BATTLE EAGLE: PREVIEW

It's now just under two months until BATTLE EAGLE (Book #3 The Warrior Brothers of Skye). The novel is available on pre-order from Amazon, but while you patiently await for it to be delivered to your Kindle on May 31 2018, here is a scene from the novel for you to enjoy!
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Excerpt from BATTLE EAGLE:
 
She caught up with him, just as he entered the stone arch that led towards the broch.
 
"Donnel!"
 
He ignored her, and so she reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him up short. "Donnel--wait!"
 
He turned, his dark eyebrows rising in surprise. Not for the first time, Eithni was struck by just how handsome he was. The plaid breeches and leather vest he wore showed off his tall muscular body. His chiseled features, beautifully molded mouth, straight nose and long eyelashes were breathtaking. All three of the brothers--Galan, Tarl, and Donnel--were attractive but, to Eithni, Donnel was the most striking. Only, bitterness had cast a harshness over his features.
 
She had set eyes on Donnel mac Muin for the first time nearly two years earlier, at Tea and Galan's wedding. He had been married then; his lovely wife Luana heavily pregnant. Even so Eithni had been captivated by The Eagle warrior. How she had wished to find a man so handsome for herself.
 
But that was before she had returned home to Dun Ardtreck--before Forcus.
 
"You can't keep doing this," she gasped, out of breath from running after him. "It won't bring her back."
 
His mouth thinned, and his gaze narrowed. "What?"
 
"You have to let your anger go. Talor needs you."
 
His expression turned thunderous."We've had this conversation before, Eithni. I don't need to hear this again."
 
She put her hands on her hips. "Clearly, you do. Talor has just lost his uncle--a man he sees as a father.
 
Did she imagine it, or did Donnel flinch at that?
 
Headless she pressed on. "Mael is on her own now. She needs your help."

She saw a dangerous light ignite in those slate-grey eyes then. All three of the brothers had the same eyes, the color of a stormy sky.
 
Donnel stepped forward, leaned down, and pushed his face close to hers. "I never thought you to be simple-minded,"he growled, "but today I swear you have the brains of a goose. Heed me, woman. I do not wish to see the lad. Stop meddling and leave me alone."
 
He turned then and strode off, crossing toward the steps leading up to the broch.
 
Eithni did not follow him.
 
She dropped her hands from her hips, the fight going out of her. She suddenly felt shaky and close to tears. Confrontations were never easy for her at the best of times, but Donnel's grief had given his temper a vicious edge. He had left her badly shaken. Eithni inhaled sharply and dashed away a tear that rolled down her cheek.
 
Enough. Don't let the man get to you--don't waste tears on him.

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Release date: May 31, 2018.

 

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE:

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Hadrian's Wall - the setting of BARBARIAN SLAVE

I had a lot of fun researching Book #2 of The Warrior Brothers of Skye. BARBARIAN SLAVE begins at Hadrian's Wall during the 4th Century.

Although my Scottish Historical Romance BARBARIAN SLAVE is set back in the Dark Ages, a time we have only scant records of, the story hinges on a real historical event: the clash between the Picts and the Romans. The Great Conspiracy of 367 AD (also known as the Barbarian Conspiracy) is one of the most dramatic events in Romano-British history.

In the winter of 367 AD, a group of tribes north of the wall (the Picts, the Attacotti and the Scotti—and they may have even have had help from Saxons to the south) banded together and attacked Hadrian’s Wall. At this time, the Roman Empire was in turmoil and the garrison at the wall was weakened, and ready to fall.

At the beginning of the story, we spend some time at the ancient Roman fort (or castrum) of Vindolanda, just south of Hadrian's Wall. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill, it guarded the Stanegate; the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. The heroine of this story, Lucrezia, is the wife of a high-ranking Roman garrison soldier living in the fort. These days, this fort is noted for the Vindolanda tablets. This is the site of some of the most important finds of military and private correspondence (written on wooden tablets) found anywhere in the Roman Empire.

Here are a few facts about Hadrian’s Wall to give some historical context:

• Hadrian's Wall was a stone barrier built to separate the Romans and the Pict tribes in Scotland. 
• Hadrian's Wall was built on the orders of the Roman emperor Hadrian, who was born in Rome in AD 76. 
• The Romans began building the wall in 122 AD. It was constructed by three legions of soldiers. 
• It allowed Roman soldiers to control the movements of people coming into or leaving Roman Britain. 
• Every Roman mile along the Wall there was a milecastle; a fortified gateway which allowed Roman soldiers to go on patrol to the north of Hadrian’s Wall and control other people passing through the Wall. 
• During the building of the Wall, it was decided to add forts. There were 16 forts in total along the length of the Wall. These meant that even more Roman soldiers were based along the wall and the frontier was more effectively controlled. 
• It was 117 kilometers (73 miles) long across the narrow neck of England, from the North Sea to the Irish Sea. 
• The wall was eight to ten feet wide and fifteen feet high. 
• It took about 14 years to complete Hadrian's Wall. The largest structure ever made by the Romans.

BARBARIAN SLAVE is now out on pre-order! Publication date: 31 January 2018. Book #2 of The Warrior Brothers of Skye is available on all Amazon stores.

This story picks up after Galan and Tea's happy ending in BLOOD FEUD, Book #1 of the series. It focuses on Tarl, Galan's hotheaded younger brother, and Lucrezia, the Roman noblewoman he takes as his slave after the 'Barbarian Conspiracy'—the attack on Hadrian's Wall in 467 AD. It's an exciting, action-packed tale!

BARBARIAN SLAVE

He takes her as his warprize—but she enslaves his soul. Pict and Roman culture collide in this epic Historical Romance set in Dark Ages Scotland.

Lucrezia is the wife of a Roman soldier posted on the northernmost reach of the Empire. Locked in an unhappy marriage upon a desolate outpost, she feels her youth slipping away. However, her life changes forever in the winter of 467 AD. Barbarians from the north band together and attack Hadrian's Wall.

Tarl mac Muin is a Pict warrior with a thirst for battle and glory. He's part of the Barbarian Conspiracy that will change history. But when he takes Lucrezia as his slave, he sets off a chain of events that neither of them could have foreseen.

In an epic adventure that starts at the Roman fort of Vindolanda at Hadrian's Wall and takes Lucrezia north to the wild shores of the Isle of Skye—she discovers love and happiness when she least expects it. Only, a shadow from the past risks ruining everything.

Preorder your copy today!

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BLOOD FEUD - new release!

I've wanted to write a novel set in Dark Ages Scotland for ages—so here's the first in my new series set amongst the mist-shrouded mountains, wild shores and desolate moors of the Isle of Skye. 

These books delve into the history of the Picts, an enigmatic warrior people who were the predecessors of the Highland warriors.

If you're into bare-chested, tattooed Barbarian heroes, lots of action and adventure, and some steamy romance, BLOOD FEUD (Book #1: The Warrior Brothers of Skye) is for you! The series follows the lives and loves of three Pictish warrior brothers: Galan, Tarl, and Donnel.

Preorder BLOOD FEUD now for the 18 May 2017 release!