The Spider and the Stone: A Novel of Scotland's Black Douglas - Softcover

Craney, Glen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0981648401 ISBN 13: 9780981648408

Publisher: Brigid's Fire Press, 2013

Synopsis

Scotland's survival hangs on an outlaw king on the run.

"Absolutely fantastic.... Best historical novel I've ever read about Scotland during the days of Robert the Bruce." -- librarian Debbi DuBose.

James Douglas vows to avenge his father's murder.

Isabelle MacDuff prays to escape a fate worse than death.

As the 14th century dawns, their fellow Scots scrap over the empty throne. Seizing on the opportunity to enlarge his kingdom, the brutal Edward Longshanks of England invades his weakened neighbor to the north.

Yet one young warrior--who will become feared by his enemies as the Black Douglas--stands in the path of three Plantagenet monarchs.

Their clans are sworn rivals, but James pursues the ravishing Isabelle, whose forefathers for centuries have inaugurated kings on the hallowed Stone of Destiny. Their world is upturned when James befriends Robert Bruce, a bitter foe of the MacDuffs. Both James and Isabelle must make agonizing decisions that will draw the armies to the bloody field of Bannockburn.

Here is the story of the remarkable events following the execution of William Wallace of Braveheart fame. Set during the Bruce wars of independence, The Spider and the Stone is the unforgettable saga of the star-crossed love, religious intrigue, fierce friendship in arms, and heroic sacrifice that preserved Scotland's freedom during its time of greatest peril.

START READING THE STIRRING STORY OF THE BLACK DOUGLAS TODAY.

* * * * *

• Chaucer Award First-Place Historical Fiction
• Foreword Finalist Book-of-the-Year Historical Fiction
• indieBRAG Medallion
• BTS Magazine Reader's Choice Honorable Mention

* * * * *

What Readers Are Saying:

• "The best book I've read this year. Touched my Scottish-American warrior's heart."
  -- JOHN GRAHAM, SENESCHAL, SOCIETY OF CREATIVE ANACHRONISM
• "The battle scenes are detailed and vivid, giving the reader a ringside seat at Scotland's desperate fight for freedom.... Spider will hold readers in suspense."
  -- IND'TALE MAGAZINE
• "[B]est historical fiction I have read in years."
  -- TO READ, OR NOT TO READ
• "Sons of Scotland, sweep me away! This story will stay burning in my mind for days to come."
  -- AS THE FINAL PAGE TURNS
• "[Craney] has woven a well-crafted, interesting tale."
  -- HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
• "One of the best historical fiction novels I have read in a long time....a wonderful weaving of history, adventure, love, conflict and more."
  -- 2READANDREVIEWED

About this title

From the Author:

Author Interview:

Q: Your first historical novel was set in medieval France. Why Scotland for your second novel?

A: I've traveled to Scotland three times and have ancestral roots there. I often get inspiration for my books in dreams. Several years ago, I awoke from a particularly vivid dream in which I was a mounted knight fighting a duel near a stream with a black-robed hag who wielded a sickle. In the midst of this death struggle, the dream shifted to a photograph of me standing with six other knights around a seated king in a pose of celebration. Below the photograph, a caption read: "Americans aid the King at Bannockburn." Baffled, I launched on a quest to decipher the dream. A few weeks later, I was walking the old battlefield around Stirling. I thought I had come to research a novel with King Robert Bruce as my protagonist. But when I boarded the plane for home, I had two new main characters returning with me: Sir James Douglas and Isabelle MacDuff.

Q: What's the toughest challenge in writing historical fiction?

A: For me, it's finding the mythic thread of the hero's journey in the maze of historical "facts" handed down to us. Let's be honest: history itself is a fiction. Gettysburg National Park historian Thomas DesJardin demonstrated in These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory how a skewed narrative of that battle quickly took shape in just hours after the smoke had cleared. His findings are a cautionary tale on the unreliability of eyewitness accounts and the faulty foundations of transmitted history.

Q: Did anything surprise you during your research for Spider?

A: Three discoveries: First, beneath the military struggle lay a religious conflict between ancient Culdee Christianity and the missionaries of the Roman church who tried to stamp out many of the Celtic traditions. Second, Scot women played an unsung role in Robert Bruce's miraculous triumph. Third, a spiritual thread connects the destinies of Scotland and the United States. The events of the Bruce era left echoes centuries later in the American Revolution.

Q: What's the most important ingredient in your story about the Black Douglas?

A: There's romance, mystery, adventure, betrayal, war. But the engine that drives the novel is a love triangle that is repeatedly fractured and restored.

From the Back Cover:

• indieBRAG Medallion
• Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction
• Foreword Finalist Book-of-the-Year in Historical Fiction.

"Absolutely fantastic....best historical novel I've ever read about Scotland during the days of Robert the Bruce." -- Librarian Debbi DuBose

"Touched by Scottish-American warrior's heart." -- J. Graham, seneschal, Society of Creative Anachronism

"For weeks after I read it, I found  myself itching to explain--in great detail--exactly why the people around me should not be wasting their time on anything else but reading this masterpiece." -- Jamie Lund

"[C]hock-a-block full of intrigue, battles, romance and subterfuge, and at times made my heart stutter with terror.... this one's a fun read." -- Cynthia Robertson, naming Spider one of the three best books of 2014.

"[A] memorable, well-researched, and thoroughly enjoyable work of historical fiction! Great read that is highly recommended!" -- Crystal Book Reviews
"An atmospheric and heart wrenching depiction of a time of upheaval in Scotland." -- Caroline Wilson Writes Review Blog
"As a fan of the works of Bernard Cornwell and Robert Low, I am very spoiled when it comes to novels of this genre. I was not disappointed in  the least.... Well written and it is fun stuff!" -- Amazon reviewer

About this edition

• Publisher: Brigid's Fire Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0981648401
• ISBN 13: 9780981648408
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432