Stephanie Thornton

Another Blurb!

2013-05-19T20:47:00.002-08:00

It's almost exactly 1 1/2 months until the debut of The Secret History, and things are starting to get busy. There will be a blog tour, giveaways (books and Byzantine coins--ohlala!), and I might even have some other excitement hidden up my sleeve.

(Okay, so I do, but you'll have to wait until later to find out about the rest of the fun).

I've also received another blurb (publishing-code for the author quotes on the cover and front pages) for The Secret History, this one from Jeane Westin:

"Loss, ambition and lust keep this rich story moving at top speed. Stephanie Thornton writes a remarkable first novel that brings a little known woman to full, vibrant life...A sprawling and irresistible story."—Jeane Westin, author of The Spymaster's Daughter

If you haven't already read it and you're looking for a great read on Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley (talk about one of the greatest love stories of all time!), I highly recommend Westin's His Last Letter. It's definitely swoonworthy!

And now I'm headed back to the revision cave to romp around the Mongolian steppes with Genghis Khan for The Tiger Queens. School ends this week and then I'm looking forward to some serious editing time!

A Secret History Excerpt: Happy Mother's Day!

2013-05-12T10:06:00.001-08:00

Happy Mother's Day! In celebration, I have for your reading pleasure an excerpt of The Secret History. Let's just say Theodora and her mom have a rather complicated relationship.

The silence expanded around us. “You didn’t come all this way, with a trunk, to tell me about Vitus.”

My mother sighed and tried to shift in her seat, but she gave up when Tasia stirred. “No, I did not. I’m moving in with you.”

“What? Here?” I gestured to the room, so small Antonina and I could scarcely lie head to head without our feet touching the walls. We’d tried it.

“Your sister has a patron now, some Tyrian dye merchant.” My mother shrugged. “There’s not exactly room for me in his villa.”

My proud, passionate mother. This was not the life she’d envisioned for herself, for any of us. “I don’t know—it’s not my room. Antonina’s gone most nights, and I’m going to find a position as soon as I’m clean.”

“I’ll take care of Tasia while you two are out—God knows she’ll need someone to make sure she doesn’t end up like you. You won’t even know I’m here.”

“Right. It’ll be like sharing a room with a fury.”

She made a noise in the back of her throat, half laugh, half snort. “Sometimes I think I should have drowned you at birth.”

Ah yes. It was so lovely to have my mother back.

An Unexpected Congratulations

2013-05-05T14:36:00.004-08:00

I've sent a few letters to my senators in recent months, so when a letter from Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski landed in mailbox, I expected a run-of-the-mill form letter.

Instead, she was writing about The Secret History!

I'm not sure who told her about my "ability to seamlessly weave history and prose into my compelling narrative," but talk about a pleasant surprise! So cool!

What to Keep and What to Cut: Mongolia Style

2013-04-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

Writing The Tiger Queens has presented me with a new and unexpected quandary: too many characters.

And I'm talking waaay too many characters.

Granted, there was a fair bit of information on Theodora's family and friends from Procopius' The Secret History which allowed me to cherry pick which people I wanted to focus on. And we have fairly decent records from Hatshepsut's reign that filled in my character list quite nicely.

However, there's this lovely little tome on Genghis Khan's reign (coincidentally, it too is called The Secret History), but it has a cast list that would make Proust shudder.* Genghis had a good-sized family, several wives, lots of kids, and even more enemies.

So now the quandary: Who to cut?

Let's just say that many characters this weekend have been assimilated. (I've tried to give them clean deaths). Many have been reabsorbed into other characters. At this point I'm not sure if I've got Borg or multi-headed hydras in my manuscript.

*Proust's In Search of Lost Time has over 2,000 characters. I might have been exaggerating here, but you get the point.

Who the Heck Was Justinian?

2013-03-31T21:52:00.002-08:00

Ask someone to name a Roman emperor and chances are you'll get one of the usual heavyweights: Octavian (can't stand him), Caligula (born on my birthday!), or maybe even Nero (killed his mom, so I'm not a big fan).

Ask someone to name a Byzantine emperor and you'll probably get a blank stare.

So today I bring you a run-down of the most awesome Byzantine (or eastern Roman) emperor: Justinian.

(Who also happens to be Theodora's husband. Just saying.)

So what exactly did Justinian do?

1. He reconquered the Italian peninsula and re-incorporated it into the Roman empire. (This is post-Goths, and while he only held the territory for a little bit, that wasn't his fault. See #5.)

2. He survived the Nika uprising (because Theodora gave a great speech) and went on to rebuild Constantinople on a grand scale. He supposedly built a giant statue of himself that poured wine from his feet on feast days.

3. He built the Hagia Sophia. (A must-see before you die).

4. His law code, the Corpus juris civilis, revised the sum total of Roman law and become the basis for the modern law system in Europe. (Because it was the awesome).

5. He survived having bubonic plague. Granted, the Byzantine empire started a free-fall due to all the dead people (you can't tax dead people and that means you can't build cool stuff and conquer faraway lands), but really, anyone who survives plague is downright awesome.

And just in case you're not already awed by Justinian's awesomeness, check out @The_New_Rome's mini-documentary on Justinian and Theodora. (Trust me, it's worth the extra click and three minutes of your life).

Enjoy!

Also, Debra is the lucky winner of last week's "Forged by Fate" giveaway! Congrats, Debra!

Interview & Giveaway: Forged by Fate

2013-03-24T19:05:00.001-08:00

Today I'm happy to welcome one of my longtime blog and writerly pals, Amalia Dillin, to talk about her debut novel, Forged by Fate. I'll also be giving away a copy of Forged by Fate to one lucky commenter on this post through Saturday, March 30th!

1. This novel is a really unique take on a very old story. What inspired you to combine the various eras you did in Forged by Fate?

Any story with Eve as a protagonist kind of begs for a retelling of Creation – but from the start, she was always a woman who would be reborn, generation after generation, life after life, hop-scotching from one historical event to another. It was impossible for Eve to be *every* woman of importance in history, and improbable that she would be, even if they all worked out, chronologically, but some seemed more likely than others. For example, her roles as Moses’s mother, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, made perfect sense. But some of it is also just the periods and cultures I find interesting, like the Nordic Bronze Age – I believe in writing about the things I love, first and foremost, and that includes history!

2. What did you find to be the hardest thing about combining gods from so many different world mythologies?

Managing their egos and finding a way to fit them all together in a way which allowed for the world to actually survive. How do the gods work things out behind the scenes? Who decides which pantheon gets which land mass? Do they divide the world up into specific territories, or do the areas they govern depend upon people spreading the faith? These are impossibly powerful individuals – if two gods who control the sun decide to get territorial, nobody on earth is going to win. But you know there had to be conflicts, and there had to be a system in place for those conflicts to be addressed, and then there are the gods of trickery, mischief, and deceit, trying to break the rules, upset the balance, and get their own way at the expense of everyone else…

3. There are so many memorable characters in this novel--which was your favorite to write?

I love Thor. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about me. But I love him as a hero because he’s impossibly powerful, a god, but still flawed. His virtues are also his greatest faults – loyalty becomes blindness, honor becomes a cage, a reason for inaction in the face of suffering. I love him, because the more I wrote, the more real he became to me, and the more I understood why this was a god that people worshipped, and why he was so, so well-loved among the common people.

That said, Adam really grew on me over the course of the trilogy, too.

4. Ancient history tends to have been written by men, but there are many stories and myths from around the world that include strong women. (I'm a big fan of Athena myself). Which is your favorite of these stories and why?

In history, I think the women who impress me most are the Greeks – when in spite of the cultural repression, they still managed to get their names into history. Women like the Spartan Queen, Gorgo, for example, who isn’t just mentioned, but mentioned and acclaimed for her wisdom in a time when women were really not thought well of, as reasonable beings.

Among the myths – I have a hard time choosing. I think Hippodamia, the wife of Pirithous, is a fascinating character, because she’s “kin” to the centaurs. The possibilities that offers for fiction are really interesting, and I recently wrote a novella about her marriage to Pirithous, so it’s fresh in my mind. But I also find the story of Helen of Troy to be… something.

I guess this is my problem with women in myth – so often, they are the reason for conflict and trouble and the people at fault. These aren’t “damsels in distress” even, they’re women who are perceived as CAUSING problems, sometimes even purposely. But the blame is most often placed on them. Europa is at fault for her rape by Zeus for climbing onto the back of a strange bull and wandering away from her friends to begin with. Helen is at fault for running away with Paris, and staying with him, abandoning both her people and her daughter in the process. Even Theseus’ Amazon wife is at fault for abandoning her people, betraying her vows, and marrying him, and that choice causes a war. Outside of Classical Myth, the Saga of the Volsungs (maybe more legend than myth but still) is full of women who go about making trouble for everyone involved, agents of murder and mayhem in the name of family honor, or personal honor.

There are these sparks of personality and principle that are so quickly snuffed out with some kind of punishment. Ariadne helps Theseus escape the labyrinth, betraying her people and family, then is abandoned on the island of Naxos, or else she helped Theseus to escape Crete and return to Dionysus, and betrayed Theseus, if you want a slightly better spin, or else Theseus abandoned her because of Dionysus or completely on accident – no matter how you tell it, she is either punished for her betrayal by betrayal, or in the best of circumstances, is the betrayer, straight up – but what was going on in Crete that made going against her father and her people the BETTER choice? We don’t know, not really. And that’s what makes them compelling as characters around which one could write a book, but otherwise…

These are hard women to love, and the goddesses are maybe even worse.

That said, Athena is a pretty strong and important character in my FATE OF THE GODS trilogy – but not because I love the goddess she is in the myths. For a goddess of Reason and Wisdom, she’s pretty unreasonable and vengeful a lot of the time in those stories. So if she’s known for being wise, why does she so often deviate from that character trait? It makes her a lot more complicated to work with. But in fiction, that’s never a bad thing!

5. What can we next expect from you?

More of the same! Book two of the FATE OF THE GODS trilogy, A FATE FORGOTTEN is coming, followed by the as-yet-untitled book three, with the distinct possibility of some bonus content in between.

And of course there is my blog, wherein people can keep abreast of what I’m working on lately. Usually the topics of my blogposts can point you directly toward what I’m currently writing, since the blog is where I put all my research for later reference.

***

After Adam fell, God made Eve to protect the world. — Adam has pursued Eve since the dawn of creation, intent on using her power to create a new world and make himself its God. Throughout history, Eve has thwarted him, determined to protect the world and all of creation. Unknown to her, the Norse god Thor has been sent by the Council of Gods to keep her from Adam’s influence, and more, to protect the interests of the gods themselves. But this time, Adam is after something more than just Eve’s power — he desires her too, body and soul, even if it means the destruction of the world. Eve cannot allow it, but as one generation melds into the next, she begins to wonder if Adam might be a man she could love.

Forged by Fate available now, from World Weaver Press!

Super Exciting News!

2013-03-07T17:10:00.001-09:00

So...

You guys know I love Kate Quinn's Rome series (some of my all-time favorite historical fiction!) and I can't wait for her upcoming novel on the Borgias. So imagine my excitement (not to mention the state of my nerves), when Kate agreed to read THE SECRET HISTORY.

And then something even cooler happened. She liked it!

“Stephanie Thornton’s Theodora is tough and intelligent, spitting defiance against the cruel world of the Byzantine Empire. Her rise from street urchin to emperor’s consort made me want to stand up and cheer. Her later years as empress are great fun to read, but it was her early struggle as actress and courtesan that really had me roaring: either with rage at the misfortunes heaped on this poor girl, or with delight as she once more picked herself up with a steely glint in her eye and kept on going.”—Kate Quinn, author of Empress of the Seven Hills

To celebrate, I'm giving away another ARC! Entries will be accepted here on my blog until Sunday, March 17th. (Because I'm officially now on Spring Break!) Just leave a comment and you're entered to win. (And yes, international readers are always welcome!)

Also, Svea Love won the first ARC giveaway from last week. Congrats Svea!

The ARC's of THE SECRET HISTORY Have Arrived!

2013-03-02T20:27:00.002-09:00

A rather large and exciting package was delivered yesterday while I was running on the treadmill. (And what a good excuse to stop running like a rat on a wheel!)

The ARC's of THE SECRET HISTORY!

Let there be much rejoicing throughout the kingdom! (Or at least my house.)

To celebrate, I'll be giving these away to lucky readers over the next few weeks. The first giveaway starts now and features a bit of shameless self-promotion...

I've been on Facebook for a while, but now I have a shiny new author page. It feels a bit lonely over there, so if you'd like a chance to win an ARC (or just want to make me feel friended), then head over and "Like" the new page. I'll choose a winner on Thursday from everyone on the list and that lucky person will get one of the first ARC's, hot off the press! (And remember, ARC's are uncorrected proofs, so there are a handful of typos along the way. Really, doesn't that just make things more fun?)

And there will be more giveaways in weeks to come! Hurray!

Mummies! (Of Usurpers, Head Wounds, & Old Dudes)

2013-02-24T19:31:00.004-09:00

I'm pretty much up to my eyeballs in ancient Egypt right now so I thought I'd post about my favorite Egyptian mummies, some of whom are familiar, and others not so much. (Also, I showed these to my six-year-old daughter. I think it says something that she only shrugs when I show her mummy pictures these days).

1. Hatshepsut: (Did you really expect someone else for #1?) Hatshepsut's mummy was recently "discovered" after a tooth found in a box marked with her name was matched up with a female mummy missing the exact same tooth. My favorite Egyptian was around fifty at the time she died, obese, and battling arthritis, bone tumors, and bad teeth. (Hey, it's not easy being pharaoh).

2. Seqenenre Tao II: This guy was the first to try to shove the vile Hyksos out of Egypt at the advent of the New Kingdom. He failed, but his sons finished the job, ushering in Egypt's Golden Age. Also, he presumably died on the battle field after taking an axe to the head. (His mummy is none too pretty, but the wounds are marked in the picture. Ouch.)

3. Ramesses II: Good old Ramesses II really was old when he died, right around 90ish years old. (He outlived many of his kids so it was actually his thirteenth son who succeeded him). His hair bears traces of henna and his mummy is in pretty amazing condition. However, in the 1970's, Egyptologists realized his mummy was deteriorating (it had an infestation of fungus) and flew it to Paris for conservation. FUN FACT: He was issued an Egyptian passport listing his occupation as "King (deceased)" and received in Paris with full military honors.

Amalia Dillin's Forged by Fate Cover Reveal!

2013-02-21T20:18:00.000-09:00

After Adam fell, God made Eve to protect the world...

I'm thrilled to get to show off the stunning new cover of one of my earliest writerly-friends and critique partners, Amalia Dillin. Yay!

After Adam fell, God made Eve to protect the world. — Adam has pursued Eve since the dawn of creation, intent on using her power to create a new world and make himself its God. Throughout history, Eve has thwarted him, determined to protect the world and all of creation. Unknown to her, the Norse god Thor has been sent by the Council of Gods to keep her from Adam’s influence, and more, to protect the interests of the gods themselves. But this time, Adam is after something more than just Eve’s power — he desires her too, body and soul, even if it means the destruction of the world. Eve cannot allow it, but as one generation melds into the next, she begins to wonder if Adam might be a man she could love.

You can check out Forged by Fate at Goodreads too!

Proof Pages

2013-02-11T20:04:00.000-09:00

I just received the proof pages for THE SECRET HISTORY in the mail today. This is my last chance to make any changes before the book goes to print, which is a little intimidating.

Also intimidating? That extremely large stack of paper sitting on my table. It's crazy to think that I wrote all that. (And not only that, but there are two more stacks just like that for DAUGHTER OF THE GODS and THE TIGER QUEENS).

I'll be honest--that stack of dead trees kind of makes me feel like some sort of mad scientist. (Only a word scientist, which doesn't make any sense, but whatever. It's been a long day so I can be a word scientist if I want).

So a recap of what I've done so far this year:

THE SECRET HISTORY: Final proof pages! (Not done yet, but they will be this week come hell or high water!)

DAUGHTER OF THE GODS: The initial revision for my amazing editor. I'll be honest--this one was a little tough because I've now read the novel roughly 21 times. I'm fully convinced that anyone who reads the same book 21 times is utterly insane.

THE TIGER QUEENS: Finished the first major overhaul of Part I. This is the messy edit on paper where I have to make sense of the disaster that is Rough Draft #1 when I doubt my sanity more than while re-reading a book 21 times.

Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I went to work, wrote my first grant proposal, did my civic jury via jury duty, and caught rare glimpses of my family. One thing I missed?

SLEEP.

But then, who needs sleep, right? *twitch*

So tell me... What have you been up to lately?

Some of My New Favorite Books

2013-02-03T19:46:00.000-09:00

I haven't had much time for reading this month, (colossal understatement: NO time whatsoever), what with two looming writing deadlines and a grant proposal that needs to be written (not to mention jury duty and other ~~torture~~ fun stuff). So I thought I'd dedicate this post to books I read last year, when I apparently had time to read. (And yanno, sleep and eat).

Best Ancient Historical Fiction

Empress of the Seven Hills by Kate Quinn

I love anything by Kate Quinn and enjoyed her latest romp through Rome with ex-gladiator Vix and spoiled Sabina. One of my favorite things about Quinn's novels is that I often end up rather attached to the secondary characters--everyone is terribly flawed and occasionally hilarious. This is one of those tear-through-the-pages novels full of non-stop action and drama!

Best "Modern" Historical Fiction

Hemingway's Girl by Erika Robuck

*whispers* I hate Ernest Hemingway's books. Okay, maybe that's not true as I've only ever read Old Man and the Sea, but I'm pretty sure I'd rather be stuck on that fishing boat with Santiago than ever have to read that book again. However...

I apparently love reading about Ernest Hemingway. While I doubt I would have liked the man in the flesh, he's a pretty phenomenal character to read about, and Robuck brings him to life in this novel.

Favorite Historical Saga

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

(Yes, I'm totally cheating with the categories so I can list multiple historical novels, but it's my list. I can do whatever I want.) This book about four very different women during the Masada seige during ancient Roman is simply stunning. This is not the kind of rip-through-the-pages novel waiting to be devoured in a couple nights, but one you savor for as long as possible. (Part of that also might be because it's like reading about Titanic: you know tragedy is on the horizon).

Favorite Non-Fiction

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie

This biography kept the pace of a novel and made me want to both cheer and slap Catherine several times. A sort-of Russian Cleopatra, I think Catherine the Great is better known for her many lovers than she is for the coup in which she swiped the throne from her (incompetent) husband (who liked to play with dolls). She was also pen pals with Voltaire which brings me to my next category...

Best Really Old Novel

Candide by Voltaire

I've told you all before that I love Voltaire because he can still make me laugh even though he's been moldering in his grave for over 200 years. And seriously, Candide has it all: fair maidens turned to harpies, a trip to Eldorado (where women have *relations* with monkeys), shipwrecks & volcanoes AND several characters who seriously refuse to die. It's like watching Days of Our Lives (is that even still on?), but during the Enlightenment.

So those are some of the best of the best. Now let's hope things calm down soon--my TBR pile is probably taller than my daughter right now!

Gouge My Eyes Out With a Sewing Needle

2013-01-21T20:21:00.003-09:00

A woman should never learn to sew,

and if she can she should never admit to it.

--Katherine Clifton, The English Patient

I despise sewing. And in the midst of editing DAUGHTER OF THE GODS, I realized something else.

All my female protagonists hate sewing. Not just sewing--knitting, spinning, carding, embroidering... If it involves some sort of thread or material to be made into clothes, they hate it.

Part of this is surely due to my inherent distaste for sewing. I've tried knitting and cross-stitch and both made me want to gouge my eyes out. (Although I have family members who are excellent seamstresses who never fail to impress me with their prowess with a sewing machine). I can sew a button on one of my daughter's shirts, but that's the end of my expertise, and even that almost sends me into epileptic fits.

Yet, I think there's also a part of me that wants my heroines to buck the trend of history. Throughout the ages, most societies expected women to be able to sew. Instead, my leading ladies are sassy (sometimes snarky) women who speak multiple languages, read, write, hunt, study medicine, race horses, and take to the stage. Maybe it would be more historically accurate if they also sewed, but I don't care.

After all, well-behaved women rarely make history, right?

Hatshepsut's Temple at Deir el-Bahri

2013-01-14T16:36:00.002-09:00

I was planning to post last night about my favorite books from 2012, but then a nasty cold bug tried to take me down. Today was an ice day (no school!) so I figured some ~~procrastinating work on my latest revision~~ desk organization was in order. Guess what I found?!

A CD of pictures from my 2005 trip to Egypt!

I thought these were long gone, well, actually, locked on the old laptop with the fried hard drive. But no! So, yes, today's post is kind of like when you get dragged to someone's house to see their vacation slideshow, except this one has a history lesson too!

(You know that sounds riveting. Just nod and smile.)

So, without further ado, here's a trip back in time to Hatshepsut's Temple at Deir el-Bahri, right next door to the Valley of the Kings.

When I'm dictator of the world, I plan to sweep other tourists out of the way for my cool historical pictures. You've been warned.

Hatshepsut was Pharaoh during the New Kingdom (16th-11th c. BCE), often referred to as Egypt's Golden Age. As had many pharaohs before her, she left a trail of monuments to herself scattered about the country, the greatest of which was her mortuary temple at modern Deir el-Bahri, but called Djeser-djeseru (translated as Holiest of Holies) in her time. The temple fell into ruin in antiquity and has been rebuilt in modern times by a Polish archaeological expedition. (All of whom deserve rides on unicorns and cupcakes for life for reassembling this giant jigsaw puzzle).

Hatshepsut covered the walls of her limestone temple with scenes of offerings to the gods, the story of her divine birth (it's excellent propaganda to be the daughter of a god), and depictions of her general awesomeness (including her expedition to the mythical land of Punt, the photos of which seem to have disappeared from my file).

Yes, those are the original paints. Did I mention they're roughly 3,500 years old?

Her stepson, Tutmose, making an offering to the falcon god Horus.

I know it's really hard to see, but if you squint you can make out Hatshepsut's mom being led to the birthing chamber to have little-Hat. And that bump that looks like she ate too much for dinner? Her 9-month pregnant belly. (The ancient Egyptians were big into body image).

So the old history books used to say that after her death, Hatshepsut's stepson took out his revenge against her (she kind of swiped his throne) by destroying all her images and temples. This doesn't really seem to be the case anymore, as most of the destruction took place at the end of his reign (if he was angry, why wait so long?) and only the images of Hatshepsut as pharaoh were erased. The new version is that Tutmose wanted to erase the aberration of a woman ruling from the history books--Hatshepsut as daughter, wife and step-mother to three separate pharaohs was fine, but she couldn't possibly be Pharaoh herself.

A pit was found near Deir el-Bahri containing destroyed statues of Hatshepsut (and also depictions of her possible lover, Senenmut), but those dedicated Polish archaeologists have lovingly pieced back together all those statues and put them in their original spots at the forefront of Hatshepsut's temple.

Right where they belong.

Postcards from Hawaii

2013-01-06T20:10:00.000-09:00

I just returned from a terribly relaxing week on Kauai where I did a lot of sitting in the sun and not much else. (Although in case my editor or agent are reading, I did a ton of editing on the planes!) As my 2012-Year-In-Review post isn't quite ready (blame the two hours of lecture notes I had to take yesterday), I thought we could all ooh and ahh over pretty Hawaii pictures instead.

I have a tendency to kill orchids, so I was pretty impressed by this one growing off a tree.

A chenille plant. I've killed several of these in Alaska--I guess they like Hawaii better.

Kauai is covered with chickens and roosters. Apparently they flew the coop (ha!) during Hurricane Iniki and have since multiplied and gone wild. This one liked Subway sandwiches.

A gorgeous offering left behind at the Queen's Falls on the Wailua River.

The teensy-tiny gecko I tricked into jumping on my hand. His name is Willard. (And yes, I almost brought him home, but thought it would be cruel to transplant him to a house in Alaska. With two cats.)

I'm pretty much thinking I should be a professional traveler/beach-bum. If anyone knows of an available gig, feel free to send my references.

(And on an unrelated side note, my daughter became obsessed with She-Ra on the trip and can now recite almost full episodes by memory. For the honor of Gray-Skull! She-Ra, She-Ra!)

What about you? Any cool trips on your agenda?

The Secret History Cover Reveal!

2012-12-21T20:41:00.001-09:00

I've been sitting on this for what feels like forever, but it's finally time for the big cover reveal of The Secret History!

(Think of this as an early Christmas present. Now you can't say I didn't get you anything.)

And so, without further ado...

*swoon*

When I first saw this I pretty much grinned like an idiot for the rest of the day. I absolutely love it! And I think Theodora would approve of sharing the space with the Hagia Sophia and the Ravenna mosaics.

(And now for the shameless plug--feel free to add The Secret History to your shelf on Goodreads if you haven't already!)

Merry Christmas everyone! May your holidays be filled with happiness, peace, and wonderful memories!

Live and Love

2012-12-17T19:04:00.002-09:00

Like so many, I have no words to express my sorrow at Friday's tragedy in Connecticut. I read the stories and stare at pictures of angelic faces through bleary eyes, and ask, "Why?"

There are no answers. Instead, there are only families bereft as the holidays approach. I cannot fathom their pain, and wish it was possible to turn back time, to give them another day, even another hour with the loved ones they have lost.

Shelli Johannes Welles and Miral Sattar have organized a week-long auction at Publishing Hearts Connecticut to help the families and victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. A variety of agents, editors, and authors have donated an impressive list of books, critiques, cover art, and much more to raise money for the Newtown Youth & Family Services.

I'm donating a 50 page manuscript critique and an ARC of The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora.

There's so little we can do, except to send our thoughts and prayers to those grieving families, hug our loved ones a little tighter, and appreciate the precious moments of everyday life.

Live and love. After all, those are really the only things that matter.

Historical Holiday Blog Hop Giveaway!

2012-12-09T17:57:00.001-09:00

The marvelous Amy at Passages to the Past is hosting what may be my all-time favorite blog hop. A whole slew of bloggers are offering up historical fiction giveaways, and Amy has compiled some terribly drool-worthy grand prize packages.

*wipes drool off chin*

Oh yeah, and one of the packages just might include a signed ARC of THE SECRET HISTORY: A NOVEL OF EMPRESS THEODORA! My first ARC giveaway! Go enter now--this post will still be here when you get back!

I had to join in the fun so to celebrate I'm giving away one brand-new mass market copy of Kate Quinn's MISTRESS OF ROME. Aside from Diana Gabaldon, I can't think of any other historical novels that have been so popular to make a mass market printing. (And yes, I'm sure there are some, but I've been grading research papers so my brain could pass for a bowl of shredded wheat right now. Blecch).

I so love this book. A mass market printing makes for more people reading one of my favorite novels about ancient history, and that makes me beyond happy.

In order to enter, just leave your name in the comment section below. The contest is open internationally and runs until 11:59PM Alaska Standard Time on Sunday, December 17th.

Good luck!

(Also, I asked my daughter to pick a number between one and eight for THE EMPEROR'S CONSPIRACY giveaway and she chose lucky number 7. Julie Dao, your book is on its way! Hurray!)

The Emperor's Conspiracy Giveaway!

2012-12-02T19:22:00.001-09:00

My agent-sister, Michelle Diener, is celebrating the release of her third novel, THE EMPEROR'S CONSPIRACY!

Can I tell you how much I love that cover?

Rather than just throw around cyber-confetti, I thought it might be fun to offer a copy of her book to one lucky commenter. Leave a comment below and you'll be automatically entered--I'll announce the winter next Sunday!

Synopsis from the publisher: Chance led to Charlotte Raven’s transformation from chimney sweep to wealthy, educated noblewoman, but she still walks a delicate tightrope between two worlds, unable to turn her back on the ruthless crime lord who was once her childhood protector.

When Lord Edward Durnham is tapped to solve the mystery of England’s rapidly disappearing gold, his search leads him to the stews of London, and Charlotte becomes his intriguing guide to the city’s dark, forbidding underworld. But as her involvement brings Charlotte to the attention of men who have no qualms about who they hurt, and as Edward forges a grudging alliance with the dangerous ghosts of Charlotte’s former life, she faces a choice: to continue living in limbo, or to close the door on the past and risk her heart and her happiness on an unpredictable future.

Dead People at Dinner

2012-11-25T20:36:00.000-09:00

I've recently been reading a number of works by Voltaire (Candide is absolutely hilarious if you're in the mood for an Enlightenment era soap opera) and really wish the famous philosophe was still alive so I could invite him to dinner. So that got me thinking about who I would invite to my ideal dinner party of old dead people.

(Because yes, this is what I spend my free time thinking about).

So here's my list of famous dead people (would they technically be zombies?) that I'd like to pop open a bottle of wine and share a plate of coq a vin with. (And because you all know I'm obsessed with Theodora and Hatshepsut, I've left them off the list, but if I ever invent a time machine they're at the top of my list of people to stalk. In fact, I've restricted anyone from ancient Egypt, the Byzantine Empire, or the Mongol Empire from being invited. *sigh*)

1. Voltaire- As I said, this guy was incredibly funny, (he makes my students and me laugh out loud, which is pretty impressive considering he's been dead for over 200 years) with a biting wit that meant I'd have hated to be on his bad side. Just ask Liebniz and everyone else he lambasted in Candide. Oh yeah, and he had all sorts of great ideas on social reform.

2. Theodore Roosevelt- I'm not kidding when I say I've pretty much gotten as close to stalking this dead president as I possibly can. (My students think it's creepy that I've been to his grave). Any man who can survive being shot and still give an hour long speech (while bleeding!) is pretty freaking awesome. Not to mention other cool stuff like building the Panama Canal, charting Rio Roosevelt in Brazil, and being the first Progressive President. (You know, stuff we all do in our free time).

3. Leonardo da Vinci- Because really, you'd have to be living under a rock the past 500 years to not want to meet him. I could spend hours just talking to Leo about his sketches, especially the giant crossbow (we're talking GIANT here people--27 yards across!) and his flying machine.

4. Catherine the Great- I've pretty much been obsessed with Catherine since I read her new biography by Robert Massi. The woman got the short end of the stick of life with her poxy-liked-to-play-with-dolls husband, Peter III, but things worked out pretty well once she seized the throne and he kicked the bucket. (Because her lover's brother killed him). And really, who wouldn't want to talk to one of the only women known as an "enlightened despot?"

5. Caligula- Two reasons to invite Caligula: He was born on my birthday (or vice versa) and he was crazy. If Catherine, Roosevelt, and Voltaire spent too long discussing how to improve the plight of man (all three were sort of progressive that way) and da Vinci started doodling, I could rely on Caligula to pull out his sword and make things interesting. Who wouldn't want a madman at their dinner party?

So that's my guest list. There are a number of other interesting humans I could have chosen--Jesus, Frederick II, Lucrezia Borgia--but that's my list and I'm sticking to it.

So... who would you invite to your dinner party?

Crash Course: How and Why We Read

2012-11-18T19:43:00.000-09:00

I'm not sure if any of you have seen John Green's Crash Course:World History on YouTube, but seriously, you need to. I actually discovered this nifty (and obscenely addictive) series this year when a student told me Green reminded her of me lecturing, except with a lot more bells and whistles. (Because Henry VIII puppet shows and stick figure doodles aren't high tech, I guess).

Here's a couple of my favorites episodes:

1. The Mongols (Cue the Mongol montage!)

2. The Columbian Exchange (Butterflies on llamas=hilarious!)

And as of this week, there's a new series on English Literature, kicking off with a pretty great episode on why we all read. (Because it's awesome, that's why).

So without further ado, I bring you John Green with "How & Why We Read..."

Sneak Peek: The Tiger Queens

2012-11-11T19:12:00.000-09:00

I've been tagged by Judith Starkston and Taryn Tyler for The Next Big Thing blog hop. (Thanks, ladies!) As this is a great excuse to procrastinate writing the last scenes of my WIP, I've happily agreed to play along.

What is your working title of your book?

My WIP is called THE TIGER QUEENS.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was almost done writing THE SECRET HISTORY when browsing through Costco. Jack Weatherford's book THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE MONGOL QUEENS caught my eye, and I picked it up on impulse. Later that month, a teacher left a pile of free books at work. One of them was Weatherford's GENGHIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD. Sometimes the stars just align--I knew I had to write a novel about the Great Khan's women. (Not to mention it's totally random that the primary sources for both Theodora's life and Genghis' women are called "The Secret History.")

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Khulan Chuluun played Borte in the movie "Mongol," but I think she'd make a great Alaqai Beki.

Lyndsey Marshal played Cleopatra in HBO's "Rome" and could easily become Fatima, the Persian slave who eventually rises to power.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

The death of Genghis Khan will launch four women--seer, warrior, slave, and mother--into a battle for the ultimate prize: control of the greatest empire the world has ever known.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

TIGER QUEENS is represented by Stringer Literary Agency and has been purchased by NAL/Penguin. It will hit the shelves sometime after next winter's release of DAUGHTER OF THE GODS.

How long did it take to write the first draft of the manuscript?
The first draft should wrap up by the end of this month. That puts me at six months.

What other books would you compare this to in your genre?
Surprisingly, there's not many books out there about Genghis Khan. Format-wise, it will likely be similar to Alice Hoffman's THE DOVEKEEPERS.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I'm always on the look-out for forgotten or maligned women in history. Sadly, the amazing women in this book fit both of those categories.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
Wrestling contests, horse races, fermented mare's milk, torture, prophesies of doom and redemption... and the Mongols bent on world domination. Life in the Mongol Empire was never dull!

Now I'm supposed to nominate five other authors, but as most writers I know are currently immersed in the NaNo writing marathon, I'm going to say anyone who wants to play can consider themselves tagged.

What about you? What's the scoop on your WIP? Got anything to rival fermented mare's milk? (Blecch!)

History's Greatest Female Rulers

2012-11-04T20:17:00.000-09:00

I was walking down the hallway behind one of my former students the other day, listening as he talked to his friend about Queen Elizabeth.

(Never mind how excited I was to hear students discussing history in the halls when they could be talking about the Avengers, whether to have McDonald's or Carls Jr. for lunch, or their friend's latest Facebook status).

"Queen Elizabeth was important," he said, "because she was the first great female ruler in history."

I literally had to bite my tongue.

I almost lambasted this young man with a tirade on history's amazing female leaders, but decided to save the poor soul what promised to be a very long lecture. (Never say I wouldn't make a benevolent dictator). Instead, I let him continue on his merry way while expounding on Elizabeth's many virtues.

However, not launching into a speech then means that you all have to endure it now. (Cue the evil laugh). I'll make it easy--here's my top ten list!

(Note: This is my very own non-scientific list, and yes, some of these ladies moved up just because I like them more. So sue me.)

1. Hatshepsut (Ancient Egypt)
2. Theodora (Byzantine Empire)

I'll be honest--Hatshepsut and Theodora are really a tie, but I've loved Hatshepsut since 7th grade so she gets to be #1.

3. Elizabeth I (England)
4. Catherine the Great (Russia)
5. Isabella of Castile (Spain)
6. Sorkhokhtani (Mongolia)
7. Boudicca (England)
8. Wu Zetian (China)
9. Maria Theresa (Austria)
10. Eleanor of Aquitaine (France)

There you have it! And yes, I'm well aware Queen Victoria isn't on the list, but honestly, she lost points because I already had two Britons on the list. Not to mention she's only been dead 111 years--I'm an ancient history kind of gal.

Is there anyone I've missed? Or anyone you'd move around the ranks? And on a side note, if anyone has any book recommendations (fiction or non) on these women, feel free to leave them in the comments!

A Book For a Baby

2012-10-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

I'm thrilled to have the amazing Natalie Bahm here to discuss her amazing new MG book, The Secret Underground. As some of you know, Natalie is donating all the profits of this book to a wonderful little boy and his family...

A few years ago, I wrote a middle grade adventure called The Secret Underground. It’s about a group of kids who dig a tunnel to an abandoned steel mill. There’s danger and fun and friendship and a few scary bank robbers (think Goonies). It’s always been really special to me because it was the first book I finished that I was really proud of.

About a month ago, The Secret Underground was finally released. All of the profits will go to a sick baby named Jayden and his family.

Jayden is a sweet two-year-old with major health problems. He's the same age as my youngest child, but he’s only half his size. Jayden struggles to put on weight and is constantly in the hospital because he has no reserves when he gets sick. He’s been near death more than once, but has shown that he’ll fight to hang on.

His family has been through so much. Along with the stress and anxiety of dealing with Jayden's condition, they're also struggling financially, due to the massive burden of caring for a chronically ill child.

Jayden’s grandmother is my critique partner. When she told me about the trials that Jayden and his family were facing, I knew I needed to do something to help. I called up agent, Sara Megibow, and asked if we could do a book for him. She thought it was wonderful idea, so with the support of Nelson Literary Agency, we published The Secret Underground.

You can read more about the project and Jayden here. The paperback version of The Secret Underground is available on Amazon (and should be available at most other online retailers soon). The eBook can be purchased just about anywhere eBooks are sold. The audiobook is available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. The paperback will be in more online bookstores soon.

The Ascent of Historical Fiction

2012-10-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

I am in the happy position of writing a genre that is currently on the upswing. I remember going into the bookstore fifteen years ago and combing the shelves, scanning for covers of ancient Egyptians, Victorian ladies with tiny waists and ridiculous hats, and English kings and queens dead these past 500 years.

The pickings were slim. In fact, during my high school years I had to resort to the romance section. (Now there's nothing wrong with romance novels, but it's a little odd to find a fifteen-year old reading bodice rippers). I picked up a fair bit about medieval Scotland and Regency England during those years--two popular settings in the novels I read. I also managed a few Danielle Steel novels, learning about the fall of the Romanov dynasty from the pages of Zoya.

I devoured Margaret George's early novels--The Autobiography of Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles, and Memoirs of Cleopatra. Then The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden came out, both in 1997. I'm not claiming these two books started a movement, but both were wildly popular bestsellers. And both were historical fiction--set in early Judea and WWII-era Japan--that told lush stories about brave young women.

I read them, and re-read them. Shortly thereafter, I started to notice that every time I went into the bookstore there was at least one new (and sometimes more) historical novel on the shelves. Now, instead of feeling like I've discovered buried treasure to find a book on Cleopatra or Anne Boleyn, I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum, setting popular characters aside and forced to decide between novels about Roman gladiators and slave girls (like Kate Quinn's Mistress of Rome) and Isabella of Spain (like C.W. Gortner's The Queen's Vow). I recently had to buy a new set of book shelves to accommodate my historical fiction collection.

This is a good problem to have. A very good problem indeed. And should the historical fiction market suddenly crash, I'm quite certain I have enough unread novels to last me at least a few years.

So tell me: do you write/read a genre on the upswing? Or are your favorite reads getting harder to come by? What would you like to see more of in the book stores?