Today we are chatting with bestselling author Carol McGrath. She's written books like The Handfasted Wife and Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England. We had a good long discussion with Carol but there were some audio issues which forced us to cut down the episode. Hopefully you still enjoy the interview!

To make up for the slightly shorter episode, we'll be dropping an extra BONUS episode next week in which we read out some dodgy reviews of our own books, so look out for that, it's just a bit of fun...

Carol McGrath - Following a first degree in English and History, Carol McGrath completed an MA in Creative Writing from The Seamus Heaney Centre, Queens University Belfast, followed by an MPhil in English from University of London

The Handfasted Wife, first in a trilogy about the royal women of 1066 was shortlisted for the RoNAS in 2014. The Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed Sister complete this highly acclaimed trilogy.

https://carolcmcgrath.co.uk/

The boys discuss the history of Hallowe'en! Includes some chat on Steven's spooky novella Knight of the Cross, and Matthew's short tale, Kin of Cain. Sleep paralysis, black eyed kids, folklore, Beowulf, pumpkin and turnip carving, and loads more... Turn out the lights and lock the doors for this fun look at everyone's favourite spooky night of the year!

Farming, historical fiction, and, of course, music are all discussed in this exciting new episode. Check it out and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and give us a 5 star rating if you're enjoying what we're doing!

Links to websites/software mentioned:

Byzantium 1200: http://www.byzantium1200.com/

The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of The Roman World: https://orbis.stanford.edu/

Aeon Timeline: https://timeline.app/

Matthew and Steven discuss the music they listen to while writing and just enjoy in general. Rock, classical, black metal, it's all over the place here! Join us to find out how music affects our writing process... 

Even includes a song Matthew recorded a few years ago with a band - it's awesome, you need to hear it! The band can be found here: https://purplefishband1.weebly.com/  The track is called "Sail On" and was written by Roger Marsh and Matthew Harffy.

ENSLAVED - Below The Lights full album: https://youtu.be/z6rA6pXi53g

BATHORY - Hammerheart full album: https://youtu.be/dvCHHYwGjfY

OPETH - "Black Rose Immortal": https://youtu.be/XLkSFOvhyeI

WINTERFYLLETH - "The Shepherd": https://youtu.be/bsAIkI7llBI

CRAFT - White Noise and Black Metal full album: https://youtu.be/MiCLnDDZ4w0

Please support us on Patreon from as little as £1 per month and get access to bonus episodes and more great perks! patreon.com/RockPaperSwordsPodcast

Another BONUS EPISODE this week, as Matthew and Steven got to chat with their literary hero, Bernard Cornwell.

We found out some big news about his forthcoming book, Sharpe's Command, talked about his love of acting, The Last Kingdom series, the King Arthur books and new TV show, Merlin's 'magic', and even picked up some great writing tips.

We loved speaking with the man who inspired us both to write and we're sure you'll enjoy listening to him!

Bernard mentioned that he had been reading the Pacific War Trilogy by Ian W. Toll and recommended them to anyone interested in that history. The trilogy is made up of:

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942

The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 

Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945

Bernard's website - https://www.bernardcornwell.net/

The Last Kingdom - https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80074249

Matthew and Steven chat with Irish author Tim Hodkinson.

Includes a rather amusing anecdote about one of the extras in Game of Thrones!

Find out more about Tim's books - Vikings, Templars and more - here: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/tim-hodkinson/

Main theme music for the intro and outro was written, recorded and copyrighted by Steven A. McKay and Matthew Harffy.

Background music:

Langhus Burning 

Matthew and Steven have spent the morning watching the first two episodes of Amazon's new show based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings - RINGS OF POWER. In this special bonus episode they talk about their first impressions of this highly anticipated (and vilified by people who've never even seen it) new show.

Is the casting any good? What about the music? How does it look? Can it compare to the Peter Jackson movies? What the hell is a 'harfoot'? 

IS IT ACTUALLY ANY GOOD? 

And we also address the burning question so many people had when the trailers started to appear: Is it ruined by being too "woke"?!

Join us on Rock, Paper, Swords! to find out the answer to these questions, and much more. And don't forget, we'll be back again next week with another episode as usual. 

Matthew and Steven take a look back at Peter Jackson's trilogy of Lord of the Rings films. Find out what they love about the movies and what they don't like quite as much.

Other non-Tolkien penned books mentioned in this episode:

The Sword of Shannara - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15575.The_Sword_of_Shannara

Journeys of Frodo - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/938210.Journeys_of_Frodo

Author Robyn Young (who also writes modern thrillers as Erin Young) joins Matthew and Steven to discuss writing, pen-names, research and much more, including the forthcoming TV show based on her novel The Fields. 

Robyn's website - https://robynyoung.com/

Matthew and Steven discuss a handful of action and adventure books (including some of their own!) and how their very first lines/paragraphs draw the reader in.

Bernard Cornwell's The Lords of the North 

David Gemmell's The Swords of Night and Day

Steven A. McKay's Lucia and Rise of the Wolf

Matthew Harffy's The Serpent Sword and The Wolf of Wessex

Theme music, "Rock, Paper, Swords" © Steven A. McKay and Matthew Harffy.

Background music in this episode:

"Ambient Sinister"

"Towards the Mountains"

"Where The Brave May Live Forever"