Am I a storyteller? Are you?

Am I a storyteller? Are you?

Interesting thoughts. I’ve always thought that the best authors were also storytellers … but my definition differs a bit from that of the author here.

During my promo for my latest prehistoric fiction, Laws of Nature. one of my wonderful hosts posted this article  I wrote about the difference between being a storyteller and a writer. In case you missed it, here’s a revisit:

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Storyteller vs. writer. It took me a long time and a lot of experience to realize the difference between these two. They both describe authors who create fiction but one makes you want to curl into a comfortable chair and get lost in the tale while the other encourages you to find a better you from what you’re reading. Do you know which one that is?

When I read one of these, I am awed by the beauty of the words chosen, how they flow together, the emotions they evoke from somewhere within me. The other–I don’t think about the artistry of the writing because I’m lost in the…

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Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Wind back 2000 years to Ancient Rome « Alison Morton’s Thrillers

Christmas markets which now spring up in every self-respecting town and city may have their modern origins from those in Germany – a throwback itself to medieval winter markets and fairs – but December markets were a tradition in ancient Rome.

From the 17 December for a varying number of days, Romans of many centuries celebrated the festival of Saturnalia in honour of the god Saturn. Formal dress like the toga was abandoned for brighter, (the brighter the better) and looser tunics; eating and drinking increased as did gambling; masters, mistresses and slaves swapped places in the pecking order (even if for only a day); and family members and friends exchanged presents.

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Wind back 2000 years to Ancient Rome « Alison Morton’s Thrillers

Postcards: The text messages of yesteryear? | The Historic New Orleans Collection

But even before most households had telephones and cars, people did have a relatively cheap and easy way to keep in touch: the postcard. Then as now, postcards were often sent to friends far away—a “wish you were here” note from a scenic vacation spot. In the early 20th century, though, a postcard was also the simplest way to send the equivalent of a text message to a pal across town.

Postcards: The text messages of yesteryear? | The Historic New Orleans Collection

Just for fun: click through to see some entertaining postcards from the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Pompeii Still Has Buried Secrets | The New Yorker

I got off at the stop called Pompeii Scavi—“the ruins of Pompeii”—and headed toward the modern gates that surround the ancient city. Before Pompeii was drowned in ash, it had a circumference of about two miles, enclosing an area of some hundred and seventy acres—a fifth the size of Central Park. Its population is estimated to have been about eleven thousand, roughly the same number as live in Battery Park City. After the ruins were rediscovered, in the mid-eighteenth century, formal excavations continued throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, with successive directors of the site exposing mansions, temples, baths, and, eventually, entire streets paved with volcanic rock. About a third of the ancient city has yet to be excavated, however; the consensus among scholars is that this remainder should be left for future archeologists, and their presumably more sophisticated technologies.

Pompeii Still Has Buried Secrets | The New Yorker

I always enjoy an opportunity to share a bit of my research process with readers. This article on Pompeii came out just a few days ago. The train station to which the author makes reference was half a block from my hotel in Pompei.

The article provides an excellent overview of the most current research into Pompeii’s ruins and what the future holds for site.