About this item
The Dark Ages, England: a warrior gives his son to a monastery that rides the border between two rival Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Growing up in a land wracked by war and plague, the child learns of the oath that binds him to the church and forces a cruel choice upon him. To love one father, he must betray another. The decision he makes shatters his world and haunts him forever. This quietly exotic novel places us compellingly in another time, another place, where chieftains fear holy men, holy men fear the world, and prayer has the primal force of fire. While entirely a work of fiction, the novel's background is historically accurate. In the midst of a tale that touches the human in all of us, readers will find themselves treated to a history of the Dark Ages unlike anything available today outside of textbooks and original source material.
About the Author
"The Oblate's Confession" has been named to the Best Indie Books of 2015 and the Best Indie Historical Novels of 2015 by Kirkus Reviews."The Oblate's Confession" took silver in the "Best New Voice: Fiction" category of the Independent Book Publishers Association's annual Benjamin Franklin Awards competition. The novel also has received three other national awards--the National Indie Excellence Book Award in the "Religion: Fiction" category; in the Catholic Press Association's annual book awards competition, "The Oblate's Confession" took second place in the category "Catholic Novel" and third place in the category "First Time Author of a Book" ("The Oblate's Confession" was the only work of fiction to win in this category) .William Peak spent ten years researching and writing "The Oblate's Confession," his debut novel. Peak received his baccalaureate degree from Washington & Lee University and his master's from the creative writing program at Hollins University. He works for the Talbot County Free Library on Maryland's Eastern Shore. He edits the library's newsletter, writes press releases, writes and designs promotional material, does public speaking for the library, leads book and poetry discussions, works both the Reference and Circulation Desks, and writes The Star Democrat's library column (archived at http://www.tcfl.org/peak.) Thanks to the column, Peak is regularly greeted on the streets of Easton: "Hey, library guy!" Peak's poetry and prose have been published in The Delmarva Review and the Tidewater Times. The Delmarva Review this year nominated one of his poems for a Pushcart Prize. Before moving to Talbot County in 1996, Peak worked as a writer for the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, D. C. He has also worked freelance, writing exhibit scripts and label copy for museums in Washington and on the Eastern Shore. He is a member of the board of the Talbot County Arts Council.photo by Tom McCall
