Medieval Mental Health. What mental health issues affected my villain? I had a fun week, doing what I love… research. To build believable worlds, I have to immerse myself in my characters’ minds and see what they see and feel what they feel. We are a few weeks away from the launch of The Fire Within the Storm. I offered my launch team a free psychological profile on my villain, King Radolf. So I wanted my profile to feel like the real thing. The launch team will read the review copy and will post reviews on Amazon, Good Reads, and their blogs. I wanted to produce something that will be worthy of their time and better help them understand this character. I have hinted at some of King Radolf’s traumas in book 1, The Last of the Silver Wings, but in the Fire Within the Storm (Book 2 of the Chronicles of Nadine) he makes several bold moves that seem counterintuitive to his goals. King Radolf’s advisers become concerned with his obsession with Lady Christine. He seems to be diverted from hi...

Feudalism flourished in Medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. It was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although the Chronicles of Nadine takes place around 800 AD, we used a range of medieval concepts that spanned across many centuries to create a world for the series.Under the feudal system, there were different groups with varying degrees of power and status. A king or queen owned all the land, which they broke up and gave out in exchange for military service. The Lord or knight who received the land was called a vassal and was legally obligated to provide services in exchange for that land.  In the Chronicles of Nadine, Nadine’s father, Nicolaus received Land from Lord Logan and had to resume his Knightly services.Knight service was military duties performed in exchange for the lands.  A King or Lord might require the military service for wars or expeditions or for riding and e...