Military Fiction's Inspirations on my Works

 

Over the years, various novels poems, and plays have been inspired my works. Here are just a few examples. 

During the Siege of Acre (1191) that takes place in my first Crusade novel, the writing of this event was inspired by Homer's concerning the Siege of Troy during The Iliad. The fighting between the Greeks and Trojans inspired my writing of the Crusaders and Saracens in conflict. Likewise, the outstanding heroism of Hector and Achilles inspired several of my main characters. 

While the first half of my series was inspired by Homer's The Iliad, the second half's structure in many ways follows The Odyssey. The first several novels deal with the wear in the Holy Land (akin to The Iliad's edition of the Trojan War), while the later novels are concerning Richard the Lionheart's return to England and the wars thereafter (akin to Odyssesues's return to Ithica in The Odyssey).

The fighting between Christians and Muslims in The Song of Roland was inspirational to my books. Roland's death likely inspired one of the deaths of my main characters in one of the earlier novels. 

While more fantastical than military fiction, the Arthurian stories have also inspired my books. The conflicts between Arthur's knights, their friendships, and the betrayals that Arthur faces have all had their influence on my works. The Arthurian stories, however, more strongly inspired the second half of my series than the first. 

Shakespeare's Henry V inspired my books at different points. I drew from it inspiration to my own novels from its rich dialogue, the king's speech before the Battle of Agincourt (1415), and Henry's wooing of Princess Catherine of France. Likewise, Richard III was heavily inspirational on the second novel of the series as Richard III's character inspired on of the main villains of that novel. 

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings inspired several battles in the first several novels. Among them, I used his Siege of Gondor as an inspiration to the Battle of Jaffa (1192). 

The various novels of Michael and Jeff Shaara have at some point been used for the inspiration of my stories. This has been especially the case for The Killer Angels.