It's a countdown! Part Two.

Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry

Curse of the Spider Woman is a combination of James Bond meeting Greek Mythology. But with consensual sex.

One of the fun parts of the manuscript was writing the epic poetry that parallels the main story.  My heroine is an aficionado of Homer, and writes her own epics.

Here's some to whet your appetite.

Curse of the Spider Woman

An epic poem

By Rachel Havelock

Rage I sing, and death also,

The tale of curséd women, their deaths

The sacrifice demanded by

Grey-eyed Athena,

Keeper of the ground of Greece.

Arachne, the weaver, the spider,

Doomed by the pricked pride of

The white-armed Goddess, her daughters

To die before the blooming

Of their lives.

All died, all mourned

Until the last flew across the

Wine-dark sea to

Defy the Goddess.

It's a countdown!

I love coffee. I love coffee. I love coffee.

Curse of the Spider woman will be for sale before Halloween!

I am writing fast and trying to complete everything - and I do mean everything, from editing to formatting to pushing the publishing button (and hopefully ordering the print copies in time for my release party!)- before the 17th.

For this, I'm "Butt in Chair, Fingers on Keyboard" like mad. So before I go back into my writing cave, I'm going to leave you with a teaser from my new book.

The first paragraph:

“Look at that. The great god Hades gathering flowers on the riverbank like a lazy milkmaid.” The lieutenant of the Heirs of Socrates sneered. “Our emasculated gods no longer care about the people of Greece.” Despite the touch of silver in his own hair, the lieutenant still knew himself to be virile and manly. Not the sort who would wander like a barefoot hippie to appease his spoilt wife.

  More to come!

Book Locations: The Drake Hotel.

My current work-in-progress involves travel (as all my books do). The heroine starts in Chicago, Illinois, and ends up in Athens and Delphi, in Greece. As part of my preparation to write, I like to collect maps, photographs, and descriptions of my locations.

My first location is the Drake Hotel, a long-time fixture of the Chicago Gold Coast. For me, it has long been the epitome of luxury, style, and class.

So of course, I had to set a scene where my hero receives his top-secret orders and his weapons on a secret floor. Something like this:

Obviously, I need to go to the Drake and get some of my own photos!

(The following clip has nothing to do with the Drake, so just think of it as a bonus yummy for the day.:)