Not Long Ago

Not Long Ago

A Novel by Susan A. Royal

Genre: Time Travel Romance

Tags: Time travel, romance, knights, medieval fairs, medieval history, medieval tournament, jousting, castles, masquerade ball, crop circles, ghosts, fortune teller,

Release: June 22, 2012

Editor: Holly Bonville

Line Editor: Sarah Champoux

Cover Designer: Suzannah Safi

Words: 89333

Pages: 227

ISBN: 978-1-77127-076-2

Price: $5.95

Back Cover:

While doing research for a novel set in the Middle Ages, Erin and her employer, March, are transported to a time where chivalry and religion exist alongside brutality and superstition. Things are not quite right at the castle, and Erin and March feel sure mysterious Lady Isobeil is involved. Erin must cope with crop circles, ghosts, a kidnapping and death before the truth of her journey is revealed.

Forced to pose as March’s nephew, Erin finds employment as handsome Sir Griffin’s squire.  She’s immediately attracted to him and grows to admire his courage, quiet nobility and devotion to duty.  Yet, she must deny her feelings.  Her world is centuries away, and she wants to go home.  Despite that, Erin can’t stop thinking about her knight in shining armour.

Excerpt:

Late the next day, everyone gathered on the banks of the river under a clear sky. On a hill above us, archers waited. Beside them men-at-arms from the castle stood at attention. Clustered below were the castle servants and townspeople. Lady Isobeil, Lady Gwyneth and Kat positioned themselves on opposite sides of Lord John, as far away from each other as possible. He stood at one end of a long, shallow wooden boat filled with brush. Sir Maldwyn’s body had been wrapped in linen and placed inside, his belongings next to him. Water lapped against the boat, a strangely calming sound.

The pain on Sir Griffin’s face was almost more than I could bear. He clenched his jaw and gripped the hilt of his sword until I thought it would break. Faces stoic, the other knights huddled together with their squires. No doubt each of them remembered Sir Maldwyn in his own way. After all, he’d been in service at the castle long enough to train most of the knights when they were still squires. I thought of my parent’s death and the emptiness I felt knowing I’d never see them again. People everywhere stared at the ground, trying to hold back tears.

All except for Deroc. I can think of nothing more poignant than the sight of him standing over his father’s body while tears ran down his face. Over and over, the boy repeated the same words. “I am sorry Father, I am so sorry.” The overbearing bully who confronted me in the paddock had vanished. All that remained was a pitiful little boy, one who mourned a relationship with his father he’d never had, and now, one he would never experience.

Sir Maldwyn’s body lay on the funeral pyre, in the custom of the Vikings, while Father Alford conducted the service in Latin in a calm and soothing monotone, appearing completely undisturbed by all the pagan customs surrounding him. When he said his last amen, Lord John nodded at Sir Griffin. He began to ease the boat into the water. When it resisted, first Sir Edevane and then the other knights joined him. Together, they gave one last push, and the boat floated free.

Sir Sion remained on the bank, alone in his guilt. He didn’t join the rest, likely because he knew they held him responsible for Sir Maldwyn’s death. Sir Sion’s decision made in haste and in anger had ended someone’s life. No wonder he couldn’t bear to meet anyone’s eyes.

When the boat reached the middle of the river, each archer touched his arrow to flame, notched and loosed it. Their arrows arched upwards in perfect unison, only losing sight of them when they passed between us and the setting sun, briefly dazzling our eyes. In the fading light of day, they struck the raft holding Sir Maldwyn’s body like driving rain. Flames shot high into the air and swallowed up everything. Sir Maldwyn was making his journey home to Valhalla in the manner he had wanted. Not a sound could be heard among those of us watching from the banks, except for Deroc’s quiet sobbing. A north wind began to blow, and I thought I heard a faint noise. Somehow, the wind seemed to bring with it the echo of horns in the far distance. I know it couldn’t have been so, but it sounded as though those ancestors who’d gone before him were welcoming a fellow warrior home.

My gaze wandered from person to person. Some, like Lady Gwyneth and Kat, wept quietly, tears streaming down their cheeks. Others clenched their jaws and blinked away the tears. However they chose to show it, powerful emotion was present on everyone face, with the exception of Lady Isobeil. Her face wore the same intense expression as it had at the wedding when Neil told us Sir Edevane had been taken, almost as if she was deep into some kind of role-playing game.

About the Author:

Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, I make my home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes with a ghost who likes to harmonize.  I’m married, with three children and four grandchildren.

I come from a family rich with characters, both past and present. I spent my childhood listening to my grandmother’s stories of growing up in a large family and working as a telephone operator in the early 20^th century.  And through my mother’s eyes I experienced what it was like to live during the depression and World War II.

My piece, Yesterday, won first prize in author Cody James Wolfe's Flash Fiction Newsletter contest. My short story, Lost Souls, won 2^nd place in the 2009 short story contest of the Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization, and My Father’s House won 3^rd place in the 2010 NETWO short story contest. Not Long Ago, a time travel romance, is my debut novel.

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Customer Reviews:

Everyone knows magic played a HUGE roll in times gone by. Alchemy...I remember watching Merlin creating wild concoctions when I was a kid with an intense fascination with the man who taught Arthur how to handle his sword drawing abilities.rnrnYep, alchemy, magic, Druidism, all seems to create a tapestry of the unknown that enchanted while making one also want to run, just in case the spells turned out to be unfriendly.rnrnNOT LONG AGO by Susan A. Royal, with a dynamite cover by Suzannah Safi, brings all of that to the forefront in this compellingrnTime Travel story.rnrnErin is down on her luck so she urges her friend Angie to find her a job...any job...temp work'll do..please.rnrnThat's how she ended up at March's home, a very eccentric author who goes through temps like you and I go through coffee grounds.rnrnTo say March's approaches to being a top notch author is erratic is more than an understatement...it's even more than kind.rnrnBUT unlike his procession of previous temps, Erin stiffens her spine and stands tall, mostly, no matter what.rnrnErin stays, her tenacity stronger than March's unconventionalisms...until March receives a box from his friend. (Erin really should have followed in the footsteps of her predecessors and run.)rnrnMarch opens his box...Have you ever been catapulted back to the medeival period because you opened a box that comes in the mail addressed to you?rnrnUnfortunately for Erin, she also gets catapulted right along with March.. How would they survive? And more importantly how will they get home?rnrnNOT LONG AGO is a delicious story filled with enough twists and turns to keep the most avid solver of puzzles and conundrums delighted.rnrnI HIGHLY recommend this book and readily give it a five star kudos to Susan A. Royal*****keep 'em coming Susan...please? rn

A touching exploration of making one's way when nothing around you is familiar and the people you are closest to can't quite be trusted.

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