Random Friday
Not sure if I’ll be able to post from somebody else’s computer, so I’m scheduling this ahead of time. I was planning on discussing my readings anyway, so here goes. Last week I finished Gisborne, Book of Pawns and almost at the same time got the Writing World newsletter that had two articles on historical fiction – one from Moira Allen and the other by Victoria Grossak. Both discuss about accuracy in historical fiction.
What I had from my own experience is: never read a book (or watch a movie) set in a time period I have thoroughly researched and of which I have a fairly clear idea. My vision is probably different from the view of the author, and it would spoil the fun. So no more fiction set at the end of the 12th century for me! 
But if you haven’t studied the Middle Ages and are up for a romantic story with an adventurous trip through 12th century Europe, please do try Gisborne, Book of Pawns. I liked it, but not enough to check the sequel. My problem – I’m not too fond of first person stories and I’ve studied that particular historical time, so I have a different vision of it. And I’m not particularly romantic either, so in spite of the many events, it felt like a slow read for me.
When I started researching that particular time, I thought I should read more fiction set then, but my reading time was (and still is) limited, so I stuck to old ballads (available on Project Guttenberg) and medieval chronicles. I read some 19th century depictions of it (including one that was so historically incorrect I laughed all the way through it – and Sir Walter Scott is a novelist, not an historian, so I’m baffled as why he’s considered an expert of the Middle Ages. He wasn’t. He wrote fiction), but wasn’t too happy with them.
Kindgom of Heaven was so historically incorrect that it turned me off Ridley Scott doing historical movies. So yeah, this goes for movies as well. The only historically correct (because it had a Medievist behind it, Franco Cardini) is The Kinghts Who Made The Quest – but there are no women there. So when I wrote my own historical novel (still in the drawer, for those who’ve been following me from the beginning), I had to make up stuff for my maiden. And she still has less room that the two knights – wasn’t sure what she could do with herself in a male-dominated world!
Now I can go back to writing historical fiction and watch historical movies – as long as they’re not set between 1180 and 1215 (Magna Carta, in case you were wondering). I haven’t studied the other centuries as thoroughly as the end of the 12th, so I can be pleasantly surprised again – and won’t notice if the author takes a poetic license!
Coming back to the 21st century and Steve Job’s Mighty Mac, D2D has made Star Minds available on the i-bookstore in a couple of days. I’ll be adding the links to the US store, so if you’re anywhere else in the world, you’ll have to look them up. I assume that if you buy on i-tunes, you have tamed Mighty Mac (unlike me) and can find your way around it! 
Technological Angel i-bookstore US
Mind Link i-bookstore US
Slave Traders i-bookstore US
I’m hearing there are problems with B&N PubIt!/Nook Press, but as I can’t go direct, I’ll let my American friends to worry about that…
I took the train for Torino having finished the first Snippet – Ker-ris’s wedding. And I’m doing some drawings of the other characters – I did a first attempt at drawin Lin-sun, but I wasn’t too happy with it, so I redid her. But I will color them all when I come back, so next week I might send you to my DeviantART gallery for some new art!
Have a wonderful weekend!
