Weaving the Spell of Books, Art, and Magic

I’m finally submitting to my internal temptations and throwing myself into the Richard Montanari love-fest.  Richard is handsome, sweet-tempered, charming, articulate, and wickedly funny (and - no - he didn’t pay me to write this).  He’s a gentleman and a scholar, and it cheers me enormously whenever I talk with him - but privately I think of him as the best author I have never read. [Read more →]

If Lord Peter Wimsey wasn’t already married (and fictional), I’d make a play for him myself - but, alas, Harriet Vane, the mystery writer and a murder suspect twice over, has his heart and always will. We’ll also forget about the fact that Lord Peter would be 108 at this point. In my vision of him, he is always youthful (though not young), dapper without being a dandy, erudite, articulate, graceful, gracious, fond of pointing out his own silliness, and wonderfully British.  He appears to be effete while having a core of supple, tempered steel. I love him.  [Read more →]

I never really liked Peter Rabbit. Peter seemed like a trouble-maker, and the illustrations of him in a blue coat and those floppy slipper-shoes looked goofy to me (on the other hand, images of Reepicheep, wearing a sword and a gold circlet with scarlet feather, don’t). And I find it particularly nauseating when Mrs. Rabbit tells her children that their father was turned into a pie - ugh! Someone should write a sequel detailing the intensive psychotherapy that Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail needed after that revelation. [Read more →]

Remember what we learned about Isaac Newton in 9th grade science class (in addition to the “apple as a gravity visual” story)? Newton discovered calculus (which he called the fluxions), invented the reflecting telescope, developed the Three Laws of Motion and the Law of Universal Gravitation, and founded modern science.  Never once was it mentioned that he also was a practicing alchemist.  [Read more →]

In my reading history 1964 was a milestone, and all because of a Disney movie.  I was 12, the movie was The Moon-Spinners, the effect on my choice of books was long-lasting.

The film-viewing was a standard Sunday afternoon outing with my dad and sisters, and I developed a crush on Peter McEnery (and his British accent) in the darkened theater. I thought my love affair would be a short one as the movie came to an end, but among the credits was the phrase “Based on the novel by Mary Stewart“.  So that meant I could extend my pleasure of watching the movie by reading (and possibly re-reading) the book it was based on? [Read more →]

I love a good mystery, whether of the “did the butler do it?” kind or the “what is the nature of reality?” kind. David Ellis , a Chicago lawyer, manages to work both of these conundrums into his legal thrillers.

Ellis won an Edgar for the Best First Mystery Novel in 2002 - and with good reason.  [Read more →]

Deanna Raybourn has turned out a couple of light-hearted mysteries for those who enjoy foggy London streets, female investigators, and Victorian sensibilities (and the flouting of same).

In Silent in the Grave , Lady Julia March Grey meets Nicolas Brisbane over the (almost) dead body of her husband - events proceed from there. [Read more →]

 I’ve read interviews with any number of fantasy authors who clearly remember their initial encounter with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings . Whether you love it or hate it, remain indifferent or uninitiated, the impact of the trilogy on our cultural landscape (and many people’s psyches) is indelible. [Read more →]

An assurance to a visitor

So you’re here, I’m here. That’s great. In preparation for your arrival I looked up the word “welcome“, and the Oxford English Dictionary states it was once a noun meaning “one whose coming is pleasing or desirable”.  Although the OED marks that usage as obsolete, I think it’s due for a revival in this blog, so I’ll apply it to you as my reader and with any luck you’ll apply it to me as the writer. Here are some other entries from the OED -

Cordially invited; an assurance to a visitor or stranger that he or she is welcome; a pleasant or hearty greeting given to a person on arrival at a house or other place.

Those all apply here, since this is that “other place” - The Mistress of Ancient Revelry.
[Read more →]