Castles cover the landscape of Europe. Many have lasted because they are built ofstone, but it takes some imagination to see how they looked when they were thehomes of the wealthy and powerful. Wherefore this course. A castle was a fortified structure, the home and admirative center of a magnate(great man) or king, and the […]

Writers have the capacity to create the type of world we want to live in.  Sometimes, this requires a bravery and vulnerability that feels incredibly uncomfortable.  How can an author include characters that are different from themselves without being offensive?  How does an author find the bravery to write authentically about the world they are […]

In England, before the Norman Conquest of 1066, fairies were called elves. Fairy is a word borrowed from French. Walt Disney would have you believe that fairies are sweet little creatures with wings and wands, helpful entities like Tinkerbell and the Tooth Fairy. Walt was wrong. In many lands people believe it's not wise to […]

Have you ever imagined how history could have turned out differently? What would the world have looked like if the Nazis had won the Second World War, the South had won the American Civil War, or the US had lost the Cold War? Alternate histories challenge and inspire us to think about what might have […]

Where is the road to a New York Times bestseller? Let me point you in the right direction—write a fantasy! Different sources of fantasy have inspired a torrent of novels and films. I’m sure you’re familiar with Rowling’s Harry Potter novels or G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. Or perhaps you’ve read Guy Gavriel Kay’s The […]

Kendrick Lamar said, "If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with a name."  Twenty-first century audiences demand deep, emotional connections with characters. Authors have learned how to use writing techniques to  foster these emotional connections, but authors who randomly name their characters are missing a prime opportunity to create more emotion, more […]

Want to make your writing soar? Do you want to add airplanes and aviation to your writing, but can’t tell the difference between a Cessna 172 and a Boeing 747? Do you want to learn about classic aviation stories and their plots, characters, and settings? Come join historian and airplane geek Hugh Gordon as he […]

Want to write a novel set in Scotland? A New York Times bestseller?? How about a series? Scottish stories are wildly popular after the successful novels of Diana Gabaldon: Outlander, Fly in Amber, Voyager, followed by six more huge books which tell the adventures and trials of Jamie Fraser and Claire.   Gabaldon placed her […]

The ancient Celts believed that all things, animate and inanimate, possessed a spirit. Mountains, hills and trees were manly; rivers and meadows were feminine. The Celts knew that spirits watched their every move. So any action was carefully considered because of the effect it might have on their destiny. Ogham, the first Gaelic alphabet, was […]

Magic is distinguished from religion in that a magical practitioner usually acts for the benefit of one person whereas a priest acts for the benefit of a group or society. The word ‘magic’ comes from Old Persian, and we are familiar with the Latin spelling magus or French mage. In this course you'll find out […]

Scotland and Ireland loved their heroes in the Early Middle Ages. On many a winter night people sat round a central fire listening to stories from myths and legends--the mini series of the era. They battled their enemies and dodged wicked spells. They wooed and won fair maids. The greatest Gaelic epic celebrates a cattle […]

When writing historical fiction, the research aspect can be overwhelming. Do you dread it— find it dry and boring— or do you love it--but get caught up in the unique “finds” and neglect the more obvious points? Most likely it is a combination of both. I see historical research as both science (systemized knowledge) and […]

Today it seems like conspiracies and conspiracy theories are everywhere. Do you want to add shadowy organizations and secret plots to your writing? Why not look at real conspiracies from history to feed your own dark designs? Come join historian Hugh Gordon as he shows which conspiracies can be proven, and others that remain in […]

So you have a character you're just dying to kill. Maybe he is a real villain and deserves to die. Or, instead, she is a sweet child and everybody cries when she slips away in the middle of the night. Regardless, there's a right place, time and reason to get rid of that character and […]

Toward the end of the twentieth century, the modern Civil Rights era was launched and as Sam Cooke sang, “A Change Gone Come.” The change came and the psychology of Black people in the United States underwent a sea change. As we will see in this class in the first week, there were several reasons […]

At Point Comfort in 1619, more than a dozen enslaved Black men were bought to the shores of Virginia and the history of Blackness in the United States was established. There are three distinct time periods to think about and I will address them, depending upon what you are writing about: 1619-1800, 1800-1865, 1865-1950. 1619-1800—Enslavement […]

As a historical fiction author, I have researched for years on legal issues my characters have encountered in their stories. In talking to readers of historical fiction, particularly regency romance, I’ve learned that many people have questions about some of the issues addressed in novels, as well as misunderstandings about inheritance and marriage laws (yes, […]