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.
A new translation of the Iliad is causing much more of a stir than you’d think. For good reason. Do you enjoy the layers of meaning one word can have and other subtleties of translation? I took a look at what people are saying and put it together for you.
Everything you need to know about my upcoming appearances at the Elk Grove Writers Conference, the Great Valley Bookfest, and the Avid Reader Bookstore. Join me for these celebrations of books!
I noticed two unrelated articles in the recent Archaeology Magazine. Their juxtaposition got me thinking about treatments of the dead. We humans are really good at over-the-top respect on the one hand, and fear on the other. Have a look.
With atmospherically rich effect, Amiee Gibbs’s The Carnivale of Curiosities combines gothic Victorian historical with dark fantasy. She intertwines themes of constructed family, freaks, and the reality of magic. I hope you enjoy my review.
Like many of the recent Troy books, this latest, Horses of Fire, focuses on women. It consciously departs from Homeric tradition and historical accuracy in ways that may please readers or irritate them. Have a look at my review.
Join me for an interview with historical novelist Nancy Bilyeau and her latest, The Orchid Hour, set in 1923 NY during Prohibition. Our conversation even came with a cocktail.
The venerable site of Pompeii and environs keeps on surprising us. Sometimes only after a lot of creative hard work. Now we’re learning about the survivors. How’s that for a positive twist on the infamous disaster?
If you’d enjoy a novel combining medieval magic and medicine, my review of E.C. Ambrose’s Elisha Daemon is for you. Read on.
The history of writing reveals some of the most profound ideas and values we humans ponder. The Hittite world that inspires my fiction used the cuneiform writing system–as did every other Near Eastern empire in the Bronze Age. Until a great shift into a variety of scripts came about. The question is why.
Join me in celebrating the cover reveal for Stephanie Dray’s upcoming novel, Becoming Madame Secretary. Whether she’s bringing to life Cleopatra’s daughter or Jefferson’s, she’s an outstanding writer of historical fiction. Take a peek at what she’s done with Frances Perkins.
