Yet another freebie

From tomorrow, Vengeance of a Slave will be free for just 5 days. Click HERE to get your copy.

Adelbehrt and his sister Avelina are just 6 and 3 years old when they are forced to witness the crucifixion of their father. Then the Roman soldiers take them as slaves for their ash blonde hair and pretty faces.

A Roman merchant living in Britain buys them and they find themselves transported to that mysterious island. Bereft of family and friends, Adelbehrt takes his sister's welfare upon himself, and he develops a hatred of the Romans, repeating a litany of hate every evening before going to sleep. He swears to Avelina that one day they will escape, and to himself that he will have revenge on the Romans.

But how can he escape? And if he does, how can he stay free and get his revenge on the Romans? Will his hatred eventually destroy him?

Vengeance of a Slave is also available as a print book, from Amazon.

In the Haunted House. A poem for Hallowe'en

I wrote this poem for a Hallowe'en poetry contest. Wish me luck.


The wind it blows cold
Like ice down my back.
I try to be bold,
But courage I lack.
In the haunted house.

It seemed such a lark
When we set off tonight.
But now it's gone dark
And we shiver with fright
In the haunted house.

Jane said. 'We'll have fun
On Hallowe'en night.'
But when solw footsteps come
She screams out in fright
In the haunted house.

'Let's take candles, said Pete.
More authentic for light.
And something to eat
If we're staying all night
In the haunted house.'

Jack thinks it's a game
Till the candles blow out.
Not one single flame.
He gave a loud shout
In the haunted house.

The temperature sinks.
'That means ghosts are here,'
Said Pete, who still thinks
There's nothing to fear
In the haunted house.

The door starts to creak.
It opens so slow.
Our knees feel so weak.
I wish we could go
From the haunted house.

But nothing is there
As we huddle in fear.
Not one of us dare
To get up and peer
In the haunted house.

All night there are groans.
We hear footsteps, we swear,
And the rattle of bones.
Something is there
In the haunted house.

We laugh at our fear
As we make our way home.
In daylight it's clear
No spirits do roam
In the haunted house.

The noises we heard?
Just the sounds of a house
Cooling down, and a bird.
Not one single ghost
In the haunted house.

I hope you enjoyed this poem as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a comment in the comments section. I love to hear from you.

An update of my writing.

I'm going to give you an update of my writing today.

I have been working on the next historical novel. I've completed the first draft, and it is currently undergoing some critiquing from a wonderful site I've found called Scribophile. I was hoping to get it out before Christmas, but it might be a bit longer than that.

It is called Jealousy of a Viking and is the story of a descendant of Adelbehrt from Vengeance of a Slave. She, Helgha, is a young Viking girl who falls in love with Erik, the son of a jarl from Jorvik, modern York.

Of course, true love does not run smoothly (no story if it does). They cannot marry because of the difference in their status. She becomes his mistress, but trouble starts when he marries to improve his family's standing.

Her rival for Erik's love has the advantage she is his legal wife and a feud begins between them. Which woman will win? Can Helgha find a way to be with Erik after all? Will her knowledge of herbs help her?

I've also been working on the next book in The Wolves of Vimar series. I lost a whole chunk of it somehow, and became a bit disheartened, then I found it. At least I thought I had, but a chunk from the middle is still missing and needs rewriting. Hey ho! That's life. I suppose.

This book has no title as yet. In it, the group known as Wolf travel to Bluehaven and hence Holy Isle for the wedding of one of their number, Randa, to Prince Almoro, brother to the king. Then revolts occur in several cities, and Erian, the land bordering them, marches in and takes over several dukedoms, capturing the Duke of Senndolina.

Several of Wolf travel to try to rescue him, and Rollo, Duke of Hambara, sets off for Erian to try to talk peace with The Master.

That's the next one to try to finish.

For your information

I thought everyone should be aware of this and so I'm reblogging it instead of my usual post today.
via For Your Information

Free Book

From today, October 18th, The Never-Dying Man, Book 2 of The Wolves of Vimar Series, is FREE on Amazon.

It is only available for 5 days, until 22nd October, so hurry and get your copy.

Here is a bit about it.

After finding Sauvern's Sword, the companions set off to help a friend rescue his child from kidnappers. Instead, they stray into Erian and find preparations for war. They are drafted into the Erian army but are recognized by an old enemy, who arrests some of them and takes them to Frelli, the capital of Erian, where they are put in jail.

The Master of Erian frees them and offers them work. Meanwhile, Carthinal has to face some unpleasant truths about himself. Is his desire to further his magical career more important than his friends and country? After they discover terrible truths about the Master and his magical research, they will need to escape in order to tell the leaders of Grosmer about the plans for war.

Why not get a copy of Books 1 and 2 as well? Click on the links to buy.

The Wolf Pack. Book 1

The Never-Dying Man. Book 2

Wolf Moon. Book 3

Elven Evening Hymn from The Wolf Pack

During their travels to find Sauvern's Sword, the group calling themselves The Wolf Pack found themselves in the homeland of the Elves. Here they heard the beautiful sunset hymn the Elves sang each evening.
Here is that hymn, with a translation from the Elvish for those of you who are not proficient in that language.



‘Ah equillin ssishinisi
Qua vinillaquishio quibbrous
Ahoni na shar handollesno
As nas brollenores.

Ah equilin bellamana
Qua ssishinisi llanarones
As wma ronalliores
Shi nos Grillon prones.

Ah equilin dama Grillon
Pro llamella shilonores
As nos rellemorres
Drapo weyishores.

Yam shi Grillon yssilores
Grazlin everr nos pronores
Wama vinsho prolle-emo
Lli sha rallemorres.’

Translation

“Oh star of the evening
Shining brightly
You give us hope
In the deepening night.

Oh beauteous star
Who heralds the evening
You tell us all
That Grillon guards us

Oh Grillon’s star
As you sink westwards
Return again
To guard the dawn.

Ensure that Grillon
Through darkness keep us
Safe from all evil
Until the morn.”’

Please feel free to leave a comment. I love hearing from you.

How to avoid sticky sentences

via How To Avoid Sticky Sentences
Every writer should read this.

An Interview with Basalt Strongarm from The Wolf Pack

After much persuasion, I managed to get an interview with Basalt, the dwarf friend of Carthinal.

Me: Good morning, Basalt. Thank you for giving me your time.

Basalt: Hmm! I'm very busy. I hope you don't intend to be too long.

Me. No, this shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Just trying to find a bit about you.

Basalt: Well, what do you want to know?

Me: You've lived in Grosmer for a long time, but you weren't born here, were you?

Basalt: No, I was born in the Dwarven homeland of Graal. It's at the southern end of the Western Mountains, you know. As far away from those flighty elves as we can get.

Me: But one of your friends is an elf, and another a half elf. Surely you can't think all of them are flighty.

Basalt: Did I say I thought of them all as flighty? Of course not. Asphodel and Carthinal are just normal folks. So is Yssa. But they will give their children such unpronounceable names.

Me, smiling: So you are not against all elves, then?

Basalt: It's not me you should be worrying about, but the other dwarves who still think like that. I'm willing to accept that elves, like dwarves and people, have all kinds of folk.

Me: Tell me about your early life,

Basalt: I was my parents' second child. My brother, Schist, is much older than I am. My parents, Granite and Emerald, had given up hope of another child, then I came along. I guess they spoiled me because of it.

Me: How did Schist react to your birth.

Basalt: He was very good to me. He played with me, looked after me when my parents were down the mine and we got on very well.

Me: Why did you leave Graal then?

Basalt: Everything was fine until my parents were killed in a mine collapse. Then Schist took over the running of the mine. (It belonged to my parents, see). We were supposed to be joint owners, but then she came along.

Me: She?

Basalt: Opal. She set her sights at him when she realised he would be part owner of the mine and rich. They got married, and gradually she poisoned him against me. They gave me all the worst and most dangerous jobs.

Me: But if Schist was so fond of you, how could she manage to turn him.

Basalt: Well, when our parents died, I was still only a little whippersnapper. I'd only just started my apprenticeship. Opal argued that as I was not a qualified miner, and had not worked to build up the mine as had Schist, then it was unfair that I should have equal shares with him. Somehow she managed to convince him. I think she hoped that by giving me dangerous jobs she hoped I'd be killed. So I left.

Me: And made your way to Grosmer where, I believe, you learned the trade of metalworking.

Basalt nodded: And I've never regretted it. I love working with metal--making beautiful things as well as useful ones. I also taught myself to carve wood, I make toys for my friends' children, and I made an amulet for each member of The Wolf Pack, indicating their character as well as showing they are members.

Me: Well, I'll let you get back to your work. Thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Basalt: Well, I'll be off. Work to finish. Goodbye.