I have a lot of favorite first sentences from books, but this time I have a favorite last sentence. "My Lord, the tale begins with a ghost..."
Today we welcome DK Marley, a Shakespearean and fabulous author. Her book, "Prince of Sorrows" is a take on the tragedy "Hamlet".
Jennifer: Welcome to my blog! Could you answer a few questions for my readers?
First, can you tell us about yourself and how you started writing?
DK Marley: I'm a historical fiction writer specializing in Shakespearean themes. My grandmother, an English professor, gave me a volume of Shakespeare's plays when I was eleven, inspiring me to delve further into the rich Elizabethan language. Eleven years ago I began the research leading to the publication of my first novel "Blood and Ink," an epic tale of lost dreams, spurned love, jealousy and deception in Tudor England as the two men, William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe, fight for one name and the famous works now known as the Shakespeare Folio.
I'm an avid Shakespearean and Marlowan, a member of the Marlowe Society, the Shakespeare Fellowship and a signer of the Declaration of Intent for the Shakespeare Authorship Debate. I've traveled to England three times for intensive research and debate workshops and am a graduate of the intense training workshop "The Writer's Retreat Workshop" founded by Gary Provost and hosted by Jason Sitzes.
I live in Georgia with my husband and a Scottish Terrier named Maggie.
Jennifer: Why Hamlet? Is it a favorite play?
DK: Yes, Hamlet is my favorite and is the first in my series of books subtitled "The Fractured Shakespeare Series". The depth of emotion of losing someone close to you and what grief does to a person (of which I personally experienced in 2015 with the loss of my daughter and son-in-law to a drunk driver) drove me to complete this adaptation of Hamlet. Grief changes a person and sometimes brings out a darkness and revenge that is unexpected. Hamlet struggled with the common faults of a man lost in grief and pain and the senselessness when someone takes something you love away from you. It leaves you helpless, hopeless and angry; sometimes making decisions based on emotions and words rather than rational thought. Thus, Hamlet lost himself in losing his father. It is a struggle I fight with daily.
Jennifer: Your research was amazing - what was the most interesting thing you learned about the character from history?
DK:The amazing fact was that they actually existed.
The Chronicon Lethrense (and the included Annales Lundenses) tell that the Danish king Rorik Slengeborre put Horwendill (who he calls Orwendel) and Feng as his rulers in Jutland, and gave his daughter to Horwendill as a reward for his good services. Horwendill and the daughter had the son Amblothe (Hamlet). The jealous Feng killed Horwendill and took his wife.
Saxo Grammaticus has a slightly different version of events. Saxo states that Horvendill and Feng were the sons of Jutland's ruler Gervendill, and succeeded him as the rulers of Jutland. On his return from a Viking expedition in which he had slain Koll, King of Norway, Horvendill married Gerutha, the Danish king Rørik Slyngebond's daughter, who bore him a son, Amleth. But Feng, out of jealousy, murdered Horvendill and persuaded Gerutha to become his wife, on the plea that he had committed the crime for no other reason than to avenge her of a husband by whom she had been hated.
Jennifer: Did you have a favorite character? (I thought you may have had a soft spot for the queen - she was really well written!)
DK: Yes, there were so many tragic characters. I have a soft spot for Hamlet and his mother because I feel that both of them were victimized by Feng. Gerutha loves her son, but she also desired a life beyond that of being Queen and wished for a marriage beyond the duties of royal obligation. She was deceived by Feng and her loneliness caused her victimization.
Jennifer: Why did you chose to write in modernized 16th century prose? (I thought it was very effective!)
DK: I did this because so many people shy away from reading Shakespeare because of the language. I thought to myself - how can I open a dialogue for more people to enjoy these beautiful plays written by a genius while maintaining the quality of the plays. The answer was simple: write in our modern language and expand the story to entwine the characters even more closely, even to the minor characters.
Jennifer: Will you tackle another of the Bard's plays?
DK: Yes, my next one is in the works! My Book Two of the "Fractured Shakespeare Series" is based on Macbeth. Told from the POV of Lady Macbeth, the real-life woman known as Gruoch, the granddaughter of Kenneth III of Scotland. The book is titled "A Winter's Fire" and I am expecting a release in the summer of 2019.
Here is the link for my other book "Blood and Ink" - set in the Tudor era, tells the story of Christopher Marlowe and his lifelong fight to see his name immortalized amid the blood and espionage of Queen Elizabeth's court.
Thank you again!
D. K. Marley
Author & book links:
Prince of Sorrows by DK Marley
Review:
I have a lot of favorite first sentences from books, but this time I have a favorite last sentence. "My Lord, the tale begins with a ghost..." To get to it, you have to read The Prince of Sorrows, a gorgeous retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Hamlet - or Amleth, as he is called in this book, is, as everyone knows, a Danish prince bent on vengeance. This book is a mirror of the play, with a few original twists, with the same characters (though different names to fit 9th century Denmark), and the same storyline. But the play couldn't go into as much detail as this book, and it was with delight that I rediscovered 'Hamlet'. Vengeance leads to madness - or does madness stem from grief? Prince Amleth knows his father has been murdered by his uncle, whom he hates, because the ghost of his father has come to him and told him so. He also ordered Amleth to seek revenge. But Amleth procrastinates, and in doing so, invites tragedy. And tragic it is - but don't let that stop you from reading this book. 'Hamlet' never looked so good. A must read for anyone who loves Hamlet, or simply wants a cracking good tale told in glorious prose. Highly recommended!
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