Cathie Dunn

ALLi Author Member

Location: Europe

Genres: Mystery, Womens Fiction, Historical Fiction, Writing & Publishing, Romance

Skills: Writing Workshop, Self-publishing Workshop/Training, Reading/Literary Event

Cathie Dunn writes historical fiction, mystery, and romance.

Cathie has been writing for over 20 years. In 2008, she gained a certificate in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. Her focus was on novel writing, which she has since taught in the south of France. She loves research, delving into history books and visiting castles and historic sites.

At the moment, Cathie is working on the second in her House of Normandy series set in early medieval Normandy, France.

Cathie's stories have garnered awards and praise from reviewers and readers for their authentic description of the past.

Ascent: The Story of Poppa of Bayeux takes you back to the origins of the county of Normandy. As handfasted wife of Rollo the Viking, Poppa is the founding mother of the powerful House of Normandy. This is her story.

The Shadows of Versailles: A compelling tale of a young woman wronged at the court of King Louis XIV. To enact her revenge, she delves into the dark side of Paris.

Love Lost in Time: A dual-timeline story set in Languedoc, south of France, in 2018 and the late 8th century. The discovery of ancient bones reveals a dark secret from the past.

Highland Arms: A romantic adventure set in the Scottish Highlands. Smugglers, Jacobites and rebellions. A heroine with an insatiable curiosity encounters a Highland rogue. But dangers await!

Dark Deceit: A medieval romance set in England and France, Dark Deceit weaves a tale of murder, changing loyalties, betrayal and love.

Silent Deception: A gothic romance novella set in Victorian Cornwall. A young heiress uncovers a dark family secret with the help of a stranger. But he has secrets too.

After many years in Scotland, Cathie now lives in the south of France with her husband, and a rescue dog and cat.

Discover more about Cathie at www.cathiedunn.com!

Cathie Dunn's books

Highland Arms

Exciting blend of danger and romance

"The author has a wonderful way of describing the highlands." ~ Booked Up Reviews

Escape to the Highlands

Betrayed by her brother’s lies, Catriona MacKenzie is banished from her home to her godmother’s manor in the remote Scottish Highlands. While her family ponders her fate, Catriona’s insatiable curiosity leads her straight into trouble–and into the arms of a notorious Highlander.

Five years after an ill-fated Jacobite rebellion, Rory Cameron works as a smuggler to raise money for the cause–until Catriona uncovers a plot against him and exposes his activities. Now, Rory is faced with a decision that could either save their lives or destroy both of them.

But he’s running out of time…

Silent Deception

"Feisty heroine, a man with secrets, mystery . . . and beautiful Cornwall!" ~ Joanna Gawn, author of The Lazuli Portals

Can a ghost scare off a young heiress determined to make her new manor her home?

Having inherited a family estate she’d never heard of, Minerva Goodridge travels to Cornwall to take charge of her new home. But fatal memories lurk in the shadows of Trekellis Manor. As the locals keep away from the house, Minnie accepts the help of a stranger. Can she trust him?

Gideon Drake, 8th Earl of Rothdale, is on a mission to uncover a family secret linked to Trekellis Manor. But the arrival of Minerva, the new owner, disrupts his investigation. Attracted to the headstrong heiress, he decides to take action – and ends up uncovering more than he expected.

Gideon must weigh up his family’s reputation against Minnie’s, but will the revelations tear them apart?

A romantic Victorian suspense novella set in Cornwall.

Dark Deceit

Dark Deceit is fast-paced medieval romance mystery, in the tradition of Pillars of the Earth or When Christ and His Saints Slept.

"…captivating characters and vivid descriptions…" ~ Booked Up Reviews

Murder. Betrayal. Hope.

On his return from battle at Lincoln, Geoffrey de Mortagne, under-sheriff of Gloucester and spy for the Empress Matilda, assists a dying knight caught in an ambush. Promising to look after the welfare of the knight’s only daughter, Geoffrey stays at her manor, investigating the murder. Keen to join the Empress on her progress through England, he is torn between his oath and his duty.

Left to defend her manor following her father’s death, Alleyne de Bellac reluctantly accepts Geoffrey’s support. As she doesn’t trust the taciturn stranger, she asks Will d’Arques, an old friend, for help. But loyalties change. Her life in danger and her inheritance at stake, Alleyne must decide which man to trust.

Discover England and Normandy divided by a brutal civil war, where vows are broken as allegiances waver.

The long-awaited sequel to Dark Deceit will be released in 2019!

"...a great read..."

"...captivating...engrossing...highly recommended"

A Highland Captive

"Ms Dunn brings the era to life." ~ Sue Barnard, author of Heathcliff

...impressed by the author's deep knowledge of history and culture... ~ reader review

*WINNER – Historical Fiction Cover Competition April 2019*

1298
Scotland

Cailean MacDubhgaill, a knight from a small western island fighting for the Scottish cause, joins the battle at Falkirk but is wounded when he takes a blow to the thigh by an axe. Sir Eòin de Moray, uncle to his late friend, the former guardian, Andrew, helps him escape the carnage and takes him into a nearby forest, but is killed whilst fighting off pursuers.

Once Cailean has recovered from his injuries with the help of the healer Brìde, he rushes to de Moray’s manor on the northern shores of Loch Ness to convey the news to de Moray’s daughter, Isobel, but he is too late. He finds the manor burnt down, its people displaced, and Isobel abducted. Determined to honour the knight who had saved his life, he tracks Isobel down.

Finding herself taken away from her home against her will, to be married off to an English lord in service to King Edward I, Isobel de Moray ponders her fate when a nighttime raid on the mercenary camp sees her freed – only to fall into the hands of a strong-minded knight. The stranger takes her to his keep on the remote island of Eorsa, to keep her safe.

But Isobel has other ideas…

Let me take you on a fast-paced ride across the beautiful islands and Highlands of Scotland in this tale full of intrigues, a fight for independence - and love.

Love Lost in Time

A tale of love, death and redemption…

AD 2018
Languedoc, southern France

Madeleine Winters discovers ancient female bones under her kitchen floor. How did the woman end up buried, all alone, in that particular spot in the Cabardès hills?
And why was her back broken?


AD 777
Septimania, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea

Seventeen-year-old Nanthild must marry Count Bellon of Carcassonne, a Visigoth, as part of his peace agreement with Charlemagne. As a wise-woman, she continues to visit those in need of her help during Bellon’s frequent absences. But dangers lurk on her journeys…

The Shadows of Versailles (An Affair of the Poisons Book One)

“Dunn’s masterful portrayal of the glittering world of the Sun King’s court and the contrasting dark, human stew of 17th Century Paris, will delight any reader familiar with the Affair of the Poisons - and equally thrill those new to the period." ~ Kate Braithwaite, author of Charlatan


Dazzled by Versailles. Broken by tragedy. Consumed by revenge.

When Fleur de La Fontaine attends the court of King Louis XIV for the first time, she is soon besotted with handsome courtier, Philippe de Mortain. She dreams of married life away from her uncaring mother, but Philippe keeps a secret from her.

Nine months later, after the boy she has given birth to in a convent is whisked away, she flees to Paris where she ends up mending gowns in the brothel of Madame Claudette, a woman who helps ‘fallen’ girls back on their feet.

Jacques de Montagnac investigates a spate of abducted children when his path crosses Fleur’s. He searches for her son, but the trail leads to a dead end – and a dreadful realisation.

Her boy’s suspected fate too much to bear, Fleur decides to avenge him. She visits the famous midwife, La Voisin, but it’s not the woman’s skills in childbirth that Fleur seeks.

La Voisin dabbles in poisons.

Will Fleur see her plan through? Or can she save herself from a tragic fate?


Delve into The Shadows of Versailles and enter the sinister world of potions, poisons and black masses during the Affairs of the Poisons, a real event that shook the court of the Sun King!

Ascent

A brutal Viking raid heralds the dawn of a new, powerful dynasty – the House of Normandy

Neustria, Kingdom of the West Franks
AD 890

Fourteen-year-old Poppa’s life changes when Northmen land near Bayeux. Count Bérengar, her father, submits to them, and she is handfasted to Hrólfr, the Northmen’s heathen leader, as part of their agreement.

To her relief, Hrólfr leaves immediately in search of further conquest, only returning to claim her years later. In the face of retaliating Franks, they flee to East Anglia, where she gives birth to their son and daughter.

When Hrólfr and Poppa return to reclaim Bayeux, his new campaign strikes at the heart of Frankish power, and King Charles of the West Franks offers him a pact he cannot refuse. In exchange for vast tracts of land in Neustria, Hrólfr must convert to Christianity and accept marriage to Gisela, the king’s illegitimate daughter.

Poppa’s world shatters. She remains in Bayeux, with her daughter, Adela. When Gisela arrives one day, demanding she hand over Adela, to be raised in Rouen, Poppa’s patience is at an end. But Gisela makes for a dangerous enemy, and only one woman will survive their confrontation high up on the cliffs.

Will Poppa live to witness the dawn of a new era?

ASCENT is the first in a new series about the early women of the House of Normandy – women whose stories have been forgotten. Almost!

Readers of Viking and medieval fiction will enjoy ASCENT, a fictional account of the life of Poppa of Bayeux, handfasted wife of Rollo the Viking.

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