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Freedom's Sword now with three 5-star reviews.

Please check it out.

Thanks.

 

I've seen your cover on your other posts; enough that I will have to check it out.

 

I've seen your cover on your other posts; enough that I will have to check it out.

Thanks! That's really nice to hear.

It got a very nice review over on bookPumper. Here's a short blurb and a link:

Year 1296. Young Andrew de Moray, newly knighted by the Scottish King, is thrilled to go to his first battle. He is not afraid as he stands by his father's side, observing the long lines of the English army. The enemy is many, but their own forces are also strong; the Scots are confident they can win. The English seem to know it as well. In fact, it doesn't look like they want to fight.

Alas, the retreat of the English turns out to be a trap.

 

Freedom's Sword just received it's 3rd 5-star review on Smashwords:

Freedom's Sword is a compelling, well researched book that will not disappoint fans of historical fiction. The main character, Andrew de Moray, will probably not be as familiar to the average reader as figures such as William Wallace or Robert Bruce. However,thanks to J.R. Tomlin's efforts, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

 

Freedom's Sword has received it's sixth Five-Star review on Smashwords:

What an awesome read! It had me hooked from the first. I love Scottish history...

Thanks.

 

Excerpt of the latest Smashwords 5-star review:

"Fans of historical fiction will love this accurately researched, well written novel. I really enjoyed the entire story line, repeatedly racing ahead to see what happens next."

 

A new blog review from the UK:

"Freedom's Sword" by J.R. Tomlin was probably always going to appeal to me. I am Scottish after all and can't help but enjoy a good story about the Scottish Wars of Independence. This is especially true when it is about the "forgotten" man of Scottish Independence, Sir Andrew de Moray.

 

From a new Smashwords 5-star review:

A well written historical novel. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and basically read it in one sitting.

 

Looks great. I'll download it.

Since I joined KB my to be read pile is gigantic. But i can't see it, since it's hidden in this little device, LOL.

 

Looks great. I'll download it.

Since I joined KB my to be read pile is gigantic. But i can't see it, since it's hidden in this little device, LOL.

Thanks, David! It's better than stacks of dusty paperbacks.

 

I got it through Smashwords.
I'll send you a message once I've read it.
The beginning chapters look promising. 

 

Thanks, David. I'm anxious to hear what you think of it.

 

From a new review on Librarything.com:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it brought to mind another similar story, The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick. From the era of William Wallace and Scotland's war with England, Tomlin brought to life a historical character with whom I was completely unfamiliar despite being a huge Braveheart fan.

 

From another Librarything Review:

It's obvious that J.R. Tomlin does extensive research for her novels. However, I never felt like I was reading a history book. The novel flows well and the action keeps you turning the pages. This is definitely a book you should give a try!

 

From a Five-star review in the Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club:

"J.R. Tomlin's love for this time period shows as she writes yet another wonderful tale of the fight between Scotland and England."

 

From a new review at Librarything.com:

"Its a quick and easy read and while the battle scenes are descriptive, they aren't graphic. It is dominated by Moray's imprisonment, escape, training his troops and battle, and it would have been if the brief scenes of his domestic life were expanded, or if there were more of them to balance out his military life. Caitrina is a fun character, with a bit of rebelliousness that will appeal to the modern reader, but its not done in a modern way. Caitrina's rebelliousness fits in well with her place in the world..."

 

From yet another Librarything review:

I

enjoyed this book. I have always been interested in the Scottish fight for freedom this book fills in some gaps in my knowledge of that time and the people. I was introduced to Andrew de Moray whom I had heard of but knew very little about. Mr. Tomlin gives us a picture of a true Scottish hero and the battles that he was involved in. The appendices are extremely helpful in giving one the historical characters that are used in this historical novel. The use of the Scottish terms also adds to this work. It is difficult for us living today to know the horror of the battles that these men fought in. We may get a glimpse of such in movies, but Mr. Tomlin gives us a look inside of the fights that took place rather on the landscape or the storming of a castle.

The book is well done and I look forward to others in the series. Anyone who is interested in Scottish history or even in freedom fighters this book is an excellent addition to any collection.

 

In order to introduce readers to my historical novels I have decided to reduce the first of the series, Freedom's Sword, to 99 Cents.

Freedom's Sword introduces the reader to the basis of the bloody conflict between England and Scotland as the English invade and conquer the neighboring kingdom and to the men and women who fight for Scotland's freedom.

We aren't allowed to quote Amazon reviews here, but I do want to mention that Freedom's Sword has eight 5-star and four 4-star Amazon reviews. So far there are no reviews below 4-stars on Amazon.

Here is a 4-star review of Freedom's Sword from Smashwords:

Review by: Laura Power on Jun. 06, 2011 :

"Scots, wha hae"...The Scots in me was stirred while reading this enlightening book. I do not usually read military-based books but J.R.Tomlin provided stirring accounts that made me appreciate this genre. She brought Andrew De Moray to life, sparking an interest to learn more about his life and times. I appreciated the appendices at the end that helped place all the characters. Her descriptions were excellent, especially De Moray's solitary confinement experience, the day-to-day life of his people and the battles. The recorded history from this time period is sparse and I did not mind the literary license she employed to bring us the human side of Andrew and his relationships with Caitrina, his uncle and his followers. Telling the story from Andrew's eyes gave me a different perspective of the times and I look forward to reading another work from this author in the future.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed doing this interview about writing historical novels. It asked questions that aren't typical in an interview which was nice.

http://indiedayinthesun.blogspot.com/2011/06/author-interview-jr-tomlin-freedoms.html

 

This introductory novel to my series on the fight for Scottish freedom is still only 99 Cents!

I've very pleased to say that with 12 reviews on Amazon, it has 4.7 out of 5 stars.

 

A new review of Freedom's Sword on Keryl Raist's To Publish or Not to Publish. It's a lengthy and detailed review but here is a snippet of it:

A little background: Scotland was once upon a time a completely free and independent entity from England. But back in the 1200's a squabble between potential claimants to the throne ended up with Edward I deciding he was in charge. This sparked the first Scottish War of Independence. Most Americans are vaguely familiar with this because we've seen Braveheart. Unlike Freedom's Sword, Braveheart played pretty fast and loose with the facts to make a romantic, compelling story. Tomlin thought the truth was compelling enough, and from what I can tell stuck pretty closely to it. Personally, I agree with her.

 

A snippet from a recent LibraryThing.com review of Freedom's Sword:

I really enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of UK history, and this book was perfect for my love of history, military history, and a good story. The book focuses on Andrew de Moray, an associate of William Wallace, who has been overshadowed by the famous Wallace. Andrew's struggles are the main theme of the book. The story is fast paced, pretty clean and a quick read. I'd recommend it to fans of historical fiction.

 

I got a really, really great new 5-star Amazon review today for Freedom's Sword. I'm not allowed to quote it here, but just saying...

 

There are about 15 reviews of this novel on Amazon as well as more on Smashwords, Goodreads and B&N, but instead of quoting a review, I'd like to share what inspired this novel:

"Oh, Flower of Scotland, when will we see your like again, that fought and died..."

But the spirit of Scotland lives on. Alba gu bràth.

JR