Our guest today is the prolific author of historical fiction, Griff Hosker. It seems to me that Griff writes faster than many people read. He has written series of action-packed books covering everything from the Vikings to the Second World War and everything in between. He is a constant presence on Amazon lists and social media, and I for one am often in awe at the quantity of books he puts out and the number of steadfast fans he has garnered over the years. It is great to finally meet and have a chance to put some questions to him, perhaps finding out how he does it (and maybe some tips on how to sell almost 2 MILLION books like he has)!

Welcome to RPS, Griff!

Matthew interviews Steven about his new book, THE HEATHEN HORDE, which came out on October 26th 2023! Viking raiders, Alfred the Great, and the usual fun chat - it's all in here so give it a listen and please spread the word.

Buy the book here - https://mybook.to/HeathenHorde

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our channel and leave a 5 star review if you can!

Listen to the end to make sure you hear THEIR cover version of our theme song, and also OUR cover of their theme song!

Our guests today are Chris Morrison and Jane Secker from the Copyright Waffle podcast which is dedicated to “Decoding copyright and bringing you enlightenment”. 

As well as hosting their podcast, Jane and Chris are also the authors of the book Copyright and E-learning: A guide for practitioners.

Chris is Copyright and Licensing Specialist at Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. Jane is Programme Director for the MA in Academic Practice and Senior Lecturer in Educational Development at the City University of London.

You’re probably wondering why we’ve invited experts in copyright  onto a podcast about historical action and adventure but, if you remember, we did an episode recently about the rise of Artificial Intelligence and how it was beginning to affect writers in particular. So, hopefully our guests today can shed some light on this issue and maybe even set our minds at ease. Or not! Let’s find out!

Our guest today is Eric Schumacher.

Eric Schumacher is the author of six Amazon best-selling novels and one novella set in the Viking Age. By day, he is a brand storyteller and PR consultant for early stage video game and tech companies. By night, he wanders into the past, using known history and ancient tales to create stories about people living in turbulent times.

His fascination with the past, coupled with a love of writing, led him to write Hakon’s Saga, a Viking historical fiction series set in 10th-century Norway.

His latest series is about the notorious Viking, Olaf Tryggvason. The first novel in Olaf’s Saga, Forged by Iron, was published in the spring of 2020. The third novel, Wolves of Wagria, was released in November of 2022. A fourth book is in the works.

Welcome to RPS, Eric.

Just a very quick message to wish our listeners and readers a very merry Christmas for 2023, and best wishes for 2024. Check it out!

Don't forget we have a brand new ACOUSTIC version of our song "Christmas is Coming" available on all streaming outlets like Spotify, iTunes, YouTube Music etc so please give it a listen and share with your friends and enemies!

Have a good one!

Steven and Matthew

Yes, we have a brand new festive rock song for all you lucky boys and girls. Stream it NOW for free on Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, iTunes and all major streaming services, just search for "Christmas is coming Rock Paper Swords".

Give it a like, add it to your Christmas music playlists, and please do share with your friends on social media! Look out too for an acoustic version, which will be dropping any day now and is a really cool little take on the same tune...

Thank you for joining us in 2023, we hope you enjoy this little Christmas gift from us.

Cover artwork by Dave Slaney (with some Xmas-y additions by us!).

Music by Steven, lyrics and vocals by Matthew. Copyright Rock, Paper, Swords! 2023

Today, as the Christmas season is upon us we are doing something a bit different. Rock, Paper, Swords is joining forces with our friends from the Slice of Medieval Podcast to bring you a special episode, where we will look back on the year that is drawing to a close and forward to the year ahead.

If you enjoy this episode please leave a five star rating wherever you listened!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR LISTENERS!

Links - A Slice of Medieval

Shakin' Stevens interview mentioned

Our brand new festive rock song - "Christmas is Coming" - stream it free HERE!

Our guest today is Nicholas Morton.

Nicholas is an associate professor at Nottingham Trent University. He is the author or editor of nine books, including The Field of Blood and several other books about the Crusades and medieval Europe and the Near East. His latest book is The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East. The book tells the story of how the Mongol Empire upended the geopolitics of the Near East, reshaping the balance of world power and transforming the region forever.

Welcome to RPS, Nic!

Join us today as we chat about things like:

The Kindle Storyteller Award - how to enter, and what you can win (20 grand!)

The "magic formula" for understanding Amazon's algorithms (there isn't one!)

Amazon's new book categories and how to use them best

Amazon's charts

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it might affect KDP in future be it for "writing" nonsensical books, or affecting the charts

Paperback printing

And a load more!

If you have a question that we didn't ask Darren please post it here, or on our social media pages and we'll pass them on!

https://www.facebook.com/RockPaperSwordsPodcast and Twitter @rock_swords

Our guest today is Matt Lewis.

Matt is an author and historian of the medieval period, with a particular interest in the Wars of the Roses and Richard III. He has written biographies of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry III, Richard Duke of York, and Richard III, as well as accounts of The Anarchy, the Wars of the Roses, and Rebellion in the Middle Ages.

Matt is also chair of the Richard the Third Society and host of the popular Gone Medieval podcast.

Welcome to RPS, Matt.