I'm delighted today to introduce my fellow author, Nancy Jardine, who will tell you a little about her book, The Beltane Choice. I'm currently writing about this period myself, so very much looking forward to reading Nancy's book!
Why Celtic Britain
I’m delighted to be with you today, Mark, to explain a
little background to my first historical adventure-The Beltane Choice-released
yesterday by Crooked{Cat}Publishing.
Why did I set The Beltane Choice in AD 71 when the
Romans were invading Britain
During my teaching career I taught 11-12 year olds who typically
learned about World War 2, and The Victorian Era-though on rare occasions I
taught about the might of the Roman Empire
swooping onto the shores of Celtic Britain. Since I live in Aberdeenshire , Scotland
Archaeological digs, at the Deer’s Den site, in my home village of Kintore
Since I live opposite the school building, I was involved as
a village resident and as a teacher. We were invited to view the excavations a
few times over the duration of the dig. My class worked on stories where an
invented character lived in a Celtic roundhouse village near the Deer’s Den site
when the Romans attack- a short story of my own having been drafted as an
example for the kids. Though an avid reader, I hadn’t been serious about writing
fiction before then. That dig was the catalyst!
My fledgling writing career began, though it had a very
shaky start. I wrote the first draft of a time-travel novel where contemporary
children travel back to the Kintore of AD 83/84, and are involved in the battle
of Mons Graupius – Romans against the Celtic tribes of the north. I sited the
battle at Bennachie, a range of hills with a distinctive conical peak which
lies 9 miles away from our village. Sadly,
that draft was abandoned since non-fiction writing projects took up my vacation
time for the next few years.
In 2008 I wrote the first draft of a Celtic/Roman adventure.
That eventually evolved- I’m delighted to say- into The Beltane Choice now
published by Crooked{Cat}Publishing. Though, instead of setting my historical
novel in Aberdeenshire, I set it in the border areas between Scotland and England York
However, I have started a sequel to The Beltane Choice which
will take the protagonists on to the Battle of Mons
Some readers may be interested to know my children’s novel
has also been redrafted, but now covers the Roman Severan Campaigns of AD 210,
in north-east Scotland
I’d be very interested to know what might have been the
catalyst that spurred other authors to take up their pen. What was your
trigger?
Blurb for The Beltane Choice:
Can the Celtic Tribes repel the Roman army?
Banished
from the nemeton, becoming a priestess is no longer the future for Nara Nara
As armies
of the Roman Empire march relentlessly northwards, Lorcan intends to use Nara Nara Nara
When
danger and death arrive in the form of the mighty Roman forces, will Nara
Buy links for The Beltane Choice: http://www.crookedcatbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=63
Book Trailer for the Beltane Choice: http://youtu.be/igJmfBoXRhQ
Tags: historical,
romantic, Celtic, adventure
Author Bio:
Nancy
Jardine lives in the picturesque castle country of Aberdeenshire , Scotland
Author Links: http://nancyjardine.blogspot.com http://nancyjardineauthor.weebly.com http://facebook.com/nancy.jardine.56 Twitter @nansjar
Other books by Nancy Jardine:
MONOGAMY TWIST
Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/OmXH3V Book Trailer for Monogamy
Twist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJVzbrkJQzA
TAKE ME NOW http://bit.ly/MQJXvw amazon.co.uk http://amzn.to/TPynpq Book Trailer for Take Me Now: http://youtu.be/stDC4Yhm2r0
Hello Mark,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for inviting me to give some background. I love writing about the period, though I'm not sure any of the above would add much to whatever you are writing about-except if you've set your work in Aberdeenshire!
My story is mainly set in Sussex & Norfolk, but ends with key characters setting off in the dirction of Aberdeenshire!
ReplyDeleteNancy asks us what spurred us to take up our pens. Well I started because I needed an additional source of income. That, by the way, is the very worst reason to start writing. It's very difficult to make money doing this, and sometimes it seems to be easier for bad writers than for good ones (one best-selling author, a gentleman whose colourful past includes a prison sentence, is absolutely notorious in the trade for the amount of editing his books always require). I continued because I thought I had something to say, and because, as an archaeologist, I wanted to find a way of filling the gaps that my excavations could never shed light on.
ReplyDeleteI have now had the pleasure of reading Nancy's book, and what a book it is! If, as a child, you enjoyed the works of Rosemary Sutcliff (and I know few readers of historical fiction who didn't) then, as an adult, you will love this. It is the "adult version," in that there are sex scenes, and I personally find sex scenes very difficult to write. Even great writers often make a hash of them (Sebastian Faulks has a "Bad Sex Award"), but Nancy is at no risk of this. Hers are written with the elegance and tenderness and believability that one sees in the work of D.H. Lawrence. I will also say, as an archaeologist, that I find her vision of Late Iron Age society in Northern Britain more believable than just about any other I have seen in fiction.
ReplyDeleteMark, I'm so sorry that I'm only now getting this answer made. You have just boosted my confidence so much, and I'm very glad you have enjoyed reading The Beltane Choice.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy
ReplyDeleteSorry to be late catching up here, and congratulations on your book release,The Beltane Choice sounds like a great read. Therre are a lot of historical sites in my native Wales, too, and they and the legends surrounding them are such a great source of inspiration.
I've always made up stories in my head,I just love escaping into worlds of my imagination, and I'm not sure what the catalyst was to write them down, but I think a school friend encouraged me to do so and that spurred me on!
That's a great nudge to take up writing, Hywela! I've only been to Wales a couple of times but loved what I saw. Didn't get into all the castles I wanted to, though, since we had two toddlers the first time, and then went to the north the second time.
ReplyDeleteIt would take a lifetime to explore the castles of Wales (let alone the other sites, and in conjunction with the fantastic literary heritage). I taught for several years at Carmarthen. I surveyed Llansteffan Castle with my students and took them to many other sites (Foel Trigarn, Pentre Ifan, Nevern - which oddly enough I'm writing about now), but really we were only scratching the surface!
ReplyDeleteI love history, too. And fiction is such a great way to get others interested. It's wonderful that you have so much at your door.
ReplyDeleteHello To Mark and Cheryl. The British Isles does have a fantastic wealth of places to visit. There's always somewhere new. I agree, Mark, that a visit to a site for a couple of hours is never enough time to really explore all the possibilities. Thanks for visiting, Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteYes, thanks for visiting, Cheryl, but surely we all have history at our door if we look for it. I, perhaps, went for one of the easier options in Undreamed Shores, by featuring Stonehenge, a site both iconic and crying out for explanation. Nancy, in The Beltane Choice, does a great job with sites that are far less well known, and a handful of other writers (Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Michelle Paver) have done so in much more remote and lesser known regions.
ReplyDelete