Eighteen beautiful, insightful, moral, magical stories for children with Imagination — and their parents. Many have never been published before, and will be a treat for all fans of Moyra Caldecott.

The Eye of Callanish is set at the beginning of the twelfth century on the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. It tells the story of a young girl, Mairi, who is persecuted for being in league with the Devil. She believes that she is able to communicate with the ancient people who built the temple of Tall Stones at Callanish.

Mairi is aided in her escape from her persecutors by Neil and the hermit Brother Durston, who we first met in Weapons of the Wolfhound. On the way they face many dangers and frightening situations. But just who are these ancient people that Mairi is communicating with? Where did the beautiful white horse appear from? And whose is the dead body in the cleft?

Neil is fascinated by the search for Truth … and at the same time terrified of it…

AVAILABILITY

Microsoft Reader	184319001X	$4.99	Fictionwise
PDF	1899142851	$4.99	Fictionwise
MobiPocket	1843190192	$4.99	Fictionwise
eReader	1843191172	$4.99	Fictionwise
iSilo	1843191180	$4.99	Fictionwise
Franklin eBookman	1843191199	$4.99	Fictionwise
Hiebook	1843190451	$4.99	Fictionwise
eBookwise/Gemstar/Rocket devices (.rb)	1899142584	$4.99	Fictionwise
Paperback (USA)	1843191202	$15.95	Amazon.com
Paperback (UK)	1843191202	$7.99	Amazon.co.uk

PRINTING HISTORY

• First published in eBook editions in 2001 by Mushroom eBooks. ISBNs as under “Availability” above.
• First paperback edition published in April 2005 by Bladud Books, an imprint of Mushroom Publishing. ISBN 978-184319-120-9. 180 pp.

The Weapons of the Wolfhound was Moyra’s first published book. It was written for teenagers, and was so popular that a sequel was commissioned by the publisher, called The Eye of Calanish.

The Weapons of the Wolfhound contrasts the two major influences on a boy just entering his teens. Neil lives on a farm on the remote island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in the 12th century AD. He makes friends with a Christian hermit living in a rocky cell nearby. The hermit is carving a chess set out of walrus ivory. (This was my initial inspiration for the book. The chess set exists. It was dug up on the Isle of Lewis in the last century and I saw it on display in the British Museum, London). The hermit speaks to the boy about the virtues of forgiveness and peaceful coexistence, and teaches the value of contemplation and prayer. But the visit of a Viking sea captain to the island makes the boy restless and he runs away with him to Iceland. There he encounters a very different life. At first he finds it exciting, but more and more the violence and gory death that is the result of Baldur’s desire for vengeance sickens him, and he is glad to return home, older and wiser.

PUBLISHING HISTORY:

First published Rex Collings, London in hardback in 1976, ISBN: 0901720771. Availability: Out of Print.

Drawing on folklore, myth and legend, Moyra Caldecott tells the story of the struggle between good and evil, St. Collen and the mighty Gwyn ap Nudd, a confrontation involving the Earth Goddess and, ultimately, the highest powers in the universe.

From the Introduction:

I believe that myths and legends, while appearing to be pure fabrication hallowed by constant repetition, actually have their roots in a deep and abiding truth that can only be expressed through symbol and allegory. As a substratum of the main truth which is universal, there often lies a stratum of a more local and literal truth, an ancient event or belief that sparks off a chain of linked stories about a particular place. Many legends suggest that Glastonbury Tor in the sixth century was the scene of a confrontation between the old religion and the new. In an imaginative fusion of several crucial legends from. Glastonbury’s past I hope to give some insight into the living truth that they, together, illuminate. The setting — Glastonbury, Somerset — has been described by Anthony Roberts in his book "Glastonbury: Ancient Avalon, New Jerusalem" as ‘an enchanted area of land — that generates and guards a powerful magic … the symbol of a great and holy mystery’. Frances Howard-Gordon, after asking why so many myths and legends are associated with Glastonbury in her book "Glastonbury: Maker of Myths", concludes: ‘there is a certain quality about the place, in the weird and wonderful landscape, in the peculiar shade of light, in the air we breathe . . .’ It is not for nothing that Glastonbury has continued to be a place of pilgrimage for so many centuries — that generation after generation have sought the secret meaning of their lives there — that today a visit to it is a ‘must’ for anyone interested in the dawning of a New Age in this troubled and crippled world …

Quote from book:

"It did not seem strange to him that he, Lukas, existed on many levels of time and space simultaneously; that the mysteries of his past were even now present and working through him without his conscious knowledge. He realized that we do not cease to live in the Spirit Realms because we live on earth. We may forget and need reminding from time to time just how complex and magnificent being human is, but we never lose our true capacities no matter how far we drift away into carelessness and ignorance."

PUBLISHING HISTORY:

Publisher: Gothic Image, UK
Copyright Date: 1989
Format: Trade paperback
ISBN: 0906362113
Availability: Out of Print

It is 72 AD, and most of Britain is under Roman domination. At Aquae Sulis, a place of pilgrimage and healing, hot waters gush ceaselessly from the earth. Since ancient times the waters have been associated with the supernatural, and are under the protection of the Celtic Goddess Sul. The Romans have renamed her Sulis Minerva, and have tamed the steaming waters to form a complex of public baths.

A statue of the hated Emperor Claudius is being erected in the precincts of the Temple of Sulis Minerva. The centurion Decius Brutus, a Celt, is ordered to return to his home town to protect the statue and prevent trouble. But the local people, led by his proud father and his fiery daughter, Megan, are threatening rebellion…

Meanwhile, Megan’s twin sister Ethne is torn between her destiny as Oracle of Sul, and her love for Lucius, who is caught up in his own quest for spiritual enlightenment, with the help of the Orphic priest Demosthenes.

Twenty miles away, on Glastonia Island, a small Christian community struggles to establish a new religion in a hostile land, away from Roman persecution.

Cults from Rome, Greece, Egypt and Judaea vie with the native Celtic beliefs and form a rich backdrop to the human dramas that unfold.

The Waters of Sul is set in a time of transition and adjustment, when beliefs are questioned and loyalties are tested. Love and hate, conflict and reconciliation, troubled romance and an uneasy traffic with the supernatural all feature in this brilliantly conceived novel from a masterful storyteller.

Originally published by Bladud Books as Aquae Sulis. See “Living memories that inspire the mythical writer” for the reasons for the change of title.

PRESS CUTTINGS:

“Moyra Caldecott’s latest book is one of her best ever! A well-crafted and moving story that brings Roman Britain to life in all its dramatic glory. Subtle characterisation, human dilemma and the age old struggle of one religion against another make this a powerful, moving and exciting read.” John Matthews, author.

“…fascinating and engrossing …” Anne McCaffrey

“Like all the best fiction, [The Waters of Sul] can be enjoyed on many levels … a well-researched and well-plotted novel … page-turning action and a wealth of characters.” Quality Womens’ Fiction

“… the author is so immersed in her subject that no trace of fantasising or contrivance is apparent. Like Joan Grant, she lives her work. Because it is so well done it is believable… The civilisation pictured here is based on many sources: historical, mythological and frankly speculative. A good novel.” The Glasgow Herald

PERSONAL TESTIMONIALS:

“It’s just wonderful!! You have such an easy way of writing and it carries such incredible growth lessons and profound truths.” N. in Salem

“Thankyou for bringing all the disconnected scraps of information we have about that period to life, in such a brilliant, ripe, readable way… I shall recommend the book to lots of people. Books that bring history to life are few and far between.” K.J. in Bath

AVAILABILITY:

PAPERBACK
Publisher: Bladud Books, UK
Publication Date: 1997
Format: 288pp. Paperback
ISBN: 1899142274
Price: £6.99/$11.99
Availability: In Print
Order from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

eBOOK EDITIONS
Publisher: Mushroom eBooks, UK
Publication Date: September 2000
Format: various eBook formats
ISBN: various
Price: $5.99
Availability: Mushroom eBooks

Tutankhamun and the Daughter of Ra is part of the ‘Egyptian’ sequence, which also includes Akhenaten: Son of the Sun and Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun. Chronologically, Hatshepsut: Daughter of Ra is the last book of the sequence.

From the blurb on the Arrow edition:

Ankhesenamun has never been safe in all her short life – not even with her beloved husband and half-brother, Tutankhamun.

Daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and the fabled Nefertiti, and married at one time to her father, she has seen too much intrigue, too many deaths … Forced to marry Tutankhamun by the powerful General Horemheb at a time of bitter political and religious division, Ankhesenamun is the delicate link between scheming factions.

Left vulnerable by the failure of her plans for the sacred egg of Ra and the death of her young husband, Ankhesenamun is forced into making one last extra- ordinary and desperate bid for life and happiness …

PRINTING HISTORY:

First published 1990 in paperback as Daughter of Ra by Arrow Books Limited (ISBN 0099598701).

Ancient Egypt 3500 years ago – a land ruled by the all-powerful female king, Hatshepsut. Ambitious, ruthless and worldly: a woman who established Amun as the chief god of Egypt, bestowing his Priesthood with unprecedented riches and power.

But how secure is Hatshepsut’s power against the claims of the man whose throne she has usurped? And will the feud between the new and ambitious Priesthood of Amun and the old establishment of Ra destroy all she had hoped to build?

This is a story of vision and obsession, of mighty projects and heartbreaking failures – the story of a woman possessed by the desire for power and the need to love.

“…it was unnatural, against the laws of Maat, that a woman should become a man. Surely they must see that?
“Ast looked around. The admiration and awe on every face was evident. She and her son seemed an absurd alternative to that magnificent golden being standing in the god’s light.
“Well, she and her son were alive. This was Hatshepsut’s moment. Theirs would come…”

Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun is part of the acclaimed ‘Egyptian’ sequence, which also includes Akhenaten: Son of the Sun and Tutankhamun and the Daughter of Ra. Chronologically, Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun is the first book of the sequence.

Reviews:

“This is a rousing tale, well-told, and highly recommended.” The Augustan, Issue 101.

Printing History:

First published 1989 in paperback by Arrow Books Limited as Daughter of Amun (ISBN 0099598507).

Republished with new notes and corrections to the text in various eBook formats by Mushroom eBooks as Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun in April 2000.

Paperback edition published April 2004 by Bladud Books.

I tell you this three millennia
after these events took place.
Mark them well.
They did not end with my death,
and they will not end with yours.

In ancient Egypt during the magnificent eighteenth dynasty the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his queen, the strong and beautiful Nefertiti, are engaged in a dramatic battle against the wealthy, corrupt and dangerously powerful priests of Amun.

Haunting and full of surprises, “Akhenaten: Son of the Sun” gives a fascinating glimpse into an ancient civilisation. It is a story about hate and love, despair and hope, but more than that it is the story of extraordinary spiritual and psychic powers being tested to their limits.

Based on the remarkable reign of Akhenaten in Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt, this story is told as if by a contemporary of his, Djehuti-kheper-Ra. It follows history as closely as possible on the evidence we have, and describes the political machinations of the time. But it also traces the spiritual journey of the protagonists, the journey on which we are all engaged whether we know it or not.

The story begins with the suffering of a boy oracle, or medium, about to be sealed alive into a pyramid chamber for three days so that he may “astral-travel” to the realms of the gods and plead for the waters of the Nile to rise, bringing life-giving silt to the farmlands. The story follows him through his lonely despair until he becomes the honoured companion of a king and an important figure in an extraordinary revolution.

At this time the high priests of the god Amun, brought to prominence by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut about a century before, are rich and powerful enough to challenge a king…

Akhenaten: Son Of The Sun is part of Moyra Caldecott’s acclaimed Egyptian sequence, which also includes Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun and Tutankhamun and the Daughter of Ra. Chronologically, Akhenaten: Son of the Sun takes place between the other two books, but it was written first.

Reviews of Akhenaten: Son of the Sun:

“Moyra Caldecott’s novel is a good one, highly recommended.” The Augustan, No.99 (US)

“The story of spiritual and psychic powers tested to their limits. More than a little reincarnational memory here. A lovely book.” Gothic Image Books by Mail: New and Imaginative Fiction 1988

“I found this a well-written compelling novel in which the author has combined fact with fiction well…” Research into Lost Knowledge Newsletter No.29 Autumn/Winter 1986

Personal Testimonials:

“You seem to have a truly astonishing capacity for transporting yourself back to other ages. I wonder if, like Joan Grant, you actually have some kind of strange insight into the past that is more than just imagination.” Colin Wilson, author.

“I have only just read your wonderful book “The Son of the Sun”. I found it fascinating…
“I love the way you write and you brought the whole period to life quite brilliantly with a sinister undertone like a cobra waiting to strike. The love passages were treated with great sensitivity and tenderness. You have clearly gone a very long way along the path… I feel certain “The Son of the Sun” is your memory of Akhenaten’s time…”
Audrey Browning, Greece, 6 Oct 1992.

“[Akhenaten: The Son of the Son] absolutely rings true… Your book is a living experience. All your books are, but perhaps “Son of the Sun” most of all… [Your books] convey a sense of purpose and timelessness.”
Miss R Fitzpatrick, Sussex, England, 30 Aug 1986

AVAILABILITY

Microsoft Reader	1899142150	$4.99	Fictionwise
PDF	189914286X	$4.99	Fictionwise
MobiPocket	1843190184	$4.99	Mobipocket.com
eReader	184319029X	$4.99	Fictionwise
iSilo	1843191687	$4.99	Fictionwise
Franklin eBookman	1843191695	$4.99	Fictionwise
Hiebook	184319063X	$4.99	Fictionwise
eBookwise/Gemstar/Rocket devices (.rb)	1899142606	$4.99	Fictionwise
Paperback (USA)	1899142258	$15.95	Amazon.com
Paperback (UK)	1899142258	£7.99	Amazon.co.uk

PRINTING HISTORY:

• Published 1980 as The Son of the Sun in paperback by Alison & Busby, UK. Out of print.
• Published 1986 as The Son of the Sun in hardback by Alison & Busby, UK. ISBN 0850316472, 186 pages. Out of print.
• Paperback edition with revisions published as Son of the Sun in 1990 by Arrow Books Limited, UK. ISBN 0099598604, 288 pages. Out of print.
• Electronic (ebook) editions published as Akhenaten: Son of the Sun by Mushroom eBooks in 2003.
• Paperback edition published by Bladud Books, UK in November 2003. ISBN 1899142258, 208 pages.

The story of Etheldreda, Princess of East Anglia, Queen of Northumbria, Saint of Ely : Born AD 630, Died AD 679.

From the blurb:

“Etheldreda, Princess of East Anglia, Queen of Northumbria and Abbess of Ely, was a remarkable woman who lived in restless, violent times not unlike our own, when old beliefs were dying and new ones were struggling to emerge. Pagan clashed with Christian as the seven kingdoms of the Germanic tribes warred against each other and against the native Celts. Occasionally an uneasy peace was bought by the skilful use of the ‘diplomatic marriage’, and twice Etheldreda, though vowed to chastity, submitted to marriage for political reasons. When her second husband refused to accept the ‘arrangement’ between them, she fled south, her escape to the Island of Ely apparently aided by storms that intervened on her behalf. She lived only a few years as abbess of the religious community she founded at Ely before dying of plague. Ever since, pilgrims have turned to her for miracles of help and healing.

“But this is not just the story of a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon saint. It is about the general human struggle to comprehend the enigma of existence and to come to terms with Christ’s God, faced as we are by a violent and cruel world. It is about the periods when we give up the struggle, reverting either to the darkest negativity or to superstition – and the rare but wonderful periods when we are lifted high by the inrush of spiritual certainty.”

AVAILABILITY:

Microsoft Reader	1899142347	$4.99	Fictionwise
PDF	1899142754	$4.99	Fictionwise
MobiPocket	1843190222	$4.99	Mobipocket.com
eReader	1843193043	$4.99	Fictionwise
iSilo	1843193205	$4.99	Fictionwise
Franklin eBookman	1843193213	$4.99	Fictionwise
Hiebook	1843193191	$4.99	Fictionwise
eBookwise/Gemstar/Rocket devices (.rb)	1899142533	$4.99	Fictionwise
Paperback (USA)	1843192691	$15.95	Amazon.com
Paperback (UK)	1843192691	$7.99	Amazon.co.uk

Set in a legendary Britain of long ago, The Tower and the Emerald is an epic fantasy of good and evil, magic and mystery.

Viviane is a beautiful Celtic princess who stands at the heart of the novel’s conflict between the powers of Light and Darkness. And she unwittingly unravels the spell that binds the spirit of the evil Idoc within a circle of tall stones. Once released from his age-long bondage, the sorcerer-priest is able to use his powers to seek vengeance against those responsible for his original enslavement – including the Princess Viviane and her lover.

With Idoc in possession of the body of Prince Caradawc, her betrothed, Viviane can no longer judge safely between friend and foe, between this life and previous incarnations. Yet to rescue Caradawc from his nightmare, she must risk everything to reach the dreaded dark tower where Idoc awaits. And, success will only be hers if she is able to find the all-powerful emerald which belonged to the archangel Lucifer in ancient and other days.

There follows a search for spiritual grace which is beautifully depicted and which includes all the timeless ingredients of legend.

Inspiration for this Dark Ages novel sprang from three sources. Firstly, an extraordinary psychic experience in an ancient Stone Circle in England; secondly, Moyra Caldecott’s curiosity about the mysterious Black Knight who frequently challenged the Knights of King Arthur’s Court; and thirdly, the powerful legend that an emerald had been lost from the crown of the Archangel Lucifer when he fell from heaven.

Reviews of The Tower and the Emerald:

“A spell-binding mixture.” Sunderland Echo.

AVAILABILITY:

PRINTING HISTORY:

First published in Great Britain in 1985 by Hamlyn Paperbacks. A hardcover edition was subsequently published in 1986 by Century Hutchinson Ltd.