Award Winning Historical Fiction - The Swords of Faith by Richard Warren Field

THE SWORDS OF FAITH

Bronze Medal, 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards

Finalist, USA Book News Award for Best Books of 2010/Historical Fiction Category

Finalist, International Book Awards, Best Books of 2011/Historical Fiction Category

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing The Swords of Faith by Richard Warren Field. When I read it, I was fully enchanted by the book. Well, actually, "blown away" would be a better way to describe my feelings for it. Its phenomenal success since writing my review is proof that it really is as good or better than I said it was. 

Since then, I'm so pleased to let you know it's won numerous awards. I'm especially proud of the book and even more so because I had the pleasure of working with the author, Richard Warren Field, when he was writing the book and posting chapters to our on-line critique group called Historical Fiction Writers Critique Group.

I'm so pleased to host the author here today as part of his blog tour and bring this book back to the forefront of my attention. Richard has kindly offered to speak about the benefits and pitfalls of critique groups.  

A warm welcome, Richard! 

Richard Warren Field

I want to thank Mirella Patzer for having me back, about a year after I first appeared here for an interview, right after my novel The Swords of Faith was released. I am pleased to return with a bronze medal from the 

Independent Publishers Book Awards, and full of gratitude for Mirella’s early support. My publisher, Strider Nolan Media, quoted her review on the cover!  (“Meticulously researched…  Field’s passion for this period in history is clearly evident on every page.”) By the way—a plug for my publisher—StriderNolan Media also won an Independent Publishers Book Award in 2009. (Well, they know how to pick’em. ☺)

But maybe the most important support I received from knowing you was through your critique group. That’s what I’d like to talk about today.

I recently attended the Historical Novel Society North American conference in San Diego. I met writers at different levels, some just getting started, grateful to find a place where the writers all love history, and are relentlessly knowledgeable in many different areas. The newer writers want feedback. What is the best place to get it? Sure, there were some editors and agents who offered their time to critique a page or two for various writers. But that isn’t nearly enough to guide a whole novel, and the information was given in a high-pressure environment. There are books to help with craft, but they don’t offer direct feedback. There are classes, but they may not fit the budget of a writer just starting out, or offer help over the entire novel-creation period, or help specific to the project. The best way to get continuous feedback (short of hiring a professional editor—very expensive) is through critique groups.

Like other writers, I started out with a local critique group. The people in this group were wonderful, nice, fun-to-talk-to, intelligent—and had absolutely no clue about the nuances of writing a novel set in the past. They helped me gain an idea of what a general reader might say about my book, but a “general reader” was not likely to be my target market. As most of you know, the internet provides an answer to this problem—on-line critique groups. I found a good one hosted by Mirella Patzer. I enjoyed passing this along to a few writers at the conference who seemed unaware of on-line critique groups, and expressed frustrations with local groups or having no source for quality feedback.

There is an art to critique groups. It is important to be a good critique recipient, and a good critique giver. I’ll start with my ideas on being a good critique recipient. Take in all the comments, give every one of them serious consideration, then keep what will improve your work and discard the rest. People come to your work with different tastes and perspectives. (Groups can have members with malicious personalities and/or questionable agendas, but I never found that in Mirella’s group for my own work, and that type of person does not usually last long in any on-line critique group. Critiques will come from well-meaning fellow writers.) 

A good group will give you multiple perspectives. Some critiquers will make specific editing suggestions. Others will analyze story elements. Still others will address historical accuracy. There is no need to get angry or defensive if you think a comment is not helpful, or flat wrong. There is no need to send that impulsive angry e-mail, objecting to a critique, or writing to argue about a comment. The critique giver is likely to say “Okay, then don’t use the suggestion.” You hold all the power. You decide what you keep and what you discard.

I also have ideas on being a good critique giver. I offered critiques from what I believe were my strengths. (Mirella’s group had at least three critiquers for each chapter, so I figured whatever was not my strength 

would be covered by others.) I am not an editor type. I rarely commented on precise wordings unless something was utterly jarring to me, or unless there was an obvious misprint. I love looking at story and character, at the big picture of conflict and what will lock readers in so they can’t stop turning pages. 

I offered many comments about this, and received comments back thanking me for confirming the author had achieved his or her desired effect, or comments that some unintended effect had been achieved. The writer was then free to decide if this meant a change was needed, or if my comment was, well, just me! I always tried to be constructive. If I found a particular project just didn’t connect with me at all (this was rare), I stopped doing that writer’s chapters. Even if I had concerns with the writer’s chapter, I made sure I found what was good, and told the writer about it. As a writer/critique recipient, I always wanted to know what was working, not just what was not working. So I tried to offer the same to others.

While in Mirella’s group, I received great advice on everything from historical detail to precise wordings of prose and dialogue. I know this process helped me finish my best effort for The Swords of Faith. The critique group writers help with the gatekeeper (agents/editors) rules, those rules that if “violated,” will result in an immediate rejection letter. Yes, established writers violate these rules all the time. (Conn Iggulden "head-hops” constantly, but he sells thousands of books.) Learning these rules is essential for writers approaching gatekeepers for the first time. Critique groups are a great way to get hands-on, specific comments about offering a professional presentation.

Thanks again, Mirella, for having me back. Thanks for all you do to encourage writers in this genre!

Blood and Silk, by Carol McKay

Review by Laurie Rezanoff

"The Hidden Love Story of Mary of Magdala and Jesus of Nazareth" as told mostly by Mary of Magdala (also known as Mary Magdalene), the wife of Jesus. There will be people who staunchly disbelieve that Mary and Jesus were married, let alone had children of their own. This is yet another version of historical novels currently out there revealing this buried truth. I believe Jesus lived as an ordinary man, with extraordinary gifts and destiny. Why wouldn't he and Mary Magdala have married and had children? It is interesting what the politics and power mongers of the day did to suppress their real life and who they truly were.

I enjoyed learning about the political, religious and spiritual realities of just prior to, and within, the First Century CE in Roman Judea. There were times when I struggled with the weight of the historical facts and figures that outweighed the storytelling. Personally not knowing much about the political aspect and names of the Roman Empire leaders, nor the Jewish language, made it difficult to understand some of the layers of meaning within this novel. It also made the character's conversations with one another sound more like university lectures than personal conversation from time to time.

It was worth the struggle to find out what happened after Jesus' death, and what ensued for many decades to his siblings, parents, wife and children, as well as his disciples. It is interesting to see, again, what power, greed and thirst for leadership will do to people, and how far they will go to cover up the truth of what happened 2000 years ago.

An interesting look into "what might have been" as imagined by author Carol McKay, and supported by detailed research of the history of the times. As an Astrologer myself, I was glad to read the addition of the role of astrologers and other "healers" in her story that we take for granted in our modern times.

The Waste Land by Simon Acland

“The abbey awed me; it was in itself the largest town I had seen, ringed by a thick wall broken by occasional narrow windows, with the houses of the village scattered around outside. By the wall loomed the skeleton of a building greater than I had dreamed possible, clad in wooden scaffolding. The ribbed bones of huge arches made me think of the great fish which had swallowed up holy Jonah. The entrance was guarded by a solid gatehouse. It squatted on the walls with menace. I realised that it hunched there as much to close the inhabitants in as to keep strangers out. Above the gates was carved the Clunaic coat of arms – two large keys crossed over a single heavenwards pointing sword. It pictured to me an uncompromising message: ‘here forever you will be locked away from your childhood knightly ambition.’

– Hugh de Verdon, The Waste Land

In The Waste Land by Simon Acland, the Master of a nearly bankrupt college needs to improve the institution’s finances. Enter a former student, now a Best-Selling Author and the Research Assistant with a timely solution: the novelization of an ancient manuscript. The turbulent life of Hugh de Verdon, a would-be knight errant unfolds on this timeworn parchment, which seems to predate the unfinished work of Chrétien de Troyes, on Perceval and the grail. Each of the college’s administrators has a keen interest in the manuscript, much to the Best-Selling Author’s dismay. When their concerns conflict, it soon becomes clear that one person among them is less keen on the adaptation of Hugh’s fascinating story, and perhaps is willing to kill his academic rivals to prevent its publication.

As Mr. Acland takes the reader from the contemporary world of the college to the high Middle Ages, likewise Hugh moves between the secular and spiritual spheres of the world, often questioning the ideals and realities of both arenas. Orphaned and disinherited in his childhood, he enters the Benedictine abbey at Cluny, seemingly consigned to a monkish life forever. Yet his natural curiosity soon takes him beyond the abbey walls, as Pope Urban II announces the holy Crusade to retake Jerusalem and the surrounding cities from the Muslims. Now in the service of Duke Godfrey de Bouillon, Hugh journeys on his own quest to become a knight, resolve the doubts surrounding his faith, and find the woman he loves. In a strange encounter with a mysterious Old Man of the Mountains, Hugh undergoes a life-altering change and learns some of the answers he is seeking lie in his past.

Whether in the depiction of Hugh’s loneliness at Cluny, or the gory battle scenes of the First Crusade, Mr. Acland excels at showing Hugh’s development. Each scene and location is remarkably detailed, and the historical figures are equally fascinating. In particular, I enjoyed the characterization on Hugh’s overlord Godfrey, as a lusty, battle-hardened leader; often shown in contrast to his conniving brother Baldwin de Boulogne, who usually serves to frustrate Godfrey’s plans. Hugh’s first-person narration ensures that the reader experiences the full range of the character’s emotions and thoughts, and a deeply personal view of his perspective on the Crusade. I won’t spoil the ending, but it entirely fits the theme of a grail romance. Hugh’s journey continues in the sequel, The Flowers of Evil, due in 2011.