Get Lost in Medieval England with Rogue Knight!

Hi, there! It's Regan WALKER here... joining you today to tell you about my new medieval romance, ROGUE KNIGHT, and share a bit of the history and an excerpt, a teaser to make you want more!

This story follows THE RED WOLF'S PRIZE, which was #1 in Amazon's Top 100 Medieval Romances last year, and has just won the RONE award for Best Historical Novel for 2015 in the medieval category

Have you ever heard of the "Harrying of the North" that occured in England in the winter of 1069-70? Neither had I until I began my research for the series. It was the time when William the Conqueror decided to show no mercy. It wasn't enough to conquer and rule; he was bent on total submission and he eventually got it. The book is set in medieval York where it all happened.

Perhaps the most famous account of the Harrying comes from the ancient chronicler Orderic Vitalis, who stated:

“Nowhere else had William shown such cruelty. Shamefully he succumbed to this vice, for he made no effort to restrain his fury and punished the innocent and the guilty. In his anger he commanded that all crops and herds, chattels and food of every kind should be bought together and burned to ashes with consuming fire, so that the whole region north of the Humber might be stripped of all means of sustenance. In consequence so serious a scarcity was felt in England, and so terrible a famine fell upon the humble and defenceless populace, that more than 100,000 Christian folk of both sexes, young and old alike, perished of hunger.”

I can tell you such times make for some exciting scenes. ROGUE KNIGHT is the story of Sir Geoffroi de Tournai, one of the French knights who followed William to England and fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The short description:

Click on the cover to order

York, England 1069… three years after the Norman Conquest

The North of England seethes with discontent under the heavy hand of William the Conqueror, who unleashes his fury on the rebels who dare to defy him. Amid the ensuing devastation, love blooms in the heart of a gallant Norman knight for a Yorkshire widow.

A LOVE NEITHER CAN DENY, A PASSION NEITHER CAN RESIST

Angry at the cruelty she has witnessed at the Normans’ hands, Emma of York is torn between her loyalty to her noble Danish father, a leader of the rebels, and her growing passion for an honorable French knight.

Loyal to King William, Sir Geoffroi de Tournai has no idea Emma hides a secret that could mean death for him and his fellow knights.

WAR DREW THEM TOGETHER, WAR WOULD TEAR THEM APART

War erupts, tearing asunder the tentative love growing between them, leaving each the enemy of the other. Will Sir Geoffroi, convinced Emma has betrayed him, defy his king to save her?

USA Today Bestselling Author Kathryn Le Veque, who read the manuscript, described the book as "Mesmerizing medieval romance! A vivid portrayal of love flourishing amidst the turbulence of the years after the Norman Conquest."

Mayhap you would like to read of their first meeting… a bit ominous but remember, it led to love:

Dear God.

She crossed herself and covered her mouth, fighting the urge to spew at the sight of so much blood and so many bodies strewn about the clearing, blood congealed on their clothing, their vacant eyes staring into space. Some of the blood had pooled on the ground to catch the rays of the sun. The metallic scent of it, carried by the wind, rose in her nostrils.

At her side, the hound whimpered.

So many.

Until the Normans had come, Yorkshire had been a place of gentle hills, forests and thatched cottages circling a glistening jewel of a city set between two winding rivers. A place of children’s voices at play, some of those voices now silenced forever, for among the bodies lying on the cold ground were mere boys, their corpses cast aside like broken playthings.

At the sound of heavy footfalls on the snow-crusted ground, she jerked her head around, her heart pounding in her chest.

A figure emerged from the trees, so close she could have touched him.

She cringed. A Norman.

A tall giant of a knight, his blood-splattered mail a dull gray in the weak winter sun, ripped off his silvered helm and expelled an oath as he surveyed the dozens of dead. The sword in his hand still dripped the blood of those he had slain. He was no youth this one, at least thirty. His fair appearance made her think of Lucifer, the fallen angel of light. A seasoned warrior of death who has taken many lives.

Had he killed people she knew? Her heart raced as fear rose in her chest.

Would she be next?

Beginning about a year ago, I started doing Pinterest storyboards for my books. The storyboards document my research and provide a pictorial display of images from the book. Many of my readers love them. I thought you might like to see the one for ROGUE KNIGHT (link below).

Tell me what you love about medieval romance for a chance to win book 1, THE RED WOLF'S PRIZE!