Castles, Customs, and Kings: Goodreads Giveaway

Where have I been for the last three weeks? (Or is it the last eight months?) Reading history essays for an anthology that Madison Street Publishing is putting out next month.

One more week till the final proofreading deadline for Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors. Then it will go back to the book designer for finishing touches and be released on September 23. This is the longest book we've published so far at Madison Street Publishing, well over 500 pages. It's also been a challenging project, coordinating text edits from 50+ authors.

But despite the challenges--or perhaps because of them--this book is shaping up to be one of the most exciting items in our catalog. The cover is beautiful, the essays are a history-lover's dream, and if you don't treat yourself to an early Christmas present on September 23...well, let's just say you will be missing out. :-)

We're running a giveaway of two copies of the book on Goodreads for the month leading up to the release. Feel free to enter and spread the word!

 
 

    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
   

   

     

          Castles, Customs, and Kings
     
     

          by Debra  Brown
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends September 23, 2013.
         
         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         
     
   
   

      Enter to win

How a Legend Became History: Brutus of Troy and the Birth of Britain

Today I get to talk about some history that almost assuredly didn't happen over at English Historical Fiction Authors. Did one of the survivors of the Trojan War go on to found Britain? That's what medieval historians claimed....

* * *

If you’re an ancient Greek, you have wrathful Achilles, the “swift-footed son of Peleus” who defeats Priam’s mighty son Hector and paves the way for the eventual destruction of Troy. Or if guile is more your style, you have Odysseus, the resourceful hero who wanders the world for ten years on his homeward voyage, braving Cyclops, Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, before slaying the scores of suitors ensconced in his own halls.

If you’re an imperial Roman, you have Aeneas, striding proudly out of the flames of Troy, escaping the wiles of Dido of Carthage and carving out a new home in Italy.

But if you’re British and living in the ninth century A.D., you have…nothing. And frankly, it’s kind of embarrassing. Or, at least, it was to the historian Nennius.... (read more) 

A How-To Manual for Sainthood?

Well, how did one become a saint in the high Middle Ages? I'm sure it's been a pressing question on your mind.

Today, over at English Historical Fiction Authors I look at the requirements that Thomas Becket had to fulfill in order to become a saint--they might be a little bit more stringent than you had previously imagined....

Oregon City Library Celebration and Author Fair

Today is the 100th birthday of the Oregon City Carnegie Library, and tomorrow is the festival celebrating it. By a strange quirk of fate, the OC library is currently housed in the Carnegie Center, the same building where it opened its doors in 1913. The library has lots of fun events planned which you can read about here.

One event in conjunction with the library festival is the Atkinson Author Fair which will be held across the street in front of "the pink church." I'll be there representing my books as well as some other books put out by Madison Street Publishing. The author fair runs from 10:00am - 3:00pm. Stop by and see me if you're in the area!

The Mirror of Christian Kings--and His Interest in Music

It was going to go up Wednesday, but things got switched around a bit, and so my post about "Henry V: King, Conqueror, and...Musician?" is up today on English Historical Fiction Authors. You know that he beat the French at the battle of Agincourt, but did you know that that victory opened up the way for England to become a world-leader in music? I'd love it if you would head over there and read it and give me your thoughts.