In 18th century Milan, a duchessa is thrusted from her horse and into the estate of another esteemed member of the king’s court. Lilliana is unable to remember her accident or her identity. Duca Emmanuele notices that Duchessa Rosetta is complacent about their daughter’s absence from the House of Montanari. During the duchessa’s convalescence, she and the duca grow in affection towards one another. The maidservant, Noemi of the House of Montanari silently volunteers to help locate and retrieve the missing duchessa. Noemi enlists the help of her fellow maidservant, Gabriella. Noemi leaves the House of Montanari and encounters a proud vendor of pomegranates. He speaks of a tale of a fallen maiden taken into the care of a duca. He guides her to the House of Marchesi. The duchessa finally recalls her father’s identity. The duchessa wishes to learn more of the duca. He introduces her to various quarters of the Marchesi mansion. The king and queen gather evidence and secure it in the royal vault. Alessandro proposes to her. Lilliana accepts. The Crown decides to proceed with the planned royal ball. All of the esteemed of the Milanese king’s court are to attend.. The night of the royal grand affair arrives. Servants of the Houses of Montanari and Marchesi enter with the assistance of a royal servant. In separate royal chambers, the king and queen officiate Duca Alessandro and Duchessa Lilliana’s nuptials. Duca Emmanuele is right to be concerned for his daughter, for someone has conspired a dastardly plan against the duchessa, but who? The king and queen have the answer and reveals it before the entire king’s court.

Targeted Age Group:: 14+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Italy is a country that I have always wanted to travel to and visit. I wish to see the early architecture, including frescoes, the preserved waterways and some of its art. These are some of elements which permeate The House of Marchesi and assist Duca Alessandro and Duchessa Lilliana figure out where exactly she belongs–and it is with him for eternity.

How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
Duchessa Lilliana and Duca Alessandro are protagonists. She just happened to be involved in an accident while riding the horse her father gifted to her. Here we know that she is generally skilled with horses. Yet, as the reader steps into Lilliana's mind, the mystery of who she is develops as she recovers. Whoever she was before the accident evolves as a result from it. Duca Alessandro is handsome, strong and caring. He also has a since of duty to this beautiful maiden who is now under his care and authority. I knew that he had to be a strong character with the ability to balance safeguarding his gifted treasure, exercising due authority within The House of Marchesi and respecting Lilliana's father though he does not meet him until the near end. Nonetheless, all of these traits encourage the servants to toil just as much as he in order for both the duca and duchessa to be safe–and for them to have the future that Providence had already decreed for them.

Book Sample
"You have quite the tendency for unfortunate events." Duchessa Lilliana heard a voice. It was that of a man. A gentleman she presumed. A handsome courtier stood over her. The duchessa was correct. "Do I dare give you advice mademoiselle, while you lay in this unfortunate state before me?" The duca crouched at her left side with his feet only two paces apart. He rested his forearms on his thighs with his hands clinging to one another. The duchessa swallowed.

"He is but a figment of my tossed mind, a wonderful one at that," she whispered. The duca smiled until he noticed that her eyes began to fade away right before his sight.
He leaned his left arm over her and placed his right ear near to her nose and mouth. He could hear her breathing. A few of his houseservants and another gardener finally approached. Duca Alessandro moved away and stood.

"Is she…?" The servant lowered his head and only partially raised it again. He quieted his voice in solemn sincerity. "My lord, is she…?"

"She lives." Alessandro looked to the one gardener who gathered several blankets and used his body to help catch her. "…and you have done quite well." Her rescuer nodded once. "Shall we remove her to the manor?" Several of the servants quickly gathered her, still using the blankets as a cushion.

"Here…here. These bedchambers are best," Duca Alessandro said as he escorted them from behind. "Remove the blankets and take them with you." He watched as they quickly pulled some from beneath her. She rolled partially onto her right side. "Carefully. She may be alive, but injuries likely persist." One of the maidservants waved the others away as she completed the task. Then she looked woefully at the duca. "The maiden is only in shock." The servant nodded to appease him, but she did not believe much hope remained for the duchessa. Lilliana still laid on her right side, her left leg folded over her right at the ankles the most. The duca understood the maidservant's doubt, but he possessed none. "I will set her aright." After their careless removal of the coverings, Duca Alessandro resigned himself not to trust any of them with such care again. "All of you, leave from here at once…and you, have the cook prepare coffee and fruit and bring it to these quarters." They all turned away while the one he directly addressed nodded.

"Si, mio signore," she said. The maidservant carried the other blankets tucked under her right arm. She believed, however, that it was Duca Alessandro who bore the
heaviest burden-the premature death of a beautiful young maiden. "Che vergogna terribile. Potrebbe essere stat sua-por sempre." The duca still heard her as her voice trailed off.

"Now I must perform what I have requested of them…" the duca said. He held his chin with his right hand. Finally, he heard the door close behind him. Alessandro went to the other side of the bed. He leveraged his body on his fists which he bore on the bedding. The duca listened for her breaths again. "She is still viable." He still thought of the best way to sit the duchessa up. She began to sir and tried to hold herself up with her left hand. A futile attempt. Lilliana plopped against the luxe coverings. The duca rushed to assist her. He realized that her sleeves were torn. His hands touched her skin. It was soft. He first lifted her head. Her eyes kept closed again. "This cannot be good." She tried again, still with closed eyes. "Take ease, mademoiselle…" The duchessa heard an enchanting, deep, voice. 'Could it be the same of handsome grace which hovered over me from before?' Lilliana thought. The duca used the side of his body to steady and gently lift her. He watched her neck which she held on her own. Duca Alessandra was finally able to have her rest against her back. Duchessa Lilliana wobbled her head from left then to the center. She saw his face again.
"Do not lay so hard, dear maiden." Alessandro raised his right hand against the side of her face. "You are quite…" He lowered his head. "…so beautiful." The duchessa thought she was still delirious. She leaned her head towards his cupped hand. The duca felt the weight become heavier. "No…no, mio bella." He gently guided it back towards the pillow. Alessandro could see the shadow of a servant against the wall. He wanted to remove his hand. It was no longer a burden. The duca refused to leave her bedside but only turned to see which of the servants was at the bedchamber's door.
"Send word to the nearest physician. There is no time for telegram. Have the butler instruct the coachman. The House of Marchesi calls upon him." She quickly acknowledged Alessandro and excused herself. The duca looked again at the fallen duchessa. "All you can do is rest, bella." Lilliana struggled to open her eyes again.
"Do not…please." She would not listen. The duca moved closer. Her eyes opened. The duchessa smiled.

Author Bio:
Patricia M. Muhammad is an American fiction author of crossover contemporary romance/science fiction, science fiction/fantasy, mystery and historical romance genres. She has currently written 20 novels. She is currently working on her next book manuscript. Before penning fiction, Patricia emerged as an international legal history scholar and academic author, focusing on human rights, international law and restorative justice. She has currently written and published a combination of 23 research papers and academic book reviews in these subject areas. Her work has appeared in the American University International Law Review, Columbia Journal of Race and Law, the Willamette Journal of International Law and Public Policy as well as the New York History Journal. Her non-fiction writing has been cited dozens of times in various respectable academic journals.

Author Home Page Link

Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy The House of Marchesi On Amazon
Link to The House of Marchesi on Barnes and Noble
Link to The House of Marchesi for sale on Smashwords
Link to The House of Marchesi for sale on iBooks
Link to The House of Marchesi eBook for sale on Kobo
Link to The House of Marchesi eBook for sale on Google Play

Social Media:
Twitter
Pinterest
YouTube Channel
Goodreads

Have you read this book? Tell us in the comments how you liked it!

“From the bridge, the riverbanks stretch into the distance, narrowing, until they pinch and close, succumbing to forest. The sun is low and cold; mist lifts from the water. It is somewhere there, along that stretch, that the body is buried. I don’t know where. To be frank, I don’t care.”

From dark Buffalo streets to the dockyards of Eastern Canada, these gripping noir tales embed the reader in the gritty world that exists beneath the pristine beauty of a winter’s night.

In Six Feet Deep, the line between right and wrong isn’t just uncertain – it doesn’t seem to exist at all. With femme fatales, anti-heroes, and dirty cops, this slim tome is Balsom’s modern answer to Raymond Chandler, Humphrey Bogart, and Rita Hayworth.

Targeted Age Group:: 17-90

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
To produce a contemporary cycle of pulp fiction. E-books are the dime novels of the twenty-first century. A dark night in the north establishes a perfect contradiction of unsettling beauty. Snow muffles but the hard winter air amplifies all. Pristine white banks accentuate droplets of blood. With the thaw, long forgotten tales emerge.

How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
The characters are drawn from the real people who populate our cities. They are gritty, honest, and deceitful. They are beautiful and ugly. They love and kill.

Book Sample
In Saint John, sunshine was rare. When day broke, the sky turned grey and light glared through to front steps where people huddled and smoked, to dockyards where people worked, to park benches where people slept. In the peripheries – the east and west – people sat in breakfast nooks and morning rooms, and maybe the sun shone there, rising over pine-crested cliffs and frozen bays as bacon sizzled in the pan and accounts were discussed, as affairs ended in lawsuits and bitter resentment rather than fistfights and broken windows. But, in the heart, Saint John woke when the light shifted and darkness retreated behind the clouds, distant but ever-present, looming over the uneven rise of flat-top buildings.

Author Bio:
James P. Balsom is a contemporary pulp crime writer. His works explore the gritty underbelly of cities with a northern climate. His debut story collection, Six Feet Deep, features six gripping noir tales of crime and deceit.

Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy Six Feet Deep On Amazon

Have you read this book? Tell us in the comments how you liked it!