One woman's quest to defend her culture.Haunted by the Roman attack that destroyed her home, Ailia flees to the remote Welsh mountains in search of the charismatic war king, Caradog, who is leading a guerrilla campaign against the encroaching army.Ailia proves herself an indispensable advisor to the war king, but as the bond between them deepens, she realises the terrible role she must play to save the soul of her country.Set in Iron-Age Britain, Songwoman is a powerful exploration of the ties between people and their land and what happens when they are broken.Ilka Tampke teaches fiction at RMIT University. Her first novel, Skin, was published in eight countries and was nominated for the Voss Literary Prize and the Aurealis Awards in 2016. Ilka lives on five acres in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria.'Songwoman is a sparkling piece of writing, shot through with complex moral struggles and questions about what it...

Southwest Britain, AD 43.For the people of Caer Cad, 'skin' is their totem, their greeting, their ancestors, their land.Ailia does not have skin. Abandoned at birth, she serves the Tribequeen of her township. Ailia is not permitted to marry, excluded from tribal ceremonies and, most devastatingly, forbidden to learn. But the Mothers, the tribal ancestors, have chosen her for another path.Lured by the beautiful and enigmatic Taliesin, Ailia embarks on an unsanctioned journey to attain the knowledge that will protect her people from the most terrifying invaders they have ever faced.Set in Iron-Age Britain on the cusp of Roman invasion, Skin is a thrilling, full-blooded, mesmerising novel about the collision of two worlds, and a young woman torn between two men.

Set in Ancient Britain on the cusp of Roman invasion, Daughter of Albion is a mesmerizing novel about the collision of two worlds and a young woman torn between two men.Daughter of Albion transports the reader to the village of Caer Cad in southwest Britain, AD 43, where the dark cloud of the Roman Empire is gathering on the horizon. A baby girl is abandoned on the doorstep of the Tribequeen's kitchen. Cookmother takes her in and names her Ailia.Without family, Ailia is an outsider in her village, forbidden from marriage and excluded from learning. Despite this, she grows up an intelligent and brave young woman, serving the Tribequeen of her township until the day when an encounter with an enigmatic man named Taliesin leads Ailia to the Mothers, the tribal ancestors, who have chosen her for another path. Ailia's growing awareness of her future role as the tribal protector and her relationships with the two very different men she loves will be...