Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Almost exactly 401 years to the day since Frederick accepted the Bohemian Crown, we return to our 30 Years War narrative, with episode #19 ! In this episode, we reach the long-awaited moment when Frederick decided, after all, to accept the Bohemian Crown. Was ...
Sep 23, 2020•31 min
I have a question for you - why don't you check out our new historical fiction series set during this very era - Matchlock! Our first instalment, Matchlock and the Embassy, is out NOW! Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Welcome to our Q&A! Herein we answer loads of questions, including... Who was the best diplomacy player in the conflict? How many in Bohemia actually wanted Freddy as King? What narrative of the war is my fave? What was the story with the Ottoman-P...
Sep 16, 2020•40 min
Order the book now! For God or the Devil is finally out! After enduring Ferdinand’s repression, throwing off his yolk, formally deposing him and marching an army to Vienna, the Bohemians sought to go one better than all previous revolts had done. With Ferdinand deposed, this meant the crown of Bohemia was vacant, and it meant that someone else should be offered it. But whom? Someone, ideally, who was anti-Habsburg enough, but also powerful, wealthy and well-connected enough to defend the kingdom...
Aug 05, 2020•37 min
Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Here we cover the years 1618-1619, when the fortunes of rebels, Hungarians, Habsburgs and everyone else in between would rise and fall. In this episode, we also see a critical milestone come to pass – Ferdinand, the new King of Bohemia, is formally deposed by ...
Jul 22, 2020•35 min
Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Here we ask an important question – how did the Bohemia revolt become the Thirty Years War? After throwing the Habsburg magnates out the windows of the town hall in Prague, what was next for the rebels? First and foremost, the kingdom had to be brought togethe...
Jul 08, 2020•36 min
Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Episode 15 - what's in the box? Well, Bohemia continues to descend into rebellion, but its activism did not stop merely on the local, national level. Instead, Bohemians contacted known advocates of an anti-Habsburg conspiracy, and they landed on Ferdinand’s ar...
Jun 24, 2020•44 min
Want to show your appreciation for Bismarck Rise? Oddly enough, you can do so by heading in a completely different direction! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Fans of intrigue and drama, in addition to battles and complex characters, will love it! Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Make sure you head over to Patreon if you wan...
Jun 18, 2020•2 hr 38 min
Get your tickets to Intelligent Speech online! Only $10 until 16 June, and catch your faves including me, as I do a Q&A! Make sure you head over to Patreon if you want more podding goodies, and to stamp your ticket for more Bismarck! Episode 7 – Domination and Manipulation: 1863-64. He had made his fair share of errors, but it was fair to say at the same time that Bismarck wasn’t going anywhere. By the summer of 1863, the Polish business was mostly forgotten, and Bismarck could look further ...
Jun 11, 2020•2 hr 16 min
You know what those Bohemians needed? Historical fiction! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Episode 14 of the Thirty Years War, 'Bohemian Rampancy', is out NOW! Other than the ingenious title, what else does this episode offer? First and foremost, it offers and unparalleled look at Bohemia in ...
Jun 10, 2020•39 min
Get your tickets to Intelligent Speech online! Only $10 until 10 June, and catch your faves including me, as I do a Q&A! In this episode we examine the opening six months of Bismarck’s regime, and what a regime it was. It began, to Bismarck’s surprise, with a somewhat bumpy road. In the course of his first speech before the Landtag as Minister President, Bismarck discovered that his very reputation might prove the greatest danger to his premiership. In the course of this ‘Iron and Blood’ or ...
Jun 04, 2020•2 hr 57 min
Want to access these episodes all at once? Patreon is where you go my history friend! What were my five favourite moments from this series? Read this new blog post to find out... Episode 5 – Power at Last: 1861-62. Years of struggle and disappointment had finally led to this moment. On 22 September 1862, a fatalistic and hesitant King Wilhelm finally did it, he finally agreed to appoint Otto von Bismarck as Prussian Minister President, or Prime Minister. It was a decision which Wilhelm felt forc...
May 28, 2020•1 hr 46 min
What could be better than our sponsor? How about a new series I made all by myself! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Take a break from the Bismarck party, because Episode 13 of the Thirty Years War, the Pax Hispania, is out NOW! In this instalment of our series, we look at how the moment of p...
May 27, 2020•43 min
Want to skip the queue and access all episodes of BismarckRise right NOW? OF COURSE YOU DO! Click here for more The Bismarck Party rolls on... As he soon discovered upon returning to Berlin in early 1859, he was not bound for a ministerial post, but a new role as the Prussian ambassador to Russia. It was still a great promotion for a man who had only a slim record of diplomatic training – now he was to be head of the Prussian embassy! But Bismarck was less than thrilled. He was not only disappoi...
May 21, 2020•1 hr 49 min
Want to skip the queue and access all episodes of BismarckRise right NOW? OF COURSE YOU DO! Click here for more Unsure of what's going on? Read this blog post for more information on BismarckRise. Episode 3 – The Ultimate Opportunist: 1853-59. The Crimean War changed everything in Europe. It left Austria alienated, her Russian ally bitter and the Tsar vengeful, after Austria’s display of perfidy. ‘Austrian ingratitude’, claimed the new Tsar Alexander II, ‘killed my father.’ Under these circumsta...
May 14, 2020•1 hr 47 min
Bismarck? Not here - what you want is something Bismarck himself would have longed to read! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Put that Bismarck party on hold, and check out the latest episode of the 30 Years War! Here we look at a rarely mentioned aspect of Spain – the fact that it was still t...
May 13, 2020•31 min
Want to skip the queue and access all episodes of BismarckRise right NOW? OF COURSE YOU DO! Click here for more Unsure of what's going on? Read this blog post for more information on BismarckRise. When we last left Bismarck, he had established himself in Frankfurt, and prepared to meet the challenges which Prussia faced, following several years of bungled, humiliating foreign policy. The constraints upon Bismarck seemed obvious, the greatest restriction by far being the Austrian domination of th...
May 07, 2020•1 hr 18 min
Want to skip the queue and access all episodes of BismarckRise right NOW? OF COURSE YOU DO! Click here for more Unsure of what's going on? Read this blog post for more information on BismarckRise. In this episode, the first of eight, we explore the life of a young Otto von Bismarck, and assess the different events, influences and individuals who moved through his life. It’s a personal story, but it’s also a story about the unassuming, you could even say unremarkable, beginnings, of a man who wou...
Apr 30, 2020•3 hr 15 min
The only tremors around here are those I'm making in the historical fiction genre! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. In this episode we radically change our focus, away from the Empire and towards a brand new theatre of Europe – Scandinavia. It was there, in the sphere of the Baltic, Eastern E...
Apr 29, 2020•34 min
SURPRISE! At long last, I can finally share the secret which has been at the front of my mind for months! Bismarck, and as you've never seen him before. That's right, on Thursday 30 April, we're starting a new series called Bismarck: Rise, which will look at the Iron Chancellor's life and times in some serious detail, in the period 1815-1864. This is the legend of Bismarck, now watch him rise! Seriously though, I am super excited about this, and when you listen in I'm sure you'll be too! Or, hav...
Apr 27, 2020•5 min
If you thought Ferdinand had a tough time of it, you should see how Matthew Lock struggled in 1622! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. It's time to meet Ferdinand of Styria and the rest of his lovely Habsburg family! Taken together, these were the kind of people who would fight doggedly for the...
Apr 15, 2020•31 min
Why be first of your name when you get the first instalment of my historical fiction series, set during this very war! Matchlock begins in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Episode 9 of the Thirty Years War, First of His Name, is out NOW! You can’t have a Habsburg protagonist without also having the anti-Habsburg antagonist, and in the years before the war, few individuals were b...
Apr 01, 2020•33 min
I've got 99 problems but a new historical fiction series ain't one! Find out why by checking out Matchlock and the Embassy for yourself! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. We get straight to the point with that title, because while we've done some exposition on it, it's pretty clear to me histo...
Mar 18, 2020•34 min
Do you know what is truly delightful? My new historical fiction series, Matchlock! Matchlock is set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. In this episode, we look at an oft-forgotten theatre of the Thirty Years War, the east. Specifically, we examine the Habsburg border with the Ottoman Empire, and assess the conflicts and slights which the ...
Mar 04, 2020•34 min
Retreat to your own personal island with our new historical fiction series, Matchlock! Matchlock is set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Traditional narratives of the Thirty Years War frequently gloss over the English/Scottish or British contribution, and in this episode, we do our best to rectify that error! We start with a scene of pe...
Feb 19, 2020•26 min
Talk about triumphs, how much of a triumph would it be if little old Zack could be an Amazon best-seller? You can make it happen! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. War wasn’t good for everything in the early 17th century, and nowhere was this more evident than in the spate of peace treaties wh...
Feb 05, 2020•42 min
The only connection you need is from your eyes to the pages, because we have a historical fiction series out NOW which will definitely be right up your street! Matchlock is set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. This episode continues where we left off in the previous instalment, by delving deeper into the motives of the French King Henry...
Jan 29, 2020•31 min
Long lists of characters are much easier to manage in fiction, and that's where my new series comes in! Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. If you thought you properly understood how the Empire worked at long last – then think again! There was always some wrinkle or exception to the rule, but pe...
Jan 22, 2020•31 min
Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. The Holy Roman Empire was a unique place, full of unique laws, unique settlements and very unique rulers. Unique is just a polite way of saying, that the HRE was a freakin’ mess, but it is a mess which we have to acquaint ourselves with if we’re to stand any c...
Jan 15, 2020•42 min
Today in our Patreon feed, the first episode of the Poland Is Not Yet Lost narrative is released, which is super exciting! But, even if you've been tempted in the past to sign up for $5 a month and get this extra content, you may be wondering, what exactly does this series look like, and how do I know if I'll like it? All good questions, which I hopefully answer with some preview clips of episodes we've released before in this exclusive series. If you find yourself wanting more, you know where t...
Jan 14, 2020•25 min
Start off your new Thirty Years War journey the right way, by exploring our other offering - historical fiction! Matchlock is a series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. We're back! After running through 17th Century Warfare with a fine-toothed comb, I am finally ready to deliver to you the most exciting series we've ever covered here...
Jan 08, 2020•30 min
