Blog
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My writing retreat
I have always dreamed of going to a writing retreat. Give me a place with a view – nestled somewhere in the mountains or on the Cornish coast. (I’ll take a little room in one of those old fishermens’ cottages in St. Ives.) Even a small attic room looking out into a garden would be lovely. Well,…
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Medieval man, sex, and mortal sin in Men of the Cross
A friend recently asked, “Why did you choose to write this story?” It’s a common question for writers. Many writers pen what they’d like to read. There is something inside our brains that drives an idea that we must bring to life. Of course, I knew what my friend really meant: Why did I decide…
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Reading non-fiction for my fiction…
It was great to read Patricia Bracewell’s articles on early Roman roads in England on English Historical Fiction Authors (EHFA) – very timely given that in the upcoming sequel to Men of the Cross, Henry de Grey’s fictional manor lies about one mile west of Ermine Street in Lincolnshire. It was also heartening to see…
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Faced with a scene that just isn’t working? What’s a writer to do?
Battle Scars Book 2, For King and Country, centers on events in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire from April 1193 until Richard the Lionheart’s return from captivity and the subsequent siege of Nottingham Castle in 1194. I am about 2/3rds through edits on my first draft, and approaching a mini-climax that I have been stewing over for weeks.…
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Feeling war through a character’s eyes
Let me take you to Outremer with the knights of Richard the Lionheart… The term PTSD – post-traumatic stress syndrome – was given its name in the 1970s during the Vietnam conflict. Shakespeare has a scene in Henry IV, Part 2¹ (written in 1597) that describes it, though generations have ignored or glossed over it for…
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Visual inspiration and the writer
As someone who grew up with television, visuals have always been important to me. Can’t you get a sense of time, of place, from those period dramas? Translating that to paper – or to computer screen – is still the most difficult thing for me. As a writer of historical fiction, I have to be…
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Rebecca’s advice to writers – giving it to us straight
Thank you, Rebecca T. Dickson, for reminding me (and other writers) that writing is not all shiny and the writing life is not easy, but if you love it, you will endure. Rebecca’s post is from 2013, but the points she makes still hit home. I really had to laugh at these 3 because I am guilty!…
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random moments in a life…
LIFEI have a new roof! Here’s hoping the water leak from the chimney is a thing of the past. Next up: replacing warped flooring and checking for further damage inside the house. Oh the joys of homeownership. My iPhone 4S died. RIP. Because I decided to get the blue 5C rather than the 5S, I…
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on writing
I only take my pen when I feel I cannot do otherwise. Up to that point, I resort to all sorts of ruses to avoid giving in to the words, to the claims of the blank page. One day, I know, I shall not write any more. This certainty makes me tremble with fear and be glad, as…