Borders
Thank you so much for agreeing to host me here today to talk a little about my new series of books set on the borders of England and Wales.
I have always found borders interesting. In the UK we have many, some far better known than others. The Scottish border is the best known, dotted with castles and fortified manor houses, squabbled over for centuries. Hadrian's Wall is another, marking what was once the end of the Roman Empire. Between Wales and England we have a wiggly boundary that follows watercourses, the place where one diocese gives way to another and Offa's Dyke, an earthwork still visible in patches, running from Sedbury in the south to Prestatyn in the north. Once the Welsh border followed the River Wye and Hereford was a frontier town but the little Monnow, easily and frequently bridged forms the border in the place where I have set my story.
It's possible to wind back and forth across the border with no effort at all. You may see a "Croeso y Cymru - Welcome to Wales" sign on a main road, but the transition from Llogres to Cymru aren't marked on the little lanes. The best hint is that you'll see bilingual signposts on the Welsh side if they have been replaced recently, but if old signs are still sound and easy to read they stay. "If it aint broke, don't fix it" works on this side of the pond too. And besides, some of them are very old and rather beautiful, made of cast iron, with bold fingers pointing to Rowlestone, Longtown, Llanfihangel Crucorney, Cusop, Wormbridge and Bagwyllidiart.
With the wiggliness of the border and the habit of government of moving the border completely from time to time - Monmouthshire was part of England until 1974 - you have English names on the Welsh side and Welsh names on the English side. Some of the smaller roads are built on roman foundations and there are farms whose boundaries were established in Domesday. The people who live there have had to learn to be adaptable and resilient and the place names show that. Michaelchurch used to be Llanfihangel. There are as many castles and forts as you'd see in Lowland Scotland. It's an odd place with an accent all its own. But most important of all, it's home and I'm glad to be able to share it in fictional form.
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Length: 80,000 words approx
Publisher: Manifold Press
Cover Design: Michelle Peart
Blurb
Then Rob discovers something wonderful, and together they must combat greedy developers and a treasure hunter determined to get his hands on the find. Are desperate measures justified to save the bones of our fathers? Will Dirty Rob live up to his reputation? Do museum curators really do it meticulously?
Answers must be found for the sake of Mal's future, his happiness and his heart.
Author Bio
Elin Gregory lives in South Wales and works in a museum in a castle built on the edge of a Roman Fort! She reckons that's a pretty cool job.
Elin usually writes on historical subjects, and enjoys weaving the weird and wonderful facts she comes across in her research into her plots. She likes her heroes hard as nails but capable of tenderness when circumstances allow. Often they are in danger, frequently they have to make hard choices, but happy endings are always assured.
Current works in progress include one set during the Great War, another in WW2, one set in the Dark Ages and a series of contemporary romances set in a small town on the Welsh border.
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