Update

Hey all. Well its been August since I posted on my blog. Still waiting for the publisher's proof of my book of poetry... will post cover, when it finally arrives. Have finished a sequel to the 'hiccoughing dragon' called the 'lonely dragon' and it is with Cindy Rock who is working on the illustrations. Also finished is the 'Young Person's Guide to Horrible Human Parasites' and the illustrations (being done by April McGuire) are about half finished. Still plugging away at the 'Relic Theif' and my non-fiction history of the influence of plagues and epidemics upon history. Irene and a new outlaw still in the wings. The new person for the outlaw series is Temur (Tamerlaine for those who remember Marlow). Enjoy the picture it is from the Tashkent Zoo.

A place where my soul knew the wind

Well, after being written on scraps of paper and hidden away in files, my publisher is going to publish a book of my poetry. Poetry isn't like a novel, where you hide your feelings behind characters. Poetry is about what you feel and experience. Some of it is about painful experiences, and you are laying your soul bare. So it is with some trepidation that this book is going to print.

The Hiccoughing Dragon

Well, the hiccoughing dragon didn't take long for the publisher to process. Here is the cover of the book. Should be available within a couple of weeks.

British Museum Conference on the Bayeux Tapestry

The British Museum has finally finished the editing of the papers given at the international conference in July 2008. I was honoured to have been invited to give a paper at that conference and it is finally in print. A brief synoposis of my paper is that the brother's of King Harold are the only other Anglo-Saxon nobles besides Harold, Archbishop Stigand and King Edward to be depicted in the tapestry. the question is why? My paper explored the reasons why they might have been given a prominent place in the tapestry.

The Hiccoughing Dragon has gone to the publisher

A children's story which I wrote in 1999 has finally gone to the publisher. Part of the delay was finding someone who was willing to illustrate it. Cindy Rock agreed to do the pictures and they are fantastic. I have attached one here. Will let you know of the release date.

Current works

Dear Readers

Well, I'm in the envious place of having three books currently in production. Nearly two hundred pages into my next novel, 'The Relic Theif' and have a few chapters on the next in my medieval outlaw series, about the Empress Irene, though a good catchy title is eluding me. The third book is a non-fiction on parasites and plagues in history, is growing on me... err forgive the bad joke. It seems to be developing a life of its own and wanting to be written now. Like an unhouse-broken dog, I am allowing it out from time to time and working on it a plague at a time. This book my also be another first me, as I might have a co-author for it; a scientist who will keep me out of trouble science wise.

In other news, yours truly has been named a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and is as pleased as punch with this honour.

Jordan the Leper

This is the newest release, late May, 2010. The story of a young man struggling with the horrible disease of leprosy in the late 13th century. Set during the rebellion of Simon de Montfort and moving in the 8th and 9th crusades.

Henry of Blois

Henry of Blois is my pride and joy. It is a non-fiction biography of Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen of England. It is the first major treatment of the bishop who was a power player in his own right. Henry of Blois represents 23 years of research. The book also contains several appendices of documents, letters, writs, etc. by about about the bishop. The book has recieved a good review from the Haskins Medieval Society.

Landwaster

Well, with three books in publication, I felt I could finally call myself a 'novelist'. Landwaster is the second volume of the Medieval Outlaw series and tells the story of Harald Hardrada, who was king of Norway and one of the major player of the invasions of 1066. I became fascinated with Harald after many years of teaching a class on the invasions of 1066 in London.

Eustace the Monk

Eustace is probably my favourite cover of my novels. The artists for the publishing company got it just right. Eustace really lived, and was the first of my Medieval Outlaw series. To be considered for the series, the character had to have really lived, was complex enough to develop the character, and there is/was not enough information to write a full biography. Eustace was a 12th century pirate, who had spent time in a monastery and the original French romance reads like Robin Hood.

Before the Falling Dark

Before the Falling Dark, was my first novel. Sitting around a freezing castle in Hungary, not understanding Hungarian television, so I started to write a novel. No one was as surprised as I that it was accepted for publication. The book is set primarily in Roman Britain at the time of the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasions of the Angles, Saxons, and other Germanic tribes. It tells the story of a Romano-Celt doctor from Colchester and how they deal with the beginning of the invasions.