I Shared a Bathroom With My Eighty-Year-Old Father and Survived. Mostly. by Andra Watkins

I never wanted to spend five weeks with my eighty-year-old father. The explosive gas. The same story for the five billionth time. The all-night self-scratching. The sleep apnea machine. The gut that obscures all ability to hit the toilet.
 
But I needed my father.
 
I wanted to launch my debut novel To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis by taking readers into the world of the book. For thirty-four days, I would walk the 10,000-year-old Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. In fifteen mile daily increments, I would become the first living person to replicate their journey through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
 
Starry-eyed, I believed my walk would make my book a success. I imagined a best seller. News crews following my journey. My name is blinking neon lights. People standing in awe, holding my novel for an autograph.
 
I'm an idiot. A complete idiot.
 
I didn't understand my idiocy when I approached my cantankerous father and asked him to be my wingman on my Natchez Trace walk. I needed him to drop me off and pick me up fifteen miles later. After striking out with everyone else, he was my last hope to make a grab at literary glory.
 
He said no.
 
Because why would he want to spend five weeks with me? We shouted instead of speaking, argued in place of connection. For most of my life, I dreaded every interaction with Dad. His lectures and nagging and know-it-all-ness. Yet I was willing to put all that aside, while he rejected me?
 
Wrong answer, Old Man!
 
When I finally regrouped, I appealed to his ego. The Roy Show. In towns full of strangers who'd never heard his stories. Junk shops and crap food he could eat without Mom's knowing.
 
He was totally on board with that.
 
For five weeks, I lived with my aging father. I walked fifteen miles a day on pavement. Through every conceivable quirk of weather, I duct-taped my shredded feet and dragged my aching joints across three states. 
 
The hardest thing I've ever done. Walking. For thirty-four days. With my maddening father circling in the car.
 
Think of the most aggravating person in your life. Imagine putting yourself through the worst endurance exercise possible with them. How would you feel?
 
I wrote Not Without My Father: One Woman's 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace to explore that journey. I won't reveal how my dysfunctional family adventure turned out, but I will tell you why you need to read this book. RIGHT NOW.
 
You're losing someone this very minute. Incrementally, they're slipping away. You mean to have an adventure with them, to spend an hour or an afternoon, to do that thing. But Life's crazy gets in the way. You put it off, because this person is maddening, right? And before you know it, that person is gone: either because they've moved on to another phase of Life, or they've passed away.
 
I wrote Not Without My Father to encourage everyone to grab a loved one and Make a Memory. Right Now. Today. To turn "I wish I had" into "I'm glad I did." You shouldn't care about this book because I wrote it. You shouldn't move it to the top of your overflowing reading list because I need to make money. 
 
You should read this book because it will change your life. You will connect with a loved one, and you will Make a Memory. You will have an experience to treasure, something you wouldn't otherwise have. Read Not Without My Father. Be inspired to Make a Memory in 2015.
 
And I want to hear about the memories you make. Please submit them to me at mystories(at)andrawatkins(dot)com. I promise, I'll read every submission, and I'll highlight them on my website andrawatkins.com.

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Andra Watkins lives in Charleston, South Carolina. A non-practicing CPA, she has a degree in accounting from Francis Marion University. She’s still mad at her mother for refusing to let her major in musical theater, because her mom was convinced she’d end up starring in porn films. In addition to her writing talent, Andra is an accomplished public speaker. Her acclaimed debut novel To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis was published by Word Hermit Press in 2014.

You can connect with Andra via: Website | Facebook | Twitter

About her book

Can an epic adventure succeed without a hero?

Andra Watkins needed a wingman to help her become the first living person to walk the historic 444-mile Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. She planned to walk fifteen miles a day. For thirty-four days.

After striking out with everyone in her life, she was left with her disinterested eighty-year-old father. And his gas. The sleep apnea machine and self-scratching. Sharing a bathroom with a man whose gut obliterated his aim.

As Watkins trudged America’s forgotten highway, she lost herself in despair and pain. Nothing happened according to plan, and her tenuous connection to her father started to unravel. Through arguments and laughter, tears and fried chicken, they fought to rebuild their relationship before it was too late. In Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace, Watkins invites readers to join her dysfunctional family adventure in a humorous and heartbreaking memoir that asks if one can really turn I wish I had into I’m glad I did.

Pages: 219 pages
Publisher: Word Hermit Press (January 12, 2015)

Q&A with Kathleen Eagle author of NEVER TRUST A COWBOY

What about cowboys inspired you to write this romance?

Like most of the girls I knew growing up, I fell in love with Hollywood cowboys.  I loved the way they dressed, the way they lived, really loved their horses, and I loved their stories.  Fast forward a dozen or more years to the summer I spent in a volunteer program in South Dakota when I met a real working cowboy.  He dressed the part, rode the horse, talked the talk and walked the walk.  After I finished college I returned to South Dakota and married that cowboy.  He inspired me to write Romance.

You’ve published more than 40 books. How do you continue to come up with such original plotlines and characters?

We live in Minnesota now, but with family, horses, and land in North and South Dakota, we make lots of trips there.  I’m all about writing what you know, especially the setting.  Real people inspire characters for me, too.  Those Hollywood characters I loved when I was a kid were created by somebody else.  I have to come up with my own characters, draw from my own experience.  As for a situation or setups for plot building, a news story might spark my imagination—the all-important what if?  Sometimes my husband will show me something that caught his eye.  He’s the one who spotted a story about 21st century cattle rustling.  The first seed he planted in my brain for NEVER TRUST A COWBOY was a picture of a tricked-out horse trailer used by thieves.

What are the three ingredients for the perfect hero in a romance novel?  

A hero has to be skilled, confident and committed to something—a goal, an ideal, a person or people—and he has to be honorable.  But he’s never perfect.  You see him on the flip side of those qualities as well.  He’s made at least one serious mistake.  He’s human, which makes him flawed.  He’s a warrior, protective of women, children, animals—you want to see him in that role—but he’s also vulnerable.  His gentle side melts your heart.

If you could make any literary hunk in history come to life, who would it be and why?  

Since the Starz channel truly brought Jamie Frasier to life in the movie version of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, I’ll wish for Christian Langland from Laura Kinsale’s Flowers From the Storm to come walking up my driveway.  His journey from arrogant rake to admirable, caring hero makes him a man to sigh for.

How did you come up with the personalities in the book? Are they inspired by real people?

I started with a basic story setup.  I wanted the heroine to live on a ranch and the hero to be involved somehow with cattle rustling.  But how?  Can he be a thief?  Del Fox had to be a man who’d worked through some tough times, learned some hard lessons, and reached a point where he can be putting his experience to use.  He just can’t tell anyone who he really is.  His match would be a woman who’s living in a shell of her own making.  Circumstances have shaken her confidence, but she’s trying to rebuild herself and her life. They both have to be hard on the outside and hungry on the inside. Trust is the heart of the matter with these two loners.

What’s on your reading list right now?

I’m enjoying a beautifully written non-fiction book—Buffalo For the Broken Heart: Restoring Life To a Black Hills Ranch. By Dan O’Brien.  Next up is Windigo Island, a mystery by William Kent Kruger.  

Do you have any writing rituals or quirks?

I write on a laptop, but when I get stuck, it’s back to pencil and paper.  Pencil because I have to be able to erase.

What is the first book you remember reading by yourself as a child?  

The Real Mother Goose.  I knew most of the rhymes, and I remember following the printed words with my finger and saying them aloud.  I said I was reading, and pretty soon I really was.

What are three things about you that might surprise your readers?

I can do the Texas Two-Step, but I’ve got a Rock ‘n Roll heart.  I’ve finally, finally, finally stopped biting my fingernails.  And while they might have a tastte for me, vampires or zombies aren’t my cup of tea.

What are you working on for your next book?

A woman buys a South Dakota town in an internet auction.  A whole town.  It’s nearly dead, and its few residents have put it up for sale.  It’s going to be a four-book series. 

About the Author

KATHLEEN EAGLE published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, with Silhouette Books in 1984. Since then she has published more than 40 books, including historical and contemporary, series and single title, earning her nearly every award in the industry.  Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including the USA Today list and the New York Times extended bestseller list. 

Born in Virginia and raised "on the road" as an Air Force brat, Eagle earned degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Northern State University.  She taught at Standing Rock High School in North Dakota for 17 years. She continues to teach writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

Show, Not Tell by Karen Kilpatrick

As a writer, you quickly encounter an oft-quoted tenet relied upon by editors to help guide authors into creating more compelling pieces: “Show, don’t tell.”  This phrase means, in essence, that you have to draw readers into your story with descriptive action verbs and dialogue while avoiding passive, long-winded scene setting and musings. Readers want to participate in the story, not just be told about the story, if that makes sense.  It took quite some time for me to really nail down “show, don’t tell” in my own writing, and even longer to adopt the approach in my parenting. 

As a mom of three young children, I have often found myself, on too many occasions to count, lecturing one of the kids about any assortment of things, for example:

“Pick up your trash.”
“Don’t say mean things to your sister.”
“Why don’t you play that together instead of fighting over the toy?”

What I began to notice about lecturing is, well, nobody was listening.  It turns out that my kids have this innate ability to completely tune out my voice.  Perhaps I just speak in a tone that is unable to be processed by their little ears(!)  Whatever the reason, I just wasn’t being heard. It can be very frustrating when you feel like your words and voice don’t matter, especially when you have important things to say and teach!

I thought about that familiar command, “Show, don’t tell.”  Could this directive be as applicable to parenting as it is to writing?  I decided to try it out! So every other night, instead of reading, I would think of stories to entertain my kids before bedtime.  The stories would be based on things I saw them do that day that I wanted to reinforce, or lessons that I wanted them to learn.  Based on real situations, but with fictional characters, my kids were drawn into the stories.  They wanted to know what happened, how the characters interacted with each other, and how problems were solved!  And soon, I started to overhear them talking to each other and their friends about the characters and lessons from the stories!  I was “showing” them through characters what I was unable to “tell” them as a parent.   And this was how the Pumpkinheads® series was born!

The Pumpkinheads® books are based on everyday situations featuring lovable characters that children can relate to and understand.  Each book addresses a social or emotional lesson disguised in a fun tale, for example, learning about loving what you see when you look in the mirror, being kind to your friends, and standing up for what you believe in!  There are currently five books in the series, with five more to be released in 2015.  There is nothing that I enjoy more than being a mom and a writer, so it has been amazing for me to be able to share these stories with young readers. 

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Karen Kilpatrick is the author and co-illustrator of the award winning children’s books series, Pumpkinheads® (Carmin Cares, Ella’s Toys, Love Monster Lulu, Sage’s Song and Danza’s Message). She currently is working on new Pumpkinheads® titles and other books for children. Karen also writes adult short stories, and is a winning author in the Florida Writer’s Association’s collection contest, with her short story, The Envelope, published October 2014. She lives with her husband and three children in Parkland, Florida. To learn more about Pumpkinheads ® books and for fun art activities, games, and stories, you can visit www.pumpkinheads.com.

You can reach Karen via: Website | Facebook | Twitter

From Dental Chair to Author by D.A. Roach

I didn’t read much as a kid. I presume it was because my parents were immigrants and English was not their native language.  Watching the evening news on tv was so much easier than reading a newspaper.  We had encyclopedias, our school books and one or two other books. But it was not an activity we did for fun.

After college my sister-in-law gave me the Twilight series to read.  It looked daunting.  Those books were huge and I had never read for fun. But she swore I would love them. And I did. But this just made me an avid reader...not a writer.  Although, I read everyday and truly believe
it improves my writing.

So how did I end up an author?  For as long as I can remember, I have told tales.  The sun is always brighter, the snow is more frigid, and kisses more passionate when I tell the story.  I just didn’t think about applying this to writing.  But one day, the right person encouraged me 
to write one of my stories down.

I was having my teeth cleaned and my hygienist asked where we were vacationing.  I replied. “Tennessee” and told her an elaborate story about an event that happened to my family there over 30 years ago.  Her mouth was on the ground by the end of the story and then she said, “You have got to write a book about that.  What an amazing story.”  So I did. It’s my first title, Trusting Strangers. This was the start of my love affair with writing.  When I sit at the computer and begin weaving my story in and out and building my characters, it’s so exciting. The story coming together is like a painting come to life with each layer of new colors added.  

As an author, I’ve learned something new with each book I’ve written, both in writing and in self-publishing.  I’ve hit writer’s block and overcome it.  I’ve joined twitter and blogger and have begun speaking to the masses.  I’ve enjoyed seeing the books sell, reading the reviews 
left, and having readers reach out to me and express how much they enjoyed my books.  But the most rewarding part of becoming an author is touching just one person’s life and seeing the ripple effect it creates in the world.  So I got more than just clean teeth that day at the 
dentist...I got the right encouragement to take up writing and I became an author.

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D.A. Roach lives in the midwest with her 3 kids and husband.  In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, music, and art.  She has had a diverse job list including teacher, pharmacist, and factory worker.  Her life is rich with vivid characters and stories and she enjoys taking inspiration from these characters and tales to create new stories.

You can reach D.A. via: Website | Facebook

About the Book

It’s her junior year at Stanton High. Brogen, an empathic teen, is looking forward to another uneventful year with her buddy Meg at her side. Meg and Brogen are not in the in-crowd, actually, they aren’t in any crowd. They are content keeping a low profile and doing their own thing.

But the first day of school brings Becca, the blonde babe, and Jay, the charismatic guy who doesn’t fit any stereotype. These two new students pull Brogen out of her comfort zone and into a new social situation. And with the good parts of this new situation…comes the bad.

Becca is attracted to Jay and is prepared to stomp on the competition when it comes to making Jay her boyfriend. Brogen wants no part of any high school drama, but life…or fate keeps putting Jay and Brogen on a path together. This puts a target on Brogen’s back and she’s not sure Jay is worth the wrath of Becca.

As they journey through their school year, several life changing events alter the relationship between Jay and Brogen. But the question remains, should they give in to fate and give love a chance? Or fight it and take the easy road?

3 Steps to Living Your Life With Purpose by D.L. Anderson

How Do We Begin?

Have you ever read a book about purpose? I have; several good books actually. However, of all these good books, I have yet to come across one which dedicatedly reveals how anyone in the world can begin living their life with purpose. This is primarily why I wrote, “Unlocking the Mystery of You.” It’s because most of the books I’ve read related to this topic spend most of their time talking about what purpose is and why it is important.

Now don’t get me wrong; I am in no wise attempting to belittle these books or the great men and women who wrote them. Truly these works are essential simply because so many lack a fundamental understanding of this critical matter. Let’s face it; there are countless factors in life which have regrettably caused many of us to adopt either an inaccurate perception of our purpose or an erroneous rendering of its value. Accordingly, we can’t even start the conversation on purpose if we can not first establish the “what” and “why” factors as these form an accurate baseline of knowledge.

Notwithstanding, there is very little power in any model apart from implementation. This speaks to the proverbial “how factor.” That is to ask, how do we begin to live our lives with purpose upon grasping what our purpose is and upon perceiving why it is so essential to our very existence? Do you know?

Personal Disconnects

Live every progressive model related to the superlative makeup of mankind, there are 3 high-level steps in this process; i.e. a fundamental step, a focal step, and a critical step. They are as follows:

• ·         Personal Discovery
• ·         Personal Transition
• ·         Personal Revelation

Now the 1st step (viz. personal discovery) speaks for itself. Naturally how should any man fulfill his purpose if he doesn’t truly know who he is? Then again, how shall he know who he is if he is constantly out of touch with himself?

Sounds asinine, right? Then consider this – many of us actually fit this bill. Just think about all the times you’ve done something which was out of character and ask yourself, “Why did I do it?” Here’s the short answer – you don’t know who you truly are, as is witnessed by you doing things which you (by nature) would not typically do, and possibly things you never thought you would do. We call them “personal disconnects,” instances where an individual’s perceived self comes face-to-face with their true self.  They are real and a crucial facet (at some point) of everyone’s reality which makes personal discovery invaluable.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Man know thyself and to thine own self be true.” Admittedly I love this aphorism because it opens the door to fulfillment and every worthwhile pursuit. If you don’t believe me, I would ask you to consider this:

All knowledge begins with man’s understanding of himself and his purpose, and how these unified set the stage for his understanding of the world around him.

For this cause, the only way for us to find peace (and by peace, fulfillment) in this world, is by first identifying why we are here. That is our purpose. Then, upon discovering our purpose, we must assess our current station in life against said purpose. More than likely there will be some gap. The question is – how do we address this gap?

Endure the Process

This matter lends itself to the 2nd step (i.e. personal transition). Visibly the objective of this step is simply to progress from your current life station to one delineated by your purpose (your purpose being identified by a collection of activities and pursuits which provide you with the highest measures of fulfillment contingent to your unique, individual makeup).

Sounds good doesn’t it? Well, as good as it sounds, the honest truth is that this step is the lengthiest in this procedure. See depending upon how far you’ve migrated from your purpose, getting back on your “destiny track” can be both a complex and elongated process. Be that as it may, it’s still one that I would highly encourage you to follow. Here’s why:

Without purpose there can be no fulfillment – and although we can surely live without fulfillment, we will scarcely feel alive.

For that reason, I believe it is incumbent upon all men and women to dedicate themselves to making the transition to living their life with purpose no matter how difficult this transfer may be. For what do we have in this life which compares to fulfillment? What greater occasion is there but to experience the indescribable feeling of accomplishment, joy, and peace which comes by way of transcendence and the completion of a progressive pursuit?

In my opinion there is none. Nevertheless, the only way to complete any process is by enduring the process. So I admonish you to stay strong and endure the process while always remembering the following:

The greatest rewards in life require great investments, and thus will only be enjoyed by those who invest liberally.

So take my advice and invest liberally – and in the sure course of time, transcendence will be your reality.

They Too Shall Arrive

This brings us to the 3rd and final step in this development – personal revelation. Quite simply, this is the phase where you reveal yourself (in the light of your purpose) to the world. Now the awesome thing about this revelation is that it represents the most authentic version of you. As a result, people everywhere will be drawn to you because you will be to them as a light within a dark world of individuals who have little to none; for these are leading unfulfilling lives because they are outside of their purpose.

As for you, you are not only living your life with purpose and experiencing increasing measures of fulfillment and success. You are an example and an inspiration to those around you, inviting them to take the same path in their lives which you took in yours. All they have to do is follow the 3 steps and they too shall arrive.

In closing I have 2 questions for each reader. Here’s the first – what are the roadblocks or deterrents in your life preventing you from dedicating yourself to fulfilling your purpose?

Here’s the second question – are you going to do something about it or are you going to continue to live outside of your purpose and settle for incomplete measures of fulfillment and success?

If you are ready to do something about it, I invite you to visit me at www.lifepinnacles.com and find out how you can get started. See I’m not just going to help you discover your purpose and appreciate its value. I’m going to take you a step further and show you how you can fulfill your purpose by revealing to you the path utilizing a 7-step model I have labeled as the Pinnacle of Purpose.

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D. L. Anderson is a speaker and life trainer whose goals are centered on helping others live a life of purpose, excellence, and balance. Drawing on 15+ years of experience in various fields including information technology, consulting, and business management, D. L. Anderson is very excited to be able to effectively teach others the same principles which have made his life both fulfilling and successful.

You can reach D.L. via: Website | Facebook | Twitter

About the Book

Do you know who the most important person in your life is? Just look in the mirror and you will see – it’s you. Whether you’re a college student, a housewife, a salesman, or the president of the United States of America, the most important person in your life is and will always be you.

That being said, your primary objective in life should be to know who you are so that you can position yourself to succeed in offices aligned with your purpose. After all, your purpose is the collective reasoning behind your existence. As one philosopher puts it, “Purpose is the only real reason you are here, for you exist because your purpose exists. Thus apart from purpose, you have no authentic motivation for living. You may very well exist, but when you’re gone, very few will ever know that you were here.”

Now for some of us discovering our purpose is simple. We understood it long before we ever became adults. For others it is not so easy, and for more reasons than I can gather. This is why the process of personal discovery is so critical; for not only does it allow you to discover your purpose. It also positions you to persistently follow the evolution of your purpose. 

This is important because we are all changing every day. Consequently, our purpose will also change contingent to the season of life we are in. Still, in spite of this inevitable change and all the complexities which make understanding your purpose difficult, you will always be able to detect your purpose simply because it is the source of your fulfillment. So if you’re in a job, relationship, or any office which is persistently unfulfilling, odds are it is not aligned with your purpose – and unless you are willing to concede the awesome measures of fulfillment you would experience otherwise, you need to start thinking about making a change so that you can both enhance your life and have profound impacts in the various groups and societies you are in.

“Unlocking the Mystery of You” champions this cause focusing first and foremost on purpose and the crucial role it plays in achieving personal fulfillment and setting the stage for the individual to be a catalyst for group fulfillment. It accomplishes this goal by utilizing a purposeful roadmap designated as the Pinnacle of Purpose. The Pinnacle of Purpose is a progressive path illustrated by 7 ascending levels which, if followed sequentially, not only have the power to transform your life. It will provide you with the greatest measures of fulfillment and success life can offer. All you have to do is follow the crucial, yet simple order of purpose, beginning with confidence and concluding with peace.  

So if you’re ready for a change; if you’re ready to stop sleeping on your dreams and your truest passions; if you’re tired of the status quo and living a life which feels incomplete; if you’re tired of wishing your life was better and are now prepared to do something about it; if you’re finally ready to take that ever-difficult leap of faith, then this is a book you must read. Because in this book I show you how to take that leap of faith without falling, for when you leap towards your purpose, you will always land squarely on your feet.

This is true first and foremost because your purpose is what makes you unique to every other individual in the world today, a premise which thoroughly validates the existence of every man and women on the earth. The problem is that many don’t understand their purpose. Once upon a time I didn’t either. That is until I got serious about life. It was then that I realized what purpose is.

It is the collection of all your authentic desires; it is your passion. It is your North Star and your direction; it is your life-long teacher – and above all else, it is that which causes you to press through any form or measure of adversity until you unleash your maximum potential, for it gives you the strength to hold on when you have no strength left within you to hold on.

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A Medieval Medley by E.M. Powell

When it comes to writing historical fiction, you can keep your Tudors and your Regencies. Yes, they might be wildly popular but I know of no other time period in history that is as fascinating as the medieval, which in my opinion is sadly neglected. If you’re not yet a fan, let me give you a flavour in my Medieval Medley. You may change your mind!

Medieval Mate

My hero is Sir Benedict Palmer, a chain mail-wearing knight. There may be some eye-rolling at this as appealing dress from male readers, who are possible envisaging a wimpy Sir Lancelot type. Gentlemen, a suit of chain mail and padded armour weighs in at four stone, or fifty-six pounds. You develop a lot of core strength simply be wearing it. Wimpy? I don’t think so.

Medieval Métier

There jobs in medieval times that could never be described as pleasant but are a novelist’s gift. Many people will have heard of barber surgeons, the early doctors who consulted with astrological charts and administered leeches to their patients. The job of leech collector is rarely mentioned. These unlucky folk simply waded bare-legged into reed-filled ponds inhabited by the slimy creatures and let the little suckers latch onto their legs. After the initial nipping bite, the leeches would do their work, swelling to five times their size after about twenty minutes. Bearing in mid the barber surgeons required large quantities of leeches, the job of leech collector must have been utterly foul. It would have been day in, day out, with the multiple bites often turning infected.

Medieval Meal

There’s nothing like a medieval banquet for show-off food. When Catherine de Valois, wife of Henry V, was crowned in 1421, the feast was held during Lent and so could contain no meat. Yes, it had eels, salmon, trout, huge crabs and whelks. I can tell you’re unimpressed. But it also had ‘subtleties’: non-edible dishes that introduced each course. This feast included pelicans, panthers and a man riding on a tiger. Eat your heart out, Gordon Ramsey.

Medieval Madness

Christianity was of course the religion of Western Europe. It wasn’t just part of society: it was society. The fear of hell and of the Devil was very real. It’s the medieval period where we see the rise of sorcery, with many people genuinely believing in it as the Devil’s works and that people here on earth practised it. There are many accounts, each more colourful than the last.

To give an example. William of Malmesbury (d 1142) wrote of the Sorceress of Berkeley, who had died in 1065. He describes her as ‘a woman addicted to sorcery…skilled in ancient augury, she was excessively gluttonous, perfectly lascivious, setting no bounds to her debaucheries.’ She repented on her death bed and begged for her body to be saved from Satan, with her corpse sewed up in a stag’s skin, placed in a stone coffin and weighted with lead and iron and secured with chains. It was no good. A devil broke into the church and made off with her on the back of a barbed black horse. I did promise colour, did I not?

Medieval Murder:

Every period in history has infamous murders. But the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 has got to be one of the most well-known of all. It is also the most gruesomely shocking. Four knights, acting supposedly on the orders of King Henry II, broke into the cathedral on a late December evening and butchered Becket on the altar. Monks witnessed the crime first hand and produced several blow-by-blow eye-witness accounts. The murder sent shock waves through though the whole of Europe. Becket was believed to be God’s representative on Earth. Miracles began to be attributed to the dead Archbishop immediately after the murder and he was canonized with great speed. Canterbury rapidly became one of the most popular destinations for pilgrims in the known world.

Medieval Matters

So those are some of the highlights. I think you’ll agree that they give a flavour of why the medieval period is one of the most interesting, exciting and downright bizarre historical  periods of all. I’ve been inspired to include chain mail, sumptuous feasts, sorcery and the murder of Thomas Becket in my novels. The leech collectors have yet to put in an appearance but I’m sure they’ll find their role. Watch this space!

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E. M. Powell is the author of medieval thriller The Fifth Knight, which was a #1 Amazon Bestseller. Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State), she now lives in the northwest of England with her husband and daughter and a Facebook-friendly dog. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society (HNS), International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America, as well as a reviewer of fiction and nonfiction for the HNS.

About the Book

England, 1176. King Henry II has imprisoned his rebellious Queen for her failed attempt to overthrow him. But with her conspirators still at large and a failed assassination attempt on his beautiful mistress, Rosamund Clifford, the King must take action to preserve his reign.

Desperate, Henry turns to the only man he trusts: a man whose skills have saved him once before. Sir Benedict Palmer answers the call, mistakenly believing that his family will remain safe while he attends to his King.

As Palmer races to secure his King’s throne, neither man senses the hand of a brilliant schemer, a mystery figure loyal to Henry's traitorous Queen who will stop at nothing to see the King defeated.

The Blood of the Fifth Knight is an intricate medieval murder mystery and worthy sequel to E.M. Powell's acclaimed historical thriller The Fifth Knight.

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