Mandy Ward

Mandy Ward

About

Mandy thought she was a Teacher, until Life pointed out toher that she is actually a writer. As her Cats, Kids and Partner approved, shedecided to agree with Life.

Currently she is working on a five book  Sword & Sorcery Novella Series and a Children's Book series collaboration with an Illustrator  as a number of other projects. As If that weren’tenough, she spends a week or two a month putting together “Welcome toWherever”, along with trying to juggle Cats, Kids, Partner.

She does all this from a body in South Wales, UK. Where hermind is, she hasn’t yet worked out...

Fatal Rivalry: Part Three of The Last Great Saxon Earls

Fatal Rivalry: Part Three of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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Description

<p>In 1066, the rivalry between two brothers brought England to its knees. When Duke William of Normandy landed at Pevensey on September 28, 1066, no one was there to resist him. King Harold Godwineson was in the north, fighting his brother Tostig and a fierce Viking invasion. How could this have happened? Why would Tostig turn traitor to wreak revenge on his brother?<br />The Sons of Godwine were not always enemies. It took a massive Northumbrian uprising to tear them apart, making Tostig an exile and Harold his sworn enemy. And when 1066 came to an end, all the Godwinesons were dead except one: Wulfnoth, hostage in Normandy. For two generations, Godwine and his sons were a mighty force, but their power faded away as the Anglo-Saxon era came to a close.</p>

Story Behind The Book

The Tower and The Eye is a series of Novellas that came out of my love for RPG and Sword & Sorcery. I have many happy memories of spending Saturday and Sunday afternoons, rolling dice, acting out my character and generally being elvish. When I started writing seriously, it was natural that I used my experiences in RPG to aid my story development. So you’ll often find me rolling a 10 sided die to decide what happens to a character or where they are going. I also drew inspiration from a number of Fantasy / Sword & Sorcery based console games that I love to play and the Master of Pure Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien himself. The Tower and The Eye tales began appearing after I had spent a while writing horror stories and I needed to get back to my fantasy work. My horror side does come through in the battles, but I enjoy the journeys that I make my characters take (whether the characters enjoy them is another thing!) and these stories are pure fantasy – Elves, Dwarves, Orc’s; Demons, sword fights and magic aplenty.

Reviews

<span style="color:#4e4e4e;font-family:'droid-serif-1', 'droid-serif-2', serif;font-size:14px;line-height:21px;">“This is a fun read employing all the stereotypes we have come to know and love from Dungeons and Dragons and the sword and sorcery fantasy world. Axe-wielding dwarves, ethereal, pointy eared elves, a bumbling hero, a buxom barmaid and an evil lord bent on re-conquering the world. But it certainly isn’t all predictable. Some of the characters are a tad unexpected, like the talking jar who acts as the Evil Overlord’s aide de camp. Although the author says it isn’t a spoof, I suspect she’s telling at least a little bit of a porky. The Tower and the Eye? No reverberations from Mordor? I suspended judgement and went along for the ride and got a little bit more than I bargained for. Some of the outcomes I expected didn’t come to pass. Some parts are downright funny, like the skeletal hand that holds the hero’s torch while he tries to break down the dungeon door. Recommended as a piece of light entertainment.”</span><em style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:#4e4e4e;font-family:'droid-serif-1', 'droid-serif-2', serif;font-size:14px;line-height:21px;"> -  Ms. G. van der Rol, Amazon.com</em><div><em style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:#4e4e4e;font-family:'droid-serif-1', 'droid-serif-2', serif;font-size:14px;line-height:21px;"><br /></em></div><div><em style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:#4e4e4e;font-family:'droid-serif-1', 'droid-serif-2', serif;font-size:14px;line-height:21px;">* * *</em></div><div><em style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:#4e4e4e;font-family:'droid-serif-1', 'droid-serif-2', serif;font-size:14px;line-height:21px;"><span style="font-style:normal;">“Classic sword &amp; sorcery fantasy. This romps along through a fairly a traditional Dungeons &amp; Dragons scenario, for which the author makes no apologies, but what made this stand out for me was the dialogue. Some lovely one-liners remind me of early David Eddings and made me remember all the fantasy I lapped up in my student years. If you like Eddings wit and/or are a fan of D&amp;D and its spin-offs then you’ll enjoy this story.” </span><em style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;">- Debbie, Amazon UK</em> <br /></em></div><div><em style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:#4e4e4e;font-family:'droid-serif-1', 'droid-serif-2', serif;font-size:14px;line-height:21px;"><br /></em></div>