I have been sadly neglecting my little blog of late, and I miss it. But I have reasons. I’ve been busy with, among other things that are only out in daylight because some beast drew them out like wriggling worms from the earth, my writing. Some small amount of that writing has been for fun, creative pursuits. But the vast majority of the past 8 or so months of my life have been fully absorbed with research and writing for Operation: Save My Own Ass, AKA the Gitmo Chapter. Continue reading “I submitted my Gitmo chapter!”
Author: kristen
A Year of Literary Holidays
As a child, two of the best days of the year were, of course, Christmas and my birthday. My cousins and I were spoiled blind by doting grandparents, so there was a glut of presents at Christmas. I was an only child from a broken home, so my birthday usually ended up being The Week of Me, receiving parties with my mom, my dad, with friends… Since I have always been a giant booknerd, my gifts were almost always book-related. Yay! It was an embarrassment of riches, except I’m an only child so I feel no embarrassment.
Over the years, I gradually began building, quite inadvertently, a calendar of events centered around my favorite books and authors. After I became aware I was doing so, I started crafting actual holidays around them until I had my own bookish traditions. They give me something to look forward to each month, to have friends over to help celebrate, or just to contemplate on my own.
Below is my personal year of literary holidays. Continue reading “A Year of Literary Holidays”
The Dark Lady’s Mask
It is not often that I read a novel that makes me want to do actual research on a person – in a good way, not a fact-checking way – and then blog about it. But Mary Sharratt’s latest novel did just that. It is a wonderful take on an often-speculated theory that Aemilia Lanier may have been the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
In Sharratt’s story, Aemilia Lanier, historically the first professional woman poet in England, is the daughter of a Marrano (a Jew who was forced to convert to Christianity). She is educated from the age of eight in the home of the Countess of Kent after her father’s death. From there, she becomes the mistress of the Lord Chamberlain, bears his son, is banished from Elizabeth’s court in disgrace, and married off in haste to Alfonso Lanier to mitigate the scandal. She eventually flees to Italy with a relative, taking with her the up-and-coming poet William Shakespeare. Lanier initially proposes a business deal with him to co-write plays together, since she knows she couldn’t publish them under her own name. The two fall in love and add their passion to their writing. Things go awry, and ultimately Shakespeare ends up publishing his sonnets as attacks against Aemilia, and she replies by publishing her Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum.
Sharratt creates a believable and delightful portrayal of Lanier and her possible role as Shakespeare’s Dark Muse. Her characters are rich and complex, and the intricacies, joys, and pains of their lives are realistic. The speculation within the novel works extremely well, because Sharratt works with historical fact and academic theory in the space between the documented facts of Lanier’s life, Shakespeare’s life, and their written works. Very highly recommended!
Find the official review HERE.
Fairy Tales – You’re Doing It Wrong
I’m a big fan of reimagined fairy tales. Huge. I’ll read just about any kind of Arthurian legend I can get my hands on. I love a good retelling of Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. The darker, the better. But a recent NY Times article about the NRA retelling fairy tales sent me from zero to “what the actual fuck?” in zero point six-eight seconds flat. Continue reading “Fairy Tales – You’re Doing It Wrong”
Rioter!
And now I get to write for Book Riot! I submitted two writing samples, which they’ll use as guest posts. Barring anything untoward happening with that – I can’t imagine what that would be – I’ll get to be a full contributor! So excited! I love this site, and I actually listen to every one of their podcasts. I can’t say that for literally any other website I follow. Woot!
The Introvert Party…by Linda Carlblom
As an introvert, I find it tiresome to be social. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it from time to time. I actually love it. After all, humans were made to be in community with each other…
Now Accepting Applications for the Hortulus Co-editor position! — Hortulus
We are accepting applications at this time for the Hortulus co-editor position.This is a two-year appointment lasting from 2016-2018; the first year is spent in a junior editorial, training capacity, while the second year comprises senior editorial duties. The deadline for applications is July 1. Further information can be found here: https://hortulus-journal.com/job-openings/
via Now Accepting Applications for the Hortulus Co-editor position! — Hortulus
Oh, Strange New Worlds that hath such people in’t!
Finally, I can say something! Simon and Schuster posted the announcement earlier today about the winners of the Strange New Worlds writing contest. Of which I AM ONE! OMFG WOO HOO!! My short story will be in the anthology of short stories which are being published in honor of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. My geek card is well and truly CASHED and I couldn’t be more thrilled or honored!
Llywelyn the Great
Yesterday was the 776th anniversary of the death of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, also known as Llywelyn the Great. Born in 1173, he began to take control of North Wales when he was about 14 years old. By the time he was about 28, he was effectively the ruler of all Wales. He unified Wales, historically a nation often divided by war and clan fighting, and held the land in peace. Even during the difficult years when he was at odds with King John, Llywelyn eventually managed to regain lands he lost, and he held the respect of his retainers and the nobles. He is one of only two Welsh kings to be given the title Fawr, “the Great.”
As a lover of historical fiction, in particular, medieval historical fiction, some of my favorite novels feature Llywelyn Fawr or his contemporaries. The best novels bring his time to life in the most vivid ways, transport me to his castles at Dolwyddelan, on his campaign trail, at his feast table. It takes a special kind of talent to make history come alive and not turn it into a dry, boring textbook. I’ve ready plenty of historical fiction novels that read like straight history textbooks, and it was awful. All I could think of while reading those was that I hoped other readers didn’t pick those particular books up as their first exposure to the time period. Otherwise, I just couldn’t see how they would ever be intrigued enough to want to learn more about it, and that makes me sad. For those who have not yet discovered good historical fiction based on Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, below are some of the very best.
Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman. Rich not only in (highly accurate) historical detail, but also in the complexities of medieval politics, kingship, and interpersonal relationships, Here Be Dragons is my favorite novel of medieval Wales. One of my favorite scenes in the whole book was the wedding night of Llywelyn and Joanna, the daughter of King John. She was young and scared, and Llywelyn, wanting to earn her trust, offered to delay consummating their wedding and opted instead to cut his arm so that she could show a bloodstained sheet to those wanting proof of her viginity.
The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet by Edith Pargeter. This series is about the grandson of Llywelyn Fawr, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also called Llywelyn the Last. It is a first person narrative told from the point of view of Llywelyn’s scribe and friend Samson. I rather like the first person account since it gives an immediacy to the story and an intimacy into just one aspect that we might not otherwise get to see. After all, we only can see life from our own perspective.
What others have you read?
Story By A Line
I don’t know how the brains of all reading addicts work. But for my own brain, we will often read a story together, my brain and I, then go on a tangent, and make up a new story about something it just saw in the book we’re reading. I’m not talking about writing fanfiction, though that has often happened as well. I’m talking about reading a scene, or even a single line, and wanting an entirely new story completely separate from the novel as a whole, totally unrelated to the story, based just on that singular line. Maybe there is a proper term for it, but in my head I’ve always referred to it as a story by a line. Continue reading “Story By A Line”
Her Grace's Library 