July 9, 2007

There ARE rules, y'know

"#14. As the male author of a naval or military adventure series begins to age, instances of the hero successfully cuckolding an old fool become less frequent."

Yes, there are just too many rules for an author of historical fiction to consider. Sarah's Bookarama has neatly compiled Alan Fisk's All-Purpose Rules for Writing Historical Fiction/Writing Ripping Yarns.

Authors might also want to review Reading Matter's Rules for Classical-Set Fiction, also courtesy of Bookarama.


Quintus Honorius Romanus aka Taurus, Thracian fighter

The Roman History Reading Group recently held a live online chat with
James Duffy, author of The Fight for Rome
(publication date September '07).

Taurus
, the hero of the Gladiators of the Empire series, is cited as an exemplary Thracian fighter. Here's the guest "editor" pictured at last year's Castra Romana, an Imperial Army Encampment re-enactment held in South Carolina.