Endnotes

It has been a big job, adding endnotes to something already written, and it's not finished yet. I have been through all my research notes and the books I bought, and even got some new ones out of the library, but I have not been able to find everything yet.

Strangely enough, it is the basic history which eludes me. Unfortunately when I began this project it was going to be a historical novel or historical fantasy novel, so I didn't bother to note down where I found my information. Once it turned into popular history I thought a bibliography would be enough. But I have come to see that although it is not destined to be an academic work, it is still important to establish my sources.

The trouble is that I want it to be more than dry historical facts, and have managed to ferret out all sorts of interesting details to bring the story to life. But they came from many different books, and I have to retrace my steps. So many books only tell the bare bones of the story.

I also have a problem that I have written two general chapters on daily life and marriage in medieval times, and relied for a lot of it on internet research. Academics don't approve. Sometimes I have looked at one web site and assumed it was accurate, whereas I should have cross checked the information.

The academics from the Historical Association who kindly read the draft pointed out some valid things and made some very good suggestions. I am rather pleased though that one person disagreed with one of my statements and I have managed to find the source and corroborate it!

In addition to doing the endnotes I have listened to advice and thought about the structure of the book, and as a result have moved a lot of chapters around and reworked things into a more logical order. I must remember that having decided to base the story around Alina's life, it has to always relate to her. I have a habit of going off into an interesting bit of history that doesn't actually have anything to do with her. For example, I did a lot of work on a chapter on the pacification of the Welsh, which I am very proud of (posted in three parts on this blog in Dec 09 and Jan 10). Unfortunately it happened before she was born.

Every time I don't think I can do any more to the story I get some advice that lifts it to a new level, so I am certain it is worth the effort. I may never get it published, but I have certainly enjoyed it, and learned a lot.

References

The wonderful people at the Historical Association have reviewed my book and given me some really good feedback. I'm going to take their advice, but two things have become clear:

1. I am going to have to do more research. Some parts of the book are based on just one source and are being questioned and other references suggested. I obviously didn't look far enough.
2. Although I have been avoiding it, I really have to do endnotes. If I had done them as I went along it would have been relatively easy. Doing it afterwards is going to be like writing it all again. I have my bibliography and all the research notes I made, but it's a big job. But I can't avoid it.

So here we go...

Historical Association

Last week I saw a poster for the Swansea Branch of the Historical Association and on impulse I emailed them about my Alina book. To my surprise I got a reply straight away from the Vice-Chairman, who asked a few questions and offered to read it and give me advice. There have been further emails, and now four other people from the association have also agreed to read it. This is a real breakthrough for me, as I am totally inexperienced in history and publishing. I hope it comes to something.

Authonomy

On Tuesday night (27th July) I uploaded my book to the Authonomy website. It is a place for authors to showcase their work and for readers to find new writing and comment on it and rate it. I wondered whether anyone would read it and what the comments would be.

I was stunned to find the next morning that I already had 17 comments and all positive! Several people have backed it. Today there are a few more comments and again they are all positive. I am amazed and really encouraged.

If you want to read it and leave comments, go here.

Re-Think, Re-Write

I have done a lot of thinking about this book while I have been in hospital with my stroke, and with some distance from the initial creative spurt have begun to re-think things. My thoughts were confirmed when my daughter-in-law, the historian, returned my manuscript with copious notes. She had come to the same conclusion.

I have become fascinated by this period in history, and although I say that I am using the life of Alina de Breos to hang the story from, I have actually gone and written about everything, with occasional reference to Alina. So it doesn't work.

I am very attached to what I have written, like most writers, and have to make a hard decision: Do I revert to a straight history of the period, or do I cut out the stuff that is not relevant to Alina? I have concluded that a straight history would not have the appeal that 'The White Lady of Oystermouth' would, especially with the opening of the visitors centre in Alina's chapel at Oystermouth castle next year.

So I have the painful job of rejecting large chunks of my history (though I won't delete it - you never know when it might come in useful), re-writing some with more relevance to Alina, and adding a lot that I have researched about daily life to tell more of her story. It is harder than I first thought because there is actually very little on record about Alina, or indeed any women in that period. They were considered inferior and just used to make prestigious alliances by marriage.

Wish me luck, and watch this space. I might drop some tidbits about life in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

Inactivity

For anyone thinking this blog has died, I had a stroke on 11th May. See my other blog for details. During my forced inactivity I have had lots of ideas for improving my Alina book, but it will take some time. So, patience please, and wish me well.

The Friends of Oystermouth Castle

Great news! I contacted the chairman of the Friends of Oystermouth Castle to tell him I had finished the first draft of the book, and he invited me to their AGM last night. I also sent him a copy of the book, which he said he would look at before the meeting.

I was the last item on the agenda under 'Any Other Business', but the meeting itself was very interesting, and I have a copy of the plans for the refurbishment and development of the castle over the next few years. They hope to have up to £2.2m to spend, and the plans, especially for the visitors centre in Alina's chapel, are fabulous.

Anyway, I was nervous that they would say that it had been done before, or not be very interested, but the members were great. They all thought it was a great idea, and 12 people have offered to read it - I emailed it to two, and the rest will have photocopies from the chairman. Several people stopped to give me encouragement, and one was a Swansea Councillor, who said he would give me every assistance, and just to ask him if there was anything he could do. He offered to pass the manuscript on to the project manager for the castle development, in Swansea Council. So who knows what will happen.

The chairman was impressed with the book and made some useful comments (like the fact that I spelled 'peninsula' with an r at the end!). I will wait for comment from the others before I start revision. I am much more confident now than I was before.