When Durstan celebrated Beltane with Ailan in 794AD, they believed that their sexual awakening would honour the Old Gods, and ensure the fertility of the earth. Despite falling in love that night, she has disappeared, and the young Monk is distraught.
He journeys magically into the past with Brionach who has come to Iona, to guide him in the old way of the Druid Bard, through tales of the Ancestors and their experience of love.
Garwyn, an Iron Age priestess, is infatuated with a Roman centurion from the Vindolanda fort. He betrays her. Ara suffers at the hands of a Neolithic hunter, whilst Artuir and Gwenhwyfar's 5th century romance is broken by Lleenog, and there are others.
Beth is mischief making with Alys as Durstan discovers what happened to his sister, Mora, when he was taken to the monastery as a child. Her husband, Duncan, is Lord of Mull so there is much to be told.
You'll find charms, runes, and spells here. Magic is an everyday occurrence in the Early Medieval period. People believe in Dragons, Elves, and the Wyrd. Many have still not converted to Christianity but continue to worship the Old Gods, while Vikings threaten the monasteries along the coastline of the British Isles.
Will Durstan be guided by the Druid's storytelling, and find love again... with Ailan?

What could possibly go wrong in 1922 when a young lady marries her stepfather, even if her own mother agrees with the unorthodox union?
This situation is one of many dilemmas facing the women of a family separated by the Atlantic Ocean and a world of secrets and deception. Can Eva Carroll, a young feminist and budding journalist, have a happy marriage to this man while placating the conventions of the day?
The Great War is over. Everyone is optimistic. Eva is the daughter of one of three sisters who have already been leading unconventional lives. Although born in Boston, she now lives with her mother, Elisabet, stepfather, and Swedish grandparents in the small Canadian coastal town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
Somewhat naive, Eva falls in love with her stepfather, Seamus, only nine years her senior. Elisabet surprisingly condones the relationship. But she imposes a condition — her daughter and her second husband must marry after she divorces him.
Eva’s two aunts living in Sweden decide to return to Canada to rejoin their sister. One aunt, obsessed with social status, has bought her title of ‘countess’, while the other has a quiet loving relationship with her female housemate. When the siblings get together, their family background in Sweden is laid bare as they learn the truth about their parents and a brother they had never known.
As Eva finds herself caught in the midst of rivalries among the three sisters, and a growing mental health issue concerning one of them, her marriage and familial relationships are threatened. Now her future faces unexpected personal turmoil. Her life has definitely changed during the Roaring ‘20s and into the Great Depression.

Think you know the world's most famous love story? Think again. What if the story of Romeo & Juliet really happened - but not quite in the way we've all been told?
This part-prequel, part-sequel to the original tale, told from the point of view of the Friar, tells how an ancient Italian manuscript reveals secrets and lies which have remained hidden for hundreds of years, and casts new doubts on the official story of Shakespeare's famous star-crossed lovers.
If you love the Romeo & Juliet story but are disappointed with the way it ended, this is the book for you.

Leaving her native France and arriving in North Wales as a postgraduate student of History and Folklore, Mel is cautiously optimistic that she can escape from her troubled past and begin a new and happier life.
She settles into her student accommodation and begins work on her thesis, concentrating particularly on one fascinating manuscript: a compelling and tragic tale of a cursed medieval princess.
Then she meets Ray – charming, down-to-earth and devastatingly handsome. Within days, Mel’s entire world has transformed from lonely and frustrated to loving and fulfilled. Despite her failure with previous relationships, she allows herself to hope that this time, at last, she can make it work.
But Mel’s dreams of happiness are under constant threat. She is hiding a dark and terrible secret, which Ray – or indeed anybody else – must never ever discover…

NEW YORK, 1883: Gamblers and thieves, immigrants and street urchins, Do-Gooders and charity houses, impossible goals and impossible odds. The Bowery is a place where you own nothing but your dreams. And dreams are the only things that come cheap for pickpocket Mollie Flynn and prostitute Annabelle Lee.
Pleasure is fleeting - and often stolen. Nights at Lefty Malone's saloon, sneaking into the Thalia Theatre. Then it's back to their airless, windowless tenement room and the ongoing struggle to keep a roof over their heads and bread in their stomachs.
The Brooklyn Bridge is nearing completion, and things are changing in New York City. The two women fantasize of starting a new life across the East River. Nothing but a flight of fancy, perhaps, until wealthy Do-Gooder Emmeline DuPre, who has opened the Cherry Street Settlement House, steps into their lives with her books, typewriters, and promises of a way to earn a respectable living. Despite Mollie and Annabelle's fascination with the woman and what she offers, is Emmeline helping or meddling?
Is it really possible to be anything other than a Bowery Girl? Mollie and Annabelle will have to decide exactly who they are, and what sort of women they want to be.

We love to cheer the underdog. It’s why this story of homeless orphan Clarence Duval will warm your heart and touch your conscience. It’s based on a true story.
Nebraska, 1888. Clarence, age 12, just lost his acting job, stranding him in Omaha. Then he gets an incredible opportunity: the chance to travel the world with a new group of entertainers.
Clarence’s adventures take him west across America, then to Hawaii and Australia. He’ll explore underground San Francisco, meet royalty, and travel halfway around the world. Throughout his journey, however, Clarence faces one of the most relentless villains in all American history: many of his companions hate him because he’s an African American.
Join Clarence on his search for the belonging, acceptance, and dignity that all of us want and deserve. He’s not a traditional hero. Clarence is a hero who real people who have faced bullying or discrimination can relate to. His adventures will have you cheering for him even as you question why people torment children.
This book is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.

For bastard-born Robert FitzStephan, being given Eleanor d’Outremer in marriage is an honour. For Eleanor, this forced wedding is anything but a fairy tale.
Robert FitzStephan has served Edward Longshanks loyally since the age of twelve. Now he is riding with his king to once and for all bring Wales under English control.
Eleanor d’Outremer—Noor to family—lost her Castilian mother as a child and is left entirely alone when her father and brother are killed. When ordered to wed the unknown Robert FitzStephan, she has no choice but to comply.
Two strangers in a marriage bed is not easy. Things are further complicated by Noor’s blood-ties to the Welsh princes and by covetous Edith who has warmed Robert’s bed for years.
Robert’s new wife may be young and innocent, but he is soon to discover that not only is she spirited and proud, she is also brave. Because when Wales lies gasping and Edward I exacts terrible justice on the last prince and his children, Noor is determined to save at least one member of the House of Aberffraw from the English king.
Will years of ingrained service have Robert standing with his king or will he follow his heart and protect his wife, his beautiful and fierce Castilian hawk?

Barbados 1652. In the aftermath of the English Civil War, the vanquished are uprooted and scattered to the ends of the earth.
When marauding English soldiers descend on Mairead O’Coneill’s family farm, she is sold into indentured servitude. After surviving a harrowing voyage, the young Irish woman is auctioned off to a Barbados sugar plantation where she is thrust into a hostile world of depravation and heartbreak. Though stripped of her freedom, Mairead refuses to surrender her dignity.
Scottish prisoner of war Iain Johnstone has descended into hell. Under a blazing sun thousands of miles from home, he endures forced indentured labour in the unforgiving cane fields. As Iain plots his escape to save his men, his loyalties are tested by his yearning for Mairead and his desire to protect her.
With their future stolen, Mairead and Iain discover passion and freedom in each other’s arms. Until one fateful night, a dramatic chain of events turns them into fugitives.

B.R.A.G Medallion Honoree; Shortlisted for the 2019 Chaucer Award; Longlisted for the 2018 HNS New Novel Award

Brian Wilmer is God's gift to amateur dramatics - and he knows it. So when the Castlemarsh Players take the ambitious decision to stage Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, there is only one man who can play the title role - even though Brian's posturing 'prima donna' attitude has, over the years, won him few friends and many foes.
Rehearsals progress apace, and the production draws ever closer. But when another member of the cast has to drop out due to illness, local journalist Sarah Carmichael (a stalwart of the Players' backstage crew) suddenly has to step into the breach at the eleventh hour.
Not surprisingly, Sarah finds that Brian is in his egotistical element playing the mighty Caesar. The fact that the final performance of the play takes place on the infamous Ides of March - the day when, according to tradition, Caesar was fatally stabbed - only adds to the excitement.
But tragedy is waiting in the wings. And when it strikes, it falls to Sarah - with the help of Brian's personable and fascinating nephew Martin Burns - to uncover the incredible truth about what really happened...

How did one fateful decision land Aaron Price in New South Wales as an assigned convict?
He and his mate James were best described as petty criminals until they decided to try their hand at breaking and entering. What started as a grab for easy money, ended with them being sentenced to transportation to the colonies for life. Aaron may be lamenting his fate and the fact that he won’t be seeing his sweetheart again, but is he content to serve his sentence?
Aaron knows only too well that bushranging is a hanging offence, and yet he once again allows himself to be persuaded. On the run and eager for revenge, he and his new mates wage terror on their previous master and the other settlers of the Hunter Valley.
However, Aaron isn’t content to just wreak havoc - he’s got an escape plan. If only he could find a way to get himself on board a ship bound for America. The British have no jurisdiction there, and he would be free.

Adam de Guirande owes his lord, Roger Mortimer, much more than loyalty. He owes Lord Roger for his life and all his worldly goods, he owes him for his beautiful wife – even if Kit is not quite the woman Lord Roger thinks she is. So when Lord Roger rises in rebellion against the king, Adam has no choice but to ride with him – no matter what the ultimate cost may be.
England in 1321 is a confusing place. Edward II has been forced by his barons to exile his favourite, Hugh Despenser. The barons, led by the powerful Thomas of Lancaster, Roger Mortimer and Humphrey de Bohun, have reasons to believe they have finally tamed the king. But Edward is not about to take things lying down...
Adam fears his lord has over-reached, but Adam has other matters to concern him, first and foremost his new wife, Katherine de Monmouth. His bride comes surrounded by rumours concerning her and Lord Roger, and he hates it when his brother snickers and whispers of used goods.
Kit has the misfortune of being a perfect double of Katherine de Monmouth – which is why she finds herself coerced into wedding a man under a false name.
Domestic matters become irrelevant when the king sets out to punish his rebellious barons. The Welsh Marches explode into war, and soon Lord Roger and his men are fighting for their very lives. When hope splutters and dies, when death seems inevitable, it falls to Kit to save her man – if she can.
In the Shadow of the Storm is the first in Anna Belfrage’s new series, The King’s Greatest Enemy, the story of a man torn apart by his loyalties to his lord, his king, and his wife.

Whispered by the wise and the learned. Talked of in hushed tones round luminous firesides. Engraved by awestruck scribes in the scriptoria of the Chronicles. Against all the odds, great King Alfred defeated a vastly superior Danish army outside Chippenham.
This victory, the sages prophesied, would guarantee peace throughout the land. Or so they thought.
Two years later, Rigr the Bastard, vengeful and seeking to claim his birthright, was defeated in the wilds of East Anglia. His blood smeared berserker warriors vanquished; no quarter asked for - no quarter given.
Now, a further two years later, the Vikings return. Noble Prince Sven instigates a seaborne invasion, fuelled partly by blind rage when he discovers that his brother, Prince Erik, has sworn fealty to the Anglo-Saxon king.
His own brother: A traitor and a fool.
Erik’s love, Lady Gwyneth, attempts to stop the invasion before it starts by uniting the two estranged brothers, but her scheming only succeeds in making matters worse. Indeed, her interference guarantees the death of thousands of warriors in the freezing, tumultuous North Sea.
So when the horns of Sven’s monumental fleet of warships are heard off the fogbound coast of Britannia, King Alfred – outnumbered, outshipped and weary of the fray - must rouse his jaded Saxon warriors and lead them to sea, to repel his most formidable enemy yet.
For a host motivated by the spilled blood of the fallen, the spirit of black vengeance, and the delights of a warrior’s reward in Valhalla, is the most fearsome opponent of all.