Karen Maitland: Company of Liars

Last night I attended the launch of Karen Maitland's Company of Liars at Lincoln Waterstones. Karen was - once upon a time - my Creative Writing tutor!

The evening consisted of Karen reading out the chilling Prologue to Company of Liars and then her being ‘in conversation’ with her publisher. This was followed by a question and answer session. It was a bewitching evening and I made copious notes. I learned that the Runes are more than a mere bag of stones used for fortune telling at parties. In fact, the story Karen told about using them on a train, leads me to think very differently about them.

What was interesting was that, although the novel only took a year to write, the research has been ongoing for about ten years; although there is also another novel (The Owl Killers) which will also soon be published. Listening to Karen speak, you can see she is totally fascinated with the subject matter and she even admits herself to being a compulsive researcher. This obviously paid off as her publisher stated that the novel ‘shone through like a beacon.’

I’m not sure when I will get to read it – the book being 548 pages long and me with a novel of my own to write – but I promise to do a review as soon as I have the time…. I can tell you that the cover is beautifully illustrated and will look good on any bookshelf!

On this day of ill omen, plague makes its entrance. Within weeks, swathes of England will be darkened by death's shadow as towns and villages burn to the ringing of church bells.

While panic and suspicion flood the land, a small band of travellers comes together to outrun the breakdown in law and order. But when one of their number is found hanging from a tree, the chilling discovery confirms that something more sinister than plague is in their midst. And as the runes warn of treachery, it appears no one is quite what they seem, least of all the child rune reader, who mercilessly compels each of her companions to tell their stories. And face the consequences.

Take a leap of imagination and embark on an unforgettable journey through the ravaged countryside ... with only a scarred trader in holy relics, a conjuror, two musicians, and a deformed storyteller for company.

See: http://www.companyofliars.co.uk/