BLOG: What Brook has been up to . . .

Dear Readers,

I haven't posted in a month or more, due to my travels. My current project has also kept me busy, and I am pleased to state that the writing of this book is nearing completion. Today's post should interest you if you are curious as to what I've been up to with this new novel.

In late May, I traveled to Rome and Naples with fellow author Eileen Stephenson. There were several sites I was anxious to revisit, as both pertained to my work. We hit the ground running, and our first visit was to the Ara Pacis, Augustus's altar to his Pax Romana--Roman Peace. This remarkable artifact was dredged up from the Tiber River in the early 20th century, and is now housed in a magnificent museum that's right next door to the Mausoleum of Augustus, currently under some heavy excavation work.

The detail on the right shows the main character from one of my two timelines. She is Antonia Maior, daughter of Marc Antony and Octavia. For those of you who have read my ANTONIUS TRILOGY, this upcoming book is a partner book of sorts to that series. By the time she walked in this procession, at the opening of her uncle's religious site, she had been married for quite some time. Her husband was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; a man taken to racing chariots, drinking heavily, and sleeping around. He made for some wonderful characterizing!

The photo here to the left was taken with me standing in front of all that is left of the Arch of Augustus, which he had built in honor of his Triumph, once he returned from Egypt in victory.

Eileen and I spent a full day in the Forum Romanum, focusing on various areas like the Vestal Temple, the Temple of Caesar, the Curia, Temple of Venus Genetrix, and Forum of Caesar. All along the way, I was able to better visualize some of the places in my novel and take photos so I am able to come up with sound, logistical descriptions. For authors, even the plant-life and weather of a particular region in one's story is important to be able to describe and cover in detail.

So where am I in the writing process right now? The manuscript is more or less complete, though I still have some revision work I need to accomplish in the next week, as well as a read-through. After that, it will be sent to a handful of beta-readers, who will read it with a critical eye to give me honest feedback about how they feel about it. Sometimes that's based on character, plot, or whether the pacing of the story overall is too fast or slow. Remember that until it's actually published, it will remain subject to change. Each person I ask to participate in a beta read is someone I have great respect for. And each is also a distinguished author.

At right is a photo I shot inside the Domus Augustus. Hard as it is to imagine, the Emperor Augustus's own house is still standing, along with some of the frescoes decorating its interior walls.

This one is inside the Siracusa Study, where Augustus often spent private time and also conducted a lot of very personal business. It makes one wonder what really went on up there! I said "up there", because the Siracusa is located on a second story portion of the structure. After two-thousand years, I find it mind-blowing that it's even still there! I mean, think about it! This house is older than Christianity itself!

On the fourth day of our stay in Rome, we left the city for a few days, flying down to Naples. Located at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius, it is a great spot to stay when visited the Herculaneum Archaeological Park.

I had not been there since 2015, and there were MANY changes--all for the better. They have opened a fantastic museum that features some of the rarest items from the doomed city. To the left, check out this inlaid wood on this table. Due to the pyroclastic flow that hit Herculaneum, things like wood survived mostly intact. You can be walking around the city, look up, and voila! There's a charred wooden beam above your head that's almost two-thousand years old.

This little gaming table didn't just come from anywhere, either. It was discovered inside the Villa dei Papyri--House of the Papyrus, named so because of the hundreds of charred papyri discovered within. It's believed that this villa was once owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who happened to be Julius Caesar's father-in-law. According to ancient writers, Piso maintained one of the finest private libraries in the ancient world. So archaeologists are still anxious to learn whether more scrolls are still inside that have yet to be discovered.

I'm still trying to gauge what the piece at right could have been. Again, the rarity of preserved wood from so long ago is simply amazing. And look at this one. Artists had painted it with bright, bold colors within geometrical panels. If anybody has a guess as to what it was, let me know! It's sure interesting-looking, though. The precision and detail of the artistry is impressive.

Another remarkable thing is that somehow, all of these pieces were spared from a volcanic eruption, embedded in pyroclastic material which is now hard as concrete. Excavators had to use jack-hammers just to reach the Roman level of the site, before switching to more delicate means of cracking through and removing debris.

Another problematic issue at Herculaneum is that the modern town is literally right above the ancient one. This prevents extensive excavation, though there has to be an archaeological gold-mine beneath some of the businesses and homes atop the Roman remains.

Speaking of gold-mines, there is a huge difference between Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pompeii is much bigger, and easier to excavate, for several reasons. First and foremost, the modern town sits some distance away from where the ancient one lies. Second, the material that landed atop Pompeii was mostly pumice and ash. Though it has settled and solidified somewhat, it has not been as difficult to remove as the material in Herculaneum.

Another vast difference between the two cities was the socio-economic one in ancient times. Pompeii was a run-of-the-mill Roman town, preserved so that now we're able to see how a normal Roman city was put together and run. It had homes, but also businesses, a forum, amphitheater, theater, and temples. Herculaneum, however, was a resort town for the rich and famous.

To the upper left is an intricately decorated ornament that was once fastened to a stool or chair. It's made of ivory. So when visiting Herculaneum, the art, the artifacts are all very rich.

So what is this novel I'm writing about? It's the shortest book I've written thus far, coming in (right now) at just under 81K words. It's also a dual timeline, meaning I have two different periods--one in ancient Rome, the other in the present day. That also means two different protagonists. And perhaps most importantly, dual timelines always have something tying the two stories together. And that something is a Herculaneum scroll.

Next week, I'll be adding another segment to What Brook has been up to . . . It will give you a taste of the modern portion of my next book, which I'm so excited to share. So, until then, pull out a good read, head to the beach or a hammock someplace and READ ON!!!