Happy birthday, Queen Elizabeth I

I was reminded by a fellow tudor fanatic that today is the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I. I would like to read more about Elizabeth. My favorite historical novelist, Margaret George, is writing a novel about the later part of her reign, which I expect will be wonderful. Elizabeth was certainly her father’s daughter in many ways – they both knew how to use their appearance to inspire the awe and devotion of the masses. Maybe she was her mother’s daughter too, in more subtle ways – fiercely intelligent and willing to use her feminine wiles as she saw fit, flirting with men and tempting them with her immense power to win their loyalty. Personally I doubt she ever intended to marry anyone, but the merest promise of marriage to the queen was valuable, and the Queen used that power to her advantage. She needed no king to rule over her – perhaps having learned a lesson from her pitiable sister, Mary.

I highly recommend The Virgin Queen, a BBC miniseries about Elizabeth; it really inspired me when I was writing The King’s Rose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of which – I’ve got another terrific blog review! The reviewer mentions that she liked Catherine’s descent into madness, which is just so good for me to hear:
http://scarpettajunkie.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/book-review-the-kings-rose/

every book has a theme song

I’m hesitant to prescribe a contemporary song to a historical novel, but the fact is that both of my books have theme songs. While I listened to more era/mood appropriate music while writing, I’ve already mentioned that “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones was definitely my theme for The Blood Confession.

I was inspired to write this post when the theme song for The King’s Rose snuck up on me earlier today: “The Other Side” by David Gray. It may seem an odd choice, but take a look at some of these lyrics and imagine it from Catherine to Henry:

Maybe I oughta mention
Was never my intention
To harm you or your kin
Are you so scared to look within
The ghosts are crawling on our skin
We may race and we may run
Well not undo what has been done
Or change the moment when its gone…

Something about the tone of this song always made me think of the end of the book. As much as The Mediaeval Baebes were my muse throughout the writing process, this is the song you should listen to once you’ve finished the book. I’ve found a live (and sort of long) version for you on youtube.com:

As for my current work in progress, I don’t think it has a theme song yet. But there are certainly a range of things that I listen to when I’m writing it or trying to get into the mode of writing. I was suffering some serious writer’s block when I started this book, so sitting down at the computer often became an uncomfortable experience. So instead of worrying about choosing music that would make me think about my character or the time period, I just put on music that I love, that makes me happy. And that, my friends, equates to David Bowie.

myths about Catherine Howard; lots of books, too

I was invited to do a guest post at The Anne Boleyn Files, which is an awesome blog that debunks all kinds of myths and heresies surrounding King Henry’s second queen – a must for any Tudor history buff, or fan of The Tudors. My post attempts to debunk some rumors about Catherine Howard. There are so many rumors that it was difficult to choose just a few, but I focused on the big ones: Catherine was stupid, greedy, slutty…you get the picture. Read the full post here:

http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/catherine-howard-by-alisa-m-libby/1616/

Claire, queen of the site, also wrote a wonderful review of The King’s Rose. Hooray!:

http://reviews.theanneboleynfiles.com/the-kings-rose-by-alisa-m-libby/118

I’ve been doing a lot of reading myself lately, in preparation for the Children’s Literature Institute this weekend at Simmons College. Here are some of the books I’ve read, written by authors who will be speaking at the conference. I’ll be posting a post-conference report early next week.

MOMA

At the Museum of Modern Art this past weekend I was thinking about the nature of art. I thought about this a lot as a kid. Dad was an artist so we had art in our house but how was that different from art in museums? Why was the canvas with the single polka dot on it hanging on the wall of a museum and the miniature violins I watched Dad make were not? I was (and still am) biased, of course.

But I did find the Jackson Pollack paintings more striking and moving than I had imagined I would. One of them reminded me of beautiful Japanese calligraphy in bold black strokes on a parchment background.

Another painting was heavily layered with paint, in addition to cigarette butts and bits of other stuff. It was described as a “labyrinth,” which fascinates me – I like the idea of a maze of paths connecting and criss-crossing and dead-ending without any rhyme or reason. I could get lost in a maze (or a painting) like that.

back from NYC weekend

Tom and I wrapped up some ginger snaps in a kerchief, tied it to the end of a stick and ran away for the weekend. We ran all the way to New York City and spent some time dining and museuming and in general catching up with the adorable Amanda and David. They even took us to the top of Rockefeller Center where we watched the sun set all pink orange blue over the twinkly city.

We came home yesterday just in time to get to my reading at the Kingston Public Library, which I’m happy to say was really lovely – my first outdoor reading, held in the library courtyard. I only hope that all the hours on the bus didn’t make me too loopy.

I’ll blog more about NYC and our visit to the MOMA, but for now I’ll leave you with links to two gorgeous book review blogs. Many thanks to Alaine and Melissa for their beautiful, thoughtful reviews of The King’s Rose:

http://alainereading.blogspot.com/2009/07/kings-rose-by-alisa-m-libby.html
http://www.melissas-bookshelf.com/2009/07/review-kings-rose.html

library book talk and ARCs for review…

I will be doing a book talk at the Kingston Public Library next Monday, July 13 at 6 p.m. I plan to read an excerpt from The King’s Rose, then talk a bit about my writing process and how I came to be published. I’m looking forward to it – I just hope I have an audience (hint, hint).

The book tour has gradually wound down – though I’m still visiting blogs! I love guest-blogging. My current task is to write a blog entry debunking some common misconceptions about Catherine, for example: that she was notoriously dim-witted. Perhaps I’m too close to my subject matter, but I have some actual historical texts to back up my admittedly sympathetic argument. Speaking of blogs…if anyone reading this maintains a book review blog and you’re interested in reviewing The King’s Rose, contact me. I may have an ARC for you, if you’re interested.

[Pause: I just watched Roxanne get stuck under her dog blanket. I don't know how she managed this. I tried to get a photo - mean! I know - but she escaped in time to save her precious dignity.]

I’ve been floating around between projects as of late, distracting myself with reading copious books and baking copious cookies (oh, and polynesian-style meatballs). There are worse things to do while not writing. I’ve been taking note of things in what I hope is a writerly way: the glossy amber slugs scattered in couplets across the wet sidewalk, the train window silvered with raindrops…(yes, it’s still raining). But I know I have to get back to it, for real. Even though this new project isn’t clicking just yet, I think it deserves a little more effort. And Tom has requested that I calm down on the cookie baking, for the sake of our collective health.

Before I turn to my fussily highlighted outline, let me introduce you to the Queen Elizabeth:

 

how to love the rain

It’s been a soggy summer. New Englanders are a people naturally inclined to complain about the weather, but I think we would all like to complain about something different for a change; preferably while wearing a tank top and eating an ice cream cone. But as we looking ahead to more rainy days, here are some suggestions.

1. Pretend you are in Scotland. I’ve been doing this all day and it’s helped a great deal. It rains a lot in Scotland – Inverness was flooded when Tom and I visited – but the rain is beautiful there, everything veiled in gray mist. And the grass is so green you just want to roll around on it. So yes, imagine that you are in Scotland, gazing at a castle in the distance. (In my case, the cupola on top of the Simmons Main College Building will do in a pinch.)

2. Drink tea. With lots of honey. And cookies. While you’re at it, bake some cookies. This has been my thing lately. It distracts me (briefly) from book worries.

3. Read. Here I may be able to help you out: I received some ARCs of The King’s Rose in the mail yesterday, mailed to me by my editor’s wonderful assistant. So if you happen to maintain a book review blog, I just might send you an ARC so you can do something while stuck inside. Comment with your name, email and blog url and I’ll get in touch with you.

4. Be glad there isn’t a drought and a heat wave, frying our lawns to a dry brown and making me wholly irritable. Speaking of which, in spite of the rain, the Mr. Lincoln’s in front of our house were the first to bloom. They even beat out the Queen Elizabeth’s, which had been my bet for first bloomers:

And here, a puppy blooms among the roses:

Long live the King…

On June 24th 1509 – 500 years ago – King Henry VIII was officially crowned King of England in a glorious coronation ceremony, alongside his new bride, Catherine of Aragon. Not that the crown did her much good years later, but that’s a different story.

Do I feel odd “celebrating” this day in history, considering my obvious sympathies for Catherine Howard and how Henry was really quite integral to the girl’s downfall? Not really…though I remember experiencing a strange moment of pause in the gift shop of The Tower of London (an odd concept right there, if you think about it) over a teddy bear dressed like King Henry. As far as I know Catherine’s ghost did not follow me and teddy henry home to haunt me for the purchase.

But was Henry was a tyrant? He certainly had plenty of tyrant-like qualities, especially in the latter (and infamous) part of his reign. He had a knack for changing the law to suit his current whims. Perhaps he confused what was best for England with what was simply best for himself (though I don’t trust his judgment in his personal life, either). But what about earlier in his reign? To think of Henry as an enormous, scowling king gnawing on a turkey drumstick shows only one dimension of a very complicated creature, not to mention a reign that lasted nearly 40 years. Being king was, I think, a lonely business. Henry was surrounded by ambitious courtiers who had their own – not the King’s, not England’s – best interests at heart. Who was there to look out for him, or to try to tell him the truth in the midst of his mania?

In honor of the anniversary of the coronation, I choose not to think of the aging, unwieldy king that Henry became later in life, putting aside his devoted wife of many years in his single-minded quest for an heir. Instead I choose to think of the Golden Prince he was on this day, 500 years ago, with his beautiful queen at his side. When the royal crowns were set upon their heads, I’m sure they looked like England’s future, and the future looked very fresh and bright, indeed.

writer’s retreat

Writers out there know that there are some really fancy writers retreats out there, where (for a fee) you can take a little vacation at a nice place where all you have to do is write, and all your meals are brought to you. Sort of like camp…but the goal is to get a lot of writing done. For a more low-cost twist, my friends Anne and Anna and I had a writer’s retreat, hosted by Anna at her house. This was my first retreat – a one-day affair. I brought molasses cinnamon cookies, which I had baked the day before instead of writing.

We each brought some ideas for writing prompts, only to find that we really weren’t in the mood for writing prompts. Instead we talked about our projects and what we’re struggling with at the moment, which I found very helpful. Then we ate pizza (fuel is important if you want to get any work done).

Then we actually sat and did some writing, in companiable quiet. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate with friends in the room, but I was pleased with the outcome of the day: not just the pages I produced, but with the collegial feeling of the whole experiment. Writing is a lonely business; it was nice to take it out of my office for a change, and hang out in the company of other writers, all of us doing our thing. And it’s fun to think of all the various ideas floating around this table: ghosts, fanatic obsession, baby donkeys…

And every writer’s retreat needs a mascot. Our mascot is the baby bunny that lives near Anna’s house and eats her sunflower buds.

the wedding of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

Today is the wedding anniversary of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon – 500 years ago, King Henry’s illustrious (not to mention deadly) marital career began. It seemed an auspicious enough beginning. Poor Catherine of Aragon. I read some quote about how the people of England were so in love with her, she was simply everything they could want in a Princess.

I would LOVE to be able to go back to England this month, as there having all sorts of celebrations for the historically-minded (read: dorky) among us, all in celebration of the 500 year anniversary of King Henry VIII’s ascension to the throne. A coin is even being minted in honor of the milestone - how can I get my hands on one of these? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8089561.stm

If you’re in a Henry-esque mood, I learned about these podcasts posted on the British Library website. I’m already a big fan of Henry’s music so this stuff is definitely my cup of unwatered wine, if you know what I mean: http://www.bl.uk/whatson/podcasts/exhibition/henry/index.html

And while I’m at it, I wanted to share with you this great review by blogger Dominique on The Book Vault blog:
http://the-book-vault.blogspot.com/2009/06/kings-rose-by-alisa-m-libby.html. I love her assessment of Catherine’s sad tale:

“Sometimes I feel authors are rather harsh on Catherine: although her actions were hardly commendable, most people forget she was just a foolish girl thrown at the king by her greedy family that cared more about increasing their own power than her safety.”

Well said, Dominique, and thank you for the wonderful review. This made me particularly pleased, especially in light of Miss Howard’s portrayal on The Tudors, which was quite over-the-top as far as trampy goes. I fear I can’t say much more as I want to keep this blog at least PG-13…though I do foresee a post about sex in YA literature in the near future! (Which rest assured will also be PG-13).