Dark Under the Cover of Night (The Kingdom of the East Angles Book 1)
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Her inspirations for these genres come from her fascination for British history, and her love of Italy, where she lived for a decade.
Two of her novels DARK UNDER THE COVER OF NIGHT and NIGHTFALL TILL DAYBREAK, reached the quarter finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2013 and 2014. Her latest historical romance, DAWN OF WOLVES, is a Kindle Scout winner and is in production to be published by Kindle Press.
Jayne lives in New Zealand's South Island, where works as a freelance copywriter. When she’s not writing, she’s studying languages, or dreaming about her next trip to Europe!
Connect with Jayne online:
www.jaynecastel.com
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Email: contact@jaynecastel.com
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More Historical Romance from Jayne Castel
Night Shadows
(Prequel – The Kingdom of the East Angles)
Buy now from Amazon (Kindle)
A NOVELLA
"It does not matter how much we distance ourselves, how far we run – the past always shadows us."
In the spring of 609 A.D., in the village of Went, a young man comes to ask for the hand of the ealdorman's daughter.
Wilfrid is intense, takes himself a little too seriously, and is in love with Cynewyn - a spoiled young woman who has been promised to another. Spurned and humiliated, Wilfrid leaves the ealdorman's hall, never to return.
Ten years later, Cynewyn's life has not turned out as she had hoped. Her husband is dead, her village is under siege - and to make matters worse - she has just been told she has to abandon her village.
Among the men escorting her and the surviving villagers back over the border is her former suitor - Wilfrid.
The past decade has changed, and embittered, them both. Wil no longer believes in love, and Cynewyn no longer believes in happy endings. Yet neither are prepared for the passion that ignites between them, or its consequences...
Night Shadows is the novella that begins the KINGDOM OF THE EAST ANGLES series: three kings, three unforgettable love stories. Immerse yourself in the romance of Anglo-Saxon England - and step back into a world when only the strong survived.
Nightfall till Daybreak
(Book #2 – The Kingdom of the East Angles)
Buy now from Amazon (Kindle or in paperback)
A young woman taken as a king’s slave, an ambitious warrior in search of a new life in Britannia – and the will of one man who rules them both.
It is the spring of 629 A.D. in Anglo-Saxon Britannia, and the Kingdom of the East Angles is in turmoil. Ricberht the Usurper has killed the king and taken the throne for his own. Meanwhile, Sigeberht, the exiled stepson of the late King Raedwald of the East Angles, prepares to return to Britannia from Gaul.
Freya, a flame-haired and spirited young woman, meets an arrogant stranger on the East Anglian shore. Days later, she finds herself torn from her old life and forced into slavery. When Sigeberht attacks Rendlaesham and takes back the throne for his family, Freya discovers the man who stole a kiss from her on the shore is the new king’s right-hand. Aidan of Connacht has followed Sigeberht since boyhood. He owes the new king his life, and his freedom.
Sigeberht has returned to Britannia for vengeance, but soon discovers that reckoning comes at a price. In the shadow of approaching war between the East Angles and the Mercians, the fates of Freya and Aidan are intertwined with that of their king. With the warmongering Mercian King, Penda, marching on their borders and a looming battle between the two armies, Sigeberht refuses to face the danger – a decision that will change all of their lives forever.
Nightfall till Daybreak is a timeless tale of love in a world where only the strong survived. Can Freya and Aidan’s blossoming passion endure duty, treachery and war?
Is courage enough?
The Deepening Night
(Book #3 – The Kingdom of the East Angles)
Buy now from Amazon (Kindle or in paperback)
A gritty, historical romance adventure set in 7th Century Anglo-Saxon Britannia - a time when only the strong survived.
Spring, 630 A.D...
Annan of the Wuffingas is now King of the East Angles; following the kingdom's humiliating defeat to Mercia six months earlier.
He is attempting to make a new start for himself, and his people, when he receives an order from Penda of Mercia - the king he has sworn to 'bend the knee' to.
He must marry Penda's sister – the recently widowed, Saewara of Tamworth. Saewara, free of one bullying husband, only to be promised to another, is filled with despair at the news.
Both Annan and Saewara are embittered by the sacrifice they must make for their kingdoms: Annan had been planning to wed another, a maid now promised to his brother; while Saewara, numbed by life, had planned to become a nun.
But life does not work out as expected for Annan and Saewara.
What begins as a forced marriage, develops into a slow-burning passion between Annan and Saewara; two proud individuals, who must come to terms with more than an unwanted marriage. The Deepening Night is a tale of adventure, love and courage that will change, not just their lives, but the course of history.
The Breaking Dawn
(Book #1 – The Kingdom of Mercia)
Buy now from Amazon (Kindle or in paperback)
You cannot fight fate
A Mercian village girl and a Welsh prince. When two worlds collide, an unforgettable love story unfolds.
It is the summer of 641 A.D., and the Kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria are about to do battle.
Merwenna of Weyham accepts the hand of a young warrior who is about to march to war. But when her betrothed does not return, she takes matters into her own hands and goes in search of him.
Welsh battle lord, Prince Cynddylan, leads a host of warriors to help Mercia fight Northumbria. In doing so, he forms a fragile alliance with one of Britannia's most ruthless warlords - King Penda of Mercia.
In the wake of the Battle of Maes Cogwy, the lives of many will change.
Merwenna travels to Tamworth, the seat of the Mercian King, in search of Beorn, her betrothed - only to discover the bitter truth.
Cynddylan and Penda return to Tamworth from battle, victorious - but fall out in its aftermath.
From the moment Merwenna and Cynddylan meet in the Great Tower of Tamworth, their paths are entwined.
In a journey from Tamworth, through the green heart of Mercia, and into the woods and mountains of Wales - Merwenna struggles between grief for the man she has lost, and her powerful attraction to this battle lord who appears to love only power and glory.
Cynddylan is also torn. With each passing day, he finds himself increasingly captivated by this courageous young woman. Merwenna makes him question the world, and his place in it. Suddenly, he is not so sure what is worth living, or dying, for.
Can two lovers from such different worlds, ever be together?
The Breaking Dawn is the first novel in the Kingdom of Mercia series, following the ground-breaking Kingdom of the East Angles novels: Dark Under the Cover of Night, Nightfall till Daybreak and The Deepening Night. Set in 7th Century Anglo-Saxon England, these novels blend epic romance, adventure and rich historical detail.
Darkest before Dawn
Book #2 – The Kingdom of Mercia
Buy now from Amazon (kindle and paperback editions)
BRITAIN - 655 A.D.
Princess Alchflaed of Northumbria is a spirited young woman who wishes to choose her own path. Unfortunately, highborn women in Anglo-Saxon England have no say in their choice of husband, and her father promises his daughter to the son of his bitterest enemy.
This attempt at 'peace weaving' is not what is seems. Alchflaed's father orders her to murde
r her new husband. Charged with this treacherous task, she journeys south to her new home in Mercia.
Maric - a seasoned warrior with a dark past - leads her escort. Princess and warrior find themselves strongly drawn to each other, but they must deny their feelings. Both bound by loyalty, neither can choose their own fates.
Alchflaed's father has given her a terrible choice: to earn her freedom, she must kill a king.
Dawn of Wolves
The Kingdom of Mercia, Book 3
Buy a copy now from Amazon (Kindle or paperback)
2016 Kindle Scout Winner!
BRITAIN, 657 AD
Snow is falling in the Kingdom of Kent when Ermenilda and Wulfhere meet for the first time. She is a Kentish princess, determined to take the veil. He is an exiled prince of Mercia, ruled by ambition.
To win Ermenilda, Wulfhere promises her father he will take back the Mercian throne. He will also renounce his pagan ways and convert to Christianity. When the king agrees, Ermenilda is devastated.
Trapped in a marriage she does not want, Ermenilda struggles between her unexpected passion for her husband and hatred for his harsh, warmongering ways. Wulfhere, initially secure in the knowledge that he has claimed the only woman he will ever want, soon begins to realize that possessing a woman and owning her heart are not the same thing.