About
Derek Birks
Derek
was born in Hampshire in England but spent his teenage years in Auckland, New
Zealand, where he still has strong family ties. For many years he taught
history in a secondary school but took early retirement to concentrate on
writing.
Derek
writes fiction which is rooted in accurate history. He is interested in a wide
range of historical themes, but at the start of his writing career he focused
on the late medieval period. His debut historical novel, Feud, is set in the period of the Wars of the Roses and is
the first of a series entitled Rebels
& Brothers which follows the fortunes of the fictional Elder
family.
It
was always Derek’s aim to write fiction where the main protagonists are both
male and female. Thus, in the Rebels &
Brothers series, the focus is on the exploits of three young siblings
who are from a noble family of middling status. Ned Elder, an untried knight
and soldier, is the eldest; his sister, Emma, is plain, practical, a little
sombre and mostly conventional; and, by stark contrast, the younger sister,
Eleanor, is beautiful, brash to the point of reckless and most unconventional.
In Lady Eleanor Elder, Derek has created a rather special character who has shocked
and entertained his readers perhaps more than any other.
Derek’s
books are action-packed and almost no character is safe so – as one reviewer
has said: “Don’t get too attached to anyone!”
However,
dire threats have been made to the author by some readers should he decide to
kill off Lady Eleanor!
After
the fourth and final book of the series, The
Last Shroud, was published in 2015, Derek embarked on a new Wars of the
Roses series: The Craft of Kings,
which continues the story of the Elder family but begins ten years after the
end of the previous series.
So
far it comprises: Scars from the Past,
The Blood of Princes and Echoes of Treason. The Elders will return later
in 2020 in the fourth and final book of the series, Crown of Fear.
Derek’s interest in the
Wars of the Roses period goes beyond fiction and he has produced almost fifty
non-fiction podcasts about the subject for those who want to explore what
really happened. These are available from his website, or through i-Tunes and
other podcast providers.
Derek’s
most recent novel, an Amazon bestseller, is
The Last of the Romans, which is a complete change of time period and
setting. It is set in turbulent fifth century Europe and centres upon the
shadowy historical figure of Ambrosius Aurelianus.
Ambrosius
Aurelianus is an interesting figure for whom there is some documented evidence
in a time period where there is so little evidence for the existence of any
named individual. It is a period rich with Arthurian fantasy and some have
suggested that Ambrosius is the basis for the legendary Arthur.
In
The Last of the Romans, Derek
explores the origins of the man and provides a wholly fictional, yet plausible,
backstory for Ambrosius.
Derek’s
forthcoming book is a sequel, entitled Britannia:
World’s End, which finds Ambrosius in post-Roman Empire Britain. There
he must grapple with a broken society which is no longer exactly Roman, nor yet
especially Saxon; it is a land in flux, where no one man – or woman – has
control. The landscape is recognisably Roman, yet many of the towns and villas
which once drove the economy are decaying and the rule of law is in the hands
of the most powerful.
Into
this uncertain world, Ambrosius and his companions arrive in winter as refugees
hoping to carve out a new life in a place sometimes described by Romans as…
World’s End.
Britannia: World’s
End
will be out in the early summer 2020.
If
you are interested in Derek’s work, you can sign up to his occasional email
newsletters on his website contact page here: https://www.derekbirks.com/the-author-derek-birks/
You can also follow his progress by means of the
following links:
Website: www.derekbirks.com
Twitter handle: @Feud_writer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feudwriter/
Books on
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Birks/e/B0090EKZDY/
Books on
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Birks/e/B0090EKZDY/
Click HERE (and scroll down to 'B') to find our reviews of Derek Birk's books on Discovering Diamonds
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Congratulations Derek - The Elder family were a great creation!
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard!
DeleteThanks very much, Helen for featuring my work. It is very much appreciated.
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