Pirate King
A modern major criminal?
If you’re not familiar with the Major-General’s tongue-twister of a song, you can watch a snippet of the song (with a most Jack Sparrowish Pirate King) from Australia: Or the entire song in the 1983 performance—which has Kevin Kline, Linda Rondstadt, and Angela Lansbury, with George Rose as the Major-General—here: After you’ve watched how it’s…
Read MoreGarden Party TwInvitation
You say your Royal Wedding invite got lost in the mail? The White House staff seems to be ignoring you this summer? Well, fret no longer, your invitation to the social event of the season–nay, the year, is here. If you’re feeling social, drop in and chat with Mary Russell and friends (Will that husband…
Read MorePiratical cruciverbalists, ahoy!
The Pirate Crossword awaits, and if you send it to us in the next week, your name goes into the drawing as well, isn’t that fun? The puzzle and instructions are here.
Read MoreGilbert & Sullivan
As I mentioned last week, after two relatively solemn outings for Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, I wanted this novel to be funny. Or at least, light-hearted, since an overtly comic novel might be beyond my particular skill set. Personally, I find the Russell stories funny, whenever I’ve had reason to re-read them, although they…
Read MoreMonday’s Mutterings
Monday’s Mutterings are hosted today by my friends at the Lipstick Chronicles. Join the party, here–virtual Cosmos (or, pints of bitters) are on me!
Read MoreKids + pirates = ARrrghsome!
How can you not love a place that not only helps kids write, but does so by selling pirate gear, space travel supplies, and spy equipment? Here in the world of Laurie R. King, every new book is a chance to pay it back, to dedicate fundraisers for projects related to that year’s novel. In 2011, it’s 826…
Read MoreClapboards & calamities
The last two Russell & Holmes novels—A Language of Bees and The God of the Hive—were fairly serious crime novels, their light-hearted moments few and far between. When I agreed to do a third series novel in a row, I agreed, but with the proviso that this one would be fun. A romp. A farce,…
Read MoreGo, Lisbon! (Go, Pirates!)
I’m in Lisbon today, or at any rate, I’m over at Go Lisbon! talking about my time in Lisboa. Do drop by for a visit to one of my favorite cities.
Read MoreMoors, royals, and—more pirates!
I, and Russell in her turn, found myself on the road to Cintra, where the Portuguese royal family lived, and the nobility’s castles sprang up like mushrooms. (“…then loaded upon a fleet of decorative if rickety wooden carts and aimed at the hill under whose side Cintra sheltered.”) Cintra itself is a highly decorative town,…
Read MoreIn which we discover a castle
I arrived in Lisbon towards the end of March, when it was still half winter, (“I was thinking, perhaps, the botanical gardens?”) and set out to explore the city. Lisbon is built on hills—correction: Lisbon IS hills. Residents plan their routes not on direct point-to-point, but following the contours around, or taking one of the…
Read More