Medieval Historical Fiction Novel of the Week

Alchemy of Fire by Gillian Bradshaw
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Severn House Publishers; World ed. edition (July 1, 2004)
Average Customer Review on Amazon: 4 stars
Editorial Review from Booklist:
Bradshaw weaves a story of love, war, treachery, and magic set in seventh-century Constantinople. Anna, former concubine of the emperor’s disgraced brother, Theodosius, has retired to a quiet life as […]

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When to Properly Use a Dash — or Em Dash — in Grammar

At times, you’ve probably been reading a sentence and come across a set of dashes being used to separate out a phrase or a few words from the main part of the sentence. These dashes — also known as em dashes — are often used incorrectly in writing. Many writers do not know when they […]

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Medieval History Term of the Week: Quintain

Quintain
[kwin-tn]
Etymology: Etymology: Middle English quintaine, from Anglo-French, perhaps from Latin quintana street in a Roman camp separating the fifth maniple from the sixth where a market was held, from feminine of quintanus fifth in rank, from quintus fifth
Dummy with shield mounted on a post, used as a target in tilting. (Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life […]

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New Short Story Coming Soon

Over the weekend, I went back and edited one of my works of short fiction. I’ve submitted it to a couple of critique group sites for review: www.critiquecircle.com and www.writerscafe.org.
Critique Circle is a great online group for peer reviewing. The majority of the reviewers really take the time to read and critique your stories. The […]

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The Growth of Christian Fantasy

Christian Fantasy is a relatively small genre of fiction, though it is a growing one. According to a Washingon Post article last year, Christian Fantasy is on the rise, sparked by the success of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. So what, exactly, constitutes Christian Fantasy? ChristianFantasy.com provides a good in depth view of the genre and its […]

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Medieval Historical Fiction Novel of the Week

Queen Without A Country by Rachel Bard
Paperback: 356 pages
Publisher: Literary Network; 2nd edition (June 1, 2001)
Average Customer Review on Amazon: 4 stars
From the Publisher:
In Queen Without A Country, readers journey through Spain, France, the Holy Land and England to trace the life of Berengaria, the Basque princess who married Richard the Lionheart of England. […]

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The Making of Mail Armor

Mail, often referred to as “chain mail” (a term later applied to this type of armor in the Victorian era), was the armor of choice worn by the medieval knight. Constructed of small rings of iron wire linked together, the mail coat formed a flexible metal mesh that was often worn over a padded tunic. The […]

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Medieval History Term of the Week: Tenement

Tenement
[ten-uh-muhnt]
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenere to hold
A tenure; an interest in land which may be either “free” or “unfree” according to the services which the tenant is obliged to render in return for it. (Hogue, Arthur R. Origins of the Common Law, 258)
*term definition retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval […]

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Writing a Battle Sequence (Novel Excerpt Included)

Two armies face off across an open field. You’ve set the scene; the battle is about to begin, but what do you do now? How do you capture the chaos and frenzy of hand-to-hand combat on paper? Do you try to gather a sweeping panorama of the battle from an omniscient narrator’s point-of-view, pulling back […]

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A Guide to Publishing and Literary Agents

For up-to-date information on getting your novel published or finding the right literary agent to represent your work, consider the following blogs:

Guide to Literary Agents
A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
Caren Johnson Literary Agency
Agent in the Middle
BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency
Chip MacGregor’s Agent Blog
Diana Fox - Agent
Folio
The Knight Agency
Dystel and Goderich Literary Management
Jennifer Jackson’s […]

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