Oxford - HNS Conference and a lot of rushing around

The 2016 Historical Novel Society in Oxford – fabulous speakers, sharp engaging talks, lively expert panels plus rampaging Saxons – a celebration of all things historical and fictional. This was the feast before us.

Battle of Fulford 1066 tapestry. (Click image for more info)

Many colleagues have written accounts which make compelling reading […]

Fenella Forster - Love me, love my character

Today is the start of a new, possibly disruptive series, ‘Love me, love my character’. I’m inviting authors and their characters to give us their separate views. Hopefully, we may get some unexpected results.

Fenella Forster (the writing name of Denise Barnes) writes sagas with a difference: all involve ‘voyages’, physical as well as emotional […]

2016 HNS Conference Oxford - a quick interim post

I’ve been away at the Historical Novel Society Conference where I was coordinating the indie table, helping with registration and problem solving, plus running a panel on indie publishing. There will be a report – I promise – but in the meantime, here are some photos…

HNS16 gala dinner. Left to right: Christina […]

Images, work and copyright

You’ve seen the most wonderful picture on Google Images. An online blog has the perfect photo for your book cover. Look at that graphic – wouldn’t that make your book event notice/header/PR banner shine?

STOP!

Unless you pay a licence or ask the owner’s permission to reproduce it, it’s theft. The least you could […]

Writing is bad for you

There, I’ve said it. I’m deep in the last third of my sixth book and I should know better. The crisis is coming, the characters’ nerves are shot and all I see is failure and death. I can’t sleep more than five hours nor stop thinking about those poor souls living under oppression or the […]