What to expect re: London

As you can clearly see, my grand plan to update while I was in London did not go entirely as planned. This is a good thing, however, because it shows just how busy I was flitting from place to place. Then I came home and decided to shirk responsibility for a while, seeing as I won't have a chance to do that again until after graduation. Here I am, back in action, ready to buckle down and get some of these updates going. I'm planning to do a post about the differences in London theatre and American theatre, which will hopefully spark some conversation or debate, as well as a general recap about the shows I saw in the UK, and a discussion about the differences in the way British actors and American actors treat Shakespeare. I didn't read much romance while over there (I was too busy writing frantically in my journal), so reviews will have to wait until I tackle the TBR pile that actually grew while I was away (who knew?). I did see a lot of stuff, so expect some general 'pretty things' about the sights and sounds of England, Scotland and Wales. You can also expect something that I definitely did not expect that is a little sappy, but wonderful, and gives me hope for the world.

Look for a post later today about my adventures getting into London itself . . .

London Bound!

Well, here I am at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, about to embark on what is sure to be one of the grandest adventures of my life. I remembered almost everything I intended to pack, and will have to live without my Gorillapod (a shame..). I've just had my last Chicago Dog until I return. And I've been browsing my pamphlets to see what exactly I plan to see in my free time.

We have three weeks kind of planned out for us, but after that our time is our own. I was planning on visiting Scotland, North Wales, Liverpool and Dublin for sure. But I'm done in Dublin with oodles of time left.. so I've decided I get to explore on my own for a bit, because I have so much I want to see!

Next year in our program we are developing one-person shows based on one character from a Shakespeare play. I've chosen Margaret of Anjou from the Henry VI plays as well as Richard III. It means I have to memorize three plays' worth of lines, but Margaret will be a good challenge for me. While I'm in the UK I'm hoping to connect to several locations mentioned in the scripts. I'm still making my list because I haven't yet re-read through all of the text, but I'm hoping to have that done by the end of the flight.

Speaking of the flight, besides "homework", I'm planning on at least reading Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran. I love Meredith's writing, and I've purposefully been saving her new book for this flight.

I might sleep also. I even have a fancy new neck pillow for just that purpose.

Here's hoping the volcano doesn't keep me down. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in London!

On London and Venice

Let's start with Venice..

Heidenkind over at Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books has announced her Venice Challenge! The challenge is to read six books, of whatever genre you wish, that take place in Venice, Italy. The challenge runs from today (May 1, 2010) to a year from today (May 1, 2011).

I have a preliminary list set up. Some of them may not be specifically in Venice, but I will find that out as I dig into them. They all came highly recommended, so they won't be a waste even if I have to add one later.

Your Scandalous Ways - Loretta Chase
Lord of the Night - Susan Wiggs
The Glassblower of Murano - Marina Fiorato
Wings of the Falcon - Barbara Michaels
The Music of the Night - Lydia Joyce
Veiled Passions - Tracy MacNish
A Notorious Woman - Amanda McCabe
The Defiant Mistress - Claire Thornton
The Venetian Mask - Rosalind Laker

These were recommended on various blogs and websites that I visited. If you're interested, you should first sign up at Heidenkind's Blog, and check out her recommendations. I also found this website, which has a good, long list of fiction set in Venice.

Now, on to London!

My MFA program is the bomb-dizzy. Our first summer, we will be going to London to study for two weeks at Shakespeare's Globe, as well as a workshop at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. Three weeks total for our program, and then I am going to do a bit of traveling around the island on my own, including a visit to my wonderful family in Scotland. I read voraciously when I travel, and I hope to be able to keep you updated and entertained with photos and reviews while I'm over there. We have some required reading, we will be seeing some productions, and, best of all, we will be working working working.

Also coming up this summer, I will be making an appearance at the RWA Literacy signing in Nashville, and hanging out for the duration of the conference, though I won't be attending panels or anything. I will, however, be attending "unofficial" events as much as possible and exploring Nashville in all its bluegrass glory. I'm also going to the Lilth Fair, and helping a friend out at GenCon, so all-in-all, I will be a very busy traveler this summer.

The rest of my life has some big shoes to fill.