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   Who knew Mad Max made an appearance in Hamlet ? It's Franco Zeffirelli's 1991 adaptation of Shakespeare's moody prince, starring Mad Mel as the perturbed prince, crazy Glenn as Queen Gertrude, Helen Bonham Carter as the tormented Ophelia, Alan Bates, and Ian Holm. I believe the latter is Polonius, which would make Bates the Step-King. I was delighted to see this one come up on the suggested viewing list. I've already seen two or three Hamlet adaptations and I've watched Branagh's 4 hour marathon a couple times. How does Zeffirelli's version stack up against that of the actor/director who tackled not only Hamlet , Henry V , Much Ado about Nothing , and who knows which other of William's plays? Zeffirelli gets off to a great start by having a cooler sounding name and a movie short enough that I don't have to take a break in the middle to renew my passport. So, he's got those things going for him. On the other hand, Branagh didn't have crazy ...

 Fun Fact: Frederick Lord North was 38 when he became prime minister in 1770. Corpulent with large features and a bulbous head, he was famous for his wit, literary anecdotes, and historical references. Prior to becoming PM, he had supported the policies that led to the revolution in America. Although he took a more conciliatory policy when he took office, his policies regarding the East India Company tea precipitated the rebellion.  The East India Tea Act of 1773 was designed to make tea cheaper in America and increase revenues from the tea tax, thus upholding the right of Parliament to tax America. It seemed like a win-win. While England viewed the right to tax as fundamental to parliamentary supremacy, the Americans regarded any direct tax as a tool for tyranny. The Americans responded by dumping the East India tea into Boston Harbor. North escalated the tension by imposing the Coercive acts, intending to make an example of Massachusetts; instead, it made North despised in t...

  The characters and items pictured above have been my writing companions for a few years now. On the left is what may be an Aztec death whistle. It makes a sound like rumbling wind or growling jaguar. There are two stone dice from Texas, some poker chips from a production I was in, one white plastic die, an Eiffel Tower replica (not actual size), and a dragon I found at Walmart. The two flanking denizens not only assure that I focus on my work, like the other items, they also have special functions. The stone dice are a reminder  that the protagonist can't always succeed--even sure things are subject to chance. Even when he does succeed, there must be high probability that he won't. The plastic die suggests that after a failure or a success, there may be more unanticipated possibilities that can change the earlier result. A little luck never hurts. The chips represent the idea that a good story requires rising stakes. Eventually, the protagonist has to go all in. The Eiffel T...

 Interview with Jeff Chapman Author of The Great Contagion, The Sniggard's Revenge, Last Request: Victorian Gothic, and more Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. I’m working on a novel in my Merliss Tales fantasy series. Merliss is the spirit of a young woman who has been trapped inside the body of a gray cat. She had been training to become a healer/shaman, so she retains some magical abilities, but she lives as a cat. The magic which transferred her spirit to the cat gives her physical body an unusually long life. We’re talking thousands of years. Merliss aids her human companions in their battles with disease and supernatural threats. I’ve written two novels in the series ( The Great Contagion and Cat Sidhe ) and a short story “The Water Wight.” My work in progress is The Breath of the Sea , which is set several centuries in the future from the first two novels. The story concerns an injured mermaid and a dying girl who befriends the mermaid. Merliss...