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John Craig McDonald
An Early Fall
The pawns had been played. Now it was time to set the larger pieces in motion. But would they live to see the end of the battle?
Scotland, 1513
King James of Scotland’s noose has been tightening around the neck of Sir Alexander Guthrie for years. Now, with England continuing to raid the Scottish Borders, King James decides to attack the neighboring country. To Alex, everything about this venture smacks of the sovereign’s reckless disregard for the people of Scotland. Yet, as a knight, is Alex doomed to leave all he holds dear—powerless to do anything but follow?
Time and ale are wreaking havoc on the traveling musician, Andrew Ritchie. But behind the wild living is the secret of a haunted past…and a face he cannot forget.
Rachel Tanner, a young maid of dubious parentage in the Guthries’ household, is under the protection of her beloved Father Francis… until one dark night in a stable propels her on a courageous journey.
The pawns had been played. Now it was time to set the larger pieces in motion. But would they live to see the end of the battle?
Scotland, 1513
King James of Scotland’s noose has been tightening around the neck of Sir Alexander Guthrie for years. Now, with England continuing to raid the Scottish Borders, King James decides to attack the neighboring country. To Alex, everything about this venture smacks of the sovereign’s reckless disregard for the people of Scotland. Yet, as a knight, is Alex doomed to leave all he holds dear—powerless to do anything but follow?
Time and ale are wreaking havoc on the traveling musician, Andrew Ritchie. But behind the wild living is the secret of a haunted past…and a face he cannot forget.
Rachel Tanner, a young maid of dubious parentage in the Guthries’ household, is under the protection of her beloved Father Francis… until one dark night in a stable propels her on a courageous journey.
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Among His Personal Effects
Master Robert Henryson has spent his life shaping the talents of his students in Scotland. But what control, if any, can he have over the twists and turns of Fortune’s wheel? Especially when the only law that reigns belongs to the rich...and turns a blind eye toward injustice and the poor?
Now at the end of his life, Henryson looks back on the chain of events that catapulted four of his students—Ingram, John, George, and the lovely Isabel—onto paths they could never have imagined.
Nor could Henryson have dreamed that the summer of 1482 would change everything about his life...and perhaps, even, his country.
Fans of George MacDonald or Frederick Buechner will love Among His Personal Effects.
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For most of the last twenty-six years Craig has taught at King College in Bristol, Tennessee. Presently, he directs the Snider honors program there. His hobbies are reading, writing, gardening, carpentry, and watching British mysteries with Karen. Craig’s interest in the Scottish Middle Ages in large part grew out of his heritage. A descendant of emigrant Scots from the 1760s, he studied medieval Scottish literature while a doctoral student at the University of York in England. His scholarly publications include articles on 15th-century Scottish literature and history and an edition of the last part of The Meroure of Wyssdome, published by the Scottish Text Society in 1990. The Meroure features prominently in An Early Fall. Craig is presently working on two novels: one about Angus MacKay, first Piper to the Sovereign during the reign of Queen Victoria; the other, a story that grows out of Jesus' encounter with the Gadarene demoniac. Craig also writes poetry and hymns. In 2001 he was commissioned by Patrick Flannagan, director of music at King College, to write a cycle of poems, which were set to music by the composer Kenton Coe; and in 2008 he and composer Ann Holler were commissioned to write a hymn in honor of the sesquicentennial of First Presbyterian Church, Bristol. Craig has also collaborated with singer/songwriter Mariel Story. His poems have been published in Sojourners Magazine and Haven's Grey. Of An Early Fall, Craig states: "As in my first novel, Among His Personal Effects, I have sought to remain true to the spirit of this tragic period in Scotland's history. At the same time, the story gave me the chance to ponder a timeless feature of what it means to be human, namely, the wide-ranging effects of our smallest choices and the grace that suffuses even the most terrible of them. I hope to have been faithful to what I have been given." |
