Dudley’s Fusiliers: Empire and Honor-Book 1

FINALIST! Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards 2011

When William Dudley enlists as a private in the Royal Hampshire Fusiliers, he discovers that life in the army of Queen Victoria is not the romantic adventure he had expected. Transported to the Crimean Peninsula, his dreams of glory are confronted by the harsh reality of war and death. Promoted to sergeant on the battlefield barely more than a year after his enlistment, Dudley must learn to command and inspire the soldiers he is called on to lead, and do so in the face of death and destruction beyond anything he had ever imagined.

“Thompson does a remarkable job of making his readers feel as though they are, like Dudley and his comrades, wading knee-deep in blood and muck.”
- David Pitt, Halifax Chronicle-Herald

I've read several historical novels about the Crimean War and DUDLEY'S FUSILIERS is the best by far. The author's description of military life in the mid-19th century British Army was excellent and his battle scenes were vividly and convincingly told. I really liked his protagonist, William Dudley, who was presented as a very down-to-earth fellow. As much as I enjoy characters like Richard Sharpe, Centurion Macro, and the fictional Genghis Khan, it was a refreshing change of pace to read a story about an ordinary man like Dudley. The only weakness of the book was minimal historical narrative about the three major battles--Alma, Balaclava, and Inkerman--and the lack of a map showing the area of operations. I very much look forward to reading GUNS OF SEVASTOPOL and hope to see more in the FOR EMPIRE AND HONOR series.
- E. R. Johnson "Ozarkflier" (Mountain Home, AR USA)

Making a No Budget Movie

Make a No Budget Movie: Chapter One

The year was 1978. I was ten years old. Star Wars had just come out, and the original Battlestar Galactica had aired on TV. I was inspired. I wanted to make my own movie, my own space opera. So I started. I wrote an entire script, in storyboard form, since a movie starts with a script, with a story – that much I knew. Next I cast my friends in the various roles. They were agreeable, though a little skeptical. Next I began to sort out wardrobe and locations.

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I Am a Lousy Blogger

I haven't written a blog post since March 2013. This is not for lack of subject matter, but more that I tend to revise and revise my posts until they say exactly what I want, and that takes time. So I haven't had anything I wanted to say so badly that I made time for it. Even this simple paragraph seems an imposition: I've erased it and restarted about six times now! Most of my writing time these days (in fact, since March 2013) has gone to short stories.