Jess Steven Hughes's Blog, page 19
December 26, 2014
COMING IN 2015 THE WOLF OF BRITANNIA PART 1 & 2
COMING IN 2015! THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE PART 1 & 2, the exciting prequels to my action/packed historical set in ancient Rome, THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE. This is the story of the legendary Celtic British King, Caratacus, who the Romans when they invaded Britain in 43 A.D. Part 1 deals with his life as a young prince struggling for power and control of the southern British kingdoms. Part 2 deals with his defense of Britannia when the Roman his homeland. This is a work of fiction but I use what facts are available. To be published as a trade paperback by Sunbury Press, a traditional small press (not a vanity press), and as an ebook on Kindle and Nook.
Excerpt from The Sign of the Eagle
Macha's eyes flared with sudden anger. "I understand Titus's confinement better than you will ever know, Senator! His cell is smaller than the one I spent time in as a child in Tullianum Prison. I may be freer than I was at seven, but I'm still confined to a woman's place in this Roman world. I've never tasted the freedoms enjoyed by my Celtic sisters in Britannia—but I will!" (The Sign of the Eagle).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-s...
http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Eagle-Jess...
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/The-...
http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/hist...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sign-Eagle-Je...
http://www.amazon.de/Sign-Eagle-Jess-...
http://www.amazon.fr/Sign-Eagle-Jess-...
http://www.amazon.it/Sign-Eagle-Jess-...
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Sign-Eagle-Je...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-s...
http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Eagle-Jess...
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/The-...
http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/hist...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sign-Eagle-Je...
http://www.amazon.de/Sign-Eagle-Jess-...
http://www.amazon.fr/Sign-Eagle-Jess-...
http://www.amazon.it/Sign-Eagle-Jess-...
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Sign-Eagle-Je...
December 16, 2014
Latest 5 Star Review from Amazon The Sign of the Eagle
Check out the latest FIVE STAR REVIEW of THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Eagle-Jess...
http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Eagle-Jess...
Revisions Completed to the First Edit by Sunbury Press of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. II
I finished the revision of the editor's first edit of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. II today. I emailed it to the editor and she responded that she would review and send it back to me soon for the second. Revising the first edit of Vol. II was much tougher than Vol. I. Anyway, I can concentrate for awhile on The Broken Lance until I receive the second edit for review.
Blog Post
THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE Makes a Great Holiday Gift
If you have not purchased a copy for yourself, or have a friend or relative who likes to read historical fiction, a copy of my historical novel, The Sign of the Eagle, will make a wonderful Christmas gift. You can order a copy from one of the below links or from your local brick and mortar store--you still have time!
Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sunbury Press, Amazon-UK, Amazon-De, Amazon-Fr, Amazon-It, Amazon-Jp
Update - The Wolf of Britannia Vol. I
Last week I received an email copy of the editor's second revision of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. 1. She said, "We have a really good product and everything is looking great." There were only a few minor changes that I needed to make. After reviewing the copy, I made the suggested changes (I also found a few words missing, vital to the story line which I added) and emailed the copy back to the editor. Once I have finished with the editing/revision of Vol. II, she will review again and send it back for any fine tune-up. Once that is completed, she will submit both volumes to the publisher for formatting. I should complete my revision of Vol. II in a couple more weeks. I have had to add to new scenes and a new chapter--this has taken more time than I had expected.
The Roman Saturnalia
Saturnalia was a week-long Roman holiday that took place from December 17th to the 23rd. It was celebrated in honor of Saturn as a harvest god, and the Romans held a public feast in the God's honor. Soon it became one of Rome's most popular festivals. It was marked by tomfoolery and a reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places, much like the Lord of Misrule in later Christian celebrations.
The holiday was a time to eat, drink, and be merry. The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colorful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with (a pretense of) disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. Yet the reversal of the social order was mostly superficial; the banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slave, and they would prepare the masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it.
The customary greeting for the occasion is a "Io, Saturnalia!" --Io (pronounced "e-o") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn").
Searching for the tomb of Alexander the Great
The search for Alexander the Great’s tomb widens:
Team scans for possible burial sites as DNA tests on skeleton continue. Experts have opened the second phase of their excavation of the vast 4th-century BC tomb in Amphipolis, northern Greece. They hope it holds members of the ancient Macedonian royal family. The skeleton discovered in the tomb is still undergoing DNA analysis.
Reports suggest the tomb was built for a Macedonian general, but it's thought the skeleton may be Alexander the Great himself. Archaeologists will scan two hectares (five acres) of the vast mound to look for clues about what may lie beneath - hopefully more chambers.
By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE
Check the following link for more information
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetec...
If you have not purchased a copy for yourself, or have a friend or relative who likes to read historical fiction, a copy of my historical novel, The Sign of the Eagle, will make a wonderful Christmas gift. You can order a copy from one of the below links or from your local brick and mortar store--you still have time!
Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sunbury Press, Amazon-UK, Amazon-De, Amazon-Fr, Amazon-It, Amazon-Jp
Update - The Wolf of Britannia Vol. I
Last week I received an email copy of the editor's second revision of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. 1. She said, "We have a really good product and everything is looking great." There were only a few minor changes that I needed to make. After reviewing the copy, I made the suggested changes (I also found a few words missing, vital to the story line which I added) and emailed the copy back to the editor. Once I have finished with the editing/revision of Vol. II, she will review again and send it back for any fine tune-up. Once that is completed, she will submit both volumes to the publisher for formatting. I should complete my revision of Vol. II in a couple more weeks. I have had to add to new scenes and a new chapter--this has taken more time than I had expected.
The Roman Saturnalia
Saturnalia was a week-long Roman holiday that took place from December 17th to the 23rd. It was celebrated in honor of Saturn as a harvest god, and the Romans held a public feast in the God's honor. Soon it became one of Rome's most popular festivals. It was marked by tomfoolery and a reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places, much like the Lord of Misrule in later Christian celebrations.
The holiday was a time to eat, drink, and be merry. The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colorful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with (a pretense of) disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. Yet the reversal of the social order was mostly superficial; the banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slave, and they would prepare the masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it.
The customary greeting for the occasion is a "Io, Saturnalia!" --Io (pronounced "e-o") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn").
Searching for the tomb of Alexander the Great
The search for Alexander the Great’s tomb widens:
Team scans for possible burial sites as DNA tests on skeleton continue. Experts have opened the second phase of their excavation of the vast 4th-century BC tomb in Amphipolis, northern Greece. They hope it holds members of the ancient Macedonian royal family. The skeleton discovered in the tomb is still undergoing DNA analysis.
Reports suggest the tomb was built for a Macedonian general, but it's thought the skeleton may be Alexander the Great himself. Archaeologists will scan two hectares (five acres) of the vast mound to look for clues about what may lie beneath - hopefully more chambers.
By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE
Check the following link for more information
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetec...
October 24, 2014
Latest Blog Post
Book Signing Successes
During the months of September and October I conducted very successful book signings of The Sign of the Eagle at Barnes & Noble, Blossom Hill, San Jose, California (September) and at Hastings Books, Music & Video stores in Montana (October - Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls and Missoula). Met lots of great people from arond the USA and from several countries including China, France, India, Peru, and Russia. This will probably be the last signings I do for this book as it has been out for more than two years. By January, 2015, my next novel, The Wolf of Britannia, should be available from Sunbury Press. When that occurs I will set up signings for that book. However, I will include copies of The Sign of the Eagle at those events as well.
The Wolf of Britannia: Update
A couple of weeks ago I received the editor's reviewed copy of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. II (a new title for this volume is being considered). There were quite a few changes and additions she wanted me to make. After a flurry of emails back and forth with my editor, we reached a compromise on what I should add. I mentioned to her I had originally deleted a chapter that I used near the end of the novel showing a newly married Macha and her husband Titus, a newly commissioned officer in the Roman army, visiting Caratacus before heading to Germany for his first post. The editor had wanted to see more of a relationship with Caratacus's family in Italy before ending the story. I emailed a copy of this chapter and my proposal to re-enter it. She liked the chapter and so with only a few modifications I will re-use it. I hated deleting it to begin with and glad I had kept the earlier drafts. I am also doing the same with a prophecy by Caratacus's Druid priest, Havgan, which I had also deleted. She liked that concept as well. She agreed to drop some of the other items that I explained weren't necessary to add to the story. The rewrite should now go a little faster. Already finished the additional changes to chapter one.
Steven King on the Future of Books - A Must Read Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09...
Stephen King: 'I Think Books Are Going To Be Here For a Long, Long Time.'
At one time, Stephen King was on the cutting edge of ebook technology as one of the first big-name writers to release his works digitally. But for all the "bells and whistles" ebooks have, King says, nothing will be able to replace a physical book.
King joined HuffPost Live on Wednesday to chat about his upcoming film, "A Good Marriage," though the conversation turned to future of the book industry.
"They're not like compact discs or even phonograph records. These are things that had their day and they were replaced," King told host Josh Zepps. "You can say that you've seen the same progression with books in that e-books have a lot of nice bells and whistles ... But the big difference is that audio recordings of music have only been around for, I'm going to say, 120 years at the most. Books have been around for three, four centuries ... There's a deeply implanted desire and understanding and wanting of book that isn't there with music. It's a deeper well of human experience. Here's another thing: if you drop a book into the toilet, you can fish it out, dry it off and read that book. But if you drop your Kindle in the toilet, you're pretty well done.
King has been at the forefront of the ebooks debate as one of Amazon's most vocal critics. King, along with nearly 900 other authors, signed a letter in support of publisher Hachette, who is in a revenue-negotiation struggle with the online retail giant about ebook profits.
To see the video for his complete comments, go to the above Huffington Post site above.
The Sign of the Eagle Book Sales Update
According to my publisher, Sunbury Press, The Sign of the Eagle, was number in sales for historical novels for the month of September and number three.
The Broken Lance Update
Although I have been busy with book signings and the revisions of The Wolf of Britannia, I have managed to find a little time to work on my historical, The Broken Lance. This consists of primarily presenting chapters that I have already written for review by members of The Spokane novelist Group at our bi-weekly sessions. I won't be doing much more than that until the final revisions of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. I & II are published.
During the months of September and October I conducted very successful book signings of The Sign of the Eagle at Barnes & Noble, Blossom Hill, San Jose, California (September) and at Hastings Books, Music & Video stores in Montana (October - Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls and Missoula). Met lots of great people from arond the USA and from several countries including China, France, India, Peru, and Russia. This will probably be the last signings I do for this book as it has been out for more than two years. By January, 2015, my next novel, The Wolf of Britannia, should be available from Sunbury Press. When that occurs I will set up signings for that book. However, I will include copies of The Sign of the Eagle at those events as well.
The Wolf of Britannia: Update
A couple of weeks ago I received the editor's reviewed copy of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. II (a new title for this volume is being considered). There were quite a few changes and additions she wanted me to make. After a flurry of emails back and forth with my editor, we reached a compromise on what I should add. I mentioned to her I had originally deleted a chapter that I used near the end of the novel showing a newly married Macha and her husband Titus, a newly commissioned officer in the Roman army, visiting Caratacus before heading to Germany for his first post. The editor had wanted to see more of a relationship with Caratacus's family in Italy before ending the story. I emailed a copy of this chapter and my proposal to re-enter it. She liked the chapter and so with only a few modifications I will re-use it. I hated deleting it to begin with and glad I had kept the earlier drafts. I am also doing the same with a prophecy by Caratacus's Druid priest, Havgan, which I had also deleted. She liked that concept as well. She agreed to drop some of the other items that I explained weren't necessary to add to the story. The rewrite should now go a little faster. Already finished the additional changes to chapter one.
Steven King on the Future of Books - A Must Read Article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09...
Stephen King: 'I Think Books Are Going To Be Here For a Long, Long Time.'
At one time, Stephen King was on the cutting edge of ebook technology as one of the first big-name writers to release his works digitally. But for all the "bells and whistles" ebooks have, King says, nothing will be able to replace a physical book.
King joined HuffPost Live on Wednesday to chat about his upcoming film, "A Good Marriage," though the conversation turned to future of the book industry.
"They're not like compact discs or even phonograph records. These are things that had their day and they were replaced," King told host Josh Zepps. "You can say that you've seen the same progression with books in that e-books have a lot of nice bells and whistles ... But the big difference is that audio recordings of music have only been around for, I'm going to say, 120 years at the most. Books have been around for three, four centuries ... There's a deeply implanted desire and understanding and wanting of book that isn't there with music. It's a deeper well of human experience. Here's another thing: if you drop a book into the toilet, you can fish it out, dry it off and read that book. But if you drop your Kindle in the toilet, you're pretty well done.
King has been at the forefront of the ebooks debate as one of Amazon's most vocal critics. King, along with nearly 900 other authors, signed a letter in support of publisher Hachette, who is in a revenue-negotiation struggle with the online retail giant about ebook profits.
To see the video for his complete comments, go to the above Huffington Post site above.
The Sign of the Eagle Book Sales Update
According to my publisher, Sunbury Press, The Sign of the Eagle, was number in sales for historical novels for the month of September and number three.
The Broken Lance Update
Although I have been busy with book signings and the revisions of The Wolf of Britannia, I have managed to find a little time to work on my historical, The Broken Lance. This consists of primarily presenting chapters that I have already written for review by members of The Spokane novelist Group at our bi-weekly sessions. I won't be doing much more than that until the final revisions of The Wolf of Britannia, Vol. I & II are published.
October 13, 2014
Book Signing Follow-up
Book Signing Follow-up: I traveled through the beautiful Bitteroots & Rocky Mountains, where the Fall colors were in all their glory, to Missoula (home of the University of Montana) and Bozeman (home of Montana State University), Montana, where I conducted two more outstanding book signings of my historical, The Sign of the Eagle @ Hastings Books, Music & Video stores. Met lots of interesting people, handed out fliers and received many compliments on my niece, Artist Katrina Brennan's painting of the book cover which I had on display.
I want to thank Missoula Book Manager, John Grossman & associate, Allison, and Bozeman Book Manager, Marve, for their assistance which contributed to two more successful book signings.
I want to thank Missoula Book Manager, John Grossman & associate, Allison, and Bozeman Book Manager, Marve, for their assistance which contributed to two more successful book signings.
October 9, 2014
Book Signing Reminder
Book Signing Reminder: I will sign copies of my historical, THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE, at the following Hastings Books, Music & Video stores this weekend:
1. 2501 Brooks St., Missoula, Montana, Friday, Oct. 10th, 3 - 8 pm.
2. 1601 W. Main St., Bozeman, Montana, Saturday, Oct. 11th, 12 - 7 pm.
Thank you for your support.
http://www.gohastings.com/product/BOO...
1. 2501 Brooks St., Missoula, Montana, Friday, Oct. 10th, 3 - 8 pm.
2. 1601 W. Main St., Bozeman, Montana, Saturday, Oct. 11th, 12 - 7 pm.
Thank you for your support.
http://www.gohastings.com/product/BOO...
October 6, 2014
Book Signing Follow-up
Book Signing Follow-up, 10/3-4/14 Hastings Books, Music & Videos, Butte & Great Falls, Montana. Traveled to "Big Sky" Country, Montana (crossed the Bitteroots, Safire, Big Belt & Rocky Mountains & criss-crossed the Clark Fork & Missouri Rivers in the process) this last Friday & Saturday to sign copies of my historical, THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE. I met a lot of fine people at both stores. The signing at the Butte Store was so-so as far as I was concern, not up to my standards, but management was very happy. On the other hand, the Great Falls event, which was an encore, was another sell-out.
I want to thank Butte store manager, Scott, and his associates and Great Falls store manager, Brook, and her associates for all their assistance.
Next Friday and Saturday, I will be signing @ Hastings stores in Missoula, MT (101014) and Bozeman, MT (101114). More details to follow later.
I want to thank Butte store manager, Scott, and his associates and Great Falls store manager, Brook, and her associates for all their assistance.
Next Friday and Saturday, I will be signing @ Hastings stores in Missoula, MT (101014) and Bozeman, MT (101114). More details to follow later.
October 2, 2014
Book Signing Reminder
Book Signing Double-Header. I will be signing copies of my historical, THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE, @ the following Hastings Books Music & Video stores the following weekend:
1. 2307 Harrison Ave., Butte, Montana, Friday, Oct. 3rd, 3 - 8 pm.
2. 726 10th Ave., South, Great Falls, Montana, Saturday, Oct. 4th, 12 - 7 pm.
http://www.gohastings.com/product/BOO...
1. 2307 Harrison Ave., Butte, Montana, Friday, Oct. 3rd, 3 - 8 pm.
2. 726 10th Ave., South, Great Falls, Montana, Saturday, Oct. 4th, 12 - 7 pm.
http://www.gohastings.com/product/BOO...
