Guest post from historical fiction author Justin Newland

Today’s guest is historical fiction author Justin Newland. Instead of an interview, he’s giving us insight into the story behind his new novel, The Mark of the Salamander.

During his virtual book tour, Justin will be giving away a signed physical copy of the novel to a lucky randomly chosen participant. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Justin Newland’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism.

Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (ISBN 9781789014860, Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.

His second book is a historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (ISBN 9781789015829, Matador, 2018) and is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.

The Coronation (ISBN 9781838591885, Matador, 2019) is an historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.

The Abdication (ISBN 9781800463950, Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.

His latest is The Mark of the Salamander (ISBN 9781915853271, Book Guild, 2023) and is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age.

The second in the series, The Midnight of Eights (ISBN 9781835740 330, Book Guild, 2024), charts of the uncanny coincidences that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada and is due for publication in October.

Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin gives talks to historical associations and libraries, appears on LitFest panels, and enjoys giving radio interviews.

He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.

Welcome, Justin. Please tell us about your new release.
My latest historical fiction novel, The Mark of the Salamander, was published in October 2023. It’s the first title in a two-book series, The Island of Angels, which tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era. The second in the duology—The Midnight of Eights—is due out next month, in October 2024.

This blog relates the true story of a slave who have a profound impact on the life of Sir Francis Drake, a story which features in the novel.

Diego—his surname is not known—was an African man who was enslaved by the Spanish and transported to Panama. He escaped and banded together with other Cimarrons, runaway Africans who established their own settlements in the Panama hinterlands.

This image shows an idealised version of what he may have looked and dressed like.

At the time, the Spanish pilfered much of their wealth from the Aztec temples and dug it out of the ground in places like the silver and gold Pitosi mine in Peru. Every year, this huge yield was shipped up the Pacific coast of South America to Panama, where it was loaded on a mule train and hauled across the Isthmus to Nombre de Dios on the Atlantic side, before being shipped to Spain on the annual treasure ship.

When the English buccaneer Francis Drake and his company attacked the port of Nombre de Dios in 1572, Diego bravely ran through a hail of bullets and persuaded the English to let him join them. Diego then helped the English combine with the local Cimarrons to launch a successful attack on the annual Spanish mule train. After that escapade, Diego returned to Plymouth with Drake.

Diego’s knowledge of the geography of the Isthmus of Panama (shown in the image) was, in a strange way, instrumental in changing the fortunes of Drake, as well as of England, and in some ways, the world.

Because during the 1572 escapade, Diego took Drake to a unique hill. He climbed a tree, and made his way to a rickety platform that had been assembled near its crown. Drake stood on it, and was perhaps the first Englishmen to see the panorama that spread out before him. Because looking east, he saw the vast expanse of the Pacific, but turning west, and gazing across the narrow Isthmus, he glimpsed the Atlantic. Both oceans at once! This was a vision that he never forgot, and Drake promised himself that he would return to sail in the Pacific Ocean, and one day he did.

On 15 November 1577, Diego joined nearly 170 men to set sail with Drake on his vessel The Pelican from Plymouth to sail around the world. On board ship, Diego acted as Drake’s personal manservant, preparing his clothing and serving his meals. Diego had experience of long sea voyages, and was fluent in Spanish and now English, which made him an valuable interpreter. Like the rest of the crew, Diego was paid wages.

In April 1578, the five vessels in the fleet reached Brazil, sailed south down the coast of South America before crossing the Magellan straits. By the time Drake had successfully rounded Cape Horn, his was the only ship of the fleet remaining. That was when it was renamed The Golden Hind. The image of his boat is shown here. It made history – the first English vessel to sail around the globe.

On 25 November 1578, Drake and his crew landed on Mocha Isle off the coast of Chile. After their horrendous passage across the straits, they were desperate for fresh water and food. To their delight, the island’s inhabitants gave them food, and told them to return the next day for drinking water. That night, they enjoyed a welcome feast.

The next morning, Diego, Drake and ten other men set out for the island. This time they were met not with friendship, but with a flurry of arrows. The natives’ sudden change of heart seems to have been caused by a misunderstanding over the translation of a word. Whatever it was, arrows rained down on the boat. Men died. Drake was hit by an arrow in the face. Diego received more than 20 wounds. Despite his multiple wounds, Diego survived for nearly another year, and died as the Golden Hind passed the Indonesian Moluccas on the way home.

This was a sad end to an extraordinary life that started in Africa, took him to South America, England, Brazil and Peru.

In my novel, I imagine the relationship between Drake and Diego in which Drake learns some of the arcane arts of seamanship from Diego, who also told the crew some of the extraordinary myths of his African people.

Long live Diego the Cimarron, the runaway, who didn’t run away and turned and faced his enslavers.

Excerpt from The Mark of the Salamander:
It was midway through the afternoon watch. On a Monday. It wasn’t any old Monday. It was a special Monday. Not because of an extra beer ration; nor because of the smell of fish emanating from the galley. No – it was because, on that autumn day, nearly all fifty-eight surviving crew members hung over the gunwale, their eyes dripping with expectation and glued to the horizon. On occasion, they glanced up at the topmast and the barrel man as if waiting for a message from the heavens. None came, even after they’d passed the Isles of Scilly. Nor did it come after they passed Wolf Rock. It surely wouldn’t be long in coming.

As the creaking of the sails ceased, the Golden Hind glided serenely through the waters as if drawn forward by a divine wind. Even the gulls stopped squawking. A light rain shower washed the decks. The men gazed at the white flecks on the waves.

Amidst the quiet, a cry went out, and travelled down the mizzenmast, across the poop deck and into the soul of each crew member. “Land ho!”

Nelan stood next to Fletcher, who raised his hands like an Old Testament prophet and cried out, “Oh, my God!” Then he knelt on the deck, hands clasped in a prayer of thanksgiving.

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