The Murder of Sir Thomas Overbury by Katherine Pym

What better way than something different for Christmas:

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Sir Thomas Overbury

Love all the intrigue in the courts of kings. One particular one rivals the death of Rasputin, also a courtier murder. This is of Sir Thomas Overbury, a poet and essayist. He was verbal in what he believed whether or not it offended anyone.

September 1613, Tower of London

Part of King James VI & I’s court, Sir Thomas was great friends with Robert Carr, Viscount Rochester, later the Earl of Somerset. They met in Scotland as young men and became fast friends.

Rumour has buzzed about the head of King James re: his preference to pretty men even as he married and fathered children. Word has it he enjoyed planting wet kisses on his favourites’ lips, all male. 

King Jas VI & I

His favour fell onto Robert Carr who had literally fallen off his horse and broke a leg in front of the king. Even as Robert became the king’s favourite, Thomas did not mind. As a courtier in the Court of King James, he knew his limitations.

Enter Lady Frances Howard, Countess of Essex, already married. She set her sights on Robert Carr, something Sir Thomas did not appreciate. He was a misogynist, filled with ambition and a sharp edged tongue. He did not like Frances and let everyone know about it. His slander grew wearisome. Lady Frances continued her conquest of Sir John despite Thomas’ spreading vitriol, but her hate simmered. She schemed.

Sir Thomas had been thrown in the Tower of London by King James for declining the ambassadorship to a court in Russia. It was not long before he became very ill by what was called an infectious disease, and died Sept 15, 1613.

Sir Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset

Now, for the rest of the story.

Lady Frances planned a diabolical murder. She almost got away with it when the ruling came down Overbury had died of an illness, but 2 years later, suspicion fell on hers and Somerset’s heads.

Here’s where Overbury paralleled Rasputin. He would not die for the longest while.

Overbury was poisoned with aquafortis (nitric acid), white arsenic, mercury, powder of diamond, lapis cortilus (I cannot find a modern translation of this), great spiders, and cantharides (Spanish fly). The arsenic was mixed in his salt. Once he desired pig for dinner, and Lady Frances’ accomplice added lapis cortilus to it. Another time, he wanted 2 partridges for dinner and cantharides were used instead of pepper. When that failed he was given “poisoned enema containing copper vitriol (sulfuric acid).

Sir Thomas Overbury finally died.

Lady Essex, later Countess of Somerset

Justice served: Everyone involved in the murder was executed except Lady Frances and Sir Robert. Their punishments were commuted to the confiscation of their property and imprisonment for some years in the Tower.

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Many thanks to:

Timbs, John, FSA. The Romance of London: Strange Stories, Scenes and Remarkable Persons of the Great Town, Vol. I., Frederick Warne & Co., London.

And:

https://hauntedpalaceblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/lady-frances-howard-magic-murder-and-mysogeny-at-the-court-of-james-i/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Overbury

http://www.earlystuartlibels.net/htdocs/overbury_murder_section/H0.html

“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.” by Diane Bator

Visit Diane Bator's BWL author page for information and purchase links to her Gilda Wright and Wild Blue Mysteries series

I’m not afraid to say it. “A Christmas Story” is not one of my favorite holiday movies. Not even in the top ten. Yet, not only do I write, my day job is at a live-stage theatre and this Christmas our big show is “A Christmas Story.” Not only do I have to deal with it, I have to sell it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, our version is set in 1953 (the original was set in the 1930s) and is a flashback to nine-year-old Ralphie’s wish to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The mantra of the play is “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.” Nothing will stop him from making his parents, his teacher, and Santa aware of his obsession.

 Funny, I was just thinking how Ralphie would make a great writer! We’re all obsessed with our work.

Part of my job is to bring a taste of our current show down to my domain – the box office. This year, my little Christmas tree is covered in “A Christmas Story” themed decorations. Ten people have commented how great and creative it is, but there’s always that one…

One person found two of the items on my little tree offensive. A target with Ralphie and the words, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid” and a smaller one that reads, “I want an official Red Ryder BB Gun.”  At the time, I took them both off the tree because she’s a friend and was very adamant about them not being a part of my Christmas tree.

Then I reconsidered. I didn’t want to be censored and it made me think about how we are censored as writers. Not by society, per se, but by our own beta readers, friends, and family when they give us feedback about things they find offensive in our work.

If one person makes a comment about a certain part of my book, I’ll consider their opinion, but if it gets past my editor several times, I no longer worry about it. If several people make the same comment, then I know it’s a bigger issue. Sometimes I’ll panic and start to wonder if I’m writing in the wrong genre or need different beta readers! In the end, I’ll be able to smooth things over so they are acceptable, yet still get my idea across.

One thing I have learned through seven novels and several editors:  You can never make everyone happy. What I may find funny, someone else may take literally. We all have different perspectives. All you need to do is peruse Facebook to figure that out.

For the record, I’ve hung those little ornaments back on my tree and I’m looking forward to seeing the performance. Someone triple dog dared me…

Under the Christmas Tree by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page

December is my favorite month of the year. I love the decorations, the lights, and mostly the atmosphere. It seems people are friendlier, more helpful. Despite the larger crowds, I enjoy shopping for that perfect gift that will light up someone's eyes.

When my kids were little, I followed my own rule of thumb when it came to Christmas gifts: a pajama, a puzzle, a toy, a stuffy, and a book. They were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve: the pajama, which they wore that night. Then on Christmas Day, they either started the book or the puzzle. They are grown up now, but that same rule of thumb now applies to my granddaughter. It wasn't something I'd read somewhere or that was passed down from generations, but then a few weeks back I saw that  post on Facebook.

My curiosity was piqued, so I browsed the Internet to see if I could find out more about this delightful Christmas tradition.

"Jólabókaflóð" or "Yule Book Flood" originated during World War II when foreign imports were restricted, but paper was cheap. Iceland’s population was not large enough to support a year-round publishing industry, so book publishers flooded the market with new titles in the final weeks of the year.

Icelanders open their presents on Christmas Eve, so most of them end the evening by settling down with one of their gifted books. According to Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardótti, books remain the number one Christmas present in Iceland and it’s considered a total flop Christmas if you do not get a book.

Fun & interesting facts:

- Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country

- One in ten Icelanders will publish a book in their lifetime

- In Iceland, the holiday season officially kicks off with the delivery of the Bokatidindi—a catalogue of every new book published in Iceland

 - In 2011, Reykjavík (Iceland's capital) was designated a UNESCO City of Literature

While giving books is not unique to Iceland, the tradition of exchanging books on Christmas Eve and then spending the evening reading is becoming a cultural phenomenon... a relaxing and charming tradition, even more so when it's cold and snowing outside.

So this Christmas Eve, I'm contemplating getting a new book, a box of chocolate, a cup of hot cocoa, and spending the night reading by the fireplace.

Happy Holidays from Canada!

JS

http://www.readitforward.com/essay/article/jolabokaflod-meet-favorite-new-holiday-tradition/ 

https://www.readitforward.com/essay/article/what-jolabokaflod-means-to-me/

 J. S. Marlo's Website

Last Notice about the BWL Holiday Contest

We'll be doing the drawing for our contest on the 20th of December, so this is the last notice I'll be posting reminding everyone to enter the contest.

Remember, all may enter. The drawing is being done by an unrelated third party club and they'll select the three prize winners.

Authors, Readers, Visitors, all are welcome to enter this contest. The rules are simple, just tell us how you came to find our website or blog, and enter your name and email address.

Holiday special Contest win your choice of a Kindle or Kobo eBook Reader

2nd prize a print copy of Brides of Banff Springs, Canadian Historical Brides Book #1

3rd prize choice of 3 free ebooks from any BWL author

Drawing on December 20, winners notified by email

Enter here

http://bookswelove.net  

While you're there check out our Holiday Specials - just click the book covers to purchase

Holiday Specials

Click covers to purchase from your favorite Online Bookstore

 

Einstein Believed in Libraries by Karla Stover



"The Only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library."

       Albert Einstein





BWLAUTHORS.BLOGSPOT.COM

With the economy going gangbusters at last, my home town of Tacoma, Washington, the city can finally reopen the libraries on Mondays and add two library kiosks. Here’s how “Candlepoint.com” describes a library kiosk:  “Remote kiosks present libraries with a unique opportunity to meet patrons where they are and offer automated services to community members in the places they visit the most. Services can include checking out pre-stocked books, delivery of individually requested books, and book returns.” In Tacoma, the kiosks are going into neighborhoods where libraries were little-used and closed some six or eight years ago.

But on to more interesting libraries. When FDR was in office and created the Work Progress Administration (WPA) to put men to work, his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, had ideas of her own to help women utilize their skills: health services, school lunch programs, sewing projects, and libraries. And one of her innovations was the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky. For $28 a month, women traveled 50 to 80 miles a week on rocky terrain in all kinds of weather with saddlebags filled with books and magazines, making deliveries both to homes and to schoolhouses. The WPA paid for the salaries of the supervisors and book carriers; all books were donated. Members of the community had to not only donate books but also provide facilities to store the books and other supplies needed by the librarians on horseback. When donated books and magazines were beyond use, the librarians rescued what they could and made scrapbook collections of recipes, quilting patterns and other things of interest to women until eventually there were more than 200 different scrapbooks generated by patrons and librarians.


In countries where books rather than e-readers are valued, mobile libraries come in a variety of types. One is The Mongolian Children’s Mobile Library which carries books to nomadic herding communities and remote areas of the Gobi Desert. Another is the Elephant Mobile Library in Laos. It serves a two-fold effort: to increase public awareness about the plight of the elephants and to support literacy in rural communities. The project is a joint effort between Room-To-Read Laos, Action With Lao Children, and ElefantAsia in partnership with the local government. The elephant library has been an instant hit. "Stocked with 640 Lao-language children’s books (many featuring elephants) and supplementary educational materials, the library’s maiden voyage included four primary schools that serve more than 1,000 students in the northern province of Xaybouly."

Possibly so as not to be outdone, Kenya has a Camel Mobile Library Service which lends more than 7,000 books to nomads in the impoverished North East Province. "Many of the books are supplied by Book Aid International, the charity which gives more than half a million books a year to some of the world's poorest countries - and is supported this year by the Observer Christmas Appeal."

Meanwhile, Minneapolis has a floating library. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, artist Sarah Peters created a rowboat with a friend and can sometimes be found sometimes on Cedar Lake, distributing works – mostly books made by artists---not well-known titles.

The ship's book store

SIDEBAR: Rotterdam, the Netherlands had the first and only floating dairy farm, but that's another story.The Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book store-cum-library, is a ship owned by the German shipping company GBA Ships e.V. which operates its fleet for specific charity purposes. It's registered to the Faroe Islands but travels around the world with a crew of 400 from 60 nationalities, and over 5,000 books. It is believed to be the world's largest floating "book fair."

Buenos Aires has a privately-funded bookmobile, the Czech Republic has a tram library, Ethiopia has a Donkey Mobile Library, and the list goes on.

I hope the children who visit Tacoma's new library kiosks get to interact with an actual person. It's a great part of the experience.