From My Fantasy Writing Desk:
Phoenix Area Friends! Launch at Poisoned Pen
Join me at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore November 9, 2-3 pm for a whirl of a launch party. Give Sorcery in Alpara a warm welcome into the world with a lively afternoon featuring six authors. My Bronze Age Tesha is keeping company with some entertaining friends.
Dianne Freeman, local author and friend, with her second book, a “delightful and witty” Victorian murder mystery, A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder. It’s always fun when a writer friend gets recognition and in Dianne’s case it poured in for her debut A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, with nominations to almost every major award that year, the Agatha, Lefty, Mary Higgins Clark & Macavity. Tesha is looking forward to meeting the intrepid Frances Wynn and discussing how to uncover murderers in the highest echelons of (any) society.
Annie Hogsett, with The Devil’s Own Game, and a new case for Tom and Allie, and The T&A Detective Agency. (Yes. They should have put Allie’s initial first.)
Bairbre Higgins, with The Torchbearers, a murder mystery set in New Mexico that shows “how love for God and neighbor can turn deadly”
Ellen Crosby, with The Angels’ Share, mixing murder with a rare old Madeira and a secret society.
Tessa Arlen, with Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders, a new WWII series set in a remote English village “invaded” by American soldiers and also a murderer.
Rumor has it that there will be a return appearance of my highly acclaimed “bloody dagger” Linzer tart cookies. These limited edition pastries combine “deliciousness with dramatic presentation.”
Local Author Fair at Burton Barr Library
If you are looking for a new favorite local author, join me on Nov 2, 11 am to 2 pm to browse and chat with over 70 authors. We’ll be there with our books and enthusiasm. Burton Barr Library, 1221 N. Central Ave, Phoenix.
Archaeology I Enjoyed:
Familiar Experiences Found in Cuneiform
I love this brilliantly entertaining article about the commonplace experiences recorded on cuneiform tablets.
Here’s one of my favorite historians, Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid: “Etched into clay tablets from Mesopotamia are experiences so familiar they often read as if written by our family, our friends, and perhaps even our enemies. Lullabies and beer, heartbreak and depression, very stable geniuses and sub-par customer service. Tablets unearthed from Iraq’s shifting landscape bring to light life in cuneiform; they revive a past long dead but very much alive in the things we do every day.”
She opens with a museum the last king of Babylon built (yes, even back then they realized the past matters)–his depiction is at the top of this post, King Nabonidus (photo by Jona Lendering on Wiki). Don’t miss the lullaby, the treatment for a hangover—or those for heartbreak, depression or an annoyed customer. Click here for Unherd “What did the ancient Babylonians ever do for us?”
Last Moments of a Fight
The new discoveries at Pompeii continue. This time they’ve found a fresco of two gladiators in the stairwell of a brothel frequented by gladiators.
It is interesting how realistically the fresco presents the wounds of the losing gladiator. The fresco captures the end of the fight but not the moment when the crowd finds out whether the wounded gladiator will be spared or not.
Gladiators came in distinct types with set weapons and they were paired against one of a different type. This fresco shows a murmillo against a Thracian.
They also uncovered a “fast food” counter with frescos. The renewal of Pompeii from the visitors’ point of view is welcome, but the renewal of active excavation is, to me, even more exciting. Yeah for UNESCO prodding Italy into taking care of this venerable site. What are your favorite Pompeii memories? Click here for The Guardian “Pompeii dig unearths fighting fresco in ‘gladiators’ tavern'”