The Boar Stone

Roman England, 366 AD. Minna, a Roman serving girl, loses family and home and is flung out into the brutal world to fend for herself. Desperate to reach her soldier brother at the northern frontier, she falls in with Cian, a tribeless youth with no loyalty to anyone but himself. A terrible mistake sees them thrust into the wilds of barbarian Scotland, a land in chaos. The Romans have sent scouts north from their frontier, seeking to subdue Scotland by any means possible. The dark Picts retaliate, raiding and pillaging Roman farms. And caught in the middle is Cahir, King of the Dalriadans in Scotland. Year by year he has watched his people fall under the Roman yoke, and wounded by shame, his power dwindles. At Cahir's fort, Cian and Minna must struggle to survive. Cian retreats into the pain of his hidden past, while Minna has an entirely unexpected path open before her. What are these magical visions and dreams of Scotland - full of battles and bloodshed - that plague her? Minna's visions soon reveal a spiritual destiny that she shares with the wounded king Cahir. Yet her journey to heal them both has far-reaching consequences.

Roman England, 366 AD. Minna, a Roman serving girl, loses family and home and is flung out into the brutal world to fend for herself. Desperate to reach her soldier brother at the northern frontier, she falls in with Cian, a tribeless youth with no loyalty to anyone but himself. A terrible mistake sees them thrust into the wilds of barbarian Scotland, a land in chaos. The Romans have sent scouts north from their frontier, seeking to subdue Scotland by any means possible. The dark Picts retaliate, raiding and pillaging Roman farms. And caught in the middle is Cahir, King of the Dalriadans in Scotland. Year by year he has watched his people fall under the Roman yoke, and wounded by shame, his power dwindles. At Cahir's fort, Cian and Minna must struggle to survive. Cian retreats into the pain of his hidden past, while Minna has an entirely unexpected path open before her. What are these magical visions and dreams of Scotland - full of battles and bloodshed - that plague her? Minna's visions soon reveal a spiritual destiny that she shares with the wounded king Cahir. Yet her journey to heal them both has far-reaching consequences. In the vein of Marion Zimmer Bradley's million-seller The Mists of Avalon, The Boar Stone mixes battles, danger, love, honor, sacrifice, Celtic magic and the passionate desire for freedom from tyranny. Minna thinks herself nothing, a girl with no family and no home. Yet when she is taken to Scotland as a slave, the land itself - and an unforeseen love - awaken her soul. Visions reveal she is not only linked to her famous ancestors, Rhiann and Eremon of Dunadd, but that her destiny will determine Scotland's very future, and its freedom from the Roman yoke. This is the third in a trilogy about the Celts and Romans in Scotland. The other books in the series are also available now as e-books.

Jules Watson was born in Australia of English parents, later married a Scot and, much later, moved to the Scottish Highlands. As a child she had always been drawn to Celtic myths and traditions. She fell in love with The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and wanted to write books with a similar mixture of history, adventures, battles, romance and Celtic spirituality. The Dalriada Trilogy was born from this passion, and is based on the historical invasions of Scotland by the invading Roman Empire - 'Braveheart', but with Romans! The Trilogy has been published in the US and Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It was translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Turkish. Two further books, The Swan Maiden and The Raven Queen, are novelizations of two famous Irish myths. Jules currently lives with her husband in the US.