Karina Sanchez

Pin it onto your shirt. Put it in your pocket. Have it hanging from a peg on your trench coat. Keep a picture of it on your cellphone. Don’t let a dragon swallow it though. I imagine dragon stomach acids are strong enough to digest metal objects.

Now we’re getting somewhere! How would you carry the medallion with you? In pouch? Sewn into the lining of your cloak? Depending on its size, of course.
You know, a medallion isn’t really a piece of jewelry, and that made me think. Why should it have to be a piece of jewelry? Why couldn’t it just be something as simple as a stone a dragon had…[Read more]

I think I can answer that one. The category of swords commonly and generally labeled ‘broadswords’ is pretty… well… broad. You can have anything from the heavy Scottish claymores to the Roman ‘shortswords’. I think it depends upon who made the sword and for what purpose. Actually, most swords are only made for one purpose— war. But if…[Read more]

“In broadsword fighting, is there a difference between a defensive stance and an offensive stance?” Not really. A stance (assuming by stance you mean a guard) is a stationary position. Your body and weapon are positioned to be able to attack or defend with the greatest speed, accuracy, and power. You may choose to use one stance over another for a…[Read more]

Good idea— you can always be less technical. You can always describe a technical term in everyday words, and it generally gives a much stronger image than just the one term that sums everything up.
And I’m sorry Daeus, but I missed your reply to my knife fighting question. I don’t know how I didn’t see it there— but thanks for the tips. I’m…[Read more]

I always have liked descriptive fight scenes myself. Even if I don’t know exactly what is going on, or if I do, but find it despairingly inaccurate, I always love hearing about each swing, block, or trick. Each move is tantalizing because you never know which one will decide the match.

You can be descriptive without being technical. I have tried…[Read more]

Carrying on with the manipulative advisor idea …

What if he was the princesses’s tutor who had taught her from birth. He could appear to be a nice gentle man, but one with unsatisfied ambition. Suddenly, the king dies. What does he do? Convinces his pupil to take the throne (using every power he has to ensure she does) and then uses his…[Read more]

Well, alright. If you don’t think your readers can be that imaginative, how about a medallion?

Think of Deborah— she was a leader. She had to step up and lead because Barak was being weak. But that does not mean that women generally should be leaders. Those were far less than ideal circumstances, and may I remind you that she did not actually go into battle. One very practical reason that women shouldn’t ideally lead is because they are…[Read more]

Hm… somehow I don’t think that would go over too well. ‘The Socks of Power’. Nah. Sorry. Just wouldn’t cut it.
A ‘magical sock-knitting factory’ would be cool, though… wonder how they do that?

Well Mark, I would disagree. Not that you have to have a character— obviously, there’s no other reason to write a fight scene than if it is affecting one of your characters— but that you should not describe everything, and that you should use short sentences. Now it sounds like I’m nitpicking, but I have very legitimate reasons for presenting…[Read more]

Hi Sarah,

That massacre exactly. Its quite an impressive story. I’ve considered one day turning it into a novel, keeping basically to the true story but adding parts to lengthen it.

That’s certainly an interesting opinion, but is love at first sight really even possible? I mean, if you just look up one day and see this guy staring at you across the room, are you automatically just going to think “wow, he is the one! Already I love him so deeply that it cannot be anything but true love!”?
Now don’t get me wrong— I’m…[Read more]

Oh, I forgot. Alfred The Great: Asser’s Life Of King Alfred And Other Contemporary Sources. Also, The White Horse King, another book on Alfred The Great. I love Alfred the Great!

I love Up From Slavery by Brooker T. Washington which is actually an autobiography. You can’t help but admire the fellow at every turn. I also have a short autobiography by my great grand father about how he and his family survived the Armenian Massacres and escaped to America. The tale reminds me of the saying, “Truth is stranger than fiction.”

Queen are not unbiblical, or at least they are no more unbiblical than kings. Kings aren’t recommended in the bible, but they’re not exactly wrong. Still, in the bible, whenever a king died, he was replaced by a male relative, not female. To the best of my knowledge, the bible teaches, not that women cannot be in authority, just that they should…[Read more]

Alright, how about socks. Not just any socks though. These socks could repel anyone within five miles, allowing the person who wares them to continue on his mission unchallenged … as long as he doesn’t pass out.

Hi Kate,

I don’t really have much experience with dagger/knife fighting, but I can offer some limited help in that area. A dagger could be used equally for stabbing or slashing. If you are stabbing, you will borrow more form fencing and if you are slashing you will borrow more from broadsword fighting. Of course you will probably be using both,…[Read more]

Oh boy, I knew as soon as Daeus saw this post he would be off! I was just waiting for it! So glad we have an expert here to tell us what we don’t know.
Now I have a question.
Isn’t the footwork employed in fighting with a dagger pretty similar to the footwork employed in fighting with a sword? (A broadsword). I have a fantasy hero who is…[Read more]

I have no idea. I know I probably wouldn’t have time for it, though it sounds like terrific fun, because I am so busy helping my little brother with his tomato growing business, helping my family with our log cabin rental business, helping my Dad with his apple growing hobby, canning those apples, helping our cabin guests survive our terror of a…[Read more]