Tag Archives: History

Complain to the Armenian priest

Posted on July 18, 2018 by dan

I’m putting the finishing touches on The Sultan’s Enchanter right now, including adding in some salty Bulgarian idioms. These include what I am loosely translating as “so I should open some jam for you?” (kompot da li  ti otvorya?) and “you can … Continue reading →

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Ottoman Clothing

Posted on July 16, 2018 by dan

I wrote a line last week in The Sultan’s Enchanter: ” “The man’s beard was long and tangled, cap and shoes missing, without vest or sash over his stained shirt and breeches.” Oh. My. Blob, but that sentence took a lot … Continue reading →

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Beta-readers for The Sultan’s Enchanter?

Posted on December 18, 2017 by dan

Friends, arkadashli, and arkadaşlar! My historical fantasy-romance-alternate-history is done…again! Three years ago, my agent told me to rewrite the first three chapters and send it back to her. Three years later, I have somewhat done so! If you’ve read earlier versions of The … Continue reading →

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The Choice of Lady Yu

Posted on March 10, 2017 by dan

A girl from a stifling culture gets rescued by the Mongols and finds a place for herself in the Mongol meritocracy, but is self-fulfillment worth killing a third of the population of Eurasia?

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The Ottoman Socialist Republic?

Posted on February 17, 2017 by dan

Gasp! An alternate history map that DOESN’T have a “Bulgaria” in it! And I don’t think it’s plausible. Okay, let’s say that the Freedom and Accord Party was more Marxist than IRL and they managed to kill or drive off … Continue reading →

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20 Making plot with Simon Roy and C.M. Kosemen

Posted on October 10, 2016 by dan

LISTEN to podcast Simon Roy, Memo Kosemen, and I have ganged up to construct “The Lords of the World” available now from Alternate History Fiction magazine. We’ve discussed the worldbuilding and characters, now let’s look at the plot. Also: The Crimean … Continue reading →

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18 Worldbuilding with Simon Roy and C.M. Kosemen

Posted on October 10, 2016 by dan

LISTEN to podcast To celebrate the publishing of my Martian Sherlock Holmes short story, “The Lords of the World,” this is a re-release of a conversation I had with Simon Roy and Memo Kosemen back in 2013. Today we’ve ganged up to talk … Continue reading →

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The Casting of the Rings

Posted on February 2, 2015 by dan

Work continues on my research for Charming Lies with some information about the spring holiday that marks the first scene of the book. Lazarus’ day (Lazarovden) is the Saturday before Easter, and its festivities consist of girls (Lazarki) dressing up … Continue reading →

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The Renaissance Express

Posted on November 28, 2014 by dan

Renaissance ExpressThe train to 1650 is an old model. Twenty-third century auto-modeled bacterial plastic: as charmless as a padded cell. It’s more of a waiting room than anything else, grinding along on its big, U-shaped track, flicking with the speed of nothing … Continue reading →

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Unlost Worlds

Posted on November 7, 2014 by dan

Here’s another crack at this idea. Throughout history, besieged peoples have evacuated their homes to settle on parallel Earths (think the Long Earth). They keep doing so, so militarily weaker cultures get pushed “away” from home-Earth by more recent refugees. Until … Continue reading →

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