Exciting thoughtful recent review form thriller and historical fiction author Gray Basnight. Do check out his novels. Deep appreciation for such an attentive reading. Gray Basnight’s review Jan 23, 2020 Read 2 times. Meticulous research and a smart writing style combine for a story of 16th Century intrigue, espionage, and lust within the courts of …
Sorrel Hays: In Memoriam
Dear friends and readers, My closest friend of over 46 years, composer and pianist Sorrel Doris Hays, died on February 9, 2020. Composer Annea Lockwood and I forced our way through raw feelings to write this initial official obituary, which Sorrel’s friends in Georgia requested, and the estate executor is sending to the media. Last …
Plagues, Theatres, and Deception: Part 3/3 (or, Are You Sick and Tired of Chocolates and Red Hearts?)
MIRACLE PLAGUES WITHOUT CASUALTIES Dear friends and readers, here’s my concluding on how Elizabeth and her councillors managed each other during political turmoil. My material comes from Barbara Freedman’s superb article Protest, Plague and Plays: Rereading the “Documents of Control.” English Literary Renaissance, Vol. 26 # 1, Winter 1996. University of Chicago Press. Elizabeth was …
Plagues, Theatres, and Deception: Part 2/3
Dear friends and readers, here’s my continuation on how Elizabeth and her councillors managed each other during political turmoil in the 1580s and 90s. I have drawn my material from Barbara Freedman’s superb article Protest, Plague and Plays: Rereading the “Documents of Control.” English Literary Renaissance, Vol. 26 # 1, Winter 1996. University of Chicago …
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Upcoming Events at Connecticut Libraries
I am thrilled to let you know that two libraries have booked me for presentations on The Reversible Mask: Ivoryton Library, Thursday February 27th It is a kick-off event for members of the library announcing planning for their 150th anniversary. I will be the only author and they have persuaded me to wear period …
Plagues, Theatres, and Deception: Part 1/3
Dear friends and readers, here’s another vignette of how Elizabeth and her councillors managed each other during political turmoil in the 1580s and 90s. I am going to take three blogs for this tale. All my material will be drawn from an article I have always wanted to write about. Barbara Freedman, Protest, Plague and …
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Interview with Joshua Ian
WELCOME JOSHUA IAN, HNS NYC member: Co-host with me and Christina Britton Conroy with me at our Book Launch Event: January 30, at BGSQD Bookstore, NYC. Joshua, welcome to my blog. I had seen you at HNS meetings and spoken to you on the phone, in my regular “Are you coming to the meeting” nag …
Portcullis. Greyhound. Short-necked king with fat face. Long-necked king with thin face. How getting these images muddled up nearly derailed Elizabeth I’s signature economic achievement: purifying English coinage.
Dear friends and readers, To welcome our new decade, I want to share another vignette from my enduring fascination with what made Elizabeth I an astute politician, one of the most successful European rulers of her time. Confession: the drama of the near-failure and scramble to triumph of Elizabeth’s most cherished reform in 1560-62 excites …
OPEN ENCHANTING HISTORICAL CLOSETS WITH THREE NY NOVELISTS
Enjoy drinks at my next event with HNS fellow authors Christina Britton Conroy and Joshua Ian. Author readings, with slides and videos; Q & A. January 30, 2020 7:00 PM Bureau of General Services—Queer Division: 208 West 13th Street, Room 210, New York, NY, 10011, United States $10 suggested donation to benefit the Bureau. No …
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Elizabeth I’s Woad Wobbles
Dear Friends and readers, To welcome 2020 and a new decade, I want to share my enduring fascination with what made Elizabeth I an astute politician, one of the most successful European rulers of her time, some even say her millennium? What eccentric vignettes can shed light on how she and her councillors managed crises …