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:
This post is by Nancy Jardine. Before Beltane, the Prequel to Nancy Jardine’s Celtic Fervour Series, is now a few days old and it has gained its first review on Amazon. The 5***** star review has come from a paperback book reader and is a brilliant start to sharing impressions of the stories with potential readers.
Here’s the review:
“The Prequel to the Celtic Fervour Series by Nancy Jardine is a very enjoyable read which takes the reader back to the early years of the first century AD in Iron Age Britain before the full Roman invasion of Brigantia. The book gives an early sense of the Celtic people and has something for every reader of historical novels.“
Nancy Jardine (and Ocelot Press) heartily thanks the reviewer. Receiving a review really helps to give the book visibility in online settings and it endorses the writer’s time, diligence and effort in creating the fiction.
Before Beltane is effectively Book 0 (Zero) and is the introduction to the Celtic Fervour Series of historical adventures set in late 1st Century Roman Britain.
Before Beltane and the other 5 novels in the series can be bought from Amazon in kindle and paperback formats. You can also order a paperback in bookstores like B&N, WH Smith, Waterstones or independent bookstores.
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.
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