A New Release!

Hi friends! 

I've been on Sabbatical for the last couple years, and I'm still not fully back, but I'm excited to reveal I'm working on a new paperback release collecting my short fiction: OF GODS AND MORTALS --here's the copy!

Two Novellas and Two Short Stories, previously digitally published or otherwise released independently, now collected together in print for the first time, including:

The Lion of Troezen
Ariadne and the Beast
King of the Lapiths
The Siren’s Song

From the conception of Theseus to Odysseus’s passage home in the aftermath of the Trojan War, this collection brings together the stories of three incredible women, and one forgotten son, oft overshadowed by the larger heroes and villains with whom their myths intersect, while exploring the depth of faith in themselves and the gods they both serve and defy as they claim their fates.

Fans of Madeline Miller’s CIRCE and Natalie Hayne’s A THOUSAND SHIPS will find the richly woven narratives of Aethra, Ariadne, Polypoetes, and Aglaope compelling additions to their collections of mythic retellings.

I'm doing final proofs now and tentatively planning an August/September release! Cover Coming Soon!

This will be a companion in style to my Dillin paperback collection, OF GODS AND JOTUNS, which also contains a little taste of historical/mythic retelling outside of the Aegean Bronze Age along with more contemporary fantasy works.

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King of the Lapiths: A Helen of Sparta Side-Story

It's a big year!

Not only did you get Aethra's novella, THE LION OF TROEZEN, but I have another short story that is releasing to Patrons now--King of the Lapiths, which takes place during the events of HELEN OF SPARTA.

You all know I have a certain fondness for Pirithous by now, and his son Polypoetes is one of my absolute favorite characters. But we don't get a lot of background on Polypoetes before his appearance in BY HELEN'S HAND, and we never see him (as an adult) on the same page as his father. Until now.

King of the Lapiths is just shy of 6K words, and takes place before Pirithous arrives in Athens to demand that Theseus accompany him to Hades on his quest to liberate Persephone in HELEN OF SPARTA. It's told from the points of view of both Pirithous and Polypoetes, giving us a glimpse of the relationship between father and son.

I hope very much this story will whet your appetite for my serialized podcast, A BROKEN HORSE, coming later in June--to Patreon Patrons first, of course!

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Bronze Age Greece Hist Fic Reading Order

It occurred to me this past weekend that you all might benefit from a reading order reference for the books all set in the shared world of HELEN OF SPARTA, in Bronze Age Greece, so I'm here to make it happen today!

These books, so far, except for SON OF ZEUS, all take place between the conception of Theseus and Odysseus's return home to Ithaca. That... probably will change, because I'm working on a Heracles book as we speak, and I have a larger Aethra project in the works as well! Something to look forward to, I suppose, and of course I will update this list when/if those titles are completed and released.

As things stand right now, if you'd like to read these works in chronological order inside the Bronze Age, here's where to start:

1) The Lion of Troezen (Novelette--launching on Patreon, January 2023) 

More than 40 years before Helen of Sparta, this novelette retells the myth of Theseus's conception, focusing on Aethra's extremely intimate relationship with Poseidon, and how that relationship alters the course of her life.

 

2) Ariadne and the Beast: A Short Story 

A little more than 25 years before Helen of Sparta. I guesstimate Theseus is in his late teens during the events of this story!

 

3) Tamer of Horses

~20 years before Helen of Sparta. Theseus and Pirithous are both kings of their respective domains, but still learning what that means.

 

4) Helen of Sparta

Theseus and Pirithous are both in their 40s and Heracles is older, still. 

 

5) By Helen's Hand 

Picks up right where Helen of Sparta leaves off. Pirithous's son by Hippodamia, Polypoetes, is of age to take over for his father as king of the Lapiths.

 

5a) A Broken Horse 

This novel is written but not yet published--I'm looking for an agent!--and follows both Paris and Polypoetes as they navigate the Trojan War.

 

6) The Siren's Song/A Sea of Sorrow

Takes place after the close of the Trojan War, as a retelling of The Odyssey. A Sea of Sorrow is in continuity with A Song of War, History 360's retelling of The Iliad, but my revised author's cut edition of The Siren's Song novella does exist within the same world as Helen of Sparta.

 

7) Son of Zeus

~3000 years or so after Helen of Sparta, this novel takes place in our modern world, and Pirithous is still in his 40s after being trapped in the chair of forgetfulness for millennia.

 All these titles, with the exception of Helen of Sparta and By Helen's Hand, were written to stand alone. You don't need to have read Tamer of Horses to enjoy Son of Zeus (I wrote Son of Zeus immediately after I finished writing Helen of Sparta, actually, before I had even written Tamer of Horses or By Helen's Hand.) And you don't need to read Ariadne to enjoy Helen of Sparta, though Theseus appears in both. 

You probably DO want to have read Helen of Sparta before you pick up By Helen's Hand, though, as they were written as a duology of Helen's life leading up to the Trojan War. And if you did happen to read Tamer of Horses before or after Helen of Sparta, it might enrich the experience of both books! If I've done my job right, you shouldn't need to have read either of Helen's books before A Broken Horse, either, when/if that makes it out into the wider world. Do I think you'll enjoy it more if you have? Yeah, of course. And even more again if you've read Tamer of Horses as well, since that's the story of Polypoetes's parents. But it shouldn't be a necessity. 

Consider them all just--companion novels, that allow you to travel a little deeper into the world and the stories of the characters you've met, either in reading Helen of Sparta, or in your own exploration of the myths themselves.

Tamer of Horses, Son of Zeus, and Ariadne and the Beast are all available in wide release through the digital retailer of your choice. Tamer of Horses and Son of Zeus are also both available in paperback for your physical reading pleasure--you should be able to order them from pretty much anywhere. (Here's a bookshop.org link to prove it! Alas, the Son of Zeus hardcover is Amazon Exclusive.) 

Ah! and before you go, The Siren's Song is going wide this week! Look for it in your library apps and available from non-amazon vendors at this link very soon!!!

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Son of Zeus: The Modern Adventures of Pirithous

It's been pretty quiet over here because--well, social media and also pandemic plague times, and my Amalia Carosella stuff got a little lost in the excitement of launching a third entire pen name last year, Amalia Theresa, for sexy romcom style contemporary romances.  

But it's 2021 now, and for you, that means: MORE PIRITHOUS!

Goodreads

If you've been following me on social media, you might already know that SON OF ZEUS was released exclusively to Patreon Patrons in a serialized format beginning in 2019. This summer, it's coming out in wide release for everyone else to read in paperback or the ebook format of their choice! Which means I have a goodreads link for you in preparation, even if I haven't quiiiite settled on the exact release day yet. (Right now it's looking May-ish?)

It also means that the first two chapters are available for you to read over on patreon as a teaser, and so is the rest of the book for as little as a dollar a month, if you want to get your read on in advance! 

You'll notice, too, that this book is authored by BOTH Amalia Dillin and Amalia Carosella--that's because while Pirithous is an Amalia Carosella character--the same Pirithous you all loved in HELEN OF SPARTA and TAMER OF HORSES--the contemporary setting and his adventures as a fish out of water in upstate New York felt a little bit like an Amalia Dillin story at the same time (in fact, it was written well before Amalia Carosella was even invented!) 

I think this book will have a lot of appeal to BOTH audiences, and I wanted to make sure readers of Amalia Dillin and Amalia Carosella could find it!

A NOTE FOR PATREON PATRON READERS: The Wide Release edition of SON OF ZEUS will have some small edits and expansions--nothing that makes a big difference to the story and mostly just places where the wording felt like it could be stronger or I needed another line to clarify Thalia's thoughts or Pirithous's intentions.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

In celebration of SON OF ZEUS's much belated release, TAMER OF HORSES is also going wide! No longer will you only be able to enjoy Pirithous's wedding to Hippodamia and the war with the centaurs that follows on kindle alone (and also everywhere in paperback already) but very shortly, you'll be able to grab it from apple books, for nook, kobo, and request the digital edition for your local library! 

I hit publish just this morning and will update this post and Tamer's home page with the new links once they start going live.

Taking TAMER OF HORSES wide has always been kind of a huge, terrifying leap for me with HELEN OF SPARTA and BY HELEN'S HAND as Amazon exclusive titles, but with SON OF ZEUS coming--it finally makes business sense to share this story with a potentially wider retail ecosystem, too. 

I hope you'll all enjoy BOTH of Pirithous's adventures now that they're going to be available outside of the kindle sphere!

As always, if  you've already enjoyed any of my books, do consider leaving a review wherever you bought it or like to review your reads. 

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Lapiths vs Myrmidons vs Centaurs -- TAMER OF HORSES has ARRIVED!

Now that TAMER OF HORSES is out in the world in print and for kindle, I thought it might be a good time to revisit some of my research from the drafting stage of TAMER -- just in case it got lost in the archives.

But let's start with a map to put things in perspective, shall we? Always remembering, of course, that the people of the Bronze Age didn't have the benefits of flight or satellite imagery, so their understanding of the lands and seas on which they plied their trades was probably a little bit more... relative.

Both the Myrmidons and the Lapiths were essentially tribes of men (and women) living in and around the greater region generally referred to as Thessaly in the myths, which made Peleus and Pirithous more minor kings tucked away in the North, farther from the action and trade within and without the Peloponnese and Attica. In TAMER OF HORSES, I've made them rival tribes as well, though I'm not sure there's anything to support the idea outside of the common and casual references to raiding the cattle and livestock of one's neighbors which we see repeated in the myths -- Castor and Pollux, Helen's brothers, were even killed during a cattle raid (or at least Castor was, at any rate), and we know that Pirithous and Theseus met when Pirithous sailed down to Attica to test Theseus, who he'd heard so much about, by raiding his cattle.

Extrapolating from these stories, it's entirely possible that any two kingdoms might have found themselves at odds with one another, stealing livestock back and forth, and since the Lapith people were known for their horsemanship, it felt natural to make the half-wild horses in Pirithous's possession an object of these kinds of raids. But whether or not the horses of the Lapiths were in fact some exceptional variant bred from the Mares of Magnesia or the like, or just common animals -- well, we'll never know! It IS however, possible, that the myth of the Centaurs themselves sprang from the horsemanship of those bronze age peoples from Thessaly, seen by travelers or foreign raiders riding their horses through the trees and so in tune with their animals that they might have been confused for half-men, half-beasts.

I can't decide which version of that story I prefer -- but in TAMER OF HORSES, I let the centaurs be centaurs, because who am I to gainsay generations of Ancient Greeks?

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No matter their differences, neither Hippodamia nor Pirithous expected their wedding banquet to be the first battle in a war.

TAMER OF HORSES, available NOW in paperback and for kindle!

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Tamer of Horses Available NOW in Print!

I know it feels like we're all Tamer of Horses all the Time right now -- such is the nature of the beast! We're just FIVE days from the big release day, October 3rd annnnnd...

I have GREAT news for you today -- TAMER OF HORSES is available *now* in print from Amazon! This also means that if you're an early reviewer, you can now cross-post your review from goodreads to Amazon, as well! (Which is maybe more exciting for me than for you, but without reviews, especially these days, an author is pretty sunk -- so I appreciate each and every one that comes my way. Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who have reviewed or will review any of my books!) Kindle pre-orders, of course, are still being accepted, too *-- so don't be shy :)

But WAIT, there's more!
If you're not sure if this book is for you, the fabulous Kate Quinn, Author of Mistress of Rome, and part of the author power house team of the forthcoming Song of War, had this to say about TAMER OF HORSES:

"Edith Hamilton's Mythology meets Taming of the Shrew in Amalia Carosella's delightful TAMER OF HORSES. In an ancient Greece where monsters, men, and demi-gods live side by side, a tenuous peace is brokered through the wedding of a womanizing son of Zeus and a wary princess raised among centaurs. Banter between bride and groom quickly gives way to bloodshed, war, and the possibility of a poignant, hard-bought truce. A fascinating read!"

(You can't see it but I am FREAKING OUT that Kate Quinn blurbed my book -- this is definitely one of those omg what is my life moments for me.)

TAMER OF HORSES is still available for request on Netgalley, but it won't be there for much longer -- and of course there's still time to enter my Goodreads Giveaway for a signed copy of TAMER plus some fun, semi-thematically appropriate extras. (There might be butts.)

And speaking of butts -- it's almost that time again. My teams** are currently in the process of collecting a fresh crop of Mythic Butts from around the world*** for this year's #NAMEthatBUTT adventures. So brush up on your gods, heroes, and sculpture, my friends, because our annual extravaganza isn't dead yet!

Let's wrap up with a little Pirithous-style bluster--

*Amazon tells me Print and Kindle editions should be linked soon!
**Family Members who have taken pity on me and to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude for humoring my "front, back, and plaque" photo requests.
***Okay, so mostly just Europe.

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A Final Goodreads Giveaway for TAMER!

I've got one final goodreads giveaway for those of you eager to get your hands on TAMER OF HORSES, and this one IS open to some international territories -- check the goodreads giveaway page for more details and enter to win!

As part of this giveaway, I've also got a sweet Postcard of some awesome Mythological Art to throw in (I haven't decided if it's going to be the death of Nessus or Peleus's wedding feast, so hard to choose!), plus Helen of Sparta bookmarks, and of course, some stickers! If I'm shipping internationally, I figure I might as well include some extras for you all to enjoy! And yes, this copy WILL have the final cover art -- it's not a galley this time, and let me tell you, the final art is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. (Thank you, Lane Brown!!!)

If you're a book blogger or reviewer, you can still request an e-ARC (uncorrected proof) via Netgalley -- but you only have until the end of the monthish to do so, so get it while you can.

If you subscribe to The Amaliad, you got a sneak peek from Chapter 2 of TAMER on the 7th, but here's a little MICRO peek of the same scene here so you all can have a taste of what you're missing if you haven't subscribed yet -- BESIDES the Ariadne & the Beast short story, of course :)

Theseus snorted as he smeared a large wedge of bread with honey. “You take this marriage too lightly. She will not only be your wife, Pirithous, she will be queen.”

“As long as she sees to the weaving and the kitchens, she need not be bothered with the rest.” He shrugged, taking a handful of nuts and passing the dish along. “You have your Amazon, Theseus, and I am happy for you if you have found some kind of love in your bed, but not every man desires a wife who thinks herself equal to a man.”

“If the Lapiths were not already in the habit of obeying their queen, perhaps it would not matter what wild woman you married,” Theseus said. “Surely you must have considered this? Or if you did not, tell me at least Dia made some arrangement.”

“I think you worry overmuch, my friend.” He leaned back with his cup. The mint water had cleared his mind, despite his lack of sleep. “I have yet to meet a woman I could not tame, and the Lapiths know me as their king, besides. I am chosen by Zeus himself.”

Don't forget that BY HELEN'S HAND is just 1.99 this month -- and you can pre-order your kindle edition of TAMER OF HORSES right now, so that it appears like magic in your library on release day.

And that's a wrap for today!

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A Sneak Peek from TAMER OF HORSES

Those of you already following along on Goodreads know I've been (hopefully) final proofing TAMER OF HORSES, and one of the things I love to do is work in small nods to pieces of mythology that aren't part of the immediate narrative I'm retelling, and because it's my birthday, I thought I'd share! This is one of those small moments which takes place shortly after Hippodamia and Pirithous meet. She's still pretty unsure of him, and I'm pretty sure you won't blame her for it! Pirithous is... very Pirithous.

“I have bread, cheese, and fruit enough for both of us. And a skin of water for you, steeped with mint.” He guided her through the central courtyard. “My physician tells me it is quite good for stomach ailments, but I find the mint clears my head if I have not slept well.”

He had thought of everything, and now he held her hand, it was clear he had no intention of letting her go. Her fingers twitched, but he only threaded her arm through his, smiling down at her as if he did not hold her trapped at his side.

“I hope you had a pleasant night, my lady.”

She flushed, her gaze falling to his bare shoulder, and the glint of scattered golden hairs across the expanse of his chest. “I fear I slept poorly.”

“That has ever been my own experience beneath a strange roof,” he said, leading her between the tall columns and down the wide porch steps. The palace walls loomed over them, but Pirithous turned away from the gates. He frowned slightly. “I much prefer to sleep upon the porch, or a balcony, where I might see the stars. As long as I can see the sky, I know myself free.”

“Free of what?” she asked, in spite of herself. There was something about his expression that drew her, and a distance in his eyes she did not like. “I cannot imagine any man imprisoning a son of Zeus.”

“No,” he agreed. “But it is a dream which haunts me all the same. Blackness and unbreakable restraints.” His frown deepened, then he shook his head and laughed, his eyes warming again when they found hers. “It is nothing, I am sure. Just a child’s fear of the dark, poorly remembered. The night has ever been my friend.”

TAMER OF HORSES will be available October 3, 2016, and you DON'T need to have read HELEN OF SPARTA or BY HELEN'S HAND to enjoy it, but you'll definitely see some familiar faces if you have! :)

And those of you wondering -- the cover art went out YESTERDAY to newsletter subscribers, and you can pre-order it NOW for kindle!

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Heroes of BY HELEN'S HAND: Pirithous and Polypoetes

Since it's been a while, and most of my posts relating to the research and reading I did to write HELEN OF SPARTA and BY HELEN'S HAND are buried in the archives, I thought it might be a good idea to bring some of them back to your attention, hero by hero and topic by topic, so when May 10th rolls around, you'll be as ready to read as I was to write!  

NB: The Myths are the Myths, but most of these posts will include my perspectives and approaches to them, which could be spoiler-ish, so proceed with caution! 

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I hope it isn't too much of a spoiler to admit, but Pirithous isn't really in BY HELEN'S HAND. He's mentioned, and referenced, but he's more of a ghost between the pages than anything else. If you know anything about his mythology -- well, I'm sure you know why.

HOWEVER.

Pirithous's son does just happen to make an appearance. Polypoetes, it turns out, is one of the many men listed as one of Helen's suitors. Which gives me an excuse to talk about BOTH of them, maybe, for old time's sake, and to give some extra context to Pirithous's son before you meet him on the page in BHH.

The Bromance of Theseus and Pirithous 

One of my favorite myths is the the story of how Theseus and Pirithous meet for the first time. Somehow, the idea of the young King Theseus, making a name for himself as a hero and an upstanding individual -- a king of great wisdom and honor -- being tested by Pirithous the most piratey of rapscallions, just tickles me. (Mild spoilers for Helen of Sparta if you're not familiar with the myths.)

Pirithous, Theseus, and that Ill-Advised Trip to the Underworld (Part I and Part II)

The story goes that Pirithous and Theseus made a pact that they should both marry daughters of Zeus, because they were demigods and as such deserving of marriage to women of divine lineage. Leaving aside the fact that a daughter of Zeus would also be Pirithous' half-sister and the marriage slightly incestuous, a demigod deciding he deserves some kind of honor or another for himself is never really a good idea. Hubris is never, ever, ever a recipe for success for any demigod or mortal. The gods just do not put up with it. (Definitely a spoiler for Helen of Sparta)

The Centauromachy 

The Centauromachy, the war with the centaurs, doesn't seem to me to be something that can be overlooked for either of them. I can't get around the idea that the abduction of Hippodamia by the centaurs (her kin!) on her wedding day, of all days, and the subsequent bloodshed at the wedding feast, would be emotionally traumatizing not just for Hippodamia and Pirithous, but for the rest of the community as well, centaur and human alike. (This myth takes place maybe 20-30 years before Helen of Sparta, so Spoiler Free, but it's a very influential event both for Pirithous and, I believe, his son. Polypoetes is the son of Hippodamia, after all.)

Writing Polypoetes, Son of Pirithous

Among the men listed as suitors of Helen, and those named as leading ships to Troy, we find the footnote of Polypoetes, the son of Pirithous. I've done a lot of THINKING (and writing!) about Pirithous, and Polypoetes's mother, Hippodamia -- but until I started writing BHH, I hadn't really considered their son. (Definite Spoilers for Helen of Sparta and mild spoilers --primarily of motivation for BHH!)

There's a goodly sum of other... interesting? posts regarding Pirithous over at ye olde Good to Begin Well (again.) Including a small scene from a paranormal romance novel I've been poking at which features Pirithous in the modern day (because I guess I can't help myself). And of course you can find MOUNTAINS more on Hippodamia and the Centaurs by clicking through the appropriate tags on this blog, from when I was working on my Hippodamia/Centauromachy book. So feel free to explore, but just know there is a risk of happening upon the spare spoiler in plain sight!

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If you enjoyed Helen of Sparta don't forget to pre-order your copy of BY HELEN'S HAND -- available May 10th in paperback, audio (cd, mp3, and audible), and for kindle! Or maybe just mark it to-read on Goodreads in the meantime :) And don't forget to subscribe to THE AMALIAD for a free short story prequel to HELEN OF SPARTA: Ariadne and the Beast!