Judith Starkston has spent too much time exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Their myths and clashes inspire her fiction and open gates to magical realms. She has degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories, and her novels imbue fantasy with the richness of ancient worlds. The first book in her Trojan Threads Series, Hand of Fire was a semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennett’s Award for Historical Fiction. Priestess of Ishana, the first in her historical fantasy Tesha series, won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award. Judith is represented by Richard Curtis.
When I first started studying Turkey’s archaeology, there was one amazing Neolithic site with huge buildings and amazing artwork. Not what you expect from hunter gatherers. Now more than 20 sites have been uncovered in an arc of 125 miles at the base of the Taurus mountains. What on earth was going on here–and why here and not elsewhere? Read on to find out.
I spent a productive and enjoyable week with three other writers on our self-directed writers retreat.
I had great fun “In Conversation with Terry Shepherd.” We talked for 10 mins about my upcoming release, Flights of Treason, among other topics. Terry is a pro at the interview gig, and we covered a lot of ground. Click through to listen.
World War I with a fantastical layer added in? Luanne Smith’s novel puts the historical horrors of the “war to end all wars” through an unexpected prism and combines the darkness with redeeming loyalty and friendship. I hope you enjoy my review.
The Romanov Impostor portrays a “what if she’d survived” story of Anastasia Romanov. The novel is an entertaining dive into 1920’s Hollywood with the exciting twist of maintaining Anastasia’s secret in the face of a woman whom she alone knows has to be an impostor. Here’s my review of this fun historical read.
Ancient sources describe Cleopatra as an amazing polyglot, but to what degree did she really speak a variety of languages and what is the significance of that knowledge? A Dutch scholar has a new “read” on the famous queen and I enjoyed it. I hope you will too.
I’m teaching a writer workshop on the topic of Point of View at the Avid Reader, the local bookstore in Davis, CA Feb 28th. Join me and my fellow instructor, Tim Schooley.
There’s currently a renaissance of mythic retelling novels. By portraying Medea, Quin set herself an especially hard challenge to create a character we will sympathize and root for. Her solutions to this challenge are intriguing and fairly successful. I recommend this one. Read my review and see why.
Interpreting Neolithic carvings and buildings seems perilous at best, but lots of fun. New excavations have upturned the previous understanding of Turkey’s Neolithic monumental sites with their amazing carvings of beasts and men. What stories are they telling?
Hollick is known for her highly entertaining pirate tales that combine spellbinding storytelling with finely researched nautical history. Gallows Wake, 6th in her series, delivers abundantly on that promise. I hope you enjoy my review.
