Crowvus Book Blog

I'm delighted to be welcoming Judith for her second series of blogs. This one is about drawing inspiration from film and television, and it begins with that thought all writers can't help but consider: who would be perfect for my character..?  In this series of blogs, I am hoping to look at some historical fiction films and tv series which have inspired different stories – either my own or a guest blogger. The first thing I should say is that I don’t consider myself a historical fiction writer: that is something which belongs to Virginia in our household. The research she conducts is meticulous and marries historical fiction with, well, historical fact. By contrast, I look for gaps in history and just attempt to plug them, sucking in little details here and there to make them seem as plausible as possible. Plausibility is an important consideration for me because I write magical realism. One of the key challenges of this genre is that age old consideration for all scientists an...

 The Tale of Truthwater Lake by Emma Carroll This book marks my first book review for Middle Grade Mondays. I wish I could do more reading, but I work four days a week, and I'm crazy enough to be doing a science degree, and setting unrealistic New Year goals at the same time! This book, however, I read in no more than 24 hours. Not that it's a short book. It is a good length for a middle grade novel, but I became more and more invested in the characters the more I read. Why did I choose this book? I bought this signed copy some time ago from an online independent bookshop. I can't remember exactly what had happened, but the shop had posted that they had somehow been disadvantaged and, as I know how difficult it is to be an independent business in the book world, I wanted to support them. I searched through their booklist, and decided this book was the one that most appealed to me. I do love beautiful chapter headings! What is the book about? The book begins in the not-too-d...

 Middle Grade Settings: An Introduction Having photos in front of you can help you write about your settings I’m going to make a confession. Settings are not something I often spend time planning. Perhaps my stories are the poorer for it, but the settings come as I’m writing or editing. The Glass Room, in Taking Wing, is not something I planned before I started writing. Personally, I’m a very visual writer, seeing my characters as though they are a video in my head, and I write what I see. As such, the setting just happens! There are benefits and drawbacks to this. The main benefit is that the writing process is more interesting. Not everything is set, and my story can still give me surprises. The drawback is that, similar to AI, I cannot know that I’m not stealing settings from films and books I’ve seen/read previously. I certainly don’t mean to plagiarise but the concern is a real one! With that in mind, I have started to at least have a vague idea of my settings before I start t...

 Hello and welcome to this series of blogs for #HistFicThurs! In 2024, I made the decision that I was going to pull together a few different short stories which I have written and then put them together into a book. My hope is that this book will be released in October this year. October is not only Spooky Month, it is also my favourite month, and I can’t wait to share these stories with you to celebrate. In the meantime, I’ve decided that each month I will introduce you to one of the stories which is in the book. They are all historical fiction, as I believe Gothic Horror is best between 1800 and 1920. Perhaps, very occasionally, my work might stray slightly away from this timeframe, but there is something about the rapid development of technology and communication during this period which makes it perfect for Gothic Horror. I always like characters receiving telegrams, or experiencing electric lights for the first time. Furthermore, the Victorian makes for an excellent character....

Middle Grade Genres: An Introduction Image by eightonesix on Freepik I used to think that middle grade was a genre in itself, partly due to the number of awards and competitions that have all the genres known to man for adult books, and only one category for middle grade. Middle Grade, however, is simply a suggested age range, much like the suggested ages on board games. The genre list is the same for children as it is for adults, although adapted to make it suitable. One genre that you won’t find in middle grade is Romance. For obvious reasons! That doesn’t mean, however, that romance is banned in middle grade, and I’ll be covering this more in February, for Valentine’s Day. It just means that it will be a very minor subplot. Every month throughout 2025,  I’ll be looking at different genres for middle grade. No, I’ve not covered everything because the possibilities are endless! This genre series will run on the second Monday of each month... The Schedule 10/2/25    ...

Welcome back to the #HistFicThursdays blog, Writers and Readers! This year is already shaping up to be a fabulous one. I am not one to make New Year Resolutions - they are inevitably broken by the end of January - but I am looking forward to getting more writing done this year. I'll be sharing my progress on these blogs, along with any fascinating research rabbit holes I happen to stumble across! I'm also delighted to be sharing a monthly post from fellow Crowvus author, Judith Crow, as she discusses her gothic horror short stories which will be released on 13th October 2025 - her first post will be here next week! I am always happy to review historical fiction, but please remember I can only review physical copies as I do not possess an eReader, and my eyes are not up to reading a full book on the computer! Currently, I am deciphering a set of 19th Century letters I got for Christmas. Will these ever make it into stories? Certainly! It is so wonderful to experience the true la...

Firstly, happy new year! Secondly... New Year means New Goals! One of my goals this year is to publish a blog post every Monday, centred around writing for middle grade. 2025 is the year I publish my book Doorway to the Sunset , a middle grade fantasy adventure, and Book 2 in the Feather Down trilogy. What is Middle Grade? Middle Grade is an American term, coming from their education system, where Middle School is generally for ages 8 - 12. Middle Grade books, therefore, are aimed at that age group. It’s not a genre, but an age bracket, so saying ‘Middle Grade Historical Fiction’ just means that the story is in the genre Historical Fiction, but is aimed at children between the ages of 8 and 12. (There is some discrepancy over what ages are covered by middle grade, some people saying 9 to 13 is more ideal.) However, the age range is only a suggestion, used mostly by marketers to understand their audience. I, like many other adults, also love to read middle grade. Personally, I find them...