Weekly Roundup of History, Archaeology and Writing Wisdom Feb 22-March 1
Downton Abbey, ancient helmets, the Sixities as HF, microbes in Pompeii, Speller’s WWI novel, ancient climate change & the Argo sails again.
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.
Downton Abbey, ancient helmets, the Sixities as HF, microbes in Pompeii, Speller’s WWI novel, ancient climate change & the Argo sails again.
My fav’s fr the web this week: aliens at Pyramids, what a copyeditor does & an app for Hemingway’s style, Kim Rendfeld’s writing process, & my nominee for best-written review, Ron Charles on A Burnable Book.
Next AZ HNS meeting April 5, history of sex, Ann Chamberlin. Links to archaeological finds fr 9000 yr old linen to a bronze Apollo. Historical preservation of sacred buildings. Tips on historical fiction fr Stephanie Dray, character motivation by me, cover art, and lively medieval games by Tinney Heath.
What makes a young woman pick up a sword against a powerful Greek Warrior? My guest post on Linda Collison’s blog “Sea of Words” about character motivation in Hand of Fire.
Reminder: Feb 8th AZ HNS meeting 1-4 with Shona Patel, Teatime for the Firefly. Venetia Lewis guest posting today about Cochise, a band of Apaches and a small sign that tickled her imagination.
New Sappho poems discovered and two good historical fiction reads by JF Ridgely and Cynthia Neale.
Announcing the publication date for my novel, Hand of Fire : September 10, 2014.
Delve in the royal day of the Hittite Queen Puduhepa.
New Egyptian tomb, interviews with Deborah Swift, Sam Thomas, Tom Rizzo & advice on how to write historical fiction.
Lincoln is a popular topic these days with sometimes fanciful results in fiction and movies. This book has a solid historian behind the fantasy. The prosecutor of the Booth conspirators told on his deathbed of a dangerous secret concerning Lincoln’s assassination, but he took the secret to his grave and the provenance of this tale was “by no means sturdy.” The story being too juicy to ignore, Stewart turned to fiction.