Wings over Albion 2 – coming soon!

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Joy Lynn Fielding

Things have been quiet here of late because I’ve been working hard on the next book in my dragon-shifter series. In the Dragon’s Lair is about Nate, Rufus’s brother, and the mysterious dragon he meets in the English city of Bath.

It will be released early in June. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy a quick guide to parts of Bath featured in the book (credits for photos are at the end of the post).

Above: Aerial view of The Circus; street view of The Circus.

The Circus is a ring of Georgian townhouses built in creamy Bath stone. It’s central to the book.

Georgian Bath was designed in large part by John Wood the Elder and his son, John Wood the Younger. The Elder was responsible for The Circus. Although I know the place well, I didn’t realise how much mystical symbolism is present in the architecture until I began researching In the Dragon’s Lair. Without giving too much away, that’s rather apt for the book.

The Elder believed there had been druidic temples on one of the hills just outside the city, and along with various Masonic symbols, there are acorn finials adorning the houses in The Circus.

John Wood the Elder was fascinated by myths and legends as well as Freemasonry, and he’s said to have taken inspiration from Stonehenge when planning The Circus. The Circus is supposed to represent the sun, the Royal Crescent the moon, and Queen Square, where Nate and Alex have their first proper conversation, the Earth.

Apparently, the street connecting the Royal Crescent and The Circus follows the path of a ley line.

In the aerial view of the The Circus, you can see the Upper Assembly Rooms at about one o’clock. They’re a treat to visit if you’re into Georgian history. My characters, Nate and Alex, attend a function there. Sadly, neither is the type to describe the setting in any detail — never have I been so tempted to add a picture to a book!

Above: exterior of the Upper Assembly Rooms. Interior, looking towards front door.

Above: the ballroom, with the balcony where the band played; the ballroom’s moulded ceiling.

The Tea Room
The Great Octagon

Just down from The Circus is Queen Square, so named because it was dedicated to Queen Caroline, George II’s wife. Palladian townhouses surround a garden, in which a tall obelisk is the focal point. The obelisk was erected in 1738 by Beau Nash in honour of the Prince of Wales. It used to rise from a circular pool of water, but sadly that pool is long gone, along with some of the obelisk’s height (it was damaged in a gale in 1815).

Most importantly, for my purposes, the garden has benches and privacy.

Above: Pulteney Bridge and weir; The Royal Crescent.

Something I discovered when writing this book — two of the angels on the carving of Jacob’s Ladder on the front of Bath Abbey are going down headfirst. Or perhaps they’re going up bottom-first. It sounds uncomfortable, whichever way it is.

Roman Baths – Photo by David Iliff License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Bath Abbey – Photo by David Iliff. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this dragons’ eye view of another of my favourite cities. I can’t wait for you to meet Nate and Alex!

Photo credits:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Release day for The Red Dragon of Oxford!

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Joy Lynn Fielding

I’m delighted to be able finally to share Mark and Rufus’s adventures with you. Their story is now available both to buy and on KindleUnlimited here: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0CQ39QGXF

Cover of The Red Dragon of Oxford

Dragons aren’t real. Or so I used to think.

Oxford isn’t exactly what I’d imagined. Sure, the colleges are romantic, and everyone is brilliant enough to trigger my impostor syndrome. I expected that.

The dragon, however, was a big surprise.

I saw him on my first day. The beautiful beast spoke to me, then disappeared. I’ve been looking for him ever since. When I’m not on a wild dragon chase, I spend my time in the library. I’d like to think I’m only there to study, but who am I kidding?

I’m there for him.

Rufus Mortimer is the world’s hottest librarian. He’s strict, enigmatic, and sexy. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. 

But he has a secret. One that could destroy everything.

So now, all I have to do is find a dragon, earn my doctorate, and try not to let my new romance burn my life to the ground. Easy, right?

I wish…

And if you’d like a quick, pictorial overview of some of the places in the book, you can find that here.

A red dragon reading on a pile of books.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

A partial, dragon’s-eye guide to Oxford

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Joy Lynn Fielding

The Red Dragon of Oxford is released on 15th January, and I thought it would be fun to share pictures of some of the places featured in the book. Credits for photos are at the bottom of the post.

Much of the action takes place in the library of fictional Mortimer College. Given the importance of libraries in the book, it feels wrong not to include pictures of the university’s central research library, the Bodleian.

Bodleian Library exterior
Bodleian exterior
Bodleian Library.
Oldest part of the Bodleian Library, dating from 15th century.

The iconic Radcliffe Camera, which forms part of the Bodleian. It was built between 1737 and 1749:

Radcliffe Camera
Radcliffe Camera from St Mary’s tower
Radcliffe Camera
Radcliffe Camera from Radcliffe Square

And just because it’s beautiful – Queen’s College upper library:

The_Queen's_College_Upper_Library
The Queen’s College Upper Library

Just to the side of the Bodleian is the Sheldonian, with the mysterious heads on pillars outside that leave Mark so unimpressed. Rufus’s favourite bridge in Oxford is to the right of the Sheldonian.

The Sheldonian
The Sheldonian
Hertford's Bridge of Sighs
Hertford’s Bridge of Sighs

Mortimer College is, of course, fictional, but in the book it’s one of the 39 colleges that make up the University of Oxford. Please don’t ask me which one I booted out to make space for it!

Mortimer is, like most of the colleges, built around quadrangles:

Quad from above at Merton College
Quad at Merton College
New College quadrangle.
New College quad
All Souls College quadrangle
All Souls College quad

Mortimer’s accommodation and tutors’ studies are arranged around staircases leading off the quads:

Merton College quad
Merton College quad showing staircase entrances

Mortimer is a most superior Oxford college because it’s one of the select few that has cloisters. The ones below are at New College and, if memory serves, were used in one of the Harry Potter films:

And finally, the dining hall. Or simply Hall, as it is known. Mortimer College’s is very much along the lines of Balliol’s below, and leaves Mark somewhat overwhelmed. High Table, where the dons dine, is actually on a different level from everyone else. At least the Balliol High Table dais doesn’t have red carpet like the one at Christ Church!

Hall, Balliol College
Hall, Balliol College

And that’s it for this particular whistle-stop tour! I hope it’s given some insight into the place that Mark encounters for the first time.

Photo credits:

  1. Exterior of Bodleian – pic by Adam.thomp07. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Source.
  2. Interior of Bodleian – pic by annetgent. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Source.
  3. Radcliffe Camera – both pictures copyright Joy Lynn Fielding
  4. Queen’s College Library – pic by Odicalmuse. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Source.
  5. The Sheldonian – pic by Ozeye. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Source.
  6. New College quad – pic by Nick Smith. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Source.
  7. All Souls quad – both pictures copyright Joy Lynn Fielding.
  8. Merton staircases – copyright Joy Lynn Fielding.
  9. New College cloisters – copyright Joy Lynn Fielding.
  10. Balliol Hall – pic by Smb1001 licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Source.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Of dragons and doodles

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Joy Lynn Fielding

With The Red Dragon of Oxford coming out on 15th January, I’m excited to share some pictures of the beautiful Book of Kells. This exquisite medieval manuscript inspired the text known as the Rosea in my book.

The Rosea is about a century younger than the Book of Kells, dating from the late ninth century. Despite the age gap, there’s a close resemblance, with the same beautiful Latin script and vividly coloured illustrations. The pigments used for the real book, including gold and lapis lazuli, were phenomenally expensive. Perhaps this is why the colours remain so vibrant twelve hundred years later:

I love the way that not only are the initial letters are turned into beautiful pictures, but seemingly random ones throughout the text are transformed into artistic doodles.

Vaguely aware that the Book of Kells had been exhibited in Australia some years ago, I started wondering how they kept it safe during its travels. Apparently, along with being moved in great secrecy and with a security price-tag of £1 million, it was given its very own black box with a homing beacon. It was also insured for £50 million. I wonder how the underwriters arrived at that valuation — it’s not as if there are other books quite like this one.

The efforts that go into safeguarding the Book of Kells leave me with a twinge of guilt about what happens to the Rosea.

If you’d like to find out more about the Rosea along with Mark and Rufus’s story, The Red Dragon of Oxford is now available for pre-order here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Dragons in Oxford on 15th January

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Joy Lynn Fielding

I’ve been a bit quiet of late because I’ve been busy writing. Which means a new book is coming out. The Red Dragon of Oxford is about dragon-shifters and Oxford and is the first in a new series, Wings over Albion. It releases on 15th January.

The Red Dragon of Oxford book cover.

Dragons aren’t real. Or so I used to think.

Oxford isn’t exactly what I’d imagined. Sure, the colleges are romantic, and everyone is brilliant enough to trigger my impostor syndrome. I expected that.

The dragon, however, was a big surprise.

I saw him on my first day. The beautiful beast spoke to me, then disappeared. I’ve been looking for him ever since.

When I’m not on a wild dragon chase, I spend my time in the library. I’d like to think I’m only there to study, but who am I kidding?

I’m there for him.

Rufus Mortimer is the world’s hottest librarian. He’s strict, enigmatic, and sexy. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. 

But he has a secret. One that could destroy everything.

So now, all I have to do is find a dragon, earn my doctorate, and try to not to let my new romance burn my life to the ground. Easy, right?

I wish…

The Red Dragon of Oxford is a sweet and spicy paranormal m/m romance with a guaranteed happily ever after.

And in the meantime, Queer Romance Ink has given A Star to Sail By a lovely five-star review:

“The story is full of surprise, betrayals, cruelty, sex, secrets and ordeals…Crispin and Billy are amazing characters. If you enjoy historical books where the lead characters are gay, this one has it all.”

I do wonder why I wrote Billy and Crispin’s Caribbean adventures at the height of our summer heatwave instead of saving them for now, when I’m typing this with a hot-water bottle on my lap. Oh, well. Lesson learned for next year.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mouse-skin eyebrows and an Amazon voucher

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Joy Lynn Fielding

The more I read about Regency and Georgian Britain, the more fascinated and appalled I become by some of the things that were commonplace back then. Cosmetics are one of those things, with women (and, on occasion, men) painting their face with white lead and vinegar, using lipstick made from Plaster of Paris, and applying Gowland’s lotion, containing mercury, to remove pimples and freckles (and a layer of skin along with them, I presume).

18th century woman with well-defined eyebrows – hopefully her own.

It’s said that those with sunken cheeks would resort to light balls of cork to plump out their face (Fop’s Dictionary of 1690 as well as an unflattering entry in Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1811 – “Contrivances said to be formerly worn by old maids, for filling out a pair of shrivelled cheeks”). How they ever managed to talk, let alone eat and drink, is beyond me.

Early in the Georgian period, thick eyebrows were fashionable. Women’s eyebrows were often darkened with a variety of substances including lead, burnt cork and soot. There’s a widespread belief that some ladies shaved off their own eyebrows and glued on false ones made from mouse skin. It makes a good tale, but when I read a little further, I began to question its veracity. Along with a cartoon, the main sources for this are from satirical and somewhat misogynistic poems. There are many books from the period that address facial cosmetics, the dying of beards, the dressing of hair and the construction of wigs, and it seems to me strange that instructions on how to affix and care for mouse-skin eyebrows are missing. I hope for the sake of historical mice that it is untrue!

One of the verses is from Matthew Prior in 1718:

Watercolour of mouse.

            Helen was just slipt into bed

            Her eyebrows on the toilet lay

            Away the kitten with them fled

            As fees belonging to her prey.

So how does all this relate to an Amazon voucher? I’m undertaking a blog tour this week to celebrate the release of my Regency romance, The Earl’s Awakening, and as part of the tour, there’s a Rafflecopter for an Amazon voucher. Good luck!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

More pirates!

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Joy Lynn Fielding

For those who, like me, can’t get enough of books about pirates at the moment, I’m delighted to share an author collaboration to list queer pirate books (of a variety of ilks) in one place.

The timing has been chosen to celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day on Tuesday – always a joy, especially in the workplace…

I hope you find some new authors and books to enjoy!

Queer Pirates collection graphic and link.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Earl’s Awakening releases today

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Joy Lynn Fielding

My books are rather like buses – you wait for ages without one, and then three come along almost at once. My steamy Regency – described by one five-star reviewer as “gloriously carnal” – is out today, available at Extasy Books, Amazon, and other online retailers.

TEA cover

One glance and his past life was history

Leander Talbot’s life changed forever when his wife died. He is now reluctantly venturing back into society, knowing that, as the Earl of Ockley, he must marry again to produce an heir. But he can’t bring himself to the sticking point. Instead, he spends his time evading the matchmaking mamas of the ton.

The dark and dangerous Duke of Arden is an infamous libertine. It is said that he seduces innocents, and there are even more sinister tales whispered of his predilections. Only the wild young blades who form his retinue know the truth, but he is shunned by all save those wishing to court notoriety.

A chance meeting brings Leander into Arden’s orbit. Ignoring the warnings about Arden’s intentions, Leander is drawn into a seductive world of sexual indulgence. There, he finds the freedom he craves from his overbearing family. By the time he suspects Arden might have ulterior motives, it may be too late to save his reputation—and his heart.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Putting the pleasure in pleasure gardens

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Joy Lynn Fielding

The Museum of London has summarised perfectly London’s pleasure gardens of the Georgian and Regency years – part art gallery, part fashion show and part brothel.

The gardens were designed purely for entertainment, featuring whimsical architecture, miniature waterways, and extensive shrubberies that provided opportunity for all sorts of visitors. The gardens swiftly developed a reputation for being debauched places, with one visitor wishing “there were more nightingales and fewer strumpets”.

Below: Vauxhall Gardens 1809

Vauxhall Gardens

That didn’t stop the cream of society from visiting, though! Anyone who was anyone might be seen at one, promenading in their finery, dancing, listening to concerts (Handel was practically artist in residence at Vauxhall Gardens in the 1730s and 1740s), and eating and drinking in the booths where art by Hogarth and others was displayed,

As the disgruntled visitor’s complaint suggests, the entry fee designed to exclude the riff raff had little effect on the number of prostitutes who congregated at Vauxhall, and who, by all accounts, found it a lucrative hunting ground. The main walkways through the trees were lit by lamps, but there were also the dark walks. These were unlit and so provided cover for any number of private activities. Early in the eighteenth century, magistrates enforced the lighting of the coyly named Lovers’ Walk in an attempt to deter wanton behaviour. Their insistence sounds rather Canute-like to me – one might as well try to hold back the sea as to deter lovers from seeking places to be private together.

You might think it’s a perfect place for clandestine assignations, and that’s precisely what the rakish Duke of Arden concludes in my forthcoming book The Earl’s Awakening. It’s released on 8th September and can be pre-ordered from Extasy Books, Amazon, or your favourite online bookseller.

Vauxhall Gardens in 1751, showing the extent of the shrubberies and the opportunities for assignations.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Chance to win an Amazon voucher

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Joy Lynn Fielding

To mark the release of A Star to Sail By, I’m undertaking a blog tour. I’m very grateful to all the bloggers who are so kindly hosting me and am plucking out one at random to link to the Rafflecopter that’s running with an Amazon voucher as its prize. Pop on over to Archaeolibrarian – I dig good books if you’d like to enter.

A Star to Sail By (next book, I’m going with a title that doesn’t take as long to keep typing out!) has also received a lovely review from MM Romance Reviewed – “A compelling story…entertaining with some action and danger, hurt/comfort, and some real emotional growth from Crispin…An unexpectedly wonderful read.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment