by Stephanie Dray | Oct 28, 2010 | FAQ, Fun Stuff
Today we say the rich are born with silver spoons in their mouths. In the ancient world, they said the wealthy were born to the purple. This phrase alludes to the royal robes dyed with a precious shade of deep purple originally created by the Phoenicians in Tyre....
by Stephanie Dray | Sep 23, 2010 | Fun Stuff
Though Augustus is the villain of my novel, Lily of the Nile, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the old tyrant. It seems only fitting that we wish him a happy birthday on this September 23rd. You may wonder why August, the month actually named after him, is not also...
by Stephanie Dray | Aug 31, 2010 | Cleopatra Selene, FAQ, Fun Stuff
Though no ancient sources directly link the two monarchs, it’s difficult to write a novel about the life of Cleopatra’s daughter Selene without referencing one of her mother’s bitterest enemies–Herod the Great, a villain of the New Testament....
by Stephanie Dray | Aug 27, 2010 | Fun Stuff, Miscellany
The statuary and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome has inspired us for centuries. Our own nation’s capital, with all its gleaming white marble, is a tribute to what we suppose an ancient city of grandeur ought to look like. And while it is true that many...
by Stephanie Dray | Aug 24, 2010 | Fun Stuff, Miscellany
On August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius exploded, killing thousands and burying Pompeii under a layer of ash. You might not think this is cause to celebrate, but the largest volcanic explosion in recorded history is apparently a holiday. Perhaps this is meant in the sober...
by Stephanie Dray | Aug 22, 2010 | Fun Stuff
Okay, how great is this? My friend Karen Wester Newton just informed me that Vicky Alvear Shecter has a book out this month called Cleopatra Rules: The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen. Sure, my books are dark and angsty tomes, but that doesn’t mean I...
