My Inspiriation

 The idea for a novel had always been there since I first read Dawn Wind by Rosemary Sutlcliffe as a kid. She was the first author to inspire my interest in historical fiction. Later, it was Jean Plaidy and the books for young people by Leon Garfield set in the 18thc caught my attention too. Somewhere during my teens I chanced upon some novels that would re-kindle my interest in the Anglo Saxon/ Viking period,the story of the Godwinsons and Harold's rise to power by Hope Muntz and Avalon by Anya Seyton. Further on, Mary Stewart's Arthurian series sparked an interest in the post Roman era and Michael wood was also a great inspiration. On from that I found Sharon Kay Penman, the first book that really left an impression upon me was The Sunne in Spleandour and after that, I could not get enough of Richard Plantaganet, a much maligned sovereign. Sharon's books have kept my interest on and off ever since, as have Elizabeth Chadwick and Helen Hollick. I am now also a great fan of Bernard Cornwell, especially his Uhtred of Bebbanburgh series.

My dream of writing a novel had been kept at bay by the paths I took on the journey that is life. Over the years I have learned that everything happens when it is supposed to happen; everything is, at every moment in time, as it should be and I hope that this is now the time I can realise my dream.

New to Blog

I am author of Sons of the Wolf, a work in progress, currently working on the last chapters. I enjoy history and specialise in the late Saxon period. Here is an overview of what my novel is about.

1054, pious King Edward sits on the throne, spending his days hunting, sleeping and praying, leaving the security and administration of his kingdom to his much more capable brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, the powerful Earl of Wessex.

Against this backdrop we meet Wulfhere, a Sussex thegn who, as the sun sets over the wild forest of Andredesweald, is returning home victoriously from a great battle in the north. Holding his lands directly from the King, his position demands loyalty to Edward himself, but Wulfhere is duty-bound to also serve Harold, a bond forged within Wulfhere’s family heritage and borne of the ancient Teutonic ideology of honour and loyalty.

Wulfhere is a man with the strength and courage of a bear, a warrior whose loyalty to his lord and king is unquestionable. He is also a man who holds his family dear and would do anything to protect them. So when Harold demands that he wed his daughter to the son of Helghi, his sworn enemy, Wulfhere has to find a way to save his daughter from a life of certain misery as the daughter-in-law of the cruel and resentful Helghi, without comprising his honour and loyalty to his lord, Harold.
Following the fortunes of his family, we meet Ealdgytha, his golden-haired wife, attractive, neurotic and proud. Her lust for success and advancement threatens to drive a wedge between her and her husband, while Wulfhere’s battle with his conscience and his love for another woman, tears at the very heart of their relationship. Also central to the story are his children; Freyda, his eldest daughter, reckless, defiant and beautiful; Tovi, his youngest son, his spirit suppressed by the pranks of the red-haired twins, Wulfric and Wulfwin; Winflaed, a younger daughter, whose submissive acceptance of womanhood belies a stronger spirit and a longing to hold a sword in battle like her warrior father.

Sons of the Wolf is snap shot of medieval life and politics as the events that lead to the downfall of Anglo-Saxon England play out, immersing the reader in the tapestry of life as it was before the Domesday Book. With depictions of everyday life experienced through the minds of the people of the times; of feasts in the Great Halls to battles fought in the countryside, it cannot help but enlighten, educate and entertain.