The Dreadful Carcer by Martha Marks
Of all the settings portrayed in my novel about 1st Century Rome, Rubies of the Viper, none was more painful—and paradoxically more exciting and challenging—to envision than the Carcer Tullianus, Rome’s notorious underground death chamber. I can’t be specific about the scenes set there, because that would reveal key elements of the plot, but the place is fascinating enough on its own to be worth a post. Located in a swampy area near the River Tiber, a spot ultimately drained by the Cloaca Maxima (great sewer) to become the Roman Forum, the two-level Carcer Tullianus was begun...
Read MoreWar and the Human Spirit by I. J. Parker
War and the Human Spirit My love for history dates back to high school. I’ve always thought you could learn a lot from the people of the past. Most lived far more precarious lives than we do. They suffered and died and frequently triumphed. Our own lives are better because of their struggles. No wonder I turned to history for my novels. So far, I’ve written about three different historical eras on opposite sides of the world. My mystery series takes place in eleventh century Japan, during the Heian Age. Human losses in mysteries are more or less confined to...
Read MoreAND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER by V. R. Christensen
…or not. While I read a lot of non-fiction books about the Victorian era, I spend as much time, if not more, in fiction contemporary to the era, Dickens, Meredith, Hardy, Eliot (etc., etc., etc.) Here I get a real feel for what it was like to live then. I get the atmosphere and the nuances of language and setting that it’s hard to get in non-fiction (with perhaps the notable exception of Judith Flanders and Gillian Gill, who seem to write their non fiction works as engagingly as the best authors write their prose.) The sad fact is, however, that when it comes to writing weddings, fiction...
Read MoreJerusalem Falls by Jack Dixon
Finishing Jerusalem Falls and seeing it in print has been particularly exhilarating for me. I worked with that story for four long years through some pretty difficult things. Even though it’s my second, I learned a thing or two about how much work it takes, and how excruciating it can be to write a novel. That realization has made me want, more than ever, to write. Research Jerusalem Falls takes place at the end of the Crusades, and it required a daunting volume of research, from the flora and fauna and the society and customs of widely diverse settings, to the nuances in the theologies...
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