Writing can be a lonely job, but I no longer lack companionship in this endeavor … Earlier this week, the official six-year-old daughter of Fresh-scraped Vellum decided she really, really needed a dog before school started for the fall. This was actually something she had been lobbying for the entire summer; she even created a song, “I…
This summer has been huge for George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. First, HBO made Martin’s premiere novel in the series, A Games of Thrones, into a ten-episode television series that concluded this past June and has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards. In addition, HBO has renewed the series for another…
This has nothing to do with historical fiction (at least that set in the Middle Ages) or fantasy fiction of any type. But for all the aspiring writers out there, Kathryn Stockett, the author of the bestselling novel The Help, wrote an article about how she was rejected by 60 literary agents before finding one…
I recently returned from the Caribbean, which made me think of my favorite historical novel about pirates, Michael Crichton’s Pirate Latitudes (okay, it’s the only historical novel about pirates I’ve read other than Treasure Island; in fact, I’m not even aware of other pirate novels, although I’m sure there are plenty). The novel was discovered…
One of the questions I faced when writing my first novel was whether to pitch it as historical fiction or historical fantasy. The novel is set in Medieval Europe, involves a number of historical figures, and concerns several historic events. That said, I concluded it could only be pitched as historical fantasy because of supernatural…
It’s an unfortunately somber day at Fresh-scraped Vellum. A dear member of my wife’s family passed away, so the post I had planned to write will have to wait. For times like this, one work of fiction comes to mind above all others — Richard Matheson’s What Dreams May Come. If you haven’t read this novel, I…
My post from a few weeks ago about Puzzle-like Plots made me think of one of my favorite books in that vein, Thomas Wheeler’s The Arcanum. While I prefer historical-based fiction set earlier in history (especially the Middle Ages), The Arcanum (which is set in 1919) concerns the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish text…
On this day in the year 1298, the English and Scots fought the Battle of Falkirk – the famous battle where the army of King Edward Longshanks defeated William Wallace and his rebel Scotsmen. In the movie Braveheart, it’s the battle where Wallace is almost killed before he’s dragged from the field by Robert the…
As I near the point where I must decide whether to try the traditional publishing route of query letters and agent pitches one more time or venture into the growing world of indie publishing, I am focused on the ongoing debate between these two sides — a debate that’s starting to look more like the…
This month on the SFWA Blog, author Terry Bisson offers 60 Rules for Short SF and Fantasy. I found Rule #3 particularly interesting: “The SF reader is a gamer who brings problem-solving intelligence to the story. This is the SF writer’s one great advantage. Use it.” While I don’t write science fiction, this got me thinking about…
It’s a reference to the art of bookmaking during the Middle Ages. Back then, manuscripts were made from prepared calfskin called vellum or sheepskin called parchment, and making either was an arduous task. First, the skins had to be soaked for days in limewater before they were stretched on a frame and then scraped free of…