I paid my first visit to Sixth Century Dark Ages Britain almost fifty years ago. It was Rosemary Sutcliff’s fault, since it was through the pages of A Sword at Sunset that my juvenile “King Arthur’s Round Table” image of the so-called Dark Ages first began to dissolve – the idea dawning that a more “realistic” portrayal of the period may be possible. Soon afterwards, I became an avid reader of Mary Stewart’s Crystal Cave and the … [Read more...]
Sixth Century Britain – the Hill Fort Walks: Part Two
My journeys to check out the locations I’ve used as settings for The Song-Sayer’s Lament took me next to Anglesey, which features strongly in the novel. There are some remarkable archaeological sites on the island, all worth a visit, and including: Aberlleiniog Castle (Llangoed); or the burial chambers at Porth Trecastell, Bryn Celli Ddu and Din Lligwy, as well as the hill fort sites below. Beaumaris It’s an area I know reasonably well … [Read more...]
Sixth Century Britain – the New Novel
Here's the cover... And here's the synopsis... In the Westerlands of those isles once named Britannia by the Empire and its vanished Legions, the brother of Ambros Skyhound is killed in a kinfolk-feud, which will ignite a vicious civil war. There are warlords who follow the new ways of the Christ-followers – those, too, who still defend their belief in the old order of the Oak Seers and the Great Melody. But the … [Read more...]
Sixth Century Britain – the Hill Fort Walks: Part One
The Song-Sayer’s Lament is my fifth novel, this one set in Sixth Century Britain and, since it’s always my habit to check out the locations I’ve used as settings, I recently began to walk some of the wild ground over which the story takes place. And, since that story starts in the ancient kingdom of Rhos, I began my journeys at the North Wales coastal town of Rhos-on-Sea. The Song-Sayer’s Lament is written in modern English, so I had been keen to … [Read more...]