Storyteller's Perspective: History and fiction

Today I stray a little from oral storytelling to telling tales of history.

Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series is taking the Internet by storm. Seriously, has any of you been to Goodreads lately without seeing the banners for the book? Some people cite the show as the "feminist response to Game of Thrones," while others cite the books as the long-awaited revival of historical fiction.
Which is what got me thinking: Is historical fiction really in need of a revival?

I'm going to tell you up front: I don't have an answer to that question. Really, I'm just writing this post to pose the question to the A to Z audience. Visiting blogs as a minion this April I encountered many wonderful authors who work in many genres, and I enjoyed all of those visits. I also noticed that the hottest genre right now seems to be romance and its subgenres (paranormal, erotic, historical, etc.). Which is probably why Outlander reached more exposure (ha! kilts!) and more popularity than many other historical fiction books lately.

I had conversations with people about historical fiction and the challenges authors have to face when they decide to work within this genre (disclaimer up front, I am one of them, hence the interest). The thoughts and opinions I gathered ranged from "Well, no one gives a **** about history" to "It is a lot harder to read than other fiction." Other complaints about historical fiction included "Well, it's kinda boring" (coming from a person that had no problem blazing through 5 volumes of Game of Thrones) and "I have never heard of that place/those people/that time period, so I am not really interested."

With all of that said: Historical fiction lives, thrives, and does have a serious following. People like Philippa Gregory and Bernard Cornwell are doing active and amazing work. The fandom might be less visible than fans of other genres, but that is a topic for another time. For now, I would like to ask a few questions, and see where they take us:

1. Do you read historical fiction?
2. If so, who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?
3. Do you write historical fiction? What kind? Why?
4. What do you think makes a historical book good?
5. If you want to share any blogs, Twitter feeds, FB pages, etc. related to historical fiction, please do!

Happy last weeks of summer, everyone!

You can find Csenge (@TarkabarkaHolgy) at
The Multicolored Diary - Adventures in Storytelling
MopDog - The crazy thing about Hungarians...

Back-to-School Means...

Hey there friends, it's been a while since I've taken a turn at this wonderful venue.  It's been quite the summer for us - each day a new surprise adventure, some good, some bad, some scary, some a total blessing.  I'll come out and say it: I consider summer over as of today. My youngest started high school.

For many of us, end of summer and beginning of fall doesn't much matter.  Our lives run on a regular schedule, January-December.  Once we were done with school, we became adjusted to a different calendar.

That's never been the case for me.  I went from being a student into immediately being a teacher into having kids and then they had a school schedule.  My life runs mid-August, then all around the year, with summer in between.

There are many rituals I enjoy about getting ready for a new school year to begin: buying school supplies, getting new clothes, getting a fresh haircut, and other preparations.  Egads there's more when you have a senior.  I had been warned repeatedly by my friends with older kids, but being me, Schedule Woman, I thought, "How much different can it be?"  I was wrong.  I'm adjusting.

What does "back-to-school" signify for you?  What's the school year like in your country?  What calendar does you life run by?  Do tell.

~Tina, feeling a bit blue, yet also excited because my son was so thrilled about going :-)

August’s Delicious Detour for Bloggers #atozchallenge #roadtrip

Teriyaki Chicken from Koja Grille. Photo by Nicole Ayers.

What’s a road trip without snacks, drinks and good food?! After all, they are the very basic necessities for a spontaneous picnic, or two. That is why today’s pit stop involves one of the most delicious scavenger hunting activities ever introduced to the A-to-Z Challenge Road Trip, to keep our engines running throughout August. I double dare all road trippers to complete the following tasks before my next Road Trip check-in:

1. Find and visit blogs named after food on the 2014 A-to-Z Challenge Signup List. 

It doesn't have to be a foodie blog with recipes or restaurant reviews per se. Just look for blogs that include food in their title such as Buttered Toast Rocks and you're good to go.

2. In 150 words or less, write a “(Blogging) Book Report” on your blog about one of the places you visited on the list. Make sure that your Blogging Book Report includes information about the following topics:

• The name and subject of the blog.
• Your favorite post on the blog.
• Whether you would visit the blog again in the future.

There are so many blogs on the A-to-Z Challenge list with fruits, nuts, baked desserts, cookies, bread or chocolate in the title (some even with the term “food”) that this is an easy way to get your road trip on while also having a writing prompt for your own blog. Plus, I’m sweetening the deal – send me a link to your “(Blogging) Book Report” post after it’s published and I’ll list your blog my Road Trip check-in next month.

Who’s in?

A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host Nicole Ayers brings the 411 on indie films at The Madlab Post. She recently ate a Mr. Goodbar for lunch and then washed it down with a Snickers; all after months without eating these types of candy, in favor of assorted cakes and pastries.