Guest blogging about military fiction

Today I'm a guest blogger over at Jeff Hargett's Strands of Pattern writing about writing military fiction. Pop on over and check it out. Also check out the other posts for some great writing advice!

Guest blogging about military fantasy

I'm guest blogging about military fantasy over at Sean McLachlan's Civil War Horror blog. And of course I'm mentioning my new fantasy novel Hard Winter! It's already had two sales in the first 12 hours it's been available! Now if I can only keep up that momentum. . .

Deja-Vu blogfest: Small change in the MIddle Ages

Today is the Deja-Vu blogfest, where people all over the blogosphere are reposting one of their favorite old posts. This is one of my first posts on this blog, so most of you haven't seen it. Enjoy!

One mistake that historical fiction and roleplaying games make in recreating the Middle Ages is how money was used. They seem to assume that money then was like money now, but it wasn’t.

The vast majority of people used an in-kind economy, meaning they exchanged goods or services rather than money. Taxes were usually paid in crops or animals. People did use money, especially in the towns and cities, and there were networks of banks and even checks in places like the Byzantine Empire. Of course only the very wealthy could write a check that would be honored in another city.

One big problem was small change. Most coins were of gold or silver and were worth a lot compared to the daily production of the average farmer or laborer. As one of my grad school professors said, “We simply don’t know how someone paid for a flagon of ale at a tavern.”

Some cultures did have small change. In what’s now the Czech Republic they used painted bits of cloth. The Ottomans had a tiny silver coin called a “para” that was about the size of a capital O. To avoid losing them, people carried them under their tongue! In mining towns small amounts of gold dust could be used. Prospectors also did this in Old West mining towns.

People also could build up credit and then pay it off once it got to the amount of a coin. This was no problem since most people lived in villages or small towns where everybody knew everybody else. A common way to keep accounts was the tally stick. These were sticks split down the middle. Buyer and seller each got one half and they were marked with slashed to show how much was owed. In some remote parts of Europe with high amounts of illiteracy this practice continued well into the twentieth century. This photo shows a selection of tally sticks from the 18th-20th century from Switzerland.

Thanks to Sandstein from Wikipedia for the cool photo.

More Medieval Weapons in the American Civil War

Earlier this week we had Sean McLachlan blogging about Medieval Weapons in the American Civil War as part of his virtual book tour for his new Civil War novel.

He didn't have enough space to say everything he wanted to, so he's done another post over at his own blog titled Lancers in the American Civil War. Go on over and check out this interesting post!

I didn't realize there were lancers in that war. The term "lancer" brings to mind the cavalry of the Napoleonic Wars, like this French lancer I nabbed off of Wikimedia Commons. I bet the Texan Confederates didn't have such snappy uniforms!

Three great blogs you should follow

Today is the Pay it Forward Blogfest, where a bunch of us bloggers are naming three fellow bloggers who we think should have more followers, even if they have lots already! Here are my three picks:

Mithril Wisdom: a great source for fantasy book reviews, some funky art, and news and views from the world of fantasy. While there are lots of fantasy review blogs out there, this one stands out because Jamie puts much thought into each review and mixes it up with non-review posts. Jamie is getting a degree in Egyptology and was a guest blogger here writing about Egyptian vampires.

Civil War Horror: Sean McLachlan has written a heap of books on military history, the Old West, and the Middle Ages. He's been a guest blogger on this post a couple of times, including a cool piece on medieval handgonnes, and he's about to come out with a Civil War novel. His blog covers such diverse topics as Civil War weaponry, the exploits of Jesse James, and writing horror fiction.

Grognardia: For those not in the know, a grognard is a term for an old veteran of Napoleon's army. It also means an old-school roleplaying gamer. Not too many of Napoleon's veterans are still around except in zombie form, and they don't read the blogs, so this blog is dedicated to gamers. You'll get plenty of nostalgia from the Seventies and Eighties, when pretending to be an elven wizard was still new and a bit cutting edge. If you're too young to remember those days, check it out anyway and see how gaming was done in the era before home computers took it over.

So check out these blogs and leave a comment, and tell them I sent you!

The photo of the jousting knights is from Wikimedia Commons. It has nothing to do with anything, I just like the picture.

Does blogging help an author make sales?

Anyone looking for easy answers won't get them here. Just like my post How to write a successful blog? I'm ending the title with a question mark. In response to that last post someone asked me if the energy spent on blogging actually resulted in more book sales. Here's my response.

Short answer: I have no idea.

Second short answer: It can't hurt (except to waste time better spent writing)

Long answer:
It's hard to make a correlation between a blog and sales. I've had many people in the comments section SAY they bought my book, but who knows? Since I don't have a buy button on my blog (my publishers don't offer that option) there's no way to make a certain correlation.

That said, blogging is the easiest way to get my personality out into the wider world. People learn about me and my books. Of course, being an unknown writer means that me and my books aren't enough to drive people to my site, so I include a regular feature on a popular topic (the Middle Ages) that attracts my core readership (fantasy and paranormal fans). By emphasizing content over promotion I'm hoping to build up a loyal readership who will reward me by buying my books.

Being part of the blogging community helps in other ways. I got to do a virtual blog tour and some fellow bloggers have reviewed my book. My second book just came out and I've already had offers of blog hosting.
So what about hard figures? I don't have any royalty statements yet because my books only came out recently. We'll just have to see and yes, I will share them publicly. There's too much obfuscation and hollow boasting in the ebook community. You'll only get straight figures from me.

How to write a successful blog?

The title of this post ends with a question mark because I'm not actually sure how to write a successful blog. I only know what I've done and how it's worked out pretty well for me. Any suggestions on how to do things better would be highly appreciated.

I started this blog on February 16. Here are the stats for my number of posts and monthly hits since then.

February: 5 posts, 86 hits
March: 2 posts, 44 hits
April: 4 posts, 388 hits
May: 17 posts, 978 hits
June (up to noon on the 22nd and including this post): 8 posts, 784 hits

As you can see, life and the day job got in the way and I didn't get serious with this blog until May, when my virtual book tour started. The one thing that started immediately, however, were my Medieval Mondays posts, although they didn't get a regular weekly schedule until May. These get the most hits by far, more than my book announcements, guest posts that aren't part of Medieval Mondays, or any other stuff I've put up.

This gives an important lesson: while I want this blog to promote my books, people come here for Medieval Mondays. Content is king, as they say. Perhaps if people like my posts on the Middle Ages, they'll start buying my books! Medieval Mondays seems to be working for other people too. Two of my most popular posts are Jamie Gibbs' article on Vampirism in Ancient Egypt and Sean McLachlan's post on the accuracy of medieval handgonnes. Several top posts, both mine and theirs, have garnered more than 200 hits. My guest post on leather armour over at Mid-List Writer got more than 350. That's a more established blog, though.

Besides the book tour, I haven't done much to promote this blog. I only got a twitter feed on April 29, but several people have been kind enough to retweet me and link to me on their blogs.

So. . .on my second month of serious blogging it looks like I might break 1,000 hits. That seems like a pretty quick growth, almost entirely on the basis of having a once-a-week regular feature on a popular topic. Would anybody else out there in the blogosphere care to bare all and give the world their data? I'm curious to see how I measure up.

Week four of my virtual book tour

May is coming to an end, and I'm wrapping up my virtual book tour for Roots Run Deep.

Tuesday, May 24: I'm over at Nicole Zoltack's blog talking about how to create believable fantasy races.

Wednesday, May 25: I'm at Mithril Wisdom discussing how my work as an archaeologist affects my writing.

Sunday, May 29: At Writers in Business I'm talking about the writing process and some of the more practical, financial aspects of being a writer.

Monday, May 30: I'll be back at the Double Dragon blog with a special Medieval Mondays post on leper knights of the Middle Ages, plus I'll do one here too, of course!

Hope you'll come along!

Coprolites: the fascinating story of ancient poop

Today I'm wearing my archaeology hat over at Alex Cavanaugh's blog and writing about Viking poop. No, really! You can learn a lot from paleofeces, or coprolites as we prefer to call them. So come on over and join the serious, scientific discussion. Well, sort of serious.

Week three of my virtual book tour

The book tour for Roots Run Deep is still steaming along. This week we have a nice variety of guest posts and interviews.

Monday, May 16: Medieval Mondays will be over at the Double Dragon blog, where I'm guest blogging about holy wells. Don't worry, though, I'll be doing Medieval Mondays here too!

Tuesday, May 17: I'll be over at Marian Allen's blog writing about landscape and how it influences your story. Marian will be doing the same thing right here about her novel Eel's Reverence.

Wednesday, May 18: In what promises to be both the high and low point of my virtual book tour, I'll be over at Alex Cavanaugh's blog writing about what we can learn from Viking coprolites. If you don't know what a coprolite is, it's simply the scientific term for preserved poop!

Thursday, May 19: Deirdra Eden Coppel is interviewing me about Roots Run Deep over at A Storybook World.

Friday, May 20: Nothing scheduled. I need a break! But if anyone needs a break more than I do and wants me to do a medieval or fantasy themed blog post while they go to the bar, drop me a line and I'd be happy to oblige.

A goblin has taken over Hump Day Improv!

Hi everyone, I'm Kip Itxaron, heroine of Roots Run Deep. Typically for a goblin, I did all the real work in the novel while A.J. sat on his ass typing on that weird device he calls a computer. Typically for a human, he takes all the credit. He even pretends he made me up!

Anyway, I'm getting a little freedom today over at N.R. Williams' blog where I'm running her famous Hump Day Improv, a weekly writing prompt. So pop on over and check it out!

What happens when a goblin thief gets interviewed by a crime reporter?

The heroine from my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep (published by Double Dragon) has been interviewed by crime beat reporter Mitch Malone. Mitch is a pretty arrogant guy, but Kip is a goblin who's used to bad attitude from humans. See how they get along over at W.G. Gager's blog!

Schedule for week two of the Roots Run Deep virtual book tour

I've survived the first week of my first-ever virtual book tour. I'm exhausted and elated. The Internet can be a friendly place after all! I have some very interesting stops for week two. Here they are:

Monday, May 9: The heroine of Roots Run Deep, Kip Itxaron, will be interviewed by tough-as-nails crime beat reporter Mitch Malone over at W.S. Gager's blog. Poor Mitch, he thought he was the only one in the world with attitude. . .

Tuesday, May 10: I examine folklore beliefs related to fertility and childbirth over at Theresa Crater's blog.

Wednesday, May 11: I'll be taking over the Hump Day Improv session on N.R. Williams' blog. This writing prompt will include an intriguing image from the Middle Ages.

Sunday, May 15: I'll be blogging about the business side of writing for Writers in Business. UPDATE: this has been rescheduled for May 29.

Hope you'll come along for the ride!

Latest stop on my virtual book tour: real-world culture in fantasy fiction

In the latest stop on my Roots Run Deep virtual book tour, I'm over at Buried Under Books blogging about real-world culture in fantasy fiction. How should it be included? How can you make an Earth culture fit in a fantasy setting? Hop on over to Buried Under Books and find out!

Magic systems in fantasy fiction

Today as part of my book tour I'm blogging over at "The Round Table: An open discussion forum between readers, authors and general fans of fiction." The topic today is magic systems in fantasy fiction. What works? What doesn't? I'm the first of several authors to weigh in on this topic, so be sure to check in regularly!

Chatting today on the Writing and Publishing Yahoo group

I'll be chatting all day on the Writing and Publishing Yahoo group. Feel free to drop by and ask me about medieval history, archaeology, writing, or my novel, Roots Run Deep.

This is the second stop on the first week of my virtual book tour. Hope you'll come along!

Schedule for Week One of the virtual book tour for Roots Run Deep

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I'm starting a virtual book tour for my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. I plan to be on a different blog or website each weekday in May. Most places have already been filled, even some extra weekend days! It's been nice to see how much support the writing community gives to a newbie author like me. Thanks everyone! Here's the schedule for the first week:

Monday, May 2: I'll be doing a special Medieval Mondays post on leather armor for the Midlist Writer. Sean McLachlan, the famous midlister, will be doing a guest post here the same day on his latest book: Medieval Handgonnes: The First Black Powder Infantry Weapons.

Tuesday, May 3: I'll be the guest writer for the Writing and Publishing Yahoo group.

Wednesday, May 4: I'll be joining A.J. Maguire for a roundtable discussion of magic systems in fiction.

Thursday, May 5: I'll be posting on Pete Newarski's blog about goblin cuisine in Roots Run Deep, including mule meat soup and fried rat. Yum!

Friday, May 6: I'll be over at Buried Under Books talking about how much real-world culture should or shouldn't be put into fantasy writing.


Please join me, and check out these great blogs for other interesting posts!