Wessex in classical heraldry and is found on a number of church windows in derived shields such as the Arms of the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster (Westminster Abbey, which was founded by the king). At its greatest extent Wessex encompassed the modern areas of Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset and Wiltshire, as well as the western half of Berkshire and the eastern hilly flank of Somerset. This covers an area of about . The English author Thomas Hardy used a fictionalised Wessex as a setting for many of his novels, adopting his friend William Barnes' term "Wessex" for
Mel Odom (author) Mel Odom (author) Mel Odom (born 1957 in California) is a writer primarily known for his science fiction and fantasy novels set in existing properties. Odom graduated from Byng High School in Byng, Oklahoma in May 1976, and later graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He teaches undergraduate courses at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in the Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma. Odom sold his first book in January 1988 and wrote dozens more books over the next ten years. He wrote two novels for the