Mad Masks I draw a lot of inspiration from weird and wonderful history details when creating the world of my Red Kingdom books, and while flicking through a history magazine, I came across a fascinating fashion trend that was popular in the 1500s and 1600s. Basically, wealthy European women liked to cover their faces when going outside …
Well, like I said in an earlier post, I’ve had a big life change recently, which is returning to a full-time day job, after being only part-time for the last four years. It’s definitely the right choice for my little family, but it will mean some adjustment to my writing schedule, so I’ll have a …
I’ve been doing a lot of historical reading (fun!) into a very fascinating era in Australian history … 1920s and 1930s Sydney. Imagine this … Australia is a fairly conservative country in the 20s and 30s. Customs are banning books and films from entering the nation. It’s described as a cultural quarantine. The rest of the …
Alright, here is some real talk for you … and strap in, because this loooong (oops, sorry, haha). I’ve been thinking a lot about books and stories lately, and maybe going through some author crisis stuff, haha. Being an author can be really hard. It takes an enormous amount of work and dedication, often with …
An ancient Sumerian Joke My husband recently came across an ancient joke and told it to me. It was etched onto a tablet around 1700 BCE in the Old Babylonian Empire and excavated in the 19th century. It goes like this: A dog entered into a tavern and said, ‘I cannot see anything. I shall …
So, recently, a friend of mine (who knows I love a good bit of well-told history) recommended a podcast called Empire (hosted by Anita Anand and William Dalrymple). I listened to the entire first season in one week (which was about 20 hours, haha). The podcast is so riveting, and even if you think the history doesn’t …
It is time for me to talk about heart burial, specifically the story of a real and very yucky-looking human heart, which has been floating about in formaldehyde for over 200 years. Yuck. yuck. Yuck. It is a relic of a dead prince deeply (and controversially!) entwined with the story of independence in Brazil, which is why …
I’ve been reading a history book lately, which is all about the weird things medieval people believed about their bodies. The book is okay, I honestly thought it would be a bit more about medieval life and thought in general, but mostly it talks about medicine and strange medical ideas during the Dark Ages. So anyway, …
At the beginning of the year, I signed up for an online creative writing workshop across four weeks. The focus of the workshop was on fairytales, and we have learned about the writing techniques used in those super old (weird and creepy) fairytales, as well as how modern writers can reinterpret or draw from them …
Read more “Writing Update (but really a waffle about disturbing, old fairytales … sorry, haha)”
I recently read an amazing article on Atlas Obscura (of course, haha), which shows the elaborate golden headdress, beaded top, and jewellery of a queen who lived 4,500 years ago. Go check it out, seriously. Her name was Queen Pu-abi, and she was unearthed in the 1920s, from a stone burial chamber alongside three more bodies, presumably her …