On a Sword’s Edge by JR Tomlin

1/19/2025

Multi-genre, multi-volume, historical fiction author, J. R. Tomlin introduces us to her latest book about early Scotland, “On a Sword’s Edge”. This is the first book in the William the Bold series:
Scotland. 1263. The scent of rain mingles with the smoke of campfires as word spreads: the Norse are coming…

As tempers rise between King Alexander and the Norse King Haakon, at the center of it all is sixteen-year-old William Douglas, a squire in service to Sir John Stewart, Lord High Steward of Scotland.
When Haakon's fearsome fleet is espied approaching Scotland's shores, carrying the greatest invasion force the Norse have ever mustered, the dread of battle settles over the land. Summoned to Ayr Castle, William joins the Scottish forces in a desperate defense. Now tasked with serving his newly knighted brother, Hugh, William has little time to dwell on the fear – or thrill – of his first real taste of war.
And once the Norse's menacing line of ships finally touches shore, Scotland's fate may rest on more than noble titles and knightly deeds— it'll take the mettle of every soul on the ground for them to triumph.
Set against the wind-swept coast of medieval Scotland, On a Sword's Edge takes you right into the center of The Battle of Largs alongside a mere – yet fearless – squire.

I love historical fiction!
This story really stands out for me. It's a deep dive into the medieval period when the Scots and the Vikings were wrestling for control of Scotland and the nearby small islands.
No spoilers from me. Take my word, this is a richly textured story and you won't be disappointed.
4.9 stars because I am picky about certain things.
You will love reading this!

You can follow the author:
@jrtomlin.bsky.social
http://www.jrtomlin.com
http://jeannetomlin.blogspot.com
Note: The author is not on X as of this writing.

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/On-a-Swords-Edge-Historical-Scotland
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/on-a-swords-edge-j-r-tomlin
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/on-a-sword-s-edge
https://books.apple.com/us/book/on-a-swords-edge
https://play.google.com/on-a-swords-edge
https://www.goodreads.com/-on-a-sword-s-edge

Here is my review of the first book in a series: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-douglas-bastard
Here is my review of another Tomlin book: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-wayward-alliance
Here is my review of another Tomlin book:
https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-lion-of-galloway

Tags: medieval, action, hist-fic
Copyright © 2025 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction

19 Comments

J R Tomlin

1/19/2025 04:23:30 pm

Thanks for the review, Mark!

Mark

1/20/2025 08:37:20 am

You are welcome, Jeanne and welcome back to the Word Refiner channel. I am honored to have the opportunity to chat with you again.

We are going to continue from where we left off in the promotion for "The Lion of Galloway", another magnificent story by the way.

First question.

Are there any issues that are peculiar to writing historical fiction that might not apply to other genres?

1/20/2025 09:51:55 pm

The intermix of fiction with history can be tricky and is something that other genres do not have to struggle with. I have seen some say, "Oh, it's just fiction so ignore the history." But if you do that it is nothing but fantasy, not historical fiction. At the same time, you certainly do not want your novel to come out reading like a textbook. So when it is acceptable to change history and to what degree is something that I think most HF authors struggle with a bit.

1/21/2025 09:39:31 am

Every hist-fic author I have had the pleasure of speaking with says about the same thing. Brief historical facts are very boring for most of us. We strive to remember them long enough to pass a test. The genius of a well-written, historical fiction story is to find an unknown minor character that would be close to a major character or create one as authentic as possible and build the story around that character without harming any known facts.

New question.

Are there any writing styles or genres that you disliked at first but came to like sooner or later?

J R Tomlin link

1/21/2025 03:33:02 pm

Ah. I have always been pretty open to other genres and styles — except novels written in the present tense. I reluctantly made an exception for Wolf Hall despite her bizarre and ungrammatical use of 'he.'

1/21/2025 03:57:43 pm

I might have to read that for the experience. I will keep an Epi pen close at hand. :-)

New questions.

Do you think reading, watching movies or listening to music help you be a better writer?

At this time, do you read books for entertainment or just research homework?

1/22/2025 05:19:17 pm

I read both fiction and non-fiction. The non-fiction is mostly for research but sometimes just because I am curious about a topic. I have a pretty substantial non-fiction library, with about 300 books, almost all in print. It includes the entire nine-volume set of 'The Scots Peerage' and the eight-volume Aberdeen University translation of 'Bower's Scotticronicon (which, yes, is bragging because both sets are very difficult to acquire. 😜)

1/22/2025 10:29:06 pm

As far as reading, I think that is essential to be a good writer. I believe you absolutely cannot be a good writer without reading, probably reading a lot. Movies are such a totally different medium, I don't know if they are helpful or not. I love and have very wide taste in music, so I hope it helps, but to be honest, I don't know.

1/22/2025 02:48:40 pm

Congratulations on your research collection! Essential works to have for writing about Scotland as you do.

New questions.

What type of book is your favorite guilty pleasure to read or listen to for fun?

Have you ever read a book that changed the way you look at writing?

1/23/2025 08:55:16 pm

Interesting question. I take something away from almost every novel I read. It might be something they did exceptionally well that adds to my store of techniques or even something they did poorly that I promise never to do. As far as books on writing, I feel they are overrated mainly, but that doesn't mean I don't read them. King's 'On Writing' changed how I think about being an author. "How Not To Write A Novel" by Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark made me think about how I write and what I can do to improve more than any book of that sort that I can recall.

1/23/2025 08:40:04 pm

No, I can't say that I have a guilty pleasure. I average reading around 50 books a year, and they are from a wide range of genres. The only thing I don't ever read is horror, which I just don't enjoy.

1/24/2025 08:11:09 am

The fact that those two books were transformative for you is a good indication of their value. Many books provide a warm, fuzzy feeling but not many are real useful.

I read almost that many books yearly as well. I am not a fan of gory horror either. I prefer horror wrapped in a funny story.

New questions.

Do you think that a writer needs to read books, why or why not?

What hurdle did you face in writing this book and how did you overcome it?

1/25/2025 06:11:51 pm

Sorry for the delay in answering. I had a family issue yesterday.

I feel about authors reading the way I feel about people hearing speech to learn to speak a language. Written language and storytelling are specific skills that you must experience to learn them.

The research for On a Sword's Edge was more difficult because very little has been studied or written about the early reign of King Alexander III. Sometimes historians and writers give the impression that Scotland did not exist before the Wars of Scottish Independence which of course is not the case. By that time Scotland had been a kingdom for more than four hundred years.

1/25/2025 06:33:19 pm

Sorry to hear about the emergency. Family comes first. I hope all are well or recovering.

I think authors should read heavily in their genre and read outside of their genre also. After writing a few books writers seem to be good at spotting techniques common in other genres beside their chosen field.

Hubris is a very deep stream that runs through all of us and we tend to discount the past because we are so modern now. Regardless of the era any person lives in they think they have the latest information. In truth, they did have the latest information for their time. They operated faithfully with that knowledge. In our modern days, information can go stale in a matter of minutes.

Scholars don't do well when there is a dearth of information. They can do little more than dream and maybe write a book. Before an official Scotland there must have been many decades of tribal scuffles to decide who be the man in charge.

New questions.

Would you agree or disagree with the statement: suffering is a requirement to be a good writer, and why?

What were your intentions or your goals when you wrote this book? Do you feel you were successful in getting that message across to the reader?

1/26/2025 12:46:10 am

I think we all suffer to one degree or another as part of the human condition. When someone's life looks perfect from the outside, I doubt that it looks that way from the inside. What is essential for an author is the ability to feel the emotions our characters feel and if those are only happy feelings with no pain or trauma, then the characters would be pretty shallow.
I wanted to tell the story of a very overlooked historical character, one who is tends to be misunderstood because of the way his history is generally misrepresented. I think I was at least partially successful.

1/27/2025 10:25:12 am

A duck looks so nice when it is paddling across a pond but you can get that its webbed feet are going like crazy. Appearances are deceiving, without question. Everyone wants to show only the highlights, the high points of their life. None of us want to reveal the outtakes of our life.

I think you did an admirable telling of King Alexander's story.

Last questions.

Do you ever brainstorm with non-writers and if so, is it effective?

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer to enhance your writing career?

1/27/2025 06:55:41 pm

I avoid brainstorming with nonwriters because then I am in the embarrassing position of having to ignore their suggestions without offending them. I make an exception for titles, and I frequently ask people to brainstorm titles.

Editors and proofreaders are absolutely the best expenses possible. And working with a good, experienced editor can not only improve a book but teach a lot about your strengths and weaknesses.

1/27/2025 07:52:56 pm

You make a good point about ruffling their feathers needlessly. Most authors agree with you they don't brainstorm book ideas with non-writers.

As self-serving as it might sound, we are in complete agreement about editors and proofreaders. Every book needs an editor and a proofreader. The proofreader should be brought in last as a final polishing for a manuscript. I read a lot of books and find one book a year free of spelling errors out of 40 or so books. That is not to say the one book is completely error free, not at all. Spelling errors jump off the page at me. The rest I must hunt down. That average of one book a year has continued for 10 years straight.

Thank you again, Jeanne, I am very grateful you hired me to promote your book. I love your writing and historical fiction is my third personal favorite to read.
You have been a great guest on the Word Refiner channel.

Until next time, keep on writing.

1/27/2025 08:21:56 pm

Thank you, Mark. It is always a pleasure.

On a Sword’s Edge by JR Tomlin

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