Accuracy: Getting the Facts Right

 

Yes, for once there's no pic of old, dead people..... just me, with one of my young fans (Shayne) at a great book signing. You see, when I read a book, or watch a movie ('film', sorry folks back home) I'm constantly drawn out of the plot by bad continuity, bad acting, stupid plot-lines, or by the bane of my existence... inaccurate history. It wastes the film/movie for me.

Yes, I'm a writer.
Yes, I write historical fiction.
But I'm also a fan of FACTS.

In any of my books, from the 600 page Opportunites: Jamie Leith in Darien in the picture above to our Vampire High School series, accurate facts are researched for almost every paragraph. In my latest book,  A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court , I bring the two together- vampires and history.

But just because I'm writing in a genre that a lot of people dismiss as 'mush', doesn't mean that the story isn't good, or that the history is not researched. On the contrary, I think I over-research it. Apart from the vampire... every main or sub-character in the book is real; researched, and actually existed. Every town is real. Every historical fact, every action, every house, palace is real. The timeline of my plot is historically accurate to the day, even the hour. I maybe write for an hour, and 'research' for another.

Wikipedia is fantastic, but I've also got an extensive library at home, with many books on the period. When it comes down to it, I want you to be so immersed in my books that you never want them to end. That makes it all worthwhile.

Okay, my rant is over, I'm going back to Christmas Day, 1501.
Have a great day.

For more information on my writing process as well as other rants, please visit my main blog:
Ian Hall Author Blog

If you would like to hear more about the Vampires:

Vampire Don't Cry Blog

Queen Isabella: Columbus Backer and Mother of Catherine of Aragon

Taken from a larger painting, this is Queen Isabella of Spain, quite a woman by all accounts.
She backed the voyage of Christopher Columbus.
She forced the Muslims and Jews either out of Spain, or to convert to Christianity (the invading Muslims gave the Spanish a similar choice, centuries before, but their alternative wasn't exile, it was death.)
And she gave birth to Catherine of Aragon, the wife of both Prince Arthur, and his brother, King Henry the Eighth.
I've been doing a fair amount of research for my new novel "A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court", and I can only marvel at the lives these powerful people led.
And let's face it, compared to many portraits of the day, Queen Isabella is portrayed as a good looking woman.

Her daughter, Catherine, above, takes that beauty and drapes it in mourner's black for the untimely death of Prince Arthur, Prince of Wales.
In my book, I find Prince Arthur a sickly fifteen year old, but with a name meant to unite England again, and a marriage to the top Princess in Spain, this union was meant to cement relationships, not hinder them.
By the time Prince Henry was fifteen, he lusted after his old sister-in-law so badly, he had to marry her.
Despite King Henry's many affairs, Catherine was pregnant six times, but only once did the child pass the six-day mark; the Princess Mary, who ruled England after Henry's death; the original Bloody Mary.
Research unearths many nuggets, and good books are made of them.
Come see me at; http://www.ianhallauthor.com/

FREE Vampire story on Amazon Kindle

"Behind the Masque" FREE download, Valentine's Day 14th Feb.
YES! The legend of Cinderella is re-worked in a new vampire story, then shamelessly given away for free to coincide with a commercially based excuse to sell greetings cards, chocolate, and furry teddybears holding red hearts.
(Wow, Ian, why don't you get off the fence and tell it as it really is?)
You'd think we'd thrown away our literary pride, burned our university robes, and sold our souls to the very devils we write about... but you'd be wrong.
You see, giving away our Cinderella-esque vampire story for free on Valentines weekend (14th, 15th, 16th Feb) is actually a fiendish plot to introduce a new strain of flu vaccine to an unwary public, far too interested in Beyonce's newest boyfriend to notice or care.
(Whispers from off-stage... "Ian you can't introduce flu vaccine with this FREE vampire story giveaway.")
("Why not?" I ask. "After all, we're hoping to give away thousands of FREE giveaways and get the flu vaccine to millions of countries!")
(Whisper from off-stage... "Because it's an electronic download, Kindle, eBook, you freaking lunatic/idiot/magalomaniac!!")
(I straighten my tie, do the flexy/clicky thing with my fingers, clear my throat, and continue...)
But we have a fiendish plan. Not quite as fiendish and cunning as Baldrick's plans, but we have tried to work 'turnips' into the blog more than once.
"What?" I ask you. "I've only mentioned 'turnips' ONCE so far? Curses!"
But back to the FREE vampire story giveaway.
We've added the first FOUR chapters of our Vampire High School series to the FREE vampire givaway.
"What value!" You chortle. "These guys are amazing!" You enthuse...
(You are the nicest audience!)
So, to conclude... this weekend... 14th, 15th, 16th Feb 2013, there's a FREE vampire Cinderella redux Kindle giveaway. With four FREE chapters from our Vampire High School series.
Available here;
http://www.amazon.com/Behind-The-Masque-ebook/dp/B00AIQENGI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1360686503&sr=8-4&keywords=behind+masque
You'd be crazy to miss it.

Modern Zombies Only Please, Pre-1929 Need Not Apply.

Having done a fair amount of research for our book "The Zombie Bible", I'm quite amazed that popular culture has fed us with so much dis-information regarding the ominous and shuffling "Living Dead".
So to clarify, here's the history;
"Zombie" is a modern adaption of a Haitian word (Zonbi or Nzumbe). Time magazine claims the original official use of the 'modern' word to be in William Seabrooke's 1929 novel, The Magic Island.
When Victor Halperin directed The White Zombie, in 1932, the name was permanently etched into modern Hollywood history. The film starred Bela Lugosi, of course.
So, the Victorian grave above, so often labeled with a 'Zombie' tag, is far removed from any such possible references to the modern view.
As a preventative against vampires, maybe.
As a precaution against corpse re-animation, Mary Shelley-esque, quite possible.
But as a definitive defense against 'Zombies', sorry, the facts don't pan out.
In actual fact, the headstone in the picture seems to be quite ornate, so the addition of a cage to prevent thievery is far more plausible.
Anyway...
For a modern take on Surviving the Zombie Holocaust as a Zombie, take a look at "The Zombie Bible". Only 99c on eBooks, and available on paperback on Amazon Stores.

Modern Vampire Warning in Serbia

A Blood-lusting Vampire is on the loose in Serbia.

Yeah, when local papers carry stories about vampires, they’re laughed at, or at least given a polite condescending smile. But when a story makes it all the way to the AP (Associated Press) and is on the USAToday website, you’ve got to give it a closer look.

In Zarozje, western Serbia, the town council has given out an official vampire warning.

The story of Sava Savanovic is a Serbian legend, a fairy tale, like Robin Hood or King Arthur. But the Serbs take Sava very seriously indeed, indeed claiming that the man was the very first vampire.

Centuries ago, Sara lived in a mill, and drank the blood of those who came to mill their corn.

The mill was bought by an enterprising man who showed tourists round the ruins in daylight. No one dared stay there at night. The mill owner never maintained the property, fearing that any alteration would curse him forever.

People in the region have indeed died in strange circumstances, but none have claimed to have seen the vampire at work.

When the mill fell so far into disrepair it fell down, the warning was raised.

Sava Savanovic was on the loose, driven from his home, in search of new digs.

Full story here;

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/01/vampire-serbia/1739615/

Vampire High School goes Paperback!

At last, we've managed to get Vampire High School into paperback format.
It took longer than it should have done, but books 2 and 3 will follow very shortly.
Our thanks go to Carolyn Pinard for editing, to Morgan Chilson for knocking my head against a wall and dislodging all the wayward passive voices, and to all our friends and family who have been so supportive, yawn, yawn, yawn.....
We are so proud of these books, we promise you'll enjoy the finished atricle.
Click the cover to go directly to Createspace to order, or wait a week for Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk to get them in stock.
Thanks guys.
Ian and Lachelle

Global Climate Catastrophe; Glaciers Retreat!

I have no idea why no one has noticed this fact, or if the Climate Scientists are in the bag for big oil.
Glaciers in North America have retreated to some ASTONISHING degree.
It's incontrovertible, it’s measureable, and it’s ON OUR DOORSTEP.
A series of Glaciers, that once covered the whole of the mid-west basin in North America, HAVE RETREATED.
They are not there anymore.
Their waters have been dumped into the basin caused by their millennium of movement, and FIVE NEW Lakes have been created.
(Takes a breath)

Now the above information is incendiary, but it shows beyond reasonable doubt that the world has been warming for the last 10,000 years.
Why should it stop?
Never! It’s not going to. It’s a trend; a 10,000 year trend.
The world’s coming to the boil!
(Takes another breath)

To make matters worse the five new lakes now account for 21% of the world’s fresh water, giving the North American continent an unlawful percentage of water, which will ultimately be the world’s new power source.
It is ridiculous to think that a continent, which uses 26% of the world’s oil, should have such a great monopoly on the world’s fresh water.
(Takes another breath, holds hands on hips and tries to get rid of the stitch in my side))

Okay, I’m all out of sarcasm for the moment. But on a serious note, a bunch of climate scientists have recorded a cooling pattern in the last five years.
Have you heard that? Nope, it doesn’t make for good newspaper copy; it doesn’t get Climate Scientists grants because it doesn’t threaten anyone. It’s not inflammatory, incendiary or radical, so therefore it’s not ‘news’.
Presidents blame drought/flood/storms on Global warming, even when they know it’s not the reason. It just helps/aids/advances their political agenda. We don’t need that kind of leadership anymore.
In the last few years, we’ve learned that politicians lie.
From the recent leaks in the Global Warming community, we now know that some scientists also tell lies.
Let’s stop knee-jerk philosophies that are mired in political tar pits and financial gains.
Let’s stop preaching to kids that our car’s emissions are killing polar bears, while the global polar bear population has doubled since the 1970’s.
I have to stop. I could go on forever.
I hope I made you think. I mean, as a people, we can’t be at war with ourselves, just for the sake of it.
Can we?