Zengi - leader of the jihad against the crusader states - as seen through the eyes of Fadel, his court poet.ZENGI is a 'taster' extract from my novel, CRUSADER, which relates the adventures of William de Warenne and his squire on the Second Crusade. Most of the novel is written from the crusader point of view, but in this section I attempted to present things from the Muslim point of view as seen though the eyes of Zengi's (fictional) court poet, Fadel. Another taster extract is available, entitled CYRA THE BYZANTINE SIREN. This extract tells the story of how the crusader, William de Warenne, is distracted from his high religious aims by a dancing girl in Constantinople.

The Battle of Wakefield, from a Conisbrough perspective. Richard Duke of York makes a rash sally from Sandal Castle only to find that he is facing 20,000 Lancastrians.The White Rose and the Red is a narrative poem in blank verse which describes one of the key battles of the Wars of the Roses, The Battle of Wakefield, from a Conisbrough perspective. Richard, Duke of York, rushes north to prevent the Lancastrian domination of Yorkshire. He visits Conisbrough Castle and then Sandal where he stations his arm of 5,000 men. Unfortunately he is unaware that the Lancastrian army already numbers 15,000 and is growing rapidly.