It’s the moment that every writer both looks forward to and dreads in equal measure; deciding upon and somehow either creating, commissioning or crossing-your fingers and hoping an inbuilt software template can create a good book cover. Book covers are important because unless you are Stephen King (I’m 50% there as I have the right… Continue reading The pitfalls of picking a book cover
Tag: history
Words we still use from Shakespeare!
This week marks both the death and supposed birth of the greatest writer of the English language, William Shakespeare. He was born in 1564 and died in 1616 and whilst much about him is sometimes doubted such as his birthday, sexuality or even actual identity; what can’t be questioned is the fact that he gave… Continue reading Words we still use from Shakespeare!
April 23rd is Saint George’s Day – The Patron Saint of England & dragon slayer extraordinaire
Wednesday is April 23rd and St. George’s Day which is remembered annually on the day of his death. Whilst his famous dragon slaying exploits are the stuff of legend, Saint George himself was born in the Roman-Palestine town of Lydda around 275AD. Both his parents were Greek and George himself served in the Roman Army.… Continue reading April 23rd is Saint George’s Day – The Patron Saint of England & dragon slayer extraordinaire
The English Landscape Garden
Given that it’s Easter time, the traditional beginning to the summer season in the U.K., it means that I’m once again able to enjoy the countless country gardens around and about. Many have seen our gardens on various TV shows and movies and they set the image of what people around the world imagine Britain… Continue reading The English Landscape Garden
Legends of the Blood Moon
Much of North America is currently under the gaze of a Blood Moon. We know it today to be formed when light passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, bathing the moon in an eerie red glow. Whilst today’s event is the first of several in the next few years might be either incredible or foreboding depending… Continue reading Legends of the Blood Moon
The real-life Band of Brothers: A good news WW1 story!
A strange thing happened this week whilst researching for my upcoming WW1 book, I came across a good news story! In a war that saw much of an entire generation of young men lost forever, the story of the Calpin brothers is even more amazing as not just one or two joined up but 10… Continue reading The real-life Band of Brothers: A good news WW1 story!
The 10 worst MPs of all time.
The British Parliament is composed of two Houses, the Upper House or House of Lords and the Lower House also known as the House of Commons as it houses the Members of Parliament or MPs elected by the common people. Surprisingly or maybe not as we in the U.K. don’t allow personal use of firearms,… Continue reading The 10 worst MPs of all time.
Bitten to death by a dead mans head: The unfortunate, deserving & true tale of Sigurd Eysteinsson
One of the slightly odd pleasures I had when I was studying at university was learning of various terrible ways people died or executed. To some degree this is normal for many historians but as I majored in amongst others, Mongol history, then it might be clear that I had more deaths than usual to… Continue reading Bitten to death by a dead mans head: The unfortunate, deserving & true tale of Sigurd Eysteinsson
The Book Thief
Yesterday I went to the cinema as I often do on a Tuesday morning, one of the benefits of working from home. Usually the cinema is empty with the staff outnumbering the movie-goers but not yesterday. The cinema is exactly 12 minutes walk away and there are usually 15 minutes of trailers before the film… Continue reading The Book Thief
The tragic genius of Vincent van Gogh
One of the things I was looking forward to when visiting Paris though was not the over-hyped Mona Lisa but the works of Vincent van Gogh in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris, one of the largest museums of modern art in the world. Van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist painter. His work is nearly always… Continue reading The tragic genius of Vincent van Gogh
Stephen Liddell 