The Midnight of Eights
By Justin Newland
1580.
Nelan Michaels docks at Plymouth after sailing around the world aboard the Golden Hind. He seeks only to master his mystical powers – the mark of the salamander, that mysterious spirit of fire – and reunite with his beloved Eleanor.
After delivering a message to Francis Walsingham, he’s recruited into the service of the Queen’s spymaster, where his astral abilities help him to predict and thwart future plots against the realm.
But in 1588, the Spanish Armada threatens England’s shores.
So how could the fledgling navy of a small, misty isle on the edge of mainland Europe repulse the greatest fleet in the world?
Was the Queen right when she claimed it was divine intervention, saying, ‘He blew with His winds, and they were scattered!’?
Or was it an entirely different intervention – the extraordinary conjunction of coincidences that Nelan’s astral powers brought to bear on that fateful Midnight of Eights?
Book Title: The Midnight of Eights
Series: The Island of Angels (This is book 2 of 2. The first book is called The Mark of the Salamander. Book 2 is written as a stand-alone, or can be read after reading book 1.)
Author: Justin Newland
Publication Date: 28th October 2024
Publisher: The Book Guild
Page Length: 288
Genre: Historical Fiction
A poem inspired by writing The Midnight of Eights…
Something passed, a sound, a leaf falling. A glimpse, a deer passing.
We were there at the birth, when, long ago, the land was pristine, latent, swathed in forests of silver birch, and golden oak. We looked around with the eyes of youth, and were alone.
But without people, we couldn’t grow, and the land was empty.
Together, we sought out those of kin to abide with us, to join our combined destiny. We called out to them and so the Mighty crossed the land bridge and settled amongst our rolling hills and gentle dales.
Then, when the waters encroached, and made our land an Island, the first ones, the Mighty, dwelt with us amidst the meadows and the combes.
They built altars where their white-robed priests laid the dead in burrows and tombs.
We needed more people, and sent out another call, a subtle whisper summoning them to attend us.
From across the waters came the warriors dressed in red, brandishing their eagles, to plant their terrible seed in our womb. They built roads that followed our sacred lines of power. Then they departed, leaving the awful trace of their crimson ways.
More heard our siren call, and came to join the other rough-hewn folk already here, creating a family of blue and green eyed, red and golden haired. Hearing our summons, they left their homes and sailed across the northern seas in their long boats and their short swords. They were the true people, the Angles to our Angels.
Like any child, we wanted to grow, to imagine our possibility, and discover and realise our divinely-given destiny. Alas, the family of peoples who had settled on our Island was unable to meet our vision of the future.
As we grew into maturity, we changed, developed, and reformed ourselves again.
The prominent families fought for the right to be the rulers of our land, to represent our new, emerging will, our supreme purpose. It was war. As the petals of their red and white dog roses fell to the ground and withered, there came to the throne a queen of a thousand days, who gave birth to a chosen one. Wearing pearls, she abided with us, and together sought the souls of the people. During her reign, we made ourselves anew, and moulded our peoples to face and join the mystery of the onsetting future.
The reforming had begun.
But from across the seas, a great threat cast a giant shadow across the Island.
Its gold constriction could and would never set foot on our silver land.
Make beacons.
Send fireships.
Pray deacons.
Purse lips.
We will be known to the world.
Every one of you knows of us.
For we are you, and you are us and
We are the Angels of the Island of England.
Justin Newland
18th March 2025
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Justin Newland
JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism.
Undeterred by the award of a Maths Doctorate, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (ISBN 9781789014860, Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.
His second book, The Old Dragon’s Head (ISBN 9781789015829, Matador, 2018), and is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.
Set during the Great Enlightenment, The Coronation (ISBN 9781838591885, Matador, 2019) speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.
The Abdication (ISBN 9781800463950, Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.
The Mark of the Salamander (ISBN 9781915853271, Book Guild, 2023), is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age.
The latest is The Midnight of Eights (ISBN 9781835740 330, Book Guild, 2024), the second in The Island of Angels series, which charts the uncanny coincidences of time and tide that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada.
His work in progress is The Spirit of the Times which explores the events of the 14th Century featuring an unlikely cast of the Silk Road, Genghis Khan, the Black Plague, and a nursery rhyme that begins ‘Ring a-ring a-roses’.
Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin gives talks to historical associations and libraries, appears on LitFest panels, and enjoys giving radio interviews. He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
Connect with Justine:
Thank you so much for hosting Justin Newland today, with a fascinating poem linked to his new novel, The Midnight of Eights.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club