Portraying The Real Myra Eells

We caught this bit of news from the Fort Walla Walla Museum World blog about its Living History Company and individuals portraying some of the Seventh Day Advenstist pioneers in the Walla Walla region dating to the latter half of the 19the century.

Among those being portrayed were pioneer missionaries Cushing and Myra Eells (shown here portrayed by Rogers Miles and Barbara Coddington).  No, it’s not the Myra Eells you think we’re talking about, and, yes, there really was a real-life Myra Eells.

Bailey MacDonald and Wicked Will

Bailey MacDonald’s debut book – Wicked Will: A Mystery of Young William Shakespeare – will be published by Aladdin on June 23, 2009:

Time Capsule: 68 AD

July 9, 68 AD: The Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide after he was deposed by the Senate 1,941 years ago today (we think it was a Saturday). Nero is best remembered all these years later for his tyranny and lavishness – that he “fiddled while Rome burned” and later constructed a golden palace.

Goreyana: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Notes from Goreyana about The Curse of the Blue Figurine:

In this return by Edward Gorey as illustrator, he begins the format he will employ throughout the remainder of the series. There is a big full color dust-jacket painting and (usually) a frontis illustration. Sometimes there are spot illustrations which are dropped into the text, but the books are not fully illustrated. The frontis drawing for this title is a particularly nice.

In November 2010, Goreyana acquired the frontis illustration and provided additional commentary:

The skill of Edward Gorey's crosshatching technique in this piece of art is a master class in line manipulation. In this single image Mr. Gorey uses variations of line to render the cave, figures, rain outside the cave, fire, smoke from the fire, and the enveloping darkness surrounding them. I especially like the two pinpoint glowing eyes of the advancing figure which are added with small dots of white paint. 

Bookmark Him and Write His Speeches

We couldn’t help but scratch our heads recently when we received an interesting email from people soliciting bookmarks for a Chicago-area celebrity bookmark auction. It began innocent enough but the message soon took an odd turn:

Guest: Celebrating John Bellairs

by Brer (May 16, 2009)
(Originally published at Power of Babel)

Review: Trolley "Can’t Rewrite History"

Book review: The Trolley to Yesterday

Goreyana: The House with a Clock in Its Walls

Notes from Goreyana about The House with a Clock in Its Walls:

For this first collaboration, Mr. Gorey has illustrated the story in much the same style as a number of other projects he had worked on. The wrap-around design of the dust jacket has images from the story sprinkled across the front and back covers, and the book is fully illustrated throughout the text with wonderful full page drawings and spot illustrations. Mr. Gorey was not commissioned to do books 2, 3 and 4, but would return on book #5 with a new look/approach to the dust wrapper that would continue through the rest of the series.

At one time, Gotham Book Mart offered me the original pen and ink artwork for the dust wrapper design, but I did not purchase it. At the time, there were a number of original Gorey pieces available, and I felt that this piece was less desirable than some other artwork being offered. It sold before I could "get back to it". Unfortunately, none of the interior illustrations for this title were made available, and I do not know if they had been sold previously or if they are still in the Gorey estate archives.

Celebrating Michigan Week 2009

Michigan Week was created in 1954 to unite members of local communities and promote the good things the state has to offer. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that “Marshall is one of the few cities across the state that puts on a host of activities celebrating Michigan's past, present and future.”

Review: Curse "High Octane Nightmare Fuel For 10-year-olds"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Goreyana Presents John Bellairs

The Goreyana blog is a great source for information about collecting the artwork of Edward Gorey and we’re pleased to see author Irwin Terry will begin a series of posts about the artwork created for the books written by John Bellairs and those completed and continued by Brad Strickland.

Memoriam: Dominic DiMaggio

Dom DiMaggio, the former center fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1940 to 1953, and the younger brother of Yankees center fielder Joe, died Friday, May 8. He was 92.

DiMaggio was special favorite of Johnny Dixon's because both wore glasses and Johnny had been to Fenway Park to hear the kids chant:

He’s better than his brother Joe,
Do-mi-nic Di-Mag-gi-o!

(The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt, 39).

Review: Treasure "Great Mystery With Realistic Characters"

Book review: The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn

Memoriam: Tom Deitz

Author Tom Deitz died April 27 from from heart complications.  He was 57.

His best known work was Windmaster’s Bane (1986), a fantasy novel that chronicled the adventures of a young Georgia man named David Sullivan. Deitz went on to have 18 more novels published, many featuring the Sullivan protagonist, as well as the Soulsmith Trilogy, comprising of the books Soulsmith, Dreambuilder, and Wordwright. 

An assistant professor of English at Gainesville State College, in 2007 Deitz was the recipient of the Phoenix Award, given to one who has done much in the name of Southern Fandom.

The Gainesville Times discusses his memorial service held at GSC on Sunday, May 3:

It was not your typical memorial service, but probably one that Deitz would have wanted.

Brad Strickland, a longtime friend, colleague and fellow fantasy writer, put on a blue flowery shirt that he said he wore a couple years ago at a faculty picnic. "Tom came up to me and said, ‘Professor Strickland, that is a cool shirt. Only you’re not cool enough to wear it,’" Strickland said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

• Fantastic Fiction
• Wikipedia

Gorey Exhibition Shows Combination of Humor and Macabre

The work of Edward Gorey, artist, author and award-winning costume designer, is celebrated in “Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey” at the Brandywine River Museum in suburban Philadelphia. The first traveling exhibition of Gorey’s work, it features 180 drawings, sketches, notebooks and other items. From the Gaea News: