If I have set down roots, it was less from intention than from the combined forces of time, circumstance, and inertia. The spirit of a vagabond still resides within me. But somehow, the years have passed, and I find myself living in a house with a lush, mature garden that I alone designed, planted, and … Continue reading Beauty in the Blunder
Art
The True Protest
Years ago, my experience as the senior designer at a theme-party production company led to a contract with an architectural firm that was developing a multimillion dollar resort for a client in Japan. It was up to me to direct a team in planning the function and decor of the interior common spaces, including everything … Continue reading The True Protest
Flying Blind
The first sound I heard when I awoke yesterday was the honking of the Snow Geese passing over my roof. I went outside and observed wave after wave of them, flying in formation above my house. There must have been hundreds. That’s the great thing about living directly under the Pacific Flyway. A couple of … Continue reading Flying Blind
Wishlists and Woke Roulette
Big Hollywood and Big Beer have taken heat for pushing wokeness over common sense, but the literary world seems to be flying happily under the radar. Since most publishing houses don’t accept submissions directly from fiction writers, it is necessary to go through an agent. For many good reasons, a screening process is required. During … Continue reading Wishlists and Woke Roulette
Lord Rockingham’s Passion
Liz Truss made history by resigning as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on October 19, 2022, after only 44 days in office. It was 240 years ago, on July 1, 1782, when the second term of Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham, ended after only 96 days. The flu epidemic of 1782 took the … Continue reading Lord Rockingham’s Passion
June 22, 1785: A wedding in Gretna Green
In my novel A Moon Garden, there were two lovers who could not marry legally in England in 1785. This was because of the Marriage Act, passed by Parliament in 1753. For a marriage to be legally binding, the ceremony had to be conducted by a minister in a church or chapel of the Church … Continue reading June 22, 1785: A wedding in Gretna Green
Crying time
London bound One year ago today, on February 27, 2020, I was on a plane bound for London. There were a few more documents I wanted to review at the National Archives and one book I particularly had to see at the British Library. Two weeks after I got home, travel was restricted. As much … Continue reading Crying time
Bloomsbury, London
Artists John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Holman Hunt founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 in this house in London, where Mr. Millais grew up. The hotel where I stayed in the past week was just a few doors down. Between my time spent in museums, the National Archives, and the British Library … Continue reading Bloomsbury, London
Roxane Gilbert 