Book Review: "The Devil's Queen"

My book club (yes, I'm in a book club. And it's awesome, thanks for asking) met tonight to discuss our latest selection, "The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici" by Jeanne Kalogridis.

~~ Pause for special thanks to our hostess with the mostess, who served an amazing baked cheese dish and some delicious apple punch. ~~

Let me start by saying I am super impressed by any author who has the skill to write historical fiction. The amount of research alone overwhelms, let alone coming up with a viable plot and characters. As one member tonight pointed out, "There are probably all kinds of crazies out there who will know if something isn't exactly right." It's not the first time I've heard historians called crazies. Hell, my history teachers over the years truly fit the bill. I'm talking to you, Mr. Cates. You and your big, scary beard.

Anyway.

Some messed up stuff happens in this book. Catherine is an orphan, spends time imprisoned, suffers from abandonment issues, has a husband who openly commits adultery and watches the people she loves constantly suffer.

Catherine is also responsible for the deaths of a lot of people.

In 2009, a woman with these same issues gets no sympathy. She's evil because there's no excuse for committing murder (except in cases of self-defense, so we'll allow that one.) And yet, in the book's 16th century setting, I'm on Catherine's side. I'm not saying she's right for her actions; I'm saying I understand.

The 16th century was rough times, man. In some cases it was kill or be killed. If those are the options, who can blame anybody for doing whatever it takes to be on the not dead side of the fight? Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

Yeah, ok, maybe Catherine was a little off. Maybe her reasoning was skewed and her reactions a bit extreme. She probably could have brought the dark stuff down a couple of notches. It might have helped quell the witch rumors, at least.

In this day and age, that woman is a lunatic. It doesn't matter if she kills because she thinks it's the only way to protect herself, her husband or her children -- she's hanging out in the big house with the women from "Snapped."

In 16th century France, crazy gets to be Queen.

New business for the record book

Answer: I don't know.

Question(s): What's this blog about? Why should I read it? Is it any good?

There are a lot of things I do know -- I like books, movies, music, football, cooking, shopping, dancing, traveling and the great outdoors. I also like giving my opinions about all of these things (and more). That in and of itself could be the answer to the question above. Those who know me personally know the ins and outs of who I am, but for those who have traveled through the blogosphere and stumbled across my little self-indulgent attempt at creative writing, use the following as a guide:

1. My name is Stefanie.
1a. Please note the spelling.
2. I am 28...
2a. ... and a half.
3. I want to be a writer.
3a. Technically, I am already. And not just on this blog, which likely only my family and friends will read. I write for a major publication and get paid to do it. It might go without saying that I'm not fully satisfied in my professional situation. And yet, I just said it.
4. I am from Texas.
4a. I have what is commonly known as Texas Pride.
4b. I am aware most non-Texans don't appreciate this.
4c. Deal with it.

Perhaps more personal information will be revealed in the course of my writing; perhaps not. For the sake of my job (which, despite its shortcomings, does manage to pay the bills) I think the more anonymous I can be, the better.

So, welcome. I hope you enjoy whatever future rambling appears here. I hope you enjoy it enough to tell your friends. I hope they enjoy it enough to tell theirs. If not, well... thank you for allowing me this indulgence all the same.