EP 7: Research

Military History Photo Friday: The Volkshandgranate 45, A Grenade Made Out Of Concrete:

I've been reading Antony Beevor's excellent history book Berlin: The Downfall 1945 as part of my research for my Volkssturm novel. The Volkssturm were a German civilian militia formed in October 1944 in a last desperate bid to stop the Allied advance. The Volkssturm called up all able-bodied men aged 16 to 60 who weren’t already in uniform. It also called up some women.

A passing mention in Beevor's book told me of a weapon I didn't know about--the Volkshandgranate 45, or the "people's hand grenade 1945". This crude grenade was developed in the last months of the war and was the product of a chronic shortage of raw material. By this time most of the Third Reich's industrial base had been taken by the Russians, and the Germans resorted to making hand grenades out of concrete. These would be filled with bits of scrap metal, gravel, and nuggets of cement. The whole thing was fitted with a fuse and some explosive. Beevor says the Volkshandgranate 45 was more dangerous to the user than the target, and yet hundreds of thousands of them were produced in the last months of the war and distributed to the Volkssturm, Wehrmacht, and even some elite SS units.

It just goes to show how desperate the Third Reich had become in the last months of its existence. As the Nobel Prize winning author Heinrich Böll, who was drafted in to the army during the war, put it, the men were fighting not for their country, but for survival, and their only hope was that they would somehow survive after they were defeated.

Leaving for Oxford

It's time for our biannual research trip to Oxford! We're there every Easter and summer. As usual I'll be researching in the Bodleian Library, one of the greatest libraries in the world, and doing a variety of freelance projects as well as my own stuff. I'm planning a few trips to London and the countryside, so there should be some nice pics coming up here and on my Instagram account.

And just a reminder, my post-apocalyptic novel Radio Hope is still just 99 cents through July 19 on all the Amazons!

Travel Tuesday: Researching at the Bodleian Library, Oxford

I just finished my usual summer research trip to Oxford. Most days I'm in the Bodleian Library. This library dates back to the Middle Ages and is a copyright library, meaning it tries to have a copy of every book published in the UK. Needless to say, it's a good source for research!

The above photo shows the Duke Humfrey's Library. It's the oldest reading room in the library and was completed in 1487, although most of the decoration is from the early 17th century. Most of the shelves contain rare books, many in Latin, that I don't need. I do sit here to work sometimes, though, because, well, just look at it!

This is the Divinity School, completed in 1488 and originally used for theology classes. Now it's rarely used except for some formal functions. Pity, they should fill it with books and let me work in there!

On normal days I'm in the Upper Reading room, usually at this very corner. It's got more normal surroundings, which are less distracting. That strip of painting on the top dates from the 16th century, though, and the views out the window of Oxford's "dreaming spires" occasionally draws my eyes away from my books. 

Photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons, because I never got around to bringing my camera to work!

Military History Photo Friday: U.S. Cavalry on the Trail

OK, this is a painting and not a photo, but it's from the great Frederic Remington so I think you'll forgive me. It's titled In the Desert and was painted around 1888, in the final stages of the U.S. Cavalry's struggle with the Apache.

I'm getting into the Old West mindset again. I just signed a contract with Osprey Publishing to write a new title for their Combat series on a soldier's-eye view of the fighting between Apache warriors and U.S. Cavalrymen. Luckily I'm in Oxford right now and the famous Bodleian Library has a huge American collection. I'm burying myself in Old West history all summer, except for the week I'm going to be attending Worldcon.

Having ridden through the desert on a hot Arizona day, I can tell you that Remington captured the feeling perfectly!

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Military History Photo Friday: Moroccan Uniform from World War One

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been researching the Moroccan Colonial troops who fought in the French Army during World War One. The British regiment I'm writing about meets up with one of these regiments at the Battle of the Aisne in 1914.

I'm having trouble finding information about their uniforms. It seems the more I look, the more variants I find. The image above shows reenactors of the 1st Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs (Skirmishers). Compare it with the previous uniform I posted and you'll see they're very different. I've also seen images where the troops are wearing a simple tan uniform with matching fez.

So I'm stuck not knowing how to describe my Moroccans. Memoirs from the British who fought at the Aisne don't mention the uniform. What's a historical novelist to do??? More research!!!

An interesting aside: the French government built the Grand Mosque of Paris as a thank you to the 100,000 Muslim troops who died fighting for France in WWI. Almost a century later, it's still one of the largest mosques in Paris.

Image courtesy Claude Truong-Ngoc.

Post-Apocalyptic A to Z: Quick update on my writing

I'm guilty of being a letter behind on the A to Z Challenge, but I plead Innocent Due To Writing! Just last week I finished the next book in my post-apocalyptic Toxic World series, titled Refugees from the Righteous Horde, which is book two after Radio Hope. At the same time I was promoting a free giveaway of my short story The Scavenger. I'll be writing an article about my experiences and what I learned doing this in the next week or so.

Right now I'm chilling out in Oxford on my usual Easter working vacation. I'm taking some time off the apocalypse to research a series called Trench Raiders, which will be a line of action books set in World War One. I'm also doing a bit of travel writing, so if I'm a bit slow with the A to Z over the next two weeks, it's because of a marginal case of burnout.

I hope there's coffee in the apocalypse. . .

Helping out with National Novel Writing Month

I've started a thread on the National Novel Writing Month website for writing a Civil War novel during NaNoWriMo.

If you're writing about the American Civil War, I'll be happy to answer your questions if I can. I've written two books about the Civil War for Osprey Publishing and numerous magazine articles for magazines such as Missouri Life and America's Civil War. I also have a novel set in Civil War Missouri titled A Fine Likeness.

My research focus is on the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater and guerrilla warfare. I'll try to answer any questions posed to me, however. I've already had a couple of good ones. Please don't ask questions that can easily be researched online, though. I'm going to be a wee bit busy this month!


Image of bombardment of Fort Sumter courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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!

Want to write? Turn off your computer!

Yesterday I took a break from my computer. I turned it off the night before and didn't turn it back on until this morning. It was nice to sit in cafes all day scribbling in a notebook like writers are supposed to do. I wrote half a short story and got a chunk of research done for my next history book.

Sitting at the computer is tiring and distracting. There are a million things you can do online, half of them plausibly work related. When I'm in front of the screen, especially after a few hours, my mind gets scattered and I do five things at once. I check my email way too often and become increasingly inefficient.

Having a computer-free day was fun and productive and easy on the eyes. I think I'll try to do it once a week, work permitting. One thing I noticed when I logged in after a 24-hour lull was that nothing had fallen apart. There were no emails that I absolutely had to reply to, Gadling was still online, and my books were still selling on Amazon.

So take note, writers, you don't need your computer as much as you think you do.

Photo friday: The Bodleian Library

Welcome to Photo Friday! I've been in Oxford for the past week and when I haven't been playing in the park with my kid or sampling real ale in Oxford's many fine pubs (including my local) I've been doing research in the Bodleian Library. The oldest parts of this library date from medieval times and there's some splendid architecture.

The photo shows the Tower of the Five Orders, finished 1619, and is the main street entrance. Its name comes from the five orders of columns on its facade: Doric, Tuscan, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. I like having a nice place to work, but the views can be a bit distracting so I tend to sit away from the windows!

Medieval Handgonnes is a bestseller!

My latest book from Osprey Publishing, Medieval Handgonnes: The First Black Powder Infantry Weapons, is number two on the company's bestseller list right now! Osprey comes out with dozens of books a year and has a backlist numbering well over a thousand titles, so this is very gratifying.

This book covers the development of early firearms from the early 1400s until the development of the matchlock more than a century later. While early firearms are generally considered have been more hazardous to the user than the target, I uncovered convincing evidence that they were a useful addition to the medieval arsenal. No other book in the English language exits on this subject, or as far as I can tell any other language, so this project involved a lot of original research and resulted in a one-of-a-kind volume.

I've been getting lots of good reviews for this title, including a recent one from The Wargamer. Actually this title has been getting quite a bit of attention from the wargaming community. The period covered in this book is a popular one for wargamers yet from what I hear there aren't many clear rules involving handgonnes. Perhaps I should learn more about wargaming to understand my readership better!

Guest article: researching a Western horror detective novel

Today we have a guest post from fellow midlist author Lincoln Crisler. Crisler’s debut novella, WILD, has just come out from Damnation Books. He has also authored two short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia, with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at www.lincolncrisler.info.

WILD is my third published book, but my first long-form story. Of course, I couldn’t pick something easy. No, I had to write a Western-style horror/detective novella based on a real missing-persons case from the Old West, and set it in the actual geographic location. While deployed to the Middle East. Granted, this was the easiest I’ve ever had it of my three deployments, but beer is easier to get than a fully-stocked reference library!

Obviously, the Internet was my friend. Wikipedia in particular saved my ass; it was, in fact, how I discovered the story of Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain. When the idea of writing a detective-horror-western popped into my head, that’s all I started with. Only after my friends and readers selected it from a pair of options did I search for historical inspiration. I found the information on Mexican mythology and ritual spellcraft on a couple of other sites. I also had to look for a few Spanish words (such as tesquino, a period-specific form of local beer, and several swear words).

The rest of my research consisted entirely of making sure I had my geography in order. This should have been a little more difficult than it was, but luckily the real-life story I fell in love with just happened to take place in the El Paso, Texas area. I’d been living in El Paso since 2007 and was, in fact, deployed from Fort Bliss when I wrote WILD. I still had to get a feel for Mesilla and Las Cruces, and particularly for that exact time period, but the Internet helped again, and my own knowledge informed my descriptions of the landscape. I had originally envisioned the magician’s lair in El Paso’s Franklin Mountains, but after research and consideration, the Organ Mountains were a better choice, for instance (even though only about ten miles separate the two ranges!).

The only part of my research not to bear fruit was my attempt to procure an intern from a local college; someone interested in writing and/or history, whose professor would be willing to give them extra credit for a couple hours of work. A little fact-checking and fine-tuning of my Spanish, more or less. I tried putting this together when I got home from Qatar (I finished drafting WILD a week before coming home) and I honestly don’t remember why it fell through, but I just don’t have much luck with the academic types. Phooey. Even then, the Force was with me. When the manuscript was accepted, I was able to have the book copy-edited by a fellow author and El Paso resident, Tim Marquitz.

Researching the history and culture behind WILD was easily as enjoyable an experience as writing the book itself, and probably consumed at least as much time by itself. I read a long time ago that more work goes into a book than the reader ever knows, and I’m glad I got a chance to share some of that with you today. Working within a historical framework can definitely be as satisfying as making everything up from scratch!

Websites for Writers: The Institute of Ethiopian Studies

It's Monday, so it's time for another website to inspire all you writers out there. This week we're looking at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, where I spent part of this year researching a book on the Adowa campaign of 1896 for Osprey Publishing. Now this site won't be of much practical use to you unless you're writing about Ethiopia (if so, get in touch) but it sure is inspiring.

The institute is on the campus of Addis Ababa University in one of Haile Selassie's old palaces. The reading desks are in a giant, ornately decorated room that looks like it was used for state functions. It's the nicest room I've ever researched in! Founded in 1963, the institute has weathered coups, civil wars, famine, and lack of funding yet has continually produced two journals as well as a host of other monographs, books, and collections of academic papers. The staff have assembled a huge collection of works on Ethiopia and surrounding countries. Upstairs is an extensive and well-organized ethnographic museum that's one of the highlights of any visit to the city.

Conducting research here was a delight. Despite some problems with language barriers the staff was very helpful and the large amount of English-language material was invaluable for my book. While many people in the West think of Ethiopia in terms of the television images of war and famine from the Eighties, Ethiopia is on the rise. The UN recently ranked Ethiopia number one in Africa in improving quality of life in the past forty years, and number eleven worldwide. One criterion the Ethiopians scored highly on was improvements to education, and their excellent institute is part of that positive trend.

The campus itself is a pleasant place with the usual attractive coeds and lush gardens. Plus there's this cool cafe made from a converted London Routemaster! I ate lunch there a few times. Their Ethiopian food was good, of course, and they also made tasty chips and salsa.

So remember, writers, the so-called developing world is rich with scholars and libraries. They may not have a lot of money, they may only have a dialup connection, they may lose power a couple of times a day, but they keep researching and writing books.

So. . .what YOUR excuse for not writing today?

[Image of institute courtesy Yigal Chamish. I took two photos of it but can't find them! The Routemaster shot is by my wife Almudena Alonso-Herrero]

Historical research in Missouri

As you might have guessed from my previous post, I'm back in Missouri researching my next book for Osprey Publishing. It's for the new Raid series and will be about Confederate General J.O. Shelby's 1863 raid into Missouri. This was one of the longest raids of the war and an important chapter in the history of the war west of the Mississippi.

Osprey is one publisher doing well in the recession thanks to its strong hold on the military history niche and its willingness to expand into new territory. Another new series, Weapons of War, includes my latest book.

I'm based in Columbia, a city in the center of the state that has the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection, two great sources of information with very helpful staff. They're used to me and my endless questions by now! The two institutions are on the University of Missouri campus, where I took this shot of Thomas Jefferson thinking great thoughts. His leg warmers are courtesy of a local underground knitters group that likes decorating telephone poles, parking meters, and anything else they fancy. They haven't yet been named a terrorist group, but in this political climate that might be coming soon. I was surprised Jefferson's leg warmers actually lasted a whole two days before being removed!

Besides working on the book I'll also be going on a Jesse James roadtrip for Gadling. That should go online near the end of the month. My first stop will be this weekend when I visit the site of the Centralia Massacre, one of the bloodiest episodes of Frank and Jesse's war years.

Breaking into the history market

One of the nice things about being visible on the Internet is that I hear from all sorts of people. Aspiring history writer James Marushin asked me about how to break into the history market:

"I had a few questions for you after happening upon on article about freelance history writing that you had written.

"First, how is the market for freelance historical writing? Are places still taking, and paying, for articles? As a background, I graduated a couple years back with my BA in History and have been working as a museum curator since then; is there room in the market for someone like me to make some extra money writing articles? Are the places you listed in that article still interested in pieces?

"Second, is contacting a publisher and asking if I can submit an article the proper place to start? Or is it better to just submit an article without a first introductory contact? Do most have a call for specific types/themes of articles or is it pretty well open?

"Lastly, how critical is the need for primary sources? I understand this may sound like a naive question but I mean to pose it in a business sense not a historiographical one. If I have article ideas but struggle with finding primary sources for them, will an article based on secondary sources be acceptable? Or should I not bother unless I have primary source material?

I work for the Martin County Historical Society in Fairmont, MN. I would be primarily interested in Military History and our Local History and Stories. A lot of my collegiate research and writing was done on a wide array of Military topics while my time at the museum has focused more on local history."

OK, first thing's first. Yes, there is room for someone like you to earn money writing history. It won't be a lot of money to start with, but you can work your way up and with time and persistence you can make some decent money. As far as I know all the places I mentioned in the article are still interested in pieces. I know for a fact that Weider History Group is always open. Your job as a curator puts you in a good position because it lends you some authority as a professional historian. Always mention that when pitching articles, even if your proposal isn't about Martin County. The BA degree doesn't hurt either, but is less impressive because, as we all know, anyone with a pulse can earn a college degree. This cheapens the efforts of enthusiastic students like you and I were, but such is life.

Since you've been reading Writing World you probably know the basics about submitting a proposal, researching your market, etc., so I won't go into that here except to say don't knock yourself out writing an article, just write up a short proposal. The editor will probably tweak your idea anyway! Most history markets have some sort of niche, a region or a period or a specific subject they cover, so be sure to cater to that niche. The magazine market is very specialized. People buy magazines because they already have an idea what they're going to get.

Articles based on secondary sources are fine; many of my own articles fall into this category. That said, primary sources are a goldmine of information and make your articles more interesting. An old diary of a pioneer brings your subject to life. Quotes from period newspapers or speeches suck your readers into the time. Primary sources can lead to full articles or can be used to liven up articles that mostly rely on secondary sources. They aren't necessary, but they sure do help.

Since you want to do local and military history, and have daily access your society's archives, that's a good place to start. Perhaps your town paper would like some local history articles? Newspapers are always hungry for content. Pitch one or two ideas and if you get a good working relationship with the editor you may find yourself writing a regular column. That's happened to more than one of my colleagues. Then you might want to branch out into the magazines, either local or national.

Don't forget your biggest resource--the local historians you meet every day. I bet more than one of them has written articles and they can help with contacts, ideas, course material etc.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions feel free to drop me a line.

Does anyone else have any suggestions for James? There's more than one professional history writer in my readership!


[In case you're wondering, the photo is of some Norman reenactors in front of Durham castle. The link leads to an article I wrote about the town]

Websites for Writers: Castles of Britain

Everybody loves castles, especially writers. They make a fine backdrop for vampires, romance, or just some good old fashioned medieval bloodletting. There are a wealth of castle websites out there but one of my favorites is Castles of Britain by castle expert Lise Hull.

Lise has put her years of study to good use in this well-organized site. It provides a complete run-down of the basics of castle history and architecture with numerous examples of individual castles in the British Isles. There are literally hours of reading here. If you're more of a visual writer go to the castle photo gallery for lots of inspiring photos. The Castle Learning Center has plenty of good information about castle construction, development, personnel, and daily life, and there's even an online course if you want to learn more.

So check it out if you want to add to the ever-growing body of literature of, about, or including castles. I recently added my own fuel to the fire with an article on castles in Yorkshire.

In case you're wondering, the lovely little island fort pictured above was built by Alexander Stewart, the infamous "Wolf of Badenoch ", on Loch Gamhna near Aviemore, Scotland. I talk more about that in my last article in my series on hiking the East Highland Way.

My latest book released today!

Osprey Publishing has released my latest book, Medieval Handgonnes: The First Black Powder Infantry Weapons.

This was a fascinating and difficult book to write. I've always been interested in the early origins of the firearm and was frustrated by the total lack of any book on the subject. I had to sift through a mountain of archaeological and historical journals and crisscross Europe visiting museums to complete this project. While I'm proud of all my books, I'm especially proud of this one because it's the first book in English on the subject. As far as I can tell, it's the first book on medieval firearms in any language!

Here's a bit of background.

In the early 14th century, cannons entered the arsenals of European armies. This first generation of black powder weapons put fear into the heart of the enemy and in 1453 Ottoman artillery succeeded in breaching the once-impregnable walls of Constantinople. But cannons were slow and cumbersome and difficult to use against infantry. The first handgonnes were the answer. Dismissed by later historians as nothing more than crude tubes that shot wildly inaccurate lead balls, more recent research has revealed the true accuracy of the medieval handgonne together with its penetrative power. The handgonne was a viable weapon from its inception.

This volume, complete with detailed illustrations and color photographs, tells the story of one of the most revolutionary weapons in history. Readers will be treated to a lush collection of rare photographs and artwork from such far-flung locales as Danish National Museum and the Bayerisches Armeemuseum. Original artwork from Gerry and Sam Embleton illustrate how these weapons were used on the battlefield and reenactor photos demonstrate step-by-step how they were loaded and fired. The firing sequences were provided by The Company of the Wolf Argent and really let you see how the weapons were used in the field.

[Photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons. I'd have to pay twice to reuse the museum photos I ordered for the book!]

Websites for Writers: American Folklore

It's Monday, so it's time for Websites for Writers, when we look at sites to inform and inspire all you scribblers out there in Internetland.

This week we're looking at American Folklore, a massive collection of folktales, jokes, rhymes, tongue twisters, and much more. The first thing I liked when I started looking at this site is that it has sections for Canada, Mexico, and Latin America. Nothing annoys people outside the U.S. more than to hear "American" used solely for people within the U.S. It's nice this site recognizes there are lots of countries in the Americas.

Author S.E. Schlosser has collected an impressive array of folk treasures. Got a story set on the railroad? There's a whole section devoted to railroad folklore. Need some tall tales or pithy expressions about local weather? Go to weather folklore. Have some Native American characters? Check out these Native American tales. Of course there's a large collection of ghost stories and monsters, but how many sites give resources for ESL readers? There's even a bizarre tale about Henry Hudson meeting some gnomes.

You can search by subject or state and you're sure to find something to enrich your story, whether historical or contemporary. This is also a great resource for nonfiction writers. So go check it out, just make sure you don't get sucked in and spend the whole day reading instead of writing!

Bigfoot shot courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Websites for Writers: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Reading Room

Last week on Websites for Writers I talked about the American Folklife Center. This week I want to look at another branch of the Library of Congress, the Prints and Photographs Reading Room.

Need some visual detail for your historical novel? Need some illustrations for a nonfiction work? Looking for a writing prompt? The Library of Congress has put up thousands of historical images, many of them in the public domain. This has kept me within the art budget of more than one of my books!

The online catalog can be searched in all the usual ways. There are also themed collections, such as Civil War, baseball cards, and the Wright brothers. While most of the images are of the United States or of Americans overseas, there are also international collections, such as a beautiful series of old Japanese prints.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so the ideas and information you can get from this database can help you write a library worth of books!
[The first image is of a boy soldier of the Civil War, probably a drummer boy given a gun so he'd look cuter for the picture. The second is of a pharmaceutical lab at Howard University ca. 1900, a leading black university. The third is of the Tea-Water Canal in Tokyo, printed in 1858]