From first draft to family affair!
How my wife has supported me, and her favorite books (by me).
Hello there my amazing readers, a very happy new year to you! 🎉
Here’s this week’s edition.
Writing can feel like a solitary act. It’s just you, the software, and a whirl of ideas in your head. My first attempts were cringy, but after diving into The Atlantis Papyrus, I haven't stopped.
One incredible stroke of luck: my wife's support.
Ancient history wasn't her thing, but she patiently listened when I incessantly pestered her to read early chapters of The Atlantis Papyrus. Her invaluable feedback as a reader helped refine those early drafts. The early title was "Callisthenes' Secret": her first question was, "Who is Callisthenes, and will anyone care?" And that's how it became the Atlantis Papyrus.
Since then, she's read four Whispers of Atlantis books (Maurya's next, then The Death Pit), finished Cleopatra, and plans to tackle Spartacus after. The fact that she reads them like any other novel without my nagging makes me ridiculously happy. When she finishes each book, I always ask her opinion (she’s not a fan of crude statements some of my characters make, and I protest that then the character is having the intended effect!)
Her favorites are the Cleopatra series, and among the Whispers of Atlantis books, Wrath of God (4.5/5 on Goodreads) followed by Curse of Ammon. My novels have even sparked an appreciation for ancient history in her. I joke that she has a unique perk -she can question the author directly (which she does, about Maurya lately). She helps me with themes, covers, and blurbs, and reads my newsletter (hi there, sweets!). What can I say? I got lucky.
My daughter's nearing adulthood, and I've told her she can start with the Cleopatra books. She's a history buff, and I hope she dives in someday. Sure, there's mild adult content, but hey, she can pretend Dad didn't write that part!
My wife’s favorite novel: The Wrath of God
Since this book is her favorite Whispers of Atlantis novel (she should read The Death Pit), I thought I'd shed some light on this work.
I had a vague outline for this novel by the time I arrived at the final 30% of the Atlantis Papyrus. The Wrath of God offers some backstory to the Atlantis Papyrus. Readers can enjoy either book first, and neither is a pre-requisite for the other. This adventure takes you to ancient Egypt and the maritime Atalanni civilization. Their world is shaken by earthquakes and a volcanic eruption, worrying the King and prompting the Oracle's grim pronouncement of divine displeasure.
Meanwhile, young Pharaoh Ahmose (the first Pharaoh of Egypt’s famous New Kingdom that later featured rulers like Hatshepsut, Thutmose, and Tutankhamun) burns with shame because his kingdom is under Hyksos rule in the North and dreams of their expulsion. They have killed his father and fatally injured his brave brother. But soon, the ambitions of these two major civilizations collide in a dramatic upheaval.
Join kings, generals, oracles, princesses, and pharaohs in this tale woven with ambition, betrayal, disaster, and love. Governor Minos of Crete makes an appearance and I think you’ll like (hate?) him. And the Oracle? She’s quite the woman. I consider it the most "epic" of my works and is probably the longest. At the end of the novel, I share research notes on the fascinating period, including insights into the Minoan civilization (whose true name and language remain mysteries) and the Hyksos (simply meant "shepherd kings").
Life events and a switch in my writing method took me about six months to craft and release the Wrath of God. I went from Microsoft Word to a text-based format called Markdown. In a future newsletter I will share my current method and why I love it (it hasn't changed in the last 3 years),
Some authors can write more than one book at the same time. I cannot. I am a linear writer - I prefer to immerse myself in one world at a time. Three ideas wait in my writing queue, but they'll come alive one by one.
And that’s it for this week.
I’ll probably talk about Spartacus in the next and share my early struggles with marketing my first novel.
Meanwhile, the Weave continues its march towards completion. I’m nearing the final 10% of the book for what I think is an explosive climax. Still on track for Q1.
Bye for now and I hope you wonderful folks have a great weekend and the start of the new year!
Jay