Debunking the 'Roman salute'

Oath of the Horatii (Jean-Louis David, 1784)

Recently, a prominent social media personality thrust his arm in the air in a straight arm salute that caused an earthquake of reaction, mostly shuddering. For many, it recalled fascists, Nazis and ultra nationalism of every kind. According to legend, this fascist gesture was based on […]

Heroines' journeys - Not always physical ones

Karen/Carina

As readers, we like to see our main character progress in some way. She or he doesn’t need to save the world, make a grand marriage with a duke or make a groundbreaking journey into space. But their story does need a resolution. It could be acceptance, it could be a move somewhere else, it […]

Military women – in war and fiction

An updated post Several years ago now, I posted on my writing blog about my OU studies in history and how I turned my MA dissertation into a self-published book: Military or Civilians?The curious anomaly of the German Women’s Auxiliary Services during the Second World War. This was my first venture into self-publishing when you […]