Agrar of the Cornish by Graeme Richard Smith Spotlight and Guestpost! @Feniton2014

Agrar of the Cornish Guest Post

In 1967 whilst wandering around the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter something caught my eye. I stood in front of it transfixed and in awe. This was my first experience of the Bronze Age although at the time I did not know this.

I was then aged ten and even now forty nine years later I still go back at least once a year to look upon an object which has captivated my imagination for half a century. The object or should I say artefact in question is a Corinthian style Greek helmet made of Bronze.

Fast forward now to 2007 ( forty years later ) and I am wandering around the Escot estate in East Devon using a metal detector. I have not found anything that I could shout about this day only a few modern coins. As I make my way through a grass field a faint signal comes from my headphones so I start to dig down to retrieve the unknown metal object.

Most metal detecting finds are usually a few inches below the surface and soon I was starting to wonder about this find as the hole was now over one foot deep. Something now told me to dig carefully as I was new to metal detecting and didn't expect to find an object buried so deep.

The minutes passed and then a glimpse of green appeared, I knew this could happen to copper/bronze which had been buried for a very long time. As I dug around the object I soon recognised it as a Bronze Age axehead - I could not believe my luck and a few days later showed the land owner who was as amazed as I was. This was just the start of many individual finds within an area of two square miles.  Over the period of seven years on four separate farms I had found over ten individual finds, each one over three thousand years old.

About five years ago I started to notice many worked/knapped flints in these fields from the Bronze Age. I now have over four hundred flints, each one a work of art fashioned in the late stone age to early Bronze Age.

As I wandered the East Devon landscape with my trusty metal detector I would often wonder about our ancient ancestors who once lived and worked the land and for some reason still unbeknown to me ideas for a story of a Bronze Age tribe led by a chieftain called Agrar constantly ran through my mind.

I started to make notes about these ideas and eventually wrote in pen a manuscript based on all my ideas. In the story I have used my knowledge of combat during several of the fight scenes - I have trained in the martial arts for 35 years and hold the rank of Fourth Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. I have interlaced the story with my deep spiritual side and have included magic and ancient gods/deities.

The tin trade in Cornwall started during the Bronze Age.   I am sure that there are not many stories of fiction set at this time and so I now introduce a new hero of the ancient world - a Cornish chieftain called Agrar.

I know that this tale from the Bronze Age is quite unique.  At the back of the book readers can see some of the amazing finds that I have made over the past few years.

I have started a sequel to Agrar of the Cornish which I hope to get published once it is finished.

Agrar of the Cornish is an amazing and truly magical adventure set three thousand years ago where the God of tin Cassitar had buried his tin knowing that one day it would be used by the people he loved, they are THE CORNISH.

This book is a combination of my own imagination, spirituality, fascination with the Bronze Age and knowledge of unarmed combat. (Kenpo Karate).

If I could offer one piece of advice to encourage aspiring authors it would be to write from the heart and soul about things and events that you are passionate about and can relate to on both a spiritual and emotional level.  I have always written from the heart and soul and I feel this is reflected in the tale of Agrar of the Cornish.  

Genre:

Historical Fiction

Release date:

31/05/2016

Pages:

443

Blurb:

Three thousand years ago, in the thick of the Bronze Age, Cornwall is known far and wide for its wealth of highly valuable tin. Because of this, Agrar, Chieftain of the Agrarian peoples, must be ever-vigilant in his quest to keep his clan safe from marauders who seek riches from the metals of the land.

When strange foreigners arrive from the faraway land of Greece with hopes of amiable trade, new friendships are formed and cultures collide - but despite the good nature of these new friends, they seem to bring danger that no one could have foreseen.

In this ancient mythical land, Agrar now has to battle the wrath of Gods and Deities to ensure the safety of his people, and perhaps even more importantly, the safety of his son.

To Purchase

Amazon

Genre:

Historical Fiction

Release date:

31/05/2016

Pages:

443

About author:

Graeme Smith is a Fourth Degree Black Belt and has practiced Kenpo Karate for 30 years. The catalyst for writing this book has been the many finds he has made from the Bronze Age whilst metal detecting. He also has a collection of over 400 knapped flints which he has found whilst field walking. The majority of these flints date from the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age periods.

For more information, please visit: http://www.austinmacauley.com/book/agrar-cornish