Yay! I’m so excited to share Kate Quinn’s cover reveal for her upcoming novel THE ROSE CODE!
 
New – coming from Kate Quinn:
 
THE ROSE CODE by New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn (Morrow; on-sale March 9, 2021)
 
I love this cover and can’t wait to read another fabulous book by Kate Quinn. When you read this synopsis, you’ll agree!

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter--the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger--and their true enemy--closer...

•          A pre-order link to the book format and vendor of choice à  https://bit.ly/3k4t8o5
•          Add to your Goodreads list à https://bit.ly/2XBJgUD
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#TheRoseCode
#KateQuinn
#CoverReveal
#HistoricalFiction
​
Happy reading,
Laura

​Hello, I’m so excited to share Stephanie Dray’s cover reveal for her upcoming novel THE WOMEN OF CHATEAU LAFAYETTE! How appropriate to reveal it today, because July 14th marks Bastille Day, a pivotal turning point in the French Revolution, now celebrated as France’s national independence day.
 
New – coming from Stephanie Dray:
 
THE WOMEN OF CHATEAU LAFAYETTE by New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray (Berkley hardcover; on-sale March 30, 2021)
 
An epic saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy in three of humanity's darkest hours.
 
Most castles are protected by powerful men. This one by women...
 
A founding mother...
1774. Gently-bred noblewoman Adrienne Lafayette becomes her husband's political partner in the fight for American independence. But when their idealism sparks revolution in France and the guillotine threatens everything she holds dear, Adrienne must choose to renounce the complicated man she loves, or risk her life for a legacy that will inspire generations to come.
 
A daring visionary...
1914. Glittering New York socialite Beatrice Astor Chanler is a force of nature, daunted by nothing--not her humble beginnings, her crumbling marriage, or the outbreak of war. But after witnessing the devastation in France and delivering war-relief over dangerous seas, Beatrice takes on the challenge of a lifetime: convincing America to fight for what's right.
 
A reluctant resistor...
1940. French school-teacher and aspiring artist Marthe Simone has an orphan's self-reliance and wants nothing to do with war. But as the realities of Nazi occupation transform her life in the isolated castle where she came of age, she makes a discovery that calls into question who she is, and more importantly, who she is willing to become.
 
Intricately woven and beautifully told, The Women of Chateau Lafayette is a sweeping novel about duty and hope, love and courage, and the strength we find from standing together in honor of those who came before us.
 
A pre-order link à  https://bit.ly/3iLkURa
Add to your Goodreads list à https://bit.ly/320tkya
Sign up for Stephanie’s newsletter à https://www.stephaniedray.com/fun/newsletter/
 
You can enter for a chance to win an advanced digital review copy of the book here: https://bit.ly/SDCoverSweeps. (NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. US Residents, 18+. Ends 7/19. See official rules at official website.)
 
For even more insights into this fascinating book:
 
Q&A WITH STEPHANIE DRAY
 
What made you fall in love with Adrienne Lafayette and why do you think readers will fall for her as you did?
 
Thanks to a popular musical, the Marquis de Lafayette is known to a new generation as "America's Favorite Fighting Frenchman"--and there's good reason for that. He's easily the most lovable of our Founding Fathers, and his wife, whom he called his dear heart, is just as lovable if not more so. Adrienne was our French Founding Mother, so right up my alley as a heroine, but at first I worried she was too sweet, devoted, and forgiving. In short, too gentle for a novel. Little did I realize that more than any other historical heroine I've ever written, Adrienne fought and sacrificed for her principles, courageously threw herself into danger, confronted tyrants, and endured trials that would have broken lesser mortals. She truly humbles me, and when I talk about the Lafayette legacy, I think of it as every bit as much hers as it is his.
 
How long did it take you to write this book? Did the story evolve as you researched, or did you always know you wanted to take on the lives of these particular women?
 
I was always interested in Lafayette--an interest that grew as Laura Kamoie and I co-authored America's First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton. I think I had the germ of the idea for a Lafayette novel at least seven years ago, but I had other projects in the way. And I was always in search of an angle that would be fresh and unique. That came to me when I discovered that Lafayette's castle in Auvergne, which had been purchased and renovated by Americans, served to shelter Jewish children from the Nazis. Knowing how deeply the Lafayettes both felt about religious freedom, I knew this would have pleased them, and it touched me. I was then determined to know which Americans had purchased the chateau, and when I found out, yet another glorious chapter in the Lafayette legacy was born. That's when the story took shape for me about one special place on this earth where, generation after generation, faith has been kept with principles of liberty and humanity. I find that very inspirational, now more than ever.
 
The book is centered around Lafayette’s castle, the Château de Chavaniac, and the pivotal role it played during three of history’s darkest hours—the French Revolution and both World Wars. If you could have dinner with any three people (dead or alive) at Chavaniac, who would you choose and why?
 
Believe it or not, this is actually a difficult choice because so many incredible men and women passed through those doors. I'd have to start with the Lafayettes--though I hope they would not serve me pigeons, which were a favorite at their wedding banquet. To join us for dinner, I'd choose the colorful stage-star of the Belle Epoque, Beatrice Chanler, because she was a force of nature without whom Chavaniac might not still be standing. Actress, artist, philanthropist, decorated war-relief worker and so-called Queen of the Social Register, she was as mysterious as she was wonderful, and even after all the startling discoveries I made researching her larger-than-life existence, I have a million questions about the early life she tried so hard to hide. I can't wait for readers to meet her!

My father lost his leg in World War II. It was what the doctor’s called “a bad stump.” He was in pain every day. Every minute of every day. But I never heard him complain.
 
When he broke the ankle on his other leg the initial diagnosis missed it. Later, trying to set it, the doctor gripped Dad's foot and tugged on it, twisting. Dad gripped my hand. His face. He shook. He was clearly in agonies of pain, but not a word. Not a sound.
 
Ultimately, they had to break the ankle again to set it.
 
He was reportedly a hero when he lost his leg.
 
To me, he was a hero every day afterward.

Happy New Year 2016!
 
I’ve been thinking of writing about a view of my past, and I came upon a post written by Caroline Seidman about what was called in her southern town Cotillion. I kept thinking about it, so I decided the subject would be different than I’d been planning.
 
I grew up in New England. What evidently was called Cotillion elsewhere was called in my small town simply, “dance lessons.” However, the basic idea was the same. We girls wore dresses, white gloves, and our best shoes. The boys wore nice pants and shirts, sometimes even jackets. I dreaded it all week, despite my mother’s assurances that someday I’d be glad I’d “learned to dance.”
 
Those assurances didn’t diminish the horror of the realities of dance class day. The girls and boys lined up on opposite sides of the room. At a command from one of the pair of instructors, the boys marched across the room and chose a partner. It was as awful as choosing sides for volleyball. But at least I at volleyball had some small skill. At dancing, I had marginal skill, excessive height, and even more excessive lack of confidence. The whole experience was wonderful. Completely.
 
It took years to recover from those weekly crushings.
 
Now I take dance lessons with my husband and some friends and we have fun.  After all these years, Mom has been proven right: I’m glad I’ve learned to dance!
 
May your 2016 be filled with things old and new, and may they bring you joy.