Today, I'm delighted to welcome Paul Rushworth-Brown to the #HistFicThursdays blog as part his Coffee Pot Book Club 's book tour. Today, meet Paul's new book The Lost Voices , and discover your next great read! Read on to enjoy an excerpt from this gripping book! First of all, let's meet the book... Some lives pass through history without leaving a trace. The Lost Voices is a work of historical fiction that brings to light those whose stories were never formally recorded—not because they lacked significance, but because their lives unfolded beyond the reach of power, authorship, and recognition. This is the story of ordinary people forced into extraordinary circumstances—individuals navigating a rigid social order shaped by obligation, fear, and quiet resistance. Here, survival depends as much on silence as on action, and choices are made not in moments of glory, but in private, under pressure, and with consequences rarely acknowledged. The novel explores how perso...
This short story is a part of my Caledon world - a much earlier incarnation of the spirit of Scotland. Here, the adventure heads back to the 9th Century Highlands, and the continuing skirmishes between the Norse and the Picts, as well as one of the most outrageous deaths in history... The Skjoldmø and The Seer “Not only is he a coward…” I listened to Father’s drunken words which filled the hall with laughter. No one would remember them in the morning. A spray of mead left his mouth as he added: “He is an ugly man.” “Sigrid.” Turning at the sound of my name, I frowned to find no one there. “Sigrid, I’m outside.” A smile split my face as I recognised that voice. I left the hall and walked to Bridei who waited there. His painted arm reached out to me and I took his hand, our fingers interlocking. “There’s a great celebration in there.” I nodded. “Father has challenged Máel Brigte to a forty-man battle, but he’s taking twice as many men.” “It won’t work.” Bridei pulled his hand back, hid...