Tuesday 22 September 2015

Bad News/Good News



Those of you who are my Facebook friends will already know this, but last week I had some bad news and some good news. 

The bad news was that after a lot of work and three rounds of revisions, I got the final verdict from Mills and Boon on The Welsh King’s Spy—in the end although they liked my voice and thought I had potential, the story wasn’t quite what they were looking for.  The really bad news was that I’d just put on mascara and my first lesson was due to start in ten minutes when I read the email, so instead of crying and sulking, which always makes me feel better, I had to smile and explain circular geometry. I wouldn’t recommend that as a remedy for dashed hopes—I think my poor student is now terminally confused.

The good news was that the editor went on to say that although TWKS wasn’t right, she’d like to continue working with me on my next story. I’m really excited about that because she wouldn’t go to all that work and trouble unless she thought my voice was a good fit for Harlequin Historical. So now (after being wiped out for a few days by a cold caught from my maths student) I’m working on some characters and plots for a few scenarios set in the Twelfth Century. Hopefully I can come up with something that shows promise. Wish me luck!

Tuesday 1 September 2015

A Roman day out



I’m lucky enough to live close to Wroxeter—the site of the fourth largest Roman city in Britain. 

Now all that’s left is a few stones and bricks in a field and it’s hard to imagine how it must have been in Roman times. However, this weekend a group of re-enactors moved in and brought the place back to life. I had the time of my life, chatting to all the participants and getting a glimpse of what life in Roman Britain was like. Of course, I took loads of photos and made pages of notes for my WIP which is set in Roman Britain.


Surgical instruments and wound plugs


Trepanning demonstration
For me, the highlights were the surgeon (medicus) and the midwife (obstetrix). My mother—a former nurse—informs me that some of the instruments used were remarkably similar to ones in use today. We saw catheters (metal, rather than latex, obviously), a trepanning tool (used for relieving pressure within the skull as a result of a depressed fracture) and an eye-watering speculum. Oh, and haemorrhoid clamps! 

Midwife's sign - a copy of a tomb relief found in Ostia. Not much doubt what's happening there!

A birthing stool


In addition to the medics, there was also a cookery demonstration, a potter, weaving and military displays. It was so useful to be able to chat to the participants and get a feel for the practicalities of daily life in Roman times. An invaluable experience for a historical novelist!

Roman armour. I picked up a shield - it was so heavy I couldn't imagine carrying it on a 26-mile march!

Potter's wheel

A Roman kitchen