When I started work on The Spider and the Sparrow, I began a ton of research about World War One. … More
Category: Research Finds
Tolkien Was a Genius
I recently finished Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire, by Marcus Rautman. While reading about military life, I came across … More
The Somerton Man and the Astonishing Legends Podcast
Back in March I received a message from Scott Philbrook, one of the hosts of The Astonishing Legends Podcast. He … More
How to Code Messages Like a WWII Spy
This blog post will take you through the steps of encoding a message using double transposition, just like British and … More
Sweeney Todd, Sherlock Holmes, and Stephen Ambrose
A friend of mine asked me about the name of one of my characters, Sherlock. He’s in Sworn Enemy, a … More
Research Find: Why you shouldn’t tell the newspapers if you’re breaking someone’s code or tracking their satellite phone
In 1927, the government of Great Britain was looking for a reason to break off diplomatic relations with the Soviet … More
Research Finds: Unusual Stiches and a Little-known Battle
One thing about writing historical fiction—you have to do a lot of research. Good thing I like learning new things. … More
A. L. Sowards 