Here’s a passage from my trip diary, dated January 4, 2003: 

“We ate a picnic lunch on the grounds of Copan and then toured the amazing sites scattered through the forest.  John Lloyd Stephens (1805-1852) had visited antiquities in the near east and published two travel books.  But he hadn’t heard of American antiquities until he happened to read a Military report that described strange and ancient buildings in the Yucatan.  Most of the information recorded by the Spanish Conquistadors had been filed away and forgotten, so the world was ignorant of the enormous edifices hidden away in the jungle.  Stephens got himself assigned to work for the U.S. Government as the Central American Charge des Affaires, asked his buddy Frederick Catherwood, a draftsman, to join him, and in 1839, set out for the wilds of Honduras and Guatemala. 

“Near Copan, they watched a native hack away the jungle to reveal a dozen ancient pillars of stone, carved into grotesque images.  Catherwood drew them and also copied the astonishing stairways and foundations, towers and temples that they found later.  One day a native told Stephens he owned the property.  Stephens offered him fifty dollars for it, and a deal was done.  When Stephens published his journal, including Catherwood’s fabulous drawings, the book sold in a flash, and Americans were enthralled by the mysteries of the Maya.”

And so was I!  The idea that a codex from pre-Columbian times had survived the fires of the Inquisition thrilled me.  I imagined that a modern-day Mexican-American archeologist, Luis (handsome and sexy, of course), had inherited a map that might lead him to one of those ancient documents.  Others would try to steal his map and threaten to kill him.  I pictured a woman, Lauren (feisty and independent) who would meet the archeologist by accident and become entangled by passion and intrigue.    

I like having books around me as I write a story, so I can look up something quickly or picture it.  In Maya Art and Architecture, a book by Mary Ellen Miller, I found lovely photos, drawings and detailed descriptions of Mayan ruins and artwork.  In The Maya, by Michael D. Coe, I found drawings of graves, which helped me describe the royal Mayan grave Lauren helps to uncover.  And of course, I scanned the internet for archeological drawings, maps, Central American caves, travel photos and descriptions that helped me fill in other details.   

Coming Soon         

Buried Heart, a romantic suspense novel, will be released by The Wild Rose Press on October 16^th.   For more information about the book, please visit my web site at www.aystratton.com.

Contest for Buried Heart!

I’m awarding a copy of Buried Heart (to be released in October, 2009) to the first ten people to correctly answer these two questions and send them to me at annestratton12@yahoo.com: 

1. The city of Milwaukee, one of the settings for my book, is perched on what Great Lake?

2. What famous British author was married to an archeologist and set one of her numerous stories on an archeological site near Baghdad?

Thank you, Shkye, for letting me visit your web site. 

***Okay, my area of specialization in grad school was the Maya.  I have a copy of a Codex, an extremely oversized book. Now, I don't think of sacrificed virgins at the top of temples in Teotihuacan. I think of sacrificed prisoners of war who lost the ballgame! For the record, they were moving on as winners of the ballgame to battle bad gods of the underworld. Everyone can check out a Xipe Totec to see who the Maya sacrificed that still keeps me intrigued--not that sacrifice is good. I'm going to digress now... Those old sources like Anne noted initially are truly reflective of the old-school mentality of archaeology. Now, they teach "take nothing" from a site. Including old broken pool tile. Anything is a reflection of the history of that spot. So, please don't remove history or prehistory, anyone. It's treasure to those reconstructing the past. Coe and Miller are great sources of information on the Maya. I highly recommend people refer to them. Thanks for sharing, Anne. Your book sounds fascinating. I can't wait to read it! ~Skhye