Michael J Chaplin was born in Santa Monica, California in 1946.
After his father, Charlie Chaplin, was expelled from America at the height of McCarthyism, Michael moved to Switzerland with his family where he grew up. At sixteen, seeking adventure, he went to London and tried anything and everything including acting and screenwriting.
Ultimately, Michael found himself in Southwest France, farming land, herding goats, and raising a big family. Whilst working what was once Cathar territory in medieval times, he was deeply affected by the melancholy that still pervades those lands. Seeking to understand this feeling Michael learned much of the history that inspired him to write A Fallen God.
In a bustling marketplace, an extraordinary encounter sets in motion a series of events that intertwines the fates of two individuals, defying expectations and leading to an indelible love story.
Set in thirteenth-century France, at a time of conflict between the Church of Rome and the rebellious Cathar movement, A Fallen God is a retelling of the myth traditionally known to us as Tristan and Isolt, told from the perspective of cuckolded King Marc.
Isolt’s entanglement with the enigmatic Tristan reverberates far beyond their immediate surroundings, echoing across the continent and sparking a revolutionary movement that challenges the rigid power structures of medieval Europe. Meanwhile, Marc is forced onto a path of confrontation with the greatest forces of his time in this epic saga exploring the transformative power of love in a time of great upheaval.