Guest Post
My latest historical fiction novel, The Mark of the Salamander, was published in October 2023. It’s the first title in a two-book series, The Island of Angels, which tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era. The second book, due out in October 2024, is The Midnight of Eights.
This blog is about the title, namely The Mark of the Salamander.
First of all, what is a salamander? Well, it’s a spirit of fire.
In Medieval times, Paracelsus, the great Swiss alchemist, identified the four beings or spirits of the elements. While the salamander is the fire elemental, gnomes inhabit the earth, undines swim in the waters of the oceans, and sylphs are air spirits.As a spirit of fire, the salamander is a lithe creature that occupied the other world and so would only appear to be seen by those who had the eyes to see them. Just like the other three elemental spirits, the salamander had healing properties, and to those it attended, it gave the power of foresight and insight into the future.
Fire is fascinating. It lives, it’s alive. At the hearth, it warms, and yet it destroys. It melts, it smelts, and it cleanses. It houses the phoenix who rises from the ashes, it begets new birth, and yet Hell is full of the stuff.
It’s the living fire, the fire that we breathe that’s inside the air, the flame of life and living. And there’s a ruby salamander mentioned in the novel.
The idea of it came from this image of a ruby salamander pendant. Gold filigree set with rubies, it was recovered from a Spanish galleon off the coast of Northern Ireland some years after the Armada.So, although it was probably not part of the treasure taken by Drake from the Spanish ship, the Cacafuego, the fact that it was a salamander gave me the idea to use it in the novel.
What about the mark of the salamander? What’s that? Where did the idea come from?
That came from the Ancient Greek myth about the warrior Achilles. The legend goes that his mother dipped him into the River Styx to make his entire body invulnerable, except for the part of his foot where she held him—the proverbial Achilles heel.That was his identifying feature, in his case, his weakness and, ultimately, his destiny (see image).
In a similar way, Nelan, the protagonist of The Mark of the Salamander, is born with three wavy lines beneath the middle finger of his right hand. That’s the mark of the salamander. That way, his supernatural powers, such as clairvoyance, ESP, and telepathy, can be identified with a physical feature, an actual mark on the body.
1575.
Nelan Michaels is a young Flemish man fleeing religious persecution in the Spanish Netherlands. Settling in Mortlake outside London, he studies under Queen Elizabeth’s court astrologer, conjuring a bright future – until he’s wrongly accused of murder.
Forced into the life of a fugitive, Nelan hides in London, before he is dramatically pressed into the crew of the Golden Hind.
Thrust into a strange new world on board Francis Drake’s vessel, Nelan sails the seas on a voyage to discover discovery itself. Encountering mutiny, ancient tribes and hordes of treasure, Nelan must explore and master his own mystical powers – including the Mark of the Salamander, the mysterious spirit of fire.
THE MARK OF THE SALAMANDER is the first in The Island of Angels series: a two-book saga that tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.
Buy Links
Preferred Buy Link (no postage to pay on this one): https://wordery.com/mark-of-the-salamander-justin-newland-9781915853271
Buy link on my website (where buyer enters – and I can write – a personal dedication): https://www.justinnewland.com/the-mark-of-the-salamander~191
Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/MarkofSalamander
Publishers Website (UK): https://www.bookguild.co.uk/bookshop/the-mark-of-the-salamander/
Waterstones (UK): https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-mark-of-the-salamander/justin-newland/9781915853271
WH Smith (UK): https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/the-mark-of-the-salamander-the-island-of-angels/justin-newland/paperback/9781915853271.html
Amazon (UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Salamander-Island-Angels/dp/1915853273/ref=sr_1_2
Browns Books (UK): http://www.brownsbfs.co.uk/Product/Newland-Justin/The-mark-of-the-salamander/9781915853271#
Kobo (US): https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-mark-of-the-salamander
Amazon Canada:https://www.amazon.ca/Mark-Salamander-Justin-Newland/dp/1915853273/ref=sr_1_1
Agenda Bookshop (EU): https://agendabookshop.com/products/the-mark-of-the-salamander
Excerpt
The weather was dry but bitterly cold as they walked down St Martin’s Lane to the Strand. Eleanor wanted to go home, but Nelan took her gently by the hand and led her towards the top of White Hall.
“Here, come this way,” he said. “Let me show you something.” The stone cross was ahead; the one he’d seen a few days before.
Needle-like, the frost made it shimmer in the winter sun. Together they watched the other couples leave the church. As they passed the cross, each one paused for a moment’s silent remembrance. The men pressed their caps to their hearts. The women bowed their heads. Some shed a solitary tear. Others walked on, lost in thought.
“This is poignant,” Eleanor said. “What’s so special about this cross?”
“Edward I accompanied his wife of many years when she died near Lincoln,” Nelan said. “The King brought her body back to London on a bier. At each of the twelve stops along the way, he erected a memorial to her: a cross; a charing cross.”
“I didn’t know that,” Eleanor said, holding back a tear. “And these ordinary folk, they show her such deep respect. On a freezing day, it warms the cockles of your heart.”
“People behaved the same the other day when I came here. I wanted to share this special place, and what it means, with you.”
“What was the name of his Queen?”
Nelan looked her softly in the eye and whispered, “Eleanor.” “Oh, but that’s… my name,” she said, choking on the emotion. “It’s also called Eleanor’s Cross.”
“Nelan, you brought me here… you thought of me. That’s kind. Thank you. It’s a wonderful story of a love that lasts beyond death and into the afterlife.”
The moist sparkle in her eyes warmed him inside.
“I wonder,” she mused, pressing his hand into hers, “is the fire of love between a man and a woman immortal?”
“Perhaps one day we’ll find out,” he murmured.
About the Author
JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism.
Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (ISBN 9781789014860, Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.
His second book is a historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (ISBN 9781789015829, Matador, 2018), and is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.
The Coronation (ISBN 9781838591885, Matador, 2019) is an historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.
The Abdication (ISBN 9781800463950, Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.
His latest is The Mark of the Salamander (ISBN 9781915853271, Book Guild, 2023) and is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age.
The second in the series, The Midnight of Eights (ISBN 9781835740 330, Book Guild, 2024), charts of the uncanny coincidences that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada and is due for publication in October.
Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin gives talks to historical associations and libraries, appears on LitFest panels, and enjoys giving radio interviews.
He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
Author Website: https://www.justinnewland.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justin.newland.author/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/@jnewland0711
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JustinNewland53
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjustinnewland/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jnewland
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-newland-b393aa28/
Book Bub: https://partners.bookbub.com/authors/4862998/edit
Video Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/qx39wZjXajU
Justin Newland’s Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Justin-Newland/author/B06WRQVLT8
Giveaway
The author will be awarding a signed, physical copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner.
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