The Master of Verona

Working Holiday

This July Fourth has been busy, what with Dash really experiencing fireworks for the first time ("POW-BOOMS" he calls them) and lots of beach time. It's one of the great benefits of living where we do that the beach is half a block away. The night of the Fourth we kept him up past his bedtime to take him down to the beach (my mother watched Evie) to watch the Pow-Booms and listen to the live music. When they started going off overhead he was a little startled, but he was quite a trooper - what a brave kid. He forced himself to laugh through his fear.

Aside: this reminds me of his little adventure last month, when he fell off a ramp at the playground. He cried and my mother took him home. But later that afternoon he literally took me by the hand and walked the four blocks to the park to show me where he fell. Then he started playing again. I love this kid.

Anyway, this has definitely been a working weekend for Jan and me. I STILL can't talk about the project, but at the moment things are looking good. At the request of ** ******/*******, we're taking the third whack at the outline and diving even further into the research. Suffice to say, this will be historical fiction, but entirely, completely, totally unlike THE MASTER OF VERONA.

And, no, this is not the Roman novel. That is still proceeding apace.

We turn the outline in tomorrow. Wish us luck. The moment the deal is made, I'll be back with news.

Presenting: Evie

June hasn't seen many posts from me. That's because I've been a bit preoccupied in working as hard as I could, as fast as I could, on as many projects as I could. Why? Because we expected some good news at the end of the month.

I'm happy to say that news came early: Evelyn Barbara Blixt, known as Evie, was born on Tuesday at 4:17 PM. She weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce, scored a pair of 9s on her APGAR, and in general is pretty perfect.

Today is her first day home. Mother and daugher are recovering. Dash is mightily amused.

 

Birthday Boy

Monday was my son Dash's second birthday, his last as an only child. We spent it at the zoo. Monday being the actor day-of-rest, we spotted other actors there, hanging with their kids. Oh, and a lot of animals, too.

I'll return to the world of literature soon. But this is a great place to share Dash with friends.

It wa a very windy day, hence his hair. And yes, he's wearing a jacket with the Incredibles insignia on it. His name is Dash. How could we resist?

The Evil Big Blue Jet

Okay, I have a dark turn of mind. I'm aware of this, and most often I can keep it away from the brighter parts of my life.

But today I am convinced that the evil Big Blue Jet is controlled by Annie, the Little Einstein.

My son Dash adores two TV shows - the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Little Einsteins. And before someone out there gets their knickers in a twist, no, it's not Baby Einsteins. These are four little kids and their big red rocket (called Rocket) going off to have adventures. There's always a featured piece of music and a featured work of visual art, and they travel the world having silly "missions." It's not terrible. With one exception, which I will get to in a moment.

However, the creators must have decided there wasn't enough drama. Just as Mickey Mouse needs Peg-Leg Pete to hassle him, so the Einsteins needed some nemesis, some evil force that was always playing dirty tricks and messing up the Einsteins' lives. They created the anti-Rocket, Big Jet. Rocket is curvy and red, so Jet is angular and blue.

Now, we never see if anyone's flying Big Blue Jet (tinted glass). But my wife turned to me about a month back and said, "You know there are four evil children aboard. Evil genius children. Probably call themselves The Little Oppenheimers."

I laughed, but it got me thinking about the stories in a way that they were not meant to be thought about. How does Big Blue Jet always know what the Einsteins are up to? How does it know the exact route they're taking BEFORE they get there? Well, if there are four evil geniuses, maybe they could figure out the route. Maybe they're bugging the Einstein's HQ.

But this morning there was an act of sabotage on Rocket. His flight button was broken, just before the big race. And it dawned on me, "This has to be an inside job."

Now, there are four Little Einsteins. Leo is the leader, and he conducts the music. Then there's Quincy, who plays the instruments, and June, who dances. Finally, there's Leo's little sister Annie, who sings.

I have long held that Annie is the Einstein I'd like to vote off the Rocket. Her little made-up tunes to classical music are insipid. But worse, she's not the best singer of the group! The other Einsteins are far better than Annie, who is always a half-step flat. Naturally, Annie is Dash's favorite, prompting his mother to implore him, "Please, honey, don't ever date an Annie."

This morning I realized that Annie's bad singing is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Einsteins reputations. And she must be the one behind the destruction of Rocket's ability to fly.

Which means that Annie is in league with Big Blue Jet. The world is in grave peril. Spread the news. I only hope we're not too late...

New Year News

It was just pointed out to me that I haven't been posting, and in my lack of posting I have neglected the biggest bit of news. I'm going to be a daddy - again.

Yes, Jan is four months pregnant, and everything is going well. We are hoping to avoid at least a few of the trials that went along with Dash's birth (gestational diabetes, preaclampsia, footling breech - even in the womb, the kid was a death-defying adventurer). Saw the heartbeat again yesterday. Astonishing.

For those who weren't around, long before we came up with Dashiell, we had nicknamed him "Basher" in the womb, after the Don Cheadle character in Ocean's Eleven. This was due to his activity, and the feeling that he was experimenting with explosives as the pregnancy went on.

But we have abandoned Mr. Cheadle for this new offspring. Our second child is nicknamed "Jack-Jack" as in The Incredibles. This is for two reasons. First, with a kid named Dash, obviously the second kid is going to be Jak-Jak. Secondly, if you've seen the short "Jack-Jack Attack!" you may remember the line "The baby was exploding, Mr. Dicker!" Yeah, that's our kid.

So, happy new year to all. We have so very much to be grateful for. And we're so looking forward to this year because, as Mike Nussbaum says, "Babies bring good things."

Cheers,

DB

The Pyrate King!!

A week later, I'm finally getting around to posting a new Dash photos. I try to limit myself, because Dash is not the raison d'etre for this blog, but sometimes I cannot resist. Here's why:

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Signings and signing

One week from today - that is, Tuesday the 18th - I'll be reading and signing here in Chicago at the DePaul University Barnes & Noble. Then, three days later, I'll be in Ashland, Oregon, reading and signing at Bloomsbury Books. For more information on both, please jump to Booktour.com.

Today, though, I'm heading over to WFMT to sign 20 copies that they're using as their free gifts during their fund-raising drive. Then it's over to WBEZ to hand-deliver a copy to Jonathan Abarbanel, the local NPR theatre reviewer. From there I wander upstairs to Chicago Shakespeare Theatre to sign copies for their in-house bookstore.

This, after yesterday heading downtown and signing copies in both the major Borders - Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street. I have a fondness for both, and moreso now that I know they have so many copies on sale. Oh, and I stopped in and auditioned for Shaw Chicago while I was downtown - my first audition in over a year (I've been lucky enough to get phone calls offering me parts out of the blue). Bob Scoggins, the artistic director, is a nice fellow - meaning he didn't openly scorn me. I hate monologue auditions. Give me sides any day.

Oh, and this morning, Dashiell started saying something that sounds an awful lot like "shit" - though I'm hoping it's "sit," as we have lately been asking him to sit, not stand, on the couch. I'm really hoping that's what he's saying, and not "Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit..."

But it's impossible not to laugh when he's not looking.

Time Dashes By

I try, for the most part, to keep this blog focused on the book and related topics - Shakespeare, publishing, whatnot. But once in awhile I have to return my focus to the ongoing joy of being Dash's dad. He's gonna be seventeen months this week (when do you stop counting months - is it after two years, or three?), and it's amazing how much I enjoy the person he is, and the one he's becoming.

For your enjoyment:

Dash loves the beach.

A lot.

He's down there every day.

And don't worry, he's slathered with sunscreen.

But he seems to have "lost" his hat again...

I confess my bias, but...

Man, I gotta say it - this kid is just too cool.

DB

"Babies Bring Good Things"

The best photo to come out of last night's signing:

Duck

My new favorite word: "Duck."

Noun or verb, though today particularly the noun.

You see, it's my son's first real word.

Yes, Dashiell said "duck" several times this morning, while playing with a couple of his rubber disco ducks (bought at Cost Plus World Market, these things are a riot - they flash disco lights internally when played with. Eerie, but funny. Jan bought them on a lark, and he loves them).

Maybe it's because we sing two of the three "Rubber Duckie" songs from Sesame Street so often. Or maybe he connects them with bathtime, which is truly his favorite time of the day. Whatever the reason, I now adore the word "Duck."

Which means it's going into one of the novels at some point.

(Didn't think I could bring it around to the novels, did ya? Shame!)

Actually, it might be interesting for me to track when something from daily life shows up in the novels. A friend has a weird habit, it sometimes shows up. I do plan to have three close friends placed in minor roles in Books 4 & 5 (also known as "Cesco and the Englishmen" - how's that for a tantalizing hint!).

But it's remarkable how much that didn't happen in MV. There are very few references to real people - my friends, I mean - in this book, or even in the next two. I had one person in mind for the Count of San Bonifacio, but his personality changed remarkably during the writing of the story, and so B.W. is no longer my mental image of the Count.

Another, my friend Paulie, had a habit of referring to a "little blue gnome that operates the libarary in your mind." He had a whole story about that gnome and his duties, and I found it so charming and amusing, I appropriated it for the book. Then, after a couple of drafts, I took it back out. It was feeling forced, and a little too whimsical for Pietro to have come up with. Or even Poco.

"Whimsy." That's a good word.

But not as good as "duck."

Cheers,

DB