This is a standalone sequel to Raven and Rue, taking place twenty years after the main events of that book, in 1456 of the Saxon Era. Lindensea begins its modern calendar with the Saxon Conquest of 450, so it is 1906 by our own calendar.

This story is set in another kingdom of The Isles, and just as Lindensea was based on southern England and Everwick on Yorkshire, this one is generally inspired by Cumbria and the Lake District. However the geography of this kingdom is almost entirely imaginary.

Another difference is that Lindensea's language and culture was originally Roman and Saxon (later mixed with Castilian), and Everwick's was what we would call Norman (i.e. Scandinavian).  This kingdom's people are mostly the indigenous population of The Isles, and they speak what is called the Old Language.

I haven't created my own language, like Professor Tolkien, not being a linguistics expert or even a linguistics amateur. I've based it on Common Brittonic, the language spoken in ancient Britain, which split into the dialects that evolved into Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Pictish and Cumbric. However, I have freely changed spellings, taken words from any of the related languages, copied some of the grammar and syntax from Gaelic and simply made things up.

I wrote the first draft of this story during lockdown. I can't remember which lockdown it was, they'd all started to blur together by that point, and life looked pretty grim. It was written as an escape so it's a carefree, happy and innocent story of burgeoning adolescence, unexpected freedom and endless summer holidays.

This is comfort reading - a soothing little story to curl up with and get lost in another world for a time. So wrap a big fluffy blanket around your shoulders, make a cup of cocoa, and allow yourself to drift off to a faraway kingdom of high green hills and vast blue lakes under serene skies. 

Welcome to Avalon.