If you haven’t been to my website in a while, you may notice that I’ve made some changes. Among other things, I’ve removed most of my blog posts to prepare for a new direction. Miss them? Probably not. I hope you like the new direction that I’ll be taking here. Of course, I’ll continue to write about my writing process, and what I’m doing toward getting LIGHTNING ON THE LEVEE and DRAGON MOON published. And I’ll also continue to give…
Style Icon Iris Apfel turns 101 today, August 29, 2022. I just can’t get enough of Iris Apfel. With her unrestrained use of vibrant colors, her chunky layered necklaces, and arms full of stacked bangles, Iris Apfel’s style can only be described as “Maximalist”. “More is more and less is a bore” is her motto for her style, and for her life. So how did this centenarian become one of the world’s most recognized style icons? But first, who IS…
Hey y’all, guess what?! I’m really excited to announce that the jewelry I make is now available in my own shop, attached to my author website! The shop is called “Gail’s Attic”. Later, my novels and my art will be available for purchase in Gail’s Attic, along with some other random handmade artistic things from time to time. Here’s the link: https://shop.gailbrinsonivey.com/ Did you even know that I make beautiful jewelry? Maybe I should have told you. It’s been available…
This painting – “Portrait of Madame X” – ruined the reputation of the model and caused the artist to flee the country. Keep reading to find out how it all went down… “Madame X” is a portrait by John Singer Sargent, an American expatriate artist who was considered to be the leading portrait painter of his generation. He created about 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. In addition to his…
My mother came into this world with a speech impediment. You’re probably asking, “What does that have to do with bamboo?” Hang on and I’ll get there (by the long route). When my mother was a child, she was ridiculed by other children for “talking funny”. These days, we would call that “bullying”, but back then, nobody really cared. There was that saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Which wasn’t actually true,…
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT MY NEWEST PROJECT, DRAGON MOON! It all started when Chrystor of Glass Bridge Music approached me with an intriguing idea for a Glass Bridge Music collaboration – if I would write a Medieval Celtic Fantasy novel, Glass Bridge would produce a music CD to complement my story. I couldn’t resist. I said “YES”. Glass Bridge Music is a fantasy duo, Chrystor and Brynna, whose musical genre is Celtic Fantasy Metal. If you’re not familiar with…
I THOUGHT I SHOULD LET YOU, MY FAITHFUL READERS, KNOW ABOUT MY PROGRESS TOWARD PUBLISHING LIGHTNING ON THE LEVEE. It’s been over a year since I first considered the book complete, and I’ve been looking for an agent or publisher on and off since. I say “on and off” because every time I read back over the book, I find something that needs to be changed. So Lightning on the Levee, although “complete”, has been in improvement for all this…
LOOK WHAT I FOUND FOR YOU – AN ARTICLE ABOUT EDWARDIAN MAKEUP FROM 1909! While writing a post for you about ladies’ makeup in the Edwardian era (you’ll see that post in the near future) I was perusing the California Digital Newspaper Collection online. And there I found this treasure of an article that was in the Sacramento Union, Number 63, 25 April 1909. The Edwardian makeup text is hard to read on the old newsprint, so I’ve transcribed it…