About
Born in NorthernIreland at the same time Johnny Mathis held the UK number one chart with When a Child is Born (a coincidence, weassure you), Peter was first published at the age of 17 in the Simon &Schuster anthology Children of theTroubles, edited by Laurel Holliday, and followed in quick succession bynumerous other publications. The CamelTrail is his first novel.
Peter moved from Ireland to Londonin 1997 and, in 2010, fell out of the rat race for a quieter life in Yorkshire. He lives and works from home and is currentlyworking on his second novel.
Description
<p><span style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">Richard II found himself under siege not once, but twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all seemed lost. Alas, his triumph was short-lived, and for the next ten years he struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles. Just like in the days of his great-grandfather Edward II, vengeful magnates strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding. The Lords Appellant, as they came to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and defenseless. He would never forget his humiliation at the hands of his subjects. Richard's inability to protect his adherents would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.</span><br /><span class="a-text-bold" style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;">B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree!</span></p>
Story Behind The Book
I wrote this book for my family. My dad’s bother, my Uncle Kevin, died from DMD before I was born, at the age of 21. Also, my cousin, Alan Fleming, died of DMD. He was such a humorous guy – I always remember him smiling. And I’ll never forget the remote control lorry he used to let me play with (both our dads have been long-distance lorry drivers).
But I didn’t want The Camel Trail to have a hidden message; I didn’t have an agenda for highlighting DMD as a little-discussed killer disease. So while Martin wants nothing more than to walk the Trail, there’s a lot of other stuff happening around him – the central character’s need to escape her violent husband, Kevin’s desire to fit in… Sarah’s blossoming feelings for Alan… And then Sarah’s husband is released from prison and comes after them…
So I wrote the book for my Dad, John, and in memory of Kevin Merrigan and Alan Fleming.
