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.
Found this list of book related Web sites covering such topics as book reviews, publishing, exchanges and discussions. I’m already using a few of them, namely Librarything.com and Google Books. If you know of any others not on this list, let me know.
Constructed around the same time as the Tower of London (late 11th century), Dover Castle stands as one of the earliest castles built by William the Conqueror after his conquest of Anglo-Saxon England. Duke William had the castle built near an old Roman lighthouse and burgh, which King Harold (the… Read More »Medieval Castles: Dover Castle
Five archteypical Gothic medieval cathedrals still exist in France today, one of which is Amiens Cathedral, located in Amiens, the major city of Picardy, in the Somme River valley just north of Paris. The other four cathedrals include Bourges, Chatres, Rheims, and Soissons. Amiens contains a choir with ambulatory, seven… Read More »Amiens Cathedral
I’ve started back on my novel again. After six months of letting it collect dust, working on my website, and writing and editing a new short story, I’ve finally picked the ole novel back up again and have begun to read through it. This will be the fourth revision in… Read More »Update on My Novel
The ancient world held to the oral tradition of law, with punishment generally based on legal precedent and handed down by tribal rulers. During the Middle Ages, efforts were sought to codify certain laws, and this period saw the emergence of parliaments or parliament-type organizations, as seen in Viking society… Read More »Law and Punishment in the Middle Ages
I’ve finally finished writing and editing my latest short story: “Exeter Burning.” While the medieval backdrop/settting (i.e. – general details) behind the story are accurate for that period, the storyline and characters are entirely fictional — though it is based loosely on an actual event that took place at Exeter… Read More »New Short Story Posted: Exeter Burning
Life in a Medieval City by Joseph and Francis Gies Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 30, 1981) ISBN-10: 0060908807 The year is 1250 A.D. People from all over Europe have gathered in the medieval city of Troyes — the capital city of the county of Champagne in France… Read More »Review of Life in a Medieval City
During the medieval period, the Catholic Church condemned any sect of Christianity as heresy that differed from the tradional Catholic teachings. One of these sects, called the Albigensians (or Cathars), came out of southern France, and Pope Innocent III saw this group as a threat to the unity of Chirstendom… Read More »The Albigensian Crusade
Some impressive fantasy-type sculptures crafted from sand.