Welcome to Long Ago & Far Away!
Do you crave historical fiction from off the beaten path? Are you searching for stories set beyond familiar settings? Let’s have some fun looking elsewhere! There’s soooo much more elsewhere!
Long Ago & Far Away explores historical fiction set in less commonly portrayed times and places. Those may include the US and Europe but from lesser known corners or periods. Much of the focus takes us to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America — you know, off the beaten path, at least where publishing is concerned. Certainly not for the billions of people who live there!
We will consider the historical fiction genre through discussions of history, art, archaeology, and the writing craft. Rather than formal book reviews, I prefer to write informal responses to what I’m reading, making connections with other works, or taking close looks at aspects of history or craft.
Let’s see what we can find!
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Nothing here is paywalled. I’ve added paid subscriptions for enthusiastic readers who want to support my work. The amounts are set to the lowest figures Substack will allow.
I aim to publish every other week. You can find prior articles in the Index pinned to the top of the main page.
Some suggestions of where to start:
Introduce Yourself! - I’d love to hear about you and your interest in the Long Ago & Far Away.
You can read a little about me here:
For some historical fiction round-ups:
Goals of this Stack:
To increase the Substack presence of historical fiction writers and offerings.
Interactions with other HF writers. What can we do together to lift this boat?
If you love reading and/or writing historical fiction set in less familiar contexts, I’d love to hear from you.
A little about me:
Why Long Ago & Far Away?
I have lived on three continents and traveled in four. I have a BFA in scenery and lighting design for the stage, and a Master of Divinity. My theatre and travel experiences have given me a passion for stories set in faraway places. I’d love to hear from you, learn what you’ve learned and loved in your own journey and what you are reading or writing that explores the Long Ago & Far Away.
What I’m working on:
I am currently writing a novel set in Roman Syria and Sassanid Persia during Late Antiquity.
As such, I’m a low church Protestant stumbling through the world of Late Antique Christianity (with all its liturgical and confessional variations), the earliest days of Islam, and the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. It is a land of wonder and dramatic change and yet the people struggle with many of the same challenges that we do today. One of my driving questions is: how do regular people navigate a world of geo-political and personal upheaval?
If you’d like a taste of my Work in Progress, you can find those in the main feed or sorted under the My Fiction tab. These are excerpts and an effort to give you a taste without too many spoilers.
My other interests include Central Asia (The Great Game), the history of tea, the Gilded Age and early Florida. So, you may see those ideas developed along the way.
If I ever dig my art studio out from under the stacks of storage, I will post items related to encaustic painting - an ancient process of painting with wax. When I do so, my visual art will likely spring from Long Ago & Far Away.
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