The Confessor’s Wife

In the 11th Century, when barren wives are customarily cast aside, how does Edith of Wessex not only manage to stay married to King Edward the Confessor, but also become his closest advisor, promote her family to the highest offices in the land, AND help raise her brother to the throne? And why is her story only told in the footnotes of Edward’s history?

Not everyone approves of Edward’s choice of bride. Even the king’s mother, Emma of Normandy, detests her daughter-in-law and Edith is soon on the receiving end of her displeasure. Balancing her sense of family obligation with her duty to her husband, Edith must also prove herself to her detractors.

Edward’s and Edith’s relationship is respectful and caring, but when Edith’s enemies engineer her family’s fall from grace, the king is forced to send her away. She vows to do anything to protect her family’s interests if she returns, at any cost. Can Edith navigate the dangerous path fate has set her, while still remaining loyal to both her husband and her family?

Available here

 

 

I’ve written for as long as I can remember, and was reading adult books in primary school. Love of stories just doesn’t cover it!

Born in Canada of Scottish extraction, I graduated in History and English from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. After graduation I moved to the UK where I worked in the financial sector. While in London I continued my studies in history, focussing on Medieval England and the Icelandic Sagas (with a smattering of Old Norse and Old English – tip: swearing in Old Norse is a really effective conversation stopper!).

I now live in Toronto, Canada with my husband Max and two rescue cats (Bear and Wolf). I worked in the financial sector as a trade technology project manager for over 20 years but retired recently to write full time. I’m a voracious reader (I brought over 3,000 books with me when I moved back to Canada from England) and enjoy history, music (I play medieval recorder), and watching really really bad horror and old sci-fi movies.

In my alternate identity as Lady Matilda, I post satirical articles on managing your medieval manor during the Black Death (Read them Here)

I’m currently working on my MG ghost series, Gaby’s Ghosts.

Take a look at Ten Short Facts About Kelly Evans

 

My work includes:

The Northern Queen

 

St. Brice’s Day, England, 1002. At the order of King Aethelred, thousands of Danes are murdered in a frenzy of ethnic cleansing.

Outraged, the Danish King, Sweyn Forkbeard, swears he will take Aethelred’s head. And his crown. But Sweyn needs allies. Chief amongst his supporters is Aelfgifu, an English noblewoman and head of a once great family.

She has her own reasons to hate Aethelred. And as a pagan, she is sympathetic to the Danish cause. When Aelfgifu marries Sweyn’s son, Canute, war is inevitable.

But if Aethelred is weak, his Norman Queen is not, and Emma will stop at nothing to destroy the woman at the heart of the Viking army.

Love, ambition, and revenge combine in an epic struggle for justice during the most turbulent period in England’s history.

Read an excerpt
Available Here

 

 

The Mortecarni

 

THE YEAR IS 1348 AND THE BLACK DEATH IS RAVAGING ENGLAND.

For Brother Maurice, a monk and physician, the disease is the most terrifying he’s ever seen. But Maurice soon learns of an even more deadly threat: the exanimate Mortecarni. After his first unexpected encounter with the creatures, Maurice is pulled into a world of savagery and secrecy. As he travels across the country, investigating both the plague and the Mortecarni, Maurice questions how such unholy suffering is possible. When his own family is struck down, his beliefs falter. Can he regain his faith and save both England and himself?

Read an excerpt
Available Here

 

 

Revelation: The Mortecarni Part Two

The year is 1349. Both the Black Death and the mortecarni continue their devastating path of destruction across England. Brother Maurice has reason to believe he’s found a cure for the mortecarni until a new discovery suggests otherwise, sending the physician monk and his friends through Europe to Poland in a desperate race to end the undead menace once and for all.

Meeting an intriguing young healer leads to further revelations that offer hope for their quest. But time is short and, when tragedy strikes, Maurice faces a moral dilemma. Can he ignore the challenge to his calling caused by his new companion’s presence? And can he find the cure for the mortecarni before all is lost?

Read an excerpt
Available Here

 

Coming in 2020:

The Drums of Dundurn

 

Minnie MacNab is the only one in her entire family who hears the drums. And has the dreams. Each night while she sleeps, Minnie sees a boy her own age, dressed in skins, with long black hair braided down his back. She learns his name: Miigwaans.

Then the dreams start to happen during the day, bringing with them something else: a shadow man, dark and evil. When the shadow man attacks Miigwaans, Minnie knows she needs to do something. But how can she stop a dream? And how can she help a ghost?

(Middle Grade)

 

 

 

Elizabeth: Path to the Throne

When King Henry VIII executes his second wife Anne Boleyn for treason, the young Princess Elizabeth is left to navigate the perilous waters of the Tudor court without her mother. England is suffering the most disruptive period in its history, and loyalties are ever-changing. Without support, what chance does an illegitimate girl have?

Alongside her best friend Robert Dudley, Elizabeth grows and learns, but nothing is ever straightforward, and the lessons don’t come easily. Surviving her increasingly unpredictable father, her unstable sister, and her many detractors will require strength and intelligence.

Can she survive the treacherous path fate has set her? And who can she trust on her journey to the throne?

 

(Young Adult)

 

More stuff:

Writing Historical Fiction or “Holy Cow, This is Harder Than it Looks”

Interview with Cedar Hollow Horror

Interview with Manuscripts Burn, for WiH 2018

Interview with Horror Writer Lindsey Goddard for WiH 2017

Q&A with Kelly