A New Historical Romance Forthcoming from Jennifer C. Wilson

We’re excited to announce a new border reiver historical romance from Jennifer C. Wilson. The Warriors’ Prize will be launched in June and is available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle.

Stirling Castle, 1498
Visiting court for the first time since her father’s death, Lady Avelina Gordon finds herself drawn to the handsome warrior, Sir Lachlan MacNair. But as a woman who has seen too many of her friends lose everything for ‘love’, she keeps her heart guarded.

Castle Berradane, 1502
Lady Avelina is unceremoniously told to expect her new husband within the month. The man in question: Sir Lachlan.

Lachlan arrives in Berradane carrying his own secret, and a determination to control his heart. As attraction builds between the couple, they find themselves under attack and fearful of a traitor in their midst.

Can the teamwork they’ve shown in adversity so far pull them through one final test, and will they find the strength to risk their hearts, as well as their lives?

You can pre-order the Kindle edition now, and it will download automatically onto your e-reader on publication day, 16th June. Nothing to pay until then!

And, if you haven’t already read Jennifer’s earlier border reiver romance, set in 1470s Northumberland, The Raided Heart, you’ll find that on Amazon, too, in Kindle and paperback editions.

Ocelot Authors Nancy Jardine and Cathie Dunn Take Gold and Bronze in Prestigious Awards

There’s a lot going on at Ocelot Press right now. We’re thrilled to announce that two Ocelot Press authors, Nancy Jardine and Cathie Dunn, have done extremely well in the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Awards 2022. Congratulations to both!

Nancy’s Before Beltane, a prequel to her atmospheric Celtic Fervour series, took the gold medal in the Ancient World Historical Fiction category.

Cathie Dunn’s The Shadows of Versailles, set amidst the intrigue of Louis XIV’s glittering court, took the bronze medal in two categories: European Historical Fiction and Early Modern Historical Fiction.

Both books are cracking reads. You can read more about them and buy copies on the links below:

We’re incredibly proud of Nancy and Cathie.

Look out for more news about two new titles coming soon.

Copyright © Ocelot Press 2022. All rights reserved.  

Never on Saturday Now in a French Edition

Sue Barnard’s Never on Saturday is now available in a French edition, entitled Jamais le Samedi. She tells us how this came about.

A few years ago, a friend in Paris suggested that my books ought to be available in French. It has taken a while, but it’s finally happening: my paranormal romance novella Never on Saturday is now available in a French version. 

Never on Saturday was first published in 2017, and a slightly revised version was issued in 2020. Jamais le Samedi tells the same story, but brings it a little closer to home. 

The story is set partly in medieval France and partly in present-day North Wales, and is based on an old French legend.  Unfortunately I can’t reveal here what the legend is, as that would give away too much about the plot – but rest assured that all will become clear by the end of the book. 

I’m hoping, in the fullness of time, to release French editions of some more of my titles.  I’ve recently made a start on The Ghostly Father (in French: Le Père Spiritueux), but that is a rather longer book and could take quite some time. But for now, please enjoy Jamais le Samedi. It has been a fun project!

Book Description in English

Two stories, two heartbreaks: one past, one present…

Leaving her native France and arriving in North Wales as a postgraduate student of History and Folklore, Mel is cautiously optimistic that she can escape from her troubled past and begin a new and happier life. 

She settles into her student accommodation and begins work on her thesis, concentrating particularly on one fascinating manuscript: a compelling and tragic tale of a cursed medieval princess. 

Then she meets Ray – charming, down-to-earth and devastatingly handsome. Within days, Mel’s entire world has transformed from lonely and frustrated to loving and fulfilled. Despite her failure with previous relationships, she allows herself to hope that this time, at last, she can make it work.

But Mel’s dreams of happiness are under constant threat. She is hiding a dark and terrible secret, which Ray – or indeed anybody else – must never ever discover… 

Description du livre en français

Deux histoires, deux crève-cœurs : un passé, un présent…

Quittant sa France natale et arrivant dans le nord du Pays de Galles comme étudiante de troisième cycle en histoire et folklore, Mel espère pouvoir s’échapper à son passé troublé et de commencer une vie nouvelle et plus heureuse.

Elle s’installe dans son logement d’étudiant et commence à travailler sur sa thèse, faisant attention spéciale à l’histoire fascinante et tragique d’une princesse médiévale maudite.

Puis elle rencontre Ray – charmant, intelligent, et d’une beauté dévastatrice. En quelques jours, le monde entier de Mel est transformé de solitaire et frustré à aimant et comblé. Malgré avoir échoué dans les relations précédentes, elle se permet d’espérer que cette fois, enfin, elle pourra faire réussir cette relation amoureuse.

Mais ses rêves de bonheur sont perpétuellement menacés. Elle cache un secret sombre et terrible, que Ray – ou même n’importe qui d’autre – ne doit jamais découvrir…

Copyright © Sue Barnard, Ocelot Press 2022. All right reserved.

Before Beltane – A Prequel to the Celtic Fervour Series!

Ocelot Press has a new addition to its list of titles. Nancy Jardine’s Celtic Fervour Series, set in Late 1st Century Roman Britain/ Roman Empire, now has a Prequel to the series named Before Beltane.

Before Beltane was written to provide a deeper historical backdrop to the beginning of the series, to describe in more detail what was happening in Brigantia, northern Roman Britain, in AD 71. It also gives a glimpse into the lives of Lorcan of Garrigill and Nara of Tarras – the two main characters of Book 1 The Beltane Choice – prior to them meeting each other in Book 1.
Civil War between Queen Cartimandua and her ex-husband King Venutius caused strife amongst the Brigantes for some years, though by AD 71 it was time for all of the Brigantes to be at peace and to live together in harmony.
Unfortunately, the downfall of Queen Cartimandua (a Client Ruler of Rome) caused an escalation of the threat of Roman legionary invasion. The armies of General Cerialis, the Roman Governor of Britannia, not only invaded Brigantia, but by AD 71 they settled down and built wooden forts.
Before Beltane is a book of two intermingling halves. It presents an incident in Lorcan of Garrigill’s daily life, followed by an incident in Nara of Tarras’ daily life, a process that’s repeated throughout the book.

Two lives. Two stories. One future.

AD 71  Northern Britannia

At the Islet of the Priestesses, acolyte Nara greets each new day eager to heal the people at Tarras Hillfort. Weapon training is a guilty pleasure, but she is devastated when she is unexpectedly denied the final rites of an initiated priestess. A shocking new future beckons for Princess Nara of the Selgovae…

In the aftermath of civil war across Brigantia, Lorcan of Garrigill’s promotion of King Venutius is fraught with danger. Potential invasion by Roman legions from the south makes an unstable situation even worse. When Lorcan meets the Druid Maran, the future foretold for him is as enthralling as it is horrifying…

Before Beltane is now available in paperback format from AMAZON and can be ordered in bookstores.
The AMAZON eBook launch is April 29th 2022 and the eBook is on Pre-Order till then.

Wishing you Happy Reading!

Rolling towards Bookweek Scotland 15th -21st November 2021!

This post is by Nancy Jardine.

Every year since 2012, when I was first published, I’ve been involved in some sort of activity during the festival time that is named Bookweek Scotland. It is generally held around the third week of November and has official participants all over Scotland. However, there are also many authors who do ‘something’ even if not on the official register or website. Last year was problematic due to Covid restrictions, and in all honesty this year isn’t really all that much better as some events won’t be happening as normal.

That said, back in April in a spirit of hope and optimism, I organised a booking for the Brechin and Angus Book Festival (north-east Scotland) being held from the 19th -21st of November. I’m delighted to say it’s currently still due to take place and fingers crossed that will still be the situation a few weeks from now. I’ll be doing book signings and selling of my novels alongside a number of other local authors and I’ll be giving an informal author talk/presentation on the Saturday afternoon, which I’m eagerly looking forward to. There may also be other impromptu opportunities for discussing my novels during the 3 day event. Many different activities, for adults and for children, have been arranged by the committee who have been beavering away for months to make the event a spectacular one.

Additionally, from today onwards (27th October 2021) my Ocelot Press novels will all be FREE across the Amazon network – BUT it will be different books on different weeks and for different lengths of time. Keep checking my Amazon author page to see which is available!


My FREE programme begins with the virtual reality based time travel adventure The Taexali Game. This novel is suitable for early teens through adult readers and has had many positive reviews for the ingenuity of the time travel mechanism. If you’ve not read it yet, please grab a copy HERE before the 30th Oct. and let me know how you find it. A review on Amazon of just a few sentences would be so welcome.

If you’d prefer a contemporary mystery thriller, you’ll find that Topaz Eyes – an ancestral based plot set in fabulous European locations – is FREE during the week beginning the 1st. Nov.

This will be followed by the contemporary corporate sabotage mystery Take Me Now (romantic comedy) during the week beginning 8th Nov.

Bookweek Scotland is the week 15th -21st Nov. and you’ll find the books in my Celtic Fervour Series will all be FREE on different days, on a rolling 2 day FREE duration for each of them and my FREE bonanza will finish on the 21st Nov. with Monogamy Twist, another contemporary mystery (romcom) that’s also genealogy based.

Confusing? Don’t worry. Just pop into my Amazon page every day and see what’s on offer!
Wishing you very Happy Reading!

p.s. And please remember that reviews are so important to all authors. Thank you!

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