FIRST LOVE, TRUE LOVE & FAITHFULNESS

"But men are men; the best sometimes forget." -  William Shakespeare, Othello

Can you be happy with your marriage and still be attracted to someone else? By chance this is the theme dealt with both by a film and by a TV movie I've happened to see these days: 1. Last Night (2010) written and directed by Massy Tadjedin and starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes and Guillaume Canet and 2. Nick, episode 1 in BBC1 True Love with David Tennant and Joanne Froggatt .

Emotional and thought-provoking reflection on marriage, love, sex, faithfulness, Last Night is the latest film I saw on satellite TV,  which made me wish I had someone near me to discuss it with. I had nobody instead , but here I am now,  blogging with the intent to share.  

The story follows a married couple, Joanna (Keira Knightley) and Michael (Sam Worthington),  apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague, Laura (Eva Mendes),  to whom he is attracted. While he tries to resist temptation, his wife encounters her past love, Alex (Guillaume Canet) , a French writer she had a brief intense affair with in France and whose memory she has always kept in her heart idealizing him. Joanna and Michael have been married three years, though they have known each other for many years and have been together since college. 

VICTORIAN VICES - AUTHOR GUEST POST BY PAUL EMANUELLI (AVON STREET - A TALE OF MURDER IN VICTORIAN BATH)

The Victorian Era was in many ways like our own. It was the first age of consumerism, and the Industrial Revolution was the forerunner of the current Technological Revolution. New discoveries and inventions revolutionised manufacturing processes in the Victorian age. Railways and steamships made travel faster and cheaper, rapidly shrinking the world. Mass production and increased international trade made more and more products available and affordable.  And with the growth in industry and trade, the middle classes grew in number and wealth, and wanted to buy as much as possible of what was on offer. 

REVISITING THE GREAT GATSBY - BY GUEST BLOGGER KELSEY

The Great Gatsby is a great American classic that everyone should read at least twice. Here is your chance to brush up on the novel before the new movie comes out. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 is a book based in during the time when American had made it through World War I and the country was regaining its footing with prosperity. The Roaring 20’s was in full swing and alcohol was banned, causing trouble for the rich. The plot follows a Midwestern named Nick Carraway as he moves into an affluent and young community in Long Island that has a taste for extravagance. Here he meets the mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby and the young couple Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Nick gets consumed with Jay Gatsby’s ways and witnesses what really goes down behind a troubled man and his muse. 

SOME BLOGGING AT LAST - WHY WERE ALL THE CLASSICS WRITTEN BY MEN?

What I manage  to do the least while blogging is being a regular reader at other blogs or sites and I apologize. It is definitely not for a lack of interest. I manage to go on writing my three blogs, though with no fix schedules and especially not daily,  but I'm not very good at socializing or using social networks, mainly for a constant lack of time. I post my stuff and I'm off, if I want to go on reading, watching, working and living! 

As you know,  I have to divide my spare time among my several interests -  and I must underline the words my spare time - because I've got an engaging profession (teaching English as a foreign language and its literature) and I take care of my family and house with no "external" help. Nonetheless, when I bump into something interesting or stimulating on line, I can't resist reading and commenting. This is what I did with a thought-provoking  post by writer Rosanne E. Lortz at her website .

My premise is somehow connected to the theme she proposes and I am going to discuss here at FLY HIGH! : women and the reason why few of them excel/emerge in some fields, i.e. as writers of classics. Do you feel like  joining the discussion?

WUTHERING NIGHTS BY SUMMER DAY - GIVEAWAY WINNER

Just a brief posting to announce the name of winner of the digital copy of  Wuthering Nights,  Summer Day's latest YA novel,  she kindly granted the readers of FLY HIGH!

Congratulations to BookAttict!

WEATHERING THE STORM BY KATE FORRESTER - GIVEAWAY WINNERS

The latest giveaway contests here at FLY HIGH have been somehow connected to Wuthering Heights, the controversial passionate tale Emily Bronte published in 1847. You can still enter for a chance to win a digital copy of Wuthering Nights by Summer Day (click HERE), which is a modern retelling of Catherine and Heathcliff's tale, while I'm here to reveal the names of the two winners of a paperback copy of Weathering The Storm by Kate Forrester, which is actually inspired to the TV series Sparkhouse, loosely based on Wuthering Heights. 

There has been a lively exchange of comments after Kate Forrester's interview and I must thank all contributors,  starting from Kate herself!

Now it's time to reveal the names of the two winners picked up via random.org:

Mrs Higgins & Herba

Congratulations to both and thanks for taking part!

ROMANCING THE EMPIRE - THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL AND THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY

Hugh Dancy in The Sleeping Dictionary (2001)

The British Empire has its own complex history dating back to its beginning in the 16th century and with its apex and maximum expansion during the Victorian Era. I often work on colonialism, the good that it brought and the bad that it inflicted,  and the British Imperial Myth with my students reading Kipling, Conrad, Orwell, E.M. Forster among others. 

The  outcomes of the British dominance on a quarter of the world for a long period of time are still evident in nowadays world, from the widespread use of English as a second language or as a foreign language turned into a lingua franca - well, that's something due to the more recent American cultural influence too, especially after WWII -  to Britain's having a multi-ethnic population. 

What I want to discuss here though is not the real history of the Empire but 

1. the tendency to romanticize, minimizing, neutralizing the faults of that reality
2. the die-hard prejudices /cliches related to the once-subjected populations
which I recognized  in these two movies I've recently watched: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and The Sleeping Dictionary (2001).

SHAKESPEARE'S LADY BY ALEXA SCHEEN - GIVEAWAY WINNERS

About the book (from Amazon.com)

For centuries, readers have debated the identity of the mysterious Dark Lady in William Shakespeare's sonnets. Emilia Bassano -- lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth and one of the first women poets in England -- could be the answer.

In Shakespeare's Lady, Emilia Bassano is one of the most dazzling ladies at court when she meets the little-known playwright William Shakespeare. Shakespeare sees the world like no one ever has before, and despite everything -- his wife in Stratford-Avon, Emilia's husband and young son, and the will of the fiery and unpredictable queen -- they fall in love. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and the Virgin Queen does not take lightly to her ladies straying. These star-crossed lovers must fight for their love -- and, eventually, their lives. Meanwhile, William, courting the queen's favor for his new theater, pens some of the most memorable stories ever written, and encourages Emilia to write; he helps her compose, and eventually steals, a little bedtime story she calls A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In the tradition of Jane Austen Ruined My Life and The Other Boleyn Girl, this is a breathtaking, emotionally rich story spun out of historical fact. From the plague-ridden streets of London to the throne room of Greenwich Court to the stage of The Globe Theater, this is a meticulously researched and gorgeously written story about grace, forgiveness, and the forbidden love between the greatest poet the world has ever known and the woman who inspired him.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks for the interest shown in this book, dear readers, and many grateful thanks to Alexa Scheen for granting me the interview  + two e-book copies to giveaway.

Here are the names of the winners

Nancy & MaryKate 

Congratulations!!!

Visit Alexa Schnee's website  www.alexinksit.com

Her Blog www.alexinksit.wordpress.com 

Follow her on Twitter

GIVEAWAY - WUTHERING NIGHTS BY SUMMER DAY - A MODERN VARIATION OF EMILY BRONTE'S CLASSIC NOVEL

Wuthering Nights, Summer Day's new novel is inspired by Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.  Both her latest releases Wuthering Nights and  Pride and Princesses are modern variations of classics, written for Young Adults. 

At Summer's blog you can find the first three chapters of each novel 

You'll find   Wuthering Nights  &  Pride & Princesses  at Amazon.com  but... what about winning a free copy of Wuthering Nights? Summer Day has granted us 1 digital copy of her latest book! Just leave a comment + your e-mail address and then be patient until June 20th when the name of the winner is announced. This contest is open internationally.

Wuthering Nights Synopsis

When Heath and Kate meet as children they form a bond that lasts forever...

Read the first reviews of the book at Amazon

DOES ROMANTICIZING THE PAST PUT US IN DANGER OF ALTERING HISTORY?

(by guestblogger Anne Illsley )

The Middle Ages has become a dominant genre in movies and literature, especially in America. Medieval pageants and fairs, where people dress up in clothing from the Middle Ages to watch jousts and romanticize about times gone by is a popular weekend pastime, and Hollywood movies centered on tales from medieval times never fail to bring in the crowds. From Robin Hood and Game of thrones, to classic Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbank swashbucklers, audiences, it seems, can’t get enough of the Middle Ages.

Perhaps this is because American history stops so abruptly at the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers, leaving the United States without the castles and folklore so common in Europe. However, Hollywood and publishing’s obsession with all things medieval has led to our perceptions of these times becoming altered and romanticized, but how far off from the truth is Hollywood’s version?

Hollywood’s history

There is perhaps no greater pleasure than sitting in a movie theatre, or settling down on a sectional sofa or recliner chair at home with a bowl of popcorn and a few friends to watch the latest Hollywood medieval romp. There is no shortage of medieval titles, either. From the various incarnations of Robin Hood, with Russell Crowe or Kevin Costner playing the eponymous outlaw, the Lord of the Rings trilogy,

KATE FORRESTER , WEATHERING THE STORM AND CONTINUING THE STORY OF SPARKHOUSE. INTERVIEW + GIVEAWAY

Some of you may know her as Khandy and have already appreciated her talent as a story-teller . Kate Forrester is here at FLY HIGH to answer my questions about her first published novel, Weathering The Storm. Read my interview and get a chance to win a copy of the book. There are two copies for two winners! This giveaway is open worldwide and ends on 18 June. 

Weathering The Storm is your first published novel. How difficult was your journey to publication and how gratifying was it when you got your paperback author copies from the publisher?

Trying to get your novel published is not for the faint hearted. I must have sent Weathering... to about twenty agents. My skin has become so thick that, if it wasn’t for the moisturiser, I’d look like a toad. Eventually after numerous rejections, I decided to self publish through Amazon. I was amazed how simple it was. As for it being gratifying, it was amazing. I had three firsts – the first copy being sold on Kindle, the first review on Amazon and then the first novel being sold. I was like a child on Christmas Day unwrapping my presents.

DEADLY AFFAIR BY LUCINDA BRANT - GIVEAWAY WINNER

Synopsis - Career diplomat Alec Halsey has been elevated to a marquessate he doesn’t want and Polite Society believes he doesn't deserve; his lover has decided she won’t marry him after all and the suspicion he murdered his brother still lingers in London drawing rooms. So returning to London after seven months' seclusion may have been a mistake.

Alec’s foreboding deepens when a nobody vicar drops dead at a party-political dinner; he witnesses the very public humiliation of an up and coming portrait painter, and his rabble-rousing uncle Plantagenet is bashed and left for dead in a laneway. When the vicar's true identity is revealed, Alec suspects the man was poisoned. But who would want a seemingly harmless man of God murdered, and why?

Last week I posted my review of this brilliant page - turner set in Georgian England and featuring another intriguing case for Alec Halsey. I'm here to reaveal the name of the lucky winner of the ARC copy the authoress has granted FLY HIGH! who I'm sure will have a great time receiving and then reading this great novel.

My congratulations to ... Krista Raven! 

And my grateful thanks to Lucinda Brant for providing me my review copy, for writing such witty entertaining historical fiction and for granting you readers the chance to win her Deadly Affair. Great success to her Alec Halsey series!

AT THE CINEMA - SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN

Salmon fishing is just the objective correlative of an undeniably ethereal truth: dreams. We all need dreams to make our lives move on. And we all need faith and  hard work to accomplish and achieve them. "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is a British movie -  starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked and Kristin Scott Thomas, with Hugh Simon  (Malcom in Spooks) in a minor hilarious role - which tries to bring all that on the screen disguised as a modern fairy-tale romance. 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - ALEXA SCHNEE, SHAKESPEARE'S LADY + DOUBLE GIVEAWAY

When I read about Alexa Schnee and her just published Shakespeare’s Lady, I was amazed both by the author's young age (she’s as old as my son and not much older than my students!) and the fascinating story kept behind that gorgeous cover.  I’m longing to read the book, meanwhile I’ve tried to know something more about the writer.

Join me, meet Alexa Schnee and congratulate her on her great achievement.

First of all Alexa welcome at Fly High! It’s a great pleasure to have you as my guest here. First question is … could you please tell us how old you are?

I am twenty years old, but I turn twenty-one in July!

So young!  You are just my son's age. And how does it come such a young girl has an interest in Shakespeare and his world?

I’ve really had an interest in Shakespeare since I was a kid. I used to read Romeo and Juliet when I was about ten years old and act out the different parts. When I decided I wanted to write the book at sixteen, I had also been reading a lot of literature based in the Tudor time period—so I guess it’s always been a time period I have been interested in.

Do you mind introducing  your novel briefly to our readers?

Sure. Shakespeare’s Lady is a novel based on the idea of the “dark lady” of Shakespeare’s