Category Archives: Alternative History

R for Rurikid Diarchy

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My 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge revisits my best posts from the 2014 to 2019 Challenges.

R for Rurikid Diarchy 1933 (2017)

Time for another shift in world history.

And all because I couldn’t stop constructing my Kanata alternative history. The initial trigger, Leif Eriksson’s permanent colonisation of Vinland, inspired me to rewrite other key episodes in history. I wanted the legacy forged from Vikings merging with the indigenous people to ripple down time. Kanata evolved into my vision of a 21st Century Viking Age.

Anyway, this one has deep roots as well as great ripples. Before the ‘our timeline’ revelation, will you recognise all the real historical events echoed here? I threw my whole set of spanners into this period. Amusing? Believably or fantasy?

Expect more alternative history ahead.  

In fact, this ties with my current interests – like my short story ‘Feathered Fire’ which has a Ukrainian MC. The tale will appear in the IWSG anthology Voyagers: The Third Ghost, which is released on May 5th, 2020. There’s a taster on the IWSG Anthologies blog – if you’re tempted to delve.

Links to my other 2020 A to Z posts can be found here: https://rolandclarke.com/blogging-from-a-to-z/blogging-from-a-to-z-challenge-2020/

To visit other participants see The OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YphbP47JyH_FuGPIIrFuJfAQiBBzacEkM7iBnq6DGDA/

P for Plague

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My 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge revisits my best posts from the 2014 to 2019 Challenges.

P for Plague 1350 (2017)

When I re-read this old post, I was reluctant to re-blog it. Is it topical or frightening when there’s a pandemic creating havoc? But my better half advised me that I couldn’t ignore it. Do you agree?

This phrase chimes with today – ‘cleanliness is crucial’. So, be sensible and wash your hands etc., be sensible and inspired.

Before the ‘our timeline’ revelation, will you recognise the real historical event. It’s a major historical event. Could it have been avoided?

I attempted to find a route when constructing my Kanata alternative history. The initial trigger, Leif Eriksson’s permanent colonisation of Vinland, inspired me to rewrite other key episodes in history. I wanted the legacy forged from Vikings merging with the indigenous people to ripple down time. Kanata evolved into my vision of a 21st Century Viking Age.

I’ve been playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, a game set in France in 1348. Its realism is both amazing and terrifying – well, as far as I’ve got, elements disturb me. Not the right escapism at present. But I will finish it – one day.

Here’s a short observation on pandemics and a message from a historical fiction author I follow. Do I write the current ‘plague’ out of my alternative history? Or was it inevitable in any reality?

If you are willing to read a detailed article on our present pandemic, this one is informative – with a crucial lesson.

Expect more alternative history ahead.  

Links to my other A to Z posts can be found here: https://rolandclarke.com/blogging-from-a-to-z/blogging-from-a-to-z-challenge-2020/

To visit other participants see The OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YphbP47JyH_FuGPIIrFuJfAQiBBzacEkM7iBnq6DGDA/

M for Maid of Norway

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My 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge revisits my best posts from the 2014 to 2019 Challenges.

M for Maid of Norway 1317 (2017)

 I developed another key changing point in my AH Viking world when science shifts direction with the support of the alternative dynastic power – but all with historical connections.

Before the ‘our timeline’ revelation, will you recognise the real historical events or the ones that occurred later.

These reworkings of reality are  all because I couldn’t stop constructing my Kanata alternative history. The initial trigger, Leif Eriksson’s permanent colonisation of Vinland, inspired me to rewrite other key episodes in history. I wanted the legacy forged from Vikings merging with the indigenous people to ripple down time. Kanata evolved into my vision of a 21st Century Viking Age.

Expect more alternative history ahead.  

M is also for Masterpiece – the next chapter in my Sparkle Anwyl case, Custody Chain. This is my ongoing WEP/IWSG Challenge entry, started in February with Café Terrace.

Links to my other A to Z posts can be found here: https://rolandclarke.com/blogging-from-a-to-z/blogging-from-a-to-z-challenge-2020/

To visit other participants see The OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YphbP47JyH_FuGPIIrFuJfAQiBBzacEkM7iBnq6DGDA/

G for Göta älv

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My 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge revisits my best posts from the 2014 to 2019 Challenges.

G for Göta älv 1036 (2017)

Rewriting a new Kanata timeline threw up this turning point, which was a chance to solidify the dynastic ties around Northern Europe. Before the ‘our timeline’ revelation, will you recognise the real historical event or which crucial event in British history may never happen?

And all because I couldn’t stop constructing my Kanata alternative history. The initial trigger, Leif Eriksson’s permanent colonisation of Vinland, inspired me to rewrite other key episodes in history. I wanted the legacy forged from Vikings merging with the indigenous people to ripple down time. Kanata evolved into my vision of a 21st Century Viking Age.

Expect more alternative history ahead.  

Links to my other A to Z posts can be found here: https://rolandclarke.com/blogging-from-a-to-z/blogging-from-a-to-z-challenge-2020/

To visit other participants see The OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YphbP47JyH_FuGPIIrFuJfAQiBBzacEkM7iBnq6DGDA/

D for Donibane

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My 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge revisits my best posts from the 2014 to 2019 Challenges.

D for Donibane 1914 (2017)

My Kanata alternative history triggered by Leif Eriksson colonising Vinland, inspired me to rewrite some key episodes in history. I wanted the legacy forged by a Viking alliance with the indigenous people rippled down time. A 21st Century Viking Age.

This episode is a crucial stage in the development of the airships at the heart of modern Kanata. Before the ‘our timeline’ revelation, will you recognise the real historical event? Expect more alternative history ahead.

Links to my other A to Z posts can be found here: https://rolandclarke.com/blogging-from-a-to-z/blogging-from-a-to-z-challenge-2020/

To visit other participants see The OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YphbP47JyH_FuGPIIrFuJfAQiBBzacEkM7iBnq6DGDA/

A to Z April Challenge Theme Reveal 2020

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As April draws nearer so does the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and lots of exciting posts on loads of new sites.

I’ve been doing the A to Z Challenge since 2014 and began pondering my 2020 theme sometime last year. But in the last few months, everything has overwhelmed me – emails, regular posts like IWSG and WEP, replying to comments, and my own writing. Plus, my health issues.

So, I’m taking the simpler way out – reposting my best posts from 2014 to 2019 Challenges.

Thanks to Jacqui Murray for triggering that approach with her 2019 solution: ..a genre for every letter of the alphabet, but with one or two posts every month. Her reasoning chimed with my own thoughts about too many posts to write/read/comment on etcetera in April.

She wasn’t alone as others found other solutions to negotiating the A to Z Challenge.

However, I’m still going to post on the official A to Z days, starting with A for Assault on Wednesday April 1st, 2020. If you’re tempted and follow that link, you will discover Part One of Azure Spark, which evolved into a novella featuring my Welsh detective Sparkle Anwyl. I edited the posts into three acts, and all three will be posted during April: on the 1st, 11th, and 23rd.

I suspect not everyone got to read ‘Azure Spark’ so this will be another chance. A chance to to revisit older posts on other themes; like my 2017 History of Kanata or my 2015 The War of 1812. But I’ve yet to decide what posts to choose.

Watch this space.

All I can say is Sparkle Anwyl’s case will be complete, and Azure Spark is referenced in my WIP ‘Fevered Fuse’ – my current priority along with the more imminent and crucial release of the IWSG Anthology, Voyagers: The Third Ghost on May 5th.

V for Voyagers on April 25th?