When Sources Just Fall into Your Lap

Last night I was working on Flower of the Desert and writing a descriptive passage of the Crusaders first sighting Jerusalem. My sources were Benjamin of Tudela (a Jew traveling in the 12th century) and some maps of old Jerusalem that I had found on the Internet. Trouble is: the maps were all proving contradictory, and although Benjamin of Tudela had an adequate description of the city, I was having trouble visualizing it enough to make my reader visualize it.

This morning when I was perusing Facebook, I discovered that History Today has a new article up by John France titled "The Capture of Jerusalem." How could I pass that up? I clicked over to the article and about halfway through it found this:

In attacking Jerusalem the crusaders faced a formidable task. The city is set upon a steep spur dividing the Kidron valley, which falls away southwards towards the Dead Sea. To the east the Valley of Josaphat cuts an enormous gash between the city and the Mount of Olives, while to the West the Valley of Hinnon provides a similar if less dramatic protection. Apart from a level stretch of some 250-300 metres around the Zion Gate, the land before the southern wall falls sharply to the Kidron valley: it was here that the Count of Toulouse chose to mount his attack, but he faced a deep ditch between the wall and his camp. The most vulnerable aspect of the city is the northern wall, about a kilometre long, which is built well below the brow of the hill; here the rest of the army gathered. The whole city was surrounded by a wall, three stories high, studded with projecting towers; the relative vulnerability of the northern wall was protected by an outer wall and beyond it a ditch extending from the citadel, called the 'Tower of David' by Jaffa Gate on the west side, to the platform over the Valley of Josaphat at the north-east corner.

I love it when sources just fall into your lap. I guess I'll be rewriting that passage tonight, with a little help from John France and "The Capture of Jerusalem."

Siege and Capture of Jerusalem (1099)

The Black Prince and Joan of Kent: A Love Story

English Historical Fiction Authors is a great blog featuring a daily historical essay written by historical novelists whose work is primarily set in England. It also has a weekly giveaway of a historical novel by one of the participating authors. Today I have a blog post over at EHFA entitled "How Joan of Kent Became Princess of Wales."

Edward, the Black Prince, and Joan of Kent: a pair of star cross’d lovers that eventually came together in one of history’s true love matches. It took three marriages and over thirty years before Joan finally became the Princess of Wales, but if the chroniclers are to be believed, it was worth the wait.... (read more)

Flower of the Desert: First Chapter

Later this month my writers' group, The Inkblot Society, is going to give me feedback on the first chapter of my WIP. And since I'm sharing it with them, I thought I might as well share it with all of you too. Am I introducing the characters and the situation clearly enough? Does it make you want to read more? Feel free to give me your feedback in the comments section of this post.

Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred
By Rosanne E. Lortz

Chapter 1


The hole in the floor of the church grew deeper with each thrust of the soldiers’ spades. Twelve men, blessed with broad backs and brawny arms, had been digging in shifts since the light of dawn. It was now nearly vespers.

Over the last twelvemonth, the Church of St. Peter in Antioch had seen its share of abuse. First, the Mussulman governor had turned it into a stable for his horses. Now, the Crusaders, who had captured the city after a long and arduous siege, were tearing up the flagstones around the altar without any thought for the sanctity of the place. The pit was already shoulder-deep, and who knows how much longer they would have to dig?

While the twelve men grunted and toiled halfway underground, hundreds of observers watched impatiently. Row upon row of Crusaders lined the sanctuary. The lords and leading churchmen stood closest to the center and the lesser men-at-arms spilled out onto the porch and street outside. Every soldier who could be spared from manning the walls was there. The stifling air of June in the East left the spectators nearly as sweltering as the shovelers. The atmosphere was rank with sweat and anticipation.... (read more)

Life with Three Littles

Lately, I've been hearing this question a lot: "So, what's it like having three kids now?" Is there really an easy way to answer that?

Here are some pictures to give you a little taste of what it's like. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos--they're ones I took myself instead of getting them from my amazing-with-a-camera sister-in-law Amy.

Adam: "Look at the new toy Mom and Dad brought home from the hospital!"

How do you walk to church with three kids under one-and-a-half?

Climbing on the table is a "No"

Climbing on the piano keys is also a "No"...

...it's just a "No" I never thought I'd have to mention

Oliver plays dress up with the Barnard girls in Christy's sweater (AKA medieval chainmail?)

Oliver "helps" Mom make a batch of granola

Good stuff, huh?

Adam experiences the delight of fruit snacks

I love seeing this boy smile!

Marcus -- all wrapped up and nowhere to go

Oliver loves holding Marcus

We're just not so sure what Marcus thinks about it

Waiting for the Next in Series

There's something about reading a series that is so much more enticing than reading a standalone book. The end of a single book, especially if it's a good one, is always bittersweet. Why? Because the book over. Done. Finis. But the end of a book in a series gives you the excitement of looking forward to the next volume, and the hope it will be just as good as--or even better than--the one you finished.

Two summers ago I spent hours reading Anne Perry's two Victorian mystery series featuring William Monk and Thomas Pitt. Last summer I devoured all twenty of the books in Lindsey Davis' Falco series. Last month I finished the three books in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series. This week I finished The Dragon's Tooth, the first volume in N. D. Wilson's Ashtown Burials series.

The Dragon's Tooth, a children's fantasy novel by the author of the 100 Cupboards, kept me turning page after page with growing excitement. Want to know more about it? Here is the blurb:

For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room. 

Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia. 

When I finished the book, I was thrilled to realize that there are several more (at total of five, I think) in the Ashtown Burials series. But--here's the rub--the rest aren't published yet! It'll be ages and ages before I find out what happens next to Cyrus and Antigone Smith! I love reading books in a series, but a series that's not finished yet? Pure agony.

And the sheer exasperation of not being able to get my hands on the next book reminded me that I've put readers in the same unenviable spot. Road from the West: Book I of the Chronicles of Tancred came out in 2011 and left Tancred and his fellow Crusaders trapped in the city of Antioch surrounded by a besieging army of infidels. Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred is slated to be released at the end of 2012. Have patience, gentle reader! I understand your pain.