Author of Saxon historical fiction and non-fiction, 20th-century historical mysteries, and Norse-inspired historical romantasy. Book reviewer and blog host.
It’s time… 757, the first book in the brand-new series, The House of Mercia, is now available. Listen to me talking about the new book #fiction #TalesOfMercia #fiction #nonfiction #Mercia #MJPorter #HistoricalFiction #SaxonEngland #VikingAge #AngloSaxonHistory #BernardCornwell #LastKingdom #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #BookTok #Vikings
It’s time… 757, the first book in the brand-new series, The House of Mercia, is now available. Listen to me talking about the new book #fiction #TalesOfMercia
I recorded this when 757 was complete
Here’s the blurb for 757
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald’s forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Join my Boldwood newsletter to receive a free prequel short story, written exclusively for the the release of The House of Mercia series.https://BookHip.com/MKSKVRX
I’m welcoming Anthea Laurelton and Fearless Hearts Forbidden Love to the blog #HistoricalRomance #SpartanRomance #HistoricalFantasy #HeartsOfSparta #FearlessHeartsForbiddenLove #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
I’m welcoming Anthea Laurelton and Fearless Hearts Forbidden Love to the blog #HistoricalRomance
Here’s the blurb
To save her city, she must risk her life.
To fulfil his oath, he must harden his heart.
Together, they stand to lose everything.
Spartan warrior, Diokles, has waited years for the opportunity to right a failure that torments his heart and integrity. Sent to hunt down a threat to Sparta, this campaign may be his final chance to restore his honour and uncover the traitor whose actions blighted his life. Success is at his fingertips, but when duty forces him to take an unwilling accomplice, his plans are challenged in ways he never foresaw.
Leandra, high priestess of Apollysis, stands at the edge of revelation and ruin. Haunted by fragments of a forgotten past, she alone can uncover the truth that will save her city. To do so, she must wear the fabled Coronet of Apollo, a sacred act that could cost her life.
Bound together by necessity and desire, captor and captive race into danger the closer they draw to the shrine of Apollo. With a relentless enemy closing in, one who seeks Diokles dead and Leandra for himself, their growing passion becomes both their greatest strength and their most perilous weakness.
In a time where prophecy, honour, and blood rule, love was never part of the plan.
An epic historical adventure romance of bravery, betrayal, and forbidden desire.
Fully edited, revised version of ‘SpartanQuest – Salvation’ with extra scenes.
Triggers: Love scenes on the page – Romance heat level 3. Some battle scenes.
Anthea Laurelton writes sweeping romances inspired by Ancient Sparta and Greek mythology. Her stories combine historical elements, forbidden love, dangerous quests and emotionally complex heroines for readers of mythological and historical fantasy.
A fan of sword and sandal movies, her plots blend slow-burn romance, dangerous quests, warrior culture and family intrigue for readers who crave epic adventures. Falling in love with Greek mythology at the age of thirteen, her love of the Spartans especially, came after reading Roger Lancelyn Green’s THE TALE OF TROY where she cheered on Menelaus to take his queen back!
She left a career in IT to pursue her passion for storytelling and pander to an extremely spoilt German Shepherd whom she refers to as ‘The Muse’.
A former equestrian, Anthea enjoys keeping active and has a bucket list of travel destinations waiting to be fulfilled.
I’m welcoming G.G. MacLeod to the blog with VIA MALORUM #AncientRome #Agrippina #Messalina #DarkRomantasy #PsychThriller #Giallo #BlogTour #ReaderReach #TheCoffeePotBookClub #YardeBookPromotions @GGMacLeod1 @cathiedunn @maryanneyarde @ggmacleod1 @thecoffeepotbookclub @yardereviews
I’m welcoming G.G. MacLeod to the blog with VIA MALORUM #AncientRome #Agrippina #Messalina #DarkRomantasy #PsychThriller #Giallo #BlogTour #ReaderReach #TheCoffeePotBookClub #YardeBookPromotions
Here’s the blurb
In the shadows of Rome power bleeds red.
In the shadowed streets of ancient Rome, 37 CE, power is a blade that cuts both ways. Agrippina, a towering enigma of ambition, slips from Caligula’s gilded cage with her newborn son, Domitius, her mind a labyrinth of cold calculation. At her side prowls Messalina, a siren in scarlet, her seductive cunning as deadly as her blade. Together, they navigate a city teeming with decadence and deceit, pursued by whispers of treachery and the emperor’s wrath.
Their journey leads to the Temple of Fortuna where the enigmatic Prophet Cassandra unveils a cryptic fate – one that demands sacrifice and promises blood. As alleys echo with violence and forbidden passions ignite, Agrippina’s quest for dominion collides with Messalina’s ruthless desires. In a night where every step drips with danger, who will rise and who will fall?
VIA MALORUM is a visceral plunge into the heart of Roman darkness, blending historical intrigue with the chilling allure of giallo. Prepare for a tale where power bleeds red, and trust is a luxury none can afford.
Any Triggers: Some rough lesbian sex, moderate violence.
The author is a 59-year-old Canadian male based in Calgary. The author has always had a tendency of combining genres like horror and action along with drama, psychological thrillers, giallo, and sometimes even comedy.
It really depends on how the author feels from moment to moment as they write because the author likes to entertain themselves first and then hope that a smattering of other people out there in the world will like it as well.
It’s nearly time… 757, the first book in the brand new series, The House of Mercia, will be with readers in July 2026. Listen to me talking about the new book #fiction #TalesOfMercia #fiction #nonfiction #Mercia #MJPorter #HistoricalFiction #SaxonEngland #VikingAge #AngloSaxonHistory #BernardCornwell #LastKingdom #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #BookTok #Vikings
I recorded this after completing the strutural edits for 757
Here’s the blurb for 757
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald’s forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Join my Boldwood newsletter to receive a free prequel short story, written exclusively for the the release of The House of Mercia series.https://BookHip.com/MKSKVRX
Introducing 757, the first book in the brand new series, The House of Mercia #fiction #nonfiction #Mercia #MJPorter #HistoricalFiction #SaxonEngland #VikingAge #AngloSaxonHistory #BernardCornwell #LastKingdom #HistFic #ReadingCommunity #BookTok #Vikings
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Here’s the blurb for 757
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald’s forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Join my Boldwood newsletter to receive a free prequel short story, written exclusively for the the release of The House of Mercia series.https://BookHip.com/MKSKVRX
I’m welcoming Andrea Goyan and her new book, The Catalyst, to the blog, with an inspiring post for all those writers out there #blogtour #scifi #writersadvice
I’m welcoming Andrea Goyan and her new book, The Catalyst, to the blog, with an inspiring post for all those writers out there #blogtour #scifi #writersadvice
Thank you for inviting me to write a guest blog. I’m delighted to be here with you and your readers.
My post today directly relates to writers, but I think anyone who navigates risks, rejections, or affirmations will relate on some level because I we all face similar angels and demons.
“Thank You for Sharing Your Work with Us. Unfortunately…”
—Random Editor
Ouch. These or similar words of rejection litter every writer’s email inbox. If you’re submitting work, receiving lots of them is part of the deal.
I want to recognize that sending stories (or anything) out into the world is an act of courage. Opening ourselves up for criticism or rejection risks bruising souls and fragile egos. It is not easy. But the need to be seen and heard—read—keeps most of us in the game.
“Thank You for Sharing Your Work with Us. We’d be delighted to publish…”
—Favorite Random Editor
Yes! These are the emails we live for. But as fabulous as those acceptances, encouragement, and love are, those joyful feelings are fleeting. Fairy dust that blows away with the first breeze. The need for more, more, more feels akin to an addiction.
“Can you help us out?”
—Magazine Editor
When I started submitting short stories to small markets seriously, I was thrilled that the online process was loads easier than the old-fashioned, snail-mail way. Faster, easier, less wasteful, but as nerve-wracking as ever. And rejections…ugh. Each one stung like a blade slipped between my ribs, touching my heart. I commiserated with other fiction writers, weeping onto my keyboard. Wondered why or if I should continue. The game seemed impossible. But I did continue, and a funny thing happened. I met a ton of other writers, and my writing community grew.
I watched how other writers managed their submissions, and found that the more I submitted, the less precious any one submission became, and its rejection hurt less when I had other pieces out for consideration. Every successful writer I know submits all the time. They look like they’re accepted and published by everyone, but they still get tons of rejections. It’s a numbers game. The more pieces out, the more potential, the more noes, and the more yeses.
More visibility led editors to ask for my help. I accepted, and I learned some surprising things along the way. Some of my most valuable insights came from being a slush reader for a magazine and serving as a judge for a few contests. The positions were different, but the similarities showed me how random a lot of editorial decisions are. They aren’t only about if the story is good, tons of great stories are rejected—I’ve rejected some. There are ineffable lists of criteria beyond any writer’s control. I found a lot of peace in that knowledge, and it made the rejections less personal—of course, they’d never been personal. They simply felt that way.
“Your work is more important than how you feel about it.”
—Claudette Sutherland, Mentor
She’s retired now, but those words were like a mantra for Claudette. Her students oohed and ahhed whenever she said them, while I secretly wondered what the hell she meant. What I felt mattered to me and still does. It took me years to understand she wasn’t attacking my feelings. I believe she wanted us to get out of our own way. Stop whining about all the reasons we didn’t do and just do. Stop editing our work and push forward. Tell our egos to take a back seat for a while and set our creativity free.
“I can do this.”
—Me, circa 2025-26
This past year, while I’ve been continually working on The Catalyst, I’ve been too busy to worry about rejections. Too busy to send out many submissions either. The novel’s deadlines were fast and unrelenting, and they forced me to move. To do. Always stepping forward and outside of my comfort zone.
I met the challenges and learned that what really matters, what really heals my bruised ego and feeds my soul, is the work itself. Not how other people receive it. It’s the act of creating, the spark, the fire that burns until it’s consumed at its source, leading to words on the page. Creating the thing, whatever that thing is. That’s the only thing I can hold onto and call my own. What anyone else feels about it belongs to them.
Thank you for sharing such a fab post:)And yes, rejection is part of the game, but the act of creating, and the joy it brings, is why we keep on keeping on!
Here’s the blurb
When human bodies are found with scales and tails, DNA specialist Kat Crocker is assigned to uncover the cause of the mutations and stop them before they spread. But her growing visibility makes her a target. As attacks escalate, the trail leads her to a newly released VR game powered by impossible genetics—and to one man: the mentor who taught her everything, the father she buried years ago.
Andrea Goyan is an award-winning author and an avid animal person who grew up being called Goat-Girl and Raccoon-Mama. She is a grateful part of a flock of collaborative Magpie Poets whose first collection, An Illegal Feast, was released in 2025. Andrea also co-hosts MetaStellar Magazine’s “Long-Lost Friends” and “Storytime.” In her spare time, she walks her dogs and loves to paint, especially animal portraits.
Many of her stories are available for free on her website.
I’m welcoming Fables & Lies: A World War II Novel Based on a True Story by Elizabeth Storrs to the blog #FablesAndLies #HistoricalFiction #WW2Fiction #enemiestolovers #darkfamilysecrets #undercoveragent #truestory #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
I’m welcoming Fables & Lies: A World War II Novel Based on a True Story by Elizabeth Storrs to the blog #FablesAndLies
Excerpt 4:
Chapter Eighteen
Klosterheide, December 1939
Freyja climbed the stairs behind the matron, peering into rooms where wintry sunlight poured through arched windows. Chubby toddlers and preschoolers sat on miniature railed wooden chairs at a bench. They ate from steel bowls, guarded by Brown Sisters pouring milk from pitchers into beakers.
Freyja inhaled the aroma of freshly baked bread, amazed to see steamed vegetables and jacket potatoes heaped on the platters. The abundance was startling. Berliners struggled to find fresh produce with the British blockade squeezing supply lines.
‘For all this, we must thank the Führer,’ said the matron. ‘And Reichsführer Himmler believes in the best nutrition for these children.’
‘Tante!’ Siggi waved from the far side of the room then ran towards her. Clipping a chair leg, he fell heavily. Blood spurted from his nose. Before she could reach him, a nurse yanked him to his feet, barking at him to stop whining.
Matrone Hildegarde gripped Freyja’s wrist with blunt fingers. ‘Leave him. We’re making soldiers here, not encouraging cry-babies.’
She tried to break from her, but the woman held firm and growled an order to take the child to the infirmary. Dismayed, Freyja watched her sobbing nephew dragged away.
Hildegarde glowered. ‘Siegfried has been coddled by his mother. Frankly, Hauptsturmführer von Erlbach and his wife should adopt him. Or he should be given to another deserving SS couple. It’s highly unusual to let a Lebensborn mother raise a child.’ She headed for another flight of stairs.
Freyja hesitated, unsure whether to search for Siggi but doubted she’d find him in the maze of corridors. She hurried up the stairs behind the retreating figure of the matron. She was sickened by the threat to Volla. Her sister’s greatest fear was Otto giving her sons to his wife. Freyja prayed von Erlbach would never betray her.
The air reeked of ether and ammonia on the next floor. Freyja saw a tiled operating theatre. The delivery bed looked forbidding, with a huge arc lamp suspended over it. A portable stand with two empty drips stood nearby. Poor Volla. Instead of giving birth with Mutti to assist her, she’d been tended by cold-hearted fanatics.
The mewling of a baby drew her attention to a nursery next door. Brown Sisters moved between dozens of cribs with lace valances and flowered blankets. Babies in identical knitted caps lay in each. Blue or pink name tags were attached to the infants’ wrists, illustrated with either a boy or girl baby holding the trident-shaped Lebensrune symbol.
Freyja stood aghast at the production line. ‘How many babies are here?’
‘There are one hundred beds available in this clinic,’ said the matron. ‘Modest compared to Home Steinhoring in Munich. Nine homes have been established across Germany and more are planned. Any valuable Aryan girl who finds herself in trouble to a good German soldier can be admitted to a Lebensborn home. Of course, a high racial standard is required. Every mother of good blood must be holy.’
A Brown Sister approached, carrying a baby. The infant was shrieking, tonsils and tongue ululating. ‘It’s time for him to be fed, Matrone.’
Hildegarde claimed the child. ‘I’ll drop him off.’
‘Where’s his mother?’ asked Freyja, aware she’d seen no women other than Brown Sisters.
‘In the maternity ward. It’s best to keep maternal contact to a minimum given the children will be adopted.’
Freyja imagined the girls’ distress. ‘It must be hard for them to give up their babies.’
The matron frowned. ‘Individual needs must be subordinated to the State, Fräulein. These women are doing their duty for the Vaterland. Reichsführer Himmler says eliminating abortions and saving unborn boys will lead to more than two hundred regiments of soldiers in twenty years’ time. Add girls, and in two decades we could have half a million additional decent Germans. We must outnumber the offspring of those vile Jewish refugees who’ve flooded in from the East.’
Under a brutal regime, what price must be paid to preserve truth, treasure and love in a world built on lies?
WWII Berlin. Freyja Bremer, a patriotic museum assistant, marries Kaspar Voigt, an ambitious SS scholar, to protect her father. Yet she is unaware her husband is instrumental in Himmler’s twisted quest for Aryan supremacy.
As she strives to safeguard the priceless Priam’s Treasure from air raids, Freyja falls in love with Darien Lessing, an archaeologist who exposes the moral decay beneath the Regime’s myths. Her awakening drives her into perilous resistance — aiding a Jewish doctor and his wife, Darien’s sister — while uncovering Kaspar’s role in the SS’s darkest programs, which subvert history to justify invasion, abduction and murder.
As Berlin collapses into chaos and bloodshed, Freyja, caught between duty, deception and desire, must risk everything to preserve truth in a world built on lies.
A heartbreaking yet triumphant love story, Fables & Lies shines light on lesser-known aspects of the Nazi Regime. It gives voice to the complex moral struggles of German women, the forgotten resistance of Gentiles married to Jews, the dangers of contested history, the evils of Himmler’s racial studies program and the unsung bravery of German museum curators who saved their nation’s treasures.
Perfect for readers of Kelly Rimmer, Anthony Doer and Laura Morelli.
Any Triggers: The book contains offensive Nazi ideology together with graphic war imagery (including rape) still birth and bereavement.
Praise for Fables & Lies:
“A heartrending story of a young woman caught in the machinations of the Third Reich and in the web of a regime-compliant family. The novel is meticulously researched and emotionally resonant, sure to delight readers who love a hearty feast of history in their fiction.”~ Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night
“A powerful and heartbreaking story set in war-torn Berlin, FABLES & LIES charts the slow dawning horror of a young woman as she realises all she has been taught about Hitler and the Third Reich is a lie. Impeccably researched and sensitively rendered, Elisabeth Storrs has shone a light on little-known aspects of life in Germany under the Nazi regime.”
~ Kate Forsyth, bestselling author of Bitter Greens
“Written from the little explored German viewpoint, FABLES & LIES is a gripping account of the quest to save the world’s great antiquities during WW2 and an ode to those women and men who risked all for freedom. A beautifully written novel. I’ve never read anything like it.”
~ Nicole Alexander, author of The Limestone Road
“Elisabeth Storrs has indeed broken the mould by writing ‘from the other side’. Evocative, detailed and heart-rending as the heroine journeys through disillusion and danger in the Third Reich.”
~ Alison Morton, author ofthe Roma Nova series
“A chilling and meticulously researched journey into the shadow world of the Ahnenerbe. Blending historical rigor with gripping fiction, FABLES & LIES reminds us of the devastating consequences when history is twisted to serve power.”
Elisabeth Storrs has a great love for history and myths. She is the award-winning author of A Tale of Ancient Rome trilogy which was endorsed by Ursula Le Guin, Kate Quinn and Ben Kane.
Now her obsession lies with Trojan treasure and twisted Germanic prehistory in her new release, Fables & Lies: A World War II Novel.
Elisabeth is also the founder of the Historical Novel Society Australasia and the $155,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize. She lives in Sydney with her husband in a house surrounded by jacarandas.
I’m sharing my review for a delightful cozy mystery, set in France, The Fatal Farandole by Ana T Drew #cozymystery #bookreview
I’m sharing my review for a delightful cozy mystery, set in France, The Fatal Farandole by Ana T Drew #cozymystery #bookreview
Here’s the blurb
The Fatal Farandole is a cozy mystery full of plot twists and small-town secrets. It’s perfect for fans of character-driven crime novels with emotional depth.
A beloved Provençal festival. A murderous conspiracy. A bullfighter who knows too much.
When two local chefs are killed within a week, shockwaves ripple through the region’s tight-knit culinary world.
Suspicion lands squarely on baker Julie Cavallo.
As whispers turn to accusations, her eccentric family closes ranks, and her loyal friends rally to her side.
But Julie’s running out of time. Her pastry shop is at risk. Her love life is unraveling. The gendarmes are tracking her every move. Julie can’t afford to wait for the official investigation to uncover the truth.
Her instincts go into overdrive. Dots connect. Patterns appear…
Can Julie make it through this case, when asking the right questions has already gotten others killed?
The Fatal Farandole is the latest release in this cozy mystery series. As it’s book 9, it did take me a while to get to know the characters. And although I’m never one to say you have to read a series in order, perhaps on this occasion, it might help to start with the first book, especially as the new mystery is so good.
We begin straight away with our character in a tricky situation and the story unfolds quickly from there, as we learn what’s happening, alongside our main character.
There is much discussion of food and mysteries and I look forward to going back to the beginning with this engaging and well-written mystery.
Meet the author
Ana T. Drew is the evil mastermind behind a recent string of murders in the fictional French town of Beldoc. A first-place winner of the Chanticleer MYSTERY & MAYHEM Awards, her books have been released in several languages, both independently and through traditional houses, including HarperCollins France and Straarup & Co.
When she’s not plotting mysteries, Ana can be found perfecting her low-carb cookie recipes or watching The Rookie to cope with the void left by Castle.
Ana lives in Paris with her husband and their dog, but her heart resides in Provence.
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I’m sharing my review for Death of a Fugitive, the second book in John Pilkington’s Elizabethan mysteries featuring Matthew Cutler #histfic #historicalmystery #bookreview
I’m sharing my review for Death of a Fugitive, the second book in John Pilkington’s Elizabethan mysteries featuring Matthew Cutler #histfic #historicalmystery #bookreview
Here’s the blurb
A BRAND NEW instalment in a gripping Tudor mystery from bestselling author John Pilkington. Perfect for fans of Andrew Taylor and S. J. Parris.
This Ward, Cutler… it seethes, does it not?
1595, Bishopsgate Ward, London. Matthew Cutler, constable for the parish of Spitalfields, prides himself on always being on the side of justice. So when a young man on the run, whose only ‘crime’ was protesting about high prices and corruption, hides out in Bishopsgate, not for the first time Cutler finds his duties as constable at odds with his gut feeling. He feels compelled to help him, and not just because his daughter Jane is smitten with the plucky lad…
Meanwhile there is trouble in Bishopsgate as fake coins keep turning up, convincing enough to fool many. Tensions rise and people are in fear of a brutal yet shadowy figure: the ‘coiner’ Thomas Gunnell, who seems to have eyes everywhere. Cutler must once again fall back on his skills of disguise, and risk his own life to root out Gunnell’s gang before they bring chaos to Bishopsgate Ward – and danger to everything he holds dear.
Death of a Fugitive is the secod book in the Bishopsgate Ward Mysteries, and I have read book 1.
Like the first book, our main character is Matthew Cutler, although he is assisted by a number of collegues (if such they could be called). The story unfolds mostly through his eyes, as he pieces together events that have occured during a short absence from the ward. Quite a lot of time has elapsed since the first book – his oldest daughter is married, and his wife’s aunt is being pursued by a suitor, while his own fledgling love affair is largely absent in this book, aside from a few odd mentions.
No sooner has he settled in the local tavern, than the mystery begins to unravel. Is there someone passing off fake coins in the area and how are they doing it? Cutler is resolved to finding out.
Like the first book, Death of a Fugitive is filled with information about the late Tudor era. It is also written in a slightly archaic way, (purposefully), but once you get used to it, it doesn’t distract from the story, which rumbles along at a decent enough pace, although I found some elements a little slow.
That said, this was a very enjoyable mystery and Cutler does once more, place himself in terrible danger in order to bring the enemy to justice, making some rather tricky decisions along the way.
A writer for over forty years, John Pilkington was born in Lancashire and worked at many jobs including laboratory assistant, farm worker, weaver, shipping clerk, picture frame-maker and cabaret musician before taking a degree in Drama and English and finding his true 2 vocation. He has since written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for a BBC soap, a short-lived children’s series and numerous works of historical fiction, concentrating now on the Tudor and Stuart eras. He also ventured into speculative fiction with his biography of Shakespeare’s famous jester, Yorick.
He now lives in a village on a tidal estuary in Devon with his long-term partner Elisabeth; they have a son who is a psychologist and musician. When not at the desk he walks, swims, listens to music and tinkers with d.i.y. projects, and is enjoying being a grandfather.
It’s happy release day to The Eagle Will Rise, the first book in The Sundered Kingdom Series. Listen to me talk about why I wrote this book #newbook #historicalfiction #Mercia
I’m introducing The Eagle Will Rise and reading the first chapter. Enjoy.
Here’s the blurb
The king is dead; for Mercia to survive, another must take his place.
Coelwulf, Mercia’s last king, is dead. His legacy and right to rule Western Mercia have been claimed by Alfred of Wessex, but all know Alfred was never to have Mercia. Neither were the Viking raiders, who now command the eastern-most parts of Mercia and the former kingdom of the East Angles.
Icel, the bastion of Mercia’s wars against Wessex and the Viking raiders, lies dying, but he refuses to abandon his beloved kingdom to her long-standing enemies.
Rudolf, the once-young ally of King Coelwulf the second, is summoned by Icel to attend upon him. Grudgingly, he arrives at Budworth, the task laid before him, audacious to say the least; rescue Coelwulf’s acknowledged heir, Æthelred, from Wessex, where he’s held prisoner by King Alfred. To do so, Rudolf must prevail upon the dispersed oath-sworn warrior band of King Coelwulf, and all of them, aside from him, have ignored Icel’s increasingly furious demands to attend upon him. If they won’t obey Icel, then why should they listen to Rudolf?
The fate of Mercia’s survival rests in the hands of a man who should long have been in his grave, and Rudolf, a boy who’s become a man in the most trying of circumstances. They must forge Æthelred into the emblem of Mercian survival. Or die trying. But first, they must rescue Æthelred from someone who’s always pretended to be Mercia’s ally, and is anything but.
