Gina Rae Mitchell

A Guest Post by Harry Duffin, author of Island of Dreams | Excerpt and $30 Gift Card Giveaway

A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

Island of Dreams by Harry Duffin
Published by Independent on December 2022
Genres: Family, Historical Fiction, Saga

In May 1939, when Professor Carl Mueller, his wife, Esther, and their three children flee Nazi Germany, and find refuge on the paradise island of Cuba, they are all full of hopes and dreams for a safe and happy future. But those dreams are shattered when Carl and Esther are confronted by a ghost from their past, and old betrayals return to haunt them.

The turbulent years of political corruption leading to Batista’s dictatorship, forces the older children to take very different paths to pursue their own dangerous dreams.
And - among the chaos and the conflict that finally leads to Castro’s revolution and victory in 1959, an unlikely love begins to grow - a love that threatens the whole family.
Having escaped a war-torn Europe, their Island of Dreams is to tear them apart forever.

 

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Excerpt from Island of Dreams

The ornate cemetery looked deserted, but he knew they were there. Invisible, deadly, concealed among the lavish tombs of Havana’s famous and wealthy dead; crouching beside the weeping angels, the praying Madonna’s, the mock castles of granite and the towering black pyramid, last resting place of the city’s most celebrated and scandalous lovers – they were there. Hiding behind those final monuments to vanity, cradling their weapons, believing she would take up the challenge.

His heart thumped heavily inside the damp cotton shirt and linen jacket. Reaching inside, he felt the butt of the gun he had brought from Hans. He hadn’t fired a gun since he’d fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. It felt foolish to have one now, but he was prepared to give up his life to defend her.

She was brave and headstrong, and she would come, somehow. Freddie craved and feared it at the same time. ‘Craved’ – the word revealed his age as much as his feelings. Foolish old man, harbouring such dreams. Dreams he had promised himself she would never know.

They were dreams she had given him. For he had none when the ship sailed into the harbour all those years ago. She had brought him her dreams, bright as that May morning, as innocent as he was corrupt…

Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.

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Purchase Links for Island of Dreams

Coming December 2022

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Guest Post from Harry Duffin, author of Island of Dreams

I had wanted to write a novel since I was sixteen, but, instead, I was lucky to earn a living writing drama for tv. My first novel, ‘Chicago May’, didn’t start out as a novel. I was researching a script about someone else when I came across the name of Chicago May, the most notorious swindler in New York. I decided to research her and then wrote a film script about her. And I took it to Hollywood. Well, you have to dream…

I couldn’t get arrested in Los Angeles, so I went home to the UK and put the script in a drawer. It lay in the bottom drawer for nearly ten years until Chris, my wife, said, ‘May is too good a character not to have her story told.’ so I dug out the script and wrote the novel. I didn’t send it to an agent or a publisher; I self-published it.

Nowadays, you can publish a book yourself for only a few hundred pounds, and self-published books can be just as good and successful as ones from the big publishers. Jennifer Worth self-published a memoir of her career and that became the hit tv series, ‘Call the Midwife.’ Andy Weir self-published his novel, ‘The Martian, and that was made into a film starring Matt Damon.

And, of course, E.L. James self-published ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, which despite being the most badly-written book in the English language, sold 100 million copies!

It took me about fifty years to write my first novel. But Mary Wesley wrote her first novel when she was seventy. She went on to sell three million copies of her books, including ten best sellers. Frank McCourt wrote Angela’s Ashes at sixty-six when he retired from teaching.

So, if you want to write a book, it’s never too late! Start writing that novel, that memoir. I’m sure a lot of you have cracking stories to tell. It may not sell millions, but if you like writing, if you like the way that words can move people, you can have some fun writing it.

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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!

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Giveaway!

Harry Duffin will award a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for Island of Dreams

Full Tour Schedule:

October 10: Literary Gold
October 11: Candrel’s Crafts, Cooks, and Characters
October 11: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
October 12: Long and Short Reviews
October 13: Hope. Dreams. Life… Love
October 14: Fabulous and Brunette
October 17: The Avid Reader – review only
October 18: Gina Rae Mitchell
October 19: Westveil Publishing
October 20: All the Ups and Downs
October 21: Paws.Read.Repeat – review only
October 21: It’s Raining Books

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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