Much Medieval Mayhem - Links to Series

Some weeks ago, the tireless and extremely generous Anna Belfrage embarked on not one, but two blog series. One was all to do with the Seventeenth Century and the other was called Much Medieval Mayhem.

She invited a whole bunch of authors, including myself, to talk about our writing, our love of the medieval era, and to offer up some surprises. We had witches, bloody cucumbers, and people dying on the battlefield more than once - a neat trick if you can pull it off.

So I thought I'd do a little round-up of all those posts but not without finding out a little about the series creator.

In her series, Anna asked us all why we were so interested in the medieval period, and I wondered where her own fascination began:

"I think it all started when I got hold of a book called “The long/haired Merovingians”. I have no recollection of what the book was about (except, obviously, we’re in France somewhere between the 6th and 8th century) and I was too young to really read it, but somehow it stuck with me. Some years later, I was really, really depressed over the fact that I’d been born in the wrong time, because I would have been such a perfect and loyal companion for Richard Lionheart as he rode off on his Crusade. I have since re-evaluated my opinion both of Richard and the Crusades…) [Annie adds 'sensible' to her list of Anna's attributes!]

'Somewhat more seriously, I am fascinated by how defined the European medieval period is by belief in God—combined with an equally firm belief in the rule of the strongest, which in itself can be quite the contradiction at times. Most people did not know how to read or write, and yet they built marvels like Lincoln Cathedral, like Notre Dame, they invested hours and hours in creating some of the most beautiful manuscripts known to man. Most medieval people lived in dark and damp abodes, with earth floors and rough wooden floors. But some lived in palaces of tiled floors, with burbling fountains in their gardens and furnishings that were as beautiful as they were practical. Just like now, most medieval peeps were likely very hard-nosed and pragmatic, and yet this is the time of chivalry and romances. Lovely, lovely contradictions, don’t you think?"

I certainly do! And, just as we all had a particular person or event which we said inspired us, what or who, I wondered, drew Anna's attention?

"I am rather fascinated by the Plantagenet kings, more specifically with the three first Edwards. But it is not the kings as such that I find inspiring, more the people that interacted with them. One such person is Roger Mortimer. My 7th grade history teacher had a big thing about Roger Mortimer and Edward II (he was no fan of the king) and his interest was obviously contagious as I ended up writing The King’s Greatest Enemy, a four-book series about Roger Mortimer’s rise and subsequent fall, albeit I tell the story from the POV of Adam de Guirande, a loyal and honourable knight who is very much my own creation."

Readers, those of you who haven't yet met Adam, be warned that you will lose your heart to him...

As I said in my introduction, Anna is not solely content to stay in the medieval period, for she often can be found in the seventeenth century too. So are there any plans to return to the middle ages?

"Oh, yes. At present, I am in Aragon in 1285 where my protagonist Robert has just taken part in the battle that drove the French back over the border after their failed attempt at conquering Aragon, all of this labelled as a “crusade” because the pope was pissed off with Pedro, king of Aragon. (I do so love a meddling pope or two...)

I was also recently visited by a certain Nicholas de Guirande who introduced himself as Adam de Guirande’s youngest grandson. Hooked me with that one, he did. Hooked me even further when he explained he is in the service of one Henry Bolingbroke, plus that he is at odds with his older half-sister who has already tried to murder him twice—well, Nicholas maintains serving him pottage with crushed glass must constitute a murder attempt, as does lacing his ale with hemlock. His sister, Agnes, insists they were both unfortunate accidents. Nicholas is rather insistent, which is why I have pulled out my various biographies about Henry IV (I have quite a few as this guilt-ridden usurper has always fascinated me)."

Readers, I must tell you that if you haven't already met Robert, you are in for a treat. I recently met him and his wife in Anna's book, His Castilian Hawk.

You'd think, wouldn't you, that producing so many books would occupy Anna's time to the extent that she doesn't have any spare hours for blogging. But, not only does she host such series as Much Medieval Mayhem, she also writes great articles about many historical events and people. Not easy to pick just three, but here are some of Anna's favourites.

"I am rather fond of medieval Castile and this post is one of my favourites, the story of Alfonso VII and his beloved Jewess, Raquel. Alfonso VII was married to Eleanor of England and nothing indicates he ever had a mistress named Raquel or that any of the events in this story are true, but I love it anyway, no matter how sad. As a little extra, this post also includes such delicacies as labiodental fricative fs. What more can one wish for, hey? 

'One of the happier medieval marriages we know of is that of Edward III and his Philippa. As they both play central roles in my series The King’s Greatest Enemy, I felt they deserved their own post—even if my third-grade history teacher, Mrs Miller is a recurring presence. 

'Finally, I give you a kick-ass lady who definitely carved her own way through life, usually at the expense of other people’s lives. Mabel is not exactly likeable, but she serves to show that medieval women were not retiring violets, even if hopefully women like Mabel were few and far between…"

Anna captioned this with 'seems like something
Mabel would do'!

If you missed any of the posts in the Much Medieval Mayhem series, or would simply like to revisit them - and why wouldn't you? - here are all the links to the posts, in the order in which they appeared on Anna's blog (click on the names to take you there):

Alison Morton talks about the Roman connection to the medeival period

Paula Lofting talks about Re-enactment and her Anglo-Saxon novels

Nicky Moxey explains how she literally dug up her protagonist

Mercedes Rochelle reveals how she came to the medieval world via Shakespeare

Helen Hollick talks with a passion about Harold Godwinson 

Annie Whitehead - yes, that's me! - talks about Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, and erm, being a witch...

EM Powell  talks about piling up the bodies and writing medieval crime

Charlene Newcomb talks Crusades and a bit of Star Wars. Yes, really!

Sharon Bennett Connolly talks nonfiction and introduces a rather gutsy lady from Lincoln

Mary Anne Yarde delves deep into the 'Dark Ages' and explores the legend surrounding King Arthur

Jessica Knauss takes us to medieval Spain and tosses a cucumber. A bloody one at that.

Enjoy! These posts are informative, amusing and it was great fun to take part.

Finally, thanks to Anna for not only coming up with such a brilliant idea but for taking time out of her busy schedule to talk to me today.

More about Anna Belfrage:

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.  

More recently, Anna has published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. While she loved stepping out of her comfort zone (and will likely do so again ) she is delighted to be back in medieval times in her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love.   

Find out more about Anna on her website or on her Amazon page. You can also follow her on FB or Twitter.

Being Cleopatra: Putting Misconceptions to Rest

I've read two out of three of the Antonius Trilogy by Brook Allen and I've been keenly awaiting the third instalment. I wrote 5* reviews of Books 1 and 2 which gives an idea of how much I enjoyed them. Inevitably, Book 3 will take us to Egypt, and so I'm delighted to welcome Brook to the blog as she explains just who Cleopatra really was. Take it away Brook!

Being Cleopatra: Putting Misconceptions to Rest

Egyptianized Statue

There are some real misconceptions regarding Cleopatra VII, Philopater—the last and most famous of a string of royal Eastern women bearing that name. To really KNOW her, to grasp what she believed; what life was like in her time, and to gain more understanding on the risks she took is to better understand Hellenism’s end and the rise of the Roman Empire.

First and foremost, many people in the present day have clung to the notion that Cleopatra was native Egyptian or that she possessed  sub-Saharan African blood. Indeed, there are statues identified as Cleopatra, depicting her in a traditional pharaonic art-style, complete with a wig, hieroglyphics, and Egyptian attire. It’s likely that she did wear such dress in state ceremonies or during religious rites—particularly in Upper Egypt, where the old religion was still preferred over Hellenistic deities and Egypto-Greco gods, which were adapted by the Queen’s forebears. 

So let’s put one fallacy to rest: Cleopatra was not Egyptian. Nor was she of any sub-Saharan African descent. 

Her ancestry was the same as that of Alexander the Great, whose famous general, Ptolemy Soter (savior) founded the Ptolemaic dynasty. Adding to this was the fact that (aside from a few exceptions along the way), the Ptolemies had adopted incest, as had other Egyptian dynasties before them, as a means of keeping their ruling line pure. Cleopatra herself was expected to marry her own brothers, and I often ponder whether this was a practice that she herself despised. Her brothers (both named Ptolemy) preceded her in death, one during the Alexandrian War in 47 BC. The second died shortly after her return from Rome in 44 BC. Their deaths prevented her from any sexual unions with them. Her choices for marriage and/or political alliances were then wide open.

The second misconception that needs revisiting is one started by the man who conquered Cleopatra: Octavian Caesar. Octavian became the first Roman Emperor, declared “Augustus” (exalted one) by the Roman Senate in 27 BC. As history’s original spin-doctor, Octavian’s own propaganda is what has been passed down through history’s many works of art, plays, novels, and screenplays. 

Cleopatra was portrayed as a sex-symbol and femme fatale. 

But what was her motivation? And why did she and Marcus Antonius risk literally everything by creating their own “empire”—if indeed, that’s what they did?

To begin, let’s address the first misconception I mentioned. . . Who was Cleopatra?

Born around 69 BC, she was the third daughter to King Ptolemy Auletes, who is vividly portrayed in the Temple of Horus in Edfu as a spear-wielding, slender waisted warrior king. When I visited Upper Egypt while doing research on the Ptolemies, I laughed aloud! Auletes was nothing like this heroic depiction, but he used artistic propaganda to continue a power that was failing in his capital of Alexandria, along the Mediterranean coast. The use of propaganda was a lesson not lost on his daughter.

The author, with Sphinx!

Auletes—meaning “flute-player”—had to flee his city and escape to Rome after his daughter Berenice seized power and secured tentative support from the people. Her rule was brief, since Auletes managed to pay the Roman Senate off enough so they’d seek armed assistance to restore him to his throne. The proconsul of Syria at the time, Aulus Gabinius took interest in the task and he, along with a young and courageous cavalry commander, placed the wavering monarch back upon his throne. Berenice probably killed one of her sisters, and once Auletes was on his throne again, he in turn, had Berenice beheaded.

Those actions left a pubescent Cleopatra in line for the throne. Her brothers were young boys at the time. Oh! And don’t let me forget a tantalizing detail! Though we have no recorded proof that Cleopatra officially met him during his stay in Alexandria, most scholars believe it was highly possible. That young cavalry officer fighting for Auletes’s restoration was by the name of Marcus Antonius—the youthful Marc Antony.

So, long story short, Cleopatra inherited an unstable kingdom at her father’s death. It was a kingdom that was near bankruptcy. Yet, Romans were so occupied with their own internal problems, they didn’t bother marching in to seize Egypt. 

Cleopatra ascended the Horus throne.

She was intelligent, fluent in at least seven languages, articulate, and according to some Arab sources, an author of treatises concerning women’s cosmetics. At her fingertips was the world’s finest library and educational resources. She was no Helen of Troy—she was simply brilliant. By the time Cleopatra presented Julius Caesar with what was to be his only biological son, she had regained much of what her father had lost in revenue, and in the next few years, would steer Egypt through a drought crisis with wisdom and aplomb, earning the love of Upper Egyptians and taking up the reins of full power in Alexandria.

Still, she had a major problem. . . How did a single woman keep the Romans at bay? Her liaison with Caesar was successful, but such a risk became a nail in the coffin full of reasons why Brutus, Cassius, and over twenty other men plunged daggers into Caesar’s aging body on the Ides of March. 

Cleopatra needed a new champion. 

When Marcus Antonius, the new power-player in the East, called upon her to meet him in Tarsus, she did so, and their rendezvous became legend. Plutarch, who undoubtedly had more primary sources at his fingertips than are left us today, has told us that Cleopatra’s “beauty” wasn’t as impressive as her manner of speaking, her congeniality, and her savvy political ability. Coins and busts that portray her certainly add credence to this. She wasn’t completely UN-attractive, but was no Elizabeth Taylor, either!

But she was smart, and like Antonius, she was a risk-taker. 

Like Caesar, Antonius was a womanizer. But for Cleopatra, that didn’t matter. Egypt mattered. And she was willing to do anything to secure the continued freedom of her nation. And if she and Antonius came into sole power of the Roman state, then so much the better.

During the final decade of her life, Octavian became her most hated and lethal antagonist. And eventually, with or without her cajoling, he also became Antonius’s bitter enemy. Before there was ever the final, fated Battle of Actium and the end to Hellenistic rule with this illustrious Queen’s death, there were several years of Octavian’s propaganda—and it forever marred the reputations of both the Egyptian Queen and Antonius, considered one of Rome’s national heroes. 

Cleopatra was characterized as the whore of whores who brought down not one, but two noble Romans—a woman so depraved, she reduced Antonius to slave-like status, guided him to dress like an Easterner, and plotted to rule upon Rome’s Capitol. For two-thousand years, Antonius and Cleopatra have been immortalized as scandalous lovers, totally immersed in themselves. This, despite the fact that they had three children together and chose not to betray one another in the end, even when pathways to do so had been offered and were readily available. Sadly, whatever plans they had for their life together or to build some sort of Eastern empire have been lost to us, and any legacy they left was erased through damnatio memoriae and the slanderous mockery of the victor.

As Hollywood begins yet another retelling of the Queen’s incredible life, featuring actress Gal Gadot, I think it important for people to be aware of the real Cleopatra, not the one the Romans conjured up under Augustan rule, nor the one someone simply yearns to see portrayed. 

For once, let’s hope this upcoming film will be a retelling worthy of such an astounding woman.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Thanks so much to Brook for the insights into the real Cleopatra.

Author Brook Allen has a passion for ancient history—especially 1st century BC Rome. Her Antonius Trilogy is a detailed account of the life of Marcus Antonius—Marc Antony, which she has worked on for the past fifteen years. The first installment, Antonius: Son of Rome was published in March 2019. It follows Antony as a young man, from the age of eleven, when his father died in disgrace, until he’s twenty-seven and meets Cleopatra for the first time. Brook’s second book is Antonius: Second in Command, dealing with Antony’s tumultuous rise to power at Caesar’s side and culminating with the civil war against Brutus and Cassius. Antonius: Soldier of Fate is the last book in the trilogy, spotlighting the romance between Antonius and Cleopatra and the historic war with Octavian Caesar.

In researching the Antonius Trilogy, Brook’s travels have led her to Italy, Egypt, Greece, and even Turkey to explore places where Antony once lived, fought, and eventually died. While researching abroad, she consulted with scholars and archaeologists well-versed in Hellenistic and Roman history, specifically pinpointing the late Republican Period in Rome. Brook belongs to the Historical Novel Society and attends conferences as often as possible to study craft and meet fellow authors. In 2019, Son of Rome won the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award. In 2020, it was honored with a silver medal in the international Reader’s Favorite Book Reviewers Book Awards.

Though she graduated from Asbury University with a B.A. in Music Education, Brook has always loved writing. She completed a Masters program at Hollins University with an emphasis in Ancient Roman studies, which helped prepare her for authoring her present works. Brook teaches full-time as a Music Educator and works in a rural public-school district near Roanoke, Virginia. Her personal interests include travel, cycling, hiking in the woods, reading, and spending downtime with her husband and two amazing Labrador Retrievers. She lives in the heart of southwest Virginia in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.

Review: Vikings by WB Bartlett

One of the perks of being published by Amberley Books is the opportunity to read and review other publications from their catalogue and recently I was sent a copy of Vikings: A History of the Northmen by WB Bartlett.

Quite a weighty subject. And, indeed, this is quite a hefty book, at 374 pages, plus maps, endnotes and bibliography. It needed to be this long because it is a thorough and comprehensive history.

The author begins with a quick explanation of the terminology i.e. the definition of a Viking, and then moves swiftly on, bringing us a chronological history of the raiders/adventurers/visitors who set out from various northern lands.

Writing mainly about the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England I tend to think of the Viking age as the one which affected the English kingdoms and, indeed, this period is covered in some detail. But we also discover what was happening in other parts of the world - Frankia, Ireland, Orkney to name a few - and always in a chronological framework.

I found this a very useful approach. This book will remain now on my shelf and I know that if I need to look up a particular period, or Viking personality, I will be able to turn to the right chapter. And, as my next-but-one novel will feature a famous (ish) Viking, this book will be invaluable to me.

All the major characters are here but we also develop an understanding of the Viking mindset, the different groups of people who all get lumped under this one name, their stories, the stories about them - the sources and sagas are used with caution and clear understanding - and their varying fortunes. Some are success stories and some are anything but. There is also lots of discussion of archaeological evidence and you come away with a clear idea of how people in the various regions and settlements lived.

Obviously a book with this much scope cannot go into tiny detail about every aspect but I used the sections about English history as a benchmark. While they didn't go into tremendous detail they were accurate and gave a good overview of the period, so I am confident that the rest of the book matches this in term of accuracy.

There is plenty here for those who know something of the history already, but equally it is a very accessible book for those who are less familiar with the period under examination. 

Vikings is available from Amberley Books and all good bookstores/sites

 

New Release - The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas

 Terry Lynn Thomas has a new release, published today.

Terry has kindly sent me the opening lines and if these don't whet your appetite, then nothing will:

Prologue

Sunday, October 5

When the alarm blared the Sunday financial recap, the woman woke with a start. She didn’t care about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, nor did she care about market volatility. Fumbling, she unplugged the old-fashioned clock radio and tossed it under the bed. Her thoughts, as they often did, went to her lover. She rolled over and pressed her face into his pillow, taking in the scent of him, that strange concoction of vanilla and citrus that made her senses reel.

Rolling over on her back, she took a deep breath, and cradled her belly, thinking of the baby that grew inside her. The positive pregnancy test lay on the table next to her, its vertical pink line a source of unimaginable joy. She snuggled under the duvet as the automatic coffeemaker kicked into gear, filling her apartment with the aroma of the dark roast coffee her lover preferred.

She saw the card on the doormat just as she poured her first cup of coffee.

I’ve rented a beach house for us tonight. I’ll send a key and the address by messenger. Meet you there around ten?

Leaning back against the counter, the woman closed her eyes, anticipating their rendezvous. Dear God, she craved him.

She did not know she had less than fifteen hours to live.

*************************

TERRY LYNN THOMAS grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which explains her love of foggy beaches and Gothic mysteries. Terry Lynn writes the Sarah Bennett Mysteries, set on the California coast during the 1940s, which feature a misunderstood medium in love with a spy. The Drowned Woman is a recipient of the IndieBRAG Medallion. She also writes the Cat Carlisle Mysteries, set in Britain during World War II. The first book in this series, The Silent Woman, came out in April 2018 and has since become a USA TODAY bestseller. The Family Secret released to critical acclaim in March 2019. When she's not writing, you can find Terry Lynn walking in the woods with her dogs or visiting old cemeteries in search of story ideas.

Buy The Betrayal Amazon UK

Buy The Betrayal Amazon US

Buy The Betrayal Elsewhere

The Battle Begins... by Helen Hollick

We're almost on the last leg of our tour and today it's all about the date - 14th October. Over to Helen:

On this day, 14^th October 1066, there was a unique, for its time, battle at a place that, then, had no name. The battle raged from around 9a.m. until dusk and was bitter and bloody. Since that day the location has been known by various names – Senlac Hill, the Battle of Hastings, and just Battle, which is the name of the present town which came into existence when Battle Abbey was built by order of the victor, Duke William of Normandy. Was it built to commemorate a victory... or to pay penance for the murder of England’s rightful king? Harold II died defending his kingdom against an arrogant, psychopathic  tyrant who had no right to the English throne. Who invaded England with the intention of taking what he wanted, by force. Unfortunately, he won.

looking across where, it is believed,
one wing of the Battle of Hastings took place

Excerpt from 

Harold the King (UK edition title) / I am the Chosen King (US edition title) 

the story of the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings

Harold reached London late in the evening of the ninth day of October. The news was bad. His brother Leofwine, awaited him at Westminster, was first down the Hall steps into the torch-lit courtyard as the King rode in.

    “Well?” Harold demanded as Leofwine ran up.

   “He has fortified himself within that area of marsh-edged land known as the Hastings Peninsula. It would be difficult to take our army in there  –  boundaries of marsh and river are as effective as any palisade wall. For the moment he has no lack of supplies, is living off the land, looting all he can and destroying what remains.”

    Harold tossed the reins of his stallion to the nearest servant, unbuckled and removed his war cap as he strode up the wooden steps leading into his Hall. Alditha, his wife, stood at the top, the cup of welcome in her hand. She offered it to him, he took a quick gulp and passed it back, pressing a light but inattentive kiss to her cheek. “I have no time for formal welcome, lass, but would appreciate a tankard of ale and something to eat, cheese will do.” He kissed her a second time, more fondly. “You look tired. Does the child bring discomfort?”

     “No, my lord, the child is well,” Alditha answered him, her hand on the bulge of her belly. But he did not hear, for he was talking again to Leofwine and others of his command who were gathering around the table set beside the eastern wall, already cluttered with maps and parchments. His queen, for want of something to do to help, went to fetch ale and cheese.

     “I have been studying the route south, and the entire Hastings area,” Leofwine said, pointing to one map unrolled and spread, a salt box, tankard, ink pot and wooden fruit bowl anchoring the four persistently curling corners. “From what we have already learned, these villages” – he indicated three – “have been burnt, razed to the ground.”

     “Casualties?” Harold snapped.

    Leofwine cleared his throat, glanced at his own captain of housecarls, knowing Harold would not be pleased at the answer. “Several.”

     “Aye, I would expect the Bastard to butcher the menfolk.”

     “’Tis not just the men. There are bodies of women and children – bairns, some of them still at the breast.” Leofwine swallowed hard, reluctant to continue. The brutality of the battlefield was no stranger to any of the warrior kind, but this, this was sickening. Quietly, his voice hoarse, he said, “Many are only charred remains, they burnt with their houses. Nothing has been left standing. No one left alive. It seems he has not come merely to conquer England, but to destroy everyone and everything in the process.”

    Harold was standing with his palms resting flat on either side of the map, looking at the markings of river, coast, settlement and hill. He set his jaw, said nothing. He dared not. The words that were sticking in his throat would have erupted into fury had he released them. He swallowed down his anger with a gulp of ale from the tankard that Alditha fetched him, his mind turning to campaigning in Brittany... William’s determination to succeed, whatever the cost in human life or suffering. His manic obsession with winning. Too clearly could Harold see in his mind the past, that smouldering ruin of Dinan. The senseless killing of the innocent. Of women and babes. Heard in his ears the screaming as women and their daughters, innocent of men, were violated. Now it was happening to his own; to English people. People he knew – and knew well, for he held estates in that coastal area, had hunted there often as boy and man grown. He had a stud of fine breeding horses at Whatlington, and Crowhurst held a mews with some of the best hawks in the country. His hawksman there was a loyal and good-humoured man, his wife and four daughters all exceptionally pretty. Crowhurst had been one of the places Leofwine had pointed to.

After a while, when his breathing had calmed, Harold asked, “Do we know the extent of his supplies? The Hastings land will not feed him for ever.”

     “With the number of ships he has brought with him, I would say he is capable of withstanding a siege through the winter at least.”

     William could devastate the area in that time, and aye, it would be difficult to flush him out. The Hastings Peninsula might be no stone-built fortress, but it mattered not. A siege was a siege, whatever the defensive circumstances, and Duke William was well versed in siege warfare. Nor, Harold reflected grimly, was he likely to make fatal mistakes through arrogance, as had the Hardrada up there in the north.

     “I say leave him to rot!” That was Gyrth, who had just entered the Hall, stripping off his riding gloves as he did so. Like his elder brother Harold, his beard-stubbled face was grimed with white dust, his clothes sweat-stained, eyes tired. Twice, in a matter of weeks, had they made the journey between London and York in six days. Once in itself was feat enough for any man, but twice? Surely this king deserved the respect and loyalty of his subjects!

     “We shall ensure he cannot get reinforcements; therefore he will run out of food eventually – perhaps his men will not stand firm if we starve them out,” Leofwine suggested.

     Harold pushed his weight from the table, hooked a stool forward, sat. He was so weary. His body felt a dead, limp weight, but he could not afford the luxury of paying mind to it. “We need to consider this carefully,” he said. “I know Duke William. Know some of his vile tactics. He hopes to goad me into hasty action through what he has ordered done to my people in Sussex.”

     “He intends to draw us into the arena, do you think?” Leofwine spoke his thoughts out loud. “Is waiting for us to go in after him, lure us into an ambush?”

     “Or, once he has burnt and plundered everything in sight, will he march out towards the Weald?” a housecarl captain asked, indicating a possible route with a grimed nail. “Could he have designs on Winchester, or Dover?”

     “That we must wait and see.” Harold selected a chunk of soft goat’s cheese and bit into it, not tasting its tangy saltiness. “I do not care to let him run riot in the Weald. With only one narrow road in through dense woodland and impassable marsh he is safe from any land-based attack, but equally, that makes only the one route out for him. Within Hastings, we have him contained, can choose our own time to attack.” He ruffled his hair then brought his hand down over his nose, across his chin. “It is easier to spear a boar while it is trapped. Only a fool would prod such a creature out into the open.”

      “How long do we wait?” Leofwine queried. “A few days, weeks?”

     Harold answered him with a vague shrug. His mind was too tired to think, to make decisions. He forced the drowsiness aside. “We wait as long as we can. We are all tired, many of the men are wounded and are still straggling south – we were too short of horses for us all to ride with haste. My poxed brother’s treachery has placed us at a disadvantage. Let us just hope William is as uncertain what to do next – he cannot have made plans, for he would not have expected us to be occupied in the North.”

     Not for the first time during the dash south did Harold wonder at that. Had William known? What if Tostig had made an ally of Normandy as well as Norway? There was no reason, save that of family honour, to have prevented him from doing so. And honour was a quality the exiled and shamed, now dead, Tostig had been grotesquely lacking. But there was no way, now, to ask him.

      “The fyrd, I assume, is alerted?” Harold asked of Leofwine.

      His brother nodded. “The war horns await your orders for their blowing.”

    All summer had the fyrds of the south and eastern counties been on alert, alternating their patrolling of the coastlines. Now they were to be called out again. They were not obliged to come, for already they had served their compulsory time. Before Stamford Bridge, Harold might have doubted their eagerness, but not now. They would join together under his banner, for no warrior would miss the chance of a good fight, a good victory. Especially when their own homes, lives and families, their freedom, depended upon it.

© Helen Hollick

Helen Hollick is the author of Harold the King (UK edition title) / I am the Chosen King (US edition title) the story of the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, and one of the authors included in 1066 Turned Upside Down an anthology of short stores exploring the 'what if' alternative versions of the year 1066

Available via Helen’s Amazon AuthorPage

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* * *

 Follow the tour - a joint venture with 

Annie Whitehead 

and

 Helen Hollick

 1st October Annie Whitehead - hosted by Helen Hollick

Lady Godiva – Who Was She, and Did She Really?

Let Us Talk Of Many Things

2nd October Helen Hollick - hosted by Nicola Cornick

Why Do We Do It?

Word Wenches

3rd October : Annie Whitehead - hosted by Lisl Zlitni

Who Was the Lord of the Mercians?

Before the Second Sleep

4th October : Helen Hollick - hosted by Tony Riches

Undoing The Facts For The Benefit Of Fiction?
The Writing Desk

5th October : Annie Whitehead - hosted by Pam Lecky

Murder in Saxon England

Pam Lecky

6th October : Helen Hollick - hosted by Derek Birks

King Arthur? From Roman Britain To Saxon England

Dodging Arrows

7th October : Annie Whitehead - hosted by Samantha Wilcoxson

Æthelflæd's Daughter 

Samantha Wilcoxson

8th October : Helen Hollick - hosted by Cryssa Bazos

An Anthology Of Authors

Cryssa Bazos

9th October : Annie Whitehead - hosted by Elizabeth St John 

Anglo-Saxon Family Connections

Elizabeth St John

10th October : Helen Hollick - hosted by Judith Arnopp

Alditha: Wife. Widow. Mother.

Judith Arnopp

11th October : Annie Whitehead - hosted by Brook Allen

Roman Remains - Did the Saxons Use Them?

Brook's Scroll

12th October : Helen Hollick - hosted by Amy Maroney

Emma Of Normandy, Queen Of Anglo-Saxon England – Twice

Amy Maroney

13th October : Annie Whitehead - hosted by Simon Turney

Penda: Fictional and Historical 'Hero' 

Simon Turney

14th October : Helen Hollick - hosted by Annie Whitehead

The Battle Begins...
Reads Writes Reviews

15th October : Annie - Casting Light Upon The Shadow
and Helen - Let Us Talk Of Many Things
joint post hosted by both of us 

We hope you will enjoy 'Stepping Back Into Saxon England' 

with us!

Feature/Review: Echoes of the Storm by Charlene Newcomb

Today on Reads, Writes, Reviews, my review of Echoes of the Storm my Charlene Newcomb. But first, a few words from the author herself:

Hurtling from the 12th century to the 24th - by Charlene Newcomb

Echoes of the Storm marks my debut novel in science fiction/space opera after more than a decade with fingers in both contemporary and medieval historical fiction. But my writing career actually began in the mid ‘90s in the Star Wars universe, where I contributed more than 10 short stories to the Lucasfilm-licensed Star Wars Adventure Journal. 

I always dreamed of writing a Star Wars novel, but knew that path was closed to me unless I was 1) a successful writer with a proven track record; 2) numerous published science fiction novels, and 3) agented. Real life - the demanding day job and single parenthood - curtailed my writing for years. When I finally began writing again, I took a fork in my writing road and turned to my first love: historical fiction. Three medieval novels later, I dusted off Echoes and finished the manuscript I had started in 1998.  I’m still un-agented, and don’t have numerous sci fi tales under my belt, but I’ll still dream about Star Wars. 

Find Echoes at major online retailers in print and ebook formats: https://books2read.com/EchoesoftheStorm

Charlene Newcomb lives, works, and writes in Kansas. She is an academic librarian (retired) by trade, a U.S. Navy veteran, and has three grown children. When not at the library, she is still surrounded by books trying to fill her head with all things medieval and galaxies far, far away. She loves to travel and enjoys quiet places in the mountains or on rocky coasts. But even in Kansas she can let her imagination soar. 
Website: charlenenewcomb.com
Newsletter: /subscribe-to-my-newsletter/
Facebook: CharleneNewcombAuthor
Twitter: @charnewcomb
Instagram: @charnewc

Review

As Charlene says, she has written three novels set in the medieval period. This was my introduction to her writing; I read the first of those books, Men of the Cross, and simply loved it. I've also read some of her short stories, featured on Discovering Diamonds, and I loved those too. So when I heard that she'd written a new novel which encompassed her other great passion, Sci-Fi, I had to take a look, despite its not being my usual preferred genre.

But.

A good writer is a good writer. And a good book is a good book.

Echoes of the Storm begins by throwing the reader right into some high-octane action. In a way, it doesn't let up afterwards because the plot is so ingenious, the fates and fortunes of the characters so many and varied, that the book is a definite page-turner.

Yet there are also scenes of calm, of pause, so that the book is well paced. 

Here's the blurb:

Jack Gamble’s lover Ari Norse is a double agent. He betrayed the resistance and now commands Galilei's military operations.

Jack is shattered by the betrayal, and rallying what remains of the resistance and their galactic allies wasn’t part of his plans. His contacts are scattered, maybe dead.

Streams are broadcasting Jack's face from one end of the galaxy to the other. In a harrowing escape, his ship is intercepted by mercenaries under the command of Captain Ben Stone.

Space pirates, friendly interrogators, security grunts, and Norse stand in Jack’s way. Stone could turn him in, but the intriguing captain has his own problems with the empire - and an interest in Jack. But can he trust Stone?

Jack can't afford any emotional entanglements now. He has a rebellion to win and a world to take back. Failure means his people will never break the empire’s chains, and his homeworld is screwed.

Norse already did that to him.

Jack won’t let it happen again.

Yes, we are definitely a long way from our known world! One tiny touch which I loved was that few explanations are given. We are simply immersed in this other place. The author does this effectively by, for example, presenting plates of food with unfamiliar names but rather than explaining what they are, she makes it clear by what the characters say, and how they react. Minimal exposition like this has the effect of putting us right in the scenes and, indeed, the whole time I was reading I felt like I was watching. No spoilers, but a particularly tense scene towards the end of the book had me feeling as if I was turning from one character to another as they moved, spoke, and fought. I could 'see' everything.

It's not necessary to be a Sci-fi fan to enjoy this book. The setting is skilfully drawn, so it made sense even to a non-techie like me. But the setting is also important. Could this story be told in another way, another time, another universe? No. Is it just explosions and lasers and fancy gadgets? Also no.

Jack Gamble has been betrayed, on a personal level, and in terms of what this betrayal now means to the resistance. This is so much more than a simple tale of revenge, however. Jack knows he needs to learn how to put his feelings aside in order not to compromise the rebellion, and he struggles. Human emotions aren't so easy to put into little boxes, and the author knows this.

Nor is this just Jack's story. It's told from multiple viewpoints and every character is presented as a rounded human being, with faults, frailties, insecurities, intelligence and strength.

What I particularly liked was that there are genuine surprises. The reader is kept on their toes, as it were, because it's just never clear how things will work out. Had I placed a bet on what one member of Norse's staff was going to do towards the end of the book, I'd have lost my money.

The action scenes are written superbly, the dialogue felt natural and the frankly audacious stunts pulled off by the resistance were beautifully choreographed.

If you're not a Sci-fi fan, don't be put off. This book is simply a fantastic read. The plot is strong, so are the characters, and they perform in their world. A bit like good historical fiction, only with blaster weapons.

Drawing Anglo-Saxon and Viking Treasure: Guest Post by Gilli Allan

To tie in with the release of the gorgeous new cover for Buried Treasure, I'm delighted to hand the blog over to author Gilli Allan:

Drawing Anglo-Saxon and Viking Treasure

One of the reasons I chose to write my book, BURIED TREASURE, is because I have always had a fascination with archaeology. I grew up in the knowledge that my great uncle, Sydney Ford, ‘unearthed the Mildenhall Treasure on his farm’. I put this in quotation marks because the story is actually a lot more complicated and mysterious than I knew as a child. To find out more go to  http://gilliallan.blogspot.com/2020/06/my-connection-to-mildenhall-treasure.html

Maybe our family history also influenced my son, Thomas Williams. He is now a Medievalist and an Archaeologist, and the author of Viking Britain and Viking London. His interest has always been focused, not on the Roman occupation (and finds like the silver tableware his great great Uncle Syd discovered), but on the traces left in the landscape during the early medieval period often referred to as the Dark Ages, the half century between the Romans and the Normans. 

Growing up, Tom always claimed he wanted to be a writer. And aged four, produced his first dictated ‘book’ about ghosts and ghouls. I claim all the credit as his early influencer because as far back as Tom can remember I was forever scribbling in notebooks or tapping away at a ‘sit-up-and-beg’ typewriter. And he was just six when I became a published author. 

Before I had Tom and began writing, my career was as an illustrator in advertising.  So, for a few years when Tom was trying to find his feet after graduating, he talked about our doing some kind of project together. He flirted with the idea of rewriting some classic legends or fairy-stories, for which I would supply the illustrations.  

His first outing as an author did indeed turn out to be a children’s book, although not a fairy story. It was an account of the life of Harald ‘Hardrada’ Sigurdsson, the Viking King who launched an attack on the north of England in 1066 (ahead of William the Conqueror’s invasion in the South East), but he was defeated by our own King Harold Godwinson, at Stamford Bridge. ‘The Tale of King Harald – The Last Viking Adventure’ was written to accompany the ‘Vikings-Life and Legend’ exhibition, at the British Museum in 2014, for which my son was the project curator. True to his word, he asked me to illustrate the narrative, the map and the cover art. 

King Harald in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Praying for Forgiveness

After this, my first ever book illustration commission, my son’s writing career continued in a more adult direction. He contributed to and edited, an academic tome, Representing Beasts in Early Medieval England and Scandinavia.

Two artefacts from ‘Representing Beasts……’ The Clocmacnoise Plaque (above)
and The Lejre Throne (below)

One of the other contributors was unable to secure the rights (at a reasonable cost) to reproduce copy-righted images to illustrate her text. Tom suggested his mum could draw the artefacts for her.  Thus, my second book illustration commission came about. It was the kind of work I had never previously attempted (a British Museum artist undertook the depictions of the ‘real’ artefacts, which interleave the story of the ‘The Tale of King Harald’), but I found I really loved it. There is a certain security and comfort in drawing something that actually exists, something you can simply copy, rather than dreaming up what tenth century Constantinople, or the aftermath of a battle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, might have looked like!   

When Tom gained his original two-book contract with William Collins we were very proud and happy parents. It did not initially occur to me that I might be called upon yet again to illustrate anything.  But quite close to the deadline for delivery of his book, ‘Viking Britain’, guess who was on the phone. “Mu…um?” 

Northumbrian Coin of the 920s

For this book I produced ‘raven’ and ‘crossed-axe’ section dividers, and also ‘knotted snake’ chapter endings.  And I also produced the illustrations of two coins.  It may not be much, but it gave me enormous pleasure to be involved in some small way in our son’s career as a writer. And, when I came to write my own book, BURIED TREASURE, Tom was on hand to help me enormously both with the plausibility of my plot and the research required.  His expertise was invaluable. 

Coin of Cnut of Northumbria 900-5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Gilli:

Gilli Allan began to write in childhood - a hobby pursued throughout her teenage. Writing was only abandoned when she left home, and real life supplanted the imaginary kind.  
After a few false starts she worked longest and most happily as an illustrator in advertising and only began writing again when she became a mother.  
Living in Gloucestershire with her husband Geoff, Gilli is still a keen artist. She draws and paints and has now moved into book illustration. 
All of her recent books TORN, LIFE CLASS, FLY or FALL and BURIED TREASURE have gained ‘Chill with a Book’ awards. 

Following in the family tradition, her son, historian Thomas Williams, is now also a writer. 

About Buried Treasure:

“I found Buried Treasure a compelling read. It was so many things: a love story, a hunt for clues to lost secrets, and a fascinating look at how our past experiences shape us, and how we can heal even after damage. The characters were wonderfully well drawn. ”

Jane thinks he sees her as shallow and ill-educated. Theo thinks she sees him as a snob, stuffy and out of touch.

Within the ancient precincts of the university the first encounter between the conference planner and the academic is accidental and unpromising. Just as well there’s no reason for them ever to meet again. But behind the armour they’ve each constructed from old scars, they’ve more in common than divides them. Both have an archaeological puzzle they are driven to solve. As their stories intertwine, their quest to uncover the past unearths more than expected.

Find Gilli:

mybook.to/BURIEDTREASURE

Find Gilli’s other books TORN, LIFE CLASS and FLY or FALL at 
author.to/GILLIALLAN

Contact Gilli at

http://gilliallan.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gilli.allan.1

https://twitter.com/gilliallan