June 2007 Archives

Next Wednesday marks Independence Day, the Fourth of July, here in the States. It's only Friday afternoon, but the festive spirit is already in the air and has wafted clear up to the window of my ivory tower. The fragrance was so intoxicating I was forced to set down my manuscript and head to the fishmonger's for a hefty filet. Add a fired-up charcoal grill, limes, cilantro, garlic, onions, tomatoes, avocado, some serrano chiles and corn tortillas and yes, folks, it's Fish Taco Friday here at the Palazzo Kalogridis.

In honor of the looming holiday, I'd like to give a shout out to some of my favorite people in all the world: librarians. Yes, I know I recently shared some Hot Library Smut with you, but it isn't just the buildings that set my heart aflame; it's the women and men who so love and respect recorded knowledge that they safeguard it for us.

In their honor, I submit the American Library Association's 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. Please make it a point to read at least one of these books this holiday -- or if not one of these, one you think is a likely candidate for the 2000-2010 list.

We are laid low this week at the Palazzo Kalogridis, my friends; both Ser Giorgio and I are feeling the deliberate, inexorable advance of decrepitude, prompting a flurry of visits to medical specialists who cluck their tongues and shake their heads and say, Alas, what can be done? You are, ultimately, mortal.

The sad diagnosis? Take out. I, Donna Giovanna, will not be cooking tonight.

Even the inexhaustibly cheerful Miss Sweetie Pie, who turned twelve this past week, is feeling her age. For the first time, ever, I will be taking her to the vets for more than a vaccination.

But all is not doom and gloom. In fact, I stumbled upon some glorious photos which not only improved my mood, but in fact brought a flush of youthful heat to my bosom. Oh, to remember my sweet university days!

I present to you, dear friends, Hot Library Smut.

I miss writing about vampires. I read DRACULA when I was twelve, and it remains one of my favorite novels to this day. I have to admit that I had enormously wicked fun writing THE DIARIES OF THE FAMILY DRACUL trilogy.

If you have any interest in Romanian folklore and the history of the sadistic, charismatic prince known as Vlad the Impaler, you would definitely enjoy the trilogy. I got the inspiration for it while reading DRACULA: PRINCE OF MANY FACES, a biography by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu. The family tree offered there got me wondering about how -- if one overlaid Stoker's fantasy that Dracula was a vampire -- Vlad would have treated ongoing generations of his descendants. Voila, the first book in the trilogy, COVENANT WITH THE VAMPIRE, was born.

While I was writing COVENANT, I realized I had a story that needed to overlap with the actual events of Stoker's novel -- and so I recast the narrative into Stoker's epistolary (letter-and-diary-writin') style. The story continued in CHILDREN OF THE VAMPIRE and ends with the third novel, LORD OF THE VAMPIRES, which includes the secret diaries of Bram (aka Abraham -- ya think it was a coincidence?) Van Helsing.

In honor of Bram Stoker and vampires and epistolary works, I hereby humbly submit Dracula Blogged.

Snowclone.

What happens on Wikipedia doesn't stay on Wikipedia.

Hi. I'm J. M. Dillard. I got my start writing STAR TREK, because I adored -- and still do -- the original series. I imprinted as an adolescent on Mr. Spock.

I have a new book coming out in late August, STNG: RESISTANCE. It's my last TREK novel, I think, but as far as I'm concerned, STAR TREK rocks, and so do its fans, of which I am one.

...but they're heartless. And my protagonists would have loved them.

Go, and discover my idea of the perfect Valentine's day card.

Despite its name, Bookslut isn't slutty at all, but I suppose "bibliophile" and "book lover" have been taken. I stumbled onto this blog last week and have enjoyed keeping up with it. The blogger, Jessa Crispin, writes knowledgeably about books and publishing, and gives constant industry news updates. She's also suggested some interesting titles to read. Besides, she works in a bookstore -- isn't that reason enough to love her? Highly recommended.

Dramatists -- whether they write screenplays or plays or novels or, in this instance, teleplays -- have a responsibility to their audience and to their creations.

Take, for example, the final episode of the television series THE SOPRANOS. I didn't watch the whole show but I did see the ending where the family sits munching on onion rings and absolutely nothing happens.

It's just plain wrong. Viewers were cheated. The series itself was cheated. Tony Soprano, the protagonist, was cheated.

Why? Because there are certain elements to a drama that make it a drama. These elements aren't there because Aristotle or some literary theorist said they should be. These elements are there because they please the audience -- the listeners, the viewers, the readers -- and have pleased us for thousands of years. Drama is created for us, and when it fails to satisfy us, it fails, period.

So what satisfies us?

At least, it mesmerized me. Enjoy five hundred years of Women in Art, courtesy of You Tube.

That's a line from Stephen King; he used it to refer to the delicious experience of so enjoying a novel that you forget you're reading. You're that utterly absorbed.

I had that experience today, except that I was writing the book, not reading it. I worked today from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. on THE BLOODIEST QUEEN, with a minimal break for lunch. (That post that appeared this afternoon at 3-whatever-o'clock -- that was written two days ago.) Not healthy for the spine or the waistline, sitting still so long. But there's no more exhilarating experience than watching plot and characters come alive and start working together to birth something fine. This sort of madness only comes over me when the story is well under way, as it is with BQ. (My agent and I refer to my books in abbreviated fashion; THE BORGIA BRIDE is BB, THE BURNING TIMES is BT and now we have THE BLOODIEST QUEEN and BQ. Our joke is that BQ is the lovechild of Burger King and Dairy Queen, har har.)

I now know more than anyone should about the magus (Wise Man) Gaspar (aka Caspar). Does anyone else find it fascinating that the Wise Men were Persian astrologers, members of a priestly caste of Zoroastrians, and that the Star of Bethlehem might well have been the planet Jupiter?

I love writing historicals.

... is but one of the courses offered on Historic Food, food historian Ivan Day's website.

Ivan is an enthusiastic educator and has lectured widely throughout Britain and the U.S.A. He also runs unique practical courses on period cookery, many of which take place in an historic kitchen in his own home, a seventeenth century farmhouse on the edge of the English Lake District.

As well as advertising the Historic Food Courses, this site contains a wealth of unique information, recipes and images relating to the history of English food. It demonstrates how Ivan uses period cookery illustrations, antique utensils and other primary sources to re-create the remarkable food of the past.

Wish I had the time and means to jet to London. I'd sign up for Italian Renaissance Cookery:

I'm so excited! THE BLOODY CHAMBER has been re-issued in paperback. My twenty-five-year-old copy is falling apart, so I'm pleased to be able to get a fresh one. I read and re-read and re-re-read this book while I was working on THE DIARIES OF THE FAMILY DRACUL in hopes that its brilliant, rich Victorian prose would inspire my paler efforts.

THE BLOODY CHAMBER, a feminist re-working of The Brothers Grimm's Fairy Tales, is the work of the late, dazzlingly talented Angela Carter. Carter dabbles with language the way da Vinci dabbled with paint. The story "The Bloody Chamber," for which the collection is named (and which is my favorite), is Carter's version of the tale of Bluebeard.

I recommend anything by Carter, whose writing tends toward the fantastic. THE INFERNAL DESIRE MACHINES OF DOCTOR HOFFMAN and NIGHTS AT THE CIRCUS are two of my favorites.

Normally, when you say the words “Will Ferrell” to me, I shudder, prompted by recollections of promo clips from BLADES OF STEEL and TALLADEGA NIGHTS. Not so when it comes to STRANGER THAN FICTION, a 2006 film starring Mr. Ferrell as well as Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Ferrell was absolutely brilliant.

I doubted the conceit would work: a man suddenly hears a voice in his head – and it turns out to belong to a writer, who is writing a novel about him. Ferrell’s character, Harold Crick, soon discovers that the book is destined to end with his death, and so he tracks down the writer (Emma Thompson) in order to save himself.

I’m a jaded viewer, the sort who tends to shout out what will happen next, because I’m always second-guessing the writer (and I'm often right). Rarely does a movie engage me – and STRANGER THAN FICTION was the delightful exception. Who would have imagined that an encounter between a writer and her creation could have worked? But Ferrell and Thompson pulled it off flawlesslly, and Hoffman, as a literature professor, is a delight. Two thumbs way, way up.

First, my apologies to Jennifer, the adorable John Allen, Marg, maryann and shama. Being a neophyte in the blogging world, I neglected to check my junk folder for comments until last night. Ayyy! as the Manolo would say. Forgive me, my sweet young onions; I didn't mean to be rude by ignoring you. I've since added and responded to your comments. I'll never let you languish in the junk pile again.

That said, I want to give a big shout out to Marg of Reading Adventures, who was kind enough to add HIAB (History is a Bitch) to her blogroll. Thanks, Marg!

I've had the honor of chatting with a number of readers' groups across the country. I've enjoyed every single conversation -- especially the part where I get to shut up and hear what other folks are reading.

Kathy and her reading group (Yvonne, Amanda, Linda and Elisa -- betcha thought I wasn't paying attention) in New Jersey recommended YEAR OF WONDERS, by Geraldine Brooks, to me. The story is set in an isolated English village in 1662, and the plot hinges on the characters' decisions whether or not to flee an outbreak of plague.

It's a beautiful novel. I find myself re-reading pages just to admire how sparely and elegantly Brooks puts together a sentence; but my pleasure isn't limited to just the language. The story is very sensitive and moving.

Next, I'm going to read her novel MARCH, about the father of all those LITTLE WOMEN.

One of my favorite just-for-fun blogs is Manolo the Shoeblogger, aka the Manolo.

The Manolo, he possesses the wit of the rapier. We particularly enjoy the category Pure Evil. And just for fun, go ahead... read about the "funky little fashion troll."

Today the Posse Kalogridis is headed off to beautiful Santa Barbara for a medical and grocery-shopping extravaganza.

In the interim, please content yourselves with the glorious and educational smARThistory.org, which features two art historians giving audio/video lectures on masterpieces by the great painters. Current entries include famed Italian Renaissance dude Giotto's Lamentation and the delectable northern Renaissance confection, Campin, Merode Altarpiece.

Enjoy.

I'm currently writing a book about Catherine de' Medici. Catherine was a brilliant mathematician and avid astrologer; she and Nostradamus, aka Michel de Nostredame, were pretty tight. A self-reliant sort, Catherine learned to cast her own charts -- obliging me to learn about astrology as it was practiced in her day.

A beautiful, informative, impressive and fascinating site dealing with the subject is Christopher Warnock's Renaissance Astrology. If this is your cup of tea, please check it out.