Upon the Corner of the Moon

Overview

At the dawn of the second millennium, two royal Scottish children are swept away from their families—Macbeth to the perilous royal court of his grandfather, and Gruach to the remnants of the goddess-worshiping Picts. Macbeth learns that blood bonds are easily severed while Gruach finds her path only to lose it when she’s summoned back to the patriarchal world. Each struggle with gaining and losing power, guided and misguided by prophecy and politics as their paths converge in a fiery bid for royal succession. Upon the Corner of the Moon separates literary legend from reality, immersing readers in a story about the real rulers who changed the face of Scotland. Some legends are true, and the truth sometimes becomes a legend—or a lie. This novel masterfully dovetails the Macbeth legend and the truth without sacrificing either.

Author Biography

Valerie Nieman’s In the Lonely Backwater won the 2022 Sir Walter Raleigh Award and was a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year finalist. Her critically acclaimed work includes To the Bones, Blood Clay (Eric Hoffer Award), and collections of poetry and short fiction. She has held state and NEA creative writing fellowships. A graduate of West Virginia University and Queens University of Charlotte, she is professor emerita at NC A&T State University.