Author Archives: thornemoore

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. II

Kings made laws and they wanted to see them enforced by more than wishful thinking. Someone had to do it. In England, the Normans preserved the Saxon role of Shire Reeve, or Sheriff, an appointed protector of the King’s interests in every county, with soldiers at his command. They could be hard-hearted extortionists, like RobinContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. II”

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. I

It’s an odd thing that real crime, stalking in our own vicinity, terrifies us, but in fiction, and at a distance, we love it. There’s an obvious reason for that. It’s fiction. It’s not true. It allows us to enjoy all the thrill, the suspense, the exploration of our darker sides, without any danger ofContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. I”

The Publishing Road Less Travelled

Or less traveled, if you’re American. Writers in their yellow wood of composition come to their own diverging roads at last, and have to decide which path to send their completed book down – the conventional route via agent and publisher, or the other, self-publishing. Is the latter still the one less travelled? Possibly not,Continue reading “The Publishing Road Less Travelled”

IMPACT & INFLUENCE: Flower Fairies.

I was fascinated by wild flowers at an early age, possibly because our garden was a wee bit wild. My father in his vegetable patch waged war on the weeds that challenged his sprouting broccoli and Jerusalem artichokes, but my mother’s half-hearted attempts to liven the flower boards with the odd packet of Virginia stocksContinue reading “IMPACT & INFLUENCE: Flower Fairies.”

IMPACT & INFLUENCE: Henry V

Here’s another post about my literary influences. It would seem rather pretentious to claim Shakespeare as an influence on my infant self. His language was not exactly easing reading for a child in the 1960s – probably even less now, unless it could be conveyed entirely by emojis. And it isn’t just the language thatContinue reading “IMPACT & INFLUENCE: Henry V”