News for November 2007

Wishing a wonderful Thanksgiving Season to all! Wherever you live around the world, with or without an official national holiday, it's always a good time to pause and count the blessings we enjoy each day of our lives.

Among my blessings of family and friends, food to eat each day, a house that protects me from the elements, the unconditional love of two precocious cats, the gift of music in my life, the joy of good books, and always for a wise God who loves me too much to give me everything I want, but generously bestows upon me everything I need, I am also grateful for the kind interest and response I have received to my first publishing venture...Loyalty's Web. This site is designed as a kind of "central station" where subscribers can come to see what's new on my writing front. Click on the links below that interest you, feel free to bypass those that don't. And please don't hesitate to offer suggestions for things you would like to see on this site, either through the "comment" feature here, or by emailing me directly at jdipastena@yahoo.com. If you would like to know how I came to write Loyalty’s Web, you can check out my blog on The Birth of Loyalty's Web. How did the hero of Loyalty’s Web come by his surname? To find out, read Norman Origins of the House of de Bury (Note: Although the character of Guyon de Clères is a fictional character, the events I describe at the Battle of Hastings...including the unhorsing of Duke Williams three times during the battle...is historically accurate.)

COMING UP: Watch for a new Amazon blog in December: Christmas in Poitou!

If you are interested in medieval research, check out my blog on Medieval Research with Joyce on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Here I share research tips and sources and explain how I used them to write my medieval novels. You can even read a short excerpt from Loyalty's Web in my post, Dressing Your Characters, and see how I applied my research to create the short scene. New research blogs will be posted on November 7th & 21st this month!



If you're curious to know more about me, you can read my author interview with Western novelist, Marsha Ward.

Lastly, don’t forget to check my website contest page on December 1st for the winners of my November drawings for 3 autographed copies of Loyalty’s Web, with three accompanying dragon Christmas ornaments. Maybe you’ll see your name there! If not, keep an eye out for a new drawing in December!


(Grrrr!)

See you next month!