Release of "The Tale of the English Templar"

 Cross Seas Press is proud to announce the release of 

The Tale of the English Templar

The young knight had been tortured and hoped only to die. Hisrescuers had other ideas. They formed a Resistance movement. But can they defy a tyrant -- and win?

Description:

An EnglishTemplar travelling to Cyprus is one of thousands arrested on Friday 13 October1307. Victims of Philip IV’s greed for the Order’s legendary riches, they arecruelly tortured. The English knight becomes the first non-French Templar toconfess to the trumped-up charges. Then he disappears. Soon, other imprisonedTemplars also go missing from the French King’s dungeons. Rumours begin tocirculate of a band of free Templars. 

Based on historical events, not fantasy, TheTale of the English Templar tells the story of the of the destruction of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century -- and explores the struggle between goodand evil in human hearts — and of the power of love even in our darkest hour.

Backstory:

Thisnovel was conceived more than thirty years ago under the influence of frequent trips to the South of France. There I discovered and explored Templarproperties and visited several castles in which Templars had been heldprisoner. These encounters with the Templars, combined with  research intothe Albigensian heresy and its lasting legacy on the Languedoc, inspired thisnovel.

Atthe time of writing thirty years ago, I had not yet published a single novel. I had notdeveloped a support network of test readers, and I could not afford severaleditors. I wrote with great passion, driven by inspiration, but without thetempering of reflection, refinement, and repeated editing. The result, firstpublished in 1999 by Minerva Press and again by iUniverse in 2007 under thetitle “The English Templar,” was an immature work — full of raw energy andemotions delivered directly.

If Iwere to write this book from scratch today, I would tell the story differently, but notnecessarily better. The advantages gained by a more sophisticated narrative mightwell be negated by the loss of energy, candour and naivety. So rather thanundertake a major rewrite of the book, I resolved on a new edition with strategic but modest changes. I re-arranged some chapters, deleted some superfluous scenes, polished the narrative here and there,but altered neither the plot nor the characters. Nor did I undertake majorstylistic interventions.

As conceived and as re-written, this book is founded firmly on historical facts. It is historical both in terms of theevents surrounding the destruction of the Knights Templar and the overallcharacteristics of society in early 14th-Century France. It is not a work of fantasy. It does not offer the reader new (or old)conspiracy theories, and it does not rely upon supernatural forces or magicaldevices to deliver the plot or themes. 

Themain purpose of this new edition is to make a story — that I still find movingand compelling — more available in a digital edition. Over the next few weeks I will introduce readers to the four main fictional characters, the one historical figure features in the book, and provide excerpts from the text featuring all.

"The Tale of the English Templar" is available in paperback or ebook format from all major online retailers.  

An escaped Templar,an intrepid, old crusader, and a discarded brideembark on a quest for justice inthe face of tyranny.  Find out more at on my website Buy paper on amazon.com Pre-Order ebook on amazon.com
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