A Novelist's Fanciful Obsession with a Dark-Eyed Knight Becomes Reality in Before I Wake, a Historical Time-Travel Romance by Mary Ellen Johnson
-13th Century England, Tintagel Castle-
Historical novelist Magdalena Moore is haunted by the black-haired, black-eyed knight she first encountered during a past life regression. Across a lifetime, Magdalena searches for the truth about Ranulf Navarre and Jane Dreigh.
At Tintagel Castle, Magdalena is miraculously transported to thirteenth-century England, where she is Lady Jane, and Lord Navarre is her husband. But Ranulf is not the man of her imagination.
Why is Ranulf so cold and Janey so erratic? What secrets are they hiding? When England plunges into civil war, Ranulf backs the wrong side. Knowing he is destined to die in battle, Magdalena tries desperately to cheat fate, save Ranulf, and finally find happiness. But secrets can ruin everything, and Magdelena's secret is too fantastical to be believed.
Publisher's Note: Readers passionate about history will appreciate the author's penchant for detail and accuracy. In keeping with the era, this story contains scenes of brutality which are true to the time and man's timeless inhumanity. There are a limited number of sexual scenes with some vulgarity characteristic of the time.
THE TRAVELS ACROSS TIME SERIES
Before I Wake
Eternal Beloved
The Golden Promise of Cripple Creek
THE KNIGHTS OF ENGLAND SERIES
The Lion and the Leopard
A Knight There Was
Within A Forest Dark
A Child Upon The Throne
Lords Among the Ruins
The Flames of Rebellion
Mary Ellen Johnson's passion for Medieval England ignited her writing career. Her debut medieval historical, The Lion and the Leopard, was followed by The Landlord's Black-Eyed Daughter, a historical novel inspired by Alfred Noyes' poem The Highwayman (published under the pseudonym Mary Ellen Dennis). Landlord was later named one of the top 100 historical romances of 2013. After a twenty-year detour in a quixotic quest to change the world-much like the knights of Arthurian legend pursuing the elusive Holy Grail-Mary Ellen happily returned to her first love: historical fiction. She especially delights in exploring the tumultuous fourteenth century. Her six-book series, Knights of England, traces the fortunes of the characters introduced in The Lion and the Leopard and their descendants, weaving through the Black Death, the reign of Edward III, the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and concluding with the deposition and death of Richard II in 1399.
Mary Ellen is passionate about bringing Medieval England vividly to life for readers. She relishes researching battles, campaigns, daily life across social classes, and the worldview of her subjects-along with, of course, castles and cathedrals. One of her favorite places to visit is Canterbury Cathedral, where she stands in awe before the tomb of the Black Prince. Recently, a distant cousin shared years of genealogical research that revealed connections to familiar names from Mary Ellen's studies: John of Gaunt, Edward the Black Prince, Edward II, Edward III, even Richard the Lionheart. Discovering that her own family tree intersects with the very figures she has spent a lifetime researching has been both thrilling and mysterious. Genetic memory? Reincarnation? She doesn't know-but she fully intends to explore such possibilities in future novels.
