Anna Chant's Blog, page 2
February 1, 2023
February 2023
I hope everyone’s 2023 got off to a good start. January is birthday month in my family, with a different birthday to celebrate each weekend, so for us, February is when the festivities really start to calm down and we can start making plans for the year ahead. Spring too is just around the corner, perhaps further encouraging the feelings of renewal.
Mysteriously Medieval
Call of the Viking Dead is now also available in paperback as well as in ebook. If you’ve already read it in either of those formats, please don’t forget to leave a quick review where you bought it.
The second book in the Mysteriously Medieval series is now my main work in progress and currently stands at 47,000 words. My February goal is to complete the first draft of this book. More info to follow on this soon. The Mysteriously Medieval books are standalone novels that can be read in any order, so there is no need to wait to start reading the series.
I have ideas for at least five more books in the series but I suspect the possibilities will be endless. All my ideas so far are for books set in the UK. In fact, including Call of the Viking Dead and my current WIP three are set in just in Devon! I do hope to set some elsewhere Europe or beyond and would love to hear of any local legends you come across.
Other projects
The third book in the Tales of the Wasteland series is also making progress, albeit much slower than my main WIP. That now stands at 18,000 words. Although set in the same time as Tyrant Whelp and Fisher King, it involves different characters that I am still getting to know.
The next in the Women of the Dark Ages series is still being researched but I’m longing to get started in writing her story. She can certainly be described as formidable and strong-willed with a much darker side than the women I’ve written about so far. But, she did no worse than plenty of the men of the era although with the standards of the time and perhaps even of today, she is often judged more harshly. But more info on her coming soon and I hope to start writing her story once the first draft of my WIP is completed.
February Bargains
As always several of my books are available at the bargain price of 99p or 99 cents during February on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, so take a look and enjoy some historical fiction for less! Just click on each title to get you to your relevant Amazon store.
Tyrant Whelp 31st January – 7th February
Courage of the Conquered 9th – 16th February
The Girl from Brittia 17th – 24th February
Kenneth’s Queen 25th February – 4th March Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 14th is Saint Valentin’s Day and thoughts go to love and romance. Chocolates, flowers, bubbly, jewellery are all great gifts. But if your loved one is into reading you can’t beat a good romance book! All of my books have romantic elements to them, but these are, in my opinion, the most romantic. Send them to the kindle of a loved one or wrap up a paperback – either way it’s a great gift.
Kenneth’s Queen: A dynastic marriage, enemies to lovers
Rising from the Ruins: Enemies to lovers, romance against the backdrop of tragedy. And with two further books in the series, will their love be plain sailing? (pun intended!)
Dawn of the Franks: Forbidden love and a romance to change the course of history
The Saxon Marriage: That rarity – the medieval royal love match
Call of the Viking Dead: Can love triumph across the social divide, across culture & in the face of supernatural adversity?
January 1, 2023
January 2023 – Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! So, it is a new year and a new month, a time of looking back as well as forward. 2023 was a tumultuous year, dominated by the war in Ukraine. But here in the UK it also continued eventful with three different prime ministers as well as, of course, the death of the Queen and the accession of King Charles. For me personally, 2023 has on the whole been a good year. It has felt more normal than any year since the pandemic began with us finally able to celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday, just over a year late, with a steam train ride and a wonderful summer holiday in Mallorca. 2023 now stretches ahead, full of possibilities both on an individual basis and for the world as a whole. Fingers crossed for a good one!
Mysteriously Medieval
Well, I did it. Call of the Viking Dead went live in ebook form on December 20th and a huge thank you to those of you who have already bought it. I hope you are enjoying this spooky tale! I hope to get the paperback out by the end of January. It’s now full steam ahead with the next book in the series. Set in the 12th century it’s slighter later than all previous books. It is, however, also set in Devon. And the idea I have for the third book in the series is also a Devon story! However, I do not want the entire series to be set in Devon and I love hearing about local myths and legends, so please let me know your favourites. maybe they’ll find their way into a book of the future!
Women of the Dark Ages
I am longing to get started on the next in my family of Dark Age women, but there are only so many books at a first draft stage that I can manage. So, I am keeping the research ticking over, finding out new snippets about her, her world and the people who lived there all the time. Once the first draft of either the next Mysteriously Medieval book or the Tales of the Wasteland book is completed, I shall throw her into the mix. Hopefully I shall be able to start soon.
Tales of the Wasteland Book 3 is now progressing better, but it is a complex tale with a lot of characters, so I am expecting the editing process, once I get to it, to be complicated. Much as I would love to release it this year, I suspect 2024 is more likely.
New Year Bargains
If your new year’s resolution is to read more books, why not make them bargain books? As always a number of my books will drop to 99p or 99 cents in January on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
28th December – 4th January
God’s Maidservant – the story of Adelaide of Italy
5th – 12th January 2023
13th – 20th January 2023
The Saxon Marriage – the story of Eadgyth of Wessex
23rd – 30th January 2023
31st January – 7th February 2023
Happy New Year!
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne
Wherever you are, however you celebrate, as I write these words in the final hours of 2022, it simply remains for me to wish you all, whether family, friends, reader, fellow writer or simply passing by, Happy New Year and every happiness for 2023!
December 20, 2022
Call of the Viking Dead – available now!
Call of the Viking Dead is now available in the Amazon Kindle store as an eBook with the paperback coming in the new year. This spooky historical fiction makes the perfect ghosty story to read on dark nights…
Merry Christmas!
December 1, 2022
December 2022
It seems hard to believe that 2022 is almost over. And yet the beginning of the year feels like a very long time ago. And now the countdown to Christmas begins, perhaps with the first doors on advent calendars opened this morning. However you celebrate, I hope this Christmas is a good one and that 2023 gets off to a good start.
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November was a frustrating month in many ways. I developed a trapped nerve in my back at the end of October, making sitting at a computer impossible for most of the month. And even now I can only work in small bursts. This is a roundabout way of saying I have little progress to report on most of my projects including the new Tales of the Wasteland book and the next Woman of the Dark Ages. Fingers crossed I have better news to report in January!
Call of the Viking Dead
The one project I did prioritize is Call of the Viking Dead. And this is now very nearly finished, with around a third of the chapters signed off as ready to go and the formatting checked in all formats. I am expecting the ebook to be published by the end of the month.
Bargains of the month
With Christmas coming, choose some ebooks to fill up a kindle you are giving or send them direct to a loved one you are not meeting in person. All my books are also available in paperback, which would make a fabulous gift. But order soon to be sure of getting them before Christmas! Ebooks too are a wonderful gift – thoughtful and inexpensive. Maximise your budget or treat yourself with a 99p / 99 cents bargain book!
29th November – 6th December
8th – 15th December
20th – 27th December
28th December – 4th January
Feast of Saint Adelaide
16th December is the feast of St Adelaide of Italy who died on that day in 999. If you do not know the story of this remarkable and powerful woman, read about her in my fifth book God’s Maidservant, which tells a large part of her story. When I finished writing that book I did wonder if I had truly seen the last of her and Otto. And it seems not. Both will play a role in Book 7 of the Women of the Dark Ages series. But more on that next year!
Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and every happiness for 2023!
November 1, 2022
November Update
The autumn seems to be flying past and November is here already. Here in the UK we have yet another prime minister, so my hopes for more stability do not look likely to materialise any time soon! But in the world of writing, everything seems a bit more positive…
Mysteriously Medieval
Call of the Viking Dead is now in the final stages of editing and formatting. I also have a fabulous cover and a series logo thanks to the talented team at GetCovers. The last stages of editing always seem to take a long time but I should have a date for the ebook very soon.
Tales of the Wasteland
The third book in Tales of the Wasteland is slowly taking shape. But at just 11,000 words there is a long way to go before even the end of the first draft. However, the further I get into the story, the easier it becomes. Hopefully progress will be faster soon
Women of the Dark Ages
My plan for the next Women of the Dark Ages is taking shape. And I am loving this new woman more and more! I can’t wait to get started on the first draft.
In the meantime, there are six other fabulous women for you to get to know!
November Bargains
Take the chance to grab some bargain books to while away the winter evenings. Or if you are giving anyone a Kindle for Christmas this year, why not fill it up at great value for a wonderful surprise on Christmas Day.
Until 2nd November
3rd – 10th November
11th – 18th November
21st – 28th November
29th November – 6th December
Remember, remember the 5th of November
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://darkagevoices.files.wordpress..." data-large-file="https://darkagevoices.files.wordpress..." src="https://darkagevoices.files.wordpress..." alt="" class="wp-image-3645 size-full" />Guy Fawkes Night is that strangely British festival where we come together with fire and fireworks to celebrate the failure of Guy Fawkes to blow up Parliament and the king back in 1605. If you are celebrating stay safe and enjoy!
A November date for the Scots and Scots-at-Heart is Saint Andrew’s Day on 30th November. St Andrew is the patron saint because of that tale of the moment the cross of St Andrew united the Picts and Scots in their fights against the English (Angles). And it is said that at that fight, among the combatants was a young warrior named Cinaed mac Alpin… And the rest, as they say, was history!
October 31, 2022
Call of the Viking Dead
Cover by GetCoversAD 851: A band of Norse raiders are sailing up the River Dart…
While the raiders hope for plunder, Fiske, their leader, is there only for the kill. As his men ransack a settlement, he delights in the torture of a Saxon warrior, reluctantly aided by Ari, an unhappy young man bound to him by ancient ties.
Ari has a bad feeling about this raid, convinced Fiske’s cruelty will lead them to disaster. And with the arrival of Ceorl, Alderman of Devon, his worst fears are confirmed: their Norse companions are slaughtered as they run for their boats, while Fiske and Ari are taken as captives to Ceorl’s estate of Torre.
Forced to work on Ceorl’s lands, Ari is dismayed to find captivity has done nothing to change Fiske’s vicious ways. From attacking slaves to tormenting animals, he eventually fixates on Ceorl’s daughter, Siflaed, an obsession that culminates in a brutal attack. This attack can end only one way – Fiske’s death at the hands of Siflaed’s furious father, much to Ari’s secret relief. With his body buried on unhallowed ground that, they assume, is the end of Fiske.
But Ceorl and his family do not know what happens to the souls of evil Norsemen. They have never heard of a draugr, a living corpse of terrifying strength and unnatural abilities.
When smoke rises from Fiske’s grave, animals act strangely and a mysterious figure stalks the estate, only one man realises what is happening. But none will listen to Ari, for he is just a heathen, just a slave. With Ceorl preoccupied with arranging the marriage of his unwilling daughter, Ari’s warnings to all fall on deaf ears.
As the spirit of the dead Norseman circles his prey, the danger edges closer, poised to strike at the heart of Ceorl’s home. And powerless to act, Ari can only wait for the draugr to claim his first victim, to see who must answer the call of the Viking dead…
Coming Soon!
October 24, 2022
Teasers for Call of the Viking Dead
As Call of the Viking Dead clears another hurdle I can now be confident it will be published before the end of the year. And so, what should you expect to see? Here are some teasers!
Is killing your enemy enough?Two Devon heroesA few old friends – will you spot them all?Why a cat is one of the most sensible ones in the book“If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had really been there” Samuel Taylor ColeridgeDo not let him in…
October 16, 2022
Mysteriously Medieval
Are you fascinated by both history and folklore? Do you enjoy reading both historical fiction and mystery/horror? Do you like your ghostly tales in a historical setting? Or your historical fiction to have a spooky touch? If so, enter a world that is mysteriously medieval…
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What is your favourite myth/legend from the medieval era? Or are there any curious medieval tales from where you live? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear more!
October 1, 2022
October 2022
So, October is here already and yet it feels like a very long time ago that I was writing for September. Then I’d just returned from holiday, but those golden summer days now feel like a different age. September was a momentous month here in the UK. First the new prime minister, then just days later the death of the Queen. And even with all that, there was still time for economic chaos. And that’s just in the UK. I keep hoping for calmer times. Will October bring us any closer? We shall see.
Mysteriously Medieval
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Call of the Viking Dead – coming soon!
I have also started work on the second book in this series, with around 8,000 words of the first draft already down.
Tales of the Wasteland
Another book that is making slow but steady progress is the third in the Tales of the Wasteland series. This one is a standalone novel with only fleeting appearances of the characters from the earlier books.
Women of the Dark Ages
I am very much enjoying my research into my latest heroine, one I suspect is going to need two books to fully do justice to her story. I’m longing to get started on the writing. I’m already planning scenes in my head – always a good sign for a smooth writing process! But there are only so many books I can have on the go at once, so ideally it will wait until the first Mysteriously Medieval book is out and the second has a first draft. In the meantime I’m constructing a very detailed plan!
Special offers
As always a number of my books are on offer this month, hopefully allowing you to enjoy reading no matter what the economic chaos. The following ebooks are 99p or 99 cents. if you are not in the UK or US, I think other markets track the US price so hopefully you too can see a price drop.
God’s Maidservant – the story of Adelaide of Italy
Until 4th October
10th – 17th October
The Saxon Marriage – the story of Eadgyth of Wessex
18th – 25th October
26th October – 2nd November
Moments of history
October sees two key anniversaries for my books. 1st October was the wedding of Judith of West Francia to king Athelwulf of Wessex, the event that started my book Three Times the Lady.
The second event is the 14th October 1066, an event I am sure needs no introduction: The Battle of Hastings. Although this event only appears in flashback, it is the catalyst for the entire Quest for New England series.
It is strange to think that the dramatic and often heartbreaking events of this year too will one day be just moments of history. I wonder, how will history judge us?
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On the death of a monarch
I am sure wherever you are in the world you have heard of the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022. As a 96-year-old, the news should not have come as a shock and yet it did. After all, just two days before we had seen photos of her welcoming the new prime minister, frail but on her feet and smiling.
Like many people, I first got the sense that something was afoot at lunchtime. In my case via Twitter when a Labour MP tweeted that something was strange and the prime minister had just been passed a note. A further tweet from a journalist said a note had also been passed to the leader of the Labour party and that faces were glum. MPs began to leave the chamber and then came the announcement that doctors were concerned about the Queen’s health. This unusual step certainly suggested the end was coming. And when the BBC announced an extended news until six, it seemed obvious that this was not a lingering end. Instead the announcement would be imminent. A sense of history unfurling settled over the UK.
Unusually I kept the TV on all afternoon, listening to the presenters as the tributes began even though there had been no announcement. They changed into black ties, but still there was no announcement. Even at 6pm, with a tragi-comic effect, the presenters were still stressing that they knew nothing about the Queen’s condition and we must hope the news is not bad, all the time knowing she had already died.
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There is also the sense of time passing, the ending of a generation. The Queen belonged to my grandparents’ generation, I suppose. She was born just a couple of years after my youngest grandparent. The death of a public figure can often stir memories of more personal loss. The Queen was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. And I remember all too well the sadness of a four-generation family becoming three.
My grandma, dad, me and my childrenBut returning to that sense of history, this event is also affecting me as a writer. This is not a post to promote my books, so there will be no links included. But in my historical fiction I have ‘seen’ the deaths of a number of monarchs, including direct ancestors of Queen Elizabeth II: King Athelwulf of Wessex, King Athelbald of Wessex, King Henry the Fowler of East Francia/Germany, King Lothair of Italy, King Hermigliscus of the Varni and King Cado of Dumnonia. And I have cried over every single one of them. So how can I not feel a bit emotional about the death of a monarch that I am actually living through, even if I do feel less of a personal connection?
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But whether there is change or not, it seems likely that this week, one that saw a new prime minister and the death of a monarch, will be the moment the British historians of the future place a full stop at the end of a chapter, reflect a moment on what they have written before turning the page to start the next.
