On my blog today, I’m hosting the Coffee Pot Book Club book tour for CINDY BURKART MAYNARD, to share news of the recent publication of her novel, Esperanza‘s Way, the second book in her Seekers historical fiction series, set in 13th century Spain.

Below, you can read more about Esperanza’s Way, read a short excerpt from it, and find buy links for both this book and the first book in the series, Finding the Way.

What is the book about?

Motivated by the memory of her mother dying in her arms, Esperanza resolves that she will one day walk the halls of the Scola Medica at Salerno and train to become a healer. Fate brought Amika, a talented herbalist, into her life and helped Esperanza take her first steps toward gaining the knowledge that would fulfill her dream. Unfortunately, a tragic accident forced Esperanza to flee Amika’s home. Her journey toward finding the path to success is littered with stumbling blocks, some more difficult to avoid than she expected.

Read an Excerpt

Over the following months, the young woman and the old Master worked side by side, trying every treatment they could find. They rifled through Master Cohen’s books, desperate to fend off the invader overtaking Johanna’s body. They dressed the lumps with damp cloths infused with black nightshade. Esperanza created a poultice of nettle, mustard seed and moldy bread and laid it against the invading tumors.

Among his books, Master Cohen found an ancient Egyptian remedy – an ointment that combined bull bile, fly droppings, and ochre. They prepared gallons of marjoram tea and forced her to choke it down. They spooned a powerful mixture of heartsease, marigold, and yarrow into her mouth. Nothing worked. By the time the courtyard flowers drooped in their pots, and cold winds stripped the trees of their leaves Johanna’s condition had worsened to a critical stage. She thrashed back and forth on her pallet, insensible to anything but the pain that enveloped her.

“Please, husband,” she rasped. “Please end this torment. You must have something to release me from this agony.” Looking toward Esperanza standing at her bedside she begged. “Esperanza, you once killed a woman with belladonna. If you love me at all, please, please do the same for me.”

Esperanza lifted her eyes to Master Cohen’s. He squeezed his eyes closed and nodded almost imperceptibly, giving her tacit permission to end Johanna’s suffering.

Esperanza’s blood turned to ice in her veins.

Book details

Esperanza’s Way was published by Historium Press on June 13th 2023.

It is available as an eBook, in paperback and in hardcover, and can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Buy links

Universal Link for Esperanza’s Way

Universal Link for Finding the Way

About the author

Cindy Burkart Maynard

Cindy Burkart Maynard is passionate about history, and the natural world, a passion that adds rich detail and context to her historical fiction novels. Her characters come to life on the page as they portray what it was like to live in another time and place. She weaves compelling, dramatic stories based on strong characters facing daunting challenges. She has co-authored two nonfiction works about the Colorado Plateau and the Desert Southwest and contributed articles to Images and Colorado Life Magazines. She has been a Volunteer Naturalist for Boulder County for more than twenty years, and served as a Docent at the Sonora Arizona Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ.

Awards:
Colorado Authors League Award Winner for Western Literature
Women Writing the West Award Finalist
WILLA Literary Award finalist for soft cover fiction
Readers’ Favorite Five Star Author
Winner of the Marie M. Irvine award for Literary Excellence

Professional affiliations:
Historical Novel Society of North America
Lighthouse Writers
Women’s Fiction Writers Association
Colorado Authors League
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
Authors Guild

You can connect with Cindy and follow her on Social Media:

Website | Publisher author page

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

See who else is sharing Cindy’s book tour!