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History Trivia

On August 7

322 BC Battle of Crannon: Macedonian forces of Antipater and Craterus and rebellious Greek forces led by the Athenians, was the decisive battle of the Lamian War, following the death of Alexander the Great. The Greeks sued for peace which marked the end of city-state freedom from Macedonian hegemony in Greece.

317 Roman Emperor Flavius Julius Constantius was born.

626 The Avar and Slav armies left the siege of Constantinople, which kept the Byzantine Empire intact.

936 Coronation of King Otto I of Germany. He would become the first Holy Roman Emperor since Charlemagne.

1420 Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore began in Florence.

1427 The Visconti of Milan's fleet was destroyed by the Venetians on the Po River.

1485 Henry VII's army landed in Milford Harbor, South-Wales, a Lancastrian stronghold, and amassed an army to seize the crown from Richard III who was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485.

1606 The first documented performance of Macbeth was performed at the Great Hall at Hampton Court.

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History Trivia

On August 6

258 Pope Sixtus II was beheaded during the persecution by Emperor Valerian.

939 Battle at Simancas - Spain defeated the Moors. Arab witnesses reported a spectacular eclipse of the sun that took place on the first day of the battle, a bad omen.

1181 Supernova was observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers.

1284 The Republic of Pisa was defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.

1806 Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicated, ending the Holy Roman Empire.

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An Interview with author Wayne DePriest

Welcome to Meet The Author.  Today Wayne DePriest has stopped by to give us a little insight into his life and his books.  So let’s get started.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
Born and raised mostly in Montana. I really lived in a log cabin when I was a kid, complete without indoor plumbing. Four rooms for six people. We did have a pump in the kitchen. We hunted and fished and raised vegetables for the majority of our food, which was cooked on a coal and wood cast iron stove. We moved to civilization when I was 14.

When did you start writing?
I think I was about fifteen when I wrote a lurid tale for a couple of school mates. It got copied and made the rounds and eventually got back to me...in the hands of the principal. He was less than thrilled. Three years later I wrote a terrible novel about a phone number and its effect on three people. It was another three years before I wrote anything, and then it was a poem (equally terrible) on a dare by my younger brother. That seemed to start something. Over the next few years I played with poetry and fanciful yarns in which I included horrid puns because I thought puns were the height of humor. (I still do.)

What projects have been published?
Four slim volumes of poetry cleverly titled “Wayne Verses Everything” and an equally slim book of love poems equally cleverly titled “Wayne Verses Love”. A collection of 146 things that just irritate the crap out of me titled “ARG! Works”. A Western/mystery titled “Angeltown” about a young man who travels west and becomes involved in a mystery surrounding missing children. A Mystery titled “Selected” set in St Paul, MN, about a weary Detective faced with his most frustrating case, a killer who leaves a calling card with each victim...before and after.

Tell us about Selected:
A janitor, a former junkie, a cab driver, a waitress, a high school senior. Strangers in life, they each receive a blue card in the mail. Now they are connected in death by blue cards found on their bodies. The enigmatic letters on the cards means something to the killer, something Homicide Detective Jayson Weis has to decipher before he can rid the city of this madman. Confronted with the bodies of the present, haunted by the bodies of the past, Weis knows there will be more bodies in his future unless he can stop the Card Killer. When the few witnesses can’t agree about the killer, not even the race and sex,  Weis begins to dread the possibility of a second killer.  His relationship with long time girlfriend Lois Fremont is deteriorating.  The pressure from City Hall mounts. His own uncertainty about his future dulls the edge of his investigation.  Help comes from an unexpected direction, a paraplegic teenager who has received one of the cards.

How did you select the title of your novel?
I never considered any other title. The victims are ‘selected’; it just seemed natural.

What was your inspiration?
Well, now. If I answer that, it would give away too much. Suffice it to say the idea came to me out of the blue in about 1996. I jotted a couple of notes and there it sat until 2006, when I decided to write the thing for National Novel Writing Month. I completed it in 22 days. “Angeltown”; the other novel currently available, is also a product of NaNoWriMo.

What are you currently working on?
My main focus is a collection of short stories and vignettes planned for an early August release. There is another volume of poetry just about ready. I have a Western about 1/3 written, three mysteries in various stages of completion and about half of a fantasy novel. I’ve never written fantasy before. It’s a bit daunting. I spent two days just drawing a map of the fantasy world.

What are you reading at the moment?
“The Autobiography of Mark Twain”. “Forts: Endings and Beginnings” by Steven Novak. “Stream: The Awakening” by Bill Jones. “Dark Running” by M. Cid D’Angelo.

What do you like to do in your free time when you're not reading or writing?
I’ve been an avid pool player for more than 50 years. I enjoy putzing in our flower gardens. Becky and I love garage sales, even if we don’t buy anything. I think it’s a morbid curiosity about other people’s discards.

Do you have any advice for other authors?
“Write, damn you!” That is my screensaver. If you pay any attention at all, the more you write the better you’ll get.

And finally, can you tell us some fun facts about yourself, such as crossed skydiving off my bucket list.
Don’t spread this around, but I was once locked in an old post office vault for over three hours with my kid sister, thanks to my kid brother. We made the local paper with pictures and everything. I am also walking for President under the banner of The Cookie Party.

Where can we find out more about you, and where can we purchase your books?
All anyone has to do to learn more about me is ask me. All of my books are available in paperback and various digital formats at lulu.com. Kindle versions of “Selected” and “Angeltown” can be found on Amazon.com.

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/awriter

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=wayne+depriest&x=0&y=0

History Trivia

On August 5

135 Betar, the last outpost of Bar Kochba, fell to Rome. Bar Kochba was a messianic Jewish leader who established an independent Jewish state of Israel, which he ruled for three years. He state was conquered by the Romans in 135 following a bloody two-year war.

642  Battle of Maserfield – Penda of Mercia defeated and killed Oswald of Bernicia (Northumbria).

910 The last major Danish army to raid England was defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Earl Aethelred of Mercia.

1100 Henry I was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1305 William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, was captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he was put on trial and executed.

1388 The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish was fought between the Scots and the English in Northern England; the Scots were victorious.

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History Trivia

On August 4

70 the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans.

367 Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, was named co-Augustus by his father.

1181 Supernova was seen in Cassiopeia, a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain Queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty.

1265 Second Barons' War: Battle of Evesham: the army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeated the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies.

1347 English troops conquered Ft. Calais (France).

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History Trivia

On August 3

 8 Roman Empire general Tiberius defeated Dalmatians on the river Bathinus (southern Croatia).

435 Deposed Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius, considered the originator of Nestorianism, was exiled by Roman Emperor Theodosius II to a monastery in Egypt. Nestorianism is the error that Jesus is two distinct persons.

881 Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu: Louis III of France defeated the Vikings, an event celebrated in the German poem Ludwigslied.  

1291 the Crusaders abandoned Tortosa (province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain) to the Muslims. 

1347 Six burghers of the surrounded French city of Calais surrendered to Edward III of England, hoping to relieve the siege.  

1387 Olaf V Haakonsson, King of Denmark/ Norway died.

1460 King James II of Scotland died.

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History Trivia

On August 2

338 BC A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.

216 BC Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – The Carthaginian army lead by Hannibal and his elephants defeated a numerically superior Roman army under command of consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro, killing 60,000.

47 BC Julius Caesar said "veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered) after defeating Pharnaces, King of Pontus (northeast Turkey).

924  Aelfweard of Wessex, second son of Edward the Elder (son and heir of Alfred the Great) died.

1100 William II (Rufus) was killed by an arrow shot by Walter Tyrell while hunting in the New Forest.

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History Trivia

On August 1

 30 BC Octavian (later known as Augustus) entered Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.

10 BC Claudius I, Emperor of Rome AD 41-54 was born. He built Rome's harbor at Ostia and conquered parts of England and Thrace (the Balkins).

69 Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolted under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.

126 Publius Helvius Pertinax, Emperor of Rome for less than one year in 193 was born.

527 Justinian I became the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

902 Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, was captured by the Aghlabid army.

1096 The crusaders under Peter the Hermit reached Constantinople.

1137 Louis VI, the Fat, King of France died of dysentery.

1203 Isaac II Angelus, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declared his son Alexius IV Angelus co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.

1740 "Rule Britannia," which was written by Thomas Arne, was performed for the first time.

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History Trivia

On July 31

30 BC Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieved a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserted, leading to his suicide.

432 Saint Sixtus III was elected Roman Catholic pope. His papacy is associated with a great building expansion in Rome; Santa Maria Maggiore was built during his reign.

781 The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).

1009 Pope Sergius IV became the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.

1201 Byzantine noble John Komnenos, nicknamed "the Fat" attempted to usurp the imperial throne from Alexios III Angelos in a short-lived coup in Constantinople. He was captured and executed when the coup was suppressed.

1423 Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant – the French army was defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.

1556 St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, died.

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History Trivia

On July 30

579 Pope Benedict I died. He was a Roman and the son of Boniface, and was called Bonosus by the Greeks. Unfortunately, there is little information about the first pope to take the name Benedict.

657 St Vitalian began his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I.  He was successful in improving relations with England, where the Anglo-Saxon and British clergies were divided regarding various ecclesiastical customs.  At the Synod of Whitby, King Oswy of Northumberland accepted Roman practices regarding the keeping of Easter and the shape of the tonsure.  Together with King Ecgberht of Kent, he sent the priest Wighard to Rome, to be consecrated in the Papal City after the death of Archbishop Deusdedit of Canterbury in 664, but Wighard died in Rome of the plague. 

1178 Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor, was crowned King of Burgundy.

1629 An earthquake in Naples, Italy, killed about 10,000 people.

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An Interview with author Jax Hix

Welcome to Meet The Author. Today we are fortunate to have with us Jax Hix, who has graciously agreed to give us a little insight into her life and her books.  So let’s get started.

In her former career, Jax was a scientist and a science fiction fanatic who published short stories and poetry. Today she is obsessed with coffee and detests shoes. Jax is still a science fiction fanatic and can be spotted at science fiction conventions. She is prone to random rambling and suffers from an unnatural obsession with bubble wrap and linoleum. She also loves to run with scissors and other sharp objects, but never in front of the kids. Jax can frequently be found in front of the computer or with her nose in a book--sometimes simultaneously.

Jax has been writing, drawing, and performing music since early childhood. She was in the State Choir and has performed in several states at county fairs and coffee houses. Her art has been exhibited all over the United States and Europe (on hats and shirts). Jax can type 93 words per minute.

Jax is at heart a geek and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her spouse, human and furry children and many, many plants. When she is not herding Scottie dogs and tending to her virtual forest of plants, she indulges in creativity and finds new and unique ways to crash software. The family loves to camp and play their century-old player piano. Jax hopes to someday grow up to be the weird cat lady on the block.

When did you start writing?
I started writing at a very young age, beginning with poetry and short stories.  When I was 11, my grandmother entered me into a poetry contest, which I won. The poem was published in an anthology of short stories and poetry. I also write songs.

What projects have been published?
Various poems and short stories throughout the years, including a large portion of a school project in Junior High that was a “Choose Your Own Adventure.” 

I also published scientific research in college as an undergraduate Geology major:

“Experimental melting and analysis of the Rangeley Formation Zone II pelitic schists in the Appalachians of south-central Massachusetts” in the 12th Keck Consortium Symposium in Geology Proceedings, and National GSA Abstracts with Programs. 

“Garnet-bearing orthopyroxene±cordierite hornfels from the base of the Stillwater Complex, Mountain View Area, Montana” National GSA Abstracts with Programs, National McNairs Scholars Research Symposium Abstracts with Programs.

“Preliminary Findings of Species Validation of Hexagonella Ramosa and Hexagonella Tortuosa of the Pakistan Region, “American Chemical Society, McNairs Scholars National Research Symposium Abstracts with Programs, National Journal of Paleontology (her specimens and research are filed with the Smithsonian).

And of late, a children’s book entitled “Golden Deer Sun and White Bear Moon” and a comedy fiction entitled “Chronicles of My Life with a Blonde.”  Both works of fiction have been accepted into the Library of Congress.

Tell us about you novels.
“Chronicles of My Life with a Blonde” is an epic and hilarious tale of the antics of a male blonde spouse and the descent of his brunette wife into the depths of insanity.  These stories are true, the participants are not actors.  They are actual humans with a life pending in Washington State; only their identities have been changed to protect the innocent…and themselves from pending lawsuits.

“Golden Deer Sun and White Bear Moon” is a Native American style tale of the creation of the stars, moon, sun, wind and seasons.

How do you select the titles of your novels?
Chronicles began as a record of events, so the name naturally fell into place.  Golden Deer Sun and White Bear Moon came from a dream, so the title was already chosen.

What was your inspiration?

The story behind: “Golden Deer Sun and White Bear Moon”
I was born as an unregistered Cherokee and was adopted by a non-Native family, and was often disappointed that the media did not portray Native Americans in a positive light. I struggled as a child to find positive Native American role models, stories and avenues to express this aspect of myself. This book was given to me in a dream to share with the world just as it was given to me to tell. While the story does not encompass any particular Nation’s belief, it is Universal and seeks to show Native American stories and culture in a positive light. I encourage all young people to seek out tales of the Native American nations in their local libraries, and help to support a beautiful and wonderful culture in the United States that is often overlooked and underappreciated. Also, I will be donating my portion of the proceeds of this book to Native American venues that support storytelling, artwork, writing and culture of the Native American People.  My friend Matt and I went to high school together in Washington State, and we often talked about how determined to live our dreams we were back then; so we reconnected twenty years after graduation to complete this book.

The story behind: “Chronicles of My Life with a Blonde”
It began as a blog outlet to vent frustration without killing my newlywed blonde husband. After a few years, it evolved into a record for potential divorce court…until I realized that leaving my muse would be akin to leaving the movie theater during the part in the horror movie where the blonde coed is the last one left in the house in the woods in the middle of the night in the dark in the storm after all of her friends went to the cellar to check on the fuse box but did not return so she doesn’t know they’ve all been slaughtered by the homicidal maniac waiting in the cellar after having cut the power so she goes to investigate…*breath*…so you know how it’s going to end but you just can’t tear your eyes away all the while screaming at the blonde coed on the screen to runaway as fast as she can but knowing she can’t hear you and will continue anyway to meet her violent end and you are frozen to the spot waiting with bated breath. Life with him was just too fun not to stick around for the ending! And I have learned his greatest gift to teach was that we should all embrace the blonde within us, and the reminder that life is too precious to be so serious with ourselves…instead our mistakes should be an opportunity to laugh while we learn, so our journey is enriched with adventures in the making of the palettes of our souls complete.

What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a second children’s book to coincide with “Golden Deer Sun and White Bear Moon,” an art and photography book (“Visions of a Dreamer”), a non-fiction work entitled “Suburban Farming,” a science fiction series entitled “Through the Mirror Maze,” and another children’s series entitled “The MisAdventures of Martha Mores.”  College kind of ruined me in terms of reading just one book at a time…or writing one at a time!

What are you reading at the moment?
“Legends of the Middle Ages” by Helene Adeline Guerber, “Weeds of the West” (a reference book),  and several books by author David G. Cox.

What do you like to do in your free time when you're not reading or writing?
Free time?  HAHAHAHA!  When do I have ‘free’ time? I love to camp in the Westfalia, look for beautiful rock samples, work on my technology computer project (top secret), solve math problems, play with my kids and Scottie dogs,  garden (not necessarily in that order), and sending and receiving postcards from all over the world.

Do you have any advice for other authors?
Write for your enjoyment.  There is an audience for every book.

And finally, can you tell us some fun facts about yourself, such as crossed skydiving off my bucket list.
As a teenager, I travelled Europe on my own and was caught in a riot in Rome, but I escaped unharmed.  I graduated high school just after my 16th birthday and was selected as one of the 10 top undergraduates in the nation for Keck research in college.   I gave up a highly promising career as a scientist after my divorce to be a single mother.  I eventually remarried and added a daughter to my family and my two children are 11 years and 11 days apart in age.  I now work as a professional writer and travel coordinator for some of the most powerful, intelligent, famous and influential people in the world in my day job and as a free-lance writer, artist and photographer in my night job. 

To find out more about Jax, please visit the following:
www.jaxhix.com
www.dreamingdragonpublishing.com

To purchase Jax’s books:
http://www.amazon.com/Jax-Hix/e/B0051QYOAA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Jax-Hix?keyword=Jax+Hix&store=allproducts
http://www.litunderground.com/JaxHix.html
http://www.tower.com/tower_search/search_1.cfm?keywords=jax%20hix

History Trivia

On July 29

238 The Praetorian Guard stormed the palace and captured Pupienus and Balbinus. They were dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day Gordian III, age 13, was proclaimed emperor.

904 Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sacked Thessalonica, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, after a short siege, and plundered it for a week.

1030 Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad – King Olaf II, the patron saint of Norway, fought and died trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.

1565 The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots, married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1567 James VI was crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.

1588 Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeated the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.

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History Trivia

On July 28

388 Battle at Aquileja (northern Italy): Emperor Theodosius defeated Emperor Magnus Maximis.

754 Pope Stephen II made Pippin the Short King of France. He was the first King of the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty.

1148 Crusaders attacked Damascus.

1540 Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's chief minister, was executed for treason.

1540 Henry VIII of England married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

1586 Sir Thomas Harriot introduced potatoes to Europe.

1588 Spanish Armada set sail to overthrow England's Queen Elizabeth I.

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The Briton and the Dane: Legacy - giveaway

Kindly leave a comment to enter the contest for a signed copy of The Briton and the Dane:  Legacy.  Contest ends July 29, 2012.

http://indieauthorbookreviews.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/indie-author-spotlight-mary-ann-bernal/

History Trivia

On July 27

1054 Siward, Earl of Northumbria invaded Scotland to support Malcolm Canmore against Macbeth of Scotland, who usurped the Scottish throne from Malcolm's father, King Duncan. Macbeth was defeated at Dunsinane.

1170 Thomas Becket and King Henry II temporarily reconciled. Becket's six-year self-imposed exile from England was resolved when he met with Henry and King Louis VII of France at a conference in Freteval and settled on an uneasy truce. Becket made preparations to return to his See in Canterbury.

1214 King John lost Normandy and his other French possessions after being defeated by Philip II of France in the Battle of Bouvines. 

1360 Danish King Waldemar IV destroyed Visby Gotland (Sweden's largest island, which is also the largest island in the Baltic Sea).

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On July 26

796 Offa, king of Mercia died.  Many historians regard Offa as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great.

811 Battle of Pliska:  Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I was killed and his heir Stauracius was seriously wounded.

920 Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Leon against the Muslims at Pamplona.

1267 Inquisition formed in Rome under Pope Clement IV.

1309 Henry VII was recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V.

1469  Wars of the Roses:  the Battle of Edgecote - Moor pitted the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of Edward IV of England took place.

1497 "Edward IV's son" Perkin Warbeck's army landed in Cork.

1524 Scottish Parliament declared James V fit to govern.

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On July 25

44 Saint James, the brother of John and the son of Zebedee, and one of the 12 apostles, became the first of the apostles to be martyred when he was killed on orders of Herod Agrippa I.

285 Diocletian appointed Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler.

306 Constantine I was proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.

326 Emperor Constantine refused to carry out traditional pagan sacrifices. 

864 The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald ordered defensive measures against the Vikings.

1215 Frederick II, called Stupor Munci (The Amazement of the World), was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Aix-la-Chapelle.

1261 The city of Constantinople was recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.

1394: King James I of Scotland was born. He became heir to the throne upon the murder of his brother Robert. He himself would be assassinated in 1437.

1603 James VI of Scotland was crowned as king of England (James I of England), uniting the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.

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History Trivia

On July 24

1148 Louis VII of France laid siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade.

1411 Battle of Harlaw: Highland and Lowland Scots clashed at Red Harlaw, which was one of the bloodiest battles of Scottish history.

1487 Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands held a strike against a ban on foreign beer.

1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate and was replaced by her one-year-old son, James VI.

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History Trivia

On July 23

 365 a great earthquake struck the eastern Mediterranean and destroyed the Roman city of Kourion on the island of Cyprus.

685 John V became Roman Catholic pope. He was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy allowed to be consecrated by the Byzantine Emperor without prior consent, and the first in a line of ten consecutive popes of Eastern origin. His papacy was marked by reconciliation between the city of Rome and the Empire.

1148 Crusaders attacked Damascus.

1313 Bridget the patron saint of Sweden who founded the Brigittine Order died. Bridget was a Swedish princess renowned for her piety from her childhood; she was given in marriage to Ulf, Prince of Mercia, by whom she had a large family. After Ulf's death in 1344 and with the help of King Magnus, she established on her own estate at Vadstena the first monastery for men and women, of which Katherine, her daughter, became the first Abbess soon after her death in 1375. At this time double monasteries were not unusual: the monks and nuns used the same chapel, but lived in separate wings of the monastery, the confessor alone having access to the nuns.

1540 Thomas Cromwell one of the strongest advocates of the English Reformation during the reign of Henry VIII was condemned to death without trial and beheaded on Tower Hill.

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An Interview with author RaShelle Workman

Welcome to Meet The Author.  Today we are fortunate to have with us RaShelle Workman, author of Aligned: an Immortal Essence Short Story, Exiled, Sleeping Roses, and the Blood and Snow series.  RaShelle is also a lover of books, baking, and toffee-making, and considers herself to be an Honorary nerd with attitude.

RaShelle has graciously agreed to give us a little insight into her life and her books, but before we get started, I would like to wish RaShelle a very Happy Birthday.  After you blow out your candles, we would like to know:

When did you start writing?

I began seriously writing in the fall of 2003. I finished the first draft of my first novel in early 2004.

What projects have been published?

I have six books published. Sleeping Roses, a romantic suspense. Aligned: An Immortal Essence Short Story, and Exiled. Both of those are young adult sci-fi romance. And then recently my Blood and Snow series – Blood and Snow #1, Revenant in Training #2, & The Vampire Christopher #3 - a young adult fractured fairytale based on Snow White.

Tell us about Sleeping Roses.

The summary is: Her marriage may be dangerous, but leaving could be deadly.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’m reading several different books. The one that keeps popping back into my mind is a young adult series called Peachville High Demons by Sarra Cannon.

To find out more about RaShelle and where to purchase her books, go to:

RaShelle’s website

http://www.rashelleworkman.com.

To purchase RaShelle’s books, visit her Amazon author page

 http://www.amazon.com/RaShelle-Workman/e/B006HUU6SS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1342894099&sr=8-2-ent .

History Trivia

On July 22

259  Dionysius  was elected as bishop of Rome, succeeding Sixtus II. 

 838 Battle of Anzen: the Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffered a heavy defeat by the Abbasid Caliphate.

1099 First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon was elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1298 Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Falkirk – King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeated William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk. 

1484 Battle of Lochmaben Fair A 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas were defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany's brother James III of Scotland; Douglas was captured.