This week, we finally managed to install our new (not new ) item of furniture - a mid-18th Century grandfather clock. It's not bright and shiny like more modern ones, but a dark oak with a warm patina which the beeswax polish is drawing out. In order to set it up, we had to do a certain amount of research - how to hang the pendulum, where the weight went on the endless chain - and it got me thinking... where and when did certain divisions of time come from? The time periods which I have written either had household clocks or didn't, I have not written novels from the time of their invention. Clocks have been around for a long time, and the obsession with measuring time in an ordered fashion dates back to at least the ancient Sumerians. It was they who established a circular reading of time and, I imagine, the sixty seconds/minutes came about as much because it was an easy way to divide a circle as anything else. But it wasn't until much later that the precision of seconds ...
I've not been able to publish many posts so far this year, but I can't think of a better way to start this blog up again. The next couple of months are going to be an exciting time for Crowvus. We have the John o' Groats Book Festival coming up, and 2 books launching in April! Yes, 2! It's like London buses...nothing for a while and then 2 come along at once! Today, we have the very thrilling job of revealing the cover and trailer for Beneath Blacks Clouds and White - the 2nd novel by Virginia Crow. Although written as a prequel to Day's Dying Glory, this poignant historical fiction novel can be read without any knowledge of the characters of the 1st book. Despite adoring his family and enjoying frequenting gaming tables, Captain Josiah Tenterchilt’s true love is the British Army and he is committed to his duty. As such, he does not hesitate to answer the army’s call when King Louis XVI of France is executed. Accompanied by his wife to Flanders, Josiah f...