful animal. The chestnut coat colour (where only red pigment is present) is common in almost every horse breed and comes in shades of light chestnut, golden chestnut (sorrel), dark chestnut and liver chestnut. Secretariat was described by sports writer (the late) William Nack as a “bright red chestnut.” In other words if a chestnut horse were human it would be a redhead.

The picture below is of Aries, a four-way cross of Arabian, Quarter Horse, Morgan and Paint. He belonged to late horseman Michael Smith who also loved chestnut horses.

 

 

 

In Tomorrow at Daybreak the very handsome Pate liked nothing better than to have a fast horse under him. He also appreciated his horse’s speed when it hurried him to the meadow at daybreak to meet Dinah…

“She tied her chestnut gelding beside Pate’s horse, both horses with plenty of leeway to nibble the luscious grass that grew in abundance at their feet. The chestnut didn’t appear to have been hurried, so she had obviously taken the time to enjoy her ride. That’s what riding in the early morning was all about, drinking in the sweet fresh air and the beauty of the forest path by which she’d come.

Dinah was flushed, her temper bubbling just below the surface and her heightened colour made her all the more appealing. This was a lot of woman standing here, and she had ridden all the way out from town at an ungodly hour to be with him. And instead of being flattered, he’d all but held her in contempt.

He reached out his arms to her. ‘I’m sorry, Dinah. I was wrong with some of the things I said. I guess you can’t know everything about a person in an hour or two, or expect to. I apologize.’

In an instant her gorgeous smile was back, the tempest subsided. “Apology accepted. Now let’s not be so darned serious. I came to be with you, Pate.” She looked around, then pointed to a spot in the meadow where the wildflowers parted. “That’s a good spot there. Come on,” she said taking his hand. “I want to lie with you. Right here, right now. I can’t bear to wait another minute.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirits of the Northwest Territories

 

 

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I have to define them as "spirits," because the Tlicho didn't have "ghosts" as the dominant culture imagines them, until after they made contact with Europeans. Digression: during the last 300 years, though, they've taken on some new religious beliefs, in their case, Roman Catholicism. Along with that, came the sort of 'ghosts' that I've read reported in books written by recent researchers into this culture. Those modern spirits are just like ours:  restless, and sometimes violent, echoes of the bad, the mad, or the murdered. 

Before the Europeans brought their sometimes sad, sometimes scary spooks, the Tlicho could hardly be called "spirit-poor." An almost endless number of supernatural beings inhabited their everyday world, but in ways it took me a while to understand. Mostly these spirit beings are not angry or bent on vengeance. They are simply part of the fabric of the world the Tlicho observed. Staying in right relationship with nature, staying in balance, was a central thought in this world view. A careful observation of the world around them led these First Nation's people to understand their position in relation to their environment. The People were a thread woven into the greater fabric, part of which was a vast host of unseen--but--undeniably present beings.

Pre-contact, the Tlicho were nomadic hunters whose survival depended upon the weather and the migrations of animals, so they paid close attention to every detail of their surroundings as they moved about the "dè"-- today's Canadian North West Territory.

Yearly, they traveled over an immense territory following the annual migrations of birds, fish, and caribou. Their prey, however, was not regarded as simply a "commodity." The animals, collectively and individually, had Spirit, just as the men who hunted them did. If a hunter disrespected the caribou, they might walk another path the following year and not come the expected way, leaving the tribe to starve.

It was believed that the caribou willingly gave their bodies to the hunters. As one should when given a gift, the giver should be gratefully and politely thanked. This was done with certain prescribed rituals (which the Tlicho saw simply as "rules of proper behavior") for the sacrifice of their living bodies. Those once gigantic herds were not just food animals, but fellow beings, in relationship with their Tlicho hunters, emanations of the "Great Spirit," all beings going about their business as instructed by the first great Tlicho magician, Yamǫǫ̀zha.*1

Over centuries, The Tlicho walked the same trails and canoed the intricate network of waterways. The landscape itself, from forest to tundra, was filled with a species of entity which I first learned about in long ago Latin class, supernatural beings which the Romans referred to as "Numen." These spirits of place might occupy rocks, trees, camping spots, waterfalls and lakes, all of which frequently had a "power" or "powers" associated with them. 


Small tokens of respect are still left after camping near one of these places, or after fishing, or even while traveling past a sacred rock or waterfall. This is called "paying the land." According to Allice Legat: "People leave on site something they value and use, such as coinage, spruce boughs, or rosaries. A student gave a pencil because it was important to her success in school." Further, "...if human beings ignore rules and do not show respect, they will probably have a difficult time because these entities may withdraw their assistance."* (from Walking the Land, Feeding the Fire.)  (*1)

 Spirits could sometimes be malevolent. One kind, called "weyèedii or 'animal-beings' were "regarded as dangerous, and consequently, always avoided. Through dreaming and the acquisition of ı̨k’ǫǫ̀ or “medicine” (sometimes called “power,” “knowledge,” or “luck”,) a person could prepare to deal with the world," and the varied powers which inhabit it.

Spirits of earth and rock were not invulnerable. In order to explain the "continuing death and decay" in the toxic areas which continue to exist around the polluted Rayrock Uranium mine, Elder Romie Wetrade told a story.* Rayrock, he said, used to be called "The Happy Place," because hunters who traveled through the area felt liking singing. When the mine opened, however, in the 1950's, the happy spirits were driven away by blasting and other human industrial activities and spillages. The closing of the mine has not brought them back, either. Displaced by the tearing up of the earth and the breaking of rock, these once joyous spirits are now presumed to be fading, homeless wanderers. The very character of these spirits requires a "home place." 

Spirits could be wind or water as well as rock. One modern story I read concerned a wind coming up so heavily that a gathering of elders and teenagers was trapped beside a lake when their float plane could not take off. While the campers waited it out, an elder told  "stories about the wind, in the boreal forests and on the tundra and on large lakes." After these stories had been told, another elder "built a raft, and placed burning spruce boughs on it," and pushed it out onto the lake.  As he did so, he asked for "calm winds and a safe journey. Two hours later, the wind died down..." so that their journey could safely continue.  

~Juliet Waldron

http://www.julietwaldron.com/
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It's a Southern Thing---Christmas Traditions Of the American South By Connie Vines

 My blog topic may be premature...But I love Christmas and don't want to miss out on the festivities!

I've touched on my nomadic childhood before. While many people have family gatherings, shared traditions, and family stories to tell, my holidays were unstructured and included only immediate family members (minus one if my father was deployed).

While my father was a 5th-generation Texan, my mother's lineage was Czech, and my formative years were spent in the deep south.

🎄Fencing with wrapping tubes. After the gifts were wrapped and safely under the tree, we (the children) tried out our fencing moves (no smack downs allowed).

Neighbors sharing sweet tea or eggnog while swaying on a porch swing.

Charleston, South Carolina, is magical during the holiday season. The streets are lit up, shop windows are decorated, and there's a buzz of holiday cheer that blends into the historical past. A past filled with pirates, colonial history, the Civil War, delicious food...and hurricanes.  

My most vivid memory: the hurricane. Charleston, like many coastal cities, is below sea level. Winds were 150 mph, and we were required to evacuate. My parakeet died (due to a change in air pressure). Later, someone fed me a slice of pecan pie. 

Skiff's Creek, Virginia. I recall snow. Lots of snow. No natural disasters, just new additions to the household (younger brother and a cat). I was allergic to the cat (he was given a new home).

I was pleased that my brother was allowed to stay. 

I recall consuming too many peanuts (Boiled), vendors pushed a cart along the sidewalk like ice cream vendors do today. I consumed too many and was taken to the doctor.

Recipe: 

1.5 cups kosher salt divided, plus more to taste

 2 lbs. raw peanuts in the shell 

Place 2 gallons of water in a 10 - 12-quart stockpot. Add 1/2 cup of salt to the water and stir until dissolved. Add raw peanuts.

Use a large dinner plate to help submerge the floating peanuts. Soak peanuts 8 hours or overnight. (This step saves a little time boiling, but if you don't have the luxury of soaking time, you can skip it.)

Step 2

Drain peanuts, then add water and salt and bring to a boil. Then reduce to low. Simmer, covered, until the peanuts are soft (5 - 8 hours). Add additional water if needed. 

Test: Peanuts should NOT be crunchy. 

Allow to set in water for 1 hour.

Drain and allow to cool before eating. 

Store in the shell, in a sealed container. Refrigerate for 7 to 10 days, or freeze for several months. 

Orlando, Florida,  (not my favorite place). 

Alligators, bugs, humid, and swampy (there are 100 lakes). I've discovered pythons are now residing, too. I found it much more humid than Charleston.  

Foods? Key Lime Pie, Classic Cuban Sandwich, and fried alligator. While not a holiday standard, they are all delicious.

Let's zip forward to 2025.

My "gingerbread" kitchen table

The table is set, and tomorrow the decorations will be scattered about the living room. My little Christmas tree will be displayed on December 1st. And, yes, I'm baking and freezing holiday treats.

Pecan pie will be my Christmas dessert; the rest will be standard holiday fare.  Collard greens and black-eyed peas will be served for good luck on New Year's Eve.

Yes, Connie has several projects in the works...

And I'm working out the kinks and mishaps of my upgraded computer and the operating system.  (me relying on my back-up system).

Happy Reading,

Connie

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Lynx is available in audio!  audible

What is the CHI? Is there an unseen force pervading the entire universe? - by Vijaya Schartz

 

“Schartz has splendidly blended fact, fiction, and fantasy into an enthralling,

fast-paced story that I could not put down.”

Find it at your favorite retailer HERE

Find all my other books at: amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo

Many sci-fi fantasy novels and movies claim there is a pervasive force animating the entire universe… like the “Force” in StarWars. But these imaginative writers didn’t make it up entirely. It happens to be a widely recognized concept throughout India (Shakti), Japan (Ki), continental Asia (Chi), and the Pacific Islands (Mana). Native tribes of the Americas, Australia, and other cultures believe that through meditation and purification you can get in spiritual contact with ancestors, divine teachers, or with other entities of the universe… or a parallel universe.

Many geniuses throughout history claimed to have been in contact with such entities who taught them mathematics, engineering, wisdom, etc. Leonardo Da Vinci disappeared into a cave to meditate for months at a time. Albert Einstein said he meditated each day and found inspiration in messages from beyond. Indian mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan claimed his insights came from visions of divine inspiration.

Modern physicists are now considering the possibility of a universal pervasive energy, as it offers a logical explanation for many inexplicable phenomena like split cells separated and still resonating as one, even at a great distance (prick one and the other reacts to the pain). It would also explain the positive results of studies involving remote viewing, mind-reading, premonitory dreams and visions, clairvoyance, mind-to-mind communication over great distances, etc.

It can explain how a mother can lift a car to pull her child from under the wheel. Or how someone survives something unsurvivable. In case of supreme emergency, the brain sometimes remembers how to use this universal energy.

The universal symbol of the Chi energy is the Yin-Yang

In my new series, THE PROTECTORS, I call this energy the Chi, which is the recognized term throughout Asia. Most martial artists are familiar with the concept and practice meditation. It takes training and discipline to learn how to gather and focus the Chi. It’s not the hand that breaks the pile of bricks, but the amount of energy generated by the strike. Some masters can strike from across the room, sending their attacker flying, without ever touching him.

The Chi is not good or evil. It is a dynamic natural force. It takes many years of meditation, hard work, and dedication to master this energy, so most of those who know how to use it are monks with pure intentions. Wielding it as a weapon for selfish or evil purposes, however, only reveals the flawed or imperfect nature of the person using it.

Knowledge of the Chi can also be used to heal. Acupuncture is a testament to its efficiency. Nowadays, many westerners practice Tai-Chi and Chi-Kong for good health, especially in old age. These techniques have been proven beneficial by reputable medical studies (Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai-Chi).

In case you were wondering, I have been a Tai-Chi practitioner for many years, and I am now a Tai-Chi instructor in Arizona.

Front and center, Christmas 2022,
with a few of my students from the Glendale Adult Center

I hope you like Anila, my Chi Warrior.

Anila, peaceful warrior woman, trained all her life in the desert, at the monastery of the Celestial Gate, to take the vows of the mighty Protectors. That’s all she’s ever known, all she ever wanted. But a cloud of black wings haunts her nightmares.

When a barbarian horde invades from the north, Bayor Khan seems unstoppable, determined to destroy everything in his path. Rumors of his cruelty make the most powerful princes tremble in their stone fortresses.

Anila is pulled into the inevitable clash as a prophecy unfolds, blurring the lines between good and evil, testing her resolve. Nothing is as it seems… An ancient enemy rises in the shadows, and the falling darkness threatens to engulf Anila and everyone she loves.

EDITORIAL REVIEW by Victoria Chatham

If you like strong female characters, then you will not be disappointed with Anila, the protagonist in Vijaya Schartz's latest book. Anila is in training at a monastery under the watchful gaze of Master Wang. She diligently practices her Tai-Chi routines and perfects her weapons training as her dearest wish is to join the ranks of the mysterious Protectors. However, she cannot escape the promise and prophecy of her destiny and is drawn into conflicts not of her making. In discovering how she overcomes those who would use her, we see her grow into a formidable but fair potential leader.

Schartz has splendidly blended fact, fiction, and fantasy into an enthralling, fast-paced story that I could not put down. Fans of this genre and Schartz in particular will not be disappointed.

Happy Reading.

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

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