The Coffee Pot Blog tour for The Scots of Dalriada by Rowena Kinread

Book Title: The Scots of Dalriada

Author: Rowena Kinreead

Publication Date: January 26th, 2023

Publisher: Vanguard Press

Pages: 287

Genre: Historical Fiction

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The Scots of Dalriada

By Rowena Kinread

THREE BROTHERS

Fergus, Loarn and Angus, Princes of the Dalriada, are forced into exile by their scheming half-brother and the druidess Birga One-tooth.

THREE FATES

Fergus conceals himself as a stable lad on Aran and falls helplessly in love with a Scottish princess, already promised to someone else. Loarn crosses swords against the Picts. Angus designs longboats.

TOGETHER A MIGHTY POWER

Always on the run the brothers must attempt to outride their adversaries by gaining power themselves. Together they achieve more than they could possibly dream of.

Fergus Mór (The Great) is widely recognised as the first King of Scotland, giving Scotland its name and its language. Rulers of Scotland and England from Kenneth mac Alpín until the present time claim descent from Fergus Mór.

Full of unexpected twists and turns, this is a tale of heart-breaking love amidst treachery, deceit and murder.

Read an Excerpt:

 

When they return from Brodick, Beth accompanies them. The two women, best of friends, have been through much together. Rhianna talks of the loss of Eòghann. Beth is certain that there has been foul play, but she cannot imagine how or what. She doesn’t speak out; she doesn’t want to agitate Rhianna.

 When Rhianna realises she is with child again, she frets and cannot sleep. 

“I’m worried Beth, I’m terrified the baby might have some inexplicable disease and die again.”

“The monk said you needn’t be worried; you have two healthy children.”

“I can’t help myself, I brood on it, day and night.”

“Well how about some distraction? Today is market day, shall we walk down to town?”

“That is a good idea.”

The two women wander along the rows of market stalls, selling everything from foodstuffs and live animals to ribbons and knives. In one corner of the market, they see an old lady with just one small table and a few cheeses. She has a crooked back and is dressed in rags. Rhianna nudges Beth. 

“The poor dear, we should buy a cheese from her.” 

They approach her table. She has prepared a plate with small pieces of cheese for people to taste before buying. She holds the plate out towards Rhianna and Beth, her hand shakes with the effort.

 Will you try a piece of wild garlic cheese, my Ladies?” she asks.

Rhianna notices she has only one tooth left in her mouth.

They both take a small piece and chew it carefully. “Why it is absolutely delicious,” Rhianna compliments the woman. “We must buy one, Beth.”

Beth agrees and starts to pick a cheese up from the table. 

“No,” the woman says, reaching down below the table and retrieving a cheese from a box. “It has been in the sun, take this one!”

Beth puts the cheese in her basket and the women continue on their way. Birga-One-tooth keeps a sharp eye on them. Once they are out of view, she packs her things up quickly, and goes to the harbour where a boat is waiting for her. 

“I told you Rhianna would come to the market sooner or later,” she tells Cartan. 

They had come to the market for five weeks running and today finally been rewarded with Rhianna’s presence. 

“I hope that the whole family eats from it,” Cartan replies. “Soldiers hiss the sails! We must depart quickly.”

Back at the castle, Rhianna and Beth put their basket of shopping on the table. Rhianna cuts some bread, whilst Beth pours them two mugs of ale. 

They sit down and have just begun to eat, as Lisanda runs in screaming, “Mother, Mother come quickly, the boys are fighting again!”

 Rhianna sighs, stands up and follows her. Tudwal is pulling Domangart’s hair and Domangart is kicking Tudwal. 

“Stop it, the two of you, stop it at once!” she tells them off. Suddenly an agonising pain rips through her body. She grips her stomach and falls to the floor. 

“Mother!” The children stop fighting and run out of the room to find help, a monk, a healer, an adult, anyone. Racing through the kitchen they see Beth lying on the floor in a pool of vomit. They hold their breath a second, then run outside screaming.

Rhianna drifts in and out of consciousness. Sometimes she thinks she hears someone speaking to her. She tries to open her eyes, but her vision rotates and her head thumps. 

Fergus holds her hand. 

Will she recover?” he asks the monk tending to her. Rhianna has lost her baby and has a high fever. She has been hallucinating for two days now.

“If we can reduce her fever, yes. I have tried to give her elderberry juice, just a drop at a time, but she cannot hold it down.”

“What can I do?”

“Nothing. Luckily, she didn’t eat as much of the cheese as Beth.”

“And it was poisoned with lily of the valley?”

 “It might have been an accident; the leaves are very similar to those of wild garlic.”

 “My men questioned every stallholder. Nobody knows who the woman is, she had only just started selling her cheeses at the market. But the strange thing is that she hasn’t been seen since.”

“It is lucky no one else has been harmed.”

“That is what makes me suspicious.” 

Rhianna’s eyes flutter open. “Fergus?” she asks.

“Yes, I’m here, I’m with you,” he says.

“I’m thirsty,” she says.

The monk gives her a sip of water. She keeps it down.

 

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Rowena Kinread grew up in Ripon, Yorkshire with her large family and a horde of pets. Keen on travelling, her first job was with Lufthansa in Germany.

She began writing in the nineties. Her special area of interest is history. After researching her ancestry and finding family roots in Ireland with the Dalriada clan, particularly this era. 

Her debut fiction novel titled “The Missionary” is a historical novel about the dramatic life of St. Patrick. It was published by Pegasus Publishers on Apr.29th, 2021 and has been highly appraised by The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and the Irish Times.

Her second novel “The Scots of Dalriada” centres around Fergus Mór, the founder father of Scotland and takes place in 5th century Ireland and Scotland. It is due to be published by Pegasus Publishers on Jan.26th, 2023.

The author lives with her husband in Bodman-Ludwigshafen, Lake Constance, Germany. They have three children and six grandchildren.

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