Posts Categorized: Other historical periods
Internet searches are the oddest things. This time, I wasn’t doing research for the next Concordia Wells mystery (although in another post I’ll have to share with y’all some cool stuff I’ve learned about 1890s East Hampton, Long Island). This time, I was researching catios. What is a catio, and what does it have to…
To (liberally) paraphrase Austen: it is a truth universally acknowledged, that we introvert authors need to come out of our writing caves from time to time and interact with our fellows. The Malice Domestic Convention fits the bill nicely for those of us who are mystery author introverts. Malice celebrates mystery fiction written in the cozy…
Happy Holidays! As a mystery lover, Christmas reminds me of one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” The mystery starts with a dropped hat and a Christmas goose left behind. The following recording is from the Sherlock Holmes audio archive of stories, many of them (including this one) narrated…
I first heard the phrase “the ides of March” in ninth grade, when we were assigned Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. It’s a great play for your average teen, full of intrigue, deceit, betrayal, prophecy, political power, and murder. The soothsayer’s prognostication in the play is now legendary: Beware the ides of March. That’s it: short and…
Happy Leap Day, everyone! I’m taking liberties with the word leap today, to talk about a different kind of leap: taking a personal risk. I was walking around Burke Lake yesterday morning with a good friend and we spoke of how difficult it can be to strive for something we’re not sure we can attain. A lifelong…
Since today is Hedy Lamarr’s 101st birthday (thanks for the reminder, Google!), I’m re-posting something I wrote about her, three years ago. Thanks for stopping by! ~KBO ———————————————– Fans of old movies know Hedy Lamarr, star of 1930s and 40s American films, such as Ziegfield Girl, and Samson and Delilah. She was dubbed “the most beautiful…
With election day coming up in the United States, my thoughts are turning to a woman’s right to vote. We are so accustomed to any U.S. citizen being allowed to cast a ballot that it’s difficult to conceive of parts of the world where that still isn’t the case. There’s an interesting story from last…
Many of us are eagerly awaiting 2014, ready to implement those resolutions and goals. I’m with ya on those, too, but there’s another event I’m looking forward to this week: the start of Season 4 of Downton Abbey! In our neck of the woods, the first episode of the new season airs this Sunday, January…
