Northumbria, AD 794. Those who rule the seas, rule the land. None know the truth of this more than the Vikings. To compete with the seafaring raiders, the king of Northumbria orders the construction of his own longships under the command of oath-sworn Norseman, Runolf. When the Vikings attack again, the king sends cleric turned […]
Widukind of Westphalia – the Saxon Wolf
Who was the ‘wood-child’ – the wolf – who rallied the pagans of Saxony against Charlemagne’s Christian armies at the end of the 8th century? And why has he been paid so little attention? Angus Donald writes about Widukind, the war leader who plays a major part in the second book in his Viking Fire […]
The Saxon Wolf by Angus Donald
March, AD 773. Bjarki Bloodhand is now Fire Born – a legendary berserker inhabited by the ferocious spirit of a bear in battle. Yet he has sworn never again to allow that sacred rage to possess him, lest he for ever lose himself in the madness like his father. Tor Hildarsdottir yearns to save pagan […]
A Time for Swords by Matthew Harffy
There had been portents – famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came to Lindisfarne, no-one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom’s most sacred site. It is 8th June, AD […]
Battling with history: how to write fight scenes and battles in historical fiction
How do you write a battle scene which engages your readers and drives the story on? It’s a question many authors of historical fiction fight with. Matthew Harffy, well known for his action-filled Bernicia Chronicles series, gives Historia his advice. All good stories need conflict, and what better way to convey conflict than to have […]
A Time for Swords by Matthew Harffy
There had been portents – famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom’s most sacred site. It is 8 June, AD 793, […]