Happy Mother’s Day!

Jumping on this author trend. What are yours? #writingcommunity #booksky #author #wrtiting #amreading

You know that labored breathing sound Darth Vader’s suit makes when it’s broken, just before Luke takes off his helmet? That’s what my pug’s snoring sounds like. He so desperately wants to sleep in the bedroom with us, but I can’t sleep Darth Vader gasping for air all night 😂

I did another podcast - this was great fun, with the splendid @shieldmaidenpdx.bsky.social and @cjadrien.bsky.social for @vikingologypodcast.bsky.social vikingology.substack.com/p/the-saga-o...

It would be an ENORMOUS help if you could read and share (and maybe subscribe to) my history and archaeology newsletter. I need to show that the accurate reporting of research and finds is something people want to see more of, and that A Whole Lot of History is doing just that. Thank you!

Another article that made the cut in the great content migration to my new website. This one I’ve been reworking for years with new information as researchers discover more evidence. #medievalsky #vikingsky #history #lgbtq cjadrien.com/how-did-the-...

Dug up this fun piece I wrote years ago, and updated it with the new Orkan project out of Toulouse. How fast were longships? We have a pretty good idea: cjadrien.com/how-fast-wer... #medievalsky #history #vikingsky #sailing #medieval #vikings

If DNA tests can’t tell you if you have a Viking somewhere in your family tree, how could you know? The short answer is that you can’t. However, no one likes to hear that answer, so…I wrote this. #history #medievalsky #vikingsky #ancestry cjadrien.com/viking-ances...

I am guilty of making memes on occasion…. #memes #vikingsky #medievalsky #history

Archetypal Storytelling: The Secret Sauce to Writing Compelling Fiction. Lived experience is the most potent tool at a writer’s disposal, though we often spend the first half of our careers looking elsewhere for inspiration. cjadrien.com/archetypal-s... #writingcommunity #booksky #writing

My hypothesis I’ve been kicking around for 15 years, boosted in 2022 by a study on herring. What’s funny is I’m not a salt guy. I prefer sweets. But not the Vikings if I’m right! Great background for my novels, too. cjadrien.com/the-viking-s... #medievalsky #vikingsky #history #writingcommunity

Danish finds of lead-inset weights of Insular Scandinavian type, likely used to weigh hacksilver bullion. It seems the type originated in longphuirt and/or Great Army winter-camps. Generally lead with a decorative top made from a hacked piece of often gilt copper-alloy Insular metalwork. My 📷 NMD

The Saga of Hasting the Avenger: Immersive historical novels of the Viking Age. 2X READER'S FAVORITE AWARD-WINNING | 3X HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY RECOMMENDED | KIRKUS REVIEWS SHORTLIST WINNER cjadrien.com/novels/ #vikingsky #writingcommunity #booksky #medievalsky

Reader question: did the Vikings wear makeup? Here’s the evidence: cjadrien.com/did-the-viki... #vikingsky #medievalsky #history

If it's the historical research behind my novels you're looking for, here it is...ALL OF IT. Not for the faint of heart, it's almost a whole book's worth. cjadrien.com/a-true-and-p... #medievalsky #vikingsky #history #writingcommunity #booksky

New website just launched! I'm quite pleased with it :) cjadrien.com #vikingsky #medievalsky #writingcommunity #booksky

What happens when a madman holds the highest seat in the land? Turns out, nothing good… www.cjadrien.com/p/what-happe... #medievalsky #history

HALLS OF ASGARD is a semi-cooperative social strategy game for 3-6 players where you and your tablemates take on the role of Norse gods and attempt to defeat Hela! #boardgames #vikings #norsemythology #tabletop #indiegame www.kickstarter.com/projects/jos...

Both a pleasure and an honour to be featured on this illustrious Viking podcast - thanks to @cjadrien.bsky.social for hosting me! HALLS OF ASGARD launches TOMORROW 🚀🧨🔥 #boardgames #tabletop #norsemyths #viking

"It is a matter of historical irony, therefore, that the narrative providing the most complete ‘set of instructions’ for individuation has been weaponized to fuel behaviors used to avoid inner reflection." #psychology #politics #writingcommunity open.substack.com/pub/cjadrien...

Prologue problem number three: a mysterious yet vague opening that disorients more than it reveals.

An Old Norse poem for Artemis II. Watching the launch I was put in mind not only of Norse explorers pushing past the known bounds of land, but of Huginn & Muninn flying to all inhabited realms to bring back their thoughts & memories, as the astronauts will bring back theirs from uninhabited realms.

My publisher, Vinci Books, just shared with me that for every 100 people who pick up book one of my Hasting series, 75 make it to the end of book 5. I just looked this up, and that's a higher read-through rate than Harry Potter!!! Vikings rule! #vikingsky #booksky #writingcommunity

Day 15 of reading excerpts from my Viking historical fiction novels. Someone died in this one. #writingcommunity #booksky #vikingsky #medievalsky

Bet you didn’t know this about tweezers! #history #medievalsky #science #vikingsky #ancienthistory #archeology open.substack.com/pub/cjadrien...

Fight scene on page one? What about a chase? Or an argument? Starting with high action or drama can work against you.

I first saw tweezers in a Viking exhibit in Jork. It stuck with me for some reason. Ever since, I notice them everywhere else, from the ancient Egypt exhibit at the Louvre to this gem at the Musee Dobrée. They’re one of humanity’s oldest inventions, evidently. Gotta pluck them eyebrows!

The musée Dobrée chronicles 500,000 years of history. A must-see! #history #travel #medievalsky #historyteacher #writingcommunity

Checking out the “Viking” exhibit at the Musée Dobrée. #vikingsky #history #medievalsky #writingcommunity

Day 14 of reading to you my Viking historical fiction novels. Today Hasting is trying to get his father’s sword back from Hagar. Enjoy! #booksky #medievalsky #writingcommunity #amreading #vikingsky #author

The Most ‘Evil’ Rulers of the Middle Ages www.medievalists.net/2024/03/most... #middleages

Day 13 of reading you short excerpts from my Viking historical fiction novels. Today we meet our first character who isn’t what he or she appears to be. #writingcommunity #booksky #medievalsky #vikingsky #writing #author

Day 12 of reading you short excerpts from my Viking historical fiction novels. Today I’m joined by a special guest! #writingcommunity #booksky #vikingsky #medievalsky

Day 11 of reading short excerpts from my Viking historical fiction novels. Today we’ll look at the Bretons, and more specifically the Vennetes. #writingcommunity #booksky #author #medievalsky #vikingsky

It’s day 10 of reading to you short excerpts from my Viking historical fiction novels. This one Hasting gets shot in the a$$ 😬😬😂 #booksky #writingcommunity #medievalsky #vikingsky #historicalfiction

My wife and I were on Valhalla Conversations podcast to talk about our children’s book we made about the Viking Age. You get to hear from my better half. youtu.be/z7dy1-CEpw4?... #vikingsky #medievalsky #writingcommunity #booksky

Well hello there. Today, day 9, I read to you a short passage where my Viking characters encounter a fortified Frankish bridge. #vikingsky #medievalsky #historicalfiction #writingcommunity #booksky

Day 8 of reading to you short excerpts from my novels. I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I am. #vikingsky #medievalsky #booksky #writingcommunity #historicalfiction

Day seven of reading your short excerpts from my books. Enjoy! #vikingsky #medievalsky #writingcommunity #booksky #author #historicalfiction

Day 6 of reading you excerpts from my novels. This one has awesome music on Instagram, but it wouldn’t let me keep it for posting elsewhere. The passage holds its own, though. #writingcommunity #booksky #historicalfiction #medievalsky #vikingsky

Never go full Viking! open.substack.com/pub/cjadrien... #writingcommunity #booksky #medievalsky #vikingsky #creativewriting

Day five of reading short excerpts from my novels about the Vikings in France. #writingcommunity #booksky #medievalsky #vikingsky

Day 4 of reading excerpts from my historical fiction novels about the Vikings in France. #writingcommunity #booksky #medievalsky #vikingsky

Replace Bush with Trump, and Iraq with Iran and it’s a dead-ringer. “A ‘surgical’ strike is so named to make you think war saves lives. Surgeons save lives after all. In reality, it’s a computer guided explosive that razes an entire village.” How to make war sexy 🤣 youtu.be/SRutvN46Lgo?...

Day three of reading short passages from my books. #writingcommunity #medievalsky #vikingsky #historicalfiction #author #booksky

On the advice of some friends, I shall endeavor to bring you one short reading per day from my novels, with little tidbits of information about the context/history. #writingcommunity #booksky #vikingsky #medievalsky

Using multi-isotope analysis @samleggs22.bsky.social’s Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social focused on the role of food and diet and its link to mobility in early medieval Britain and Ireland. media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/sleg... #InternationalWomensDay

The historical Viking Hasting may be the titular character of my series The Saga of Hasting the Avenger, but he’s also a figure that was heavily mythologized by 19th-century historians: www.cjadrien.com/p/a-true-and... #medievalsky #history #writingcommunity #booksky #vikingsky

Was the sovereign Kingdom of Brittany a historical reality or a masterpiece of medieval propaganda? Join author and historian C.J. Adrien as he holds the grand, romanticized 19th-century narratives of Breton independence up to the light. geni.us/vikingbrittany #medievalsky #booksky #vikingsky