All posts by Michael

Movie Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

DVD Cover, link to IMDB Page

I watched The Other Boleyn Girl, a film adaptation of Philipa Gregory’s novel that I finished and reviewed not too long ago. I was interested to see how this would go. Growing up my parents would often make me read the book before taking me to see a movie, so I have come to appreciate the difficulties in taking a story from print to film. It can be difficult, but not impossible.

First, I’ll state the obvious: the movie is incredibly simple compared to the book. This is one of the problems of transitioning mediums. Books allow a writer to give exposition far greater than a movie allows. The movie acknowledges this by making big changes to the relationships between the characters, particularly the three principals: King Henry and the Boleyn sisters. Simply put, the movie over-simplifies the events and provides only the main points, and provides no details or background.

Note: I am going to discuss the differences between the book and the movie. Historical notes and changes can be checked on the IMDB page (click the movie poster above).

The Family Plotters

The first big change of the story is that of the family itself. The Boleyn family of the movie is not a family of schemers and plotters. Mary and Anne have a rivalry, but it is sisterly to start with. It is only when their Uncle arrives to include them in his plotting that their interactions with Henry begin.

Everyone is different. The mother is more affectionate, showing concern for both her daughters. The father is less assertive, more deferential to his brother-in-law. Mary becomes more innocent, though not completely blameless. Anne is the only character of the family I thought was diminished. Anne of the book is calculating and cunning. In the movie, she’s shrewd, but it’s never explained how, so she just comes across as extremely manipulative.

I did notice an obvious goof of the movie. The movie starts with Mary Boleyn’s marriage to William Carey. William is present for the Uncle’s decision to put Mary in Henry’s view, and a few subsequent scenes. He is obviously unhappy with the plot but goes along with it. And then he disappears. The movie never mentions that he dies of sickness. William Carey just ceases to be.

The Boleyn Siblings

The movie makes great changes to the relationships of the three Boleyn siblings. In short, their relationships become extremely shallow. The brother, George, is all but removed from the story, which makes sense as there’s not a lot of time to spend on his plot.

While Mary is still a co-conspirator, her increased innocence means she appears much more the victim of circumstance. Removed are her manipulations of Henry on behalf of Anne, and the scenes where she supports Anne when Anne is exhausted or needs advice are largely absent. Her character growth and rebellion against Anne – and therefor her survival of the fall of her family – is completely gone.

Anne’s maliciousness is missing scenes where she delights in torturing Mary, such as taking Mary and Henry’s son away from her, or refusing to reward Mary as she does the rest of the family. Indeed, for much of the second half of the movie, she ignores Mary to focus on Henry. Another sacrifice of switching mediums.

I found this most disappointing. Most of the book is about their relationship, their mutual support and rivalry. Without all the extra scenes of their bickering and scheming, their depth is gone. And without the depth, all the events of the movie seem sudden.

King Henry VIII

Henry VIII is a fairly one-dimensional character in both movie and book. He is a King of England who needs a male heir to secure his throne. If his queen cannot give him one, he will find a way. That’s all he needs to be, for either story.

Henry’s relationship with both sisters is also shallower than the book’s. He never develops much of a relationship with Mary, and they have one child together, not two. His turn to Anne is sudden, a result of her manipulations and not the family’s.

Henry’s movement away from the church and Katherine of Aragon is overly simplified, which isn’t a surprise. One of the things that I’ve learned from reading the series is how long of a process the separation was. To explain it in the film would take more time than they had, So, again, we see the entire process reduced to a few scenes. Henry wants a son. Anne wants to be queen. Katherine is in the way. Schism.

While the oversimplification of Henry and his quest isn’t a surprise, neither is it a strike. Henry’s part in this story is always simple. He’s the prize for both sisters, with the power to make – and break – their lives.

Conclusion

The book is better than the movie. Not exactly a risky stance to take, I know. But it’s important to understand how switching mediums change the basics of the characters.

Mary is no longer a naive character who grows into an independent woman, she is a victim of her circumstances. Anne is no longer a cunning strategist in a game of court politics, she is a manipulative opportunist. The events of their lives, devoid of any depth, become a sequence of rapid actions, observed without understanding anything but the immediate, personal consequences.

Was it a terrible transition of book to screen? No. There are definitely worse ones. And it did follow the basic themes of the book, while ignoring the nuances that a novel allows. That’s about all you can hope for when taking a book to screen. All in all, not a bad movie, but not one I feel the need to see again.

March Update

February was a busy month. Not only did I spend time concentrating on getting over some of the issues with various writing projects, but I knocked several movies off my list. I also got into podcasts at work, listening to them while I process some of the more mundane responsibilities.

Writing

My main focus was Book 3, wargaming out the end campaign to better understand how fast the units would be moving and reacting to events. I wrote through about 30,000 words, replacing previous scenes and building a much stronger campaign than the first run through. This leads me into the last acts of the book and gets me closer to a draft.

When I haven’t been working on Book 3, I’ve been spending some time on the sci-fi novel. I had to correct a few errors, re-writing scenes to account for mistakes I had made. I’ve also had to face the fact that the rough-draft’s final acts were not very exciting, so I’ve been planning out a new sequence of events. I’m working through those scene and closing in on a rough draft of that book as well.

Movies and TV

Knocked many things off my watch list last month.

I finished Star Trek: Discovery Season 4. I thought it was fantastic. A lot of people find problems with Discovery, and I understand why, but I really like their stories and their story-telling. Season 4 was the first season that I thought did not fall apart in the last two episodes.

Then I watched The Other Boleyn Girl, a film version of one of the books I’ve read. I was not too impressed. I know everything that got cut out, so the movie just feels like a rushed collection of events. I’m writing a more detailed blog post which should be up soon.

I also knocked out Top Gun: Maverick. It was an exciting movie, which I expected. What I did not expect was how strong the story was. I don’t know that I would say it is Best Picture material, but it was really good.

Books

Slowly making my way through the Education in Violence: The Life of George H Thomas by Francis F. McKinney. It’s a long, involved history book, with a lot of details about the general’s life and command during the civil war. It’s good, but it is involved. Takes a long time to get through one page.

Games

I finished both Last of Us and Fort Triumph. Fort Triumph was a fun game, with a decent and fun story. Last of Us though, holy crap was that an intense game. I had to give myself a few days between sessions. Still, I think it was one of the best games I’ve ever played. Up there with Horizon Zero Dawn. I started Last of Us Part II, which continues to be just as intense as the first game.

For my next computer game, I was going to start Mechanicus, a Warhamemr 40K game I’ve heard good things about, but it turns out there’s a problem with the game: the text is so small I can’t read it and I have no idea what’s going on. So instead I’m working through Napolean: Total War, to satiate my need for a strategic game of conquest.

Not much new to report in terms of RPG’s. My characters are all still alive and continuing with their stories. I’m doing a bit of work on some campaign ideas, but just broad strokes. I don’t think I’ll be running anything for a while.

What’s Next

I’ve got Minicon coming up Easter Weekend. By the end of the month I’m hoping to have another convention and a Books and Beer even lined up for summer. But those are yet to come.

February Update

Here is my update for February, covering December of ’22 and January of ’23.

Writing

January was a bit of a slow writing month, after the high temp of the end of 2022. I’ve been tweaking the sci-fi story and correcting some errors, and gaming out the end battle of Book 3. I probably added about 20,000 words all month. Not bad, but not great. I’m readying myself for February to be a big month.

Movies and TV

Not a lot new in terms of TV shows or movies recently. I did snag a year of Paramount+ for cheap during a holiday sale, so I’m getting into the fourth season of Star Trek Discovery, with several other Star Trek shows to follow. Plus I’m aiming to knock a few movies off my to-watch list in February. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Books

Between December and January I read a lot of fun books.

A Hundred Years from Launch (by Kayli Schaaf): I picked this book up from Kayli and a Books and Beer event I ran back in September, and I freaking loved it. It’s set in a small terraforming colony, trying to prepare for a population fleeing a dying earth. The main character is dealing with deep secrets that she cannot reveal, and trying to build some sense of happiness. The story covers a series of crisis that force the character and the colony to adapt, painfully but for the better. I enjoyed the story so much that one aspect of the story that took me out and had me saying ‘WTF?’ wasn’t enough for me to give it 4 stars. I absolutely recommend this book.

Little Paris Bookshop (by Nina George): Not my usual genre but I thought I’d give it a shot. Originally written in German as the ‘Lavender Room’ and translated to English. This book is about a Parisian bookseller whose book shop is a riverboat. He discovers a letter from his deceased lover that makes him re-evaluate his life and their parting. He takes his river boat to the waterways of France, adventuring to soothe his soul until he can learn to love himself and face life again. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, given how far it is from my usual reads.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (by Mark Haddon): Another oddity, one I got from my mother for Christmas. What made this book fascinating is that it is written from the view point of an autistic teenager who’s writing the story afterwards. The writer explains the rules of his autism and how he interacts with the world. For example, he describes that the reason he can’t lie is that when he tries to, he doesn’t just think of one thing that didn’t happen, he thinks of everything that didn’t happen, and can’t decide what to say. Another fascinating book.

Education in Violence: The Life of George H Thomas (by Francis F. McKinney): A biography of one of my favorite and least known American Civil War generals, I chose this from several lists of biographies. I only just started it, so I’ve gone through his early life, the Mexican American War and into the start of the Civil War. I hope to finish it well before the end of the month and move into the next Philippa Gregory and 30K book.

Games

Jedi Fallen Order: I completed this game in January. Set in the years after the prequal movies, the game follows a young Jedi survivor. He becomes embroiled in a quest for an artifact. It was a fun game to play through, one that continued to expand the Star Wars universe.

Last of Us: I have only just started to play this one, recommended to me by my sister. The opening sequence was intense and brutal, but holy crap did it get me into the game. I thoroughly enjoy the story and the characters, but I find the gameplay a bit frustrating. I keep trying to stealth by areas, and the game keeps forcing me into combat. We’ll see if the story continues to make up for the gameplay problems.

Fort Triumph: A PC game in the same vein as Heroes of Might and Magic. However, instead of armies of troops, you command squads of hereos. It has a strong RPG element, with a fun tongue-and-cheek campaign that had me laughing several times. I’m hoping to finish this game this month and move on to something else.

In terms of Roleplaying Games, I finished my Homecoming game just before New Years, so I’m no longer running one. I’m still playing in several games, one as a blunderbuss-toting tengu pirate, another as Sir Montague the gambler. With the new year comes new campaigns. Some new characters might be coming out soon.

What’s Next

I’m signed up to have a table at Minicon, Easter weekend in April.

Book Report: The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl is a book about Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn and mistress of King Henry VIII. The story begins in Spring of 1521 and ends in May of 1536 with the execution of Anne after her brief stint as Queen. This is the first book from the perspective of the Boleyn sisters; so far they’ve only been referenced as villains in other women’s stories. The sisters, Mary much more so than Anne, come across in a sympathetic light.

When the story begins, Katheryn of Aragon is still queen and is failing to produce a male heir. Henry already has one illegitimate son he has acknowledged and is looking to sire more. The Howard family – of which the Boleyn’s are a branch – seeks to put Mary in his view to gain influence. Anne is with her to support her in her quest. Both sisters are in service to the queen, while trying to seduce her husband.

Mary Boleyn

Mary Boleyn ranks high on the list of sympathetic characters in Gregory’s pantheon so far, perhaps at the top. She is a very passive character, much like Anne Neville and Margaret Pole, never attaining much authority or power for herself. Her family treats her like a pawn in their game of power around the king with no empathy or care for her. In one scene, when Mary expresses a desire to return to their family lands to be with her child, her mother wonders why she would do so, declaring she had never shown such affection for her own children. As the reader, I’m not surprised.

What little support she has comes from her two siblings, George and Anne. George offers sympathy enough to keep her moving with the family’s plots, but never enough to protect Mary from them. Anne offers advice to win the attention of the king, proving to be a fairly sage advisor. Yet the three never forget they are plotters for the Howard family, and that knowledge colors their entire relationship.

I found myself hating the position Mary was in, while hoping she would find enough strength to pull herself out of it. She is commanded to betray her first husband to seduce the king. She is forced to betray the queen – a woman she has tremendous respect for – to bear the children the queen cannot. What’s worse is what happens when she’s ultimately successful and bears Henry two illegitimate children. Her family benefits from her success, and Anne becomes the focus of Henry’s attention, while Mary is cast aside by both king and family without a second thought by either. She becomes the other Boleyn girl.

Anne Boleyn

This is the first book in which Anne Boleyn is a major character. Through Mary’s eyes, she sometimes provokes sympathy, and other times outrage.

As both Mary and Anne are pawns in the family game, there are shared experiences. Mary provides Anne with intelligence with how to keep Henry interested and excited without getting into bed with him. Mary sees Anne’s exhaustion in private and provides her with emotional support. It is hard to read about Anne’s efforts without feeling at least some sympathy for her.

At the same time, Anne knows that her star is ascendant over Mary’s, and never lets Mary forget it. She takes Mary’s support for granted, even as she does nothing to help. In one instance, when Anne is informing Mary of all the titles and lands she’s managed to win over for their family, Mary asks if anything is coming her way. Anne dismisses her request as irrelevant, as she is only the other Boleyn girl. She even goes so far as to take custody of Mary and Henry’s son, as much to secure her position in Henry’s court as to prove her superiority over her sister.  

`Anne wins her crown. King Henry divorces Katherine and locks her away. Anne is crowned queen, `though London is disturbingly silent at her coronation. All she has to do now is produce an heir, which is easier said than done.

Here I once again found myself sympathizing with Anne. Modern science tells us a lot about how children are conceived and carried to term, but in the 16th Century there was a lot of religious belief mixed in with both. Anne bore only one child, a daughter (Queen Elizabeth), and has several miscarriages. In King Henry’s court, this was seen as a sign of sin, either due to the conspiring of Anne or due to darker acts. As much as Anne was an antagonist to Mary, to see her heading to an end caused by factors beyond her knowledge and control was difficult.

Mary’s survival and Anne’s fall

Mary survives because she, finally, rebels against her family. Her first husband dead, she falls in love with a man in the service of her uncle, William Stafford. After secret courting, Mary chooses to run with him and marry in secret, returning in time for the coronation of her sister. They keep the secret for almost a year, and are banished when found out, at least until Anne becomes pregnant again and sends for Mary.

Mary, without the influence of her family and away from court, finds life enjoyable. She worked on the farm with her husband, bore another child, worked with her hands. She was happy.

Anne does not have a happy ending. The protections Henry destroyed to remove Queen Katherine no longer remained to protect Anne, and she is one of many taken and accused to incest and witchcraft, along with George. Historians generally agree this was a trumped-up excuse, but the book hints there to be some truth to the charges. The family leaves both siblings to be executed.

Mary survives because her act of finding happiness – putting herself before her family – removed her enough from Anne’s schemes that she was hunted. William kept her from coming forward and out of danger. The two focused instead on getting the first two children out of danger. With Anne’s execution, her hold on the children is severed and Mary has her family back.

Conclusion

The Other Boleyn Girl has two dynamic characters interacting with each other. Mary, the passive pawn whose rebellion eventually leads to her survival, and Anne, the committed strategist who plays her part to the end. Both women elicit sympathy for the game they are forced to play from a young age, and for the toxic family they grew up in. Both elicit disdain for their actions as part of the family plan.

What I like most about the book is how both character’s fates are tied to their response to the game. Mary, upset over how she’s treated by her family, rebels against the family’s plan and is ultimately saved. Anne, an expert manipulator when she can control Henry, falls victim to intrigue when she cannot. Mary stops playing and wins; Anne keeps playing and loses.

I rate this as one of the better books in the series. I get to see a sympathetic character survive (unlike Anne Neville and Margaret Pole) to have a happy ending. It has not been a common ending in the series, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

2022 in review + 2023 goals

I started 2022 expecting to get a book out (or two), attend conventions, get Books and Beer up and running again, and generally make writing a more important part of my life. I was going to read through dozens of books and blog about them, and blog more in general. There were lists of games and movies and shows to run through. I had a lot of goals.

Largely, I did not make them. But I don’t consider 2022 a failure.

I have written almost 200,000 words between all my writing projects, and there’s a good chance I will published two or three books next year.

My short story exchange group has given me confidence in writing smaller stories, so I’m eager to start exploring new story-telling options for ideas I have waiting in the wings.

I got Books and Beer up and running again, with two events in 2022.

I’m feeling a little more comfortable with my blogging voice.

My goal for 2023 is to keep the momentum going. Keep writing. Keep pushing. Don’t worry over every little misstep. I’ve already started signing up for events in 2023, and I’ll be looking into Books and Beer locations soon.

As for 2022, I’ve learned a lot about how I missed my goals and why. My apartment is full of distractions, so libraries and coffee shops are good ideas if I want to make progress. I invested in a small laptop with the writing software I need, and a secondary monitor to help with research and referencing. And sometimes, I just need to kick my own ass off the couch and get stuff done.

So, 2022. Thanks for the chance to grow.

2023? Let’s see what we can do together.

December 2022 Update

Well, November was a month dominated by NANOWRIMO and Thanksgiving.

Writing

I missed the goal of 50,000 words by about 8K between all three projects. Th main reasons I missed out had to do with slowing down on weekend and spending more time over Thanksgiving with family than writing, which is a good trade off. Still, I’m good with 42,000 words for the month. That’s a good amount of writing.

Movies and TV

Finished off Andor in November. That was a fun show, getting into the dark background of Star Wars without adding Jedi and Darth anything. It was a slow start, sure, but I enjoyed it, especially Mon Mothma’s storyline, and Stellan Skarsgard’s character of Luthen. I look forward to the next season.

Over the holiday I went to see Devotion, about the the first African American Naval Aviator and the Korean War. I liked the movie, and had a fun experience where my knowledge of World War 2 aircraft led me to anticipating some plot points. There was one minor plot that I felt was forced, but overall, I liked it.

Books

I read the next Gregory book, The Other Boleyn Girl, and I’m working on the blog post for that. The book is from the POV of Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, and is the first time we get to see the events of Henry VIII’s life from the Boleyn faction. I’ll leave more for the blog post.

I also read another 30K book, Heralds of the Siege, book 52 of the Horus Heresy series. Like all the other anthologies in the series, some of the short stories were very good, and others were forgettable. And most involved characters we haven’t seen in ten books or so, so I had no idea who they were. But, one more down, twenty to go?

Games

I’m continuing to wrap down the Sunday night game. I’ve only got a few more sessions before it finished up, and I’m hoping I’ve got a good idea how to get a final battle that will be challenging and enjoyable.

The other two games I’m playing in ar moving along. We have an almost TPG (Total Party Kill) on Monday night, so a bunch of us had to replace our characters. It’s a chance to try something new.

What’s Next

On December 10th I’ve got the next Books and Beer Pop-Up Bookstore at the AZ Gallery in St Paul. Other than that I’m working on three book projects and a number of short stories. I want to published at least one book in 2023 if I can get it to work out.

Keep on writing!

Michael

November Update

Man, the monthly change really sneaks up on you. No sooner am I planning the update, then BAM, we’re past the first. Well, I’m only a day late to cover what I managed in both September and October.

Writing

I have been making a lot of good writing milestones the last few weeks. I got past the last big issue with Book 3 and I’m writing through that act. Then I’ll have to keep writing into the next act and start ironing out what doesn’t make sense, and iron it into the act before. I’ll have to take a few passes to make it work, but then I’ll finally have my rough draft. The downside is that even though I’m finally over 100,000 words (yay!), a lot of the work ahead is re-writing, so the word count won’t increase as much.

The SciFi and Fantasy novel re-writes are going well. Each is over 20K and progressing daily. Both are a lot stronger than the rough drafts were. It’s nice to be able to jump between them as I need to.

NANOWRIMO Note: My goal for NANOWRIMO is to add 50K words between the three projects. The Book 3 Re-writing will be a bit odd to count, but I’ll make it work.

Movies and TV

I cannot say I watched a lot of new Movies or TV the last two months, in part because I tried not to turn my TV on a lot over October.

I watched through She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the MCU show on Disney +. I liked the show, especially how the main character kept breaking the fourth wall to share joked with the audience. The misogyny the character experienced was hard to watch, but I don’t think you could tell her story without it. At least the character had a fulfilling arc. I hope to see her in future shows.

Started the Andor show. I’m enjoying it so far, though I’m watching it more for what they’re doing with Mon Motha, the political character, than I am for what they’re doing with Andor. I mean, I like Andor, but I find her arc much more interesting. We’ll see how it turned out.

Books

Read through a five-book young adult series called the Phantasmagoria series, written by a Minnesota author named El Holly. The five books follow five middle schoolers who have to travel to a world of imagination called Phantasmagoria. They go to find balance between the worlds and save both from destruction. They’re books written for a younger audience, so there’s some wackiness in the story and some odd decisions, but it was still a fun series to read through.

I also read through a 40K book called ‘Battle of the Fang’, about the Thousand Sons attack on the Space Wolf homeworld of Fenris. A pretty decent book, as 40K books can go. A lot of cool combat sequences, some fantastic sci-fi, and a bunch of ‘seriously?’ moments. About what I’d expect.

Games

Finished Terran Command and Farcry: Primal. I may go back and finish some of the extras in both, but I don’t have to. I’ve got the stories done and that’s pretty decent. Playing through Epic 40K: Final Liberation, which is a game I played through way back in the 90’s when it first came out. I’m having another experience (like I did with C&C) where I’m playing much more competently now than I did as a child. Very much enjoying the playthrough.

Not much changing on the Role-Playing Game front. My Sunday night ‘Homecoming’ game should be wrapping up soon, so we’ll see if that ends on a high note. Hot Springs Island and Known World are still running great.

What’s Next

Focusing on NANOWRIMO (at least how I’m doing it this year). Got my eye on some conventions and events come the new year, hit 2023 swinging and selling. Keep selling on Fiverr if and when I can. And of course trying to blog more often.

Cheers!

Michael

Book Report: Three Sisters, Three Queens

Book Eight in the series (halfway through) follows Margaret Tudor, older sister to King Henry VIII and Queen of Scotland. The book takes place between November of 1501 and the summer of 1533. The title is a reference to the relationship and paths of Margaret and her sister Mary, Queen of France, and sister-in-law Katherina of Aragorn, Queen of England.

Overall, I liked this book. Not only did we get a chance to see how Scotland of the 16th century worked, but we get to see the same events of previous books through lenses that completely change how we interpret them. I found it a fascinating read.

Margaret in the Book

Margaret Tudor is introduced as a young woman in the Tudor court of Henry VII. She has the Tudor arrogance and belief in their divine right to rule, pickled with the humility enforced by the Red Queen and her supposed reduced value as a princess. She is present for the death of Arthur and the beginning of Katherine’s years of exile from court. Margaret is then married to James IV of Scotland and sent north.

As Queen of Scotland, Margaret has a tumultuous life. She bears the next king of Scotland, but James is then killed in battle with the English (under Katherine’s banner, which Margaret never truly forgives her for). French and English factions at court threaten both her and her son. She falls for a Scottish lord and marries him in secret, upsetting the Scottish families and her brother. Her husband, it turns out, is stealing her wealth and putting his clan over the safety of the nation, yet because he is her husband she had little recourse to save herself or protect her son. He is eventually disposed, and her son safe.

While Margaret is navigating the intricacies of Scottish politics and her own heart, she is in constant correspondence with Henry, Katherine and Mary. These letters tie the book in with the rest of the series.

Margaret and Katherine

Margaret’s relationship with Katherine changes constantly throughout the novel and is dependent on Katherine’s position in relation to Margaret. When Katherine is in a superior or stable position, she is Katherine of Arrogant, and Margaret is dismissive of her advise. When Katherine is reduced or suffering, Margaret is more sympathetic.

Where Margaret and Katherine’s stories truly conflict is in regard to divorce. As we saw in The Constant Princess, the concept of divorce is seen as a threat to women everywhere. Women cannot work for themselves (or rarely can) and if a man can set his wife aside at will, then all women are threatened.

But Margaret’s second marriage is an example of the dangers of not having the option of divorce. Her second husband, Archibald Douglas, uses his position to steal her income for himself. Margarets attempts to defend herself and protect her son, King James V, are often ignored because he is her husband, and it is his right to steal from her.

Both Margaret and Katherine know that Margaret’s success will doom Katherine. Henry is looking for a reason to set Katherine aside so he can marry Anne Boleyn and sire an heir. Katherine repeatedly writes to Margaret to respect her marriage, as terrible as it is, so that her own will survive.

I read these exchanges with interest. I know Katherine’s impossible situation and understand how devastating the concept of divorce would be. At the same time, I’m reading Margaret’s impossible situation and knowing that divorce is her only salvation (that or untimely death). I know how it ends for Katherine. I was invested in learning how it ends for Margaret.

Margaret and Mary

Of the three sisters, Mary Tudor was the one I expected the least from. I barely remember her from earlier books. She’s the younger sister, married to the King of France for three months before his death, then married in secret to a friend of Henry’s before her return to London. Her early letters are about dresses and hair styles and jewelry and lack much substance.

Mary’s second marriage is much like Margaret’s second, yet the two are received entirely differently. Mary’s results in acceptance and a heavy fine, while Margaret’s takes much longer and some bloodshed to achieve any recognition. Mary’s is longstanding and true, but Margaret’s turns false and ends in divorce. Several times I came to the conclusion that Margaret, as much as she sees Mary as frivolous, she is also jealous that Mary gets to lead an easier life.

Mary is easily dismissed early on, but towards the end her letters become important windows into Henry’s court. She writes of the shift of Henry’s attention and the court moving its focus from Katherine to Anne, and how impetuous Anne and her family becomes as Anne’s influence grows. Anne acts as a queen long before Katherine is removed. Her family even goes so far as to assault and murder their opponents without fear of punishment, indicating just how far Henry is willing to let Anne have her way.

Margaret and Henry

The relationship between Margaret and Henry has two aspects. One is political, regarding their respective royal positions, and the other is legal, regarding their respective and evolving positions on divorce.

Politically, Henry expects Margaret to act as an extension of the English Court rather than an independent Queen of Scotland. In fact, we learn that much of the Scottish court and nobility is in the pay of either the English or French courts. Her decisions to marry Archibald, then her attempts to remove herself from his control, are constantly viewed by Henry as an embarrassment. We, as the reader, know she is navigating Scottish politics, but Henry does not see that. He instead tries to influence and intimidate her into passive acceptance of her situation.

Legally, Henry does not support her attempts to divorce until he himself becomes interested in divorcing Katherine. He spends much of the book telling her to be a devout wife, but then suddenly shifts his tone. He not only promotes divorce but attempts to convince James V to follow his lead and separate from the Catholic Church, citing not only the power but the wealth one can obtain from raiding the churches. James rejects the notion, but the cynical nature of Henry’s decision is clearly obvious.

Conclusion

I liked this book. I liked learning about Scotland of the time. And I liked how the author managed to give us the same events that we’ve already seen but through new lenses that change how those events were interpreted. Easy to see how the same action can be great for one individual (Margaret’s divorce from Archibald), and terrible for another (Katherine’s divorce from Henry). I look forward to continuing in the series.

September 1st Update

August becomes September, and summer becomes spring, and authors look at their coffee shop boards and see pumpkin spice. Such is the nature of things.

Writing

Book 3 is just shy of 90,000 words. I am currently working on the middle section, that connects the beginning and end. I am plotting out what needs to happen and working on a map of the area. Once I have it written then I can shift to ironing the story together and getting the rough draft done.

I am working on the Tales of the Templar short story book. I am just finishing up the second story and I’m well into the third. The goal is four to six.

I’m still picking on the Fantasy and Sci-Fi novels when I feel the need to write instead of plot. I worked out the mythology of the fantasy novel and the science of the sci-fi, so now I can get to the writing.

Movies and TV

In August I watched a number of new shows and films. I finally finished off Sherlock, the BBC show with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. I saw the first episode back when it came out and it so upset me I did not finish the season until now. The last two episodes were not as bad as I’d feared; I might even go as far as to say they revived my interest in the show.

In terms of movies I watched Bullet Train, the Brad Pitt action/comedy film in the theater. I like it and thought it was a fun film. Worth going to the local cinema to see.

At home I streamed The Batman, the latest Batman film with Robert Patterson. As odd as Patterson is when he’s playing Bruce Wayne, I liked how this entry was a proper detective story. I even like how Batman and Gordon make mistakes in their investigation. Their fallibility added to the story.

Finally, I saw Prey, the latest Predator movie set in the early 18th century and featuring American Indian tribes fighting the sci-fi hunter. Holy crap did that movie rock. I was thrilled the whole time. I’d like to see them do more Predator through the ages movies.

Books

Only got through two books this month, which is kind of disappointing, but they were both longer books.

Three Sisters, Three Queens is the next Philippa Gregory book, following Margaret Tudor, older sister of King Henry VIII and Queen of Scotland. I really liked this book, and I’m working on the book report right now.

The other book I read is Ways and Means, a look at the economics of the American Civil War. Mostly the book followed Salmon Chase as he built up the Federal government’s finances to pay for the ever more expensive civil war. The author also spent time talking about the Confederate banking system and the European responses. These are all things I knew little about, for all my education on the war, and for all the importance economics and finance has on a government’s ability to persecute a war.

Games

Stalled out on Starship Troopers: Terran Command. I hit a mission I haven’t been able to get past yet, but I’m still working on it.

Almost done with a console game, Farcry: Primal, set in Germany in about 5,000 BC. I found this game an interesting take on the normal Farcry build. The gameplay was about the same, but without the array of guns to collect and customize, you were much more reliant on melee weapons and special grenades. Pretty cool., though I’m looking forward to getting back to normal.

My Homecoming game continues into the final chapter. Monday night works into Hot Springs Island. And my charisma character is still doing a good job in the Thursday Night Known World Campaign. So, RPG wise, I’m doing really well.

What’s Next

I’ve got a Books and Beer Event on September 18th at Inbound BrewCo; I will be hosting, but I’ll still have a table and everything. Looking to get some tables going for events the rest of this year and into next, but don’t have anything signed up yet.

Have a seller’s profile on Fiverr. Now I’m building some gigs (services people can purchase from me). Working on graphics and will have those up shortly.

Still writing, still revising, still working.

Cheers!

Michael

August 1st Update

July was a very busy month in some ways, and not so busy in others.

Writing

Book 3 is now over 80,000 words, which is only 5,000 more than a month ago, but is includes a 10,000 word re-write of the first two acts to account for a correction of geography. I’ve got the first and last acts written. Now I need to connect them with the middle acts and complete the rough draft.

I’m working on my fantasy novel again, having worked out the bulk of the problems with the mythology and pantheons. I’m in a similar position with the science fiction novel of having the background worked out. But since most of my writing time is dedicated to Book 3, I’m just picking at them when I have some extra time.

Movies / TV

I finished off Ms Marvel. I enjoyed it. Not only the story of the character, but the new background and culture of Kamila Kahn. I’m excited to see where she goes in the future.

I also got to see the Thor: Love and Thunder movie, which was great. Not as fun as Ragnarok, but it was a good movie. I still don’t see where Phase IV is going. Maybe it’s more of a palette cleanser between sagas? I think I heard something to that effect, but I haven’t read into it yet.

I watched through the fourth season of Stranger Things. Holy crap did that crank up the tension. I’m glad I started watching it on a Sunday morning and not at night. As it was, I was nervous the entire season. I will say this: that show does a good job of bringing different storylines together at the end.

Books

Guess I didn’t read a whole lot this month. Other than finishing Red Storm Rising, I read a book called Justice in an Age of Metal and Men, a cyberpunk western story. It was a fascinating world, though I had a hard time getting into the story.

Games

Been playing through Matrix Game’s Starship Troopers Terran Command. It’s a Real-Time Tactical game, commanding squads of troopers across battlefields while fighting the arachnids, complete with the generic cliches of the movie series. It’s pretty fun, and I’m almost done with it.

In RPGs, my Homecoming game is continuing into the last chapter. My Monday Night Game continues into Hot Springs Island (my character is still alive!) and my Thursday game is entering the next phase, a chapter of urban politics where my character plays a role of a foreign investor. Not my usual role.

What’s next

I’m running a Books and Beer Pop-Up Bookstore in September that I’ll be prepping for. I’m close to posting some job stuff on Fiverr. Other than that, it’s writing and revising and working being mor author-like.

Until next time!

Michael