Solomon and The Queen of Sheba

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Myths Subverted has just published my "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" at Amazon here. and at alternative sites here.  The Goodreads entry is here

The tale found its inspiration not only in the brief biblical passages that speak of these personages, but also from the much thicker mist of legend surrounding the couple.

The story arose from an old belief that intrigued me: the wise king's reputation as sorcerer. More than that though remained a mystery for the ages: the name of the Queen of Sheba at once multiple and secret. It occurred to me, that, given the old law of magic holding that knowing someone's name gave power over that person, perhaps this state of affairs was something the queen herself had imposed. What if this riddling sovereign kept her name an enigma, one of the very riddles that she asked Solomon, and one he could never guess, and thereby retain her own free will and possession of her own magic and power.

A brief story, I hope nonetheless that, like the queen herself, it enchants. 

Image 1)  Nicolas of Verdun. The Verdun Altar: France,1181 , Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 

                                    Image 2)Conrad Kyeser, c 1405, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2 Cod. Ms. Philos. 63, Cim., fol. 122r