I’ve long loved reading historical fiction. In the past some favorite authors and reads were James Clavell’s Shogun and Tai-Pan; Mary Renault’s The King Must Die and The Persian Boy; and Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour. More recently my favorites have included Bernard Cornwall’s The Last Kingdom series; Conn Iggulden’s Genghis Khan and War of the Roses series; and Giles Kristian’s King Arthur and Raven (Viking) series.

Do you see a pattern here? Adventure, war, political intrigue?

But I’ve also been a fan of historical romance. The Outlander series (although it includes time travel) and the Bronze Horseman series (love and war in WWII Russia) comes to mind.

So it’s probably not surprising that my new novel This Sea Within is historical fiction, a love story set during a revolution in Central America in the 1970’s. (Yes, books set during my youth in the 1900’s are now considered historical fiction.)

While all the books mentioned above were published the traditional way, now that I’ve gone Indie I want to highlight and review books by other talented Indie authors, like those below.

I found An Unsuitable Knight, which was just released on April 17, on Library Things, a readers site like Good Reads, where new books can be downloaded and read for free. It just went live on Amazon April 17 and can be read for free on KindleUnlimited, or purchased for $4.99. Here’s the site’s description:

Poets dream of absolute love, but real people almost always settle for security when the price of passion runs too high.
This is the true story of Roger de Hauteville and Judith d’Evreux, who refused to settle.

Normandy, 1058. Judith is a wealthy noblewoman born to privilege and luxury and a cousin of William the Conqueror. She’s heard kinswomen swear they’ll never be parted from their true loves only to marry men old enough to be their grandsires mere weeks later. She insists she’ll never make such foolish promises—until she meets a knight whose worth is as great as his prospects are poor.

Roger is a knight whose piety and talent for cunning nearly outweigh his fighting prowess. But he’s the twelfth son of a poor knight and can never hope to marry a noblewoman. He’s contented himself with casual affairs until he falls in love with Judith, whose intelligence and sensible nature far outshine the empty finery of the court.

Forbidden to be together in Normandy, they gamble on a dangerous path in a kingdom in the sun, where the battles fought with swords are the least of their concerns. Challenged by a resentful populace, duplicitous relatives, and scheming prelates at two noble courts, Roger and Judith must sacrifice more than they ever dreamed to spend their lives together. But if their world refuses to condone their union, they’ll create one that will from the chaos of a ruined empire.

I enjoyed this novel immensely. It had all the elements I love: Adventure, romance, forbidden love, war, political intrigue. And it’s based on real events: two noble people who fall in love and fight to have the life together that the world around them would deny.

It is told through both Judith and Roger’s perspective. We follow Roger as he sets off for Italy where his older brothers have conquered land and created fiefdoms and titles themselves, and who greet Roger as a suspicious upstart. We follow him as he tries to prove his worth by fighting their battles and winning the hearts and minds of the people he helps in doing so.

We follow Judith’s story as she fights off the more suitable suitors her father wants her to marry, but also as she flees to a convent and takes up residence to await her lover’s return. We also learn how she supports herself and the convent by creating the new fashion designs that the nobility craves.

We learn a lot about a period of time that I was unfamiliar with, how Norman nobles invaded Italy, fighting off the Lombards and Byzantines and Saracens to create their fiefdoms. On top of that, we have two passionate and noble protagonists who truly are honorable and try to live true to their Christian faith.

I enjoyed Roger’s adventures even more than Judith’s. Probably because of that political intrigue and the cunning he used devising the battle strategies needed to prove himself and win a title. But also the way he won over the Lombards and Byzantines and Saracens who saw in him a leader who could govern wisely. Both Roger and Judith’s journeys were rich in historical detail and emotional depth.

I enjoyed this novel so much I bought another of his novels: The Raven and the Dove: A novel of Viking Normandy.

Stone and Water was written by James Marshall, an author I met on Substack. It also can be purchased on Amazon in kindle, paperback and audible. The Amazon description follows:

When the Romans invade Britain, the Celtic tribes are fragmented and the old magic has long been forgotten.

Fedlimid, the daughter of a Cornovii chieftain, is the victim of an inter-tribe dispute but is saved by Druistan, a swineherd from another tribe. As the Romans march westwards, Fedlimid and Druistan are forced to deal with kidnapping, death and betrayal.
Growing up in strange lands, away from home, they discover untapped sources of bravery and strength and something even older. But will bravery be enough when the final battle comes?

“Stone and Water will sit on your shelf alongside the great historical writers of our childhoods – Roger Lancelyn Green, Rosemary Sutcliff, Henry Treece. James Marshall takes us through a magical gateway to experience everyday life in late Iron Age Britain as the first raiding parties of the Roman Empire reach the Southern tribal domains. You will smell the bonfires and roasting meat, feel the soaking rains of Exmoor, taste the fear as a Roman contingent slashes its way through your dun. A book for young and old alike that will leave you wanting more.”
Mandi Abrahams, Castle Books.

I enjoyed Stone and Water. I was fond of Druistan and found him a compelling and admirable character. Fedlimid, less so, finding her annoying at times. The first half of the book where Druistan clashes with the Roman soldiers and when Fedlimid is kidnapped and then rescued were exciting. But things slowed down after that. I was hoping the parts about Fedlimid discovering her magical talent would draw me in again, but the pacing didn’t pick up for me until the end.

Stone and Water is not a romance or love story, nor was it meant to be. I knew that from the start, but I needed more emotional depth and connection between the two main characters to carry me along, even if they ended up friends instead of lovers at the end. Still, there was much to admire here, and I’m sure others will find Fedlimid’s growing magical powers quite interesting.

An Indie historical novel that I’m halfway through is Of Wind and Wolves by J. M. Elliot. I bought the book after reading about it on a book blog. It’s the first book in a series set in the 5th century on the Russian steppes with two strong warrior characters, male and female. It too is not a romance or love story, at least not so far as I have read. But it’s richly detailed and full of emotional depth. I won’t say more until I’ve finished reading it. Middles can be quite troublesome,

Next on my Indie historical novel reading list is The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elisabeth Gauffreau which I’ve heard such great things about and am looking forward to reading.

In the meantime, there’s my own historical novel coming out in June. It’s a love story (not romance) set during a revolution in Central America in the 1970’s.

It’s a coming of age story about Lena’s transformation from a Pacifist to a Freedom Fighter.

It’s a love story between two passionate people who feel like they were fated to be together.

It’s a guerilla war story that shows how common people will rise up and band together to overthrow a corrupt regime even when the odds of winning are stacked against them.

It’s full of family drama where brothers are at odds, mothers turn against sons, and daughters against mothers.

It’s full of political intrigue as clashing ideological factions struggle to unite in a common cause.

It’s about how history constantly repeats itself down through the ages in never-ending cycles of peace and plunder.

Its full of the art and poetry and the ancient myths that shape a people and its culture.

And its about making hard choices and knowing when a great love and a just cause are worth dying for.

Pre-order the ebook now on Amazon. Pre-order print books on Barnes and Nobles and Bookshop. Book release is June 15.

If you have any favorite historical novels you think readers would enjoy, please, do tell!