Bill Thompson's Blog
May 20, 2018
Haunted Louisiana trip
Forgotten Men
As part of research for my next book, the third in The Bayou Hauntings series, I took a trip to Cajun country last week. I visited ten plantations and spent the night at a wonderful place called The Myrtles in St. Francisville, Louisiana. (St. Francisville is such a neat town that I've decided it's the setting for a creepy mansion in the next book!)
Built in 1796, the Myrtles is known as the most haunted house in America. I heard unexplained sounds during the night - a family with children climbing the stairs at 2 a.m. when no one was actually there. The guests in the room next to me were "entertained" by porcelain dolls on the mantel that changed positions now and then. No wonder - they were in the nursery!
My second night was at Madewood Plantation in Napoleonville, a less-haunted place but an interesting step back in history nevertheless.
Tourists can take a "River Road Tour" from New Orleans up the Mississippi, but it was more fun for me on my own. I highly recommend it if you're interested in history, unexplained things and ... spirits!
As part of research for my next book, the third in The Bayou Hauntings series, I took a trip to Cajun country last week. I visited ten plantations and spent the night at a wonderful place called The Myrtles in St. Francisville, Louisiana. (St. Francisville is such a neat town that I've decided it's the setting for a creepy mansion in the next book!)
Built in 1796, the Myrtles is known as the most haunted house in America. I heard unexplained sounds during the night - a family with children climbing the stairs at 2 a.m. when no one was actually there. The guests in the room next to me were "entertained" by porcelain dolls on the mantel that changed positions now and then. No wonder - they were in the nursery!
My second night was at Madewood Plantation in Napoleonville, a less-haunted place but an interesting step back in history nevertheless.
Tourists can take a "River Road Tour" from New Orleans up the Mississippi, but it was more fun for me on my own. I highly recommend it if you're interested in history, unexplained things and ... spirits!
March 12, 2015
Snow Days Make Productive Authors!
It’s easy to be creative when you have snow on the ground outside and haven’t seen the sun in two weeks. The weather’s been crazy in Dallas – we aren’t used to this cold, rainy, sleety, snowy stuff. It keeps me at the computer, working, while snoring dogs lie in the office next to me. And five o’clock (the hour the martinis magically appear) comes around faster when you’ve put in a full day’s work!
My days have been spent wrapping up The Relic of the King, getting it corrected, formatted, sized, adding the cover and preparing it for publication very shortly. I love this time when the book’s finished (except for a hundred changes tactfully suggested by my beta readers and gratefully accepted by me). You can see the light at the end of the tunnel yet again, for another book, when you’re at this stage and it’s fun.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep my mind on the mechanics of being a writer. Lately I’ve taken Russell Blake’s* advice and begun to focus a percentage of my workday on marketing and interaction with readers. It would be easy just to write, write, write but these things don’t sell themselves. Thanks to social media, the Internet and a dozen other ways to reach out, the word is quickly spreading. Thanks, everyone, for the support and interest in my Brian Sadler Archaeological Mystery series.
I’m excited about the new direction I’m going, The Crypt Trilogy. The first in the series, The Relic of the King, will be released in a couple of weeks. It’s about the old part of London that’s been occupied since before Jesus’ time. A bookseller falls through his basement one morning and finds a room down below. The secrets it holds are monumental and will change history.
The second and third volumes of this series will be released later in 2015. Those of you who are signed up on my website (billthompsonbooks.com) will get an email and a chance to win an advance review copy of the books. Just visit the site and click “Sign Up for the Latest News”.
*If you don’t know who the author Russell Blake is you’re missing some very exciting reading. Look him up at russellblake.com or search for his books on Amazon. He’s becoming more well-known by the day, especially since he’s co-authored two books with Clive Cussler recently. Russell’s Jet series were action thrillers I literally couldn’t put down at night. I found myself reading when I should have been writing. Thanks a lot, Russell!
My days have been spent wrapping up The Relic of the King, getting it corrected, formatted, sized, adding the cover and preparing it for publication very shortly. I love this time when the book’s finished (except for a hundred changes tactfully suggested by my beta readers and gratefully accepted by me). You can see the light at the end of the tunnel yet again, for another book, when you’re at this stage and it’s fun.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep my mind on the mechanics of being a writer. Lately I’ve taken Russell Blake’s* advice and begun to focus a percentage of my workday on marketing and interaction with readers. It would be easy just to write, write, write but these things don’t sell themselves. Thanks to social media, the Internet and a dozen other ways to reach out, the word is quickly spreading. Thanks, everyone, for the support and interest in my Brian Sadler Archaeological Mystery series.
I’m excited about the new direction I’m going, The Crypt Trilogy. The first in the series, The Relic of the King, will be released in a couple of weeks. It’s about the old part of London that’s been occupied since before Jesus’ time. A bookseller falls through his basement one morning and finds a room down below. The secrets it holds are monumental and will change history.
The second and third volumes of this series will be released later in 2015. Those of you who are signed up on my website (billthompsonbooks.com) will get an email and a chance to win an advance review copy of the books. Just visit the site and click “Sign Up for the Latest News”.
*If you don’t know who the author Russell Blake is you’re missing some very exciting reading. Look him up at russellblake.com or search for his books on Amazon. He’s becoming more well-known by the day, especially since he’s co-authored two books with Clive Cussler recently. Russell’s Jet series were action thrillers I literally couldn’t put down at night. I found myself reading when I should have been writing. Thanks a lot, Russell!
March 5, 2015
Off to the Usumacinta River in Guatemala soon!
Some people say Atlantis’ Lost Hall of Records is at Piedras Negras, Guatemala.
Surely there’s another book in all this somewhere!
In late March I’ll join the Archaeological Conservancy for a ten-day trip to the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico. The itinerary includes Yaxchilan, a Mayan ruin on the river bordering Guatemala and Mexico. Although its not on the schedule I’m hoping to hire a boat and go to the remote site called Piedras Negras, 20-25 miles downriver from Yaxchilan.
This ancient Mayan city is long abandoned and I’m told there has been no archaeological work there for many years. I hear it’s rapidly becoming a “lost city,” steadily being reclaimed by the jungle. It was once an important site before being overthrown and abandoned in the early 800s. At one point Piedras Negras had an estimated population of 50,000, making it the largest Mayan site west of Tikal, Guatemala.
For those who like unusual, out-of-the-box and uncommon stories, I have a tale for you about Piedras Negras. Edgar Cayce, the noted psychic who died in 1945, left thousands of pages of “readings” captured while he was in hypnotic trances. Many of these readings deal with Atlantis – in one, Cayce said that there were three Atlantean “Lost Halls of Records” where the knowledge of the ages was deposited before the island nation was destroyed in an instant. These record depositories were located in far-flung places around the globe.
Piedras Negras, Guatemala was named by Cayce as one of the three sites. The Lost Hall of Records, according to his hypnotic revelation, was created by men from Atlantis in 10,000 BC. Obviously that was WAY before the Maya came along. Cayce’s organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), sponsored a trip to explore Piedras Negras. Greg and Lora Little stated that they found evidence of an extensive cave system known to locals and archaeologists. They further said the people who’ve excavated there believe Piedras Negras conceals something exciting and important.
For more information on this strange and intriguing sidebar to the Piedras Negras story, see Dr. Greg Little’s “Preliminary Initial Report on the 2004 ARE Piedras Negras’ Expedition” (http://www.edgarcayce.org/_AncientMys...) and John Van Auken’s book “The Lost Hall of Records: Edgar Cayce’s Forgotten Record of Human History in the Ancient Yucatan” (http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Hall-Recor...)
Now back to the real world and my upcoming trip! We’ll see a number of well-known Mayan sites including one of my favorites, Palenque, which was the setting and subject of my book The Strangest Thing. I promise lots of pictures! Join me on Facebook and I'll keep you posted.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
Speaking of the group I’m traveling with, if you haven’t heard of the Conservancy you should look them up www.archaeologicalconservancy.org. This group and their work to save significant sites are worthy of your tax-deductible contributions. They also sponsor great trips to very interesting places. Dr. John Henderson, an educator from Cornell with a fascinating knowledge of archaeology and anthropology, will lead the group’s tour this time. I’ve been on a trip with John before – his knowledge of the Maya is unsurpassed in my opinion. You can’t beat the insight he gives to the sites we’ll visit. I think I’ll keep Piedras Negras for myself – I doubt John Henderson wants to spend time searching for the Lost Hall of Records of the Atlanteans!
Surely there’s another book in all this somewhere!
In late March I’ll join the Archaeological Conservancy for a ten-day trip to the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico. The itinerary includes Yaxchilan, a Mayan ruin on the river bordering Guatemala and Mexico. Although its not on the schedule I’m hoping to hire a boat and go to the remote site called Piedras Negras, 20-25 miles downriver from Yaxchilan.
This ancient Mayan city is long abandoned and I’m told there has been no archaeological work there for many years. I hear it’s rapidly becoming a “lost city,” steadily being reclaimed by the jungle. It was once an important site before being overthrown and abandoned in the early 800s. At one point Piedras Negras had an estimated population of 50,000, making it the largest Mayan site west of Tikal, Guatemala.
For those who like unusual, out-of-the-box and uncommon stories, I have a tale for you about Piedras Negras. Edgar Cayce, the noted psychic who died in 1945, left thousands of pages of “readings” captured while he was in hypnotic trances. Many of these readings deal with Atlantis – in one, Cayce said that there were three Atlantean “Lost Halls of Records” where the knowledge of the ages was deposited before the island nation was destroyed in an instant. These record depositories were located in far-flung places around the globe.
Piedras Negras, Guatemala was named by Cayce as one of the three sites. The Lost Hall of Records, according to his hypnotic revelation, was created by men from Atlantis in 10,000 BC. Obviously that was WAY before the Maya came along. Cayce’s organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), sponsored a trip to explore Piedras Negras. Greg and Lora Little stated that they found evidence of an extensive cave system known to locals and archaeologists. They further said the people who’ve excavated there believe Piedras Negras conceals something exciting and important.
For more information on this strange and intriguing sidebar to the Piedras Negras story, see Dr. Greg Little’s “Preliminary Initial Report on the 2004 ARE Piedras Negras’ Expedition” (http://www.edgarcayce.org/_AncientMys...) and John Van Auken’s book “The Lost Hall of Records: Edgar Cayce’s Forgotten Record of Human History in the Ancient Yucatan” (http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Hall-Recor...)
Now back to the real world and my upcoming trip! We’ll see a number of well-known Mayan sites including one of my favorites, Palenque, which was the setting and subject of my book The Strangest Thing. I promise lots of pictures! Join me on Facebook and I'll keep you posted.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
Speaking of the group I’m traveling with, if you haven’t heard of the Conservancy you should look them up www.archaeologicalconservancy.org. This group and their work to save significant sites are worthy of your tax-deductible contributions. They also sponsor great trips to very interesting places. Dr. John Henderson, an educator from Cornell with a fascinating knowledge of archaeology and anthropology, will lead the group’s tour this time. I’ve been on a trip with John before – his knowledge of the Maya is unsurpassed in my opinion. You can’t beat the insight he gives to the sites we’ll visit. I think I’ll keep Piedras Negras for myself – I doubt John Henderson wants to spend time searching for the Lost Hall of Records of the Atlanteans!
