Ask the Author: Paul Burnette
Answered Questions (9)
Paul Burnette
No, I have not read it
Paul Burnette
Cornwell's Uhtred and Aethelflaed are up there, but Randolph's Sihtric and Ceridwen of The Circle of Ceridwen saga tie with Teresa Grant's Malcolm and Suzanne of The Berkeley Square Affair (one of several books featuring this formidable pair) for first place. Honorable mention goes to Elisabeth Storrs' Vel Mastarna and Cecilia of The Wedding Shroud and The Golden Dice.
Paul Burnette
Yes, there's pretty graphic sex in all of the Saxon Tales series. Not so many depictions of rape as portrayals of a man and a woman discovering love, most pretty tasteful, but still graphic enough to advise you to read the book yourself before you make the decision. Eleven is right on the cusp of puberty, but without knowing your grandson, I'd say wait a year. There is a tv series available on Netflix which covers the first two books in the series, The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horseman. Another concern is what Cornwell is probably best known for -- his battle scenes. VERY graphic violence, but historically accurate in their detailed depiction of the shield wall's gore and savagery. And last, our hero Uhtred, though fighting on Christian Alfred's side against the pagan Danish invaders, makes fun of so many Christian practices and beliefs, that some readers have been shocked by his observations and attitude. I'd say again, read it first, enjoy it, and then think if grandson is ready for all that. Don't underestimate the boy at all.
Paul Burnette
A writer can write about two kinds of things: your own experiences, or the archetypes. That's what a professor taught me years ago. I think that our experiences intersect the archetypal patterns over and over, and that's where a writer ends up, at the intersections. It's how those intersections take on meaning for others as well as the writer.
Paul Burnette
I thought my answer was going to be , "It's something in life you finally are in complete control of," but then I remembered how Hanavel took over, just hijacked the course of things in Bronze and Stones, and then I admitted that Ulen had done the same thing for his side of that story, so, really, I have no idea except that you have to accept the discipline of the situations that your imagination creates. Not sure there's any sense to this answer at all.
Paul Burnette
Listening to PBS reporting on Amesbury Archer discovery in England.
Paul Burnette
Reading. Watching documentaries on TV. Listening to people I know and watching them. Surfing the Net.
Paul Burnette
A sequel to Bronze and Stones, with Ulen and Saille on an adventure as they grow up, overcome serious obstacles, and encounter some amazing situations and places.
Paul Burnette
I write around it. Just skip that part and go to something I'm ready to write. Later, when I go back to the skipped part, I am ready to get that part filled in. Then re-read and check for 'flow.'
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