(revised version of the original novel by W. Somerset Maugham)
Tuesday, June 16th, 2026
Publication Date: December 24th, 2025
Publisher: independently published
Pages: 216
Genre: Occult Horror
In Edwardian Paris, brilliant surgeon Arthur Burdon is engaged to beautiful Margaret Dauncey, accompanied by her loyal friend, artist Susie Boyd. They encounter enigmatic Oliver Haddo—a wealthy, obese occultist claiming alchemical mastery. Haddo, inspired by Aleister Crowley, seduces and marries Margaret, drawing her into depravity.
While Arthur remains blind, Susie spies Haddo’s true nature: tentacled astral projections, ritual abuse, and experiments creating daemonic homunculi fed on virgin blood. Margaret descends into addiction and submission.
Susie, contemptuous of weakness, murders to steal Haddo’s forbidden texts, performs blood rituals, and binds young Oswald Pendleton as lover and disciple through explicit sex magick.
This modern revision of this classic pot-boiler is a more hardcore, horrifying, and twisted take on this tale.
Praise for The Magician:
"Now G.G. MacLeod reimagines the classic book first written by Somerset Maugham. Added is some taboo and gore that a 1908 audience would not have tolerated. Still, the additions probably reflect the true extremes alchemy caused in the lives of three Europeans back in 1908."
G.G. MacLeod is a 59-year-old Canadian male based in Calgary.
The author has always had a tendency of combining genres like horror and action along with drama, psychological thrillers, giallo, and sometimes even comedy.
It really depends on how the author feels from moment to moment as they write because the author likes to entertain themselves first and then hope that a smattering of other people out there in the world will like it as well.
When Lord Deveril Blackbourne meets Selina Wynter, he is intrigued. For she has all the accomplishments of a lady, but the fiery temper and spirit of a tavern maid! Then she is abducted by a dastardly suitor, and Deveril—for all his roguish reputation— can’t stand idly by…
Lord Deveril is Selina’s least likely rescuer, but when they’re stranded together in a snowstorm and her reputation is at risk, he surprises her with a gallant proposal! Deveril’s no honourable suitor, yet his actions say otherwise…
Just who is the real Devil Blackbourne? Selina’s determined to find out!
Meet Selina & Deveril!
When it comes to the characters in my book, the location has to be a character in its own right. I was born in the West Country and still visit Exmoor regularly. It was on a winter visit to the area that I began to think of this story. Steep sided lanes lead up to the windswept moors where ponies now graze quietly, posing for visitors to take photographs. The whole area lends itself to tales of adventure with spirited ladies, handsome heroes and dastardly villains.
Exmoor Ponies (c) Sarah Mallory
When you think of a romance set on Exmoor, you most likely think of Lorna Doone, but that was written one hundred years before my latest story.
Lorna Doone illustration, British Library via Wikimedia Commons, no restrictions.
Rescued by the Rakish Lord is a sparkling Georgian adventure. It focuses on the romance between Miss Selina Wynter, an independent lady living in a small market town on the southern edge of Exmoor and a London buck, Lord Deveril Blackbourne. They are neither of them what they appear to be at their first encounter. She thinks him a rakish libertine, and he thinks her a spirited tavern wench!
Selina
Selina has been educated as a lady, although that would probably have been pretty basic. Reading, writing, a little arithmetic and some painting and music thrown in. possibly a smattering of French or Italian, too. Selina learns to play the pianoforte and naturally, she can dance. Many a match was made on the dancefloor!
1776 robe a l’anglaise attrib. Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Selina, however, has no thoughts of marriage. Her father has suffered from ill health for years and on her mother’s death, Selina quit the schoolroom to look after him and take charge Reigney, his estate, as well as the busy posting house that is on their land.
She is more than happy with her life, which has made her far more independent than many single ladies, and she thrives on the hard work and challenges it presents. She hunts, drives and shoots, and she won’t take a husband if it means giving up her independence. When I started planning this book, I had in mind a beautiful, resourceful woman, restless and lively, full of energy (think Kate Beckinsale in Van Helsing).
Deveril
Lord Deveril is a fashionable London gentleman with a reputation for being a rake. Although he isn’t. Far from it. Lord Deveril Blackbourne may seem like a devil-make-care London beau but he is at heart a kind and honourable man. Hardly his fault if women throw themselves at him, attracted by his charm and good looks, not to mention his wealth and title!
One of the challenges of writing historical romance is that many readers like the idea of a bad boy hero, but how many of us would want to be married to one? Having read a great deal about the real-life rakes of the 18th century, I think most of them were neither honourable or kind. Certainly not the sort to win the heart of a modern-day reader. Deveril, on the other hand, while he is willing to enjoy a mild flirtation, would not willingly break any young lady’s heart.
Deveril is intrigued by Selina, but not at all sure he likes her: “All the breeding and accomplishments of a lady, but the temper and spirit of a tavern wench.” However, when he suspects she has been abducted he cannot help but set out to rescue her, which results in them being snowbound at a remote inn together. It is then, as they begin to overcome their differences, that the attraction grows. They share a lively sense of the ridiculous and we all know that laughter can be very attractive.
Finishing a new book is always exciting, and this one has been no different. I have loved following Selina and Deveril on their journey and bringing them to their eventual happy ending. I make no apologies for writing romantic adventures, I began writing these stories because I wanted to read feel-good fiction, something that would take me away from the real world for a while. And I shall continue to write them, for as long as the stories keep coming into my head.
Sarah Mallory is an award-winning author who has published more than 40 historical romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon. She loves history, especially the Georgian and Regency.
She won the prestigious RoNA Rose Award from the Romantic Novelists Association in 2012 and 2013 and nominated in 2022. She also won the RNA’s Romantic Historical Novel Award in 2024 for The Night She Met the Duke. Sarah also writes romantic historical adventures as Melinda Hammond.
Sarah was born in the West Country but lived for many years on the Yorkshire Pennines, taking inspiration from the wild and rugged moors. Then in 2018 she fell in love with Scotland and ran away to live on the rugged North West Coast, which is proving even more inspiring!
A Heart That's True: A Native American Historical Novel
by Mark Guillerman
Publication Date: 7th May 2026 Publisher: Independently Published Page Length: 266 Genre: Historical Fiction
When all is taken, what remains?
In 1912, twelve-year-old Joseph Cross and his cousin Elizabeth White Cloud are torn from the foothills of Montana and sent across the country to the Carlisle Indian School, where children are stripped of their language, their traditions, and even their names.
Separated from home and forced into a world that sees them as something to be remade, Joseph and White Cloud must learn to survive in ways they never imagined. They face loneliness, danger, and a system determined to erase who they are. Yet through friendship, courage, and the teachings of their people, they begin to discover a strength no one can take from them.
Where courage walks, the spirit follows.
Along the way, their journey becomes intertwined with the legend of Big Black, a powerful wolf whose story mirrors their own struggle to belong in a world that fears what it does not understand.
A Heart That’s True is a moving and unforgettable story of resilience, identity, and the unbreakable bond between family, culture, and spirit. Inspired by real historical events, this novel shines a light on a chapter of history that must never be forgotten—and celebrates the courage to remain true to who you are.
“A Heart That’s True” by Mark Guillerman is one of the more emotionally sincere and historically thoughtful works of historical fiction I’ve read dealing with the American Indian boarding school era. What initially appears to be a relatively straightforward coming-of-age story gradually reveals itself as something much larger — a meditation on cultural survival, memory, spiritual endurance, and the psychological violence of forced assimilation in early twentieth-century America.
What impressed me most throughout the novel was the seriousness with which it approaches its historical material. Many novels set during the boarding school era simplify the experience into either sentimental tragedy or uncomplicated political outrage. “A Heart That’s True” avoids both extremes. Instead, it presents assimilation as a slow, systematic process of emotional, cultural, and spiritual erosion carried out through institutions that often considered themselves benevolent. The result is a novel that feels far more historically convincing than many works dealing with similar subject matter.
The opening sections in Montana are especially effective because they establish not simply a geographical setting, but an entire disappearing world. The journey of Joseph Cross and the other children towards Carlisle carries an overwhelming sense of historical finality. The grasslands, the wagon trails, the distant wolves, the rivers, and the immense skies all feel spiritually connected to the identity being stripped away from the children before the reader’s eyes. The novel understands that removal from homeland was not merely physical displacement; it represented separation from memory, language, ancestry, and cosmology itself.
Joseph Cross is an extremely compelling central character precisely because of his restraint. The novel wisely avoids turning him into either a sentimental victim or an unrealistically heroic figure. Instead, Joseph remains observant, introspective, spiritually grounded, and emotionally disciplined throughout much of the narrative. His inner life is shaped less by dramatic speeches than by memory, silence, observation, and endurance. This gives the novel much of its emotional power. The reader gradually understands that Joseph’s resistance lies not in open rebellion, but in his refusal to internally surrender the spiritual teachings of his grandfather.
The grandfather’s influence over the novel cannot be overstated. Although he occupies relatively limited page time, his presence permeates the entire narrative through memory and spiritual instruction. The recurring line — “The human spirit will never die in a heart that’s true” — becomes not merely a thematic statement but the philosophical foundation of the novel itself. Nearly every major event in Joseph’s life ultimately returns to this idea of spiritual perseverance beneath institutional oppression.
One of the strongest aspects of the novel is its portrayal of Carlisle Indian School itself. The book captures the psychological structure of the boarding school system with considerable nuance. The cutting of hair, prohibition of Native languages, military discipline, renaming of children, and forced religious instruction are all presented not simply as isolated cruelties, but as components of a broader ideological system designed to dismantle identity gradually over time. Importantly, the novel also recognises the contradictions within that system. Certain authority figures display genuine compassion even whilst participating in institutions built upon cultural destruction. This complexity gives the narrative far greater historical credibility.
The atmosphere throughout the Carlisle sections is remarkably effective. There is a constant sense of emotional containment beneath the rigid discipline of school life. Homesickness, fear, loneliness, and suppressed grief quietly shape the students’ daily existence. Yet the novel equally emphasises the resilience and solidarity that emerge among the children themselves. Shared stories, private conversations, athletic competition, and cultural memory become subtle acts of survival.
The football material is also handled far more intelligently than I expected. Rather than functioning merely as inspirational sports narrative, athletics become symbolic of both contradiction and survival. The school simultaneously attempts to erase Native identity whilst celebrating Native athletic excellence on the national stage. The novel clearly understands the historical irony surrounding Carlisle football and figures such as Jim Thorpe. Athletic success becomes one of the few socially acceptable ways Native students could publicly demonstrate dignity, discipline, and capability within white America’s institutions.
Big Black is perhaps the novel’s most powerful symbolic element. The wolf-dog hybrid operates simultaneously as companion, spiritual symbol, and thematic mirror to Joseph himself. Like Joseph, Big Black exists uneasily between worlds — neither fully domesticated nor fully wild. The scenes involving Big Black possess an almost mythic quality that elevates portions of the novel beyond conventional historical realism into something closer to spiritual allegory. The animal’s recurring presence reinforces the novel’s larger themes of instinct, identity, endurance, and untamed spiritual memory.
I was also impressed by how patiently the novel develops its emotional impact. Rather than relying upon constant dramatic escalation, it builds cumulative weight through separation, routine, memory, and gradual maturation. The suffering depicted is often quiet rather than theatrical, which ultimately makes it feel more authentic. The novel understands that much of the trauma of the boarding school era emerged not from isolated acts of violence alone, but from prolonged dislocation and the slow pressure to abandon one’s identity.
The historical texture throughout the novel is consistently convincing. Frontier Montana, immigrant homesteads, wolf hunters, railroad expansion, reservation poverty, and early twentieth-century institutional America all feel carefully researched without becoming overly academic. The Johannsen family in particular adds an important dimension to the narrative because they complicate any simplistic moral division between settlers and Native people. Their kindness towards the children stands in contrast to the broader systems of displacement surrounding them.
What ultimately elevates “A Heart That’s True” into a genuinely memorable work of historical fiction is the sincerity of its moral vision. The novel is deeply critical of assimilationist policy and the boarding school system, yet it never loses sight of individual humanity. It is fundamentally a novel about survival — not merely physical survival, but survival of memory, spirit, and cultural identity across generations of pressure and trauma.
The final sections of the novel are especially moving because they avoid simplistic triumph. Joseph’s return westwards feels less like restoration than reconciliation. He cannot fully recover the world that was taken from him, yet neither has that world disappeared entirely. The concluding reunion scenes carry considerable emotional weight precisely because the novel has spent so much time establishing what was lost along the way.
“A Heart That’s True” is an ambitious, emotionally resonant, and historically thoughtful work of fiction. It succeeds not only as a coming-of-age narrative, but as a serious exploration of cultural survival during one of the darkest chapters of American history. The novel’s greatest achievement lies in the way it portrays resilience not as grand heroism, but as the quiet refusal to surrender one’s inner identity despite overwhelming pressure to do so.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde The Coffee Pot Book Club
Mark Guillerman is an award-winning author of historical fiction whose stories are rooted in courage, hardship, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. Drawn to the early twentieth century and the lives shaped by war, progress, loss, and change, he writes novels that aim to feel true to the times while still speaking to readers today.
A lifelong storyteller, Mark began writing seriously as he approached retirement, determined not to be one of those people who always meant to write a book but never did. His debut novel, Flow Like a River, won the PenCraft Book Award for Fiction/Action and received an Outstanding Achievement Award from Blue Ink Literary. His second novel, A Heart That’s True, was awarded Outstanding Fiction by Artisan Book Reviews & Marketing.
Before turning to fiction, Mark spent more than twenty years as a Building Official and also worked in St. Bernard Parish outside New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, helping with rebuilding efforts. He is also a songwriter and recording artist, with his first album, Red Horizon, released in 2026.
Originally from Houston, Mark now lives there again with his wife and their very spoiled one-hundred-pound shelter dog. When he is not writing, he can often be found in the recording studio, hiking, or spending time with his grandchildren.
Mark writes because he has stories that refuse to stay untold. He believes the best stories stay with you long after the final page, and he intends to keep writing them for as long as readers are willing to take the journey with him.
Even the strongest state is vulnerable to its past.
2020, Roma Nova. Carina Mitela investigates a potential rebellion but discovers the long-buried secret that ignited the attempted uprising links directly to her own powerful family.
1683, Vienna. As Europe struggles against the Ottoman onslaught, Honoria Mitela leads her troops into the desperate battle to save besieged Vienna. The fate of Europe – and of Roma Nova itself – hangs in the balance.
1849, Central Italy. Statia Mitela’s impulsive act saves one life but jeopardises Roma Nova’s very existence and threatens her descendants with public disgrace, financial ruin and permanent exile.
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Three stories of the women of the Mitela family, descendants of the founders of Roma Nova, bound by blood and courage.
Praise for HEROICA:
“All three stories in this collection deal with honour and the question of being true to oneself, especially if this entails running the risk of coming into conflict with the state and the status quo. All three central women are physically and morally brave, even rash. Their strength of spirit is never in doubt.” ~ Lorna Fergusson, Fictionfire
“For anyone who has read and enjoyed the Roma Nova stories before, this collection of novellas is a must. And if you haven’t, then please start from the beginning with INCEPTIO – you’ll be hooked!” ~ Christina Courtenay, bestselling author of romantic time-travel fiction
Excerpt from the beginning of Revolution?, the first story in the HEROICA collection
Set in the European country of Roma Nova, the last part of the Roman Empire that has survived from the late 4th century into the 21st.. Disquieting news comes from Brancadorum, a sleepy, rural town in the east.
Roma Nova, 2020
‘You are joking!’
‘You think subversive activity threatening Roma Nova is a joke?’ Legate Conradus Mitelus, head of the Praetorian Guard Special Forces, and for good or bad, also my husband, frowned at me. We’d been at a concert the previous night, headlined by Antonia Canora. Her sultry contralto voice and boho appearance, allied with the sheer emotion of her delivery, had made it an outstanding spectacle. I’d felt drained by the end of it. Although I’d drunk a beakerful of the ginger and malt restorative first thing this morning, my head was still fragile. The last thing I could do with was a briefing meeting about the potential overthrow of my country. I know preventing such things was our job as Praetorians, but at that precise moment, I could hardly prevent a yawn from ballooning up my throat.
‘No, of course not,’ I said hastily and glanced at Centurion Marcus Flavius for support. He didn’t show the least flicker of emotion on his face, just polite attention to what the legate was saying. ‘But surely this is just somebody letting off steam,’ I continued. ‘Nobody with half a brain would believe them.’
‘Unfortunately, Captain,’ Conrad said, reminding me of my place in the military hierarchy, ‘a number of brainless idiots appear to demonstrate the opposite.’
‘I apologise for my outburst. Sir,’ I added, remembering we were in a formal environment in the PGSF headquarters and that here he was my commanding officer. ‘But I’m shocked to hear such a thing is starting to spread. I’ve read accounts online and in my grandmother’s newspapers, but I thought it was just some crazies spouting lies.’ Apart from being the location of the national Roma Nova Air Force base, Brancadorum was the agricultural back end of nowhere.
Like most Western countries, our little nation allowed free expression as long as it wasn’t hate speech or incitement to racial prejudice or deterioration into a full-blown riot.
‘Subversion comes in many forms. Twisting minds seems to be the flavour of the moment, especially in the east.’ He looked away. The early spring sunshine coming through the armoured glass floor-to-ceiling window made a pale yellow pool on his desk, reflected on the tight lines of his face. The regulation cream walls of his large office were broken up by several bookshelves, some prints and maps and a display cupboard. The little gold eagle I’d bought him at Christie’s on our previous trip to London glistened behind its glass doors with the same early morning light and grim expression.
‘If I may, sir?’ Flavius raised his hand. ‘Captain Mitela is not the only one who’s surprised. I was comparing notes with an air force colleague about the upcoming all-arms training exercise and she expressed the same concern. Apparently, some rabble-rouser in the forum there has been attracting a reasonable crowd – around two hundred or so.’
‘What was he saying?’
‘A load of lies, but with tiny germs of truth about archaic systems and Roma Nova’s imperial structure being out of date and undemocratic. He called for a people’s republic.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘There’s always one. But we’re a constitutional monarchy now. I know that in theory Imperatrix Silvia has more power than many rulers, but she still has to work within the Senate and Representatives’ framework. Even the Ancients’ republic eventually became an empire, not the other way round.’
‘That didn’t always go so well,’ Flavius said sourly.
‘But there were some good periods: the pax romana lasted two hundred years.’ I was the optimistic sort. ‘Well, maybe not at the end in the fifth century,’ I added.
‘Apparently, this rabble-rouser – name of Clodius Novus – has a core group around him,’ the legate read from his screen. ‘And before either of you say it, the name is obviously a pseudonym, trying to hint at a parallel with Publius Clodius Pulcher, the old Republican political mob leader.’
‘He was a nasty piece of work, wasn’t he, sir?’ Flavius said.
‘Yes, a violent manipulator, typical of the gangster type of factionalism in the late Republic. If he hadn’t been killed by his rival Milo, the gods know what he’d have gone on to do.’
‘No sign of a latter-day Milo?’ I asked, furiously trying to remember all the details of the history of that time.
Conrad rubbed his forehead at the hairline – a sign he was troubled. And I didn’t think it was about my lack of historical knowledge.
‘No, thank goodness – he was just another thuggish political agitator, after all. Between them and their corrupt practices and constant incitement to riot they made Ancient Rome intolerable. Anyway, that was then. We certainly don’t want a repeat now.’
‘What exactly have these agitators been doing apart from making a few ranty speeches?’ I said.
Conrad consulted his screen for a moment before switching his gaze back to us.
‘He and his group have been digging up dirt of every kind – mostly fabricated – and circulating it as truths the authorities have been hiding from ordinary people,’ he said. ‘According to rumours, the public meetings are becoming more like rallies.’
‘But surely people will see through it?’ I saw his normally serious face wore a more strained expression than usual.
‘It seems not,’ he replied.
‘Aren’t you going to ask the Brancadorum custodes to intervene?’
‘Ah, this is where it becomes delicate. I contacted Silenus Fornax, a former PGSF guard, who retired to a small farm near Brancadorum, which he bought with his ex-service grant. His children are grown and work here in the city. His wife died a few years ago. He now runs the local branch of the old comrades’ association.’
‘So, an upright citizen!’
Conrad frowned at me. ‘Fornax was a staunch, if dull, long-serving soldier, totally loyal. But I haven’t heard back from him for a couple of days.’
‘No phone call or message, sir?’ Flavius asked.
‘He’s not a fan of technology – he uses a dumb phone when he remembers to charge it.’ He sighed. ‘Anyway, I asked him to put out feelers about what was going on in Brancadorum. He’s not the subtlest person, but he knows the area and people. I didn’t want to alert the custodes as it might compromise his investigation, which is informal at best. The other thing is that to our knowledge no law’s been broken. So far, nobody’s filed a complaint. If the scarabs go in heavy-handed, the organisers will screech repression of civil liberties.’
‘Then what is our mission?’ I asked.
‘I want you to designate a small team to go to Brancadorum, make contact with Fornax and covertly observe events.’ He tapped on his keyboard and our phones pinged Fornax’s photo – a typical grizzled vet with a steady stare into the camera. ‘I’m also recommissioning the group which counters political movements attempting to undermine Roma Nova. But we need some hard facts. That is the mission, effective immediately.’
‘I’ll put a team together straightaway. Centurion Flavius can lead on this.’ I raised an eyebrow in Flavius’s direction. He nodded.
‘Only a few, maximum three, or it will make these people suspicious.’ He shot a hard look at me. ‘Actually, Carina, go yourself.’
Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her twelve-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the 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.
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 lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her three contemporary thrillers, Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes.
For the latest news, subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.alison-morton.com/newsletter/ and receive 'Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds' as a thank you gift.
Genre: Anthology of historical-based Short Stories
Fifteen historical short stories, covering eras from Roman to present-day by Judith Arnopp, Anna Belfrage, Derek Birks, Cathie Dunn, Patricia Furstenberg, Jean Gill, Kathy Hollick-Bater, Helen Hollick, Carolyn Hughes, Amy Maroney, Alison Morton, Elizabeth St.John, Marian L Thorpe, Antoine Vanner, Annie Whitehead. With an introduction by Lorna Fergusson.
The lion has long been a symbol of courage, loyalty, and hope. A creature of power and, in some traditions, of the divine. We imagine it unflinching, unafraid. Yet the truest bravery is not found in the open, but within, where the lion lies hidden, waiting to be called upon. In moments of uncertainty or grief. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to face it. It is the moment when we would rather flee, but instead, find a strength we did not know we possessed.
These powerful and often emotional stories follow men, women, and children as they face profound adversity, the resilience to endure, cling to hope for the future, and the courage to change their lives forever.
Join these ordinary people as they uncover extraordinary strength and emerge, in their own way, lion-hearted.
When danger strikes and you are on your own with only fear as a companion
About Alison:
Alison writes the thrillers she always wanted to read – ones featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her eleven-book Roma Nova thriller 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 with a sharp line in dialogue.
All six full-length Roma Nova novels have won the BRAG Medallion, the prestigious award for indie fiction. SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, INSURRECTIO and JULIA PRIMA have been selected as Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choices. AURELIA was a finalist in the 2016 HNS Indie Award. The Bookseller selected SUCCESSIO as Editor’s Choice in its inaugural indie review.
Six years’ military service, a fascination with ancient Rome and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction have inspired her writing. She lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her contemporary thrillers, Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes.
Southern Britain, the frontier between the Belgae and the Atrebates. AD 471
When escape means more than just running for your life
About Derek:
Derek writes character-driven, action-packed fiction. His debut historical novel, Feud, is the first of a series of eight books and one novella, entitled The Wars of the Roses. which follows the fortunes of the fictional Elder family. He has also written the Amazon bestselling series, The Last of The Romans, which focuses on the real fifth century Romano-British character of Ambrosius Aurelianus. His first non-fiction book is A Guide to the Wars of the Roses. Under the pen name Tom Hadley, he has also written the Liv Fisher modern thriller series, which begins with Eyes Like Blades.
Derek has written and produced over 40 podcasts on the Wars of the Roses, and now co-hosts the podcast series, A Slice of Medieval, with historian, Sharon Bennett Connolly.
Ésparias, a fictional country bordering the western sea circa AD 900
A mother’s dilemma? To keep them safe – or let them go?
About Marian:
Marian’s novels are historical fiction of an imagined world, one that is close to Britain, Northern Europe, and Rome, but isn't any of them. Her short stories, either in multiple-author anthologies or her own collections range from urban fantasy to historical fiction, slice-of-life to climate fiction.
After two careers as a research scientist and an educator, she decided it was time to do what she'd always wanted, and be a writer. Her first book was published when she was in her mid-50s. Her life-long interest in Roman and post-Roman European history provided the inspiration for her first series, while her other interests in landscape archaeology and birding provide background.
When the Normans come, Southwark’s residents need to fight, flee, hide or die
About Judith:
Multi award-winning author, Judith Arnopp’s novels are set in the late medieval and Tudor period. Her main focus is on the women of the era, her meticulous research offering deep psychological analysis of well-known figures such as Margaret Beaufort, Marguerite of Anjou, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII himself. She has also written non-fiction How to Dress like a Tudor.
Annie is a prize-winning writer, historian, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has written four award-winning novels set in ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Mercia. She has contributed to fiction and nonfiction anthologies and written for various magazines.
She 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, a finalist in the Tom Howard Prize for nonfiction and shortlisted for the Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award 2021. She was the winner of the inaugural Historical Writers’ Association HWA / Dorothy Dunnett Prize 2017 and subsequently a judge for that same competition.
She has also been a judge for the HNS (Historical Novel Society) Short Story Competition, and was a 2024 judge for the HWA Crown Nonfiction Award and chaired the same panel in 2025.
Her nonfiction books are Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom (a #1 Amazon Best-seller, published by Amberley books) and Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England (Pen & Sword Books). In 2023 she contributed to a new history of English monarchs, published by Hodder & Stoughton, and in 2025, Murder in Anglo-Saxon England was published by Amberley Books.
In February 2026 she signed a contract for a new nonfiction book about the Anglo-Saxons, to be published by The History Press in 2027.
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 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, and The Castilian Saga, which is set against the medieval conquest of Wales.
She has also published a time travel romance, The Whirlpools of Time, and its sequel, Times of Turmoil, and is now considering how to wiggle out of setting the next book in that series in Peter the Great’s Russia, as her characters are demanding.
When courage must survive in the face of history’s cruellest plague
About Carolyn:
Carolyn is the author of The Meonbridge Chronicles series, historical fiction set in fourteenth century England. The first Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, is set in the immediate aftermath of what we call The Black Death.
Times of social change are always fascinating, and trying to depict the great upheaval in society brought about by the plague was the inspiration for the book. In the subsequent novels, Carolyn has sought to reveal the lives of mostly ordinary medieval folk through stories that tell of experiences especially pertinent to the time but which also resonate today. The stories focus particularly on the lives of women, if only because women in history often have not had much opportunity to “speak”.
There are now eight books in the series. More will follow.
Patricia is a Romanian-born, South Africa-based author of character-driven historical fiction set in medieval Eastern Europe. Her latest novel, When Secrets Bloom, part of the Blood of Kings, Heart of Shadows saga, explores the turbulent world of Vlad the Impaler, weaving meticulous research with moral complexity, faith, and the quiet resilience of women navigating power and peril.
Her short stories, poetry, and travel features have appeared in anthologies and online publications.
When a woman holds a secret, does she keep it, or share it?
About Amy:
Amy lives in Oregon, U.S.A., and spent many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction before turning her hand to historical fiction. Amy is the author of the Miramonde Series, a trilogy about a Renaissance-era female artist and the modern-day scholar on her trail; and the Sea and Stone Chronicles, which features strong, talented women seeking their fortunes in the medieval Mediterranean.
To receive a free prequel novella to the Miramonde Series, join Amy Maroney’s community of readers on her website: https://www.amymaroney.com/
Award-winning Welsh author and photographer Jean Gill lives in Provence with the best scent-hound in the world, a Nikon D750 and a man. Best known for writing epic medieval adventures in The Troubadours and The Midwinter Dragon series, Jean has published twenty-seven multi-genre books since 1988, including the dog bestseller, Someone To Look Up To.
For many years, she taught English, and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in the Welsh county of Dyfed. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life is hectic. With Scottish parents, Welsh and French residence and an English birthplace, she can usually shout for the winning team in sporting events.
When the only sound is the song of the sea, do you listen? Or do you drown in the embrace of a mermaid?
About Helen:
Originally first published in 1993, and now known for her captivating storytelling and attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventures, cosy mysteries and short stories, invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fiction and history blend together. Her historical novels span a variety of periods, with a particular focus on the Early Medieval.
Her Pendragon's Banner series offers a vivid portrayal of the King Arthur story set against a plausible reality setting, while the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings shows her ability to bring historical figures and settings to life. Her novel about Queen Emma (The Forever Queen – USA title) became a USA Today best-seller.
In the Sea Witch Voyages, she subtly weaves in elements of supernatural fantasy against the Golden Age of Piracy, creating an immersive and addictive nautical adventure experience.
Her Jan Christopher cosy mystery series is set during the 1970s, based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant.
Her 2025 release of Ghost Encounters, co-produced with her adult daughter, Kathy, reveals some benign ghosts of North Devon where the family moved to in 2013.
Helen has written several short stories, further exploring the echoes of the past, all with her compelling and convincing signature style.
Elizabeth’s critically acclaimed historical fiction brings to life the stories of her ancestors—extraordinary women whose close connections to England’s kings and queens offer an intimate perspective on Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times. Inspired by family archives and historic residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, she explores ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens—and occasionally encounters a ghost. Discovering a whole different family history in The Gate, Elizabeth expands her storytelling into the early 20th century, adding a new era to her repertoire.
Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park and curator of The Lydiard Archives, where she is always searching for inspiration for her next novel. Her works include The Lydiard Chronicles, set during the English Civil War, and The Godmother’s Secret, exploring the mystery of the princes in the Tower. In The King’s Intelligencer, set in the court of Charles II, a young woman must decide what she is willing to risk to reveal the whereabouts of the missing princes.
Can the mystery of a secluded island, and a murder, be solved before time runs out?
About Cathie:
Cathie is an award-winning, Amazon-bestselling author of historical fiction, mystery, dual-timeline, and romance set in Scotland, England, and France.
Her latest release, Ascent – the story of Poppa of Bayeux, handfasted wife of Rollo the Viking – is her sixth novel, and she is currently working on the sequel, Treachery. In her House of Normandy series, Cathie seeks to showcase the forgotten women behind the famous warriors who forged early medieval Normandy.
Cathie lives in the south of France with her husband and two rescue pets, enjoying the Mediterranean sunshine and visiting the many historic sites whenever she can.
Groenhorst, outskirts of Amersvoort, The Netherlands
November 11th, 1954
Courage meant survival for many – but others relied on greed
About Antoine:
Antoine spent four decades in international business, latterly at senior executive level, and lectured in academia afterwards. He lived through military coups, a guerrilla war, negotiations with governments, storms at sea and life in mangrove swamps, tropical forest, offshore oil-platforms, and the boardroom. He has lived and worked long-term in eight countries, has travelled widely in all continents except Antarctica and is fluent in three languages.
He has a passion for nineteenth-century political and military history and has a deep understanding of what was the cutting-edge technology of the time. His knowledge of human nature and his first-hand experience of the locales – often surprising – of the most important conflicts of the period provide the impetus for his chronicling of the lives of Royal Navy officer Nicholas Dawlish and his magnificent wife, Florence. There are thirteen volumes so far in the Dawlish Chronicles series, the actions set in the period 1858 to 1915.
Vanner now lives in Britain with his wife, Eva Lagassé (a journalist by background), their dog and five horses.
Kathy is severely dyslexic and struggles with her reading and writing. Her passion is horses and mental well-being. She started riding at the age of three, had her own pony at thirteen, and discovered showjumping soon after. Kathy is now a Devon farmer’s wife, runs Taw River Equine Events, and coaches riders of any age or experience, specialising in positive mindset and overcoming confidence issues via her Centre10 accreditation and Emotional Freedom Technique training. EFT, or ‘tapping’, uses the body’s pressure points to aid calm relaxation and to promote gentle healing around emotional, mental or physical issues. She hopes to extend her training in order to help ex-servicemen overcome PTSD.
Kathy regularly competes at British Showjumping, and rides side-saddle (‘aside’) when she has the opportunity. She produces her own horses, several from home-bred foals. She also has the ability to see, hear and talk to friendly ghosts, several of whom share our 1769 farmhouse.
Lorna Fergusson is an award-winning short story writer and novelist. Founder of Fictionfire Literary Consultancy, she is an experienced editor, writing coach and speaker. She has taught on various Oxford University writing programmes since 2002.
Her stories have won an Ian St James Award, the Historical Novel Society’s Short Story Award, and been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, Pan Macmillan’s Write Now prize and the Historical Novel Society’s First Chapters prize. She was twice runner-up for the Mogford Prize.
Author of The Chase and An Oxford Vengeance, her latest book is a collection of stories set in France, One Morning in Provence. She is currently developing one of the Mogford stories as a novel, as well as working on poetry and a book on mindset for writers.
Born in Scotland, she is married with two sons and lives in Oxford, England.
