Patricia Leslie

I’ve been doing some reading into magic, myth, conceptual theming, and core character / personality realisation, encompassing the historical aspects of setting and external forces. Historical fantasy commands underlying currents and deep pools to supply the forces that not only propel the story forward, but also take the reader along with it. So this month, my round up is in someway indicative of future storytelling – the ongoing Crossing the Line series and beyond. First up

Welcome to my strand of the World Wide Web. Writing Tools: tip #4 Dropbox Subscribe to receive articles and tips every week in your inbox Local History: Exploring Local Museums If you want to get to know more about a local area (regional, city or country) then get yourself to the local museum. I recently visited the Camden Museum and was fascinated by the cleverness of their exhibition layout, the expert curation, and the obvious commitment of the local historical society. I

Every now and again I like to share some of the little gems of knowledge and trivia I pick up in my reading and researching. Sometimes the tiniest mention of an item, incident or location, especially when it’s historical in nature, requires more research that you’d think. Luckily, I enjoy the odd bit of fact-checking. But once the item has been mentioned, I have knowledge that I probably won’t need again (and by the time I do then I’ll have forgotten it anyway). I call these

It seems that Sheila na Gig and Baubo share a growing number of connecting dots. As female figures, historians are not quite sure if they are symbols of warning or iconographic remains of goddess worship. I’d hazard a guess to say both and more. Each of the carvings differs; Baubo to Baubo, Sheela to Sheela as well as Sheela na gig to Baubo. Similarities are hinted at almost as if stonemasons across the northern half of the glob are winking at each other. “I like what you’re

When I was asked to talk about the writer’s journey at the Writers Unleashed Festival, I was in a bit of a conundrum: where to start, how much to share, and what could I add to the conversation that hadn't been heard before. A writer's journey isn't a straight line from point A to Point B, its round about, up and down, stopping and starting. So I thought I'd share instead the three things I like to do each day and in that way also share my journey and my approach to writing.

In May 2015, I sat down in an Edinburgh pub with a fresh notebook and a pen, and started my third novel. With a nod to future history, I penned the working title and a few lines on character and opening scene. I’m happy to say that last week I signed the contract that, hopefully, will see Crossing the Line (book 1) published later this year. I’m also happy to say that the title and main character have survived time, numerous edits, and months of research to make it to the pri

Not long ago I had a solid three days of writing and am now approximately half way through my manuscript. I say approximately, because I’m aiming at around the 80,000 word mark while quietly hoping for closer to 100,000. I’ve also given myself a deadline for completion of the first draft so I really need to get cracking and find more blocks of concentrated writing time. I’m sure my boss would prefer I didn’t have a 3-day weekend every week! While I had planned for this weeken