I have
always derived immense pleasure from reading series novels. In fact I love ‘em
and long ago I had it in mind to pen a series of four novels. Hence the English
Civil Wars, Charles II’s attempt to wrest England from Cromwell’s clutches, the
Restoration of Charles II and the Monmouth Rebellion sprang to life.
The stories as a whole have been in my head since some thirty years ago after a ghostly apparition appeared in the courtyard of our house, or not. Perhaps in truth, what I experienced on that day, albeit within the house where I lived, was mere sense of a time past, and yet, the bridle of the horse was real to the touch. Even so, life itself and other publishing commitments prevented the books from coming to fruition. But at last, they are here, or at least, the first three and a prequel are out there on Amazon..
By the way, for anyone who follows my blog posts or knows me well, they also know how the majority of my stories come about, and if you’d like to know for yourself you can find out
by reading About Me. That said, the two houses in the series, in part reflect aspects of two houses, being one where I was born and the other in which I lived with my first husband.
But,
getting back to the subject matter, there’s nothing more frustrating than having
read a book and wishing when the end is reached that the story had carried on.
Often I’ve wanted to know what happens to the lead characters post HEA, but
more than that, to learn the fate of secondary characters. And, there have been occasions when a prequel could have added to a series. Hence, I came to the conclusion there was scope for one of those little informative pre-runners to my series. And here it is.
Anyhoo,
behold the prequel Debt of Honour the forerunner to The Royal Series, and Book 1 By
Loyalty Divided.
Yep,
it’s set within my favourite period of history The English Civil War.
The backdrop setting is Somerset - Bristol/Bath and surrounding districts.
Bristol at that time was the second most important city in England and
several times it changed hands between Royalists and Parliamentarians throughout
the Civil Wars. Yes, two wars, not one major conflict.
In
By Loyalty Divided, the main characters are:
Morton
Viscount Axebury, (rebel son of William Lord Gantry) who becomes a Captain of
Horse in the Army of Parliament = New Model Army.
William
Lord Gantry (Royalist Commander)
Anna
Lady Maitcliffe – born within the confines of the royal court until Lord Gantry
became her ward.
The
plot is a love
triangle, which inevitably leads to tragedy.
Secondary
characters:
The
Lady Georgina Mrs. Darnley (Parliamentarian) - his lordship’s sister
Catherine
Thornton and her brother
Captain Thomas Thornton (Royalists).
Prince Charles,
Prince
Rupert,
Lord Wittlesham.
The
second novel in The Royal Series:
Yep,
I’m at present ramping up the word count of book 2 - Toast of Clifton,
needless to say Toast meaning host/ess of note. This novel is also set
within the West of England at the time of Charles II’s bid to regain the throne
and crown of England.
Main
characters:
Thomas
Thornton
Elizabeth
Mountjoy
Morton
Lord Gantry
Anna
Lady Gantry
Secondary
Characters
are Catherine Lady Wittlesham (nee Thornton), Lord Wittlesham, Charles II, Lord Wilmot and others.
Although Toast of Clifton is a story of intense and passionate
love, past betrayal haunts the hero and when the chance to right a wrong comes
his way he takes it, but to lose every thing including the love of his life is
a high price to pay for heroism. For when the odds of being imprisoned and deported
to the colonies is your lot, and your King is fleeing the enemy as well, who
comes first: family or King?
As with all sequel novels links between characters are part and parcel of plots, and of the four in my series two more are yet to be completed: Royal Secrets
and Love and Rebellion. As the years pass the Gantry and Thornton children begin to take centre stage along with Lord Wittlesham's daughters. Old feuds, lust of youth, desires and recklessness are set to cause mayhem and heartbreak and many tears to be shed as the young test the allegiance and loyalty of their elders in the testing times of The Monmouth Rebellion!.
All the books are available via Amazon worldwide.
https://youtu.be/Qs3xHAIoKa0
