To contact us Click HERE
Five translated books for children have been shortlisted for the Marsh award, a prize which celebrates the high quality of translated fiction for young people.Each of the novels selected was originally published in a foreign language, but have since been translated into English, allowing children in the UK the chance to read about a wider range of social and cultural subjects.Stories included on the shortlist range from the adventurous journey of a boy travelling from Afghanistan to Italy in search of safety, to the emotional tale of twins who were separated at birth in 1930s Calcutta, India.At the present, less than 3% of books published for children and young adults come from the non-English speaking world and the prize seeks to encourage translated fiction in the hope that it can open children's eyes to new worlds and new perspectives.The 2013 shortlist includes Howard Curtis's translation of In the Sea by Fabio Geda, an international bestseller based on a true story about a penniless and homeless 10-year old boy, Enaiat, who seeks salvation in the west after his mother abandons him. Enaint, alone and scared, struggles in Italy where he is not familiar with the language.The English-Speaking Union, the organisers of the award, believe that language should not be a barrier against communication and emphasise how important translated fiction can be for children to explore new ideas and meanings in an ever more culturally diverse Britain.Other books honoured on the shortlist include Fatima Sharafeddini's translation of My Own Special Way by Mithaa Alkhayyat, a picture book based on a young Muslim girl's wish to grow up so she can wear a headscarf like the rest of the women in her family, and the German novel, Themba by Lutz van Dijk, translated by Karin Chubb, which focuses on the issue of Aids in South Africa.The judges for the award include author Wendy Cooling, founder of Bookstart; Sian Williams, founder of the Children's Bookshow and Gillian Lathey, director of the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature.The judges praised the novels shortlisted, calling Lucia Graves's translation of The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafron "a powerfully told story for older readers, with a strong sense of time and place", while they also praised Ros and Chloe's Schwartz's retranslation of The Little Prince by Antoine de St-Exupery. The novella, which is the most read and translated book in the French language, was described as "a classic, beautifully retranslated which retains all the ineffable charm of the original."The Marsh Award has been running since 1996, awarding translators every two years. The 2013 winning translator will receive a prize of £2,000 at a ceremony to be held in London on 23 January
6 Şubat 2013 Çarşamba
5 Şubat 2013 Salı
LONG LIVE THE 50s & THE 60s - PRIVATES AND THE HOUR (SERIES 2)
To contact us Click HERE
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Britain in search for a new identity, in the effort to forget the horror of two world wars, striving to recover in the shadow of the haunting foreboding of an atomic attack, is in the background of two BBC drama series I've recently watched: BBC1 afternoon show, Privates, and BBC2 second season of The Hour. Both series are brilliant and recommendable. Maybe my introduction can mislead you, they are neither gloomy nor depressing.They are differently entertaining series, thrilling emotions and fun garanteed. Both are already available on DVD (see direct links below to win a copy or to purchase sites) . If you've missed them, no excuses.
Privates is a BBC1 drama series setin 1960, when National Service was not an option. The 5-part series follows eightprivates who are part of the last intake of National Service, stationed at a basic training depot in North Yorkshire. The episodes follow them hurting, growing, rebelling and having fun. Fun is a key word you shouldkeep in mind, because the series is totally amusing, original andintriguing.
The events are seen from the point of view of oneof the 8 conscripts, the pacifist Private Keenan, played by thetalented Alexander Vlahos
(Mordred in BBC Merlin). He finds himself thrown into an environment hedefinitely despises and watchers will have to wait on - but not for long - to figureout why someone like him hasn't chosen the civil service, instead . With Private Keenan, the most awkward and unpromising group of conscripts: the apparentlyeccentric Private Lomax played by Ross Anderson, the Eton toff PrivateWhite-Bowne played by Jack Fox, the Elvis fan Private Davies played by MatthewAubrey, the Cockney Private Wratten played by Billy Seymour, the somewhatinnocent Private Rothman played by Sam Swann, the clumsy Private Hoy played byDavid Kirkbride and the shy Private McIlvenny played by Conor MacNeill.
The personal predicaments and family matters of their officers - Captain Gulliver (Patrick Baladi) and Sergeant Butcher (Michael Nardone) mingle with the eight protagonists' new and past experiences, the result is a convincing choral portrait with many hilarious moments as well as gripping and touching ones. The stories are told and highlighted through great music from 60s, the songs thoroughly chosen to complete the nostalgic picture.
The end of the series was a real cliffhanger. Please BBC, a second series and, possibly, on prime time TV.
Buy Privates DVD at amazon.co.ukDiscover more at BBC Official Site or Imdb
Win a copy of Privates DVD (deadline 7 Febraury)
Watch these two videos from YouTube 
The second series of Abi Morgan's 1950s TV news drama returned better than ever. I liked series 1 very much (my review) and totally loved season two. Peter Capaldi, Hannah Tointon and Tom Burke join the cast we met in series one, including Romola Garai, Ben Winshaw , Dominic West and Anna Chancellor.The series features corruptionand political intrigue, in the background the unsettling and rapid change of the late 50s. Involvedin the space race and aiming at becoming a nuclear power, Britain seems on thethreshold of a new era of modernisation, economic optimism, scientific progressand cultural change connected to new immigration from the Commonwealth.
Buy The Hour DVD at Amazon.co.uk
Buy The Hour DVD at Amazon.comDiscover more at BBC2 Official Site
Abi Morgan talks The Hour season two
Britain in search for a new identity, in the effort to forget the horror of two world wars, striving to recover in the shadow of the haunting foreboding of an atomic attack, is in the background of two BBC drama series I've recently watched: BBC1 afternoon show, Privates, and BBC2 second season of The Hour. Both series are brilliant and recommendable. Maybe my introduction can mislead you, they are neither gloomy nor depressing.They are differently entertaining series, thrilling emotions and fun garanteed. Both are already available on DVD (see direct links below to win a copy or to purchase sites) . If you've missed them, no excuses.
Privates - We gotta get out of this place
Privates is a BBC1 drama series setin 1960, when National Service was not an option. The 5-part series follows eightprivates who are part of the last intake of National Service, stationed at a basic training depot in North Yorkshire. The episodes follow them hurting, growing, rebelling and having fun. Fun is a key word you shouldkeep in mind, because the series is totally amusing, original andintriguing. The events are seen from the point of view of oneof the 8 conscripts, the pacifist Private Keenan, played by thetalented Alexander Vlahos
(Mordred in BBC Merlin). He finds himself thrown into an environment hedefinitely despises and watchers will have to wait on - but not for long - to figureout why someone like him hasn't chosen the civil service, instead . With Private Keenan, the most awkward and unpromising group of conscripts: the apparentlyeccentric Private Lomax played by Ross Anderson, the Eton toff PrivateWhite-Bowne played by Jack Fox, the Elvis fan Private Davies played by MatthewAubrey, the Cockney Private Wratten played by Billy Seymour, the somewhatinnocent Private Rothman played by Sam Swann, the clumsy Private Hoy played byDavid Kirkbride and the shy Private McIlvenny played by Conor MacNeill.
 |
| Alexander Vlahos as Private Keenan from http://forum.merlinitalia.it |
The end of the series was a real cliffhanger. Please BBC, a second series and, possibly, on prime time TV.
Buy Privates DVD at amazon.co.ukDiscover more at BBC Official Site or Imdb
Win a copy of Privates DVD (deadline 7 Febraury)
Watch these two videos from YouTube
The Hour 2
The second series of Abi Morgan's 1950s TV news drama returned better than ever. I liked series 1 very much (my review) and totally loved season two. Peter Capaldi, Hannah Tointon and Tom Burke join the cast we met in series one, including Romola Garai, Ben Winshaw , Dominic West and Anna Chancellor.The series features corruptionand political intrigue, in the background the unsettling and rapid change of the late 50s. Involvedin the space race and aiming at becoming a nuclear power, Britain seems on thethreshold of a new era of modernisation, economic optimism, scientific progressand cultural change connected to new immigration from the Commonwealth. Buy The Hour DVD at Amazon.co.uk
Buy The Hour DVD at Amazon.comDiscover more at BBC2 Official Site
Abi Morgan talks The Hour season two
GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT - TROUBLE WON'T WAIT BY AUTUMN PIPER
To contact us Click HERE
Good things may come to those who wait, but trouble waits for no one…
Cheating is a dealbreaker...or so Mandy’s always thought. But when she catches her husband getting some “strange,” she realizes how hard it is to cut and run, or even file papers. She agrees to a month of counseling, which will give her time to grieve the loss of her marriage before she has to tell the world—and the kids. Then she meets Adam, who gives her a hunky--if mysterious--shoulder to cry on, and that thirty-day waiting period seems like an eternity.
Adam has no problem confessing that he’s watched Mandy from his window for months as she runs by his house. If he told her why, though, she’d freak out for sure. He knows they’ve got a future together, if he can think of a way to explain his past. And he’s sure the rat-bastard who cheated on her is putting the moves on her again, but he won’t be the revenge guy. The month-long cooling off period she agreed to is lasting forever, and might just be indefinite, if trouble keeps getting in their way.
WARNING: Eccentric old lady pushing salt-of-the-earth advice, bossy big brother, kooky counselor, super-secretive hunk, and perfect justice served amidst adult situations and language.
*****************************************************
This book was presented here at FLY HIGH by Autumn Piper on her blog tour during the Christmas Holidays (HERE) and has been won by
Book Attict
Congratulations to the winner and many grateful thanks to the author for visiting and granting the e-book copy to giveaway.
Good things may come to those who wait, but trouble waits for no one…Cheating is a dealbreaker...or so Mandy’s always thought. But when she catches her husband getting some “strange,” she realizes how hard it is to cut and run, or even file papers. She agrees to a month of counseling, which will give her time to grieve the loss of her marriage before she has to tell the world—and the kids. Then she meets Adam, who gives her a hunky--if mysterious--shoulder to cry on, and that thirty-day waiting period seems like an eternity.
Adam has no problem confessing that he’s watched Mandy from his window for months as she runs by his house. If he told her why, though, she’d freak out for sure. He knows they’ve got a future together, if he can think of a way to explain his past. And he’s sure the rat-bastard who cheated on her is putting the moves on her again, but he won’t be the revenge guy. The month-long cooling off period she agreed to is lasting forever, and might just be indefinite, if trouble keeps getting in their way.
WARNING: Eccentric old lady pushing salt-of-the-earth advice, bossy big brother, kooky counselor, super-secretive hunk, and perfect justice served amidst adult situations and language.
*****************************************************
This book was presented here at FLY HIGH by Autumn Piper on her blog tour during the Christmas Holidays (HERE) and has been won by
Book Attict
Congratulations to the winner and many grateful thanks to the author for visiting and granting the e-book copy to giveaway.
HIGHLAND SURRENDER BLOG TOUR - AUTHOR GUEST POST BY TRACY BROGAN: WHY HISTORICAL?
To contact us Click HERE
Commanded by his king, Myles Campbell is no more willing than his reluctant bride. Still, she is a rare beauty, passionate enough to warm even the coldest marriage bed. Buy Myles quickly realizes Fiona Sinclair is no common wench. She has a warrior’s spirit and a fierce pride that only a fool would try to tame. And Myles Campbell is no fool. Their marriage was meant to unite warring clans. They never imagined it would ignite a once-in-a-lifetime love…
People often askwhy I write in two different genres – contemporary and historical. One reasonmay be that I have dual personalities. My family is quick to point out I haveboth Princess and Ogre-like tendencies – but just because Mommy has moodswings, that doesn’t quite answer the question. Truthfully, I never expected towrite a contemporary, but while I toiled away on multiple historical novels, afunny, little, modern-day romance popped into my head. So I wrote it, andvoila! Dual genres.
But my true loveremains solidly with historical romance. HIGHLAND SURRENDER is a culmination ofrough outlines and rougher drafts, purple prose and loose threads that Icarried in my mind for several years before truly committing it to paper andpolishing it smooth. I won’t say it is the book of my heart simply because Ifind whatever book I’m working on becomes that, but I will say it is the book Iwas referring to all those times in my past when I said, “I’m going to write abook someday.”I love historicalnovels for their ability to take me back in time. Since I don’t typically enjoyscience fiction or futuristic storylines, visiting the past is the best way forme to experience a different world than the one I inhabit. While I’m certainthose golden days gone by were full of daily inconveniences, uncomfortableclothing, strict social constraints, and a distinct lack of decent bathroomfacilities, I choose to view them through a kindly haze of nostalgia. The rustlingsilk of ball gowns as debutantes twirl around the dance floor in the arms of cravat-wearinggentleman, furtive glances over an ivory fan betraying secret longings ofunrequited love, the drama of history unfolding when it was still a mysteriouscloud of uncertainty.
There is also myappreciation, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, for the alpha male! There isan old expression about it being “a time when men were men, and women wereglad.” In my fiction, I like men to be MEN.Stubborn and certain and really, really strong. When writing contemporaryfiction, especially romantic comedy like my other books, you can’t have a manbe too chest-thumpy or he comes across like an un-evolved knuckle-dragger. Butback in the day, that was just how men behaved. They were warriors defendingtheir hearth and home. And since we’re talking fiction, we can create brawny,intelligent men with big muscles AND big hearts. And big… well, you get theidea. For me, there issomething inherently romantic about the past. The quests, the hardships, thefight our heroines must go through to follow their hearts and minds to make alove-match. Like most readers of historical romance, I love to be immersed inthe grandeur and the mystique. As a writer of it, I try to provide a portal toanother wonderful era.
Tracy Brogan is a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist who writes funny contemporary stories about ordinary people finding extraordinary love, and also stirring historical romance full of political intrigue, damsels causing distress, and the occasional man in a kilt. Her first two books, CRAZY LITTLE THING, and HIGHLAND SURRENDER both earned a 4-Star review from RT magazine and have hit the Amazon Best Selling Books list.
Tracy lives in Michigan with her bemused husband, her perpetually exasperated children, and two dogs, who would probably behave better if they could understand sarcasm.
Author Links:
WebsiteFacebookTwitterGoodreadsDashing Duchesses
Buy Links:AmazonBarnes & Noble
HIGHLAND SURRENDER
Defiant Highland beauty Fiona Sinclair is shocked by her brothers’ treachery. To seal a fragile truce, they have traded her hand in marriage to their sworn enemy, a man she has never met, a man she was raised to despise. With no choice but to wed, Fiona makes her own private vow: though she may surrender her freedom, she will never surrender her heart.Commanded by his king, Myles Campbell is no more willing than his reluctant bride. Still, she is a rare beauty, passionate enough to warm even the coldest marriage bed. Buy Myles quickly realizes Fiona Sinclair is no common wench. She has a warrior’s spirit and a fierce pride that only a fool would try to tame. And Myles Campbell is no fool. Their marriage was meant to unite warring clans. They never imagined it would ignite a once-in-a-lifetime love…
AUTHOR GUEST POST - WHY HISTORICAL?
People often askwhy I write in two different genres – contemporary and historical. One reasonmay be that I have dual personalities. My family is quick to point out I haveboth Princess and Ogre-like tendencies – but just because Mommy has moodswings, that doesn’t quite answer the question. Truthfully, I never expected towrite a contemporary, but while I toiled away on multiple historical novels, afunny, little, modern-day romance popped into my head. So I wrote it, andvoila! Dual genres.
But my true loveremains solidly with historical romance. HIGHLAND SURRENDER is a culmination ofrough outlines and rougher drafts, purple prose and loose threads that Icarried in my mind for several years before truly committing it to paper andpolishing it smooth. I won’t say it is the book of my heart simply because Ifind whatever book I’m working on becomes that, but I will say it is the book Iwas referring to all those times in my past when I said, “I’m going to write abook someday.”I love historicalnovels for their ability to take me back in time. Since I don’t typically enjoyscience fiction or futuristic storylines, visiting the past is the best way forme to experience a different world than the one I inhabit. While I’m certainthose golden days gone by were full of daily inconveniences, uncomfortableclothing, strict social constraints, and a distinct lack of decent bathroomfacilities, I choose to view them through a kindly haze of nostalgia. The rustlingsilk of ball gowns as debutantes twirl around the dance floor in the arms of cravat-wearinggentleman, furtive glances over an ivory fan betraying secret longings ofunrequited love, the drama of history unfolding when it was still a mysteriouscloud of uncertainty.
There is also myappreciation, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, for the alpha male! There isan old expression about it being “a time when men were men, and women wereglad.” In my fiction, I like men to be MEN.Stubborn and certain and really, really strong. When writing contemporaryfiction, especially romantic comedy like my other books, you can’t have a manbe too chest-thumpy or he comes across like an un-evolved knuckle-dragger. Butback in the day, that was just how men behaved. They were warriors defendingtheir hearth and home. And since we’re talking fiction, we can create brawny,intelligent men with big muscles AND big hearts. And big… well, you get theidea. For me, there issomething inherently romantic about the past. The quests, the hardships, thefight our heroines must go through to follow their hearts and minds to make alove-match. Like most readers of historical romance, I love to be immersed inthe grandeur and the mystique. As a writer of it, I try to provide a portal toanother wonderful era. Excerpt
Scottish Highlands, 1537
Fiona Sinclair could not reconcile the irony of nature’s twisted humor. Fortoday of all wretched days the sky should be burdened with clouds as dark anddismal as her mood. But the morning dawned soft and fair, mild as a Highlandcalf, and she knew that God himself mocked her. At any moment, Myles Campbelland his father, the Earl of Argyll, would pass through the gates of SinclairHall, unwelcome, yet unhindered by her clan. Soon after that, she must standupon the chapel steps and marry a man she had never met, and yet had hated forall of her life.Through her narrow bedchamber window, sounds from the bailey filtered up. Thesmithy’s hammer tapped a mellow cadence as if this day were just like anyother. Perhaps he shaped a horseshoe or a pointed pike. She smiled at thelatter and imaged the heaviness of that same pike in her hand. Oh, that she hadthe courage to plunge it deep into the earl’s heart, if indeed he had one.She rose from the threadbare cushion on the bench and moved without purposetoward the stone fireplace. A low fire burned, warding off the spring morning’schill. From habit, Fiona slipped her hand into the leather pouch around herwaist. She squeezed tight the silver brooch inside, its design and inscriptionetched as clearly in her memory as on the pin itself. A boar’s head, symbol ofClan Campbell, with words chosen by the king himself.To Cedric Campbell, a truefriend is worth a king’s ransom. James V. The brooch had been a gift to the Campbell chief, the man about to become her father-in-law.But he had left it behind nearly seven years earlier, pierced into the flesh ofFiona’s mother so that all the world might know he had dishonored her. Thepriest found Aislinn Sinclair’s lifeless body in a secluded glen outside thevillage, stripped bare and broken, marked by Cedric’s lust and spite. Thus afeud, long simmering at the edges, boiled over.But today the king thought to put an end to it with this farce of a marriagebetween a Sinclair lass and a Campbell son. It would not work.Fiona paced to the window, restless and melancholy. She leaned out to breathefresh spring air, hoping it might lighten her spirits. The too-sweet scent ofhyacinth clung to the breeze, along with the ever-present brine of Moray Firth.Along the west curtain wall, more hammering sounded as masons worked to bolsterthe steps leading to the main keep. As if precarious stairs alone might haltthe Campbell men from gaining entrance. But nothing would. Her fate as aCampbell bride had been declared the very day she drew in her first breath, andsealed when her father blew out his last.
Author Bio
Tracy Brogan is a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist who writes funny contemporary stories about ordinary people finding extraordinary love, and also stirring historical romance full of political intrigue, damsels causing distress, and the occasional man in a kilt. Her first two books, CRAZY LITTLE THING, and HIGHLAND SURRENDER both earned a 4-Star review from RT magazine and have hit the Amazon Best Selling Books list.
Tracy lives in Michigan with her bemused husband, her perpetually exasperated children, and two dogs, who would probably behave better if they could understand sarcasm.
Author Links:
WebsiteFacebookTwitterGoodreadsDashing Duchesses
Buy Links:AmazonBarnes & Noble
ROMANCING MISS BRONTE BY JULIET GAEL - BOOK REVIEW
To contact us Click HERE
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If you love Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë, this novel is unmissable. If you are interested in the lives of the Brontë family, so full of sorrow and talent, you'll love it.
I've just finished reading it and, by chance, I'm also working on the Brontës and their novels with my students at the moment. So Romancing Miss Brontë has come out a great source of anecdotes in order to bring Charlotte, Emily and Anne to life for my pupils, with the aim to make today's teenagers see them as unique human beings as well as great writers.
Practical advantages apart, reading this novel was a real treat and a great pleasure. I came to discover it after meeting the author Juliet Gael in Rome not long ago (see my post) and I'm really happy I did it.
Impossible not to be fascinated by the story of the three sisters who managed to get to fame thanks to their strength, talent and ... stubborness. Yes, stubborness. Because, if we have Jane Eyre, Villette and Shirley, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, we owe that especially to Charlotte's stubborness. She fought to make it and made it at last. This is the prevailing trait of her personality revealed in Juliet Gael's portrait: a certain tenacity, we might even recognize as stubborness.
The romance suggested in the title is a constant element in the story. Charlotte spent most of her life trying to forget Monsier Heger, the married professor she fell in love with, unrequited, when she was studying in Brussels. She tried to recognize his stern stare and his strong personality in any man she met, and when she couldn't find them anywhere around her, she depicted those traits on paper, attributing them to her own iconic hero, Mr Rochester.
She could never replace Monsier Heger with anyone like him, but she was flattered by the playful, thoughtful, friendly attentions she received by her young and handsome publisher, Mr George Smith, and finally realised loyal, devoted love had always waited for her in the most unexpected place, in the heart of her father's vicar, Reverend Arthur Bell Nichols. Juliet Gael make their love story a very touching romantic tale.
Sisterly love is, of course, one of the main themes in this novel, especially in the first part. Charlotte had a very special bond with Emily, whom she considered the most gifted of them all. She deeply admired her and tried to support and protect her, as well.
In Ms Gael's picture, she wasn't so patient with Branwell nor easily bore his weakness; she couldn't re-create with Anne the same bond she had with Emily. Anyway, their childhood is conveyed as an extraordinary adventure and a relatively happy period in this novel and it really must have been when they escaped and found refuge in the world of fantasy they had created. Nothing could harm them there.
The conflict with the patriarcal figure of Patrick Brontë is the focus, anyway. Due to her experience as a scriptwriter, Juliet Gael has learnt that a very successful strategy to design a biopic is focusing on one conflict, so she decided to build Charlotte Brontë 's novel around the conflictual relationship between the patriarcal figure of the father, Patrick Brontë, distant and authoritative, and his talented daughter, who feared and revered him.
If you expect Charlotte as obscure, plain and little, you'll be disappointed. She is a real heroine: a tiny figure indeed in stature, but a giant woman in will, talent and passion.
The sensation you get while reading is just that of an extraordinary family, one who produced three world class writers.
I've always thought that the sadness of the three sisters' common destiny and the solitude of their almost secluded lives make their achievements even more astonishing: their vivid imagination and their talent gifted readers with tales which were completely different from everything that had ever been written before.
There is no solution to the mystery of how so much talent blossomed in that little village in Yorkshire, Howarth, thanks to an extraordinary set of women and their courage. A must for any Brontë devotee.
(from Amazon.com) In this astonishing novel, a brilliant mélange of fact and fiction, Juliet Gael skillfully and stylishly captures the passions, hopes, dreams, and sorrows of literature’s most famous sisters—and imagines how love dramatically and most unexpectedly found Charlotte Brontë.
During the two years that she studied in Brussels, Charlotte had a taste of life’s splendors—travel, literature, and art. Now, back home in the Yorkshire moors, duty-bound to a blind father and an alcoholic brother, an ambitious Charlotte refuses to sink into hopelessness. With her sisters, Emily and Anne, Charlotte conceives a plan to earn money and pursue a dream: The Brontës will publish. In childhood the Brontë children created fantastical imaginary worlds; now the sisters craft novels quite unlike anything written before. Transforming her loneliness and personal sorrow into a triumph of literary art, Charlotte pens her 1847 masterpiece, Jane Eyre.
Charlotte’s novel becomes an overwhelming literary success, catapulting the shy and awkward young woman into the spotlight of London’s fashionable literary scene—and into the arms of her new publisher, George Smith, an irresistibly handsome young man whose interest in his fiercely intelligent and spirited new author seems to go beyond professional duty. But just as life begins to hold new promise, unspeakable tragedy descends on the Brontë household, throwing London and George into the background and leaving Charlotte to fear that the only romance she will ever find is at the tip of her pen.
But another man waits in the Brontës’ Haworth parsonage—the quiet but determined curate Arthur Nicholls. After secretly pining for Charlotte since he first came to work for her father, Arthur suddenly reveals his heart to her.
Romancing Miss Brontë is a fascinating portrayal of an extraordinary woman whose life and work articulated our deepest human longing: to love and be loved in return.
Buy the book at a very special price!
Italian version by Narrativa TEA is available HERE, HERE or HERE
If you love Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë, this novel is unmissable. If you are interested in the lives of the Brontë family, so full of sorrow and talent, you'll love it.I've just finished reading it and, by chance, I'm also working on the Brontës and their novels with my students at the moment. So Romancing Miss Brontë has come out a great source of anecdotes in order to bring Charlotte, Emily and Anne to life for my pupils, with the aim to make today's teenagers see them as unique human beings as well as great writers.
Practical advantages apart, reading this novel was a real treat and a great pleasure. I came to discover it after meeting the author Juliet Gael in Rome not long ago (see my post) and I'm really happy I did it.
Impossible not to be fascinated by the story of the three sisters who managed to get to fame thanks to their strength, talent and ... stubborness. Yes, stubborness. Because, if we have Jane Eyre, Villette and Shirley, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, we owe that especially to Charlotte's stubborness. She fought to make it and made it at last. This is the prevailing trait of her personality revealed in Juliet Gael's portrait: a certain tenacity, we might even recognize as stubborness.
The romance suggested in the title is a constant element in the story. Charlotte spent most of her life trying to forget Monsier Heger, the married professor she fell in love with, unrequited, when she was studying in Brussels. She tried to recognize his stern stare and his strong personality in any man she met, and when she couldn't find them anywhere around her, she depicted those traits on paper, attributing them to her own iconic hero, Mr Rochester.
She could never replace Monsier Heger with anyone like him, but she was flattered by the playful, thoughtful, friendly attentions she received by her young and handsome publisher, Mr George Smith, and finally realised loyal, devoted love had always waited for her in the most unexpected place, in the heart of her father's vicar, Reverend Arthur Bell Nichols. Juliet Gael make their love story a very touching romantic tale.
Sisterly love is, of course, one of the main themes in this novel, especially in the first part. Charlotte had a very special bond with Emily, whom she considered the most gifted of them all. She deeply admired her and tried to support and protect her, as well.
In Ms Gael's picture, she wasn't so patient with Branwell nor easily bore his weakness; she couldn't re-create with Anne the same bond she had with Emily. Anyway, their childhood is conveyed as an extraordinary adventure and a relatively happy period in this novel and it really must have been when they escaped and found refuge in the world of fantasy they had created. Nothing could harm them there.
The conflict with the patriarcal figure of Patrick Brontë is the focus, anyway. Due to her experience as a scriptwriter, Juliet Gael has learnt that a very successful strategy to design a biopic is focusing on one conflict, so she decided to build Charlotte Brontë 's novel around the conflictual relationship between the patriarcal figure of the father, Patrick Brontë, distant and authoritative, and his talented daughter, who feared and revered him.
If you expect Charlotte as obscure, plain and little, you'll be disappointed. She is a real heroine: a tiny figure indeed in stature, but a giant woman in will, talent and passion.
The sensation you get while reading is just that of an extraordinary family, one who produced three world class writers.
I've always thought that the sadness of the three sisters' common destiny and the solitude of their almost secluded lives make their achievements even more astonishing: their vivid imagination and their talent gifted readers with tales which were completely different from everything that had ever been written before.
There is no solution to the mystery of how so much talent blossomed in that little village in Yorkshire, Howarth, thanks to an extraordinary set of women and their courage. A must for any Brontë devotee.
The Book
(from Amazon.com) In this astonishing novel, a brilliant mélange of fact and fiction, Juliet Gael skillfully and stylishly captures the passions, hopes, dreams, and sorrows of literature’s most famous sisters—and imagines how love dramatically and most unexpectedly found Charlotte Brontë.During the two years that she studied in Brussels, Charlotte had a taste of life’s splendors—travel, literature, and art. Now, back home in the Yorkshire moors, duty-bound to a blind father and an alcoholic brother, an ambitious Charlotte refuses to sink into hopelessness. With her sisters, Emily and Anne, Charlotte conceives a plan to earn money and pursue a dream: The Brontës will publish. In childhood the Brontë children created fantastical imaginary worlds; now the sisters craft novels quite unlike anything written before. Transforming her loneliness and personal sorrow into a triumph of literary art, Charlotte pens her 1847 masterpiece, Jane Eyre.
Charlotte’s novel becomes an overwhelming literary success, catapulting the shy and awkward young woman into the spotlight of London’s fashionable literary scene—and into the arms of her new publisher, George Smith, an irresistibly handsome young man whose interest in his fiercely intelligent and spirited new author seems to go beyond professional duty. But just as life begins to hold new promise, unspeakable tragedy descends on the Brontë household, throwing London and George into the background and leaving Charlotte to fear that the only romance she will ever find is at the tip of her pen.
But another man waits in the Brontës’ Haworth parsonage—the quiet but determined curate Arthur Nicholls. After secretly pining for Charlotte since he first came to work for her father, Arthur suddenly reveals his heart to her.
Romancing Miss Brontë is a fascinating portrayal of an extraordinary woman whose life and work articulated our deepest human longing: to love and be loved in return.
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Italian version by Narrativa TEA is available HERE, HERE or HERE
BOOK BLAST - TALISMAN OF EL BY ALECIA STONE + GIVEAWAY OF $50 GIFT CARD
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Talisman of El by Alecia Stone
WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?
One Planet.
Two Worlds.
Population: Human ... 7 billion.Others ... unknown.
When 14-year-old Charlie Blake wakes up sweating and gasping for air in the middle of the night, he knows it is happening again. This time he witnesses a brutal murder. He's afraid to tell anyone. No one would believe him ... because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died.
Charlie doesn't know why this is happening. He would give anything to have an ordinary life. The problem: he doesn't belong in the world he knows as home.
He belongs with the others.
Book Trailer
PurchaseAmazon * Barnes & Noble
Author Alecia Stone
Alecia Stone is the author of Talisman Of El (Centrinian, 2012), the first book in the Talisman Of El trilogy. She graduated with a BA in Film & TV and has worked in television for a short period of time before branching out into storytelling. Alecia loves anything and everything paranormal. Her fascination with all things supernatural sparked her obsession with books, particularly young adult fantasy fiction, which she has never grown out of. She was inspired to become an author after reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at the age of fourteen.
In 2008, Alecia started working on Talisman Of El, a contemporary young adult fantasy fiction inspired by people who disappeared mysteriously, including, but not limited to, Amelia Earhart and Percy Harrison Fawcett, who went on an expedition in search of an ancient lost city. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys going to the movies, listening to music, and travelling.
Talisman Of El is her first novel. At present, Alecia lives in England, United Kingdom with her family.
Website * Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter * Website
BookBlast $50 Giveaway$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal CashEnds 2/17/13
Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer by the author.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Talisman of El by Alecia StoneWHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?
One Planet.
Two Worlds.
Population: Human ... 7 billion.Others ... unknown.
When 14-year-old Charlie Blake wakes up sweating and gasping for air in the middle of the night, he knows it is happening again. This time he witnesses a brutal murder. He's afraid to tell anyone. No one would believe him ... because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died.
Charlie doesn't know why this is happening. He would give anything to have an ordinary life. The problem: he doesn't belong in the world he knows as home.
He belongs with the others.
Book Trailer
PurchaseAmazon * Barnes & Noble
Author Alecia StoneAlecia Stone is the author of Talisman Of El (Centrinian, 2012), the first book in the Talisman Of El trilogy. She graduated with a BA in Film & TV and has worked in television for a short period of time before branching out into storytelling. Alecia loves anything and everything paranormal. Her fascination with all things supernatural sparked her obsession with books, particularly young adult fantasy fiction, which she has never grown out of. She was inspired to become an author after reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at the age of fourteen.
In 2008, Alecia started working on Talisman Of El, a contemporary young adult fantasy fiction inspired by people who disappeared mysteriously, including, but not limited to, Amelia Earhart and Percy Harrison Fawcett, who went on an expedition in search of an ancient lost city. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys going to the movies, listening to music, and travelling.
Talisman Of El is her first novel. At present, Alecia lives in England, United Kingdom with her family.
Website * Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter * Website
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BookBlast $50 Giveaway$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal CashEnds 2/17/13
Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer by the author.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe
E' tempo di mostrare i miei lavori
To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE Da quanto eh?
Dalla release della traduzione di Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix ho smesso di svelare i miei più grandi lavori, ma credo che è tempo di mostrare qualcosa per ricevere vostre opinioni e commenti.
Subito dopo KH2 Final Mix ho cominciato a lavorare a KH1 Final Mix. Ho individuato come il gioco gestisce i testi e i font ed ho sviluppato le basi per visualizzare (quindi né estrarre né modificare) i testi del gioco. Questi sono inseriti nelle mappe e non in file singoli come KH2. Questo rende molto più complessa l'operazione di traduzione, dato che ogni mappa ha multiple copie di testi e necessito di individuare l'intero formato della mappa per poter spostare, allargare o diminuire le stringhe. Inoltre mi sono trovato in difficoltà nel ricompattare l'archivio KINGDOM.IMG, quindi ho deciso di lasciar perdere. Devo essere sincero, ci ho sbattuto per qualche settimana, ma non volevo cimentarmi nuovamente in ideogrammi e test anche perché l'inizio dell'Università ha tolto molto del mio tempo (questo è un annuncio ufficiale per il quale decido di non prendere i lavori per KH1FM). Ho continuato a fare ricerche su KH2FM per trovare il modo di non usare font riadattati e per coincidenza ho trovato un flag che permette di fare lo swap dei tasti O ed X, di abilitare il supporto ai salvataggi della versione americana (peccato che il caricamento fallisce), prova che il motore di gioco è basato sulla versione US. Ho continuato a lavorare a spezzoni su OpenKH, un engine che doveva permettere il caricamento di personaggi, mappe ed animazioni che però ho abbandonato per mancanza di conoscenze. Ho comunque una copia del progetto salvata in un server SVN privato, così se qualcuno un giorno ci vorrà mettere mani potrà farlo, a patto che mi contatti di persona (via mail possibilmente). Subito dopo ripescai un vecchio editor che sviluppai per Sonic 2. Vidi il codice, ciò che avevo combinato... Dopo 5 minuti mi dissi "spazzatura", così cancellai tutto e decisi di riscriverlo da zero. In pochi mesi sono riuscito a sviluppare un editor abbastanza potente che supportasse non solo la mappatura e l'editing dei livelli, ma anche la visualizzazione dei rings, l'editor delle animazioni per palette e qualche piccolo inizio sull'effetto distorsione dello sfondo. Successivamente ho studiato un po di DirectX ed ho cominciato a creare la base per un engine di Sonic the Hedgehog, ma mi sono scontrato su molti problemi e limitazioni dovute all'impossibilità di gestire le palette con le nuove schede video. Ho provato a fare il rendering dei livelli ma con un risultato abbastanza scadente:
Ho continuato a lavorarci sopra parallelamente ad un progetto dove sono stato invitato chiamato Sonic 1 HD. Nonostante le grosse limitazioni ho continuato a lavorarci e ad implementare collisioni ed animazioni con risultati più che accettabili. Nel frattempo però ho scoperto l'esistenza di un nuovo titolo della Sega: Sonic CD. Affascinato da come il gioco si mostra su pc e smartphone, ho deciso di dare un'occhiata a come è stato realizzato. Sono riuscito ad estrarre tutti i dati e a fare qualche modifica, a scoprire bug e limitazioni che mi sono servite a capire come avrei dovuto realizzare meglio il mio motore di gioco. Mi sono alleato con un amico per portare Metal Sonic come personaggio giocabile ed ogni tanto, mentre lui costruisce la spritesheet, io implemento le animazioni e collisioni:
Non ancora contento del lavoro, ho cominciato a smanettare nel codice e a riuscire ad aumentare la risoluzione orizzontale, ottenendo risultati stupefacenti ma anche bug abbastanza imbarazzanti (eventi e boss mal scriptati):
Ho cominciato a giocare a Lunar Silver Star Harmony per PSP e visto che il gioco è in inglese ho provato a tradurre qualche dialogo e qualche menu, con la conseguenza dello sviluppo di un estrattore e riassemblatore di file del gioco che rilascerò a breve.Recentemente ho anche cominciato ad esplorare la parte tecnica di uno dei giochi che più mi ha appassionato: Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. Sono riuscito a sviluppare un programmino che mi visualizza le prime mappe di Ecclesia, anche se con i colori non precisi e fedeli. Sono anche in grado di caricare ogni tipo di sprite o blocchi grafici dei livelli, ma con l'assenza delle palette:
Ho anche avuto il piacere di comprare la PS Vita e di acquistare qualche titolo che mi è stato dato in omaggio grazie al pre-order della console. La console è fantastica ed è ricca di potenza e fantasia nei controlli di input, ma come giochi la vedo ancora un po magra. Rimasto anche molto deluso dai pochi titoli PSP disponibili, dalla promessa non mantenuta del tutto per la connessione remota e l'iterazione tra PSV e PS3 e dall'assenza dei classici PSOne. Inoltre era stato detto ad una vecchia conferenza che la PSV sarebbe stata abbastanza potente da farci girare i classici PS2 e addirittura i titoli PS3 riadattati, ma fin'ora né si è visto né è stato annunciato niente, staremo a vedere. Il famoso PS Suite, SDK che permetterebbe la programmazione del dispositivo in linguaggio C# era stato annunciato ma dopo quel giorno nessuno ne ha parlato più, cosa che mi ha deluso molto dato che non vedevo l'ora di mettere le mani su un po di codice.All'Università , inoltre, è cominciato anche il secondo semestre e il nostro nuovo Professore ci ha dato come traccia d'esame la creazione di un videogame da consegnare entro Luglio. Niente di troppo impegnativo, ma soltanto l'idea mi sprona ancora di più a scrivere codice e a pensare a nuove soluzioni. Il tempo è poco e sembra non bastare mai, anche perché ho molte idee e progetti che vorrei realizzare o continuare. Con l'inizio dell'Università il tempo si è dimezzato più del doppio, ma grazie a ciò ho conosciuto un nuovo e fantastico mondo che mi accompagnerà per i prossimi 3 anni!Vedrò d'ora in poi di scrivere nel mio blog con più frequenza, magari questo mi spronerà ancora di più nella creazione di nuova roba :P.
Dalla release della traduzione di Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix ho smesso di svelare i miei più grandi lavori, ma credo che è tempo di mostrare qualcosa per ricevere vostre opinioni e commenti.
Subito dopo KH2 Final Mix ho cominciato a lavorare a KH1 Final Mix. Ho individuato come il gioco gestisce i testi e i font ed ho sviluppato le basi per visualizzare (quindi né estrarre né modificare) i testi del gioco. Questi sono inseriti nelle mappe e non in file singoli come KH2. Questo rende molto più complessa l'operazione di traduzione, dato che ogni mappa ha multiple copie di testi e necessito di individuare l'intero formato della mappa per poter spostare, allargare o diminuire le stringhe. Inoltre mi sono trovato in difficoltà nel ricompattare l'archivio KINGDOM.IMG, quindi ho deciso di lasciar perdere. Devo essere sincero, ci ho sbattuto per qualche settimana, ma non volevo cimentarmi nuovamente in ideogrammi e test anche perché l'inizio dell'Università ha tolto molto del mio tempo (questo è un annuncio ufficiale per il quale decido di non prendere i lavori per KH1FM). Ho continuato a fare ricerche su KH2FM per trovare il modo di non usare font riadattati e per coincidenza ho trovato un flag che permette di fare lo swap dei tasti O ed X, di abilitare il supporto ai salvataggi della versione americana (peccato che il caricamento fallisce), prova che il motore di gioco è basato sulla versione US. Ho continuato a lavorare a spezzoni su OpenKH, un engine che doveva permettere il caricamento di personaggi, mappe ed animazioni che però ho abbandonato per mancanza di conoscenze. Ho comunque una copia del progetto salvata in un server SVN privato, così se qualcuno un giorno ci vorrà mettere mani potrà farlo, a patto che mi contatti di persona (via mail possibilmente). Subito dopo ripescai un vecchio editor che sviluppai per Sonic 2. Vidi il codice, ciò che avevo combinato... Dopo 5 minuti mi dissi "spazzatura", così cancellai tutto e decisi di riscriverlo da zero. In pochi mesi sono riuscito a sviluppare un editor abbastanza potente che supportasse non solo la mappatura e l'editing dei livelli, ma anche la visualizzazione dei rings, l'editor delle animazioni per palette e qualche piccolo inizio sull'effetto distorsione dello sfondo. Successivamente ho studiato un po di DirectX ed ho cominciato a creare la base per un engine di Sonic the Hedgehog, ma mi sono scontrato su molti problemi e limitazioni dovute all'impossibilità di gestire le palette con le nuove schede video. Ho provato a fare il rendering dei livelli ma con un risultato abbastanza scadente:
Ho continuato a lavorarci sopra parallelamente ad un progetto dove sono stato invitato chiamato Sonic 1 HD. Nonostante le grosse limitazioni ho continuato a lavorarci e ad implementare collisioni ed animazioni con risultati più che accettabili. Nel frattempo però ho scoperto l'esistenza di un nuovo titolo della Sega: Sonic CD. Affascinato da come il gioco si mostra su pc e smartphone, ho deciso di dare un'occhiata a come è stato realizzato. Sono riuscito ad estrarre tutti i dati e a fare qualche modifica, a scoprire bug e limitazioni che mi sono servite a capire come avrei dovuto realizzare meglio il mio motore di gioco. Mi sono alleato con un amico per portare Metal Sonic come personaggio giocabile ed ogni tanto, mentre lui costruisce la spritesheet, io implemento le animazioni e collisioni:
Non ancora contento del lavoro, ho cominciato a smanettare nel codice e a riuscire ad aumentare la risoluzione orizzontale, ottenendo risultati stupefacenti ma anche bug abbastanza imbarazzanti (eventi e boss mal scriptati):Ho cominciato a giocare a Lunar Silver Star Harmony per PSP e visto che il gioco è in inglese ho provato a tradurre qualche dialogo e qualche menu, con la conseguenza dello sviluppo di un estrattore e riassemblatore di file del gioco che rilascerò a breve.Recentemente ho anche cominciato ad esplorare la parte tecnica di uno dei giochi che più mi ha appassionato: Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. Sono riuscito a sviluppare un programmino che mi visualizza le prime mappe di Ecclesia, anche se con i colori non precisi e fedeli. Sono anche in grado di caricare ogni tipo di sprite o blocchi grafici dei livelli, ma con l'assenza delle palette:Ho anche avuto il piacere di comprare la PS Vita e di acquistare qualche titolo che mi è stato dato in omaggio grazie al pre-order della console. La console è fantastica ed è ricca di potenza e fantasia nei controlli di input, ma come giochi la vedo ancora un po magra. Rimasto anche molto deluso dai pochi titoli PSP disponibili, dalla promessa non mantenuta del tutto per la connessione remota e l'iterazione tra PSV e PS3 e dall'assenza dei classici PSOne. Inoltre era stato detto ad una vecchia conferenza che la PSV sarebbe stata abbastanza potente da farci girare i classici PS2 e addirittura i titoli PS3 riadattati, ma fin'ora né si è visto né è stato annunciato niente, staremo a vedere. Il famoso PS Suite, SDK che permetterebbe la programmazione del dispositivo in linguaggio C# era stato annunciato ma dopo quel giorno nessuno ne ha parlato più, cosa che mi ha deluso molto dato che non vedevo l'ora di mettere le mani su un po di codice.All'Università , inoltre, è cominciato anche il secondo semestre e il nostro nuovo Professore ci ha dato come traccia d'esame la creazione di un videogame da consegnare entro Luglio. Niente di troppo impegnativo, ma soltanto l'idea mi sprona ancora di più a scrivere codice e a pensare a nuove soluzioni. Il tempo è poco e sembra non bastare mai, anche perché ho molte idee e progetti che vorrei realizzare o continuare. Con l'inizio dell'Università il tempo si è dimezzato più del doppio, ma grazie a ciò ho conosciuto un nuovo e fantastico mondo che mi accompagnerà per i prossimi 3 anni!Vedrò d'ora in poi di scrivere nel mio blog con più frequenza, magari questo mi spronerà ancora di più nella creazione di nuova roba :P.
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