Tag: Gourd and the Stars
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Religious Fights and Disabled Knights: Charity, Crusade, and the Origins of the Order of Saint Lazarus
“The king’s light manner vanished, and an unheard-of look of fear came into his scarred face. ‘I can’t. I—’ He suppressed a small shudder and whispered, ‘I’m afraid that if I ever enter the Lazarus Postern, they’ll never let me out.’” – The Gourd and the Stars, chapter 16 After a few months off, I…
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Letting the Inmates Run the Asylum: Writing and Character-Led Plot Development
This week, I thought we’d get back into some writing mechanics content and talk more about the process of constructing a story that is satisfying to write as well as read. A debate that gets a lot of airtime in creative circles is whether it is better to plan out every aspect of a story,…
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Christendom’s Favorite Frienemy: the History and Hagiography of Salah al-Din in the Western Imagination
“[Saladin] gave [the stolen Christian baby] to the mother and she took it; with tears streaming down her face, and hugged the baby to her chest. The people were watching her and weeping and I was standing amongst them. She suckled it for some time and then Saladin ordered a horse to be fetched for…
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The Tangled Web We Weave: The Royal Houses of France and England in The Gourd and the Stars
“Henry was eighteen when we met, and I was queen of France. He came down from the north to Paris with a mind like Aristotle’s and a form like mortal sin. We shattered the Commandments on the spot.” – The Lion in Winter “Marguerite and Alys [are Constance of Castile’s daughters], but you shouldn’t worry…
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Angling for the Fisher King: Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Constructing Characters in Historical Fiction
“Amalric died in the same year, succeeded by perhaps the most gallant figure of the whole Frankish venture, the leper king, Baldwin IV ([reign] 1174-85), who inherited the throne at thirteen, a year after his leprosy had been discovered [sic]. He literally dropped to pieces during his reign, a via dolorosa on which he showed,…
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*Release Day for THE GOURD AND THE STARS*
By the staff of St. James, everyone, we have made it (with your encouragement) to another publication day! My latest novel, THE GOURD AND THE STARS, is available TODAY (1/12/2024) in paperback and ebook on virtually all major platforms (Hoopla, as always, is late). Join me for a classic Crusades romance with knights, ladies, adventure,…
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📚Join me and my editor for discussion about writing and publishing (and my next book)!📚
Hello all, I wanted to let you know that I am (excitedly!) doing a live guest spot on my editor Jessica Hatch’s Stubstack podcast, Comp Title Book Club, this Saturday, January 13th, 2024 at 2pm EST! Jessica is veteran editor and author with experience in both traditional and indie publishing, and she is using all…
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Preview for THE GOURD AND THE STARS
As previously promised, I want to take this week to talk a little about my next book, The Gourd and the Stars, as I’ve entered the last pre-formatting editing phase and my artist at SelfPubBookCovers is beginning work on a cover. I thought I still might be jumping the gun a bit, but seeing how…
Sarah Holz 