Early morning rejection! I’m querying for an agent to represent my Gothic Novel and, as you know by now, I gift an eBook to my Patrons every time one of these agents turns down my request for representation. I’m in a cheerful mood, this week — it’s the last week in my 30s — and […]
In Greek mythology, Parthenŏpe was a siren and if the name sounds familiar to you it’s because the noun is still used to indicate everything that comes from the city of Naples, which legend says she founded. Daughter of a river-god and the muse of dance, she’s mentioned in the Orphic Argonautica alongside her sisters […]
On this day in 1547, and not a moment too soon, Henry VIII dies in the Palace of Whitehall. Having killed two of his wives isn’t his only feat: during his reign, as many as 72,000 people were executed by boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, drawing and quartering, and ultimately beheading. His dissolution of […]
On this day in 1596, after failing to capture the Spanish colony of Panama, Francis Drake died of dysentery. A favourite of Queen Elizabeth and perhaps the most famous British corsair, he was vice-admiral to Lord Howard of Effingham when the Spanish Armada (unwisely called “Invincible”) was crushed in the British Channel. He was also […]
Overlooking Piazza della Scala in the stunning building called Gallerie d’Italia, the exhibition explores the production of Giovan Battista Moroni (1520 – 1579) with over 100 paintings and drawings, also featuring books, jewels and a piece of armour. Works from Lorenzo Lotto, Tiziano, Veronese and Tintoretto are also brought in to contextualise the work of […]
This eBook comes following a rejection I got yesterday, and since it was the second one in the same day I decided to give you one of my favourite, if not my favourite book of all times. This version of the book comes from the first edition, published in New York on October, 1908 by […]
Mefitis was a Samnite and Oscian goddess from before Roman times, presiding over poisonous gases emitted from the ground, particularly in swamps and volcanic vapours. The area of her sanctuary is mentioned by Virgil as the entrance to the Underworld, boars were sacred to her, and she’s sometimes associated with healing. Marcus Terentius Varro, a […]
An evil stepmother, three princesses in danger, magical waters, and a helpful lizard with a tail that points to the truth. I’m querying for an agent to represent my Gothic novel, and I publish an eBook for Patrons every time I get a rejection. I just got one! And do you want to know what? […]
After the charming exhibition on Women Samurai, Tenoha changes tune and theme and goes cybernetic on us: their new effort is called Robotland, and has: a section on the history of robots, grouped by theme and following the book; a section on the exploration of what robots can do, where you can either interact with […]
For the first time in my life, last week I did something weird: I went to see a movie in Japanese. And no, before you get ideas, I do not understand Japanese: it had subtitles. Anyway, the movie was Miyazaki’s last effort, The Boy and the Heron, and I had been hearing a lot of […]