L.A. Smith's Blog, page 3

Review:Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

In the Beginning

Back in 2004, when Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was first released, I knew it was a book I had to read. Susanna Clarke’s tale of two magicians in 19th-century England was a book tailor-made for my tastes. A historical fantasy set in a real-world Earth, a long, complex tale that quickly achieved critical acclaim and eventually was long listed for the Man Booker Prize and won the 2005 Hugo Award for the best novel. I couldn’t wait to read it.

I love the strong simplicity of t...

Review: Jade City, by Fonda Lee

Towards the end of 2021 I picked up Jade City (published 2017) at the recommendation of author Suzannah Rowntree. I’d been disappointed by many of the books I read last year, and was wary of diving into another book that would leave me unimpressed. But the concept sounded cool, so in I went.I’m glad I did. Jade City turned out to be one of my best reads last year.

The Setting

I like the understated vibe of this cover.

The island of Kekon is a vaguely Japanese/Hong Kong look-alike, ruled by two ...

St Cuthbert: The Comb and Portable Altar

Alas, we are coming to the final instalment of my series on the Treasures of St. Cuthbert, which detail the objects found within the coffin of Northumbria’s famous saint.

In some ways I believe these last two are the best of the objects discovered, but they are by no means the most extravagant. In fact, they are extremely humble and commonplace objects: St. Cuthbert’s comb and portable altar.

The Portable Altar

The mission of the Celtic monks was one of evangelism. Aidan, the first bishop of LIn...

2022, Here We Come!

At the start of a new year, I do like to take a moment to reflect on the year past and what I have planned for the next one. I don’t hold these goals too tightly, and I don’t beat myself up over them if I miss them, but I do like to have some thought in mind of things I want to accomplish. So, in 2022, I want to:

Publish Choice

I’m going through the last round of edits on the third (and final) book of my historical fantasy trilogy. I’m also getting all the incidentals worked up, too, like updati...

Best of 2021

2020 started out with such promise, didn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I really thought we had seen the worst of COVID and that by spring of 2021 life would be pretty much back to normal. Sigh.

I will admit, summer was pretty good, but here in Alberta fall brought us a vicious fifth wave of the disease, and for the first time it hit really close to home. Like, right on me, lol. Yup, despite being double-vaccinated and following all the public health recommendations, I got Covid in the last h...

COVER REVEAL!!

I’m so excited to finally show off the cover of Book Three of The Traveller’s Path. This is the final book of the trilogy, and I’m taking my time to make sure I get it right. A couple of weeks ago my newsletter subscribers got the first glimpse of the cover, and now I’m revealing it to the world. Of course, along with the cover, you also get the title!

The Crows take Center Stage

Ta-DAH! 

My original idea for the book covers was to have the ravens get closer and closer to the foreground to ill...

St. Cuthbert’s Grave: The Stole and Maniple

It’s hard to believe that I have written four posts on the treasures of St. Cuthbert’s grave, and there is still more to write about. So far we have looked at the Gospel book, the cross, and the coffin. Today I want to highlight another unique Anglo-Saxon treasure: the beautifully embroidered stole and maniple found in St. Cuthbert’s coffin.

A stole is an ecclesiastical vestment, worn by clergy. It is like a long scarf, and is usually made of silk. It is worn over the shoulder or around the neck...

Battles of Anglo-Saxon England: Hatfield Chase, AD 633

It’s been a while since I added to this ongoing series on the battles of Anglo-Saxon England, so I thought it was time to return to it, with a look at the Battle of Hatfield Chase.

This was an extremely important battle, featuring the most powerful kings in England and one significant up-and-comer, and it laid the ground for the political landscape that followed for decades to come.

As with all things Anglo-Saxon, there is a lot we don’t know about this battle, especially where, exactly, it was ...

Interview: Tim Standish

Today I have the privilege of inviting another author to my blog. Tim Standish is the author of The Sterling Directive, a fun alternative history novel set in a steampunkish Victorian London. Disgraced Army officer Charles Maddox is given a chance to redeem his reputation by assisting a shadowy organization in digging out the truth of the Ripper murders. I loved this book, and it was great fun to interview Tim about it. If you want to connect with Tim, you can follow him on Twitter @timstandishU...

St. Cuthbert’s Grave: The Cross

In this series about St. Cuthbert’s grave, I have looked at two treasures so far: the Gospel Book and the coffin. Today I am going to examine a third: the cross.

I’ve detailed before the long and arduous tale of St. Cuthbert’s remains, so I won’t go into it here. Look up my previous posts if you are new to this series! Suffice it to say, poor St. Cuthbert didn’t exactly enjoy a peaceful rest. His coffin was opened numerous times and carried all over northern England before finally being interred...