Crowvus Book Blog

 There is an unwritten rule in archaeology that, if there is an exciting find which you have no idea what it is, you speculate that it had a ritual purpose. As a non-archaeologist I don't know how true this is, but both my siblings who are archaeologist have told me this is the case. I think this is always at the back of my mind when I look through my research as a historian. So, when I was flicking through unsolved mysterious deaths and came across the circumstances surrounding the Bocksten Man, I had in my head the idea that the unsolved details were due to ritualistic behaviour. And, to be honest, he did meet a rather unusually brutal death. Allow me to introduce him... The Bocksten Man was unearthed in 1936, still with the oak stave which had been used to impale him into the bottom of the lake. He was fully clothed, supposedly wearing wool from head to toe which denoted a certain amount of wealth. Unlike most of the bog bodies from the area, the Bocksten Man had not been killed...

   For this week's #HistFicThursdays blog, I'm thrilled to be sharing the gripping book  The Fortune Keeper  from  Deborah Swift ,   as part of her  Coffee Pot Book Club  tour. In her guest post, Deborah shares her approach to telling a fictional story of a real person. But first, let's meet the book... Blurb Count your nights by stars, not shadows ~ Italian Proverb Winter in Renaissance Venice Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this occupation, fearing it will lead her into danger. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret. Giulia's real name is Giulia Tofana, renowned for her poison Aqua Tofana, and she is in hiding from the Duke de Verdi's family who are intent on revenge for the death of their brother. Giulia insists Mia should live quietly out of public view. If not, it could threaten them all. But Mia ...

   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 ba...

Today's #HistFicThursdays blog is not fiction at all! Instead, I'm delighted to be sharing a Book Review for Simon Elliott's book Alexander the Great versus Julius Caesar - Who was the Greatest Commander in the Ancient World? I'm so grateful to Pen and Sword Books for providing me with a copy of this book. These are two men I knew about vaguely, all the myths and legends and very little of the facts. And this book certainly took me deep into the intricacies of their military campaigns. It debunked a few of those myths I thought I knew, setting the record straight, and quite honestly making this pair a whole lot more engaging. From the word go, I liked this book. Even before I got to the introduction, I loved the dedication. From it, I thought I might just have an inclination of which way the competition would go! The honesty of the author made the book very accessible, as he listed the fellow possible challengers for the title and why he had chosen these two. There ar...

    This HistFic Thursday, I am pleased to be teaming up with Goddess Fish Promotions in hosting Ashby Jones and his evocative historical novel,  The Crossing . Let's meet his book: The Crossing is a powerful and haunting love story of surprising discovery set in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen during Prohibition. Its mission seeks to reconcile love and guilt, grief and promise. Set apart from other stories, it combines history, fact, surrealism, and reality into an ever-recycling boost of the human spirit. Irish-born Johnny Flynn, a former British soldier, is banished from his homeland and sent to America on a ship so riddled with disease that he realizes the voyage was meant to murder him. When he survives the trip, the captain forces him to walk the plank into the Hudson River. Miraculously, Johnny is rescued by a rumrunning Irish gang, the Swamp Angels, and given a job running whisky in Hell’s Kitchen just as Prohibition makes liquor a hugely profitable, dangerous business...

Crowvus has published a new book this week: "Child of the Earth" by Susan Crow. This book is nature writing at its best, that beautiful mix between poetry and prose. To celebrate the launch, Susan is writing a series of blog posts, and creating some videos, to help others wanting to follow in the narrative non-fiction footsteps. Collating Information for Narrative Non-Fiction When I started this book, I wanted to include a number of pieces I had written in the past. I rummaged through old briefcases, folders and box files. I tried to find stories and accounts which I'd sent online. It took me a while and, at the end of it, I had a motley mix of might-be-useful  stuff. Then I had to sort it all out. I realised I couldn't do that until I had the structure of the book well in place. Another nature book. How do I make this one different? It seemed the easiest option was to use the calendar from January through to December. But it had been done many times ...

For more than a decade, Derek Philpott and his son, Dave, have been writing to pop stars from the 1960s to the 90s to take issue with the lyrics of some of their best-known songs. But then, to their great surprise, the pop stars started writing back... Dear Mr Pop Star  contains 100 of Derek and Dave's greatest hits, including correspondence with Katrina and the Waves, Tears for Fears, Squeeze, The Housemartins, Suzi Quatro, Devo, Deep Purple, Nik Kershaw, T Pau, Human League, Eurythmics, Wang Chung, EMF, Mott the Hoople, Heaven 17, Jesus Jones, Johnny Hates Jazz, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Chesney Hawkes and many, many more. When I agreed to review this book and be part of the blog tour for the launch, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. This book's subject and way of writing is most unusual...but it works! What a great hobby to write to celebrities, and greater still that some of them would reply, often matching the cheek and wit that was init...