Scotland's survival hangs on an outlaw king on the run. "Absolutely fantastic....Best historical novel I've ever read about Scotland during the days of Robert the Bruce." -- librarian Debbi DuBose James Douglas vows to avenge his father's murder. Isabelle MacDuff prays to escape a fate worse than death. As the 14th century dawns, their fellow Scots scrap over the empty throne. Seizing the opportunity to enlarge his kingdom, the brutal Edward Longshanks of England invades his weakened neighbor to the north. Yet one young warrior--who will become feared by his enemies as the Black Douglas --stands in the path of three Plantagenet monarchs. Their clans are sworn rivals, but James pursues the ravishing Isabelle, whose forefathers for centuries have inaugurated kings on the hallowed Stone of Destiny . Their world is upturned when James befriends Robert Bruce , a bitter foe of the MacDuffs. Both James and Isabelle must make agonizing decisions that will draw the armies to the bloody field of Bannockburn . Here is the story of the remarkable events following the execution of William Wallace of Braveheart fame. Set during the Bruce wars of independence, The Spider and the Stone is the unforgettable saga of the star-crossed love, religious intrigue, fierce friendship in arms, and heroic sacrifice that preserved Scotland's freedom during its time of greatest peril. START READING THE STIRRING STORY OF THE BLACK DOUGLAS TODAY. Chaucer Award First-Place Historical Fiction - Foreword Finalist Book-of-the-Year Historical Fiction - indieBRAG Medallion - BTS Magazine Reader's Choice Honorable Mention What Readers Are Saying: "The best book I've read this year. Touched my Scottish-American warrior's heart." -- JOHN GRAHAM, SENESCHAL, SOCIETY OF CREATIVE ANACHRONISM - "Many a tale of Robert the Bruce has been told. This is the best of historical fiction.... I suspect my greatest great uncle Gilbert Hay would spin an equal tale but doubtfully one so enchanting. Thank you for a grand read. You are blessed in storyteller’s craft!" -- WILLIAM HAY, DESCENDANT OF SCOTTISH POET GILBERT HAY - "The battle scenes are detailed and vivid, giving the reader a ringside seat at Scotland's desperate fight for freedom.... Spider will hold readers in suspense." -- IND'TALE MAGAZINE - "[B]est historical fiction I have read in years." -- TO READ, OR NOT TO READ - "Sons of Scotland, sweep me away! [The story] will stay burning in my mind for days to come." -- AS THE FINAL PAGE TURNS - "[Craney] has woven a well-crafted, interesting tale." -- HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY - "One of the best historical fiction novels I have read in a long time....a wonderful weaving of history, adventure, love, conflict and more." -- 2READANDREVIEWED B.R.A.G Medallion Honoree / 2015 Chaucer Award First Place Category Historical Fiction / Foreword Reviews Finalist for Book-of-the-Year in Historical Fiction. "The book is an interesting, well-crafted scenario ... [Craney] has woven an interesting tale proposing that the crowning of Robert the Bruce occurred largely because of the help and sacrifice of James, Scotland's Black Douglas and the love of his life, Isabelle MacDuff." -- Historical Novel Society "The best book I've read this year." -- John Graham, seneschal of the Society of Creative Anachronism "The battle scenes are detailed and vivid, giving the reader a ringside seat at Scotland's desperate fight for freedom. . . . 'Spider' will hold readers in suspense. . . ." -- InD'tale Magazine "It was a marvelous book and I was moved to tears at the long and sad ending." -- Reading the Ages Reviews Author Interview: Q: Your first historical novel was set in medieval France. Why Scotland for your second novel? A: I've traveled to Scotland three times and have ancestral roots there. I often get inspiration for my books in dreams. Several years ago, I awoke from a particularly vivid dream in which I was a mounted knight fighting a duel near a stream with a black-robed hag who wielded a sickle. In the midst of this death struggle, the dream shifted to a photograph of me standing with six other knights around a seated king in a pose of celebration. Below the photograph, a caption read: "Americans aid the King at Bannockburn." Baffled, I launched on a quest to decipher the dream. A few weeks later, I was walking the old battlefield around Stirling. I thought I had come to research a novel with King Robert Bruce as my protagonist. But when I boarded the plane for home, I had two new main characters returning with me: Sir James Douglas and Isabelle MacDuff. Q: What's the toughest challenge in writing historical fiction? A: For me, it's finding the mythic thread of the hero's journey in the maze of historical "facts" handed down to us. Let's be honest: history itself is a fiction. Gettysburg National Park historian Thomas DesJardin demonstrated in These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped Americ