Matthew Harffy is the author of the Bernicia Chronicles, an action-packed historical fiction series set during the turbulent times of seventh century Britain. The first, a tale of vengeance and coming of age, is THE SERPENT SWORD. This was followed by THE CROSS AND THE CURSE, BLOOD AND BLADE, KILLER OF KINGS, WARRIOR OF WODEN, STORM OF STEEL, FOR LORD AND LAND, FORTRESS OF FURY and FOREST OF FOES.

November 2019 saw the publication of WOLF OF WESSEX, a new adventure set in the ninth century against the backdrop of the Viking attacks on the British Isles.

His latest early medieval series begins with A TIME FOR SWORDS. Set in 793, it follows the tale of Hunlaf, a young monk, who decides not to turn the other cheek when his monastery is attacked by Norse raiders. Hunlaf’s story continues in A NIGHT OF FLAMES and A DAY OF RECKONING.

July 2024 sees the publication of Matthew’s first foray into the 19th century with DARK FRONTIER, set in the wilds of Oregon where Lieutenant Gabriel Stokes seeks to escape the misery and murder that has hitherto dominated his life, first on the battlefields of Afghanistan and then as a detective inspector in the Metropolitan Police. He soon realises that the Amercian West is far from the idyll he has yearned for. The frontier is a complex patchwork of feuds and felonies, and ranchers as vicious as any back alley cut-throat in London.

Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria’s Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for the Bernicia Chronicles.

Matthew has had many diverse jobs. He’s worked in the IT industry, as an English teacher and translator in Spain, as a rock singer and has co-authored several academic articles, ranging in topic from the ecological impact of mining to the construction of a marble pipe organ. He lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and two daughters.