A Novel of Ancient Macedonia
On the fringes of the Greek world, a supplanted king and his family return to their homeland of Macedonia.
The land is in chaos. Old enemies plot their destruction, internal pretenders emerge and allies become opportunistic.
Philip, the third born Prince, wants nothing more than to become a soldier for his father, although his greatest challenge may be simply to survive.
About Me
I am a writer of historical fiction and Sci-fi.
My interest in history started at a very young age, and on holidays abroad with my family we would visit many sites around Europe. When I was a teenager, I had been reading Steven Pressfield and Valerio Massimo Manfredi and had fallen in love with stories about the Greeks. I became fascinated with Alexander the Great and the Spartans especially, so we visited the Peloponnese in Southern Greece, and my interest never ceased.
I live in the historic town of Linlithgow in Scotland with my wife and two daughters. The whole of the United Kingdom is rich with history, and my home town is no exception. I live walking distance from Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots. The site was also used to shoot the coronation of Robert the Bruce scene in the recent movie Outlaw King on Netflix.
I currently have one novel “Spear-Won” available on Amazon and am working on three other books, which are in various stages of development.
"On the fringes of the Greek world, a supplanted king and his family return to their homeland of Macedonia.
The land is in chaos. Old enemies plot their destruction, internal pretenders emerge and allies become opportunistic.
Philip, the third born Prince, wants nothing more than to become a soldier for his father, although his greatest challenge may be simply to survive."
I love too many novels to list here, but I mostly read historical fiction and fantasy. In historical fiction, some of my favourite writers are the aforementioned Steven Pressfield and Valerio Massimo Manfredi, but also Mary Renault and Bernard Cornwell.
In fantasy, I love the work of JRR Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin and Scott Lynch, who have created the most unbelievable worlds in their novels.
My favourite author of all time is Steven King who can write anything.
As for historical nonfiction, the two biggest influences I have to acknowledge are Paul Cartledge and Bethany Hughes. I have a copy of The Spartans that I bought when I was about sixteen that is practically falling apart. I also vividly remember being enthralled by The Spartans documentary that originally showed on channel 4. I have a dvd, that I rewatch from time to time.
If any of them ever reads this, I thank you.
Inspiration
An excellent read for anybody interested in historical fiction. The book runs along at a good pace and quickly turns into a real page turner. As the story unfolds it hooks you into the characters, the scene setting is well described and the detail well researched. A very well written and enthralling book that has left me wanting to read more
This book was a great read. A really enjoyable piece of historical fiction that had me
engaged with the characters and excited to see where the story would lead.
The author has clearly done their research into the period - the life of Philip of Macedon in particular - and crafts a well-paced,
entertaining story around the early life of this historical figure.
I’d thoroughly recommend Spear-Won, particularly if you enjoy the likes of Bernard Cornwall’s Last Kingdom or Sharpe books.
This book is about a prince of Macedonia coming of age during the time of his father’s death in battle and his older brother falling in battle years later.
How to reach me
