Lissa Morgan

This week saw the publication of book two in my Warriors of Wales series, namely Llywelyn's and Cristin's story.  These two were minor characters in the first book of the series, The Warrior's Reluctant Wife , and feature in a scene, early on in the book, when my heroine Rhianon's new husband, Peredur, is riding off to war. Her younger brother, Llywelyn, isn't riding with them, not because he's too young to fight but because his father considers him a coward. I knew as I wrote that line that Llywelyn was a fascinating character who needed a book of his own and that Rhianon's maid, Cristin, would be the perfect heroine for him.    UK edition, published 23rd May 2024   In book one, Rhianon talks often of her favourite brother, and how, after the death of their elder brother Rhodri, he has had to renounce the life of a monk upon which he was set to take up the sword instead and fight for his prince, the Lord Rhys.   Even in these small snippits of information...

Okay, I am a bit late posting a happy St David's Day  here, but as it isn't officially a public holiday in Wales - at least not yet - most people are celebrating it today, Saturday.  I imagine that many leeks and Welsh cakes are still being consumed even as I write, though sadly, this year, Dydd Gwyl Dewi Day has rushed up at me rather, and was gone before I knew it! My publisher, Mills & Boon, remembered however, and put together this fabulous image for my Warriors of Wales series - the daffodils are my addition!  The first in the series, The Warrior's Reluctant Wife , was out in September 2023 and the second, The Warrior's Forbidden Maiden , will be out in June. This second book features the Abbey of Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) where the Life of Dewi Sant was possibly preserved after the Normans demoted the mother church of Llanbadarn, where it was written by Rhigyfarch, son of Bishop Sulien. The story features the Life of another saint, almost as revered in th...

It's an unusual December for me this year, as I'm taking a little break from writing until January. My latest novel - The Warrior's Forbidden Maiden (sneak preview of the cover at the end of this post!) - was accepted by my editor at Harlequin Mills and Boon at the beginning of November, and since then I've been sitting back and mulling over the next project.  It's been a few years since I took such a long break from writing, and for someone who writes every day, it's been very strange. However, it has had exciting results. Before I started writing, I was always a voracious reader of historical fiction, and particularly the medieval period. Among my favourite books are those by Rosemary Hawley Jarman, set against the  Wars of the Roses - We Speak No Treason, The King's Grey Mare and The Courts of Illusion , the latter, to my mind, her best work.  I've had a desire to write about the Wars of the Roses for a while now, and after re-reading these wonderfu...

Readers and reviewers often comment that, while they enjoy the Welshness of my books, they sometimes struggle to get their tongues around some of the characters' names and other words I use to add flavour to my stories.  Some have said they wish they could speak Welsh in order to 'hear' the words on the page, and others have suggested a glossary might be useful.  Due to word count restrictions, it's not really possible to include a glossary in the books themselves, but here is a quick guide to some of the names and frequently-used Welsh words in my books, and also a useful link to a fuller pronunciation guide to be found online, courtesy of Aberystwyth University. Basically, all letters in Welsh are sounded purely, none are silent, and consonants are the same as in English but are usually hard, not soft. Vowels are often very different to the English and we have two extra ones - w and y - and also diphthongs, which are two vowels run together that have their own unique ...