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Book Blast: Towers of Tuscany by Carol M. Cram

Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and author Carol M. Cram are excited to announce The Towers of Tuscany Book Blast! Join us from April 7-13 as The Towers of Tuscany is featured around the blogosphere, along with a chance to win one of three copies of this amazing new novel! Called "a beautifully crafted masterpiece of historical fiction", "lush", and "page-turning" Cram's debut novel will appeal to readers who enjoy a strong female lead who, against great odds, dares to follow a dream. The Towers of Tuscany includes a Reader's Guide making it a perfect Book Club pick! In honor of the Book Blast we are giving away three copies to three lucky readers, see below to enter.

  The Towers
of Tuscany

Publication Date: January 23, 2014 
New Arcadia Publishing
 Formats: Paperback, Ebook 
 Genre: Historical Fiction 

 Set amid the twisting streets and sunlit piazzas of medieval Italy, the Towers of Tuscany tells the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Sofia Barducci is born into a world where a woman is only as good as the man who cares for her, but she still claims the right to make her own mistakes. Her first mistake is convincing her father to let her marry Giorgio Carelli, a wealthy saffron merchant in San Gimignano, the Tuscan city of towers. Trained in secret by her father to create the beautifully-crafted panels and altarpieces acclaimed today as masterpieces of late medieval art, Sofia's desire for freedom from her father's workshop leads her to betray her passion and sink into a life of loveless drudgery with a husband who comes to despise her when she does not produce a son.

In an attack motivated by vendetta, Sofia's father is crushed by his own fresco, compelling Sofia to act or risk the death of her soul. The choice she makes takes her on a journey from misery to the heights of passion, both as a painter and as a woman. Sofia escapes to Siena where, disguised as a boy, she paints again. When her work attracts the notice of a nobleman who discovers the woman under the dirty smock, Sofia is faced with a choice that nearly destroys her. 

The Towers of Tuscany unites a strong heroine with meticulously researched settings and compelling characters drawn from the rich tapestry of medieval Italy during one of Europe's most turbulent centuries. The stylishly written plot is packed with enough twists and turns to keep readers up long past their bedtimes. 
READ AN EXCERPT.
The
Towers of Tuscany
 

Praise for The Towers of Tuscany

"The Towers of Tuscany is a delightful escape to the Siena we all love. Carol Cram has crafted a delicious story about a strong woman torn between her secret past, her love of painting and the forbidden charms of her rich patron. Hard to resist and highly recommended!" - Anne Fortier, Author of The Lost Sisterhood and the New York Times bestseller, Juliet.

"Carol Cram's lush descriptions and intriguing characters bring this dramatic tale of medieval Tuscany to life. If you love Italian art, a feisty heroine, and a page-turning plot, you will adore this novel."- Deborah Swift, Author of A Divided Inheritance.

"The Towers of Tuscany has all the elements of a wonderful historical novel, a talented, frustrated heroine, a treacherous, feckless husband, and a promise to a dying, much loved father who orders the heroine on a dangerous mission. Carol is a first rate storyteller. The research is well done. Every chapter displays a fine knowledge of painting technique of the 14th century, and customs and mores of the age. The details of dress, fabric, food, are flawless. The clever dialogue and fast pace make the novel zing along." - Roberta Rich, Author of The Midwife of Venice and The Harem Midwife.

 "Sofia will set your heart racing as she attempts to find what we all, in our own ways, strive to seek: love, resolution, and artistic freedom. The legacy of this story will leave you yearning for more."- Cathleen With, award-winning author of Having Faith in the Polar Girls Prison.

Buy the Book

Amazon (Ebook) 
Amazon (Paperback) 
Barnes & Noble 
Book Depository 
IndieBound


About the Author

Carol Cram

Carol M. Cram has enjoyed a great career as an educator, teaching at Capilano University in North Vancouver for over twenty years and authoring forty-plus bestselling textbooks on business communications and software applications. She holds an MA in Drama from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Carol is currently focusing as much of her attention as she can spare between walks in the woods on writing historical novels with an arts twist. She and her husband, painter Gregg Simpson, share a life on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, Canada.


Author Links

Website 
Blog 
Goodreads 
Facebook 
Twitter


Book Blast Schedule

Monday, April 7 

Literary Chanteuse 
Bibliophilia Please 
Cheryl's Book Nook 
A Bibliotaph's Reviews 
Confessions of an Avid Reader 

Tuesday, April 8 

Mari Reads 
Peeking Between the Pages 
History From a Woman's Perspective 

Wednesday, April 9 

Reviews by Molly 
Susan Heim on Writing 
Oh,For the Hook of a Book  

Thursday, April 10 

Passages to the Past
Book Lovers Paradise 
To Read or Not to Read 
Curling Up With a Good Book 

Friday, April 11 

Words and Peace 
The Mad Reviewer 
Historical Fiction Obsession 

Saturday, April 12 

Book Nerd 
Layered Pages 
Princess of Eboli 
Kelsey's Book Corner

Sunday, April 13

West Metro Mommy 
The True Book Addict 
Caroline Wilson Writes


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Comments

  1. Thank you, Lauralee; it was a great review. I have put my name down for one of the free copies, but I have also added it to be To Be Read list. I did some extensive research on women artists some years back, and Sofia's predicament (though fiction) was not at all unusual.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! The book was free on April 6th and April 7th. I got the book on April 7th. had I not looked on the author's website, I would not have known that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's okay. I can't read e-Books, so it really doesn't make a lot of difference as far as I am concerned. I will try to get hold of a print copy.

    ReplyDelete

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