Welcome to the Blog Tour for The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Heidi on the blog today, giving us a peek at her fave writing spot & faithful writing companion!
THE LONDON FORGERY by Heidi Eljarbo
SERIES: A Fabiola Bennett Mystery #1
GENRE: Historical/Dual Timeline Cozy Mystery (Clean)
RELEASE DATE: August 29, 2023
PAGES: 227
1973. Art historian Fabiola Bennett sees herself as a prudently observant deer who becomes a daring and even mischievous lioness if the situation calls for it. And that’s exactly what’s required when greedy criminals steal, forge, and tamper with treasured artwork. When the crooks add murder to their list of crimes, the chaos is complete.
A mysterious note is delivered anonymously at the door of the National Gallery in London, and the director immediately calls Fabiola’s office in Oslo and pleads with her to come without delay. The message is confusing, but it seems one of her favorite eighteenth-century portraits is in trouble.
Fabiola hops on the first plane and meets up with her vibrant side-kick Pippa Yates and the ever-loyal Detective Inspector Cary Green from New Scotland Yard. But she is not naïve enough to think untangling the purpose and meaning of the mysterious note will be as simple as a walk in Hyde Park. These things never are.
1750. Newly married Robert and Frances Andrews, members of the landed gentry of Suffolk, England, hire young and talented Thomas Gainsborough to paint their wedding portrait. Their desire is a lovely conversation piece showing their wealth and class, an artwork to remember them by for generations to come.
Little do they know the gifted artist portrays their personalities exactly how he perceives them, and the artistic symbolism is not as flattering as they’d hoped for. Even the looming clouds in the distance promise a troublesome future.
This is the first book in a new dual timeline series by Heidi Eljarbo—an intriguing spin-off from the much-loved Soli Hansen Mysteries.
Fans of Lucinda Riley, Rhys Bowen, Kathleen McGurl, Kate Morton, and Katherine Neville will love this cozy historical art mystery, which takes the readers back to the nostalgia of the groovy seventies and the classical Georgian era of the eighteenth century.
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My Favorite Writing Spot
by Heidi Eljarbo, author of The London Forgery
It’s windy today, and I wish I could show you how the trees dance outside my windows. I sit and write my novels right here in the heart of my home…at the dining room table. There’s a kitchen to the left and the living room and adjacent library behind my back. Yes, I have an office upstairs, a room filled with shelves of books, papers, and projects. It has a large homemade desk and everything I need. But I love sitting down here next to the large windows displaying the four seasons on three sides.
There’s a narrow dirt road next to our garden. The neighboring farm on the other side of that country road has sheep and horses. I’ve had to call the farmer now and then because some of the sheep have escaped and run around on our lawn. School children on outings, joggers, and dog people on their way to the forest or the beach pass by our house on that road.
The woodland straight ahead has wild cherries and apples, oak, birch, hazel, rowan, and other trees. The sound of woodpeckers, doves, pheasants, and owls are easy to distinguish, but sometimes the sounds of the smaller birds are so loud my husband claims we live in a bird cage.
Squirrels and deer run around in our garden. We have seen hedgehogs and badgers. It sounds idyllic, but the deer eat some of our fruit and flowers every spring. I spend quite a bit of time putting up wire mesh around the berry bushes, hanging old CDs from branches, and placing handfuls of wool from grooming the dog to keep them away from our produce and blossoms.
About that dog… My favorite thing about this writing spot is the four-legged woolen pup on the floor. Hector is an Irish Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, a thirteen-year-old companion who is patient, loving, and cuddly. I am always grateful when he reminds me to take him for a walk. Every writer should have a dog—one that invites you outside to move those legs and breathe the fresh air.
A writing spot could be anywhere. Some like writing in public places like cafés or libraries. Others enjoy building novels in the company of fellow authors. A writing desk could be in a triangular spandrel under the stairs, sitting with a laptop on the couch, or having a separate writing cottage in the garden. Me, I love my dining room.
Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don’t want to go near.
Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, fifteen grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.
Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.
Heidi’s favorites are family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
Connect with Heidi by visiting heidieljarbo.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.
(2) winners will win a print copy of “The London Forgery”, an eBook “Of Darkness and Light” and a $10 Amazon gift card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 26, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 3, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. No shipping restrictions. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
This giveaway is hosted by JustRead Tours, not RimSP
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
What about you? What makes you want to read The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo?
A historical which sounds captivating and fascinating. A real treasure to enjoy greatly.
I will be checking this book out for sure.
Thanks for sharing!
I love dual time line so I’m very interested.
Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
This sounds like a book that I would really enjoy. Adding to my TBR list. Thank you for bringing this new to me author to my attention.
Dual timelines have become one of my favorites with at least two stories to enjoy and discover how they relate to each other. The mystery of the missing painting in The London Forgery is interesting.
This looks like a fantastic book. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity .
Sounds wonderful.
I love dual time-line books. And this one sounds interesting.