Ramblings: libraries, no power, no internet, and book review

Along with hundreds of thousands of other Connecticut residents, we lost power starting late Saturday night of October 30th and didn’t get it back until sometime Friday, November 4th. Although most of the days were sunny and the temperatures rose to the mid-fifties Fahrenheit, overnight they cooled down to the mid-thirties or lower, some nights below freezing. We didn’t get the Internet or phone back until the next evening, but at least we were warm and could cook hot meals. What a treat!

Bless the public libraries. Except for Sunday, a nearby library was our daily refuge. In addition to depending on them for certain research and obtaining hard to find books through the inter-library loan system, they also have free WIFI. So, for that week, we drove to the library and connected my laptop to the internet. We also stayed warm, at least during the day. Because of the library, I was able to meet an important deadline--producing the December issue of the Richard III Society, American Branch publication (Ricardian Register).

After we got our services back, I discovered that BigAl's Books and Pals favorably reviewed This Time, my first book about Richard III in the 21st-century.

The week ended well. :-)

The Typo

I had been away on a combined vacation and Richard III Society American Branch Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Chicago. When I returned I found a note in my email letting me know that Loyalty Binds Me, the second book in the series about Richard III in the 21st-century, got a review from Midwest Book Reviews. Now Midwest Book Reviews is one of the better recognized online book review sites, so a review from this site carries some weight. The email only said that Midwest Book Reviews had published their review online in the Smell Press Bookwatch September postings. I prayed it was a typo and that the reviewer didn't think my book stunk. I did wonder how many skunks it got. Phew, it was a typo--should have been Small Press Bookwatch, not smell. I'm actually quite pleased with the review.

Reprinted here (it's short):

Immortality plays into our hands strangely. "Loyalty Binds Me" is a unique novel that spins into a Richard the III alive in the twenty-first century. Wrapped into a centuries old problem and facing what he's been running from for centuries. With a five hundred year old murder mystery turning hot again, "Loyalty Binds Me" is a highly unique twist on historical fiction and mystery, recommended.

Read With Your Partner

I just read a note about a couple taking turns reading a book aloud on a discussion group in which I participate that reminded me of how much pleasure I got from doing the same thing. The book that we happened to do it with was 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. The story was told in the form of letters between an American screen writer and bibliophile and an English bookstore owner--the book's title is the address of the bookstore. While most books probably won't provide the natural breaks the letters provided, it wouldn't be too difficult to alternate between chapters or scenes. Not only was it a very enjoyable activity for us to do, but I feel that reading aloud enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

I'd love to hear about any experiences you may have had.

2006 Reenactment of the Battle of Bosworth

August 22nd is the 526th anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. I was able to attend the reenactment in 2006 and produced this video from my photos. Music is by Mince Pye



Or see the video on YouTube.

Cephalopod Camouflage

One of my favorite shows, Science Friday, airs Friday afternoon at 2 pm on my local NPR radio station. This Friday, the show ended with a discussion about the amazing abilities that squids, octopi, and cuttlefish to, within a second, camouflage themselves against various backgrounds and textures by sight, even though they are colorblind. See this amazing video that includes the interview from Science Friday's website.



(I see a bit of the right side of the video is truncated. To see the original, go to Science Friday's website here.)

My shiny new trailer

Thank you Blazing Trailers for creating this trailer that combines This Time and Loyalty Binds Me--two novels about Richard III in the 21st-century. Please take a minute to watch and enjoy.

A Tale of Two Times: or when is the 8th really the 17th?

From time to time, the contentious topic of historical accuracy in historical fiction rears its pointy head, where one camp succinctly points out that it’s FICTION, and that gives it sufficient license to “bend” history. The other camp takes exception to this license, since the works are based on real people, and we owe it to them to be as accurate as possible. This camp of authors—I among them—have found ourselves obsessing over dates to the point of obtaining itineraries where available and being scrupulous about not having a character in one place if records show that character in another. We save our speculation for where the information is absent or conflicted.

Adhering to the facts has spoiled many a plot point. Often, when the story has to be retooled to accommodate what is known, the story gets better, but not always. I’m happy to reveal a 170 year loophole, but only if the story takes place between October 1582 and September 1752. This is because in February 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull to correct discrepancies in the calendar where the solstices didn’t align. The bull decreed that ten days were to be eliminated from the calendar such that the day following Thursday, October 4, 1582 would thereafter be known as Friday, October 15, 1582 (instead of October 5th)—hence eliminating ten days from that year. Years that were divisible by 100 must also be divisible by 400 to be a leap year, and new rules were put in place for determining the date on which Easter fell. In addition, leap day was moved from the day before February 25th to the day after February 28th. (I wonder if the Julian leap day was February 24.5?)

A further complication was the day celebrated for the New Year. Not only did it vary from country to country, but also between groups within a country. So the New Year may have been celebrated in March, January, or December. This bull also set the New Year to January 1st.

The bull was issued after Great Britain broke with the Roman Catholic Church. Great Britain did not adopt the new calendar until September 1752, when September 14th immediately followed September 2nd.

The difference between the calendars created some problems and disparities. For example, in the colonies (now the United States) the New Year was observed March 25th, but when Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, the observed day was pushed back to January 1st. As a result, those born between January 1st and March 25th suddenly found their birth year advancing by a year. Imagine having to wait an extra year to collect social security or being able to legally drink because your calendar suddenly changed? While George Washington didn’t have to worry about social security or a legal drinking age, he might have not made the cut-off legal age to be president if he had been born ten years later than his actual birth on February 2, 1731 (Julian)/1732 (Gregorian).

So rejoice historical fiction writers of the late 16th, the entire 17th, and first half of the 18th centuries—here is your loophole. Or curse, because it’s also your dilemma. Suppose your character is English, but the documents you are referring to were translated from the French. Were the dates in Julian or Gregorian? How did people who traveled between the countries reckon the dates?

What fun!

Reference: The Julian and Gregorian Calendars by Peter Meyer