Summary: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gates-Hell-Shards-Heaven/dp/0765380331"></a>In episode 296 of the Functional Nerds Podcast, Patrick Hester and John Anealio chat with, <a href="http://www.michaellivingston.com/">Michael Livingston</a> author of The Gates of Hell.<br> About Michael:<br> Michael Livingston’s debut novel, the historical fantasy <a href="http://www.michaellivingston.com/fiction/novels/the-shards-of-heaven/">Shards of Heaven</a>, was published by Tor Books in November 2015 and quickly garnered numerous critical accolades. The sequel, The Gates of Hell, will appear in November 2016. A past winner of the prestigious international Writers of the Future Contest (in 2005), he has also published in a variety of other genres and venues, from a historical retelling of Beowulf to a brief story about quantum physics in the world-renowned journal of science, Nature.<br> A native of Colorado, Dr. Livingston holds degrees in History, Medieval Studies, and English. He lives today in Charleston, South Carolina, where he teaches at The Citadel. In his academic life, he has published more than a dozen articles on subjects as varied as J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf, Chaucer, James Joyce, and Robert Jordan. He has investigated European maps of America that pre-date Columbus, found unrecorded Anasazi ruins and artifacts, and written about the handwriting of fourteenth-century scribes. He is the general editor of the Liverpool Historical Casebooks Series, for which he has edited casebooks on The Battle of Brunanburh (2011), the Welsh rebel hero Owain Glyndwr (2013), and The Battle of Crecy (2015).<br> He speaks frequently on medieval history and culture, about the history and meaning of fantasy literature, and about the ways of bringing his professional skills to bear on the writing of fiction.<br> Picks:<br> <br> * Michael:<br> <br> * <a href="http://www.thegrayl.com/">The Grayl Bottle</a><br> * <a href="http://whitelines.se/">WhiteLines Notebook</a><br> <br> <br> * John: <a href="https://www.instapaper.com/">Instapaper</a><br> * Patrick: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-New-Fire-Tablet-Display-Wi-Fi/dp/B018SZT3BK">Amazon HD Fire Tablet 8</a><br> <br> Links:<br> <br> * <a href="https://twitter.com/medievalguy">Michael on Twitter</a><br> * <a href="https://twitter.com/johnanealio" target="_blank">John Anealio on Twitter</a><br> * <a href="https://twitter.com/atfmb" target="_blank">Patrick Hester on Twitter</a><br> * <a href="https://www.patreon.com/functionalnerds?ty=h" target="_blank">The Functional Nerds Patreon Page</a><br> <br> © 2016 Patrick Hester and John Anealio<br> This podcast contains original music by John Anealio.<br>
