THE HISTORICAL FICTION OF MIRELLA PATZER
Bloodstone Castle stands sentinel on the shores of the Ligurian Sea. Secreted somewhere in its dungeons is an ancient Roman treasure of immense value.
Contessa Morena of Bloodstone Castle possesses a mysterious bloodstone pendant, the only proof the treasure exists.
Since childhood, she has been promised in marriage to Duke Ernesto of Savona. Ernesto is a desperate man, a gambler who has lost his family’s fortune, a man who resorts to murder to not only hide his dirty secret, but for the sake of money.
Marriage to the lovely Morena will make the treasure his and restore his power and desperate circumstances.After the brutal murder of his father, Duke Amoro of Genoa swears two oaths.
The first is to avenge his father’s death. The second is to honour his father’s dying wish and wed Morena of Bloodstone Castle, to end the violent feud with between their two families.
Her life thrown into chaos, Morena must choose between obligation and honour, truth and lies, good and evil.
In medieval Italy, two men face each other with ruthlessness and intensity.
Enter their world of splendour and depravity, of passion and wickedness.
It is Italy’s most dazzling and dangerous age, and as Duke Amoro of Genoa and Duke Ernesto of Savona match wits and cunning, it is a dance the death to decide which one of them will win the hand of the beautiful Countess Morena and the hidden treasure of Bloodstone Castle.
Tenth-century Germany is a divided country, ever at the mercy of its ruthless, power-hungry dukes.
Then Heinrich, Duke of Saxony and Thuringia, meets the virtuous Countess Matilda of Westphalia. Reluctant to wed at first, Matilda slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of one day uniting Germany and becoming king.
But as Heinrich's attentions turn again and again to waging war upon the enemy Magyars and growing ever more powerful, turmoil plagues him and he is charged with treason.
With a death sentence upon his head, Heinrich fights back until a twist of fate helps him realize his ultimate dream.
The turbulent clashes and the personal destinies of the people caught in this medieval tale are magnificently interwoven in this sweeping novel of power and passion, loyalty and lies.
Amidst bloody wars, scheming dukes, towns under siege, and virtuous women, Heinrich and Matilda conquer the world of their times.
History and fiction combine to bring to life this tangled, tempestuous era.
Growing up an Italian woman in the New World sometimes involves the keeping of secrets, the telling of lies, and the patience of a saint.
In 25 stories, 18 women share their tales of rememberance and resistance - some comic, some tragic, some nostaligic, all true.
Their voices echo from coast to coast, across generations, and across the Atlantic as they talk about living a double life with a private/public split personality.
Intimate, inspiring, brave, and confssional, their words reveal women old enough to reminisce yet young enough to revolutionalize.
Balancing between the Old Country and the new, a respect for tradition and the need to break with it, this collection is a rare and surprising blend of humour and candor that promises the perfect conversation starter at the next wedding, funeral, or book club.
Mamma mia, what will they dare say next?
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Features my short story The Holy Lance
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Features my short story Lance of Destiny