Cover Reveal | “Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War” an #anthology of war dramas including three #authors I personally *love!* reading: Lauren Willig, Jessica Brockmole + Heather Webb! Including a small notation on Jorie Loves A Story’s 2nd Birthday!

I didn’t take long to decide to join the Cover Reveal blog tour for this enticingly curious NEW RELEASE by William Morrow Spring, 2016! For starters, I have become entranced and captured by *three!* of the authors whose convicting stories etch their characters and literary worlds straight into my mind’s eye in such a convincing way as to leave heart prints of their memories inside my spirit long after I have put down their novels!

There is a aching realism to war dramas and a churning of courage intermixed with a fierce dedication to service, country, self, and family. The lives of servicemen and women as much as the civilian staff who aide them directly both at home and overseas are dedicated to keeping all of us safe in an unsafe world. Their sacrifices are passionately applauded and it is our honour to celebrate their lives of which have ensured our times of peace.

Notations on the realisation some of the authors are already ‘familiar’ to me:

Being a regular book blogger for William Morrow (as I have a heart full of gratitude for the books which come up for review by HarperCollins, of whom has become one of my favourite Major Trade publishers) I was overjoyed at finding out this anthology collection of shorts (stories) not only includes a new work by Jessica Brockmore (of my beloved Letters from Skye), Lauren Willig (of whom has created a delish historical/contemporary suspense series in Pink Carnation), and the historically passionate researcher (novelist) Heather Webb (of Becoming Josephine + Rodin’s Lover) this collection  yields many #newtomeauthors of whom I would be most delighted to ‘meet’ for the first-time!

Prior to confirmation of my participation on this tour, I had the joy of finding a beautifully up-close and personal review of Marci Jefferson’s new release Enchantress of Paris via Literary, Etc. wherein I enjoyed adding to the conversation surrounding it’s story. Ms Jefferson’s previous novel Girl on the Golden Coin was a novel I had hoped to have read in 2014 and sadly was not able to get to it. I definitely hope I can find a way to borrow both copies from the library once their available!

For my thirty-fourth birthday I selected Hazel Gaynor’s The Girl Who Came Home as one of my *birthday books* of choice which was gifted to me by my Mum and Da! It remains one of the books I am most adamant of reading as soon as I have the hours to devout to it! A Memory of Violets has intrigued me as well although it is constantly being checked out at my library!

I hadn’t realised it until I visited her website, but the novels of Jennifer Robson have been garnishing my curious eye towards picking them up and seeing what I shall find inside for quite awhile now! I have either seen her in the book blogosphere or finding I can borrow her books from my local library! Wicked sweet!

I typically gravitate and devour novels of WWII, and it is a rare treat indeed when I find a novel based on WWI! I tend to be a bit particular about the kind of war dramas I prefer reading and therefore my quest to find new stories to soak my mind inside takes a bit of seeking and patience! This collection not only winked out a keen interest to read it, I felt as though the authors knew exactly what kind of war dramas I would appreciate reading in shorter form! I cannot wait for this release!

Read a delish snippet of a preview:

Excerpt from “Hour of the Bells”
A short story included in Fall of Poppies

Reprinted Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

Beatrix whisked around the showroom, feather duster in hand. Not a speck of dirt could remain or Joseph would be disappointed. The hour struck noon. A chorus of clocks whirred, their birds popping out from hiding to announce midday. Maidens twirled in their frocks with braids down their backs, woodcutters clacked their axes against pine, and the odd sawmill wheel spun in tune to the melody of a nursery rhyme. Two dozen cuckoos warbled and dinged, each crafted with loving detail by the same pair of hands—those with thick fingers and a steady grip.

Beatrix paused in her cleaning. One clock chimed to its own rhythm, apart from the others. She could turn them off—the tinkling melodies, the incessant clatter of pendulums, wheels, and cogs, with the levers located near the weights—just as their creator had done before bed each evening, but she could not bring herself to do the same. To silence their music was to silence him, her husband, Joseph. The Great War had already done that; ravaged his gentle nature, stolen his final breath, and silenced him forever.

To continue reading click the Spoiler button!

View Spoiler » In a rush, Beatrix scurried from one clock to the next, assessing which needed oiling. With the final stroke of twelve, she found the offending clock. Its walnut face, less ornate than the others, had been her favorite, always. A winter scene displayed a cluster of snow-topped evergreens; rabbits and fawns danced in the drifts when the music began, and a scarlet cardinal dipped its head and opened its beak to the beauty of the music. The animals’ simplicity appealed to her now more than ever. With care, she removed the weights and pendulum, and unscrewed the back of the clock. She was grateful she had watched her husband tend to them so often. She could still see Joseph, blue eyes peering over his spectacles, focused on a figurine as he painted detailing on the linden wood. His patient hands had caressed the figures lovingly, as he had caressed her.

The memory of him sliced her open. She laid her head on the table as black pain stole over her body, pooling in every hidden pocket and filling her up until she could scarcely breathe.

“Give it time,” her friend Adelaide had said, as she set a basket of jam and dried sausages on the table; treasures in these times of rations, yet meager condolence for what Beatrix had lost.

“Time?” Beatrix had laughed, a hollow sound, and moved to the window overlooking the grassy patch of yard. The Vosges mountains rose in the distance, lording over the line between France and Germany along the battle front. Time’s passage never escaped her—not for a moment. The clocks made sure of it. There weren’t enough minutes, enough hours, to erase her loss.

As quickly as the grief came, it fled. Though always powerful, its timing perplexed her. Pain stole through the night, or erupted at unlikely moments, until she feared its onslaught the way others feared death. Death felt easier, somehow.

Beatrix raised her head and pushed herself up from the table to finish her task. Joseph would not want her to mourn, after two long years. He would want to see her strength, her resilience, especially for their son. She pretended Adrien was away at school, though he had enlisted, too. His enlistment had been her fault. A vision of her son cutting barbed wire, sleeping in trenches, and pointing a gun at another man reignited the pain and it began to pool again. She suppressed the horrid thoughts quickly, and locked them away in a corner of her mind.

With a light touch she cleaned the clock’s bellows and dials, and anointed its oil bath with a few glistening drops. Once satisfied with her work, she hung the clock in its rightful place above the phonograph, where a disk waited patiently on the spool. She spun the disk once and watched the printed words on its center blur. Adrien had played Quand Madelon over and over, belting out the patriotic lyrics in time with the music. To him, it was a show of his support for his country. To Beatrix it had been a siren, a warning her only son would soon join the fight. His father’s death was the final push he had needed. The lure of patrimoine, of country, throbbed inside of him as it did in other men. They talked of war as women spoke of tea sets and linens, yearned for it as women yearned for children. Now, the war had seduced her Adrien. She stopped the spinning disk and plucked it from its wheel, the urge to destroy it pulsing in her hands.

She must try to be more optimistic. Surely God would not take all she had left. « Hide Spoiler

Anthology Synopsis:

Top voices in historical fiction deliver an intensely moving collection of short stories about loss, longing, and hope in the aftermath of World War I—featuring bestselling authors such as Hazel Gaynor, Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig and edited by Heather Webb.

A squadron commander searches for meaning in the tattered photo of a girl he’s never met…

A Belgian rebel hides from the world, only to find herself nursing the enemy…

A young airman marries a stranger to save her honor—and prays to survive long enough to love her…The peace treaty signed on November 11, 1918, may herald the end of the Great War but for its survivors, the smoke is only beginning to clear. Picking up the pieces of shattered lives will take courage, resilience, and trust.

Within crumbled city walls and scarred souls, war’s echoes linger. But when the fighting ceases, renewal begins…and hope takes root in a fall of poppies.

Become familiar and introduced to the authors:

(thank you for inviting me, Ms Holland!)

Evangeline Holland | Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

(looking forward to returning to your lovely blog, Ms Willig!)

Lauren Willig | Site | Blog | Facebook

(love following you on Twitter & our random interactions, Ms Brockmole!)

Jessica Brockmore | Site | Twitter | Facebook

(hallo, hallo Ms Webb! always a happy day finding you in the twitterverse!)

Heather Webb | Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads

(lovely being able to follow your Enchantress of Paris blog tour!)

Marci Jefferson | Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads

I look forward to making the following author’s acquaintance!

Kate Kerrigan | Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Jennifer Robson | Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads

Beatriz Williams | Site | Twitter | Facebook

(on behalf of the excerpt)

The very first paragraph is the kind of in-step introduction for a setting within a time period I cherish discovering because you’re properly ‘caught inside’ the moment of arrival rather than focusing on who Beatrix is and what she’s doing! Clocks and their makers are fun folly for novels, and it’s a delight to see the zest of an expected chorus of the clocks keeping time lends itself to setting a happy tone to this scene. The craftsmanship alone has held my keen eye of interest, as I love standing in front of grandfather clocks and cuckoo clocks – if only to ‘catch’ the clock when it makes it’s presence known. They each have their own unique personality, mind you, and being present when they reveal their vulnerable side is a special treat!

In the second paragraph, we are caught in the after-effects of the Great War itself, how long reaching it’s fingers of unspeakable tragedy and achingly gutting sorrow can affect those left behind. Wherein there is an itching need to keep the normalcy one maintained for so long to be continued; even after life as you previously knew it was but a memory – a flickerment of a life no longer visible. What a breadth of insight in such a short expanse!

There is an urgency in Beatrix to see the war to come a definitive end – to erase the horrors of what she hoped she would not have to face twice and to renew her belief that life had a worth to be lived. I felt clustered close to her soul as she wrestled with her emotions, memories, and the very sanity of her mind as she battled through the realisation her son was about to step into his father’s shoes! The heartache and the desolation of a mother during war! Bearing the weight of life at home, never knowing what would come to those who left to serve and how to bring any sense of ordinary hours back into your fold?

I can see I shall have a heap of pleasurable hours consuming this collection!

This Cover Reveal is courtesy of: HarperCollins Publishers

Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War

is published by: William Morrow (@WmMorrowBks),
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (@HarperCollins)

Although I do not post buy links (see Review Policy) nor do I host giveaways, others on this Cover Reveal blog tour might be offering the giveaway on their respective blogs. I encourage you to check the twitterverse for announcements or the author’s social media accounts to see how to find out further information in this regard. However, the publisher sent me this poster for the tour itself which lists four places this book can be pre-purchased ahead of the official release in Spring 2016! Thank you for your understanding and thank you for visiting me as I enjoyed being a part of the celebration!

A fellow book blogger of whom I follow and converse with is offering one of the giveaways!

Please visit: Literary, Etc.’s showcase on this Cover Reveal!

Reader Interactive Question:

I positively gravitate towards war dramas on a yearly basis! IF you scope out my Story Vault you will find plenty of novels which dip into this well of hearty historical fiction and a few contemporaries as well! When I reviewed Jan Moran’s Scent of Triumph I blogged openly about why I love them so dearly!

What are your own reasons for soaking inside war dramas?

Before you leave, you might be keenly interested in my ruminations on behalf of Jessica Brockmole’s Letters from Skye (an emotionally and thought-provoking epistolary novel!); as equally as you might appreciate my collective thoughts on behalf of Heather Webb’s freshman and sophomore releases: Becoming Josephine + Rodin’s Lover. It has been my intention to read and review Ms Willig’s novels (esp the Pink Carnation series, The Ashford Affair, That Summer, and The Other Daughter) however I simply haven’t yet had the pleasure to bring my readerly joy of her novels to my readers!

I happily look forward to meeting all the lovely authors I have not yet read whose stories are captured for us to devour inside this beautiful collection of war dramas and romance stories!

Be sure to keep up with my bookish events for 2015,

whilst returning again soon to visit with me as we share of bookish lives!

:postscript: Today is my blog’s 2nd Birthday, as it was originally launched LIVE on the 6th of August, 2013 after having been created on the 31st of March, 2013. I can not think of a better way to kick-off the celebrations tonight than by participating in this lovely historical fiction Cover Reveal tour! I also discovered a wicked sweet milestone: my lovely bookish blog has reached: 1,790 subscribers!

Historical Fiction has been a balm to my bookish soul since childhood; I love being a time traveller to history and being caught up inside enriched stories of such beautiful realism it is as though as a reader there isn’t a veil between the lives of the past and the life in which I am living. A testament to the historical fiction writers who give us such a hearty bounty of soul-touching narratives and full-bodied characters whose spirit of humanity and thirst for life enchants our hours!

A heart full of thanksgiving and gratitude to ALL historical writers, today and forevermore!

Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.

{SOURCES: Book cover for “Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War” provided by Evangeline Holland (one of the authors included in the anthology) at the time of pitching me the Cover Reveal blog tour and is used with permission. Story Excerpt from “Hour of the Bells”, “Fall of Poppies” poster with stores selling the book on pre-order, and the book synopsis were provided directly by the publicist at HarperCollins Publishers and are used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Comment banner created by Jorie in Canva. Stories Sailing into View Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Featured Image: Cover Reveal badge provided by Parajunkee who provides resources for bloggers.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.