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…
Tag: vikings
Viking Hostage
My latest France’s Splendid Centuries post focuses on Emma of Limoges who was kidnapped by Vikings. https://www.facebook.com/FrancesSplendidCenturies/posts/pfbid022ARv2yicRUwt3SJQMQRqTyPR6GAywLjVKMxoqLaQLQokjBcoU2DmLwBTtuBPbHg9l
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…
Historical Novelists Converge
I have been busy for the last two years organising the Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference, which has a stellar lineup of speakers and events, including Diana Gabaldon, Bernard Cornwell, S.G. MacLean, Ian Mortimer, Kate Quinn, Jane Johnson, Elizabeth Chadwick, Elizabeth Fremantle and many more. The conference is just around the corner now –…
French Historical Fiction Summer Reading
Set in France that is, rather than written in French. My novels in the House of La Marche series are part of this promotion, which runs until the end of July https://books.bookfunnel.com/FrenchHistoricalFictionSummerReading/fpa4u298b9
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…
Unpacking Books
Unpacking the latest batch of books. Since last November, I have been working on reissuing my five historical novels under my own imprint, Meanda Books. Daughter of the Last King, The Drowned Court and The Anarchy – my trilogy on medieval Wales are all available now in hardback, paperback and ebook. Coming next, The Viking…
Spring is sprung
Spring is arriving at last in southern France where I am copyediting my novel, The Viking Hostage. I was delighted to revisit this quotation from Freda White’s Three Rivers of France: ‘the spring in Aquitaine comes flying from the west in a swirl of flowers, with summer hard on its heels, pursuing it by the…
Cover Reveal – The Viking Hostage
I am very excited to reveal the new cover for The Viking Hostage, which has been designed by Jessica Bell. The Viking Hostage was an Amazon bestseller in Australia on its first publication, back in 2014, and has been out of print for two years. I am especially excited, therefore, to welcome it back to…
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…
Tracey Warr Writing 