Vicky Alvear Shecter's Blog, page 7

Immersing A School in Mythology

Recently, I had the most wonderful school visit at Neptune Middle School in central Florida. Every year, students choose which author they would like to invite for their author visit and they chose me after reading Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen.

Before I came, the kids created a trailer to generate interest and excitement. Check out their great work at the end of this post.

I knew I was in for something special when I was greeted by the sign on the left  as I entered the school. Diana Triplet, Neptune’s Literacy Coach, spearheaded a school-wide effort that involved language arts, history, and art teachers, as well as administrative faculty and the media specialist.

On Thursday, I gave presentations to all of the sixth and seventh-graders. They were an enthusiastic crowd and seemed to really enjoy my talk on the many ways we are not so different from the ancients.

That night, the PTA hosted A Night at the Museum type event where Egypt ruled! Thanks to the efforts of several dedicated teachers and students, the media center was transformed into a gorgeous center of Egyptian “artifacts.”

Many images were taken directly from the book, including this mummified head of the Apis Bull. Check out the original! These folks knew what they were doing! 

I was so impressed by the attention to detail. For example, there is one bust of Cleopatra that had been damaged over the eons.  It’s nose had been broken off (she was said to have a big nose, you know).

Anyway, after finding a damaged head /base at a crafts store, the teacher grabbed it up, knowing she could make it look like the original, as shown in Cleopatra Rules! How cool is that?

After a wonderful meal of Greek salad, stew, and cookies, teachers treated the kids to a bunch of ancient-themed games such as, The “Mummy Wrap” game (wrap your mommy–or your daddy), face painting, hieroglyphic pictionary and Greek Olympics.

Along the way I gave a talk on the 10 Funniest Facts about the ancient world that I’ve discovered over the years. Needless to say, the bit about how the Romans bleached their teeth (with urine!) and how public toilets worked in Rome where a big hit. The fact that the Romans had a god of farts was a particular favorite of 7th grade boys. (No surprise, there!)

On Friday, I gave a talk to all of the eighth-graders in three different presentations. I knew they were studying U.S. history in social studies, so I made sure to include details about the Roman roots of our nation’s founding. I even shared a little known myth about the creation of Greek democracy. During questions-and-answer, one boy asked me to be his Valentine, which was the cutest thing ever. The school was hosting it’s Valentine’s Day dance the next day.

It was also a treat to be able to show everyone the new cover of Thor Speaks! which releases in September.

Many students were curious as to why I studied myths and the ancient world. After trying to answer like a grown-up, I ended by telling the truth–because this stuff is often weird, hilarious, or awesome. Sometimes all three at once!

From the principal down to the support staff, everyone at the school worked together to make “Author’s Day” a success for all involved, especially the students. The kids  had no idea just how much work had gone into the event but I did–and I was deeply impressed.

Thank you Diana Triplett and Neptune Middle School for an extraordinary experience!

The Student-Made Trailer for my appearance is below: (Note, if it’s not showing up, go directly to the link here: http://youtu.be/29jwYlcGdlU)

Learning from the Poop Masters

Researchers have learned that  dung beetles use the Milky Way to navigate in a straight line as they push their stolen balls of poop to safety.

Let me repeat that–the smallest, smelliest, weirdest among us somehow orient themselves via the edges of our own galaxy  to get around. Dude, the best we can do is plug into our GPSs and yet still manage to get lost (I speak from experience).

How did scientists discover this strange navigational ability?  By a series of tests–the most important of which was putting TINY CARDBOARD HATS on the little poo-pushers  to block their vision of the sky.

Check out the photo above. Yes, that is a tiny visor. Thank you, science, for that visual.

The critters wearing the little hats ended up going around and around in circles. Because they couldn’t use the edges of our own GALAXY to sprint away in a straight line, they likely had their poop-treasures stolen by hat-less manure-mongers or were gobbled up by predators  with a taste for piquant dung-sauce.

When I mentioned this fascinating fact to friends, some just shook their heads at the weirdness, implying that such studies are a total waste of time and tax dollars.

I disagree! Think about it. What if these scientists–after finally pinpointing how these little manure-munchers navigate via the edges of our galaxy–uncover an additional internal secret to this cool ability that we can adapt for our own use.  The possibilities are positively pungent with promise!

Since I study and write about the ancient world, I also wondered if the ancient Egyptians knew that the dung beetle had this celestial ability. After all, they elevated the dung beetle to the highest levels of worship when they associated its actions with the movement of the sun.  Khepri, the scarab god, pushed the sun across the sky like industrious dung beetles pushed their manure balls across the desert, they believed. Keen observers of nature, the ancient Egyptians likely wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that their symbol for the movement of the sun also navigated by the stars.

Even if we don’t learn anything right away about navigation from these small poop-masters, studies of this sort still serves a purpose–they remind us how small our grasp of the universe really is, and how awe-inspiring nature can be. Even at its smelliest. And, thanks to the tiny hats, its cutest.

Golden soul washer/pectoral; Akan people.

All this talk about night skies has been spurred by a show that recently just opened at the Carlos–African Cosmos: Stellar Art--which runs through June 21. From ancient Egypt, through 19th and 20th century African art, to modern artists working in Africa today, the exhibition looks at the many ways cultures of Africa have used their observations of the sky to inform everything from agricultural practices to religious beliefs.

It’s a wonderful show–come on out and be awed and inspired by our endless fascination and reverence for the heavens above.

 

 

 

Best Made-up Word About One of my Books EVER!

 

Writing is definitely isolating, so when readers take the time to tell you that they enjoyed your work, it is PURE BLISS. Recently I got this amazing note from a parent:


I am writing to let you know how much my daughter loved Anubis Speaks! 

We are homeschoolers currently wrapping up our section on Ancient Egypt, when we came across your book. I am so glad we found it. 

The majority of the time she was reading this book, she was giggling. It was the first book she picked up to read every morning! She called it “furning” which in our house means fun + learning.

Thank you for writing such a fun and engaging non-fiction book. We are looking forward to Hades Speaks! and Thor Speaks! We hope you will continue writing books for this series.

 

It does not get any better than that, folks.

Learning that she giggled while she read my book made my day. Discovering that young Isabella applied her own made-up word for the experience of reading my book made my LIFE.

I now announce that I will officially describe  my mythology books as totally FURNING. Thank you Isabella!

Student Video of C&S And Skype Visit

As part of a Scholastic Book Fair event, the media specialist of Deer Creek Middle School in Oklahoma invited students to make videos of their favorite books. A group of three eighth graders made this fun video of Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii. The whole school voted on the videos made for the event and chose this one as their favorite video. How cool is that?

Then–and here’s the fun part–I had a Skype visit with the future filmmakers! They asked all kinds of great questions about the story and my writing process. Thank you, Jennifer Denney, Media Specialist Extraordinaire, for setting this up.

It’s days like today that I pinch myself and ask, “Is this really my life?” So. Much. Fun.

 

 

 

 

Fiction Set in Ancient Rome

Many of us came to a love of the classics after reading historical fiction set in the ancient world. Unfortunately, most modern publishers are seeking the next big dystopia like Hunger Games or fantasy like Harry Potter. That why I’m asking those who have read my book–Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii--and enjoyed it, to consider voting for it via this survey for the Teen Choice Book Awards. (you don’t have to be a teenager to vote–the designation is for the category of teen books). If you’re a teacher and you have students who have read it and enjoyed it, I’d appreciate it if you encouraged them to vote for Curses and Smoke as well.

Now, I’m under no delusion that my Pompeii novel is a contender, but I’m hoping that a good showing will help convince publishers that there really is a need for (and interest in) books for teens set in the ancient world.

As for me, I first fell in love with ancient history through Mary Renault’s work. I still remember the feeling of being swept away with her series on Alexander the Great.  At the time, though, there wasn’t much else available. I read some of Taylor Caldwell’s books on Cicero. I also d fell in love with The Far Arena, by Richard Sapir (which still holds up all these decades later, by the way).

These days, readers have many more options: For younger kids, there is Caroline Lawrence’s excellent The Roman Mysteries series as well as Judith Geary’s  Getorix series. For adult books, we have Steven Saylor, Ruth Downey, Gary Corby, Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Ben Kane, Stephanie Thornton (I can’t wait for her upcoming book on the women in Alexander’s life–how I love Olympias!), Bruce McBain, Simon Scarrow and others.

But there is not that much available specifically for teens.

So, any support you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Again, the link for voting is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SLXJ2G3.

Thank you!

Ancient Egypt’s Strange Practice of Animal Mummification

Cat mummy via Brooklyn Museum

Try wrapping your head around this:  excavators in Egypt have found four million cat mummies, seven million dog mummies, four million ibis mummies and tens of thousands of other mummified animals, big and small–including bulls, mice, snakes, baboons, lions, and even bugs!

Apparently, the ancient Egyptian philosophy of “Go Big or Go Home!” didn’t just apply to the pyramids.

Emory professor Johannes Kleiner, gave a fascinating lecture on animal mummification for the docents at the Michael C. Carlos Museum earlier today. At the Carlos, we have several small but interesting examples of animal mummification–kitten, falcon, puppy, crocodile–but I was agog to learn of the vast quantities discovered. Clearly, animal mummification was big business.

While there are certainly (and admittedly sweet) examples of treasured pets mummified to accompany their people into the afterworld, the vast majority of mummies were used as votive offerings. That means they were purchased by pilgrims who then brought them to temples likely hoping that the animals would act as intermediaries who would bring messages to the gods on behalf of the non-divine.

Most of the mummies were found in special cemeteries, usually near or under a temple. It’s unclear whether some of these temples served as nurseries or hatcheries–there is some evidence for that–but either way, the sheer number of sacrifices points to a veneration for the divine nature of animals.

As Kleiner pointed out, the ancient Egyptians didn’t believe that the individual animals themselves were divine but that they were the incarnations of the divine natures of some of the gods. Who else could “speak” so well on your behalf to Anubis, god of death and mummification, for example,but another dog?

Dog mummies. 7 million found! (Brooklyn Mus)

It’s always been funny to me that many animal mummies have been discovered to be “fake”–i.e., they may be shaped like the full sized animal, but often they are stuffed with mud or just a bone or two. As I tell the children on tours, “There was no such thing as a ‘Better Business Bureau’ for mummification, so there was no protection against being cheated.”

Humans and cheating. Given the chance, people will try to get away with whatever they can for as long as they can. Nothing’s changed much, has it?

Little packet o’gizzards inside Ibis mummy. Take it out before you cook it, mummy chef! (Brooklyn Mus)

Kleiner also talked about animal mummies as food. It was quite common for tombs of the royal or noble to be stuffed with mummies meant to be cooked in the afterlife. Tut had hundreds of small containers of sides of beef for his consumption on “the other side” in his tomb. Other “delicacies” have been found, including doves, ducks, and geese.

Anyone who knows me knows I can’t cook worth a darn and once roasted a chicken with all the little packets of gizzards still inside (what? I didn’t know that’s where they were! I thought you had to buy them separately). Anyway, this idea of stuffing the inside of a bird with special packets of organs–used for making gravy, perhaps–goes back way farther than any one of us could have guessed. The Egyptians, it seems, started the practice.

Interestingly, no food mummies of fish or pork have been found in royal/noble tombs. Kleiner said we don’t know if this food was taboo, or just not included because that’s what the poor people ate.

Ah, humans and the need to be “better than” others based on wealth and class. Again, not much has changed over the millennia. Sigh.

Anyway, we learned a lot of fascinating facts related to the practice, but I’m not going to tell you all of them here–you will just have to let me give you a tour at the Carlos to hear the rest!

Or, if you’re in Tennessee, you can catch the traveling exhibit, Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art through January 18. The exhibit then moves back to the Brooklyn Museum.

The Day I Laughed With Cokie Roberts

At the Louisiana Book Festival earlier this month with Cokie Roberts.

I’d been–accidentally, I swear–the last person to deplane in Baton Rouge because I’d stayed to help a sweet old lady on  crutches make it off the plane.  (Hahahaha, NO. Actually, I’d been reading a book, waiting for the crush to disperse when I looked up and found the plane entirely empty and the stewardesses glaring at me).  I shot out of my seat and and ran but no amount of rushing could make up for the fact, that even the baggage claim area had already cleared out.

I spotted a kindly older gentleman hopelessly scanning the area. He’s probably looking for me, I thought.  The lovely folks at the Lousiana Book Festival had arranged a driver to take me to the hotel.

When I approached, the man asked, “Are you Miss Roberts?” Then he shook his head and muttered, “No she’s already in the car.”

I told him my name and he looked very relieved. Following him out, it occurred to me to ask, “You ARE with the Book Festival, right?” He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

He led me to the other side of the car because, “Miss Roberts is on that side.” I climbed in and realized that the “Miss Roberts” he kept referring to was none other than Cokie Roberts–journalist, author, TV news analyst and contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition. She gave me a big smile, held out her hand, and said, “Hello, I’m Cokie Roberts.”

I may have mumbled, “I know!” before clearing my throat and saying my name. We chatted briefly about Louisiana and the book festival and then she said–as polite as could be–”Please excuse me, I need to finish watching this because I’m going to  be interviewed in a few minutes.” She plugged in earphones and resumed watching a video. I gave her ipad a quick side-eye to see what was playing  but I could only detect talking heads. I was dying to ask who was going to interview her–NPR? ABC? CNN?–but I didn’t.

When she finished, she resumed the conversation, as personable as could be–asking me about my books and where I was from and so forth. So warm and charming! When we exited the car at the hotel my silly fan-girl self emerged and I shamelessly asked for a photo with her. She smiled. “Of course!”

Later, I decided to walk around downtown Baton Rouge because it was a lovely, blustery day. Looking for bottled water, I popped in the only store in the area, which just happened to be a liquor store. I was reaching for said water (I swear!) when in walked Ms. Roberts herself. She marched up to the counter and said, “I was told you sell charge chords here.” The man nodded and pointed to a plastic bin  filled with them. As she reached in, I argued with myself, “Should I say hello? Am I being intrusive? Is it weird that I’m in a liquor store with Cokie Roberts in Baton Rouge, Louisiana?”

In the end, I told myself to go for it. “Hi, Cokie!” I said getting in line behind her. “Oh hi, Vicky!” she said. (Yes, she remembered my name!) We laughed about finding ourselves in a liquor store. We ended up walking back to the hotel together.

“You know,” I said. “I called my brother to tell him I’d met you and he says he interviewed you years ago when you were in Atlanta.”

“Oh?” She sounded a little wary.

Yes, that’s what I said to Cokie Roberts when discussing whether a woman president would ever get embroiled in a sex scandal. I am not ashamed.

“Yes, he said he tried to stump you and failed.”

She laughed. “How?”

“He asked if  a woman were president, did you think we would ever see her involved in a sex scandal?”

She laughed again. “I got that question again recently,” she said. “My answer is always, ‘No. She’d be too busy.”

“Right?” I said. “Ain’t  nobody got time for that!” I added, referencing the meme of the irrepressible Kimberly “Sweet Brown” Wilkins who immortalized that phrase on TV.

Cokie Roberts laughed!

“Just out of curiosity,” I asked. ” Was the other person who asked that question also a man?”

“Yup.”

“I have a theory that only a man would even think to ask that question,” I said. “I suspect that it’s because some men conflate power with sex and they would be tempted to use their power to get more sex. Whereas women, I think, would be way too concerned with keeping control of the political situation to even consider risking it all for a fling.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “Way too much at stake!”

By that time, we’d made it back to the hotel and we said our goodbyes. The next day, my signing took place at the same time as hers. Cokie’s line of fans snaked out of the signing tent. I signed a handful of books then watched her work her charm on every single person that came up to her.

Shameless self-promotion, I know, but I couldn’t help it. I mean, she bought my books!!!!

When everyone had gone, I asked her to sign her books for me–Founding Mothers and Ladies for Liberty. Again, she greeted me by name.

“I have grandchildren the right age for your books,” she said. “I want to get them and have you sign them.”

Fortunately, I did not pass out though the squeeing inside my head was so high-pitched it would’ve shattered the  glass chandeliers in all  of  the hotel lobbies within a three-mile radius.

When she had my books in hand,  I asked for a second photo. The one of her holding my books which she had just purchased for her grandchildren!

Geek heaven, am I right?

Still, what impressed me the most about Cokie was how genuinely warm and gracious she was–it was not an act. She seemed curious about and interested in the people around her, which makes sense, given her work.

All I can say is, thank you Louisiana Book Festival for arranging the ride with Cokie Roberts and for putting on one heck of a book festival!

Also thanks for the opportunity to meet and mingle with old and new friends such as Kendare Blake, Kristin Tubb, Ruta Sepetys, Ellen Kushner, Tessa Gratton, Natalie C. Parker, Julie Murphy; and my fellow co-panelists, Rachel Harris and Sarah Guillory.

Who knew the writing life would be so cool?

 

 

 

A Day of Fire–Now Out!

At long last, this riveting story about the final days of Pompeii is available in e-book and print!

“This truly is the finest book I have read this year, an emotional roller-coaster that educates while it entertains. Its impact will stay with me for quite some time.” ~Parmenion Books

“Despite knowing what happens in Pompeii and to the majority of its citizens, A Day of Fire is a book full of suspense, fear, and unexpected bravery.” ~Ageless Pages

“I can’t praise this book highly enough. It’s a rattling good tale of disaster, death, resolution and rebirth.” ~Dodging Arrows

“I LOVED this! The writing style, the choice of stories told, the evolution of characters, the drama. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.” ~The Maiden’s Court

“Each one of these authors deserves a huge amount of praise for putting this impressive piece of art together.” ~Steven McKay

DESCRIPTION:

Pompeii was a lively resort flourishing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius at the height of the Roman Empire. When Vesuvius erupted in an explosion of flame and ash, the entire town would be destroyed. Some of its citizens died in the chaos, some escaped the mountain’s wrath . . . and these are their stories:

A boy loses his innocence in Pompeii’s flourishing streets.
An heiress dreads her wedding day, not knowing it will be swallowed by fire.
An ex-legionary stakes his entire future on a gladiator bout destined never to be finished.
A crippled senator welcomes death, until a tomboy on horseback comes to his rescue.
A young mother faces an impossible choice for her unborn child as the ash falls.
A priestess and a whore seek redemption and resurrection as the town is buried.

Six authors bring to life overlapping stories of patricians and slaves, warriors and politicians, villains and heroes who cross each others’ path during Pompeii’s fiery end. But who will escape, and who will be buried for eternity?

Buy Now:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

The Inspiration Behind the Pompeii Necklace

In celebration of the upcoming release of A Day of Fire, you could win this Roman replica!

In celebration of the upcoming release of a novel in six parts–A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii–we are giving away a necklace and earring set inspired by ancient Roman jewelry (enter the giveaway here). The novel was the brainchild of Stephanie Dray and Kate Quinn ad I feel very fortunate to be among such stellar historical fiction writers, including Ben Kane, Sophie Perinot, and Eliza Knight.

Plus, an introduction by Michelle Moran? It’s like I died and went to writerly heaven.

Anyway, the artist behind the beautiful necklace set is my own talented mother, Marilyn Strousberg. She originally made it for me to giveaway with my YA novel set in Pompeii–Curses and Smoke–which released in May from Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. But for various reasons I never held the giveaway (it had nothing at all to do with the fact I loved it and wanted to keep it for myself…I SWEAR!).

Pre-order today. You can order the paperback on November 4th.

And then this great project emerged and I realized hoarding was not an attractive trait. Plus, the set so perfectly matches the book cover, right? I mean, can you imagine ordering the paperback (which you can do after November 4th), draping this set around it and offering it as a present to someone special? Total win.

The beads in the set are all carnelian, an extremely popular semi-precious gemstone in the ancient world. I asked my Mom what inspired her to make this particular design and she sent me the photo below. Whoa, right?!

Authentic carnelian necklace from ancient Rome (Egyptian necklace on the inside). Link.

The inner necklace is Egyptian red jasper but the outer one is Roman. It is dated somewhere between the first and third centuries. Since our stories take place in 79 CE, someone could’ve absolutely been wearing this during a dramatic escape from Pompeii.

The photo came from an auction house in 2009. At the time, the set sold for almost $5,000 (US).

My mother is truly a talented artisan–check out here what she made when the paperback for my first novel, Cleopatra’s Moon, released.

Amazingly, she does not have an Etsy site or even a website, something I’m constantly haranguing her about. Sell the goods, Mom! They’re gorgeous! Until she does, at least you can enter the giveaway, which ends December 5th.

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TV Land, Hades and More

Last week was pretty exciting–I was on a local TV show to talk about my latest book, held a storytelling event in honor of Hades, and started editing the next in the series, Thor Speaks!  

Here’s the link to the interview:

http://archive.11alive.com/atlanta_and_company_story.aspx?storyid=325308

I didn’t tell anyone about my appearance because I didn’t want to be nervous. Also, my TV-savvy brother, the wonderful Michael Alvear, warned me that sometimes you get pulled for various reasons, so it was better not to make a big deal of it. Well, I was nervous and probably talked to too much, but still, it was fun. And for my first TV appearance, it all went relatively well.

Elizabeth O. Dulemba and her hubby, Stan, showed up (thanks guys!) as did some kids who knew A LOT about mythology!

The next night, was my storytelling event at Little Shop of Stories in celebration of Hades Speaks! Had a small but enthusiastic crowd and the night was fun. I enjoyed putting out pomegranate cookies and delicious River Styx Sludge (aka brownie bites) from Sweet N’Sinful. The bakery did an incredible job on the cookies, didn’t they? Almost too pretty to eat! Probably the parents weren’t as thrilled with the sugar treats but they seemed fitting and were scrumptious.

Almost too pretty to eat–pomegranate cookies in honor of Persephone who ate some seeds and was stuck in the underworld for half-a-year.

 I was glad I brought my trusty museum-replica Spartan helmet, which all the kids wanted to try on (they could as long as I helped them).

Photo-ops with helmet!

For the last story of the night, I gave the kids the option of hearing one from Anubis Speaks! or from the book I’m currently working on, Thor Speaks. The majority went for Thor. It was fun to share the wacky weirdness of a Norse myth. I can’t wait to show off the gorgeous cover Jesse Larson has created for the book. You’ll get a peek soon!

Meanwhile, thanks for the support, y’all!