Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have published The Lost Wisdom of the Magi, which won the 2021 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical.
I’ve finished writing The Genizah Codex and am seeking other authors with whom to do beta-reading swaps.
I am also writing Dreaming of Jerusalem and The Receptacles of St. Ananias.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Genizah Codex is a murder mystery in three timeframes, where the three storylines are connected by refernce to an ancient document. That document is my first novel, The Lost Wisdom of the Magi.
I conceived of the idea because I wanted to write a murder mystery where the central mystery was not about who committed the murders but rather something else.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tense up my shoulders something rotten and have to spend a fortune in massage therapy.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mary Renault, The White Goddess by Robert Graves, The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazer
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my fourth novel, The Receptacles of St. Ananias.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I used Reedsy a lot, but other than that, I’m clueless.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Form/Join a writers’ group. Ours, Bounds Green Book Writers (BGBW)(www.boundsgreenbookwriters.com), continues to go from strength to strength.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One of my fellow BGBW members Elaine once asked me ‘What is it (my novel) about?’ I procedded to waffle about the plot, ‘It’s about this girl who’s a swordfighter, and she goes here and goes there.’ She said, ‘No, what is it about?’ I’m now looking for that in my work–overall theme, character arc, human drama rather than just plotpoints.
What are you reading now?
I am beta-reading The Boilerhouse, by Jonas Dreft.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to publish The Lost Wisdom of the Magi in the US and publish The Genizah Codex in the UK and US.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, War and Peace, Joseph and His Brothers, A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (I picked the longest ones)
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