Before there was Scotland, a number of smaller kingdoms shared the land. One of these was Alba, itself a union between the native Picts and the Irish settlement of Dalriada. Alba eventually became dominant, swallowing up the Viking lands of Orkney, Caithness, and Sutherland to the north, the Isles and Galloway to the west, Anglo-Saxon… Continue reading Friday Fact: the Kingdom of Strathclyde
Tag: work in progress
Tuesday Critique: Seumas Deals with Rage
Here's a new excerpt from my work in progress, Sons of Alba, Book 2: Son of Redemption. As you can see, Seumas has a long way to go. Muirne and Catidh thought it was funny, the way Seumas had to shift in his seat at dinner. It wasn’t funny at all, and he glared a… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Seumas Deals with Rage
Tuesday Critique: Seumas being a Rascal
Here's the first excerpt from book 2 of Sons of Alba, which will be entitled Son of Redemption. Here we meet Seumas, who inherited all the stubbornness and fire of his parents Eithne and Ruairi. As you'll see, he's got a long way to go. Seumas was in the stable loft, nursing his pride and… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Seumas being a Rascal
Tuesday Critique: Prize for the Victor
Here's probably the last excerpt from Sons of Alba, Book One: Son of Strength before it goes to the publisher. Hope you enjoy! When Iseabail gave Thorfinn’s leg her seal of approval, he could barely wait to be up and out of the castle. The first fair day they had, he was begging to go… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Prize for the Victor
Tuesday Critique:
Here's a scene I wrote yesterday about Liosa being frightened in the woods and Donnchad comforting her. Tell me what you think. Please be honest! 🙂 Mathair and Thorfinn fell asleep quickly, exhausted as they were. But Liosa couldn’t sleep beneath the clawing canopy of the trees, huddled in her cloak against the cold, paralyzed… Continue reading Tuesday Critique:
Tuesday Critique: Donnchad and Liosa in the woods
I'm plugging away at Sons of Alba. Here's my latest scene featuring a bit of a heart to heart between Donnchad and Liosa: This was one such occasion, as he crouched beside Mac Crinan and Mac Bheatha in the bracken, watching breathlessly as Thorfinn sighted along his drawn arrow at a calmly grazing stag. Then… Continue reading Tuesday Critique: Donnchad and Liosa in the woods
Friday Fact: The Real Macbeth
You might have read Shakespeare's dark drama Macbeth in school: a grasping noble kills his aging king to seize the Scottish throne then lives and dies tormented by guilt and fear. But did you know that Macbeth was a real Scottish king? While researching for my latest wip Sons of Alba, I came across some… Continue reading Friday Fact: The Real Macbeth
Critique Tuesday: Sons of Alba
Here's the opening excerpt from my new work in progress, Sons of Alba. It's a sequel to my recently published 3 part saga, Daughters of Alba, so if you haven't read Daughters, here's your SPOILER ALERT. In this scene, Anndrais, the family patriarch, has gathered his family to receive his last blessing, and we are… Continue reading Critique Tuesday: Sons of Alba
Critique Tuesday: Jennie Under Siege
It's finished! My first draft of Legacy of Faith is finished after nearly a decade of research and writing. To celebrate, here'a an excerpt. This is the very beginning of the siege, when Jennie goes into the Peking foreign legations and anticipates the trouble to come. June 20, 1900: Peking, China The foreign legations of China… Continue reading Critique Tuesday: Jennie Under Siege
Critique Tuesday: John and his Enemy
I just finished this excerpt from my wip Legacy of Faith this afternoon. This is an imagined encounter based on a real life enmity between John Mackilligen, the Covenanter (illegal Presbyterian) and John Paterson, the Bishop of Ross. 1670: Ballachraggan, Ross, Scotland. John Paterson, the Bishop of Ross looked down his prominent nose, narrowing his heavy-lidded… Continue reading Critique Tuesday: John and his Enemy
Erin E. M. Hatton 