Cobwebs Of The Mind Blog Review: Gillian Polack's "Even in a little thing"

Let me start off by saying that Gillian Polack's Blog "Even in a little thing" does not do her justice. Indeed, it is but a very small facet of this incredibly multi-faceted and obviously extremely intelligent woman. Gilian uses her blog, Even in a little thing to relax and just let it all out. It is a very interesting blog but still, Gillian is extremely modest of her accomplishments, and I am willing to bet that most of her friends and fellow writers over at Absolute Write have no clue as to how accomplished she is.

Gillian is "originally from Melbourne, Australia but I somehow ended up 600 miles northish, in Canberra, Australia." I make a point of this as the incredible portrayal of the world and all its places can be found among the writers interviewed in Cobwebs Of The Mind Blog Reviews. But let us dig deeper into who Gillian really is for a moment.

"My life doesn't fit into neat compartments. My publisher and a bunch of writers have consulted historian-Gillian on historical backdrops. They kept asking for me to combine my history and my fiction. Eventually the pressure got the better of me: the Subterranean Magazine story features a Medieval literary historian in deep, deep trouble and the novel I just finished (I was recently given a couple of writing fellowships) is 50% Medieval. This leads to quite different issues with readers."

Here we learn Gillian has published (and we will get to her novel in a moment).

"Over 150 short non-fiction pieces published, ranging from a booklet covering Medieval Rosh Hashanah food (reprinted online - it eventually led to the food history blog) to how to do historical research for novels. Some of these articles are light and in newspapers, magazines and on the web; some are in encyclopedias and academic journals.

I have twelve short stories published (The most recent - "Horrible Historians" - in Subterranean Magazine) and one novel (Illuminations). My second novel ("The Art of Effective Dreaming") is on its way to publication - due to appear sometime next year."

The more you read about Gillian the more you are shocked at her accomplishments. On one hand an historian who published in encyclopedias and academic journals on the other hand a fiction writer. So I did a bit of digging and following links that Gillian in her modesty did not send me. After all I said "blog review". But in this case we make an exception, a well warranted one. So I mosey over in a few clicks to Gillian's Web page aptly named Gillian Polack. Over there I find out in a little drop in a quote that Gillian is not only a writer and author and has been published, but to boot she is a PhD. So in essence it is Dr. Gillian Polack. And this is her introduction over at her web page, Gillian Polack:

"I am Gillian Polack. I answer mainly to Gillian, but also to Dr Polack, Ms Polack, Miss Polack and "Hey, you". I live in the centre of the known universe (Canberra, ACT, Australia).

I write, I think, I serve on committees, I teach. I am passionate about people, about books, about history.

I talk a lot. I dream a lot. The Middle Ages sneaks into my dreaming, and so does speculative fiction. Cooking sneaks onto my waistline."

And folks we are still not done! Let us dig a bit deeper this taken from the Author Introduction on for her novel: Illuminations

"Dr. Gillian Polack has an academic and public service background. She completed her doctoral thesis in French and English Medieval history at the University of Sydney in 1987. She has also studied at the Centre for Medieval Studies in Toronto, Canada, as well as in London and Paris."

We know Gillian writes, we know she is published, and now we know she has a passion for food and the Middle Ages. So Gillian combines these into Food History a blog that deals with the History of Food and has entries for recipes from the Middle Ages. (We will be using some of these over at Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen in a comprehensive discussion of Food History and some of Gillian's recipes.)

"Non-fiction wise, I am interested in how people write and what they write about (my food history blog is more about how food appears in written places than about how recipes taste). The fiction side of me enjoys reading most genres. I read any history (with a particular love for the Middle Ages) and anything with historical themes. I collect Arthuriana (desultorily)"

So from her blog, Even in a little thing, which is a newsy personal blog on her life and trials, and certainly well written, traveling through Gillian's "life" that is offered on the net, we discover an incredibly multi-faceted, intelligent, awesome woman who is full of life and giving.

I not only suggest her blog, Even in a little thing, but Food History and her web page, Gillian Polack. And then if you still are not impressed mosey over to her publisher Trivium Publishing and take a look at Illuminations.

It is a pleasure at times to see a writer, intellectual, and modest person all combined into one package. (And of course to keep this professional we will not mention pretty too!)

All in all Dr. Gillian Polack's works and musing are a pleasure to read and definitely well worth the time. One of those blogs and people that should not be missed.

---

Cobwebs Of The Mind Blog Reviews are posted from time to time based on blogs that are serious endeavors on the part of their owners in writing. For those of you who wish to have their blog reviewed at Cobwebs Of The Mind please email me by using the GMail Icon below. Members of Absolute Write (AW) who wish their blog reviewed please go to the following thread and read the instructions in the first post in the thread.

---

Posted On: Cobwebs Of The Mind




Don't Be Cheap! Leave A Comment Below. I Promise Not To Bite!

---

Tags: books, novels, literary, agents, short stories, memoirs, fantasy literature, legends, tales, erotica, short story, romantica, publishing, writers, fantasy, literary agents, blogs, blogging, writing blogs, Absolute Write, writing, freelancing, non-fiction, fiction