A blog post about Judith Starkston’s writing projects and a discussion of whether it’s better to work from a planned outline as a writer or go on a magical mystery tour into unknown territory. Also a link to an eloquent discussion of the subject by Alex Shakar.
An excerpted article from the Oriental Institute gives an overview of the Hittite Empire, its modern discovery, and the central role the Chicago Hittite Dictionary plays in Hittitology today.
The process of writing fiction is an elusive process. The Wall Street Journal’s “Word Craft” column has once again delivered some excellent pearls about the layered truth and the unpredictable force of imagination in writing.
Rhys Bowen’s latest offering in her Royal Spyness series, Naughty in Nice, is pure fun. The French Riviera in 1933, Coco Chanel, Mrs. Simpson and the Duke of Windsor lurking on the sidelines, handsome scoundrels and clever thieves, gorgeous gowns and too much champagne, not to mention a dark, handsome lover and a clever if somewhat naïve young Lady Georgiana (cousin to Queen Mary) out to solve all the puzzles even if it puts her life in danger.
An engaging interview with Elizabeth Speller, author of The Return of Captain John Emmett: what led her to write about the aftermath of WWI, her choice of shellshock (PTSD) and the execution of an officer as foci for the book, and what she discovered along the way of writing it.
Have you ever wondered what ancient music sounded like–Stone Age or a Greek bard? An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education reveals a hot new field in archaeology and some amazing discoveries you’ll even be able to listen to.
Elizabeth Speller joins mystery writers like Jacqueline Winspear in setting her story immediately after World War I, filled with characters fractured by the Great War and trying to pick up the pieces. This debut novel has everything you want in a good mystery: well-developed characters you can’t predict, suspense, love, and twists. It also takes a new approach that works.
Typically historical fiction set in ancient Rome focuses on senators, military geniuses, mad emperors, and a lot of blood. This novel shows a side of Rome most will not be familiar with as it follows four upperclass women through the tumultuous year of the four emperors.
A Wall Street Journal review of Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles looks at the social milieu of this great civilization, using excellent new archaeological finds to rebuild this empire’s lost history, wiped from memory by the victorious Romans.
The Small Book opens in 1915 with a doctor’s diary entry from the frontlines of the World War I describing the execution of a private for desertion. “This has been a wretched business. They have made a murderer out of me and all of us who were present.” While the book quickly jumps to 1946 and later to 1998, the repercussions continue throughout from this soldier’s death at the hands of his own side.
