It’s a bit awkward to promote myself (Blake, published as Harrison), but I’ve been encouraged to do so by our director (Aaron). So, reluctantly, here’s a short blurb about my award-winning piece, “The Dog Star,” published by History Through Fiction and available for purchase as part of their historical fiction anthology An End of Troubles:
“The Dog Star” follows Ibrahim ibn Yaqub as he tries to close a trade deal in the Norse city of Hedeby. In order to curry favor with his local contact, he agrees to attend their annual festival in honor of the Dog Star, which for the Norse, represents the God of Plenty. Only too late does he realize that he worships the Dog Star just as much as the pagans do, with dire consequences.
Ibrahim ibn Yaqub is a real historical figure, a Sephardi Jew and Muslim merchant who traveled extensively through Central Europe in the 10th century AD. His actual account of Hedeby (brief as it is) and the account of other Muslim travelers through Northern Europe can be found in Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North by Penguin Classics. If you’d like to get a better behind the scenes look at my process and inspiration, HTF gave me the opportunity to interview with them and posted it on their blog.
History Through Fiction is an independent publisher that specializes in (you guessed it) historical fiction. My creative writing tends to express itself as historical fiction, so I was very happy to find not only a well-suited home for this piece but one that appreciated it enough to grant it second place in their anthology competition. This is HTF’s first short story anthology, and I’m very pleased to be a part of this inaugural issue.
If you’d like to support me, independent publishing, enjoy historical fiction, or all of the above, you can find An End of Troubles here.
