Dear friends and visitors,
I have a little something for fans of Historical Women's
Fiction. I’d like to introduce you to Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter by T.J. Brown. I LOVE the cover. Isn't it gorgeous?
To thank you for your support, the author brought along a 4 piece Whimsical Butterfly Tea set to be
awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US only). This tea set is handcrafted by
artist April Cook of white stoneware slip and painted with a unique whimsical
design of a butterfly in lime green and plum glaze. It is both dishwasher and
microwave safe. The set includes a 32 oz. tea pot with lid, creamer and sugar
bowl.
Did that put you in the mood for a cup of tea? Then follow the
tour and comment to increase your chances of winning. The tour dates are
available HERE.
Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter
by T. J.
Brown
BLURB:
After Prudence’s
desperate marriage and move to London, sisters Rowena and Victoria fear they
have lost their beloved friend forever. Guilt-ridden and remorseful, Rowena
seeks comfort from a daring flyboy and embraces the most dangerous activity the
world has ever seen, and Victoria defies her family and her illness to make her
own dream occupation as a botanist come true. As England and the world step
closer to conflict, the two young women flout their family, their upbringing,
and their heritage to seize a modern future of their own making.
Victoria Buxton
With her delicate constitution but strong,
unflappable spirit, Victoria has never followed societal conventions, the rules
of fashion, or the pursuit of a husband. Instead, she finds herself drawn to
the controversial—and dangerous—fight for women’s suffrage. But her dream is
compromised, and her heart divided, when her struggles for equal rights collide
with unexpected love.
Rowena Buxton
After yearning to no avail for a certain young
pilot to fly back into her life, Rowena fears her chances for happiness have
been jeopardized by recklessness and scandal. Burdened with guilt for bringing
her sister Prudence to Summerset Abbey as a lady’s maid while she herself led a
life of privilege, Rowena hopes to one day make amends. But her desire to set
things right is complicated by her passion for flight and a sudden
engagement…to the wrong man.
Prudence Tate
Raised like a sister to Victoria and Rowena,
then banished to the servants’ quarters when their father passed away, Prudence
has seen both sides of life, upstairs and down. But once the truth about her
parentage was revealed, Prudence forged a new life for herself, married to a penniless
veterinary student. Living in poverty in a shabby London flat, she wonders if
she’s made a terrible mistake—and there’s no turning back...
EXCERPT
The nurse got Victoria into bed and
settled the covers over her. Victoria’s bones ached and even the roughness of
the gray woolen blankets and the hard mattress felt wonderful. When the woman
moved to leave, Victoria caught her arm. “Wait,” she pleaded. It seemed as if
this woman was the only person between Victoria and unknown terrors. “When will
I see a judge? When can I see my family?”
The woman shook her head and flicked
a switch off. The only light now came from the open door, and long shadows
spilled over Victoria’s bed “I don’t know. It’s hard to tell.”
“What’s your name?” Victoria
pleaded. Anything to keep the door from shutting.
“Eleanor. I’ll check on you before
my shift is up. Now try to get some sleep.”
The light slivered and then was
gone. The darkness, once the door had closed, was absolute, and Victoria
trembled. She’d never liked being alone at night, and for years she had slept
with Prudence to keep the nightmares away.
There was no one to keep the
nightmares away now. Of course, how could anything her mind conjured be worse
than her current reality?
Tears rose and fell down her cheeks
in the darkness. How did she get here? Why hadn’t she just ignored Mary’s note?
The woman was mad. Victoria wondered where she was and then realized that Mary
was no doubt locked in a cell in this very prison.
She wiped the tears with her hands.
Her uncle would get her out if he could. He was an important man and a rich one
to boot. Surely he could do something.
With a sinking heart, she remembered
some of the newspaper articles she’d read over the preceding months. Public
opinion might be mixed on the suffragettes, but the justice system was not.
Most judges had no sympathy whatsoever, and they had been known to throw a
suffragette in jail and toss the key at the same time. And if they really
thought she had plotted to destroy the painting . . . Victoria shuddered.
Something dropped outside the door
and she stilled. She could hear muffled voices for a bit as the nurses and
orderlies worked their way from room to room, checking on patients, and she
listened intently. At least she knew there were people out there and she wasn’t
all alone. But the noises grew fainter and fainter and soon there was only the
sound of her own ragged breathing. Then a soft moaning began and her heart leapt
jaggedly in her chest. She screwed her eyes up tight against the darkness and
began to recite:
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. . . .
Victoria paused with a shudder. No.
Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” was much too frightening for this situation. Her
father used to run his fingers through his hair and recite it while making the
most horrible faces. Father! She swallowed and began again. This time choosing
Rudyard Kipling’s, “The Bee Boy’s Song.”
Bees! Bees! Hark to your bees!
"Hide from your neigbours as
much as you please,
But all that has happened, to us you
must tell,
Or else we will give you no honey to
sell!"
AUTHOR Bio:
TJ
Brown is passionate about books, writing, history, dachshunds and mojitos. If
she could go back in time, she would have traveled back to England, 1910,
Paris, 1927 or Haight-Ashbury, 1967. She resides in the burbs of Portlandia,
where she appreciates the weirdness, the microbreweries, hoodies, Voodoo Donuts
and the rain.
Twitter: @teribrownwrites
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