Thursday, January 3, 2019

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Frozen retells the Snow Queen, an Allegory for Erzebet






Watching the "Frozen" Christmas special tonight, it struck me that this Disney retelling of the Snow Queen has a lot in common with the quest to find and tell the truth about Erzebet Bathory.  The original Snow Queen was an evil creature that brought death and devastation.  She is reinvented and given a chance at redemption in the Disney story; she actually reminds me of Rowan Mayfair in the Mayfair Witches stories by Anne Rice.  In The Witching Hour, Rowan has murderous powers she can't seem to control, just like the heroine of Frozen.


My book based on Erzebet, painting is not of her, though often
attributed as her portrait




Erzebet's history is also being revisited by Tony Thorne, K. Craft, and even me.  I've actually written YA book retelling her story and making her more accessible and explicable to posterity.


Time reveals all after a while, but femme fatales, murderous queens, and the Morgan Le Fey's of literature and myth will always attract us.  Lilith will always be more interesting than Eve.


Medusa will always have her followers, and Kali her worshippers.  Akasha will always be beloved by some.





This holiday season, may you all find peace, and I'd love to hear your take on Erzebet and women of the 17th century.


Merry Christmas!!


Public Domain

Friday, November 30, 2018

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Dark Paradise


I recently picked up another Tami Hoag thriller; love her books when I want to immerse myself in escapist horror and mystery!  She is a friend of my friend, Kim Ostrum Bush, also a romance writer.  Kim was my mom’s student, and a doll collector.  I ran into her one time at the old Masonic Temple Women’s Club Antique Show where Ralph’s Antique Dolls used to set up.  Now, the MT is Terror at Skellington Manor, my favorite haunt, with great animatronics and an extensive doll collection.

 

The novel I’m reading is Dark Paradise, and it takes place in New Eden, Montana.  There is an attorney who is also a collector of many things, including toys.  His name is Miller Daggrepont.  Here are his thoughts on collecting:

 

This is where I keep my collections . .. I collect everything  Signs, toys, farm equipment you name it.  Never know when the next big rage will hit.  I made a killing on Indian artifacts when all the Hollywood types started moving in.  They think they’re going native when they hang an old horse blanket on the wall.  Damned fools, I say—not because of the collecting.  Nothing wrong with collecting.  They’re just damned fools in general!(95)

 

 

Here are some more links if you enjoy large toy collections.  Don’t forget the Strong National Museum of Play. http://www.museumofplay.org/

 

Jerry Greene world’ largest toy collection. https://rockandrolljunkie.com/2015/02/26/4109/