Most historical fiction writers have a few specific reasons why they have jumped into the research and study that produces their stories. Settings, too can often be motivators all by themselves. A clearly defined sense of place is something I really strive for in my own work, but readers may… Read More »Why Ireland? by Richard Sutton
Childbirth could be especially dangerous during the Middle Ages, especially for women with complications. A safe delivery and a healthy child were cause for celebration, as well as imposing a few restrictions. Whether Christian, Muslim or Jewish, the lying-in for the mother was a tradition that crisscrossed cultures and religions.… Read More »Medieval Childbirth by Lisa Yarde
How did you know you should become an author? This is a very interesting question, because it suggests that there is a before and after point. I have been writing as long as I have been reading, since I was four years old. I have many half-finished novels and even… Read More »Interview of Annmarie Banks, author of Necromancer’s Grimoire
Saint Patrick was not quite the snake-chasing evangelist of Ireland that he is most commonly misperceived to have been. In How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill explains that Patrick (Naomh Pádraig) was a Welsh farm boy kidnapped into slavery at the age of sixteen by pagan Irish raiders early… Read More »Saint Patrick and Ireland by Jack Dixon
Wales … snow covered mountains, deep lakes, hundreds of miles of coastline, and a long and brutal history of rebellion and conquest. I love history and reading about history, but real history often ends badly for the heroes. Consequently, when a story involves a main character who dies an unpleasant… Read More »Writing Fantasy into Historical Fiction by Sarah Woodbury