On the Homefront

Every Saturday, we get together with friends for a Role Playing Game. The current campaign involves an heir to the crown (no, not that heir, it’s not Anna), who is struggling to raise an army to retake the throne. This will eventually lead to a number of battles, and we will be using miniatures to make things interesting. Last week, to prepare the players for this, I set up a battle on our dining room table using some of my current collection of figures. It involved a straightforward clash of Orcs and Goblins fighting an alliance of Dwarves and Humans.

It was a lot of fun, even if we were a little rusty at it. Since we had a new player, we kept things simple using only basic rules and avoiding any semblance of terrain. That will change for the next battle, but I didn’t want to overwhelm everybody.

For the record, we ran out of time, but the Humans and Dwarves seemed to be getting the upper hand.

October 26 @ 5:30 pm (EST/UTC-4)

I'll be talking about how real history has influenced my writing. If you have a question, shoot me an email so I can include it in the video.

To watch the video live, all you need to do is like my Facebook page for notification of when I go live or drop by on Monday.

Paul J Bennett Facebook Page

Less than 3 days!

Interlocking Plots

The more I write, the easier it gets to reference events from other stories. In my current work in progress, Warrior Knight, there’s a shout out to the Kingdom of Braymoor. If you’ve read  A Midwinter Murder, you’ll know that Braymoor borders the realm of Abelard, a kingdom that suffered an uprising in the past.

In that tale, Brother Cyric is called on to solve a murder with its roots in that conflict. Interestingly enough, that story takes place in the same year as Warrior Knight, so the two books are literally running in parallel.

I must admit to having a devious mind when it comes to writing since I’d been considering this for some time. Just as that rebellion had repercussions for Cyric, so too does it affect Ludwig and the people around him.

Are there other references? Yes. There’s even a mention of events taking place in our current Role Playing Game. Eventually, when you get a chance to read the finished product, look for a reference to a place called Talyria. Speaking of which, will it get its own series eventually? You’ll have to wait and see.

Kippers

I was doing some more research on medieval tournaments this week and came across this interesting tidbit.  Back in the early days of tournaments, the victor was allowed to claim their defeated adversaries' armour and weapons. To gather this reward, the knight would have a squire act as his 'kipper'.  The term kipper comes from the Scandinavian word for 'sieze' or 'snatch' and was originally 'Kippa', so you can see how it evolved.

Now, bear in mind that the fallen warrior might not be so keen to give up their arms and amour, and so the kipper was armed with a heavy club which they could use to overcome any resistance.

And here I thought kippers were only a breakfast treat!

Congrats to Julie for winning last week's eBook Giveaway! She, like most of you, preferred, the black header so it is back again, all shiny and updated!

Remember, all you need to do answer the question below, then you will automatically be entered into the Giveaway to win your choice of any of my ebooks, even the soon to be released Flames!

Work in Progress Update

Warrior Knight, currently sitting at 27,000 words, is progressing well. Our main protagonist, Ludwig, is learning some tough lessons about life away from home. Luckily he’s made some friends along the way. Unfortunately, he’s also made some enemies.

I am finding that his story is far different from that of Charlaine, from Temple Knight. Whereas she was introduced into a sorority of fellow sister knights, Ludwig finds himself alone from the outset, forcing him to make his way in the world with little assistance. This is also key to his future development and something I planned quite some time ago.

This story also has a grittier feel to it, and it’s told from a single point of view, that of Ludwig. I can’t wait to finish it and get it into the hands of my readers early next year!

Until next time, Happy reading!

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