About
Madeline Sloane is a writer with more than 20 years experience in journalism. Her educational background is in Anthropology and she is an instructor at a private, liberal arts college.
She’s working on several new books, each with a connection to Eaton, a small, fictitious Pennsylvania town she created as a backdrop for her novels.
Many of her stories include an element of her passions – archaeology, history, travel and sailing. Of course, most of her books also feature exciting and exotic cities which her heroines (and their lovers) tour during the course of their romantic journey. Travel with the women and men of Eaton as they explore the world, and themselves, in the Eaton Romance Series.
The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls
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
You can have it all!
With the release of my second and third novels, I figured it would be good idea to bundle them into a trilogy. I mean, why buy books one at a time when you can have them all for one low price? Now you can read my contemporary romance novels, “Distracted,” “East of Eaton” and “West Wind” as an easy-to-read — and even easier to pay for and download — eBook.
There’s also a paperback version for folks who want to hold the book, but the savings aren’t there. There’s too much infrastructure to pay for with print-on-demand, which is why I love my eBooks.
The reason I’ve collected these three books into the trilogy is because the next set will be dark stories with suspense and mystery and murder. Oh yeah, there’s still lots of kissing going on, as well as other stuff, so the upcoming series are still romance novels.
Reviews
<span style="margin-right:5px;"><span class="swSprite s_star_5_0" title="5.0 out of 5 stars"><span>5.0 out of 5 stars</span></span> </span>
<span style="vertical-align:middle;"><strong><br />Women of Eaton Rocks</strong>, <br /><br />September 24, 2011</span><div style="margin-bottom:.5em;"></div>
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<div><div style="float:left;">By </div><div style="float:left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1FFY8BWU956WR/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Susan Ward</span></a> - <br /></div></div></div><div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:.5em;">
<strong><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span>Women of Eaton: Trilogy (Kindle Edition)</strong>
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Madeline Sloane has outdone herself with her Women of Eaton Trilogy. In
her first book we meet a new breed of women they are strong,
independent,women of the world except when it comes to the ways of the
heart, and the struggles each met and overcome to find true love. I love
the way her books entwine with each other, some giving you a glimps
into a future one or a reminder of one previously read. While I enjoyed
reading her first book Distracted, I found that once I started her
second one East of Eaton I could not put it down until I finished. The
third and final one West Wind had all the elements one looks for in a
light romance novel. It's quite refreshing to see strong leading women
who know what that want and take steps to achieve their goals both in
love, family, and careers. I can not wait to see what Madeline has
in store for us next. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O23KHO/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk">Women of Eaton: Trilogy</a>
