Tag: The Red Dragon of Oxford

The Red Dragon of Oxford: audiobook available

~ Joy Lynn Fielding ~ Leave a comment

I’m thrilled to share that The Red Dragon of Oxford is available as an audiobook on Audible. I was fortunate to secure Rufus Love as a narrator, and he brings a wonderful warmth and humour to Rufus and Mark’s adventures in — and over — Oxford.

Audiobook cover for The Red Dragon of Oxford read by Rufus Love

If you’d like a refresher on some of the places in Oxford mentioned in the book, there’s a pictorial guide on my post here.

Meanwhile, my planned re-release of The Strength of the Pack series hit a slight bump when I was unwell for a few weeks, but I’m getting back on top of things now and hope to have more news for you soon.

Release day for The Red Dragon of Oxford!

~ Joy Lynn Fielding ~ Leave a comment

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.

A partial, dragon’s-eye guide to Oxford

Radcliffe Camera
~ Joy Lynn Fielding ~ 2 Comments

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.

Of dragons and doodles

~ Joy Lynn Fielding ~ Leave a comment

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.

Dragons in Oxford on 15th January

~ Joy Lynn Fielding ~ Leave a comment

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.