HERACLES, our archaeoseismological (big word, eight syllables, wooh) project in the ruins of the Mycanean Palace in Tiryns started last week. I won’t be joining the crew for another week, but I do have pictures! The gravimeter that has my name on it. He’s waiting patiently for my arrival. Not a field of flowers, but a field of seismometers. With their own sun. Every dig needs its own dog. He has a Greek name (Dida) and a German one (Wurst). Archeologists and Geoscientists of all sizes and nationalities working together. Yes, it can be done.
I am proud of all the authors of the above-named paper (Klaus-G. Hinzen, Stephan Schreiber, Claus Fleischer, myself, and Isabel Wiosna; see link below), the culmination of three years of research, one doctor title (Stephan Schreiber), a master’s degree (Isabel Wiosna), and much groundbreaking research. The original research proposal, funded by the German Science Foundation, heavily influenced scenarios in the first two books of my fantasy series. (N.B. None of the researchers can be blamed for the parts about the Druids; I came up with that on my own, or indeed any of the facts I may have misrepresented on… Read More
Tracie Mayer and I wanted to find out more about the fascinating woman who reduced the attendees of the AIWCC Annual General Meeting to tears with her stories about the foundation she started to help troubled and abused children. After the countess showed us her home (see Part I), we had a chance to ask her some questions. TM: Was there a certain event that triggered your founding the Jeannette Gräfin Beissel von Gymnich Stiftung in 2008? JGBvG: Yes. A couple years after I moved into the castle, I noticed a group of kids sitting around the campfire after all… Read More
Niteblade opened its literary doors in 2007, just about the time I started writing seriously, as in submitting-work-serious. There have been many markets that have come and gone since then, and I have tried my luck with many of them, but Niteblade is still with us and still going strong. I’m proud to say that Niteblade was one of my very first sales! And if you’ve been following the blog train so far (I’m stop #18, I think), you’ll realize that this theme reoccurs – Niteblade is a good place for authors starting out (and also returning authors – I’ll… Read More
Put two women in a Mini and aim them away from Cologne. What happens? They get hopelessly lost, but because they are so righteous, they of course deny it. Just outside of Aachen, Tracie Mayer and I really had to admit it. Then we finally figured out how to program the %&$!?*# GPS and got ourselves headed in the right direction. I was already plenty nervous as it was. I had been to Burg Satzvey many years before when we took my son to one of their jousting plays. I had been totally entranced with the authentically costumed purveyors of… Read More
