Category: Research Trivia

How a scuffed copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu became my battlefield guide and inspired character flaws, plot turns, and worldbuilding insights for The Exiled Queen, my Roman Era historical fantasy.

Trajan’s bridge over the Danube was a major Roman engineering feat and plays a central role in the conflict between Rome and Dhawosia in my historical fantasy The Foreign King. Here are some fascinating facts about it.

I often find inspiration in the rich history of ancient civilizations—especially that of my native Romania. So it was heartbreaking to hear that several Dacian artifacts had recently been stolen from a museum.

A few years ago, I thought I had discovered the perfect idea for a novel. It came from real-world events, but as I dug deeper into my research, something unsettling began to surface.

The most important book you’ve (probably) never heard of is On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus, a poem that described the advanced science the Romans had developed at that time, including their understanding of atoms.

We have a pretty good idea what ancient history looked like, but we’re not so sure what it sounded like. Luckily, there’s a whole branch of science called archaeoacoustics that is working to find out.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century Romanian king who was more ruthless than Mehmed the Conqueror. But how much do you know about him?

I thought it would be interesting to share with you today some of the resources that help me plot my new novel The Foreign King, a sequel to The Exiled Queen.

I’ve been digging into ancient Roman history for my historical fantasy The Foreign King, a sequel to The Exiled Queen, and I discovered something I had never known before.