Does Trebonius make an exception for Mark Antony on his preference for older men ?
tbh the older men comment is an escalation on a long running topic of bickering between them, mostly that Antony keeps grilling him about getting married (it’s politically advantageous & a good wife is a kingmaker while peers are competition & you should be looking to outlive Caesar) & Trebonius keeps associating with older guys in both his personal life (he consider’s Cicero’s son to be like his own) and politically (Crassus&Pompey&Caesar) while ducking all of Antony’s attempts to introduce him to people (just not that interested/doesn't have the time for it, much to the despair of his parents)
however! Trebonius may or may not be hooking up with Cassius later depending on how things unfold as I write!
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Being as you are someone who writes about Anne Boleyn, I must ask you, which are your favorite portrayals of Anne Boleyn? I mean fiction (novels, film, tv) but also non-fiction. And, do you feel your fav portrayals have influenced you in the way you write Anne and her story? Your least favorite ones, do they have an influence too? Which ones are they? Thanks
If there's one with zero merit and/or minimal entertainment value I won't include it on the list, I'll say I'll ** = my absolute favourites and * = my compelling in some aspects, but tread with caution, and those sort of in between I'll leave alone.
Or rather, let's put it another way...* is worth a library rental or free Kindle borrow, whichever you have available, and ** is worth an actual purchase. Those without *...eh, I'll leave it to you.
The Challenge of Anne Boleyn, Hester Chapman*
Adultery, Heresy, and Desire, Amy Licence*
Raven's Widow, Adrienne Dillard**
Jane Boleyn, Julia Fox**
Among the Wolves, Lauren Mackay*
Queens of Henry VIII, David Starkey*
The Story of the Death of Anne Boleyn, Translation, Edition, and Essays by Joann DellaNeva**
The Lady Elizabeth, Alison Weir*
Renaissance Prince, Lisa Hilton*
Hunting the Falcon, John Guy & Julia Fox**
The Life & Death of Anne Boleyn, Eric Ives**
Tudors in Love, Sarah Gristwood
Tudor England: A History, Lucy Wooding**
Children of Henry VIII, John Guy*
Henry VIII by Lucy Wooding**
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory*
The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir*
The Lady Anne (Book 2 of 5 of Above All Others series) by Gemma Lawrence**
Judge the Best (Book 2 of 5 of Above All Others series) by Gemma Lawrence**
Threads by Nell Gavin*
In the Shadow of Lions, Ginger Garrett*
Tarnish by Katherine Longshore*
Brazen by Katherine Longshore
Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius*
Wife after Wife by Olivia Hayfield*
The King's Mind by Christopher Rae**
The Concubine by Christopher Rae**
VIII by HM Castor
Queenbreaker by Catherine McCarran
The Tudors (2007-)**
The Lovers Who Changed History (2014)**
Anne Boleyn miniseries (2021)**
Blood, Sex & Royalty (2022)**
I Am Henry: A Compelling Novel of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII (2023)
And, do you feel your fav portrayals have influenced you in the way you write Anne and her story? Your least favorite ones, do they have an influence too? Which ones are they? Thanks
Pieces from everything influence me, Christopher Rae's and Gemma Lawrence's novels, for example, both had some of the best and credible portrayals of Henry Norris I've ever read, both in credible unrequited love (tying into, Anne's wariness thereof) that was forged into a weapon against him and for why he became such a favourite of HVIII's in the first place (would've included Jeff Lavender's thesis of Norris also, had you asked for beyond fiction and non-fiction books). The best parts of all of the above have inspired me to craft AB as a character at turns, sympathetic and unsympathetic: proud, courageous, intelligent, zealous, prudent (more in the 16c sense than 21c), fierce, jealous, sensitive, vindictive, unyielding, talented, compassionate, bold, spirited, pious, impassioned, loyal, loving ...somebody who inspired either complete devotion or implacable hatred, with very little in between, and felt comparable extremes towards her own family, friends, and adversaries.
From my least favourite...I try to remember that every choice she made was morally defensible and/or justifiable, from her own perspective, regardless of whether or not it actually was (and of course, they weren't always). I try to remember also that fear and insecurity can best explain some of her less palatable choices, as enumerated here. Basically, just that she was human and flawed, but also that there were many people personally (and often, religiously) invested in magnifying her flaws and reducing, or even outright omitting, her strengths. Obviously, that misogyny can also be a factor in some of her portrayals, is a salient remembrance to keep in mind, as well.
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Halsin's incredible patience and nonassertiveness (unless it's literal life or death), the way he never responds with more than mild irritation or hurt even when he's insulted, the way he lets everyone assume he has no feelings- while also struggling to externalize his own emotions (minus romantic ones)- the way he sees relationships differently than others, the way he holds disdain for most of how society views things, the way he is incredibly empathetic to the point of not being able to tolerate any suffering or unfairness, the way he has a poor sense of boundaries (particularly around sex), his dialogue if turned down by Tav about having thought their interest in his lovers was a sign of romantic interest, the implications that Thaniel was possibly his only childhood friend, his finding more companionship with animals than people to an even greater extent than most other Druids have, his extremely humble nature, the way he overfocuses on his goals to the point of letting everything else fall by the wayside, the rigidity of some of his ways of thinking especially WRT nature...
Halsin is autistic y'all. Source: am autistic
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Three quick thoughts about EP 2x06 (spoilers):
Thought #1: So this episode gave me something I really wanted but I actually wasn't 100% sure we'd get this season -- which is Armand admitting that in over 500 years, for his entire vampire life, he's never made another vampire. Ever. I wasn't actually nervous that the show would change things to have Armand turn Madeleine -- since it was already spoiled in trailers that Louis (and Claudia) would do it -- but I could feel that whole situation being a perfect setup for revealing that Armand has never once made another vampire, and they did it. 😁 Just as in the books, Armand is being set up to only have one fledgling. And the show very much leaned into the bond that makes between two vampires, given the dialogue Louis and Madeleine exchanged about that, the feelings of that.
Thought #2: Look, maybe Justin Kirk's character could still be Marius, but if so? Then the writers are leaning super hard in trying to specifically get book readers to look the other way on this. Because of that "switch bodies with you" line they had him saying to Daniel? Come on! I've heard that we won't see his character on screen again this season, but IMO that doesn't mean anything IMO, and for now, my hackles are still up. And the reason I still can't shake the Marius deal wrt him is because --
Thought #3: You know, "eating" and going to the bathroom doesn't mean Rashid is human. And the fact that Justin Kirk's character came right up to Daniel to talk the minute he left? And then didn't have any fear, or even tried to excuse himself quickly after Rashid came back? Again, come on. Because, again, Rashid was the name of a character in Blood and Gold, the book that gave us Marius' backstory. That whole scene also made me think there is a connection between Justin Kirk's character and Rashid, just as much as it gave me Body Thief vibes. But yeah, we very much won't know anything either way until the finale, IMO (hopefully).
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