Renaissance Festival Book Signing

Here are a few photos from my book signing at the Arizona Renaissance Festival on March 14, 2009.



Lady Joyce signing copies of her medieval novel, Loyalty's Web.










A close up shot of me and my snood.








My apprentices, Mistress Ginny of Romney Marsh and Mistress Kaitlyn of Greenwich, their lovely gowns dappled in the shadows of the late afternoon sun.











Those dappled shadows got me, too.











Mistress Kaitlyn merrily dancing the Escargot. Can you find her?





You can see more pictures of the Arizona Renaissance Festival from 2008 on my website under the "My Albums" tab.

We Haven't Forgotten, Have We?

No, it's not the anniversary of this event, but as I was reading through the book of Isaiah today, I found tucked into chapter 40 a copy of the speech that President George W. Bush addressed to the nation when the space shuttle, Columbia, disintegrated upon re-entry into the atmosphere on February 1, 2003. President Bush quoted from Isaiah 40:26 the following:

"Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty stength not one of them is missing."

President Bush continued:

"The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home."

Book Review of The Dark Lantern, by Gerri Brightwell

Description:

Devon-born housemaid Jane Wilbred has snared her new post with the Bentley family with a letter of reference she forged, omitting any mention of the possibly pertinent fact that her late mother was a notorious murderer. That, however, is trifling compared to the shady games being played both upstairs and downstairs at 32 Cursitor Road while the family matriarch lingers on her deathbed, especially the struggle between mysterious beauty Mina Bentley, wife of younger son Robert, and the wan stranger who claims to be the widow of older brother Henry (drowned recently while sailing home after years in India). Meanwhile, Robert is focused on a battle closer to his heart: winning official recognition for anthropometry, the science of identifying criminals by body measurements. Far from being an arcane digression, Robert's passion eventually figures into the intricate and surprising plot. The action will keep the reader as intrigued as a parlor maid eavesdroppig outside her mistress's boudoir. (From Publishers Weekly)


I found myself ambivalent about this novel all the while I was reading it. Knowing that I would be reviewing it as part of my Goodreads Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2009, I was continually weighing what I would ultimately say in this review. So here goes:

Things I liked about the book:

The whole concept of anthropometry—the late nineteenth century criminology technique of identifying criminals by measuring such body parts as their ears, noses, hands, feet, and of course, the size of their heads—was fascinating. The Dark Lantern follows anthropometry and its opposing crime solving technique, fingerprinting, through the character of Robert Bentley, who champions what he perceives as the “superiority” of anthropometry throughout the book. We know today, of course, which technique of identifying criminals ultimately won out, but which technique solves one of the many mysteries at the end of The Dark Lantern, I will leave to the reader to discover.

The characters we well drawn, though I did not always agree with the author’s apparent perception of her own characters. For instance, the maid, Jane, was frequently praised as being “clever”, but she spent a good deal of the book weeping and did precious little that I could discern to earn the “clever” label by any of her actions. (And in some cases, I judged her quite the opposite.) Nevertheless, however I may have personally interpreted the various characters, I cannot deny that they all held my attention from beginning to end.

I liked the way the author revealed her mysteries a little at a time, rather than spilling everything out at once.

Things I disliked about the book:

I could have dispensed with each and every reference to any of the characters’ bladders, and really didn’t feel the need to “watch” any of them “relieve” themselves, as happened more than once. Is this considered some kind of “literary realism”? If so, it just confirms to me once more than I am not a “literary reader”.

Yes, yes, I know that sex scenes are nearly de rigueur in fiction these days, but although such scenes in The Dark Lantern were relatively few and short, I would still have been happier if they hadn’t been included at all. I’m sure the author felt they were essential, but since I was able to skip right over them and still understand all the essentials of the plot, I don’t think the story would have suffered in the least by leaving the scenes out to begin with.

There was a disturbing near-rape scene towards the end of the book. There was also, towards the end, the description of a corpse that was far too graphic for my taste. I understand why the author wrote it that way, but if you’re a squeamish reader, be warned: it’s not an image easily erased from your mind.

Things I was ambivalent about:

The narration (except for flashbacks) was told entirely in the present tense. The first few times I picked the book up to read it, I found this tense jarring, but I have to admit, after a bit the story fell into a kind of a flow that made me forget what initially felt like an affectation on the author’s part.

The book had what I would call a “leisurely” pace. I can’t quite call it “slow”, because it held my attention and made me want to keep reading, but if it were a piece of music, I’d label it “andante”, or even perhaps, “adagio”. Once I realized that I was not, in fact, reading a typical “mystery” book, as a review I’d read had led me to expect, but in fact, more of a literary novel woven around a number of mysteries, the pacing seemed appropriate to the story the author had chosen to tell.

Although this was not strictly a “mystery” book, nevertheless, once a mystery has been raised, I expect an author to reveal all the answers by the end of the book. In a great many respects, the author did tie up loose ends, but there were one or two ends that remained loose at the conclusion, and I found that disappointing.

Bottom line:

Is this a book I would want to read again? Sadly, no. The negatives for me outweighed the positives by far. And the biggest negative of all was, once again, more a reflection of my own reading taste than it was of the author’s talent. Plain and simple: I like a happy ending with my books. While some of the characters achieved that, others did not. Regrettably for me, the characters who did have “happy endings” were the characters I least personally cared about, while those that I had found myself rooting for were the ones who were left miserable in the end. However, since each reader will likely find herself/himself attracted to different characters, you may find yourself quite satisfied where I was disappointed.

Would I recommend The Dark Lantern?

Well, I wouldn’t not recommend it. If you like literary novels, you will probably like this book. If you bond with different characters than I did, you may like this book. If you can overlook the bladder scenes and sex scenes and the unusual narration tense and just kind of float above it all as an interesting story, you may very well like this book. I enjoyed learning about anthropometry, and expect most readers would find the subject interesting, too.

As for the rest, read my pros and cons above, weigh your own reading tastes, and decide for yourself if The Dark Lantern is a book for you!

Now my Goodreads Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2009 is over! I’ve read three historical novels in three months, so I will likely not be reviewing any more books in this kind of depth on this blog, unless/until I accept another reading challenge in the future. For now, I’m off to read something “light and familiar”, to balance out The Dark Lantern. Some old favorite I haven’t read for years. I wonder what book I will choose? When I decide, I’ll list it under “Books I’m Reading Now” in the left column of this page…just in case you’re curious.

Book Signing!

For those of you who live in, or may be visiting, Arizona, I will be doing a book signing of my medieval romance novel, Loyalty’s Web, at the Arizona Renaissance Festival on March 14, from 10 AM - Noon. C’mon out and “Meet the Author”.











(Last year's costume)

And while you’re there, you can sign up for a free drawing to win a lovely statuette based on Gustav Klimt’s painting, “The Kiss”. (Personally, I like the statuette even better than the painting!) No purchase is necessary to enter the drawing, aside from purchasing a ticket to enter the Renaissance Festival on March 14. I’d love to see you there!



For more information on the Festival, click on Arizona Renaissance Festival. Join us there on March 14 for “The Greatest Party Since Camelot”. Huzzah!

Loyalty's Web-site Drawing: Winner!

Congratulations to Debra Guyette of Connecticut! Debra has won the 5" X 5" scented medieval pillow sachet. She has apparently also been very, very good, because she also won a box of Dove Hazelnut Chocolate Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate Promises. Way to go, Debra! (And it isn't even Christmas!)

Thank you to all who entered my latest Loyalty's Web-site drawing!

Correction to My Review on The Count of Monte Cristo

My apologies to Luc Sante, referred to as the translator/abridger of the B&N version of the Count of Monte Cristo in my last blog post. I have since been informed that, while he was commissioned by B&N to write the foreward and introductory notes to their edition, he was not, in fact, the translator or the abridger. After being informed of my mistake, I searched my B&N edition in vain for the translator/abridger's name, but came up empty. So please plug in the word "anonymous" for wherever I refer to Mr Sante in my review in my prior post.

While I stand by my remarks concerning the B&N edition in my previous post, I would like to state here that Mr Sante's notes were highly enlightening, and one area in which my introduction-free edition of Bair's translation/abridgment fell down. Bair's edition occurred in an historical and literary vacuum, as far as informing the reader of the context in which Alexandre Dumas wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. (Though that may have changed in more recent printings of the volume. I can't tell without holding a current copy in my hand to see for myself.) Mr Sante also included a number of helpful footnotes and extremely interesting after notes, including the startling revelation that Dumas originally intended to begin his novel at page 153 (in this abridgment) at "The Pont du Gard Inn," dealing with prior events in flashbacks, rather than in "real time" as is the case in the novel that we know and love today. One can only try to imagine how differently the book might have read had Dumas ultimately chosen to follow this path.

So while the B&N edition is not my favorite version to read, the notes by Mr Sante are well worth pursuing for a deeper understanding of this truly Classic novel.

Book Review of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (or All Translations and Abridgements Are Not Created Equal)

For my most recent Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2009 for GoodReads, I chose a book I read many years ago and wanted to read again: The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas. Being initially unable to find the old “family paperback version” I’d grown up with, I jaunted off to Barnes & Noble, where I picked up an inexpensive B&N edition that, even as an abridgement, was easily at least three times the length of the version that I had grown up with.

As a great lover of Dumas’ The Three Musketeers and its sequel, Twenty Years After, both of which I have read multiple times between high school and most recently, 2007, I was anticipating another charmer of a swashbuckling story as only the great Dumas pére could tell it. Though so many years had passed since my first and last reading of The Count of Monte Cristo, I recalled that the theme of the book was very different from The Three Musketeers, dealing with questions of betrayal, vengeance and justice, rather than friendship, loyalty and adventure.

At first, I was charmed by the opening pages of The Count of Monte Cristo, being quickly swept into the tragedy that befell the hero, Edmond Dantés, on the eve of his greatest happiness. As I read, I recalled how my sister had recently remarked that she read The Count of Monte Cristo so many times in her youth, that she still practically had the book memorized. In spite of such a promising beginning, to my bafflement, the more I read the events that followed Dantés escape from the Chateau D’If, the more I found myself wondering what my sister could possibly have found to so captivate her in this book. Once free of his prison, Dantés became a remote character, capable of both the greatest kindness and the most diabolical cruelty. I found it increasingly difficult to reconcile the two in my mind, and frequently found myself on the verge of hating Dantés for his cold, relentless quest for vengeance, regardless of the sufferings he had unjustly endured earlier in the book. Only twice near the end did I have a glimmer of hope that he had at last received a flash of insight into what his quest had wrought:

“Alas! By what means can I restore to these two innocent beings the happiness I have snatched from them?”

And later:

“Have you nothing more to do here?” asked Morrel.
“No,” replied Monte Cristo, “and God grant that I have not already done too much.”

I had determined, by now, that Monte Cristo had indeed done “too much” harm to innocent people in his quest for justice (or was it vengeance?). Sadly, as these seeming flashes of insight were never further pursued, by the time the book drew to a close, I had no sympathy left in my heart for him, although Dumas apparently did. Which left me wondering how Dumas, who had drawn such beloved, heartfelt, sympathetic characters in The Three Musketeers, had fallen down so badly in his character development in The Count of Monte Cristo.

Then, by a curious quirk of fate, while wandering through my house, still reflecting on the novel I had just finished reading, I came across that old “family paperback version” tucked away on a forgotten shelf. Out of curiosity, I decided to browse through it and compare a few passages from the two different editions, each translated from the French by a different translator, and then abridged from its almost overwhelmingly long original form. (I had been unable to find an unabridged version in the bookstores I visited.)

To my surprise, dismay, and delight as I browsed the old “family paperback” (originally published in 1956), I discovered that the translator/abridger, Lowell Bair, had in many significant instances selected entirely different passages from the original to include, which Luc Sante, the translator/abridger of the B&N edition, had chosen to leave out. Sante had apparently chosen to include those passages from the original which added to Monte Cristo’s aura of “mystery” for the reader as well as for the other characters in the book. For the most part, Monte Cristo stood as a cold, avenging angel, bent on dealing out an implacable “justice” I, personally, found myself questioning and recoiling from. Bair, on the other hand, had included passages from the original that emphasized the “human” side of Edmond Dantés, passages that, towards the end of the novel, reminded the reader in the most eloquent way of all that Dantés had suffered, that he had not enacted his vengeance without self-doubts of the mission he had set for himself, and that considerably softened the reader towards his character. In short, drawing on the same work of Alexandre Dumas but differing in their choices of passages to include in their abridgments, Sante drew us an avenging angel. Bair drew us a man capable of breaking a reader’s heart.

The lesson I learned from this reading exercise? All abridgments are not created equal! If you are have not read The Count of Monte Cristo, or if you have tried to read it and been put off by its length or tone, perhaps it is not the fault of the author (Dumas), but of the particular abridged version you happened to pick up in the bookstore or library. Bair’s slimmed down but more “human” version is listed as available on Amazon, though currently out of stock. (See NOTE below) But if you prefer to go in search of a more modern translation that will tell you the story of the “human” Dantés clear through the end of the book, I will give you one hint of what to look for: Browse through chapters near the end of the book. If they include a re-visit by the Count of Monte Cristo to the dungeon in which he had suffered as the unfortunate Edmond Dantés (which Sante’s version completely dispensed with), you will likely have discovered an abridgment that reveals the “man” behind the “avenging angel”.

NOTE: There is an unabridged version on Amazon.com which I might buy and read one day. But if 1000 pages sounds overwhelming to you, and you’d really like to sample the “essence” of the story before you commit yourself to a more extensive version, you could do worse than to buy a copy of Lowell Bair’s translation. BarnesandNoble.com lists the Lowell Bair edition as available for $6.95, with used copies available for as low as $1.99.

Drawing Soon Drawing To A Close

Just a final reminder, for all who are interested! February 27th is the last day to enter my latest Loyalty's Web-site drawing to win 5" X 5" scented medieval pillow sachet. Details on the News & Contests page of my website. And yes, there will be chocolate!


The winner will be announced both on my website and here at JDP NEWS on February 28th.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Hazel Jensen to share 25 random things about me. Always up for a challenge (well, sometimes, anyway), here we go. Now you'll know more about me than you ever wanted to know!

1. I love cats. I wanted to be born with one in my arms, but my mom must have vetoed that idea. I wonder why?
2. My printer is broken just now, and I'm really irritated.
3. I like to play the piano, though I've let myself get rusty lately, even though I'm a piano teacher. I'm trying to sit down and practice more again.
4. I like to write, but I like to write what I like to write and not what other people think I ought to write.
5. I have one brother and one sister, both older than me, but not necessarily smarter.
6. As a kid, I used to pretend that I was Saturn Girl in the Legion of Super-heroes. (DC comics, for the uninformed)
7. I later switched my allegiance to Marvel comics. The two worst things Marvel ever did was kill off Gwen Stacy and split up Johnny Storm and Crystal!
8. I love the Middle Ages. Henry II of England is my hero!
9. I always thought the name "Pericles” was very cool!
10. Jeremiah is my favorite book in the Old Testament.
11. I think nuts in chocolate chip cookies is WRONG, but I also think brownies without nuts is WRONG.
12. I played the saxophone in grade and high school, but I’ve long since lost my pucker muscles to keep it up.
13. Did I mention that I love cats?
14. I often wonder what happened to all the characters on Star Trek: Deep Space 9 after the end of the show. I still want a follow up!
15. My favorite book I ever wrote is the only one that no one has ever read but me.
16. I HATE BUGS!!!
17. Give me a story with a fun plot over a literary novel any day.
18. I love Primary.
19. I hate putting up Christmas decorations, but I love looking at them once they’re up.
20. Did I mention…cats?
21. Sunday nights are popcorn nights. Don’t try to tell me otherwise!
22. History of the English Language was one of my top all-time favorite courses in college. The Great Vowel Shift was cool! But I’ve forgotten all my phonemes. ☹
23. I love Greek mythology.
24. Okay, I admit it…I used to be a Dark Shadows fan.
25. Cats anyone?

Free Giveaway from Walnut Springs Press

Let me begin with a disclaimer: Walnut Springs Press is a new imprint of Leatherwood Press, the company that published my medieval novel, Loyalty’s Web. This fact, however, is not the reason I’m sharing news about this giveaway with you. February, with Valentine’s Day literally at its heart, is uniquely a month of love, and in the spirit of that beautiful virtue (which the world surely needs more than ever just now), Walnut Springs Press is offering 3 free copies of Love: The Greatest Gift of All: Reflections to Inspire.

Love: The Greatest Gift of All “explores the renewing and strengthening power of love.” Here is but one example of the kind of advice and inspiration you will find in this book: “Let us see the virtues of our neighbors and our friends, and speak of those virtues, not find fault and criticize. If we will do that we will radiate sunshine, and those who know us best will love us.” (President George Albert Smith)

In a world where criticism and fault finding is more the norm than the exception, surely such wise counsel as this is sorely needed. Love: The Greatest Gift of All will inspire each of us to strive to soften by our actions our own little corner of a too often very harsh world.

How can you enter to win a copy of this beautifully uplifting book? Just visit Walnut Springs Press, read the post under February 4, and follow the instructions. You have nothing to lose, and just maybe a real jewel of a book to win!

Smushing

Some days when I write, I feel like I’m back to finger painting in kindergarten. Sticking my hands in a bowl of paint—or in this case, words, and aimlessly smushing them around on the page. The whole process just feels downright messy. No matter how I try, I can’t manage to stay within the lines or draw forth any sense or shape from my efforts.

Other days, I pick up a wide bristled brush and succeed in painting a few broad strokes to a scene. On these days, a form begins to emerge, blurry around the edges, lacking anything remotely resembling style or elegance, but if the lines are smudged, at least on such days as this, there are lines.

On a really good day, a fine bristled brush appears in my hand. I dip the delicate, tapered tip into my bowl of words and dart clear, sharp images onto the page. This is better than staying within the lines. This is creating the lines…the fine threads of a woman’s hair, the scrolling pattern etched into the hearthstones of the fireplace, the shattering discovery of the true reason one’s fiancé inexplicably abandoned one at the church door. This is a scene so keenly focused in my mind, that every dart of my brush’s point leaves in its wake a finely honed detail.

Last week was a messy, smushing kind of week for me. The kind of week that makes me question whether I still have a single drop of writing talent left in my veins. I find myself facing a new week with considerable trepidation. Will it be another finger painting week, a broad stroke week, or a focused, detailed week? I’d be encouraged just to have some combination of the three. Because as fun as finger painting might have been in kindergarten, I’ll never translate the story in my head by smushing words around forever.

(Originally posted on ANWA Founder & Friends)

Alligators and Me

(Originally published on ANWA Founder & Friends, 1/19/09)

A week ago today, I finally decided to stop fiddling with old writing projects, and start work on something new. Well, “new” is a bit relative. I pulled out a story I’d begun several years ago, but with only a few chapters completed, with the intent of finally tackling and finishing this far-from-finished story.

So last Monday, I got up two hours early to review various notes I’d made on the subject, all of them several years old, as I said. To my dismay, I discovered that I had written three different “beginnings”, with a potential of three different “heroines” (at least I knew who my hero was!), and two to three different potential plot lines! For two hours, I stared at my computer screen, trying desperately to make a decision as to a final direction to take the story and commit myself to which heroine my hero was destined to fall in love with. Each potential plot line and heroine seemed to have as many weakness as strengths, and by the end of the my two hour stare-a-thon, I had neither arrived at any decisions nor typed a single new word to get the story moving again. By bedtime, I was still in despair, not knowing whether to take the story “this way” or “that way”. I felt absolutely numb with indecision.

Then as I lay in bed that night, my mind still in turmoil, I remembered a book of writing “inspiration” I’d bought well over ten years ago. The title, Walking on Alligator Eggs: A Book of Meditations for Writers, had intrigued me, but it was flipping open the book and reading the first meditation as I stood in a Borders bookstore, that sealed the deal to buy the book:

The author, Susan Shaughnessy, had written:

Writing can feel like stepping off into thin air. Some of us can write no other way. Not for us, the well-thought-out outline, the step-by-step recipe that brings the project to success. When we try to apply ourselves to such a well-mapped course, we stall out.

We are the writers who start every day walking off a cliff, fearing there are alligators below. Yet somehow we write; and most of the time, we like what we write. The dark place seems less dark when we get there. It was only the journey that was fearful. We emerge back into the light with something precious, something really worth sharing.

Join us as we take the less-lit road, the road that curves into the unknown places.

See what you bring back.

That essay spoke to me then because that’s exactly how all my manuscripts had worked thus far: feeling like I was stepping off a cliff every time I sat down to write, never quite knowing where my characters were going to take me, terrified of the dark place I was walking so blindly into. But Susan Shaughnessy was right. It was rare that a light didn’t appear along the way, and yes, by the end of my writing session, more often than not, I liked what I had written.

So on Tuesday last week, I decided to take Susan’s advice to heart once more. I decided to step off the cliff and ignore the alligators below. I gave up on outlines and road maps, and just started typing, without worrying about where exactly I was headed. On Wednesday, I did the same. By Thursday, I knew who my heroine was. I knew a little more about her motivation and goals. I know her background and how her family wants to manipulate her and why. But there are still cliffs and dark spaces ahead. I don’t know exactly how she and my hero are going to meet up in the story’s time line. I don’t know what will cause them to fall in love. I have a Point A and a Point B I’d like to get both characters to, but I don’t know how I’m going to get them there.

But unlike last Monday, I’m now trying not to let these questions paralyze me because I don’t yet have the answers. Instead, my goal is simply to get up every morning and step off that cliff, trusting that I’ll escape the alligators below and that a light will appear in the darkness to guide me.

A New Drawing and a Free Offer!

It’s time for a new Loyalty’s Web-site drawing! The prize is small…an approximately 5” X 5” scented pillow sachet with a mounted medieval knight beautifully woven on the top. Small, yes, but if you love the Middle Ages, wouldn’t you like to have one?

To learn how to enter, visit the News & Contest page on my website. Deadline for entries is midnight MST, February 27th, winner announced February 28th. And if all of you are extra good, I might throw in small box of chocolate for good measure. ☺


Also, Regency Romance author Jaimey Grant has asked me to announce a very special offer. Jaimey is giving away FREE copies of any of her PDF formatted e-book titles—your choice!—to anyone who’s willing to post an “honest review” on either Goodreads.com or Amazon. There is currently no limit on the number of people who can receive a free e-book, and currently no deadline on asking for one...but you MUST hold up your side of the bargain by taking time to review online the book you read. Everyone’s on the honor system here, but please don’t disappoint me and Jaimey!

To receive the title of your choice, visit Jaimey’s profile page at either http://www.goodreads.com/regencyfreak or http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AXHWME4M1KFQH to read about the titles available and to choose the book you’d like to read.

Once you have chosen your title, send the book’s name to me at jdipastena@yahoo.com, with “Jaimey Grant Giveaway” in the subject line. Be sure, of course, to include your own name and email address. I’ll forward your email to Jaimey, and she will contact you with the details of how to download her book.

Just remember, this is a two-way bargain. I know you won’t let me down!

You can read my review of Jaimey's Regency romance, Betrayal, on Amazon. (Oh, yeah, my review is hiding under my alter ego, Pianissimo, in case you wonder which review is mine.)

Review of Death of a Squire: A Templar Mystery, by Maureen Ash

Allow me to begin with a caveat: The following review speaks as much about my personal reading tastes as it does about the quality of Death of a Squire, so please take that into consideration while weighing my words below.

Book Description:

After eight years of captivity in the Hoy Land, Templar Bascot de Marins escapes with injuries to his body and soul. Now on a sojourn at Lincoln Castle, he is sometimes called upon to uphold the will of God and he laws of man... Late in the autumn of 1200 A.D., the townspeople of Lincoln are preparing to host the first meeting between the king of Scotland and King John. Days before their arrival, a squire's body is found hanging from a tree deep in the forest,and the castellan of Lincoln castle entrusts Bascot with the task of finding the killer. When outlaws kidnap his trusted servant, Gianni, Bascot is surprised by his own familial feelings for the boy. Despite the unsolved crime and potentially murderous rumors, nothing becomes more important to Bascot than Gianni's safe return. Could these two misdeeds be linked by chance...or by cunning?


To be honest (and please see my caveat above), the most attractive part of this book for me was the cover art. The miniature scenes portrayed from the story were excellently rendered and delightful to behold. It was the sort of cover I could find myself coveting, were I not so happy with the cover of my own medieval romance, Loyalty’s Web.

As for the inside of the book, however, I regret to say that I had many a quibble. First off, the author immediately distanced me from “bonding” with any of her characters by choosing to narrate the majority of the story from the omniscient point of view. It was like observing the story taking place from someplace high above the setting, as if I were a bird watching events while soaring over the town of Lincoln and neighboring Sherwood Forest, somewhat interested at times in what the characters might be doing below, but never fully involved with any of them. I was in no one’s head and I was in everyone’s head, and on the few occasions I was in a character’s head, I found myself snatched way too quickly, just when I thought I might actually start caring about the person’s who’s head I was visiting.

Another drawback to me was the overwhelming number of characters. I could not begin to keep them all straight in my mind, especially the number of minor pages and squires who kept popping up by name, when there were so many other names to try to keep track of. I continually found myself scratching my head and saying, “Who is this again?” Unfortunately, it was rare that I cared enough about the story to go back and look a forgotten character up.

Other strikes against Death of a Squire:

The dialogue, what there was of it, felt awkward and stiff, rather than lively and flowing, even allowing for a greater formality of medieval speech.

I felt the lengthy portions of narration slowed the pace of the story. Was the moment when one character was swimming across a treacherous river to confront his arch rival really the time for him to slip into a four-page flashback of his childhood, youth, and subsequent misfortunes in life? Just one example of a too-frequent break in the “flow”. The pacing was also slowed by frequent pauses for the author to share her medieval research with us. Do I care how charcoal was made in the Middle Ages? Possibly. But do I want to stop in the middle of the story for a detailed description of the process, when the protagonist should be hot on the trail of a murderer, especially when, though the charcoal maker was important, the process of making charcoal had nothing beyond “research interest” to do with the plot of the story.

Now, returning to my caveat, I know that there are readers out there who thoroughly enjoy such “research stops” when reading an historical novel, but I’m afraid I’m not one of them. Weave the research “naturally” into the story, by all means, but don’t bring all action to a stop to tell me about it. To put it simply, as a reader, I personally read for story first. The research should be a happy, well-woven bonus, not bring me to screeching halt.

To be honest, I would not have finished reading this book, had I not committed to it as part of a the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2009. But there are many readings tastes out there. If you are one who enjoys books told from many multiple viewpoints (though more often from that bird’s eye view), who read more for picking up bits of arcane research than for action and plot, Death of a Squire might be a book for you!

New Reading Challenge

As I mentioned in my last blog, I have decided to participate in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2009 sponsored on Goodreads and on Royal Reviews. All you have to do is read three historical novels between January 1-March 31. Most of us can do that, right? So come on and join in the fun!

Here are the rules, as stated on GoodReads:

Read 3 historical fiction books in 3 months from 1st Jan 09 - 31st March 09. Historical fiction will be counted as anything set or written prior to World War II. This will include classic novels, time travel novels or anything you feel fits the genre. For an extra bit of fun, you can choose to participate in one of the following themes: - The Royal Twist - Read 3 based on or inspired by 3 different royals. Emporers, Queens, Kings whatever inspires you! - The Twilight Twist - Read a selection of 3 of the classic novels that inspired the Twilight Saga. There's Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Romeo Juliet by Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte or A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare. There will also be giveaways associated with this challenge so keep your eyes pealed. If you've already signed up, head on over to the Introductions and First Book topic and tell us a little about yourself :-)

Me, I’m not taking either of the Twist roads, just reading three historical novels whose descriptions caught my fancy. In keeping with my goal of alternating new books with old “favorites” from former years, these are the three titles I have chosen for the challenge:

Death of a Squire: A Templar Knight Mystery, by Maureen Ash (new)

Description:

After eight years of captivity in the Hoy Land, Templar Bascot de Marins escapes with injuries to his body and soul. Now on a sojourn at Lincoln Castle, he is sometimes called upon to uphold the will of God and he laws of man... Late in the autumn of 1200 A.D., the townspeople of Lincoln are preparing to host the first meeting between the king of Scotland and King John. Days before their arrival, a squire's body is found hanging from a tree deep in the forest,and the castellan of Lincoln castle entrusts Bascot with the task of finding the killer. When outlaws kidnap his trusted servant, Gianni, Bascot is surprised by his own familial feelings for the boy. Despite the unsolved crime and potentially murderous rumors, nothing becomes more important to Bascot than Gianni's safe return. Could these two misdeeds be linked by chance...or by cunning?

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas (old favorite)

Description:

Dashing young Edmond Dantès has everything. He is engaged to a beautiful woman, is about to become the captain of a ship, and is well liked by almost everyone. But his perfect life is shattered when he is framed by a jealous rival and thrown into a dark prison cell for almost 14 years. The greatest tale of betrayal, adventure, and revenge ever written, The Count of Monte Cristo continues to dazzle readers with its thrilling and memorable scenes, including Dantès's miraculous escape from prison, his amazing discovery of a vast hidden treasure, and his transformation into the mysterious and wealthy Count of Monte Cristo--a man whose astonishing thirst for vengeance is as cruel as it is just.

The Dark Lantern, by Gerri Brightwell (new)

Description:

Devon-born housemaid Jane Wilbred has snared her new post with the Bentley family with a letter of reference she forged, omitting any mention of the possibly pertinent fact that her late mother was a notorious murderer. That, however, is trifling compared to the shady games being played both upstairs and downstairs at 32 Cursitor Road while the family matriarch lingers on her deathbed, especially the struggle between mysterious beauty Mina Bentley, wife of younger son Robert, and the wan stranger who claims to be the widow of older brother Henry (drowned recently while sailing home after years in India). Meanwhile, Robert is focused on a battle closer to his heart: winning official recognition for anthropometry, the science of identifying criminals by body measurements. Far from being an arcane digression, Robert's passion eventually figures into the intricate and surprising plot. The action will keep the reader as intrigued as a parlor maid eavesdroppig outside her mistress's boudoir. (From Publishers Weekly)

I hope all of you history buffs out there will join in on the challenge!

Books I Read in 2008

Here’s a list of all the books I read I 2008. I’m a bit of a slow reader, only finding time to read a few chapters at bedtime (or more if I’m unable to fall asleep at night). As you’ll see, my reading tastes are a bit eclectic, ranging from historical fiction, fan fiction, LDS fiction, and non-fiction on multiple subjects. I keep a running tally of the books I read in the left column of this page, just below my Shelfari shelf, if you’d like to keep track as I read along this year.

Books I read in 2008:
New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer (fiction)
Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer (fiction)
The Lodger, by Liz Adair (fiction)
Ghost of a Chance, by Kerry Blair (fiction)
The Lights of Mahonri Moriancumer, by Phyllis Gunderson (fiction)
The Great and the Terrible: The Brothers, by Chris Stewart (fiction)
The Great and the Terrible: Where Angels Fall, by Chris Stewart (fiction)
Walk with Peril: A Novel of Henry V and Agincourt, by D.V.S. Jackson (fiction)
Mormon Scientist: the Life and Faith of Henry Eyring, by Henry J. Eyring (non-fiction)
The Boleyn Inheritance, by Philippa Gregory (fiction)
The Power of Your Patriarchal Blessing, by Gayla Wise (non-fiction)
The Arthurian Omen, by G.G. Vandagriff (fiction)
Dante's Daughter, by Kimberley Heuston (fiction)
The Great and the Terrible: The Second Sun, by Chris Stewart (fiction)
Room for Two, by Abel Keogh (non-fiction)
The Great and the Terrible: Fury & Light, by Chris Stewart (fiction)
Caught in the Headlights: 10 Lessons Learned the Hard Way, by Barry K. Phillips (non-fiction)
The Great and the Terrible: From the End of Heaven, by Chris Stewart (fiction)
Angel Falling Softly, by Eugene Woodbury (fiction)
Plug Your Book: Online Book Marketing for Authors, by Steve Weber (non-fiction)
Mr. Monk in Outer Space, by Lee Goldberg (fiction)
Elusive Harmony, by Mary Burchell (fiction)
Masquerade with Music, by Mary Burchell (fiction)
The Sudbury School Murders, by Ashley Gardner (fiction)
Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer (fiction)
The Knight in Rusty Armor, by Robert Fisher (fiction)
The Hanover Square Affair, by Ashley Gardner (fiction)
The Big Sort:Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart by Bill Bishop (non-fiction)
The Serpent Garden, by Judith Merkle Riley (fiction)
Betrayal, by Jaimey Grant (fiction)

Twelve Days of Christmas Contest Medieval Style, in Review:

Well, our Twelve Days of Christmas Contest Medieval Style, is finally over. I hope all of you who participated had fun with our little game. Those of us who sponsored prizes had such a good time, that we’re thinking of running a similar contest sometime this summer, with hopefully a few additional sponsors to continue to spice things up. So keep your eyes peeled for further news on that! (After we all take a well-deserved break while we continue to recover from “the holidays”, of course.)

By the way, if you think an overabundance of our contest winners came from Arizona, that’s only because we received more entries from Arizona than from any other state. So the next time we run such a contest, run out and invite all your friends in other states to join in! (Then again, that would only up the competition for you all, so you make the call on that one. ;-) )

For a full list of The Twelve Days of Christmas Contest Medieval Style prizes and winners, click here.

Joyce’s Goals for 2009

(Click here to enter The Twelve Days of Christmas, Medieval Style Contest)

How did it get to be 2009 already? I could swear I woke up just a couple of days ago, and it was only 2008! Nevertheless, 2009 does, indeed, appear to have arrived, and the time for setting new goals has arrived with it. So, in the hopes of committing myself more fully to my own new goals by courageously publishing them publicly, I here present Joyce’s Goals for 2009. Feel free to check up on me at any point during the year and ask me how I’m doing. (I could definitely use a significant nudge now and then!)

So here goes:

Spiritual Goals:

Continue reading the Old Testament with Readers Digest’s Who’s Who in the Bible, along with the Old Testament Roundtable Discussions that I recorded off the BYU Channel in 2008.

Continue reading Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, even though I’m not in Relief Society on Sundays anymore. (Can anyone say, “Full-time Primary pianist”?)

Reading Goal:

Alternate reading one “old favorite” for each “new” book I read in 2009

Writing Goals:

Publish my next medieval novel, Illuminations of the Heart, in 2009

Begin work on a new medieval novel

House Goal:

Declutter! Ask myself the question, “If I were going to move, would I want to take this with me?” If the answer is “no”, give away or throw out.

There, I’m keeping my goals simple—or at least, limited—in hopes that I will actually make progress on each of them this year!

IN OTHER NEWS:

Don’t forget that our Twelve Days of Christmas Contest, Medieval Style, is still ongoing. Click here to see the list of days and prizes still open and read the winners thus far. (Or, you could just scroll down to my previous post.)

If anyone’s interested, I’ve updated the “LDS Corner” and “About Me” tabs on my website. I forgot to add a list of my favorite music to my About Me page, so I’ll be going back soon to include that.

And finally (for now), I’ve signed up for a 3 month reading challenge by joining the group, The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2009 on Goodreads. I’ll be listing my choices on this blog, just as soon as I finish the contemporary novel I’m currently reading. If any of you enjoy historical fiction, you might like to join this challenge, too. Click here to read more about it!

By the way, if you’d like to see what books I read in 2008, scroll down the left side of this page for my What Did I Read in 2008? list. (Just under my Shelfari shelf.) The list won’t remain there long. As soon as I finish the book listed under What Am I Reading Now?, the 2008 list will vanish, and my current title will become the first on a What Did I Read in 2009? list.

Happy New Year to One and All!

Welcome to The Twelve Days of Christmas Contest, Medieval Style!

During the Middle Ages, the Twelve Days of Christmas did not refer to the twelve days preceding Christmas day, as it does now. Rather it began on Christmas Day and continued through the following twelve days, ending on January 5, the eve of Epiphany which was traditionally considered the day that the three Magi presented their gifts to the Christ Child.

So a few friends and I decided to put a bit of a spin on our Twelve Days of Christmas Contest, and run it “Medieval Style”. Beginning on Christmas Day, we will be giving away a gift a day for 12 days, running through January 5th. There should be something for everyone…an inspirational book, five historical romance novels, two children’s picture books, one YA time travel, even a ghost story! And if that isn’t enough, you can also win a gift certificate to a wonderful new sensory experience called Scentsy, and a handmade, hand decorated, personalized mailbox.

RULES:

You can send in an entry for each day’s prize, or only for those prizes that strike your fancy. The rules are simple:

(1) Go to the website or blog indicated for each day, find the answer to the question for that day, then email the answer with your name and mailing address to jdipastena@yahoo.com.

(2) Please send a separate entry for each day and type the day you are entering in the subject line. (Such as: 12 Days of Christmas, Day 1; 12 Days of Christmas, Day 2, etc).

(3) Deadline for each day: Midnight PST

(4) The winner will be contacted and announced on the day following the deadline.

You do not have to wait until the designated day to enter. You can start sending in your entries right now, or begin entering at any point along the way. And check back here each day between Dec 26-Jan 6 to read the names of the winners.

If you have any questions, feel free to email Joyce DiPastena at jdipastena@yahoo.com.

And now…let the games begin!

Day 1 – December 25
Sponsor: Kerry Blair
Prize: Inspirational Book: Counting Blessings: Wit and Wisdom for Women, autographed copy
Website address: www.kerryblair.net
Website question: Name one of the two books -- e-versions -- that Kerry offers for free on her site. (Hint: Check out “Fun Stuff” tab)
WINNER: Debra Erfert of Arizona

Day 2 – December 28
Sponsor: Donna Hatch
Prize: Regency Romance, The Stranger She Married: e-book download
Website address: www.donnahatch.net
Website question: What is Cole accused of doing? (Hint: Read excerpt of The Stranger She Married under “Bookshelf” tab)
WINNER: Gayle Oreluk of Illinois

Day 3 – December 27
Sponsor: Marsha Ward
Prize: Book: Post-Civil War action/adventure romance, The Man from Shenandoah, autographed copy
Website address: marshaward.com
Website question: Where is the Bates family living? (Don’t confuse with the Owen family! Hint: Click on excerpt from The Man from Shenandoah under “Novels” on websites’s left hand tool bar.)
WINNER: Anna Carpenter of Arizona

Day 4 – December 28
Sponsor: Joan Sowards
Prize: ebook Haunts Haven by LizAnne Bayh
Website address: joansowards.com
Website question: What is the title of Joan’s 2008 Christmas song? (Hint: Look under “Christmas” tab for 2008 song)
WINNER: Christa Johnson of Arizona

Day 5 – December 29
Sponsor: Heidi Ashworth
Prize: $20 Amazon gift certificate towards purchase of her Regency Romance, Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind
Blog address: www.heidiashworth.blogspot.com
Blog question: What is the last name of the hero in the novel Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind?
WINNER: Ilona Fenton of Wales, UK

Day 6 – December 30
Sponsor: Kellydawn Zollinger
Prize: $25 Scentsy Gift Certificate
Website address: www.scentsy.com/luminescent
Website question: How many room sprays come in the “Scentsy Sampler” Multi Pack offered in the current catalog? (Hint: Scroll through the “catalog” tab to find answer. Or download catalogue to PDF for easier reading.)
WINNER: Jobie Marshall of Oregon

Day 7 – December 31
Sponsor: Joyce DiPastena
Prize: Book: Medieval Romance, Loyalty’s Web, autographed copy
Website address: www.joyce-dipastena.com
Website question: How is Gunthar received almost the moment he sets foot in Poitou? (Hint: check out “Books and Bio” tab)
WINNER: Ronda Hinrichsen of Utah

Day 8 – January 1
Sponsor: Cindy Williams
Prize: Children’s Book: Chase McKay Didn’t Get Up Today, autographed copy
Website address: www.cindyrwilliams.com
Website question: What is the name of the fantasy book about dragons that Cindy is writing? (Hint: check out “Home” page or “Books” Tab)
WINNER: Judy Cox of Louisiana

Day 9 – January 2
Sponsor: Liz Adair/Cecily Markland
Prize: Autographed copy of Counting the Cost, new novel by best-selling author, Liz Adair
Website address: www.inglestonepublishing.com
Website question: What is the title of the workshop Liz Adair presents for writers and family history buffs? (Hint: It's the same title as the 28-page booklet by Liz that Inglestone Publishing also published. Check out the Bookstore tab.)
WINNER: Kristina Stiltner of Virginia

Day 10 – January 3
Sponsor: Lori Conger
Prize: Children’s Picture Book: My Squishy Pants, autographed copy
Website address: www.loriconger.com
Website question: Why doesn’t Jonah want to wear his pants to school? (Hint: This one’s on the “Home” page)
WINNER: Patricia Andreasky of Arizona

Day 11 – January 4
Sponsor: Kathi O. Peterson
Prize: YA Time-travel: The Forgotten Warrior, autographed copy
Website address: www.KathiOramPeterson.com
Website question: What attribute has Sydney Morgan never had? (Hint: This one again is on the “Home” page)
WINNER: Kerri Waldo of Alabama

Day 12 – January 5
Sponsor: Teri Rodeman
Prize: Personalized mailbox
Blog address: terirodeman.blogspot.com
Blog question: How many years has Teri Rodeman been owner of the LDSForeverFriends Google Group? (Hint: Check out the right hand side of the page)
WINNER: Mary Walker of Arizona

Good luck and Merry Christmas to you all!




IN OTHER NEWS:

Congratulations to the winners of my latest Loyalty's Web-site Drawing: Lexee Toste of California, Karen Hillis of Florida, and Debra Guyette of Connecticut! Each of these women won an Amazon $10 e-gift certificate to apply towards the purchase of a copy of Loyalty's Web. Thank you to everyone who entered!

BLOG UPDATE:

Believe it or not, I've finally updated my Medieval Vignettes blog with a short story entitled: An Epiphany Gift for Robin. I entered a shorter version of this story in the LDS Publisher Christmas Story Contest. If you enjoy Christmas short stories, check out LDS Publisher and cast a vote for the one you like best!

Contest Reminder and Treasure Hunt!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah! Whatever you're celebrating this time of year, I hope you are all staying healthy, happy and warm.

I just wanted to alert you to a cool new contest going on over at AuthorIsland.com. The prize is an Amazon Kindle! You have to go on a bit of a treasure hunt to win it, though. You can check out the treasure map (so to speak) by clicking on the banner below.




How cool is that? Winner to be announced January 1st.

And while you're checking out that contest, don't forget about the contest currently going on on the News & Contests page of my website. Three Amazon.com gift certificates are waiting as prizes for three lucky people who enter. Deadline: December 16th.

Is this a great time for gift giving, or what? Let the games begin! (Or in the case of my own contest, continue. :-) )