I confess to being deeply flattered at the number of site visits when I’m NOT blogging. (Wait… what does that MEAN?). However, this is the very center of our reenacting season. I’ve just been at a seven day tournament in Quebec (that’s me with my daughter Beatrice, and we’re helping squire Aurora Simmons for armoured […]
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The Baselard — Writing about fighting and craftsmanship and character
This evocative illustration, from a manuscript of 1380 or so, probably done at a workshop in Northern Italy (which is much on my mind at the moment anyway, and more below) is, as you no doubt guessed, the 14th c. chivalric imagination of the seizure of Jesus by the authorities of Jerusalem in the Garden […]
Writing about History: The Siege of Belgrade Part II
Last Friday, I finally completed the seven part epic that Tom Swan and the Siege of Belgrade has become. In the end, the full story is roughly as long as the Red Knight, or almost 200K words, or roughly as long as Alexander, God of War. Part 6 will be out June 17, and Part […]
Writing about history–and trying to live it, too
[wpvideo U4P9X9dm] I thought I’d try a different media. This video was made by my friend Allan Joyner of Allan Joyner Productions. The music is by Schola Magdalena . The thoughts are almost entirely my own. And by the way, I’m all to aware of the many inaccuracies the camera catches, despite all of our […]
Writing about Craftspeople — Aurora Simmons
Aurora SImmons It is not all about weapons and armour. Alright, I know a few of you are reeling in shock, but honestly, the recreation of the past doesn’t actually require weapons and armour at all, and fascinating as some of us may find martial arts, tactics and strategies and the material culture of conflict, […]
Pen and Sword Tour II
Last year, fifteen intrepid readers (seventeen at one point, but that’s a long story) joined me in Athens and spent eleven days touring mainland Greece. This is us at the Lion Gate at Mycenae. Look, I’m biased, but it was incredible. For about ten years, my friend Aliki Hamosfakidou of Dolphin Hellas had egged me […]
Writing about Fighting: Practice and Exercise
You must be asking yourself what this fourteen year old ballerina has to do with martial arts, fighting, and history? In fact, I suspect that almost everyone who swings a sword or reenacts can stop reading. I suspect that everyone trained in any sport or physical art can look at this young woman, and guess […]
Robin Carter (Parmenion) Guest Blog
Why Historical fiction? My journey to become a reader of Historical Fiction is one that started firmly rooted in Fantasy. My early reading of series such as Narnia (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe etc.) began my exploits in all things magical, before I entered the teenage wasteland and stopped reading for a few […]
Good History Writing — In Praise of Ben Kane
http://www.benkane.net/ I love Ben Kane’s books. I look forward to them eagerly; I get them in hardcover; I’ll eventually meet him and get some of them signed. (Getting all of them signed seems unlikely, given the decline in international baggage allowance and my near-constant need to get armour into my baggage. A problem that I […]
Writing about Magic — Fantasy, History, and Electronic Warfare
As you know, if you follow this blog, I don’t see the boundaries between Historical Fiction and Fantasy as clearly as my readers (or editors) might like. When I set out to design a magic system–oh, about thirty-five years ago, I was heavily influenced by a single book that I had just read–really, two books, […]
Writing about Crafts — Interviewing Jiri Klepac
This week, I thought I’d interview another armourer. Now, perhaps you are all bored by armour, but to me, it is the most complicated costume artifact ever. Let me put this in perspective as a writer. I wear armour 20-30 times a year, and almost every time I wear it, I learn something—something about fit, […]
Writing about war–tactics, decisions, and the edge of battle
Yesterday I began book 4 of the Traitor Son series–which for now, I’m calling ‘A Plague of Swords.’ I’m starting a week late because I did some fun things like visiting my friends in the USA and spending a day with Jeffrey Hildebrandt. But now I’m ready to get down to some serious writing. A […]
