Category Archives: ancient Greece

Author of the Month: an interview (and giveaway) with Stephanie Dray

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For October’s Author of the Month, I’m proud to present Stephanie Dray, the supremely talented author of the Cleopatra’s Daughter trilogy– I have recently reviewed both “Lily of the Nile” and its sequel “Song of the Nile.” Stephanie is both a scholar and an author of ripping good yarns about sexy, powerful, magic-wielding queens in exotic far-flung lands; today, she’ll be chatting with us about Cleopatra, ancient Rome, RPGs, Orientalism and time travel (among other things).

We’re also going to be having a giveaway of one beautiful copy of “Song of the Nile,” courtesy of Berkley Books. All you have to do is subscribe to Stephanie’s newsletter, follow her on Twitter or Facebook, and leave a comment below!

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Hi Stephanie! Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you wanted to be a writer? What was your day job?

I grew up in a little town called Greece N.Y. I went to Athena High School. Our school mascot was the Trojan. I might have been influenced a little bit by that. Just a little! I think I always knew that I wanted to be a writer–it just didn’t seem very practical as a career choice, so I became a lawyer instead. I only practiced law for about ten minutes–just long enough to know that if I was going to lie for a living I’d rather be writing fiction. Continue reading “Author of the Month: an interview (and giveaway) with Stephanie Dray” »

Song of the Nile: or, Flowers in the Attic meets The Empire Strikes Back

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If “Lily of the Nile” was “Star Wars”– an exciting YA-oriented adventure story– then “Song of the Nile” is meant to be “The Empire Strikes Back” of Stephanie Dray’s Cleopatra’s Daughter trilogy. It’s dark, angsty, and tumultuous, and although it lacks some of the excitement of the first book, it’s a pretty cool story in its own right. It could be described as “Flowers in the Attic” meets “The Empire Strikes Back.” (Or The Flowers Strike Back? Or the Empire in the Attic?)

“Song” also strongly reminds me of Jane Gaskell’s Atlan saga, in both its weaknesses and its strengths. As in Atlan, a girl who thinks she’s a goddess is taken to a foreign land to become queen, and in the process learns her own dark destiny. Along the way, she finds multiple lovers, suffers many setbacks and has exotic, picaresque adventures. Although there’s no prehistoric birds or snake-men, a la Atlan, but Dray’s heroine Selene has her own unique run-ins with barbarian tribesmen, sirocco winds, and magic. There’s a lot of really dark things going on (in Gaskell’s “The Serpent,” as in “Song of the Nile,” rape and brother-sister incest are two major themes) but– like Gaskell– there’s a certain lightness of touch in the prose; for all the sturm und drang, it’s written in a way that’s not leaden or heavy-handed. The writing is polished and beautiful as an amethyst. Continue reading “Song of the Nile: or, Flowers in the Attic meets The Empire Strikes Back” »

Presenting Gary Corby: Romance and love in a classical world

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Today I’d like to present Gary Corby, the author of the “A dead man fell from the sky…” historical mystery series, set in ancient Athens, and starring Nicolaos, Socrates’ older brother. I recently reviewed the second book in the series, The Ionia Sanction, which is being released November 8th. Gary is guest blogging today about romance in the classical world.

Thanks to Joanne for inviting me to write a little something on her blog!

I thought I’d take the opportunity to do something I’ve never tried before: write about romance, a subject on which I am highly unqualified. I write murder mysteries set in the world of classical Greece, you see. Dead bodies, and exotic ways to create them, are more my thing.

Nevertheless my hero Nicolaos does have a small problem in the romance department. Here’s my usual description of the series; see if you can spot his issue:

Nicolaos, the ambitious son of a minor sculptor, walks the mean streets of Classical Athens as an agent for the promising young politician Pericles. Murder and mayhem don’t faze Nico; what’s really on his mind is how to get closer (much closer) to Diotima, the intelligent and annoyingly virgin priestess of Artemis, and how to shake off his irritating 12 year old brother Socrates. Continue reading “Presenting Gary Corby: Romance and love in a classical world” »

The Ionia Sanction: Burn Notice comes to Ancient Greece

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There is a new addictive historical mystery series in town, and it’s the “A dead man fell from the sky…” series by Gary Corby. It’s set in classical Athens, in the early 5th cent. BC, and it follows the adventures of Nicolaos, sometimes political agent and investigator to Pericles. (He’s also Socrates’ older brother, which is used for some great comic moments.)

I have read more ancient Roman mystery series than I can count, but ancient Greece doesn’t really seem to come up on the radar that often. Sometimes I wonder if the historical mystery genre is played out, but then I read something like “The Ionia Sanction” and change my mind. “The Ionia Sanction” is the second book in the Nicolaos series– “The Pericles Commission” was the first– and it bounces from incident to incident with an almost effervescent glee. Continue reading “The Ionia Sanction: Burn Notice comes to Ancient Greece” »

It’s Ancient History month!

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Well, guys, I have an exciting (and ambitious) month planned ahead. In honor of Stephanie Dray, tremendously awesome author of “Lily of the Nile,” I’ve decided to hold an ancient history themed month. Joumana Medlej, comic artist and creator of the Lebanese superhero comic, “Malaak,” will be my Artist of the Month; she works with ancient Phoenician myth and legend in fascinating and unexpected ways. My Author of the Month is Stephanie Dray. Not only will I be reviewing “Song of the Nile,” the second book in her historical fantasy trilogy about Cleopatra’s daughter, on the 27th, when I post her interview, I will also be holding a giveaway of “Song of the Nile.” You may be able to win your very own print copy!

Other highlights will include guests posts from Carol Burrell, creator of the SPQR Blues webcomic, Gary Corby, author of a great new mystery series set in ancient Athens starring Socrates’ older brother, and last but not least, Cassandra Dean, author of the sexy Roman-era romance “Enslaved.” She will also be giving away a copy of “Enslaved,” so check back here for details.