“Dominating everything was the towering castle, its patchwork stone walls stained pink in the early morning sunlight. The glassless windows of its massive keep yawned black as they kept watch over our disembarking army. Beyond the parapet far above, I could just make out the flash of gold – a flapping banner catching and throwing back the rays of the midsummer sun now rising above the horizon. In the first pre-dawn light, as we had sailed past the sandspit towards our anchorage, Edward, standing ready and eager on the ship’s forecastle, had pointed to it.
‘Look! The abbot is flying the sun in splendour,’ he had cried at the sight of his late father’s symbol shining proud above the castle, stitched upon this huge flag of murrey and blue, the Plantagenet colours. ‘Lord Francis said he would prove his loyalty to me. So did Alys.’”
4 days to go …
Alex Marchant is author of two books telling the story of the real King Richard III for children aged 10+, The Order of the White Boar and The King’s Man, and a third in the sequence, King in Waiting, which continues the adventures of the young members of the Order in the following years. A fourth book, Sons of York, will be published 26 June 2022. Watch this space!
Alex is also editor of Grant Me the Carving of My Name and Right Trusty and Well Beloved…, two anthologies of short fiction inspired by King Richard, sold in support of Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK).
Alex has also published a standalone timeslip novel for readers aged 10+, Time out of Time, relating the adventures of Allie Turner through a doorway into history found under layers of old wallpaper at ancient Priory Farm.
Alex’s books can be found on Amazon at:
My Twitter handle and Matthew Wansford’s
Instagram: AlexMarchantAuthor
The Order of the White Boar 