O, Juliet is Published

Congratulations to Robin Maxwell, author of O, Juliet which debuted today in bookstores in the US! I interviewed Maxwell last week about her books and her writing life last week: Eight Questions for Robin Maxwell.


Robin is the author of eight works of historical fiction all of which feature strong heroines in remarkable situations. I first encountered her work when I picked up Signora Da Vinci in a bookstore last fall. Signora Da Vinci is an imagined look at Leonardo da Vinci's life through the eyes of his mother. Maxwell fabricates a fantastical life for the mother of the genius -- a woman who we know almost nothing about in actuality. What results is a fun read!

I received an advance copy of O, Juliet which I read over the Christmas holidays. Again, Maxwell has taken on a familiar story -- this time Romeo and Juliet. But she has made it her own. Set in Florence (not "fair Verona"), Juliet and Romeo are not only "star-crossed lovers" but they are also poetry fans, obsessed with Dante. She presents a full, tantalizing take on a familiar story in clear prose. Poetry fanatics beware: Maxwell's Romeo and Juliet write their own poetry, too, which is stylistically anachronistic. But that's the beauty of historical fiction: the voices of another era can speak in today's cadence and be relevant to another generation.

Links:  
Both O, Juliet and Signora Da Vinci, as well as all of Robin Maxwell's books, are available in The Gypsy's Store. A small portion of your purchase price helps to keep this blog going. 

5 Reasons to Follow a Museum Today

Today is Follow a Museum Day on Twitter!  Not on Twitter? Check out my post about Twitter to get started: I Heart Twitter

There are hundreds of museums on Twitter including huge museums like:
  • @MetMuseum (New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art) 
  • @NMNH (the Smithsonian's National Museum of National History)
  • @MuseodelPrado (the Museo Nacional del Prado in Spain)
  • @V_and_A (the Victoria and Albert Museum in London)  
But there are also tons of smaller, regional museums tweeting including:
Why follow museums on Twitter?  
Well, here are my 5 Reasons to Follow a Museum Today:
  1. Tweeps like @Exploratorium tweet great water cooler trivia and fun images to perk up your day. Check out this one from @NatHistoryWhale: http://bit.ly/4ZHKmO
  2. @Tate and other museums often do giveaways in conjunction with their current exhibitions.  @iheartsam recently gave away copies of my book + tix to their Michelangelo exhibit in a tweet-to-win contest!
  3. Hear about special events, concerts, and speakers. Today @HolocaustMuseum is tweeting about a talk by Professor Susan Suleiman coming up next week.
  4. Stay up-to-date on current exhibits, acquisitions, and museum news.  That's how I heard that @KimbellArt bought a Michelangelo and that the King Tut Exhibit was headed to @deyoungmuseum!
  5. Museums need and deserve your support! These are rough times for even the largest museums.  Love science, technology, art, history, dinosaurs, plants, fashion, music... there's a museum for everyone.  Find and follow one today!
My Recommendations:
I have my own list of favorite museum tweeps: http://twitter.com/AKNickerson/museums  Follow the whole list, and you'll never miss another great tweet!

Additionally, the Follow a Museum Day sponsors have collected a very thorough directory of museums, sorted by country: www.FollowaMuseum.com

Oh, and by the way... I took all of these photos at @artsmia a few months ago!

Project 365: January, 2010

Incredibly it is almost the end of January! So, I thought it was time to check in on my Project365.  So far: really fun!  I'm enjoying finding something to photograph each day.  Without children (the baby is borrowed) that is even more of a challenge (thus the dog photos).  But I've gotten out in my neighborhood in search of a good photo and have hit some of Sacramento's highlights: the historic governor's mansion, the California Capitol building, and the tower bridge -- none of which I had ever photographed before.

The biggest challenge comes with the short days.  If I don't take the photo before it gets dark, I'm sometimes stuck for a subject.  But that gives me a chance to work on my still life photos, I guess.  I'm working on stretching my understanding of the technical side of photography and really opening up my camera to see what she can do.



For information on starting your own Project365, check out my post on the subject:
There are thousands of other people who are currently doing Project365s including multiple Flickr groups.  Here are a few I follow:
Do you have a Project365 feed?  If so, post your link below! 
Have you done it before? What was the experience like for you?
Questions? Bring them on!

Don't forget: During the month of January, I will donate $1 to Haiti relief efforts for each new subscriber, follower, or comment made on The Gypsy's Guide. For more information: Help for Haiti.
And thanks to those of you who are visiting from DeliciousBaby.com's Photo Friday!