Blog
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12th century research gems
“…there is none of the above stock [i.e., livestock] there now except for the 2 plough-teams. John, the clerk, who was at that time Thomas fitz Bernard’s steward, transferred 40 hoggets [i.e., 2-year-old male sheep] to the vill of Whitfield at the feast of Saint Martin (11 November) and unjustly took as many good ewes…
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talking about the book: Devil’s Brood
Title: Devil’s Brood Author: Sharon Kay Penman A tidbit about the authorOne-time tax lawyer. An animal rights enthusiast. Supporter of gay rights. Penman is a best-selling novelist known for her meticulous research. She has written 13 books. Her first, The Sunne in Splendour, published in 1982, is a novel of Richard III (whose bones, you’ll recall,…
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Baronial estates in 12th century England: pulling together some backstory for my novel
I was up early on Sunday. Too early. My favorite coffee hangout doesn’t open until 7am on weekends. I almost called for the Zombie Response Team.¹ No coffee and I feel like a zombie! I tried to convince the baristas at Radina’s that they should open at 5:30, but no, they aren’t going for it……
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work in progress Wednesday
Title: Battle Scars: Men of the CrossCurrent word count 86,895 Per my blog post last week, BS:MotC was shipped to editors. I read 2 new scenes from the novel to my writers group last week. I touched them up after receiving their feedback and inserted them into the mss. over the weekend. Now, truly, truly,…
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Castles rock
Castle bagging. My friend in Scotland taught me that phrase last year. Sounds much more intriguing than castle visiting, doesn’t it? I have always been fascinated by castles. And now, I can call myself a castle bagger. Woo-hoo! I visited America’s largest ‘castle’ when I was kid. It’s not really a castle so I suppose…