Great Historical Fiction/Fantasy Novels

Posted on February 2, 2019February 2, 20196 Comments

History is anthroplogy for the past. Great historical fiction brings you into that past world and makes it accessible. Would life in thirteenth century Wales chew me up and spit me out? No doubt. But that doesn’t mean I can’t spend many happy hours living there. I am also partial to the fantasy element of historical fiction in part because I acknowledge that past lives are truly inaccessible to me and if I wanted to read about something that was absolutely true, I would get the non-fiction version. That said the following are some of my most favorite books: Sherwood by Parke Godwin. He’s written a lot of books, but this one has always pulled me in. I’ve read it innumerable times. From Publisher’s Weekly: “Godwin sets his highly satisfying retelling of the Robin Hood legend in the time of Read more…

Happy St. Dwynwen Day (Welsh Valentine’s Day)

Posted on January 25, 2019March 17, 2023Leave a comment

January 25th is Saint Dwynwen’s Day … the Welsh St Valentine. Typically, however, she ends up a nun. Brychan, a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog had 24 daughters, of whom Dwynwen was reputedly the prettiest. She fell in love with a local prince called Maelon Dafodrill. Unfortunately her father, mindful of political advantage, had already arranged a marriage for her. Dwynwen was distraught. She hid in the forest and asked God to help her forget Maelon. She fell asleep and was visited by an angel in her dreams. The angel brought an elixir with the power to expunge her memories of her former lover and turn him into a block of ice. God granted Dwynwen three wishes. Firstly she asked that Maelon be thawed. Secondly she wished that God would vouchsafe the dreams and aspirations of true lovers for all Read more…

Betrayal in the Belfry of Bangor

Posted on December 9, 2018December 9, 20257 Comments

“And there was effected the betrayal of Llywelyn in the belfry of Bangor by his own men.”—Brut y Tywysogyon, Peniarth manuscript 20. (Chronicle of the Princes) This comment is sandwiched between the description of the defeat of the English at the Menai Strait on November 6th, and the death of Llywelyn on December 11th. It is only found in the manuscript kept at the National Library of Wales, not the incomplete version at Oxford, which ends with the firing of Aberystwyth Castle on Palm Sunday (April, 1282). Here is the full record for the year 1282: “In this year Gruffydd ap Maredudd and Rhys Fychan ap Rhys ap Maelgwn took the castle and town of Aberystwyth. And Rhys gained possession of the cantref of Penweddig and Gruffydd the commot of Mefenydd. On Palm Sunday took place the breach between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Edward Read more…

The Battle of Moel y Don

Posted on December 8, 2018April 13, 20227 Comments

“And he sent a fleet of ships to Anglesey, and they gained possession of Arfon. And then was made the bridge over the Menai; but the bridge broke and countless numbers of the English were drowned and others slain.” –Brut y Twysogion, Peniarth Manuscript 20 (Chronicle of the Princes). On November 6th, 1282, the Welsh achieved an historic victory at the Battle of Moel y Don. The English had thought to surprise them by crossing the Menai Strait and driving down the coast to Aber (Garth Ceylyn), Prince Llywelyn’s seat on the Welsh north coast. The Menai Strait is the narrow body of water that separates Anglesey from Gwynedd proper. The river-like flow changes course according to the tide. The rising tide approaches from the south-west, causing the water in the Strait to flow north-eastwards as the level rises. It Read more…

Mystery Blowout Sale!

Posted on November 2, 2018November 2, 2018Leave a comment

Mystery Blowout Sale! Get 12 books for free or 99 cents!Some friends and I got together for a massive 12-book sale on historical mysteries, from medieval times to modern, through Sunday November 4! Scroll down for the links. By Sarah Woodbury (me!) 99 cents! … Medieval to Modern (containing The Bard’s Daughter) FREE! … The Good Knight 99 Cents! … The Uninvited Guest 99 Cents! … The Fourth Horseman By M. Louisa Locke FREE! … Maids of Misfortune FREE! … Pilfered Promises By M. Ruth Myers FREE! … No Game for a Dame 99 Cents! … Maximum Moxie By Anna Castle FREE! … Murder by Misrule 99 Cents! … Death by Disputation By Libi Astaire FREE! … Tempest in a Tearoom 99 Cents! … The Doppleganger’s Dance The After Cilmeri Series Companion Releasing November 6, 2018 Available now for preorder! https://sarahwoodbury.com/the-after-cilmeri-series/the-after-cilmeri-series-companion/

The After Cilmeri Series Companion releases November 6, 2018!

Posted on October 19, 2018October 21, 2018Leave a comment

Open a door to the world of the After Cilmeri series! With chapters on historical context, the Welsh language, characters, places in the books, and the writing process, and including hundreds of photographs, maps, timelines, and family trees, this guide highlights the characters, places, and worlds brought to life by the series’ first fifteen novels. Release date: November 6, 2018 Get in paperback: Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon DE Worldwide Amazon Link to digital version: https://www.books2read.com/corneroftime After November 6th, the book will be available in paperback at other Amazon stores as well as through payhip.com in a navigable PDF , which can be read across devices, including in the Kindle app, Google Play app, Adobe app, or other PDF readers on any smartphone, tablet, or computer. I very much wanted the book available directly from retailers besides Amazon, but none of them are Read more…

Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales

Posted on October 5, 2018February 11, 20254 Comments

Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the younger brother of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the Prince of Wales who ruled portions of Wales, to a greater or lesser degree, since the death of his uncle (also named Dafydd) in 1246. The younger Dafydd was born in 1238, at least a decade after Llywelyn. This Dafydd spent the majority of his life in England, to which his family was forced to come when his father was imprisoned at the Tower of London by King Henry. At the time, Llywelyn had refused to leave Wales with the rest of his family, and thus was on the spot, so to speak, when his uncle Dafydd died. The family itself, however, was not imprisoned, and Dafydd grew up as a close companion to Prince Edward himself, a fact which could explain much of his later behavior. At that Read more…

The Vikings (Danes) in Ireland

Posted on September 17, 2018June 12, 20193 Comments

Before I learned of the Danish role in the assassination of Anarawd, King of Deheubarth, I had no idea that the Danes had ever conquered parts of Ireland. The Danes, as a group, were part of a vast migration of men of the North to other regions of the world, initially for plunder and eventually for settlement. Coming from regions that now make up Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, these men went a Viking, and created widespread settlements: to the south, in Normandy and Sicily; to the east into Russia; and to the west in England, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and the coast of Newfoundland. The Dublin Danes were part of that tradition, and Ottar and Brodar were real people as described in The Viking Prince, both ruling Dublin in the mid-twelfth century. Brodar and Godfrid were part of an extensive Read more…

My books are available in Audio!

Posted on August 15, 2018October 9, 2018Leave a comment

All the books in both the After Cilmeri series and the Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries are available in Audiobook! The After Cilmeri Series: Amazon Apple Books Audible The Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries: Amazon Apple Books Audible If you have never listened to an audiobook or are not an Audible member, you can get any one of my books for FREE by signing up for a free trial (cancel within 30 days). Just click on the link below for the book you want: Daughter of Time Footsteps in Time Winds of Time Prince of Time Crossroads in Time Children of Time Exiles in Time Castaways in Time Ashes of Time Warden of Time Guardians of Time Masters of Time Outpost in Time Shades of Time Champions of Time The Good Knight The Uninvited Guest The Fourth Horseman The Fallen Read more…

Gruffydd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd

Posted on July 29, 2018July 29, 2018

One of the greatest kings of Gwynedd was Owain Gwynedd, but his father Gruffydd ap Cynan can equally lay stake to such a claim. His rule was certainly eventful. Gruffydd ruled in Wales on and off since he was a young man, in between his flights to Ireland when the English—or other Welsh barons—ousted him from Gwynedd. Gruffydd’s grandfather had been the King of Gwynedd once upon a time, and Gruffydd had claimed the throne as its lawful heir. But staking his claim hadn’t been easy. That first time, Gruffydd landed on Anglesey with an Irish and Danish, not Welsh, force. After he defeated Trahaearn, the man who’d usurped his throne, Gruffydd led his army eastwards to reclaim territories the Normans had taken over during the unrest. Despite the prior assistance given to him by the Norman, Robert of Rhuddlan, Read more…

Welsh Lesson Two

Posted on April 6, 20182 Comments

Taken from Basic Welsh: A Grammar and Workbook by Gareth King Welsh Lesson Two: Nouns and noun plurals Nouns are sorted by whether the word denotes man or woman Tad – father mam – mother When the two vowels in a word are a/e: feminine When the two vowels in a word are o/y: masculine Masculine endings: Feminine endings: -ad -iad -aeth -as -der -did -dod -en -es -dra -fa -eb -edd -had -I -iant -ni -rwydd -wch -wr -ydd -yn Plural endings: -au -iau -on -ion -i -od -ed -edd -oedd -ydd -ys (English loanwords) Exceptions: Words that change internal vowels: Corff/cyrff pabell/pebyll Words that change internal vowels and endings: Braich/breichiau Total exceptions: Dail – leaves/foliage deilen – leaf Moch – pigs mochyn – pig Exercise 1: Plural or Singular Read more…

Welsh Lesson One

Posted on April 6, 2018April 6, 2018Leave a comment

Taken from Basic Welsh: A Grammar and Workbook by Gareth King Welsh Lesson One: Identification Sentences hwn this hwnna that y rhain these y rheina those e/o he hi she hwn this person (m) hon this person (f) hwnna that person (m) honna that person (f) hwnnw that person who honno that person who is out of sight (m) is out of sight (f) Read more…