Nicolaos, the ambitious son of a minor sculptor, walks the mean streets of Classical Athens as an agent for the promising young politician Pericles. His mission is to find the assassin of the statesman Ephialtes, the man who brought democracy to Athens. The killing has thrown the city into uproar. The steadily increasing number of dead witnesses isn't helping much either.
But amongst the murder, the mayhem and the desperate investigation, Nico faces two even tougher challenges: how to get closer to Diotima, the intelligent and annoyingly virgin priestess of Artemis, and how to shake off his irritating 12 year old brother Socrates.
The official title of my first book is The Pericles Commission, appearing in a bookstore near you on October 12.
Yay!
This story really happened, though not, perhaps, precisely as it appears in the book. There really was an Ephialtes. He really did create the world’s first democracy. He really was murdered days later.
The murder was never solved. Until now!
41 comments:
Woohoo for release dates!
The instant I get a chance to preorder a copy, you can bet I'm going to do it.
Tre excited, Mr. Corby.
Excellent-I'm looking forward to a copy. Quick question though about the man who brought democracy to Athen's-what about Solon?
Congratulations. That's way exciting!
Whoo hooo! Congratulations! I'm so excited for you! I'll mark October 12 on my calendar! Can't wait to read this after all this time!
What a fabulously interesting setting and premise! Nice.
Do tweet us when there is pre-order information.
Waa-hooo! Congratulations, Gary - that is wonderful news! :-)
Awesome!!!
The only thing more exciting will be when you reveal the cover! :)
I'll definitely be putting in a pre-order of this one!
Congratulations!
Congrats! And I'm definitely going to have to look at that when it comes out.
At last. Great news Gary. Looking forward to it lots. Keep us informed of pre-ordering details please.
And finish redrafting the second so that you can get on with the third.
Congratulations! I'm very much looking forward to reading your book. October will be here before you know it!
Thank you everyone!
I did promise to say as soon as I knew the sale date, so mission accomplished.
Of course, we're still missing a few minor details, such as a cover.
Yes, I know I need to update the web site. I've got a few broken links too. I've got the copyedits in for The Pericles Commission right now, which is why I know this title is sticking.
Knowing the release date makes everything seem much more real. Also I saw the ISBN for the first time yesterday, which was weird and cool. I mean, no one in their right mind would give me an ISBN, right?
Yay, and double yay, Gary! Can't wait to read it, and I like the title... though I'm still kind of fond of Acropolis Now :-)
Here's what happened with Acropolis Now:
Scene: Janet (agent), Kathleen (editor), Keith (executive editor and He Who Pays For Lunch), and I are standing outside a Greek (of course) restaurant in New York.
Janet: We have a brilliant title idea for the book.
Keith: Tell me the title.
Janet: Acropolis Now.
Keith: (manic laughter) NO!
hahaha. That's kind of an awesome story about the death of a title.
I never for a moment thought Acropolis Now would actually get up, but it was fun seeing how far we could go with it.
In fact The Pericles Commission is the perfect title for this book. The moment I said it, we all knew this was it.
The Pericles instantly places the date and location for anyone with even a slight knowledge of history. It also names a major character. That's an awful lot of work for one word. The Commission indicates Pericles has a job for Our Hero.
A casual browser in a bookstore, who's never heard of me and never read this blog, could glance at the 3 word title and have a pretty fair idea what the book's about. This is goodness.
Woohoo!
*breaks out in an Egyptian happy dance*
I was just telling my husband about your book and he asked when it came out. I thought it was October, but now I know. I'll preorder my copy as soon as it's available!
OMG yay!
I can't wait.
Available in South Africa? Please tell me yes!
Thanks Stephanie. I'm looking forward to holding a copy of your book!
We all need to see a video of this Egyptian happy dance some day, you know.
Thanks so much Notalama for the kind words. And welcome to the blog!
I very much hope The Pericles Commission will be on sale in South Africa. For that to happen, some nice publisher in S.A. has to put up their hand and say they want to print it.
You have inspired me to blog about foreign rights in the near future. (And by foreign I include, weirdly, my own country.) Thanks for the idea!
Sexy title, quick release date, what's not to like? CONGRATS!
Thanks Carrie. Yes, it isn't long now.
Congratulations. Can't wait to see it in the store.
I kind of like that Australia is a foreign market, simply for the fact that I found out yesterday that a press there is publishing a Hatshepsut trilogy. The first book came out in January this year.
I almost had a heart attack until I discovered it's not available at Amazon. No one else is allowed to have a Hatshepsut bestseller except for me!
What an exciting day.A moment to be remembered and celebrated.If you book is half as good as your blog, it's sure to be a blockbuster. Linda
What an exciting day. A moment to be celebrated! If your book is half as good as your blog it'll be a blockbuster!
Thanks kd and Linda!
Stephanie, I totally understand the feeling, but keep in mind that multiple authors writing about the same person happens all the time. Think of the zillion books about Queen Elizabeth I, for example.
Steven Saylor & John Roberts both write Roman mysteries set in the years, with even the same major characters!
WOOHOO - great news on a release date...
ROFL @ "Acropolis Now" can just imagine Effie making an appearance ;)
(That comment might only make sense to Aussies, sorry)
Definitely going to keep an eye out for a pre-order of "The Pericles Commission".
Thanks Kosmos!
When the book's available for pre-order, I'm fairly sure I'll remember to mention it. :-)
Wow, good news! I'm looking forward to this book, I really do!
Thanks Anneke. I know it's been a long, long journey for you.
For those who don't know, which is just about the entire world, Anneke was the first person outside my immediate family to read this book. In 2007!
Anneke, Without people like you to read and support all of us lonely and often times lost writing souls,(I speak for myself there) I doubt one book would have ever gotten published. Linda
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Thank you!
It's difficult to describe the feeling of knowing you have a book coming out. I'm very lucky.
Thank you Linda!
And thank you Gary. I remember you said I was crazy when I asked for the manuscript to read, but I knew it was worth it. I'm very proud of your achievement.
GREAT title, Gary. And not to sound like Veruca Salt, but I want it NOW!
Thanks Brian. There were about 30 suggestions for a title before we finally found The One. I envy people with a regular title format!
YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!
October is a good month. I'm getting good vibes from it already!
Thanks Irene & Jo!
Late to the party (been very busy) but congrats!
Congratulations
Post a Comment