Celebrating Shakespeare!

Looks like the western world is gearing up to celebrate the life and works of the Bard. Four hundred years ago, on 3 May 1616, at the age of only 52, Will Shakespeare died, leaving behind one of the most treasured collections of plays and poems the world has ever known.

William Shakespeare, 400th Anniversary

To offer my own tiny tribute, some of my favorite quotes:

(from Macbeth, Act V, scene v)

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

(from Hamlet, Act V, scene ii)

Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the
readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he
leaves, what is't to leave betimes?

And for drama at its best, Lady Macbeth going mad with guilt (from Macbeth, Act V, scene i):

Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.

The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.

Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!

"Ophelia: and he will never come again"
 1865, Arthur Hughes

I guess it's obvious that my taste leans toward the darker side of things. So many exciting passages to quote, I had a hard time choosing. The words are like dark chocolate on the tongue. Delicious and rich and a little bitter.

Fun stuff found on Twitter:
@Shakespeare_400
@s400events

Care to share your favorite quotes? Any other worthwhile sites dedicating time and bandwidth to our favorite Bard? Please share!

My First Book Signing!

I am so excited to get to blog about this at last.

My first ever book signing is scheduled for the evening of June 6, at the LaVergne Public Library in LaVergne, Tennessee! Woot!

LaVergne is a burb of Nashville, a city I've always wanted to see. So this should be an interesting learning experience all around.

The event will also include a reading. I've never read my fiction aloud to strangers before, only some of my poetry, years ago in college. It was nerve-wracking, but fun. I've chosen my selection, a scene from Cry of the Falcon (that one, riiiight there -->), and my nerves have quieted. For now.

I have a month and a half to prepare. Book copies are arriving in large heavy boxes, just in case someone is kind enough to purchase something, and I've ordered business cards and a display banner.

As long as I can get to the library on time, I'll be okay. Best thing, I'm not going alone. Family got my back, so I'm toting along my mother and a cousin. I will probably be a wreck on the trip out, so I hope they can put up with my insanity. These were the same two wonderful ladies who I traveled with to Stuttgart, Paris, and Rome in 2009, so at least we know we can survive each other. Should be fun. As long as I don't freak out.

geek freaking out

I hope to bring home a basket full of new knowledge so that I can set up signings closer to home. OKC, Tulsa, Dallas, Kansas City maybe. And I have friends in Denver. I foresee a signing there too. Hmm, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's survive the first one, and then ... who knows?

Have book, will travel...