Speak Its Name Update

[erastes]

Seems it wasn't such a mad idea and that people are actually reading and enjoying the Gay Historical Fiction Blog.  I've gathered in some great and generous reviewers so expect reviews by leebenoit, evremonde, zehavit_lamasu, Karen Field  and girluknow, and thank you guys for wanting to get involved.

List of Reviews so far: I'll only post here after we have another five or so more up.

Street Lavender by Chris Hunt
Dangerous Moonlight by Mel Keegan
Gaywyck by Vincent Virga
The Charioteer by Mary Renault
Standish by Erastes
Historical Obsessions – A romantic quartet by Julia Talbot
Peridot by Parhelion
Smokescreen by Stevie Woods
Sound and Fury by B A Tortuga
An East Wind Blowing by Mel Keegan
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
The Boy I Love by Marion Husband
Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
Winds of Change by Lee Rowan
Ransom by Lee Rowan
The Back Passage by James Lear
The Phoenix by Ruth Sims

Let me know if:

If you have a writers blog that you would like put on the sidebar
If you want to post a review
If you have a book you'd like reviewed ("historical" is slightly wider than the HNS - we will review up to about 1950)
If you know of a book that's not on THE LIST
If you have any ideas at all

What the HELL are we going to do when we have read/reviewed every single one of them?  Why are you reading this?  Go and write some!

Comments

[leebenoit.livejournal.com]

It would be great to include a section for non-fiction (I see there's a section for textbooks - perhaps this could be expanded). I'd love to see what others have found useful/share what I've found in terms of research, source material, archival stuff, documents, even documentary film, etc.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Yes, that would be great! I have a huge pile of textbooks I've been collecting over the last year (haven't opened one of them yet... (ashamed)) so that would be really useful for anyone who is thinking of writing in the genre, which I really hope we can encourage people to do. I don't want to run out of books to read/review! I wish I could work out how Wordpress works, I need more "sub-pages"

[leebenoit.livejournal.com]

I have a huge pile of textbooks I've been collecting over the last year (haven't opened one of them yet... (ashamed))

One of the delights of "lifelong student" status - I have to have a reading list for everything!

I like the format you established with the Jones book: Publisher's description, table of contents, then open to comments. (Eliminates the pressure to write reviews of complicated scholarly texts.

Thanks again for doing this site - it's a terrific resource!

Lee

[bittermint.livejournal.com]

By the by, I just received your novel from Amazon today. Looking forward to curling up with it this weekend! I *love* the Georgian period. ;)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

EEK! I really hope you like it!

*hides under bed*

[haydenthorne.livejournal.com]

*waves*

I've already created an account (no blog, though, just for a username), so I can post reviews there. :D I'd like to be able to get a couple put up sometime during the weekend (before my birthday, ideally).

Should I send you a list of the books I'm reviewing for approval?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

excellent! YAY! Yes, send me the list, and email me the email address that you used to join so I can add you, then you can post on your own steam.

[haydenthorne.livejournal.com]

Info's on the way. :)

[annebrooke.livejournal.com]

It's a great review blog, Erastes - on my favs bar and I pop in every day - thanks for doing this!

Hugs

A
xxx

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thanks Anne!

*Bichone Frise stares at you until you write a historical*

[annebrooke.livejournal.com]

I swear that dog is seriously scary - I am now too terrified to leave the flat ...

==:O

A
xxx

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

As a writer of a soon-to-be published historical, can I get my website on the sidebar? (Feels very cheeky for asking ;) but compensates by saying 'and do you want any more reviewers, because I'd be interested'.)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Yes 0f course you can!!!

And I'd love more reviewers, thank you so much! the more the merrier - the blog is taking off so nicely!

If you are serious, then you need to join wordpress (you don't need to create a blog - just tell them to give you a user name), then let me know the email address that you used to sign up with and I'll add you, then you can post under your own steam.

Well done on the Linden Bay novel, I can't wait to read it.

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thank you :) Well, in that case the website is here (http://www.alexbeecroft.com/Adventure_and_Romance.html)
and I will sign myself up with wordpress tomorrow :)

Is the non-fiction section entirely for non-fiction books about homosexuality in historical periods, or will it contain more general 'read this if you want to set something in Georgian England' books?

I'd love to recommend 'Men of Honour' by Adam Nicholson to anyone who wants to write anything set around Trafalgar. But there's nothing particularly gay about it other than the assertion that 'The Royal Navy was, in part, a love structure,' ;) Which probably doesn't count, as we're talking platonic here!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Primarily for gay studies in history, but ALSO a resource for writers in historical fiction, save them running off searching elsewhere.

The sort of thing I have here.

http://www.erastes.com/histlinks.htm

Anything to help historical writers get is right. There are (of course) many who DO want to get it right, but I know a good few who think that accuracy doesn't matter.

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

That is a fantastic list of links! I started looking through it casually, and ended up spending hours on the Nelson's Navy link - those re-enactors know their stuff :)

Well, I'll try to be relevant with my first one and do a review of "Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century" by John Boswell, which is something of a must-have, I think.

It may take me until Tuesday, as we'll be doing family stuff over the bank holiday :)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It hasn't been added to recently, it was a conglomeration of brainstorming from various people.

Your book sounds great! Sounds like something I need to get!

No hurry!

just FYI

[raphinou.livejournal.com]

i've recently discovered that diana gabaldon has written two new books that feature lord john as the main character: lord john and the brotherhood of the blade (http://www.amazon.ca/Lord-Brotherhood-Blade-Diana-Gabaldon/dp/0385660960/ref=sr_1_1/701-2538899-6569937?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187962774&sr=8-1), which has been recently released, and lord john and the hand of devils (http://www.amazon.ca/Lord-John-Devils-Diana-Gabaldon/dp/0385664958/ref=sr_1_2/701-2538899-6569937?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187962774&sr=8-2), which will be coming in november 2007.

Re: just FYI

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Whee!

I quite enjoyed The Private matter but didn't "get" Lord John, he was just a little remote, but I will read these anyway. I liked him, even if I didn't get in his head.

Thank you!

Re: just FYI

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

Oh fantastic! Thank you :) I really liked the first one, though I was slightly put off by the time honoured ending of having the villain explain to the hero exactly what he had done throughout, so that the hero didn't actually have to work it out himself. That doesn't mean I don't want to read the next ones though :)

Re: just FYI

[erastes.livejournal.com]

*chortles*

"and i would have got away with it, too - if it hadn't been for you and your pesky GAY genes."