When the world was black and white but the circus was a colorful place by Jina Bacarr
October 11, 2025 by Jina Bacarr in category circus, Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as cirucs, Paris, thriller, trapeze, writing, WW2
Hitler loved the circus.
According to classified reports uncovered after the war, the Fuehrer would sit in the front row of the circus and cheer on the performers he perceived to be ‘working class folks’ putting their lives on the line.
He loved the ‘woman in danger’ element in the acts, as my heroine Lia di Montieri discovers when she appears in a circus in Germany in the 1930s. I shan’t spoil the surprise, but we follow Lia’s career, her heartbreak over losing her baby, and how she makes a daring leap to join the Resistance to save Jewish children.
I’ve always been fascinated by circuses since I was a little girl. Especially the trapeze. We had a swing set in the backyard when I was growing up and I’d try every crazy trick I could think of, pretending I was flying under the big top, that I was ‘an angel without wings’ until one day the swing broke. Then we moved. As we did a lot in those days.
And so ended my circus dreams.
Finally, I can fly again! In my Boldwood Books upcoming WW2 novel about Occupied Paris and the circus.
‘The Stolen Children of War’ is…
The heartbreaking story of Lia di Montieri, Queen of the Flying Trapeze, who loses her own baby and risks her life to save innocent children from the Gestapo.
An adorable baby elephant named Bebe.
And lurking in the background is a serial killer preying on circus queens who threatens to destory what Lia holds most dear.
I wanted to write a story about circuses with a twist — there’s danger under the big top at every performance… lions, tigers… knife throwers… high wire walkers, trapeze artistes flying 100 mph from the flybar to the catcher, but what if there was also a killer watching their every move, ready to strike?
You’ll find all that and more at Le Cirque Casini!
It’s a psycological thriller with a mad doctor serial killer, beautiful circus queens in danger, heroes willing to die to protect them, baby animal ‘cuteness’, and ‘stolen children’ who will steal your heart.
Step right up, ladies and gents, and let’s go to the circus!
Now on NetGalley for all you book bloggers and reviewers.
Tracy Reed: Our October Featured Author
October 1, 2025 by Tracy Reed in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Beautiful Men, fashion, Sophisticated Romance, the Big Apple, Tracy Reed
Tracy Reed: Our October Featured Author
A California native, novelist Tracy Reed pushes the boundaries of her Christian foundation with her sometimes racy and often fiery tales.
After years of living in the Big Apple, this self proclaimed New Yorker draws from the city’s imagination, intrigue, and inspiration to cultivate characters and plot lines who breathe life to the words on every page.
Tracy’s passion for beautiful fashion and beautiful men direct her vivid creative power towards not only novels, but short stories, poetry, and podcasts. With something for every attention span.
Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
Find Tracy on Social Media
Books by Tracy Reed
Night Shift
September 30, 2025 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic, Writing tagged as Dianna Sinovic, flash Fiction, short story, transformation
A crab shell on the riverbank marked the end of day. No crab inside, just the empty carapace and claws, bright objects against the darker sandy grit along the water. Jyr laid thin branches of hemlock around the shell, then watched the river current flickering where the setting sun touched the ripples.
She had gathered bare sticks and limbs to make a fire, but that was for after night dropped its curtain over the landscape. For now, she sat cross-legged on the bank, next to the shell, and waited.
Soon, the heron had told her. The change was approaching. Was she ready?
She’d asked, “Will I like it?” The heron had preened, offering nothing else.
With a weathered branch, Jyr drew shape after shape in the damp sand. Maybe the runic symbols Belna had taught her as a child would help hurry along whatever lay ahead.
Six mallards swam past, their soft quacks of conversation weaving with the low rush of water over stones. A breeze from the northeast ruffled Jyr’s hair and brought the sharp scent of pine sap. Small rocks mixed with the finer sand pressed into Jyr’s bottom, forcing her to shift.
As the sun sank below the horizon, the river darkened. Instead of a fiery glint, the running water now reflected the spangle of stars emerging overhead.
And still Jyr waited, her stomach rumbling in a low growl. When?
As hard as she stared, nothing and no one appeared out of the night. Finally, a crab moved at the edge of the water, and with a quick stab she had it in her beak. Beak? Now standing, she lifted one leg and then the other, her knees bending backward, then she shook, feeling her feathers move and rearrange themselves.
Another crab, another swallow. Jyr resumed her slow stalk along the bank, the memory of what she had been already fading, like the shapes and symbols drawn in the wet sand.
Read More of Dianna’s Stories
Kitty Bucholtz, Featured Author
September 29, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured author, Kitty Bucholtz, romantic comedy, Superheros, Write Now Workshop Podcast
September featured author Kitty Bucholtz is a writer, podcaster, and a book coach. She has combined her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher turned coach.
She writes romantic comedy and superhero urban fantasy, often with an inspirational element woven in. She loves to teach and offer advice to writers through her WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast.
Kitty has also created the Finish Your Books Coaching Program. Find out more about either 1:1 Coaching or Group Coaching on Kitty’s website. http://kittybucholtz.com/
Besides Kitty’s Coaching Program and WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast, you will find her here at A Slice of Orange on the 9th of each month writing It’s Worth It.
Books by Kitty Bucholtz
Stand and Deliver!
September 28, 2025 by Alina K. Field in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field tagged as Alina K. Field, Bluestocking Belles, historical romance, new release, Regency romance, Romance CollectionsI’m back with another Quarter Days post!
Smugglers, Ghosts, and Highwaymen
The Bluestocking Belles and Friends have put together a collection of interrelated stories set near Brighton, England in 1817, and what fun we had researching and developing these tales. From the Devil’s Dyke to Brighton, love and adventure are in the air.
When Principal Officer Robert Pierce, of the Bow Street Magistrate Court sets out on the Brighton road he encounters more than the notorious thief he’s hunting:
From the casebook of Robert Pierce
It seems that I am off to the seaside. Larcenous Lucy, as some of the wits here at
the Office have taken to calling her, is working the London to Brighton road.
I’ve been told to look into a highwayman problem while I am there. There’s
someone plaguing both the main highway and some of the lesser roads. The local
dignitaries have posted a reward, so that would be a nice bonus.
My colleagues have also been joking that smugglers and ghosts abound in the
region, and that I might collect some of those while I am there. I told them, I
shall leave the smugglers to the excise officers and ghosts to the duly authorized
ministers of the church.
Love’s Perilous Road, a Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
Travel, houseparties, smugglers, spies, a ghost–and a mysterious highwayman. Who is the infamous Captain Moonlight? And how many lives will he change–for good or for ill?
It’s the autumn of 1817 and Sir Peter Somerville and his lady are hosting a house party at their estate near Brighton, while a pesky highwayman plagues the surrounding byways.
Love’s Perilous Road features stories by Jude Knight, Sherry Ewing, Carolyn Warfield, Cerise Deland, Rue Allyn, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Alina K. Field, and friends of the Bluestocking Belles Mary Lancaster, Meara Platt, and Barbara Monajem.
My contribution to the collection is Sir Westcott Steals a Heart
Sir Westcott Twisden didn’t know he wanted to marry until the tallest lady he’d ever met crossed his path. Unfortunately, the lady in question shrugs off his overtures. Curious when a local smuggler shows up to visit her, Wes follows her into trouble.
Sybil Dunsford will do almost anything to protect her brothers and their home, even disguise herself as one of her brothers to fend off demands from the local smuggling boss who holds her mortgage. But when her night of shifting contraband goes awry, and Sir Westcott appears to rescue her, they’re locked in together. Will romance follow?
Release Day is October 31, 2025
Pre-order your copy here: https://books2read.com/u/mqx0W6
