THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY!
I write historical fiction and travel memoir under my own name. For my fantasy and paranormal romance books, go to the page of Lucy Holden, my alter ego.
I live in a small town called Broome in tropical north west Australia. It’s a beautiful pearling town full of character, history, and magic. My favourite thing in the world is sitting on Cable Beach under a full moon, drinking very nice wine!
I also lived in Granada, Spain for several years, and still visit there often. My work is heavily influenced by my love of all things Spanish.
In another life, I made a very long walk through Europe and the Sahara. I walked for three years and more than 12000km, including over 7000km through the Sahara with my own camels. That journey was part of the inspiration for the Visigoths of Spain series (see below).
VISIGOTHS OF SPAIN
Set in late 7th century Spain, the Visigoths of Spain details the final tumultuous years of Visigothic rule before the Moors conquered Spain. It’s a turbulent, fascinating period full of intrigue, romance, religious turmoil and war.
I lived in Granada, Spain, for three years. One day I climbed the hill at the back of the Alhambra. At the top there is an old Roman wall, and behind a fence, the ruins of a fortress. I sat amid the ruins, looking out over the medieval splendour of the Alhambra, dreaming of the past. The next day I began writing the Visigoths of Spain.
Research revealed the layers of history which predated the Moorish palaces, from Romans to Phoenicians, Carthaginians to Tartessians, and beyond. But what fascinated me most were the Visigoths, who settled the Iberian peninsula during the twilight of the Roman Empire, and who carved from the warring provinces a nation they called Mater Spania – Mother Spain.
For three centuries they ruled, creating a comprehensive book of law called the Lex Visigothorum, and building a church so powerful it challenged Rome’s own. Yet in only two years, the Visigoths were gone – become no more than a lost footnote in history between the Romans and the Arabs.
The Saharan Queen
Prequel novella to the Visigoths of Spain series
“A woman who leads men fights her greatest battles before she ever takes the field. Better she is thought witch from the beginning, and men fear her as such.”
Saharan Africa, 670 A.D: As the daughter of a chief, Dahiya knows what it takes to lead an army against the Arabic invaders. Her ambition threatens her rivals, who believe a woman’s place is in bed rather than on a battlefield.
The Votive Crown
Spain, 687 A.D: In the southern province of Granada, three children form an unlikely friendship. A despicable act by the king’s bastard son changes their destinies forever. As adults, their decisions will determine the fate of a crumbling kingdom.
The King’s Coin
“It is the same war we always fight. A war for coin we will never touch, won for men who never bleed.”
692 A.D: Spain is poised on the brink of civil war. The struggle between Emperor and Caliph simmers in the east. Caught amid it all, Spain’s children fight for justice, freedom – and each other.
Spania
SPAIN, AD 693
Lælia is no stranger to the games of war. But none of them have prepared her for the hardest game of all: that of love.
Lælia risked everything to survive the rebellion until Theo came back to her. Now it seems that Illiberis is the price she must pay for both.
The Desert Sword
Where the sands sing
Release Date: December 2023
SAHARAN WALK AND BOOKS
Between 2004-2007, I walked 12000km, from London to Niger.
The first year I walked 500o km through England, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco to the small town of M’Hamid El Ghizlaine, on the edge of the Sahara. The story of that journey, during which I was still married, is told in my travel memoir, Slow Journey South.
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
When Paula Constant and her husband, Gary, attempt to break away from the conventional 9-to-5 routine, a few weeks lazing in a resort or packed in a tour bus is not what they have in mind. What starts out as an idle daydream to embark on 'a travel to end all travels' turns into something far greater: an epic year-long 5000-kilometre walk from Trafalgar Square in London to Morocco and the threshold of the Sahara Desert. Quite an ambition for an unfit woman who favours sharing cigarettes and a few bottles of wine with friends over logging time on the treadmill. But if the sheer arduousness of walking over 25 kilometres a day through the landscapes and cultural labyrinths of France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco - without a support vehicle - is overlooked in her excitement, then so too is the unexpected journey of self discovery and awakening that lies beyond every bend. Both the companions she meets on the road and the road itself provide what no university can offer: a chance to experience life's simple truths face to face. Paula's transformation from an urban primary school teacher into a successful expeditioner is a true tale of an ordinary woman achieving something extraordinary. It is a journey that begins with one footstep.
I walked more than 7000km through the Sahara.
After my marriage broke up in the first 1000km in the Western Sahara, I carried on alone, hiring local nomadic guides to walk with me. I walked from M’hamid el Ghizlaine down through the Western Sahara to Dakhla, then started again in Nouadhibou, Mauritania after the summer. I walked to Tomboctou in Mali, then followed the Niger river around to Gao and on into Niger, where I was ultimately stopped by civil war. It was a wonderful, life changing experience for which I am forever grateful.
A journey of love, loss and survival.
Having walked more than 5000 kilometres from Trafalgar Square to Morocco, Paula Constant finds herself at the westernmost edge of the Sahara Desert - and the brink of sanity. The wheels have fallen off her marriage and her funds are quickly drying up, but she is determined to complete the second stage: walking through the romantic Big Empty of Northern Africa to Cairo. Sahara is the story of Paula's struggle to overcome her innermost demons and take control of her journey, her camels and the men she hires to guide her through one of planet's most extreme regions. Illness, landmines and political red tape stand between Paula and the realisation of a life's dream. Sahara is a thrilling adventure and a story of joy, heartache, inspiration and despair. But, above all, it's a celebration of the human spirit in all its guises.
© 2020 Paula Constant. All Rights Reserved.
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