The galley proof reviewing is over. Arduous work, I must tell, that squeezes the brain almost to the boiling point. There are some last-minute changes that I want to include. I also reviewed 44 illustrations and changed those not in the public domain. I got several permissions, but it was not easy. Not everybody replied to my letters; sometimes, the correspondents wanted money for their consent.
Meanwhile, I uploaded another chapter, The Shadow Crusader: Otto of Freising.
https://www.academia.edu/79701738/The_Shadow_Crusader_Otto_of_Freising
The advent of Prester John in official history, with a German chronicler Otto von Freising acting as the ruler's "godfather." The chapter describes the contradicting nature of the literary character.
My audience has grown to 7 K readers, and when I complete uploading the remaining chapters from my second book, it may reach 8 K. These good tidings prompted me to continue my quest for a literary agent. I need a mediator who can connect me to a traditional publisher since I hate the idea of paying for the publication of my books. Whether I succeed or not, this effort exposes my work to more people and aids in building a powerful platform.
Meanwhile, I reverted to collecting material for my third book. I pick up tips about medieval and renaissance warships, i.e., light galleys. I decided to reconsider the issue of binding galleys with ropes or cables as a conventional tactic of the navy. It seems a dangerous practice since vessels are prone to running aground or dashing upon each other and breaking oars. Commanders might use it as a defensive means in a narrow space. I must check who wrote about this stratagem: the participants or chroniclers with no marine background.
I also thought about transitioning from multi-tiered ancient vessels to multi-oared but one-level medieval galleys. Vettor Fausto could not apply old technology which had long gone out of use before his time, i.e., the second quarter of the sixteenth century. He could only borrow outdated terms to transfer them to his revolutionary technology.
I also read articles about Ancient Mesopotamia. I wonder how urbanization began. What made people settle close to each other, and how close? I want to understand the difference between the early cities, like Tell Brak in LC 2-3 [LC stands for the Late Chalcolithic], and Neolithic mega-sites (Jericho, Catal Hoyuk, and the rest). The latter seems to be isolated sites without class differentiation and labor division.
