Important reminder for all my readers who live in Arizona:
The next AZ Historical Novel Society meeting is this coming Saturday, November 2 from 1-4 pm
Patricia Bracewell, author of Shadow on the Crown, is our speaker.
She is visiting from the Bay Area and you do not want to miss her talk about this beautifully written and researched novel.
All welcome. Email me for directions to the meeting.
Wine, hor d’oeuvres and desserts after the talk
A.
A nearly 4,000-year-old Bronze Age kiln has been found during this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Alacahöyük in Turkey. It’s the first kiln found in this area and is very well preserved. There’s been a dig at this location for over a hundred years—one of the Turkish originals—and they’ve only uncovered 13% of the site. Wow! Nothing speedy in archaeology. I wish there were more details about the kiln in this article—I’ll have to dig out the fine print from this year’s field notes when they are published for Alacahöyük. I love the juicy details for fiction writing—transforming very dry field notes into living, breathing ancient life. Link here
B.
What do Dr. Seuss and the medieval Utrecht Psalter have in common? Lots, to my surprise. Discover one of Dr. Seuss’s inspirations on the Burnable Books blog. Which book is your favorite Seuss? Link here
C.
Have you been as confused as I am as an author of historical fiction? Essential post: Amazon makes life easier for authors of Historical Fiction. Categories expanded and clarified! Thank you to David Gaughran for this discussion. Link here
D.
This archaeological dig is an example of the amazing analysis that takes place out of the spare and silent remains. Figuring out forms of kingship and economies from the archaeological remains of a palace. The Canaanites veer from their Near Eastern neighbors. Tel Kabri in Israel reveals ancient mystery to excavation directors, Eric Cline & Assaf Yasur-Landau. Link here Eric Cline is the author of the Oxford University Press’s The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction, an excellent book I reviewed here recently.
E.
Want a good laugh? See Tinney’s post “Hats of the Renaissance. What were they thinking?” Link here May I point out that the cover of her excellent book set in the Renaissance does feature a silly hat, even if only in shadow so perhaps this post reveals a deeper concern with milliner-related issues than she guessed? (Just joking) If you haven’t read A Thing Done you ought to. You can find my review here