The Fire of Winter Blog Tour and Giveaway

The Fire of Winter by D.K. Marley

Publication Date: June 1, 2019

eBook; 355 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

She is known as Lady Macbeth.
What leads her down the path of murder? 
What secrets fire her destiny? 

Gruah, granddaughter of King Cìnéad III of the Royal Clan Alpin, marries two men in less than six months, one she loves and one she hates; one in secret, the other arranged by the High King of Scotland. At the age of eighteen, she lays her palm upon the ancient stone of Scone and sees her destiny as Queen of Scotland, and she vows to do whatever necessary to see her true love, Macbeth macFindlaech, beside her on the throne.

Amid the fiery times and heated onslaughts from Denmark and England, as the rule of Scotland hangs in the balance, Gruah seeks to win the throne and bring revenge upon the monsters of her childhood, no matter the cost or amount of blood tainting her own hands; yet, an unexpected meeting with the King called the Confessor causes her to question her bloody path and doubt her once blazing pagan faith. Will she find redemption or has the blood of her past fire-branded her soul?

The story weaves the play by William Shakespeare with the actual history of Macbeth and his Queen in 11th-century Scotland.

“...a woman's story at a winter's fire...” (Macbeth, Act III, Scene IV)

“This beautifully written reworking of the Macbeth tale told from Lady Macbeth’s point-of-view flows from the page and you quickly become immersed in the politics and intrigues of feudal Scotland as she fights for her rightful place and her true love! A mesmerizing read that grips from start to finish and Gruah is now one of my all-time favorite literary crushes. “ - Iain Leonard, ARC Reviewer

“Brilliantly conceived and beautifully written, The Fire of Winter is a tale not to be missed by lovers of Shakespeare, lovers of history, or lovers of the written word.” - Riana Everly, Author of Teaching Eliza and Through a Different Lens

Amazon | IndieBound

My Take:

The Fire of Winter was quite a surprising treat to read! I love Shakespeare and usually jump at the opportunity to read an author's take on a Shakespeare play - especially when it is told from the woman's point of view. I was very impressed with how the author was able to bring Gruah to life and make her a very complicated, interesting, conflicted and thoroughly intriguing person.

I was totally drawn into her life - there is tragedy, violence, ambition, passion and enough revenge to satisfy most any reader. Eleventh century Scotland was still making a transition from the Celtic faith to Christianity and it wasn't a smooth, peaceful transition. The transition plays a part in the novel and helps to explain Gruah's beliefs and some of her justifications for some of her actions.

The Fire of Winter stays pretty true to Shakespeare's Macbeth with the added bonus of getting to explain some of the things that always made me wonder about the play. For example, who the "witches" are, why they do what they do, what the motivating factors are for Gruah's actions -- why does she urge Macbeth to kill the king? All of these and more are explained in very clever ways that tell a dark and complex tale about Gruah, her history, her family and helps explain the complicated relationship between the aristocracy of Scotland at the time.

Gruah is not an easy character to like, but she is definitely interesting and deserves to have her story told - even if it is completely fictionalized. Hers is definitely a story that sticks with the reader and Gruah is a memorable character. The Fire of Winter was a fun and clever book and I would happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys Shakespeare, historical fiction, women's history, and dark revenge tales. 

About the Author

D. K. Marley is a historical fiction writer specializing in Shakespearean themes. Her grandmother, an English Literature teacher, gave her a volume of Shakespeare's plays when she was eleven, inspiring DK to delve further into the rich Elizabethan language. Eleven years ago she began the research leading to the publication of her first novel "Blood and Ink," an epic tale of lost dreams, spurned love, jealousy and deception in Tudor England as the two men, William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe, fight for one name and the famous works now known as the Shakespeare Folio. She is an avid Shakespearean / Marlowan, a member of the Marlowe Society, the Shakespeare Fellowship and a signer of the Declaration of Intent for the Shakespeare Authorship Debate. She has traveled to England three times for intensive research and debate workshops and is a graduate of the intense training workshop "The Writer's Retreat Workshop" founded by Gary Provost and hosted by Jason Sitzes. She lives in Georgia with her husband and a Scottish Terriers named Maggie and Buster.

For more information, please visit D.K. Marley's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, July 22
Review & Guest Post at Gwendalyn's Books

Tuesday, July 23
Review at Amy's Booket List

Wednesday, July 24
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Friday, July 26
Feature at Words and Peace

Monday, July 29
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Tuesday, July 30
Excerpt at The Order of the White Boar

Thursday, August 1
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Friday, August 2
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books

Monday, August 5
Review at Jorie Loves A Story

Tuesday, August 6
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Thursday, August 8
Review at Coffee and Ink
Review at Faery Tales Are Real

Saturday, August 10
Interview at Jorie Loves A Story

Monday, August 12
Review at A Book Geek

Tuesday, August 13
Guest Post at History From a Woman's Perspective

Wednesday, August 14
Feature at Just One More Chapter

Friday, August 16
Review at Impressions in Ink
Review at Book Reviews from Canada

Monday, August 19
Excerpt at Broken Teepee
Review at Passages to the Past

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away copies of The Fire of Winter + a surprise gift to three lucky winners! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on August 19th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to the US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

  The Fire of Winter