I am thrilled to have interviewed author Alexander Marriott, who shared with us details of his writing life, his book ‘The School of Homer‘, which was released on 23rd February 2023, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Alexander Marriott was born 6 February 1984 in Winfield, Illinois, outside of Chicago. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas, NV. He developed an intense interest in history while living abroad and made a career of it, going to graduate school and graduating with a PhD in American history from Clark University in 2013.

He has taught American, British, European and Texas history at Wiley College and Alvin Community College since 2013. He continues to travel widely, read broadly and write whenever he has the time and opportunity.

A few places, but the most obvious is Ithaca itself. I first visited the island for several days in 2018 and was totally enchanted with the place (still am!). When I began to seriously ponder writing a mystery, I couldn’t resist the notion of setting it there—to allow myself to live there if only in my imagination. Of course, the other inspirations—and I will keep it to two—were a murder that occurred on the island not very long after I left the first time, I had seen it in the news and had kept the story in the back of my mind; while the other was historical.

As a historian, Greece is a special place for me and having an excuse to dive into the books to make the novel an exploration of some of the questions surrounding Homer and Odysseus was a lot of fun.

I outlined, researched, and then intensively workshopped with a friend who was working on a novel of his own during the lockdown of 2020. Most of the actual planning and writing took place boringly on a computer while the sessions with the friend were over the phone.

The title, of course, has multiple meanings for the plot, the characters, and the setting. In addition to being an actual location in Ithaca that the characters visit at one point in the investigation, the idea of learning/education and growth is important to what happens in the book, and frankly what was going on in my own life at the time. The title, that was a very early decision and I never thought twice about it.

Well, that was a combination of borrowing and combining from around my own world—friends, family, acquaintances, enemies, etc. For the Greeks, I used some names from history/mythology, some from the Greek community in Houston, and some from the current (circa 2020) list of MPs in the Greek Parliament.

Some readers will no doubt be surprised, but I removed some of the Tolstoy-like historical/mythological exposition in the novel. Brief digressions remain, but all of them were paired down, and some entirely eliminated. I am a professional historian, so writing pure fiction was a bit of a transition.

Always been a big fan of mysteries and detective novels. They are fun and serious at the same time—I like to think that is a decent description of me on a good day.

Began working when locked down—so March/April 2020, and signed the publishing contract in July 2021.

Sure: Friendship, myth(?), home. I will let readers figure that out—shouldn’t be too hard.

Ha! Editing! That is true in non-fiction historical writing as well. It is the hardest and the most important part. And it happens at every stage—conception, outlining, research, etc. It takes a lot of humility, patience, and effort—and honesty, above all else. Tough stuff, editing.

Because they want to be transported to one of the world’s special places! There really aren’t too many places imbued with the kind of power—real and imagined—that suffuses Ithaca. If they also like detective/murder mystery novels, so much the better! This is a great beach read, whether you’re on a pebbly Grecian shore, or someplace that actually has sand.

I have a loyal, yet treacherous, cat: Mr. Tabi. He is supportive up to a point. He is either sleeping on my feet, or on my notes. More valuable is my best friend who is also a writer, who helps with ideas and editing.

Oh, I don’t know that they’re quirks, really. Sometimes I like to listen to music I think the characters would enjoy or that is from the part of the world I’m writing about as I work—or drink something along those same lines. I recently became a father for the first time, so a lot of my writing happens in the late evening. Though, to be honest, before Roxane came along (that’s my daughter), I was usually writing into the very late hours. Occasionally all through the night. That’s a quirk, I guess?

Nothing fun in this one: in my office. Simple desk, notes and photographs of locations.

Drinking ouzo in the background of Circe’s Well, while Virgil and Costas discuss the case.

‘You know, it’s funny you write about Ithaca, I have a distant cousin who lives in Kefalonia and occasionally flies over the place. I know, you’re expecting some manner of “hoot” reference now, right? Well, that wasn’t where I was going at all! He says it’s lovely, is all. Good day, sir!’

A big thank you to Alexander Marriott for sharing his writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.