Hawker and the King’s Jewel
Three outlaw knights. Three secrets. One last mission.
August 1485. The eve of the Battle of Bosworth. King Richard III summons his loyal and grizzled retainer, Sir John Hawker, and charges him with one final mission. After the battle, he must return a priceless ruby – one of the mysterious Tears of Byzantium – to its giver, the Doge of Venice. Richard believes the jewel has brought ill luck to his family, and wants rid of it before anything else can go wrong. Hawker is also sworn to protect Richard’s newly knighted bastard son, an arrogant youth unaware of his true parentage. But Richard’s commands are overheard by a Tudor spy.
When the king falls in battle, Hawker, his royal bastard, and another “lost” knight make common cause and flee the field with Tudor agents in hot pursuit of both the ruby and the potential Plantagenet heir. Not knowing who to trust and with England falling under the grip of Henry VII, Hawker and his small Yorkist band take the only course left open: Venice, with all its conspiracies – and the love Hawker left behind there…
The first novel in a captivating new series of intrigue and adventure set in the twilight of the Wars of the Roses. Perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden, Christian Cameron and Alison Weir.
Praise for Hawker and the King’s Jewel
‘A brutal, brilliant tale, told with verve and pace. Hawker is a terrific creation’ – Bernard Cornwell
‘Bale takes the reader from the terror of battle where a crown is lost and won to the sparkling jewel that is Venice, teeming with intrigue and treachery. Great storytelling’ – David Gilman, author of the Master of War series
‘An absolute gem of a novel. I was taken aback by Bale’s skill and talent. Meticulously researched, with a totally authentic medieval feel, the novel fizzes with action, romance and intrigue. A gripping yarn’ – Angus Donald, author of the Outlaw series
The Raven’s Banquet
A War…a Witch…a Reckoning
A boastful young Englishman who dreams of finding riches and glory on the battlefields of 17th-century Germany soon finds himself thrown into a nightmare world of brutality and betrayal that will take every ounce of strength, cunning, and blind luck just to survive.
Fleeing the battlefield, Richard’s life takes an even darker turn when he stumbles upon a coven of peasant women dwelling deep in the forest of the Harz Mountains, women who have their own secrets to protect—and a burning hatred to avenge. Led by the mysterious Oma, the women save him from pursuing enemies but there is a heavy price to pay. His future, and the fate of his very soul is soon tied to theirs.
Praise for Clifford Beal
“The sensuous texture of the period is superbly evoked….”– The Daily Mail
“…I took a look—and was hooked. Check it out. Fast-paced fantasy/historical adventure.” –Michael Moorcock (on Gideon’s Angel)
Gideon’s Angel
He came back to kill a tyrant. He found the Devil instead.
London 1653: The long and bloody English Civil War is at an end. King Charles is dead and Oliver Cromwell rules the land as king in all but name. Richard Treadwell–exiled royalist officer and soldier-for-hire to the King of France’s all-powerful advisor, the wily Cardinal Mazarin–burns with revenge for those who deprived him of his family and fortune. He decides upon a self-appointed mission to return in secret and assassinate Cromwell. Once back on English soil however, he learns that his is not the only plot in motion.
A secret army run by a deluded Puritan is bent on the same quest, guided by the Devil’s hand. Treadwell finds himself in a desperate turnaround: he must save Cromwell to save England from a literal descent into Hell. But first he has to contend with a wife he left in Devon who believes she’s a widow, and a furious mistress who has trailed him to England, jeopardizing everything.
Praise for Gideon’s Angel
“…the plot never stops thickening and the galloping pace keeps it from clotting… All this plus sound historical settings, terrific supernatural set pieces and walk-on parts for D’Artagnan and John Milton. What’s not to like?”–The Daily Mail
“…I took a look—and was hooked. Check it out. Fast-paced fantasy/historical adventure.” –Michael Moorcock
“… this is as fun as fiction gets”–SFX Magazine
“Swashbuckling excitement in grimy 1653.”–The Daily Telegraph
“Clifford Beal is a great story teller who keeps his readers on the edge of their seats”–Jerry Hayes, The Spectator
“Sheer panache….”–Tor.com
Quelch’s Gold
In May 1704 an eighty-ton brigantine, the Charles, quietly slipped into the cove at Marblehead, Massachusetts. Her sudden and unexpected appearance, some ten months after she had left Marblehead under mysterious circumstances, started tongues wagging down at the docks and in the town’s dim, cramped, seafront taverns. During the following three weeks, a drama played out involving the crew of the Charles; her commander, John Quelch; and the colonial governments of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. In the hold of the Charles lay large quantities of Brazilian sugar, hides, cloth, guns, and gold dust and coins worth more than 10,000 sterling―a huge fortune for the time. This booty and the circumstances of the ship’s voyage led to Quelch’s arrest on charges of piracy and murder against the subjects of Queen Anne’s newest ally, the king of Portugal. One historian called Quelch’s trial, the first admiralty trial ever held outside England, “the first case of judicial murder in America.”
Praise for Quelch’s Gold
“A worthwhile acquisition for history buffs.”–Midwest Book Review
“Beal cuts to the heart of one authentic pirate in his new book Quelch’s Gold. John Quelch is not as famous as Captain Kidd and Edmund “Blackbeard” Teach, who also sailed these waters, but his story reveals much about how pirates actually lived…Quelch’s Gold is a thrilling pirate story, now finally and dramatically told, as bizarre as anything Disney might dream up but this one is true.”–SeacoastNH.com
“Beal deftly weaves a tale of intrigue and abuse by authorities to prosecute Quelch for piracy.”–Pirates and Privateers
“[T]he plot of Quelch’s Gold is elaborate and the scenery amazing, reminding us of New England’s ties to the wide Atlantic world.”―H-Atlantic