Hello Professor,
I stumbled upon the bookDNA page where you listed five of your favourite novels about ATG, and thatās how I discovered A Choice of Destinies by Melissa Scottā¦ which I devoured like a kid whoās just been given their favourite food (or like me with my comfort food; itās basically the same!). So thank you, because I had no idea that book even existed, and reading it was an absolute blast :)
It also made me wonder whether youāve ever considered writing (or even just debating for fun) whatāifs/ucronia scenarios, and which turning point you would choose for your story. Personally, my top two have always been: what if Philip hadnāt been killed in 336, and what if Hephaestion hadnāt died in 324.
Also, if you have any other recommendations in the same vein as Melissaās book, please send them my way!
Most of the ones I'd recommend, beyond Scott's Memnon (just talked about earlier) are already there.
For others interested in the recs: BookDNA
As for "what if"s ... I actually wrote one! I did it in honor of Gene's 75th birthday. It's called "Anger of Achilles," and involves an alternate history in which Philip died at Chaironeia, Alexander was taken as a prisoner of war by the city of Athens, then "sold" to ... Demosthenes!
Never sold it although I did submit it as alternate history to a an SFF magazine, but they didn't want it because it was really too specialist.
I've occasionally considered trying to put it on my website, but not for free. The material associated with the novel is up there for those who bought the novels, or as a "teaser" if readers want to see (first) if they like my writing style before investing in the novels:
But this story isn't related to that, and I'd kinda like to get paid for it, honestly. I have a couple other short pieces that (if I can figure out how to make Square work with my website) I might be willing to release in PDF format for sale (for a minimal fee).
But I have no idea if anyone would be willing to buy it, or any other story. So hey, let's try a poll!
I'd be interested in buying a short story from you for $1.50 or less
"Anger of Achilles" only (Alexander alternate history)
"The Lucky Cat" only (see below for summary)
"Anger of Achilles" + "The Lucky Cat"
Not interested
Voting ended on8h
"The Lucky Cat" ... Many things I inherited from my much-older brother: Ā a squashed-flat baseball glove, a shrunken yellow Duke sweatshirt, a chess set missing one white pawn, oodles of Bantam science-and-nature books duct-taped on the spines, and a long-standing love for Mr. Spock.Ā Yet the single most precious bequest was a lithe ghost of a cat with a deep-voiced yowl, pale blue eyes, and the patience of a saint....
PSA: If I did sell anything via Square, I'm required to charge you 7% sales tax. I mention this because Square will automatically add it, and for non-US buyers, having tax not already rolled into the cost is weird.
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