Medieval Monday with Ashley York!
Historical Romance writer Ashley York loves history and intrigue. Her latest book, The Saxon Bride, is the first in her Norman Conquest Series. Here is a little about the book: In war torn England the battle lines between Saxon and Norman are clearly drawn. The Saxons must fight for everything they have in the hopes of winning their country back from the Normans who are determined to break their resistance. Rowena Godwinson, the sole remaining member of the defeated royal family, stands proudly against the Normans that would trample them underfoot but her nobility and grace make her an ideal pawn in the Norman King William’s play for power with the Saxon people. When he decrees she marry a powerful Norman knight, her subjugation appears to be complete. The handsome soldier with the kind brown eyes and gentle touch is Read more…
Calan Gaeaf
November 1 is known today to the Catholic Church as All Saint’s Day, but within Celtic tradition, it was always celebrated as the first day of winter. The Church took this pagan tradition (as it did with many others) and made it a holy day. During the medieval period, Calan Gaeaf was a harvest festival. The night before, Nos Galan Gaeaf, was a moment when the veil between the human world and the world of the spirits thinned. Nos Galan Gaeaf has become the modern Halloween. “The harvest had been gathered in, excess livestock had been culled or killed off and put into storage for the coming year. It was very much a communal festivity, a time for celebration and enjoyment. Everyone, from the farmer to the lowest cow hand, had participated in growing crops and keeping the animals and now they Read more…
Offa’s Dyke
? In 780 AD, King Offa of Mercia was at the height of his authority. Prior to his rule, in 750 AD, King Eliseg (immortalized by Eliseg’s Pillar near Llangollen) had swept the Saxons out of the plains of Powys. Offa, in turn, attacked Powys in 778 and 784, and tradition states that he built the dyke, sometime (or throughout) his reign. Prior to this, Aelthelbald, King of Mercia, had built ‘Wat’s Dyke’, which extends from the Severn Valley northwards towards the estuary of the Dee (A History of Wales, John Davies p. 62). There is a quote from George Borrow, from Wild Wales, that “it was customary for the English to cut off the ears of every Welshman who was found to the east of the dyke, and for the Welsh to hang every Englishman whom they found to Read more…
Medieval Monday with Cathy MacRae
Every Monday, I’ve been co-hosting Medieval Mondays with other Medieval romance authors. This means you can get a peek at new authors and find out about upcoming books from authors you already love. Be sure to check in each Monday! The lastest author is Cathy MacRae, author of The Highlander’s Reluctant Bride. The setting is 1377 and King Robert II is on the throne of Scotland. Though relatively quiet at this point in his reign, the time is still fraught with peril from pirates roaming the western coastline and the English control of much of the Lothians and the border lands to the south. In the first book of the series, The Highlander’s Accidental Bride, King Robert demands the end of a feud between two Highland clans. Though he allows his southern earls to engage in activities to regain their lands from the English, Read more…
Medieval Monday with Mageela Troche!
Welcome to Mageela Troche, my guest for this week’s Medieval Monday! _________________ Mageela Troche loves Scotland. Claiming the Highlander is her latest novel set in those rugged, misty lands and revisits characters from her other two novels. Here a little about the book: Caelen MacKenzie married heiress Lady Brenna Grant in his youth for a large parcel of land and an earldom. Years later, Scotland trembles from the tales of the Viking Highlander yet Caelen must face his most challenging battled—returning home and to the past he ran from. Lady Brenna loves her husband. As her loyalties are tested, the life she was reared to live is in jeopardy. She know no other life as the Countess and wife to Caelen. Snagged in the power plays of men, she will do anything to save that life and the man she loves. From Read more…
Warden of Time is available now!
Warden of Time As both modern man and medieval king, David is committed to transforming medieval England into his own version of Avalon. Not everyone supports his ideals, however, and having offended the pope by welcoming Jews and heretics into England, David is summoned to Canterbury to explain himself. But when information comes to light that reveals the accusations against him have less to do with religion than with power and wealth, David finds himself on familiar ground—and at the center of conspiracy that stretches from Ireland to Italy. Facing excommunication, a fickle populace, and a rebellion even by his fellow time travelers, he must decide what his throne is worth, and what he’s willing to sacrifice to keep it. Warden of Time was released on October 19, 2014 and is available at Amazon US and all Amazon stores, a Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Read more…
Medieval Monday with Jill Hughey!
Today on Medieval Monday, I’m featuring Unbidden, Book One in Jill Hughey’s Evolution Series which will take you to the rarely explored medieval world of Charlemagne’s Empire where aristocrats, warriors, merchants and servants find love in the most unexpected places! If you like swoon-worthy yet mildly flawed heroes and independent not-too-perfect heroines, then step in to a Jill Hughey Romance. BLURB Rochelle of Alda, a feisty Frank noblewoman, expects to continue her industrious life managing her family’s estate. When her emperor summons her to the palace to meet the skilled soldier she is required to marry, Rochelle engages in a battle for independence from David of Bavaria. As her own deceptions multiply, she suspects another of also plotting against their marriage. To her surprise, and too late, David’s passion and patience begin to win her heart. Can their love survive the tangled Read more…
Caer Fawr (Iron Age Hill Fort)
Caer Fawr, or ‘The Great Fort’, is the scene of the final battle in The Pendragon’s Quest. It is an iron age hill fort with extensive fortifications, most of which are hidden now by vegetation. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales did a study of Caer Fawr and if you’re interested in the topic, it’s worth downloading: http://www.rcahmw.gov.uk/LO/ENG/Publications/Electronic+Publications/Gaer+Fawr/ It “occupies a prominent hill 1.4 kilometres to the north of Guilsfield (Cegidfa) and 5.4 kilometres north of Welshpool in the old county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The topography of this area is dominated by the River Severn, 4.7 kilometres to the east (Fig. 2). The hills flanking its wide river plain rise gently to the west and more steeply to the east and are cut by the tributary rivers which feed the Severn. A series of Read more…
Medieval Monday with Vijayah Schartz!
Every Monday look for a new medieval author on this blog exchange and check this and their blogs weekly for more wonderful medieval novels: Ashley York – Jenna Jaxon – Laura Strickland – Cathy McRae – Mary Morgan –Andrea Cooper – Jill Hughey – Sarah Woodbury – Laurel O’Donnell – Vijaya Schartz Welcome to Vijayah Schartz, author of The Curse of the Lost Isle series, beginning with book one, Princess of Bretagne! THE CURSE OF THE LOST ISLE series: From history shrouded in myths, emerges a family of immortal Celtic Ladies, who roam the medieval world in search of salvation from a curse… but if the Church ever suspects what they really are, they will be hunted, tortured, and burned at the stake. PRINCESS OF BRETAGNE Curse of the Lost Isle – Book One http://amzn.com/B007K1EGAM 806 AD – Alba (Ancient Scotland) Read more…
Medieval Monday with Andrea R. Cooper!
Today’s Post highlights Andrea R. Cooper’s book, Viking Fire – a historical romance with a touch of magic In 856 CE, Ireland is a land of myth, magic, and blood. Viking raiders have fought the Irish for over half a century. Rival Irish clans promise only betrayal and carnage. Kaireen, daughter of Laird Liannon, is suddenly forced into an arranged marriage with her sworn enemy, a Viking. She refuses to submit. With no mention of love, only land and the protection of her clan, she endeavors to get her betrothed banished from her country. Will love find its way around her stubborn heart? Bram, the Viking, finds himself without future or inheritance as a younger son in his family. A marriage to the Laird’s daughter would grant him land if he swears fidelity and if his men will fight along Read more…
Medieval Monday welcomes Laura Strickland!
I’m participating in an exchange where authors of medieval fiction share books on our blog. Today, I get to welcome Laura Strickland, author of the The Guardians of Sherwood Trilogy. Book three, Lord of Sherwood, is her latest release! Curlew Champion, master archer, has always known his destiny. With his cousin, Heron Scarlet, he will become a guardian of Sherwood Forest and further his people’s fight against Norman Tyranny. But the third member of the triad is still to be revealed, the woman who will complete the magical circle and, perhaps, answer the longing in Curlew’s heart. Anwyn Montfort has fled disgrace in Shrewsbury and come to Nottingham at her father’s bidding. He wishes her to make a good marr iage and settle down. But the wildness that possesses her refuses to quiet. She knows she’s been searching for something all her Read more…
It’s Medieval Monday!
I’m participating in an exchange where authors of medieval fiction share books on our blog. Since this is my blog, I get to go first. I’m highlighting The Good Knight, the first Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery. The Good Knight An enthralling story, sympathetic characters and a visit to another time, another culture. What more can you ask of an author? – Medieval Mysteries (medievalmysteries.com) Intrigue, suspicion, and rivalry among the royal princes casts a shadow on the court of Owain, king of north Wales… The year is 1143 and King Owain seeks to unite his daughter in marriage with an allied king. But when the groom is murdered on the way to his wedding, the bride’s brother tasks his two best detectives—Gareth, a knight, and Gwen, the daughter of the court bard—with bringing the killer to justice. And once blame for Read more…
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