Interview with author of CLEOPATRA RULES! Vicky Alvear Shecter

If you are a fan of Egypt's most raucous Queen Cleopatra then you won't want to miss this interview with author Vicky Alvear Shecter.

1. Can you tell us about your background and how you became a children's book author? I love to hear the "big break" stories. How did you get yours? 

Well, it wasn’t so much of a “big break.” I like to think of it more as a “hairline fracture.”  I loved history as a kid but somehow got away from it as I grew up. I ended up as a freelance writer for businesses, writing marketing materials. I took some time off when I had my second child and when it was time to get back into the business, my heart sunk at having to write about boring issues. At the time, Oliver Stone’s movie on Alexander (not recommended, don’t get me started) was coming out and my brother, who is also a writer, got an assignment to write about him. Only one problem: he didn’t know who he was! I ended up doing a lot of the research for him. I started sharing some of what I learned with my kids and they loved the stories. So I said, “Hey, I’ll just write a book about him for kids!”—not knowing how hard it is to get published. It’s a good thing I didn’t know or else I would have talked myself out of it.  Alexander the Great Rocks the World came out in 2006 when I was 45. So it’s never to late to follow your passions!

2. You're writing style is so refreshing - lots of hilarious analogies and an infectious tone that is sure to have kid appeal. What are some of your tips for writing engaging history books?

Have fun! And love what you’re writing about. Hopefully, my delight in the topic shines through. Also, it helps to have an immature sense of humor. If it’s outrageous, gross, or funny, I’m all over it! I think developing this style, though, came from the fact that I was telling these stories to kids at first. And you can see the moment you lose their attention. Their eyes wander, then their bodies. I noticed that the more enthusiastic, silly, or dramatic I got, the more I captured their attention. One of the greatest compliments I recently received came from a mom at a signing who said—after my presentation—that her daughter turned to her and announced, “That’s why I love her books so much. She writes just like she talks.”

3. Now let's dish Cleopatra. When I was a kid, I pictured Cleopatra as the royal diva traveling up the nile in her barge while half-naked slaves fanned her with peacock feathers. I am guessing many kids have this image of Cleopatra. But after reading your book, I realized that there was a grain of truth to the Hollywood cliche image...Cleopatra sure knew how to throw a party. Do you think Cleopatra's PR skills kept her in power?

Oh, I love to dish!  And there’s definitely a grain of truth to the image of Cleopatra you describe. That image comes from Plutarch in his description of how she arrived for a business meeting with Mark Antony. Girlfriend knew how to make an entrance! But she was so much more than the image. Unfortunately, that little grain took over the entire dish. In truth, she was a complex woman who was a brilliant politician and knew how to “market” her image to her advantage. She would have kicked butt in our media age.

4. I always think writers choose subjects because they remind them of people in their lives. Do you think this is true? If yes, do you have a strong Cleopatra-like role model that inspired you?

In my case, I ended up writing about ancient history because I think it was my first intellectual “love.” I can still remember being in the fourth or fifth grade and opening up an oversized library book filled with images of classical statues. I completely lost my breath. I had never seen anything so beautiful! I wanted to know about the people who could create such beauty. I was smitten with the ancient world at first, not with any particular personality.

5. When I do school visits, I always ask kids if they like history. Usually they try to be polite and throw me a bone by saying "I like Egyptian History."  I can't tell you how many times I have heard this! Why do you think this time period in history is so addictive for young readers (and adults)?

Because it’s so dang weird and magical! How could anyone not be fascinated by the people who built the pyramids and mummified their dead so that they could party forever in the afterworld? Also, their artwork was so just so beautiful and unique. So stylized. You can’t help but look at their art or hieroglyphics and wonder if there is some secret magic behind it. Ancient Egypt still has the power to awe. Our society is so cynical, but even adults don’t get embarrassed about their enthusiasm over ancient Egypt. It’s like we all had a silent agreement that Egypt was cool enough to fascinate no matter what our age.

6. I love how you intertwined real life details of daily life into the story (ie. the Buchis Bull,  the library, Egyptian jewelry.) It really made the story come alive because the reader could not only see how Cleopatra interacted with her world, but also the common person's point of view. There are so many juicy pieces of history that I don't even know which one to share! So you pick one. What is one of your favorite interesting sidebars from the book about daily life?

Oh man, that’s a tough one because there are so many. However, I’d have to choose the section on mummification because, well, it’s so fascinating and gross! Ancient Egypt had the only religion that I know of that required the body be available for eternal life. No body? No afterlife. You could, in a pinch, have your ka or spirit inhabit a statue but without either, your spirit “disappears.” Besides the gross details of mummification (which all the kids know, by the way), I’m fascinated by how they came to believe what they believed. One quick detail regarding that: archaeologists theorize that the very early Egyptians saw that the bodies they buried in the desert became naturally dessicated/mummified. They took that to mean the gods wanted them that way! Then they saw jackals wandering near these graves, which looked to them as if the jackals were protecting the bodies. And so Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification and protection was born.

7. Readers of this site like a good rumor. In your book, you talk about whether or not Cleopatra's son was Caesar’s. What do you personally think? 

Oh, I have no doubt that Caesarion was Caesar’s son. Cleopatra was too smart to have risked pairing up with anybody but the most powerful man in Rome. Everything she did was in the service of preserving Egypt’s survival and independence. The biggest rumor about Cleopatra is basically that she was a harlot. Most scholars now believe she had only two lovers her whole life—Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The rest were vile rumors meant to discredit her.

(Which always puzzles me, by the way. Why would having multiple lovers even matter? It’s a plus when we’re talking about men!) Some people throw out the fact that Cleopatra had married her brothers as proof of her supposed debauchery. But the simple fact was, the law required her to be married to a member of the royal family in order to rule. She did what she had to do, but it doesn’t mean she ever slept with them—especially since each brother was pre-pubescent at the time of the marriage and then died soon after. Plus, I’m sure that the brothers’ propensity for wanting big sis’ dead didn’t help matters either.

But what I find most interesting about all the rumors is that it was the Romans who set up the tendency to take women down by talking about their sex lives: Hate or scared by a powerful woman? That’s easy—just call her a slut!

8. In your book, you tackle the tough issue of why Cleopatra was so seductive. Everyone (including me) is obsessed with what Cleopatra looked like. But as you point out in your book, "Cleopatra Rules" not because she was the ideal beauty. Obviously, this is a powerful message for teens obsessed with the size of their butt. Is there anyone in Hollywood who you feel embodies Cleopatra's seductive powers? 

Above: Cleopatra's facial reconstruction. 

I’m not sure there IS anyone in Hollywood who captures Cleopatra’s powers of fascination simply because Hollywood is all about external beauty. Cleopatra’s attraction was her charisma—her intelligence (she spoke more than seven languages), wit, power and self-confidence. Today, if a woman comes across as self-confident or powerful in Hollywood, she is immediately called a bitch or slut. (Ah, that Roman legacy.)

The only Hollywood person that I can think of that comes close to having that sense of charismatic power and self-confidence might be Queen Latifah. She’s not what you would call a typical beauty but I imagine that when she walks into a room, few can keep their eyes away from her. The only other Hollywood actress that has that “I-don’t-give-a-darn-what-you-think-of-me” persona is Angelina Jolie. Now I hate to even bring up her name because of her stunning beauty, but again, her confidence and fearlessness makes her even more fascinating. Jolie, of course, has been slated to play Cleopatra in an upcoming movie and I’m very unhappy about it because Jolie will play her as a great beauty and seductress (how could she do otherwise?). And the Roman view of Cleo as a scheming seductress rather than brilliant politician will be yet again perpetuated. I think it would have been way more interesting to have a less-than-beautiful actress play her. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in Hollywood with that kind of power and presence—men included!

9. Lastly, a question I ask everyone who visits the Raucous Royals -  if you could invite any famous historical person to dinner, who would it be?

Any one of the ancient queens that got torn down for being powerful fascinate me, and that includes Cleopatra. But I think I might want a conversation with the female pharaoh Hatshepsut because her successor tried to erase her 20-year rule. We have nothing on her but clearly she must have been amazing to hold the throne by herself for that long. I’d love to know how she did it.

Wait, no…maybe Boudicca, the ancient warrior queen that demolished several Roman legions and almost succeeded in kicking Rome out of Britain. It was because of her that the Romans destroyed all vestiges of Druidism. She was probably a Druid priestess herself….But then again, there’s Queen Zenobia of Palmyra (ancient Syria) who…oh, never mind. Clearly, I can’t choose!

Thank you Vicky for stopping by. Now, I think I need to reread your book to get up to speed on my mummification knowledge. 

Interview with Author, Susan Holloway Scott

First, could you tell readers a little about your background and how you got started writing historical fiction?

I graduated from Brown University with a degree in art history. At Brown I learned the magic of working with primary sources, of being able to reach back through centuries of opinions to squirrel out the truth about the past. I loved art history and still do, but didn’t want to make a career of it, and so I went into public relations (which was excellent training for writing fiction.)

I wrote my first book in a sleep-deprived frenzy while on maternity leave with my daughter. Miraculously, the book sold, and I wrote historical romances under the name Miranda Jarrett, setting books everywhere from colonial America to northern Africa and Naples during the Napoleonic Wars. But over time, the market’s focus shrank, with less and less interest in the history behind the story. Fortunately, the historical novel market was growing, and I was able to shift to that with Duchess in 2006. I’m much happier now: I’m a total history-nerd and love to wallow in my research, and I can let my historically based characters tell their stories without worrying about always having romance’s required happily-ever-after –– the famous HEA.

You have written over 40 historical novels and novellas with over 3 million copies in print. This means you are either pushing 80 or are a seriously fast writer. (I am guessing from your picture, that it is the latter.) What were some of the challenges in writing The French Mistress?

Actually, I’m 360 years old with a really good photographer, and I’m writing about the Restoration Court from my own recollections. Nah….but I do write fast. I think it comes from having begun to write seriously while my kids were still babies. I was also working a full-time day job, and I learned to make every writing-and-research-minute count.

There were in fact some genuine challenges with The French Mistress. First, of course, was the fact that many of the original sources about her were in French, and 17th century French at that. Next was Louise herself. An outsider at the English Court, she trusted very few people beyond Charles, and seems to have had virtually no friends. Most of what was written about her by the English was critical, snide, or downright bitchy, with no one defending her or her actions. I had to sift through all of this, sensing what felt false and what was likely real, trying to “find” Louise as a real woman.

I know everyone says this about historical fiction but….the historical details were so vivid in The French Mistress. I started to have dreams that I was back in the English court being pursued by Charles II. (Thankfully, my husband never reads this blog) Could you share some of your research tips?

Oh, I know what you mean about Charles! As one of my readers noted, the man must have had powerful mojo.

If a writer likes to research (which I do), then it’s very tempting to share every cool little fact you’ve discovered. Tempting, and disastrous for your poor reader: even with fact-based fiction, readers are reading your book for the story and the characters. If they only wanted a history lesson, they would be reading non-fiction. So I always try to use those facts to see everything firmly through my protagonist’s eyes. No one living in Whitehall Palace in 1672 is going to stop what they’re doing to list how many looking glasses there are in their bedchamber or the manufacturer’s name. But Louise would have noted proudly how well the new looking glasses she’d just had installed (French workmanship, you know) reflected the afternoon light, or how she realized she could see into the next room without being seen, or worry if Charles would like them, or suspect she’d paid for them with a bribe from a foreign ambassador. If the cool fact doesn’t contribute to the story (or, to use the dreaded writing term, if it’s only an “info-dump”), then out it goes.

The French Mistress is set in one of the most dramatic periods in English history when heads still decorated the Tower Bridge and Charles had to constantly manipulate court factions. Could you describe some of the politics of the Restoration period and personality traits that kept Charles from becoming another despotic ruler?

For a king, Charles spent most of his reign walking the most unsteady of tightropes. He never forgot that his father had been beheaded by the same people who had welcomed him back to the throne, and he was always painfully aware of just how fickle that welcome might prove. He was also something of a pauper as royalty went, with much of his wealth lost during the Civil Wars. He was dependent on Parliament for his personal spending money as well as the money for any projects he wished to pursue, whether repairs to Windsor Castle or a new war on the Dutch. Parliament in turn tried their best to exert their collective will over Charles, refusing to agree to some of his more radical plans (such as expanding religious tolerance to all faiths, a long-standing desire of Charles’s that Parliament insisted on squashing), and Charles would counter by dissolving their session, and sending the members home to the country. In the meantime, Charles was marinating his own independence by secretly accepting large subsidies from his French cousin, Louis XIV. Though his conscience was often uneasy in private, he was for the most part publicly easy-going and agreeable, and for it he was much-loved by the general populace.

Your main character, Louise de Keroualle, experiences the contrast between the French and English courts. Unlike the French court under Louis XIV, Charles doesn’t waste time surrounding himself with mirrors. What were the major differences between these cousins? What were some similarities?

As first cousins, Charles and Louis were close in age and appearance. Both were tall, athletic, and full of restless energy, and both favored their Italian grandmother, Marie de’Medici, with dark hair and eyes. Both Charles and Louis witnessed the worst side of their subjects as children: Charles was made a fatherless exile during the Civil Wars, while Louis was forced to flee Paris with his mother during the Fronde.

Louis responded by making himself into an unapproachable demi-god, putting as much distance as he could from his people in his great palace at Versailles. He was aloof and distant, surrounding himself in elaborate protocol and rigidly observed rituals that proscribed his day. Charles, on the other hand, was affable and approachable, literally embraced his subjects of every rank, walking freely among them in London, feeding the ducks in the park at their side, and attending public theaters and taverns for amusement. His Court was bawdy and free-wheeling, much as he was himself.

The cousins were intensely competitive with each other, always watching what the other was doing in everything from diplomatic allies to the latest fashion in breeches, even to the beauty and “quality” of their mistresses. The response to each king’s death tells the whole story: when Louis died, an ancient, bitter king, the country rejoiced, relieved to finally be free of his rigid rule, but when Charles died, his people were said to have wept in the streets as if they’d lost a father, with heartfelt, public mourning that continued for weeks.

Throughout the novel, you illustrate the tenuous peace that existed between France and England. In The French Mistress, Louise plays the baby-faced, Bond Girl (minus the weaponry) sent from France to entice the English king. With loyalty being so important to Charles, do you think he ever suspected her motives?

Charles was known to be an excellent judge of character. It’s clear that he understood exactly what Louis was doing by sending the lady he’d admired to join the Queen of England’s household. No one was particularly fooled. He accepted her for what she was. My guess is that Charles was sufficiently enchanted by Louise not to refuse her as a “gift”, but that he was careful never to let her know anything truly important to pass along to Louis. As the years went by, she became a kind of quasi-diplomat herself, acting as a liaison between the two kings. Many courtiers were appalled by this arrangement, but it seemed to suit the parties involved well enough, and continued until Charles’s death.

Before writing about Louise de Keroualle, you also wrote about two of Charles’ previous mistresses – Nell Gwyn and Barbara Castlemaine. Charles really seemed to vary his taste in woman. If we were to play shrink, which mistress do you think was the best-suited companion for such an energetic ruler? Would one woman have ever met all his needs?

Wow, can you imagine being privy to all of Charles’s innermost thoughts and desires?

Ahem. Being a king, Charles was free to indulge his tastes in all their variety in a way that none of his (probably envious) subjects could. What sets Charles apart from true libertines was that he genuinely liked women for themselves, not just as conquests.
Historian Antonia Fraser suggests that Charles’s three most prominent mistresses each offered different things to Charles at different times in his life. Barbara was the uninhibited wild-child of his early reign, appealing to him as a sexual adventuress. Nell’s saucy wit made her a kind of court jester, delighting Charles as she dared to skewer the stuffier members of his Court. Nell was also his “country lass”, happily fishing and skinny-dipping with him at Windsor. Louise became the perfect bonne femme of his later years, representing not only the hospitality but also the French opulence and elegance that he’d always envied in his cousin Louis’s court.
And, of course, if we’re playing shrink, Charles’s mother was a French princess who always conversed with him in that language –– which may also explain some of Louise’s appeal for him.

We have some Raucous Royals readers who are big fans of Showtime’s The Tudors. When I was reading The French Mistress, I kept thinking how Charles’ bedroom romps would make for one steamy mini-series. Personally, I think Charles was so darn sexy because he could be the bad boy one minute, but kind-hearted and jovial the next. He is sort of like a mysterious Johnny Depp with a dash of George Clooney goofiness. If Showtime came knocking on your door, what present-day actor do you think could play Charles?

That’s a really tough question for me. I always form such strong notions in my head of how my characters look that it’s almost impossible for me to switch them out into modern actors and actresses. I’d probably suggest casting some unknowns in the roles. Charles would be a challenge: the actor would have to be physically imposing (Charles was over six feet tall), yet not traditionally handsome, with charm, mystery, goofiness (as you noted; Charles did have a wickedly playful sense of humor), and melancholy, too. Anyone else have a suggestion?

Many thanks to Carlyn for having me here as a guest!

Susan, thank you for taking the time to talk about your background and new novel. This month, one lucky newsletter subscriber will win a copy of The French Mistress. See links below to order your copy.

Raucous Interview and Book Giveaway

Last week, I reviewed Kris Waldherr’s Doomed Queens. For anyone who needs some art inspiration or just a deliciously good read, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book for all the divas on your christmas list. I contacted Kris to ask how she created the stunning art for Doomed Queens. Let's just say that Kris really knows how to put her babysitter, her editor and family and friends to work! Can you guess who posed for the ill-fated Amalasuntha or the discarded Josephine? Read more to find out….

Me: Could you talk a little bit about your process? What medium do you use? Did you do the art first or the writing first?

Kris: My bookmaking process involves a lot of rather intuitive back-and-forthing between design, research, text and art. My first job in publishing was a children's book designer, so I tend to approach my books from a design standpoint first, and work from there. In the case of Doomed Queens, I knew I wanted it to look rather Victorian, so I researched books of that era, looking at type treatments, their bindings and illustrations. I also did enough research on queens to create a general outline, which I then used to layout a book dummy.

From there, I began to write and make art for the book, usually researching and writing as I go along. However, I do adjust the book dummy and design as I work through the book to stuff in new research finds or other "eureka" ideas and art. There's a lot of refining and reworking involved.

The art itself was created with black and white ink, watercolor, gouache and pencil on Arches watercolor paper. I usually work on several drawings at once, going back and forth between them as inspiration allows. In the case of Doomed Queens, I worked on the art after the text, since my publisher needed the text first to allow for the time-consuming task of fact checking and editing. I use models to pose for the queens, whom I photograph in costume. My models are usually people I know who remind me in some way of the character being portrayed. For example, my brainy editor Kris Puopolo posed for the hyperintellectual Amalasuntha, the Ostrogoth queen who was strangled in her bath. Initially, I had planned to do a David "Death of Marat" pastiche, but as Kris posed, a more subtle (and I think creepier) composition evolved.

Me: Well I do hope your editor does not share the same fate as Amalasuntha!

You mentioned in a recent interview at Scandalous Women that you designed and illustrated Doomed Queens to look like a Victorian penny dreadful. I completely see that, but your style is far more unique. I would describe it as a cross between the decorative motifs of Gustav Klimt with the subtle mortality reminders of Van der Weyden, the idealized beauty of Botticelli with a dash of comic book action. Ha! That’s a mouthful. What artists do you feel most influenced you? Were you influenced by any of the artists mentioned?

Kris: Well, all the artists you've mentioned are certainly ones I admire, and who have inspired my art over the years. But for Doomed Queens, the artist I most thought of was Dante Gabriel Rossetti, in particular his early pen and ink drawings such as "How They Met Themselves" or "The Palace of Art." I completely adore these drawings, and find them so full of mystery and intensity, for all their youthful awkwardness. Though the final art for Doomed Queens doesn't look much like Rossetti, these drawings were ever in the back of my mind. In the beginning, I had copies of them tacked around my drawing board so I could study them.

Other influences: the Holbein Dance of Death woodcuts. I also used a lot of historical queens' portraits as points of departure for my art (just you did in your Raucous Royals). For example, it was a lot of fun to take on Velazquez's Las Meninas and kick it up a notch for my portrait of Margarita Theresa. But at a certain point, you have to let go of your expectations and let process take over, especially as deadline anxiety kicks in.

Me: Oh the portrait of Margarita Theresa is one of my favorites! I love what you added to her dress (readers are going to have to get the book to know what I am talking about) But if you could pick one painting to be a self-portrait, which queen most represents you?

Kris: Of all them, I'd have to say the portrait of Joséphine. But it would be a very twenty-something me; I'm still tall with a long neck, just a tad less sylph-like than I was as a young 'un. I was tempted to pose for one of the queen portraits, but didn't -- sometimes I do that in my illustrated books. Now I wish I had, though it seemed a little grand at the time to do so!

The model for Joséphine was my daughter's babysitter, Cassandra O'Neill, who is very tall and languorous looking. I had a lot of fun dressing her up and posing her in the style of an Empire portrait. She was a very game and patient model.

Me: Now that’s putting your child care to work. I think I might ask my babysitter to pose for a 17th century bloodletting scene. Thanks for the tip! What about your future plans? Will fans see a Doomed Kings?

Kris: Right now, I'm still recovering from finishing Doomed Queens, as well as the lead up to publication. It was a lot of work over a period of about eighteen months -- a real whirlwind. Since the book was a one color book -- sepia ink on paper -- my publisher opted to print domestically. The book didn't go on press until mid-August, a mere two months before its release date. So I was working on the book up until then, then immediately moved onto preparing for publication. This was a very different experience from illustrating a full color book, which are usually printed overseas with a nine month lead time; by the time those books come out, I'm usually already well onto the next deadline.

That written, there are plans in place for a Doomed Queens follow up book, as well as other illustrated publications. Everything is still in the "too soon to share details" stage, but I will keep you posted! I also have a small studio-gallery here in Brooklyn, which is oriented around book arts, which keeps me very busy.

Me: Congratulations on the success of your book! Readers can learn more about Doomed Queens by visiting Kris's web site or watching the book trailer

Win a FREE copy of Doomed Queens
I will be raffling off a copy of Doomed Queens to one lucky subscriber of the monthly Raucous Royals Newsletter. The Newsletter is going out on the 14th and I will announce two winners then - one for The Raucous Royals (last week's giveaway) and one for Doomed Queens. (switching to my announcer voice here) That means you have DOUBLE the chance of winning a FREE book. Act now before it is too late...If you have not subscribed yet, just click here and enter your email and name.