Last time I shared some of the historical background for my Ella Wood trilogy, but I never told you what happened to the Black soldiers captured in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner (the one featured in the movie Glory). This actually sparked a HUGE national debate about the legal status of Negro captives. Were they prisoners of war who warranted the same treatment as White captives, as President Lincoln asserted? Or were they runaways taken in arms who should be promptly executed? A significant lawsuit followed in Charleston, where these men could hardly dare hope for a fair outcome. The case was as dramatic as they come. I'd love to see it portrayed in film someday. Perhaps I'll try my hand at screenwriting??

This lawsuit features in book three, Ebb Tide. (Book one is free everywhere.) If you'd like to read more about the plight of the Black captives, check out the article I wrote about them on my blog. It's fascinating stuff!

Before you go, be sure to check out the books and promos featured below. They're always free or bargain priced. I generally bounce between speculative and historical fiction (the main genres I write in), and sometimes some fantasy, middle grade, or a bit of romance, just to keep things interesting. And I'm re-including the same Rafflecopter from last time, as it ends tomorrow. 

Happy reading!

Michelle

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Deals and steals:

This week I want to share with you a book for which I had the privilege of being an advanced reader. It just released in early June and is being offered at a discounted price for a limited time. It is FANTASTIC. Here's my review:

There are few books I have read that sucked me in so quickly and so completely. I picked this one up with reservations, the “arena” in the description making me fear it might be another Hunger Games knockoff. It isn’t. There are similarities, but Offender reminds me more of ancient Rome than Panem, with gladiator-style fighting like that which took place in the Coliseum. Understand, I don’t watch gladiator movies because I can’t stomach them, and I did struggle with the immediate, hand-to-hand nature of the fighting in this book. But I’d no sooner turn my Kindle off than I’d turn it back on because I had to see what happened. The storytelling is superb. It’s fast-paced and high stakes, with excellent world-building and a few main characters I really cared about. And the prose? Smooth and spot on—a pleasure to read.

Grab OFFENDER while the deal lasts.
Seriously. Do it.

I've also got a new-to-me author to share with you. I grew up watching the Wizard of Oz on television every year, so Jess Reece's Oz-themed series appealed to me. I doubt if I'm the only one. Book one is just .99. Check it out! (Aren't the covers gorgeous?)

Current Promos:

When America Was Young Rafflecopter Giveaway

Three authors. Three boxed sets. Three eras that shaped America’s fate. 

Journey with us through 100 years of American history, beginning with Sarah Whitford’s adventurous Adam Fletcher series, set within the Colonial Era. Witness the dramatic birth of a nation in Lars Hedbor’s Tales of a Revolution. And finish with the heartbreak of civil war in Michelle Isenhoff’s Southern saga, Ella Wood. We’re raffling off all three 3-book series!

Everyone gets TEN chances to win.

FORTY lucky winners will receive a single digital boxed set that includes one book from each author–3 books in all.

TEN lucky winners will receive all three 3-book digital boxed sets, one from each author–a total of 9 books in all!

(I remembered the link this time!)