-
Dame Ellen Langwith in Fact and Fiction
by Toni Mount Dame Ellen Langton has been a character in my series of Seb Foxley medieval murder mysteries since the beginning. In the first novel, she was Seb and Jude’s landlady and mistress to Emily Appleyard, the love interest. Dame Ellen’s character owes everything to a real silk-woman who also ran a tailoring business in later medieval London, Ellen Langwith. I discovered Ellen Langwith when I took part in a project for the Richard III Society, transcribing medieval wills, and her will came my way. She died early on in 1481, though the exact date isn’t known, but her fascinating will gives a wealth of information on the life…
-
Notes to Readers: Just One Thing
I interact daily with a lot of writers all around the world. And like any other career, we talk shop. We geek out over grammar and prose, over how to choose the right title or book cover, how to find resources, how to develop unforgettable characters, and how to write a jaw dropping plot twist. But like any other career, writers also bemoan (do writers bemoan? Yes, sadly, we do) misunderstandings in our chosen discipline. Things people on the receiving end of our art think they know about what we do and how we go about doing what we do. So I asked my writer friends to help me with…
-
Enheduanna as Priestess
“The compiler of the tablets was Enheduanna. My king, something has been created that no one has created before.” The Temple Hymns 543-544 A man whose birth story is lost in the sands of time. Mythology says he was fished out of the river from a reed basket by a gardener in Kish who adopted him. He would become the cupbearer to a king. Eventually, he would sit on the throne of that very same king. Sargon of Akkad. He is one of the most familiar names to those who study ancient Mesopotamian history. But the story of his daughter is almost more intriguing to me. Because of the time…
-
“Trad publishing is about sales. If we’re lucky, those books are also good.”
I’ve learned a lot about publishing since I started my book writing journey in 2011. And one of the most mind-blowing things I’ve learned is that I had a very romantic idea of what publishing is. The reality of course, couldn’t be farther from romantic. When I came across this series of tweets by Hannah Fergesen, a literary agent, I knew I had to share it with my small circle of readers and author friends. Below you will find her tweets, word for word as she tweeted them, only edited for formatting. When you’ve finished reading, let me know your thoughts in the comment section at the very bottom of…
-
In the Land of Fire and Ashes: Progress Report
I’ve been silent about my current work-in-progress for a very, very long time. I apologize for that. It won’t surprise anyone when I say the last 18 months have been very… challenging. It’s been a year now since I last wrote about my one-on-one session with one of my writing inspirations, Stephen Lawhead. You can read the article I wrote about my time with him here. My primary purpose during my time with SRL was to work on the setting for my story. And boy did he ever help me! To summarize his advice, he told me I needed to find an anchor, something to root the reader into a…
-
What is fantasy and where do my books fit in?
Your books are categorized for sale as fantasy, but you don’t have magic, no dragons, no creatures or other beings of any kind? What gives? Yes, my friend, that is correct. And I’ll tell you a secret: I wish I didn’t HAVE to categorize my books as fantasy. If it was up to me, I’d just call them fiction and be done with it. But the market is the market, and markets require categories within categories for selling things. The better your books breaks down into a subgenre, the easier it is to sell. So how did my books end up in fantasy? That answer requires a history lesson. This…
-
The Howling of Wolves – A Conversation with Paula Lofting
Paula Lofting has published two novels in her family saga featuring, among other well known figures (like Harold Godwinson), the fictional family of Wulfhere, a thegn in Saxon Britain. For the short story anthology Hauntings, Paula brings us a story that comes out of one of those novels, pulling a thread from one scene and following it to give us an “off stage” look at one event in her bigger novel. It’s backstory for a very life changing happening in the life of one character. So I invited Paula to have a conversation with me about the context of her novels and the story that developed from it for the…
-
Island of Gold
1454. A noble French falconer. A spirited merchant’s daughter. And a fateful decision that changes their destiny forever. When Cédric is recruited by the Knights Hospitaller to the Greek island of Rhodes, his wife Sophie jumps at the chance to improve their fortunes. After a harrowing journey to Rhodes, Cédric plunges into the world of the knights—while Sophie is tempted by the endless riches that flow into the bustling harbor. But their dazzling new home has a dark side. Slaves toil endlessly to fortify the city walls, and rumors of a coming attack by the Ottoman Turks swirl in the streets. Desperate to gain favor with the knights and secure…
-
THE MIGHTY KINGMAKER—Traitor or Misunderstood?
Guest Post by J.P. Reedman Richard Neville, popularly known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was one of the movers and shakers of the 15th century. During the earlier part of the Wars of the Roses, he went from initial support of Henry VI to a staunch Yorkist supporting Richard Duke of York. After York and Warwick’s own father, the Earl of Salisbury, were killed by Lancastrian forces at Wakefield, he went on to assist York’s son Edward, his cousin, in his bid for the throne—but turned his coat when his relationship with Edward soured. Eventually he would ally himself with Henry VI’s Queen, Margaret of Anjou, marrying his daughter Anne (later…
-
Interview My Character: Casmir
Originally published July 3, 2019 I’m excited to announce that my own Casmir has been interviewed by the wonderful Paula Lofting on her blog. You can read it here. Here’s the very opening of the interview: Well, my Lord Casmir, please do sit down I hope you have had a pleasant journey here and the roads were not too full of brigands? Casmir: Agrius is quite safe for travel, I assure you. Then please, come into my parlour and take some refreshment with me. I have wine, tea, and water for your pleasure, plus cake of course. [Casmir nods then selects from refreshment for himself. He refuses my offer to pour…
