Blades and Banter, the postscript

Big thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday evening! It was a privilege to be invited into your computer screens and I hope you enjoyed it. When I finally worked out how to read the comments, they were a delight. Hopefully nobody ran screaming from the room at the gory bits (unfortunately when you let … Continue reading Blades and Banter, the postscript

Blades and Banter – in conversation with Ben Kane

Looking forward to a Saturday evening chat with fellow "Roman" author Ben Kane on 23 January! We'll be safely Zooming from our own homes and I've been assured that despite the title, weapons won't be necessary. So instead of sharpening my nonexistent sword I've bought a new webcam, and it's worked! I no longer look … Continue reading Blades and Banter – in conversation with Ben Kane

Eboracum 2019

Home from another fantastic Roman Festival in York, and huge thanks to everyone who made it possible - organisers, re-enactors, performers, fellow-scribes and of course to the many visitors, without whom we'd all have been very lonely. In previous years I've put up plenty of photos of men on the march, and they do look … Continue reading Eboracum 2019

“We have to hope that our characters will forgive us…”

"...because we're doing the best that we can." Margaret George, Historical Novel Society conference, 2016. I've never been to the Historical Novel Society conference before, but after last weekend I'm wondering why. It was splendid. If you want to read a well thought-out blog piece about it, there's one in the Times Literary Supplement. If … Continue reading “We have to hope that our characters will forgive us…”