Monthly Archives: May 2013

LETTER TO A FRIEND

Posted on May 22, 2013 by [email protected]

There have been days when you have woken up and thought: why am I doing this? Days when you said to yourself: why am I doing this job, when it’s not what I really love? Times when you have looked … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITING | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

WHY A TOMATO IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ANY HISTORICAL NOVEL

Posted on May 12, 2013 by [email protected]

Looks harmless enough, doesn’t it? But Solanum lycopersicum could cost you readers. I got this the other day: “I started reading Silk Road a couple of days back and was enjoying it very much, just as I had enjoyed one … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY, WRITING | Tagged , , | 30 Comments

THE FACE THAT SUNK A THOUSAND SHIPS (WELL 3, ANYWAY.)

Posted on May 6, 2013 by [email protected]

As any old sea dog will tell you, it’s unlucky to have a woman on board ship. (Unless the woman is naked, apparently. Sailors make up the best superstitions.) But in the case of Violet Jessop, you’d have to say … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

Posted on May 3, 2013 by [email protected]

155 years ago a peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous saw an apparition of the Madonna in a cave called the grotte de Massabielle. Since then the nearby town of Lourdes has grown into a major pilgrimage site for Catholics from … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

WHAT PRICE TALENT?

Posted on May 1, 2013 by [email protected]

THE SITUATION Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. People rushed past on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, … Continue reading →

Posted in WRITING | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments