Hello, I'm sure you get fan mail such as this all the time, but I wanted to express to you my overwhelming adoration for your work, to pass on the good vibrations. I have only read the Arthur books, the first two Dane/Saxon books, and Stonehenge. I have not yet had the chance to pick up the other series but when it comes to "What should I read next?" they are always my first consideration. I am myself a student of History and Medieval Studies in university so you can see the initial attraction to your books. I think it is most important, but often neglected by other historical fiction authors, to indicate where the author has deviated from known facts and where he or she has stuck to them. You do this beautifully. An author of fiction is not expected to strictly follow what historians have put forth, but I think it is a mark of professionalism, and of a real enthusiasm for the material that you do take the time to show your readers that you have done the leg work. I also appreciate the detail with which you embellish the stories, from clothing to weapons and armour, from architecture to landscape, from language to literate and/or oral culture. It makes the story an enriched learning experience aswell as an escape. I have studied to a fair extent the dynamics between orality and literacy in the Middle Ages in England specifically, both Anglo-Saxon and around the twelfth century so I tend to be sensitive to any references made to this. Your descriptions in the Dane/Saxon books (which I've recently finished) of reactions to written communication and of song composition were spot on and thrilled my academic sensibilities. I also am consitently amazed and thrilled by the dynamics between pagan and Christian traditions which are central to the Arthur and Dane/Saxon books. I get the sense that neither triumphs over the other, but there is perhaps a sympathy for the pagan outlook, which I think is clever and diplomatic. This is another area of academic interest for me. I think it creates excellent subplots and added colour to the main story. I especially appreciate how the Arthur books are not "girly" (this is how I begin many of my descriptions of the books to other people). There is a sense of magic but it is not magic. There is a sense of miracles, but they are not miracles, and the reader is always unsure whose gods performed them. There is no superfluous romance. You are not shy about describing the grisly. I feel that your work is down to earth and realistic, but still offers a sense of the exotic. The past after all is like a foreign country. I know that my father who has read all the Sharpe, Starbuck, Grail, Arthur, Dane/Saxon books yet published as well as Stonehenge feels the same. He would have even more praise regarding the military historical aspects of your writing, but I am not so well versed in that area. Anyway, thank you very much for giving birth to such wonderful and stimulating pieces of literature. I wish you continued success. Sincerely Alanna Ranger
Thank you for that very kind message.