Sparta Rising!

Maybe it was because August is the anniversary month for Thermopylae. Maybe it was just the way things worked out, but August 2019 was brought two important milestones for my Sparta novels.

Most important, I have signed a contract with the Greek firm Alpha Publishers for the release of A Heroic King in Greek by May 2020. The translation is under way, and a PhD candidate in ancient Greek history will look over the manuscript as well to ensure nothing gets lost in translation. The exact timing of the book launch is TBD, but the publisher expects to participate in and capitalize on events commemorating the 2,500th aniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae at Lamia (near the battle site), Athens, Thespeia, and Sparta. He wants me to participate in all of those. I need to step up my Greek studies!

Although less spectacular and significant, readers of English may be more interested to know that I spent the past month re-working my old manuscript "Are They Singing in Sparta?" in preparation for a ebook release under the new title "A Song for Sparta." I've engaged a graphic designer to develop a new cover for the book, and hope to have it on the market by late October or early November. 

A Heroic King -- in Greek

With the 2,500th anniversary of Thermopylae approaching in August 2020, I have opened negotiations with a Greek publisher for the release of a Greek translation of "A Heroic King." The first 20 pages have been sent to a translator for a sample. Hopefully, by August this year the deal with be in the bag. Keep your fingers crossed! 

Meanwhile, The Emperor Strikes Back has been released and is available for sale on amazon and Barnes and Noble in ebook and paperback format sometime in August.
Here are the links: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-emperor-strikes-back-helena-p-schrader/1132594519?ean=9781627876995
or 
https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Strikes-Back-Frederick-against/dp/1627876995/

Awards and More

May brought recognition for two of my novels:

Rebels against Tyranny topped the list of finalists for the Chaucer Awards for Early Historical Fiction, winning "First in Category."

The Last Crusader Kingdom was a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award in the Category Historical Fiction.

 

 

Rebels against Tyranny ended with the surrender of Frederick's deputies to the Ibelins, but King Henry de Lusignan senses the Emperor will not be able to accept defeat.The Emperor Strikes Back continues the story of Frederick II's war against the Ibelins....

Scheduled for release in August 2019, here is the draft cover blurb.

Emperor Frederick II has re-established Christian control of Jerusalem by means of a treaty with the Egyptian Sultan al-Kamil, but the Sultan brags that he will “purify” the Holy City and drive the Christians out as soon as the ten-year truce expires. The common people of the Holy Land show their contempt for the Emperor and his treaty by pelting him with offal, while the barons resist Frederick’s absolutism and demand rule of law. Filled with resentment and bitterness toward his impertinent subjects, the Emperor vows to destroy the family that embodies the independent spirit of Outremer: the Ibelins. While the Emperor's deputies will stop at nothing to fulfill their orders, the Ibelins fight back. But sometimes the price of defiance is defeat… 

Feedback is always welcome, so let me know what you think at hps_books@yahoo.com!

Here's the link to the complete list of winners for the Chaucer Award: https://www.chantireviews.com/2019/05/05/the-chaucer-book-awards-for-pre-1750s-historical-fiction-grand-prize-and-first-place-category-winners-2018-cibas/

Here's the link for the complete list of finalists for the Eric Hoffer Book Award:

http://www.hofferaward.com/Eric-Hoffer-Award-category-finalists.html#.XNhL1qRRU2w 

Chaucer Award for "Rebels Against Tyranny"

2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards were announced April 28, including the Chaucer Awards for Early Historical Fiction but the official results have not yet been posted on the website.

Rebels against Tyranny topped the list of finalists, and is a contender for the Grand Prize. I'll update this site when the final results are released.

In other news, my proposal for a textbook about the crusader states (Working Title: Beyond the Seas: The Story of the Crusader States) has passed the first of three hurdles at Routledge, the leading academic publisher for books about the crusades. It will now be submitted to five leading scholars for assessment. If they give it their approval, the proposal will go to the full editorial committee. All in all, I will not know if Routledge will accept the manuscript for another 4 to 6 months, but I am extremely pleased and excited to have made it this far. For more about Routledge see: https://www.routledge.com/

Last but not least, I am finalizing the last chapter and epilogue to The Emperor Strikes Back. That means, so far, I'm still on track to release the second book in the Civil War in the Crusader States series by August or September of this year.

 

 

A Boy of the Agoge -- in Polish

A Boy of the Agoge has been translated into Polish and released in Poland. Here are the links for those of you who read Polish:

https://wydawnictwo-kropla.pl/helena-p-schrader/

https://wydawnictwo-kropla.pl/nowe-spojrzenie-na-sparte/

https://wydawnictwo-kropla.pl/sklep/leonida-szkola-bohaterow/

In addition, A Heroic King is in the hands of a Greek publisher who is assessing its suitability for the Greek market. So far his feed-back is positive, but this is only the first step as the costs of translation are very high and no publisher will incur them lightly, so there are many stages to the decision to go ahead. Still, it's a first step and I would be thrilled beyond measure to see my Leonidas books published in Greek. The short-term goal would be a release of A Heroic King in Greece during the 2,500th anniversary of Thermopylae 2020.

The cover of The Emperor Strikes Back is finished!

Hope you find it intriguing! Comments and feedback are welcome, as there's still time for changes.

Helena 

"Rebels against Tyranny" wins Two Literary Accolades

This month opened with the announcement that Rebels against Tyranny had won Silver (2nd Place) for Historical Fiction in the Feathered Quill Book Awards 2019.  It ended with the announcement that Rebels against Tyranny had been awarded a BRAG medallion. Here's what the judges for both awards had to say:

Feathered Quill Book Awards Judges' Comments.

• I remember reading this for review.  I was blown away then and still am. 
• The research that went into this book was amazing.
• The tale was clear, easy to understand and told in a way that brought the reader back to the 6th Crusade.
• Content/plot receives a perfect score 50 out of 50

For the complete list of winners visit:  https://featheredquill.com/2019-winners/

• This was an absolutely outstanding novel. The characters were fascinating, and their story compelling and well written. I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
• Like the writing style, characters are so vivid and well rounded. Book flows well, exciting page after page.
• I found this title an excellent and engaging read from an oft-overlooked perspective, the Crusades from the point of view of the Christians ruling outside an Islamic controlled Jerusalem. Well researched and innovative subject matter.

Visit the BRAG website at: https://www.bragmedallion.com/award-winning-books/#!/historical-fiction/author/helena-p-schrader/
Last but not least, Mikhail and I finalized the cover of The Emperor Strikes Back.

Hope you find it intriguing! Comments and feedback are welcome, as there's still time for changes.

"Rebels Against Tyranny" Short-Listed for the Chaucer Award

This month, January 2018, Chanticleer announced the semi-finalists for the 2018 Chaucer Award. Rebels against Tyranny is just one of 11 titles on the short list. A great honor! For the complete list of semi-finalists visit the Chanticleer Book Reviews Website here. 

For more about Rebels against Tyranny including reviews from respected review sites such as Kirkus and Blue Ink visit: Rebels against Tyranny Page

Progress on the second book in the series, The Emperor Strikes Back, continues. I am now about two-thirds of the way through the rough draft and on the whole comfortable with the way things are shaping up. I greatly appreciate the in-put and advice of my "real-time" test-reader, who will remain nameless until such time as she/he gives me permission to "go public" with it. 

The cover is also underdevelopment. Here's the draft as it now stands:

I was also delighted to take part in a live broadcast of an interview with one of the world's leading experts (not to say THE leading expert) on the archaeology of the crusades. You can find the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7zOekawDAs

That's all for this month. Thanks for checking in and I'll report back at the end of February.