Guest Post - Learning Lessons - by Roberto Calas

This week, I'm very pleased to have author Roberto Calas back for an utterly fascinating guest post on the history and state of writing and publishing. As the saying goes, 'History repeats itself', and Roberto is going to show us how much our modern age has in common with the 15th century. He is no stranger to the late Middle Ages, and so, without further adieu, take it away Roberto!

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Learning Lessons

"Nobody can understand the greatness of the thirteenth century, who does not realize that is was a great growth of new things produced by a living thing."

-- G.K. Chesterton

Never build your sand castle near the water line.

Sand Castle - Creative Commons

I think most of us learned that lesson when we were very young. The tide is relentless and it doesn’t give a crap about the things you have built. I’m a bit thick, so it took a lot of mini-tsunamis and crumbled castles for me to internalize that particular lesson. But I learned.

So, in 1998, I decided to leave my career as a magazine editor to go to art school. I loved writing then, as I do now, but I could see the rising tide approaching. The castles built by magazine and newspaper publishers were too close to the water line.

To use another water-based analogy, the vast lakes of magazines, newspapers and books were evaporating, like watering holes in the African savannah. Three of the magazines I had worked for were sold out from under me – acquired by dreadnought holding companies that stripped them of staff and resources and filled them with fluff that complemented the ads that were sold. Magazine distributors thinned, from hundreds to dozens. Writing and editing jobs started paying less than marketing internships. It seemed that no one wanted to read anymore. It was all about television and online video. About photos and images.

So I went back to school. Art has always been my second love, so I decided to try making a living of it. And for fifteen years, I did.

But a new tide is rolling in. The electronic revolution is reaching far up onto the shore, destroying even the staunchest of sand castles and making room for new ones. Writing jobs are more prevalent, and they pay more again. Editors are valued once more. It is a Renaissance. A Golden Age of the written word, and it reminds me of another time in history when writing spurred a rebirth.

Back as late as the 14^th century, monks were the publishers. And like traditional publishers of the modern age, they controlled what was printed and what was not.

A Gutenberg Press in action

But in 1450, Johannes Gutenberg used a few hand-molds and some oil-based ink to break the monk stranglehold. His mechanical press ushered in a golden age of writing. It’s no coincidence that the Renaissance began shortly after he invented modern printing.

But like all technologies, the mechanical press was seen by many as a bad thing. Scribes went on strike, afraid they would lose their jobs to the printing machines. The lay people were, at first, terrified by the presses. Every copy was identical, which of course meant that the devil was involved. Gutenberg’s friend and partner, Johannes Faust, was arrested and charged with witchcraft. Fortunately, Faust escaped death and the mechanical press churned on.

We are on the cusp of another golden age now and, as in the 15^th century, there is resistance. Computers are the new Gutenberg press, and once again there is a witch hunt.

The traditional publishers, the very same companies that drove independent bookstores and magazine distributors out of business, are asking for help as they, themselves are driven out of business. But who was there for the independent bookstores? Who was there for the mom-and-pop magazine distributors? No one. And no one will be there for the publishers. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the new galactic overlord of the Milky Way, said that “Complaining is not a strategy.” And he’s right. Traditional publishers had the chance to jump on new technology and lead the way to the second Golden Age of Writing. They had a chance to move their sand castles back as the water rolled in, but they chose to fight the new technology, instead.

Electronic publishing is as revolutionary today as Gutenberg’s press was in his day. Traditional publishers can no more fight this technology than the monks and luddites of the 15^th century could stop the wild spread of the printed word. And in this brave new world of easy publication, lots of things have changed.

The author has become the publisher. Novelists can release their works themselves, delivering precisely the product that they want, and they can connect with their readers directly, in ways they could never do before.

Serial story-telling, one episode at a time, is popular again.

Novelists are getting feedback directly from readers, as soon as their novel is published.

And those novels are being published far more quickly, because novelists no longer need to rely on the lumbering machinery of the rusted publishing companies. No, the writer becomes the head of his kingdom, contracting out editors and cover designers and doing what he or she can for publicity. Voices that were always filtered and steered by dreadnought holding companies are no longer fettered. Ten million songs, each unique and unaltered, ring out across the Web.

And while the great castles of sand built by traditional publishers slowly erode, the new castles are being built in our homes, far from the sea.

Because even a child understands that you can’t fight the tide.

Roberto Calas is a published (and self-published) author and lover of history. His serial trilogy (The Scourge) is about a 14^th century knight fighting his way through a demon-infested England to reunite with the woman he loves. And every bit of it is true except for the made up parts. Roberto is taking advantage of the new publishing tide to ask readers for help in publishing the third novel in his Scourge trilogy. Please have a look at his Kickstarter campaign for more details.

In addition to The Scourge series, Roberto has written The Beast of Maug Maurai (fantasy), and Kingdom of Glass (historical fiction in the Foreworld universe).

Roberto lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, with his two children, and visits the United Kingdom on a monthly basis to be with his fiancée, Annabelle. Sometimes he fights demons to get to her.

You can learn more about Roberto on his website: http://robertocalas.com.  

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I want to thank Roberto for taking the time to ‘stop by’ the blog, and for his thought-provoking words. Who would have thought – Gutenberg as an indie-champion! We do indeed live in exciting times of creativity, and Roberto is one of those fighting the good fight and giving us some great storytelling. If you haven’t read The Scourge or The Beast of Maug Maurai books, I highly recommend them. I’ve also just finished his short story, The Wages of Sin, and it’s a great read!

Be sure to check out Roberto’s Kickstarter link too. It’s a chance to help the story continue, and any measure of support will help this warrior of the written word to continue his campaign.

Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Blog Tour – My Writing Process

Today is blog tour day! I’m pretty excited as I haven’t participated in a blog tour before. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to get to know other writers and their work. I always enjoy reading about other people’s creative process, so I was keen to take part when asked.

Last week, my fellow scribe of ancient stories, Luciana Cavallaro, posted on her website Eternal Atlantis. Be sure to check it out. If you like retellings of ancient myths, you’ll love her Accursed Women series of short stories.

Now for the tour questions and a peek into the Labyrinth of my mind. Be sure to bring your sword and hold on to the end of that string…

What am I working on?

Sometimes I feel like that question should be ‘What am I NOT working on?’ I always thought that I was a writer who would tackle one project at a time. That’s how I read, after all.

But no. There are just too many stories I want to tell, and because I mostly write series, I have a hard time leaving those stories be for extended periods of time. It’s almost as if the characters are all staring at me from across a dark river, pleading with me to help them continue their journeys and not leave them in limbo.

At the moment, my biggest project is putting the finishing touches on Killing the Hydra, the second book in my Eagles and Dragons series. I hope to have that out for the holidays. Eagles and Dragons is my main series and I’m already writing and researching book three, Warriors of Epona.

I’m also writing the second part of my Carpathian Interlude series of novellas which takes place on the Danube frontier during the reign of Augustus. The first part of that was Immortui which was Romans vs. Zombies. The second part, Lykoi, is Romans vs. Werewolves. It’s a lot of fun to write the more fantastical stuff in an historical context.

Other projects that are begging my attention in the wings of my life right now are the second draft of the first part of my Alexander the Great trilogy, and the second draft of a short story I’ve written. The latter is a retelling of the ancient Greek Phaethon myth. I can’t wait to share that with everyone.

Needless to say, time is precious and in short supply.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

There are a couple of ways in which my work differs from others. I don’t believe, and I’ve been told this by others, that my books slot into one particular genre. A lot of historical fiction, where the protagonists are in the Roman army, deal purely with the military aspects of campaigning, battle and blood. Such books are geared mainly to male adventure readers. In my work I always incorporate some ‘softer’ elements, romance, and strong female characters to balance out the brutality of war in the ancient world. I think that is why at least half of my readers are female. I like to immerse my readers in the serene beauty of a place and then throw them headlong into battle. I like to have something for everyone in my stories.

The second thing that makes my books quite different is the incorporation of ancient religion. I’ve had some wonderful reader comments and e-mails saying that they loved Children of Apollo because no other books they have read made ancient religion and the Gods so great a part of the story. I’m also an historian, and as I see it, if I’m going to give people an accurate a feel for the ancient world, I can’t ignore something that was so integral to that world and its way of thinking. In ancient Greece and Rome, the Gods played an important role in every aspect of life and as such deserve much more than a passing nod. Religion just makes the story that much richer, and accurate.

Why do I write what I do?

I just love history and mythology. I also love storytelling and believe that historical fiction is one of the best ways to learn about the past, to be immersed in it. I first fell in love with history through storytelling and my studies grew out of that.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized that I fell in love with history and writing at the exact same time. 

As soon as I got the history bug after a trip to England, I immediately started writing about the places I’d been to, and the history I had learned -  Poems, short stories, even sketches (though I’m rubbish at drawing!).

Basically, I want to share my love of ancient and medieval history with others in an interesting and entertaining way.

How does your writing process work?

I write in the cracks of my life.

Ideally, I would write all morning and then do editing and marketing in the afternoons. I’d have some good coffee flowing and some nice treats to go along with it.

Then I wake up and realize that’s not going to happen, not with a day job.

I usually carry a notebook for the current project I’m working on and write whenever I can. I do most of my writing on my lunch breaks and can get about 4-5 pages out of that. My first draft is always done long hand in notebooks and then I work on the second draft as I’m typing it out.

A project usually starts like this:

I get a very powerful, personal image that won’t leave me alone. That’s the spark that ignites it all. For Children of Apollo, I just kept seeing a column of dirty, tired legionaries marching over desert dunes. I could taste the sand in my mouth and the sweat running down my cheeks.

Then I jump into research, which is what sets historical fiction apart. It requires tonnes of research if you want to do it well and transport your readers. I try to immerse myself in the period. I travel when I can to the places I’m writing about, I look at colour reference books, maps and photos. I listen to period music (when possible), watch movies and documentaries, and eat and drink things that might have been consumed. Ancient Rome is great because I like wine, but I’m not a fan of stuffed kidneys, sheep’s brains or milk-fed snails. I didn’t go that far for my craft!

Part of my research is also creating an approximate timeline so that my fictional story is in sync with the history. I am a ‘pantser’ when I write, but for historical fiction a timeline can provide a sort of outline.

When I write, I like to listen to movie soundtrack music because it is so emotive. When I get to a major action sequence or battle scene, I’ll stop to sketch out the stages of the combat so I don’t get lost in the chaos.

Then I start writing, and I don’t stop until the story is done. The best advice I ever got was from my late mentor, the poet Leila Pepper, who learned from W.O. Mitchell. Leila said that the most important thing was to “just get the story down on paper…no matter what…just get it down.” That’s great advice, and very liberating. 

I find there is never a perfect time to write. You have to do it whenever you can, and because you love it. For me family always comes first; art supports life, not the other way around. But it’s in those spare moments, however few they might be, that I love to jump into the past and join the characters I’ve created, whether it’s marching through the Sahara, attending an imperial banquet or hunting zombies north of the Danube. There is no better feeling than when the story just comes together unexpectedly, with the exception of hearing the words “Daddy’s home!” at the end of a long day.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my writing process. As ever, I look forward to your comments. Also, be sure to check out the posts from my two friends below. They will be posting their blogs for the tour on their own websites on November 18^th. They have interesting stories to tell and I for one cannot wait to hear how they go about their writing lives.

Here they are:

RobertoCalas is an author and lover of history. His serial trilogy (The Scourge) is about a 14^th century knight fighting his way through a zombie-infested England to reunite with the woman he loves. And every bit of it is true except for the made up parts. In addition to The Scourge series, Roberto has written The Beast of Maug Maurai (fantasy), and Kingdom of Glass (historical fiction in the Foreworld universe). He lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, with his two children, and visits the United Kingdom on a monthly basis to be with his fiancée, Annabelle. Sometimes he fights zombies to get to her.

You can learn more about Roberto on his website: http://robertocalas.com. He’d be most appreciative if you liked his facebook page, too: https://www.facebook.com/RobertoCalasAuthor. And if you feel you can only take 140 characters worth of him at a time, his twitter handle is, @robertocalas.

Lindsay Townsend is fascinated by ancient world and medieval history and writes historical romance covering these periods. She also enjoys thrillers and writes both historical and contemporary romantic suspense. When not writing, Lindsay enjoys spending time with her husband, gardening, reading and taking long, languid baths - possibly with chocolate. 

Werewolves and Zombies – Writing outside the Bounds of Historical Fiction

My house move is finished and went well. The Russian crew of three performed feats of strength that would put many a Roman legionary to shame.

Now, I’m in the midst of excavating what feels like hundreds of boxes in my search for books, photos, notes, sword replicas and some carefully packed artifacts.

Luckily, my Kindle is intact and I am finding a little more time to read.

I just started a new book: The Wolves of Paris by Michael Wallace.

This is a great read thus far and it has reminded me of what a wonderful genre historical fantasy is. It reminds me how it can take historical events and put a different spin on them.

Ancient and Medieval people were religious and superstitious and had explanations for occurrences in their world that were far different from our own often scientific answers. Historical fantasy is the perfect medium for expressing these ancient ways of thinking.

The historical event that forms the basis of The Wolves of Paris is the arrival of a pack of man-eating wolves in the city of Paris circa 1450. The pack killed about forty people before the Parisians slaughtered them, supposedly in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

This would make a great bit of historical fiction as is. I didn’t know about this episode in late medieval Paris. What the author does, however, is make the story about Werewolves invading the city. Now this really turns the story on its head. The terror felt by the citizens is even better illustrated by turning the wolves to Werewolves.

The human imagination is a powerful thing and fear is one of the emotions that sets it ablaze.

You would think that yet another Werewolf or Zombie book is nothing new, and you would be right. However, if you place such a story in an historical setting, then it takes on a whole new look and has new appeal.

Roberto Calas’ series, The Scourge, is medieval historical fantasy with a fantastic twist. It takes place in England during the Black Death, but instead of the usual type of Bubonic Plague, the ‘Scourge’ that is referred to in the novel is a sort of Zombie apocalypse.

Roberto has been a guest on Writing the Past before and you can read his post HERE.

The Scourge is a fantastic adventure and the fear will grip you as you travel through the desolation of this medieval world, the possibility of a Zombie attack all too real to ignore.

Another series of books that I have mentioned in the past is Alice Borchardt’s Legends of the Wolf trilogy.

The first book, The Silver Wolf, is a book that I really enjoyed reading, made even better by Ms. Borchardt’s rich descriptive powers.

In The Silver Wolf, 8^th century Rome is brought to life as we follow the girl Regeane, who happens to be a Werewolf, on her journey through this once-great city of the Empire, and even to the Underworld.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to get to the second one, The Night of the Wolf, which takes place during Caesar’s invasion of Gaul. Again, a period of history that has been written about many times before, but which has new life breathed into it by the use of the fantastical element of Werewolves.

You would be wrong if you think these are going to be corny, laughable reads.

In fact, these books are more engrossing and intense than many a work of ‘mainstream’ historical fiction.

So, if you think that writing or reading yet another book about Werewolves or Zombies will be about as interesting as reading parliamentary transcripts, have no fear.

Pick up a book of historical fantasy, such as one of the three mentioned, and you won’t be disappointed. 

History or Your Story?

This week I’m very pleased to have author Roberto Calas as a guest on Writing the Past. Roberto’s recent Kindle Serial, The Scourge, has definitely made a splash in the realm of historical fiction/fantasy and to me, it is a wonderful melding of good historical research and fantasy. Oh, and it has Zombies! 14^th century England has never been so exciting and yet so terrifying. Roberto talks to us about the creation of this unique work and the choice that all historical novelists must face: History or Your Story?

Can you imagine what people eight hundred years from now would think of our civilization if all they had to judge us by was a Fox News story? Or a Huffington Post article? Or, God forbid, an article from the parody newspaper, The Onion?

I think about this sort of thing all the time as I research my stories. Because, really, we base all of our knowledge about the Middle Ages on personal accounts written by biased sources, and a tatty old tapestry in France.

How do we really know that King Harold was shot in the eye with an arrow? How do we know that Brutus stabbed Julius Caesar? How do we know that Justinian’s wife convinced him not to flee Constantinople?

How do we know that the 14^th century plague wasn’t a zombie virus?

We don’t. Not for certain.

We take other people’s written accounts of it. If history is always written by the winners, then we never get more than half the story. But this nagging knowledge should not stop us from trying to be as accurate as we can.

We are writing a story that, we hope, will move readers. We want to entertain, we want to quicken pulses and control what readers feel and when they feel it. So we have to make the reader believe what we are writing.

Okay, so I’m fairly certain that the 14^th century plague wasn’t a demonic virus. But if I want to write a novel like The Scourge, where a trio of knights travels across zombie-infested England, I need my readers to suspend their disbelief. I need to add enough realism and detail to the setting and language and props of the story so the reader can put aside his or her doubts and, for a time, believe that those plague victims staggered and ate human au jus.

How do I do that?

I have to learn as much as I can about the time period. From the clothes people wore to the political ideology of the time. I need to know common surnames in the region. If the towns and villages had different names in the 14^th century. Which churches were around and which were not. Is there chalk beneath our heroes’ feet? Or slate? Are there elms above their heads? Or Ash? What type of flower grows in the marsh? What’s that little circular thing that dangles down over a knights’ armpit called? How much did a dairy cow weigh back then? Where in London did the peasants confront King Richard II? Why are there Flemish in Sudbury?

I need to immerse myself in 14^th century England. And I need to do it from sources I know might well be flawed. Really annoying, actually. But I have to do it. Because there will be someone out there who knows the established wisdom on Richard II and the Peasant Revolt. Or what a dairy cow weighs. Someone who knows what that little dangling thing is called. Who knows exactly why the Flemish came to Sudbury.

And even after researching it, someone will still point to a fact and say (probably in a nasally voice) “Um, actually, that sort of cannon wasn’t around until 1401,” or something similar. There are too many contradictions in historical research. But you have to do the legwork. Try to visit the places you write about. Read books, don’t just search the Internet. You can find fifty great facts in a book in the time it would take you to completely research one fact on the Internet.

Okay. Now that I have said all this, I will refute every word.

After all your research is done, forget it. Write your story. The research is for the world and the details. It is the anchor that grounds your tale. When there is a conflict between history and your story – an honest to God one that you can’t possibly avoid no matter what you try – then your story should always win out. Because story is what readers really want. They just want to believe that the story you wrote could have happened. And it takes a lot of work to satisfy them. Historical fiction lets you lean on factual people, places and events, but it is merciless in your accurate portrayal of them.

Even though no one is completely certain what that accurate portrayal is.

Roberto Calas is an author of historical fiction and fantasy. He lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut (yeah, that Sandy Hook), with a set of wonder twins. His fiancée lives in England and his closest relative lives four hundred miles away. That’s how he rolls. His most recent novel, The Scourge (47North), takes place in a demon-ravaged 14^th century England and is completely, one-hundred percent, absolutely, historically accurate. Sort of.

You can find him at his website, www.robertocalas.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter @robertocalas

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I’d like to thank Roberto Calas for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to write such an interesting post and give us a hint as to what went into the writing of The Scourge. If you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it. Part of me was left thinking that the Black Death was indeed a plague of zombies! As ever, historical fiction/fantasy can explore beyond the boundaries of what is known, and that always makes for an exciting read. 

To get your copy of The Scourge visit Amazon.com