Weird and wondrous things from the ancient world (a book)

Dear Diary,

I have been toying with the idea of writing (yet) another book for a while now, capitalising on what I have learnt studying at university over these past dozen years. It will not be a primary source translated, but a secondary source, authored by myself. Its working title is something like Weird and wondrous things from the ancient world, and it is my take (translation/interpretation) on several disparate things from the Greco-Roman world. It contains a wide variety of interesting and unusual things, fabulous, bizarre, outlandish. It contains things like werewolves, vampires, ghosts, paranormal phenomena such as bilocation, oracles, prophecies, divination, drawing the gods down from heaven, spirits, and even UFOs. I figure why write about boring stuff (such as serious scholarship, history and pioneering research - all worthless in this literary Dark Age) when I could write about interesting things instead? I blog a lot (as you may have noticed...) and I also write freebie articles for no returns, yet I work in fast food for minimum wage. So, instead of this getting on top of me and grinding down my spirit, I've decided to use what I've got (a wealth of knowledge) and become an active agent, instead of a passive receiver: turn my hobby (classical studies) into my profession (an author). I certainly can't expect the British academic establishment to keep their word on offering me a so-called "good job" (for their word is worthless: they have no honour).

I'm on my own, and have to carve out my own destiny, plant my own flag - as it were - though this will always be a British flag, because I am a citizen-subject of Her Majesty's Realm, not some tub thumping sociologist/anarchist, some rabble rousing social psychologist. Anyway.

The idea came about when I posted on FaceBook once. Most of my posts are not liked by many people (mainly because they are about serious topics, such as academia - not frivolous and licentuous things). However, one post received over a hundred 'likes', and it was about the Wandjina cave paintings in Australia: spirits that descended from the heavens (that look precisely like aliens). This shows you what a sample target audience (in my case hundreds of friends) are into, and willing to buy. It is not fruitless and pointless endeavours such as serious academic scholarship, Great British history, or Roman archaeology (such things are for poor people in this day and age - Dark Age Britain). Instead, it is a combination of things. (1) My passion: classical studies (particularly anything weird and wonderful - the paranormal). (2) What the target audience wants and are interested in.

Regarding this second point, in Kevin Greene's book Archaeology: An Introduction he writes (Greene, 2006, p.232) that the weird and strange aspects of archaeology (which are often false or made up to pander to an audience) are more popular with the public than such silly things as 'facts' and 'scientific data' (all of which are worthless in this literary Dark Age). People don't want to read dry excavation reports, but interesting things: the strange, the curious, the outlandish. I shall combine the two, offering an objective dispassionate analysis with a most interesting subject matter. Thereby, God willing, I shall once and for all claw my way out of indentured servitude (if only for a brief time: and use whatever I make to invest in a business), and towards a more enlightened, philosophical existence.

Max.