I have just finished neglecting my family and going without sleep to read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. I knew nothing of him or this book before starting it (beyond the fact that there was a board game based on it).
Now I know I”ll read it again some day (possibly soon). What a page turner, but not just that, it was crammed with facts and details about medieval life, trade, monastic life, cathedral-building and politics. Fabulous stuff. 900 pages of it.
Then I found Ken Follet’s home page, including a Master Class.I’ve only read the first page (since I rudely read through dinner and then left the family to fend for themselves for an hour afterwards while I ploughed through to the end and couldn’t justify reading more of the master class just now), but it looks like an interesting and encouraging-to-writers read.
Enjoy.