Start / Rock, Paper, Swords! – the Historical Action and Adventure Podcast / Great beginnings in novels

Rock, Paper, Swords! – the Historical Action and Adventure Podcast

Great beginnings in novels

54 min • 29 juli 2022

Matthew and Steven discuss a handful of action and adventure books (including some of their own!) and how their very first lines/paragraphs draw the reader in.

Bernard Cornwell's The Lords of the North

David Gemmell's The Swords of Night and Day

Steven A. McKay's Lucia and Rise of the Wolf

Matthew Harffy's The Serpent Sword and The Wolf of Wessex

Theme music, "Rock, Paper, Swords" © Steven A. McKay and Matthew Harffy.

Background music in this episode:

"Ambient Sinister"

"Towards the Mountains"

"Where The Brave May Live Forever"

Senaste avsnitt

Ale/beer consumption throughout history! Pete Brown tells us some drinking stories!

6 juni | 49 min

MJ Porter - Vikings, Saxons, swearing in historical fiction and much more!

23 maj | 52 min

RPS NEWS! Plus Dire wolves? We chat about bringing things back from earlier periods in history. What would YOU bring back?

25 april | 45 min

Book cover design! Oliver Bennett from MORE VISUAL joins us to discuss current and future trends and the threat (or otherwise) of AI to creatives.

11 april | 68 min

Jason Kingsley OBE - Modern History TV & Rebellion - Judge Dredd, 2000AD, Sniper Elite & more!

4 april | 71 min

Donovan Cook - WODEN'S SPEAR! Vikings, Norse mythology and more...

28 mars | 60 min

Edoardo Albert - History, archaeology, Warhammer, swords, writing & more!

14 mars | 61 min

A Man Dies But Once - Matthew has a new novella OUT NOW!

7 mars | 10 min

Writing for videogames/writing exciting novels - we discuss two great topics today!

28 februari | 68 min

Long live the King! King of Wessex is out now.

21 februari | 4 min

Elizabeth Fremantle interview - FIREBRAND book/movie & lots more!

14 februari | 64 min

Giles Kristian - Camelot, Lancelot, Vikings, boy bands and more!

7 februari | 73 min

What other genres do historical fiction fans enjoy, and why?

31 januari | 62 min

The Trojan War with A.D. Rhine!

17 januari | 70 min

David Gemmell - LEGEND A Patreon Bonus Episode

3 januari | 41 min

Christmas 2024 greetings! Here's to 2025!

25 december 2024 | 2 min

2024 Christmas Special - books, movies, music & more!

20 december 2024 | 54 min

Lord of the Rings & lots more with publisher/author Jane Johnson!

6 december 2024 | 67 min

Matthew's new book - Shadows of the Slain out Dec 5th!

29 november 2024 | 24 min

Ian Mortimer - Time Traveller's Guides, oldest pubs in England & tons more!

22 november 2024 | 82 min

The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory RELEASE DAY!

15 november 2024 | 8 min

THE THICKET, Metallica & HP Lovecraft - Joe R. Lansdale talks to us today!

8 november 2024 | 58 min

New Xmas song, OUT NOW! "Wassail The Night Away"

5 november 2024 | 2 min

HP Lovecraft special! Cthulhu Mythos!

25 oktober 2024 | 60 min

Guy Windsor - The Sword Guy talks to us about historical martial arts

11 oktober 2024 | 71 min

The Vengeance of Merlin - Steven's new book is out on Monday!

4 oktober 2024 | 21 min

Historic Building Mythbusting - James Wright gets medieval!

27 september 2024 | 66 min

Diana Gabaldon! Outlander! - HNS 2024

23 september 2024 | 15 min

HNS 2024 Roving Interviews 3!

22 september 2024 | 29 min

HNS 2024 roving interviews part 2

22 september 2024 | 12 min

HNS 2024 Roving Interviews part 1!

21 september 2024 | 19 min

HNS 2024 - Three Roman ladies chat to us!

21 september 2024 | 7 min

Jane Johnson - HNS 2024!

20 september 2024 | 11 min

Elizabeth Chadwick - HNS 2024!

19 september 2024 | 7 min

David Gilman, Master of War! - HNS 2024

17 september 2024 | 8 min

MJ Porter interview - HNS 2024!

16 september 2024 | 9 min

Bernard Cornwell! Big news about Uhtred/Last Kingdom! - HNS 2024

14 september 2024 | 5 min

Michael Jecks - Knights Templar, Medieval England and 1920's Shanghai!

13 september 2024 | 61 min

Ian Mortimer! Time Traveller's Guides! - HNS 2024

12 september 2024 | 15 min

Clive Mantle - Robin of Sherwood/Game of Thrones/Casualty & Freddie Malone!!!

30 augusti 2024 | 57 min

Dr Joanne Ball, Roman/battlefield archaeologist!

23 augusti 2024 | 64 min

Kate Quinn - The Briar Club, Alice Network, HNS and more!

16 augusti 2024 | 50 min

Historical fantasy author Shauna Lawless joins us today!

2 augusti 2024 | 46 min

DV Bishop, author of the Cesare Aldo novels & also THARG from 2000AD!

19 juli 2024 | 71 min

Sword of the Saxons! Steven's new book is out NOW.

5 juli 2024 | 44 min

RPS to attend the Historical Novel Society Conference 2024!

28 juni 2024 | 3 min

Westerns & Cowboys - Dark Frontier with Matthew Harffy!

21 juni 2024 | 51 min

Dr Mark Deeks of metal bands Winterfylleth and Ard!

14 juni 2024 | 57 min

Age of Sail author Katie Daysh joins us to talk about LEEWARD!!

7 juni 2024 | 62 min

Todd Kerns of SLASH & the Conspirators puts the ROCK in RPS!

5 juni 2024 | 83 min

American Civil War author Cody C. Engdahl joins us for an entertaining chat today!

24 maj 2024 | 71 min

Historical research! What resources do we use for our own novels?

17 maj 2024 | 67 min

Commissioning Editor Kit Nevile joins us today!

10 maj 2024 | 66 min

What IS historical fiction? How do YOU define it?

26 april 2024 | 56 min

Christian/Miles Cameron interview! CHIVALRY, CIA and more!

20 april 2024 | 69 min

We wrote a book TOGETHER! It's out next week!

18 april 2024 | 9 min

SHIELDWALL! Justin Hill, multi-award winning author, joins us today

12 april 2024 | 59 min

SJA Turney - Rome, Caesar, Caracalla, Vikings & so much more!

29 mars 2024 | 58 min

Douglas Jackson! Nazis, Romans, mad emperors, serial killers & more!

15 mars 2024 | 62 min

Researching locations for authors

1 mars 2024 | 53 min

C.J. Box! Joe Pickett, Big Sky + lots more as we chat with the 10 million selling author!

16 februari 2024 | 51 min

Join us! A Patreon announcement!

9 februari 2024 | 3 min

Writing tools - Scrivener, Aeon etc. Can Matthew persuade Steven to adopt his writing tech?!

2 februari 2024 | 63 min

Griff Hosker, inspirational historical novelist, is our guest today!

19 januari 2024 | 73 min

Vikings, the Great Heathen Army & Alfred the Great! Steven talks his new book.

11 januari 2024 | 46 min

AI and Copyright for writers with the 'Copyright Waffle' podcast!

5 januari 2024 | 81 min

Author of Viking sagas, Eric Schumacher chats with us today!

22 december 2023 | 71 min

Christmas Greetings 2023!

21 december 2023 | 5 min

"Christmas is Coming" - our new song, OUT NOW!

10 december 2023 | 1 min

Christmas 2023 Rock,Paper,Swords/A Slice of Medieval Crossover!

8 december 2023 | 68 min

Not just Genghis Khan. The Mongol Invasion - Nicholas Morton interview!

24 november 2023 | 53 min

Amazon KDP head Darren Hardy. Indie authors check this out!

15 november 2023 | 53 min

Matt Lewis - we talk with the host of GONE MEDIEVAL!

10 november 2023 | 60 min

A Savage Moon! We chat with Theodore Brun about Vikings & other good stuff

13 oktober 2023 | 64 min

Matthew Harffy! A Day Of Reckoning & EXCLUSIVE REVEAL of his next book's title!

29 september 2023 | 54 min

Angus Donald - Vikings, Robin Hood, and lots more!

15 september 2023 | 71 min

Paul Finch - 1066, crime writing, being in a "shieldwall" & Black Sabbath!

1 september 2023 | 64 min

Ethan Bale/Clifford Beal - The medieval action adventure author joins us today!

4 augusti 2023 | 71 min

Alex Gough - Carbo Chronicles, ancient Rome, swearing in historical novels, music and loads more!

23 juni 2023 | 66 min

A couple of announcements!

12 juni 2023 | 6 min

Robin Warder/The Trail Went Cold - true crime inspiration for historical fiction tales!

9 juni 2023 | 51 min

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the impact it might have on writers, artists, and creatives in general. Scary stuff! Or is it...? Includes an AI-written song!

2 juni 2023 | 55 min

Ben Kane! Rome, Spartacus, medieval/ Richard the Lionheart, now Vikings in Ireland!

26 maj 2023 | 70 min

Viking Blood & Blade, and Kindle Storyteller WINNER Peter Gibbons chats to us today!

19 maj 2023 | 64 min

Norse/Viking mythology and RökFlöte with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson

12 maj 2023 | 86 min

Book covers! What makes a great cover ? Also, Steven's new book's COVER REVEAL is today!

5 maj 2023 | 59 min

David Gilman, author of the Master of War series, chats with us today!

21 april 2023 | 59 min

VIKINGS! Jethro Tull - RökFlöte album review.

18 april 2023 | 53 min

Starting our new books! What are they about? - Episode 30

14 april 2023 | 34 min

Big Big Train bassist/songwriter Gregory Spawton interview!

7 april 2023 | 70 min

IAN ROSS - The Twilight of Empire author joins us today!

31 mars 2023 | 71 min

Listener Questions PART 2!

24 mars 2023 | 30 min

Listener questions PART 1!

10 mars 2023 | 38 min

Some news and big announcements!

3 mars 2023 | 23 min

TV historian & novelist DAN JONES joins us today! 2023 top episode!

24 februari 2023 | 66 min

Dr Who, Star Wars, 2000AD, hip-hop author, and games designer Steven Savile!

10 februari 2023 | 75 min

Simon Scarrow! We chat to the legend!

27 januari 2023 | 70 min

Happy New Year 2023 from Rock, Paper, Swords!

1 januari 2023 | 2 min

Christmas Special 2022! Merry Xmas one and all!

16 december 2022 | 70 min

Jean Gill, author of The Ring Breaker!

2 december 2022 | 78 min

BONUS Episode - Funny (and not so funny!) Amazon reviews of our books

12 november 2022 | 26 min

Carol McGrath, author of The Handfasted Wife!

4 november 2022 | 37 min

It's Hallowe'en! Join us to get in the spooky spirit...

21 oktober 2022 | 68 min

Interview with Prue Batten

7 oktober 2022 | 60 min

Music and the power it holds....

23 september 2022 | 65 min

Bernard Cornwell, the Godfather of historical fiction!

16 september 2022 | 56 min

Viking author Tim Hodkinson interview!

9 september 2022 | 79 min

Rings of Power Episodes 1 and 2 and a review! BONUS EPISODE!

2 september 2022 | 54 min

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies! Any good?

26 augusti 2022 | 79 min

Robyn / Erin Young, author of The Fields interview!

12 augusti 2022 | 76 min

Great beginnings in novels

29 juli 2022 | 54 min

Historical weapons and....food?! Episode 2

15 juli 2022 | 54 min

Episode 1 - Welcome to Rock, Paper, Swords!

1 juli 2022 | 46 min

Rock, Paper, Swords! Trailer

22 juni 2022 | 1 min

Great beginnings in novels

Senaste avsnitt

Adam Lofthouse talks all about Ancient Rome

Three Year Anniversary Episode!

Patricia Bracewell - author of the Emma of Normandy series.

Ale/beer consumption throughout history! Pete Brown tells us some drinking stories!

MJ Porter - Vikings, Saxons, swearing in historical fiction and much more!

RPS NEWS! Plus Dire wolves? We chat about bringing things back from earlier periods in history. What would YOU bring back?

Book cover design! Oliver Bennett from MORE VISUAL joins us to discuss current and future trends and the threat (or otherwise) of AI to creatives.

Jason Kingsley OBE - Modern History TV & Rebellion - Judge Dredd, 2000AD, Sniper Elite & more!

Donovan Cook - WODEN'S SPEAR! Vikings, Norse mythology and more...

Edoardo Albert - History, archaeology, Warhammer, swords, writing & more!

A Man Dies But Once - Matthew has a new novella OUT NOW!

Writing for videogames/writing exciting novels - we discuss two great topics today!

Long live the King! King of Wessex is out now.

Elizabeth Fremantle interview - FIREBRAND book/movie & lots more!

Giles Kristian - Camelot, Lancelot, Vikings, boy bands and more!

What other genres do historical fiction fans enjoy, and why?

The Trojan War with A.D. Rhine!

David Gemmell - LEGEND A Patreon Bonus Episode

Christmas 2024 greetings! Here's to 2025!

2024 Christmas Special - books, movies, music & more!

Lord of the Rings & lots more with publisher/author Jane Johnson!

Matthew's new book - Shadows of the Slain out Dec 5th!

Ian Mortimer - Time Traveller's Guides, oldest pubs in England & tons more!

The Heretic of Haltemprice Priory RELEASE DAY!

THE THICKET, Metallica & HP Lovecraft - Joe R. Lansdale talks to us today!

New Xmas song, OUT NOW! "Wassail The Night Away"

HP Lovecraft special! Cthulhu Mythos!

Guy Windsor - The Sword Guy talks to us about historical martial arts

The Vengeance of Merlin - Steven's new book is out on Monday!

Historic Building Mythbusting - James Wright gets medieval!

Diana Gabaldon! Outlander! - HNS 2024

HNS 2024 Roving Interviews 3!

HNS 2024 roving interviews part 2

HNS 2024 Roving Interviews part 1!

HNS 2024 - Three Roman ladies chat to us!

Jane Johnson - HNS 2024!

Elizabeth Chadwick - HNS 2024!

David Gilman, Master of War! - HNS 2024

MJ Porter interview - HNS 2024!

Bernard Cornwell! Big news about Uhtred/Last Kingdom! - HNS 2024

Michael Jecks - Knights Templar, Medieval England and 1920's Shanghai!

Ian Mortimer! Time Traveller's Guides! - HNS 2024

Clive Mantle - Robin of Sherwood/Game of Thrones/Casualty & Freddie Malone!!!

Dr Joanne Ball, Roman/battlefield archaeologist!

Kate Quinn - The Briar Club, Alice Network, HNS and more!

Historical fantasy author Shauna Lawless joins us today!

DV Bishop, author of the Cesare Aldo novels & also THARG from 2000AD!

Sword of the Saxons! Steven's new book is out NOW.

RPS to attend the Historical Novel Society Conference 2024!

Westerns & Cowboys - Dark Frontier with Matthew Harffy!

Dr Mark Deeks of metal bands Winterfylleth and Ard!

Age of Sail author Katie Daysh joins us to talk about LEEWARD!!

Todd Kerns of SLASH & the Conspirators puts the ROCK in RPS!

American Civil War author Cody C. Engdahl joins us for an entertaining chat today!

Historical research! What resources do we use for our own novels?

Commissioning Editor Kit Nevile joins us today!

What IS historical fiction? How do YOU define it?

Christian/Miles Cameron interview! CHIVALRY, CIA and more!

We wrote a book TOGETHER! It's out next week!

SHIELDWALL! Justin Hill, multi-award winning author, joins us today

SJA Turney - Rome, Caesar, Caracalla, Vikings & so much more!

Douglas Jackson! Nazis, Romans, mad emperors, serial killers & more!

Researching locations for authors

C.J. Box! Joe Pickett, Big Sky + lots more as we chat with the 10 million selling author!

Join us! A Patreon announcement!

Writing tools - Scrivener, Aeon etc. Can Matthew persuade Steven to adopt his writing tech?!

Griff Hosker, inspirational historical novelist, is our guest today!

Vikings, the Great Heathen Army & Alfred the Great! Steven talks his new book.

AI and Copyright for writers with the 'Copyright Waffle' podcast!

Author of Viking sagas, Eric Schumacher chats with us today!

Christmas Greetings 2023!

"Christmas is Coming" - our new song, OUT NOW!

Christmas 2023 Rock,Paper,Swords/A Slice of Medieval Crossover!

Not just Genghis Khan. The Mongol Invasion - Nicholas Morton interview!

Amazon KDP head Darren Hardy. Indie authors check this out!

Matt Lewis - we talk with the host of GONE MEDIEVAL!

A Savage Moon! We chat with Theodore Brun about Vikings & other good stuff

Matthew Harffy! A Day Of Reckoning & EXCLUSIVE REVEAL of his next book's title!