Castles, Christmas, and Books

We are past Halloween and Bonfire Night, and thoughts and the season are turning towards Christmas. Christmas was the longest holiday of the year in the medieval period described in my novels and the winter is a great time to cosy up with a book. If you have a historical fiction fan on your Christmas…

Christmas Presents for History Fiction Fans

Got someone on your Christmas list who is into history and historical fiction, medieval murders, medieval ladies in Wales, France, Spain? Look no further. My Christmas Bookshop makes those Christmas presents easy. You can order a beautiful hardback or an unputdownable paperback and get it sent anywhere in the UK or the US direct from…

Curling up with a book at Christmas

It’s December! Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Tra la la la la, la la la la. Curling up with a book in the winter holidays, perhaps in front of a logfire and the glinting Christmas tree, and/or in your Christmas jumper and socks, or with a glass of port – whatever appeals to…

Competition for Book Reviewers

Many of us don’t get around to posting reviews of the books we’ve enjoyed. It takes a bit of time to craft a well-worded review, but we writers are very grateful for the ones we do receive and even those with critiques can be very helpful for us. As a book reviewer myself (mostly for Historical…

On a Viking trouser-snake

I’ve a crick in my neck, And tend to fall on my head, My trouser-snake is soft, And my hearing’s gone away. The extract above is from Judith Jesch’s translation of a lament on old age by the 10th century Viking skald (or poet) Egil Skallagrimsson. The image is a 19th century French painting by…

The Viking Hostage – Publication Day

Very excited to announce the publication today of the new edition of The Viking Hostage. The novel is based on the true story of a French viscountess who was kidnapped by Vikings from a monastery on the French coast in the late 10th century. She was held for ransom for three years. Vikings are endlessly…

Gwenllian – Welsh Warrior Queen

A guest post on my novel, The Anarchy, and the story of Gwenllian, the 12th-century Welsh woman who led an army against the Normans at Kidwelly Castle is posted today on Tony Riches’ The Writing Desk. Gwenllian was the daughter of the king of the northern kingdom of Wales, Gwynedd. She married the disinherited king…