Welcome to the website of novelist Michael Jecks, known as the master of the medieval murder mystery.

On the left you will find links to all the interesting bits - about me and my writing and the period in which most of it is set. You will always find information here about my latest Knights Templar mysteries, and about collaborations with my fellow Medieval Murderers, too.

I hope you'll want to visit my site often, and find out all my latest news - but if you want to be even more up to date, have a look at the column on the right, which links to some of the other places you can find me - on Facebook, on Twitter, even mailed to your inbox...

My latest title is King's Gold, published by Simon & Schuster in May 2011, and now also available in paperback. You'll be wondering where the King's gold came into the plot?

Well, when King Edward II fled London, he had to take cash with him - there weren't any banks! He had barrels of coin, each holding a couple of thousand pounds. Despenser brought his own money, too. We know that they had their money with them in Caerphilly. But Despenser had more money secreted all over the country. And it occurred to me: What would happen to a parish priest who discovered that he had a whole stash of money burning a hole in the floor of his undercroft?

That was the beginning of the story for me, the image of this poor clergyman staring in dumbfounded misery at a pile of coins in a box in his storeroom, and the question of what he decided to do with it. And, of course, how Keeper of the King's Peace Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock became entangled in the net of conspiracy, greed, betrayal and murder. Read all about it on the book's own page.

I've a rather unusual 'new publication' too - if you follow my Newsletter, you'll know I've been working with Conway Stewart to produce a limited edition Michael Jecks pen. And it's now available, complete with its own exclusive (and signed, of course) short story - and you can see the proof in my photos on Flickr! And to celebrate publication of King's Gold, Simon & Schuster offer you another chance to win a Conway Stewart pen!. You'll find a new video of me on their website, too.

The 14th century is a great time for a novelist to write about, just because it was not a great time to live. I have plenty to say about this subject elsewhere! And things didn't get any better with the unpredictable background of civil unrest surrounding the deposition of King Edward II. Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Simon Puttock are drawn into forward into a new and uncharted future, as the troubled reign of Edward II draws to a close and the era of Edward III begins.

Keep a close eye on my Events pages, too: I've haven't been travelling as much this year as previously, but this is the place to find out where I am, and I hope that if I am ever in your neighbourhood, you will come and say hello! Whether I'm talking about my own books, chatting about the middle ages with my friends The Medieval Murderers, or even dancing with Tinners' Morris: it's all on the Events page!

And you can . I do read everything I receive but I can't guarantee a reply because of my workload. Please send your comments on the website as it's meant to be useful and fun for you as well as me!

Alternatively, and for business enquiries, you can contact me via my agent, Eddie Bell
The Bell Lomax Moreton Agency
Ground Floor
Watergate House
13/15 York Buildings
London
WC2N 6JU
Tel: 0207 930 4447
Fax: 0207 925 0118