‘Escape Into History’ Publication Bursts Through Its First Month

What was I thinking?!?

Image by Linda Acaster: part of the Ring of Brodgar prehistoric stone circle on Orkney, UK — complete with hideous title font.

Ever since joining Medium and following Zulie Rane’s how-to YouTube videos, I’ve considered owning a personal publication. Yet I’m not a prolific writer, and for it to work the publication would need a theme. Mmm. Better, I thought, to bide my time and increase my skills set.

It was with the pulling from the platform of History of Yesterday and Time Trekker that the needed theme stared accusingly from my profile list: all those history stories I’d written now had no home. Wouldn’t they look better in one place, separated into historical periods? Of course they would.

Two stories under PreHistory. L: 5,200 year old Newgrange Passage Tomb, Ireland. R: 3,000 year old Uffington White Horse, England

Escape Into History began to take shape, focusing on places I’d visited in the British Isles and its near neighbours. It launched at the beginning of August.

What was I thinking?!? Midsummer is the busiest part of my year, packed with visitors and excursions, holidays and gardening. It would have helped if I hadn’t accepted as gospel various Medium stories extolling ‘create your own publication in less than ten minutes’. It would have helped if Medium’s Help pages had more than a nodding acquaintance to the publication formatting dashboard.

And on that score, if anyone knows how to remove the publication title fixed in that appalling font, please drop me a Comment. No matter what I try, it stays in front of my chosen header image.

A story under Saxon/Viking. Gold box buckle from the 1,500 year old Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon ship burial.

Yet, apart from the odd glitch, it’s been a successful venture. The publication has gained its first followers, and I’m pleased I made the jump.

The samples showcased here give a flavour of what’s on offer and what’s to come. I don’t write dry academic, nor light fluff, but something intriguing worthy of five minutes downtime with a coffee, an antidote to the serious business of earning a living online. Or perhaps a place to earmark for a visit during a future UK holiday.

Two stories under Medieval/Tudor. L: Leeds Castle-6 Royal Queens & an American Heiress. R: Gilded Horseshoes of Oakham’s Great Hall.

So, what’s in the pipeline? Lots. Those August excursions and holidays were put to good use and their fruits are now demanding my attention. They’ll be along soon, individually and in a series. After all, who is capable of doing justice to the sacred landscape that is Stonehenge in a single five-minute read?

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Either way, together let’s Escape Into History.