Tag Archives: Blogging from A to Z Challenge

N for Native

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

N for Native (2014)

I’ve been interested in and inspired by ‘Native’ or indigenous people for decades. In the 1980s, I campaigned with tribal human rights organisation Survival International, when I was editor of ‘New Ground’, a green-socialist magazine. I’ve worked that concern into some of my writing, including the world of Gossamer Flames.

This post was echoed in later years, as in 2015’s First Nations during the War of 1812. Does my interest in Romany people for another North Wales case relate? Or just on human rights?

Anyway, all the research nuggets unearthed while I was creating the game-world for my novel ‘Wyrm Bait’, evolved into my post-apocalyptic saga Gossamer Flames. And the research is ongoing as always useful – and interesting.

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/

L for LOTRO

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

L for LOTRO (2018)

How could I not mention the Professor? The Lord of the Rings is one of my favourite books, although I discovered Tolkien the Anglo-Saxon scholar first – via his essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics“. After reading the trilogy in about 1969 aged 16 – I still have those reread hardbacks – Peter Jackson’s reimagining was my Middle Earth. Then I discovered and played this wonderful game.

On the other hand, exploring the literature and folklore behind this game was one of the reasons I began my investigation into the creative Origins of various On-line Games. I’d been drawn to find Middle Earth for decades – and then I met Frodo.

I will post about other games that were relevant in 2018 and still are meaningful.

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/

K for Kitsune

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

K for Kitsune (2014).

This fascinating gem from Japanese folklore seems to re-occur in my journey. Although I expanded on this research nugget while I was creating the game-world for my novel ‘Wyrm Bait’, it wasn’t my first encounter. Yes, it was one that evolved into a character in my post-apocalyptic saga Gossamer Flames. But the research is ongoing.

However, I first discovered about Kitsunes through the game which brought my wife and me together, Perfect World. One of my characters was a Venomancer, a female-only class modelled on these Japanese fox beings.

And it seems as if a kitsune plays a key role in Charles Kowalski’s short in the IWSG anthology Voyagers: The Third Ghost due out on May 5th. Read more about his story here:

https://iwsganthologies.blogspot.com/2020/02/in-spotlight-charles-kowalski-author-of.html

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/

J for Jeopardy

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

J for Jeopardy (2019).

Act Two of Azure Spark, an investigation featuring my Welsh detective Sparkle Anwyl and her partner Kama Pillai, the main characters in my Snowdon Shadows series.

The case evolved into a novella as I edited the posts into three acts last year. I will post the ending, Act Three on April 23rd.

I suspect not everyone got to read ‘Azure Spark’ last year so this will be another chance. Enjoy.

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/

I for Impressment

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

I for Impressment (2015).  

One of the many causes of the War of 1812, Impressment by the Royal Navy was resolved by the end. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, Britain ended the practice, although conscription continued to cover all British armed forces. Gregory Wendell, the author of the diary in ‘Seeking A Knife’in my Snowdon Shadows series, is an RN officer so sees impressment first hand.

How much do you know about the War of 1812? When I studied British history in the UK, it was a footnote to the Napoleonic Wars. But now I’m learning, initiated by spending a few years in Canada.

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/