Giveaway - Child of the Northern Spring by Persia Woolley

As I mentioned earlier today in the wonderful guest post by author Persia Woolley I would have a giveaway away for you and I have kept true to my word.

Thanks to those awesome people at Sourcebooks, I have two copies of Persia Woolley’s new re-release Child of the Northern Spring to giveaway. This is the first book in the Guinevere Trilogy that Sourcebooks is re-releasing.

Here is the back cover blurb:

“Among the first to look at the story of Camelot through Guinevere’s eyes, Woolley sets the traditional tale in the time of its origin, after Britain has shattered into warring fiefdoms. Hampered by neither fantasy nor medieval romance, this young Guinevere is a feisty Celtic tomboy who sees no reason why she must learn to speak Latin, wear dresses, and go south to marry that king. But legends being what they are, the story of Arthur’s rise to power soon intrigues her, and when they finally meet, Guinevere and Arthur form a partnership that has lasted for 1500 years.

In Child of the Northern Spring, Gwen meets the characters who will accompany her and Arthur as they work to bring order to a country in chaos – Arthur’s best friend Bedivere; Merlin, whose wisdom reeks of magic and superstition; the brashly courageous young Gawain; and Morgan le Fey, Arthur’s half sister who harbors much hatred for the young king. This is Arthurian epic at its best – filled with romance, adventure, authentic Dark Ages detail, and wonderfully human people.”

The Details:

There are two copies up for grabs for followers in the US and Canada (sorry to my International followers)

To enter, fill out the form below. I am trying out using this Google form entry method for the first time. If you have any problems with it let me know – I’m giving it a shot…

You can add to your chances of winning you can get +1 entry for each time you tweet, post to Facebook, your blog, blog sidebar etc, and leave me a link to it.

If you are a new follower to my blog you can get +1 entry. If you are a long time follower you can get +2 entries.

The winners will be announced on Saturday November 20th. Good luck everyone!






Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Guest Post with Persia Woolley

Today we have the opportunity to welcome author Persia Woolley, author of newly re-issued Child of the Northern Springs, to The Maiden's Court. In her guest post today she discusses what led her to write about the Arthurian legend and her take behind Gwen. And stay tuned later today for a fabulous giveaway! Enjoy!

Why I Write about Guinevere

Guest Post by Persia Woolley, author of

Child of the Northern Spring

My mother was a librarian and avid reader who had taught herself to read when she was four. Consequently, she pressured me relentlessly to follow the same course, which I rejected entirely, being happier writing my own stories rather than reading others. As a result my introduction to the Arthurian legend came when I heard the music from the Lerner and Lowe 1960 musical Camelot. That led me to White's Once and Future King which includes psychological studies of Gawain and Lancelot, and I began to read many other Arthurian novels, all with an adult sensibility.

During the twenty years between the musical and my beginning Child of the Northern Spring, I became a journalist in S.F. area, had my own live television show and worked as a press agent, all of which honed my writing skills. I also had two non-fiction books published, raised two kids as a single mom, and became a step-mom after my youngsters were grown.

I feel that every author needs to have something new and interesting to bring to any story. So while my husband and I spent several weeks in Britain prowling about Arthurian sites, I found myself wishing there was some new angle from which to tell those tales, but couldn't see what it was.

Then a year after the divorce I was re-reading Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy and saw Lancelot and Guinevere standing right in front of me, engaged in a horrific argument. When I blinked and they disappeared, I thought “What's a nice girl like you doing marrying into that blood-drenched family, with the king's closest friend your avowed enemy, and no one to take your side because you're an outsider.” I literally jumped to my feet, thrilled to have found what my first novel would be.

I'm a fan of Mary Renault's Theseus books wherein she treated the legend as based on fact after searching out the historical origins of that myth, so it was natural for me to approach my Guinevere in the same manner.

As with any good legend, the Round Table has many aspects that are timeless. But there are also a number of things Gwen personally goes through that modern readers can relate to, such as dealing with infertility, surviving rape and becoming a step-mom in a family full of conflicted feelings.

Because she's an outsider from the north, she can see Arthur's world with fresh eyes which allows the reader to discover it as well. I made four research trips to Britain, going to each of the sites she would have gone to and collecting as much local color and lore as possible, as well steeping myself in the work of Dark Age historians and archaeologists. All of that goes into creating an interesting new world for the reader who has mainly seen Camelot presented as either fantasy or woman's romance. (There is a great deal of superstition in Gwen's world, but no one gets in or out of trouble through magic.)

But perhaps what is most unique about my Gwen is that she's a feisty Celtic tomboy who grows up expecting to run her own country someday, only to find herself being shipped south to marry that young king--a prospect she rails against roundly. That's a far cry from the old-fashioned vapid beauty who ruins the Round Table because she can't make up her mind between two men!

When they were originally published my Guineveres were all three Book of the Month Club selections, translated into seven languages and made into a terrible movie. Now, 20 years later, Sourcebooks is re-issuing the whole Guinevere Trilogy over the next year, and I’ve been thrilled to hear from so many fans and reviewers on both my FaceBook page and Twitter. It seems the time has come to take a second look at a real woman who would have had to be pretty special to have been the equal of the king and loved not only by Arthur and Lancelot, but by so many who championed her in the original tales.

Persia Woolley is the author of the Guinevere Trilogy: Child of the Northern Spring, Queen of the Summer Stars, and Guinevere: Legend in Autumn. She lives in Northern California. You can find Persia and more information on Facebook.




Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Berengaria of Navarre - Queen of England

Berengaria of Navarre might be a medieval queen that you have never heard of. I had heard the name mentioned before but knew very little of her. There is a reason for that though, very little is actually known about her.

Berengaria was one of the daughters of the King of Navarre. She likely met Richard when he came to Navarre when she was a young girl and he was traveling around. They didn’t meet again until Queen Eleanor decided that this girl would be a good match for her son, now King Richard I, the Lionheart. As Richard had set out on Crusade already, Eleanor brought Berengaria to him. Historians are skeptical that this was a love match because it seems that Richard kept trying to put off the wedding. His excuse was that it was Lent and would not be prudent to host a wedding party. It is also questioned as to whether the marriage was consummated or not – the couple never did have any children during their marriage.

As this leg of the Crusade drew to a close, Richard sent his wife and his sister back ahead of him to France. As we know, Richard was captured and held hostage on his way back. After he was released, Richard headed back to England – leaving his queen in France. He tried setting things straight in England after his long absence, but didn’t seem in a hurry to recall his wife. Finally the Pope stepped in and ordered him to reunite with his wife. So he headed to get her.

Sometime after that, Richard was struck with a poisoned arrow and while on his deathbed and later at his funeral – Berengaria was not called for – and she was less than a day’s ride away. Following his death, Berengaria fought with King John for her pension and he would not give it to her. Finally after his death, his son granted her the pension. The rest of her days not much is known about. She was buried at the abbey at Le Mans, which she helped fund.

Berengaria is most known for being the only English queen to never set foot on England’s soil. It doesn’t sound to me like she had a love match, although it doesn’t sound half as bad as some other royal marriages. The marriage of Richard and Berengaria is fictionalized in the novel The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes – and she makes it sound a little more like a love match – but you definitely get to know Berengaria!

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes

The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes

Paperback (Reprint), 368 pages

Sourcebooks Landmark

October 1, 2010

★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review

“In this compelling novel of love, loyalty, and lost chances, Margaret Campbell Barnes gives readers a new perspective on Richard the Lionheart’s triumphs and tragedies. Drawing on folklore, Barnes explores what might have happened if King Richard’s foster brother were none other than Robin Hood, a legendary figure more vibrant than most in authentic history. Thick as thieves as Richard builds a kingdom and marshals a crusade, the two clash when Robin Hood so provokes the king’s white hot temper that Richard banishes him. The Passionate Brood is a tale of a man driven to win back the Holy Land, beset by the guilt of casting out his childhood friend, and shouldering the burden of being the lionhearted leader of the Plantagenets”

For a novel whose title states it’s a novel of Richard the Lionheart and the man who became Robin Hood, there is fairly little Robin in this novel. He has a semi-prominent role in the first quarter of the book and then appears again in the last few pages, although he is never far from Richard’s thoughts. I think for the importance that the title places on the character, there was not enough time spent on him. Once he becomes “Robin Hood” we really don’t find anything more about him – it’s more of a story of how casting Robin aside affects Richard’s conscience; a little different than how I pictured the story to be. Aside from that, I think The Passionate Brood is certainly an appropriate title – those Plantagenets were very passionate people and as a group even more so.

What I liked most about this novel was the importance placed on the female characters whom you rarely see in novels about the children of Eleanor of Aquitaine. We have the pleasure of meeting Eleanor’s daughter, Johanna, as well as Richard’s wife, Berengaria. While this was certainly a story of Richard and we spent a lot of time on Crusade, it was a story of these women as well. You were able to learn about their hopes and fears and see how they dealt with being on Crusade. I think I loved the character of Johanna the best – she was very similar to her mother – spunky, willing to go on Crusade, and wanting to be “one of the boys”. As a reader you get the whole family feel and see the distinct personalities that emerge from these characters.

As I was reading some of the events within this novel, I began connecting it with events in the Elizabeth Chadwick books, For the King’s Favor and The Scarlet Lion. In the Barnes’ novel, you see the royal side of the events, while in the Chadwick books you see the courtier side of the same events; the most notable example for me was when Richard was captured and they had to raise the ransom money to free him. By having read all three of these books it helped me to round out the experience more.

When I previously read Barnes’ novel Within the Hollow Crown, I had a very hard time getting into it and had a harder time connecting with the characters. I am glad that I didn’t base my decision to read more of her books on my opinion of that novel. I very much enjoyed this book and I don’t think that it had any of the pitfalls of her other book (in my opinion).

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Calico Critic
• Anna’s Book Blog

Buy the Book:: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia 

Also by Margaret Campbell Barnes:

Margaret Campbell Barnes wrote many novels, but many are hard to find.  However, the below have been reprinted by Sourcebooks:


My Lady of Cleves

Brief Gaudy Hour

The Tudor Rose

King’s Fool

Within the Hollow Crown
[My Review]

Mary of Carisbrooke
[My Review]

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #53

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page but is currently on tour. For the month of November it will be hosted by Julie at Knitting and Sundries. Mailbox Monday has lead to my overwhelming pile of books at home to read and those that I wish to get my hands on.

This week I received 2 more books in my mailbox and I forgot that I was getting both of them. What a surprise!

From a giveaway at Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books I received an ARC of Captive Queen by Alison Weir! I have been looking forward to this book for awhile and was psyched to hear I had won. I love getting email on my BlackBerry because these little treats can really make my day (as do your comments :) )

The other book I received is for review - The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson, received from the author. As you may have read in the past, I'm not the biggest fan of reading Shakespeare's plays, but I enjoy watching them performed and reading novelizations of them. This one is a novel regarding The Tempest. I am very interested in this one.

I hope you mailbox was good to you this week!



Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Winner of Dancing with Mr. Darcy...

Good evening everyone! I would like to take a quick minute tonight to announce the winner of Dancing with Mr. Darcy. Please join me in congratulating Svea from Confessions and Ramblings of a Muse in the Fog! I will be sending you an email to get your mailing info. Thanks everyone for entering!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!



Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Summer at Tiffany I-pod Playlist

While looking for Marjorie Hart’s website, I stumbled across her Myspace page for the book Summer at Tiffany. Here she has posted an I-pod playlist that goes along with the book. These may be songs that were mentioned in the book or songs that evoke the time period. I thought I would repost this here for your enjoyment.

If you look below I have posted a playlist gadget so you can listen to these song at you leisure. The only one that I couldn’t find was Love Walked Right In and some of the songs are different versions because they were not available through this vendor. Enjoy!

THE SUMMER AT TIFFANY I-POD PLAYLIST from http://www.myspace.com/bestsummerofyourlife

"O SOAVE FANCIULLA" (Puccini’s La Boheme Act I)/ Mirella Freni/Luciano Pavarotti/Roland Panerai
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL/Boys Choir of Harlem
BEGUIN THE BEGUINE/Artie Shawn
BRAHMS CELLO SONATA IN E MINOR
CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO/Tex Beneke
DRUM BOOGIE/Gene Krupa
EMBRACEABLE YOU/Judy Garland
JEEPERS CREEPERS/Louis Armstrong
LETS CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF/Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
LOVE WALKED RIGHT IN/Sammy Kaye Orchestra
ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET/Frankie Laine
S’WONDERFUL/Glenn Miller Orchestra
SWEET GEORGIA BROWN/Ben Bernie
THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC/Glenn Miller Orchestra

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

Paperback, 290 pages

Avon A

March 30, 2010

★★★★★

Genre: Memoir

Source: Picked up in the Book Blogger Con swag bag

“Do you remember the best summer of your life?

New York City, 1945. Marjorie Jacobson and her best friend, Marty Garrett, arrive fresh from the Kappa house at the University of Iowa hoping to find summer positions as shopgirls. Turned away from the top department stores, they miraculously find jobs as pages at Tiffany & Co., becoming the first women to ever work on the sales floor—a diamond-filled day job replete with Tiffany blue shirtwaist dresses from Bonwit Teller's—and the envy of all their friends.

Hart takes us back to the magical time when she and Marty rubbed elbows with the rich and famous; pinched pennies to eat at the Automat; experienced nightlife at La Martinique; and danced away their weekends with dashing midshipmen. Between being dazzled by Judy Garland's honeymoon visit to Tiffany, celebrating VJ Day in Times Square, and mingling with Café society, she fell in love, learned unforgettable lessons, made important decisions that would change her future, and created the remarkable memories she now shares with all of us”

From the moment I saw this book I just knew that I had to read it and would love it. Now, I recently had an experience where I hyped a book that I was looking forward to so much, that when I read it and it wasn’t as good as I expected; I was crestfallen. But that was not the case this time and I loved every minute of it. I spent all day on a beautiful Sunday outside reading this book – it was that engrossing.

I have always been enamored with America in the 1920’s-1940’s – my mother always tells me that I was born at the wrong time. Seeing this world through the eyes of Marjorie was just like being there myself. You really got all of the details about fashion and the celebrities they saw while working at Tiffany, the struggles of daily life in NYC, all of the war efforts on the home front. This story encapsulated so many areas of life at this time that the world came to life around you.

This story was so more than just the story of one young woman’s exploits while on summer break from college, but it was the story of the first women to work on the Tiffany’s floor, as well as a historical snapshot of the summer of 1945 in New York City. You saw more than just how these events affected these two girls’ lives, but how they affected the lives of those around them too. You are party to the Empire State Building being hit by a plane, V-J Day, General Eisenhower’s parade through the city, The Queen Mary docking in NYC to release mass amounts of troops home, and much more.

I don’t know what it is about essentially experiencing the life of a normal American in 1945 that made this such an awesome book, but I loved every minute of it! You will certainly not be disappointed if you pick this one up to read – highly recommended.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

You can watch this conversation with the author, Marjorie Hart, as she describes a little about the book and why she wrote it.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Write Meg
• My Inner French Girl

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Find Marjorie Hart: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

The Iconic Tiffany & Co.

I think it is safe to say that almost everyone knows of Tiffany & Co – whether they own a piece of their exquisite jewelry or have just envied from afar. Marjorie Hart was fortunate to spend the summer of 1945 at the Tiffany flagship store as the first female page on the floor – and shares that story with us in the wonderful memoir Summer at Tiffany. From their gorgeous jewelry to that brilliant blue box that says it all, Tiffany & Co is an iconic image for the ages.

The Tiffany Yellow Diamond, shown here in its most well know setting, the “Bird on the Rocks” brooch, was likely discovered around 1877 in South Africa. It was cut in Paris as a cushion-cut brilliant and weighs in at a whopping 128.54 carats with 90 facets. In its raw state it was 287 carats! It was imported to the United States in 1879 at a price of $18,000. In 1983 it was valued at $12,000,000! This diamond has only been worn by two women – a Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse for the 1957 Tiffany Ball and Audrey Hepburn for promotional photographs for the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The iconic blue color of the Tiffany boxes was first used in 1878 on the cover of its Tiffany Blue Book catalogue. It is said that this color was chosen because of the popularity of brides at the time to give turquoise jewelry to the ladies. This color has now been trademarked by Tiffany and is a symbol of everything that they stand for. The New York Sun, in 1906, reported that “(Charles Lewis) Tiffany has one thing in stock that you cannot buy of him for as much money as you may offer; he will only give it to you. And that is one of his boxes”.
Any hardcore sports fan probably prides themselves as knowing nothing about Tiffany & Co – but some of the most iconic images in sports have Tiffany in them. The World Series Trophy, Nascar Nextel Cup, The Vince Lombardi Superbowl Trophy, The NBA and WNBA Championship Trophies, as well as various other championship rings and trophies have always been created by Tiffany out of sterling silver!
The first Tiffany glass lamp was created around 1895 and had been believed to be created by Louis Comfort Tiffany – but in 2007 it was revealed that the most famous designs were created by an artist, Clara Driscoll. These beautiful lamps are hand-made by piecing together cut colored glass and affixing them together through a method called Copper Foil method. These are some of the most beautiful lamps around.

Original Tiffany & Co. Building

The flagship store of Tiffany & Co is located on premium real estate at the corner of 57th St and 5th Ave. The company moved to this location October 21, 1940. Today the 7 floor house everything Tiffany: Main Floor – the greatest jewels they have to offer; 2nd Floor – engagement jewelry; 3rd Floor – silver jewelry and gifts; 4th Floor – the home collection (china and glass); 5th Floor – special events and exhibitions; 6th Floor – Customer Service.

These are some of the most iconic images of arguably one of the greatest jewelers around. I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart so that you too can enjoy more of what Tiffany has to offer!
Much of my information was attained from the Tiffany & Co. website http://press.tiffany.com/AboutTiffany.aspx.




Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #52

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page but is currently on tour. For the month of October it will be hosted by Avis at She Reads and Reads. Mailbox Monday has lead to my overwhelming pile of books at home to read and those that I wish to get my hands on.

This week I received 2 books in my mailbox (well, sort of...one didn't actually arrive in my mailbox).

I received a copy of Leslie Carroll's novel Herself which I won in a giveaway hosted at her blog The Lady Novelist. Also with this I won two tickets to go see the Broadway show, Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage.

Now I also received a copy of A Royal Likeness by Christine Trent to be reviewed for the December HFBRT event. This arrived at my parent's house, so I don't actually have it in my possession yet, but I know it is there and I want it! My mom keeps teasing me about it everytime I talk to her.

Did anything amazing arrive in your mailbox?

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: The Tudors Season 1

The Tudors
Showtime

Season 1

2007

Rated: Mature Audiences

Tudors Season 1 covers the time period of King Henry VIII’s reign during his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and through his early relationship with Anne Boleyn, just prior to his divorce from Catherine.

Having only seen the first three seasons so far, I have to say that the first season was my favorite. The animosity between Anne and Catherine was amazing and the Natalie Dormer (Anne) and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Catherine) played off of each other SO well. Sam Neill as Cardinal Wolsey was also phenomenal. And of course, the eye candy was Jonathan Rhys Myers and Henry Cavill!

The costuming is absolutely gorgeous. I want all of the dresses and head pieces etc. In my opinion they did a great job of sticking with period style – but I am not an expert on clothing. The scenery was very well done also. The only parts that I wasn’t a huge fan of were the CGI shots of castles and other sites that are no longer there. I know that they needed to use CGI, but I felt like they could have looked more clear rather that more CGI looking – I know they have that technology!

Tudors does speed up the time line of history and certainly does take some liberties with events and such. Some names of characters were changed for the viewer’s benefit and some characters were merged (Henry’s sisters Margaret and Mary became the single character of Margaret). Time did elapse faster in the show and the most notable instance is that Henry is not as old in the series at the time of the events as he was in real life (he is much younger probably to appeal to a younger audience). And as with any premium channel show, there is a fair share of nudity and sex – viewer beware!

Regardless of these liberties and small complaints, I loved this show! It is great fun to watch and has certainly generated a lot of buzz for the Hist-Fic community, which is never a bad thing. It has even led to the new Showtime drama The Borgias coming out in Spring 2011!

If you are a Hist-Fic fan and/or a lover of the Tudors, I think you will very much enjoy this show!

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: Robin Hood Season 2

Robin Hood
BBC

Season 2

2007

Rated: PG

While I thought that Season 1 was great, Season 2 was even better! By now we already know our heroes, or do we? Is there a traitor in their midst? If so, who is it and why are they doing it?

Marion and Robin try to give it a go – at least more so than in Season 1 – but I was left missing some of their squabbling – not that there isn’t any in Season 2! I have never been a huge Gisborne fan, but this season his character felt very lost to me. I think he is supposed to be conflicted between his emotions for Marion and his duty to the Sheriff, but it wasn’t quite there for me. All of the characters grew and evolved throughout this season in very appropriate ways. The events that take place actually seem to be effecting them.

In this season there are scenes that take place in England as well as in The Holy Land. I thought that the scenery was terrific and beautiful. There were some great fight scenes and as always some daring escapes.

The season finale will be a three hanky episode as was the season finale of Season 1 – but this one will definitely hit harder. Just be prepared. I’m not sure that I will like Season 3 that much because of how Season 2 ended. I feel like there will certainly be something missing and that it might not have the same feel to it, but I have hope. Season 3 is the last season so I’m hoping that everything gets wrapped up and not left hanging.

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Giveaway - Dancing with Mr. Darcy

Hello Everyone! I am pleased to offer a Jane Austen-esque book up for grabs for this next giveaway!

Thanks to the wonderful Harper Collins I have one copy of Dancing with Mr. Darcy available for followers in the US or Canada.

For those of you who don’t know, Dancing with Mr. Darcy is an anthology of the winning entries in the 2009 Jane Austen Short Story Award contest. All the short stories are inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House, where she spent the most productive literary years of her life. The book is edited by Sarah Waters, nominee for the MAN/Booker Prize in 2009 for The Little Stranger, and with an introduction from Rebecca Smith, the great-great-great-great-great-niece of Jane Austen, these twenty short stories are fully supported by the Chawton House Estate and were selected by an elite team of judges.

The book goes on sale today – October 19th!

To enter:

1. Leave a comment below with your email address (required)
2. You must be a follower of this blog
3. For additional entries:

+1 for each time you tweet, facebook post, etc and come back and leave a link here
+1 if you tell me what or who got you started with reading Jane Austen and what the first Austen book was you read
+2 for a blog sidebar post or blog post and leave a link here

This giveaway will be open until October 29th and the winner will be announced on October 30th.

Good luck everyone!




Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #51

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page but is currently on tour. For the month of October it will be hosted by Avis at She Reads and Reads. Mailbox Monday has lead to my overwhelming pile of books at home to read and those that I wish to get my hands on.

This week slowed down a lot in terms of books (compared to last week), but I think the mailman was getting tired of all of the DVD's coming in that I ordered last week during a bit of going Ebay-crazy!

From Sourcebooks for review I received Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham. I have not yet had the chance to read any of her books, so I am very excited about this one. I am also just getting into reading things from the War of the Roses period so this will be perfect!

Did anything you really wanted come in your mailbox this week?




Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Guest Post by Jeannie Lin

Please help me welcome author Jeannie Lin to The Maiden's Court.  Jeannie has a new book called Butterfly Swords out that you should check out if you are interested in historical fiction set in China.  Take it away Jeannie...

Walk the Line

Guest Post by Jeannie Lin, author of 

Butterfly Swords

I watched Inception the other night.

As usual, I’m behind the times. Everyone was raving about this movie about three weeks ago. Instead, I go see it at a ten o’clock showing in a nearly empty IMAX theatre by myself. I sat back in the huge seat, looked up at the curvy screen, and let go for two hours.
In one scene, Leo is training the new gal to architect dream levels. She decides to be a bit of a smart-ass and starts messing with the physics. Unlike The Matrix, where such antics are considered note-worthy, in Inception, the bending of reality has consequences. No one’s subconscious likes to think it’s being messed with. The subconscious starts to lash out in anger until the point when all of the dream people rebel and form a lynch mob.

From the very start of my submission process with Butterfly Swords, I kept hearing one word: “Risky”. Asian settings don’t do well in historical romance. There’s no market for it. It’s a hard sell. It’s risky.

It wasn’t that publishing was antagonistic and fearful of change. These unknown settings were risky for readers. Who wants to pick up a book and feel lost and confused? To not be able to connect with the characters? And then to be told, but you need to understand this culture, as if it’s their fault they didn’t come in with a couple of history courses and an atlas?

Somewhere along the process, I learned how to walk the line. This is something that fantasy and paranormal authors have to do all the time. Heck, I think it’s something all authors have to do. How do you create the “storyspace” of your book and keep readers from being jerked out of the dream?

Therein lies the alchemy. The voodoo.

The rules of a historical romance are inherently different than one of a paranormal or fantasy. It’s the balance of historical fact and fantasy. Ai Li is a swordwoman who comes from a long line of warriors. Many readers are drawn to that. A tough chick can be pretty cool and swords are flashy. But if she starts stomping all over the historical settings without any care for social norms or period expectations, the subconscious would rebel.

As the architect gal says in Inception, it’s not so much about getting down every little detail as it is getting the feel of it.

As a writer, you have to lay down the details, walk the line, and play delicately with the fabric. Then put the story in front of readers and hope they buy into the dream. If they don’t, they may very well rebel by throwing the book against the wall. But if they believe, what an adventure it can be.

You can visit Jeannie online at her website for more information about her books.

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: God in America

God in America

American Experience/Frontline Series

WGBH (PBS) & Frontline

360 minutes

October 11-13, 2010

“Since the days when the Puritan "city on a hill" beckoned on the horizon of the New World, religious faith and belief have forged America's ideals, molded its identity and shaped its sense of mission at home and abroad.

For the first time on television, God in America explores the tumultuous 400-year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America, from the first European settlements to the 2008 presidential election. A co-production of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and FRONTLINE, this six-hour series examines how religious dissidents helped shape the American concept of religious liberty and the controversial evolution of that ideal in the nation's courts and political arena; how religious freedom and waves of new immigrants and religious revivals fueled competition in the religious marketplace; how movements for social reform -- from abolition to civil rights -- galvanized men and women to put their faith into political action; and how religious faith influenced conflicts from the American Revolution to the Cold War.

Interweaving documentary footage, historical dramatization and interviews with religious historians, the six-part series is narrated by actor Campbell Scott and includes appearances by actors Michael Emerson (as John Winthrop), Chris Sarandon (as Abraham Lincoln. and Keith David (as Frederick Douglass), among others” (from PBS.org).

When I first heard about this series, I was very excited that American Experience and Frontline would take on such a huge subject and one that is usually handled with kid gloves. To talk about religion in this country can be a touchy subject. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion…up until the point when someone is offended (which these days seems to be pretty easy). Whether we like it or not, religious beliefs have been an integral part of the creation of this country and have left a legacy that really needs to be understood and embraced to know where we came from. While many of the events covered in this program are touched upon in school, it is highly unlikely they really get to the crux of the issue. I have to applaud American Experience and Frontline for taking this project on.

Now with that being said, this was a grand slam out of the ballpark for me. I am pleased that they used real experts from the fields to talk about this topic – religious studies professors, historians, and the like. They not only understood the religious aspects but also the historical and why the religious aspect was so important to that event or time period. I think there is nothing worse than when you have someone who is not an expert trying to impart knowledge to you in a form such as this. Also, when you are taking on the issue of religion, which is very close to so many people, you really want the right people for the job.

My biggest complaint was really the issue of length and lack of excitement. Now, I understand that this subject doesn’t exactly lend itself to great dramatic scenes that steal the show, but I found myself extremely bored. I would be ok for the first hour of the show, but really couldn’t focus on it after that. Possibly if the show was on for only 1 hour at a time, or if the overall show was not 6 hours, it might have been better. As it is, I didn’t watch all 6 hours, I just couldn’t focus and that was really hard for me to do. Each 1 hour episode is available to view online now, so I may tackle it that way to see what I missed.

Overall, I think that this was well presented and certainly a valuable use of funds and time.

If you are interested in watching any of the episodes please check out the God in America website on PBS.






Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Interview with Laurel Corona

After reading the wonderful Penelope's Daughter by Laurel Corona there were a couple burning questions that I just knew I had to ask. Below you will find the lovely interview with the author where she enlightens us with how she researched for her book as well as what is coming up next. Please welcome, Laurel Corona.

You are currently a professor at San Diego City College, how do you find time to research and write your books? Do you have a set routine?

I am fortunate in that many of the things I research are of use in my humanities classes, and in fact, the inspiration for all my fiction has come from the subjects I teach. One of the best things about being a community college professor is that we get long vacations but we aren’t under the obligation to “publish or perish,” as many academicians are. I don’t have to spend my time away from school producing scholarly work, which leaves me free to write whatever I want (or not to write at all) in my free time. I manage to write year-round though, because I am one of those obnoxious people who wakes up alert and ready to go by 6AM, so with my afternoon schedule of classes, I can put in a half day of writing before I have to think about getting ready for class. I try to have a good balance between writing and other activities (particularly exercise), and I find that really there is plenty of time in a day as long as none is wasted. I very rarely waste a minute.

We are told in The Odyssey that Odysseus and Penelope had a son, Telemachus. How did you come up with the story behind Penelope’s Daughter?

I decided I wanted to write a novel about The Odyssey from a female-centered point of view, but I didn’t like the character of Penelope. All she did in Homer, it seemed to me, was weave and weep. There was no way she was going to be my heroine, I was sure of that. I came up with the idea of a daughter as a way of being able to invent the heroine I wanted. As the story evolved, Penelope became very much a heroine in my eyes also, when I imagined how she really would have acted in that difficult and threatening situation. Interestingly, well into writing the book, I uncovered a story from another source contemporaneous with Homer, in which Odysseus and Penelope have another child, a second boy. I decided right then that I was completely vindicated in adding the daughter because Homer hadn’t included everything either.

You stayed very true to the story of The Odyssey, what was the most difficult part of the writing process? How did you balance what we already knew from Homer’s work with the story you wanted to tell?

I try in all my historical fiction to stay as close to the truth as I can, deviating only in details I consider so minor as to be irrelevant. I don’t want to misinform people and I want people to rely on what I say. So little information exists about the era of the Iliad and the Odyssey, that Homer became my best source for the story. I read and reread the Odyssey, and listened to it over and over in my car during the year or so I was writing the book. I thought about what the best parts were, and I knew they could only be in the book if I made Xanthe, the daughter, part of them. I tried to imagine for myself the things Homer wasn’t very interested in, such as the daily lives of women, and I used my research on Bronze Age Greece to add details to that. This book was actually less difficult to write than my other fiction so far, precisely because the available research is pretty scanty. It’s funny, sometimes when I ask a scholar a question and they say no one knows the answer, they apologize for not having been able to help. I always tell them that they were a great help, because when something is unknown, I am free to invent without worrying about being proven wrong.

I most enjoyed the segment of the story focusing on the time Xanthe spent with Helen of Troy. What made you decide to use Helen as a vehicle for Xanthe’s growth into a woman?

Many people tell me that is their favorite part of the book. I really loved writing it! As I read the Odyssey, I started doing the math on all the characters’ ages (Homer doesn’t seem to do this) and realized that when Odysseus’ son Telemachus comes to Sparta in search of information about his father, the youngest Helen could be was forty--and that would be if she had her daughter, Hermione, when she was thirteen (very possible in that time). I know that the legend says that Helen was Zeus’ child and therefore might have special qualities such as the ability not to age and therefore lose her great physical beauty, but since she is a mortal, that seems unlikely. At any rate, forty is quite old by the standards of the time.

I wondered what a woman who had lived such a tumultuous and interesting life would be like. As we all know, being a beautiful young woman is not enough to base a full life upon. I read a fabulous book, Helen of Troy, by historian Bettany Hughes, and learned that Helen was thought to have picked up great powers to cast spells and speak to (and for) the gods. Helen began to grow in my imagination into this absolutely marvelous woman, confident in herself, and loving her sexuality and her close connection to the goddess Orthia. With Xanthe spending her teens there, I decided her life would be guided by what Helen thought was right for any young woman--an introduction into sensual goddess worship and a sexual awakening.

Your next book, Finding Emilie, comes out in early 2011. What can you tell us about this next book?

It’s based on the real-life story of a brilliant mathematician and physicist, Emilie du Châtelet, who live in the era just before the French Revolution. She was quite a libertine in many respects, flaunting societal expectations for an aristocratic, married woman. One of the ways she defied expectations was her truly brilliant scientific work, and another was her tendency to have rather public love affairs, including a long one with her live-in lover, the philosopher, satirist and playwright Voltaire. At age forty-three she died a few days after giving birth to the child of yet another lover. The book imagines the life of that child, named Stanislas-Adélaïde but nicknamed Lili in my book, as she goes though life unaware of her mother’s story but desperately in need of that knowledge if she is to escape the terrible constraints on women in her society, and fulfill the destiny of living an equally passionate, intellectual, and fulfilling life. This is truly the most complex story I’ve written and also in many respects, the most exciting and dynamic. Look for it in May 2011, from Simon and Schuster/Gallery Books!

Thank you so much Laurel for answering these questions and we hope to see you again with Finding Emilie!

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court