(besides write the next book; that one’s a no-brainer):
* Index your articles about the middle ages way past your bedtime
* Explain to well-wishers why the book won’t be out till 2012
* Tinker with your website
* Mainline coffee and jelly beans
* Linger way too long in the University of Wales Press online store
* Play fantasy cast with your book
* Get crushed in various Wii games by your kid
* Make tiny candles with a tomato can, a brick of wax and some dixie cups
* Sleep with your paw over your eyes
While I’m no middle ages expert, I love learning about this time period.
A few summers ago I read several Thomas Costain books about the Plantagenets. One of my favorite novels ever is Katherine (eventual wife of John of Gaunt and sister-in-law to Chaucer). Not 100% accurate (I was crushed to find the portrayal of J of G is pretty off), but still lovely.
Loved Margaret George’s The Autobiography of Henry VIII and have several Weir biographies (Katherine again and Eleanor of Aquitaine) waiting on my shelf.
I loved that Weir biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine – highly recommended!
And now that I see you write about Wales. Have you read The Heaven Tree Trilogy?
I tore through Parteger’s whole oeuvre when I was a teenager – Heaven Tree was good, but the work that made the biggest impression on me was The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet. Perhaps it’s the root of my penchant for eschatology.