The Midnight of Eights by Justin Newland (The Island of Angels #2)
🌟 Welcome to My Tour Stop!
I’m delighted to host today’s stop on the iRead Book Tour for The Midnight of Eights by Justin Newland. This blend of historical fiction and magical realism sweeps readers to Elizabethan England, where danger, intrigue, and a touch of the supernatural collide.
📜Quick Highlight
Set in the late 1500s, the story follows Nelan Michaels, a young man marked by mystical powers who is drawn into the world of Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster just as the Spanish Armada threatens England’s shores. As the greatest fleet in the world advances, Nelan’s astral abilities—and a series of extraordinary coincidences—may change the course of history.
👇 Keep scrolling for the giveaway.
📝 Book Info
The Midnight of Eights
By Justin Newland
Series: The Island of Angels #2
Published by The Book Guild on 10/28/2024
Genres: Historical Fiction
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 288
1580.
Nelan Michaels docks at Plymouth after sailing around the world aboard the Golden Hind. He seeks only to master his mystical powers – the mark of the salamander, that mysterious spirit of fire – and reunite with his beloved Eleanor.After delivering a message to Francis Walsingham, he’s recruited into the service of the Queen’s spymaster, where his astral abilities help him to predict and thwart future plots against the realm.
But in 1588, the Spanish Armada threatens England’s shores.
So how could the fledgling navy of a small, misty isle on the edge of mainland Europe repulse the greatest fleet in the world?Was the Queen right when she claimed it was divine intervention, saying, ‘He blew with His winds, and they were scattered!’?
📚 Where to Find The Midnight of Eights
Available on Amazon:
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Also available at:
Book Guild • WHSmith • Brownsbfs • LoveReading • Waterstones
About Justin Newland
JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism. His stories explore the themes of war and religion, and speculate on the human’s spiritual place in the universe.
Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.
The historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (Matador, 2018), is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.
The Coronation (Matador, 2019) was another historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.
The Abdication (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.
The Mark of the Salamander (Book Guild, 2023) is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it’s an epic tale of England’s coming of age.
His work in progress is the second in the series, The Midnight of Eights, the charting of the uncanny coincidences that led to the repulse of the Spanish Armada.
Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin appears on LitFest panels, gives talks to historical associations and libraries and enjoys giving radio interviews and making podcasts. Born three days before the end of 1953, he lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
🖋️ Guest Post by Justin Newland
A Brief Introduction to the Spanish Armada
by Justin Newland
The Spanish word “Armada” means fleet of warships. It certainly was.
In 1588, King Philip of Spain assembled 130 vessels in Cadiz to invade England and depose Elizabeth. Philip’s strategy was to transport an 18,000-strong invasion force from Cadiz to the Netherlands, pick up the Duke of Alba’s battle-hardened troops, and ferry them across the English Channel to overthrow Elizabeth.
Setting Sail
When the Armada set sail in July 1588, Spain was at the zenith of her power and closely allied with the might of the Catholic Church. The massive galleons were virtual floating fortresses, but these square-rigged vessels could only sail with the wind at their back.
The English had recently developed smaller ships that could sail closer to the wind (they didn’t need the wind at their back to proceed).
First Sighting
At dawn on 29 July 1588, Captain Fleming of The Golden Hind spotted the massed ranks of the Armada off the Scilly Isles. He sailed back to Plymouth to inform Howard, Hawkins, and Drake—famously interrupting their game of bowls on the Hoe.
Unbeknown to the English, the Spanish had no intention of attacking any south-coast ports and sailed past the Isle of Wight, followed on the cliff tops by crowds of fearful and excited peasants.
The Crescent Formation
The Armada arranged the larger, slower ships in the middle and the faster ships on the “horns,” a crescent formation that made it difficult for the English to engage. The English attacked at speed and used long-range guns, but these proved ineffective against the thick-hulled Spanish vessels.
Calais and the Fire Ships
By 7 August, the Armada anchored off Calais with most ships intact. The two fleets moored so close they could hear each other’s shouts.
That night—under a heavy, doleful Harvest Moon—the English prepared fire ships of pitch, wood, and tar. At midnight on 7/8 August, they dispatched eight fire ships downwind into the massed ranks of the Armada.
The Spanish panicked, cut their anchor chains, and fled into the night.
Battle of Gravelines
The next day brought repeated salvos of cannon fire as the fleets clashed head-on at the Battle of Gravelines. Despite gaining the upper hand, Howard and Drake had to call off the attack due to shortages of shot and powder.
The Spanish fled north, the English fleet in full sail behind them.
Horses Overboard
Four days later, on 12 August, the barrel man spotted heads bobbing behind the Spanish vessels. Were they men? A mutiny? No—horses. Scores of them.
Seeing this, Drake and Howard turned back toward Deptford. The Spanish had abandoned hope of invasion and no longer had supplies to feed their animals.
The End of the Armada
The ragged fleet struggled around Scotland. On 19 August, Elizabeth rode into the Thames camp at Tilbury, wearing a silver breastplate over a white velvet dress and carrying a truncheon. In her famous address she declared:
“I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too…”
Meanwhile, desperate for food, the Spanish bought fish from a fisherman between Shetland and Orkney.
Days later, storms shipwrecked more vessels on the Irish coast. Having cut their anchor chains, they could not safely anchor anywhere and were forever bound to the wind.
Aftermath
The greatest fleet in the world limped home in the autumn, losing 60 ships and suffering 15,000 casualties.
On 22 September, Elizabeth struck an Armada medal inscribed Flavit Jehovah et Dissipati Sunt—“Jehovah blew with His winds, and they were scattered.”
To this day, the wind that scattered the Armada is remembered as the Protestant Wind.
Thank you for stopping by my tour feature for The Midnight of Eights.
Don’t miss Justin Newland’s fascinating guest post on the Spanish Armada—and be sure to follow the full iRead Book Tour to discover more reviews, excerpts, and chances to win!
🎁 Giveaway!
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THE MIDNIGHT OF EIGHTS Book Tour Giveaway
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