28th June - Keynote speaker at the National Army Museum Conference - 'Charting the Crimean War'.

This is a full day academic conference, from 09.30 to 17.30, and is open to the public. Tickets can be bought at the website, and it promises to be a fascinating event for anyone interested in this war. From the programme:

'The Crimean War most often comes into view through a patchwork of mythologies and controversies: the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Lady of the Lamp, the Thin Red Line...

This all-day conference will explore the Crimean War’s wide-ranging significance and consider its many cultural afterlives - in literature, history, visual art and the media - from the Victorian age to the present. It will also show how representations of the war vary between the different countries involved.

Lunch and refreshments are included in the ticket price.'

I'll be going last, after the real historians have finished, and very much hope to see some of you there.

July 2012 - And a disaster, as torrential rain caused the cancellation of the entire Kelmarsh Festival of History! Rain alone would not have stopped it, but the river actually burst its banks, flooding the grounds and collapsing the tents in the main arena.

I'm sad for all the visitors who missed out on a great and much looked-forward to weekend, for the organizers who worked so hard on this all year and then had to deal with all the refunds afterwards, and also on my own account, because I was so looking forward to doing the panel on 'Forgotten Heroes' with Michael Jecks and Stewart Binns. But the real tragedy was for the re-enactors, who had spent so much time (and money) preparing for this huge annual event - only to find their campsite flooded out and that all their travails had been for nothing.

I'm so sorry for everyone's disappointment. Let's hope next year's is bigger and better than ever to make up for it!

 A fabulous evening, with a really stimulating audience.

Huge thanks to Sheryl Shurville and Morag Watkins of the Chorleywood Bookshop for organizing the event.

And I'm not really waving that sword to keep the others out of my limelight. Not really.

Saturday 22nd October - I did a solo Q and A session at Abergavenny Library, which was a wonderful experience. This is the most beautiful town, full of history, and it's terrific to see a council actually giving support to its libraries too.

There's a little write-up here, and another in the Abergavenny Chronicle of November 10th, friom which I've scanned this picture of the socializing afterwards. I'm afraid the dopey bird in the middle is me.

I also did a TV interview while I was there, for Sky TV's 'The Moore Show'. You can see it here.

Thursday 29th September - I was at 'History in the Court', the first of what will be an annual event at Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court, London. This was an informal gathering for readers to meet with lots of historical authors over drinks and nibbles, and was enormous fun. Look out for this again next year!

 In the Name of the King came out August 4th!!

It's available in paperback and also as an e-book!

Honour and the Sword has done amazingly well. It went straight into the Sunday Times Bestselling list for Hardback Fiction, and by May was in the Top Ten! A huge THANK YOU to everyone for spreading the word – and (of course) for buying it.

Honour and the Sword came out in paperback 20th January 2011.

Honour and the Sword is now available as an e-book and can be ordered for the Kindle here.

  Audiobook

Honour and the Sword is now available as an audio book from Oakhill Publishing – in both cassette and CD format.