Feisty Deeds II: Historical Tales of Batches and Brews

Something new and different and exciting!

I'm delighted to be a contributor to a newly released anthology, Feisty Deeds II: Historical Tales of Batches and Brews,  featuring twenty-five short stories. Mine, "The Manx Charmer," takes place on the Isle of Man in 1777, and features Calybrid Teare, a character from my historical romance trilogy The Islanders Series. These tales cover a range of eras, settings, and styles, and all royalties go to the Scholarship Fund of the Women Fiction Writers Association.

Description: 

Concoctions, treats, brews, and potions from another batch of feisty characters Whether cooking for solace, scrounging for food, concocting medicine, or brewing poisons, the feisty women in these stories will keep you thirsting for more. Twenty-five tales will transport you far afield in time and place: third century Ireland, medieval Europe, twentieth-century Australia. Read your way from a hippie commune to a WW II internment camp in the Philippines; from a Renaissance palace to a Polish village wracked by war, the hills of Appalachia, and a sleepy Ontario town. Mixtures to soothe, heal, and thrall are prepared in these pages, where lovers take revenge, mothers protect their children, and feisty women make choices in a challenging world.

My Story

Purchase here: 

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More information and background to the story to come! 

2025 Book Reviews

Only 2 reviews this year--too many of my own book deadlines!

 

Seeds of the Pomegranate by Suzanne Uttaro Samuels

     At the start of this remarkable debut novel, protagonist Mimi Inglese is forced by tuberculosis to curtail her training and promising future as a painter. Devoting her artistic talents to sketching, she creates images suitable for printing, and with encouragement from her godfather Zio, becomes an engraver herself, unaware of the consequences of his patronage and its impact on her and her extended family. When financial straits force the Inglese family to leave Sicily for New York, the shipboard life and Ellis Island arrival—and the overriding necessity of concealing Mimi’s disease—is extremely well depicted. She and her parents, intensely devout sister, and aging grandmother settle into a life not exactly as Zio had described. Her father’s shop is front for circulating counterfeit paper currency, forcing Mimi into collaboration with harsh criminal gangs who either work for or compete with Zio’s enterprise, and rely on her engraving and printing skills. Throughout the novel, her complex choices and bold actions are credible as she struggles to protect her relatives while planning an entirely separate and more fulfilling future for herself—possibly with the one person she feels able to trust.

     The diverse company of characters, with all their fears and foibles, are brilliantly rendered. Samuels has created a thoroughly engrossing historical novel from aspects of her own family heritage, weaving complications and danger into the narrative with admirable skill and effective writing. A gripping story, from the first page to the last, and very highly recommended. (Sybilline Press, paperback/ebook, 381 pp., March 2025)

Behind the Red Velvet Curtain: An American Ballerina in Russia by Joy Womack

      The American dancer’s experiences studying ballet in Moscow and performing in Russian ballet companies have been presented in a documentary and a feature film (Joika). Now delivered as a memoir, as told to journalist Elizabeth Shockman over a twelve-year period, the ballerina candidly shares struggles and strife as she sought to perfect her art and obtain a position in one of the world’s most historic and influential theatres. Raised in a large, eccentric, and devoutly Christian family, Joy was motivated, ambitious, and success-driven. Her dance training began at three years old, and ten years later she left her Austin home to study in Washington, D.C. at the Kirov Academy of Ballet. Steeped in Russian technique, she was inspired to apply to the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, the feeder school of the Bolshoi Ballet. The good fortune of acceptance was accompanied by the curse of a painfully cracked foot—something she was resolved to conceal from instructors and staff. Plunged into an academic program carried out in the Russian language, which she had to learn, she endured stringent ballet training, while simultaneously assimilating into a very foreign culture.

     In pursuing her dream of eventually dancing at the Bolshoi, Womack confronted numerous challenges—foot surgery and recovery, an eating disorder and its adverse effects (fractured wrist), a Russian marriage of convenience that enabled her employment at the theatres of her dreams. But her pride in becoming the first American woman to perform with the Bolshoi—in the corps de ballet—and obtaining Russian citizenship was marred by a public relations disaster that resulted from speaking openly about offstage corruption. A transfer to the Kremlin ballet company offered temporary satisfaction, and the covid pandemic ended her fraught period at Boston Ballet. She returned to Russia with an American second husband as prima ballerina in lesser, more compatible ballet company. But Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine forced the surrender of her desire to remain in Russia.

     Womack’s stark honesty and self-revelation is enhanced Shockman’s narrative and descriptive skills, and the benefit of having tracked the dancer’s progress and setbacks over many years. The insider account of the Bolshoi in particular, Russian ballet in general, and the politics of the times make this a worthwhile and engaging read. (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, hardcover/ebook, 379 pp., March 2025)

England

In May I made my annual return to England, a trip that--as usual--combined time with family and friends, touring places familiar and new, visiting museums and galleries, other cultural activities, and researching the next novel. 

Dividing my countryside time between Somerset and Gloucestershire, I revisited some of the locations for A Change of Location and Sequins and Starlight. Mostly I was seeing special people and spending time in various villages and parish churches connected to my family history. Each one deserves a blog post of its own. 

One of my family's Somerset churches 

The Avebury standing stones, unchanged from my last visit

The roses everywhere were magnificent, at peak bloom. I spent a great deal of time in National Trust gardens and those at other historic locations.

The Queens' Garden, Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire

I found plenty of roses in London as well...

Hyde Park Rose Garden

One of the most delightful experiences was taking another Behind the Scenes Tour at the Royal Ballet. Every one is slightly different, which is why I repeat them, and so enlightening, and even affirming of the dance profession as depicted in Sequins and Starlight. That evening, I attended a performance of Onegin, one of my favourite narrative ballets--which of course explains why it's so important to Ellie in Sequins and Starlight!

Home of the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera

The auditorium before the performance

Fumi Kaneko danced Tatiana, Vadim Muntagirov was Onegin

Afterwards, I waited at the Stage Door to congratulate Gary Avis, who performed Prince Gremin

With Gary, at the Stage Door in Floral Street

There were many trip highlights, especially in London. We made a point of celebrating the release of Sequins and Starlight at the Ritz Hotel. The Rivoli Bar features in the story, it's where Ellie and Dan meet the first time, and return later. The bar also appears in A Change of Location.

In the Rivoli Bar

Rivoli Bar entrance

There's so much more I'd like to share, time permitted. The rest of this month will be extremely busy, I'm presenting at two writers' conferences, one regional (the 603 Conference an easy drive away) and one international (Historical Novel Society, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas.) My travel schedule has been extremely hectic since March: Chicago, Atlanta, England...) So after HNS, I'm storing my luggage for as long as I can! 

And writing. A lot.

Announcing the Historical Hollywood Giveaway!

Like me, you're probably astonished that it's now September!  

Hollywood tales rank high among my fave fiction genres, as reader and writer, and within that subgenre I prefer biographical novels. I'm delighted to participate in this bestselling, award-winning multi-author giveaway of real-like stories about movie personalities of the past. Karen Essex, Heather Webb, and I are giving away these FOUR novels of Hollywood's Golden Age--the silver screen icons, scandals, and stardom--in one big prize pack.

I invite you to ENTER HERE.

These are the books included in the giveaway:

Run, Darling by Karen Essex. Three Sisters. One War. A Harrowing Escape. For decades, the gorgeous trio of Zsa Zsa, Eva, and Magda, with their Auntie Mame mother, dominated gossip columns, TV and movie screens, talk shows, and tabloids with their talent, clever quips, branded beauty products—and utter disregard for society’s rules. Run, Darling is that untold story.

Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb. In the golden age of Hollywood, two of the brightest stars would define—and defy—an era… As Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner ride the rollercoaster of success and failure, passion and anger, they both wonder if the next turn will be the end of their careers, and most devastating of all—the end of all they’ve shared.

Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr by Margaret Porter. Hollywood Beauty. Brilliant inventor. The incredible story of a remarkable and misunderstood woman. In Hollywood, Louis B. Mayer transforms an Austrian refugee into Hedy Lamarr, an icon of exotic glamour. Professional success clashes with Hedy’s personal life as marriage and motherhood compete with the demands of studio and stardom.

The Limits of Limelight by Margaret Porter. Hollywood turned Ginger Rogers into a star. What will it do for her cousin? A pretty teenager leaves Oklahoma for California at the invitation of her relatives, to try her luck in motion pictures. As Phyllis Fraser, she lands a contract with RKO and swiftly discovers that Depression-era Hollywood’s surface glamor and glitter obscure the ceaseless struggle of the hopeful starlet.

Best of luck to all who enter! 

Publication Day: Sequins and Starlight

This is my seventeenth publication day, and the excitement never ebbs. I'm delighted to announce the release of Sequins and Starlight, my second contemporary novel and the follow up to A Change of Location.

This story isn't autobiographical, but there are many elements that reflect my own past and present, places that are special to me, and my non-writing careers and interests and activities. 

From the back cover:

In London’s West End, where theatre lights blaze with promise, desire and ambition put two wary hearts to the ultimate test.

Ellie Lowery, former ballet prodigy turned international burlesque sensation, craves change and a professional challenge. By reinventing herself as a stage actress, she’ll not only escape the grind of constant touring—she can fulfill her late husband’s final wish. Her breakthrough role in a debut play provides the perfect fresh start, yet she’s reluctant to permanently retire her pointe shoes.

Corporate executive Dan Wheeler is instantly captivated by the alluring American who gained worldwide fame sashaying in cabarets. And, he soon discovers, there’s much more to appreciate than her beauty and charm and talent. But a visit to his ancestral home in the countryside reveals a significant obstacle to their future happiness. Dan assures Ellie that his father’s disapproval will eventually fade. But because she was married to someone whose parents never accepted her, she’s fully aware of the difficulties they will face.

An unexpected threat emerges from her past, with the potential to lower the curtain on her already troubled romance. Desperate to restore balance after a staggering betrayal, Ellie must decide whether ballet will once again serve as her sanctuary and solace.

An absorbing tale of artistic resilience, family loyalty, and the courage to defy expectations.

PRAISE FOR SEQUINS AND STARLIGHT

“Porter writes in a clear and appealing manner that makes the complicated world of dance accessible and attractive .… The complex relationships are engaging throughout, always keeping the reader hooked. A page-turning romance for those who adore the worlds of theater and dance.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Porter’s juxtapositions of personalities and worlds are nothing short of exquisite . . . A compelling story . . . Immersive descriptions, strong characterization, and challenges.” —Midwest Book Review

“Another standing ovation for Margaret Porter! Anglophiles, theatre kids, and balletomanes everywhere will devour her delicious and delightful Sequins and Starlight.”  —Leslie Carroll, author of Temporary Insanity

“Made me fall headlong into the luscious story set in England, with ballet, burlesque, and theater, as well as love bruised by family expectations. Romance readers will adore Sequins and Starlight.” —Literary Redhead 

Here are some of the novel's locations:

London

Gloucestershire

A New England lakeside cottage (maybe just like my own!)

The Rivoli Bar in London's Ritz Hotel

To order the paperback: Bookshop.org (Indiebound), Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Walmart, Waterstone's (UK), Blackwell's (UK), Saxo

To order the ebook: Kindle, Apple, Nook, Kobo 

Among the scheduled promotions: bookstore events, conference appearances and book signings, photo shoots, television and podcast interviews--in the US and UK. It's going to be a very busy time--but always lots of fun!

Goodreads Giveaway: Sequins and Starlight

THE CONTEST HAS CONCLUDED.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 10 WINNERS--THEIR BOOKS HAVE BEEN SHIPPED.

Sequins and Starlight, my second contemporary novel and the follow-up to A Change of Location, will be released on May 6, 2025.

Readers in the USA can enter the Goodreads Giveaway to win 1 of 10 Advance Reader Copies. 

Best of luck to all participants!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sequins and Starlight

by Margaret Porter

Giveaway ends April 10, 2025.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

If you'd like to know more, here's the book trailer:

"Porter writes in a clear and appealing manner that makes the complicated world of dance accessible and attractive . . . The complex relationships are engaging throughout, always keeping the reader hooked. A page-turning romance for those who adore the worlds of theater and dance." Kirkus Reviews

"Porter's juxtapositions of personalities and worlds are nothing short of exquisite . . . A compelling story . . . Immersive descriptions, strong characterization, and challenges." Midwest Book Review

"Another standing ovation for Margaret Porter! Anglophiles, theatre kids, and balletomanes everywhere will devour her delicious and delightful Sequins and Starlight." Leslie Carroll, author of Temporary Insanity

 Available as paperback and ebook. Pre-Order links.