Midlist Writer: Armies of the Adowa Campaign: a sneak peak at my next book

Monday 8 August 2011

Armies of the Adowa Campaign: a sneak peak at my next book

Sorry for my silence on this blog. I've been busy getting another blog about my Civil War novel up and running. I'm happy to say it hasn't even been a month but I already have nine followers and more than 1,100 hits! Here's hoping that my novel, A Fine Likeness, will be equally successful once it comes out in September.

My family and I are in Oxford for our customary summer of research, hiking, and seeing old friends. As usual, I popped into the offices of Osprey Publishing and chatted with the editors about my current projects and possible future ones. I also got an advance copy of Armies of the Adowa Campaign.

The folks at Osprey did their usual awesome job with the layout and the maps. I also have to tip my hat to Raffaele Ruggeri for his excellent and precise illustrations. When I was researching the book and assembling instructions for the as-yet-unassigned artist, one of my main sources for Italian uniforms was a book Mr. Ruggeri illustrated. I was very happy to hear he was taking the project. It made my instructions almost unnecessary!

The book includes almost fifty rare photographs from the Italian archives, and some of my own photos I took while exploring the battlefield.

For more on this project, check out two posts I did for the Osprey blog. Part one was about researching in Ethiopia, and part two was about researching in Rome. Check them out for insights into the ups and downs (and even dangers) of researching military history!

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