My life has been pretty simple. I grew up in Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor's in Advertising. I have spent about the last ten years in web development. In 1998, a friend of mine and I started a web design company we ran for three or four years before deciding to close it due to the demands of school. Since then, I stayed in the web working with various companies in Alabama. I worked for a brief period with Southern Progress, namely with Southern Living magazine and Health magazine, in their web departments. While there, I also wrote for Southern Living magazine, Health.com., and the company's internal newsletter. I write as much as I can. For the last five years, I have been working on my first novel. I am on the third revision now and hope to be finished with this draft by the end of the year. I also write short fiction, though not as frequently as I used to due to the time I spend on the novel. My goal is to have my novel published in the next three years. Other interests include: History (particularly medieval and ancient civlizations), Reading, Foreign Language (I currently speak Spanish but plan to learn as many as I can), Landscape Photography, the outdoors, sports (especially college football), and Travel.
Does the fantasy novel you’re working on avoid the typical writing cliches? Compare your novel against the following Web sites: Grand List of Fantasy Cliches Risus Fantasy Cliches The Fantasy Cliche Meter (The Good Guys) The Fantasy Cliche Meter (The Bad Guys) Granted, the Web sites are not aesthetically pleasing,… Read More »Fantasy Writing / Novel Cliches
I’m currently looking for some good sources on the subject of Crime and Punishment in the middle ages, as well as the topic of Feudalism. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.
On this date, February 10th, in medieval history: 1258 – The Mongols, led by Hülegü (the grandson of Genghis Khan), invade and capture Baghdad 1306 – Robert Bruce murders his political opponent, John Comyn
Art of War in the Middle Ages A. D. 378-1515 by C.W.C Oman Paperback: 194 pages Publisher: Cornell University Press; Revised edition (June 1960) ISBN-10: 0801490626 Art of War in the Middle Ages covers the entire period of warfare in medieval history, from the fall of Rome to the early… Read More »Review of Art of War in the Middle Ages A. D. 378-1515 by C.W.C Oman
In the early Middle Ages, Western Europe used a calendar based on liturgical feasts in an effort to remove all forms of paganism from its dating system. The Romans had three major chronological reference points in their calendar: the first Olympiad, the foundation of Rome, and the start of the… Read More »Calendar System in Medieval History
The Caren Johnson Literary Agency discusses the world of self-publishing in this time of economic slowdown. I personally agree with the agency’s opinion that traditional publishing is the first route you should seek as a new author, though some have had major success with self-publishing and then later having an… Read More »Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
Over at Suvudu, Shawn Speakman has written a lengthy article coming to the defense of George R.R. Martin and his long awaited continuation of the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. Martin completed the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, in 2005 with the promise that A Dance… Read More »Defending George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire
The Capetians, called the Robertinians in earlier generations, ruled medieval France from 987 to 1328. A powerful family in the West Frankish Kingdom, the Capetians were likely of Saxon origin, migrating from the Rhine-Meuse region some time in the early 8th century. For several generations the Robertinians, descendants of Count… Read More »The Capetians
The Guardian has published its list of 1000 Fantasy & Sci-Novels that everyone must read. It’s actually published in three parts, so you can continue on to parts two and three at the end of the first part. I’ve never even heard of several of these. The first three in… Read More »1000 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Novels Everyone Must Read