As I research for my next book, I have discovered a gem on YouTube.
     Following is a description of that channel provided…. “Jason Kingsley OBE, the Modern Knight, investigates the medieval world. We aim to test out what it was actually like. Books are great but getting out and trying things is even better. Jason owns and trains his own horses, fights in medieval armour and tests people's theories to destruction.”
     I will share the link at the bottom of this post.
     When I worked as a journalist, I got the honor of being able to play with some American Civil War reenactors. The reenactment came annually to our town and the things I learned in the “camp” were fantastic. Everything must be to period, even the saddles. They want it to look genuine as the audience walks around the camp.
     I highly recommend, if you are a writer or even just have a mild interest and you have a chance to participate or even watch a reenactment, you take it. If you’re allowed to walk around the camps, talk to people, there are few people who have researched their period better in history then a reenactor. As a writer these folks are goldmines. I have also learned they love to talk about what they know and share it with others. 

     I recently finished writing my first trilogy, The Norman Invasion series. So, I have to decide what I will write next. First, I must decide if I want to do a single book or perhaps another trilogy. There are obvious advantages to a single book. But I often do not choose the easiest path. I decided on a trilogy because I love a chance to create deep characters, so by the end of the story, I feel a loss that I must put them to rest. Truthfully, this is the only reason I chose to write another trilogy.
     After making that choice, I had to decide on a time in history. I had a considerable amount of joy researching Duke William and his taking of England. Beginning The Norman Invasion series, I had never considered it would be a trilogy. I started with The Pretend King, which became the second book. As I was working on that book, I began to realize the magnitude of what I was working on, the family I was creating, and The Dead King began to emerge. After finishing those two and releasing them, I knew there was a third book to come because their story had not come to an end. Thus, the trilogy was named a series because I was unsure if I could wrap things up in a third book. I felt I needed to, sometimes long series lose my interest or feel as if they have become forced.
     Do I want to write again about the Norman invasion? I decided quickly, not to. At least not currently. My first trilogy was about the family of Tresche and they suffered greatly in the story I wrote. I feel I can’t compete with what I accomplished in that time period until the characters I created have a little more time to be laid to rest in my own head. So, where do I go from here?
     Forward, forever forward. As I researched possible time periods, I began to learn about The Hundred Years’ War, which precedes The Wars of the Roses. I watched documentaries and learned of the massacres, the losses at places like Towton. I became intrigued. If ever there was a time period that yielded enough fodder for a trilogy, it was England at this point in its history. 
     One of the most significant deciding factors in choosing this time period was the documentary The Wars of the Roses: A Bloody Crown available on Amazon Prime, directed by James Fowler and starring Mike Cooper. I highly recommend this documentary if you are interested in learning about a piece of English history from 1455-1485.
     Entering this time period search, I had a basic idea of my characters. Some more have come aboard while others have already dropped by the wayside. I am only a few days into writing, a few weeks on making decisions on time frames and settings. Were my characters going to be wealthy or poor? Regardless, they had to be characters that the reader would root for, or love to hate. At this point, I knew where I wanted to be roughly at the beginning of Book 3.
     Now is the work to get me there. A part of getting there is knowing the time frame better. What was going on behind the scenes of the kings and queens, dukes and earls? What could possibly be happening that would keep a reader reading the pages from page one of the first book? I hope to share many things I learn along the way in this exciting new journey as I step back in history. A couple of things I already know I need to learn more about is the life and training of knights and German mines. ​