Library Acquisition: The Red Chamber

The Red Chamber is the second story in Tales from the Library, a series based on The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. In the previous story, A Scandal in Montmartre, a routine mission to collect a rare copy of Candide by Voltaire for the Library turned deadly when scorpions attacked Kai in the Paris apartment of Count Lecerf. Irene and Kai suspect the count is Fae, but they have no proof. Particularly troubling was that the scorpions focused their attack exclusively on Kai.

Backdrop to Shadow's Dream

Shadow's Dream is the fourth story in Six-Crossed Knot, a series based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The action takes place in May of 1591. Diana and Matthew returned about a week ago from a trip to Prague, where they'd spent the past two months.

All in the Family

When it comes to dysfunctional families, the Greek gods set the gold standard. As is the case with mortals, problems more often than not can be traced back to the head of the family, and Zeus fits the pattern. Worshiped as the king of the gods, Zeus was also the chief philanderer. His sister Hera was well aware of his deplorable proclivities. She grudgingly agreed to marry him to spare herself further embarrassment after he seduced her. Zeus apparently loved nothing so much as shapeshifting into another appearance so he could cavort with mortal maidens. For her part, Hera's acts of jealousy and vengeance are legendary. There's more than a hint of Zeus in Astrena. Her rightful domain is the stars, but she prefers to live on Earth. Like Zeus, she's fascinated by mortals, but in Astrena's case, the consequences for her victims are deadly. So far, she's managed to keep her family spats out of view. That's about to change, and it begins in Night Howls on the Hudson.

Mozzie the Master Storyteller

One of the many delights that writing in an AU provides is the ability to develop aspects of a character that may have only been hinted about in canon. The seeds for Neal's life as a grad student at Columbia can be found in "Upper West Side Story" when Neal had a fling at teaching in a prep school. During that episode, we learned all his diplomas were forgeries, and that he'd never graduated from high school. Neal told Peter that if his sentence was commuted, he might go back to school and get a master's. Fast forward to Caffrey Conversation where Neal is in the doctorate program at Columbia University. Neal's partner in crime, Mozzie, is experiencing a similar transformation in Caffrey Conversation.