Spacial Guest Post by Steven A. McKay, Author of The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory #HistoryWritersAdvent24

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

England, c. AD 1330: Winter fast approaches in East Yorkshire and the dark, cold nights have brought more than just frost to the newly founded Haltemprice Priory. An oppressive pall hangs over the area like a smothering blanket, prompting one of the anxious monks to seek help from an old friend.

Writing another winter tale – The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory

Winter is a time of traditions, it always has been. From the days of the Vikings bringing in the yule log, to the people of medieval Europe trying to brighten the drab colours of December by decorating their houses with the vibrant greens, reds, and whites of holly, ivy and mistletoe, right up to modern times when we enjoy Christmas songs by the likes of Slade, The Pogues, Mariah Carey, and even my own new rock track with Matthew Harffy, “Wassail The Night Away” (listen here).

Telling stories is another ancient tradition at this time of year and I’m a big fan of classics like “A Christmas Carol” which I’ll listen to every year on Audible as well as watching various movie adaptations. I don’t think it’s any mystery why so many people enjoy a good tale around December – it adds a touch of magic to a season where nature is mostly in hibernation, we’re often stuck indoors because of the cold or wind, and the nights draw in much earlier. For all that, Christmas is by far my favourite time of the year so it made perfect sense for me to follow in the footsteps of authors like Charles Dickens and Terry Pratchett and write my own snowy tales.

My first of these was Friar Tuck and the Christmas Devil back in 2015, and I’ve tried my best to publish a new one every year following the characters from my Forest Lord novels, Will Scaflock, Tuck, and John Little. This year I’ve published TWO stories in one collection – The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory, and The Christmas Hunt. Both are quite different, but I think they both capture the essence of the season pretty well.

What ingredients make a book one that readers will want to return to Christmas after Christmas? Well, for me, you’re looking for some excitement, a bit of danger for the main characters, perhaps a hint of the supernatural (ghost stories are perfect for this gloomy time of year!), friendship and love, and, of course lots of snow. As the star, or fairy, on top of your Christmas Tree of a tale, you might want to include plenty of roaring fires, warmed ale, and feasting! 

The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory might have a long title (in keeping with those classic old tales) but it’s a short novel packed with peril and intrigue and the setting is ideal. I think it’s sometimes easy for us to forget, or simply not quite comprehend, just what it was like for monks living in a medieval priory, monastery or abbey. Obviously, when I decided to write this story I had to do my research with books, videos, and a field trip to Kilwinning Abbey just outside Glasgow (see the photos HERE). While those old buildings were sturdily built from stone, with massively thick walls, their windows and shutters were no match for our modern day double glazing. The wind would have whistled through the corridors and rooms constantly and, with only the odd cozy fire allowed, it would have been absolutely freezing!

The poor brothers had to get up all through the night to pray too – shuffling in the darkness from the church to the dormitory at midnight, again around 3 A.M. and again at 6 A.M.. It’s hard to imagine that life but I suppose there would be a real feeling of camaraderie and family between the monks, standing in the candlelit church singing Gods praises together in their wool-lined night shoes. It certainly creates quite an image in one’s mind and really is the perfect setting for an eerie winter story.

I like to add a hint, even just a suggestion, of the supernatural in some of my Christmas tales and The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory has all sorts of eldritch happenings to send a shiver down the reader’s spine! Bizarre rituals, devil worship, an enigmatic monk with a collection of occult books in the chained library, and a sudden death which leaves our heroes divided on what on earth has really been happening. I hope readers enjoy it and think it can sit beside books like “A Christmas Carol” as something that can be enjoyed every December when the nights draw in and snow spreads its thick white blanket across the land.

It has to be said, if you’re an author thinking about writing a Christmas story, they do not sell particularly well. People only read them for one month of the year after all! Sure, you’ll get the odd one that will sell millions of copies, especially if it’s made into a movie or something like that, but, in general, I wouldn’t recommend writing a Christmas story if your main goal is to make money. 

I enjoy writing them and I see it almost as a palate cleanser after working on novels throughout the year – I wrote two full novels this year, King of Wessex (book 3 in my Alfred the Great trilogy) and The Vengeance of Merlin (book 6 in my Warrior Druid of Britain Chronicles). That is pretty hard going, keeping various threads and characters and plots all in line and separated in an author’s head, not to mention all the editing. 

Writing my winter tales, which range from novelettes to short novels, really gives me a chance to just immerse myself in the festive period and have some fun. Hopefully the pleasure I get from writing books like The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory comes across in the pages and, if you read it, you get the same sense of yule joy!

Merry Christmas everyone, and have a great 2025. Thanks also to Tony Riches for hosting this online event!

Steven A. McKay

# # #

About the Author

Steven A. McKay was born in Scotland in 1977. He says, 'I enjoyed studying history – well, the interesting bits, not so much what they taught us in school. I decided to write my Forest Lord series after seeing a house called “Sherwood” when I was out at work one day. I’d been thinking about maybe writing a novel but couldn’t come up with a subject or a hero so, to see that house, well…It felt like a message from the gods and my rebooted Robin Hood was born. My current Warrior Druid of Britain series was similarly inspired, although this time it was the 80’s TV show “Knightmare”, and their version of Merlin that got my ideas flowing. Of course, the bearded old wizard had been done to death in fiction, so I decided to make my hero a giant young warrior-druid living in post-Roman Britain and he’s been a great character to write. I was once in a heavy metal band although I tend to just play guitar in my study these days. I’m sure the neighbours absolutely love me.' Find out more at his website https://stevenamckay.com/ and find him on Twitter @SA_McKay.