Crowvus Book Blog

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...

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog about drawing inspiration from your local area. Two years on and here I am with a blog post about my latest published story, Proof of the Old Faith , which is one of the short stories in the Masterworks  antholgy (which you can get here !). The story is based around the creation of the Maeshowe Dragon, a work of viking grafitti in Orkney, and it is one of the reliably documented outings of Harald Maddadsson [assuming the dragon dates from the second set of runes]. In Proof of the Old Faith , Harald in portrayed as a fearsome figure who the main character believes is the embodiment of the dragon Níðhöggr. In truth, Harald was certainly as frightening as a dragon, with the same fiery temper, and an equal tendency towards destruction. The Maeshowe Dragon Harald had a mixed lineage, both Norse and Gaelic, and it was his mother's involvement with politics in Orkney which led him to claim a right to the jarldom. He had the longest tenure as Jarl of O...

Today's #HistFicThursdays blog is a little bit different. The Horrible Histories songs I've shared so far have all been about specific people. Today, we're looking a little bit broader... Meet the Vikings:  I have to say, the song above is my favourite Horrible Histories song! Both the songs in today's blog are my sort of music, even though they're not a lot like each other. But the music matches the theme and - without talking too much about the genius of the musicianship (my day job coming into play here) - these two songs show two very different sides of the Viking impact on Britain. The song above is what we are led to believe all Vikings were like. A couple of years ago, on a return from my sister's book launch in North Lincolnshire, we visited Lindisfarne. It is commercialised now, not a great deal like the Holy Island the monks had established there (although the earliest reference to this name appears to have been some 200 years after the Viking raid). B...

Today, I'm delighted to introduce you to Donovan Cook and his book Raid of the Wolves . This is the second book in the Ormstunga Saga, and was published in November 2021 (the first book Son of Anger , came out 2020) and is already bagging great reviews. Let's meet the book... The only thing that kept him going were the voices of his ancestors, screaming for blood... Ulf and his shield brothers are sent on a raid against an old enemy — Francia, a mighty kingdom to the south, now ravaged by civil war. During the perilous sea voyage, Ulf can only focus on one thing. He demands closure: to find the man who slaughtered his family — Griml. A hidden enemy stalks Ulf and his warriors through Francia, striking mercilessly when they least expect it. Soon the hunters become the hunted. The Norse warriors must make the ultimate choice between defying the king or angering the gods. Both could end in fury. But there is another threat lurking in the shadows. One that Ulf could never anticipat...