Cleopatra's daughter, Selene, and her famous Mom, Cleopatra VII

The Official Cover of Anubis Speaks!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:18:00 +0000

Isn't if fab? Isn't it fun? I just love the cover--illustrated by Antoine Revoy--for my upcoming book, Anubis Speaks!, which releases this October from Boyds Mills Press. The crafty canine-headed dog takes the middle-grade reader through the twelve hours of darkness (or, has he puts it, the twelve "Caverns of Misery") that Ra must travel through in his dangerous journey to be reborn as the sun every morning. Full of mayhem and monsters, it's a fun way to learn about the ancient Egyptian afterworld and death practices.

On the cover, Anubis's slightly cagey look, along with his very sharp teeth, perfectly capture Anubis's voice throughout the book--snarky and dangerous. You know what else is cool? The book was mentioned in the Publisher's Weekly rap-up of BEA as one of the "notable" nonfiction books of the season. Woohoo!

Go Anubis, you sly dog, you.

I have a couple of ARCs to share for any school or youth services librarian who would like a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Any takers?

Let me know!

Kids Ask the Darndest Things--Over Skype

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:21:00 +0000

A pic of my screen as we said goodbye...

The students at Star Prep Academy in California asked so many great questions about my books on Cleopatra (both the biography and novel), I found myself occasionally taken aback. I mean, how do you respond to a young reader who asks what in MY life informed the way I wrote about Cleopatra Selene's relationship with her MOM?

Whoa. A future psychoanalyst in training.

Other great questions included why I chose to write about a character in history (Selene) that historians actually know so little about; why it was so important to show the power of Rome throughout the novel; and what I thought about the editing process.

I love talking to kids about history and writing and the fact that I was in Atlanta and the Star Prep students were in Culver City, California, made it all the cooler that we could have these conversations. A big thank you to teacher Hannah Ruth Wilde for setting the visit up.

Skype has definitely changed the game. So teachers, if you want me to talk to your students but can't bring me out to your classroom, let's do it over Skype!

Roman Funerary Rites for our Fish, Aeneas: a Pictorial

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:26:00 +0000

Aeneas the brave betta lived a heroic life

drifting aimlessly in circles.

But alas, as all mortals must, he went belly up.

So we set him ablaze to release his shade unto Hades's domain.

To honor him, we held gladiatorial games

(see the crossed knife swords?).

The victor pulled an Odysseus and took

out his opponent's eye.

A live-action look at the

heroic fight to the death:

AVE ATQUE VALE AENEAS!

Book Giveaway! Forged by Fate

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:32:00 +0000

Last week, the author of Forged by Fate shared how she came to the characterization of biblical Eve in the first novel of her historical fantasy. And I forgot to include that she is graciously offering a signed copy for a giveaway to those who leave a comment. So. Better late than never. Leave a comment here and you could win a signed copy of the paperback of FORGED BY FATE. What are you waiting for? Comment away! You've got until June 1.

Eve Re-imagined in a Mind-Blowing Way in FORGED BY FATE

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Take biblical characters like Eve. And Adam. And Lilith. Throw in all of the gods of the ancient world. Mix well and what have you got?
      A fascinating re-imagining of biblical Eve in a world where ALL the ancient gods exist and where they are constantly negotiating ways of maintaining their territorial holds and, basically, not annihilating each other. A world where Eve is determined to save the world after Adam falls. A world where Adam is unpredictable and often, quite frightening.
      Intrigued? You should be. Forged by Fate by Amalia Dillin, is the first in a fascinating fantasy/alternate history trilogy that brings together some of your favorite gods from the ancient world. My favorite is Thor, the Nordic God of Thunder. Dillin re-imagines him as a complex god, torn by duty, and not just an anvil-spinning hot-head.
      Dillin weaves several story lines--as well as several epochs--together into a fascinating re-imagining of familiar biblical characters and ancient gods. My only complaint is the cover--I don't think it does the story justice. It looks too much like bodice-ripper, which it is not. It is an intelligent, well-researched foray into alternate biblical history with a compelling story line.
      I found Eve's re-imagining particularly fascinating and asked the author if she would share with us her process for developing Eve's character. Here is her response:

The Evolution of Eve

It always seemed to me that Eve was getting an unreasonably large share of the blame for the fall of man. I think that’s what it all comes down to, really, and like so many other women in history, misunderstood or villainized to make men look better, I wanted to believe better of her. I wanted to give her a reason for taking the actions she took, beyond just a certain level of gullibility.

Because, let’s face it. Adam and Eve were both pretty naive before they ate the Fruit. God had told them “No,” but they were practically just children, and it always seemed to me that they didn’t really understanding right or wrong or any of those kinds of subtleties. As unsupervised innocents, they would have been easy pickings for the serpent. And what child doesn’t like to test the limits of their parent? Isn’t that part of growing up? Part of coming into adulthood and reaching independence?

Thor in Forged by Fate: Complex and Fascinating.

In some traditions, Eve has been lumped in with this idea of deliberate deception. But it seems to me that neither Adam nor Eve were really capable of that kind of behavior before they ate of the Fruit. It’s far more likely and understandable that Eve was being used by the serpent. Maybe to get back at God for whatever reason. Maybe just because he wanted to inject a little mayhem into God’s ordered world. Maybe to test his own limits, and his own skills.

But even that wasn’t really a satisfactory enough answer to me. It seemed like just another way in which agency is taken from women. Another justification for keeping them under the control of men in a patriarchal world. A cautionary idea of: “See what happens when you let a woman think for herself?” The first woman, the greatest pioneer of them all, she had to be more than that. More than a tool, more than a prop, more than an easy excuse for men to remain blameless.

So what if Eve had agency? What if she understood what she was doing, and all the ramifications, all the consequences? And what if, even knowing all that, eating the Fruit was still necessary? What if what was happening around her compelled her to consider that option and make that choice, eyes wide open and heartsick?

And what if it is was a sacrifice, rather than a sin?

You’ll have to read Forged by Fate to find out!

About the author: Amalia Dillin began as a Biology major before taking Latin and falling in love with old heroes and older gods. After that, she couldn't stop writing about them, with the occasional break for more contemporary subjects. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, and dreams of the day when she will own goats--to pull her chariot through the sky, of course. The first novel in her FATE OF THE GODS trilogy, FORGED BY FATE is available now, in paperback and ebook. You can find more information on her website, www.amaliadillin.com.

Purchase Forged by Fate at your local independent bookstore (find the closest one to you here), or at B&N or Amazon.

Body Image and the Ancient World

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:42:00 +0000

My awesome brother, Michael Alvear, just released a book called Not Tonight Dear, I Feel Fat (Source Books). How he ended up writing a book like this is a story in itself--it all started with a sex advice column that led to a British TV Show, to HBO airplay of said show, to appearances on The Tyra Banks Show, and to a firm belief that anything that stops people from fully enjoying themselves in the bedroom needs to change.
And whether he was working on the TV show or answering letters, he discovered that the issue that came up with distressing frequency from women was how being self-conscious (or critical) about their bodies (no matter their size) got in the way of their sexual expression.

Aphrodite: baby got back in the ancient world...

     Not Tonight Dear is a fresh look at overcoming the problem of body consciousness, particularly in the bedroom. It's a fascinating read--both for women who struggle with body issues and for the partners who sometimes feel rejected because of their woman's inner struggles. So, um, order it (link above).

     But, of course, the topic got me thinking about body image in general and how it changes by culture and era.

     Throughout most of history and in most cultures, a curvaceous, well-rounded female form was the ideal. Why? Because a little bit o' meat on dem bones meant the woman was healthy (and possibly wealthy), strong, and more likely to successfully have and nurse children.

Venus, paragon of ancient hotness: "Thigh-gap--what's that?"

      A skin-and-bones form, to the ancient thinker, likely meant that the gal was either ill, starving, or poor. Ill, starving or poor was not, in general, considered very "sexy."

     Until modern times, that is. Today, a super-thin body--on a woman especially--is considered the height of attractiveness and "class." Ironically, in most of today's western countries, the thin are the wealthy and elite, while the overweight are often considered "lower-class" or poor.
     The ancients would've been thoroughly confused by the modern preoccupation with ultra-thinness for women. That's not to say that the ancients preferred overweight women--only that they appreciated the roundness of the female form.
     Harry Turtledove and Judith Tarr's novel, Household Gods, does an excellent job of showing this dichotomy in the story of a modern woman who ends up time traveling to ancient Rome. Very quickly, her hard-scrabble life forces her to become very thin--and hungry. So what happens? She stares with envy at the rounder, dimple-cheeked wealthy women she sees at the baths--the kind of figure she used to have.
     Yeah. What goes around, comes around. Seriously, check out my bro's book!

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:12:00 +0000

On Passion and Librarians

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Me, Laura and Heather at the Alabama Library Association.

Last week, I had the honor of speaking on a young adult panel at the annual convention of the Alabama Library Association. Seriously, you guys--a whole room full of book-loving librarians? Died and went to heaven.

Authors Heather Montgomery and Laura Golden joined me on the panel. It became evident pretty quickly that although we write vastly different types of books (Heather writes nature and science books and Laura writes mid-grade fiction), the three of us gravitated toward a single message: passion is the key to connecting with kid readers. Once each of us got to talkin' about our favorite subjects, we were fairly hopping with energy. Our writing reflects this excitement and kids feel it when we present at schools.

We were, of course, preaching to the choir, but still. It was a terrific session. And then I discovered that the entire time I was speaking, my name tag was upside down. Before the program began, I was speaking with someone when I slapped the "speaker" ribbon on my name tag and didn't notice I'd slapped it on the wrong end. Typical.

After the presentation, my good friend @AshParso took me on a tour of Montgomery. And friends, she does not play. If I lingered over anything I found fascinating at the Alabama archives or museums, girlfriend all but snapped a whip to keep me moving.

Still, I was able to take some pictures of some fascinating things. My favorite is this photo of Coretta Scott King at MLK's funeral. This little picture doesn't capture the beauty and intensity of this shot--breathtaking.

I also loved seeing Zelda Fitzgerald's fainting couch. Seriously, I want a fainting couch of my very own so badly, I actually feel a swoon coming on.

Our last stop was the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts inside the Alabama Shakespeare Festival compound. Such beautiful property and a wonderful museum. I was very impressed with the kid's section of the museum, especially the way they turned James Hopper's New York Office paintings into a 3-D interactive set. Very cool.


The painting, which hangs in the galleries.


The 3-D interactive recreation of the painting in the kid's section of the museum.

All in all,
it was a great visit. I hope I get to present at more ALA conferences because it was just plain awesome.

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:09:00 +0000

Today's Theme: Puns

The Metropolitan Museum, Anubis and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:41:00 +0000

I really can't believe that I forgot to post about this but my wonderful editor at Boyds Mill Press, Larry Rosler, got Dr. Janice Kamrin, associate curator of the Egyptian Galleries at THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART to vett my upcoming Anubis book.

(And yes, I know putting things in all caps is the equivalent of yelling, but seriously, that needed to be yelled because, uhm, THE MET!).

So yeah. That happened. She told my editor that she really enjoyed Anubis Speaks! and that the research I'd put into it really showed. Squeeeee!

Now I have fantasies of walking into the Metropolitan Museum and finding my book there. Swooooon. There's no guarantee, but still. A gal can dream.

I know one thing--it would make Anubis himself very happy. You can tell by that delicious grin reflected in the Tut mask via fab illustrator Antoine Revoy.

I seriously cannot wait for this book to come out. October--just around the corner!

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:28:00 +0000

Have I Mentioned how Much I love the JCL?

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:37:00 +0000

Note: I learned about the Boston Marathon bombing while in a Houston airport gift shop after attending the Texas Junior Classical League state convention and a local school visit. My heart sunk so low, it's been hard to think about much of anything else since. At the same time, it seemed wrong to ignore all those wonderful moments of warmth, humanity and connection from the JCL event to focus on one terrible act of inhumanity. So, I decided to write the recap anyway.

More than 2,000 Latin students, teachers and chaperones descended on a Texas high school outside of Dallas for the state JCL convention this past weekend. All I can say is--What. A. Trip.

Honestly, I don't know how the folks who put on these conventions do it--it seems like everyone is going full out from early in the morning until way past midnight. And that's just the kids. The teachers put in way more time.

Lots of kids liked recreating C's double-headed ax.

Friday night, I helped judge the couples costume contest--kids dressed as Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. We judged them not just on the artistry of the costumes, but on how well they knew the story and how well they reflected their knowledge of ancient dress. Some highlights:

- One Clytemnestra had her hair coiffed into an intricate net covering her neck and shoulders as a symbol for the net that she would throw over her daughter-killing, cheating husband as she slaughtered him in the bath.

- Another student sewed a net to the inside of her crimson Agamemnon cape, which served as a shadowy foretelling of how he would die.

- Fake blood. Lots and lots of fake blood. On everyone.

- One student wove a tree branch into the back of her peplos, from which hung small dolls of black-robed furies. Why? Because Clytemnestra's actions would cause the furies to haunt her and son's life for ever after.

The winners--Adam and Eliot. Wish they'd had their sandals on for his shot!

- The two young men who won blew us away with their research on both the play and the costumes. The Agamemnon character hand sewed a cuirass in pleather and Clytemnestra's getup was no less ornate, with intricipate borders on both the peplos and epiblema (shawl), which he had drawn over his head. Both characters wore masks they had made and painted and talked through them, much like Greek actors would. The young men even hand-sewed their sandals--a more utilitarian one for the king, and a more ornate one for the queen. The cumulative effect of their masks, costumes and detailed retelling of the tragedy was eerie and disconcerting. They were awesome.

Students after the workshop--holding up my book!

On Saturday, I gave two workshops. The first one, LOVE, LIES AND PROPAGANDA--on Cleopatra and her love life--was well attended. All the seats were taken and folks sat on the floor in the back and in corners of the room.

Catapults--I wanted to watch.

The second workshop--ON POMPEII* (or, more accurately, WHY WHAT YOUR TEXTBOOKS SAY ABOUT POMPEII IS WRONG)--I expected to be less well attended. After all, my workshop was competing against the talent show AND the catapult demonstrations (I hated missing those!). To my surprise, that workshop was also packed with lots of folks in the back and on the floor. I enjoyed the lively question and answer session that followed both workshops.

Fire drill at Atascocita High School outside Houston,

On Sunday, I traveled back to Houston with Magistra Jennings and on Monday, I visited her school to talk with Latin, theater and writing students. Having all three groups together for each presentation was something I hadn't expected and I found that I could easily bridge the gap between subjects by discussing a) how Roman propagandists shaped our perception of Cleopatra (Latin/history students), b) how going beneath the propaganda and creating an emotional subtext for action helps deepen a character (theater/writing), c) and how, while doing research, you have to seek out multiple sources supporting your claim (research skills).

With Shawn Jennings and some of her awesome students.

Right in the middle of my second presentation, the fire alarm went off and the entire school had to evacuate. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and we were right back to it within minutes.

It was a wonderful school visit and I want to extend a special thank you to Shawn Jennings for inviting me out to speak at the state convention and giving me the opportunity to speak to her students as well.

I hope I get the chance to go to another JCL event soon because they are so invigorating and SO. MUCH. FUN.

*My next YA novel is set in Pompeii; I shared some of the surprising things I learned about the city in my research.

Help Me Pick My Next Author Photo!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:56:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, the uber-talented Vania and I headed to Emory University and to the Carlos Museum to shoot an updated author photo. However, I've been so slammed with rewrites, revisions and research, I haven't had a chance to select the one I want to use. Plus, I can't decide.

The photo won't be used in books (for whatever reason, none of my books include an author photo) but an author pic is often requested when I am speaking at a book festival or event.
So, if you would, let me know which one you like best:

These next two aren't really in contention because, although it was fun to pose in front of the statue, it'd end up being cropped out anyway. Still, they make me happy:

(I love the statue but it looks like he's holding my head up by a string...)

(I love this because instead of an "upskirt" shot, it's an "up-fig-leaf" shot [made ya look],

which gives me the giggles.)

Which photo would you pick???????

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:39:00 +0000

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:52:00 +0000

In honor of seeing the cover of Anubis Speaks! (due out this October)--which is really, really awesome but I can't show you because it's not final yet--I decided to focus on Anubis and Egyptian funnies. Check out more at: http://serverustare.deviantart.com/#.

And, in honor of Passover...

Ancient Fun Fact: The Pharaoh was the "King Bee"

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:52:00 +0000

Workers using smoke to remove honeycombs.

King Menes, founder Egypt's First Dynasty, called himself "The Bee Keeper." All pharaohs after him used that phrase to describe their role as leaders of the people of Egypt.

Bees were often portrayed on tomb walls (below) and there are even tomb paintings of bee keepers using smoke to take honey from the hive (above).

Because of its antiseptic properties, honey was widely used in medicine, particularly as ointments on open wounds or cuts, and as a syrup for sore throats. So precious was it, typically only the pharaohs could afford to have jars of honey included in their tombs as burial offerings.

Beeswax was also a big deal, but the Egyptians didn't necessarily use it for candle making. Egyptian priests used the wax to make models of their enemies which they would then ritually destroy (the original voodoo doll!). Rick Riordan does a great job of capturing the importance of magicians using wax models of servants and monsters to do their bidding in his wonderful Egyptian myth based action series, The Kane Chronicles.

The Salt Magical Papyrus claims bees were created when the golden tears of Ra, the sun god, fell to the earth. These magical god-tear-bugs then "work in flowers and trees of every kind and wax and honey came into being."

The next time I make my kid a peanut butter and honey sandwich, I'm gonna tell her to mind her manners--Ra cried a lot of tears for that "sammich!"

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Because Caesar was such a "cut-up," on the Ides of March, I decided to go punning...

1. It's a little known fact that Julius Caesar did NOT die from stab wounds but, rather, from envy.

Caesar and Brutus were master harpists and were often seen in fierce competition. However, Brutus was more skilled as a composer, giving
him an advantage. Caesar began to lose the battle against the brilliance of Brutus.

Caesar could surpass Brutus only in arpeggios. However, to Caesar's
dismay he saw that Brutus had produced a masterful practice
composition designed to improve his own arpeggios.

That was the straw that broke Caesar's spirit.

He died shortly thereafter, saying to Brutus with his dying breath, "Etude, Brutus?" (By Scot Nelson)

2.

3. Caesar sends Brutus to bring him 12 apples. Brutus returns with the
apples and Caesar counts them but finds only 10 apples. He turns to
Brutus and angrily says: "Ate two, Brutus?"

4.

Paperback, Magazines and Bylines...Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:59:00 +0000

My mid-grade nonfiction book, Cleopatra Rules! has come out in paperback!

Check out the bold new look. The publisher wanted it to be more kid-friendly and I think they've accomplished that. This nonfiction, by the way, is the biography that inspired me to write the novel based on Cleopatra's daughter.

This must be the month for Cleopatra because my article about the last queen of Egypt also came out in AppleSeeds magazine, by Cobblestone publishing, in March.

Check out that gorgeous cover! I love the line above the banner: "Party likes it's 51 BCE!"

I also had to snap the byline because--well, to be honest, that just never gets old.

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:23:00 +0000

Today's Theme: Totally Looks Like

Ew...As if we Need Another Reason to Be Grateful for Modern Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:05:00 +0000

Came across this gem today: in ancient Rome, they treated inflammation of the tonsils with a tonsillectomy. So far so good, right? Until you read how this was managed:

'....removal should be attempted by scratching round with a

finger and drawing them out...."

Did ya catch that? The medicus removed the offending tissue by scraping it out with his fingernail!!!!

Oh, ack. The ancient writer telling us this graciously points out that if the fingernail scraping didn't work, 'it may be necessary to assist this operation by seizing them with a sharp hook followed by excision with a scalpel."

Remember, there was no germ theory then, so hand-washing was an iffy thing. Think about it.

Ack. Uck. Cough. Oh. My. Gorge.

There's been a lot about ancient living/medicine that has grossed me out but, for whatever reason, this one has really stuck in my craw.

Source: Celsus, from Roman Medicine by Audrey Cruse.

The Zany Genius of Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:21:00 +0000

Available now. Go. Read it!

My teenage daughter happened to walk by as I opened the package containing this book. One look and she ripped it out of my hands, exclaiming, "OMG, this is awesome!"

"I know," I said. "The publisher sent it to me so that I can review it." But she wasn't paying any attention to me. She had whipped out her phone and was sending the image of the cover to her friends and texting them about it.

We read excerpts out loud to each other and ended up laughing so hard, we were wiping tears away with our forearms.

She then took it to school to show all her friends and to share with her Latin teacher. It was a while before I saw it again.

But when I did, I confirmed my first impression--this book is a riot and a great antidote to PC versions of ancient myths. The author, Cory O'Brien, is proud of his retellings of the myths, well aware that some stick-in-the-muds will bemoan them as an example of "the death of intellectualism."

"Myths have suffered from severe intellectualism overdose," he explains in the introduction. "Everybody's always studying them in school or reading watered-down versions of them to little kids, and what that means is that hardly anybody has the time to actually sit down and look at how f*cking funny these things are."

Amen.

The cover itself--with it's middle school-like scribblings of Apollo in a Led Zepplin t-shirt and Zeus with an erm, "disturbance" in his nether regions--sets the tone. Yes, it's totally immature but that's what makes it so damn fabulous. Because, let's be honest, most of us really are middle-schoolers trapped in grown-up bodies (okay, I'll just speak for myself then).

Of course, with a subtitle of "A No-Bullsh*t Guide to World Mythology," you know from the get-go that O'Brien doesn't shy away from the bawdy, batsh*t craziness inherent in most myths. But here's what I discovered--the stories are way funnier if you already know the originals. So, of course, the Greek, Egyptian and Judeo-Christian retellings often had me in stiches. But the Japanese, Hindu, Chinese and African myths? They were funny, but I found myself wishing I knew the original versions so I could compare them against O'Brien's irreverent retellings. Which, of course, has inspired me to read the original stories. See how that works?

The young author is a grad student (MFA in writing) in Chicago and it's clear he's mastered the art of a unique writing "voice." He was kind enough to answer some of my questions:

Q: Why myths?

A: My blog started as sort of a joke between friends. I used to assault this one friend of

The young turk's twitter: @tachaberdash

mine on gchat to yell different myths at her, and finally she was just like "you should make a blog where you do this." (presumably to get me to stop bothering her). I thought it was a great idea because as far as I could tell, no one was doing it. Every re-telling I read seemed like it was holding back, like they were still trying to retain some level of respect for the original text, and where's the fun in that? So I pretty much transposed these mythical chatlogs directly onto a website, started getting attention from fancy folks (including Neil Gaiman), and suddenly Perigee was offering me a contract and re-telling myths became my for-real job.

Q: When did you become obsessed with myths? What was it about them that hooked you?

A: My dad is a professional storyteller. He has a children's theater company in LA called "We Tell Stories," and they do myths from all different cultures. So I grew up hearing and seeing those stories, in the fast, loose, silly way they did them, and I guess they kinda burrowed into my brain. I mean, myths are stories from back before we had all the rules about how stories should go. They're pure entertainment, stripped of any pretense of subtlety. I think part of it is just that I wish I was writing way back then, when you could still get away with that stuff.

Q: What's your favorite one in general? In the book?

A: The big bang. I like it because no one realizes it's a myth yet. I'm not saying it's not a true thing that happened. I don't really have an opinion on that. I'm saying that the way it's explained in layman's terms, the narrative version, is doing the exact same kind of work that creation myths have done for thousands of years. Ovid's creation myth at the beginning of the Metamorphoses uses all the latest science of his time: Pythagorean elements, a spherical earth... The methods we use to gather information about the world have changed, for sure, but the way we understand the information hasn't, and it's cool to be able to watch that pattern unfold in my lifetime.

Q: What myth did you cut from the book because your editor/publisher said you had to even though you begged and pleaded?

A: Elvis. I had Elvis in there and the book was too long so I took him out. He's the best modern myth we've got: He revolutionized music, he's a sex hero, he dresses in crazy god-like costumes, and people say that instead of dying he was taken to space by aliens. People make pilgrimages to his old house to pray at his grave, too. Good stuff, but I had to cut it. I put it up on the site though, so now everyone can enjoy it for free! Here’s the Elvis myth: http://bettermyths.com/elvis-lives/

Q: Where do you go from here? (career wise; will this be a series?)

A: Japan. I graduate in May so I'm going to go get the hell out of the country and immerse myself in a culture that maybe doesn't worship the Greeks so damn much. Career-wise, I guess it depends on Perigee. I've got plenty more material if they decide I'm worth the money. I desperately want to do a book-length retelling of the whole Arthurian Legend.

Q: Have you gotten any push-back (i.e., serious name calling? death threats?) from religious groups? Scientologists?

A: Nah, I've been lucky. The most I've gotten is a half-coherent paragraph on one of my bible myths about how I "got it all wrong." I actually get quite a few Christians who say they dig my re-tellings of their mythology. The thing about it is, I'm not distorting the stories when I retell them. Most of the humor comes from making the ridiculousness of the original story as clear and apparent as possible. And I think it's hard to get mad about that, especially if you know the original text. I don't really have an agenda here. I'm not trying to tear down religion (as you'll see if you read the epilogue of my book). But Joseph Campbell points out (and Tibetan Buddhism, for one, agrees) that the myths are only the stepping stones that allow initiates to approach the higher understanding that the religion has to offer. They're supposed to be ridiculous. They never weren't. As for Scientology, I think Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Anonymous took all the heat there is to take on that one. I feel pretty safe.

Q: I noticed Muslim and Christian myths were not included...any particular reason[s]?

A: Mostly a lack of knowledge. Yes, I know the story of Jesus (I've done a video re-telling of the book of Matthew on my site) but that's too long for a book like this. And I know absolutely nothing about the Qur'an. (Something I'll eventually remedy) I love, absolutely love the Arabian Nights, but my rationale for leaving those particular stories out was that I'm hoping to do a book of just those some day. And maybe a book on Jesus, too...

Here’s the Jesus myth: http://bettermyths.com/jesus-christ-jesus-christ/

Q: What are some of the funniest/favorite responses you've had to different myths on your blog?

I think my favorites are the people who accuse me of destroying literature/culture. Every once in a while I get a comment like that, and it starts a flamewar that lasts a couple months. People jump up to defend me and it's all very heartwarming. But what's funny about it to me is that I'm proud to be destroying culture. Living culture feeds on dead culture. You keep replacing and updating pieces of your old Victorian house, eventually you're going to wake up to find that you're not living in the same house anymore, and that's a good thing, because the plumbing in those old houses is terrible.

Q: What are you doing when you're not posting/publishing?

A: I am building a pair of gloves that will allow the user to type by touching fingers to palms in different combinations. I am also writing a book of fiction, with no myths in. I am teaching a class on retelling mythology and I am sewing a jacket made entirely of pockets. I am doing too many things, mainly.

Recommendation: Get this book and read it aloud with friends. Preferably over drinks. Get it from your local independent bookstore or order it online.

Full disclosure: as stated above, the publisher sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:33:00 +0000

Who Knew a Random Elegy Could Make Me so Happy?

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:05:00 +0000

"Mom, we had to write an elegy poem for class today," says the girl. "Wanna read it?"

"Sure!" I say. "I'd love to." [After reading] "OMG, this is awesome! You made my day!"

Girl grins. "I thought you'd like it."

Elegy
Hath the queen in her glory maintained the waking day?
Hath her children in their pity turned their heads away?Hath the queen in her carpet huddled in decay?
Doth the queen, oh the queen, breathe today?

Doth the people in their pain, know the wretched score?
Hath they seen their queen belittled, branded a wretched whore?
Hath they heard the evil king scoff at the wretched poor?
Doth people in their pain, know their old queen is no more?

Now the queen, in her tomb lies with cold triumph in her heart
Now the queen knew she must the end the final part
Now the sand that covers the sacred land swirls like a piece of art
Now the sand of the land has been struck by a poisoned dart.

And a deadly snake curls around Egypt's lifeless wrist
And a small child cries, as a twin clenches her fist
And pyramids are sagging, covered by a Roman mist
The queen, oh the queen, will be missed.

Friday Funnies--Ancient Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Vicky Alvear Shecter) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:47:00 +0000