Most people jump to thoughts of Charles Darwin the minute they hear the word, ‘adaptation’; perhaps not the seven-year-old Darwin of the portrait to the left, but the father of the theory of evolution, nonetheless. One and the same, Darwin was already studying natural history, as this portrait of him clutching his beloved plant confirms.… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Sidney Stark
“Not Just a Woman Who Composes…”
“…but a composer who is a woman.” Ambroise Thomas once said this of Cecile Chaminade. I uncovered his comment while researching middle and late 19th century musicians for my current historical novel, The Gilded Cage. It seemed the perfect connection for my female protagonist as she entered a discussion with one of Thomas’ friends,… Continue Reading
Big Sister in Memoriam
A memorial is an opportunity to share memories—in this case about my sister, Anne Stires Blackwell. Obviously siblings have a lot of memories of each other, if they grew up together as Annie and I did, but many of them are in sort of a jumble, part of the chaos of daily living. Still, there… Continue Reading
Who Says? History; that’s Who!
I’ve been getting quite a few comments lately about the ‘Who Says?’ column on the blog. Naturally I wish the people who wrote had included you, the reader, by commenting on the posts instead of directly to me. But let’s face it; I’m going to share their thoughts with you anyway, albeit anonymously, so we’ll… Continue Reading
Connections
The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone; the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone; the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone… My new doctor sang out merrily as I stared back at him, an unfamiliar loss for words my immediate reaction. This is what one could expect from an innovative branch of… Continue Reading
Acknowledgements
The decision to publish my second novel, Certain Liberties, should have given me some relief. Just making a decision lifted a burden of major proportions, but this next stage of creativity didn’t feel as liberating as I’d expected. “There’s still plenty of work you can do before we set the final draft,” my publisher said.… Continue Reading