Since discovering the myths and legends of the world at college, I’ve fallen in love with these and the countries and cities where they originated. Teaching the literature that evolved from this for so many years deepened my fascination with the ancient/medieval worlds. I literally pounce on any books I come across, fiction and non-fiction. All of my novels draw from these worlds and are a thrill to write and read. However, life was extremely hard back then, and I wouldn’t want to have lived back then! I hope you join me in exploring these fascinating reads.
Steeped in ancient mystery & prophecy. Hunted by 4 Deadly Biblical Horsemen. Rosa & Jerome embark upon a perilous quest and risk all find the 1st of 5 Phoenix Feathers. Do you dare to travel with them?
I love mythology and am partial to Ancient Greece. My favorites to read and teach are The Illiad and The Odyssey. No way was I going to miss a story set against this background and focusing on Achilles and his friend Patroclus! An excellent addition to the mythology that defies time!
As with my stories, Madeline Miller’s take on two of the most famous characters in literature brought them home to a modern audience. Have to confess that I shed a few tears at the end.
**OVER 1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD** **A 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, FEATURING A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR**
WINNER OF THE ORANGE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
'Captivating' DONNA TARTT 'I loved it' J K ROWLING 'Ravishingly vivid' EMMA DONOGHUE
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms…
I am totally fascinated with many of the ancient worlds. The story of Pompeii is at the top of that list. Robert Harris’ character of Attilius brings that ancient city to life for me. His trials and challenges let readers experience everyday life on the streets of the city. The descriptions of the eruption still resonate long after I finished reading the book. The horror of that single event doesn’t leave your mind.
'A stunning novel . . . the subtlety and power of its construction holds our attention to the end' The Times
During a sweltering week in late August, as Rome's richest citizens relax in their villas around Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are ominous warnings that something is going wrong. Wells and springs are failing, a man has disappeared, and now the greatest aqueduct in the world - the mighty Aqua Augusta - has suddenly ceased to flow . . .
Through the eyes of four characters - a young engineer, an adolescent girl, a corrupt…
Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first book of 25 in the Amelia Peabody Murder Mysteries. I’m on my 3rd time through!! I love the history of Egypt and its archeologists in the late 1800s/early 1900s. We meet the feisty Amelia Peabody and her future husband, an equally stubborn and determined Radcliff Emerson. Their adventures amid the ruins of ancient Egypt and their entanglement with a criminal element kept me turning the pages. The entire series is a marvelous mystery series involving a Master Criminal, murder, and exciting discoveries.
Amelia Peabody is Elizabeth Peters' most brilliant and best-loved creation, a thoroughly Victorian feminist who takes the stuffy world of archaeology by storm with her shocking men's pants and no-nonsense attitude!
In this first adventure, our headstrong heroine decides to use her substantial inheritance to see the world. On her travels, she rescues a gentlewoman in distress - Evelyn Barton-Forbes - and the two become friends. The two companions continue to Egypt where they face mysteries, mummies and the redoubtable Radcliffe Emerson, an outspoken archaeologist, who doesn't need women to help him solve mysteries -- at least that's what he…
I have to admit that it’s the title that drew me to this book in the first place. As a retired English teacher, the word Librarians intrigued me. A true story, The Bad-Ass Librariansopened up a whole new world of manuscripts over 500 years that I never knew existed! The courage of the preservers of these works surprised and humbled me. But, it is also a historical history of smugglers and the heroic actions of the dedicated people of Timbuktu to preserve their heritage even if it meant their death. You won’t be able to put this down.
In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: to preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door. Joshua Hammer writes about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world's greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction.…
Why did I choose this book? It was the cover with the camels being led across the desert at sunrise. I’m a sucker for deserts and camels! Then it was the title The Sky Worshipers. How fascinating. Add to that the fact that I knew nothing of the Mongols and you have it all. And to learn that the story was fictionalized from actual diaries of Mongol princesses?! Get ready for a fascinating read albeit at times horrifying and moving.
The Sky Worshippers: Women Who Change The Trajectory And Strength Of Genghis Khan And His Mongol Empire.
"An epic novel that pulls back the veil on the tumultuous life and times of Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who was intent upon becoming the ruler of the world. Breathtaking in scope, honest and raw, The Sky Worshipers reveals life in the orbit of the conquerors." –Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews
★★★★★ The story, told in three parts, is expertly written. It’s the stuff of my childhood dreams; princesses, warriors, Marco Polo, the Silk Road.
I grew up on a family farm surrounded by larger vegetable and dairy operations that used migrant labor. From an early age, my siblings and I were acquainted with the children of these workers, children whom we shared a school desk with one day and were gone the next. On summer vacations, our parents hauled us around in a station wagon with a popup camper, which they parked in out-of-the-way hayfields and on mountainous plateaus, shunning, much to our chagrin, normal campgrounds, and swimming pools. Thus, I grew up exposed to different cultures and environments. My writing reflects my parents’ curiosity, love of books and travel, and devotion to the natural world.
After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through young adulthood. Miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are displaced from their land by multinational energy companies. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie’s aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.
Stefan promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his story, has grown sympathetic to his cause and complicit in his pushback against prejudiced accusations. Their mutual attraction is stymied when Stefan’s older brother, Joachim, who stayed behind, becomes embroiled in the resistance, and Stefan is compelled to return to Canada. Sadie, concerned for his safety, impulsively follows on a trajectory doomed by cultural misunderstanding and oncoming winter.
After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through the pitfalls of young adulthood. Hundreds of miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are forced off their land by multinational energy companies and flawed treaties. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie's aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program. Stefan, whose own father died in prison while on a hunger strike, promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his…
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