Travel Back in Time with Mark Noce's New Novel

I love historical fiction, and I've always been fascinated by the Arthurian legends, but there hasn't been much historical fiction set in post-Arthurian Wales. Medieval Wales. Well Mark Noce has addressed that empty niche, first with a book I reviewed a little over a year ago, Between Two Fires, and now with the eagerly awaited sequel, Dark Winds Rising, published by St. Martins Press.

A year ago I posted an interview with Mark Noce, following the publication of Between Two Fires. (You can read that interview HERE ) I also had reviewed the book the week before, and there's another "HERE" in that post that will take you back to the earlier interview.) However, I will be interviewing him once again on my Victorian Scribbles blog "next door". Come back for the new interview in a couple day to learn a bit more about Mark.

I've already pre-ordered my copy of  Dark Winds Rising. It's going to be released December 5th. Next Tuesday! Here's the publisher's link that can give you several different places to order it by one click: Go HERE. 

Meanwhile, here is the publisher's description of what to expect:

"Mark Noce returns to Medieval Wales with Dark Winds Rising, his second book about the Braveheart-like Queen Branwen in this epic historical series.

"Three years after uniting the Welsh to defeat the Saxons and settling down with her true love, Artagan, Queen Branwen finds her world once again turned upside down as Pictish raiders harry the shores of her kingdom. Rallying her people once more, she must face her most dangerous foe yet, the Queen of the Picts. Ruthless and cunning, the Pictish Queen turns the Welsh against each other in a bloody civil war.

"All the while Branwen is heavy with child, and finds her young son’s footsteps dogged by a mysterious assassin who eerily resembles her dead first husband, the Hammer King. In the murky world of courtly intrigue, Queen Branwen must continually discern friend from foe at her own peril in the ever-shifting alliances of the independent Welsh kingdoms.

"Branwen must somehow defeat the Picts and save her people before the Pictish Queen and the assassin destroy their lives from the inside out. Just as the Saxons threatened Branwen’s kingdom from the landward side of her realm in Between Two Fires, now the Picts threaten her domain from sea in this thrilling sequel. But she soon finds that the enigmatic Picts are unlike any foe she has faced before.

Mark Noce bases his novel on primary sources, as well as myths and legends that help bring the Dark Ages to life. Set in a time and era in which very little reliable written records or archeological remains have survived, the characters and some of the place names are fictional, but the physical environment, the historical details, and the saga of the Welsh people is very real.

"This continuation of Branwen's story combines elements of mystery and romance with Noce's gift for storytelling."

And here is the author's info: 

"MARK NOCE writes historical fiction with a passion. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he has been an avid traveler and backpacker. He earned his BA and MA from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he also met his beautiful wife. By day, he works as a Technical Writer, having spent much of his career at places like Google and Facebook. He also writes short fiction online. When not reading or writing, he's probably listening to U2, sailing his dad's boat, or gardening with his family." 

                                                               

 BTW: In case you want to start at the beginning, you can also order Between Two Fires at all those sites HERE.    

Those of you who want to know more about the author can visit his website HERE and learn more about his books, his blog, and his appearances and events. (Pssst, for those of you in the Sacramento area, he'll be at the Avid Reader Saturday, January 13th and 5:00 p.m.) He'll be doing reading and signings in other places too, listed on his website, but that especially piqued my interest, since I live in Sacramento.

You can also visit him on Facebook and Twitter. Just click either of these two to go visit his pages.



Do you like historical novels? Do you like the medieval period in what is now the UK and especially in Wales? What is your favorite historical period and location? 

Cover Reveal for Dark Winds Rising

Being a history buff I can't resist a novel set in the past, especially one in the Wales of long ago. And loving travel as I do, I always consider a good historical novel a free trip into that other world. So I am pleased to announce Mark Noce is publishing book two of his exciting series set in Medieval Wales and to announce his cover reveal.

Dark Winds Rising . . . What an irresistible title that is! About this new gem, Mark says, "Dark Winds Rising is the sequel to my debut novel Between Two Fires, and comes out with St. Martin’s Press December 5^th 2017! Today is my cover reveal for the next book in my historical fiction series set in medieval Wales. A big thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the great cover art!" 

Here is the synopsis for Dark Winds Rising:

Queen Branwen finds her world once again turned upside down as Pictish raiders harry the shores of her kingdom. Rallying her people once more, she must face her most dangerous foe yet, the Queen of the Picts. Ruthless and cunning, the Pictish Queen turns the Welsh against each other in a bloody civil war, and Branwen must attempt to stop her before her country threatens to tear itself apart. All the while Branwen is heavy with child, and finds her young son’s footsteps dogged by a mysterious assassin. Branwen must somehow defeat the Picts and save her people before the Pictish Queen and a mysterious assassin threaten to destroy their lives from the inside out.

About the Author:

Mark Noce writes historical fiction with a passion, and eagerly reads everything from fantasy to literature. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s an avid traveler and backpacker, particularly in Europe and North America. He earned his BA and MA from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he also met his beautiful wife. By day, he works as a Technical Writer, having spent much of his career at places like Google and Facebook. When not reading or writing, he’s probably listening to U2, sailing his dad’s boat, or gardening with his family.

Dark Winds Rising is his second novel in a historical series published by St. Martin’s Press. His debut novel, Between Two Fires, (also published via St. Martin's Press) is available wherever books are sold. Learn more at marknoce.com or connect via his newsletter or blog.

You can purchase Between Two Fires at:  Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Macmillan

(For those of you who haven't read Between Two Fires — a gripping and satisfying read — you can read an earlier review I wrote of it HERE. )  I've also learned you can pre-order Dark Winds Rising from Amazon now.

How about you? Are you fascinated by Welsh history and novels set in Wales? Do you like historical fiction in general? Did you get a chance to read Mark's first book?