A.D. Rhine—War and Friendship

Historical Fiction: Unpacked

This week’s episode features a fun conversation. Ashlee Cowles and Danielle Stinson make up A.D. Rhine. They met as military “brats” when they were kids and stayed close over the years. They’ve united to write a duology, Horses of Fire and Daughters of Bronze. I sat down with Ashley and Danielle to talk about their friendship, their mutual love of Homer’s Iliad, and what led them to write these novels together.

Here’s a description of the duology:

A sweeping and epic duology in which Troy’s strong, yet misunderstood women take center stage in the most famous war in history.

Andromache is cast as the doting wife of Prince Hector, yet her Amazon warrior name means “battler of men.” The only one with the cunning to outwit the invading Greeks, she must gather a band of outcasts and become the military commander she was born to be before the life she and Hector have built is reduced to ashes. Rhea is a war refugee and a horse whisperer who finally earns a place and sense of belonging in Hector’s stables. To save her new home, she must become an unlikely spy and face down a forbidden love that will test all her loyalties. Helen is blamed by all for starting the Trojan War, but no one knows her real story. To escape her tormentor and foil a plot to undermine Hector, Helen must find the healer within and risk everything by revealing her true face to the one who despises her most.

Set in the wider landscape of the late Bronze Age collapse, this realistic and immersive Troy is a perilous battleground for warriors and politicians alike, not a playground where the fate of men and women make sport for gods and goddesses. It’s a harrowing novel of palace intrigue, the transcendent bond of female friendship, and the everyday bravery of invisible heroes in times of war.

The women of Troy are threads spinning on a single loom. Can they reweave the tapestry of fate?

Purchase Horses of Fire on Amazon (affiliate).

Check out A.D. Rhine’s website, and follow them on Facebook, and Instagram.

Follow Ashlee on Instagram and Facebook and find her website here.

Follow Danielle on Instagram and find her website here.

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Purchase Alison’s historical novel, One Traveler (affiliate).

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