Category Archives: History

Posts and pages with historical content.

Chapter 34 of Martha’s Children, and op art

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Brian Bixby

The last time we saw Nora O’Donnell, her brother was a vampire, her parents under the control of sorcerers, and she had just toppled backward into . . . nothing? Well, it turns out to be a very specific nothing, … Continue reading →

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Playing at history: your author as George S. Boutwell

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Brian Bixby

I mentioned in my previous post that I’d be spending this last Saturday in my old home town, playing a historical character. The character I was playing was George S. Boutwell (1818 – 1905), who served as a Massachusetts governor, … Continue reading →

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Chapter 33 of Martha’s Children, and taking on a historical character

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Martha Fokker is not the most trusting of people. When her friends and allies start disappearing, she suspects foul play. Well, if there wasn’t foul play before, there will be by the time Martha gets finished! And Make Love Not … Continue reading →

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Conspiracies, imaginary and real

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Brian Bixby

On this date in 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute had its premiere in Vienna. For those of you who don’t know, The Magic Flute is famous for incorporating a great deal of Masonic symbolism into both the music and plot … Continue reading →

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Chapter 30 of Martha’s Children, and Mayor Richard J. Daley

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Blood has been shed in the sorcerers’ war, and Ned’s vampire cops are caught in the middle. “Mother” Fokker isn’t happy about that, and she’s not exactly known for her good temper. But you don’t get to be a centuries-old … Continue reading →

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Chapter 29 of Martha’s Children

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Politics isn’t the only thing that makes strange bedfellows. For the sake of her vampire cop brother, Nora O’Donnell has agreed to carry out two assignments from the very same vampire who “turned” her brother. In doing so, she finds … Continue reading →

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A forgotten chapter in the history of the Sillyverse

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Frank Wilson (1886 – 1970), Chief of the Secret Service from 1937 to 1946, decided to write his memoirs in the aftermath of the JFK assassination. They were published as Special Agent: A Quarter Century with the Treasury Department and … Continue reading →

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When prophesy fails, and fails, and fails

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Back when they were conveying knowledge to the masses, David Wallechinsky and his family produced The People’s Almanac (1975). For their very first chapter, they obtained predictions from many contemporary psychics. So, 38 years later, how did the psychics of the … Continue reading →

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Chapter 23 of Martha’s Children, and the Days of Rage

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Public attention in Chicago shifts from the debut of the Vampire Bureau to the arrival of militant radicals and the “Days of Rage” in chapter 23 of Martha’s Children, “Therefore be o’ good cheer, for truly I think you are damned.” Not … Continue reading →

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When the Devil went to law in America

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Today, July 22, is the birthday of Stephen Vincent Benét (1898 – 1943). He rose to literary fame for his lengthy 1928 historical poem, John Brown’s Body, and remained a notable literary figure until his sudden death from a heart attack … Continue reading →

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