I’m pleased to reveal the new, much improved cover artwork for my 2017 novella The Battle of Watling Street.
The imagery really captures both the story itself, and the juxtaposition between historical fiction and science fiction that defines my strange little tale that might really be about grief and loss, with historical figures and a crashed spacecraft thrown in at the end…
A BLOODY REBELLION
Britannia, AD61. Following her disgrace at the hands of the occupying Roman forces, the Iceni Queen Boudicca rouses her own and neighbouring tribes against the Romans, laying waste to Londinium and slaughtering tens of thousands.
A QUEEN ON THE RUN
Boudicca’s forces clash with the legionary might of the Roman governor at the decisive Battle of Watling Street. Her Iceni warriors utterly defeated, Boudicca flees with the tattered survivors of her bodyguard.
AN ENDURING HISTORICAL MYSTERY
Historians still dispute the end of Boudicca and the Iceni; did they escape to Wales or Ireland? Or did they stumble across a very different kind of deadly foreign occupier of their native lands?
A historical science fiction novella set in 1st century Roman-occupied Britain, The Battle of Watling Street reimagines the disappearance of the rebellious Iceni Queen Boudicca, and introduces the resourceful Celtic hero Dedo, attendant to the doomed warrior queen. The Battle of Watling Street is both a standalone novella, and the prequel to an upcoming contemporary science fiction novel, The Bondage of The Soil: set in 21st century Britain, the story re-treads the very ancient paths once frequented by the natives and their Roman adversaries.
About the Book
This story is the prequel to my upcoming contemporary Sci-Fi novel, The Bondage of The Soil. The idea for the story came to me as a fun way to combine my love of historical mystery fiction and all things Roman with a Sci-Fi, cosmic horror twist in the tale! Originally conceived as a 5,000-word short story, I really enjoyed writing about and in first century AD Roman Britain, and the project expanded to short novella length. The plot was roughed out during car journeys to and from work with my son, and the book is dedicated to him in recognition of both his encouragement, and his forbearance in listening to deranged, discarded plot ideas!
I also really enjoyed the characters, especially young Dedo and his lady-love Cata; I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn up somewhere in a follow-on historical mystery…
Further Reading
- Successful Historical Fiction – with author M.K Tod
- Reviews on Amazon
Here’s my Pinterest board for the locations and history that inspired the story.
