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Archive for the 'General' Category
INTERVIEW WITH BERNARD CORNWELL FOR SWORD OF KINGS
Author Bernard Cornwell
SKP: I am so pleased to have this opportunity to interview one of my favorite authors, Bernard Cornwell—and to thank him for making my annual Christmas shopping so easy. As soon as I get word that he has a new book out in his superb Saxon series, I know exactly what family and friends are getting, for they love his novels as much as I do.
SKP: Bernard, thank you so much for agreeing to discuss Sword of Kings, your twelfth novel about Uhtred of Bebbanburg, who is surely one of historical fiction's most memorable characters. I'd like to begin with your Australian interview in which you confided that there is probably only one more book in the Saxon series. This really is your game plan? I do understand your reasoning; time is the one foe that even Uhtred cannot defeat. But if I may speak for your legions of fans, we are not ready to let Uhtred go. Have you given any thought to writing flashbacks of his earlier life, as you did with Sharpe's adventures in India? Between your imagination and Uhtred's penchant for finding trouble wherever he goes, I am sure you'd not lack for ideas or plot lines!
BC: At the moment one more book is the game plan! It's possible that the 'one more book' could turn into two - I'm about a third of the way through it - but I really don't expect that to happen. I always planned to end the series with the Battle of Brunanburh which was fought in 937 AD and was really the foundation event of England, and curiously the site of that battle has been a source of contention for years. No one has been certain where it was fought, but over 40 locations have been suggested from Scotland southwards. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said of Brunanburh 'Never was more slaughter on this island! Never as many warriors killed', which makes it odd that the location was eventually forgotten until earlier this year when archaeologists found hundreds and hundreds of battle-artefacts in the Wirral, a peninsula between Liverpool and North Wales. All those spear-heads, broken swords and arrow-heads strongly suggest that the battle was fought there - a location long favoured by many historians. Somehow that discovery, and walking the Wirral's fields, made me want to tell the tale though, to be honest, I should probably have written one intervening novel. The answer of course is to write a book like yours - 800 pages! - that works so well for you, but the longest I ever managed was a mere 436. So, yes, I'll compress some history and it probably is the last full-length novel about Uhtred (who is getting old!), but there might be some short stories later.
SKP: Sword of Kings is one of those books that brings real life to a screeching halt until the last page is reached. I always marvel at your ability to infuse so much suspense into your novels. Surprises literally lurk around every corner. Writers know that it can be challenging to keep a series fresh, to prevent it from becoming stale or repetitive. Even very talented writers can struggle with this. But you have not only met the challenge, you've transcended it. Do you find it helps to take breaks now and then? For example, you put Uhtred's story on hold while you wrote Fools and Mortals—a book I loved—in which you transported readers to Elizabethan London and the tangled relationship of two brothers, one of whom happened to be William Shakespeare. Did that hiatus from Uhtred's world help you to maintain enthusiasm for the Saxon series? Or do you think the secret lies in the changes—often dramatic– that each new book reveals about Uhtred's life?
BC: I always regarded Fools and Mortals as very self-indulgent - a book I really wanted to write even if it irritated some readers who would miss Uhtred for a year. The truth, I think, is that it's much easier to keep writing the series and not take a year's break - in that year a host of details slipped my memory, so it was more than self-indulgent it was idiotic! And I do enjoy writing Uhtred; well, I enjoyed writing Fools and Mortals too! There's not a lot of point in writing if you don't enjoy it! I like Uhtred's company, so it's always a pleasure to let him loose again and I'll miss him when his tale is done. And keeping it fresh? You know as a writer that your characters always surprise you and those surprises are what drive us through your stories, so I just leave that to Uhtred! He rarely disappoints.
SKP: I remember a joke circulating on the Internet as Game of Thrones became a global phenomenon: "Guns don't kill people; George R.R. Martin kills people." So, it is significant that he believes no writer does better battle scenes than you do. I so agree with him, for I understand how difficult it can be to make each battle fresh and original. I know that sometimes you have historical accounts to draw upon, but the devil is in the details and they are usually left to the writer's imagination. This is where you excel. I often stop reading to marvel at Uhtred's tactics. Who else would think to use sails in his assault upon an enemy fort? Or beehives? Or use horses as a temporary dam to enable his soldiers to ford a river? He is a War Lord and glories in that. But he is also a superior battle commander, with a fine military mind. I realize this is a rather lengthy lead-up to my question, but you cannot reasonably expect brevity from a woman who writes eight hundred-page books. What I find most remarkable about your ability to spill blood is that you are so versatile; your wars span centuries. The tactics and weaponry change, but not the immediacy of these battles, our sense that we are there in Uhtred's shield wall, with the archer, Thomas of Hookton, at Crecy and Poitiers, joining Richard Sharpe and his Chosen Men in the assault upon Badajoz. So, this is what I wonder. Do you enjoy fighting some battles more than others? If you could have traveled back in time, which century and which wars would you choose?
BC: Oh, good Lord! If I could travel back in time, I'd avoid the battles like the plague! They're extremely dangerous! I'd elect to have supper with Nell Gwynne, who is one of my heroines, and who would be marvellous company with a vast amount of salacious gossip! I can't say I enjoy one battle more than another - the challenge is to make them different and always to try and give the reader the gut-wrenching experience of being there. I was strongly influenced by the late Sir John Keegan's brilliant book, The Face of Battle, where he tried (and succeeded) in describing the humble soldier's experience rather than the commander's tactics. In almost all battles the combatants don't have a clue what is happening more than a few paces away, the immediate experience is so overwhelming, but my job is to give the reader an impression of what it was like to face a Viking shield wall or a Napoleonic cavalry charge, but also provide the bird's eye view denied to Sharpe or Uhtred. I described the battle of Mount Badon in one of the Arthurian books - I forget which one - and like Brunanburh the location has long been lost. So not only do we not know where it was fought, we are equally clueless about what happened, so I merrily adopted Napoleon's tactics at Austerlitz and imposed them on the Somerset countryside and, to my pleasure, they worked just as well for Arthur as for the Emperor!
SKP: I cannot discuss your Saxon series without mentioning how well you write of women. You'd not think that still needed to be commented upon, but some publishers continue to harbor this odd bias—the belief that male authors cannot write convincingly about women and vice versa. While I have never encountered this bias myself, I have writer friends who've not been as fortunate. For anyone who still clings to this outdated notion, I would simply say: Read one of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon novels and meet the women who matter to Uhtred. Gisela, beguiling and bold, the love of his life. Stiorra, his daughter, who proves that blood will tell. The courageous Abbess Hild, who loves Uhtred, but who loves God more. The sorrowful Welsh shadow-queen, Iseult. His sultry bedmate, Skade, whose capacity for cruelty is horrifying. Brida, his childhood friend and lover, who turns into a monster. Aethelflaed, whose youthful joy is leached from her soul by the burdens of queenship and a wretched marriage. And now Benedetta, whom the readers and Uhtred meet in Sword of Kings, whose spirit still burns with a white-hot flame despite having been sold into slavery at the age of twelve. I have two questions revolving around these remarkable women. In the course of your writing career, did you ever encounter doubts about your ability to breathe life into female characters? And do you have a favorite among them? Was there one who resonated most strongly with you?
BC: If I was being modest, I'd say I approach every female character with extreme trepidation, but that really isn't true. The clue, I think, is that my heroes, to a man, like women! And they treat women well. I don't mean they like them as bedmates (though they do), they like their company, their conversation and their wisdom. I always said of Sharpe that few things made him fearful, but a woman could reduce him to a nervous wreck, but only because he craved their company so much. One of the things that annoys the hell out of me is the convention, very prevalent in movies and TV, that when a couple are running away, hotly pursued by some dreadful villain or slavering beast, it's always the girl who trips over and needs to be rescued. Why? Men trip over as often as women! So my women don't trip over, and I like them strong. I was very fond of Silvia in Fools and Mortals, to my mind she was all-female (whatever that means), but she was also a stronger character than Richard. The other two of whom I'm particularly fond are Lady Grace in the Sharpe series and Ceinwyn in the Arthurian books. The earliest legends of Arthur name Ceinwyn as a prospective bride, to be cast aside by the appearance of Guinevere, but for me Ceinwyn glowed with grace and kindness. I'm enjoying Benedetta too - a fierce lady, but what a lady!
SKP: This next question does not relate to Uhtred or Sword of Kings. I read recently that you have a Cavalier King Charles spaniel and that you'd been won over despite your initial wish to have "a proper dog," by which I assume you meant one larger than most cats. I had to laugh at that, for I understand perfectly. I've had five German shepherds over the years, but now I have a cocker spaniel. My shepherds regarded the world with a jaundiced eye; Holly would happily welcome Jack the Ripper into my house. Like you, though, I have succumbed to the spaniel charm; they are hard to resist, aren't they? Mine is named Holly since I adopted her near Christmas; would you feel comfortable telling us the name of your spaniel? I am curious whether you turned to one of your books for inspiration; I do that from time to time. If you'd rather pass on this one, just move on to my final question.
BC: The dog would never forgive me if I passed on that question. He was born nine years ago on Hallowe'en so he should have been called Trick or maybe Treat, but instead we plumped for Whiskey because he's whiskey coloured and I'm extremely fond of whiskey (Irish, please), so Whiskey he is. He's an extraordinarily good and affectionate animal, quite unlike his sister, who lives with friends of ours and is an annoyingly yappy Spaniel. Whiskey doesn't bark unless he wants a ball thrown, but as a guard-dog he's entirely useless and, like your Holly, would welcome Jack-the-Ripper with licks and a wagging tail. I keep telling him to man up, but he doesn't. Interestingly I've discovered that the fastest way to unsettle readers is to kill a dog in a novel. We can slaughter people by the drove, murder infants horribly, but kill a dog and the complaints pour in!
SKP: This is a question I actually posed to you several years ago, when I interviewed you for The Pagan Lord. It is a subject that my readers and I have frequently discussed on Facebook, for it is one of the potential pitfalls of writing historical fiction. We often have to risk alienating or shocking our readers in honest depictions of life in bygone ages. While I do not think human nature has changed over the centuries, beliefs and superstitions and society's expectations obviously have. Some writers try to soften the harsh edges of historical reality to make their books more palatable to their readers. It can be subtle; I think we all do that to some extent. Or it can be blatant: a novel set in the Ante-bellum South in which the major characters are all secret abolitionists, or having a female character in a medieval setting be a dedicated feminist or determined to marry for love. One of the things I love about your novels is that I never get the sense that you are coddling your audience. Their gritty reality is one of the sources of their power, even if that means some scenes are very painful for us to read. So, this is my final question. Have you ever been tempted to pull back a bit, to take the sensibilities of today's readers into consideration? At the time I asked this question, I admitted I'd never seen any evidence of that; your characters in Uhtred's world always seem firmly rooted in the tenth century. But since I have this opportunity, I wanted to ask it again for the benefit of new readers and because it can be a problem for writers of historical fiction. Was there ever a time when you chose to ease back on the throttle? And if so, what concerned you the most? The depiction of violence? Or the challenge of making modern readers understand beliefs that would be utterly alien to them?
BC: I pull back all the time! Occasionally I write a sentence and think it's just too ghastly, however true it might be, so out it goes. And having spent far too many years writing historical novels I am increasingly convinced that it's almost impossible to convey the real feel of the past; the stench of it, the chaos of it, but above all the mindset. I suppose the simplest example is superstition. In Uhtred's time there really were no satisfactory explanations for the disasters of life - why did my child die, why did the harvest fail, why did the river flood - and they found their answers in a grovelling submission to God or the gods. We've lost that extraordinarily strong connection to the ineffable. I know some people still have it, and some people prefer a supernatural explanation over perfectly good and proven science, but as Schiller said 'against stupidity even the Gods struggle in vain.' For most of us the link between humanity and the supernatural has been severed. I suspect my biggest failure is that despite my best efforts, I really don't restore that link and without it the past is seen through 21st Century perceptions. You're much better at it than I am, but I won't be discouraged, I'll keep trying!
SKP: Bernard, thank you so much for sharing some of your thoughts about Uhtred and history and writing. My readers tell me it is always fascinating when a writer pulls the curtain aside and gives the audience a glimpse of how the creative process works. As usual, your interview contained some laugh-out-loud moments, not surprising since you are Uhtred's sire, so to speak. I have to admit I love the image of you "merrily adopting" Napoleon's tactics at Austerlitz; that definitely proves the wisdom of the old adage that when you steal, steal from the best. And I totally agree with your observation that killing a dog in a novel is the surest way to bring the wrath of readers down upon our heads; I did this, too—once. So…now that the interview is over, I would suggest that those readers who have not yet read Sword of Kings hurry to get their copies of another mesmerizing Uhtred adventure. Even though we know there is an end in sight for Uhtred, we need not despair; there will be thirteen books in the series and we can always re-read them!
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INTERVIEW WITH JUDITH STARKSTON
I am happy to announce the winners of Stephanie Churchill's book giveaway, which we held on my blog when I interviewed her for her latest book, The King's Furies. She generously offered to give the first two books in her trilogy to the winners, The Scribe's Daughter and The King's Daughter. I enjoyed all three of the novels very much and I am sure the lucky winners will enjoy them, too. Drum roll…..the winners are Lin Heiberger, Nancy F Lambert, and Eric Pratt. You can contact me via my website or on Facebook or Stephanie on Facebook to provide your contact information.
The guest on my blog today is my friend, Judith Starkston, who writes fiction set in the ancient world of the Greeks and Hittites. I met Judith several years ago at the Tucson Festival of Books. We talked books and writing over a long dinner, but today's conversation had to happen online with only virtual company, so, unfortunately, no good food could be shared. Judith is, however, offering a book giveaway and to be eligible, readers need only post a comment on this blog. Two winners will each receive a free copy of Priestess of Ishana. The books will be in e-book format and the contest is global, not limited to American readers.
Sharon: So, Judith, over that Tucson dinner, we talked about your fascination with the Trojan War and Briseis, the woman Achilles took captive. But these days, you're writing about another woman, also from the Bronze Age—a queen whom very few people have ever heard of. You've written the first two books of a series featuring her, Priestess of Ishana and Sorcery in Alpara. And you've chosen to combine fantasy and history. I'm intrigued.
Tell me about the Hittite queen, Puduhepa, upon whom you've based your fictional main character, Tesha. She is not exactly a household name. How did that source of inspiration come about?
Judith: Puduhepa had the misfortune to rule a kingdom that got literally buried and forgotten amidst the upheavals at the end of the Bronze Age (c. 1200 BCE). Hence, even though she ruled for decades over the most powerful empire of the world at the time, she's barely made it into the history books and only very recently. I discovered Puduhepa originally when researching that first novel you mentioned set in the Trojan War (Hand of Fire). The culture of Troy was largely that of the Hittites. Fortunately, recent archaeology and the decipherment and translation of many thousands of clay tablets have filled in parts of the lost history. As I researched, I came across the letters, rites and judicial decrees of a highly influential queen who ruled for decades. You know from your research how enthralling it is to hear a historical voice coming to you from across the centuries. Counter to my expectation based on the surrounding kingdoms of the time like Egypt or Babylonia, Hittite queens had full political power by law and custom and remained rulers even when their husbands died. A powerful queen in the extremely patriarchal ancient Near East? I was hooked. Puduhepa caught my imagination with her combination of pragmatic leadership and mystical religious beliefs. I chose her name in my fiction, Tesha, because Tesha is the Hittite word for 'dream' and Puduhepa was famous for visionary dreams sent by her goddess. The other thing she was known for in her lifetime was an astonishingly happy marriage and the equal partnership she maintained with her husband. That also was not the norm in her world.
Sharon: I know you take your history seriously, and you've dug in deep with the research (sorry for the archaeological pun). With your historical focus, why did you choose to write in the fantasy genre?
Judith: For two reasons—one having to do with full disclosure to the reader and the other having to do with Hittite beliefs and their potential for engaging storytelling.
While knowledge about the Hittites has expanded greatly in the last twenty or so years, there still remain giant gaps in historians' understanding of this intriguing ancient world power. To be honest about my imaginative filling of those gaps, I'm up front that my storytelling combines fantasy and history. For instance, I give my historical figures fictional names, though often only minimally different from their real names.
The other reason I turned to fantasy arose from the prevalence of magic and the supernatural within Hittite religious rites. In essence, I allow those rites to do what the Hittites believed could happen. My main character started her career as a priestess, and her closeness to her goddess was profoundly important to her. Giving her magical beliefs free room also made for much better storytelling. I do extend the fantasy beyond the historical framework when it makes sense for the story, but I start the fantastical elements within Hittite practices, such as their extensive use of analogic magic and their obsession with demonic curses. I take the foundational "rules" for my fantasy from Hittite rites themselves, but I find letting my plots go into the fantastical entirely liberating and my readers love it.
My "quarter turn to the fantastic," to borrow Guy Gavriel Kay's phrase, allows me to honor what we actually know while also owning up to my inventive extensions.
Sharon: So tell me about this happy marriage and partnership Puduhepa had. How did that come about?
Judith: The goddess of love and war, Ishtar, took full credit for this union. (She's called Ishana in my novels.) A match literally made in heaven, so to speak. Both Puduhepa and Hattusili, her eventual husband, said Ishtar, via dreams, commanded them to marry. They appear to me from the record to be entirely sincere in this understanding. Hattusili was the younger brother of what the Hittites called the "Great King," the ruler of the Hittite Empire. Hattusili vowed before leading his brother's troops into battle against Egypt that he would give all his spoils of war to Ishtar if she gave him victory. He viewed Ishtar as his personal patron goddess. He attributed to her his survival of a childhood illness and the rescue from a couple career-ending situations. When he arrived at the finest temple in the realm to make good on his vow, loaded with Pharaoh's golden treasures, who was there but Priestess Puduhepa, young, very beautiful and incredibly smart? That's how they met. We have this story from a document Hattusili composed that's often called his "autobiography" although it isn't anything like a modern autobiography. In it he also says, "the goddess gave us the love of husband and wife . . . and our household thrived." We also have Puduhepa's incredibly poignant prayers on behalf of her husband when he was struck down by ill health. Their equality as partners shows up repeatedly over many years, most visibly in Puduhepa's independent seal on key treaties and letters where she grants lands to vassal kings and other powerful acts. She shows no signs of needing her husband to "co-sign." I portray from the inside their early meeting and falling in love, but intriguingly, Hattusili also mentions he was accused of sorcery at this time, an accusation that carried the penalty of death in a legal system that otherwise opted for exile. Interesting that! So I took this divinely inspired love story and combined it with some Bronze Age political intrigue, international scheming, magic and a murder mystery.
Sharon: Describe one of the strangest details about the Hittites you found from your research.
Judith: The Hittites were obsessed with curses of all sorts—what we might call dark magic. They believed sorcerers could sicken and kill their enemies, for example. We find this belief expressed in places as diverse as court cases, divinations, and prayers. None of the "how to curse" rites survive, but one describing a curse removal does. Not all of the text survives in a readable way but my favorite part (which I used in Priestess) describes touching the cursed person with a loaf of specially made bread to absorb the curse's pollution. The bread is stuffed with chickpea paste (hummus, in essence) as the absorbing substance. Once the bread touches all the prescribed places on the victim's body, the priestess is commanded to burn it and thus send it back to the demons of the Underworld whence curses were thought to come. I hope I haven't ruined hummus for any of those reading this interview. It's one of my favorite foods. I actually wrote a cookbook of Bronze Age foods that people receive (after a short story) when they sign up for my author newsletter, and I have recipes for three different styles of hummus in it, so I'm pretty dedicated to good chickpea paste!
Sharon: What's an aspect of Puduhepa's historical life that you hope readers will take away from your portrayal of Tesha?
Judith: Puduhepa provides a worthy model for leadership—particularly the value of female leaders, which we've been thinking about lately, so this seems timely. She certainly wasn't perfect, and some of her actions are hotly debated among historians as possibly self-serving or politically motivated rather than ethically driven. She gave me nuanced material to work into my hero's character. But, despite that human complexity, or perhaps because of it, she had brilliant skills as queen in many areas: diplomatic, judicial, religious and familial. Most famously, she corralled Pharaoh Ramses II of Egypt into a lasting peace treaty. The surviving letters to Ramses reveal a subtle diplomat with a tough but gracious core that made her able to stand up to the arrogant Pharaoh without giving offense. She also took judicial positions that went against her own citizens when the truth wasn't on their side. Fair justice wasn't something she was willing to toss overboard when it was politically inconvenient. Her equal partnership with her husband was a much-admired model even in the patriarchal world of the ancient Near East.
Sharon: I remember talking to you about your extensive research travels, one of the best perks of being an author. Can you share some highlights from your more recent travels?
When planning which archaeological sites to visit on my second trip to Turkey, I bemoaned to the Turkish archaeologist who guides and translates for me that the site of Puduhepa's hometown, Lawazantiya, had never been identified. From numerous tablets excavated from the empire's capital city Hattusha, we know the name Lawazantiya, its general location, and that it had seven springs, but I thought we lacked even a tentative site location. But my archaeologist friend was more up to date than I was.
A new archaeological excavation, with preliminary results published only locally in Turkish, had made a strong case for being Lawazantiya. Sure enough, there are seven springs in the area around this dig and also extensive Bronze Age ruins on the mound, including parts that could correspond to the famous temple of Ishtar we know existed there (where Puduhepa was priestess).
We arranged to go to the site so that I could study the physical setting and ruins. That would have been splendid all on its own, but, even better, the director of the dig spent the entire day with me, explaining and examining the excavation. We also visited each of the seven springs—locations that I found very useful later as I l drafted Priestess of Ishana. Accompanied by the rest of the dig's excavators, we had a delightful lunch of freshly caught fish at a restaurant beside the largest of the springs. It was easy to imagine my Tesha and Hattu sitting in the shade of the willows in that lovely spot, although I confess when that spring appears in my novel, it's all conflict and trouble, not quiet picnicking!
Sharon: Thank you so much for a very interesting interview, Judith. Priestess of Ishana sounds fascinating. What's your next project
Judith: As you mentioned, I've now written the first two books in this series based on Puduhepa's life, Priestess of Ishana (book 1) and Sorcery in Alpara (book 2). I'm drafting the third book—no title yet. If readers are interested in my book news, special offers, and the history and archaeology of this ancient civilization (and the cookbook I described), they can sign up for the author newsletter on my website, link: https://www.judithstarkston.com/
Purchase Hand of Fire: https://amzn.to/2KOb6a0
Purchase Priestess of Ishana: https://amzn.to/2DXpdXt
Purchase Sorcery in Alpara: https://amzn.to/319vuIj
INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE CHURCHILL ABOUT THE KING'S FURIES
Yes, this is actually a new blog by me; will wonders never cease? But the good thing about being in Writer Limbo—between books—is that I actually have time to do some things I enjoy, and one of them is focusing attention upon books I think my readers will like. The King's Furies is such a book, with the added bonus that its author, Stephanie Churchill, is a friend as well as a fellow writer, so it is always fun to hang around with her. Besides, Holly, my spaniel, may not worship Stephanie, but she is overly fond of the ground upon which she walks.
I can enthusiastically recommend The King's Furies, the final book in Stephanie's trilogy, The Crowns of Destiny. Like me, I am sure that readers of the trilogy have come to care about the characters, and I think they will be pleased by the resolution of the series. Casmir is a very appealing character in his own right, and it is interesting to get his perspective after seeing their world through the eyes of the sisters, Kassia and Irisa.
Before we begin the interview, I want to let readers know that Stephanie is offering a book giveaway and to be eligible, readers need only post a comment on this blog. The winner will receive free copies of the first two books, The Scribe's Daughter and The King's Daughter; they will be in the e-book format and the contest is global, not limited just to American readers. Now, let me welcome Stephanie Churchill.
SC: Thanks for letting me stop by, Sharon. I really just came to play with Holly, but we may as well chat as long as I'm here.
SKP: Holly would like nothing more than for you to feed her snacks.
SC: Which I have brought aplenty.
SKP: You're about to publish your third book, The King's Furies. How does it feel?
SC: I thought you were going to ask me, "What are you going to do next?" And of course, the only answer to that is "Go to Disney World." It feels somehow surreal that I've slaved away enough to write three books already. It seems like only yesterday you planted the suggestion in my head. Can that have been nearly eight years ago already? It doesn't seem like we've been friends for that long, but we have.
SKP: I've told you before that you give me too much credit for that.
SC: Maybe, but sometimes ideas don't take root except when suggested by people who have a certain amount of clout. Anyone else could have suggested that I try my hand at writing, but I wouldn't have necessarily considered the suggestion credible. I figured you knew what you were talking about when it came to writing.
SKP: I can think of at least one book reviewer who'd disagree with you about that, the one who ended her review of Sunne with the immortal words, "God has probably forgiven Richard III and He may in time even forgive the author." But let's talk now about your Crowns of Destiny series. Your first two books were about two sisters. Your third book will be about a different person, Casmir Vitus, King of Agrius. What made you decide to give him his own book?
SC: I wasn't planning to originally. I had already promised readers that I would write a prequel about Kassia and Irisa's mother, Naria. I had a decent outline written up for that book, but then a couple of things happened. First, I wasn't "feeling" the story. I'm not sure how to describe it except to say my heart just wasn't in it. I had a tough time figuring out how to develop the themes for the book, and I had too many ideas about directions to take the various character involvements. So in part, there was too much I wanted the book to do, and I couldn't narrow it down. Then, almost simultaneously, reviews were beginning to come in on The King's Daughter. The most common piece of feedback I received from readers was that they loved Casmir. Looooooved him. It seemed natural to write a book for him. I hope to get back to Naria's story someday, but I also need to move on to other things.
SKP: Why did people love him so much? I know why I found him to be such good company, but I am curious about your perspective as his creator. Tell us about him.
SC: I can't speak for individual readers, but my guess is that he's got a nice dose of charm. I admit to being more than a little influenced by some of your male characters when writing him: Llewelyn ap Iorweth, for instance. His combination of cluelessness with Joanna gave me some fodder for Casmir's relationship with Irisa, and his leadership style of integrity, control, and a bit of restraint helped me figure out Casmir's kingly style. I also injected some of Dafydd ap Gruffydd's swagger. Another thing that I would guess readers found appealing was the mystery of his personality. Irisa often commented on Casmir's seeming two-sided nature. He wears an unreadable court mask in public, but when Irisa was alone with him, she saw a warm, caring man. So for the reader's benefit, I wanted to explore this a bit in his own book. I hope readers of The King's Furies will get enough of Casmir's backstory to understand his two faces a bit better. I also tried to inject some aspects of your favorite king, Henry II. Casmir is a bit of a workaholic, and he doesn't always care too much for his personal appearance – or at least the extravagance that kings are afforded in their dress. He's happier just being comfortable.
SKP: Without giving anything away, what is this book about?
SC: From a plot perspective, Casmir and Irisa are now secure on their thrones ruling Agrius. They have a child, and things seem to be perfect. Of course, as an author yourself, you know that authors are never happy when our characters are happy. I had to make their lives difficult, and one step at a time I turned the screws a little bit on their happiness. They made some choices in The King's Daughter, and the outcomes of those choices aren't working out so well. Those outcomes get progressively more complicated, and then some of the villains from the last books show up to further complicate things.
The theme of this book is two-fold. I wanted to explore Casmir's character. What happens when he is tested beyond the point of breaking? What kind of choices will he make, and what does it say about who he is as a man? And secondly, I wanted to explore the marriage relationship after the first few years of marriage. It's fun to write about new love, but what happens when daily life intrudes and outside forces work to muddy the waters a bit? At a really deep level, I want readers to see how I intentionally chose the title (for each of my books) and how it works to tell the story of what will happen to the main characters.
SKP: Do you have another project you're working on now? What's next?
SC: I have something completely different in mind, yes. I've already begun to plot the basics of it, but I have a lot of groundwork to cover before I begin the actual writing. This next series will be much more traditionally fantasy in that there will be some dragon-like creatures. Still no magic, because I'm not comfortable writing in that milieu since I don't really read magic-based fantasy.
SKP: How will the books be different (besides the dragon-like creatures)?
SC: Well, from a story and setting perspective, I'm going to focus much less on creating a setting that feels historical. This time it will be purely fictional. Yes, it will have a vaguely medieval feel, but that's about as close to feeling historical as I'll intentionally get. Much of what will be different won't be apparent to readers because the differences will all be in my process. Hopefully readers will "feel" the difference in the quality of the story, but it won't be obvious to the casual reader. Oh, and my dragons will have some supernatural powers.
SKP: How could dragons not have some supernatural powers? But how is your process going to be different?
SC: I've been reading and following the blog of Shawn Coyne who developed the Story Grid method. I won't bore you with all the nitty-gritty details, but this method encourages developing what Coyne calls a "foolscap global story outline" before getting started. Basically, it's setting up certain major building blocks (inciting incident, progressive complications, crisis, climax, resolution) for each of the major components of the book before beginning to write. I naturally do this in my head anyway and had done it for my first three books on a very informal level, but I'm forcing myself to write down each of the items so they will be thoroughly thought through. The other process difference is that I'm going to write all three books of the trilogy (in first draft form) before I publish the first one.
SKP: That sounds intriguing and a bit mysterious. So how long will readers have to wait until they can read something new from you?
SC: No idea. It will take as long as it takes. But I think once my in-depth planning is finished, the actual writing will take far less time than my last three books since I'll have signposts for what I'm going to write. In the meantime, I'm keeping a weekly writing journal for those interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at my process. It's on my blog https://www.stephaniechurchillauthor.com/blog/ and people can subscribe if they want to be updated about new posts. So far readers of this journal have said they love the glimpse of what authors do every day. I guess I take my own process for granted, but not everyone knows what we as authors do!
SKP: Anything else you'd like to add before you go take Holly for a walk?
SC: Yes, I thought I'd leave your readers with a little glimpse of both Casmir's personality and a taste for what The King's Furies is about.
From The King's Furies, chapter 6:
"You are the assassin who finally brought down the slave rebellion's leader."
"You make it sound like a bad thing, my king," Jachamin broke in, a slow smile hinting at the corners of his lips. "But I prefer mercenary if it's all the same to you."
"Your tactics were… heavy-handed," I observed.
His eyes flashed at that, and the freedom I'd reveled in only moments before dissipated, melting away as easily as a sugared wafer on Sybila's tongue. I moved my gloved hands over my face, partially to brush away the loose strands of hair which had fallen over my left eye, but also to give myself time to think.
"Casmir," Wimarc broke in, annoyingly comfortable enough to use my familiar name, "Lyseby is a problem. In fact, you have many problems that defy conventional solutions."
I shot him a hard look. "And you think that hiring an assassin… mercenary," I corrected myself with a dismissive wave of my hand, "will fix these problems? We have only begun to try conventional solutions. I am not about to condone as common practice the murder of those who would oppose my rule!" I gave each of the men a cold, hard stare.
"Casmir, I only brought you here to hear him out."
"Yes, because you know the palace walls have ears. You said as much. This was to make the ride and early hour worth my while?"
"Casmir, I…"
"You have mistaken me for another king — my father, or his hound Veris. I am not him, nor will I ever be," I growled. "You have wasted my time."
And with that, I made a savage jerk on the reins, wheeling Sevaritza around to leave the two men staring after me.
SKP: We shall let Casmir have the last word, then, as kings usually do. Thank you, Stephanie, for stopping by to spoil Holly and share your thoughts on The King's Furies. To purchase Stephanie's books, see the links below. And again, post a comment here and you'll be eligible for Stephanie's book giveway.
Purchase The Scribe's Daughter: mybook.to/thescribesdaughter
Purchase The King's Daughter: mybook.to/TheKingsDaughter
Pre-order The King's Furies: mybook.to/TheKingsFuries
Stephanie's website: https://www.stephaniechurchillauthor.com/
INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BLIXT
Saturday, December 22nd, 2018
I can think of no better way to end the year than to do an interview with my fellow writer, David Blixt, about his latest novel and whatever subjects that come up in the course of our conversation; with David, you never know.
Sharon: Here we are again, David.
David: Thanks for inviting me. Though I'm not sure why you had me lay out a plastic drop cloth before I could sit down…
Sharon: Oh, you never know how these interviews will turn out.
David: Ominous. Have you been watching Dexter?
Sharon: Possibly. So David, you have a new novel out. Tell me about it.
David: It's about the woman who basically invented undercover reporting, Nellie Bly.
Sharon: The title is "What Girls Are Good For". Provocative, especially today.
David: I know. It was the publisher's choice, and it makes me nervous. But it's also totally appropriate. It's the title of the newspaper article printed by the Pittsburgh Dispatch that made young Elizabeth Cochrane so angry she penned a letter to the editor. That letter was too explosive for them to publish, but they hired her as a reporter for her unique perspective.
Sharon: And what perspective was that?
David: That women who work were not evil or fallen or unwholesome. The article posited that "A woman's sphere is encompassed by a single word: home." Saddled with the pen-name Nellie Bly, Elizabeth set out to refute that by humanizing working women. Her first series was called "Factory Girls", with her showing portraits of these young ladies who all had to work to survive.
Sharon: I take it these weren't the traditional schoolteachers and nurses.
David: Not at all. She interviewed women who worked in barbwire factories, steel mills, shoe factories, cigar rolling plants, hinge manufacturing. She did so well in humanizing them that management started complaining to the newspaper, and she was sent to report on flower shows instead.
Sharon: That sounds very frustrating.
David: It was. She rebelled by insisting the paper pay her way to Mexico to be their foreign correspondent there. After five months she was chased out for exposing corruption in the Mexican government.
Sharon: I like her already. But you said undercover reporting.
David: Yeah, she was the first of what become known in the newspaper business as the "Stunt Girls", which was dismissive as hell considering what she achieved. In 1887 she feigned madness and got herself committed to the insane asylum on Blackwell's Island – Roosevelt Island today. That's what she's probably most famous for, along with her trip around the world two years later.
Sharon: How far in her life does "What Girls Are Good For" go?
David: Through the aftermath of the insane asylum exposé. She released her experience in a book, "10 Days In A Madhouse". But reporting was a little different at the time. She related a lot of events as scenes, not a single narrative. And there's a great deal she left out, especially the brutal character assassination by a rival newspaper that she had fooled into reporting on her insanity. The whole last third of the novel is the full story of the asylum and the grand jury investigation her story provoked.
Sharon: Was there a particularly hard scene to write?
David: There were two. One is when Nellie's life is threatened in Mexico. The other was during her stay in the madhouse, her very worst night there, where they tried to dose her with chloral. That was rough, involving a lot of things about her that have only been hinted at to that point.
Sharon: This book feels very timely. When did you start on this?
David: Believe it or not, I started this in April of 2016, before Trump or the #MeToo movement blew up so huge. I was reading about female action stars in the silent film era, and I noted how at least half of the characters they played were based on Nellie Bly. She was even the basis for Lois Lane in Superman comics. I didn't know much about her, so I looked her up and instantly dropped everything else to focus on her.
Sharon: Speaking of Superman, I remember you're a fan of comic books. Do you have a writing Kryptonite?
David: Facebook, definitely. Facebook has really slowed my writing output, especially in the current political climate. And I read too much of the news. I like to debate current events and keep informed. It's important, I think. But it's also killer for getting momentum in my writing.
Sharon: I'm always asked about writer's block. I'm sure you are, too. But have you ever gotten reader's block?
David: Oh yes! I mostly read research these days, not for fun. And when I do, I binge something entirely outside of historical fiction. I went through the entire Dresden Files series this summer – a wizard living in Chicago, very noir. What I'm trying to be better about is reading books by fellow authors in my field. I have a project I'm working on that hopefully will help with that.
Sharon: Can you tell us more?
David: Can't talk about it yet.
Sharon: Onward, then. How many unfinished books do you have at present?
David: Six or seven. Plus the Nellie Bly sequel I haven't started yet.
Sharon: Seems a wee bit fickle. Have you considered choosing the one that attracts you most? Or the one I want you to write next? Can we expect a fifth Star-Cross'd novel soon?
David: I'm working on it. But "soon" might be optimistic. There are a couple other novels I'll have finished before that one. But all the research is done, and I've started it. And I've been recording the audiobooks. The Master Of Verona came out last year, and Voice Of The Falconer is coming in December.
Sharon: I adore those books. Has it been fun revisiting them?
David: Not only fun, but helpful as I plot future storylines. I've been reminded of threads I hinted at – especially a connection to the Holy Roman Emperor that is going to help the next novel a lot.
Sharon: One of the many things we share is a passion for medieval stories. Is that home base for you?
David: Yes and no. The majority of the stories I have in mind take place somewhere between 1300 and 1600. I chalk it up to my three decades of performing Shakespeare. But I'm also attracted to people. Nellie Bly is a great example. I want to write about fascinating people of different eras to illuminate our own.
Sharon: You mention Shakespeare. Are we getting another Will & Kit novel?
David: Absolutely. It's going to be called "Fire At Will", and it will be Shakespeare and Marlowe accidentally causing the Spanish Armada attack.
Sharon: You have three series going at present, and I understand you'll have another with Nellie Bly. Do you want each series to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
David: I'm placing ties in all of them, though very tenuous ones. In What Girls Are Good For, it's only a couple Shakespeare and Dante references. But there's a coin that will show up in all the series at some point. And I like to drop references to other works of historical fiction, like The Name Of The Rose, when characters overlap. I'm actually looking to find a way to tie the next Star-Cross'd book to your novel The Reckoning.
Sharon: Do you do that often, hide secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
David: I sprinkled anagrams through all the Star-Cross'd novels. I call out friends all the time. There's a sword maker in Chicago named Neil Massey. I put him in a couple novels for fun as the armorer for my characters – things like that. I amuse myself, mostly.
Sharon: I'm glad to hear you amuse someone.
David: Oh Sharon. You know you're amused by me.
Sharon: Not in the way you think. Remember the drop cloth.
David: Right. Well, look at the time— (rises to go)
Sharon: Smart lad. You're lucky I enjoy your writing. Also that you're a decent actor with a very nice family.
David: That gets me by in a lot of places.
Sharon: Say hello to Jan and the kids, by the way.
David: Hello to Jan and the kids, by the way.
(Sharon lifts crossbow from the wall as David flees for his life)
Sharon: Damn. Should have put the plastic down by the door…
It is obvious that David and I are good friends; either that, or we were drinking when we did this interview. Seriously, I am always happy to be able to alert my readers about a new David Blixt novel. His Star-Cross'd series, set in medieval Italy, is mesmerizing. It has some of the most compelling characters I've ever encountered between the pages of a book and they are people who actually lived! I always thought the Plantagenets led highly improbable lives. Well, even a swash-buckling soldier king like the Lionheart is cast into the shade by Cangrande della Scala, who ruled Verona in 14th century Italy and whose adventures read like fiction—but they are not. He was an acclaimed battle commander, a shrewd politician—think of him as Machiavelli's role model—a patron of the celebrated poet Dante; he even managed to get a role in Boccaccio's Decameron! You can meet him in The Master of Verona and David's subsequent books. And for a change of pace, try his hilarious spoof about the young Will Shakespeare, Her Majesty's Will. For me, it will be Nellie Bly and What Girls are Good For. Below is a link to David's website; when you see all he's accomplished, you may wonder if he has a clone chained up in the basement, and I would not put it past him. Did I mention that he is also a gifted actor and playwright and skilled in the use of medieval swords and rapiers? He always denies those rumors that in his spare time he leaps tall buildings at a single bound and is faster than a speeding bullet. The jury is still out on that one.
https://www.davidblixt.com/
INTERVIEW WITH MARGARET GEORGE
No you all are not hallucinating. My blog is no longer covered with cyber-space cobwebs; I have a brand-new blog up and ready to read. Who says the Age of Miracles is over? I was fortunate enough to lure Margaret George here to discuss her new novel. But before we begin the interview, I have news about my own new novel, THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA. It is finally done and is currently in the care of my editors at Putnam's and Macmillan's. While there are some loose ends to tie up and the Author's Note still to finish, the Deadline Dragon has been defeated at long last. Of course he is still hanging around the house, blowing smoke rings and sneering. It is not easy to evict a dragon, but at least he can be ignored for now. I do not know when THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA will be published, will spread the word as soon as it reaches me.
I am so pleased to have Margaret George here. She is one of my favorite writers and a friend and wherever he is in the Hereafter, Nero must be thanking his lucky stars that she chose to tell his amazing, improbable story. Welcome, Margaret. Shall we get started? I suspect that patience is not one of Nero's virtues. In fact, many people probably assume he had no virtues at all, so your novel is going to be a revelation for them.
SKP: It's a pleasure to talk with you about the continuation of Nero's life story, THE SPLENDOR BEFORE THE DARK. Tell me, how did you choose that title?
MG: The right title is hard to find, but I thought this one really summed up his reign—there was a burst of creative energy, glitter, and excitement about it, before his dynasty, that was founded by Julius Caesar, collapsed in A.D. 68. I wanted people to realize it was a high point in Roman history, not to be overshadowed by the negative things in the popular imagination connected with Nero. Historians have dubbed it 'the Neronian Era' and very few rulers get an era named after them.
SKP: Of course the first question people probably ask you is: why Nero? Why did you want to write about him?
MG: I am drawn to people in history that seem to be unfairly condemned in the popular imagination, starting with Henry VIII. You remember that, as an anti-Tudor person. But you kindly read that book with an open mind. I am just asking people to set aside their preconceptions and read about Nero with an open mind.
SKP: But I assume there must be more to it than just that someone has a bad reputation. After all, some people have earned that bad reputation!
MG: Indeed they have, and well deserve it! But Nero is an example of those whose legacy was written entirely by his enemies, and who had the misfortune to have the balancing positive appraisals of him lost in time. Whenever a new regime comes in, whether it's a change of dynasty in ancient Rome or a change of president in the U.S., immediately the new emperor or president, and their party, want to undo what their predecessor did, and blacken their name. Nero was a victim of this. I am just trying to let the suppressed voices on the other side have a say.
SKP: Nero is one of those larger than life characters, who scarcely seem real. He's the Roman emperor who is a household name, who is seen in countless cartoons fiddling while Rome burned. What was the real Nero like?
MG: I think the key to his character was that he was like a modern young person (and remember, he became emperor when he was only sixteen) who wants to be an artist—a writer, a musician, an actor—and is told by his family it's not practical, and he has to go to law school instead. In Nero's case, it was that he had to be a politician. But the conflict between the role he had to play in order to survive, and what he felt was the 'real him' is what makes him fascinating, sympathetic, and modern. We can relate to that.
SKP: But what about his art? Was he any good? People now laugh about it and assume he was a buffoon.
MG: He was involved in many facets of art. But none of his poetry, none of his sculpture, none of his musical compositions survive. The one thing that does, however, the Domus Aurea—the Golden House in Rome—is a showcase of his revolutionary architectural vision. Nero was actively involved in designing of the building, working closely with his favorite architects Severus and Celer. Its stunning frescoes (the palace was rediscovered in the late 1400's) influenced Raphael, who visited it, and other Renaissance artists. It used light as an architectural element, centuries before Frank Lloyd Wright. The Octagon Room, the first Roman building to have an open dome supported not by central pillars but by weight-baring arches on the sides, was the forerunner of the Pantheon.
SKP: But it was not all work with him, right? He is famous for throwing the ultimate toga party. Probably in the Domus Aurea!
MG: No doubt about it, he liked to have a good time, and insisted on inviting the common people—with whom he felt more at home than with the senators and patricians—to join in with him, with banquets in the Forum, chariot racing, and athletic contests. (Ironically, he didn't like togas—he found them uncomfortable and too 'establishment'.) He gave the city a state of the art gymnasium and training ground, and would exercise there in public in his loincloth!
SKP: But in spite of this, he fell from power and was ousted by a new dynasty, the Flavians. Why?
MG: There are several theories about this—that he had made enemies of the Senate by bypassing them for the common people, that he didn't pay enough attention to the military, that he was seen as a byword for frivolity—but I think the ultimate reason was that he chose his art over being emperor. He embarked on a sixteen month artistic and athletic tour of Greece, in spite of warnings this was dangerous. Sure enough, in his absence conspiracies grew in Rome. By the time he was summoned back to save his reign, it was too late. His last words, "What an artist the world is losing!" shows how he saw himself. He didn't say, "What an emperor the world is losing!"
SKP: Is there any parallel to him today?
MG: Unlike some historical characters that get a modern makeover, Nero is impossible to update, he was so unique, and his actions so specific to that time and place, that no—there has never been, and will never be, another Nero.
SKP: This was fascinating, Margaret. Thank you so much for agreeing to discuss the new book with us. For new readers, THE SPLENDOR BEFORE THE DARK is the second in a two book series by Margaret; she began Nero's story with THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO. I knew very little about Nero before reading these books and have a much better understanding now of this controversial yet compelling man and the times in which he lived.
WINNER OF BOOK DRAWING FOR THE KING'S DAUGHTER AND INTERVIEW WITH DANA STABENOW
I have been gone for so long that I feel as if I ought to re-introduce myself, or at least thank you all for being so patient with my prolonged absences. I hope that life will get back to normal once I've been able to evict the Deadline Dragon, though I would not bet money on that. I only have three chapters left to do in The Land Beyond the Sea, but since one of them will have me fighting one of the most momentous battles of the Middle Ages, please send me lots of positive vibes; I suspect I'll need them.
With apologies again for the long delay, Stephanie Churchill and I are happy to announce that the winner of her book giveaway for her new novel, The King's Daughter, is Colleen MacDonald. Colleen, congratulations. Please contact either Stephanie or me to arrange to receive your personalized copy. I am sure you will love it. I know I did!
Now, I am delighted to welcome one of my favorite writers to my blog. My Facebook friends and readers know how much I love Dana Stabenow's superb Kate Shugak Alaskan mystery series. Dana's books have it all—suspense and surprises and colorful locales and fascinating characters, leavened with lots of humor. Dana is remarkably versatile, for in addition to her acclaimed Kate Shugak series, she has another series set in Alaska, a number of riveting stand-alone thrillers, and she has made a highly successful foray into the world of historical fiction with her Silk and Song saga. In her trilogy about Johanna, the grand-daughter of the celebrated Marco Polo, she introduces readers to an unfamiliar and exotic world, taking us from Cambaluc, today's Beijing, to the legendary lagoon city of Venice, fabled Queen of the Adriatic. I cannot imagine anyone reading that last sentence without wanting to read the books, too, and Dana's British publisher, Head of Zeus, has made that easy for new readers, publishing an omnibus edition which contains all three of the Silk and Song novels: Everything under the Heavens, By the Shores of the Middle Sea, and The Land Beyond. It can be ordered from my all-time favorite bookstore, the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona, with signed copies available. Here is the link.
https://store.poisonedpen.com/?q=h.tviewer&using_sb=status&qsb=keyword&so=oh&searchtype=keyword&qs=9781784979522&qs_file=
And for my British readers, here is the link to Amazon.co.uk, where it will be published on December 14th.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silk-Song-Dana-Stabenow/dp/178497952X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512535145&sr=1-1&keywords=silk+and+song
Now, without further delay, I'll let Dana speak for herself.
Where did the idea for Silk and Song come from?
I read The Adventures of Marco Polo and by his own account he loved
the ladies. He was all over eastern Asia for twenty years in service to Kublai Khan
and he had to have scattered some seed around.
I wondered what happened to those kids.
Silk and Song is the story of one of them.
What did you do in the way of research?
One of the joys of writing is research.
It can also be the perfect excuse for travel (if you need one).
I went to China in 2005 specifically to do research for Silk and Song.
Trips to Turkey and Morocco also found their way into the books.
I spent a week in Venice, another in Paris, and a third in London.
Only Venice made it into the book. That's one thing about research;
inevitably you only use about 10 percent of what you research in the work.
I also read fa-aaar too much in the way of historical studies.
After a while you wonder what on earth historians are thinking,
because they all contradict each other,
and the farther back in time you go the worse they get.
Why a female protagonist?
Whenever I'm asked that question I'm tempted to say "Why not?"
and leave it at that, but seriously folks.
At about the same time as I was reading Marco, I stumbled across
a Book of Days (basically a daily diary) in a bookstore.
It was illustrated with drawings from medieval manuscripts,
and each illustration featured a medieval woman doing a job
—a baker, a shoemaker, a carpenter, a stone mason (yes, really!)
And then I read Margery Kempe's autobiography.
Those two works thoroughly disabused me of the notion,
A, that medieval women only worked in the home,
and, B, that in the Middle Ages nobody ever traveled a mile from their homes.
Both of which notions teachers had worked hard to beat into my head in high school.
I determined from the beginning that the child was going to be a girl,
and that she was going to have a real job.
And of course coming from China she could wear pants. Heh.
Why publish the books separately at first?
No one wanted me to write Silk and Song. For sure no one wanted me to publish it.
"We don't want to have to re-invent the Stabenow brand," quoth my editor,
and suggested I write another five Kate Shugak novels instead.
So I wrote SAS anyway and self-published it in the US in three e and TP volumes.
And then lightning struck!
My UK publisher, Nic Cheetham at Head of Zeus
read it and loved it and now he's publishing it in a single volume
in the most beautiful edition that has ever had my name spelled correctly
on the cover (gold leaf on the title! squee!).
After Silk and Song I wrote the 21st Kate Shugak novel,
Less Than a Treason.
Now I'm working on what I hope will be the first of a series of novels set in
Alexandria in the time of Cleopatra featuring Cleopatra's fixer, job title the Eye of Isis.
And then follows the 22nd Kate Shugak novel.
Like much of the western world, I am fascinated by Cleopatra, so I am already looking forward to Eye of Isis! Thank you, Dana, for agreeing to this interview and for giving us so many hours of reading pleasure.
INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE CHURCHILL, AUTHOR OF THE KING'S DAUGHTER
I need to start with an apology for the long, long delay since my last blog was posted. You are getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a writer's life when that writer is cornered by a voracious Deadline Dragon; survival takes first priority and all else falls by the wayside. But since I only have four more chapters now to do, I feel that I can afford to surface for air.
I am delighted to relaunch my blog with this interview with my friend and fellow writer, Stephanie Churchill. Those of you who visit my blog and Facebook pages on a regular basis know how much I enjoyed Stephanie's first novel, The Scribe's Daughter. I tease Stephanie that she has created a new genre—fantasy that reads like historical fiction. My readers will feel very comfortable in Stephanie's fictional world, for her novels are rooted in a gritty medieval reality. They are considered fantasy because you cannot find this kingdom on any map, just in Stephanie's head. But there are no supernatural elements; no vampires or ghosts or monsters, although I personally would not have minded a dragon or two. Her novels are character-driven, but they offer action and suspense, too.
I was hooked from the first sentence of The Scribe's Daughter: "I never imagined my life would end this way." Kassia is an intriguing character and so well-drawn that readers immediately care about her. For those of you who have not yet read The Scribe's Daughter, the e-book is being offered on Amazon at a bargain price, just $2.99. It is also available in paperback, but I confess I have become addicted to e-books for pleasure reading, seduced by the convenience, the ability to increase the font size, and the instant gratification, of course.
Because I found Kassia's story so compelling, I am eagerly anticipating reading The King's Daughter, in which her older sister, Irisa, takes center stage. My game plan is to tackle my To Be Read List within moments of evicting the Deadline Dragon and applauding as he sulks off down the road to haunt some other unfortunate writer. Today, though, I get to spend some time with Kassia and Irisa's creator. Before we begin the interview, Stephanie is offering a book giveaway for The King's Daughter; anyone who posts a comment to this blog will automatically be eligible to win a personalized copy.
SKP: You have just released your second book, The King's Daughter, which is a sequel to The Scribe's Daughter. There may be readers who haven't read the first book yet, so why don't you start off by telling us a little bit about it.
The Scribe's Daughter is fantasy, though it will appeal to historical fiction readers because everything about it echoes the historical without actually being historical. I used my comfort and familiarity with history and historical novels to recreate a world that would be similar in feel.
At the beginning of the novel, we meet Kassia, a seventeen year-old orphan who is faced with a tough decision in her daily quest for survival. She is a younger sister but finds herself in the position of providing for both herself and her older sister, Irisa. The sisters cannot afford to pay rent, and when their landlord gives them an ultimatum — pay up or become whores — Kassia must decide what to do. Very soon after, a stranger enters the scene, hiring Kassia for a job that is ridiculously outside her skill set. Not seeing much other choice, she takes him on. Before long, Kassia finds herself embroiled in a fast-paced journey, sometimes treacherous, other times humorous. Everything about the plot involves mysteries of Kassia and Irisa's family history, a history they never knew existed.
SKP: Tell us a little bit about The King's Daughter.
The King's Daughter is a sequel of sorts to The Scribe's Daughter, though much of this book overlaps the timeline of the first one as the sisters' perspectives weave together to form a more complete view from what was learned earlier. Kassia and Irisa part ways early on in The Scribe's Daughter. The first few chapters of The King's Daughter follow that overlapping timeline as Irisa learns much of the same information Kassia learns. However, Irisa's story continues on from there, and she discovers more truths. The original mysteries from The Scribe's Daughter are deepened, even twisted sideways so that they take on new life again. Ultimately it is a character-driven book. Irisa grows and develops as a person, but in her strength, she helps the development of the other significant protagonist in the story as well.
SKP: One thing that is immediately noticeable is that even though they are sisters, Irisa and Kassia are very unlike one another. Physically they are different, but also in the way they approach the world. Can you talk about this?
Yes! I am a sister; I have a sister. And while I can't say that Irisa and Kassia are necessarily modeled after my sister and I, at least not consciously, the idea of writing about two sisters was definitely inspired by the fact that I have a sister. I see Irisa and Kassia as two sides to the same coin. Both sisters are strong, though neither of them knows it at first. One of the themes of both books is the journey to discover internal strength. Each sister just comes at this from a different direction.
Kassia is sort of like a caged tiger. She is emotionally ragged and lashes out at the world in response to trouble. At the beginning of her story, she is very fragile and therefore acts recklessly. Her defense mechanism is anger. Irisa, on the other hand, is softer, gentler. She is quiet and observant. She has less emotional turmoil inside her even if she is also fragile at the beginning. Irisa approaches the world with a more measured, thoughtful manner and is exceedingly practical. She already has a quiet strength, but as the book progresses, she learns to spread her wings a bit. By the end of their respective stories, both sisters have arrived at a similar place despite the dissimilar methods of getting there.
SKP: Your book reads like historical fiction. Did you base any of the plot or characters on any real figures from history?
Without giving too much away for the sake of the plot, I'll say that Edward IV and his daughter Elizabeth of York, who married Henry Tudor, were probably the biggest influences on two of my characters, though only loosely.
SKP: Did you plan to write multiple books when you started The Scribe's Daughter?
When I began work on The Scribe's Daughter, I had no long-range plan. It was simply an experiment in writing first person, and I hadn't even intended the experiment to turn into a book in the first place. Once I started writing Kassia however, I fell in love with her character and couldn't stop. Kassia kept whispering in my ear, telling me about her life and the realities of her world. When the first mystery took shape on the page, I had to see where it led. Once I got nearly half way through writing the first draft, I realized that Irisa had a tale of her own to tell, and it was going to be very compelling. I was intrigued by the idea of perspective and the differing views multiple people can have of the same events. This was really the seed idea for the second book. Once I got writing it, I discovered another selfish perk: I found that I missed Kassia terribly, and creating a book for Irisa allowed me to revisit the same world while taking off in a new direction even while inventing new people and places. I can totally understand now why so many authors write a series!
SKP: Should readers read The Scribe's Daughter first, or can The King's Daughter be enjoyed alone?
One of my advanced readers thought The King's Daughter could be read as a stand-alone. It's hard for me to judge that as the author since I can never read the book with new eyes. I would say however, that if a person wants to read it without having read the first one, it's probably doable. My caution to them would be that they would miss out on a lot of depth. The second book weaves many tiny details from the first book: characters, places, mysteries, back stories, etc. In fact, there are so many connections that many of the details may even be missed by most readers!
SKP: Who should read your books?
I have found that my audience is more women than men, but both audiences have very dedicated fans. The books were written for adults, though I tried to be sensitive to a wide audience so wrote it with that in mind, including teens. Genre is difficult to pin down. As I said earlier, the books read like historical fiction but are no doubt fantasy, even if not traditional fantasy. There is no magic, no dragons or other fantastical beasts. Everything is based in reality. Readers of historical fiction should feel right at home with the books however, because I love history and historical fiction and attempted to inject the feel of that genre into my writing. I often tell people that my books echo historical fiction even if they aren't history. More than that though, if you love deep characters, evocative settings, and a good plot, it doesn't matter what genre you read. You'll enjoy the books!
SKP: What's next for you?
I have a plan for a third book, the story of Naria, Irisa and Kassia's mother. I left some dangling threads at the end of The King's Daughter, and I really want to tie those up for readers. This third book will have even more connections, ties, and connections to characters and events from the first two books. I could take the story in many different directions, so I intend to take my time developing it, wanting to be as thoughtful and thorough as possible.
After that I have a completely new series in mind, one that will be much more traditional fantasy. I've actually been researching the background material for several years now, and I've got a significant amount of the initial draft of the first book finished, though it still needs a lot of work!
The King's Daughter released on September 1 and can be ordered from Amazon. It is available both in the e-book and paperback format.
SKP: Stephanie, thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. I know there is an overlap between our readers and I know, too, that they are in for a treat.
WINNERS OF THE PROUD SINNER BOOK DRAWING AND FIRST CHAPTER OF WINE OF VIOLENCE
Sunday, April 2nd, 2017
We have a winner in our drawing for a copy of Priscilla Royal's new medieval mystery, The Proud Sinner. In fact, because of Priscilla's generosity, we have two winners—Pat K. and Margaret Skea. Pat and Margaret, congratulations. I am sure you'll really enjoy The Proud Sinner; I know I did. You can contact Priscilla via her Facebook page or website or me via the Contact Sharon option on my website. Margaret is a writer, too, author of two novels set in sixteenth century Scotland, Turn of the Tide and A House Divided. She is also the recipient of a grant by Creative Scotland, and is currently in Germany researching her next book, a novel about Katharina Luther. Here is a link to her website. https://margaretskea.com/
Priscilla's publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, has just brought out a new edition of her first medieval mystery, Wine of Violence. I was very pleased when they asked me to write a new forward for it, as this gave me an opportunity to explain why I think this is such an excellent series. I have gotten permission from Poisoned Pen Press to post the first chapter of Wine of Violence on my blog. If you have not read Wine yet, I am sure you'll want to do so after reading this chapter. Enjoy!
WINE OF VIOLENCE
During the dark morning hours of a winter day in the year 1270, an aged prioress realized she was dying.
To her surprise the dying was much easier than she had ever imagined. The crushing pain in her chest was gone and she felt herself drifting upward with an extraordinary lightness. She was floating above the rush-covered floor, over which a dusting of sweet scented petals had been scattered, and away from that narrow convent cot where her earthly remains lay so still. Indeed, she wasn't frightened. She was very much at peace.
Below her, a semi-circle of nuns continued to chant with haunting harmony, their warm breath circling around her in the bitterly cold air. Many had tears in their eyes at her death, she noted, especially Sister Christina, whose grief meant the most to the old prioress. She could not have loved the nun more if she had been a child of her own body, but Christina had become the child of her soul instead, and, knowing the young woman would remain in the world, the old prioress could leave it with an easier spirit. She smiled.
Still sitting by the convent bed was Sister Anne. The sub-infirmarian to the priory was pale with fatigue and her shoulders hunched as she bent over the hollow body that the prioress had just quitted. The old prioress shook her head. No, good sister, she thought, now is the time for prayer, not your concoctions. How often had she told the nun that when God wanted a soul, all those earthly herbs and potions would be useless? Yet the kind sister had been able to ease the mortal pain of her passing. For that I am grateful, the old prioress thought, and as she watched the nun lean over, testing for breath from the quiet body, she hoped Sister Anne would, as she should, find a comfort in giving that relief.
Against the wall stood Brother Rupert in front of her favorite tapestry of St. Mary Magdalene sitting at the feet of Our Lord. The good brother's eyes were red from weeping, his head bowed in grief. How she wished to comfort him! He looked so frail to her now, his monk's habit far too big for his diminished frame. Maybe he would join her soon?
She mustn't hope. Earthly associations should have no place in Heaven, but she was insufficiently distanced from the world not to believe Heaven would be a happier place with Brother Rupert by her side, as he had been for more years than either could truly remember.
Heaven? Was she really going to Heaven, she wondered. A cold gust of doubt cut through the warm breath of the nuns and chilled her. Was that invisible hand lifting her young soul from her age-ravaged body really the hand of an angel of God?
She shivered. She had always tried to be worthy of God's grace, serving Him to the best of her ability. She had tried to be humble, dutiful, and she thought she had confessed all her sins to Brother Rupert just before falling into the strange sleep that had preceded this freeing of her soul.
An icy uncertainty nipped at her. Had she remembered all her sins? Might the Prince of Darkness have blinded her, making her forget some critical imperfection? Some sin of omission perhaps? Was her soul truly cleansed or was there some small rotting spot that would fling her into a purgatorial pit where pain was as sharp as the agonies of hell?
An unformed impression, a memory, something nagged at her.
It wasn't too late, she thought. Brother Rupert was standing near. Surely she could still reach him if she could just think of…
Then it came to her. Oh, but the mercy of God was indeed great! He had granted her the understanding to see the tragic error both she and Brother Rupert had made. Now she must get the message to the good priest. She must!
She struggled to reach her confessor, willing her soul toward the weeping man.
"Brother! Brother!" she cried. "I must tell you one thing more!"
She stretched out her hand, struggling to grasp him, reaching for the crude wooden cross he wore on a thin leather strap around his neck.
But something seemed to hold her back; some black force scrabbled to keep her soul from deliverance.
The priest had not heard her cry. He did not see her fighting to reach him.
She must tell him. She must! After all her years devoted to God, Satan should not win her soul over such a misunderstanding, a judgement she'd made with imperfect knowledge and mortal blindness. An innocent person would be hurt, even die, if she did not. She could not have that fouling her conscience.
She fought harder to reach her confessor, twisting, crying, moaning for help.
Suddenly a hand materialized from the tapestry. It grasped the old prioress firmly and pulled her back to the ground. It was a woman's hand, and the touch was warm.
The old prioress looked up and saw St. Mary Magdalene smiling.
"Tell me, my child," the saintly voice said. "I will tell Our Lord." She gestured to the glowing man at whose feet she sat. "And He will forgive all as He always has."
The old prioress wanted to weep for joy.
"Please tell him that I accused wrongly. It was not the one we feared, but rather the other!" she gasped.
And with that, the world turned black.
His heart pounded. His lungs hurt as he gulped cold ocean air through his open and toothless mouth. Stinging sweat trickled down his reddened, unevenly shaven face, and Brother Rupert rubbed the sleeve of his rough robe across his age-dulled eyes.
Once he could have walked the familiar path between town and priory with ease. Now his legs ached with the effort of climbing and he had to will himself to the top of the sandy, scrub-grass covered hill.
"I'm getting old. I am getting old," he muttered, as the moist wind stabbed each one of his joints.
At the hilltop, he stopped to rest and looked back into the distance. The morning sun of early spring had burned off the thickest fog, but the walls of Tyndal Priory, a double house of priests and nuns in the French Order of Fontevraud, were mere shadows in the drifting haze.
It didn't matter. He could have shut his eyes and seen each stone of every building clearly. Since the winter of 1236, when Eleanor of Provence had come to England as the now aging King Henry's wife, Brother Rupert had been chaplain, scribe, and administrating secretary to the recently deceased Felicia, Prioress of Tyndal. He had lived at the priory long before that, however, indeed from a day in his thirteenth summer when his rich merchant father proudly dedicated him to this woman-ruled Order so favored by kings, queens, and other elite of the realm. His father might have given him to the religious life as an oblate, but the boy came as a willing and eager offering. The monastic walls provided a secure refuge from a world he found frightening, a world filled with violence and lust.
Suddenly his eyes overflowed with tears, and he wiped his gnarled fingers across them hurriedly. "Ah, but I loved you, I did, and I miss you," he said, watching as a swirling gust of mist seemed to lift his words into the sky and scatter them. "And for the sake of all our souls I will put the matter right, my lady. I promise you that."
His words were fervent with an almost prayerful intensity.
Then he sighed, stretched the stiffness from his legs and started down the hill, tentatively at first, unsure in his footing. Once protected from the sea breeze, he could feel the warmth of the sun and his steps quickened.
His mood improved and he smiled. Indeed, in the warmth he now felt he could almost sense that the eyes of God were upon him.
They were not. They were human.
I am delighted to post this interview with one of my favorite historical novelists, Margaret George. Her legion of fans will be just as delighted and new readers will soon realize what they've been missing, for as this interview vividly demonstrates, she is as amusing as she is eloquent. I do not think there is a single soul who will not laugh aloud when they read her quip about "Michael Corleone meets A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man." So…..here we go.
SKP: Welcome, Margaret. Of course the first question is why Nero? Why did you want to write about him? What gave you the idea in the first place?
MG: I am very interested in ancient coinage, and Nero's coins are known as the finest, artistically, that Rome every produced. They are also startlingly honest, in that he allows himself to be portrayed as his looks change from golden boy to the familiar double-chinned emperor.
That got me thinking about him, and feeling that he may be the classic example of the kid who wants to be an artist (actor, writer, painter, musician) but his parents say he has to go to law school or take over the family insurance business.
In his case, the family business was being emperor.
So there was always this tension within him of being pulled in two directions. I can't think of any other emperor that had that stress. I wanted to explore this dichotomy, which was played out for very high stakes.
SKP: Before we go any farther we must address the stereotype: Nero fiddled while Rome burned. That's what most people know of him. What is the real story?
MG: If you want a flip answer, it's that the fiddle wasn't invented then, so he couldn't have played it. But seriously, the rumor that he started the fire in Rome, and performed his epic poem about the fall of Troy while watching it, got started early. The truth is that he wasn't even there when the fire started, that his own palace burned down, and that he valiantly led fire relief efforts. But his later appropriation of large tracts of land in the middle of the burnt-out city started a rumor that he had burnt Rome so he could build his new palace. It was easy to attach the singing to the story. This has dogged him ever since. As you know, it's hard to prove a negative. And there were no surveillance cameras then.
SKP: But back to his split personality, how did he handle that?
MG: Badly. He was only sixteen when he became emperor, and like any teenager, wanted to be free to 'do his own thing.' So from the beginning he was all about breaking boundaries and trying to exert his own will and pursue his own calling. Also like a teenager, he sought validation in those the establishment didn't approve of—in this case, the common people vs. the senatorial class. So not only was he at odds with his station in life vs. his true calling as an artist, he was smack in the middle of class warfare as well.
SKP: So he saw himself as an artist. But how good was he really? Didn't the emperor always have an appreciative audience, and win all the contests?
MG: His longing to find out how good he really was—as all real artists do—was thwarted by exactly what you say. He would always be applauded, always win the prize, because he was the emperor. All we can go by, in searching for any facts, is that after his death his compositions were gathered in a book called "The Master's Book" and people still played them. Since he was dead they didn't have to flatter him anymore, so that would be evidence they were pretty good.
His architectural designs and surviving building structures are quite amazing and have done much to salvage his reputation and indicate that maybe he wasn't off base in his famous last words, "What an artist the world is losing!"
SKP: What was the biggest challenge in writing this book?
MG: The biggest one was finding—or imagining—his motivation for doing some of the things that shocked the world. He did kill his mother—but were there reasons for it? Solid reasons that would explain why he had no other choice? Why did he want to race chariots? Why did he 'marry' a eunuch? Things like that. He wasn't your ordinary guy.
SKP: How do you reconcile these different sides of him?
MG: I think of him as "Michael Corleone meets 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.' Michael Corleone in "Godfather I" thinks he is different from his Mafia family, but when the chips are down discovers not only is he not different, he can do what they do and do it better. So how can Nero or Michael Corleone come to terms with this? In my novel I give Nero three sides, not just two, and he thinks of them as different entities: the first, the daylight Nero that is dutiful and Roman ; the second Nero, the artist who performs; and the third Nero, who does 'unspeakable deeds' but necessary for the first two to survive. He has the illusion that the third Nero can be put in mothballs and stowed away, but that isn't the case. If the first two Neros are to survive in Rome, the third Nero can't be put out to pasture.
SKP: What did you enjoy most about this project?
MG: The extraordinary range of subjects I had to study in order to write it: the history of the first five emperors, architecture, the cult of the cithara players, athletic games, mythology, early Christianity, and chariot racing.
And, of course, I enjoyed very much meeting the man who's been called "the greatest showman of them all", "the Elvis of the ancient world", and "the first mass market pop star." And having the opportunity to liberate Nero from the burdens of misunderstanding and stereotypes that have plagued him, and to let the real one speak for himself.
SKP: This book begins when Nero is very young and takes him through the first ten years of his reign, but it ends just as he meets the challenge of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. Do you plan to continue the story, or just leave the reader in suspense?
MG: For the first time, I am doing a biographical novel in two parts. So the conclusion, of equal length, will cover the last four years of his life, a very tumultuous time, that brought about the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and rang the curtain down on that extraordinary family. The title of the second is still in progress but it will have the name "Nero" in it for sure. And obviously, he can't be 'the young Nero' although, actually, he is still pretty young.
SKP: I think your decision to "let him speak for himself" was inspired, for you've given him a very intriguing voice. I was fascinated to meet your Nero and I am sure that our readers will feel the same way. Thank you so much for doing this interview, Margaret. I hope you will come back after you publish the second half of Nero's story.
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Social media isn't going away, so get used to it!
Mon 14th Apr 2014
I often get asked how long I think social media has got. How long will it be before something else comes along? How long have you got in this game before something else comes along and takes over? And my answer has always been the same…
Social media isn't going anywhere anytime soon!
With the fast-paced ever-changing world you'd be forgiven for thinking that social media will soon be nearing the end of its life. I mean everything has a shelf life, right?!
If that was correct though, wouldn't we have got bored of the TV by now? Wouldn't the internet have gone away? Wouldn't the invention of the car have been superseded by a far better and more accessible mode of transport?
(Yes. I did just compare social media to the invention of the internet and the automobile. It's that revolutionary and it's that engrained into our society.)
One of the first petrol powered cars!
Social media is involving and evolving
Just like the car and the internet, social media has captured the imagination of people and it's evolving and adapting to its ever-growing user base.
Facebook is 10 years old – TEN YEARS! It's certainly gone through some changes over those years but it's still going strong. For me (from a business angle anyway) it is on its way out now though. They've turned a free and fun social network into a money-making machine for shareholders – but that's another blog!
But just because Facebook has seen its best days, it doesn't mean social media has. Look at Twitter. It's still an amazing and uniquely adaptable network. It's still the number choice for media and celebrities and the new promoted posts and sponsored tweets are sure to attract more businesses to it.
Google+ is this year's one to watch. Yes, I know you are probably sick of hearing that. Yes, I know you probably went on it once and hated it. Yes, I know that it's full of techies and not really useful for your floristry business.
But listen up. Google+ is owned by Google. It owns the internet (in theory). Around 90% of search engine results are generated by Google and that's huge considering that the likes of Yahoo and Bing amongst many others are only left with a 10% share between them.
Google has been watching social media and the platform it's built is a great mix of the best. It's an evolution and soon you'll be involved in it, shaping the way it grows in the future.
That's the thing with social media, isn't it?! It's not a thing. It's like the internet itself. It's run by us, the users, and that means it will change with us because we change it.
Social media is a part of life
(If you just read that and scoffed then I'd love to meet you and tell you a way that social media impacted on your life this week without you even realising.) So many things are now created 'because of' or 'through' social media that you can be forgiven for not realising how it directly affects your life.
There's a very simple reason why social media is not going anywhere soon – it's not new.
Social media is just a modern version of something we all thrive on. Social media is a faster, more efficient way of doing a basic human function.
Social media is just human interaction… on the internet
That's it. That's all it is. No matter how you look at it, social media hasn't really reinvented the wheel it spins on. We all need to keep in contact. We all like to communicate our stories. We all need the communication lines to be open and working in order to grow and proceed in life.
This is why social isn't going away.
It would be like saying that in 5 years time we won't need the TV because no one wants to watch the news.
It would be like suggesting that eventually the internet will be replaced with books because everyone will want to go to the library instead of having instant access to resources.
Suggesting that social media will disappear is like suggesting that the horse and cart will be making a come back!
I can't see social media EVER going away when it works off the basic human principles that have driven society for as long as records have been keep. Social media is just people talking to people. That will never stop.
Often, the reason people give up on social media is because they're making one of the ten most common social media mistakes that we blogged about recently. Learn it and keep going is our moto!
So, if you're reading this and still not using any of the main social media channels, if you're reading this and are about to give up on social media, if you're reading this and you don't think social media has anything to offer – listen up!
There's no time to waste. Then longer you leave it, the longer you'll have been missing out on it. Social media IS shaping the world YOU live in. The media, the advertisers, the Government, the brands, the local shop, the car manufacturers, the baker, the butcher and the candlestick maker are using it – and that affects the things you use every day.
Because of social media…
Because of social media research is live. Big brands are open to public opinion. Things happen quickly and it can have a devastating effect when they get it wrong.
Because of social media people get employed, not employed or worse – fired! So it's shaping the employment of the world too.
Because of social media lost or stolen dogs are often reunited with their owners.
Because of social media loneliness is becoming less of an option. Even the most reclusive of people can find comfort online.
Because of social media marketing has changed forever!
Because of social media Egypt are moving towards democracy. A Facebook page with almost 250,000 likes started a revolution in the country after the killing of Khaled Mohamed Said, a 28-year-old from Alexandria who had been beaten to death by the Egyptian police.
Because of social media people are making and breaking relationships with people you know.
Because of social media Barrack Obama was elected. Social media played a huge part in the election of the first Black US President when he got his campaign flying with his excellent use of social media.
Social media is power to the people. Who'd want to give that up?
The great thing about social is that it's like a good soap opera – you can always catch up very quickly! And another great thing is… it's FREE! So what are you waiting for?
Now it's your turn
We'd love to hear how social media has changed you.
How has social media affected your life or decisions?
Why do you think it's here to stay?
Please comment below; we love hearing your views.
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