Tintamarre!

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“Outstanding historical fiction with a rock-hard substrate of lived lives! Read this and be overwhelmed with STORY!  Man can write, and needs to be READ."
Mathilde and Acquila Girouard live a pastoral life with their three children on the shores of the Bay of Fundy.
They have a small herd of cows and sheep and a few pigs and supplement the food they grow with the bounty of the bay and the geese in the air.
All in all, though life is hard, they live in paradise.
Until events thousands of miles away change everything...
Suddenly they are in the middle of a battleground.
The English and French are in a struggle to control the New World and take its resources. And the little village of Beaubassin was exactly at the crossroads and the cross hairs of the coming war.
Mati and 'Quila are pulled in both directions. 
Their priest is a fierce defender of the French presence and his Church and would break all the rules to get his way; even arrange mass slaughters.
At first, the English want the Acadians to stay and continue to grow food and help feed the burgeoning population in New England. But then they get tired of the challenges and look for a final solution.
The Girouards are stuck in the middle.
The way they live, what they have built, even their lives, are at risk.
They need to risk everything to keep anything.
Tintamarre! follows the Girouards and their fellow villagers across the River Mesagoueche, through the Siege of Beausejour and the tragedy of the Expulsion. 
Will they lose each other in the turmoil and survive a terrifying voyage and find a new home in the southern territories?
Or will they be one more statistic of the hundreds of Acadians who died in this terrible historic event.

More Kudos for Tintamarre!

Ernest: I just finished the book and picked up quite a bit of new, to me, information. Unfortunately, the ending was the same as it has been for over two centuries. It was a good book and I recommend it to all.

Norm: I`m almost finished reading it. It`s one of the best books I`ve ever read. I see that I`m getting near the end of the book and I find myself wishing it had double the number of pages. Please keep up the good work.

F. Cormier: I am a slow reader, I like to savor every moment and take in all details of that terrible time in Canadian history. For me coming from a surviving family still in Canada I am enjoying every page and learning at the same time about what my family went through.I will be passing this history on to my grandchildren so what they went through will never be forgotten.....Frank.

Having ancestors from that era I thoroughly enjoyed this book.It describes what went on during the great "expulsion" of the 1750's in the little place called "Tintamarre"Canada. One gets a real feel for the emotions, love betrayal and heartbreak of the families that sort refuge from the invading armies of the British. A must read for a bit of history that should be remembered........ 

Brian Lloyd French

Brian Lloyd French was born in Eastern Canada and studied English Literature at the University of New Brunswick and generally interacted quite well with some much smarter people. He was previously a columnist for one of Canada's largest circulation newspapers. 
He lives in Toronto Beaches with the most beautiful and wonderful friend and lover in the world and her two terrific kids. One of whom is already a better writer than he is. He's 16. 
The Cuban people and places in Mojito! are all real and were experienced over a decade during his visits there. But their fictional existence doesn't necessary match their realities. 
As a child he was brought up and played on the very ground on which Tintamarre! took place.
He is member of "Crime Writers of Canada". 
Kudos for Tintamarre!
From Ronnie Gilles Leblanc - Acadian Historian Emeritus, Moncton: "Good to learn that the book is well received by Acadian descendants, and I can understand why. You have captured their attention by presenting another picture of the Deportation and how it affected people individually. I look forward to reading the book again."

From Kelley Broussard (Descendant of Beausoleil): The more I learn about our Ancestors, and the unimaginable atrocities that they were put through - the more outraged I get over the disservice that has been done to the Acadians and their beautiful Culture. I don't know who is to blame for this - but I just don't understand why this isn't more well known...?  I just want to add that you have done such a beautiful job of honoring our Acadian Ancestor's - Through the magic of your words, you are shinning a much needed light on the history that should never EVER be forgotten - made light of - or just abandoned in a time as some sort of forgettable history... Outstanding job - You have done them proud - You have done US proud - and I just so very much commend you, sir.

From Amazon (Bertica): "RIVETING! Brian Lloyd French lifts the veil of confusion and ignorance surrounding the saga of the Acadians in Nova Scotia. From Father Le Loutre's war to the Grand Dérangement, he portrays a very real and well researched account of the events leading up to the expulsion, the plight of people fighting for survival. It's not a romance story, but it is a story of love. It is a work of fiction, but it is a very real account of the suffering, courage and determination of the Acadian people. A husband and father goaded into fighting by a priest who is more devoted to his king than to his Savior. A wife's struggle to survive and keep her family together, going through the rituals of daily life while caught in the struggle for power and land between two countries. Tintamarre. A shout of defiance that needs to be heard!"
 
"Gary said to tell you this is a must read book if you are a true Acadian descendent. He would recommend it to anyone but if you want to understand what our ancestors really went through take the time buy this great book and read it then pass it on to your families.
Gary specifically liked it was about a family and even with the hardships and things you invented it was very much parallel to things that happened during those times. He just wished he had learned all this stuff while his Mother was still living and he could have talked to her about it. He has read a few books on this and it really opens your eyes."

Mojito!

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New York Times Best Selling Author - Carsten Stroud says: "This book is not only a powerful read, this guy knows Cuba the way Hemingway knew it. Compelling and raw and gutsy." 
 Alec McCaul is a sinister security operative living in Havana, hired by the CIA to do a threat profile on the faltering Cuban regime. He connects with his mission partner, Lucien Ruel, a deadly commando with ulterior motives. 
Then he runs into his lost flame, Kate Adams, now a reporter with CNN. Together, with an heroic Cuban chopper pilot, a street kid and the head of Havana's mafia, McCaul and Kate dodge Cuba's security apparatus and join a new revolution aimed at taking down the Castros. 
When a Miami Herald reporter is killed by the Cuban secret police, the White House is in a panic. Over the course of a week Alec and Kate take on the Castro regime, Islamic terrorists and the CIA and barely manage to survive the treacherous outcome.  
What readers are saying about Mojito!
***** bronx52 (Los Angeles, CA): If you’re interested in Cuba and like a good mystery then this book is for you. Do get this book. 

***** Douglas Spilman: Was "swept away" in time and place, barreling along in page-turning frenzy to the end, peppered with people, places, events, well lubricated with rum and Cohibas.

**** Andrea Whyte: This is not really my usual type of book but I did enjoy it. It's more actiony and man things than I usually read, but it was a good quick read. I liked the descriptions of places and people in Cuba. I can recommend this.  

***** El Rayo : An excellent read and a real time insight into modern Cuba. Good description of the culture, music, food, dance, politics, women, nightlife and rum and a sad commentary on the deterioration of this once beautiful island. A good suspense novel with a super twist at the end.

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