It is now also possible to view the beginning of the book through the publisher's website: here
Of course, you can do the same wherever the book is available in Kindle or e-book format, even if you intend to buy the hard copy.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Monday, 23 January 2012
The Library
Some time ago I published a list of books on this blog. All of the books shared a common theme: historical settings which can be described as Anglo-Saxon, separated by defining them in terms of blocks of time within this span, which includes both Dark Age and Early Medieval periods.
As is the way of posts, this list has long since dropped to the bottom and is therefore hard to find. Even though I have added to it over time, it remains quite anonymous. Therefore I created a new page called the Library, which has all of the books on this list as well as being an opportunity for me to expand the list into new categories.
I have included a section on Children's books which relate to the same periods of history and to stories with a modern setting but with influences from Anglo-Saxon or Norse literature.
You can see the Library here
As is the way of posts, this list has long since dropped to the bottom and is therefore hard to find. Even though I have added to it over time, it remains quite anonymous. Therefore I created a new page called the Library, which has all of the books on this list as well as being an opportunity for me to expand the list into new categories.
I have included a section on Children's books which relate to the same periods of history and to stories with a modern setting but with influences from Anglo-Saxon or Norse literature.
You can see the Library here
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Inside The Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff
One benefit of The Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff being published on Kindle & E-book is that it is now possible to view the beginning of the book on Amazon and elsewhere.
What you will see is obviously taken from the Kindle version but as that follows the format of the paper book, it is the same basic idea.
Unfortunately the long front pages with the chapters, the foreword, the map, the Word Hoard and the Muster List all take up space in this preview but you still get to read almost all of Chapter One, which is not a bad thing. No sign of any goats yet, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether you like spoilers or not.
What you will see is obviously taken from the Kindle version but as that follows the format of the paper book, it is the same basic idea.
Unfortunately the long front pages with the chapters, the foreword, the map, the Word Hoard and the Muster List all take up space in this preview but you still get to read almost all of Chapter One, which is not a bad thing. No sign of any goats yet, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether you like spoilers or not.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
A new episode?
I think I have got through The Other Project now and random thoughts of a sequel to the Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff are being jotted down with a working title of The Revenge of the Grufflings. The first half of the book is pretty plain sailing, but the second half throws up some issues which I don't know how to resolve as history kind of gets in the way ...
That's the problem when you involve known historical characters such as Penda in your story; you can only interact with them in certain ways, unless you choose to go down some alternative reality line. In part that could happen (there are trolls and elves in the milieu of my book after all), but I think it would be cheating to do so.
The decision has yet to be made and the journey has only just started, so although I know what happens next, I don't know the exact route to get there.
That's the problem when you involve known historical characters such as Penda in your story; you can only interact with them in certain ways, unless you choose to go down some alternative reality line. In part that could happen (there are trolls and elves in the milieu of my book after all), but I think it would be cheating to do so.
The decision has yet to be made and the journey has only just started, so although I know what happens next, I don't know the exact route to get there.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Facebook page update
Just a quick post to say that the Facebook page for the Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff can now be reached here. The link is facebook.com/Grufflings.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Kindle edition now out!
I am happy to announce that The Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff is now available in a Kindle edition:
United Kingdom
USA
I am waiting for details of the e-Pub version - keep your eyes peeled!
United Kingdom
USA
Friday, 13 May 2011
The names of the kingdoms
Very early on in the process of writing the book I got it into my head to deconstruct the names of the various kingdoms, sub-kingdoms, regions, etc. that the characters know and move through. With hindsight I was a little uneven in my approach but I think I got the level about right.
The first name was Dere. This is better known as Deira but this is a Latin name derived (probably) from a Brythonic original (perhaps Deur). However the road that runs from Edinburgh to York is known as Dere Street so I opted to use this name for the land around York.
Having dropped one Latin name, the next in line was Bernicia. The Brythonic original was something like Bryneich which is not very easy on the tongue, so I went for Bernice as a similar name to Dere.
Then there was the land that the story began in. It is often lumped in with Bernice in general histories but I prefer to think of it as a separate kingdom that was later merged. We only have the Welsh name Din Guaire to apply to the region, which seems to have had its political centre at either Bamburgh, Yeavering, or both. My solution was to assume that the "gu" in Guaire was pronounced as a "w" and so Dinware was coined as an easy way to give a name to the land within which Frith and Bertred were born.
Moving away there was The Mark, which represents the midland realm of Mercia. In West Saxon sources this is often written as Mierce which by i-mutation would suggest an earlier northern spelling something like Mearc. It is The Mark because there were no other marks (border areas, marches) in existence.
Welsh names, paradoxically, are left pretty much as they are. Gwynedd was for some time going to be "Gwunneth" or something similar but I abandoned this idea in favour of the modern spelling because it lacked the simple elegance of Dere and Bernice.
Similarly the Brythonic kingdoms of Rheged and Gododdin are mentioned several times and no attempt was made to alter those names.
Finally there is the name Gatburgh. A single place-name can change from one form to another in a remarkably short period of time. Bede gives the name as "ad gefrin" but on the whole such Brythonic names did not survive elsewhere in Northumberland, so it seems plausible that at some time there was an attempt to change the name to a more English friendly form. Gat is of course Old English for goat and burgh is a fortified place. Although Gatburgh is technically not fortified it does have the illusion of strength to help it along, and the ancient hillfort on the summit of the Bell may have influenced the name further.
The first name was Dere. This is better known as Deira but this is a Latin name derived (probably) from a Brythonic original (perhaps Deur). However the road that runs from Edinburgh to York is known as Dere Street so I opted to use this name for the land around York.
Having dropped one Latin name, the next in line was Bernicia. The Brythonic original was something like Bryneich which is not very easy on the tongue, so I went for Bernice as a similar name to Dere.
Then there was the land that the story began in. It is often lumped in with Bernice in general histories but I prefer to think of it as a separate kingdom that was later merged. We only have the Welsh name Din Guaire to apply to the region, which seems to have had its political centre at either Bamburgh, Yeavering, or both. My solution was to assume that the "gu" in Guaire was pronounced as a "w" and so Dinware was coined as an easy way to give a name to the land within which Frith and Bertred were born.
Moving away there was The Mark, which represents the midland realm of Mercia. In West Saxon sources this is often written as Mierce which by i-mutation would suggest an earlier northern spelling something like Mearc. It is The Mark because there were no other marks (border areas, marches) in existence.
Welsh names, paradoxically, are left pretty much as they are. Gwynedd was for some time going to be "Gwunneth" or something similar but I abandoned this idea in favour of the modern spelling because it lacked the simple elegance of Dere and Bernice.
Similarly the Brythonic kingdoms of Rheged and Gododdin are mentioned several times and no attempt was made to alter those names.
Finally there is the name Gatburgh. A single place-name can change from one form to another in a remarkably short period of time. Bede gives the name as "ad gefrin" but on the whole such Brythonic names did not survive elsewhere in Northumberland, so it seems plausible that at some time there was an attempt to change the name to a more English friendly form. Gat is of course Old English for goat and burgh is a fortified place. Although Gatburgh is technically not fortified it does have the illusion of strength to help it along, and the ancient hillfort on the summit of the Bell may have influenced the name further.
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