Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

New Releases: "Jiggery Pokery," by: Jack MacGregor

 Hi everyone. Today I am featuring Jack MacGregor's new released books in the "Jiggery Pokery Series." Dive into the details on this series and find out about Green Cat Books currently released books too. Find out how to make these copies of new releases yours today. Happy reading :).

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Prepare to be introduced to tantalising tales of seismic skulduggery, fervent fairytalery and flagrant frootery, as a prile of pulchritudinous practitioners of the prestige (that's three beautiful witches, to you) and their feline familiars put their world to rights with fantastical, folklorish results.

A Bustle in the Hedgerow
Jiggery Pokery Book1
by: Jack MacGregor
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy


BLURB:

Merry meet! Young witch Jinny Lane adopts a beautiful black cat named Jet Jupiter Splinters and so begins their adventures with fellow witches Miss Riz and Miss Lou. A local resident causes trouble in the neighbourhood and the 3 witches retaliate with the help of some faeries....

Purchase your Copy Today!


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The Shadow Cutters
Jiggery Pokery Book 2


BLURB:

A journey is on the cards for Miss' Jinny, Lou and Riz and off they go in a borrowed campervan. Along the way they collect a few more pets, lots of Tunnock's Teacakes, a curse or 2 and some shadow cutters.

Both books are guaranteed to have you rolling with laughter!

Purchase your Copy Today!


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Also by Green Cat Books:


Candy and Gore
And Other Spooky Short Stories


BLURB:

Brace yourself for eight stories of scary spectres (and for ghosts that try to be) written by a collection of authors who love all things paranormal...

Dreadmoor Hall by S L Saunders
The White Lady and the Headless Knight by Kram Rednip
The Long Way Home by Neil Pettifer
The Gallows Grave by Richard Tyndall
To B&B or not B&B by Kram Rednip
A Most Transparent Gentleman by Peach Berry
Paranormal Investigator by Lisa J Rivers
Too Much Candy and Gore by H L Wood

Purchase your Copy Today!


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The Day of the Spider
by: Keith Wood
Genre: Dark Historical Halloween Murder Fiction

Add to your TBR List!


BLURB:

'The Day of the Spider' is a sort of sequel to the debut novel, 'One Day in May' by the author, but can be equally read as a standalone work as it is very different, though still set in the 18th century.

The novel is primarily set in the heart of the Hambleton Hills of North Yorkshire, though it starts off in Mansfield in Nottinghamshire where the heroine (or should that be anti-heroine), Nellie Chapman, a sexually abused young woman from a traditional mining family feels she has to move a long way from her past life. She has no plans but to get away and live a life on her own terms, an uncommon practice for a woman in the 18th century.

Despite Nellie's unlawful past, fate ensures that she seems to bear a charmed life. You may hate her or love her; it's for you to judge and you'll find plenty to entertain as you sit in judgement.

Purchase your Copy Today!


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Jack MacGregor


As we all know by now, Brigadoon is a mythical, enchanted, Scottish village that appears for only one day every century.

That day was when Jack MacGregor's parents took the leap, together with their new born son, and opted to relocate to an 'earthlier' environment, having the spectral pre knowledge that Jack would, one day, become an author of note (ish). 

Were he to keep residence in the village there would not be a wide enough audience to read or even purchase his ramblings. That and the fact that there was no such thing as 'television' or 'films' or even bookshops in Brigadoon meant his literary career would have been somewhat stunted were he to stay.

Jack was therefore raised in a town in Lancashire, where he developed a strong Bolton accent and a fascination, via Pendle Hill, for witches... oh, and The Munsters and The Addams Family. 

The move also allowed his parents to spend their leisure time holidaying in such glamorous locales as Blackpool, Fleetwood and Morecambe - places that they had heard word of only in ancient folklore, back in the old village. Places they could but dream of. If only they had known the reality.

Anyway, Jack's education was undertaken in an old Salesian boys' school, or college as it was then known, where he honed the gentlemanly skills of football, fencing, athletics, music, art and of course English language and literature. He took no heed when it came to mathematics, physics or Latin studies - he already knew they would be of little use to him in his future life. And he was correct! 

(Excuse me for a moment please. After returning from her daily romp on the back field, our minx of a Springer Spaniel, Jinny (named after a character in Jack's books) has just performed the most pungent poo known to, well, anybody or anything, right outside the office door, and guess who's down for cleaning it up...)

Where was I? Apart from in the shit... so, in a nutshell (or nutcase) Jack took on many unsuitable roles after leaving college:

Lithographic printing, landscaping, butchering (no murder, mind), music repping, DJ (he invented The Headbangers Ball, which fizzled out when MTV nicked the name for their very own with no recompense to JM) working in a record shop or three, owning a record shop, working as a Placement Officer for the DHSS, then running two of the UK's finest small music venues. 

From nowhere (but allegedly, China) came a mystery 'pandemic' whilst Jack was working part time as a courier - he was now a 'Key Worker'! Ha Ha and thrice Ha! 

The peace and quiet that accompanied this outrageous farce finally gave Jack the time and head space he needed to put pen to paper (or one finger to keyboard) and commence work on the weird and weirder tales that had been rattling around for many a year. 

He had planned much of this in the Lake District, in the Valley of the Golden Eagles, surrounded by a multitude of darling red squirrels and the odd faery, but when it came to finally 'getting it all down' Jack completely ignored everything he'd planned and free-formed a new.

The only inspiration was a tiny black cat that Jack's partner had discovered sitting smack in the middle of the crossroads, outside their venue, one terribly stormy evening.

She brought him in and introduced him to their existing cat, Spike, who proceeded to boss him mercilessly until he became his slave. Still is!

That tiny black mouser was wittily christened 'Jet' and the tale of 'Jet Splinters' unfolded around him, without plan or forethought.

Two books were picked up and published almost immediately by Green Cat Books in the shire of Derby and the third has been a long time coming due to real life getting in the way.

Book 3 has definitely been birthed and should be on its way by 2026, but that's been promised for simply ages... getting Book 1: 'A Bustle In the Hedgerow' and Book 2: 'The Shadow Cutters', under the banner of 'Jiggery Pokery', to TV or Film is a priority, hopefully before Jack MacGregor's demise, because he'd like to watch them too ... and that, my patient friends, brings you all up to date.

Follow Jack at the Following Links:

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Enter to Win:

$10 Amazon or PayPal Gift Card

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Next Stop on the Tour:




Sunday, November 9, 2025

"The Witch's Rebirth Series," by: Michaela Riley — Series Tour & Giveaway!

 Hi everyone. Do you enjoy reading series about witches? Then check out "The Witch's Rebirth Series," by Michaela Riley that I am featuring today on my blog. You can get a break down of each book and how to purchase your copies today. Happy reading everyone. 

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This Samhain, awaken the legend. 
Confront the darkness.

Labyrinth of Shadows
The Witch's Rebirth Part I
by: Michaela Riley
Genre: Dark Epic Historical Fantasy

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


BLURB:

The Empire Falls. A Witch Rises. Humanity's Last Hope.

What if the world’s salvation depended on the rebirth of its most feared woman?

Award-winning author Michaela Riley delivers a groundbreaking saga with The Witch's Rebirth Series, beginning with the electrifying Labyrinth of Shadows: The Witch’s Rebirth Part I.

Born on Samhain, under the ominous shroud of an eclipse, Merona's destiny is a spell woven through centuries. As the mighty Western Roman Empire crumbles into dust and a new king rises amidst the ashes, an ancient prophecy demands her awakening. This is no mere historical reimagining; it is a cosmic tension, an eerie beauty where history and myth conspire to ignite a forgotten power.

Forget the villains of myth. In this epic tale, the world's salvation rests on the shoulders of its most feared woman. Merona’s rebirth isn't just a beginning; it's the genesis of humanity's last hope. Journey with her through a labyrinth of shadows, where destiny, reclamation, and the profound cost of becoming who you were always meant to be collide.

Labyrinth of Shadows: The Witch’s Rebirth Part I doesn’t just sound epic—it feels like a spell cast across time. Prepare for a story that flips archetypes, raises the stakes to unimaginable heights, and will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about fate and fear.

The Witch’s Rebirth Series by Award-Winning Author Michaela Riley. Her rebirth begins. The world will never be the same.

Purchase your Copy Today!

Check out the Book Trailer:


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Cauldron of Dagda
The Witch's Rebirth Part II

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


BLURB:

This Samhain, the veil thins, and a legend awakens.

Michaela Riley, the award-winning storyteller whose words have captivated readers, invites you on a journey back to a time when magic thrummed in the very soil and darkness lurked at the edges of the known world. Step into The Witch's Rebirth Series, a saga that begins not with a whisper, but with a shattering revelation on the most sacred night of the year.

The year is 540 A.D. The air in Gaul is thick with an unspoken dread, a chilling premonition spreading like wildfire from the East. For nearly three decades, a name whispered with fear, a figure known only as The Witch, has remained a phantom, a recluse safeguarding truths too powerful to be spoken. Merona, the woman behind the myth, has lived a life of quiet vigilance, her existence a shield against a nameless terror.

But the shadows are lengthening. An ancient, lurking darkness, a force older than empires and more insidious than plague, has begun to stir. This is not a foe that wields steel; it is a corruption that feasts on despair, a creeping night threatening to extinguish the last embers of humanity. And Merona, the reclusive witch, is no longer hidden. She is drawn from her sanctuary, her slumbering power ignited by an imperative she cannot ignore.

Her mission is immense, her burden profound. Merona is the solitary guardian of the Cauldron of Dagda, an artifact of immense power, a beacon of hope in a world teetering on the precipice of eternal night. Humanity's fate rests not on armies, but on the whispered incantations and fierce determination of one woman.

Beside her, though the odds are stacked against them, stand those who have pledged their unwavering loyalty. Murdach, Morrigan, and Mairead. Their faces, etched with the weariness of countless battles against the encroaching darkness, mirror the grim resolve in Merona's own eyes. Her voice, though carrying the weight of prophecy and the echo of a fragile world, is not one of despair, but of a fierce, unwavering commitment.

The Witch's Rebirth Series is more than a story; it is an immersion into a visceral world where pagan lore collides with cataclysmic threats. It is a testament to the power of resilience, the strength of chosen family, and the indomitable spirit of those who dare to stand against the tide of oblivion.

Prepare to be spellbound. Prepare to witness the impossible. Prepare for The Witch's Rebirth Series by Michaela Riley.

Purchase your Copy Today!

Check out the Book Trailer:


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Spear of Lugh
The Witch's Rebirth Part III

Add to your TBR List!

Check out Reviews and Recommendations!


BLURB:

Prepare for the Rebirth. Prepare for War.

She was reborn on Samhain. And that was only the beginning.

From the award-winning imagination of Michaela Riley comes a sweeping saga where ancient myth bleeds into brutal history, and humanity's fate rests on the shoulders of one formidable woman. Welcome to THE WITCH'S REBIRTH SERIES.

In the shadowed year of 544 AD, the ancient Gaul town of Septimania lies scarred, but not broken. A devastating plague had gripped its very soul, until the Witch, through powerful, arcane deeds, began to loosen its deadly hold. Now, as the sacred eve of Samhain approaches, the air hums with the promise of roaring bonfires, desperate festivity, and a fragile new dawn.

But beneath the surface of celebration, an unsettling truth stirs: an ancient darkness, long thought defeated, is awakening once more. This menacing, primeval force threatens to extinguish the fragile light of renewal, to plunge Septimania, and indeed all humanity, into an eternal night.

With the raven's call echoing through the labyrinth's core, the Witch emerges, reborn and wielding the legendary Cauldron of Dagda and the mighty Spear of Lugh. She is poised for one final, desperate battle. To preserve humanity, she must summon the enigmatic, divine strength of the Gods – the awe-inspiring might of the Tuatha De Danann. For in this coming conflict, so cataclysmic are the stakes, there will be no victor left standing unless the ancient powers heed her plea.

Will the Witch's rebirth be humanity's salvation, or its final, desperate gasp?

Dive into THE WITCH'S REBIRTH SERIES by Award-Winning Author Michaela Riley and witness the epic struggle for survival where myth is made, and legends are forged in fire and blood.

Your journey into ancient magic and desperate heroism begins on Samhain.

Purchase your Copy Today!

Check out the Book Trailer:


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Michaela Riley


Michaela Riley: Where Virginia Trails Meet Ancestral Magic

From the front lines of critical care to the enchanting worlds of fiction, Michaela Riley, a retired Army Critical Care Nurse with a Masters in Nursing Education, is the award-winning author behind "The Witch's Rebirth" series.

Nestled in Virginia, Michaela shares her life with her husband and a distinctive duo of canine muses: Morrigan, a majestic red German Shepherd, and Carlos, a spirited Chihuahua-terrier. Her inspiration roots deep in the local mountains and forests, where each hike is a pilgrimage that connects her to ancestral whispers. These profound journeys directly fuel her captivating stories, weaving together magic, history, and the transformative power of self-discovery.

Through evocative prose, Michaela invites readers to explore their own heritage and embrace the extraordinary magic found in uncovering one's deepest truths.

Follow Michaela at the Following Links:

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Enter to Win:

Signed Hardcover copies of the Trilogy + Custom Book Marks + Candles (3 Winners, US Only)

$20 Amazon or PayPal Gift Card (1 Winner, US Only)

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Next Stop on the Tour:



Friday, October 31, 2025

Green Cat Books: 4 Books—New Releases for Halloween!

 Hi everyone. Today I am featuring Green Cat Books collection of new releases. There are four books that are being released this Halloween that will get you in the spooky season. Check out all the books below they have to offer and purchase the ones that give you the biggest thrills for this holiday season. Happy reading everyone. :)

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Get spooky this Halloween with these 4 new releases from Green Cat Books!

~ one dark historical Halloween murder saga
~ a set of Halloween short spooky stories 
~ and a pair of YA Paranormal Witch Fantasies

The Day of the Spider
by: Keith Wood
Genre: Dark Historical Halloween Murder Fiction

Add to your TBR List!


BLURB:

'The Day of the Spider' is a sort of sequel to the debut novel, 'One Day in May' by the author, but can be equally read as a standalone work as it is very different, though still set in the 18th century.

The novel is primarily set in the heart of the Hambleton Hills of North Yorkshire, though it starts off in Mansfield in Nottinghamshire where the heroine (or should that be anti-heroine), Nellie Chapman, a sexually abused young woman from a traditional mining family feels she has to move a long way from her past life. She has no plans but to get away and live a life on her own terms, an uncommon practice for a woman in the 18th century.

Despite Nellie's unlawful past, fate ensures that she seems to bear a charmed life. You may hate her or love her; it's for you to judge and you'll find plenty to entertain as you sit in judgement.

Purchase your Copy Today!

****

Candy and Gore
And Other Spooky Short Stories

BLURB:

Brace yourself for eight stories of scary spectres (and for ghosts that try to be) written by a collection of authors who love all things paranormal...

Dreadmoor Hall by S L Saunders
The White Lady and the Headless Knight by Kram Rednip
The Long Way Home by Neil Pettifer
The Gallows Grave by Richard Tyndall
To B&B or not B&B by Kram Rednip
A Most Transparent Gentleman by Peach Berry
Paranormal Investigator by Lisa J Rivers
Too Much Candy and Gore by H L Wood

Purchase your Copy Today!


****

A Bustle in the Hedgerow
Jiggery Pokery Book 1
by: Jack MacGregor
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy

BLURB:

Merry meet! Young witch Jinny Lane adopts a beautiful black cat named Jet Jupiter Splinters and so begins their adventures with fellow witches Miss Riz and Miss Lou. A local resident causes trouble in the neighbourhood and the 3 witches retaliate with the help of some faeries....

Purchase your Copy Today!


****

The Shadow Cutters
Jiggery Pokery Book 2

BLURB:

A journey is on the cards for Miss' Jinny, Lou and Riz and off they go in a borrowed campervan. Along the way they collect a few more pets, lots of Tunnock's Teacakes, a curse or 2 and some shadow cutters.

Both books are guaranteed to have you rolling with laughter!

Purchase your Copy Today!


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Keith Wood


Keith Wood was born in Halifax, Yorkshire in 1947, his family moved to North Yorkshire in 1952 where he spent his early life. Leaving secondary school at 15 with no qualifications, he got a job as a garden lad at a large country house in the Hambleton Hills. 

He eventually pursued a career in local government working up to a head of department after gaining a master’s degree in environmental management. He can therefore call upon his wide experiences working across many departments.

He admits he does very little planning and sees himself as a seat of the pants type of writer. He says his plots develop organically as he goes along. Much like the story of his life.

Although having a successful career he feels that at 78, he can't yet put his feet up, he has ambitions of writing many more works before curling his toes up.

You can contact the author via his email address,  keith@yorkshirefenix.com or catch up with regular blogs by freely subscribing to The Yorkshire Fenix Book Club  Yorkshire Fenix.com

Follow Keith at the Following Links:

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Enter to Win:

$10 Amazon or PayPal Gift Card

Follow the blitz HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Next Stop on the Tour:



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