by Jean Gill
Talharcant – Dragonetz’ Damascene sword, named ‘Bladesong’ in Occitan
Dragonetz’ men
Raoulf – with Dragonetz on the 2nd Crusade, knew him from babyhood
Arnaut – Raoulf's son, Dragonetz’ friend
Friends, Enemies and Cyphers
Malik-al-Judhami of the Banu Hud / al-Hisba al-Andalus, ‘the man from al-Andalus’, disinherited Emir to the taifa of Zaragosa; physician, warrior and musician; best friend and mentor to Dragonetz and Estela
Dame Fairnette Babtista, the Gyptian – a Romany fortune-teller, whose obscure prophecies can be interpreted as having come true
Sancha de Provence – a transexual who lost her husband in the Crusades, is in love with Dragonetz, spies for him at one time, and becomes Estela’s friend
Muganni – a Hashashin boy with the voice of an angel, mentored by Dragonetz and Estela, murdered in the Holy Land by Geoffroi de Rançon
Geoffroi de Rançon – Dragonetz’ crusade companion and would-be nemesis, Estela’s friend through trickery
Bar Philipos – Damascus Christian, who played a double game in the 2nd Crusade and later held Dragonetz prisoner
Yalda – Bar Philipos’ daughter, used in Damascus by her father to entrap a drug-addled Dragonetz
If you enjoyed The Troubadours Quartet
you might like
Nici’s Christmas Tale
From the point of view of Nici, the dog.
A stand-alone short story
in the multi-award-winning Troubadours Quartet series
1157: Aquitaine
AT MIDNIGHT ON CHRISTMAS Eve, while the blizzard blasts snow through every crack in the castle walls, Nici the Shepherd's Dog stands guard in the sheepfold.
Beside him as usual are his pack and the flock they protect but this night is not usual at all. A small boy braves the snowy night, seeking the protection of his great friend while he is banned from his parents' quarters in the castle.
Nici recalls other times and other dangers, his trials and failures, the reasons why he ran away with a young girl, now the little boy's mother. He would still give his life in a heartbeat for Lady Estela. And yet, on this snowy night, he cannot help her. So, while he waits and comforts Estela's son, he tells his own puppies the story of a dog's life.
About the Author
I’M A WELSH WRITER and photographer living in the south of France with two scruffy dogs, a beehive named ‘Endeavour’, a Nikon D750 and a man. I taught English in Wales for many years and my claim to fame is that I was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Carmarthenshire. I’m mother or stepmother to five children so life has been pretty hectic.
I’ve published all kinds of books, both with traditional publishers and self-published. You’ll find everything under my name from prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, to a cookery book on goat cheese. My work with top dog-trainer Michel Hasbrouck has taken me deep into the world of dogs with problems, and inspired one of my novels. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, I can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions.
My recommendations, if you would like to read another of my books:
IF YOU LOVED NICI AND want to read about one of his descendants, try Someone to Look Up To. Based on true stories. It’s a dog’s life in the south of France.
For all dog-lovers!
From puppyhood, Sirius the Pyrenean Mountain Dog has been trying to understand his humans and train them with kindness...
How this led to divorce he has no idea. More misunderstandings take Sirius to Death Row in an animal shelter, as a so-called dangerous dog learning survival tricks from the other inmates. During the twilight barking, he is shocked to hear his brother’s voice but the bitter-sweet reunion is short-lived. Doggedly, Sirius keeps the faith.
One day, his human will come.
If you want to know more about Gwenllian the Warrior Princess, her story is in Fortune Kookie, a Young Adult book that’s not just for teens.
Although it is Book 2 of the series Looking for Normal, the book stands alone.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE Cinnamon Press Novella Award
“Jean Gill brings her magical storytelling skills to teens, to weave compelling and thought-provoking stories that will linger on in their minds well after the last page is read.” Kristin Gleeson, author and children's librarian.
Can dreams take over your life? Jamie's mother is hooked on fortune-tellers, and running the family into debt. To cure her, Jamie decides to investigate the psychic world, and to show that it is a rip-off, with the help of her best friend, Ryan. Their research causes havoc in school and they are drawn deeper into the very world they are investigating.
Jamie's dreams of walking a medieval battlefield are so vivid that she feels compelled to resolve a historical mystery that starts at Kidwelly Castle in South Wales, where Princess Gwenllian once lived.
Caught up in what seem to be supernatural events, Jamie doesn't know what to believe and is sleepwalking into danger. Will friendship be strong enough to bring her back into the real world?
LOOKING FOR NORMAL BOOK 1
IF YOU LIKE YOUNG ADULT that works for adults too; if you’re left-handed or know a leftie, try Left Out
“A compelling story about friendship, its strength, and the unusual ways it develops.” Rebecca P. McCray, The Journey of the Marked
Being different isn’t easy but it can be exciting!
How well do you know your friends? Are they left-handed or right-handed? Are they left-brained or right-brained? And what difference does it make?
Shocked at discovering how left-handers are persecuted, Jamie ties her hand behind her back for a public protest in school. This does not go down well with the teachers. Her best friend Ryan joins in but just when their campaign is working, Ryan’s mother drops a bombshell. She’s whisking him off from Wales UK to live back in America.
There he faces bullying at its most deadly, and Jamie has to live from one email to the next, waiting to know whether her friend is hanging in there.
A modern classic of friendship and teen life, with all its pitfalls and challenges.
“As a parent and a teacher, I felt this book in my gut. It hits so close to home on more levels than I can count.” Anita Kovacevic, teacher and children’s author, contributor to the international Inner Giant Anti-Bullying Project.
IF YOU WANT TO READ about my life in France, try How Blue is my Valley. Humorous travel/autobiography about my first year living in Provence and how it compared with Wales.
‘Laugh out loud in many places... such a vivid picture of fields of lavender, sunflowers and olive trees that you could almost be there with her.’ Living France Magazine
The true scents of Provence?
Lavender, thyme and septic tank.
How can you resist a village called Dieulefit, ‘God created it’, the village ‘where everyone belongs’. Discover the real Provence in good company.
IF YOU LIKE REALISTIC romance, try No Bed of Roses.
Would you reveal your past and risk your second chance at love?
Helen Tanner runs her own business, spends her evenings out with friends, anything to avoid memories of the tragedy she left behind. She lives alone and likes it that way. Until, that is, a dark-haired vet walks into her shop and into her life. Her first unpromising encounter with Dai Evans turns into a tumultuous affair. As passion grows into love, Helen is forced not only to consider a new future, but to face up to a troubled past. Should she tell her lover what causes her nightmares? Will this family man still want her when he knows the truth?
Heart-rending and powerful, No Bed of Roses is a story of loss, love and healing. Jean Gill's characters always feel like real people: complex, thoughtful, and with believable histories and motivation. We really want Helen and Dai to be together and all that stands in their way is the human damage caused by loss and guilt. How can they live with Helen's ghosts
?
‘A story we all carry with us.’ Fiona McClean, From Under the Bed
‘The humour frequently has the effect of pointing up the stark reality with which she writes’. Ted Griffin, Pause Magazine
IF YOU LIKE BIOGRAPHIES and true war stories, try Faithful through Hard Times.
‘A most unusual military history book. There are few military non-combatant accounts of life in the Second World War, fewer still from an Other Rank. Based on words and feelings recorded at the time it is probably unique.’ Don Marshall, Military History Enthusiast
This is not a WW2 memoir. It is a riveting reconstruction from an eye-witness account written at the time in a secret diary, a diary too dangerous to show anyone and too precious to destroy.
The true story of four years, 3 million bombs, one small island out-facing the might of the German and Italian airforces – and one young Scotsman who didn’t want to be there.
IF YOU LIKE FOOD AND France, try A Small Cheese in Provence
Provençal food for the brain as well as the table. Cheese information, recipes, stories and quotations in French, Occitan and English with beautiful full colour photographs throughout. A must for cheese-loving Francophiles, who will discover the Picodon ‘a small cheese in Provence’ that even travelled into space on an Apollo mission.
Jean Gill’s publications
Novels
Life After Men: Book 1 The Silver Sex Kittens
co-authored by Karen Charlton (The 13th Sign) 2018
Someone to Look Up To: a dog’s search for love and understanding (The 13th Sign) 2016
The Troubadours Quartet
Book 5 Nici’s Christmas Tale: A Troubadours Short Story (The 13th Sign) 2018
Book 4 Song Hereafter (The 13th Sign) 2017
Book 3 Plaint for Provence (The 13th Sign) 2015
Book 2 Bladesong (The 13th Sign 2015)
Book 1 Song at Dawn (The 13th Sign ) 2015
Love Heals
Book 2 More Than One Kind (The 13th Sign) 2016
Book 1 No Bed of Roses (The 13th Sign) 2016
Looking for Normal (teen fiction/fact)
Book 1 Left Out (The 13th Sign) 2017
Book 2 Fortune Kookie (The 13th Sign) 2017
Non-fiction/Memoir/Travel
How Blue is my Valley (The 13th Sign 2016
A Small Cheese in Provence (The 13th Sign) 2016
Faithful through Hard Times (The 13th Sign) 2018
4.5 Years – war memoir by David Taylor (The 13th Sign) 2017
Short Stories and Poetry
One Sixth of a Gill (The 13th Sign) 2014
From Bedtime On (The 13th Sign) 2018 (2nd edition)
With Double Blade (The 13th Sign) 2018 (2nd edition)
Translation (from French)
The Last Love of Edith Piaf – Christie Laume (Archipel) 2014
A Pup in Your Life – Michel Hasbrouck 2008
Gentle Dog Training – Michel Hasbrouck (Souvenir Press) 2008
