It was a  bitter experience when I read your first book of the Saxon stories because it was the story I wanted to write, same boy, same age, same times, same inspiration of following my family roots (to post-Roman Devon).  And yours was better researched, better written than my own. With a great deal of “grudgement,” I re-imagined my outline and it has become more plot driven, less historical. Your books were a boon, they released me from the need for historical precision, yet I am still plagued by the need to place nagging historical details – where did Ivar land with his ships in East Anglica? What were the landmarks he used? Which rivers? What was their path to York? My question is: how did you piece together the dark ages so well, your own sources? It seems to me that you toured the English sites in person, is that correct? Mostly, did you find a good public source for Ragnar raiders?

Of course, I loved your books. Thank you so much for writing them for me.
Judy Conibear