elizabethpeters.thegoldenone-第98部分

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osts　of　an　ancient　past　and　specters　of　a　present…day　evil　hover　silently　over　an　inscrutable　land。
　　
　The　Golden　One　
　A　new　year；　1917；　is　dawning；　and　the　Great　War　that　ravages　the　world　shows　no　sign　of　abating。　Answering　the　siren　call　of　Egypt　once　more；　Amelia　Peabody　and　her　family　arrive　at　their　home　in　Luxor　to　learn　of　a　new　royal　tomb　ransacked　by　thieves。　Soon　an　even　more　disturbing　outrage　concerns　the　intrepid　clan　of　archaeologists：　the　freshly　and　savagely　slain　corpse　of　a　thief　defiles　the　ancient　burial　site。
　
　　
　
　
　A　Nice；　Practical　Career　for　a　Woman：　Some　Questions　for　Elizabeth　Peters；　et　al。
　Editor's　note：　Barbara　Mertz　has　written　nonfiction　Egyptology　books　under　her　own　name。　As　Elizabeth　Peters；　she　is　the　author　of　many　mysteries；　including　series　starring　Amelia　Peabody；　Vicky　Bliss；　and　Jacqueline　Kirby。　As　Barbara　Michaels　she　has　written　gothic　suspense　novels。　She　is　often　addressed　in　correspondence　and　known　to　her　in…the…know　fans　as　〃MPM〃　（for　Michaels…Peters…Mertz）。　In　total；　MPM　has　published　over　sixty　books　…　view　the　whole　list　here。　MPM　answers　some　frequently　asked　questions　below。
　　
　What　made　you　want　to　be　a　writer？
　I　didn't　want　to　be　a　writer。　I　wanted　to　be　an　archaeologist。　My　parents　wanted　me　to　be　a　teacher　…　a　nice；　practical　career　for　a　woman。　When　they　discovered；　somewhat　belatedly　（I　had　been　at　the　Oriental　Institute　for　six　months　by　then）；　that　I　had　changed　my　major；　they　were　bewildered。　But；　bless　them；　they　didn't　try　to　make　me　change　my　mind。　I　still　believe；　with　all　my　heart；　that　young　people　should　be　allowed　to　follow　their　own　aspirations　and　inclinations；　however　impractical　these　may　seem。　If　they　don't　try；　they　will　never　know　whether　or　not　they　might　have　succeeded。　
　　
　And　who's　to　say　what　is　practical？　Egyptology　was　an　impractical　career；　especially　for　a　young　married　woman　forty　years　ago。　Writing　was；　and　still　is；　an　impractical　career；　because　so　few　people　succeed　in　earning　a　living　that　way。　I　was　one　of　the　lucky　ones；　and　if　I　hadn't　been　so　obsessed　with　ancient　Egypt　…　as　I　still　am　…　I　might　not　have　noticed　that　I　did　enjoy　writing；　and　that　some　people　thought　I　was　pretty　good　at　it。　But　I've　never　regretted　studying　Egyptology；　even　though　I　was　unable　to　make　it　my　career。
　　
　So　how　did　you　bee　a　writer？
　Luck；　accident；　or　Fate！　I　had　always　been　a　pulsive　reader。　Sooner　or　later　every　pulsive　reader　finds　herself　thinking；　〃This　isn't　a　very　good　book。　I'll　bet　I　could　do　better。〃　So　I　tried。　My　first　book；　an　espionage　thriller；　was　written　in　collaboration　with　my　then…husband。　He　provided　the　plot　outline；　I　wrote　the　book。　It　was　awful；　partly　because　I　was　just　learning　how　to　write　and　partly　because　it　wasn't　my　kind　of　book。　I　wrote　two　more　novels；　solo；　before　I　began　to　get　a　sense　of　what　I　wanted　to　write。　Unfortunately；　nobody　wanted　to　publish　that　kind　of　book。　It　wasn't　until　Mary　Stewart　and　Victoria　Holt　hit　the　bestseller　lists　that　publishers　realized　mysteries　written　by　women；　about　women　protagonists；　could　make　money。　（This　despite　the　fact　that　authors　like　Phyllis　Whitney　had　been　doing　it　for　years！）　I　finally　sold　my　first　mystery　during　this　period。　I'm　not　particularly　proud　of　The　Master　of　Blacktower　＇by　Barbara　Michaels＇；　but　I　was　able　to　sell　it　because　it　was　what　publishers　were　looking　for　just　then。　By　that　time　I　had　learned　that　I　loved　to　write；　and　I　kept　at　it；　learning　with　every　book；　and　finally　developing　what　I　like　to　think　of　as　my　own　style。　Or　is　it　styles？
　　
　So　was　The　Master　of　Blacktower　the　first　book　you　sold？
　The　first　book　I　sold　wasn't　a　mystery。　I　had　despatched　my　early　unappreciated　mss。　to　every　publisher　in　New　York；　every　one　of　whom　promptly　returned　them。　When　the　third　ms。　made　the　rounds　an　editor　at　one　of　the　publishing　houses　liked　it。　She　couldn't　persuade　her　boss　to　buy　it；　but　she　remended　an　agent。　He　couldn't　sell　that　book　either；　but　without　him　I　probably　could　not　have　sold　the　next；　which　was　a　nonfiction　book　on　Egyptology。　These　days　it　is　much　more　difficult　to　sell　a　book　without　an　agent；　and　much　more　difficult　to　get　a　good　agent。　But　it　can　be　done。
　　
　Can　you　remend　others'　books　to　your　agent？
　I'd　like　to　help　aspiring　writers；　I'd　like　to　help　everyone　in　this　suffering　world。　But　I　can't　remend　a　manuscript　I　haven't　read；　by　a　person　I　don't　know；　to　my　long…suffering　and　very　busy　agent。　I　am　very　fond　of　him　and　want　to　stay　in　his　good　graces。
　　
　Where　do　you　get　your　ideas？
　I　am　sorry　to　say　that　this　question　has　bee　something　of　a　bad　joke　among　writers。　The　only　possible　answer　is：　〃Everywhere。〃　You　don't　get　ideas；　you　see　them；　recognize　them；　greet　them　familiarly　when　they　amble　up　to　you。　A　few　examples　from　my　own　experience：　Reading　Arthurian　legends　and　articles　about　the　Cadbury　excavations　inspired　The　Camelot　Caper　＇by　Elizabeth　Peters＇。　An　oddly　shaped　bag　of　trash　some　lout　had　tossed　onto　the　shoulder　of　a　country　road　make　me　think　about　bodies　in　trash　bags　and　led　eventually　to　the　skeleton　on　the　road；　in　Be　Buried　in　the　Rain　＇by　Barbara　Michaels＇。　Like　all　skills；　this　one　can　be　honed　with　practice；　but　if　you　have　to　ask　the　question　you　probably　shouldn't　try　to　write　a　novel　or　short　story。　And　if　you　ask　a　writer　who　has　heard　that　same　question　dozens　of　times；　she　may　e　back　with　some　snappy　answer　like；　〃There's　a　drugstore　in　North　Dakota　where　I　order　mine。〃
　　
　How　long　does　it　take　you　to　write　a　book？
　One　is　tempted　to　reply；　〃As　long　as　it　takes。〃　The　actual　writing　process　is　only　the　final　step。　You　ought　to　have　some　idea　of　what　you　are　going　to　write　about　before　you　put　your　fingers　on　the　keyboard　or　clutch　the　pen；　and　that　part　of　the　process　can　take　weeks　or　months　or　even　years；　as　you　mull　over　an　elusive　idea　and　try　to　develop　it　into　a　workable　plot。
　　
　Sometimes　I　start　writing　with　only　a　vague　outline　in　mind；　and　have　to　go　back　to　insert　useful　clues；　develop　characters；　or　even　change　the　identity　of　the　murderer！　Naturally；　it　takes　longer　to　write　this　kind　of　book。　On　rare　and　blissful　occasions　the　book　just　flows　along；　without　the　necessity　of　major　revisions。　That　happened　to　me　with　The　Snake；　the　Crocodile；　and　the　Dog　＇by　Elizabeth　Peters＇。　I　wrote　it　in　a　little　over　two　months　…　day　and　night；　weekdays　and　weekends。　However；　I　had　already　done　most　of　the　research；　I　had　a　very　clear　idea　as　to　what　would　happen　and　when　it　would　happen　…　the　sequence；　in　other　words　…　and　I　was　intimately　acquainted　with　most　of　the　characters。　
　　
　I　know　Amelia　and　Emerson　so　well　by　now　that　all　I　have　to　do　is　set　up　a　situation　and　describe　how　they　will　inevitably　react。　It　takes　much　longer　for　me　to　write　a　book　about　people　I　don't　know。　I　learn　to　know　them　as　I　write；　and　they　have　a　nasty　habit　of　developing　in　ways　I　didn't　anticipate。　That's　when　I　have　to　go　back　and　rewrite。　I　was　halfway　through　Vanish　with　the　Rose　＇by　Barbara　Michaels＇　before　I　realized　that　the　person　I　had　picked　to　be　the　murderer　was　obdurately　refusing　to　kill　anybody。
　　
　Are　any　of　the　characters　in　the　Amelia　Peabody　mysteries　based　on　real　people？
　The　main　characters　inspired　by　real　people　are　Amelia　Peabody　（based　on　Victorian　amateur　Egyptologist　Amelia　B。　Edwards）　and　Emerson　（whose　methodology　has　been　attributed　to　William　Flinders　Petrie）。
　　
　Do　you　have　a　schedule？
　No。　I　am　not　an　organized　person。　However；　when　a　deadline　looms　I　can　work　like　a　demon；　eight　hours　a　day；　seven　days　a　week。　Set　schedules　work　for　some　people；　not　for　others；　but　any　writer　who　waits　for　〃inspiration〃　to　strike　will　never　finish　a　book。　Inspiration　is　all　very　well；　but　it　will　never　replace　sheer　dogged　determination。　
　
　　
　
　
　Egyptian　Diary：　The　Amelia　Peabody　Expedition
　　
　Over　the　2000　Christmas　holiday；　Bill　and　Nancy　Petty；　of　Museum　Tours；　led　The　Amelia　Peabody　Expedition　in　Egypt。　I　had　dealt　with　them　in　the　past；　to　my　great　satisfaction。　Despite　the　unrest　in　the　Middle　East；　which　caused　a　few　cautious　souls　to　cancel；　fifty　people　joined　the　tour　…　most　of　them　Egypt　buffs　and　fans　of　Amelia's。　I　decided　to　go　out　a　few　weeks　early；　with　a　couple　of　friends；　Dennis　and　Joel；　before　I　joined　the　Expedition。　Here　are　a　few　semi…coherent　excerpts　from　the　diary　I　kept　as　I　went。
　　
　Dec。　11。　It's　wonderful　to　be　back　in　Cairo；　makes　the　grisly　ten…plus　hours　flight　and　the　hours　of　waiting　worthwhile。　We　arrived　late　afternoon　Cairo　time　and　were　met　by　Khaled；　one　of　Bill　Petty's　super…efficient　staff。　He　drove　us　straight　to　the　hotel　…　though　〃straight〃　isn't　an　accurate　description；　considering　Cairo　traffic。　An　early　dinner　and　straight　to　bed；　and　tomorrow　morning　I'll　be　back　on　schedule　with　no　jet　lag。　It　works。
　　
　Dec。　13。　Off　to　Dahshur　today；　one　of　my　favorite　sites。　I　had　hoped　to　get　into　the　Bent　Pyramid。　It's　the　only　one　of　the　major　pyramids　whose　interior　I　have　not　visited。　The　SCA　＇the　Egyptian　Supreme　Council　of　Antiquities＇　had　said　they　were　planning　to　open　it；　but　when　we　got　there　the　scaffolding　was　still　up　and　the　entrance　was