Mark Newell
Bio
Mark Newell, PhD, RPA, is a writer and archaeologist in Lexington, South Carolina. In addition to working major archeological projects, he writes historical action adventure, science fiction, non fiction, Ghosting and horror.
Stories (35)
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The Watch
2: Year & Place Unknown, Palestine: Anvil of the Gods. Only the shadows on the chill sandy soil were black. Above, the vault of heaven was alive with energy from the blazing stars and the lambent glow of the Milky Way. Phineas crouched closer to the meager warmth and dim glow of the dried camel dung fire, his eyes not moving from the spot above. It was there, on the shoulder of the Great Hunter, the Spear Holder, the Light of Heaven, where the Oracle had first appeared. As usual, months before, he had consulted the auguries, the numbers, the signs and it was written clear. Something was coming. The Elders had convened when he first prophesied that Yahweh had tossed a pebble into the great cosmic void. Its ripples would eventually reach them from the spot where God had touched their universe, there on the shoulder of Orion. At first there was nothing, no sign at all, and the Elders were on the verge of ridiculing him, even banishing him as a false prophet. But then the star appeared. The bright light turned into a comet, an omen of great portent. Of good or evil Phineas knew not. Indeed, he felt that the comet was the sign of some great gift from God…that would eventually become a great curse. He pondered long and hard over this mystery.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
Secret City of the Sun
Chapter 2: Charleston and Belle Boyd My introduction to Charleston, South Carolina, came in the form of a dramatic incident, as our steamer approached the harbour mouth from the northeast. It was mid-morning, as Dane and I were gathered with several other passengers in a small lounge near the galley, where a steward was serving tea. The regular rhythm of the steam engines, and that of the side wheels in the water, were suddenly punctured by a sharp, metallic bang, and a shuddering through the hull of the ship that almost tossed the tea samovar off its table.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
Blindman's Breakfast
Part One: Blind Man’s Breakfast Chapter 1: The Patio Giles De La Ronde was born blind, but since a man cannot rue the loss of something he never had, he asked for sympathy from none. In fact, he reveled in a very special superiority over his sighted neighbors in the Vieux Carré.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
The Claymakers
Editor’s Note: “Son of Claymaker” was written by North Augusta writer and archaeologist Mark Newell, after reviewing the research of colleague Ken Sassaman. It presents a picture of the life of early Indians as revealed by Sassaman’s excavations on Stallings Island. The story first appeared in Augusta Magazine in 1998
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
The Secret City of the Sun
Author's Note: What if Confederate plans for a new nation and base of operations in South America had been a success? Confederate Rebels, Union Officers, a young Englishman and a Confederate spy, and a treasured Inca Temple sought by an archaeologist, feature in this action adventure novel set after the America Civil War.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
The Sands of Phobos
Saving Joshua & Samuel Jake and Susan Lee huddled in the media room of their home in New Joplin. Neither could sleep. They were waiting. Not for the cat five hurricane roaring in from the Arkansas coastline to blow over. The storms were getting to be old news. They both watched The Channel, hoping against hope that the screen would message them soon to say that their twins, Joshua and Samuel, were homeward bound. And that their four lives were not about to spiral into disaster.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
The Gods of Gilgamesh
Author Note:Lake Vostok is an actual lake beneath Antarctica. It has been sealed for mpore than half a million years. In this science fiction story scientists seek to enter the lake - only to discover a message there that will impact all humankind.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
Livin' On The Rim
Author's Note: In 1973 I heard that descendants of plantation slaves were still living on a plantation near Waynesboro, Georgia. Caldwell and Bourke-White started their epic "You have Seen Their Faces" in Waynesboro. The story documented the plight of poor whites across the south. When I read it, I was astonished even back then that poor African-Americans had been completely ignored - a story even more compelling than that of the benighted whites. So I went down to the Carswell Plantation and found several dozen slave cabins still occupied by the descendants that had served the Carswell family over centuries of slavery. The story that follows is what I came back with. I sent it to an Editor at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Never recieved a reply. A few months later the newspaper published a story by one of its own reporters - documentating exactly the same conditions on a plantation in Alabama.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in FYI
The Watch
See the author's note at the end of this Chapter. Prologue: Dust to Dust. There are some who would have it that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in the distant Amazon can have in impact on the path or intensity of a tornado in Texas. On such inconsequential things can rest the lives of humankind. There is something far beyond this myopic view, for, in truth, when some fold in space and time causes two grains of dust to smite each other in the vast, cold reaches of distant space, the fate of great nations can be decided, and even the very destiny of a world determined.
By Mark Newell4 years ago in Fiction
