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Alex Beecroft's Interests
General
18th century, age of sail, fantasy, gay romance, historical novels, mystery novels, sailing, science fiction, spaceships, Fortean Times, Anglo-Saxon re-enactment
Music
Rock, Trance, some Classical, some Folk. I'm an old Prog-rocker and cherish my Hawkwind collection, though I admit to having stopped listening to ELP these days.
Movies
Blade Runner, Master and Commander, Alien, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Time Bandits, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Bedrooms and Hallways... why can't I remember any more?
Television
Red Dwarf, Doctor Who, Torchwood, SG1, anything with Damian O'Hare in it, Rome (both series)
Books
Anything by Tolkien, Ursula LeGuin, Terry Pratchett, Patrick O'Brian, Isaac Asimov, Mary Renault
Captain's Surrender is a gay love story set in the British Navy during the 18th Century, in which true love has to triumph not only over mutiny and the French, but also the Navy's Articles of War which state that the punishment for homosexuality is Death. Out now in print and ebook.
Witch's Boy is a dark Fantasy in which a man's attempt to leave behind an abusive childhood is made a lot harder because his abuser is a powerful sorcerer.
Who I'd like to meet: Authors, publishers, readers, reviewers, fellow fans of imaginative, historical or speculative fiction, particularly if it also contains gay romance.
I am very happy to add new friends, but because Myspace is full of rampant spam and porn, and I'm not keen on young women offering me sexual favours in the comments, I won't friend anyone whose profile is set to private. If I can't see who you are, I will not friend you. Sorry about that.
I also run a day to day blog for my miscellaneous ragbag of writerly thoughts here
Now this is what I'm talking about. If you want a taste of what floats my boat when it comes to gay historical fiction, (no pun intended), then this is it.
I said at the beginning of this review that Captain's Surrender thrilled me. It satisfied a craving I've had for decades, for a certain kind of book, the kind that's so seldom written it's an almost violent surprise when one crosses my path. It drilled right down to the bedrock of my psyche, dug out that part of me that whiled away childhood afternoons with elaborate seagoing, swashbuckling epic fantasies, then set it in the sunshine beside my adolescent longing for a more bent, more tolerant world. Add to that damned good writing to satisfy an adult self with high standards and broad tastes, and you've got a keeper. And something to recommend with impunity.Read the whole review HERE
When you finish this succinct book (which is slightly under 200 pages) you will be amazed at the range of emotional and physical territory covered by Captain's Surrender... which is the best gay novel I've read this year.
And very importantly to me, it's been given a big thumbs up by Lee Rowan, author of 'Ransom':
When it's this early in the year--the first week of February--it's not saying much to call Captain's Surrender the best gay Age of Sail book of the year, but I have to say it anyway. ...
Captain's Surrender is a book I would recommend to anyone; it surpasses genre and is absolutely superb.
You can read the rest of that review or buy 'Captain's Surrender' HERE
"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief." -- Khalil Gibran Wishing you serenity this weekend, and always. xoxoxo Robert
"There is absolutely no reason for being rushed along with the rush. Everybody should be free to go slow." -- Robert Frost In the week ahead, may you have at least some moments of going slowly. xoxoxo Robert
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary Season of the... The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from the now fabled performance, in March 1958, at the 92nd Street Young Men's Hebrew Association in New York. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. Today, led by Artistic Director Judith Jamison, AAADT has gone on to perform for an estimated 21 million people in 48 states and in 71 countries on six continents, including two historic residencies in South Africa. The company has earned a reputation as one of the most acclaimed international ambassadors of American culture, promoting the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance. xoxoxo Robert
Sorry I didn't post anything sooner, but James and I have been busy defeating various madmen bent on world domination. You can read more about our exploits here... And, yes, both James and I like our martinis shaken, not stirred. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! xoxoxo Robert
"This curious world we inhabit is more wonderful than convenient; more beautiful than it is useful; it is more to be admired and enjoyed than used." -- Henry David Thoreau In 1991, The Nature Conservancy named Block Island, Rhode Island, as one of twelve sites in its list of "The Last Great Places" in the Western Hemisphere. Roughly 20% of the island has been set aside for conservation. xoxoxo Robert
Hello! I just stopped by today to say thanks for being my friend! I also want to offer you a free $10 gift card. All you have to do is register at my site - Books And Gifts Etc - and I'll email you a code you can use to get $10 free! I have thousands of gifts to offer - something for everyone! So, check it out at http://www. booksandgiftsetc. com .
My favorite of his films... .. "Fellini's most marvelous film…an extravagantly funny, sometimes dreamlike evocation of a year in the life of a small Italian coastal town in the nineteen-thirties, not as it literally was, perhaps, but as it is recalled by a director with a superstar's access to the resources of the Italian film industry and a piper's command over our imaginations. When Mr. Fellini is working in peak condition, as he is in Amarcord (the vernacular for "I remember" in Romagna), he somehow brings out the best in us. We become more humane, less stuffy, more appreciative of the profound importance of attitudes that in other circumstances would seem merely eccentric if not lunatic." -- Vincent Canby, The New York Times
WaterFire is an environmental art installation created by Barnaby Evans in Providence, Rhode Island. Started in 1994 and held on a biweekly basis each summer, it consists of 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence in Waterplace Park, with accompanying world and classical music, often with live performances. xoxoxo Robert
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