RAVEN - SONS OF THUNDER - out now in hardback
If you betray a Fellowship, you are a dead man, and Ealdorman Ealdred of Wessex had betrayed us.
With revenge on their minds, Raven and the Wolfpack plough the sea road in pursuit of the traitor Ealdred. Having left the Fellowship for dead, the ealdorman has sailed in search of the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne and the promise of riches beyond his imagining. In following Ealdred, Raven and his sword-brothers find themselves in the heart of a Christian empire that would wipe their kind from the face of the earth.
And danger waits round every bend of the great river up which they travel - Sigurd will fight for his life while Raven will be betrayed, imprisoned and left to rot...A mysterious young man with no memory and a blood-tainted eye, Raven has found friendship and purpose amongst this fierce brotherhood.
He has proven himself in battle and is certain now that Viking blood flows in his veins, but to survive, his cunning must now be as sharp as his blade.
RAVEN - BLOOD EYE - out now in paperback
For two years Osric has lived a simple life, apprentice to the mute old carpenter who took him in when others would have him cast out. But when Norsemen from across the sea burn his village they also destroy his new life, and Osric finds himself a prisoner of these warriors. Their chief, Sigurd the Lucky, believes the Norns have woven this strange boy's fate together with his own, and Osric begins to sense glorious purpose among this Fellowship of warriors.
Immersed in the Norsemen's world and driven by their lust for adventure, Osric proves a natural warrior and forges a blood bond with Sigurd, who renames him Raven. But the Norsemen's world is a savage one, where loyalty is often repaid in blood and where a young man must become a killer to survive.
When the Fellowship faces annihilation from ealdorman Ealdred of Wessex, Raven chooses a bloody and dangerous path, accepting the mission of raiding deep into hostile lands to steal a holy book from Coenwolf, King of Mercia.
There he will find much more than the Holy Gospels of St Jerome. He will find Cynethryth, an English girl with a soul to match his own. And he will find betrayal at the hands of cruel men, some of whom he regarded as friends...
Take a look inside the book.
Special Birthday Card
For my birthday my very talented friend Andrew made me a pretty unique card. We both used to love the Conan comics and always said that one day we'd collaborate on something that involves a lot of swords and a good old helping of savagery. Maybe one day we still will. Here's the card, which now has pride of place in my study as I write.
Click on the image to view a larger version...
