Why are there white marble pebbles on every shale ledge in this geo on the Brough of Birsay, in Orkney? And why did Persie – Tanny and Jim’s youngest – vanish the moment she set foot on them?
There are three full-length novels (1, 3, & 5) and two novellas (2 & 4) published by DLG Publishing Partners and available in print and Kindle from Amazon. All now in print.
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Published April 2021! Book 2 (Deep Scansion) will follow in June and Book 3 (Place of Sacrifice) early in 2022.
The Castellina Curse is now available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WLD9PR3/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
Returning to this mysterious knoll at the northern end of ancient Tarquinia…in other words, updating these archaeological adventures, digging deeper into character and event, pruning and tightening. Fun stuff, good results!
This gold sheet ornament, meant magically to protect the chest of the wearer, came from the Regiolini-Galassi Tomb in Cerveteri and is now in the Vatican Museums. The pectoral found at La Castellina was edged with tiny golden jingle-bells or crotales.
In Book 2, Deep Scansion, Tanny is in hiding in the hamlet of Mammi, high above the hill town of Castiglion Fiorentino, trying to finish her dissertation and hide a key piece of evidence…
Tarquinia is real. The place is real. Even its name is real, as are the lines of elevation and excavation areas, both derived from Padovan, Gianluca, Civita di Tarquinia: Indagini Speleologiche, Catalogazione e studio Delle cavita artificiali rinvenute presso il Pian di Civita a il Pian della Regina, BAR International Series 1039 (2002). Notebooks on Medieval Topography (Documentary and Field Research) edited by Stefano del Lungo, No. 3. But all the rest, including the farmhouse, the camper, all the features and all the excavation details of La Castellina are the products of my imagination.
Derived from the same source as my La Castellina map, this shows all the true excavation areas of ancient Tarquinia, but labelled with fictitious names of characters from my book.
Jim’s heirloom pocket watch, known to his younger daughter as “Tick-Tick,” plays a pivotal role in the thrilling conclusion to this dark tale of misunderstanding, deception, and redemption.
Key locations in boldface. All these locations are real and may be found on any map of Italy. Map nerds, in particular students of my Fall 2005 TAMU Overseas Studies Geography of Europe class, will recognize the base map as one I used for their quiz on Italy.
…with a detail of the area of the Villa Parrhasia. All locations are real EXCEPT for the Villa Parrhasia. Although the Bosco Parrasio is real, visitors to the Fontana Paola or the American Academy (both real places, if magical-seeming) will look for the RCAS in vain. Its inspiration, however, The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, is nearby on Via A. Algardi, 19.
This map is derived from several guide-book maps as well as articles about the Cloaca Maxima, with a imaginary grid of drains added by me under the Temple of Peace. Features in dark lines are beneath the surface of the streets, light blocks and lines are on the modern surface of the city. Ristorante Angelino ai Fori dal 1947 is absolutely real, as is the waiter known as Walter.
What will Tanny and Jim sacrifice to learn all of La Castellina’s secrets before the site is closed forever? When a miracle is needed, will their past deeds tip the balance towards life or death?