Debbie Peterson

Debbie Peterson writes romantic fantasy in which present-day characters encounter old legends, hidden identities, and places shaped by supernatural history. Court of the Hawk follows epigraphist Dr. Essie DeSpencer to a Welsh castle, where she has been asked to interpret an Ogham inscription. The commission brings her into contact with Garreth ap Daffyd, lord of Llys y Gwalch, and gradually reveals that the castle’s myths carry present consequences. Published in 2015, this story joins a scholarly protagonist, Welsh setting, magical inheritance, and a developing relationship. Its title refers to the hawk-linked court at the center of Garreth’s world. Peterson’s wider bibliography includes Van Locken’s Witch, Spirit of the Knight, and Bound by Oath and Honour, books that likewise connect romance with historical or paranormal frameworks. Court of the Hawk shows her preference for letting research and place open the door to wonder, then making trust between characters the means of navigating it.