New Release – RIPPLES THROUGH TIME!

Christina here and I’m very excited because it’s almost publication day for my new dual time historical romance, RIPPLES THROUGH TIME! It’s out in three days’ time – on 20^th November – and it features Vikings, buried treasure and ghosts from the past.

The novel is loosely based on a real treasure, the so-called Herefordshire Hoard, which was found by metal detectorists near Leominster here in the UK. Among other things, the hoard included a fabulous rock crystal pendant and as soon as I saw a photo of it I knew I had to have one in my story. Luckily for me there are replica pendants that are very similar, like this one based on an archaeological find from the island of Gotland in Sweden. My two heroines (past and present) were connected by such a jewel and, of course, a little bit of magic.

The story in the past has a Viking hero who has been roaming Britain with his uncle and the Heathen Army since he was young. The heroine is Anglo-Saxon (from Mercia which was one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms) – so technically his enemy – but their attraction is undeniable. And when you fall in love with someone, you don’t care where they come from.

When doing research for this book I found it interesting to note the similarities and differences between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons. For example, I had previously visited reconstructed Viking longhouses and this time I looked for an Anglo-Saxon hall. Fortunately there was one not too far from me at the Avalon Marshes Centre in Somerset. I enjoyed sitting by the large hearth and noting the subtle differences, the most obvious one being the stained-glass windows. (Vikings didn’t have those). Vikings and Anglo-Saxons originally came from Germanic tribes with a shared heritage, and it was fun to get the two back together in this couple.

Here’s the blurb for RIPPLES THROUGH TIME:-

A love that will change them forever … A treasure that will bring them home

West Mercia, AD 873

Merewen‘s settlement is on guard against the outside threat of the ‘Heathen’ Norsemen. But for Merewen, the real threats come from within, as her future is cruelly snatched away from her.

Eirik, a Norseman, finds himself abandoned and injured after his uncle’s plunder of Mercian land goes wrong. He thinks his fate is sealed – until Merewen saves his life.

Hereford, Present Day

Left reeling after a huge betrayal, Alix moves to her grandfather’s farm in Hereford to heal her broken heart. There, after being given a family heirloom, she soon finds herself haunted by memories of a life she never lived, a relationship she never had, and a time in which she never existed.

Local farmer Noah is being hounded by the police to find the Viking hoard that his sister and her criminal boyfriend stole from his farm. Noah must prove his own innocence while struggling to decipher the curious connection he has to newcomer Alix – a bond that seems to transcend their own reality.

As they search for the lost treasure, Alix and Noah start to feel the whispers of a love they never expected, one powerful enough to echo through history.

And here’s an excerpt:-

Mercia, 874 AD – (The heroine comes across the wounded hero)

There was a half-naked man lying on the ground, his head propped on a pile of dried grass and leaves covered by a russet-coloured tunic. A linen shirt had been flung to one side, while he was stretched out on top of a cloak of finest Mercian woollen cloth. His weapons and a belt with two pouches and a knife had also been discarded. Although he was glistening with perspiration, and clearly burning up with fever, he was shivering so much his teeth were chattering audibly. His face, handsome in an almost unearthly manner, was whiter than the ghost said to roam this place. And his forehead and eyes were scrunched up in extreme pain.

‘God and the saints preserve me!’ Merewen breathed, lifting a hand to clasp the little silver cross that hung around her neck. Ever since she’d been a small child, she’d heard tales of the ferocious Norsemen. It was well known that they rampaged, looted and killed as they wished, showing no mercy.

And now there was one inside the ancient cairn.

Merewen had heard of the recent attack on a nearby settlement, but the raiders hadn’t been seen since. Was this one of them? It had to be.

The man hadn’t noticed her presence. For a while she remained immobile, staring at his chest and broad shoulders almost in a trance. A silver amulet in the shape of a hammer hung around his neck on a leather cord. He had sculpted muscles, smooth skin and a light dusting of hair that covered part of his pectorals. She’d never seen anything like it and couldn’t help but take in the sight, enthralled. He had to be incredibly strong when he wasn’t laid low with an ague. She hoped he would have the strength to fight whatever ailed him, because for some reason she wanted him to live.

Sceadu whined, obviously of the same mind. The hound had crept closer and was regarding the stranger with a worried expression. Merewen came to a decision. This man was not a threat to her in his current condition, and as a healer and good Christian, she couldn’t leave him to die without trying to help.

‘Good morrow. Can I help you?’ she said, her voice shaking slightly but brisk and matter-of-fact.

The man jumped and his eyes flew open. Irises of a dusky green shade regarded her warily from under hooded lids. His hair was a golden brown, made darker by the perspiration that coated his brow. Long and slightly wavy, it must have been caught up in a leather cord at some point, but now most of it hung in messy tresses around his shoulders. At first, he didn’t reply, merely studied her as if he wasn’t sure she was real. If, as she suspected, he was more or less delirious, that was entirely understandable.

‘I mean you no harm,’ she murmured.

‘Who are you?’ he croaked, his voice gravelly.

‘Merewen. And you?’

He looked as if he was debating whether to tell her the truth, then closed his eyes in defeat. ‘I’m Eirik.’ She would never have guessed him to be a Norseman from his speech, as he had switched to her own language. He was fluent, speaking like a native. Had she not heard his mutterings earlier – or his name – she wouldn’t have taken him for a foreigner. Although they would have been able to communicate even if he’d talked to her in Norse, him knowing Mercian made things much easier.

‘Where did you learn?’ she asked, moving closer to see if she could make out what was wrong with him. He had various cuts and bruises, but nothing indicating disease as far as she could see.

‘Learn? Oh, your tongue.’ He shrugged, then hissed as if even that small movement caused him pain. ‘I’ve been on these shores for a dozen years or more. I picked it up along the way.’

So he’d been raiding her people’s lands since he was a mere child, as she judged his age now to be no more than twenty-five. No wonder he’d learned to communicate.

‘And who’s this?’ The man stretched out a hand towards the big hound, who had moved to lie down next to him. He waited until his fingers had been sniffed and given a lick of approval before scratching behind the shaggy ears. The dog’s tail thumped on the ground and Eirik received another couple of licks.

‘Sceadu. He won’t hurt you unless I tell him to.’

Eirik nodded, his hand falling limply to rest on top of his ridged abdomen as if he didn’t have the energy to even pet a dog.

‘What ails you?’ she asked, mindful of the fact that she ought to concentrate on that and not her sudden – and unwelcome – fascination with the man.

‘Why? Are you going to finish me off?’ He managed a lopsided smile that caused her to notice that he had a very enticing mouth currently surrounded by a close-cropped beard and moustache. ‘I have to say, I can think of worse ways to go than being killed by a beautiful maiden.’

‘What? No! I’m a healer. Tell me what’s wrong and perhaps I can help.’

He snorted. ‘What’s the point? One of your kinsmen will soon find me and all your work would be for naught. If you truly don’t wish me harm, then you’d do better to leave and forget you ever saw me. I’ll go as soon as I am able.’

She frowned. ‘No, I won’t let them hurt you.’ When she realised that she was defending an enemy, her cheeks heated up. ‘I mean, I won’t tell anyone you are here. Once you’re well enough, you can be on your way. I really don’t think one man is a threat to our settlement. Don’t you usually hunt in packs?’

‘True,’ he conceded. ‘Very well, little healer, do your worst.’

Crystals of different types are beautiful and are sometimes used for healing purposes as well as jewellery and ornaments – do you believe in their healing properties and have you ever tried?