Derek Birks - Love me, love my character

Today I’m delighted to welcome historical fiction writer Derek Birks and his fearsome character Ned Elder. Derek was born in Hampshire, England but spent his teenage years in New Zealand, where he still has strong family ties. After many years teaching history he took early retirement to concentrate on writing. He also spends his time […]

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 […]

Annelise Freisenbruch and the Rivals of the Republic

Today I’m delighted to welcome to my blog somebody whose writing I deeply admire. I bought ‘The First Ladies of Rome’, which explored the hidden history of women in Ancient Rome, as soon as I saw it in 2010. The author and today’s honoured guest, Annelise Freisenbruch, was born in Bermuda and studied Classics at […]

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 […]

Launching books

Last week, I had the enormous pleasure of attending book launches for two writing friends. On Saturday 23 January, I drank bubbly, ate scones and cake with Denise Barnes who launched her second book, Juliet’s Story, at the University Women’s Club. The magnificent library was a perfect setting for us to hear about the research […]