I have spent the past six weeks researching, planning, and writing the first chapter of Hercules Knot. It feels sooo good to be intrigued by a story again!

By chance this past summer, I stumbled upon a mention of the first known instance of the Black Death hitting the Mediterranean region hard from 541 – 543 in a book on the history of plagues. I jumped on wiki to check out the basics and was immediately intrigued by the seriousness of it. Despite a great education, I had not realized nor ever encountered that the bubonic plague also affected the sixth century. Fascinating!

Simultaneously, I was also researching the rise of monasteries in Late Antiquity through the early Middle Ages in The Age of the Cloister by Christopher Brooke. Then I read Justinian’s Plague by William Rosen, Byzantium, Unrivalled Influence, and The Formation of Christendom all by Judith Herrin. I have Gibbon’s classic as well–a gift from my father–but I haven’t cracked that one yet. He’s a little daunting.

My point is, Hercules Knot was quickly knit together in my head as I fully immersed in the spiritual and cultural world of the first half of the sixth century. That time period has completely and utterly fascinated me. I even feel like going to conferences on Byzantium research! (There’s a huge one in Vienna in 2026!) Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t pursue a PhD in history instead of Comparative Literature… Then I remember that I like the freedom a novel gives, versus strict, factual fences that a solid historian such as Rosen and Herrin must be guided by.

I put the Hercules Knot synopsis on a page on the main menu, if you care to check it out. Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts. I’m always curious to know what others think of my work.

I hope to have the manuscript completed by early 2025, and published soon after. In Wisconsin, as the leaves change color and the weather dips down into the lower digits, it’s time once again for me to delete my social media apps, stay up late, and hunker down to write every day. It will be a happy autumn into winter as I spin out my newest story.

This third century bracelet/arm band featuring the Hercules (Herakles) Knot in gold, emeralds, and garnet now resides in the Met. I am weaving a story about a young woman who could have worn it. This is exciting!