It is the time of the Third Crusade. Richard, the Lionheart, known to all as ‘the absent King’ sits upon the throne. In a quiet corner of England, Tristan, a young orphan boy raised by the monks of St. Alban’s Abbey, dreams of a life of adventure and more importantly to discover the truth about his mysterious past.

When a group of Knights Templar stops at the Abbey to rest for the evening, Tristan is offered a chance to become the squire of Sir Thomas Leux. Realizing this is a chance to have the adventure he seeks, Tristan agrees and Sir Thomas trains him in the ways of a knight.

Months later, with Sir Thomas in the Holy Land, Tristan and his comrades are besieged in the city of Acre. When the city is about to fall, Sir Thomas gives Tristan one last order. Return the Holy Grail, the most sacred relic in all of Christendom, to England for safekeeping. Tristan escapes the city by secret passage and sets off to fulfill his promise to Sir Thomas.

But every duty has a price. Along the way Tristan will make both friends and enemies and will be relentlessly pursued by Sir Hugh Montfort, an evil and cowardly knight who will stop at nothing to possess the Grail.

Full of action, adventure and suspense, The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail has been published by Penguin Books for Young Readers. It has already sold in six countries. Audio rights have sold to Listening Library.

The sequel, The Youngest Templar: Trail of Fate will be landing on bookshelves on October 29, 2009. Washed up on a foreign shore, Tristan is lucky to be alive. As before, it seems to be a miracle—the Holy Grail the young Templar squire is safe-guarding has saved his life yet again. But now he is lost in a strange land, and he doesn’t know if his friends still survive.

Tristan’s knack for getting into trouble is alive and well though, and he quickly finds himself drawn into a conflict between a heretical band of Cathars and the oppressive King of France.

With his duty to the Grail pulling him back toward Britain, Tristan finds himself falling for the beautiful leader of the Cathars. And when he chooses to help her in her people’s hour of need, Tristan risks not only himself but his friends and the Grail itself on a quest that may prove a disaster.

» Check out the Youngest Templar website
» Listen to an audio clip.