Helena Schrader's Historical Fiction
For a complete list of my books and awards see: http://helenapschrader.com
For readers tired of clichés and cartoons, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader offers nuanced insight into historical events and figures based on sound research and an understanding of human nature. Her complex and engaging characters bring history back to life as a means to better understand ourselves.
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.
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.
