We are history

No, I’m not warning of an imminent apocalypse!  That’s the title of a piece I’ve written as a guest blogger of Alison Morton (no relation), which appears today here

Alison Morton

 

Alison is a historian; she was my blog guest on May 11 – see here.

Her alternate history Roma Nova novels are becoming very popular, as I’ve mentioned. Her website is packed with fascinating details. Please pop over there and enjoy.

 
The impetus for the piece was to discuss how history affected my novel writing. The article barely scratched the surface. Many of my short stories have a historical bent, too – whether that’s WWII, the English Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the conflict in Bosnia and so on.  History informs the present and to a large extent makes us who we are.

In Write a Western in 30 Days, there's chapter 4 that deals with Theme and ideas. Here, apart from discussing emotional response and taglines, I offer up about ten pages of ideas for stories, ranging over a variety of subjects - railroads, mining, pioneers, townships, ranchers, soldiers, women, and the Civil War.  In Bullets for a Ballot, the story revolves around the emancipation of women in Wyoming.

 

Amazon UK here and here

Amazon COM here and here

In Spanish Eye, Leon Cazador finds history touches upon his cases - such as the treasure of the Knights Templar in 'Relic Hunters', the Spanish Civil War in 'Grave Concerns', and the Tiananmen Square killings of 1989 in 'Dragon Lady'.

Amazon UK here

Amazon COM here