- The Tudor Trilogy -
England 1422: Owen Tudor, a Welsh servant, waits in Windsor Castle to meet his new mistress, the beautiful and lonely Queen Catherine of Valois, widow of the warrior king, Henry V. Her infant son is crowned King of England and France, and while the country simmers on the brink of civil war, Owen becomes her protector. They fall in love, risking Owen’s life and Queen Catherine’s reputation—but how do they found the dynasty which changes British history – the Tudors?
This is the first historical novel to fully explore the amazing life of Owen Tudor, grandfather of King Henry VII and the great-grandfather of King Henry VIII. Set against a background of the conflict between the Houses of Lancaster and York, which develops into what have become known as the Wars of the Roses, Owen’s story deserves to be told.
England 1461: The young King Edward of York takes the country by force from King Henry VI of Lancaster. Sir Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, flees the massacre of his Welsh army at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross and plans a rebellion to return his half-brother King Henry to the throne.
When King Henry is imprisoned by Edward in the Tower of London and murdered, Jasper escapes to Brittany with his young nephew, Henry Tudor. After the sudden death of King Edward and the mysterious disappearance of his sons, a new king, Edward’s brother Richard III takes the English Throne. With nothing but his wits and charm, Jasper sees his chance to make young Henry Tudor king with a daring and reckless invasion of England.
Set in the often brutal world of fifteenth century England, Wales, Scotland, France, Burgundy and Brittany, during the Wars of the Roses, this fast-paced story is one of courage and adventure, love and belief in the destiny of the Tudors.
Bosworth 1485: After victory against King Richard III, Henry Tudor becomes King of England. Rebels and pretenders plot to seize his throne. The barons resent his plans to curb their power and he wonders who he can trust. He hopes to unite Lancaster and York through marriage to the beautiful Elizabeth of York.
With help from his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, he learns to keep a fragile peace. He chooses a Spanish Princess, Catherine of Aragon, as a wife for his son Prince Arthur. His daughters will marry the King of Scotland and the son of the Emperor of Rome. It seems his prayers are answered, then disaster strikes and Henry must ensure the future of the Tudors.
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The true story of the Tudor dynasty continues with the daughter of King Henry VII, sister to King Henry VIII. Mary Tudor watches her elder brother become King of England and wonders what the future holds for her.
Born into great privilege, Mary has beauty and intelligence beyond her years and is the most marriageable princess in Europe. Henry plans to use her marriage to build a powerful alliance against his enemies. Will she dare risk his anger by marrying for love?
Meticulously researched and based on actual events, this ‘sequel’ follows Mary’s story from book three of the Tudor Trilogy and is set during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Handsome, charismatic and a champion jouster, Sir Charles Brandon is the epitome of a Tudor Knight. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Brandon has a secret. He has fallen in love with Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor, the beautiful widowed Queen of France, and risks everything to marry her without the King’s consent.
Brandon becomes Duke of Suffolk, but his loyalty is tested fighting Henry’s wars in France. Mary’s public support for Queen Catherine of Aragon brings Brandon into dangerous conflict with the ambitious Boleyn family and the king’s new right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell.
Torn between duty to his family and loyalty to the king, Brandon faces an impossible decision: can he accept Anne Boleyn as his new queen?
Brandon becomes Duke of Suffolk, but his loyalty is tested fighting Henry’s wars in France. Mary’s public support for Queen Catherine of Aragon brings Brandon into dangerous conflict with the ambitious Boleyn family and the king’s new right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell.
Torn between duty to his family and loyalty to the king, Brandon faces an impossible decision: can he accept Anne Boleyn as his new queen?
The Elizabethan Series
1564: Devon sailor Francis Drake learns of routes used to transport Spanish silver and gold, and forms an audacious plan to steal a fortune.
Queen Elizabeth is intrigued by Drake and encourages his piracy. Her unlikely champion becomes a national hero, sailing around the world in the Golden Hind and attacking the Spanish fleet.
King Philip of Spain has enough of Drake’s plunder and orders an armada to threaten the future of England.
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, tall and handsome, soon becomes a ‘favourite’ at court, so close to the queen many wonder if they are lovers.
The truth is far more complex, as each has what the other yearns for. Robert Devereux longs for recognition, wealth and influence. His flamboyant naïveté amuses the ageing Queen Elizabeth, like the son she never had, and his vitality makes her feel young.
Continuing the story of the Tudors, begun in the best-selling Tudor trilogy, this epic tale of loyalty, love and adventure follows Robert Devereux from his youth to his fateful rebellion.
Based on extensive research, original letters and records of the Elizabethan Court, this new account explores the life of Tudor adventurer, courtier, explorer and poet, Sir Walter Raleigh, who has been called the last true Elizabethan.
He didn’t dance or joust, didn’t come from a noble family, or marry into one. So how did an impoverished law student become a favourite of the queen, and Captain of the Guard?
The story which began with the Tudor trilogy follows Walter Raleigh from his first days at the Elizabethan Court to the end of
the Tudor dynasty.
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Lady Penelope is one of the most beautiful and sought-after women in Elizabethan England. Daughter of the queen's nemesis, Lady Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex, she becomes the stepdaughter of Robert Dudley when he marries her mother in secret. Penelope's life is full of love and scandal. The inspiration for Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet Astrophel and Stella, she is inevitably caught up in her brother Robert's fateful rebellion. A complex and fascinating woman, her life is a story of love, betrayal, and tragedy. Discover how Penelope charms her way out of serious charges of treason, adultery, and forgery, and becomes one of the last truly great ladies of the Tudor court.
Frances Walsingham is the only surviving child of Queen Elizabeth’s ‘spymaster’ Sir Francis Walsingham. Better educated than most men, her father arranges her marriage to warrior poet Sir Philip Sidney. After Philip is killed in battle, Frances becomes Countess of Essex, and is banished from court after her husband Sir Robert Devereaux’s rebellion against the queen. Can she marry for love, if it means turning her back on her faith and all she knows?
The story which began with the Tudor trilogy follows Frances, Countess of Essex and Clanricarde, from her first days at the Elizabethan Court to the end of the Tudor dynasty and the rise of the Stuarts.
Other Historical Fiction
More than a century after her death, carpenters restoring one of the towers of Beaumaris Castle discover a sealed box hidden under the wooden boards. Thinking they have found treasure, they break the ancient box open, disappointed to find it only contains a book, with hand-sewn pages of yellowed parchment.
Written in a code no one could understand, the mysterious book changed hands many times for more than five centuries, between antiquarian book collectors, until it came to me. After years of frustrating failure to break the code, I discover it is based on a long forgotten medieval dialect and am at last able to decipher the secret diary of Eleanor Cobham.
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, is the wealthiest noble in England. He becomes a warrior knight, bravely protecting the north against invasion by the Scots. A key figure in what have become known as ‘the Wars of the Roses,’ he fought in most of the important battles. As Captain of Calais, he turns privateer, daring to take on the might of the Spanish fleet and becoming Admiral of England. The friend of kings, he is the sworn enemy of Queen Margaret of Anjou. Then, in an amazing change of heart, why does he risk everything to fight for her cause?
Writers from William Shakespeare to best-selling modern authors have tried to show what sort of man Richard Neville must have been, with quite different results. Sometimes Warwick is portrayed as the skilled political manipulator behind the throne, shaping events for his own advantage. Others describe him as the ‘last of the barons’, ruling his fiefdom like an uncrowned king. Whatever the truth, his story is one of adventure, power and influence at the heart of one of the most dangerous times in the history of England.
Queen Sacrifice is also a legendary tactic in the ancient game of chess. Russian chess grand master Lakov Neishtadt describes the sacrifice of the queen for higher interests as “a source of continuing fascination for the chess novice and master alike.”
The narrative faithfully follows EVERY move in the queen sacrifice game, known as "The Game of the Century" between Donald Byrne and 13-year-old Bobby Fischer in New York City on October 17th, 1956.
- Other Fiction -
He has to find and rescue her - before it is too late. Palm trees line an idyllic beach of white coral sand. An Arabian dhow sails on the clear blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Two lovers are ruthlessly torn apart, perhaps forever. Lucy is bound and helpless, taken far from the safety of the world she knows. Unconscious and bleeding, nothing has prepared Steve for what he needs to do.
Lucy’s journey is mental as well as physical as she discovers how easily the protective shell of her old world has been stripped away. Everything she took for granted is gone and she has to fight to survive, one day at a time. Whatever happens, she knows her life will never be the same again.
Based on actual events and current news reports, this fast-paced action and adventure novel explores the reality of the tensions between the old tribal ways and life in the new, rapidly developing country of Kenya.
Available on Amazon US and Amazon UK
- Non Fiction-
In its thirty year career, space shuttle Atlantis covered more miles and completed more missions than any other spacecraft in history. Atlantis touched down on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 at 5:57 a.m. EDT on July 21st 2011, bringing to an end 30 years of space shuttle flights.
This book is the story of that historic flight. Commander Chris Ferguson said on behalf of the final Atlantic crew, "Although we got to take the ride, we sure hope that everybody who has ever worked on, or touched, or looked at, or envied or admired a space shuttle was able to take just a little part of the journey with us."
Available on Amazon US and Amazon UK
Managers have become skilled at juggling changing priorities. At the same time there is huge pressure to reduce operating costs, staff numbers and to do more with less. Many traditional project management approaches are about attempting to limit change to 'keep the project on track'.
This is fundamentally the wrong approach. If something needs to change with a project it should or you risk project failure. There is no simple solution - but the ideas set out here draw on the approach of some of the most successful companies in the private sector and can really help deliver change which is sustainable, affordable and valued by customers and stakeholders.
Preview AGILE now on Amazon US or Amazon UK
On the 15th June, 1910 the Terra Nova left Cardiff Docks to the cheers of a huge crowd, sailing into maritime history and carrying the hopes of a nation. The old whaler had been cleaned, painted and fitted out for the voyage of a lifetime to the coldest place on earth, the frozen sea ice of the Antarctic. Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to the South Pole was under way, after many months of planning, fund raising and preparation.
The men of the Terra Nova Expedition risked their lives in the pursuit of scientific knowledge and exploration, sailing through the most dangerous waters on Earth. In 1910 there were still many unanswered questions about Antarctica, so Captain Scott recruited the largest team of scientists ever to visit the continent and they returned with over forty thousand zoological and geological specimens which are held in the British Natural History Museum collection.
This illustrated book tells the story of the Terra Nova from her launch in 1884 to her sinking off the coast of Greenland in 1943, through many first-hand accounts, including the letters and journals of many who sailed on her. Also included are the seven recently discovered letters from Wilfred Bruce, member of the 1910 expedition and brother of Scott’s wife Kathleen.
Paperback from CreateSpace
