Friday Interviews-Judith Starkston Interview
Today we are fortunate to have with us Judith Starkston who writes in the historical fiction genre.
1) What moved you to become an author?
I have always been a storyteller and that’s the essential ingredient to be an author, I think. Many years ago, I walked through the British Museum with my toddler son on my shoulders (he’s a grown man now). I was retelling the myths painted on the Greek vases in front of us. We were happily lost in our imaginative world. I turned to go to another display case and discovered a crowd behind me listening in. So I think I was “writing” historical tales for a long time before I sent a manuscript to a publisher.
2) Tell us about your current novel.
Hand of Fire 
tells the story of Briseis, the captive woman from Homer’s Iliad who caused the bitter conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon. She has practically no voice in the male-centered epic; I wanted to discover her as a flesh and blood woman.
Hand of Fire is partly a romance, although definitely not a typical romance arc or style. Briseis and Achilles fall in love in an unconventional manner that includes a mystical element. Achilles is half-immortal and I made full use of that half of his conflicted personality.
In addition to the romantic element, Hand of Fire explores why some people, women especially, can survive great tragedy and violence against them, even managing to experience joy in what life still has to offer.
Hand of Fire is also a coming of age tale featuring a smart, strong-willed young woman in an ancient culture that, counter to our modern stereotypes of the past, expects Briseis to be powerful, literate and a leader. Briseis succeeds in rising to those expectations despite the circumstances arrayed against her—and she’s strong enough to take on the mightiest of the Greek heroes.
3) How did the story begin to develop in your mind?
While teaching the Iliad, I kept wondering with my students how Briseis could possibly have loved Achilles—which is what Homer shows us. The half-immortal Greek killed her husband and brothers, destroyed her city and turned her from princess to slave—hardly a heartwarming courtship. She’s central to the plot of the Iliad and yet she gets only a handful of lines. In those few words, the one clear notion expressed is her sorrow at being parted from Achilles.
I should say I always liked Achilles, the existential hero who calls the whole war into question—which shows he’s no brainwasher—so the answer wasn’t some ancient version of Stockholm Syndrome. I started exploring who Briseis could be that would solve this psychological puzzle. Who was she before Achilles entered her world and how did the tragedy and love he brought her alter her? What kind of woman can stand up to this semi-divine, but immensely conflicted man and hold onto her own sense of self, as she must have, to form a genuine bond with him?
4) What did you find most challenging about this book?
Homer only tells us a few fragments about Briseis—that she was a princess of Lyrnessos, a city allied to Troy, and that Achilles destroyed that life. Not much to base a novel on. So I had to do a great deal of research to create a historically plausible and engaging Briseis. Fortunately for me, Turkey, where Troy was located, is an extremely active region for contemporary archaeology and the last couple decades or so have revealed a rich record of the life of this area during the time of the Trojan War (the Late Bronze Age around 1250 BCE, roughly speaking).
5) How did you choose your publishing method?
Anything set in Greek history, such as the Trojan War, is considered a fairly small niche of historical fiction. After a couple well-respected agents told me they loved my manuscript but didn’t think they could sell it to a major publisher in the current market, I researched good small presses for historical fiction and chose Fireship. I do hope to prove those agents wrong about the extent of my reading public. The Trojan War is one of those iconic moments in history that never seems to lose its appeal. So far, there’s been a lovely response. I’d be happy to be represented by an agent who saw the HF market in a similar light.
6) Tell us a little about yourself?
I studied Classics in college at University of California, Santa Cruz (DWW-I was a Banana Slug for my first two years at University, and that is when I was first published both in the gaming industry and in one of UCSC’s publications. I was an avid taker of History courses though) and went on to do my graduate work in Classics at Cornell. I taught high school Latin, Humanities and English for a couple decades. I’ve had great fun traveling in Turkey, Cyprus and Greece to research this novel and the historical mystery I’m working on now. When I was a classics major, I was more focused on Greek literature and history and did not delve into archaeology all that much. It’s been a delightful revelation to meet with archaeologists at key sites and gather the juicy details of good historical fiction from the admittedly dry reading of archaeological site reports and academic papers. It turns out the part I like best as a Classicist is archaeology. It’s the raw material of historical world building for this ancient period.
7) What is your next work, and beyond that, what do you want to work on.
I’m in the middle of a historical mystery featuring the Hittite Queen Puduhepa as “sleuth.” She would be as famous as Cleopatra if she hadn’t been buried by the sands of time. Her seal is on the first extant peace treaty in history next to her foe, Pharaoh Ramses II. Now that she’s been dug out, I’ve taken her remarkable personality, which seems perfectly suited for solving mysteries, and I am writing a series. She ruled from her teens until she was at least eighty, so I think this series may outlast me.
I’m also outlining a sequel to Hand of Fire—and Briseis may just make a major move to Cyprus. It’s such a gorgeous and intriguing island, covered in Bronze Age ruins, with several qualities that make it perfect for her. But as readers of Hand of Fire will realize, Briseis has got some business to take care of nearer to home before she can travel so far away.
8) In the current work, is there an excerpt to share? Your favorite scene, a part of your life that you put into the work and think it came out exceptionally well that you would like to share.
Here’s a brief moment that reveals Briseis rather vividly:
A rage rose up in Briseis; the sound of a hundred bees filled her head. In one motion she swept the dead Greek’s sword off the ground and leapt from behind the well. Achilles’ blade flashed in the air above her. She saw his hands grasping the hilt and sensed their power, then saw his look of astonishment as she raised her blade against the blow aimed at her brother. A new, invincible strength coursed through her arms. The desire to strike—raw and terrifying—drove out her helplessness. Her blade met his. A bolt shot through her.
9) Who do you think influenced your writing, this work, and who do you think you write like
I sometimes hear Homer in my voice because I’ve spent so much time immersed there—I think the bees in the passage above are a little reminiscent of a Homeric simile although I wasn’t thinking of that at the time. I love Victorian novels and I owe some of my use of imagery to novels like Jane Eyre. I think I’ve been more directly influenced by modern historical writers like Priscilla Royal, Elizabeth Speller and Kate Quinn, to name only a tiny sample.
At one point early on in my writing journey, when I’d been told by a good critic that my dialogue wasn’t fresh, I dissected the dialogue of several contemporary writers of historical fiction set in the ancient world. I think Kelli Stanley’s Romans 
helped me understand best how to indicate social standing and other key things via dialogue without exercising a heavy hand. It’s not like these characters spoke English to begin with, so there’s a tricky balance of several issues including anachronisms versus sounding stiff and “olde.” I couldn’t have worked it all out without a number of excellent models.
10) Who do you read? What are the things that a reader can identify with that you have grounded yourself in?
I’ve identified much of this in the answer above, but I’ll add to that list: 
Sharon Kay Penman, (DWW- Her Sunne in Splendour is my very favorite Historical Novel of all time and I would say increased the need and desire for me to become a writer.) P.D. James, Ellen Feldman, Rhys Bowen, Rebecca Cantrell, Nancy Bilyeau, Geraldine Brooks, Jacqueline Winspear (David W Wilkin-Ms Winspear recently appeared on my radar…), Alice McDermott and Isabel Allende. Definitely not an all-inclusive list. I can already think of people I’ve left out, but I’ll carry on.
11) When writing, what is your routine?
I try to write in the early mornings when I’m fresh and leave afternoons for marketing, reviewing and blogging. I’ve never been a late night worker. With the second book, I’ve started using Scrivener, a program for writers, and it helps a great deal. (DWW-This can be found at the Literature and Latte site and it is good for all types of writing. I use it for all my stories as well. I love that I can have on the page I am working on, in my lower right corner, a list of all my Dramatis Personae. I forget who is who while writing.) In a single glance I can see the pattern of my book and choose where I want to be working. It’s much more efficient than blindly plodding along and much more fun. I couldn’t have used this program when I was learning the craft early on, but now that I have a reasonable grounding, it’s great.
12) Do you think of yourself as an artist, or as a craftsman, a blend of both?
There is a sort of otherworldly feel to writing sometimes. I find as my characters grow they begin to take on a life of their own. I heard an author a few weeks ago say he thought he connected into some writers’ version of the collection unconscious with his characters. That makes sense to me because they certainly come alive in ways that I don’t always feel in control of. They have a tendency to boss me around and tell me that they would never say or do something like that so I should get to it and rewrite that idiotic scene.
Then, there’s a great deal of hard work and learning the skills that is definitely a craft. Studying those who have done it well makes a big difference. Workshops, classes and writing-craft books help also. A pleasantly vicious critique group or groups is essential.
I taught art history in my humanities classes for too long to feel comfortable applying a word like artist to what I do—sounds like I think I belong up there with Rembrandt or Shakespeare—but there’s definitely something bigger than me going on, thank goodness!
13) Where should we look for your work?
You can connect with Judith Starkston on
Her website http://www.judithstarkston.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/judy.starkston
Twitter https://twitter.com/JudithStarkston
