Christopher Moss (formerly Nan Hawthorne)

Biography

Historical novelist with a particular interest in the power of historical fiction to explore the lives of GLBTQ people. Periods of expertise: Anglo Saxon England, the Middle Ages in general, and a new focus on the American Civil War. Editor of Our Story: GLBTQ historical Fiction at http://www.glbtbookshelf.com . Hawthorne's first novel, An involuntary king: A Tale of Anglo Saxon England, available here on Smashwords, is one of the 2012 IndieB.R.A.G. Medallion Honorees www.bragmedallion.com/ . I am transgender and formerly wrote as "Nan Hawthorne."

Where to find Christopher Moss (formerly Nan Hawthorne) online

Where to buy in print

Books

An Involuntary King: A Tale of Anglo Saxon England
Price: $6.95 USD. Words: 206,090. Language: English. Published: November 5, 2009 . Categories: Fiction » Historical » General, Fiction » Historical » Medieval
(4.67 from 3 reviews)
2012 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree! http://www.bragmedallion.com/ A young man finds himself on the throne of a Saxon kingdom after his father and older brother lie slain at a usurper's hands. With the help of his young queen he faces threats to his power and his life, while she is relentlessly pursued by a darkly sensual mercenary who will stop at nothing to have her. An epic story of Arthurian b

Christopher Moss (formerly Nan Hawthorne)'s tag cloud

adventure    anglo saxon    dark ages    england    love story    medieval    warfare   

Smashwords book reviews by Christopher Moss (formerly Nan Hawthorne)

  • The Amber Treasure on Dec. 11, 2009
    (no rating)
    The Amber Treasure Richard Denning The Amber Treasure is the story of Cerdic, a young Angle living in the Dark Ages kingdom of Deira at the end of the sixth century AD/CE. During his lifetime Cerdic is fated to find himself in the midst of the last Celtic attempt to drive the descendants of the Germanic invaders from what was once their land. Starting in childhood, Cerdic is as much subject to the legends and songs of the great Northumbrian warlords told by the bards as any other boy. It is how he learns what warfare really means to him as a person that makes The Amber Treasure the gripping and satisfying tale it is. Cerdic is the son of a farmer of higher rank, the nephew of a warrior lord whose heroic death is the impossible standard for a young man's plans. He lives a secure life in the Villa, the old Roman farmhouse now crumbling but nevertheless symbolic of a time he cannot quite understand. He has every reason to believe his placid life will continue as it is, that is, until Celtic raiders come and steal a precious treasure from the Villa, amber jewelry presented by the king as reward to the great hero's wife and now the possession of Cerdic's mother. The Celts, which Denning calls "Welsh" from the old English word for foreigner, take more than the jewelry. They take other precious things, his older brother's life, his sister as a slave, his innocence and youth and his trust in both a Welsh slave and his own half brother, his father's unacknowledged and bitter bastard. As part of a small force he travels to Welsh Elmet to get his sister and the treasure back and to avenge the violation of his home and trust. His heroism in freeing all the captives leads to his involvement in a larger effort to prevent a huge Celtic force from overthrowing Deira. The constant impact of disappointment, disillusionment and compromise not only constitutes Cerdic's own growing maturity and leadership but sets the stage for his future adventures. The Amber Treasure is the story of three swords, the image that is the spine of this novel. Cerdic's warrior uncle's sword stands for the heroic heritage the young man longs to live up to. The second is a fine newly forged sword that is too rare and dear for anyone to wield until it is won by an unworthy man. The third is the sword of a long dead Roman that Cerdic takes from the hand of the first man he kills in battle, the sword that is the reality of war to both the young man and to us, the readers. The symbolism here is also emblematic of one of the things about this novel I most appreciated. Unlike so many depictions of the Middle Ages of late, Dennning provides us with a credible disillusion with battle and glory that is untouched by false modern sensibilities. Cerdic's falling out of love with his uncle's legacy is the natural outgrowth of real experience, coming from an intelligent and reflective mind. It is a grim recognition of the consequences, not a lecture from a distant post-modern future. Denning presents us with an interpreted early England that does not much stray from what is known but rather offers a flavor of it enhanced with engrossing descriptions, such as the King's hall, the nature of shield wall battle, the stink and fascination of the city of Eoforwic. The author has a knack with characterization as well, constructing distinct and consistent main and secondary characters, Cerdic's family and friends, the leaders he watches for how to inspire and also not to inspire men and how to make decisions, the enemies who become clearly human to him, and the two young men who challenge his prejudices. Along with the imagery of the swords, the common binding of the novel is a bard, Lilla, an almost unworldly figure who represents the illusion of glory. You know Cerdic has fully matured when he turns to Lilla at a critical moment and tells him to tell his tale another time, for something more important must come first. This novel is intended to be part of a continuing story and as such is told by Cerdic from the perspective of many years later in his life. I look forward to what Denning does with this. All in all, The Amber Treasure is a strong and engaging tale told with skill and eloquence, satisfying and yet thought-provoking by an able storyteller.
  • For Honor: An Adventure of What Might Have Been on Aug. 14, 2010
    (no rating)
    This is definitely a novel for fans of The Three Musketeers. It's written well and fun and mostly in jokes and stories meant to appeal to the enthusiast. I am not a particular 3Ms fan, so it wasn't for me, but definitely might be the cat's meow for you.
  • Molly and the Vampire: A sensible woman learns about Love, Lust, and Things That Go Bump in the Night on Aug. 12, 2011

    I got to read this delightful novel in draft form, and was I in for a wonderful surprise. Laaksonen is a natural... a good writer, a great storyteller, funny and clever, and plenty sexy. I especially enjoyed the secondary characters, in particcular Crow and Minstrel. This is just such a fun read you will be glad you ran into Laaksonen's work and wit.
  • Chivalry: A Jake Savage Adventure on Oct. 20, 2011

    The story where Arrthurian romance and gritty Hundred Years War "goddamns" (English soldiers) clash is a brilliant construction, done well and effectively. A squadron of knight, soldiers and archers come across a scene in the mountains as they desperately search for food and shelter. At the end of a bridge over a ravine is a knight all in black armor, unmoving, and a beautiful lady in a pavilion. The modern reader, aware of the chivalric image, knows what's up, but, except for the protagonist Jack, no one else thinks anything of it. What happens when the crude meets the ethereal and Jack transcends both is the point of this story. Lorde manages some quite marvelous images and writing. The story's end is intentionally nebulous.
  • Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts on Oct. 20, 2011

    It's refreshing to hear of gay and lesbian ghosts, though in fact that description does not fit all the entries. Many of the stories are of ghosts or imprinted memories of others in gay bars and hotels. Each tends to be long on the history behind the haunting and rather short on the details of the haunting itself. Nevertheless this is a fun, light, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant book. You will run into some celebrities: Piers Gaveston, Lizzie Borden, Rudolph Valentino, Clifton Webb, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Liberace. My personal favorite is the ghost in an English pub who likes to pull at men's pants zippers. The most moving tells of crowds of men fleeing a gay club in 18th century London, leaving the imprint of their terror on the streets. The stories, assuming of course they are true, attest to the existence of GLBTQ people throughout history, but the stories are also full of regret that so many loves and lives had to be clandestine or even unfulfilled because of society's oppression.