An uncontrolled passion. A heart-breaking decision. A battle that seals the Fate of all. Ninth-century Saxon England crumbles under the onslaught of a relentless foe - the Danish Vikings. The Fate of all at Kilton hangs in the balance in a single terrifying battle... Meticulously researched and thrillingly brought to life.

Now in Hard Cover - The Complete Saga! It is the year 871. Of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, five have fallen to the invading Vikings. . Across this war-torn landscape travels fifteen year old Ceridwen, now thrust into the lives of the conquerors... Epic...immensely satisfying...an impressive achievement - Historical Novel Society

It is said that every man is haunted by one mistake... The year is 881. Ceridwen and Sidroc build their new lives together on the Baltic island of Gotland, where they are free and unknown. They feel protected and safe -- until the shattering arrival of the one person they fear most in the world... Continue the Saga: The Hall of Tyr

In an Angle-land riven by contesting Danes... Hrald of Four Stones has fallen in love with Dagmar, the daughter of dead King Guthrum, who once ruled all Anglia. Dagmar is beautiful and poised; very much a King's daughter. Yet she owns nothing but the jewels about her neck - and the secrets she carries with her. "Are you always fighting Fate and the will of the Gods? Then you will be thwarted at every turn..." Ashild has not forgotten this advice given her by her step-father Sidroc before he sailed for Gotland. Her own desires are contrary to the goals of those who love her best - how much more difficult to make decisions for two? Ceric of Kilton is now a proven warrior, and made second in command to Prince Eadward of Wessex. In the ceaseless attempt to bring the Danish interloper Haesten to heel, the Prince's small troop crosses into enemy territory. There they are pushed beyond the point of endurance. Deep into Lindisse, both Hrald and Ceric become enmeshed in a fearsome struggle between the marauding Danes and the warriors of Four Stones. The result changes both men forever.

Wildswept: Book Seven of The Circle of Ceridwen SagaDuty versus DesireThe Peace between the Saxons and Danes has collapsed. Viking forces led by the war-lord Haesten strike at will across borders. One more push will destroy Wessex, sweeping away those Saxons and Danes who support the Peace forged by King Ælfred and Guthrum, the dead king of the Danes. The Danish warriors settled under the Dane-law are tempted to join with these new invaders, wiping clear the game board as they seek full dominance of Angle-land.Sidroc, having witnessed his son Hrald's victory at Four Stones, undertakes the perilous return to Gotland, a journey shadowed by the spirit of his long-dead uncle Yrling. Before his father's eyes Hrald has won the garrison fortress of Turcesig, but can he keep it? As Haesten pushes for the destruction of Wessex, the pressures on the young Jarl to join him intensify.Ceric, the son of Ceridwen, rides with Ælfred's ambitious son, Prince Eadward, in their wild pursuit of the invaders. Despite hunger and hardship they bring their King the greatest prize so far in their battle against Haesten. After distinguishing himself in the field Ceric receives a startling order from the King, sending him to Four Stones. There Ashild and her mother Ælfwyn contend with the dual claims of duty and desire, and each come face to face with their past - and their future. At Kilton in Wessex the young lord Edwin, just sixteen, is overwhelmed at the challenges before him both as a warrior and as a man. Yet he is unexpectedly entrusted with a secret which could shatter all he holds dear.The fortresses of Kilton and Four Stones. What binds them together now threatens to tear them apart.

A Peace which must be defended. A vow which must be broken. The revered Hammer of Thor. The sacred Cross of the Christians. And the conflict that pits two beliefs, two great war-chiefs, and three young people against each other. A New Generation Beckons You...

Tindr is handsome, kind, and the best hunter on 9th century Gotland. He possesses a deep understanding and empathy with animals, which powers his reverence towards the game he takes to survive. But he is also deaf, which closes him off from the society that surrounds him - and seemingly, from finding love.Devoted parents and friends can't protect young Tindr from the bully who taunts him, from girls who tease him, or from the threat of surrender to the allure of the Lady of the Forest, who might destroy him.Tindr opens the silent world of this remarkable young man. We learn of the courtship and marriage of his parents Rannveig and Dagr, and the story of his cousin and protector Ragnfast.Tindr's life alters dramatically at the arrival of two strangers on the island - the Welsh-Saxon Ceridwen, and the Danish warrior Sidroc. He finds a new and fulfilling life with them at Tyrsborg. But will he ever find a woman to love him?Tindr tells the story of this strange and haunting young hunter, just as it tells the tale of the Gotlandic people of which he was a part: an independent, peace-loving folk living amidst a landscape of wild, wind-swept island beauty.

It is the year 871, when England was Angle-Land, and largely fallen to the invading Vikings. Ceridwen, lost in the frozen woods, is discovered by warriors accompanying young Aelfwyn, daughter of a Saxon lord, sold into marriage to a Viking war chief as part of a peace treaty. Becoming fast friends with Aelfwyn, Ceridwen joins the group to their destination- the captured fortress of Four Stones. There, Ceridwen finds living with the enemy affords her unusual freedoms and she find contentment in helping Aelfwyn restore the Four Stones to glory, until a new arrival shatters their peace and sets Ceridwen on an extraordinary adventure to save a man she has never met.

A Tale of Art and Obsession Brilliant illuminator of artistic truths. Failed lover. Provocative critic of social injustice. Raving lunatic. John Ruskin was all these things. Light, Descending brings to life Victorian art and social critic John Ruskin (1819-1900), a passionate and tormented genius whose career as art critic, social reformer, and benefactor and nemesis to some of the greatest names of 19th century art ended in near-universal public acclaim - and madness. Octavia Randolph, author of the best-selling The Circle of Ceridwen Saga, portrays Ruskin's artistic genius, political struggles, and frustrated private passions in a vivid and haunting recounting of the great man's life. From his life-long defence of the painter JMW Turner, to Ruskin's unconsummated marriage to Effie Gray, to his patronage of artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his fiancee, Lizzie Siddal, and Lizzie's death by self-administered drug overdose; to Ruskin's love affair with the teenaged Rose LaTouche, and her early death, which broke Ruskin's mind; and the infamous libel trial brought against Ruskin by James McNeill Whistler, Light, Descending sweeps the reader from bustling London to a decaying Venice to wild Alpine heights as it chronicles Ruskin's ecstatic triumphs and blighted happiness. Based on letters, diary entries, and Ruskin's own voluminous published writings, and peopled with some of the most compelling personalities of the 19th century, Light, Descending is a tour-de-force novel about the man Mohandas Gandhi said "made me transform my life." Includes Book Group Discussion Guide."

Award-winning historical fiction set in 16th-century Venice -Benjamin Franklin Digital Award -IPPY Award for Best Adult Fiction E-book -National Indie Excellence Award Finalist -Eric Hoffer Award Finalist -Shortlisted for the da Vinci Eye Prize From the author of Made in Italy comes a tale of artisanal tradition and family bonds set in one of the world's most magnificent settings: Renaissance Venice. Venetian gondola-maker Luca Vianello considers his whole life arranged. His father charted a course for his eldest son from the day he was born, and Luca is positioned to inherit one of the city’s most esteemed boatyards. Soon he will marry the daughter of an artisan prow-maker, securing a key business alliance for the family. But when Luca experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. Soon he finds himself drawn to restore an antique gondola with the dream of taking a girl for a ride. The Gondola Maker brings the centuries-old art of gondola-making to life in the tale of a young man's complicated relationship with his master-craftsman father. Lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the authentic details of gondola craftsmanship, along with an intimate first-person narrative set against the richly textured backdrop of 16th-century Venice. "I'm a big fan of Venice, so I appreciate Laura Morelli's special knowledge of the city, the period, and the process of gondola-making. An especially compelling story." --Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun "Laura Morelli has done her research, or perhaps she was an Italian carpenter in another life. One can literally smell and feel the grain of finely turned wood in her hands." --Pamela Sheldon Johns, author of Italian Food Artisans "Romance, intrigue, family loyalty, pride, and redemption set against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy." --Library of Clean Reads "Beautiful, powerful evocation of the characters, the place, and the time. An elegant and thoroughly engaging narrative voice." --Mark Spencer, author of Fiction Club: A Concise Guide to Writing Good Fiction