About the Book: Vetted by Roman experts and a Latin teacher, the novel tells the story of two teens in alternating voices: Lucia, the daughter of the owner of a struggling gladiatorial school, and Tages, a medical slave in her father’s school. Concerned by strange signs in the natural world around her, Lucia dreams about discussing them with the naturalist Pliny, who lives … [Read more...] about Excerpts from Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii
It Takes A Village–And Books!
L to R, student Day Day from Thailand, me, student Keriya Osman from Ethiopia, and Head of School Amy Pelissero with the donated books at the Global Village Project. On behalf of the Southern-Breeze region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), I had the pleasure of delivering three boxes of sparkling new books to The Global Village Project … [Read more...] about It Takes A Village–And Books!
A Cover for Hades Speaks!
Illustrator J.E. Larson has outdone himself, for real! I wish you could see the "foil" effect on the eyes. So. Delightfully. Creepy. This book, I think, really hits the sweet spot for kids ages 9-12 interested in mythology. Hades Speaks! A Guide to the Underworld by the Greek God of the Dead (Boyds Mills Press) releases this October--just in time for Halloween! Many of you … [Read more...] about A Cover for Hades Speaks!
The Surprising Sexual Reason Pompeii’s Lead is a Slave
I was deep into writing my young adult novel set in Pompeii, Curses and Smoke (Scholastic, May 2014), when my editor sent me a message that would've made any writer's blood turn to ice. "Turns out there's a movie being made about Pompeii," she wrote. "And it too features a male slave as the love interest." After dropping several f-bombs that nearly made my dog's ears bleed, I … [Read more...] about The Surprising Sexual Reason Pompeii’s Lead is a Slave
My Review of Pompeii
Several weeks ago, thanks to VaniaStoyanova, I caught a sneak preview of Pompeii, which opens in theaters, February 21. Interestingly, the experience of attending the early screening was almost more entertaining than the film itself. In the lobby, we were directed to a table manned by several tough-guys dressed in black suits. It looked like a convention of mobsters. No … [Read more...] about My Review of Pompeii
