Three years ago I was launching my fourth historical novel set in early medieval Europe, The Drowned Court and M.K. Tod interviewed me about being a second career novelist. We talked about my journey from being a contemporary art curator and critic, to an art history academic, to a historical novelist and how I used…
Ecology of Words
The HIAP (Helsinki International Artists Programme) 2017 Yearbook has just been published online. You can download the pdf here. The yearbook includes a summary of my Ecology of Words Workshop which took words on adventures around the Finnish island of Suomenlinna. Other artists and writers featured in the yearbook include Jussi Parikka, Riikka Pelo, Jenni…
Struck gold!
A review of my latest historical novel The Anarchy has just been published. The Anarchy is the final book in the Conquest trilogy on the turbulent life of the 12th century Welsh noblewoman Nest ferch Rhys. “When Warr delved into Welsh history and discovered Nest, she must have known she’d struck gold.” Historical Novels Review Nest was the daughter of the…
Going Underground
Extensive medieval tunnels have just been found near Tintern Abbey. Many medieval castles had escape tunnels for when the castle was under siege. Manorbier Castle in Wales has an escape tunnel entered through the well. I used this detail from Manorbier and my experience of spending 12 hours in an old lead mine in Cumbria…
Surviving Vikings, rodents, and war
In my most recent lecture for MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School, I considered the production of medieval books. I hope some of the students are now busy making their own writing surfaces, inks and pigments. To survive into the 21st century these medieval books had to run the gauntlet of flood, fire, war,…
Of things I’d rather keep in silence I must sing
I’m currently preparing a teaching session for MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School on the troubadours and trobairitz, which put me in mind of a wonderful writing residency I had a few years ago in the beautiful medieval village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in France. In 2016, I collaborated with artist Tania Candiani on an…
Nest ferch Rhys
Video interview with me by Ellie Daniels on researching my latest historical novel, The Anarchy, is here. We discuss the story of Nest ferch Rhys, the heroine of my story, and how I set about researching early medieval Welsh history. I drew on the scant primary sources on Nest – Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of…
The Anarchy – video interview
Just posted – a video interview with me on writing The Anarchy with editor Ellie Daniel. We discussed castles in Wales, the little-known women of early medieval history, research for historical fiction, and the character of King Henry I. My latest newsletter is now available. If you are not already on my mailing list you…
The Anarchy out now in paperback
It is available to order at last! The e-book of my latest novel, The Anarchy, was published in June, but due to coronavirus disruptions for printers, distributors, and publishers, the paperback edition is only just now reaching many online retailers. The Anarchy is the final book in the Conquest series focused on Nest ferch Rhys, the daughter of…
Smoke and Mirrors
My review of Sophia Tobin’s novel, A Map of the Damage, is Editor’s Choice in the new issue of Historical Novels Review. ‘A scintillating novel of smoke and mirrors set in the glass-loaded Mirrormakers Club in London…. The novel vividly confronts us with the physical damage of the Blitz and makes us alive to the emotional…
