Taking the bitter with the sweet

The sweet

I’ve sold a novel!

Speculative fiction publisher Hadley Rille Books will publish a series of historical novels set in archaeologically important times and written by archaeologists. (I squeezed in because I’ve worked on archaeological digs and have a Ph.D. in the sister discipline of anthropology.) Although these books will not be speculative fiction, the publisher does want them to induce the same sense of wonder that spec fic does.

My novel, tentatively called Like Mayflies in a Stream, takes place in Uruk, the largest city in Sumer, during the reign of Gilgamesh. The novel’s heroine is Shamhat, a priestess of Inanna (later known as Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, and Venus). I sold the novel on proposal, so I still have to write it.

I first fell in love with ancient Sumer in high school and took classes in college in Mesopotamian archaeology and art with top-notch scholars in those areas. I’m really looking forward to writing this novel, and if I write fast enough, it may be out by the end of 2009.

Although this is my third published book, it’s my first novel. I’m at last a novelist! Thank you, Hadley Rille and Eric Reynolds!

The bitter


My cat, Dulcinea, died early Saturday morning of pancreatitis and an undiagnosed lung disorder. She would have turned 17 on December 20th. She wasn’t a constant writer’s helper like her brother, Susato. But she was sweet and extremely smart. She loved to sunbathe and followed the sun from room to room. She also loved to wash Susato and my husband’s legs.

✥✥✥✥✥✥

Last week’s contest

Farrah Rochon won a copy of the Hadley Rille anthology Return to Luna in my contest last week. Congratulations, Farrah! Disappointed nonwinners can buy a copy at http://www.hadleyrillebooks.com/ReturnToLuna.html.