If you’ve been with Coelwulf, Rudolf, Icel, Edmund and Pybba since the beginning, then you’re probably with me in trying to work out how 3 years have gone by since the release of the first book. There are now seven books in all, the most recent, somewhat jokingly called The Last Seven, a name that stuck, as well as a short story collection, Coelwulf’s Company. Book 8, will hopefully, wind its way to you by the end of 2023 – unfortunately, young Icel has somewhat claimed my attention for much of the last 18 months with his own series, The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles.
If you’ve not yet discovered The Mercian Kingdom: The Ninth Century series, then you’ve in for a treat, as long as you’re not easily offended by foul language and violence.
Don’t forget to check out the short story collection, Coelwulf’s Company.
If you follow the link, here (to Bookfunnel) you can also download a copy of The New Recruit, a short story I wrote while working on The Last Seven.
The Last King books are available in ebook, paperback and hardback, and The Last King (book 1 ) is also available in audio.
The Last King is currently 99p/99c on Amazon UK/US for a limited time only.
This post is just a quick summary of where you can find a few articles I’ve written in the last few months, in case you’ve missed them (in no particular order).
I wrote a feature for Shepherd about the five books that led to my obsession with Saxon England.
And sticking with all things Saxon, I’ve written a piece all about Saxon England for this month’s interactive Historical Times magazine. (this link will take you to the sample – sign up to become a member – the magazines are always stuffed with fabulous content)
I can’t quite believe it’s been a year since the release of The Last Shield, but it has, and finally, I’m excited to share The Last Seven with my readers. I confess, the title started as a bit of a joke, but it was just too good not to use:)
Here’s the blurb:
He sent twenty men to infiltrate three hundred. It had to be enough.
While Archbishop Wulfhere of York begs for assistance against Jarl Halfdan, now living in Northumbria, Bishop Smithwulf of London is eager for Coelwulf to forge an alliance with King Alfred of Wessex. And the three Viking raider jarls continue to hold Grantabridge. Yet, Coelwulf has so far managed to dismiss all of these concerns, consumed with worry for his missing warrior, Pybba.
But while searching for Pybba, events overtake Coelwulf, his men are murdered, and his aunt taken, but by which of his enemies?
If Coelwulf fails to rescue his aunt alive, what hope does he have for keeping his kingdom secure?
The year is AD875, and the men of Mercia must once more ride into the fray. The future of Mercia depends on them.
For the first time, I’m releasing the original version, and the Cleaner Version of The Last Seven on the same day. (For those who haven’t encountered the different versions before, the major difference is the absence of a certain word in the Cleaner Versions – I think we probably all know what that word is.)
The paperback and hardback will also be available for the original version. The book will also be available to read with Kindle Unlimited.
I really, really, really, hope you enjoy being back with Coelwulf and his men as much as I loved writing the book. But, a warning, I want you to read the book and enjoy it, but my plan is that book 8 will not be available until this time next year. So, take your time, if you can. And, if you can’t, then don’t forget there’s also a short story collection, Coelwulf’s Company, Tales from before The Last King, and of course, Icel’s story is the basis for The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles. Hopefully, there will be enough for you to read, until the release of the next book.
And, I’ve written a new short story for The Last Seven. If you sign up to my newsletter, I will be sharing the short story with my subscribers first. (I send a monthly email on the 1st of each month.)
Thank you to everyone who has preordered the new book. I hope you all love it, and appreciate the new map I’ve had made for the book.
To celebrate the coming release of The Last Seven, the first book in the series is free on Amazon Kindle for the next few days.
If you’ve not yet discovered Coelwulf, and his warriors, then here’s the blurb;
They sent three hundred warriors to kill one man. It wasn’t enough.
Mercia lies broken but not beaten, her alliance with Wessex in tatters. Coelwulf, a fierce and bloody warrior, hears whispers that Mercia has been betrayed from his home in the west. He fears no man, especially not the Vikings sent to hunt him down.
To discover the truth of the rumours he hears, Coelwulf must travel to the heart of Mercia, and what he finds there will determine the fate of Mercia, as well as his own.
The Last King is available in 2 versions – the original, which is stuffed with foul language, and the ‘cleaner’ version which is missing some of the stronger language, although there’s still many examples of bugger and arsehole, as well as a few others. The battle gore hasn’t been toned down in the cleaner version.
I’m excited to share this one with you. I mean, we all knew what it was going to look like, but all the same, I think this looks suitably menacing for a title like that:)
Here’s the blurb:
He sent twenty men to infiltrate three hundred. It had to be enough.
While Archbishop Wulfhere of York begs for assistance against Jarl Halfdan, now living in Northumbria, Bishop Smithwulf of London is eager for Coelwulf to forge an alliance with King Alfred of Wessex. And the three Raider jarls continue to hold Grantabridge. Yet, Coelwulf has so far managed to dismiss all of these concerns, his worry only with his missing warrior, Pybba.
But while searching for Pybba, events overtake Coelwulf, his men are murdered, and his aunt taken, but by which of his enemies?
If Coelwulf fails to rescue his aunt alive, then what hope does he have for keeping his kingdom secure?
The year is AD875 and the men of Mercia must once more ride into the fray. The future of Mercia depends on them.
I’m super excited to share the huge promotion for book 6 in The Ninth Century series, which is currently 99p UK, 99c Canada and Australia, and 65 INR, as well as being reduced in all marketplaces. And if that’s not enough, all six books, in both original and the Cleaner versions, are also reduced on on Amazon US and UK. (Well, apart from book 1, which is always 99p/99c).
So, if you’ve not caught up with events in Mercia in the 870s, before the release of book 7, which I couldn’t resist calling The Last Seven, now is the perfect opportunity to do.
If you’ve been with Coelwulf, Rudolf, Icel, Edmund and Pybba since the beginning, then you’re probably with me in trying to work out how 2 years have gone by since the release of the first book.
I thought it worthy of a huge celebration, and so The Last King is on blog tour for today only with a whole swathe of hosts from Rachel’s Random Resources. Check out their posts and blogs, and you really might enjoy those hosts that have an excerpt from the book. When I was choosing them, it reminded me of all the things that drew me these characters, and this book, and made me write it the way that I did. The exuberance is difficult to ignore. (And remember – there are Clean(er) versions of all the books available in ebook format without the more offensive word that rhymes with something that quacks).
I’m going to pop some links here to blog posts I’ve shared in the past.
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize. (These are Rachel’s Random Resources terms and conditions – as the author, I am responsible for sending the winner their book:))
What better way to celebrate, nearly, two years of Coelwulf and his pals, than with a blog tour to showcase all of the books in the series (to date – I’m currently working on book 7).
What started as a bit of mad idea in The Last King has become a series featuring a cast of warriors (and horses) that my readers love reading about, and about who I love to write. Not to mention inspiring the prequel series – which begins with Son of Mercia – and tells the story of a very young Icel.
To celebrate all of this, I have three, yes three, paperback copies of the short story collection, Coelwulf’s Company, to giveaway to readers. They’ll come signed and dated, and to anywhere in the world. To enter, just follow this link to Rafflecopter, where it’ll ask you to follow me on Twitter, and you should be entered. I’ll get in touch with the winners at the end of the giveaway, which I hope is midnight on 18th March 2022 (if I’ve set it up correctly). Good luck with the prize draw and do let me know if there are any problems.
Just a quick heads up that The Last King is currently free on Kindle for the next 5 days.
Please note, there are TWO versions of The Last King. There’s the original version – complete with lots and lots of foul language, and the Clean(er) version where the language has been significantly toned down for those who find a lot of strong language, not to their liking.
M J Porter 