About
Welcome to the website of MC Scott, aka Manda Scott: novelist, columnist and broadcaster. Mostly the former, it has to
be
said, but that’s always what takes up the most time. It takes a year to write a book and a week to read it and this is
what keeps us on the lookout always for better, more engaging, more
inspiring books.
Because books are about inspiration. They’re about letting small parts of ourselves free into the dreams of other worlds to explore other ways of being.
As George RR Martin so neatly puts it: ‘A man who reads lives a thousand lives before he dies. A man who never reads, lives only one.’ Extending that to the whole of humanity, welcome, to the world of many lives: what I write, and what you read will always be different, but somewhere in the middle is a meeting of minds where together, we create new ways of being - and some of them, may help us navigate our route through the dream we call reality.
Biography
I was a veterinary surgeon before I became a writer: I grew up in the James Herriot era and naively thought it was possible to do both well. It took me ten years of veterinary work before I began to write properly and another five before I gave up the day job for good. And it has been good: whatever anyone else tells you, writing is the best job in the world. Where else would it be possible to sit at a desk imagining the world as it might have been, could have been – occasionally as I would like it to have been – and be paid for those imaginings. Language is the core of what makes us human and the freedom to play with it, to mould it, to make new sentences that have never been formed before: it’s sheer heaven. And yes, you can remind me of that when I’m sweating a deadline and thinking life was simpler when I had random strangers phoning me at four in the morning and telling me to get out of bed.
In the beginning, I wrote crime thrillers: what else do you do if you’re in a veterinary clinic and haven’t got time for research. The first three made a series, the fourth stood alone and both went down well: I had a career as a crime writer, and a lot of friends in the Crime Writers’ Association. Then I had a nudge to write the Boudica series. Originally conceived as a trilogy, it became a tetralogy (or a quartet, if you prefer) and the rest, as they say, is history. Four Boudica: Dreaming, translated worldwide, four ROME espionage thrillers – there’s something utterly captivating about ancient world spies – and now Jeanne d’Arc: I think I know who she was and it definitely wasn’t a peasant girl from Bar who happened to have skills with a lance. There’s a thriller in the pipelines and ideas for short stories, plays, films, television series and a mini radio operetta: that wasn’t my idea, I was just asked to help write it – you see? Writing is the very best job in the world.
Interviews
The History Girls
Read moreAn interview with Manda Scott by Louise Berridge
the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk
Dreaming Courses
Welcome to the world of shamanic dreaming.
This is where reality diverges, the one you have been used to, and the one that actually exists. This is where boundaries shift, and keep on shifting. This is where we find out that Douglas Adams was right, and the Total Perspective Vortex is generally a pretty scary thing. But there’s help. Which is rather the point. Shamanic practice is about asking for help and what sets the trained apart from the untrained is that the former know who to ask, how to ask, how to get to there, how to get back, and how to integrate the results into their everyday lives. Because living *this* life, fully, is what it’s all about. That and learning to die with full awareness.
In early October 2010, a group of writers got together and formed the Historical Writers’ Association – the HWA.
This grew from the belief that we as historical writers need to have the same kind of professional body run by professional writers for professional writers (and their agents and publishers) to sustain, promote and support each other and our work in the way that the Crime Writers’ Association supports writers of crime fiction and non-fiction.
Our initial plans involve a Festival of Historical Writing to be held in conjunction with Historic England’s Festival of History at Kelmarsh.
We will move towards finding sponsorship for historical prizes, and organise social events similar to the CWA, plus alternatives as our members see fit: in the era of electronic networking, a great deal is being achieved already online.
If you have a question for M. C. Scott or would like to get in touch with us, please complete this form.
ROME: THE ART OF WAR
AD79: The Year of the Four Emperors. Since Nero's suicide, three emperors have ruled in Rome and a fourth, Vespasian, has been named in the east.
@hare_wood
@hare_wood @DianneEButts trust me, you don't want to follow me....
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@hare_wood @RachelLCoppola No, really...it's a myth. Fantasy. Make believe...Did nobody ever explain that to you? It's Mithras' b'day, nothing else.
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@hare_wood @JohnBarratt46 I think we share a common MP - and he's a junior whip, so he's not allowed to think unilaterally... /sigh
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@hare_wood 296 #MPs who voted against the investigation of food banks. And yes, ours is there. /Sigh http://t.co/kdwR7F7J7H #ukpolitics #torybuzzfeed
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@hare_wood #Snowden "I didn’t want to change society.I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself” http://t.co/jqWuHkEPAU
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@hare_wood unicorn_fly_'s photo http://t.co/UFOREesYcX
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@hare_wood @annelacy94 Thank you for the follow - may your new year (which for me started yesterday) grow slowly and fruitfully...
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@hare_wood Stats for the week have arrived. 58 new followers and 24 unfollowers via http://t.co/H1VL6m6kCJ.
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@hare_wood @satclive8 Thank you - and thanks once again to @HelenHollick for organising the bloghop and inspiring us to write...
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@hare_wood RT @JennyD_85: @hare_wood i don't care what anyone says. books can be sexy.
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MC Scott
MC Scott
The Solstice Blog Hop: View Link
http://wordpress.mcscott.co.uk/index.php/solstice-blog-hop-mithras-and-the-older-gods/
MC Scott
http://wordpress.mcscott.co.uk/index.php/reviews-ten-of-the-best-from-2013/
MC Scott
"Thank you - it was a fun..." on Pete Simpson's post on MC Scott's wall.
Pete Simpson
Thanks for an amazing talk at Bristol Museum and signing books too.
MC Scott
"Sure will - I'll be bringing my..." on their own status.
MC Scott
Thanks to all who came to Wellington last night. Next event is in BRISTOL at the museum on the 19th with Ben Kane.
MC Scott
I'll be at Wellington Literary Festival this evening, at the civic centre, from 7:00 talking about #Boudica and #Jeanned'Arc
MC Scott
"There's something particularly..." on their own status.
MC Scott
Sent the 2nd draft at 08:00 this morning. Now gearing up for #harrogatehistoryfestival, but also starting to redraft ABSOLUTION, the contemporary thriller. Life is good... :)
MC Scott
Finished the 2nd draft of the Jeanne d'Arc book. Will hand in tomorrow.... life is good. :)
MC Scott
I'll be at the Wellington Lit Fest on Thursday evening, 7:30. More details here: View Link
MC Scott
"ahem. Well spotted. I would..." on their own link.
MC Scott
@benkane and I will be at the Bristol Museum from 2-4pm on Sunday 19th October talking with 2 historians about all things #Roman View Link
http://hnsbristol.wordpress.com/meet-the-historians-bristol-october-2013/
MC Scott
See you all at History In the Court tomorrow, (thursday 26th September) View Link
http://www.historyinthecourt.com/
MC Scott
If you're in the South East, come and join us at the #FayreTimesFestival this coming weekend: View Link
http://www.fayretimesfestival.co.uk/historical-writers-association.html
MC Scott
Nearly time for #BloodyScotland - @DouglasJackson (@Dugwriter) and I will be there on Saturday 14th - see you there!View Link
http://www.bloodyscotland.com/
MC Scott
This month's post on History Girls: View Link
http://the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/writing-battles-by-manda-scott_12.html
MC Scott
Event reminder: I'll be at Brighton Pride in the Spoken Word Tent at 3pm on Saturday 3rd August.
MC Scott
"Sorry! I was around all..." on their own status.
MC Scott
Thanks to all who made Harrogate Crime Festival such a huge, huge success. Awed by the organisation and the atmosphere. Well done Val McDermid
MC Scott
"Good luck.... pick an era you..." on their own link.
MC Scott
Me, on the balance of writing: View Link
http://writinghistoricalnovels.com/2013/07/16/balancing-research-and-imagination-when-writing-historical-fiction-by-mc-scott-guest-article/
MC Scott
Event reminder: I'll be at Harrogate this weekend at CrimeFest and (time permitting) we'll be doing some filming and answering readers questions - so if you have any, let me know here - SOON: View Link.
http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime/events/#sunday
No events found - please check back later.
The Art of War review on the (unofficial) British Army Website
The Art of War is set in AD 69, the 'year of the four Emperors' and is the fourth in the Rome series by MC Scott. I hadn't heard of the author prior to …Hare Dreamer - audiobook short story now available to download
Hare Dreamer – episode 3 of the Radio 4's Moments Past series is available now to download fromScott’s Miscellany
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