Historical Novels Review: The Last Troubadour

Here's the final of my three reviews in this quarter's Historical Novels Review.

In the May edition, I'll be reviewing SOUL by Tobsha Learner and SEPULCHRE by Kate Mosse.

THE LAST TROUBADOUR
Derek Armstrong, Kunati, 2007, $24.95/C$26.95, hb, 375pp, 1-60164-010-2

The year is 1240, and Ramon Troubadour has returned to his beloved Carcassonne. The once beautiful town, a cultural center of the Occitan, has been reduced to slums and ruins thanks to the Cathar crusades of the French and the fear and horror of the Inquisition. Ramon has returned to rescue The Jewel of the South, the key to the secret holy relic of Montségur – for which a dying pope will kill, and a king will go to war. Helped by a nameless one-eyed knight, a fighting damsel, a witch, and a circus of colorful entertainers on dancing horses, Ramon must use his famous voice and sense of humor to make new allies and rescue The Jewel – and prevent a new crusade.

The plot is complex and the action, once it gets going, moves quickly. The conceit of associating characters with the Major Arcana of the tarot is an interesting one, but I found it confusing in the beginning as I was trying to get to know the plethora of characters. That said, he does a good job of weaving character lines and points of view together well, and Ramon is a winning protagonist. The combination of historical thriller and fantasy elements was seamless and engaging, and the historical details of life in Carcassonne during the Inquisition realistic.

However, this book would have benefited from another pass across the copyeditor's desk, and a stronger editorial hand. The number of typos, and the repetition of salient plot and historical points, was distracting. However, if you can overlook these issues, the story is engaging and the characters interesting and clearly drawn.

This book is the first in a trilogy, Song of Montségur; the next book, The Last Quest, will be out in Fall 2008.

Historical Novels Review: Calligraphy of the Witch

Here's the second of my three reviews from the Historical Novels Review February 2008 issue.

The goal of HNR reviews: Reviews are geared toward our fellow readers. In 150-300 words, our incisive, insightful reviews provide an overview of the book’s plot and setting as well as critical commentary.

CALLIGRAPHY OF THE WITCH

Alicia Gaspar de Alba, St. Martin's Press, 2007, $24.95/C$28.95, hb, 370pp, 0312366418

Calligraphy of the Witch explores the horrors of the Salem witch trials through the eyes of a Latina slave. Concepción Benavides spent her early life cloistered in New Spain, learning calligraphy as an indentured servant to a poetic nun. Upon escaping, she's captured, raped, and sold into slavery by pirates. She is renamed Thankful Seagraves by her new mistress, a Boston merchant's wife, who is jealous of Concepción's pregnancy. Concepción fights to preserve her cultural past and her relationship with her daughter, only to watch as both slip away. Before long, Concepción finds herself a target of the witch hunt madness, thanks to a shocking act of betrayal.

Overall, the plot is complex and the characters well drawn, and the time and place (late 17th century Massachusetts) rendered convincingly – though, at the beginning, the details feel somewhat shoe-horned in and a bit contrived. The book gets off to a somewhat rocky start, whipping the reader around with point of view shifts and multiple flashbacks, but settles in about 50 pages in and achieves a good, steady pace. The dialog throughout, however, is somewhat stilted, feeling expository rather than natural. Though the themes of fear of the Other and man's often cruel dominion over women sometimes seem a bit pedantic, Gaspar de Alba does a good job of making me care about Concepción and her story, and offers an intriguing new view of the Salem witch trials.

Historical Novels Review: Territory

Here's the first of my three reviews from the Historical Novels Review February 2008 issue.

The goal of HNR reviews: Reviews are geared toward our fellow readers. In 150-300 words, our incisive, insightful reviews provide an overview of the book’s plot and setting as well as critical commentary.

TERRITORY
Emma Bull, Tor, 2007, $24.95/C$31.00, hb, 336pp, 0312857357

Territory is a western murder mystery with magic at its core. Jesse Fox left his Eastern college to travel West, where he meets the physician Chow Lung, who insists that Jesse has a talent for magic. In Tombstone, Jesse meets and falls for Mildred Benjamin, a young widow and newspaper reporter – and also meets Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, whose talents and power seem to be an echo of his own. When a failed stagecoach holdup results in two dead, Tombstone explodes with speculation about the attempted robbery: the truth could destroy Earp's plans for wealth and glory. The sources of power in the Territory court Jesse as an ally as they struggle for control – by the barrel of a gun, and by means more supernatural.

The real strengths of this book are the strong, direct style and the little historical details that make you feel as though you're walking the busy streets of Tombstone. Both Jesse and Mildred are engaging, likable protagonists and the fantasy and magical elements are appealing, if at some points maddeningly vague.

However, the story feels somewhat disjointed, and the convoluted plot and full cast of characters served to keep me from following the story closely. This can make for either an exhilarating gallop or a frustrating meander. Though the ending was disappointingly abrupt, especially given the many well-drawn characters, it does leave the door open for a sequel. Overall, the story is unique and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an unusual take on historical events.

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"The most widely used graph for the sign of Pisces."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Exciting News: New Podcast

Do you have to listen to music when you write? Do you always wonder what songs authors associate with their stories? Do you create soundtracks for your own stories?

Well, then! Have I got a podcast for you :) On March 4, I'll be launching the Writers & Soundtracks Podcast.

Featuring writers as diverse as Darin Bradley, Lauren Dane, Sylvia Dickey-Smith, Catherynne Valente, The Struggling Writer, Megan Hart, and Ekaterina Sedia, the Writers & Soundtracks Podcast will include interviews with authors about music and writing, as well as their playlists/soundtracks AND samples from these songs. I'm having a blast putting them together, so I hope it's as fun to listen to!

So, look for the first podcast on March 4.

The Word-Hoard: storging, diablery, and anxiferous

This week's word-hoard feature: storging, diablery, and anxiferous.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Horseshoe

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Horseshoe: Considered by many peoples to be capable of warding off misfortune and bringing good luck, it is possibly connected to the positive aspect of the symbolism of the horse. (Herder)

Myrrh

Myths, Folklore & Symbolism
myrrh: "It is the resin produced by several species of Commiphora, especially C. Myhrra. Because of its fragrance and its healing effects, myrrh played an important role in Indian, oriental, Jewish, and Christian rituals and was an ingredient of the holy anointing oil of the Israelites; in the Bible it is mentioned as one of the gifts of the three kings to the infant Jesus. Due to its bitterness, medicinal properties, and use in mummifying corpses, it symbolically referred to the sufferings and death of Christ as well as to the penance and asceticism of faithful Christians." (Herder)

Today in history:

1828: The first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is printed, both in English and in the newly invented Cherokee alphabet.

1885: The Washington Monument is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1965: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcom X) is assassinated in front of 400 people.

Myths, symbolism, and folklore



"An ideogram for marital love among the Nsibidi people in Ghana, Africa."

Learn more at symbols.com

Paul: Looks like another good tattoo idea for you :)

Today in history:

1431: Trial of Joan of Arc

1437: Assassination of James I, King of Scotland

1648: The House of Commons votes the House of Lords as "useless and dangerous"

Fortuna

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Fortuna: The Roman goddess of fate, but later the goddess only of good fortune, she is identified with the Greek goddess Tyche and often appears in the art of the Renaissance. As the personification of chance or changing luck, she is usually depicted as standing on a wheel or sphere. A frequent attribute of Fortuna is the horn of plenty. (Herder)

Today in history:

1807: Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested in Alabama for treason. He is later found innocent.

1847: Rescuers finally reach the ill-fated Donner Party in the Sierras.

1926: Dr. Lane of Princeton estimates the earth's age at one billion years.

The Word-Hoard: anadem, lupanarian, and zonam solvere.

This week's word-hoard feature: anadem, lupanarian, and zonam solvere.
I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Jewelry

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Jewelry Precious ornaments, often set with gems, symbolize special status, power, and esoteric knowledge, but also material riches. In a negative sense jewelry represents vanity and the mere external appearance of all earthly things. Among many peoples the wearing of amulets as jewelry was regarded as having an apotropaic* effect. (Herder)

*intended to ward off evil

Myths, symbolism, and folklore



"This is the most common graph for the sign of Aquarius."

Learn more at symbols.com

Today in history:

1349: 2,000 Jews are burned at the stake in Strasbourg, Germany

1797: The Spanish fleet is destroyed by the British under Admiral Jervis (with Nelson in support) at the battle of Cape St. Vincent, off Portugal.

1945: 800 Allied aircraft firebomb the German city of Dresden. Smaller followup bombing raids last until April with a total death toll of between 35,000 to 130,000 civillians.

Plum tree

Myths, symbols, & folklore
Plum tree: "Because its early flowers appear on a leafless tree, it is a symbol in the Far East of spring, youth, and purity. The plum is sometimes understood in psychoanalytic dream interpretation as a female sexual symbol." (Herder)

I went for a walk yesterday afternoon, and all of the plum trees are in bloom. The flowers are a delicate pink against the dark bole and branches, and they smell absolutely divine - sweet. The daffodils are also blooming, as are the camelias, almond trees, and tulip magnolias. February in the Bay Area is one of the best times of the year.

Cassiebug

Three years ago, a good friend's daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Cassie's doing well, but you can't imagine what this little girl has to go through, every day, just to breathe.

Please take a moment to visit http://cassiebug.jcracek.com, watch the video, and consider donating to their team and efforts in the Great Strides Walk (a CF fundraiser).

Arcade Fire - "Keep the Car Running"

I really love this performance of this song - how can you go wrong with a couple of fiddles, a mando, a sax, and a hurdygurdy for pete's sake? And the lyrics are right up my alley:

Every night my dream’s the same.
Same old city with a different name.
Men are coming to take me away.
I don’t know why but I know I can’t stay.

There’s a weight that’s pressing down.
Late at night you can hear the sound.
Even the noise you make when you sleep.
Can’t swim across a river so deep.
They know my name 'cause I told it to them,
But they don’t know where And they don’t know
When It’s coming, when It’s coming.

There’s a fear I keep so deep,
Knew its name since before I could speak:
Aaaah aaaaaah aaaaah aaaaaah
They know my name 'cause I told it to them,
But they don’t know where And they don’t know

When It’s coming, Oh! when It’s coming

Keep the car running

If some night I don’t come home,
Please don’t think I’ve left you alone.
The same place animals go when they die,
You can’t climb across a mountain so high.
The same city where I go when I sleep,
You can’t swim across a river so deep.
They know my name 'cause I told it to them,
But they don’t know where
And they don’t know
When It’s coming, Oh! when is it coming?

Keep the car running

The Word-Hoard: flarnecking, panshard, and comfoozled

This week's word-hoard feature: flarnecking, panshard, and comfoozled.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Classy

I joined, and made a donation to support, the Interstitial Arts Foundation ... and got a personalized thank you card from Delia Sherman. Unexpected, and super classy.

Myths, symbolism, and folklore



"One of the signs for Hermes, the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology..."

Learn more at symbols.com

Today in history

Today in history:

1587: Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded in Fotheringhay Castle for her alleged part in the conspiracy to usurp Elizabeth I.

1861: Delegates from seceded states adopt a provisional Confederate Constitution.

1952: Elizabeth becomes Queen of England after her father, King George VI, dies.

Booking Through Thursday Meme

Fun one this week from Booking Through Thursday:

Okay, even I can’t read ALL the time, so I’m guessing that you folks might voluntarily shut the covers from time to time as well… What else do you do with your leisure to pass the time? Walk the dog? Knit? Run marathons? Construct grandfather clocks? Collect eggshells?

Good question! A spend a lot of that time writing. I also have a lot of fun with this blog, and with recording podcasts. When I need to chill out, my husband and I go over to the beach and just watch the waves come in. I also like to watch my Dr. Who and Torchwood DVDs, and go to early music concerts in the Bay Area. Sadly, I've let my mandolin practice peter out to nothing, but I hope to take it up again someday.

Birthday of Sir James Murray (1837-1915)

If you listen to the Word-Hoard podcast here every week, you'll know that Sir James Murray (along with Edward Lloyd) are dear old friends. Today's Sir Murray's birthday, so I thought I'd share a little info on him, thanks to Jeffrey Kacirk:

Scottish-born lexicographer, who was seldom seen without a book in hand in his parents' community of Harwick, in Roxburghshire. After determining farm life was not for him, Murray taught school and reared twelve children before moving in 1885 to Oxford, where he continued the most ambitious literary undertaking of his era. He attempted to realize the dream of Richard Trench, Herbert Coleridge, Frederick Furnivall, and other members of England's Philological Society, who several decades earlier had envisioned unifying the myriad English dictionaries into a single comprehensive work. Using hundreds of thousands of small slips of paper organized in more than a thousand cubby-holes in a shed behind his home, loftily called the "Scriptorium", he personally wrote, sorted, and edited nearly half of the entries found in the first half of the New English Dictionary. This project, which eventually became the Oxford English Dictionary, required over half a century and 16,000 finished pages - several times Murray's original estimate.

Today in history:

1633: The tobacco laws of Virginia are codified, limiting tobacco production to reduce dependence on a single-crop economy.

1793: France declares war on Britain and the Netherlands.

1965Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and 770 others are arrested in protest against voter discrimination in Alabama.

Writing update

• NaNo 2007 story: nearly done with draft one. I'm nearly at the story's climax and should get this puppy done by the end of February.


• Oleanna novel: 50% done. On hold until I get some other things off the list.


• Humility story: working on revisions. Should be done by the end of the month and will look for markets for submission. This one's an odd one for me, as it's straight-ahead fiction without any speculative lit elements.


• Dream story: playing, the fun part :)


• Raven Girl story: done, submitted, awaiting response


• Dryad: submitted, doing requested rewrites


• Stone Windows: awaiting response from Podcastle


• The Pilgrim Glass: submitted to a publisher, awaiting response


• Valley of the Heart's Delight: prep for submission to Paradox (re-opens sometime this month)


• The Midnight Son: nothing at the moment

Wow. I'm busier than I thought I was! :)

Today in history: February 5

Today in history:

1846: The first Pacific Coast newspaper, Oregon Spectator, is published.

1917: U.S. Congress nullifies President Woodrow Wilson's veto of the Immigration Act; literacy tests are required.

1922: The Reader's Digest begins publication in New York.

Historical Novels Review Online

The HNR Online reviews for February are now live and they include three reviews by my good friend Heather Domin. The HNR Online and the print edition (in which Heather has four more reviews!) are both fantastic resources for learning about the plethora of new historical fiction. The HNR Online is of course, free, but the HNR print edition is subscription-based - that is, a membership in the Historical Novel Society gives you the HNR plus their fantastic journal Solander.

The Word-Hoard: schizothemia, spasmatomancy, and talaria

This week's word-hoard feature: schizothemia, spasmatomancy, and talaria.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Birch

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Birch: It is a symbol, particularly in Russia, of spring and of the young girl. (Herder)

Today is the day for Brigid, goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. Today (also celebrated as Imbolc) and tomorrow (Candlemas) are both days where the world turns its attention toward spring (Groundhog Day, anyone?). Enjoy that turn toward light, better weather, and the fecundity of spring!