Miriam’s friend Aspasia operated an apothecary from a storefront shop just beyond the West Gate of the agora. Like the one pictured here, her shelves were lined with carefully labeled ceramic jars of oils, resins, powders, and herbs, and scrolls of medicinal recipes. In “Deadly Confrontation,” published in the December 2025 issue of Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder , Miriam tells of her alarm upon entering Aspasia’s shop one evening: The oddly quiet apotheca

Binyamin’s sponsor explains the risks of sea travel: There’s no way to predict a ship’s departure date. First the winds have to be favorable. Then the pre-sail sacrifice of a bull has to go well. Next the time of the month has to be auspicious. No Roman skipper would depart at the end of a month. And the omens must be propitious. A sneeze on the gangplank, a wreckage on the shore, or a croaking crow or magpie perched on the rigging would delay any departure. So would someon

During Miriam’s time, there were no ships expressly for passengers. Rather they booked passage on a grain ship. In The Deadliest Lie, Miriam’s twin brother Binyamin travels to Rome on a grain ship for the first leg of his journey to Capua to train as a gladiator in the school Spartacus made famous. Binyamin’s sponsor explains: Like most of the passengers, you will sleep on the deck. The ship will supply only water and a hearth in the galley for you to use after the crew ha

In “Deadly Confrontation,” published in the December 2025 issue of Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder , Miriam tells us about going to Alexandria’s medical school to consult with Professor Jason, the leper-white, soldierly built medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on her client, Katerina, the perfumer: My bearers’ boots hardly brushed the cobbles as they zigzagged through the clamorous streets. Nevertheless, it was already mid-afternoon by the time I reach

Dogs played a familiar role in the lives of people during the Roman Empire. They served a wide range of purposes from guarding homes to providing companionship. While many of the breeds that exist today were not yet developed, Roman dogs came in many forms and were valued for their abilities, loyalty, and presence.   Miriam adopts a dog in “The Mistress,” one of nine stories in The Deadliest Deceptions . But it’s in “The Missing Widow,” the last story in th​e collection, that

Miriam, in “The Betrothal,” is looking for Zoe, who’s escaped to Ephesus to avoid being betrothed to her father’s old friend. Perhaps she’s gotten a job in a fullery, a workshop that provides dry cleaning services. The workers, usually slaves, use vats of urine, which, due to its ammonia content, acts as a powerful cleaning agent. They would stomp on the clothes in the vats and beat them with sticks to remove the dirt. Miriam enters one such fullery:   As my eyes adjusted to

June shares her inspiration behind Miriam bat Isaac, discusses balancing history with fiction, and explores how figurative language and vivid details bring ancient Alexandria to life. To read the interview, just click here .

In the literary world, a red herring is anything that can be seen as a misleading or false clue. It is a common technique used in mysteries and thrillers to send readers down a false path or distract them from the real culprit.   I will not give away the red herrings in my own stories. They are for the astute reader to identify, but I can give you some examples from well-known stories:   In Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express , multiple characters provide conflicti

Chekhov’s Gun is the narrative principle that every element in a story must be necessary and relevant. Whether a gun, rifle, or cleaver, it becomes a promise to the audience that it will contribute to the story. The principle of Chekov’s Gun reminds writers to make their prose strong by avoiding unnecessary words.   In my story, “The Betrothal,” published in Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder (February 2025), Miriam has been hired to find Zoe, a young woman who d