8 February 2017

When you are diagramming a scene, you can see the characters in it. Writing is an art steeped in the lyrical use of words (stunning revelation, I know). Figuring out the magical combination of phrases, nouns, verbs and a participle or two is something we as novelists fret over on a minute-by-minute basis. Jumping in today…

9 January 2017

I’ve been busy figuring out war and the nature of power these days. To Read Up On Hypatia of Alexandria and build more of the Sibylline world, I went to the Greek warriors. Here is my novel research reading for this week. Greek Philosophers and War Thucydides’ was exactly the kind of wisdom Hypatia would…

22 February 2016

A sense of place. That is something for which I strive. One of the key ancient-world settings in the Seals of Annach is Daphni, Greece. Since ancient times, a temple has stood on the site 11 kilometers northwest of Athens on the Sacred Way to Eleusis and the National Road to Corinth – Daphne Monastery, in massive…

7 January 2016

Hypatia of Alexandria changed my life. I sat down a couple of years ago to start researching what is now The Sibylline Chronicles. She found me. I had no clue where I’d end up. In fact, if you can believe it, the only thing I knew for sure was: Gulp! I had a few other ideas. I wanted…