Outcast (Alpine Warrior, #1)

Leon Muller, resident of the city of Bern, has it all – a wealthy family, an excellent education and a very bright future. But he throws it all away on a rash impulse and as a result is thrown into a world that is totally alien to him. Cast out of his home city, he is forced to join an army of impoverished, half-starved soldiers that is fighting for the freedom of the Swiss people.
Derided as 'alpine shepherds' by their aristocratic enemies, Leon and his comrades are plunged into a life-and-death struggle as the nobles and armies of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Habsburgs circle the Swiss Confederation like ravenous wolves, united in their determination to wipe out the Swiss nation once and for all. It is a war of no quarter and great butchery.
'Outcast' is the first volume in the 'Alpine Warrior' series – the story of Swiss soldier Leon Muller in the wars of the 15th Century when Europe was torn apart by civil, dynastic and imperial conflicts.
Maps of 15th Century Switzerland and the Rhine Valley are available to view and download on the maps page of my website.

I was raised in Grantham, Lincolnshire and attended the King's Grammar School after passing the Eleven Plus exam. In the latter I clearly remember writing an essay on Oliver Cromwell – my first piece of military writing.
Then came a BA in history and international relations at Nottingham followed by a Master of Philosophy course at the University of York. The subject was the generalship and cavalry of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, my boyhood hero, during the English Civil War. The year I spent researching and writing at York, Oxford and at the British Library in London was a truly wonderful time.
I moved to London and eventually joined a small publishing company as an editor. Thus began my writing career. I now live in Lincolnshire with my wife Karen.