I honestly can’t remember what inspired me to write about Alexander the Great. I think it was probably the Horrible Histories song , but I could be wrong about that. I suddenly just wanted to know everything there was to know about him, and to put it into story form. I actually started the story before I knew much about him and his campaigns at all so, still in its first draft condition, the opening chapter of the book has some rather hilarious mistakes and inferences. By the second chapter, I had eased into the story a little more and, by the fourth chapter, the research was there to support it too. This story was unique among my historical fantasy because of the sheer quantity of research which I did for it. I devoured anything and everything I could find about Alexander the Great. There was a wonderful blog called The Second Achilles, and I spent hours poring over archived posts, reading as much as I could about different theories and stories about the great conqueror. The blog disa...
The second novel I ever finished - and still is nowhere near publishing standard! - was about two dragoons in the Crimean War. It fits in with my Family Saga through a certain Colonel Josiah Tenterchilt, but the plot really focuses on the two younger officers. It became apparent as I wrote it, that the relationship between these cavalrymen and their horses were as significant as any they shared with other people. A little research soon revealed that it was Drummer Boy, an equine part of the fateful Charge of the Light Brigade (ridden by Lt Col de Salis of the 8th Hussars), who was the first animal in the British Army to receive a war medal. How strange that it took until 1854 for these service animals to be fully recognised. Of the 700 horses involved, less than 200 returned. But this provided me with all the inspiration I needed to explore the love and appreciation between cavalrymen and their steeds, and so I began to explore the fascinating bond between man and beast. “What is the t...