Early One Morning
Page 7
You’ll notice that Early One Morning is dedicated to two people, the second being Bill Johnston. He was my language arts teacher in sixth grade and was a great inspiration, whether it was reading Poe aloud in a darkened classroom or teaching us the nuances of biology and physics. Sadly, Bill passed in 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. I promised his widow, Sarah, that I’d dedicate my next book to him; but I forgot when it came time to decide who to accompany the likes of Kira Leyden-Andrea and Christian Kane. (I’m sitting here thinking that I should’ve created a character named Sarah, but that name is most commonly associated with Saint Sarah and not Rome, so that wouldn’t have worked. [Maybe next time!])
And Greg. I could try to fill pages with what I think of my beloved Royal Shakespearean, but it would inevitably turn to mush…and kissing…and if you’re reading this, you’re probably no longer wondering why the prefect seduced the priestess! Greg was my muse for Early One Morning and I kept several pictures of him in costume so that I could accurately describe what I saw while writing. I started an entirely different novel with him as the focus before this, but the images from the miniseries stayed in my mind over the course of several months; thus, Early One Morning was born. Now that Pontius Pilatus is done terrorizing Julia Severide (and the rest of Judea), I can go back to my age of castles and kings, where “Greg the Warrior” is an absolute sweetheart.
D.S. Ryelle
October 2013
A los dos hombres más amados de mi corazón…te amo siempre.
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[1] In singular, the priestesses have the surname “Templa”; however, when they are referred to together—or at least in the same sentence—they go by the surname “Templis”.
[2] There is a lack of historical information on when Pontius Pilatus was born. Therefore, for the purposes of this novella, I made him 53. (The same applies to the other historical figures.)
[3] I don’t know Claudia’s full name—this is the one I created.
[4] Plural: fibulae.