Tagged: writing
My Interview with Henry Venmore-Rowland
Henry Venmore-Rowland is the author of The Last Caesar, a book about the infamous Year of the Four Emperors, told from the point of view of Aulus Caecina Severus (later dubbed Aulus Caecina Alienus). The Last Caesar will be published by Transworld on June 21st and will be available via Amazon. I have to say that I’m pretty excited about this upcoming book because it has tapped into an ignored period of Roman history, at least for historical fiction writers. Henry V-R was kind enough to agree to an interview, so read on to see our discussion about accuracy in historical fiction, the road to his publication and inviting Cicero over for dinner.
Of all of the fascinating figures in Roman history, why did you choose Aulus Caecina Severus?
It was a case of story first, character second. After starting a novel in a completely different period, I decided to come back to my comfort zone of Rome. The trouble is there are lots of great authors who have done/are doing Rome so well, it was tricky to find an exciting story that hadn’t really been done. Then in the back of my mind I remembered something called the Year of the Four Emperors, and surely there had to be a great story there. After a quick read of everything from Tacitus to Wikipedia, I found the perfect narrator for the events in Caecina. He had an extraordinary knack of picking the winning side, and the fact that we know next to nothing about the man before AD 68 meant that I had the freedom to give him a backstory that told you something about the character and it gave me room to play with the relationship between his friend the future general Agricola, as well as his wife Salonina.
My 100th Book Review
As you may or may not know, tomorrow I will be posting my 100th review! It’s been less than four months and I can’t believe I’ve already reached 100 book reviews. When I started The Mad Reviewer, I never imagined I’d get very far, but I’m happy with where I am now. And who do I have to thank? My lovely readers of course! It’s your wonderful comments and our long discussions that keep me motivated to continue with my blog. So give yourselves a pat on the back and turn up on Saturday to see my 100th book review.
My Interview with Krystal Wade
Krystal Wade is the author of Wilde’s Fire, one of the few fantasy books that I love. So imagine my delight when she agreed to do an interview! For all you folks out there that might want to buy Wilde’s Fire, it’s coming out on May 13 of this year. Go ahead and pre-order it; you won’t regret it.
The fantasy world you’ve created is definitely one of the more unique ones. Where did you get the idea from?
Wilde’s Fire started off as an image of a girl in a dense, green forest, reaching out her finger to touch something shimmering. The image of this girl wouldn’t go away, so I decided to write. When it came time to figure out where this shimmering thing (the portal) was leading her to, I was clueless . . . in the dark, if you will. I couldn’t see anything in my head, so I made Encardia a world ravaged by Darkness! Hey, if you can’t see it, make it dark! 😉 Continue reading
Latest YA News
Well, I was right! Some ambitious director has picked up the rights to Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series. According to Wikipedia, it is to be directed by Burr Steers and it will be a trilogy. The first film will attempt to combine Emperor: The Gates of Rome and Emperor: The Death of Kings. This actually makes sense because the first book is very slow and could easily be condensed and added to the second book. Apparently this has been news since May 20, 2010, but I just found out about it and I wanted to spread the word. So, Conn Iggulden fans, you’re in luck! The movie will apparently be called Emperor: Young Caesar, which is a title so horrible it makes me want to gag. Could it be more predictable? Oh well, with the name “Caesar” in the title, it will draw a larger crowd.
Blood of Eden by Julie Kagwa was just released on April 24 as well. So if you love Julie Kagawa, or real blood-sucking, human-eating, stone-cold killing machines that don’t sparkle, check it out. I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to get my hands on it as soon as humanly possible. For more information, check out the official site here.
Kristin Cashore is an amazing writer and the third book in her Seven Kingdoms series is coming out on May 1 of this year! I mentioned this before, but after it got an excellent review from a reviewer who managed to obtain an ARC, I am even more anxious to read it.
Accuracy in Historical Fiction
As many of you know, I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to Conn Iggulden’s books because his incessant need to mess with history is infuriating. It happens more and is more noticeable in his Emperor series, which annoys me to no end because some of the changes are not justified. So, in this article I will discuss when writers need to be accurate and when it’s okay to mess with history.
I don’t know anyone who went to see The Mummy (1999) for its historical accuracy. But that’s how cinema is so different from literature: in the former, accuracy is a bonus while people expect it in the latter. Authors should not betray the bond of trust between them and their readers or their readers (especially reviewers like myself) will eat them alive. Unlike The Mummy, a novel about the same thing would be ridiculed for having five canopic jars instead of four, giving Seti a beard and including the idiotic idea that someone can be mummified alive and survive more than the first day. Basically, if you’re going to write historical fiction be sure, if nothing else, to get the basic facts of the time period right. Continue reading