Because of two works-in-progress, I’ve been thinking about the different iterations of the “Mesoamerican Ballgame” (a relatively unhelpful and broad category that throws together several millennia of differently played sports that share a similar field and ball). Here are some linguistic facts about the variety played in Anahuac during the…

Many historical figures who were in and around the Isle of Mexico during the siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521 appear in my latest book, Secret of the Moon Conch, co-written by Guadalupe García McCall Among these people was the last queen of Tenochtitlan, last empress of the Aztecs, known by…

You may have noticed that in Spanish, when you don’t know someone’s name, you can call them “Fulano” or “Fulana.” I mean, not to their face, but to refer to them. Like saying “Joe Blow” or “Jane Doe” or “John Q. Public,” it’s just a stop-gap word taking the place…

[previous chapter] 9 May, 1893. When I found that I was a prisoner, I sat down quietly — as quietly as I have ever done anything in my life — and began to think over what was best to be done. I am thinking still, and as yet have come…

One of the things I loved about writing Secret of the Moon Conch was including historical figures who were in and around the Isle of Mexico during the siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521. Among these people was the last true tlahtoani or king of Tenochtitlan and therefor Aztec emperor: Cuauhtemoc. …

[previous chapter] Letter from Miss Mina Murray to Miss Lucy Westenra. 6 May 1893. My dearest Lucy, — Forgive my long delay in writing, but I have been simply overwhelmed with work. The life of an assistant matron and tutor is sometimes trying. I am longing to be with you…

One of the things I loved about writing Secret of the Moon Conch was including historical figures who were in and around the Isle of Mexico during the siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521. One of these people is the young woman history remembers as “La Malinche.” But where does that…

[previous chapter] JONATHAN HARKER’S JOURNAL 5 May 1893. The Castle. I must have been asleep, for certainly if I had been fully awake, I should have noticed the approach of such a remarkable place, seemingly carved from the very rock of the mountain by antediluvian giants. In the gloom the…

The summer of 2023 is going to be a busy time for me: a couple of my long-term novel projects have come to fruition and will be publishing at the beginning and end of the season. Ironically, the works themselves—both novels of historical fiction—are set about a hundred years apart…