Skip to main content

#HistFicThursdays - The Triumph of Maxentius - Free Short Story

Today for the #HistFicThursdays blog, I'm sharing my Alternative History short story The Triumph of Maxentius . It looks at the possible outcome if Constantine had not been victorious at Milvian Bridge. This was one of those key moments in history where everything changed direction... but what if it had gone in a different direction? If you enjoy this story, have a look at my other Roman Alternative History story, Vercingetorix's Virgin , in the Historical Writers Forum 's anthology Alternate Endings . The Battle of the Milvian Bridge (1520–24) by Giulio Romano.  The Triumph of Maxentius Ignatius had not watched his father’s execution. He had been present, hoping to avert the sword’s terrible movement as it delivered its fatal blow but, upon being recognised in the gathering crowd, he had fled. For several weeks he had hidden from everyone he knew and run from those he did not, dreaming of the day he could free his father and quit Rome altogether. But he had never found hi

People Who Inspire - An #AuthorOfTheWeek Blog

So far this week I've shared with you some places and some things which have been a source of inspiration for me. Today, I'm going to share some people who have inspired me. Some of these people are not what I would call heroes, but are people whose stories have touched my own and, in some cases, whose work I hope to continue and honour with my own writings.

I unashamedly have an obsessive nature. If I uncover a new person (usually someone from deep in the realms of history!) I want to know all I can about them. There have been several occasions when I've deviated from the research I was meant to be doing, and click through a series of links until I find myself researching someone who I have no idea how I even found them! The back button is very useful for this!

One good example of this was when I was researching for a book which is coming out next year, called The Year We Lived, which is set just after the Norman conquest. Most of my characters who are erroneously called Normans are actually Burgundian (something crucial to the plot, so no spoilers about why!) but everyone seemed to be called William. This got spectacularly confusing and, in the end, I had to write down an elaborate family tree so that I could see which William was which, how they were related, as well as how they linked in with the rest of the hierarchy. Talk about chasing your tale! [pun intended]

Here are a few people who I've been inspired by in the course of my writing...

First and foremost: my family. Not just the ones who are here on this photo, although these are the ones who live with me, so perhaps these folk a little bit more! And, of course, Orlando the Sprocker Spaniel, on whom Gulliver in Beneath Black Clouds and White is based.
These lot are my inspiration in every sense of the word.

It can come as no surprise to anyone that this chap appears on the list!
I know they're frequently belittled, both at the time and more recently, but I really love his early poems. As a person, he remains something of an oxymoron to me, an individual for whom I feel utmost pity, even when his behaviour was inexcusable, perhaps more so then.
His poem, Lachin y Gair, was of course a huge inspiration to Day's Dying Glory, and his peculiar personality has contributed to countless characters in my writing.
Incidentally, I'm convinced, although I'm sure others would strongly disagree, that Byron thoroughly hated himself. And that, as he careered from scandal to scandal, it only allowed him to become more like the person people expected him to be, and who he had convinced himself - by popular opinion - he should be.

BBC - History - British History in depth: The Business of Enslavement
picture sourced from BBC
Something of a legend the world over. John Newton's life had it all. I've seen and read various accounts of different times in his life. It's easy to become sidetracked by his conversion and later vocation but, as with many of his contemporaries, we can lose the full worth of their political and religious zeal if we don't explore the events and people they were before.
John Newton's philosophy is central to the main characters in Beneath Black Clouds and White, and many of Fotherby's exchanges with Manny in the book are taken from experiences of which Newton had spoken or written.

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Picture sourced from The Douglas Archive
And then we have those who try and try and - quite literally - die trying!
Thomas Douglas could be labelled 'eternally hopeful', 'cockeyed optimist', 'starry-eyed dreamer' - take your pick! From being kidnapped by pirates as a child (only to be returned a few days later!), to tricking the bailiffs into using his schemes to re-home the cleared population, to his utter ruin through his hopes to improve the lives of all people. He is almost a Dickensian tragedy!
Most of my books feature someone like him. Someone who, against all odds and likelihood (Thomas was his father's 7th son and never expected to inherit) end up with a position for which they are wholly unprepared and unsuited. There is a great deal of Thomas Douglas in the oldest and youngest Portlands in my historical fiction books, as they always view the world through a rose-tinted lens, and carry the same belief that they can make everything right for those less fortunate.

Turning from historical figures, I have to mention those who are an inspiration as I actually write. Like most authors, I have a soundtrack of music which I tend to listen to while I'm writing. A lot of it is instrumental music. I usually find I end up writing the words of a song if I'm listening to it while I'm writing - but quite honestly I could listen to Donnie Munro singing virtually anything and be inspired.
I won't bore you with my reasoning, but I will say that - if you've never heard him sing, or even if you have - listen to him singing any of Runrig's, or his own, ballads, then you'll understand!

There are several other people who have inspired me, often people I have met in my day-to-day life, but they may not thank me for listing them on here. As much as possible I try to tell the story of ordinary people living extraordinary lives. We all have an adventure to share, and that adventure is life. Sometimes it seems dull and some people even question the worth of it, but as long as our lives can touch the lives of others in a positive way, we can be an inspiration. After all, that's all the people in the pictures above did.

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing this, Virginia! I didn't realise that Donnie Munro featured in this list when I did your interview yesterday! 🙂

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#HistFicThursdays - Muskets & Minuets - Lindsey S. Fera - Book Excerpt

   This week, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club ! Today I'm sharing an excerpt from the stunning book,  Muskets & Minuets  by Lindsey S. Fera! So let's begin by meeting the book... Love. Politics. War. Amidst mounting tensions between the British crown and the American colonists of Boston, Annalisa Howlett struggles with her identity and purpose as a woman. Rather than concern herself with proper womanly duties, like learning to dance a minuet or chasing after the eligible and charming Jack Perkins, Annalisa prefers the company of her brother, George, and her beloved musket, Bixby. She intends to join the rebellion, but as complications in her personal life intensify, and the colonies inch closer to war with England, everything Annalisa thought about her world and womanhood are transformed forever. Join Annalisa on her journey to discover what it truly means to be a woman in the 18th century, all set against the backdrop of some of

#HistFicThursdays - An Open Invitation to Historical Fiction Writers: #HistFicMay

 I'm always impressed by the power of social media in spreading the word about books and writing. In the hope of giving back to that, I'm going to be running a social media event throughout May to help spread the word for the fabulous historical fiction authors who are in the online writing community. All you have to do is answer the questions/challenges which match up to each day on the list. Remember, posts with pictures are always more eye-catching. You can include pictures, quotes, and purchase links in any of these. If you don't have a picture for any post, just use the #HistFicMay banner (which you can download from this blog). You can choose light or dark depending on which best suits your writing. And remember to use the #HistFicMay hashtag so I can find your post! I will retweet, share, and like all the posts which answer these challenges on Twitter (@DaysDyingGlory), Facebook (@DaysDyingGlory), and Instagram (@StomperMcEwan), and please feel free to give me a nud

#HistFicThursdays - Christmas Snippets

Christmas is coming, it's only four days away! For someone who loves Christmas so much, the festival and celebration of Christmas does not feature in as many of my books as I would have expected. All the same, I've drawn together a couple of snippets concerning Christmas from various stories I've written, and I present them to you now as my #HistFicThursdays offering (you can also find a couple from Beneath Black Clouds and White here , as well as last year's offerings here ). Philip was almost grateful of the laborious journey, as it numbed his body to the pains which lay ahead. Instead, he concentrated all his thoughts on the imminent arrival of Advent. It had always been his favourite season of the church’s year. The coming of peace. And he was ready for peace. ~ from The Year We Lived The presents were distributed by Hamish and Roger and all those present had a gift matched perfectly to their recipient. The day continued with games and carols, for which Catherine ac