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| Bamburgh, painted by Norman MacKillop, used by permission |
The announcement is up at Publishers Weekly ("...steeped in the beauty and brutality of a different age...").
It's difficult to capture the mood of a 200,000-word novel in a single paragraph. But here's the short description I sent to my agent in January:
Seventh century Britain is in transition. Small kingdoms are dissolving and merging. Edwin of Northumbria plots to become overking of the Angles using every tool at his disposal: blood, bribery, and belief. Into this world of war and wyrd is born Hild, king's niece: a child with a glittering mind, powerful curiosity, and will of adamant. Edwin is cunning and ruthless, but Hild is matchless. She carves herself a place as his advisor, a young woman at the heart of the violence, subtlety, and mysticism of the early medieval age. But kings don't trust anyone, even nieces. And at this level, the stakes are life and death.There's a lot to be done before publication. But that's work for the future. For now, I am happy. Hild is the best thing I've ever written. I can't wait to put it in your hands. Cheers!
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| Beer + Joy = Satisfaction |
Congratulations Nicola. Great news. I look forward to seeing it.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am feeling pretty pleased :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait. Loved everything you've written so far, and I'm sure I'll enjoy this too.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I've always liked about you is how you've avoided being pigeonholed. Not a sci-fi writer, not a crime writer, not a lesbian writer--just a writer.
Thank you. Yep, when people ask me what kind of novels I write, I say "Good ones."
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Can't wait to read it. Something to look forward to!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'll post updates of progress towards publication as they happen.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your site when searching for British place names for a short story I'm writing. Congratulations on HILD. I'll be looking for it. Do you know when it might release in the US?
ReplyDeleteThe tentative release date is Fall 2013. It's not entirely clear to me what that means exactly--Sept? Oct? Nov? I imagine I'll know more soon.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on completing the novel and the publishing deal.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled onto your blog at the weekend while doing research for my own novel
set in early 7th century Northumbria (great minds and all that!).
My story starts in 633 and follows a couple of fictional characters as their
lives interweave with real historical figures. It is my first novel and I'm not
a historian, so many of your posts, especially from the first year of your writing project,
strike a chord with me. I am constantly daunted by the amount I don't know, and wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew.
I look forward to seeing your book once it is published next year. Hopefully I'll have completed my manuscript by then. I'm 45,000 words into the first draft at the moment, so we'll see...
All the best,
Matthew
Matthew, that bitten off more than I can chew feeling never goes away. After a while you'll learn to call it excitement not terror and you'll start sleeping again at night. Mostly :)
ReplyDeleteI hope your novel is going brilliantly.