Soon in Paperback!

Two of my books are coming out in paperback next spring. Cleopatra’s Moon (AAL/Scholastic), I knew about.

But I only just learned that my mid-grade biography, Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen (Boyds Mill Press) is also being reissued as a paperback next spring.

Yay!

Drag Queen Cleo is quite happy about this (as you can imagine) because I’ve been neglecting her lately.  But hey, life goes on and writers move on, right?

But she’s not having it. Her demands for attention will not be denied!

When I try to explain that I’ve been focusing on other fascinating ancient characters, she stomps her man-boots and claims that’s impossible.

DQC is my Cleo action figure. Her GI-Joe face is why I call her a drag queen.

“There ARE no other fascinating ancient characters,” she sniffed.

“You’re wrong,” I said (I know, I took my life in my hands…I removed all the knives from the room before I made that claim, though). “There’s Hatshepsut and Hannibal and Boudiccea and Nero and Zenobia and–“

But she cut me off. “Oh honey, please. Not a single one of those losers come close to my fame.”

“Oh yeah? How do you figure that?”

“How many movies have been made about any one of them?”

“I’m sure I can dig up movies and TV shows about Hannibal and Boudiccea…”

“Yes, but can they lay claim to having a signature haircut always and forever associated with them?

“Umm…”

“No. No, they cannot.”

“You got me there,” I said, a little bewildered. “You win.”

“That’s right,” DQC claimed. “Even when I lose, I win. It’s that quality that made me famous to begin with after all, isn’t it, darling?”

Who can argue with that? So, long live the Queen! In paperback, anyway.