I’ve been running this blog for a long time. If you include the occasional break from blogging, and the times when my site host shut me down for too much traffic (yes, they can do that), then I’ve been blogging since 2005. Most of the older posts are now articles on the Articles pages. Out […]
On the blog…Two Years Ago Read More »
It’s Chinese New Year today, and this year is the year of the Monkey. The Monkey is the ninth in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac. The Years of the Monkey include 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028… The monkey is a clever animal. It is usually compared to a smart
Year of the Monkey Read More »
I’m pretty sure everyone knows who Nero was — he was the emperor who “fiddled while Rome burned” — although whether he actually fiddled or simply procrastinated while the great fire of Rome razed most of the city to the ground is open to dispute. But everyone pretty much agrees that Nero was a fairly
While Rome Burned…. Read More »
1066 is a date that tends to stick in my mind. It’s a significant date in British history, because it’s the year of the Battle of Hastings, when the Anglo-Saxons were defeated, and England came under the control of the Normans. This is also the start of the Medieval period. Most of the Anglo-Saxons became
A Short-Lived Reign Read More »
Silent Night is probably one of the world’s most famous and beloved Christmas carol. There is an awe and majesty in the tune that really fits with the lyrics, and if a really good singer is performing the carol solo, it can send shivers down your back. If you’ve ever witnessed the first snowfall of
Thirty-five years ago today, John Lennon was shot dead by an unbalanced man named Mark David Chapman, who shot him four times in the back outside his New York apartment, then sat and waited for the police to arrive, and read The Catcher in the Rye, which he said was his statement. The photo, right,
Strawberry Fields Forever. Read More »
Within a couple of weeks of arriving in Canada, once the almost permanent headache that came from concentrating so hard on the funny accents had gone away, I came to a startling conclusion. Now that I was in North America, I was free to read and write the wildly different types of romances that you
The Arthurian Romance With A Funny Title Read More »
There were two major influences that drove me as I wrote Heart of Vengeance, one of them positive, the other horribly negative…but I’ll get to that one in a minute. The positive one was an old 1952 movie that I must have watched three or four times growing up. There was only one TV station
The Good Story, the Bad Story and My Story Read More »
Salisbury Cathedral was consecrated 757 years ago today, in 1258. That’s a long time ago, especially in people terms. In 1258, King Henry III was on the throne, England, along with Europe, was heading into the last failed Crusade to Jerursalem, when Acre would be lost once more. There were still knights and kings and
A Very Old Building Read More »