Talk of Tokyo
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Heather Hallman will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS
1897 Tokyo is no different than anywhere else in the world: men are exploiting women. Specifically, Western men are exploiting Japanese women, and Suki Malveaux holds no punches in her condemnation of their behavior in her weekly column in the Tokyo Daily News.
Suki knows firsthand when Western men arrive at Tokyo Bay there’s only one outcome for Japanese women: a child and new mother left behind as nothing more than discarded shrapnel from the heartless war on love.
Griffith Spenser is her latest target. He’s been seen with Natsu Watanabe, one of Tokyo’s esteemed war widows. Under full anonymity of the moniker “The Tokyo Tattler,” Suki makes sure Griffith knows exactly why his behavior with Natsu won’t be tolerated.
Away from her Japanese mask as a columnist, Suki never intended to meet the cad. When he seeks her out to hire as a tutor for his niece and nephew, she’s faced with seeing him day in and day out without him ever knowing who she really is.
Caught in her struggle for anonymity so she can keep battling for women’s rights, Suki’s about to learn the full impact of her words on the people behind the story, especially on Griff.
Read an Excerpt
Tokyo 1897
Foreign Quarter of Tsukiji
Fluttering her eyelashes in a coquettish manner, which had much in common with trying to dislodge a flying insect, Suki faced the man who held her fate in the palm of his rather well-shaped hands. “I was admiring your fine home.”
“I quite like it myself.”
“Was it constructed after the quake of ’94?”
“We commissioned its construction when we arrived in ’95. I’m assured by its builders it could withstand another earthquake of that intensity. Japanese-style homes fare better than brick and stone.”
“Mother Nature has given us many opportunities to rebuild.”
“Mother Nature?” Spenser furrowed his brow. “I thought it was the giant catfish residing under Japan flipping its tail that caused all these earthquakes.” His tone was teasing, while the observation revealed Spenser as the type of foreigner who bothered learning about traditional culture.
“You know your Japanese folklore,” Suki replied.
“I like to be prepared for all the dragons and ghosts I’m certain to encounter,” Spenser said with a smile that brought out creases along his soft brown eyes. “I should introduce myself, although introductions are probably unnecessary. I’m Griffith Spenser, arrived from England, resident of Tsukiji for almost two years.”
Suki mentally added to the introduction: Spenser counted minor members of the British aristocracy among his family, although he himself had no chance of inheriting a title; his company was the most highly regarded foreign-owned trading firm in Tokyo; he’d arrived with a new bride who left him a year later; and he now graced the bed of war widow Natsu Watanabe. Also, he played lawn tennis.
The Tokyo Tattler’s job was to know these facts about Tsukiji’s most illustrious residents, and Suki needed to continue doing this job, which was why she couldn’t let Spenser’s allure compromise her defenses. The man had asked her to his home without explanation. Although she’d like to imagine he’d summoned her to discuss the modern significance of Japanese mythology, she was a realist. Spenser had a score to settle with the Tokyo Tattler, and all this pleasant banter about earthquakes was merely diversion.
About the Author:Heather Hallman writes witty, sensual, contest-winning romances set in Meiji-era Japan (1868-1912). She is the author of the Tokyo Whispers series that includes Scandals of Tokyo and Talk of Tokyo.
She is fluent in Japanese language, history, and culture, and earned a doctoral degree in cultural anthropology based on fieldwork research in Japan. She lives in Tokyo with her professor husband and two young daughters. In her free time, she can be found translating ancient Japanese poetry and observing the passing of seasons while sipping green tea. Just kidding, she has no free time. But she does watch something that makes her laugh while she does the dishes.
Perennial obsessions include the weather forecast (she checks three different apps at least three times a day, as no single app can be trusted), Baltimore Ravens football (hometown obsession), and making smoothies that taste like candy bars.
Feel free to chat her up about any of her obsessions, or, even better, about historical Japan—any era is fine, she loves them all. She also enjoys exchanging book recommendations, discussions about the craft of romance writing, and stories about life in present-day Tokyo.
Website
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
Buy links for Talk of Tokyo:
Boroughs Publishing Group
Amazon
iBooks
Hello, Readers! Thanks so much for checking out Talk of Tokyo. I’ve lived in Japan for over thirteen years and counting. One of the many things keeping me here is the cuisine. 🍣🍜🍤
ReplyDeleteI LOVE sushi. My favorites are bluefish, whitebait (really cheap and really yummy), salmon, salmon roe, and fatty tuna (not cheap but melt-in-the-mouth delicious).
How about you? Fan of sushi or other Japanese dishes? If you’ve got a minute to spare, let me know. I’d love to hear about it.
It’s almost bedtime in Japan, so I’ll be checking comments toward the evening USA time.
Thank you to Literary Gold for hosting!
I love the cover! The colors and graphics are great!
ReplyDeleteI love them, too! I was so happy when I saw the cover.
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita!
DeleteI like the cover and excerpt. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan!
DeleteThis sounds like a unique read and I am most definitely intrigued.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know. It's a bit of a departure from typical historical romance, but the sense of the Victorian romance is still there.
DeleteCongratulations on your release of Talk of Tokyo, Heather, I enjoyed the excerpt and your book sounds like a great read and I like the cover! Good luck with your book and the blast! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a spectacular week!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Stormy!
DeleteEverything tells me that I am going to enjoy this read.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear, Mary!
DeleteGreat excerpt and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cali!
DeleteLovely theme to your book. Liking it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Calvin!
DeleteI love the cover, it's very pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marisela. It's more on the prettier side than the outright romantic, but I like it, too!
DeleteThis sounds like an interesting book and I am looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie!
DeleteThis sounds interesting, but I really don't know much about the status of Japanese women in that time of history or whether the story line has any real connection to the reality of their lives--not the exploitation part, but whether a columnist would be a possibility.
ReplyDeleteIn the foreign quarter, the English-language newspapers emulated contemporary newspapers abroad, which had scandal sheets, gossip columnists, etc. The female protagonist in Talk of Tokyo is half-Japanese, half-French, raised in the foreign quarter, and strikes a deal with the editor of the Tokyo Daily News (fictional) to write him a gossip column.
Delete