The longstanding ability of the historical novel to transport the reader to the country of the past now coincides with a spreading desire to make that journey. How is it that reading fiction is arguably the best way to understand and apprehend our history? There are...

 There are many benefits to one’s personal development in writing. In general, I feel that writing cultivates worthy habits, behavior and characteristics. These are strong self-discipline, self-confidence, clarity of expression, and a constant awareness of what is...

Researching for background information is necessary. This is especially so if it is an historical novel where visits to archives and rare book libraries are in order. We may now benefit from the Internet, but it cannot provide everything. It was one thing for me to...

What moves the plot forward? The actions and reactions of the characters certainly have a lot to do with it. They might be reacting to events beyond their control; a conspiracy, a catastrophe, and so forth. Or, they could be driving the story forward, as happens in...

A novelist should be excited, a ‘thing of fevers and enthusiasms’, Ray Bradbury once wrote. How does this ‘fever’ come about? The source is a story you have a passion to tell, a story you must tell. Absent this, writing will be flat and aimless. This has led me to...

I have often been asked, ‘Why don’t you have a blog on your website as do other writers?’ Well, not often. Okay. Never. Still, there is a good reason to do so. I have written four nonfiction works - three published and one now in press. Another novel is now in...