Meet My Main Character: Briseis

I’ve been tagged by historical fiction author Nancy Bilyeau, and now it’s time to tell you about the star of my upcoming novel Hand of Fire. I’ll post my usual weekly favorites on the web next Friday with both weeks’ good finds. I’ve actually been buried this week in some of the later steps for my press as Hand of Fire heads toward publication.

1) What is the name of your character? Is she fictional or a historic person?
My main character, Briseis, is a mixture of historic and mythological. She is the captive woman Achilles and Agamemnon fought over in the Iliad. How much Homer has captured historical events and people and how much is made up is a long-standing debate. In order to fill out the few lines Briseis gets in the Iliad, I used the recent archaeological discoveries of the area around Troy in the Late Bronze Age and the related world of the Hittites to develop an historically accurate woman of the time.

2) When and where is the story set?
The traditional date for the fall of Troy is 1250 BCE so that is a good approximate date for my novel. It is set in the Late Bronze Age in the area that is now the western coast of Turkey near the Dardanelles (Hellespont). Briseis grew up in a city called Lyrnessos. We have not identified a site as Lyrnessos at this time but in Homer it is located on the far side of Mount Ida on the gulf near where the island of Lesbos is. I built my fictional representation of Lyrnessos in that place after hiking and exploring the region several years ago.

3) What should we know about her?
Briseis’s mother has taught her from early childhood to be a healing priestess (in Hittite a hasawa). This means that she has learned to read and write in cuneiform on tablets of clay and she has mastered many intricate rites of healing that are designed to bring a human being back in harmony with the gods, which was the way these people viewed the source of illness. She has a practical store of knowledge about herbal and other medicine. She has also been raised to rule Lyrnessos since she is betrothed to the king’s son. She’s headstrong at times and has a good store of inner strength.

4) What is the main conflict? What messes up her life?
Her city Lyrnessos is an ally of Troy, so when the Greeks arrive on the shores of Troy with an unusually large army, this spells trouble ahead. There is also trouble closer to home in the form of her royal husband and his ugly temper. Those two sources of conflict come to a climax of destruction when Achilles raids Lyrnessos.

5) What is the personal goal of the character?
Briseis, in the midst of destruction, has the strength to heal herself and others as she asserts the power of life in the face of massive tragedy.

6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
My book is titled Hand of Fire and you can find out more about it on my website, both in the “book” section and in the many history articles I’ve posted about this time and place.

7) When can we expect the book to be published?
Currently the publication is scheduled for September 10, 2014 by Fireship Press