Old Gods Rise is historical fantasy – the story of Boudica’s rebellion told through the eyes of her Druid daughter.

In Britain in 60AD, fifteen-year-old Aculia has only one desire – to marry a Roman noble and secure her people’s alliance with Rome. Yet visions of war and disaster make her fear she has inherited the forbidden powers of the Druids. When her father the King dies, the Roman Governor Decianus demands Aculia and her sister surrender their kingdom. When they refuse, he orders his soldiers to rape them to prove they can never be Queens.

Rescued by Druids, Aculia comes to terms with the powers the Gods of the Britons have given her. When her mother Boudica leads a rebellion, Aculia must persuade the Gods to lead them to victory, or see her whole people be enslaved – but can she pay the price the Gods demand?

Dealing with historical people and events through the lens of myth and magic, Old Gods Rise sits on the cusp between historical fiction and historical fantasy. It could be shelved next to Lucy Holland’s Sistersong or Kate Foster’s The King’s Witches, and contains a strong side-helping of R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War.

I grew up in one of the cities Boudica destroyed. I wrote this book out of fascination with what happened to turn Boudica and her people from peaceful allies of Rome to violent rebels, and from a desire to tell the stories of Boudica’s daughters, who were the rightful queens of the Iceni but are recorded only in two sentences of Roman history.

I’m posting about the history behind Old Gods Rise on my blog here.

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