Twenty-five years ago, invaders captured Andropolis, the capital of Thalacia, and ended the rule of King Leonard. According to prophecy, the invaders can be ousted and the royal line restored only by wielding the Aglaril, seven elven gems of unprecedented power.
However, the circlet in which the gems were set was destroyed millennia ago and the gems lost. At least, that was the common belief. Evan Pierce, a priest of St. Michael, discovers one of the gems belongs to the town jeweler. He also uncovers a plot to steal the gem and does what he can to keep it safe. But it is not enough.
Now, Evan must recover the gem by relying on a motley group of adventurers for help. Together, they must overcome a series of obstacles or humanity's one hope for restoring the royal line will be lost forever.
From amazon.com: Five stars. Possibly one of the best books I have read so far this year and the best fantasy I have read in a while. This book read surprisingly quick, it is easily appropriated for younger readers even early teens but it still very much so appeals to adults. There wasn't a lot of detailed world building that you normally expect, it just naturally flows and you learn as you read but don't feel lost at any point. There are a wide variety of characters, each with their own clear back story. There are several storylines going on at once but they mesh so well you don't feel you need to keep track of them. This was a very well written fantasy novel and now I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!
So said William Shakespeare, and if you think about his words, the truism is still alive today.
Why would that be?
Well, don’t we all have a favourite song, a song with meaning, perhaps evoking strong personal feelings? Or perhaps our favourite, is one that binds us to another, bringing either happy thoughts or sad memories?
Music is everywhere. People all over the world listen to tunes on vinyl, cd, radio, television, and in digitised format, not forgetting live music from concerts, festivals and street artists. We are bombarded with the sound of music on a daily basis, and we feed off the fare on offer, sometimes unknowingly.
Each one of us has our preferences, and our dislikes. And that’s another pointer as to why humans are similar, yet individually are so different to one another.
Shakespeare introduced many words into the English language, for if one didn’t exist for his purpose, he invented it. And his sayings are used in our everyday lives. ‘Love is blind,’ and ‘Heart of Gold,’ come to mind. Songs with the same titles were sang by, Alicia Keys and Neil Young.
Here’s my story.
In the 60’s we had Rhythm & Blues and Tamla Motown, followed quickly by rock. The first band I followed, The Muleskinners had a great sound with a cracking guitarist - they had one hit with - Back Door Man. Supporting them was a band so poor that I had to stand outside the hall until they finished. 18 months later that band had a number one hit in the UK with, Go Now, and The Moody Blues story took off like a rocket.
My mate and I visited our local record shop once a week to check out the latest soul imports from America. It was great being the only ones to have them, as so few arrived in our local store, or anywhere else. I built up a collection, but one record would forever be my favourite. The parody of James Bond by Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers, entitled, ‘Sock it to em JB’, is even now played at my parties.
Next up was a trip to the famous Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London. I lied about my age to get in to see The Yardbirds. Standing transfixed in front of the stage as Eric Clapton played a solo, I looked a right plonker, but I didn’t care, even though I got chucked out soon afterwards. My love with the electric guitar would soon turn into the best habit of my life, but unfortunately my playing would be akin to a cat wailing in agony.
Later in the sixties I saw The Who. I didn’t have to guess where their energy came from, but the amazing sound from just 3 performers was mind blowing. Roger Daltrey sang, and Pete Townsend and John Entwistle played their guitars as if there were five guitarists on stage. Keith – Moon the Loon – was just that, but he’s the best drummer I’ve ever had the privilege to watch.
I saw Cream, live, not long before they split in 1968, and soon after the original line up of, Wishbone Ash - one of the most fan friendly bands ever.
Come the 70’s I danced in the clubs to the sound of the disco beat, yet collected music from an array of fantastic rock bands. Barclay James Harvest and ELO were firm favourites. I managed to see The Electric Light Orchestra at Wembley and I’ll never forget their spaceship emerging from beneath the stage covered in mist.
The music in the 80’s started the decline into mediocrity. Sugar pop was not for me, so I ignored the charts and looked elsewhere. Dire Straits, Asia, Wishbone Ash, The Eagles, I collected them all.
A night with Genesis was the best concert I’ve ever seen. Everyone thought the gig had ended but Genesis returned to play a second encore. 20 minutes of Tamla Motown brought the house down.
‘Run to You,’ by Bryan Adams has a special meaning, as does, ‘Django,’ by Joe Bonamassa. The former is personal, the latter mind-blowing. When Joe played the first notes of that instrumental, all the hairs on my arm stood up, and spellbound, I was. It’s the finest opening track I’ve ever witnessed. And if you haven’t heard it, then rectify that double quick. Buy the track, sit in a quiet room, turn the volume up, and close your eyes.
In the 90’s, I lost interest in the charts, yet continued to seek out new melodic rock bands from all over the globe. And by the most unusual of circumstances, I found a new sound, a sound that brought back memories of my youth, and dancing in the discos.
Sitting around a pool on the Greek island of Kefalonia, I heard a new track over the speaker system. It was soft, catchy and my interest was piqued. I listened as the same four notes repeated, then followed by a rising six - da da da da - da da da da - da da da da da da - which appeared to be from someone playing a piano, but it was different. I asked Aris, the barman, the name of the artist and the title of the track. As the beat intensified my love affair with the music of Robert Miles, and especially this track, Children, took off. Aris, even brought me in a copy before I left for home. Thanks matey.
My love affair with trance music had just begun, but you’ll have to wait for part 2 to read what happened next.
So the long ‘Droughtlander’ is official over, and it is back on our screens. Thank goodness! This series promises to be as amazing as the last. Check out the trailer...
Outlander | Season 3 Official Trailer |STARZ
Last September I found myself in Scotland and I could not but help checking out some of the fabulous Historical sites where Outlander was filmed, and I thought I would share some photographs with you today!!
Doune
Castle Stirling
I
was in heaven. I had Sam Heughan chatting away in my ear (the audio guide),
explaining how Doune Castle was turned into Castle Leoch. What more could a
girl want?!
If
you have limited time in Scotland and want to go to just one Outlander
location, then go here. Castle Doune, not only has the most
incredible history, but there is something special about this place ~ although
that might have been down to Jamie Fraser ~ I mean Sam Heughan ~ giving me my
very own personal guided tour...hey, a girl can dream can't she?
Preston
Mill –Edinburgh
Jamie
found his way home to Lallybroch, and he had to make repairs to the watermill.
I
loved this mill. You have to take the guided tour when you look around the
mill, as it is an actual working mill, which I think is incredible.I learnt so much about watermills, and the
tour guide was fabulous.
Blackness
Castle – Edinburgh
I
can see why Blackness Castle was used on location as Fort William Prison. It is
incredibly atmospheric.
Hopetoun
House – Edinburgh
Outlander
fans will recognise Hopetoun House as the home of the Duke of Sandringham's, and boy, was it impressive. The tour guide brought the history of the
house to life, and it is beautiful. Well worth a visit, and the views from the
roof are amazing.
If you fancy going back
even further in time then why not check out
When building a whole world, I like to start with the big picture and work down. You don't have to do that, of course. You can start small and work up, but I start at the top and work out the details the way they would be if the world was real. So I usually start with the astronomy of the world. This includes things like:
What is the spectral class of the star the world orbits?
How far from this star is the world? This is another way of asking how many days are there in a year?
And while we are on the subject:
How long is a day? How are months determined? Typically it is based on the phases of the moon. If the world has no moons, you'll need another method to figure that out. You'll also need to think about what, if anything, affects the tides on the world (assuming there are oceans to influence).
What does the night sky look like? What are the constellations? How do they fit in the mythologies of the world? What are the signs of the zodiac?
How many planets are there in the star system your world belongs to? What are these planets like and how far away are they? Are any visible in the night sky from the world?
Some or all of these questions may be irrelevant for your world. Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Middle Earth do not bother us with these details. And they rarely come into play in my fantasy novels. But they have and it is better to have answers at your fingertips than have to stop and fumble for answers.
Notice all of these questions place the world in a star system. You can design the planets that orbits that star and decide on the number of moons for your world. This can be fun and may even teach you a few things about our own planet.
For my world, I decided early that the sun, Arien, was like our sun, Sol, a yellow G3 star. And that my world was about the same distance from it as Earth is from our sun. The only change I made was I shortened the year by five days so the calendar math came out even. That meant my world was a little closer to Arien but not much. That would affect the seasons and temperatures a little but not by much.
Then I decided on two moons, Ibilik and Ezer. One of the moons affects the planet's tides and the other is too far away to do much of anything. The moons are always fifteen days out of sync with each other and the time it takes for each moon to cycle through its phases is exactly 30 days. That gives me 12 months of 30 days each.
To keep things simple, I kept seven days to a week because I found most people had a hard time if I changed the calendar too much. (My original plans were a 10-day week; the only problem with that no one could remember whether Cooksday was before or after Highday. So I abandoned it that part)
Then I designed the night sky for the northern and southern hemispheres. This ended up being important because my characters stargaze and my bard needs to know what the constellations are called and what stories there are around each. I went this far because the Greeks named most of our constellations and their mythology still surrounds them, if you care to learn about it.
So you can see that these details relate back to important aspects of the world as a whole. You may choose to ignore them, but if you don't you can add real flavor to your world.
Smoked turkey, California-style black eyed peas, my own sweet potato pie and more fill the pages of this small cookbook.
The melting pot of California influenced my cooking style, combining West Coast, Mexican, Asian and Southern Soul into a unique combination of holiday recipes. Mix and match melt-in-your-mouth ribs, macaroni and cheese, greens with bacon and more to create your own holiday cuisine!
It is with the greatest of pleasure that I can finally reveal the cover of The Du Lac Princess (Book 3 of The Du Lac Chronicles). The Du Lac Princess has been an absolute joy to write, and I can not wait to share the next instalment to my award winning series, The Du Lac Chronicles, with you!
Briton 500 AD
The ink has dried on Amandine’s death warrant.
Her crime? She is a du Lac.
All that stands in the way of a grisly death on a pyre is the King of Brittany. However, King Philippe is a fickle friend, and if her death is profitable to him, then she has no doubt that he would light the pyre himself.
Alan, the only man Amandine trusts, has a secret and must make an impossible choice, which could have far-reaching consequences — not only for Amandine, but for the whole of Briton.
Book Extract:
“Soon
I will be entertaining some very important guests. I am celebrating my victory
over Budic and his broth—”
“I
need to know this because…?” Amandine queried, interrupting him. “Do you expect
me to take part in the celebrations? Do you want me to dance on Merton’s grave?
Will that satisfy the masses?”
“Oh,
for goodness’ sake,” Philippe scoffed. “You are not invited. It is your skill I
desire. You were married to Garren. You know how such celebrations are
organised.”
“You
want me to plan it? Go to Hell.”
“I
saved your life,” Philippe reminded her again.
“No
you didn’t,” Amandine disagreed. “Don’t you understand? I died the same day he
did.”
“I
know that you are an exceptional seamstress, and you can make even the mundane
look beautiful,” he continued as if he had not heard her.
“You
are out of your depth, aren’t you?” Amandine realised, and a smile pulled at
her lips. “You don’t know how to be a king, do you? You don’t know how to act,
or how to entertain such influential people. You have no idea about the proper
etiquette.”
Philippe
raised his head and looked calmly into her face. “If you don’t help me then I
am sure the Church would love to take you back under their wing,” he
threatened.
But
the threat did nothing to dampen Amandine’s amusement. “There are others you
should ask. I am not the only one who knows how such things are organised and
besides, no one would listen to me. You forget…I am damned,” she continued to
giggle at the irony.
“I
wasn’t expecting you to leave this room.”
“I
see,” Amandine scoffed.
Philippe
surprised her by kneeling down on the floor in front of her. Everyone knew that
Philippe had a thing about cleanliness. He was obsessed with it. Kneeling on
the floor was surely a no no, up
there with petting the castle’s dogs. He must be truly desperate, Amandine
thought but did not say.
Philippe’s
hand reached for hers and then he paused, thought better of it, and his hand
dropped away. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but Merton was a cruel, evil
man and with time, you will come to see that. I saved you from him. I saved you
from the consequences of loving him. I need your help. I have invited many
dignitaries. I have to impress. Please, show me how and I swear,” he placed his
hand on his chest, where his heart rested, “I will protect you forever.”
“Protect
me?” Amandine laughed, although there was little humour in it. She watched as
Philippe rose back to his feet. “I am a du Lac. You and I, we will always be
enemies.”
Mary Anne Yarde is an award winning author of the International Best Selling
Series — The Du Lac Chronicles. Set a generation after the fall of King Arthur,
The Du Lac Chronicles takes you on a journey through Dark Age Briton and
Brittany, where you will meet new friends and terrifying foes. Based on legends
and historical fact, the Du Lac Chronicles is a series not to be missed.
Born in Bath, England, Mary Anne Yarde grew up in the southwest of England,
surrounded and influenced by centuries of history and mythology. Glastonbury —
the fabled Isle of Avalon — was a mere fifteen-minute drive from her home, and
tales of King Arthur and his knights were part of her childhood.
Posts
