If St. Columba is one of the stars of my series The Chronicles of Iona, Aedan mac Gabran is surely the other. He was the king of the Scots kingdom of Dalriada in the 6th century and was arguably the greatest warlord of his age. In fact, my lightbulb moment in writing these books was…
So, one good thing to come from this wretched pandemic is the fact that it has forced me back to my archives. In place of any actual research trips, I’ve been organising my files. I know! How utterly boring! And yet … it has taken me back to all the places I have so loved,…
A wonderful thing popped up in my Twitter feed this week which deserves a huge shout-out. Longing to visit the isle of Iona again? I certainly am. Well, thanks to Historic Environment Scotland you can do so virtually. They’ve assembled a fantastic array of immersive resources for the armchair traveller we’ve all (temporarily) become, here:…
Book 3 of the award-winning series The Chronicles of Iona is out today. Praised as “mesmeric”, “engrossing”, and “gritty”, Island-Pilgrim continues the enthralling true story of how a 6th-century saint (Columba of Iona), and a warlord (Aedan mac Gabran, king of Dalriada), forged the nascent kingdom of Scotland. On Kindle now for only £2.31. #thechroniclesofiona
The Chronicles of Iona:
Island-Pilgrim
Preface
My thoughts have been eastward all day as the transnational One Book One Community Reading Project is officially launched in Derry. Readers in Northern Ireland, Co. Donegal and New England will be reading “Exile”, the first book in my historical-fiction series “The Chronicles of Iona”, at the same time. Donegal County Council and Libraries Northern Ireland set…
Hey, did you hear that beautiful little Shelburne Falls has just been voted by Boston.com as one of the top five dream places to live in Massachusetts? Doesn’t surprise me! One of the hill-towns in the western part of the state, just south of the historic Mohawk Trail (Route 2), Shelburne Falls is one of…
The second book in my historical-fiction series The Chronicles of Iona, called Prophet, is now out! The story picks up where the first book, Exile, left off, beginning in the year 567 A.D. Four years after journeying with Scottish warrior Aedan mac Gabran into the land of the wild Picts, Irish abbot-prince Columba is forced back there…
Here’s the cover of Book 2 in the series “The Chronicles of Iona”, called “Prophet”. Yes: there’s been a name change. Book 2 was originally entitled “Peregrinatio” which in Latin means a pilgrimage, a spiritual wandering, in this case to refer both to Columba in his exile on the island of Iona, and to Aedan, stuck in…
*This post is dedicated to Heather N. with thanks!* Just to let you know that if you happen to be in Northampton, MA any time soon you can pick up an autographed copy of my book, The Chronicles of Iona: Exile, at Booklink Booksellers, Inc. Booklink, a fantastic independent bookstore, is located in Thorne’s Marketplace,…
Paula de Fougerolles' The Chronicles of Iona 