Skyler White

Skye in the ancient beehive tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae, 11 August 2010.

So, they CALL it the ‘Tomb of Agamemnon’, but it isn’t, actually. (Nor is the Mask of Agamemnon actually Agamemnon’s.) It’s technically called the ‘Treasury of Atreus’, though it’s not a treasury either (though it was thought to be during Victorian archaeological expeditions).

It’s a ‘tholos’ or ‘beehive tomb’ from the 13th century BCE, the best-preserved such tomb in the world, and is an amazing space to be in. Thirteen rows of monolithic stones rise about 45′ to a conical center, like the inside of a beehive. The whole of the ancient city of Mycenae, where Agamemnon did in fact hang his helmet, is a one-of-a-kind place to visit.

Wikipedia article on the Treasury of Atreus

Another article about beehive tombs

Without a doubt, the highlight of our weekend trip to Houston’s Comicpalooza – moreso than a hysterical QA with Bruce Campbell, or passing the breathtakingly tall Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) in the hallway — was the amazing time we spent with prolific fantasy art legend Larry Elmore. If you’ve ever picked up a D&D book or Dragon Magazine, read a Dragonlance novel or the inimitable Snarfquest, or seen the cover of the Everquest MMO, you’ve seen Elmore’s work.

A thoroughly charming southern gentleman, Mr. Elmore not only signed our son’s classic copy of Snarfquest, but shared a beautiful robot poster with him (which will be framed on his wall within a week), and then spent time answering his highly technical question of how to draw a feather mask, complete with sample sketch. What an amazing encounter!

Visit Mr. Elmore on the web: http://www.larryelmore.com

And here’s a remarkable list of his illustration credits. Enjoy!

Now, I’m not a ‘bookmark’ kind of girl, so my agent (the quick-selling-but- still-patient Holly Root) and an agent-friend of hers (the knowledgeable-and-generous Colleen Lindsay) and I were talking promo items for giveaway. Tchotchkes for and Falling, Fly needed to be inexpensive enough for me to hand them out freely, but not cheesy. They needed to be tied to the book, but self-explanatory.

And then Colleen nailed it: Temporary tattoos. The book’s opening scene takes place in a tattoo parlor. Temporary tatts are inexpensive, interactive and unusual. Brilliant! I’d long thought about having the book’s first line — “The angel of desire is damned” — tattooed on my wrist, so that was my first instinct. But Scott (a.k.a. ‘Thrall’, my supportive, sexy and organized husband) pointed out the ’should-have-been obvious’. They should be Olivia’s tattoo: DAMNED.

From there, the idea went to my best friend Molly (artist, visionary and master of all things bacon) who crafted the elegantly sinister final design. I love them. We’re building a little folder for them, with the book’s cover and my URL, that we’ll seal with sealing wax and a “G” stamp. I’ll tuck them into copies when I sign stock at bookstores, and give them out at cons. Best of all, we’ve created a gallery where you can upload photos of yourself wearing your tattoo.

I took a mess of them to a Christmas party held by my local branch of a national writer’s organization (the encouraging and consoling, educating and imbibing RWA) and I gave them to my friends. A group of us, maybe six, were standing in a clump, talking as the party wound down. Another writer joined the clump. “Want one?” I asked and held out my little fistful of tattoos. She reached into the circle, read the tattoo, and flinched. Her hand physically drew back from the little inked piece of paper. She took one with a laugh, but I don’t expect she’ll be emailing a photo of herself wearing it into the gallery.

And the group got to talking. Where on your body do you put a word like that? Would you put it over your heart if breast cancer ran in the family? It’s a temporary tattoo. On a pregnant belly? It’s just a word. Don’t let anyone tell you words have lost their power.

Or that being a writer is a solo proposition.

Visit the How Art Thou Damned gallery to find out how to get a tattoo of your own.

Skye at Zur Holl, Rothenburg, Germany

‘Zur Holl‘ (To Hell) tavern in the preserved medieval town of Rothenburg, Germany, December, 2009. The basement is one of the most amazing spaces I’ve ever seen — a 1,000-year-old vaulted cellar, lit by candles, with a table made from an antique blacksmith’s bellows.