Healer's Blade Q&A
Hello all! I've started this blog to answer my readers' questions. Consider it an expansion of the "Author's Note" and "Medical Notes" at the end of Healer's Blade (Enemy's Keeper Book 1).
Feel free to drop your questions in the comments below.
P.S. As a physician, I particularly love answering medical questions stemming from my novel, so ask away!
Where did you get the idea for writing your book?
Great question!
Please check out my author interview with IndieReader, back when I published the 1st edition of Healer's Blade (previously titled "Forbidden Ties (Enemy's Keeper Book 1)".
A hint... I needed to recover emotionally from witnessing many forensics autopsies.
Why did you have hammocks on Lady Fortuna when hammocks didn't exist on ships in the 11th century?
This was a conscious decision since my book is an alternative history fantasy novel, and I got to bend the rules a bit. The hammocks become important during a battle in the hull in Book 2. Just a teaser ;)
Also, many readers would expect to find hammocks on ships because of how medieval vessels are portrayed in movies and TV series.
To learn more about when and how hammocks were employed on ships (the "real" history), check out this webpage.
I noticed that Lady Fortuna was referred to as an "it" and not a "she"?
That's correct! Only Toby, his family, and the mercenaries referred to their ship as a "she" in their dialogue.
The reason for this is two-fold:
1) Referring to both Aliwyn and the ship as "she" and "her" would've caused loads of confusion, since the story is told from Aliwyn's eyes (third person limited POV)
2) Aliwyn personifies the ship as a monster as she tells the story, so the ship is an "it".
Just a small point. It's also become more mainstream to call a ship "it"
"It's worth noting that the shipping industry newspaper, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, now calls ships ‘it’." - The UK Imperial War Museums website
Got a question? Ask in the comments below or email me!