Will The Hallmarked Man Have All-Sark Epigraphs? Part 1: A Maid of the Silver Sea

 "Robert Galbraith" continues to drop more hints about Strike 8:  The Hallmarked Man. Since I last wrote about them, Twitter header pictures have included the Iron Bridge of Ironbridge, Shropshire (which could be linked to the chain emoji clue given earlier) and the red lift of London's famous Savoy Hotel. Another tweet mentioned that the lyrics of the late singer Francoise Hardy were going to be featured.  Check out this link at Strikefans.com for a regularly updated list. 

But, my favorite Strike clues are the ones that lead me to new reading material to occupy my mind while waiting for the next book. Therefore, when the first epigraph from John Oxenham*'s A Maid of the Silver Sea was released, I immediately read not just that novel, but two others by Oxenham and set in Sark, an island we know will be visited in THM: Pearl of Pearl Island and Carette of Sark. All, happily, are available for free on Project Gutenberg. 

As JKR/RG has said there are five total sources for epigraphs, and at least 106 chapters in the book, so it seems inevitable that many quotations from A Maid of the Silver Seas will appear. Regardless of whether "five sources" means five authors or five books, it also seems wise to check out this author's other Sark-based stories. My plan here is to give an overview of all three novels, starting with Maid, with some speculation about what they could mean for THM. Spoilers for Maid ahead. In addition to being romances, all three books have elements of mystery and thriller, so, keep that in mind if you'd rather read them for yourself first, without knowing the outcome. 

Podcast Week, Part Three: Checking off my bucket list.

Following last weekend's Three Broomsticks and the very nice mentions on Potterversity yesterday comes the finale of my podcast week, and something to check off my bucket list.  I was honored t be the guest on a special bonus episode of the Strike and Ellacott files on "Best Moments in the Cormoran Strike Series. " 

It was great fun to spend almost two full hours with Kenz, Lindsay and Pools, chatting about this series with these remarkable Strikers.  Thanks to The Strike and Ellacott Files for the opportunity. 

Podcast Week, Part Two! : Shoutout on Potterversity.

 It's been an exciting week with the release of my second Three Broomsticks Podcast last Saturday.  Yesterday I got a very pleasant surprise with a shout-out (or two!) on the Potterversity episode with Lana Whited talking about her recent book, Harry Potter, the Ivory Tower and Beyond, to which I contributed a chapter on humor in the Harry Potter series. This is a fantastic book with multiple outstanding essays on a variety of Rowling's works that no academically-inclined fan of her writing should miss. 

Interestingly, though my chapter was strictly about Harry Potter, my work on the Cormoran Strike series got more attention on the podcast.  I got some of the most flattering comments I've ever heard, and I am both grateful and humbled by what was said. 

And, if you'd like to go full circle and hear the humor-themed Potterversity (under its previous title, Reading, Writing, Rowling) episodes that inspired the essay, go here and here!

Or, you can see my previous Chestnut Hill talk on the same topic here: 

Many thanks to Emily, Katie and Lana!

More Podcast News Tomorrow! 

Strike Panel Discussion at the Three Broomsticks.

 I had the privilege of being on a Running Grave Strike Panel at the Three Broomsticks a few weeks ago, with Dr. Beatrice Groves, Irvin Khaytman and Sophia Jenkins.  and the episode just dropped.  See link above.

Please tune in if you'd like a couple of hours of discussion about links between Troubled Blood and Running Grave, and the many links to Harry Potter.

If you want to see the pre-Running Grave episode and laugh at how wrong all our predictions were, it's here. 

It Must Be Karma: Second Hunger Games Prequel Announced.

 Every once and a while, remarkable coincidences happen that just make you pause and take wonder.  I loved the Hunger Games series, and wrote both my first YA blog posts and my first published book chapter about that series, with a particular emphasis on psychology and trauma and the roles of both Pavlovian conditioning and PTSD in the series. 

I read the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, when it was published in 2020, and thought it was pretty good, but lacked the magic of the original trilogy. I think the idea of a protagonist whose morals are steadily degrading throughout the novel, as opposed to the growth we saw in Katniss and Peeta, made the story too depressing for me to fully enjoy. Though I had every intention of seeing the movie when it came out in November 2023, somehow I never found the time. 

Therefore, when I found the movie showing on my airplane flight to Puerto Rico last week, I put aside the audiobooks I had brought, and watched that film instead.  I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would, and it made me want to revisit the book.  I also had a thought that, given that it has been four years since the first prequel was published, that Ms. Collins was probably not planning any others. 

Thus. I was as surprised and delighted as anyone today when a second prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, was announced today, for publication in 2025. There will apparently be a 40-year time jump since The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, placing this story at the time of the second Quarter Quell.  Perhaps this novel might be more correctly called a prequell? It is certainly an interesting choice, given that we already know the outcome of these particular Games.  But it will certainly be interesting to see young Haymitch, and meet Maysilee and family. and perhaps even  Katniss's parents. 

We might even get an answer to the question of whether Lucy Gray Baird survived Snow's attack.  After seeing the movie, where she seemed to be in the midst of composing the iconic "Hanging Tree" song shortly before the catastrophic events of the end, I am thinking this is a more likely possibility.  Unless she left a written version of the tune and lyrics behind, it is hard to understand how the song survived to become an anthem of the Rebellion, if Lucy Gray didn't.  

I am going to refer you to Professor Elizabeth Baird-Hardy (no relation!), who has examined the Hunger Games franchise on a much more in-depth level than I ever could.  She has already posted a terrific blog on the subject, with some great ideas about what we can expect.  I particularly love the idea of Donald Sutherland's son Kiefer playing the middle-aged Cornelius Snow. And pay close attention to the possible significance of the dates of both the announcement and the publication!