Speculative heroines

Some reflections for International Women’s Day…

All fictional characters are, er, fictional. We borrow, mine, or lift characteristics from Real Life, but unless we want to get sued, the finally moulded form is a construct. We can gender mirror (I love using that expression – also made up), we can speculate, we can imagine.

Ditto […]

March 8th, 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Alternate history, AURELIA, Authors, Books, Characters, Gender, Provocations, Roma Nova, Women warriors, Women's history | Leave a comment

Radio star!

Last Thursday, I was delighted to be internet-based ExpatRadio‘s special guest on ‘The Scribblers’ spot. They let me witter on (in between music) for an hour. No, it was more of a conversation with Mike Madden, Wendy H Jones and Eilidh McGinness. I’ve met Wendy several times before – we both spoke a the last […]

February 27th, 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Authors, CARINA, France, Getting published, In the press, INCEPTIO, PERFIDITAS, Roma Nova, Writing life, Writing skills | Leave a comment

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, Millions […]

August 4th, 2017 | Tags: , , , | Category: Alternate history, AURELIA, Authors, Books, Characters, Excerpts, INCEPTIO, INSURRECTIO, PERFIDITAS, Readers, RETALIO, Roma Nova, SUCCESSIO, Women warriors, Writing skills | 2 comments

J K Rowling's Twitterstorm

Author JK Rowling let loose a Twitterstorm on 9 June in response to the sexist nature of comments on female politicians. When you look at the news headlines and listen to commentators you will hear tones of it, whether meant consciously or unconsciously.

Women still have a hard time getting to the top and when […]

June 11th, 2017 | Tags: , , , | Category: Authors, Gender, Insights, Personal | 2 comments

Our fearless leader – of a lady in armour

The Mitela women of Roma Nova are not the only women warriors to go armoured into battle. Sometimes we glimpse one from time to time in the real historical record. In celebration of the publication of Under the Approaching Dark, historical fiction writer Anna Belfrage introduces us to a(n in)famous one.

Women in medieval times […]

April 17th, 2017 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Authors, Books, Characters, France, Guests, Women warriors, Women's history | Leave a comment
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