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A. L. Sowards

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Award-winning Historical Fiction Author

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Category: Research Finds

A Personal Connection to WWI

When I started work on The Spider and the Sparrow, I began a ton of research about World War One. … More

Family History, Great War, History, WWI

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

Byzantine Empire, History, J.R.R. Tolkien, Literature, Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, writing

If I Could Rate Presidential Candidates the Way I Rate Novels

What if I told you there are two presidential candidates that I really like? Nope, this isn’t a joke. Unfortunately, … More

#LetGaryDebate, 2016 Presidential Campaign, Bernie Sanders, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Evan McMullin, Gary Johnson, Hillary Clinton, Independent Candidates, Libertarian Party, Politics, Republican Party, Third Parties

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

Astonishing Legends Podcast, Between Silk and Cyanide, Cold War, John Nichol, Leo Marks, Poem Code, Somerton Man, The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45, Tony Rennell, WWII

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

Coding, Double Transposition, Gestapo, Henry V, Leo Marks, Poem Code, SOE, Special Operations Executive, Spies, WOKs, WWII

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

Character Development, History, Nicknames, Paratroopers, Pegasus Bridge, Sherlock Holmes, Stephen Ambrose, Sweeney Todd

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

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