Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Praise for Ancient Musings


Meet Meghan Sullivan. She writes historical fiction and currently has a manuscript out on a book about the ancient Greek General Themistocles, which you can learn more about on her site Ancient Musings (also linked on the right-hand side of this blog). I met Meghan at this year’s San Francisco Writer’s Conference where I learned about her wonderful work as a rising historical fiction novelist. Below I have posted her synopsis and prologue writing sample from her website. Give it a read and if you find the story of Themistocles as riveting as I do, check out her blog for more.



Synopsis:

When the world's largest empire threatens to invade his city-state, it is up to Themistocles to unite the factious people of Athens and save its fledgling democracy. To do so he will have to lie, cheat, steal, bribe and bully his way to the top of Athens’ fiercely competitive and fatal political game. Based on the real-life naval commander who led the Greeks to victory over the Persians 2,500 years ago, I recount the life of this extraordinary man through his own words.



Prologue

They say poison makes for a good death.

Oh, not the kind that leaves you clawing at your throat like hemlock, or the kind that leaves you with that...Sardonic smile. No. A good poison should be something quick and painless. That is why Bull's Blood is perfect.

Why poison? To escape the trap my enemies have set for me. To go to a place where they cannot follow. It is my last act of defiance against them, one more clever ruse to ensure my place in the pantheon of heroes. And what better way to do so than to die a hero's death? After all, poison is what took the lives of Heracles, Achilles, and Odysseus.

Yet it would be a shame for me to leave this world without recording the events of my life. Doesn't a hero deserve to have his tale sung to eager ears? I cannot rely on the goodwill of my enemies to do so, of course. It is up to me to tell the tale. And so before I cross the river Styx, here it is, the story of Themistocles, as remembered by the hero himself.



1 comment:

  1. Just reading this excerpt makes me want to go to Greece:)

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