tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265141282024-03-13T12:33:23.926-07:00Finding the Story in HistoryAuthor Kathleen Guler's blog about research and writing historical fictionKathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-49270912169434545842014-03-14T16:59:00.000-07:002014-03-14T16:59:01.712-07:00In honor of Women's History Month, here is a link to my friend Gillian Polack's blog, she has posted a guest article I wrote for her.<br />
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<a href="http://gillpolack.livejournal.com/1267354.html">http://gillpolack.livejournal.com/1267354.html</a>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-89891880064627328232012-05-10T14:57:00.000-07:002012-05-10T14:57:38.999-07:00Recrudescence<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JMvm3HMVL6o/T6w4CD2sN_I/AAAAAAAAAR8/hq-TycOHx5E/s1600/070511_Fireworks_t620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JMvm3HMVL6o/T6w4CD2sN_I/AAAAAAAAAR8/hq-TycOHx5E/s200/070511_Fireworks_t620.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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During a talk a few years ago, Elizabeth Strout, the
Pulitzer Prize winning author of the book <i>Olive</i>
<i>Kitteridge</i>, mentioned the word
“recrudescence.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary this means, “The
state or fact of breaking out afresh.” Sometimes it is applied to the state of
something bad like an epidemic, but it can also mean the revival or rediscovery
of something good. I had never heard the word before but liked the sound of it
and wrote it down so I would remember.</div>
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Currently, deep into researching my next writing project as
well as working on a masters degree in history, I was surprised to—rediscover—the
word recrudescence when it popped up several times in a history book. I have never
seen it anywhere else. Speaking of history, about the same day, an article in
the Wall Street Journal pondered on the value of specific undergraduate degrees
and stated that, “More than 20% of US undergraduates are business majors,
nearly double the next most common major, social studies and <i>history</i>.” With all the disheartening
news about how little students, or adults for that matter, appear to know about
history these days, I was stunned yet gratified to see that history—my favorite
subject—was so popular at that level. Could this be a recrudescence of interest
in history? Or has the interest been there all along, sneakily making its mark
behind the more industrial business degree? </div>
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The article explained that corporate recruiters are looking
for people with a deeper, more well-rounded education than a business degree usually
offers. Recruiters and top university faculty have been seriously discussing the
disconnect between merely hacking out theory and having the skills to solve real
world problems. The realization has begun to sink in that business majors lack
the skill of critical thinking necessary for innovation and problem solving.</div>
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In writing both history and historical fiction, critical
thinking and the ability to communicate it through clear writing are absolutely
necessary skills. Without them, a historian cannot synthesize voluminous
information, analyze it and interpret it in a comprehensive, cohesive manner
that will benefit anyone with an eye to understanding the real world, not just today,
but both as it was in the past and how it might evolve in the future. Perhaps
students are put off by the term “critical thinking” as it sounds scary, complicated
and difficult. True, to a degree, but rather than fear it, why not embrace the notion
of putting events in a broader perspective? To understand the context of an
event can open completely new avenues to knowledge, discoveries—or
re-discoveries—of something previously missed. Recrudescence in action!</div>
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A simple example of this appeared on an episode of the PBS program
“Finding Your Roots.” The preeminent Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. visited
a high school history class and asked the students if they knew whether, prior
to the Civil War, slaves had been owned in northern states as well as those in the
south. Most of the students, if not all, did not know this, and an astute, mature
and well thought out discussion ensued between the students and Professor Gates
that thoroughly explored the meaning and consequences surrounding this fact. Though
a simple premise in this case that was expanded upon, it illustrated critical
thinking at work. The class both enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to
discover this insight. Frankly, I personally think critical thinking should—and
certainly <i>can</i>—begin much earlier than
college as this example clearly demonstrates. And schools, I wish, would learn
to deliberately engage young students in learning how that skill can be easily
applied well beyond the classroom to analyze problems and creatively seek
solutions. They did not in my day, decades ago, and probably still do not.</div>
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As a counter-thought to the famous and endless iterations
of, “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it,” countless essays have
been written which claim that learning history can promote “good citizenship.” Right,
but many rarely detail <i>how</i> this
happens beyond vague or convoluted ideology. Why not simply describe how to
think like a historian in order to get at the root of social and other problems?
Thinking back to Elizabeth Strout’s author talk—she told her audience that she
was waiting until she had a sentence with enough muscularity to support such a
heavy word as recrudescence. The innovation and problem solving skills lacking
in undergraduate business degree programs might need to include history not
only for critical thinking, but for muscular creativity as well. What is more
thrilling than discovery, or the recrudescence of a previous discovery, when new
understanding breaks out afresh? </div>
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PS: I have an undergraduate business administration degree from thirty years ago that did little more than qualify me for a better paying jobs at the time. A high school level bookkeeping class would have sufficed to do the work. The masters in history is a whole lot more interesting!</div>
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<br /></div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-43131659657816974732012-03-17T08:19:00.000-07:002012-03-17T08:19:49.297-07:00A Lovely New Review from Steamboat Magazine<div class="MsoNormal">.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdLMODW4DCc/TU3uX2vWlcI/AAAAAAAAAPM/KfbapitjhoY/s1600/Into+the+Path+of+Gods+-+Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdLMODW4DCc/TU3uX2vWlcI/AAAAAAAAAPM/KfbapitjhoY/s200/Into+the+Path+of+Gods+-+Kindle.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Widely recognized for her multi-award winning “Macsen’s Treasure” series, Kathleen Cunningham Guler reintroduces readers to its beginnings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Combining legend and actual history of fifth century Britain, Guler brings to life the pre-Arthurian time of 459 AD. With every chapter, an awakening sense of place, time and culture engages the reader, and the emotional wholeness of the story’s characters achieves a convincing reality.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Marcus ap Iorwerth spies for a clandestine alliance that will depose Vortigern, the man whose hired mercenaries have killed and displaced the old landholders. With the Romans long gone and lands divided among 29 warlords, Britain lies open to invasion, from Picts in the north, Irish from the west, and Germanic tribes from the continent. Marcus, while on a mission to identity those who would prevent the rightful King Ambrosius from ascending to the throne, meets the young woman Claerwen. Her clan has been victimized by Vortigern’s men. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Claerwen’s gift of visions, known as “fire in the head,” adds a mystical quality to the ongoing battle for power. When word comes of Marcus’s death, she refuses to accept what the world around her would have her believe and embarks alone to find the “other half of my soul.” As they journey into the path of gods, Marcus and Claerwen come to understand where destiny is leading them, and the name she has been hearing in visions.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Guler’s historical fiction gives the reader more than a well-told, captivating story of adventure and love. In a time when lawlessness and suspicion pervaded among the ruling power, an unquenchable desire for something better remained strong. This book leaves the reader with that hopefulness, a welcome feeling in today’s world of apparent disarray.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">Harriet Freiberger, for <i>Steamboat Magazine</i>, Spring 2012</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">.</div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-63966612667998395222012-02-20T16:28:00.000-08:002012-02-20T16:28:07.163-08:00Nominated!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdLMODW4DCc/TU3uX2vWlcI/AAAAAAAAAPM/KfbapitjhoY/s1600/Into+the+Path+of+Gods+-+Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdLMODW4DCc/TU3uX2vWlcI/AAAAAAAAAPM/KfbapitjhoY/s200/Into+the+Path+of+Gods+-+Kindle.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>It's official! A letter arrived from Colorado Humanities (Colorado's affiliate of the NEH) confirming that my novel, <i>Into the Path of Gods</i>, has been nominated for the Colorado Book Award in the genre fiction category! Have to wait until April to see if it will be short-listed. Fingers crossed that spending the time and effort on reworking the book was worthwhile.Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-163648094698018082011-09-23T14:16:00.000-07:002011-09-23T14:17:57.295-07:00The Massilliote Periplus<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-soimhDHtisc/Tnz0sabaXCI/AAAAAAAAARQ/nWDfUSy1pRs/s1600/Broighter+gold+boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-soimhDHtisc/Tnz0sabaXCI/AAAAAAAAARQ/nWDfUSy1pRs/s1600/Broighter+gold+boat.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broighter Gold Boat, National Museum<br />
of Ireland, Dublin</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The what? you say. I know, I can’t pronounce it either. The <em>Massilliote Periplus</em> was a Phoenician sailing manual or sea merchant’s handbook thought to date from c.600 BC. The word <em>periplus</em> comes from the ancient Greek for “circumnavigation.” <em>Massilliot(e)</em> derives from the Greek colony of Massalia, founded around the same time from which the manual comes. Unfortunately, the original book has been lost, but the good news is: in the fourth century <span style="font-size: x-small;">AD</span>, a Roman writer called Rufus Festus Avienus wrote a poem called <em>Ora Maritima</em> that draws information from the <em>periplus</em>. The poem’s title translates as <em>The Maritime Shores</em> or <em>The Sea Coasts</em>. Avienus was a native of Volsinii in Etruria, and according to an inscription his full name includes another name, Postumius, that precedes all the rest. In a few modern references, Rufus appears as Lucius instead, but this could simply be error.</div><br />
The <em>periplus</em> is important for its account of a sea voyage from the city of Massalia, which became the French city of Marseilles on the western Mediterranean. The manual describes the coast from Cadiz, Spain northward along the European Atlantic coast to Brittany, Ireland and Britain. The description is also the earliest known account of the sea trade route between southern Europe and the British Isles. Archaeology has corroborated these trade links.<br />
<br />
The original book’s full contents, having been lost, are only known through Avienus’s poeticized and confused work based on the original. Only one manuscript of the poem survives. Scholars tell us that Avienus was simply copying information from the earlier material and had not actually traveled the seacoasts that are identified in the manual—he wrote as if some the cities were still in existence but had actually been abandoned by the time he wrote his poem. He also relied on Roman itineraries to give distances, sometimes incorrectly. That he did not update the material to reflect his own time turns out to be a good thing—it preserves the historical information from the manual that would have otherwise been distorted or destroyed.<br />
<br />
For anyone involved in the history of the Celts, the <em>periplus</em> and the <em>Ora Maritima</em> are important because the <em>periplus</em> contained the first known recording of the Celts’ existence. In the poem, the Latin name “Celtarum” appears, meaning “Celts.” An English translation gives the following: “If anyone should dare to drive his ship into the waves from here at the Oestrymnic Island to where the air of Lycaon grows stiff, he enters the Ligurian land, empty of inhabitants. For because of a band of Celts and frequent battles, the fields have long been empty…”(1) Assuming this information was picked up directly from the manual, we are being told about a voyage from the extreme west of the Iberian peninsula (Spain) to the lands of the Ligurians who lived in northern Italy and southeastern France, and that the Celts had driven them out. There are also passages that name “Gallic soil,” a reference to Gaul, which is identified with Celtic lands before the Roman conquest.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Additionally, Ireland, called the Holy Isle in this case, is mentioned and said to be inhabited by the race of Hierni—the Irish. The island of Albiones is also named. This is Britain. The important issue to note is that although the British Isles, Brittany, and the Celts have all been identified, the poem does not place the Celts <em>in</em> the British Isles. That doesn’t mean the <em>periplus</em> itself did or did not—this will never be known—but it does establish that trade routes between the islands and Celtic lands on the European continent existed as early as c.600 BC., the same time the Greeks were colonizing all over the Mediterranean, the Near East and the Black Sea regions. We do know some form of the Celts eventually ended up in the British Isles—attested from their languages, art and other material evidence that spread and absorbed the earlier Neolithic people already there. The question is: did they migrate because of the trade routes? Did they do so sometime later? Or were they already there by the time the Phoenicians came?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1) Avienus. <em>Ora Maritima</em>. Trans. by J.P. Murphy. Chicago: Ares Publishing, 1977.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-31943169476863329462011-09-15T16:27:00.000-07:002011-09-15T16:27:51.087-07:00What is History?It’s been quite a while since I posted on my blog—too occupied with researching my next book and taking graduate classes in history. Currently I am in the midst of a historiography course. Not to be confusing—this is the history of history writing and historians. Required for the masters degree, it looked a bit more technical than the rest of the program, but it is turning out to be quite interesting. This post is inspired by this week’s class forum loosely based on the question, “What is History?”<br />
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One aspect I’ve learned from this class that amazes me is how differently history was viewed in previous eras. To our knowledge, the Greeks were the first to write history. Yet these beginning works by Herodotus, Thucydides and a few others were not considered any more important than a low subcategory of philosophy. Most often, it was taught as literature, an example of how to write, or as rhetoric, not as the separate idea of history. <br />
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According to one of the textbooks for the class, until Herodotus and his history-writing heirs gave a sense of the length of other civilizations compared to the Greeks’ civilization, people apparently had no concept of past vs. present or a sense for the dimension of time. The best known previously written works are the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer and which touched on the Trojan War and its aftermath. Neither epic poem had any dates or allusions to events that could place the stories somewhere in time, though modern scholars place them in the Mycenaean period, perhaps in the twelfth century BC. <br />
<br />
If the textbook is correct in stating pre-Herodotan people had no sense of the progress of time, was their mindset so narrow that they never wondered what had come before them? What about their ancestry? Or who had built the crumbling buildings from hundreds of years earlier that were still visible in Athens? <br />
<br />
The textbook is silent on people who kept their history orally. It is also silent on cultures that were not of the so-called great civilizations. Why not at least acknowledge some, like the Celts, who existed concurrently to the Greeks? Their druid class memorized their ancestry, mythology and history so it could be recited accurately to the people to whom it belonged, generation after generation. In fact, to write it down was taboo. Many other tribal people across Europe before written history took hold embraced similar customs. Did they not have a sense of time? They certainly had a perception of their ancestry. <br />
<br />
Or is my own sense of history getting in the way of understanding this mindset? History, the written kind, has been subservient to many other disciplines since its inception: to philosophy in the classical period, theology during the middle ages, science, law, literature and art from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. With each age it is reassessed and redefined. Finally, towards the end of the nineteenth century it became a discipline of its own and professionalized, although it ran through a profound number of additional readjustments called “schools.” So the next question is, in another hundred years, will it change again, needing another reassessment? And what will it look like?Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-20391332162176109922011-05-17T09:01:00.000-07:002011-05-17T09:01:26.032-07:00Re-release of Into the Path of Gods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdLMODW4DCc/TU3uX2vWlcI/AAAAAAAAAPM/KfbapitjhoY/s1600/Into+the+Path+of+Gods+-+Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdLMODW4DCc/TU3uX2vWlcI/AAAAAAAAAPM/KfbapitjhoY/s200/Into+the+Path+of+Gods+-+Kindle.jpg" width="132px" /></a></div>The recrafted edition of Into the Path of Gods, complete with its new cover, is now in paperback. As always, available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Into-Path-Gods-Macsens-Treasure/dp/0966037170/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305647925&sr=8-1">Amazon.com</a> and wherever books are sold!Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-62598579203830081022011-05-17T08:47:00.000-07:002011-05-17T09:03:20.176-07:00A Different Kind of Normal<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8BhJ1L9K0g/TdKYpR_GYwI/AAAAAAAAAQw/2-4IFt7E9WQ/s1600/slave+chain+the+national+museum+of+wales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8BhJ1L9K0g/TdKYpR_GYwI/AAAAAAAAAQw/2-4IFt7E9WQ/s1600/slave+chain+the+national+museum+of+wales.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of<br />
The National <br />
Museum of Wales</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the process of researching my next book project, I’ve found myself steered into the ancient world of Eurasia, southeastern Europe and those two regions’ relationship to Greece, which was the reigning power at the time. I haven’t found my story yet, but I do know the time is the fourth century BC, perhaps slightly later, and at least one of my main characters will have been taken into slavery. <br />
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Logically the first question I asked was, “what was the extent of slavery in this time and place?” In the search for answers, I began looking into the work of Sir Moses I. Finley (1912-1986), who was a long-time professor at Cambridge University and wrote several books on Ancient Greece. I was exceedingly pleased to discover a collection of his essays, several of which focused on slavery. While I found a lot of what I was initially looking for, I was also surprised to find that one of Finley’s gifts as a historian and writer was his ability to intuit the mindset of the ancient world.<br />
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First off, slavery in ancient Greece was absolutely all-pervasive. At all times and in all places, compulsory, dependent labor was used to meet the Greek world’s needs. It was so normal, so taken for granted that few, if any, questioned its existence. The ethics of it were not questioned either, nothing like in later times, nothing like we would now.<br />
<br />
Agriculture formed the main economy. The owner of a small farm worked his holding alone or with his family members if he had any. If he could afford one, he bought a slave, usually just one, sometimes a few. Like these farms, small mining concessions, shops and manufacturing operations could be worked alone as well and any additional labor was usually a slave. A free man might also own one slave to run his household, attend him in town or when he did military service. Unfortunately, no reliable figures have been left behind to say how many slaves were used in smallholdings like these. <br />
<br />
Large landholders, in contrast, were usually absentee, lived in town and owned many slaves to work the land. Likewise, large mining operations in Greece and neighboring Thrace had large slaveholdings. It is estimated there may have been 30,000 slaves in Athens’ silver mines and processing mills at one time. That’s just Athens.<br />
<br />
One of the most surprising aspects is that not all slaves were assigned to pure drudgery even though, of course, many, perhaps most, were. One ancient writer says the life of slaves consisted of three things: “work, punishment and food.” But slaves were actually in every part of life except political office. Finley says, “The efficient, skilled, reliable slave could look forward to managerial status. In the cities…he could often achieve a curious sort of quasi-independence, living and working on his own, paying a kind of rental to his owner, and accumulating earnings with which, ultimately, to purchase his freedom.” Records also show that archers from Scythia made up the Athenian police force, but they were state-owned slaves.<br />
<br />
Even in the face of civil war, revolution or other crises, slavery remained unchallenged because it was so rooted in society. Free workers apparently did not see slaves as competition for work, nor did they join up with slaves in a struggle against authority. If a slave did revolt, it was usually to flee for his homeland. A completely different sense of freedom existed in the ancient world. Finley explains that freedom came in a range of degrees along a “spectrum” that ran between true freedom and pure slavery. He described it as a complex array of statuses of being ‘unfree.’<br />
<br />
Value, in Greek thinking, was in status, not in the nature of the work. According to Aristotle, “The condition of the free man is that he does not live for the benefit or profit of another.” In other words, those who work for another were rare because that would not raise their status. Likely, a free man, even if he could not truly afford one, often bought a slave to raise that all-important status.<br />
<br />
One more note on how deeply rooted slavery was in ancient Greece: the Greek language had many words for ‘slave.’ Compared to modern English, Greek’s many fine nuances demonstrate the complexity of the slave system and how it was interwoven in society. In addition, meanings changed from one place to the next and from one time to the next. The character I have envisioned for my story is a Celt who had dealings of some sort in the Balkan region or the Pontic steppe and ended up being taken as a slave. The Thracians of the Balkans likely had a similar mindset like the Greeks regarding slavery. The Celts, however, appear to have had a deeply imbedded sense of freedom that was reflected in their lifestyle, art and mythology. Imagine how this character must react to the very different attitude of the Greeks and Thracians.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>.Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-50408123932899244752011-02-24T17:22:00.000-08:002011-03-27T16:00:46.279-07:00A New Journey<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I’m heading out on a new journey! No, not a vacation—I wish! Having finished my fifth century Arthurian series, I am in search of a new adventure to write about. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Where to start?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUajRIqFt4Y/TWcDRmiYoHI/AAAAAAAAAQs/SVhix_nrfCw/s1600/torque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" l6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUajRIqFt4Y/TWcDRmiYoHI/AAAAAAAAAQs/SVhix_nrfCw/s1600/torque.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of torque<br />
courtesy of <br />
Canadian Museum <br />
of Civilization</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Many historical novelists take up a new story related to others they have already written. For example, say an author has written a novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Since the research done for the Eleanor book would also touch on many of the queen’s relations, alliances and enemies, an author is very likely to choose one of those folks as the subject of the next book. Makes sense—it shortens the time needed for additional research and the author already has more than a good sense of the time and place.</div><br />
In writing the Macsen’s Treasure Series I discovered a lifelong love of Celtic history, especially as my ancestry hearkens from Wales and Scotland, so most of what I write has some connection to Celtic heritage. Research for the series also put me in contact with many of the theories that swirl around the idea that the legendary King Arthur may have been based on some other historical figure’s exploits and the stories raised his status to something out of proportion from reality. One of those theories claims that Arthur was actually a Roman military commander in the second century AD assigned to a post in northern Britain, and that he and the men he led may have originally come from the Eurasian steppes. Allegedly, the folklore of these Eurasian men created the essence of Arthur’s legend—including the grail story, the round table and so on. <br />
<br />
Personally, I do not buy into this theory—doesn’t fit the historical evidence—but the authors mention the nomadic Scythians of the Eurasian steppes as having been predecessors of the men stationed in Britain. (actually Sarmatians, who conquered the Scythians around 300 BCE.)<br />
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The Scythians, indeed, are an intriguing bunch. In the last few centuries BCE, around the fourth and third centuries BCE, they moved westward into eastern Europe, particularly in to the Hungarian plain, Transylvania and the Balkans. A few of their artifacts have been found even farther west in Germany. During this time, the Celts expanded eastward into the Balkans, the Danube basin and even beyond with some settlements established in the Scythians’ main homeland of the steppes north of the Black Sea.<br />
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Here comes the most exciting part. Both the Celts and the Scythians are known for their artwork, the Scythians primarily for their fabulous gold decorative pieces that adorned both themselves and their horses’ trappings. In particular, animal figures were most prominent. The art that the Celts began to produce during this period, called La T<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">è</span>ne, indeed not only incorporated similar figures, but animal figures that very closely resembled those of the Scythians. Having studied art, this thoroughly captured my attention.<br />
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Certainly there is a story to be discovered here. While the contact between Scythians and Celts is well established, as I go forward with research, I plan to take this a few steps further and dig into how this influence was transmitted. I have already discovered that itinerant goldsmiths moved about in this region. There was also a tremendous slave trade, as well as the ever present and inevitable war and quite a number of other possibilities. The more I research, the more ideas come to me for characters and plot. What a fascinating time and place on which to hang a new story!<br />
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Hmm—a vacation back in time—right now it’s the only kind I can afford…<br />
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<a href="http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cmc/grecs/greeks03e.shtml">Canadian Museum of Civilization</a><br />
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.Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-76085733122036605932011-02-11T10:54:00.000-08:002011-02-11T10:54:29.434-08:00From Little Doward to Another BattleIn 2007, I posted two blog articles about the twelve battles King Arthur allegedly fought and led to his consolidation of power. They are listed in the ninth century document, <em>The History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum)</em>, attributed to a monk called Nennius. I offered my conjecture on the location of the first battle, on the mouth of the river Glein, and the sixth battle, on the river Bassas. (See the articles: <a href="http://kathleenguler.blogspot.com/2007/09/arthurs-battle-list-part-1.html">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://kathleenguler.blogspot.com/2007/09/arthurs-battle-list-part-2.html">Part 2.</a>) Since posting the articles, I’ve been intent on completing both my fourth book, <em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em>, and the overhaul of my first book, <em>Into the Path of Gods</em>. I got away from looking any further into the battle list as none of them pertained to either story.<br />
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Nennius tells us that the second, third, fourth and fifth battles all allegedly took place “on another river, which is called Dubglas and is in the Linnius region.” Like most of the other locations, historians have never figured out where the river Dubglas is. The only river in Britain with a similar name is in Scotland and called the Douglas. Linnius, however, is usually considered to be either the area in the east around Lincoln or, alternatively, Lindinis, the Roman name for the town of Ilchester in Somerset. However, no rivers with names similar to Dubglas exist in either region.<br />
<br />
But … one of those odd things that happens in research came out of the blue. During the re-edit of my book, I needed a little more information about the place in which the fifth century high king Vortigern allegedly met his end. According to legend, Vortigern was trapped in a stronghold called Little Doward and burnt alive when Ambrosius, his successor, chased him there in his successful quest to take the high kingship.<br />
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In the original version of <em>Into the Path of Gods</em>, the mode of Vortigern’s death was only noted after it happened and no more mention made. In the new version, I have added a scene where my main character, master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth, spends a night camped in a hillside cave and has a fitful dream about the refortification of a stronghold. The hill in question is Little Doward. I spent some time researching the hill’s history (<a href="http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artcit/caerdoward.htm">click here for more on this</a>), and checked it out on Google Earth to get a feel for the surroundings. I also wanted to find an older name for the location because Doward sounds too modern and Anglicized for a book set in the fifth century. I went looking in my trusty book, <em>Place Names of England and Wales</em>. [1] There is no entry for Doward, but the following note was made in the entry for a place called Dowlais:<br />
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<blockquote>“The Little and Great Doward Hill, lower Wye, were old Dougarth, which is O.W. for ‘two garths’ or ‘enclosures.’ ”</blockquote><br />
Well, there’s a plausible older name for Doward—Dougarth. The enclosures mentioned probably would have been dark age hill forts. Wonderful! <br />
<br />
But wait a moment. This is the section preceding the note about Doward:<br />
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<blockquote>“DOWLAIS (Glamorgan). Pron. Dowlish. Disputable; perh. O.W. dau, mod. W. dou glais, ‘two streams’; but prob.=DOUGLAS. The Dewlas, trib. of Nthn. Dovey, is sic 1428 and locally pron. Diflas, clearly ‘dark (W. du) stream.’ DOWLISH WAKE (Ilminster) should be the same. Cf. DAWLISH.”</blockquote>The reference to Dowlais possibly meaning “two streams” and probably equaling “Douglas” stopped me in my tracks and left me speechless. Then I got excited. Dowlais is a village in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, southeastern Wales. As noted in Part 1 of my earlier notes, the frontier in the fifth century between British territory and the westward-encroaching Saxon territory, as suggested by historian Christopher Gidlow [2], may have been roughly where Wales now borders the English counties of Shropshire and Cheshire. Gidlow proposes that some of the battles could have taken place along or near this vague line. Dowlais is not that far from the line or from where I theoretically placed the sixth battle of Bassas.<br />
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In addition, Dowlish Wake, also noted in the entry, presents another possibility. Guess where it is? Near Ilminster, which is near Ilchester. Lindinis, the other possible location of Linnius. Could either of these possibly be the location of the four battles on the river Dubglas? Perhaps. This is still simply conjecture as there is no proof.<br />
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I’m curious as to why the Arthurian community of scholars has not picked up on these clues. Perhaps the notion has been considered but ended up dismissed out of hand so quickly that no one has ever presented the theory. Perhaps I simply have a different way of looking at place names or just had a moment of plain old luck to have discovered two possible connections. Maybe I have no idea what I’m talking about. <br />
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And now…am I bold enough to stick my neck out and let the Arthurian historians get a whiff of this idea? They are excellent at hacking theories all to pieces. Or should I quietly approach one—like Christopher Gidlow—and ask what he thinks while I hope he won’t ignore or scoff at me? Regardless, the discovery sure sent the chills rippling. To know if it holds any water with other Arthurian enthusiasts would be even more exciting! <br />
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[1] Johnson, James. <em>Place Names of England and Wales</em>. London: Bracken Books, 1994.<br />
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[2] Gidlow, Christopher. <em>The Reign of Arthur: From History to Legend</em>. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 2004.<br />
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.Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-18130726853920010172011-02-05T08:49:00.000-08:002011-02-05T08:49:28.885-08:00Ebooks!Great news! The entire Macsen's Treasure Series is now available in most ebook formats!Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-59211367843539712212010-12-27T13:19:00.000-08:002010-12-27T13:36:24.350-08:00Surprise!This list of Best Fiction Authors in the Denver Area was a complete surprise to me. It's dated 8 December, but I didn't know about it until two weeks later when a 'google alert' came in. (Don't know if this was on the television or not.) I'm the third one on the list.<br /><br />Click here to see the article:<br /><a href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-fiction-authors-from-the-denver-area/">Best Fiction Authors in the Denver Area</a><br /><br />Thank you, CBS Denver!<br />.Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-10862491544747174682010-06-27T12:43:00.000-07:002011-02-14T15:51:33.387-08:00A thrill of a lifetime!!!!!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/TCeri_krp7I/AAAAAAAAAOo/jgNjQ810IU0/s1600/9780966037166.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487543288643430322" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/TCeri_krp7I/AAAAAAAAAOo/jgNjQ810IU0/s200/9780966037166.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 134px;" /></a> <br />
<div>I'm utterly thrilled and humbled to announce that <em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em> has won the Colorado Book Award for historical fiction! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!</div><div><br />
This is part of the press release my publisher is putting out: </div><div><br />
Longtime Colorado resident Kathleen Guler has won the Colorado Book Award in historical fiction for her novel, <em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em>. Guler accepted the award in Aspen on Friday. (June 25, 2010)</div><div><br />
Reviews have hailed the book as “one of the most historically realistic Arthurian novels ever written, a thoroughly mature work...” The book tells the story of a spy and master of disguise in fifth century Britain who, while being squeezed between the politics of two powerful kings, accidentally sparks off what becomes the quest for the holy grail. </div><div><br />
“Twenty years ago today, I adopted Colorado as my home, and now I feel like Colorado has adopted me back,” Guler said in her acceptance speech. She then read a brief passage from her book.</div><div><br />
The prestigious Colorado Book Award is sponsored by Colorado Humanities’ Center for the Book, established as the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.</div><div><em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em>, as well as the other books in the Macsen's Treasure Series, are available by order from any bookshop or online at amazon.com. It is also available in ebook format at Smashwords.com: <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/15861">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/15861</a>.</div><div>###</div><div></div><div>Still dancing on the tabletops here :-)))</div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-4648583994971791442010-05-14T11:31:00.000-07:002010-05-15T10:51:41.232-07:00Castell y GwyntShhh! Don't tell anyone. This is one of the places where Marcus ap Iorwerth in Into the Path of Gods exchanges messages from the secret alliance that will attempt to depose the old high king Vortigern and replace him with Ambrosius, the man they believe to the not only the rightful high king, but who will also be a much better leader.<br /><br />The link below leads to a photo of Castell y Gwynt, which is a volcanic formation that pushed up between the two peaks, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach in Snowdonia, North Wales.<br /><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/bMjytL">http://bit.ly/bMjytL</a>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-19033509304558775282010-05-04T07:48:00.000-07:002010-05-04T07:58:06.882-07:00Events for A Land Beyond Ravens<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S-A1mPfW8GI/AAAAAAAAAOI/2W3rDSwgo-E/s1600/ALBR+Cover.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 135px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467428878737141858" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S-A1mPfW8GI/AAAAAAAAAOI/2W3rDSwgo-E/s200/ALBR+Cover.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Please join me if you are in the Denver, CO area for the following events:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>1. 14-16 May 2010. All shortlisted books for the Colorado Book Awards, including my historical novel, <em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em>, will be featured in a Book Fair at the LoDo (downtown) Denver Barnes & Noble store, 16th & Curtis Streets, Denver, CO. I will be there on Friday, 14 May between 3pm and 5pm to sign books and answer questions. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>2. 16 June 2010. The sponsors of the Colorado Book Awards are also featuring a series of readings for the finalists. I will be reading from <em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em> on Wednesday, 16 June between 5pm and 7pm. The readings take place at Baur's Ristorante, 1512 Curtis St, Denver, CO. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Bring friends, family, colleagues and celebrate with the finalists!</div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-77147881486949591982010-04-30T16:39:00.001-07:002010-04-30T16:40:12.267-07:00Shortlist!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S9tqTtx1GSI/AAAAAAAAAOA/Ga7mJvzSIUI/s1600/ALBR+Cover.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 135px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466079459682883874" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S9tqTtx1GSI/AAAAAAAAAOA/Ga7mJvzSIUI/s200/ALBR+Cover.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /><div>A Land Beyond Ravens has been shortlisted in the Historical Fiction category of the 2010 Colorado Book Awards! This is the most prestigious statewide award in Colorado, where I live. Woo-hoo!!!! Prior to the Awards ceremony, I'll be joining other finalists for books signings and readings throughout the state, including a book fair at the downtown Denver Barnes & Noble, May 14-16. More info on this soon. Final results of the Awards will be given Friday, June 25 in Aspen during the Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival. Fingers crossed for luck!</div></div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-29672910323530098112010-03-31T08:00:00.001-07:002010-03-31T08:01:11.329-07:00Another award for A Land Beyond Ravens!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S7NjogFCAhI/AAAAAAAAANo/zlVQvfgD6k8/s1600/CIMG0637.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 197px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454813121132757522" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S7NjogFCAhI/AAAAAAAAANo/zlVQvfgD6k8/s200/CIMG0637.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Woo-hoo! A Land Beyond Ravens took 2nd place Fiction at CIPA (Colorado Independent Publishers Association) Book Awards banquet Saturday night! The novel has been nominated for several more awards--should hear more starting in April.</div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-69726742616490114152010-02-03T10:51:00.000-08:002010-02-03T10:55:02.111-08:00Thunder Fire!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S2nGDcqDRQI/AAAAAAAAANY/-axmaZCfgC0/s1600-h/200px-Liquid_fire_granades_Chania.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 169px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434092187933689090" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/S2nGDcqDRQI/AAAAAAAAANY/-axmaZCfgC0/s200/200px-Liquid_fire_granades_Chania.jpg" /></a><br /><div>While moving along with the re-edit (which is turning out to be more like an overhaul) of my first book, <em>Into the Path of Gods</em>, I decided to reassess one of the secrets my main character Marcus discovered. Ok, actually, he stole it from the druids.<br /><br />We know very little about the druids. Mostly, it’s some skewed, propagandized information left from the Romans who destroyed the druid enclaves in Britain as part of their conquest of the island. Because they banned all forms of writing, the druids left behind no documentation of their own. They were, however, considered well educated for the time and along with the histories, mythologies and genealogies of their people, they may have also understood some astronomy and other scientific disciplines. When the Romans destroyed their groves, schools and culture, this vast knowledge was lost.<br /><br />Or was it? It is believed that a few druids escaped the annihilation and continued to practice in secret. One reason for banning the written word may (and that’s a big ‘may’) have been to protect their knowledge. Were some of their secrets dangerous? Something they didn’t want people to use on each other?<br /><br />In the original version of the book master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth stole one of those secrets. He reproduced a recipe of charcoal, saltpetre and sulphur, an explosive powder he enclosed inside fragile clay balls and lobbed over fortifications to make noisy distractions and wreak general havoc. Anyone in the know would recognize this recipe as what we call gunpowder. Having no guns in the fifth century, Marcus called his weapon a powder ball. Historians believe gunpowder, invented by the Chinese, was not known outside of China until the thirteenth century, although the Chinese possibly knew it as early as the tenth century. Could the druids have actually known or figured out how to make gunpowder? It’s possible, but we’ll never know without a time machine.<br /><br />So if the druids (and Marcus) didn’t have this explosive powder, to what else could they have had access? In doing a little research, I learned that accounts of incendiary weapons have been documented as far back as the ninth century BC and have encompassed a wide variety of formulas, delivery systems and names in the centuries ever since. The most common name applied to the entire range is ‘Greek fire,’ invented by the Byzantines. This term actually only originated since the Crusades and in truth should apply just to the particular mixture the Byzantines employed. Other names, some from earlier times, some from later on, include sea-fire, Roman-fire, war-fire, liquid-fire, prepared-fire, automatic-fire, and processed-fire.<br /><br />Because druids belonged to Celtic culture that goes back to ca. 500 BC, and because it was widespread across much of Europe and even into parts of western Asia in those days, it is possible the druids could have known of this form of weaponry and kept the formula secret. Indeed, throughout the centuries these formulas were heavily guarded military secrets.<br /><br />Now, I’m not a chemist or scientist, so I’m hoping this makes sense. Of the substances used in these formulas, a petroleum-like fluid, ala tar, pitch, naphtha, or tallow would have created the base. Other ingredients might have included sulphur, saltpetre (aka stone salt), charcoal, and quicklime. Marcus would have had access to tar (distilled wood, peat moss, heath, among other sources), as well as stone salt, charcoal and quicklime.<br /><br />Here’s one of those instances that makes me love research. Quicklime, when in contact with water, immediately increases in temperature to 150° C. So if a pile of wood is soaked with tar in combination with some of these other substances, and quicklime is added to it, it’s possible to start the fire with water of all things!<br /><br />[Note: a demonstration of this was done on television, probably on The History Channel or a similar channel. I’m trying to locate a DVD of this, but haven’t figured out which channel/program/episode yet.]<br /><br />This liquefied fire was delivered by various means, often out of pressurized siphons—primitive flame throwers. Another innovation in delivery of this fire is shown in a picture from the National Historical Museum in Athens: clay grenades! These were used in the 10th – 12th centuries, and were filled with Greek fire. In the picture they look like they are made of glazed ceramic. Other pictures show them made of unglazed terracotta. This seems to partially validate Marcus’s use of clay spheres to deliver his destructive message. Clever fellow that he is, he could have improvised this delivery system as good as other innovators did. Just because it’s not recorded somewhere, especially in a time when things were rarely or not recorded at all, doesn’t mean it couldn’t have existed then.<br /><br />So, we have Marcus stealing the recipe to produce liquefied fire, making up or stealing the idea for some device to deliver the goods, but what would he call it? As he’s discovering this for the first time, he might overhear a term from the druids or dub it something logical as he sees it. Of the names listed above, perhaps war fire or liquid fire might make sense. Because he intensely dislikes the sea, he’d never call it “sea-fire.” He might be tempted to call it a “river-fire” instead because it looks like a flaming stream or river. But when he first sees it, a loud boom is set off. I think he would call it “thunder-fire.” Maybe by the time the editing is done I’ll have decided on another name. Or Marcus, in his clever, convincing way, will have decided it for me.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo courtesty of National Historical Museum, Athen Greece, as noted in the Greek Fire entry on Wikipedia.com<br /></span></div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-43239048087583972009-12-13T08:28:00.000-08:002009-12-13T08:35:32.520-08:00Interview with the Steamboat Today<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/SyUXgE5IlFI/AAAAAAAAANQ/6SRA6Zqggak/s1600-h/Author_12-12_t620.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 132px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414759966819521618" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/SyUXgE5IlFI/AAAAAAAAANQ/6SRA6Zqggak/s200/Author_12-12_t620.jpg" /></a><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Local author finds mystery in history</span></strong><br />By <a href="http://www.steamboatpilot.com/staff/margaret_hair/">Margaret Hair</a> Saturday, December 12, 2009<br /><br /><a href="http://ads2.ljworld.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a092c087&cb=9876" target="_blank"></a><br />Steamboat Springs — Kathi Guler jumped into a 27-year writing project after what she calls “a moment of great egotism.”</div><br /><div><br />“Originally, it was going to be one book, just to see if I could do it,” the Steamboat Springs author, who writes under the name Kathleen Cunningham Guler, said about her four-part Macsen’s Treasure Series.</div><br /><div><br />“I had read this other historical novel that I didn’t find very good. I thought, ‘Gosh, I could do better than that,’” she said.</div><br /><div><br />That was in February 1982. Sixteen years, a library of books worth of reading and a research trip to the United Kingdom later, Guler had “Into the Path of the Gods,” the first book in her series. </div><br /><div><br />With almost 10 years behind her since that first release, Guler is promoting the fourth and final Macsen’s Treasure novel, a historical spy thriller called “A Land Beyond Ravens.” She will sign copies of the book and answer questions at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Epilogue Book Co.</div><br /><div><br />“A Land Beyond Ravens” closes the evolution of Guler’s main character, a fifth century British spy named Marcus ap Iorwerth. Marcus and his wife, Claerwen, work through the series to unite factions to defend against a Saxon invasion.</div><br /><div><br />“I’ve always been interested in history, and when I read Mary Stewart’s ‘Merlin Trilogy,’ that got my interest going,” Guler said about the series. She flipped to the further reading section of Stewart’s books and started plowing through the listed titles. Guler has built her own library of about 1,000 books on related topics, she said.</div><br /><div><br />“The history behind this time is very interesting. I probably would have been an archaeologist if I hadn’t done everything else in my life,” she said.</div><br /><div><br />Guler’s series takes place in the last third of the fifth century, around the time King Arthur is supposed to have lived. The mystery and lack of documentation from that time inspired Guler — who also credits some of her interest to her Scottish and Welsh ancestry — to frame her story as a spy novel with Marcus as the leading role, she said.</div><br /><div><br />“He’s kind of one of these James Bond meets MacGyver meets Braveheart kind of characters,” she said. Guler hopes fans come away from the series with more than a good read.</div><br /><div><br />“One thing I like for people to take away from the series is how resilient people are. Even in times of war and great stress and disaster, we’re resilient, and we try to find a way out of it. I think that’s the appeal people find in the Arthurian legend,” she said.</div><br /><div><br />The Steamboat Springs Writers Group offered workshop tips for the second, third and fourth Macsen’s Treasure books. Guler moved to Steam­boat Springs in 1990 and has been a member of the writers group since 1998. At weekly meetings, Guler’s peers pointed out any gaps in plot or character development or dialogue in a way that was honest but not critical, she said.</div><br /><div><br />There are ideas for a new project, possibly a series of interconnected short stories set in different historical periods, she said.</div><br /><div><br />Books from the Macsen’s Treasure Series are available locally at Epilogue and online at www.amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as at Guler’s publisher’s Web site, <a href="http://www.bardsongpress.com/">www.bardsongpress.com</a>. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo credit: John F. Russell from <em>Steamboat Today</em></span></div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-66221533923737864832009-11-01T09:46:00.000-08:002009-11-01T09:54:31.019-08:00On Writing Historical Fiction<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/Su3LTENJ4iI/AAAAAAAAANE/ojjATIk4XzA/s1600-h/Quill.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 98px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 130px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399195056693961250" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/Su3LTENJ4iI/AAAAAAAAANE/ojjATIk4XzA/s200/Quill.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Daydreaming is a good thing. Some will disagree, like one of my grade school teachers who asked the question: “what’s first person singular of the verb ‘to be’?” She followed with, “You look like you’re daydreaming,” and called my name. I answered flippantly, “I am,” meaning I was, in truth, daydreaming and had not heard the question. By coincidence, it was the right answer. Miffed that she hadn’t embarrassed me, she scowled and moved on to the next daydreamer.<br /><br />Indeed, I don’t remember what I was daydreaming about then, but it very well could have been of knights in shining armor, the Three Musketeers, or that clever fellow Zorro of early California. To escape the present world and seek the adventure of another time and place always felt comfortable back then. The truth? Still does! Inexplicably, being transported to another time has a certain appeal. Is it ladies in long dresses? Big hunky men in kilts? Exotic languages no longer spoken? Great sword fights? Sea battles? Who knows?<br /><br />The daydreaming eventually led to an insatiable interest in history after watching the BBC’s “The Six Wives of Henry VIII.” Visualizing the Tudors’ lives made me understand that history examines the dynamics of people’s actions and is not the dull, dry business it’s been made out to be by countless school systems. By the time I attended university, I found my favorite studies of art, music, literature and drama were all closely interconnected by their histories. So much to discover!<br /><br />Throughout the decades that followed, the fascination remains strong. The desire to communicate that interest manifested in the form of historical fiction. This took a lot of learning, patience and persistence. Writing historical fiction goes far beyond simply telling a story set in another time. It’s many disciplines: the historian’s craft of performing thorough, solid research to recreate the world of another era; the art of the written word; and the intuition—the creative daydreaming—that takes the spark of an idea for a story and gives it the fire to unfold in all its power.<br /><br />After writing four books, I still wonder why certain eras intrigue me, some quite strongly. Is it my Welsh and Scottish ancestry? Dark Age Britain’s Celtic culture draws my attention the most and began doing so long before I discovered my heritage. Is it something as ethereal and unprovable as reincarnation? Sometimes dreams and images come to me so fiercely while I’m writing that they seem more like memories than imagination. Or is it the challenge to puzzle together what happened long ago and find the story within that context?<br /><br />I wonder what that grade school teacher would say if she knew where my daydreams have taken me. With apologies to Descartes: I write, therefore “I am”? </div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-28193623521872750652009-10-19T10:41:00.001-07:002009-10-19T10:47:51.639-07:00USA Book News: Best Books Awards 2009<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/StymPBSR6GI/AAAAAAAAAM0/tPL9P4kwIp4/s1600-h/Best+Books+Award+seal.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394369230656366690" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/StymPBSR6GI/AAAAAAAAAM0/tPL9P4kwIp4/s200/Best+Books+Award+seal.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Great news! A LAND BEYOND RAVENS is a finalist in The National Best Books 2009 Awards in the Fiction & Literature: Historical Fiction category! Woo-hoo!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.usabooknews.com/2009bestbooksawards.html">http://www.usabooknews.com/2009bestbooksawards.html</a></div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-89582855344488806912009-10-11T16:53:00.000-07:002009-10-11T16:56:05.649-07:00Literary Sojourn - 2009I love this event! Literary Sojourn is a fabulous annual gathering held each fall in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, that brings together a handful of critically acclaimed authors to speak to about 500 attendees. This was the tenth I’ve attended. This year we had John Darnton, Jayne Anne Phillips, Linda Hogan, Amitav Ghosh and Richard Bausch speaking, plus Erin McKean as Master of Ceremonies. The authors speak on topics that can range anywhere from the writing process, to career paths, to the background of one or more of their books, to where an idea or observance created the spark that turned into a story.<br /><br />I always come away with something of value. It can be a new idea of how to approach a story, a sense of validation that these highly acclaimed authors go through similar experiences that I have as a writer, or simply some inspiration. Even after many years of experience in writing, and having written and published four novels of my own, there’s always more to learn, to hone, to explore, to raise to a higher level. Being in this position, I actually find this kind of event more valuable than going to many of the writer’s conferences or workshops out there—so many of those are geared towards beginners. (Unfortunately, money and time don’t allow me to attend the better conferences.)<br /><br />These are what I felt were the highlights:<br /><br />Amitav Ghosh, from Calcutta, India, spoke of how so many books tell of the arrival of immigrants in new countries. He writes instead of the difficulty of leaving the old country, especially one like India that has roots in an incredibly old civilization and the land is even part of the religion. This got me to thinking about some of the things I’ve written on Celtic culture that also reveres the land. As people from Asia’s many cultures have been far flung across the world, so have Celtic people been spread in a diaspora. My own Welsh and Scottish ancestors were part of that vast migration.<br /><br />Jayne Anne Phillips spoke of kismet. What an interesting surprise when she revealed that while finalizing her book, “Lark and Termite,” without foreknowledge, the name of one of the characters turned out to be nearly identical to that of a survivor of a historical incident on which the book is based. I had a similar spine-tickling experience which I’ve blogged about here before. When I needed to name a character in <em>A Land Beyond Ravens</em> who would eventually become one of King Arthur’s warriors, I searched through many long compilations of names associated with Arthur’s armies. The character was the son of a long dead man called Taran. In the form of Welsh patronymics, the new character would be ‘so-and-so’ ap (son of) Taran. The search paid off unexpectedly: I found a name, Glinyeu ap Taran. Yes, kismet!<br />(See my earlier entry:<a href="http://kathleenguler.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-was-that-fellows-name.html">http://kathleenguler.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-was-that-fellows-name.html</a>)<br /><br />Linda Hogan, a Chickasaw poet and novelist, also hit a chord that resonated with me. She spoke of the language crows and ravens have and how they communicate with not only each other, but us as well. My husband and I experience that every day. We have somewhere between fifty to a hundred crows that live in our neighborhood. They interact with us, talking in their varied and intricate language. They leave no doubt as to what they mean, and it is not just that they want food. They enjoy companionship as well. They are intelligent, playful birds and have adopted us into their family and territory. The best highlight of my day was the gift of sitting for a few minutes with Linda and talking with her about these wonderful creatures while she signed my copy of her book, <em>Mean Spirit</em>.<br /><br />In all, a very enjoyable, satisfying day. If all goes well, I’ll be back for number eleven!<br /><br />See <a href="http://www.literarysojourn.org/">http://www.literarysojourn.org/</a> for additional information.Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-42021917689322858932009-10-02T11:43:00.000-07:002009-10-02T11:45:57.271-07:00Announcing...Blog Tour Schedule!I will be on a virtual book tour for my new book A Land Beyond Ravens, starting 5 October. Here are the stops I'll be making. Please stop by and feel free to leave some comments!<br /><br />5 Oct: The Plot <a href="http://theplotline.wordpress.com/">http://theplotline.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />5 Oct: Historically Obsessed <a href="http://historicallyobsessed.blogspot.com/">http://historicallyobsessed.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />6 Oct: The Plot <a href="http://theplotline.wordpress.com/">http://theplotline.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />7 Oct: Book Madness <a href="http://bookmadness.wordpress.com/">http://bookmadness.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />8 Oct: The Review From Here <a href="http://www.reviewfromhere.com/">http://www.reviewfromhere.com/</a><br /><br />9 Oct: Marta's Meanderings <a href="http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/">http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />12 Oct: The Fantasy Pages <a href="http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com/">http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />13 Oct: The Book Connection <a href="http://www.thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/">http://www.thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />14 Oct: In My Youth <a href="http://inmyyouth.wordpress.com/">http://inmyyouth.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />14 Oct: HistFic Chick <a href="http://histficchick.blogspot.com/">http://histficchick.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />15 Oct: Historical Novel Reviews <a href="http://historicalnovelreview.blogspot.com/2009/09/land-beyond-ravens-by-kathleen.html">http://historicalnovelreview.blogspot.com/2009/09/land-beyond-ravens-by-kathleen.html</a><br /><br />16 Oct: The Writer's Life <a href="http://www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com/">http://www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />19 Oct: Zensanity <a href="http://zensanity.blogspot.com/">http://zensanity.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />20 Oct: Just Me <a href="http://jenerahealy.com/2009/09/25/a-land-of-ravens-by-kathleen-cunningham-guler/">http://jenerahealy.com/2009/09/25/a-land-of-ravens-by-kathleen-cunningham-guler/</a><br /><br />21 Oct: Divine Caroline <a href="http://divinecaroline.com/">http://divinecaroline.com/</a><br /><br />21 Oct: American Chronicle <a href="http://americanchronicle.com/">http://americanchronicle.com/</a><br /><br />22 Oct: The Hot Author Report <a href="http://www.thehotauthorreport.blogalogues.com/">http://www.thehotauthorreport.blogalogues.com/</a><br /><br />23 Oct: The Hot Author Report <a href="http://www.thehotauthorreport.blogalogues.com/">http://www.thehotauthorreport.blogalogues.com/</a><br /><br />26 Oct: Book Tours and More <a href="http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/">http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />26 Oct: Historical Tapestry <a href="http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/">http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />27 Oct: Scribe Vibe <a href="http://www.scribevibe.blogspot.com/">http://www.scribevibe.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />28 Oct: Café of Dreams <a href="http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/">http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />29 Oct: The Tome Traveller <a href="http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/">http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />30 Oct: The Story Behind the Book <a href="http://thestorybehindthebook.wordpress.com/">http://thestorybehindthebook.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />###Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-31342630888552429892009-09-30T10:47:00.000-07:002009-09-30T12:18:10.449-07:00A Land Beyond Ravens Released 30 Sept, 2009<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/SsOaw7kZFyI/AAAAAAAAAMs/2s0mFd-I0RY/s1600-h/Blog+cover.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387319744679974690" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cn6yEdQj0NQ/SsOaw7kZFyI/AAAAAAAAAMs/2s0mFd-I0RY/s200/Blog+cover.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Today is the day! A Land Beyond Ravens is now available! Please see the link to the Macsen's Treasure Series blog for reviews, interviews and more!<br /><br /><a href="http://macsenstreasure.blogspot.com/">http://macsenstreasure.blogspot.com/</a></div><div> </div><div></div><div>Buy from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Land-Beyond-Ravens-Macsens-Treasure/dp/0966037162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254338138&sr=8-1">Amazon.com</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>P.S.: Pay no attention if Amazon's saying "ships in 1 to 2 months"--they are only temporarily out of stock and will have more available very shortly, if not already!</div>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26514128.post-65985470452650951542009-08-31T07:17:00.000-07:002009-08-31T07:26:06.409-07:00Review by Reader ViewsI was utterly blown away by this new review. With glowing reverence, he touches on all the points I hold most dear in writing historical fiction. It's especially gratifying as well because the reviewer is an expert in Arthurian lore and history and an accomplished writer himself.<br /><br />Click here to read:<br /><a href="http://macsenstreasure.blogspot.com/2009/08/review-by-reader-views.html">http://macsenstreasure.blogspot.com/2009/08/review-by-reader-views.html</a>Kathleen Gulerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299307419488348764noreply@blogger.com0