Kingdom of Heaven (movie review)

Posted on 10 Comments

Since any movie with swords garners my immediate attention, Kingdom of Heaven was on the top of my list to see when it came out a few years ago.  Starring Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, and Liam Neeson, and directed by Ridley Scott, what could go wrong? Confession:  I love this movie.  That doesn’t mean it deserves five stars, because it doesn’t.  Maybe 4 on a good day, but I still love it.  I love the character of Balian (played by Bloom), I’ll watch Jeremy Irons in anything, even slumming in Eragon, and all the medieval crusade material makes my mouth water. That said, the history is terrible, and for the purposes of this blog, that’s what I’m going to talk about. First, the good:  The Kingdom of Jerusalem did have a King Baldwin who gained the throne as Read more…


Over at Writer Unboxed!

Posted on 2 Comments

At the end of last month, Anna Elliott asked me to answer some questions about being an indie author, along with N. Gemini Sasson and Jennifer Becton.  Here’s a sample: What advice can you give to anyone just starting out on the indie path?  Sarah: I would suggest to anyone who has written only one book to write at least one other before you indie publish the first one. The process of writing that second book will tell you a lot about how to make your first book better. My first book will never see the light of day, but Footsteps in Time was my second, and although it took me 4 years to make it right, by writing other books, I was able to go back to it and finally create something of which I’m really proud. For the Read more…


Winds of Time now available!

Posted on Leave a comment

Winds of Time (A Novella) Winds of Time is a 20,000 word (100 page) novella from the After Cilmeri series.  I started this story nearly five years ago, as part of Footsteps in Time.  When it came down to it, however, the story didn’t fit with what was happening with David and Anna, and I very reluctantly put it aside.  Several months ago, I pulled it out again, and it occurred to me that my readers might very much like to know what happened to Meg when she returned to the Middle Ages–and thus, in honor of St. David’s Day, I am finally able to share the story with you today in ebook form: Meg had thought that taking a commuter flight from Pasco, Washington to Boise, Idaho would be a simple matter. But nothing is simple for Meg when it Read more…


Reactive Nationalism in Wales

Posted on 2 Comments

I am pretty free with my historical exposition on the discrimination of the Welsh by the English.  It’s long documented and I don’t need to go into it again here.  However, an article popped up on the Independent that addresses discrimination by Welsh people against English people who live in Wales.  Which isn’t good either, even if it’s understandable. David Adamson, senior sociology lecturer at the University of Glamorgan and author of Class, Ideology and the Nation, said: “There are long historical reasons for these feelings . . . One of the phrases that is often used is reactive nationalism.” The article begins:  “Among the fruit stands and butchers of the bustling indoor market in Cardiff, a small stall was doing a steady trade in Welsh souvenirs – postcards,T-shirts and fridge magnets in the shape of sheep. Among the most eye-catching were two Read more…


Shifting views of the past

Posted on Leave a comment

On a history forum I frequent, someone asked a question about why historians’ views of the past have changed over time, particularly in reference to the ‘Dark Ages’. My novels are set in ‘Dark Age’ and medieval Wales, and this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Dark Age Britain, as one example, was conquered first by the Romans, who delighted in contrasting their ‘civilized’ society with the barbarity of the native tribes.  Next, the Saxons moved in, then the Normans who came in 1066. All of these conquering groups spouted continually about the brutish, uncivilized lives the native British people led (the Scots are included in this too). It’s not uncommon to have English media TODAY speak of the Welsh as some sort of less-than-civilized ‘other’ (I blogged about this here). Compare this to a similar situation: Native Read more…


Introducing … The Uninvited Guest!

Posted on 2 Comments

My second Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery is now available! It is the winter of 1143 and all is not well in the court of Owain, King of north Wales. His future in-laws are untrustworthy, the Norman lords on his eastern border are restless, and among his wedding guests lurks a cold-blooded killer.  Gareth and Gwen have marriage plans of their own, but their love will have to wait while the pair race to separate truth from lies, friends from foes, and unravel the mystery before King Owain—and his new bride—fall victim to their uninvited guest.  The Uninvited Guest is available at Amazon for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/Uninvited-Gareth-Medieval-Mystery-ebook/dp/B007B2G3U6/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329685937&sr=1-10 And at Smashwords for Apple/Nook/Sony (and international) readers:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/134421 It is coming soon to the other outlets as well as in paper form at Amazon.  It can be purchased now in paperback here:  https://www.createspace.com/3803889 Read more…


Taliesin the Bard

Posted on 4 Comments

Whence come night and flood? How they disappear? Whither flies night from day; And how is it not seen? These lines are taken from a poem by Taliesin, a Welsh poet who lived roughly between 534 and 599 AD.  His poetry has survived in the medieval Red Book of the Hergest, and The Book of Taliesin, found here: http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=bookoftaliesinpeniarthms2. “It is this manuscript which preserves the texts of famous poems such as ‘Armes Prydein Fawr’, ‘Preiddeu Annwfn’ (which refers to Arthur and his warriors sailing across the sea to win a spear and a cauldron), and elegies to Cunedda and Dylan eil Ton, as well as the earliest mention in any western vernacular of the feats of Hercules and Alexander. The manuscript is incomplete, having lost a number of its original leaves, including the first.” He is associated with Arthur, Read more…


New Covers!

Posted on 2 Comments

Christine DeMaio-Rice of flipcitybooks.com has been reworking my covers for the last few months.  I am happy to announce progress on the After Cilmeri Series.  My former covers I produced myself, for better or for worse (mostly worse :)), but I’m excited to be stepping into an improved world by working with her … Daughter of Time: Footsteps: Prince of Time: And the Bundle cover, which pleases me to no end. It’s so much nicer than what I threw up there on my own reconnaissance back in April. Other covers for Crossroads in Time (book 3 in the series) and Winds of Time (a short story about Meg) are coming soon!


Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd, King of Deheubarth

Posted on Leave a comment

In my book, The Good Knight, the King of Deheubarth, Anarawd, dies in the opening chapter.  This is in 1143 AD, and King Owain of Gwynedd rules Gwynedd–and much of the rest of Wales–with a strong hand. After Anarawd’s death, the rule of Deheubarth falls to his younger brother, Cadell.  “Cadell’s career was effectively ended in 1151. When out hunting, he was attacked by a Norman force from Tenby, who left him assuming him to be dead. In fact he survived, but was so badly injured as to be unable to resume his activities. In 1153 he left on a pilgrimage to Rome, leaving the rule of Deheubarth to his younger brothers Maredudd and Rhys. Cadell is not heard of again until 1175, when he entered the abbey of Strata Florida after a long illness and died there.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadell_ap_Gruffydd The bastard son of Owain Gwynedd, Hywel, plays a key Read more…


The Names for the Days of the Week

Posted on 11 Comments

*updated for today because my 7-year old son was asking about ‘Thursday’ 🙂 People have named the days of the week since ancient times. We tend to take them for granted, even the bizarre spelling of ‘Wednesday’. The Greeks had a seven day week associated with heavenly bodies. Vettius Valens, an astrologer writing around 170 CE in his Anthologiarum, gave their order as: Sun, Moon, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronos. Following the Greeks, the Romans named the days according to their gods (modified, of course, from the Greeks), and then spread them throughout the world as they conquered Europe. The Roman days were: Lunae, Martis, Mercurii, Jovis, Veneris, Saturni, and Solis. From this come the Spanish (for example), Lunes, Martes, Miercoles, Jueves, Viernes, Sabado, and Domingo (which is the only one that doesn’t fit–see below). In English, the Roman Read more…


Bards and Poets

Posted on Leave a comment

In Welsh society before the conquest–in all Celtic societies in fact–the bard/poet played a very important role in the life of society. “The three principal endeavors of a Bard: One is to learn and collect sciences. The second is to teach. And the third is to make peace And to put an end to all injury; For to do contrary to these things Is not usual or becoming to a Bard.” ~THE TRIADS OF BRITAIN http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Celtic/history.html “In the Celtic cultures, the Bard/Filidh/Ollave was inviolate. He could travel anywhere, say anything, and perform when and where he pleased. The reason for this was, of course, that he was the bearer of news and the carrier of messages, and, if he was harmed, then nobody found out what was happening over the next hill. In addition, he carried the Custom of the Read more…


A Medieval Siege

Posted on

A medieval siege was a far more common form of warfare than a fight on an open battlefield.  Sieges had the element of surprise and required fewer men than battle too, such that a ruler could beseige a castle with his enemy inside, while freeing other forces to wage war elsewhere. The goal in beseiging a castle was not to destroy it, but to take it, since castles were pawns in the great game of controlling land.  They were usually heavily fortified and defended, so a beseiger had several options when he was on the outside looking in: 1)  to starve/wait them out 2)  harassment and trickery 3)  a straight assault Often, attackers employed all three tactics at various times.  The defenders, on the other hand, hoped and prayed for relief.  As Saladin says in Kingdom of Heaven “One cannot Read more…