Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March Madness for March 27th Welcomes Author Catherine Chisnall "Ragnar The Murderer"

March Madness for March 26th  welcomes Author Catherine Chisnall writing as Lily Byrne

Catherine Chisnall/Lily Byrne

I was born in the Midlands of England and now live with my husband and child in the South. I have had a varied career working in banks, libraries, charities and for the last 10 years, secondary and further education. I always ignored the desire to write, thinking it wasn’t a valid career but can’t ignore it anymore. I have had several factual articles published and this has given me the confidence to publish some of my fiction.

914 A.D. 

It is a time of uneasy truce, of two races living side-by-side, inter-marrying even, but forever on the look out for treachery among their neighbors.

They meet, they bathe together and they consort. Life is short, fun is likely to be brief, and opportunity has to be seized wherever it can be found without unleashing long-held rivalries and carnage.

Then the youthful Dane, Ragnar, falls in love with Aelfwyn the Angle who is already promised by duty to one of her own village.

Ragnar and Aelfwyn's passionate love affair is a secret which will never be hidden for long, but theirs is not the only secret around.

When Ragnar finds himself charged with murder, he and Aelfwyn are forcibly parted. But is Ragnar really a cold-blooded, cynical killer or is there a more sinister plot being played out? 


The review from George Polley:

By G. Polley "blogger and writer" (Sapporo, Japan)

If you're looking for a delightful, romantic read that can be read in a day, this is a very clear choice. Set in England in the time of Angles, Saxons, Danes and invading Vikings, it is the story of a young Angle woman named Aelfwyn and a red-haired Dane named Ragnar, their clandestine love affair and their eventual wedding. It's also the story of uneasy relations between Aelfwyn's Angle community and a nearby community of Danes, whom they accuse of stealing their eligible women. And it's a story of a murder, with Ragnar as the accused.

But did he do the dastardly deed. Aelfwyn doesn't believe it, and neither does Ragnar's best friend Bjarni. But who did, and what is the outcome?

As with every romance novel I've reviewed, the sexual scenes are explicit ... and very well written. "[L]onging accompanied them, shadowing them like a spirit;" not only very well said, like the story itself, it lingers in one's memory.
Contact the author here:  www.catherinechisnall.co.uk

The links where folks can purchase this book.
Please remember you MUST leave a comment on this post to have a chance at winning these books!

PLUS...Join this blog and be in the running to win not one but TWO books written by your host Soooz Burke under her pen name of Stacey Danson.."Empty Chairs" and "Faint Echoes of Laughter"

Please leave an email or link address where you can be notified if you should win the prize draw.

8 comments:

  1. I love this book - I've read it already and it's the best non-fantasy viking story I've read. I can recommend it to anyone...

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  2. As far a steamy historical sagas go, this must be one of the steamiest! For those who wear glasses, windscreen wipers are recommended before tackling this material, from an author who is well-versed and expert in her subject matter and delivers her stories in an engaging style.

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  3. An exciting story with excellent period detail which really evokes the Viking era and people. Well drawn characters and a fast moving plot. Why am I commenting on this when I already have the book? Oh well, I enjoy supporting Lily and Ragnar at any opportunity!

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  4. I have a 'thing' for Vikings! I like the sound of this. I have read a few excerpts and am intrigued enough to want the book. Apart from anything else, Catherine (Lily) is really great at expressing things so I am convinced anything written by her will be eminently readable.

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  5. Don't forget Ragnar 2, which I believe is on its way. A fascinating new world to enjoy.

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  6. Well, you learn something new every day! I had no idea Catherine lives down South now. Anyway, she's a prolific lady in every sense of the word ("prolific", not "lady"; though that, too, I suppose). She writes, supports, helps, blogs, manages, teaches... and runs a family too, I believe.

    Here at Night we are delighted to count Lily among our leaders. I'm the proud owner of a signed copy of Descending and Surfacing (yes, you read that right: I bought the *paperback*!), though I confess I've not got round to reading it yet. Ragnar sounds rather steamy for me, but if Lily wrote it (and presuming I'll win this prize, as I haven't won any yet, and I know Soooz wouldn't dream of rigging the draw), I'll be happy to make an exception on this occasion.

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  7. Thanks to all the lovely folks that contributed to this post.

    I have the hat ready...and here we go.........

    Congratulations Kat Ward! Yay! Kat you are our winner, the ebook will be on it's way to you soon.

    Soooz x

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Please leave a comment/review on any of the stories/poems contributed.