Current Projects 

The Harper Trilogy

The Harper Trilogy—The Blue Chain, The Harper’s Word, and Ancient Roots—is a retelling of three Welsh folk stories: “The Spoils of Annwfyn,” from the Book of Taliesin; “Math ap Mathonwy,” from The Mabinogion; and “The Battle of the Trees,” from The Book of Taliesin.  The novels blend the legend of Gwydion with the history of post-Roman Wales, in the same way The Mists of Avalon incorporates the legend of King Arthur with the history of Saxon Britain.  In dividing the text into three books, with three parts per book, and three chapters per part, I have followed the traditional Welsh storytelling format, called “the triad.”  These novels do not need to be read in order.

The Blue Chain:

After the death of his mother in 372 AD, Gwydion ap Don is sent to study on the Isle of Anglesey, where he is apprenticed to Adaon, Chief Bard of Wales. Adaon’s position makes him responsible for protecting the collective history and wisdom of the Welsh people—the cauldron of  knowledge.  Under Adaon’s tutelage, Gwydion gains a deep appreciation for the songs and stories of his homeland, and an understanding of their importance in everyday life. 

During his studies, Gwydion becomes friends with Rhun, the young Prince of South Wales, and Awen, the Prophetess of Anglesey, and a good-natured rivalry begins.  In 384, the Romans retreat from Britain, leaving Rhun concerned that his kingdom will now be vulnerable to Irish attack.  Gwydion entreats Adaon to call the rest of Wales to Rhun’s aid, but before the rally is complete, Adaon suddenly dies, leaving Gwydion as his successor. 

In the midst of his initiation ceremony, Gwydion is betrayed by someone he trusts, captured by the Irish, and taken to Annwfyn, the half-mythic otherworld beyond the Western Sea.  There, he comes face-to-face with Arawn, Lord of Annwfyn, who will stop at nothing to possess the cauldron of knowledge, believing it will help him and his Irish allies in their impending invasion.  To protect the cauldron, Gwydion must come to terms with his friend’s betrayal, and decide which is more important: his people’s past or his own future.

The Blue Chain is complete at 115,000 words.

The Harper’s Word:

When Gwydion learns that one of his newborn twin nephews is dead, he takes it to spare his sister, Arianrod.  However, he subsequently realizes he was mistaken, and returns the boy to his mother to be named.  Arianrod is unwilling to acknowledge her first-born.  Condemning the child as a changeling, she curses him to have no name unless she gives him one, no sword but one she bestows, and no wife of this world. 

Determined to help the boy, Gwydion uses his skill as a storyteller to trick Arianrod into naming the child and giving him a sword.  When the third curse proves too troublesome, Gwydion turns to his uncle, Math, who has the reputation of being a great magician.  Although Gwydion knows that magic, like storytelling, is simply a combination of performance and misdirection, he is as shocked as his nephew when Math “creates” a woman out of flowers for the boy to marry.

But when the flower-maiden falls in love with someone else, and the pair begin plotting to kill her husband, Gwydion wonders if any of his tricks will be enough to save the boy he raised.

The Harper’s Word is complete at 122,000 words.

Ancient Roots:

When King Math dies in 422 AD, Gwydion supports his nephew, Llew, in his bid for the throne.  But Llew is young and relatively untested, and the Irish have not forgotten the failed invasion of 384. 

When Llew is killed defending his homeland, Gwydion takes charge of the only family member left who is eligible to inherit the Kingdom of Gwynedd: Llew’s eight-year-old daughter, Achren.  Although not surprised that the vassal lords are unwilling to follow Achren, Gwydion is shocked to find that they will not support his own claim as regent.  Citing his advanced age, they insist he journey to Scotland to ask Achren’s maternal grandfather, Cunedda—a man with six healthy sons—to take control of the kingdom.  Reluctantly, Gwydion agrees and, using his skill as an orator, convinces Cunedda to come to Gwynedd’s aid. 

Once in power, Cunedda refuses to relinquish control to Achren—even when she comes of age—and denies Gwydion his rightful place as his advisor.  Soon, it becomes apparent to Gwydion that Cunedda would do almost anything to preserve peace, even if it means selling his granddaughter to the Arawn.  Having dealt with the horde of Annwfyn once before, Gwydion has no desire to encounter it again, but Achren is looking to him for guidance, and if he is to help her fight for her future, he must first bring himself to face his past.

Blood and Water:

           Desperate for change after the unexpected death of a friend, Dr. Welwyn Bray relocates from London to Queensand Cove, Cornwall, late in 1710. He has been settled in the little fishing village for less than six months when stories of a ghost girl living in the caves send him stumbling into the Cornish underworld in more ways than one. With local authorities and neighbourhood villains threatening not only his freedom but his life, Welwyn must find a way to escape the criminal world into which he has fallen, with nothing but his wits, his physic, and a very uncommunicative “ghost” to help him.

Blood and Water is a stand-alone novel that is complete at 86,000 words.