Follow the tour HERE
Historical
Stories of Exile
Contributing
Authors:
Cryssa Bazos,
Anna Belfrage, Elizabeth Chadwick, Cathie Dunn, J G Harlond,
Helen Hollick,
Loretta Livingstone, Amy Maroney Alison Morton, Charlene Newcomb, Elizabeth
St.John, Marian L. Thorpe, Annie Whitehead.
With an
introduction by Deborah Swift.
Exile: a risky
defiance, a perilous journey, a family’s tragic choice – or an individual’s
final gamble to live. Exile: voluntary or enforced, a falling-out between
friends, a lost first love, a prejudiced betrayal – or the only way to survive
persecution?
In this
historical fiction anthology, thirteen authors (they are not superstitious!)
have written exclusive short stories on the theme of exile. Some are based on
true history, others are speculative fiction. All mine the depths of human
emotions: fear, hope, love, and the fortitude to survive.
Join an
inspiring Anglo-Saxon queen of Wales, a courageous Norwegian falconer, and a
family fleeing back in time to escape the prospect of a ruthless future. Oppose
the law with the legendary Doones of Exmoor, or defy the odds with two brave
WWII exiles. Meet a Roman apprehensively planning exile to preserve the 'old
ways', and a real Swedish prince forcibly expelled in heart-wrenching circumstances.
Thrill to a story based on the legend of Robin Hood, sail with a queen of
Cyprus determined to regain her rightful throne; escape religious persecution,
discover the heart-rending truth behind the settlement of Massachusetts and
experience the early years that would, eventually, lead to the founding of
Normandy. Experience the stirring of first love, and as an exclusive treat
special guest author, Elizabeth Chadwick, reveals a tale about the
12th-century’s heiress, Isabelle de Clare, and the Greatest Knight of all time
– William Marshal.
With an
introduction by multi-award-winning author Deborah Swift, enjoy these tales of
exile across the ages. Some are hopeful, some sad, some romantic, some tragic,
but all explore the indomitable spirit of resolute, unforgettable characters.
Buy Links:
This title is
available to read on #KindleUnlimited
Universal Link: https://mybook.to/StoriesOfExile
About the Authors
ALISON MORTON writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate
heroines. Her ten-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary
European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into
the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy,
revolution and heartache but use a sharp line in dialogue. Several of her
novels have hit #1 in Amazon US, UK, Canada and Australia. The latest, Julia
Prima, plunges us back to AD 370 when the founders of Roma Nova met.
She blends her
fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of
reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA
in modern languages and an MA in history.
Alison now lives in Poitou in France,
the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her two contemporary thrillers, Double
Identity and Double Pursuit. Oh, and she’s writing
the next Roma Nova story.
Website: https://www.alison-morton.com
AMY MARONEY studied English Literature at Boston University
and worked for many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction. She lives in
Oregon, U.S.A. with her family. When she’s not diving down research rabbit
holes, she enjoys hiking, dancing, traveling, and reading. Amy is the author of
The Miramonde Series, a
bestselling historical mystery trilogy about a Renaissance-era female artist
and the modern-day scholar on her trail. Amy’s award-winning historical
adventure/romance series, Sea and
Stone Chronicles, is set in medieval Rhodes and Cyprus.
An enthusiastic advocate for independent publishing, Amy is a member of
the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Historical Novel Society.
Website: https://www.amymaroney.com/
ANNA BELFRAGE Had Anna
been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was
impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests:
history, romance and writing. Anna always writes about love and has authored
the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th
century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series
The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century
England. Anna is presently hard at work with her other medieval series, The
Castilian Saga ,which is set against the conquest of Wales. The third
instalment, Her Castilian Heart, was published in 2022, and the
fourth and final one will be out in 2024. She has recently released Times
of Turmoil, a sequel to her time travel romance, The Whirlpools
of Time.
Website, www.annabelfrage.com
ANNIE
WHITEHEAD is an author, historian, and elected
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has written four award-winning
novels set in Anglo-Saxon England. She has contributed to fiction and nonfiction anthologies and written for various magazines, has twice been a
prize winner in the Mail on Sunday Novel Writing Competition, and won First
Prize in the 2012 New Writer Magazine's Prose and Poetry Competition. She was a
finalist in the 2015 Tom Howard Prize for Nonfiction and was shortlisted for
the Exeter Story Prize/Trisha Ashley Award 2021.
She was the winner of
the inaugural Historical Writers’ Association/Dorothy Dunnett Prize 2017 and is
now a judge for that same competition. She has also been a judge for the HNS
(Historical Novel Society) Short Story Competition.
Her nonfiction books
are Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom (Amberley Books) and Women
of Power in Anglo-Saxon England (Pen & Sword). She
has contributed to a new history of English Monarchs, Kings and Queens: 1200 Years of English and British Monarchs
(Hodder & Stoughton) and
has signed a contract to write her third nonfiction book, to be published by
Amberley books in 2024.
Website: https://anniewhiteheadauthor.co.uk/
CATHIE DUNN writes historical fiction, mystery, and romance. The focus of her
novels is on strong women through time. She has garnered awards and praise from
reviewers and readers for her authentic description of the past. A keen
Medievalist, she enjoys visiting castles and ruins, and reading about battles
and political shenanigans of the times.
Cathie is a
member of the Historical Novel Society, the Romantic Novelists’ Association,
and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She also now runs The Coffee Pot
Book Club, promoting historical fiction authors and their books.
Website: https://www.cathiedunn.com
CHARLENE NEWCOMB writes
historical fiction and science fiction. Her award-winning Battle
Scars trilogy is set in the 12th century during the reign of
Richard the Lionheart. Her writing roots are in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (aka Legends) where she published 10 short stories in the Star Wars Adventure Journal. Scifi/space
opera fans should check out Echoes of the Storm, her original novel published in 2020. She returned to medieval times with her novel Rogue
in 2023.
Website: https://charlenenewcomb.com
CRYSSA BAZOS is an award-winning historical fiction author
and a 17th-century enthusiast. Her debut novel, Traitor's Knot is the Medalist winner of the 2017 New Apple
Award for Historical Fiction and a finalist for the 2018 EPIC eBook Awards for
Historical Romance. Her second novel, Severed
Knot is a B.R.A.G
Medallion Honoree and a finalist for the 2019 Chaucer Award. Rebel's Knot,
the third instalment of the standalone series, Quest for the Three
Kingdoms, is a B.R.A.G Medallion Honoree and 2021 Discovering Diamonds
Book of the Year..
Website: https://cryssabazos.com
DEBORAH SWIFT is a delver into archives,
drinks too much tea, and loves antiques and old buildings. Her sturdy,
stone-built house used to be the village primary school, and from her window
she has a view of a few 17th century cottages, and behind those, green fields
dotted with grazing sheep.
Historical
fiction was a natural choice for Deborah as a writer because she always enjoyed
the research aspect of design – poking about in archives and museums, not to
mention the attraction of boned bodices and the excuse to visit old and
interesting buildings.
She used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV,
so enjoy the research aspect of creating historical fiction. She likes to write
about extraordinary characters set against the background of real historical
events. In
her books Deborah likes to write about extraordinary characters set against the
background of real historical events. Her first novel was The Lady's
Slipper which was shortlisted for the Impress Prize, and her book
The Poison Keeper, about the Renaissance poisoner Giulia
Tofana, won the BookViral Millennium Award. She has written eighteen novels to
date including two series set in WWII – her latest, The Shadow Network is
due for release in early 2024.
Deborah lives in
North Lancashire on the edge of the Lake District, and divide her time between teaching and
writing.
Website: https://deborahswift.com/
ELIZABETH CHADWICK New York Times
bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick lives in a cottage in the Vale of Belvoir
in Nottinghamshire with her husband and their four terriers, Pip, Jack, Billy
and Little Ted. Her first novel, The Wild Hunt, won a Betty Trask Award
and To Defy a King won the RNA’s 2011 Historical Novel Prize. She was
also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Award in 1998 for The Champion,
in 2001 for Lords of the White Castle, in 2002 for The Winter Mantle
and in 2003 for The Falcons of Montabard. Her sixteenth novel, The
Scarlet Lion, was nominated by Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel
Society, as one of the top ten historical novels of the last decade. She often
lectures at conferences and historical venues, has been consulted for television
documentaries and is a member of the Royal Historical Society.
Website: https://elizabethchadwick.com/
ELIZABETH
ST.JOHN’s critically acclaimed historical fiction
novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing
kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective
to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.
Inspired by
family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London,
Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and
lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.
Living between
California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador
for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and
enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for
The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to
inspire her next novel.
Elizabeth's
books include her trilogy, The Lydiard Chronicles, set in 17th Century
England during the Civil War, and her medieval novel, The Godmother's
Secret, which explores the mystery of the missing Princes in the Tower of
London.
Website: http://www.elizabethjstjohn.com/
HELEN HOLLICK and her husband and adult
daughter moved from north-east London in January 2013 after finding an
eighteenth-century North Devon farmhouse through being a ‘victim’ on BBC TV’s
popular Escape to The Country show. The thirteen-acre property was the
first one she was shown – and it was love at first sight. She enjoys her new
rural life, and has a variety of animals on the farm, including Exmoor ponies,
dogs, cats, hens, ducks and geese and her daughter’s string of show jumpers.
First accepted
for publication by William Heinemann in 1993 – a week after her fortieth
birthday – Helen then became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The
Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the
sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am the Chosen King),
novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century
version of the Arthurian legend, and she also writes a pirate-based nautical
adventure/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages, where you can
read more about Jesamiah Acorne, son of Charles St Croix – and the Doones.
Despite being
impaired by the visual disorder of Glaucoma, she is also branching out into the
quick read novella, ‘Cosy Mystery’ genre with the Jan Christopher Mysteries,
set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder
incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working for thirteen years as a
library assistant.
Her non-fiction
books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and
Life of a Smuggler. She
also runs a news and events blog and a Facebook page for her village, and
supports her daughter’s passion for horses and showjumping – and occasionally
gets time to write...
Website: https://helenhollick.net
J.G. HARLOND Secret agents, skulduggery, and crime that
crosses continents.
British author of
historical crime fiction, J.G. (Jane) Harlond writes award-winning,
page-turning novels set in the mid-17th and mid-20th
centuries. Each story weaves fictional characters into real events. She
describes her WWII Bob Robbins Home Front Mysteries as ‘cosy
crime with a sinister twist’. Prior to becoming a full-time author, Jane taught
English and World Literature in international colleges. She also wrote school
text books for many years using her married name.
Jane is married to a retired Spanish naval
officer and they have a large, grown-up family living in various parts of
Europe and the USA. After travelling widely (she has lived in or visited most
of the places that feature in her novels) they are now settled near Málaga in
Spain.
J.G. Harlond is a member of the British Crime
Writers Association and the Dorothy Dunnett Society.
Website: http://author.to/JGHarlond
LORETTA
LIVINGSTONE had no intention of writing anything
but short stories or poetry, and especially not historical fiction. She stated
it quite clearly on social media, only to suddenly find herself writing ...
historical fiction. Her debut novel, Out Of Time, set in
the mythical Sparnstow Abbey, was shortlisted for the Historical Novel Society
Indie Award in 2016, which stunned and elated her in equal measures.
It was supposed to
be a one-off. It wasn't. She went on to write two more stand-alone novels in
the series; A Promise to Keep and Blossom on the Thorn.
She had plans for more but has had ME for many years, and ill health has
temporarily reined in her gallop. However, she intends to write again soon...
Her other books
include short story collections and poetry, and can be found on Amazon.
Loretta is on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/217686418294125
MARIAN L.
THORPE Taught to read at the
age of three, words have been central to Marian’s life for as long as she can
remember. A novelist, poet, and essayist, Marian has several degrees, none of
which are related to writing. After two careers as a research scientist and an
educator, she retired from salaried work and returned to writing things that
weren’t research papers or reports.
Marian’s first published work was poetry, in small
journals; her first novel was released in 2015. Her award-winning Empire’s
Legacy series is historical fiction of another world, based to
some extent on northern Europe after the decline of Rome.
In addition to her novels, Marian has read poetry, short
stories, and nonfiction work at writers’ festivals and other juried venues.
Her other two passions in life are birding and landscape
history, both of which are reflected in her books. Birding has taken her and
her husband to all seven continents, but these days she's mostly content to move
between Canada and the UK.
Website: https://marianlthorpe.com/
