 |
| Welcome to my Blog! Wander through wonderful worlds real and fictional, meet interesting people, visit exciting places and find a few good books to enjoy along the way! |
My novel, The Old Dragon’s Head, is set in Ming Dynasty China. It’s based in a real place – a fortress town called Shanhaiguan. It’s located at the far eastern end of the Great Wall, where it meets the sea for the only time.
The 1400s mark a turning point in China’s history and world history. In Europe, after centuries of dormancy, the Renaissance was blooming. It’s the era in which the seeds of the modern world are sown. How they have grown and how they have been reaped is another story.
Like in any era, the question is always the same, whether for an individual, a tribe, a people, or a nation – Are they ready for what is happening at that time? Are they prepared to meet what is onsetting? Can they translate its needs and its motives into their lives?
If they are, they can prosper. If they’re not, they are out of time; it’s as if they’re singing out of tune.
In ancient times, the Egyptians were ready, the Greeks were ready, and the Romans were ready. Because they were in tune with the spirit of the times, they formed great civilizations - that was until the times changed, and they failed to change with them.
As Shakespeare said in King John:
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
is bound in shallows and in miseries.”
The invasion in 1211 by Genghis Khan rocked the stability of China. In 1368, when the Chinese finally ejected the Mongols from their borders, the newly-founded Ming Dynasty set out to restore the Han people’s greatness. Because they believed in the equalizing effects of karma, the Chinese were convinced they had invited the invasion. They had to stop, change direction, and re-align themselves.
The Chinese had their own firm idea of what constituted the spirit of their times, of what was ‘on the flood’ for them and for the world. To meet the new permission, the Ming Dynasty set out to align every person in its society, from the wood gatherer to the emperor, to the will of the highest of the high, the Supreme Deity itself. Whatever it wanted, they wanted. This was perhaps the last time in history when an entire people tried to align themselves on a spiritual quest and to put God and God’s purposes before their own.
The Chinese weren’t just superstitious. They were obsessed with pacifying the deities and staying on track. The Supreme Deity had a legion of servants, deities, and other heavenly beings, down to the god of the kitchen and the god of the hearth. Seers and folk of the Yin-Yang eyes, clairvoyants to us, were consulted. Feng Shui experts were asked to decide on the location and alignments of the Forbidden City. Almanack experts decided which day was best for this ceremony, that ritual. The Ming Dynasty sought to harmonize its people with the heavenly beings. All manner of sacrifices and punishments were put in place to rectify any falling away from that high endeavour.
In 1400, was China ready to sail the incoming tide of the times? Was humanity?
Read The Old Dragon’s Head to find out.
Justin Newland
 |
| About the Book |
Book Title: The Old Dragon’s Head
Author: Justin Newland
Page Length: 257 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Supernatural Thriller, Speculative Fiction
The Great Wall of China may be constructed of stone and packed earth, but it is home to a supernatural beast – the Old Dragon. Both wall and dragon protect China’s northern borders from Mongol incursion. Just beyond the fortress of Shanhaiguan, the far eastern end of the wall protrudes into the Bohai Sea – that’s the Old Dragon’s Head.
Bolin, a young man working on the Old Dragon’s Head, suffers visions of ghosts. The local seer suspects that he has yin-yang eyes and other supernatural gifts. Bolin’s fief lord, the Prince of Yan, rebels against his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor. In the bitter war of succession, the Mongols hold the balance of power. While the victor might win the battle on earth, China’s Dragon Throne can only be earned with a Mandate from Heaven – and the support of the Old Dragon.
In every era, a man endowed with the powers of heaven – the Dragon Master – is born. Only he can summon the Old Dragon, providing he possesses the dragon pearl. It’s the year 1402, and neither the Old Dragon, the dragon pearl, nor the Dragon Master, has been seen for twenty years.
Bolin’s journey of self-discovery is mirrored by that of old China, as both endeavour to come of age. When Bolin accepts his destiny as the Dragon Master, heaven sends a third coming of age – for humanity itself. But are any of them ready for what is rising in the east?
Buy Links:
Amazon UK:
Amazon US:
Amazon CA:
Amazon (AU):
Amazon (India):
Other stores:
Barnes and Noble:
Waterstones:
Kobo:
Author’s Website (where buyers can enter a dedication to be signed by the author):
Blackwell’s (UK):
Bol (NL):
https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/the-old-dragon-s-head/9200000095280103/ Books.Telegraph (UK):
Publisher’s Website:
Saxo (DK):
Scribd:
About the Author
JUSTIN NEWLAND is an author of historical fantasy and secret history thrillers – that’s history with a supernatural twist. His historical novels feature known events and real people from the past, which are re-told and examined through the lens of the supernatural.
His novels speculate on the human condition and explore the fundamental questions of our existence. As a species, as Homo sapiens sapiens – that’s man the twice-wise – how are we doing so far? Where is mankind’s spiritual home? What does it look or feel like? Would we recognise it if we saw it?
Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he found his way to the creative keyboard and conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.
Next came the supernatural thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (Matador, 2018), set in Ming Dynasty China.
His third novel, The Coronation (Matador, 2019), speculates on the genesis of the most important event of the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.
His fourth, The Abdication (Matador, 2021), is a supernatural thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.
His stories add a touch of the supernatural to history and deal with the themes of war, religion, evolution and the human’s place in the universe
.
He was born three days before the end of 1953 and lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.justinnewland.com
Twitter: @drjustinnewland
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
Instagram:
Amazon Author Page:
Goodreads:
Follow the tour
Twitter Handles: @Matador @drjustinnewland @cathiedunn
Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour
Tour Schedule:
note: Helen has not yet read this title - it is on her TBR list!
*** ***
You might also like ... books written by Helen Hollick
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries
set in the 1970s
 |
| buy from Amazon https://getbook.at/MirrorMurder |
~~ ~ ~ ~
COFFEE POT BOOK CLUB
BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022
BRONZE AWARD
The SEA WITCH VOYAGES
nautical adventures set during the Golden Age of Piracy
* * *
ANTHOLOGIES
 |
| Amazon: FREE ebook! |
* * *
Thank you for hosting Justin Newland with The Old Dragon's Head today, Helen. Much appreciated. xx
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure
DeleteHi Helen. Thank you so much for hosting this stop on the book's blog tour.
ReplyDelete