Local Author: Amanda Cockrell

Amanda Cockrell taught creative writing at Hollins University and directed the children’s literature graduate program. She has written adult and young adult fiction, including What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay and Pomegranate Seed. Her other works include two mythological trilogies and a children’s book. 

Cockrell's newest book is  Shadow of the Eagle which tells the story of Faustus Valerianus, son of a Roman father and a British mother, a captive sold among the spoils after Claudius's invasion. Now both parents have died within a month of each other, and so he sells the family farm and enlists, joining legendary general Agricola's campaign to conquer the entirety of the British Isles culminating in a devastating battle amongst Caledonia's dark mountains.

The  series follows two other novels of Roman-era Britain, The Wall at the Edge of the World and Legions of the Mist and a series, The Centurions.

Cockrell spoke about Shadow of the Eagle  and her other work at Book No Further on May 25, 2023