John, Count of Mortain, the youngest of Henry II and Eleanor’s brood, conspired with King Philip of France to usurp his brother’s throne while Richard I, the Lionheart, was a captive of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Their scheming failed, and Richard looked past John’s traitorous activities. “He is my brother and should have…
One of the plot lines in Swords of the King deals with King Richard’s nephew, Arthur of Brittany. Swords ends in 1199 when the young duke is 13 years old, but Arthur’s story goes on a few more years. “John himself now attempted to deal with Arthur in another way. Being at Falaise at the…
Richard I, the Lionheart, died on April 6, 1199. His brother John was in Brittany at the time visiting a possible rival to the crown, the young Duke Arthur, son of Richard and John’s late brother Geoffrey. John fled the Breton court secretly after a messenger delivered the news. Had the Bretons heard it earlier, we might…
There is a new site in town – rather, on the web – for reviews of historical fiction: Discovering Diamonds. You should definitely bookmark or follow this site if you are looking for good historical fiction. And I am thrilled to report that For King and Country, Book II of Battle Scars, has been selected as…
I wish I lived closer to Lincoln or could have the Enterprise transporter take me the 4000+ miles in a few seconds. While I am wishing for the transporter, I might as well add a time machine to the mix. Where is the TARDIS when you need it? I didn’t have a chance to visit Lincoln until…
Thank you, indieBRAG! I am thrilled For King and Country has been awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion. B.R.A.G. is the Book Readers Appreciation Group. Indie-published books are put through a tough review process. As indieBRAG notes on their website: This entails an initial screening to ensure that the author’s work meets certain minimum standards of quality and…
August slipped past and I never managed to mention that the lovely Sharon Kay Penman mentioned both For King and Country and Men of the Cross on her blog at the end of July. Sharon writes: “I think they might be of interest to my history-loving, book-loving readers and friends.” What a thrill to have my books noted by a best-selling…
