J.R. Tomlin

J. R. Tomlin is an American historical novelist whose work is centred predominantly on medieval Scotland. She has strong personal ties to the country: her father was Scottish, she spent part of her youth in Edinburgh, and her interest in Scottish history began with childhood stories about Robert the Bruce and Sir James Douglas. Tomlin has cited Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Walter Scott and J. R. R. Tolkien among her literary influences. She now lives in Oregon and has produced an extensive body of Scottish historical fiction characterised by political intrigue, warfare, divided loyalties and detailed recreations of medieval life.

Her best-known books include the Black Douglas Trilogy—A Kingdom’s Cost, Countenance of War and Not for Glory—which follows James Douglas during Robert the Bruce’s struggle for Scottish independence. Freedom’s Sword serves as a related prequel and tells the story of Andrew de Moray and the resistance to Edward I’s occupation of Scotland. Tomlin has also written the Stewart Chronicles, the Son of Scotland novels and the historical Sir Law Kintour Mysteries. Her fiction generally combines documented battles, rulers and political crises with imagined personal relationships, making her particularly suitable for readers of Nigel Tranter, Sharon Kay Penman and other authors of strongly researched medieval historical fiction.