HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND WITH GREAT PERIOD DRAMA SERIES: LABYRINTH AND THE VILLAGE

Labyrinth (Channel 4 )

Jessica Brown Findlay, John Hurt, Vanessa Kirby, Emun Elliott, Tom Felton, Sebastian Stan star in a two-part thilller adapted from Kate Mosse's bestselling novel, linking the lives of two women born centuries apart: Labyrinth. Already broadcast in different countries, Labyrinth will be on British Channel 4 on Saturday March 30th and Sunday March 31st, 9 pm.

Emun Elliott and Tom Felton

Jessica Brown Findlay is the protagonist of the moving romance subplot with Emun Elliott. You may remember them as the protagonists of two popular costume series, respectively Downton Abbey (Lady Sybil) and The Paradise (Mr Moray) . Romance is only one of the elements in this epic mini-series produced by Ridley Scott and shot between South Africa and France with an international cast. It is a historical thriller with a gripping plot based on real historical events like the Crusade against the Catars.

SPRING CLEANING GIVEAWAY HOP - WINNERS!

Hello everyone! Just a quick post to make 3 readers, followers and friends of FLY HIGH! happy. At least, this is what I hope.

Here are the names I picked up through random.org among the commenters to the giveaway post. 

1.  Ana Smith from Serbia wins To be Queen by Christy English

 

2.  Dita Škarste  from Latvia wins The Deception in Lyme Carrie Bebris

3.  Kaya from Italy will have 3 books : 

- Victoria Connelly, The Runaway Actress  
- Enid Shomer, The Twelve Rooms of the Nile

- Rosy Thornton, More Than Love Letters

FOLLOW YOUR HEART - LIFE LESSONS FROM TWO SPECIAL WOMEN

"As you grow up, you’ll often get the urge to change things, to right wrongs, but every time you do, remember that the first revolution, the first and the most important, has to take place within yourself.  Fighting for an idea without having an idea of yourself is one of the most dangerous things you can do.”   

This is a quotation from "Va dove ti porta il cuore" (Follow Your Heart) by Susanna Tamaro a book I loved, an Italian one by an Italian writer. I remember reading it bursting into tears here and there,  feeling as if  that long letter was really addressed to me by my own grandmother (none of the personal story of the protagonist was true to her but the words and the suggestions just sounded like hers) .  The idea I may lose her,  who was the person who had brought me up, who had given me the chance of a very happy, optimistic childhood in the warmest family environment, simply broke my heart.  
I can tell you very little about the book since I remember very little but  I can tell you why it has come back to my mind just these days: my granny passed away as well as my mother - in - law, both in little more than a month.  

SPRING CLEANING GIVEAWAY HOP - 3 WINNERS, 5 BOOKS ... HAPPY SPRING TIME!

Happy Spring Time to all the friends and readers of FLY HIGH! This Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop 2 is a great idea suggested by Inspired Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. Do you like books? Real paperbacks or hardcover books?. You are at the right place on the right occasion, then!  If you live anywhere in the world away from Italy, two of you  have got the chance to choose and win 1 book from the list below  while  1 lucky reader living in Italy will win up to 3 books. So choose three books if you live in Italy and 1 if anywhere else in the world.
I've picked up 10 books which I got as review copies and am not going to re-read, or which I need to give away to make room for the new ones coming. I'd love to give them  to someone who's willing to have them,  host them on their shelves,  and will do them justice reading them and spreading the word.

Have a look at the list below, choose your titles according to the rules given above and good luck!

THIS YEAR'S WRAP - UP WITH SHAKESPEARE: DRAMATIC EFFECTS ON MY STUDENTS AND ... HUMAN BRAIN

Joseph Fiennes - Shakespeare in love

To wrap up this year's lessons on Shakespeare's work, which I had started in October introducing Elizabethan Drama, I decided to involve my students in the controversial question of the authorship.

It's been a long series of lessons about Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Macbeth, some of the sonnets finally ended with reflections on  the theories opposing Stratfordians to Anti-Stratfordians. My goal was not to instill doubts in their minds but to reflect on the fact that such extraordinarily huge quantity of extraordinary poetry has risen so many doubts in scholars,  also as a consequence to the fact that there are very few traces and evidence  supporting the theory  crediting William Shakespeare from Stratford -  son of a glove-maker later  actor in Elizabethan London -  for its authorship. 

Anonymous 2011

It's been a fascinating theme, which brought about interesting debates,  especially after watching Roland Emmerich's 2011 movie Anonymous with my students. That movie supports an anti-Stratfordian theory: the Oxfordian hypothesis believing that Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote what we appreciate as Shakesperean masterpieces. 

Whoever wrote them, these works are still unbelievably modern. Proof is how interested even contemporary teenagers are if introduced to those plays without being scared with the complexity of the language. They must be helped and they'll enjoy and appreciate. 

BOOK BLAST - STARSEED BY LIZ GRUDER + GIVEAWAY OF A $50 GIFT CARD

Starseed
Author: Liz Gruder
ISBN: 978-1937178291
Publisher: WiDo Publishing
Published: February 2013

SUMMARY

Kaila Guidry has always known she is different. When she meets Jordyn Stryker at school, she finds out just how different.

Jordyn was born and raised far from Earth, a starseed, one of six new students sent to Louisiana's Bush High to learn human ways. But Jordyn didn't count on meeting someone like Kaila.

When Kaila is pushed to her limit by high school bullying and cruelty, Jordyn awakens her to a new reality—and to love. But to prove herself, Kaila must look the other way as the real purposes of the starseeds unfold.

As the horrific plan behind the starseed visit to Earth moves inexorably forward, Kaila and Jordan, caught in an impossible love, must determine where their true loyalties lie.

BOOK BLAST - TO LOVE OR DIE IN A STEAMY-REAMY WORLD + $100 AMAZON GIFT CARD

10 Tales of Steampunk Silliness and Spookery

In the cozy seaside village of Steamville, New Hampshire, an unfaithful zombie, out of control werebots, succubi in corsets, and more wreak havoc in this short story collection from the author of Elemental.

Purchase

Just .99 cents

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Praise

"Well written and very fast paced. You won’t get bored or find your mind wandering. I’d love to see a sequel to this collection and see what happens next. I give this book five out of five donuts."

MARCH KINDLE FIRE HD GIVEAWAY

Kindle Fire HD Giveaway!

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only) 

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International) Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Take your chances in the rafflecopter form below

BOOKMARK BLITZ TOUR - EMBRACE THE WILD LAND BY ROSANNE BITTNER

About the book 

Amazon (Book is exclusive to Amazon)

Not only do the developing Indian wars threaten to destroy the family dynasty Zeke and Abbie Monroe have begun to build together, but now the Civil War rears its ugly head to intrude into their lives in wrenching twists and turns that tear Zeke and Abbie apart in ways they never expected. 

The Savage Land is exploding both on the lawless plains and in the South, where Zeke must go to find one of his white brothers. Don’t miss this compelling story of love, choices, dreams and cruel reality wherein only the strongest of love can hold two people together, the kind of love shared by Zeke and Abbie Monroe.

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AT THE CINEMA - YOUNG BEAUTIFUL CREATURES LONGING TO BE ... INFINITE

Aging is not always easy. Growing up can, instead,  be hard but exciting and thrilling at the same time. Young people tend to be  full of hope, dreams and possibility.  That's what youth is made of. That rubbish idea  of  "feeling young inside" can't really work nor help when all that is actually  just part of your memories.  Past. Over.

It must sound like I'm not in an enthusiastic mood today, but  that is not the case. I feel grateful I can age surrounded by young people: my sons, my nieces and nephews, my young cousins,  my students, ex-students sticking around. I feel the gap but not suffer from it. I can smell dreams, energy, future and ... find some hope. 

I happen to like young people pretty much and I'm really curious about what they like, think and long for. They are not simply my task, not only my job. They are my life,  people I deeply care for.  I don't know if this is why I often watch films or read books they seem to be fond of or that tell  their stories. Stories of kids or teenagers.  I do that. Quite often. 

For instance, I've seen two movies targeting a teenage audience these days. Both have just been released here in Italy, both are adaptations of successful books: Beautiful Creatures (La sedicesima luna) and Noi siamo infinito (The Perks of Being a Wallflower).

Book Blast - Max Xylander and the Island of Zumuruud + Giveaway $75 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Max has anger management issues. But she has a secret, too. She can make things happen. Like magic. She almost killed a loser skate punk and nearly used it on her stuck up older sister. The question is, can she do anything other than blow things up? Can she learn to control it? And is it really possible that an obscure teenage girl is the key to keeping all of humanity safe?

Philip just got his ring back. He got it taken away for messing with his teacher’s mind so he can cheat on a test. Now that he has his ring, he thinks he should be able to use his power to make his life better. A lot better. The problem is that people want him to be responsible. But if you could do magic, wouldn’t you use it to escape work in any way possible?

Aaron wants to be a soldier. He knows there are lots of people who would try to take over, and he’s determined to stop them. The problem is that there’s this new girl. And she might be not be on the right side of things. She’s really talented and pretty, but she might be able to destroy everything he believes in. Whatever the case, he knows he needs to learn to be world class with the magic sword while he figures out what to do.

BOOK BLAST - DEATH & KISSES + GIVEAWAY OF A $100 AMAZON GIFT CARD OR PAYPAL CASH

Death and Kisses

“My only thought was for Aden. I ran to him, kicking up water and called out his name. He turned and my heart skidded, crumbled and dropped to my feet. Not Aden, but Brad. Then where was . . ? 

I looked down to where Brad’s gaze had been focused, down, down, in the murky water towards the center of the pond. No. Noooo! I shouldn’t be able to see him through the stirred-up sediment, but I did. Pascual was drowning Aden just as he had drowned Brad.”

One night changed Kasey’s life forever. The star football player drowned and everyone at school blames her. And oh, yeah, since that night, she can see ghosts. Not that she’s afraid of them. Much. She’s more concerned with staying under the radar as the school’s once-popular, now outcast loner freak. Until the boy she supposedly killed shows up wanting revenge.

PERIOD DETECTIVES - COPPER AND RIPPER STREET

Just have a look at the two DVD covers up here and you'll immediately notice the similarities. They stroke me while recently watching Ripper Street, the successful BBC1 series starring Matthew Mac Fadyen. I had finished watching BBC America Copper on Fox Crime (one of our pay tv satellite channels) not long before.
Tough,  fascinating,  torn between their duties and tragic, painful personal experiences,  the two protagonists are police detectives fighting crime,  respectively in New York and in London,   in the 19th century. Their love for justice, their frailty hidden under a tough surface,  as well as their charming looks can get under your skin.

BBC THE PARADISE SERIES 2 - WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO DENISE & MORAY?

Emun Elliott and Joanna Vanderham as Moray and Denise - Series 1

You know I really loved this series, more than Downton Abbey and - though I am enjoying watching it at present- more than Mr Selfridge. It is because I got to really care for Denise and her Mr Moray. While I actually have no favourites in Downton Abbey or Mr Selfridge.

Denise and Moray. We left them like this (see the picture above) at the end of series 1 of The Paradise. 

Denise and Moray in seventh heaven, ready to defy the entire world, well, especially the Glendennings who we knew were waiting for John Moray at church for his wedding with Katherine. 

That final gratification seemed rushed to me and I had a strange feeling: it was too  soon,  too  weird after the long scene in which Denise tried to convince John that he couldn't renounce everything for her because  he would lose what he had fought for, he would risk not only his own future but also that of the many people working for him.