On the Homefront

This week didn’t see us getting much done, outside of work. Tilly had a cold last week, leading her to sneeze and cough.  She got better just in time to see her sister, Daisy, succumb to the same thing. Daisy wants everyone to know that she’s almost over it now, so you’ll have to excuse her if she just sits on the couch all day (not that she doesn’t do that all the time anyway).

The weather here has also been unseasonably warm, allowing us to spend some quality time sitting out in the sun. Unfortunately, it can’t last forever and we’re getting ready to take down the gazebo next week, so that will probably put an end to it until next spring.

Facebook Live - Did you miss a video?

Did you catch my most recent Facebook Live Video where I shared how real history has influenced my writing? Fear not, you can still watch it and comment!

If you have missed some of my other Facebook Live Videos, follow the links below to get caught up.

Past Facebook LIve Videos:

Ceremonies

Introduction to Power Ascending Series

The Armies of Merceria versus the Continent

All about Battles and Wargames

All about my four series

Did you know?

I am Canadian but was born in the UK, in a little town called Maidstone. My parents immigrated to Canada when I was only six, and they imparted upon me a love for many different British foods, including Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate bars. We are very lucky to have a British Food store in town, so I am able to indulge on occasion. Do you have a favourite chocolate bar from your childhood?

Upcoming New Releases

How I decided to start writing

I believe some people write because they like the idea of leaving something behind once they're gone, while others write because they think it's a nice way to live or that it can't be very hard.

When spending a bit of time in various Facebook groups, I've read people's posts that ask something along the lines of 'I want to be a writer. What should I write about?'. I'm not sure that anyone can tell someone else what they should write or even try; it's such a personal thing. For me, I've tried writing books my entire life, but it wasn't until the advent of the e-reader, and the ability to self-publish, that it felt like it was time.

In truth, I've always been writing. Ever since my dad purchased me my first game of Dungeons & Dragons, I've felt the pull of the game and the desire to create a story. I even have some random scribblings from back then, tucked away somewhere. Over the years, I focused my creativity on creating role-playing games, but I became dissatisfied with the rule systems out there, so I created my own, based on, of all things, the Napoleonic Wars.

It was so well-liked by our gaming group that it eventually led to a Fantasy variant that led, (yes you guessed it) to the creation of what would become the basis of the Heir to the Crown series. After the conclusion of that campaign, my wife, Carol,  suggested I put the story down in written form, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Congrats to Karen, whose favourite Orc is Laruhk, for winning last week's eBook Giveaway! 

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!

Ancient Sieges

I was doing some research for Warrior Knight this week, and in my quest for knowledge, I came across a few interesting tidbits. The topic in question was the siege, and so I naturally decided to read up on some famous ones from the past. What I found instead was an interesting dive into the distant past. The earliest depictions of a siege date back to somewhere around 3000 BC. Mind you, this depiction is symbolic in nature, portraying some sort of divine animals using hoes. (Minecraft anyone?)

The first written (drawn) records of actual siege engines are from Egyptian tombs, which shows the use of wheeled siege ladders at the storming of a town wall. This dates to somewhere around 2400 BC, and later 13th century BC images depict soldiers scaling walls by using ladders.

Sieges weren’t just limited to the Egyptians, however, as there are reliefs of Assyrian origin showing battering rams. China also portrayed sieges on ancient bronze pots dating back to the 5^th century BC.

Next time you watch Ivanhoe, you might do well to remember that by then, siege warfare had been around for thousands of years.

More Five-Star Reviews for Flames

Work in Progress Update

Warrior Knight now sits at just over 58,000 words, so I’m averaging about 3,500 words a day. On a good day, I can manage 5,000, but I’m spending more time detailing scenes in my outline with this story. In addition, we’ve been hard at work editing Fury of the Crown. Of course, when I say we’ve been editing, I really mean Carol’s been editing, but then we read through the chapters together, out loud. This technique helps us catch most lingering minor issues, and I would highly recommend it to any aspiring author.

Having the two of us work in this manner is particularly effective as I have a tendency to read how I wanted the intended sentence to sound rather than what’s actually written. When Carol points out the difference, we then stop and decide which version is better.

My apologies for last week's Fury of the Crown Teaser. I had forgotten that particular tidbit had already been shared. Hopefully, this week's teaser below makes up for it!

Until next time, Happy reading!

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