Category: ALTERNATIVE HISTORY

What is 1st Century Jerusalem really like?

This week; Sneak Preview returns and a brief discussion about getting historical accuracy in novels: What was 1st Century Jerusalem really like?

Sneak Preview

Today, I have a little treat for you, the first sneak preview of Ordo Lupus III:

Ordo Lupus III
Copyright © 2014 by Lazlo Ferran
All Rights Reserved.

As we climbed up the sloping streets, myself wearing a black kudra, few even glanced at us.
“Are there usually this many soldiers?” John asked, glancing at a centurion.
“No. There are more than usual, even for Passover. The City has been tense for days now.”
We walked towards Herod’s Palace in the north-west corner of the City. Every pavement and street corner was crammed full of busy traders, customers and stalls, selling food, wine, beer from Egypt, every type of cloth and garment.
“What’s that?” John asked, pointing to a tower, topped with a four-sided pyramid.
“King David’s tomb.” Continue reading “What is 1st Century Jerusalem really like?” →

Banned: Infinite Blue Heaven

Infinite Blue Heaven has been banned by Amazon. It is my first book available from me directly: https://payhip.com/b/yth1. Read on to find out more:

Cover of Infinite Blue Heaven - A King and A Queen
Cover of Infinite Blue Heaven – A King and A Queen

Infinite Blue Heaven – A King and A Queen The eBook has recently been banned by Amazon although they do not specify why. Despite repeated requests by me for the reason, they refuse to be drawn. If it is because of the incest, then there are books on Amazon which peddle this theme as pornography. There are also writers like Vladimir Nabokov and Thomas Pynchon who treat this subject more sensitively. If this is the reason, I really don’t understand it; I have always used the word ‘incest’ in the description and the book has been on Amazon since 2009. I have made no changes to it in that time. I also treat the subject sensitively and include it because incest was not rare in royal circles of the 17th Century. Let’s be plain, it existed and Amazon can’t simply wipe out the bits of history they don’t like.

Buy Infinite Blue Heaven on Payhip here: https://payhip.com/b/yth1

The paperback continues to be available on Amazon through their subdivision CreateSpace. But you can now purchase it directly from me using Payhip. Just click on ‘Lazlo in Your Country‘ in the main menu above to find this book from now on.

Ordo Lupus: who do you think they are?

This week: Grammar and Onomatopoeia and – Ordo Lupus (The Order of the Wolf): who do you think they are?

Grammar and Onomatopoeia

Grammar
I am just doing a light re-edit of the second book in the Ordo Lupus series: The Devil’s Own Dice. I have been pleasantly surprised how good it is! I occasionally go back to old books to just bring the grammar up to date. This is because, not only do my grammar skills improve as I publish more work but also there are fashions in grammar and these gradually change! Yes, it’s true!

Of course everybody knows that the meaning of a word can change over time. This field of study is called semantics. The obvious example is ‘gay’. When I was young this simply meant ‘happy’ or ‘bright and cheerful’. Now it most usually denotes someone physically attracted to the same sex.

Another word which changes meaning with time is ‘insidious’. The meaning of this word seems to actually fluctuate during cycles of about ten years. It can sometimes mean ‘subtle’ and sometimes mean ‘subtly bad’.

In two of my books, written in the mid-noughties, the phrase ‘in-control’ comes up quite a lot. People actually used said that a lot during the 80s and 90s. Now, nobody seems to use it so I take it out wherever I see it. Continue reading “Ordo Lupus: who do you think they are?” →