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Showing posts from June, 2023

#HistFicThursdays - Teaching Gothic Horror to the Next Generation

Of course, when I volunteered to write a blog for #HistFicThursdays, it was bound to be Gothic-based. All the pupils at school know now that, if they get me for English, they will be studying some Gothic Horror at some point! I have just taught my first full year of National 5, and the text I selected for the pupils’ Critical Essay (worth 20% of the overall grade) was A Warning to the Curious by the great M. R. James. There are so many fascinating things which can be said about the text: Paxton as a tragic hero; the setting of the First World War and how that is woven in throughout the text; the themes of revenge and respect for beliefs; the many examples of foreshadowing throughout… But teaching a group of teenagers to love (or, more realistically, to understand) M. R. James is not without its challenges. He writes in that wonderfully lyrical style which is key to the Gothic genre and, even for his time, he was using language which was perhaps slightly old-fashioned. Therefore, some ...
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#HistFicThursdays - The King's Champion - Nancy Northcott - Guest Post

It's #HistFicThursdays, and I'm super-excited to be sharing a guest post from  Nancy Northcott ,   as part of her  Coffee Pot Book Club  tour. Find out about the pros and cons of writing a series rather than a standalone book, the different genres she's written, and explore the world of The King's Champion . But first, let's meet the book... Blurb The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy A wizard’s misplaced trust A king wrongly blamed A bloodline cursed until they clear the king’s name. Book 3: The King’s Champion Caught up in the desperate evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in the summer of 1940, photojournalist Kate Shaw witnesses death and destruction that trigger disturbing visions. She doesn’t believe in magic and tries to pass them off as survivor guilt or an overactive imagination, but the increasingly intense visions force her to accept that she is not only magically Gifted but a seer. In Dover, she meets her distant cousin Sebastian Mainwar...
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#HistFicThursdays - Amphibalus - Man or Myth?

 As I'm sure you know by now, one of the things I love the most about writing historical fiction is the thin line which exists between the fact of historiography and the truths of history. Throw into that my interest in Theology, and there is little surprise that a person like Amphibalus sneaks into one of my WIPs. But who was he? And, perhaps more curiously, did he really exist? Amphibalus is credited with the conversion of Saint Alban, who is broadly accepted as being the first British martyr. According to the legend, Saint Alban took Amphibalus' cloak and went to execution in his stead because - and this is the bit which makes it perfect for applying to a novel - no one had a clue who Amphibalus even was. He was known simply as "The Cloaked Man". While the martyrdom of Saint Alban suggests that "cloaked" meant he wore a cloak, that isn't all it meant. After all, quite a few people probably wore a cloak in those days, it didn't really limit the hun...
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#HistFicThursdays - Summer and the Call of Caledon - plus a little excerpt!

 It's always a tough question when people ask me about when I write. I think they tend to expect an answer about the time of day  when I manage to fit in writing. But I don't have one of those! Instead, I invoke that much-quoted verse in the Bible: "To every thing there is a season". Yes, rather than have a time of day to write, I have a time of year. As the days reach their long summer length, I invariably start hearing the call of Caledon. This might seem like an odd choice to anyone who has read it, since it begins in spring, and has the majority of the action playing out during autumn and winter. But I met Caledon in Summer, so it will always belong to the summer months. Writing in summer is not ideal, though. For one thing, the temptation is always there to get outside. Living in the north of Scotland, we compensate our dark winters with the 18-hour days of summer, and the world bursts into radiance. But, along with this, comes all the inspiration and the ease of...
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#HistFicThursdays - Music, Music, Music!

 This week is the local music festival. This has meant that all writing endeavours have gone on hold while I work at my day job. But it did get me thinking about music in my historical fiction... Music always plays a role in my books, whether it is Robert MacBeath's love of Jacobite songs, or the magic of The Fool's music as he serenades Edith to sleep. Loving stories on the edge of myth, it is easy to understand why music was deemed to be magical. “Would you sing to me?” she begged, snatching his wrist as he moved towards the door. “Please. I have had no music since I was locked in here.” The fool paused and nodded as he pulled his hand free from hers. “What song would you have, Lady de Bois?” “One to help me sleep safely.” The fool’s eyebrows rose, and he gave a slight laugh. “The magic is in the singing, not the hearing. I can’t protect you with a song.” “Did you sing to her?” Edith asked, her eyes imploring an answer. “You must have believed in their power then.” “Yes, I sa...
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#HistFicThursdays - Cold Blows the Wind - Catherine Meyrick - Book Excerpt

 This week for #HistFicThursdays, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club  for author  Catherine Meyrick 's blog tour! Today, I'm sharing an excerpt from her fabulous book,  Cold Blows the Wind ! First of all, let's meet the book... Hobart Town 1878 – a vibrant town drawing people from every corner of the earth where, with confidence and a flair for storytelling, a person can be whoever he or she wants. Almost. Ellen Thompson is young, vivacious and unmarried, with a six-month-old baby. Despite her fierce attachment to her family, boisterous and unashamed of their convict origins, Ellen dreams of marriage and disappearing into the ranks of the respectable. Then she meets Harry Woods. Harry, newly arrived in Hobart Town from Western Australia, has come to help his aging father, ‘the Old Man of the Mountain’ who for more than twenty years has guided climbers on Mount Wellington. Harry sees in Ellen a chance to remake his life....
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