Tag: #histfic

Pro Tips for Writing the Historical Saga

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Ever wonder about the ‘secret sauce’ behind successful historical sagas like Pachinko, The Thorn Birds and Shogun? Check out my guest post for the Historical Novel Society of North America, condensed from my presentation at the HNS2025 Conference in Las Vegas. I walk you through my pro tips for writing a killer historical saga, pulling examples from new and classic works.

Also, if you haven’t yet thrown your hat in the ring to win a Spotify copy of the IRISH EYES audiobook, you still have time. Sign up for my free History with Hope Substack by 12 midnight ET on May 1st and be automatically entered to win.

Preorder the IRISH EYES Audiobook!

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Hi Friends,

The audiobook version of IRISH EYES is now available for pre-order! Buy it on Apple, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Google, Libro.fm and Spotify.

Preorder the IRISH EYES Audiobook

Narrated by Galway-born Jade Yourell, IRISH EYES will release this March 31st. Jade’s work is absolutely amazing! I can’t imagine an artist better suited to voice my heroine, Rose O’Neill.

As always, you can get IRISH EYES and its sequel, STARDUST in print and ebook on Amazon and everywhere books are sold.

Until next time…

Hope

Thanks to the Floral Parke, Florida book club for choosing IRISH EYES as their January 2026 read!

New Deal Announcement!

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You asked, we delivered! IRISH EYES and STARDUST will release as audio books from Tantor Media. Release date TBA here and in my monthly newsletter.

And for those of you who prefer reading in print and/or ebook format, both books are available wherever books are sold, including:

Amazon
Bookshop
Barnes & Noble
Walmart
Waterstones
Amazon UK

Join me on Substack where I write History With Hope.

History With Hope

Want me to speak to your book club or other group?

Contact Hope

Happy Summer ((Reading))!

Hope

Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, Manhattan.

Event Calendar

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Meeting readers is one of the best parts of being a writer! Below is the schedule of my upcoming events.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, June 20th

Need some great summer reads? Attend our multi-author giveaway event on June 20th at American Historical Novels. Hope’s prize: two copies of the IRISH EYES audiobook on Spotify. Join here to get started: https://www.facebook.com/groups/210916822832455

Thursday, July 30th

Catsbury Park Book Club
Hope returns to CP for a discussion of STARDUST.
Catsbury Park Adoption Center
901 3rd Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
6pm
Ticketed Event. All proceeds support care of the rescue cats.

PAST EVENTS

Thursday, March 26th

Catsbury Park Book Club
Hope joins this feline friendly book club for a discussion of IRISH EYES.
Catsbury Park Adoption Center
901 3rd Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
6pm
Ticketed Event. All proceeds support care of the rescue cats.

Tuesday, March 3rd

Join Hope in conversation with New York Times bestselling author, Shelley Noble for the launch of Shelley’s latest, THE SISTERS OF BOOK ROW.
Thunder Road Books
1100 3rd Ave, Spring Lake, NJ 07762 973 436-0914
6pm
Ticketed event. Includes signed book.

Saturday, February 28th

Barnes and Noble Monmouth Square
Hope signs IRISH EYES and STARDUST.
Monmouth Mall
180 State Route 35 Suite 2002
Eatontown, NJ 07724 | 732) 696-3575
1-3pm

Thursday, January 22nd

Private Book Club Event
Lake Mary, Florida

Saturday, June 28th

Hope presents, “Reinventing the Historical Saga”
The Historical Novel Society Conference
Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas
2:45pm
Open to registered HNS Conference attendees only.
Register here.

Saturday, June 23rd

Monmouth County Daughters of Ireland
Five Dimes Brewery
77 Monmouth St., Red Bank, NJ
7:30pm
Members Only

Saturday, June 21st

Barnes and Noble, Brick, NJ
Hope returns to B&N Brick to sign STARDUST and IRISH EYES.
44 Brick Plaza, Brick, NJ | 732-255-6600
12 noon-3pm

Saturday, June 14th

Thunder Road Books
Hope signs copies of STARDUST and IRISH EYES.
1100 3rd Ave, Spring Lake NJ | 973-436-0914  
11am-2pm

Saturday, May 3rd

Cabana Row Jersey Shore
Sip complimentary bubbly or sparkling cider, browse Cabana Row’s selection of chic bathing suits, beachwear, day-to-evening looks and accessories and get your signed copy of STARDUST.
49 Main Ave., Ocean Grove, NJ | 732-861-9211
Time: 10am-5pm

Monday, April 28th

College Club of Northern New Jersey Annual Author Luncheon
Hope introduces New York Times bestselling author, Fiona Davis.
Seasons
644 Pascack Rd., Washington Township, NJ
Time: 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Ticketed Event

Tuesday, April 22nd

Barnes and Noble Upper West Side Manhattan
Hope signs copies of STARDUST.
2289 Broadway @ 82nd St., New York, NY 10024 | 212-362-8835
6pm

Saturday, March 29th

Barnes and Noble, Holmdel, NJ
Hope signs copies of STARDUST and IRISH EYES.
Commons at Holmdel
2130 Route 35, Holmdel, NJ | 732-203-6180
12 noon-3pm

Saturday, March 8th

Barnes and Noble, Brick, NJ
Hope signs copies of STARDUST and IRISH EYES.
44 Brick Plaza, Brick, NJ | 732-255-6600
12 noon-3pm

Friday, October 25th

Vogue Knitting Live
Join authors Suzan Colón and Hope C. Tarr on a wild and, yes, woolly exploration of Ireland’s Aran Islands, the setting for Hope’s historical debut novel, IRISH EYES. Hear how a trip to Western Ireland inspired Hope to write the story of her fictional heroine, an intrepid Aran Islander whose needlecraft skills take her from a remote Irish fishing village to New York City at the turn of the century. 
12-1 pm ET
Register @vogueknittingonline.

Wednesday, October 23rd

Haunted New York: Ghost Stories from NYC
Join Hope in conversation with Andrea Janes, co-author of A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts and the owner and founder of Boroughs of the Dead, a boutique tour company dedicated to dark and unusual walking tours of New York City.
The American Irish Historical Society
991 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10028
6-7:15pm, including book signing of IRISH EYES.
Ticketed event.

Saturday, October 12th

Belmar Fall Beach Reader’s Adult Book Fair
Hope chats with book lovers and signs copies of IRISH EYES.
Taylor Pavilion
500 Ocean Ave., Belmar, NJ
Sponsor: Belmar Public Library
1-5pm

Monday, October 7th

Lodi Memorial Library
Book talk with signing of IRISH EYES to follow.
973) 365-4044
6pm

Saturday, June 29th

Barnes & Noble, Holmdel, NJ
Hope returns to sign copies of IRISH EYES.
Commons at Holmdel
2130 Route 35, Holmdel, NJ | (732) 203-6180
1-3pm

Saturday, June 22nd

Barnes and Noble, Brick, NJ
Hope signs copies of IRISH EYES.
44 Brick Plaza, Brick, NJ | 732-255-6600
1-3pm

Saturday, June 15th

Thunder Road Books
Greater Spring Lake Irish Festival
3rd Avenue, Spring Lake, NJ
11 am – 1 pm

A Novel Evening Podcast
Hope chats with A Novel Evening podcast host Dannie Carter about researching IRISH EYES. Tammany Hall, WW1, Prohibition/speakeasies + my fantasy evening — we covered a lot. Have a listen!

Wednesday, March 20th

Thunder Road Books
March Book Club Pick!
3rd Avenue, Spring Lake, NJ
7-9 pm
To attend, purchase IRISH EYES from Thunder Road Books on or before the event date. Call 973-436-0914 to reserve your copy.

Sunday, March 17th

Comfort Zone
Hope signs copies of IRISH EYES.
44 1/2 Main Ave., Ocean Grove, NJ | (732) 203-6180
12 noon – 2pm

Saturday, March 16th

Barnes & Noble, Holmdel, NJ
Hope signs copies of IRISH EYES.
Commons at Holmdel
2130 Route 35, Holmdel, NJ | (732) 203-6180
1-3pm

Saturday, March 9th

Barnes & Noble, Brick, NJ
Hope signs copies of IRISH EYES.
44 Brick Plaza, Brick, NJ | 732-255-6600
1-3pm

Saturday, March 2nd

Asbury Book Cooperative
Hope in conversation with ABC Vice President, Allyson Crystal
644A Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, NJ | 732-455-5549 | info@asburybookcoop.org
7pm
Sign up for the FREE event on Eventbrite.

Monday, February 12th

IG Live with Transformational Vision Coach, Barbara Biziou
“Perseverance and Faith Led to Publishing Gold”
https://www.instagram.com/barbarabiziou/
5:00-5:30 pm EST
Watch again here.

Thursday, January 4th

Hope in conversation with Fiona Davis (THE SPECTACULAR).
Barnes & Noble Upper West Side
2289 Broadway @ 82nd Street, NY, NY
6:30 – 8:00pm
View the event highlights: https://fb.watch/pJ7cNIfZGo/

Thursday, December 7th

Spring Lake Holiday Soiree – Ladies Shopping Night
Thunder Road Books
3rd Avenue, Spring Lake New Jersey
5 – 8 pm

Release Day for STARDUST !

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((Cue champagne corks popping))

🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾

STARDUST, the second book in my American Songbook series and set in World War II Paris, releases t-o-d-a-y! The sequel to IRISH EYES, STARDUST follows Rose’s granddaughter, Daisy, who leaves New York for Paris to apprentice with legendary fashion designer, Coco Chanel. Amid throwing herself into the whirlwind of couture and culture, Daisy falls head-over-feet for the handsome and enigmatic Jean-Claude Jacob, a Jewish surgical resident at the American Hospital in Paris.

The drums of war shatter Daisy’s picture perfect existence. When the Nazis invade France, and Jean-Claude is taken by the Gestapo, Daisy finds new purpose in working as a spy for the Resistance. Only the asset she is tasked with cultivating is none other than Fritz, the German soldier she befriended before the war. But in Occupied Paris, no one is what they at first seem, and danger lurks in every shadowed corner, including the bar of the posh Ritz Hotel where German and Allied spies play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

Praise for STARDUST

“From a behind-the-scenes peek at the atelier of Coco Chanel to the intrigues of the French resistance, Tarr renders France at war and at peace with stunning detail and clarity. Through the character of Daisy—a young American caught up in the chaos of WWII—she deftly explores themes of love and loss, betrayal and treason in a novel that keeps the reader turning the pages. STARDUST shines brilliantly.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of THE STOLEN QUEEN

“STARDUST is a pageturner that’ll immerse you in all the decadence and danger of WWII Paris.” —Kris Waldherr, Author of THE LOST HISTORY OF DREAMS

“An intimate and heartfelt window into WWII civilian life peppered with real figures and rich details, STARDUST weaves a complex, fully realized love story between Resistance figures through Vichy Paris and its aftermath. As horrors of war are carefully crafted alongside heroism, offering gritty windows into an ultimately redemptive story, STARDUST satisfyingly balances harrowing circumstances, hope, bravery and the power of true love.” —Leanna Renee Hieber, Award-winning author of STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL and THE SPECTRAL CITY

Pick up your copy of STARDUST at these retailers and wherever books are sold.

Amazon
Bookshop
Barnes & Noble
Walmart
Waterstones
Amazon UK

Join me on Substack where I write History With Hope.

History With Hope

Want me to speak to your book club?

Contact Hope

Keep up with my in-person events.

Events

STARDUST Cover Reveal + 99 cent Preorder

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Hi History Lovers,

I’m thrilled to announce, unveil, and altogether shout from the rooftops that I have a cover for my new #histfic novel, STARDUST and boy oh boy is she a beauty.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

But there’s m-o-r-e. Now through release, February 20th, you can preorder the Kindle edition of STARDUST for just 99 cents!

The sequel to IRISH EYES, STARDUST is the second book in my American Songbook series for Joffe Books and follows Rose’s granddaughter, Daisy to Paris where she apprentices with the legendary fashion designer, Coco Chanel.

1938, Paris.

War is looming and 18-year-old Daisy Blakely arrives in Paris as apprentice to the renowned fashion designer Coco Chanel. Enchanted by the beauty and glamour of the City of Light, Daisy throws herself into the whirlwind of couture and culture. When she meets charming and enigmatic Jean-Claude Jacob, a Jewish doctor, an instant connection cements Daisy’s happiness.

Then everything changes when the Germans march into the city. Daisy and Jean-Claude join the Resistance. But her world comes crashing down when Jean-Claude is taken by the Gestapo. Learning to live with her loss, Daisy’s life becomes one of secrets and danger as she works tirelessly to undermine the Nazi regime.

But the arrival of German soldier Fritz causes Daisy to question everything she thought she knew about life, and love, as she’s drawn to a man tied to the enemy she has vowed to defeat.

For a limited time, buy the STARDUST ebook on Kindle for just 99 cents.

Buy IRISH EYES in ebook and trade paperback wherever books are sold.

A Novel Evening With Irish Eyes

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I had so much fun guesting on A Novel Evening, an exciting British podcast for book lovers everywhere. Host Dannie Carter and I chatted about my historical novel, IRISH EYES — Tammany Hall, WW1, Prohibition/speakeasies — we covered A LOT. Plus, a sneak peek at what I’m writing now (hint: sequel) and who I’d invite to my fantasy “novel evening” (and who’s on my Naughty List). Have a listen!

Sharing the Love with a Giveaway

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February being the host month of Valentine’s Day, it’s no surprise that I have love on the brain. Since IRISH EYES released on December 7th, I continue to be blown a-w-a-y by the love readers are showing the book, including 385 reviews on Amazon, so far! Here’s a taste of what you’re saying.
​​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great read. I loved this book! …Very touching and believable heroine and characters. – Len C.

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spellbinding. Wonderful characters and plot. I couldn’t put it down. History, romance and intrigue. No one could ask for more. – Anne D.

​​Now I’d like to give some of that love back… with a giveaway! THE ORCHID HOUR by Nancy Bilyeau is an utterly delicious historical mystery set in 1920’s New York. To win it alongside IRISH EYES, sign up to my free Substack newsletter, History With Hope. Anyone who subscribes between February 1-14 will be entered into a random draw to win. One winner (both books). Giveaway closes at 12 midnight EST.

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