Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime has become a great book resource for me. I particularly enjoy the opportunity to discover new authors for free, something I've found that encourages me to experiment more than usual. For that reason, I thought you might want to know that today only, Prime...
July Book Sales: Comorbid and The Bow of Destiny
I've recently come across these book offers that I thought you might enjoy: Comorbid by Lorelei Logsdon You may remember my friend and editor Lorelei Logsdon from my post featuring the Logsdon clan. As the tagline says, Lorelei's latest book, Comorbid, is a gripping...
Monster-Spotting in Medieval Maps, Part II
East is placed at the top. The sun and moon hold lush forests. Jerusalem is the center of the world. And dragons hold the globe up at the bottom. But there is one aspect of the Psalter World Map, created in the 1260s, that is even stranger: a line-up of grotesque men...
Molly Greene’s Advice on Going Permafree on Amazon
A short while back, my friend Charles E. Yallowitz decided to make the first book of his fantasy Legends of Windemere series permafree. This is something I've been considering myself, but I've always wondered just how to go around achieving it. Amazon doesn't make...
A 4th of July Special: Where Does the Dollar Symbol Come From?
I interrupt my multi-part series in ancient and Medieval wonders for a quick nod to my friends over the Atlantic. In honor of today's Independence Day, here is the amazing tale of one of the best-known symbols of all time: the dollar, or $. No keyboard is complete...
Medieval Tweets and Post-its
Photo: Leiden, Bibliotheca Thysiana, Inv. nr. 2200 H. Photography Giulio Menna (@sexycodicology), courtesy of Erik Kwakkel May 31st, 1486 turned out to be an unseasonably hot day on the Rhine. Count Philip was holding court. A duke was droning on and on, and the Count...
The Oldest Handwritten Documents Ever Discovered in England
On January 8, 57 AD, Tibullus, a freed slave in London, promised to repay 105 denarii, a hefty sum, to another freed slave named Gratus. Meanwhile, one friend admonished another that he’s lent too much money and is being gossiped about. And a merchant was making a...
Ancient Queries: Should I Remain a Widow, or Should I Remarry?
Under the ancient oak, home to mighty Zeus, a priest holding a thin sheet of lead is waiting patiently for the widow before him to ask her question. She hesitates for a moment, listening to the rustling leaves over them. "It's my job to interpret these," he jokes....
Submerged 5th Century Naval Base Discovered in Athens
A few years ago, a forest fire ravaged the area where we live. A friend of mine was helping the firefighters when the ground gave way and his leg fell into a hole in the ground. A hole that turned out to be an ancient tomb, complete with offerings and bones. As this...
Book Marketing Essentials: Positioning your Work
For my day job, I've been reading some marketing material, pertaining to tourism. Then it struck me; what they were saying made perfect sense for book marketing as well. Just think of your book as a destination and your reader as a tourist looking for a unique...
The Luttrell Psalter – a Medieval Masterpiece
Urvija Banerji of Atlas Obscura shared recently the unusual story of how a man's desire to flaunt his wealth became a book of Psalms. Many people in the Middle Ages learned to read and worship by studying their psalters, or personal copies of the Book of Psalms, often...
The Future of Publishing: Lessons from the Music Industry
I often argue that we can learn a lot from the music industry. Namely, I see it as an indicator as to what to expect in a few years' time. That's why I was intrigued by a recent article in the Economist, detailing the state of today's music. CDs vs Digital Once upon a...