• Author
  • Book
  • Story behind the book
  • Media Links
  • Reviews
Mark Miller

Mark Miller

About

Mark currentlyresides in Florida with his family. He is an author, following in the footstepsof his namesake, Mark Twain.

He received hisBachelor’s Degree in Film at the University of Kansas. Some of his favoritemovies and books include The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

Mark has completedfive novels, a screenplay, three digital short story series and more. The firstthree books of his Empyrical Tales have been published by Comfort Publishing. TheFourth Queen, The Lost Queen and TheSecret Queen are available in print. Trestle Press published the eBook Daniel’sLot along with a spiritual series; a children’s educational series, anda faith-based fantasy series that he is co-writing with his daughter.

He believes beinga father of four makes him uniquely qualified to write The Empyrical Tales. Hiswriting sends a positive message with strong role models and beneficial morals.His daughters unknowingly provided the models for his characters. Many of theirphrases and behaviors can be seen in The Fourth Queen.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

0.0
0 ratings

Description

<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

Story Behind The Book

The third book in a series I originally started writing for my children. As sisters Zandria and Olena explore the land of Empyrean, they meet many fantastical beings. At the insistence of my youngest son, this story includes dinosaurs!

Media Links

Reviews

<span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;">What is best about this series is that it adds a strong heroine to children's literature. Olena does not sit around waiting for others to rescue her. She actively pursues her own destiny. This is not something we see that often these days in literature.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;">As will all the books in the series, the lushness of the descriptions, be it of landscapes or characters, paints a wonderful picture for the reader, letting us discover new aspects of Miller's world along with Olena.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;">The plot is, in my opinion, the best of the three books. The action starts quickly and keeps up throughout the entire book, so we never feel bored. The strange characters, including a turbaned creature who doesn't speak, add mystery and might even send a chill down the reader's back.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;">This is a wonderful addition to the Empyrean tales, and I can highly recommend it to those of you looking for a little magic in your reading lives.</span>