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Pump Up Your Book - Dorothy Thompson

Pump Up Your Book - Dorothy Thompson

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Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book publicity.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

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<blockquote><p>“In addition to providing outstanding advice that even humans who have already been well-trained by their resident felines will find valuable, the book is beautifully designed and includes many stunning full-color photos of the beautiful Sparkle to illustrate her points.  This book is not just a great addition to any cat parent’s cat care library, it also makes the purrfect gift for cat lovers.”</p></blockquote> <p><strong>– Ingrid King, author of THE CONSCIOUS CAT</strong></p> <blockquote><p>“Kitties, this book is chock full of some of the best Cat Advice in the UNIVERSE! We read it eagerly and took copious amounts of notes. We cat-eared the sections we liked, and chewed holes into the pages with our favorite passages. The book is divided into logical sections dealing with play, the litterbox, strangers and MORE. Sparkle deals with all the issues expertly. We think even our Mommy (incredibly dense) was able to grasp the concepts outlined in the enjoyable Q &amp; A format. Photos of Sparkle (Gorgeous!) grace nearly every other page in the book, and there are little bubbles of “Sparkle Says” wisdom throughout, too. The book is printed on nice firm nommable paper…it’s a STEAL at $9.95. We highly recommend this book, and we give it 4 paws up!”</p></blockquote> <p><strong>– Catnip Lounge</strong></p> <blockquote><p>“Believe me, kitty pals, you’re going to want to read this book and learn all the inside scoop. and for those of you who don’t read, there are plenty of beautiful pictures of Sparkle illustrating the points she makes in the text.”</p></blockquote> <p><strong>– Max the Quilt Cat Blog</strong></p>