#thiswritinglife
The second Eye of Isis novel publishes on January 15, 2022.
Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore calls it “On the Waterfront, Cleopatra style.”
Well, yes. The construction industry always was a deadly business.
An excerpt:
“We were in Rome, with Auletes and the queen, begging Pompey for money.”
“Before my time.”
“Just barely, but yes, and how lucky you were. It was dueling banquets during our entire stay, one night at an Optimas’, the next at a supporter of the Populares.”
Apollodorus raised his eyebrows. “You dined with the Populares? Pompey must have been pleased.”
“Auletes was always alive to the possibility of regime change in Rome, and he was adept at keeping a foot in any camp that looked like it might make a try for power. At any rate, this particular banquet lasted all day, everything edible growing, walking, swimming, or flying was represented, everything came to the table either on ice or on fire, and everything I could manage to eat of it was absolutely delicious. Until dessert.” She fortified herself with a swallow of water. “Dessert was a parade of cakes baked and iced in the shapes of birds. Herons, swans, hawks, doves, cranes. And, as it happened, their maker had conceived the excellent notion of mixing live birds in with the fake, in cages formed of almond paste and icing embedded with pistachios. Works of art, really. Until two of the live doves managed to eat themselves out of their dovecote and began to fly around the room looking for a way out.”
Apollodorus looked as if he were trying hard not to laugh. “And who could blame them.”
“Indeed. They immediately began demonstrating their displeasure on all available surfaces. You know how everyone makes fun of Caesar’s combover? I doubt that anyone there that evening ever will again, because as it turns out a shiny scalp makes an excellent target.”
Chekhov’s rule is that you can’t have a gun in the first act of a play if it doesn’t go off by the third. Hemingway made fun of his rule because Hemingway, but I agree with Chekhov: A writer shouldn’t make promises to the audience they don’t keep. There will be more birds.
Order a signed copy of the first edition hardcover here. Do it now so Barbara knows how many to order and the store doesn’t run out. It happens.
Covid willing and the creeks don’t rise, the launch will be an in person event at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore on Saturday at 2pm, January 15, 2022. Hope to see you there!
Death of an Eye, the first Eye of Isis novel, is available here.
Chatter Eye of Isis Writing cleopatra Death of an Eye disappearance of a scribe Eye of Isis
