Writing Misdirecting Dialogue, In Archaeology and HF: Mum Mummies, Roman Rings & Engaging Excerpt

From my Fantasy Writing Desk:

My writing challenge this week: a tricky dialogue scene. Two speakers. Neither is saying what they mean. They both want to extract information from each other, but without being obvious about it. One is a villain but neither my main character nor the reader knows that. In fairness to both, I need to leave some bread crumbs toward that revelation, but not enough to ruin the suspense and much later twist. The villain is offering some distracting but useful information, a sort of verbal decoy. My brain may break before I’ve got this delicate balancing act finished.

Archaeology and History posts I enjoyed:

Mysterious Bodies

In June of 2016, in the middle of the night, an enormous refrigerated truck containing four bodies pulled up outside a hospital on the outskirts of Madrid. Doctors were given only 15 hours to work on the bodies.

The authorities did not want the public to realize the bodies were missing from their usual location: the National Archaeological Museum. Nor did they want patients at the hospital to know there were 2,000+ year old bodies sharing their healing space. The four bodies were mummies, 3 Egyptian and 1 from the Canary Islands.

They didn’t know much about one of the Egyptian mummies. Perhaps it was a woman, but the lack of any documentation when it was bought and taken from Egypt in 1925 left the museum with little to go on.

Now, 2,739 CT scan images later, the mystery mummy has been identified as Nespamedu, eye doctor to Pharaoh Ptolemy II. The large quantities of jewelry and protective charms hidden under the bandages offered most of the identifying information. He’s been virtually unwrapped and his secrets revealed.

I spent an extended, happy day at Madrid’s Archaeological Museum (we did break for a leisurely lunch), but my attention was drawn primarily to the Iberian Bronze Age collection, which I found entirely engaging. I’ll have to pay a visit to this mummy next time. I do hope the good doctor hasn’t been offended by his digital disrobing. Mummy curses are best avoided.

Click here for Archaeology News Network “Madrid mummy found to be Ptolemy II’s eye doctor”

Roman puzzle rings

I use a puzzle ring as a plot device in my novel Priestess of Ishana, and also a misused seal ring, so when I saw this article about Roman puzzle-lock rings, I perked right up.

Apparently they were used to seal leather bags so that the person receiving the delivery knew the carrier didn’t mess with the contents and abscond with some portion.

These Roman rings were in use fairly late and apparently were made with Celtic influence. Not only did they have tiny locks but they had secret puzzles built into them that had to be solved before the lock would come undone. And they were decorated on the front by the face of a god, frequently Janus. The man who has made locks his life study and has now written a book about these, has had reproduction rings made. Suffice to say, I want one.

Click here for Atlas Obscura “The Fashion and Mystery of Ancient Roman Puzzle Locks”

Immersing in excellent historical fiction

Embark, a literary journal for novelists, has published the opening of The Vermilion Sea, a superb historical novel by Marylee MacDonald that I’ve been lucky enough to read in manuscript form. What is it about? From her author statement: “In 1769, a young artist by the name of Noël accompanied the most famous astronomer of his day, Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche, on one of the eighteen Transit of Venus expeditions that went out that year, Captain Cooke’s being the most famous.” But that leaves out a lot. Enjoy this!

Click here to read the opening of The Vermilion Sea in the January 2019 issue of Embark