Excerpts | Alison Morton Author

Jean Gill – With Raven Wine

I’m delighted to welcome back the award-winning Welsh author and photographer Jean Gill on the occasion of the publication of her new book, With Raven Wine.

Jean lives in Provence, in France, with the best scent-hound in the world, a Nikon D750 and a man. Best known for writing epic medieval […]

Writing Challenge Day 18: Characters' pet peeves

Alison, peeved

Ha! We all have pet peeves and I’m pretty sure we pass these on in our writing however carefully we try to view the world from each individual character’s point of view. Our own values, thoughts and emotional responses will seep through, so I must admit that mine probably do, although […]

Writing Challenge Day 3: Introduce the main character(s) Julia and Apulius

Julia Bacausa

AD 370, Virunum, Roman Noricum

Julia Bacausa, passionate daughter of a local Celtic ruler, miserable and tense after a failed marriage and only half-divorced, can see no future life for herself.

Lucius Apulius, a bright young military tribune thrown out of a prestigious command that would have made his career. He’s […]

How to write a 'damnèd, smiling villain'

Octavian (Author photo) Shakespeare’s Young Octavius

O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain! My tables—meet it is I set it down That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain— At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark. (Hamlet, Wm.Shakespeare)

“And some that smile have in their hearts, I fear, […]

Game of Sevens

I’ve been tagged by historical fiction author Antoine Vanner in a game of Lucky Sevens.

It’s a bit of online fun for writers that pulls us out of our sheds where we sit scribbling away for hours on end and lets us reveal a little our our current work in progress.

Here is how it’s […]