The audiobook for THE MASTER OF VERONA is finally here! After weeks spent recording, re-recording, even rewriting pieces to better flow from the lips, then more weeks as my producer put it all together with the help of an audio proofer and several listeners, it is now, at last, available to you.
You can purchase it on Audible or iTunes today, and on every major audiobook retailer next week. Meanwhile I'm looking into creating a link to buy it direct from me. But don't wait - get it today!
Huge thanks to my producer, Judith West, for guiding me through this process. Even with almost 30 years of professional acting behind me, this was a new skill-set, one that was both frustrating and joyful. The best part is that even I can listen to the final product and actually enjoy the story, only cringing over that word choice or that line delivery maybe once a chapter. Can't wait until January to start again with Falconer...
If you are not an Audible member, you can get a FREE copy of The Master Of Verona by clicking here. If you're already a member, please consider this a lovely gift for yourself or someone else this holiday season.
Five years ago I released an ebook collection of essays on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet entitled ORIGIN OF THE FEUD. Basically promotion for the Star-Cross'd series, they were all pieces I'd written prior to then.
I didn't expect to be asked for a print edition, so it could be available to teachers. But I was, and often. This summer the demand finally became enough for me to act.
My trouble was that I didn't feel the ebook had enough meat. The essays were good, but far from comprehensive. There were several elements of the play I didn't touch on at all. So in September I sat down and revised the whole text, more than doubling the number of essays. It's a whole new book, with sections on characters, themes, structure, performance history, inside jokes, songs referenced, and Shakespeare's sources for the story.
Of course, as the title suggests, it also contains my original thesis for the origin of the Capulet-Montague feud. But now there is so very much more. Written not as an academic but as an actor and director approaching the text for performance as well as literature, I hope it's as entertaining as it is informative. (And yes, the ebook will be updated to include the new material.)
Here's a list of the chapters, a hint of the subjects it covers: Foreword I Always Hated Shakespeare Origin of the Feud Sources Don’t Believe the Title The Prologue The Real Capulets & Montagues of Verona Draw Thy Tool The Juliet Trap Mab It’s Not a Masked Ball! Redeeming Romeo The Window Scene The King and the Beggar Ratcatcher The Art of Mistiming, Part I The Quartet Family Disfunction Tybalt’s Ghost She’s Not Dead Yet! The Art of Mistiming, Part II The Friar’s Guilt The Death of Benvolio Loving Lady Montague Favorite Play A Prayer Before Dying Coffee with the Count Resources
The new edition comes out November 28th, kicking off a month of Star-Cross'd releases, including THE MASTER OF VERONA audiobook! Stay tuned!
2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the release of The Master Of Verona. To mark the occasion, there's a new cover, new format - and, by popular demand, an audiobook! All of which drop in December.
First, take a moment to admire the gorgeous new cover by Kim Killion at The Killion Group. She's currently working on similar covers for the rest of the series, which will have an across-the-board facelift for the digital editions. Fans of the old covers, never fear, they'll remain on some print copies. But the larger trade paperback version of MoV coming in December will sport the new cover.
So will the audiobook. I spent the Spring recording at the studio of my friend Judith West, and she's engineered a truly wonderful-sounding version of the story. It being my voice, I was afraid to listen to the finished product - only to find myself enjoying it! I'm sure I'll be hyper-critical of certain line deliveries and cadences, but I have to say, it was fun to listen to the story.
As if all of that isn't enough, there's an expanded edition of ORIGIN OF THE FEUD coming this month, and expanded markets for the ebooks of the Colossus series. I'm enjoying re-immersing myself in the world of Colossus, so I can finally finish the long-awaited third novel, WAIL OF THE FALLEN.
I'll be back soon to blog more about all of this. So much is happening, it feels like a waterslide trying to keep track of it all.
Eight years after I started the novel, five years after it was published, four years since it was proposed as a play, two years after contracts were signed, one year since the first draft of the script was complete, nine months after auditions, six weeks after rehearsals began, and after two weeks of previews - HER MAJESTY'S WILL opens tonight at Lifeline Theatre.
It's surreal, and wonderful, and I'm not quite sure I fathom how very cool this is. A novel born of theatre becomes a play in its own right.
The play is really the work of two men, both longtime friends. I've known Robert Kauzlaric for fifteen years, and trust his instincts for plays, both as an adaptor and a director (just last night he won yet another Jeff award, for Best Adaptation for his play NORTHANGER ABBEY). The fact that he's equally talented on stage is utterly unfair. But his understanding of humor and pathos both meant that I trusted him implicitly with HMW. Rob's script focuses less on the overly convoluted twists of my plot and more on what makes the story fun, the characters and their relationships.
The second friend is Christopher Hainsworth, another abundantly talented bastard. After years of adapting and acting in plays, he wanted to direct, and I'm honored that his debut is HMW. He was both insightful and decisive, something one would not expect from a first time director - unless it was Hainsworth. His vision of this as a superhero origin story, a buddy cop story, and a romantic comedy all in one is exactly right. His direction has been spot on, doggedly inventive and mercilessly hilarious.
That I was allowed to come and play was a delight. That the cast and crew took something I wrote as a lark and made it into something so joyous is an honor. That audiences are laughing night after night is a joy.
And, because art feeds art, I'm deep into the work for the next book, FIRE AT WILL, while a few lines from the play have snuck into the next edition of HMW, which is now available in print, on Kindle, and for the first time on all other eBook platforms! That's right, Kobo, Nook, iBooks, all of them! So download a copy today and bone up on the Babington Plot before you come see Javier Ferreira and Bryan Bosque bring Will and Kit to glorious - and hilarious - life! And keep an eye out for the published version of the script, out later this month!
Listen up, Quirites!Sordelet Ink is giving away 20 copies COLOSSUS: SWORD AND STEEL on Audible! Read by the inestimable Brian J Gill! All you have to do to enter is join the Sordelet Ink mailing list!
So what are you waiting for? This contest ends in a week! Visit www.sordeletink.com! (And, if you don't win, you can still get an audio copy by joining Audible! You can get it at Audible.com, or else on Amazon - click HERE!)
I've been away from my desk since yesterday, when I received word the THE PRINCE'S DOOM is one of three finalists for the M.M. Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction! This is my first chance to share the announcement I got in the mail: The finalists for the M.M. Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction are:
This Old World by Steve Wiegenstein The Prince's Doom by David Blixt Lusitania REX by Greg Taylor
Needless to say, I'm beyond honored, and proud to be in such company. I'm also so touched to have the congratulations and support of so many other authors who were long-listed for this award. Their graciousness and good humor is why I so love the HF community.
The winner will be announced at the Historical Novel Society conference in Denver this June. I'll be there the day before, leading two lengthy workshops in swordplay. Honestly, winner or no, I'll be joyful to be with so many friends, celebrating and enjoying company. The problem is that with all the panels and events, there won't be enough time to socialize and play!
So thank you to the organizers of the award, and all the readers out there who make me feel so very lucky to do what I do. And see you in Denver!!!
For the next several weeks I'm on tour with The Prince's Doom - virtually. Reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways (yes, giveaways! Not just books, but swag!), all of it to promote my Doom!
Huge thanks to all the bloggers, and especially to Amy Bruno, who is the mastermind behind these tours. She's pretty fabulous, and a great lover of Historical Fiction.
The day after presenting at the Castelvecchio, Jan and I took an early train to Torino for the International Book Fair. Nearly half a million people flock to the convention center in Torino each year, and my publisher La Corte Editore had a large stall just around the corner from the national newspaper.
My editor, Gianni La Corte, came to pick us up from the underground station and whisked us off to the fair. The convention hall is a rehabbed Fiat factory, so it's utterly enormous - by necessity. So many people! Weaving through the crowds, we reached La Corte Editore's stall, where I was stunned to see my novel side-by-side with a novel by one of my all-time favorite writers, Jonathan Carroll.
Gianni rushed off to preside over an event featuring another of his authors, the vivavious and hilarious Elena Bosca, author of SWEET LOVE: LA RAGAZZA DELLE TORTE. I stepped behind the table and proceeded to start signing and selling books, talking in my poor Italian and decent French to anyone who stopped by.
About five minutes in, I looked up to see a familiar face grinning at me. Chuck Dvorak had driven 13 hours from where he's stationed in Germany just to spend the day with us. Chuck played Tybalt for me in 2008 when I directed R&J at Eastern Michigan University, and we've remained close ever since, even as he deployed overseas. Now married and a father of a beautiful baby girl, I usually only get to see him on his short stops back in the states.
Chuck and Jan went off exploring the city of Torino, while I spent 9 hours on my feet, working as hard to sell Carroll's book as my own. I have to say, Gianni has put together a really great selection of books for his company. It's a diverse range, with something for everyone. There's Elena's book on sweets, a book on wedding planning (a new concept in Italy, where mothers and grandmothers usually take care of things) co-authored by Serena Obert, several kid-friendly monster books by Fabio Cicolani, a young-adult future gladiator novel by Antonio Lanzetta, and Gianni's own novels, as well as many more. But these were the authors present with me that day, and we had a great time laughing and signing, breaking chairs, stealing pens, and working hard to sell each others' books. It was pretty terrific.
(Gianni, Antonio, Fabio, and your's truly)
Behind the table, too, were Gianni's parents and his brother Emanuele, helping with sales and the cash register. Just the loveliest people. They were clearly delighted that I was there, and working hard to make Gianni's day a success. I wandered off only to be interviewed by newspapers and magazines, or to have a quick bite with Gianni in the VIP area.
After knocking off at 8, Gianni drove us to our beautiful bed and breakfast, then Jan and I had dinner with Chuck before the three of us joined Gianni, Elena, Antonio, Fabio, Emanuele, and many others in the basement of Franky's pub in downtown Torino for wine and rum and sweets. The basement is pretty swank, but one floor further down is a centuries-old cellar and tunnel system that has been converted into a private club area.
After saying goodbye to Chuck, who was insanely driving back to Germany that night, Gianni took us on a driving tour of the city, talking in detail about the history (he might have been hinting for a new novel). At around 2 am we staggered home to our B&B to relax and sleep in the next morning.
Seriously, this trip could not have been better in any way.
On Friday May 9th I was the featured speaker at an event at the Castelvecchio in Verona. The event was the brainchild of film-maker Anna Lerario and her husband Antonio Bulbarelli, sponsored by the office of the Mayor of Verona, and put together by Verona's Ministry of Culture, all to promote my work bringing the story of the city's history - and especially the person of Cangrande della Scala - to life. It was timed to coincide with the release of my novel THE MASTER OF VERONA in Italian by the publishing house of La Corte Editore.
It was incredible.
The day actually began with a viewing of Anna's documentary about the province of Verona in a theatre packed with elderly viewers. After the film, I was invited on stage to talk a little, and also to meet a lovely scholar and gentleman named Giovanni Rapelli, who has made it his life's work to study the links of the Latin and Italian tongue to the Etruscans.
Next came a visit to Cangrande's palace, where I was invited to sit in his chair. There are no words for that experience.
After lunch and a bit of down-time, Jan and I started off for the Castelvecchio. The event was scheduled for 5:30, though we had to wait a bit for all the people swarming downstairs. I was nabbed at the door first by longtime readers, some local, some having come as far as Lyon, France. Then I had a quick interview with a reporter as the dais was set up and everything put into place. Then we were into it.
250 Veronese packed the hall. There wasn't an open seat, which was both thrilling and terrifying.
Things kicked off when Antonio played the book trailer for my series that Anna had made for me. Singing along with it live was Patty Simon, she of the beautiful voice who had recorded the soundtrack for Anna's documentary on Cangrande and also provided the vocals for my trailer. She's quite beautiful, and ridiculously talented.
Next Antonia Pavesi from the mayor's office spoke for a bit. She was followed by the head curator of the Castelvecchio museum - a museum that houses the famous equestrian statue of Cangrande. He spoke for a time about the prophecy that I feature so prominently in my novels, that of The Greyhound (Il Veltro). He said it was the only true prophecy in all of Dante, and that I'd gotten it right.
He was followed by my publisher Gianni La Corte, who spoke about how Anna had reached out to him on my behalf, and how swiftly he became enamored with my writing and the story I was telling.
Then it was up to Anna to speak for a bit. She began by reading part of the letter I had written Verona to sell them on the trip. That done, she told the story about how she had bought my book when she was doing research for her documentary on Cangrande, but did not open it until she was finished because she didn't want to be influenced. Reading it, she was amazed at how many things this American author from Chicago had gotten right (this was a recurring theme all week - why was an American writing about Verona?). She told the story of how she'd contacted me early in 2013, and how swiftly we began colaborating. For me, meeting her and her husband was one of the best parts of the trip.
After Anna read a little more, this time directly from my novel, it was my turn. Anna asked me a few questions, and I answered through the kind voice of Joyce Stewart, a wonderful American living in Verona who acted as my interpreter. Then Anna started fielding questions from the audience. The more I talked about Dante, about Petrarch, and especially about Cangrande, the more the audience glowed. I wasn't hanging my hat on Shakespeare. I knew their city. The comment was made over and over that I know the history of Verona better than most of the people who live there. Which is ridiculous, but a lovely thing to hear.
The actor who played Cangrande in the filmgot up to ask a question. His name is Yuri Castorani, and he's as tall, as strapping, and as genial as one would want Cangrande to be. He runs a sword fighting society in Verona, and after the event he and his second, Fabio Scolari, presented me with a hoodie bearing the Scaligeri crest and the legend "SCALIGERO SINCE A.D. 1262".
At one point I referenced my wife, sitting in the second row of the audience beside my American friend David and his French wife (and just behind the Minister of Culture). Anna then insisted that we perform a little Shakespeare for the crowd. We went with what we know, the show in which we met - The Taming Of The Shrew. After all, Petruchio is from Verona, going to war with a Paduan heiress and "taming" her the same way Cangrande tamed Padua - he killed it with kindness. We only went part-way through the wooing scene, ending with Jan slapping my face with a resounding crack that made the audience gasp before bursting into applause.
I answered a few more questions, then it was time to sign books. I was happily surprised to have such a long line waiting for signatures - I think Gianni was pretty stoked to have sold all the copies he brought with him. The book had just come off the press literally the day before, and Gianni had driven in from Torino for the event, forgoing an afternoon of the huge book fair that draws almost half a million people each year. I was going out to join him there the next day.
(That's Jan, Gianni La Corte, me, Anna Lerario, and Joyce Stewart standing. In the front row we have Fabio Scolari, Antonio Bulbarelli, and Yuri Castorani)
Then it was time for pictures, thanks, and drinks. While Jan flirted with Yuri, I asked Joyce to help me translate my favorite toast, one taught to me 14 years ago by the actor Dan Kenney:
Here's to lying, stealing, cheating, and drinking. When you lie, lie to save a friend When you cheat, cheat death When you steal, steal the heart of the one you love And when you drink, drink with me my friends
Shortly I'll be taking the stage at the Castelvecchio in Verona, the castle built in the 14th century on the shores of the Adige river. In many ways, it's the culmination of half a lifetime of work. I first played Mercutio when I was 17. A few years later, I had the idea for the novel when directing R&J for the first time. The Master Of Verona was first published 7 years ago. Tonight I take the stage to offer Verona my blending of their real history with the one Shakespeare gave them. For while 'fair Verona' is known the whole world over for star-cross'd love, no one ourside the city's walls knows of Cangrande and how massively influential he was to the birth of the Renaissance.
I know my words will fail to share the scope of the love I have for this city - its history, its mythology, its people. But I'll do my best. Wish me luck.
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