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Time to Freak Out
What’s scarier than Halloween? Knowing that the next day is the first day of November – the day that NaNoWriMo starts. I’m really starting to freak out. What have I done?
Over the past two weeks or so, I’ve been overloaded with family, public speaking, traveling, and numerous personal and blog-related deadlines. I feel like a zombie. [If I haven't been commenting on your blog recently, that's why. I still love you! 
] I’m just now to the point where life can get back to normal when NaNoWriMo starts. It’s not that big of a deal, right? It’s only a commitment to write 50,000 words. ACK!!!! How am I going to write my reviews that are once again stacking up? When will I have time to read? More importantly, I must remind myself, when will I have quality time with my family?
I also need to ask myself when am I ever going to set aside the time to do something I’ve always dreamed of doing – writing a novel? This blog itself was a way for me to do something just for myself. It makes me happy and enriches my life. Still, I can’t say that I will be happy 40 years from now if I haven’t even tried to write a novel. I don’t want to regret that.
So, I’m going to take some deep breaths and set out to reach my goal. If I don’t reach the goal, I will still have written more in November than probably ever before. That will be something I can be proud of – and nothing to freak out about, right?
The Witch’s Trinity Winners
Today Erika Mailman and I are announcing the last two winners in the October Spotlight giveaway for The Witch’s Trinity. We started out with three contests, but the second two didn’t really take off as we had hoped. Trial and error. You never know what will work until you try.
We did have two entries in the “What’s Witchcraft Got To Do With It” contest. As those readers took the time to write about topic of witchcraft, we are awarding the last two giveaway copies to those readers:
Holly from On My Bookshelf
It’s been quite a while since I actually studied the witchcraft trials in school. I always found the topic fascinating, though I’m not sure why. I think I found a lot of it so interesting just because of the study of human nature. I think we need to remember that people can believe different things and need not be persecuted for being different. Also, I think many “witches” were burned at the stake just because someone else thought something about them whether knowing the truth or not. Presumptions are no good!
and
Michele from A Reader’s Respite
Like most students of history, I place great importance on studying the past in order to see patterns. If society doesn’t understand the why and the how, it is virtually impossible to prevent similar atrocities in the future. So to me, more important than the actual witch trials is the social and moral circumstances that were in place at the time which led otherwise good, upstanding citizens to commit such heinous acts that included the false imprisonment and even hanging of their family and neighbors for the perceived sin of witchcraft. While fear and mistrust must certainly be present in the community, this alone is rarely enough to lead to events such as the Salem witch trials. The spark which ignites the inferno is often the leadership of the community, be it secular or religious. Often done for political purposes, this manipulation of people‘s emotions is nothing short of criminal. We cannot dismiss the witch trials as an embarrassing, far-removed blight on American history. We must be vigilant with ourselves and our leadership daily. One need look no further than modern day fears of terrorism and the politicians who exploit this fear for a situation that can — and in some instances already has — turned into modern day witch trials. Are we, as a society, going to allow innocent people to be harmed in the name of fear?
Congratulations to both winners! I hope that you enjoy this novel as much as I did! I would also like to thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us.
#113 Capote in Kansas
Capote in Kansas: A Ghost Story
It is my great honor and pleasure to be the host of Kim Powers’ last stop on his absolutely fabulous book tour for Capote in Kansas, which is sponsored by TLC Book Tours. For more information on this tour, please click on the TLC logo to the left or select the links that interest you from the listing at the end of this review. I only hope that my review today is only half as good as the stops that went before me. Now, on to my review…
There are times when fate conspires to bring two people together only to tear them apart. This is true of Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Truman’s mother, who had no time or interest in her eccentric son, sent him to live with his family in Monroeville, Alabama. Nelle grew up next door. She was not blind to his idiosyncrasies. in fact, she understood and cared for him like no one else. Nelle was there for him to type up his stories when they were children and to help him connect with people in Kansas while he worked on In Cold Blood. Their bond, however, was not indestructible. Although they complement each other in many ways, it is the ways in which they are alike that drives a wedge between them. It was a distance that might only be bridged by the ghosts from their past.
There is much to love about this novel, but what struck me the most was the impact that writing about another person can have on both the author and the subject. Truman Capote was most definitely in search of fame when he made the decision to write about the Clutter family after their tragic and brutal murders in Kansas. He was haunted by their ghosts later in life because they did not want the attention In Cold Blood brought to them, even though they were deceased at the time. Lee, on the other hand, wrote her neighbor into To Kill a Mockingbird in the form of Boo Radley as a tribute to him. His family never understood her intentions and blamed her for the disruptions her fans made in his life. Whether a depiction is fictional or biographical, putting a person down on paper proved to be the equivalent of stealing that person’s soul. That Lee was sensitive to this from the beginning while Capote didn’t start confronting it until his work caused him to be ostracized from New York society – and even then not fully until it was forced upon him as his life was in a downward spiral – fleshes these characters out fully. By choosing to explore this theme within a novel about two of the most famous and influential American authors in recent time makes this novel fresh, engaging, and memorable.
Although I had read To Kill a Mockingbird prior to reading Capote in Kansas, I knew very little about Lee or Capote when I opened this novel. I did not know about their friendship or that there was a rift that tore them apart. In the novel, Capote and his actions were responsible for their estrangement, but it wouldn’t have happened at all were it not for the personal and professional insecurities of they both shared. I found this story fascinating, especially as Powers told it from within the context of the midnight phone calls, the memories, and the ghosts who visited them both in the middle of the night. Whatever the reality of their friendship may have been, I left this novel hoping that they were able to make peace with each other before Capote’s death.
I read this novel over the course of a single day. It was interesting and compelling throughout. It was with satisfaction that I finished the novel and closed the back cover. It’s clear from his writing that Powers’ respects his characters and is compassionate yet honest when dealing with their flaws. I found that it was not necessary to have much knowledge of Lee and Capote to be swept up by their star crossed friendship and to experience their pain as life, love, and childhood loyalties do not work out as they had planned. Despite some potential spoilers about the Clutter family and their killers found within Capote in Kansas, I’m now genuinely interested in reading Capote’s most famous work. I typically avoid books about real-life murders because they get under my skin and give me nightmares. Now, I am curious to see what more it might reveal about him. I have no regrets.
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For more about Capote in Kansas and author Kim Powers, please check out the previous stops on this book tour:
Wednesday, Oct. 1st: Bookgirl’s Nightstand
Friday, Oct. 3rd: Book Room Reviews
Monday, Oct. 6th: A Guy’s Moleskin Notebook
Wednesday, Oct. 8th: Tripping Toward Lucidity
Friday, Oct. 10th: book-a-rama
Monday, Oct. 13th: Ready When You Are, C.B.
Wednesday, Oct. 15th: Bibliolatry
Friday, Oct. 17th: Books and Movies
Monday, Oct. 20th: Booking Mama
Wednesday, Oct. 22nd: Diary of an Eccentric
Thursday, Oct. 23rd: Maw Books
Friday, Oct. 24th: Book Club Classics
Monday, Oct. 27th: Books and Cooks
Tuesday, Oct. 28th: Devourer of Books
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To buy this novel, click here
A Sneak Peak @ Bible Illuminated
I had the excellent good fortune to get a sneak peak at what I feel is the most moving version of the New Testament I have ever seen. While there is much to be said for all of the references and other information provided in traditional versions of the Bible, it can seem like static. Bible Illuminated: The Book, a Good News Translation of the New Testament published by the American Bible Society, is stripped down in comparison. What it doesn’t have in references, cross-references, maps, etc., it more than makes up in gorgeous, controversial, and thought-provoking photographs. Here, a picture is worth a thousand words about God, His Son, and all of his creation.
I have only seen Bible Illuminated in PDF form, but I keep going back to it. From what I can tell, it has an almost glossy magazine feeling. The titles as are typically found in the New Testament remain, but the verses are not numbered. This really gives it a sleek look. It doesn’t break apart the text. It gives it more flow. It gives the text a more conversational tone. There is much to think about and discuss, be that within yourself, with your God, or with your friends.
Throughout the book, text is emphasized on the page either in red (not necessarily the words of Christ) or highlighted in yellow. The highlighted text generally points to a photograph. What I love the most about these photographs is that it can spark meditative thought. There were several instances where the verse and the associated photograph caught me off guard when I first made the association. Others are simply beautiful.
While it is true that you would be hard pressed to locate John 3:10 in this format, I would argue that you would read this version for different reasons entirely. This book invites exploration for those new to the Bible and encourages experienced readers to look upon this text in a new way. I wish I had this when I taught youth ministry back in my 20s. This will not sit around catching dust and it is sure to create a great deal of conversation. It gives new life to the Good News.
The wait to see the real thing is almost over. Bible Illuminated hits the book stores tomorrow. Click here
#112 The Tenth Case
The Tenth Case
This novel starts off at an ethics hearing for Harrison J. Walker, a widowed and somewhat unscrupulous defense attorney who is put on a three year suspension after getting caught on video as a client demonstrated her appreciation of his legal assistance on her knees. Before his suspension begins, Jaywalker – as he is commonly and most appropriately known – convinces the judicial panel to allow him to finish ten cases already in progress, arguing that it would be unfair to his clients to have to find another lawyer at this late juncture. The first nine of those cases are completed efficiently and smoothly. After all, Jaywalker has a long record of getting his clients acquitted. His tenth case, however, is the case he was most drawn to. He is defending Samara Tannenbaum, a streetwise and uncouth ex-Vegas cocktail waitress, in her murder trial. Samara has been accused of murdering her much older, billionaire husband. Despite her cheap and easy past, she is the one client that Jaywalker was unable to take to bed the first time he defended her for while on her husband’s payroll.
The Tenth Case is a fun legal romp that reminds me a lot of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels in its tone and pacing. It is the perfect book to read for a pleasant diversion, so long as you don’t mind a hero with questionable personal morals. It was just that about Jaywalker that appealed to me. He’s not condescending. Instead, he’s down to earth and can relate to his clients. After all, don’t we all have our own demons? Deep down, he believes in what he does and often cares for his clients – and not just carnally. He believes in the legal system that he describes in interesting detail. His sarcastic take on his own life more than makes up for his occassional smarminess.
Joseph Teller told a fun and suspenseful tale. As someone who doesn’t read a great deal of legal thrillers, I appreciated the quick explanations that made their way effortlessly into his prose. He quickly had me rooting for his imperfect narrator. I’m looking forward to meeting up with Jaywalker again.
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To buy this book, click here
October Spotlight Week 4 A Guest Post by Erika Mailman
It doesn’t truly seem possible, but October is almost coming to a close. Just a little over a week and we’re saying hello to November. The good news is that in the October Spotlight, I’ve saved the best for last.
This week, I am pleased to present the following guest post written by Erika Mailman, the author of The Witch’s Trinity. At the end of this week, I’ll be posting the entries in the “What’s Witchcraft Have To Do With It” contest to win a copy of the new paperback edition. What? You didn’t know about this contest or you haven’t entered yet? There’s still time to enter! Click here for the details. Voting will begin tomorrow.
Next week, I’ll be publishing the exclusive interview I had with Erika over the weekend. I had a wonderful time speaking with her and I hope that you’ll enjoy the interview just as much. That is also the week at the entries for the “Not On My Watch” contest will be posted for voting. I’m really looking forward to that contest as well. Once again, click here for more details. There’s still plenty of time to enter this contest. Be creative and show us what you’ve got!
Without further interruption, here is Erika’s guest post. Enjoy!
Why Germany?
When I talk with people, they often ask me why I set my novel The Witch’s Trinity in Germany. After all, my ancestor Mary Bliss Parsons was accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts; that would be a more logical place to set it. I remember one literary agent who was interested enough in the book to talk to me on the phone said, “You’ll never publish it set in Germany. Germany doesn’t sell. Set it in England.” I declined to switch the setting, and she declined to represent me. Thankfully, my current agent saw no such problem.
Germany just made sense to me. I’m of German descent (my name Mailman is a bastardization of Mehlman). I loved the Brothers Grimm fairy tales set in the forests of Germany. I felt that the Old World feel of a village deep in snow, with people speaking in clipped, guttural accents, would best convey the claustrophobic atmosphere I was looking for.
And lo and behold, Germany provided the staging ground for the most vicious and prolific witch hunts.
Author Lyndal Roper writes,
“The themes of the witch trials recur with monotonous regularity across Western Europe, featuring sex with the Devil, harm to women in childbed, and threats to fertility, all issues which touch centrally on women’s experience. It was in Germany that these fears found their most terrifying expression and resulted in the largest number of deaths.”
Ropal blames Germany’s scattered power systems (religious and secular) for allowing these panics to rampage uncurbed, as well as the friction created by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation pitted against each other. She also posits that Germany’s culture and landscape played a direct role in permitting the witch craze to reach such a height. She talks of the morbid artwork, the Gothic cathedrals that illustrated how wicked and sin-filled mortal men were. This created a fear of hellfire that made it seem possible that witches were walking in their midst, bringing a little flame of that very fire with them.
German villages suffered the most losses through witchcraft executions. One terrible statistic: two different towns so diligently pursued their witches that in both, only one woman remained alive. You can bet those women kept their mouths firmly shut.
To further strengthen the choice to set my novel in Germany, it was German friars who penned the infamous witch hunting bible the Malleus Maleficarum. This is the book that permitted magistrates in far-flung places to properly stage a witchcraft trial. Gutenberg’s newish invention, the printing press, made its dissemination in large numbers possible. The book, in fact, was a bestseller of its day, going into multiple editions over hundreds of years. And you can still find it at many bookstores today, as a historical artifact reprinted in the 1970s.
One has to wonder, if the Malleus Maleficarum hadn’t existed, would so many people have died? Without its legalistic guidance, would magistrates have bumbled through questioning a witch and concluded that there was no substance to the accusation? Since the Malleus mentions all the things witches are capable of, many surmise that the inquisitions consisted of magistrates asking leading questions—which, along with torture which the Malleus recommended, would make anyone confess—about deeds that wouldn’t have even been thought of if not suggested.
With all these arrows pointing to Germany, I couldn’t help but create Güde’s world there. The village is fictional, but based on many hours of research and consideration. I’d be curious to hear from anyone who struggled with where to set their novel, or faced opposition about where they did.
* * * * *
Erika Mailman is the author of the novel The Witch’s Trinity. Lyndal Roper is the author of the nonfiction book Witch Craze.
Putting on My Best Sarah Palin
Update:
It is now almost 10pm and I just got back from an open bar at Cheers. I’m riding high after my speech. It went very well – and all without a fact checker. I had one person ask if I spoke to large groups often. As this was a nice person, I took that as a compliment. Now, I can sit back and relax… Ah…
____________________
I am in Boston this week at ektron’s 2008 Synergy Conference. I’ve been asked here to speak about my company’s website implementation. My talk will begin at 1:30 EST this afternoon. The room in which I will be speaking seats upwards of 250 people. This is by FAR the biggest group to which I’ve ever spoken. Thankfully I’ve had Dale Carnegie training or I would truly be freaking out right now.
To prepare myself, I’m visualizing myself as Sarah Palin. Whatever her politics, my politics, and your politics may be, she is a great public speaker. She is one of the best women I’ve seen and heard speak in a long time. When she speaks in front of a large crowd she is energetic, enthusiastic, and well-spoken. So, I’m off to practice my speech for the next hour or so before lunch. When I do so, I’ll putting on my best Sarah Palin. Since I speak with my hands as well, I’m hoping not to adopt her particular gestures. I’m not out for anyone’s cojones, so I’ll try to be a bit more gentle. 
#111 The Lost Diary of Don Juan
Today I am honored to host Douglas Carlton Abrams on his Pump Up Your Book Promotion blog tour. Many thanks to the author and to Dorothy for inviting me to take part in this tour.
The Lost Diary of Don Juan
The Inquisition is has definitely been at the forefront of my reading recently. I stopped reading Melmoth the Wanderer when it was gearing up for the the Inquisition. Immortal also focused on the topic as well. The Lost Diary of Don Juan, which takes place in Spain in 1593, tells the story of Don Juan from the legend’s own standpoint. His lifestyle and his initiation into passion made him a target of the powerful forces of the Inquisition in Seville. This novel is by far the most enjoyable and satisfying of the books I’ve read dealing with this dark period of human history.
Don Juan is a legend that goes back to 1630. He has been portrayed anywhere between a villain and a savior. In Abrams’ novel, Don Juan sees himself as he writes in the diary he was given by the Marquis who took him under his wing and made him the man he was to become. He sees himself as a man who gives lonely women the attention they need to know and understand their inner worth. He enjoys his life and takes satisfaction in what he does for these woman, but he has no plans for marriage, even at the command of the King. Because the women he seduces are generally overlooked wives or closely guarded virgins, Don Juan’s vocation often puts him in harm’s way, but it isn’t until he discovers that there is a woman who can save him that he is truly in danger.
Abrams wrote a delicious, swashbuckling, and sensual novel. It contained just the right combination of levity and seriousness. The tone kept the book from getting heavy. Likewise, there was enough action to balance out Don Juan’s numerous libertine adventures. As a result, Spain and Don Juan come to life in the pages and make this novel a most delightful read.
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To buy this novel, click here
#110 ~ The Other Queen
The Other Queen
I had been awaiting the publication of The Other Queen since I finished reading The Virgin’s Lover in October of 2007. As time progressed and got closer to its September 16th release, my anticipation kept growing. Finding out that I would be seeing Philippa Gregory in person just a couple of short weeks added to my excitement. When I finally held the book in my hands, it was a happy day indeed. Although this novel did not displace The Other Boleyn Girl as my favorite of Gregory’s Tudor series, I enjoyed the time I spent with Mary, Queen of Scots, Lord Shrewsberry, and, most especially, Lady Bess of Hardwick.
When writing about Mary, Queen of Scots, Gregory chose to explore her first several years in British captivity. In what at first seemed like a royal privilege bestowed upon them by Queen Elizabeth, the Lord Shrewsberry and his new wife, Lady Bess, were asked to house the Scots Queen the short time that she would be safeguarded in Great Britain. What they found quite early on, however, was that holding court for the Queen of Scots was expensive and would quickly rely on them living beyond their means. What they didn’t realize right away was all that this honor would cost them.
Lady Bess, the first in her kind in the way she accumulated wealth and managed the properties left to her by her husbands, was dreaming of the wealth and favor that would come with performing such a task. She married her way up to the nobility and was proud of the way she orchestrated her life and was now able to make a place for her children. She learned how to keep books and it had become her passion. She took pride in knowing to the penny how much she was worth and what she had spent. As I got to know her, it became apparent that when things were happening beyond her control that she had her own inner mantra about who she now is and how efficient she is as a landlord. She is quite the Protestant, but when she’s under stress, all she needs are prayer beads to make this mantra into her own personal rosary.
For all their differences, Mary, Queen of Scots is much like Lady Bess. She, too, handles stress by telling herself over and over who she is and what her station means. When she is confident in what she is doing and the plans that are underway on the outside to free her and return her to her throne, her thoughts are fluid and she has a hard time containing her enthusiasm. There is no need to remind herself that she is a queen of the royal blood. She is prospering in that role. When she is not, or when she feels defeated, her thoughts of freedom and who she is become excessive and obsessive. It is then that she thinks of Bothwell. When things become dark enough, she admits to what he did. In her fear she reveals how vulnerable she is, which makes her no different from any other woman.
Philippa Gregory made a bold choice in choosing to tell Mary, Queen of Scots’ story of early imprisonment. Despite the lack of physical action, it paid off for me. I understood Mary and Bess both in their perceived triumphs and actual defeats. I felt their impatience, resentment, and the immense weight of their boredom. Whether it was intentional or not, Baron Burghley and Queen Elizabeth proved that all torture has to be physical to be effective. If I were to change one thing about this novel, I might have chosen a different third voice. Lord Shrewsberry’s last chapter didn’t work well for me. I would have chosen someone from outside the house. Thomas Howard or Queen Elizabeth would have added a third distinct layer to the story.
The Other Queen is a novel of internal drama. As Mary, Queen of Scots is prisoner from start to finish, and her jailers could not be rid of her. There was a constant battle between the Shrewberry’s and their other queen. When Lady Bess is up, Mary is down. When Mary is up, Lady Bess is down. Lord Shrewsberry was beaten and battered by the storm erupting between the two women. Still, this novel was not as compelling as The Other Boleyn Girl or The Boleyn Inheritance, but it kept my interest and my interest grew with the characters. I look forward to reading more about Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick.
Now that my reading of Gregory’s Tudor series is complete, I would rank them in the following order:
1) The Other Boleyn Girl
2) The Boleyn Inheritance
3) The Queen’s Fool
4) The Other Queen
5) The Constant Princess
6) The Virgin’s Lover
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To buy this novel, click here
The "Just Enter Me Already" Winner
Thank you to all who entered the first of three contests for a copy of Erika Mailman’s The Witch’s Trinity. I am happy to announce that the winner, selected through the use of the List Randomizer, is:
Dar
from Peeking Between the Pages!
Congratulations, Dar! I hope that you will enjoy the book as much as I did!
For those of you who didn’t win, there are still two copies up for grabs. Click here for more information on the “What’s Witchcraft Have To Do With It” and the “Not On My Watch” contests.
Here’s how the names played out on the Randomizer:
- Dar
- Ti1
- Samantha1
- Holly1
- Michele1
- April1
- chartroose
- CarolM
- April1
- ShellyBurns
- Dinah1
- Susan1
- Dar
- Janel1
- Susan1
- Kathy1
- Shari1
- Kristina1
- April1
- Carey1
- gautami
- ElizabethM
- Holly1
- KamA
- AnitaYancey
- SaraMiller
- Holly1
- Anita1
- Susan1
- Dar
- guatami
- guatami
- fyreflybooks
- Cristina Alves
- aviannschild
- Mari1
- Lis
- Cindi1
- Violet1
- AmandaNellist
Timestamp: 2008-10-18 18:12:44 UTC
Book Blogger Con
Have you heard about the 1st Annual Book Blogger Convention that will be held in NYC during the BEA? You should check it out. I know it will be a fantastic experience. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend due to family obligations, but I'll be trolling blogs for up to the minute news.
WE Magazine’s A Woman Blogger to Watch
Literate Challenges
What's in a Name? 3
Random Reading Challenge
