Ongoing Research and Writing, Scholarly and Creative

Scholarly Projects

I am currently working on a number of long-term research and writing projects:

1. I am revising my thesis for publication. My thesis deals with the idea that Geoffrey of Monmouth, and subsequent chroniclers focusing on the Matter of Britain, were intentionally employing the figure of Arthur as an archetype for the foundational identity of Britain. Within my work, I show through socio-historical, psychological, and textual analysis the shifts and changes in the story from one text to the next, and how these changes correspond specifically with the socio-political changes taking place in England from one generation to the next. In this work I am dealing with the medieval British chronicle tradition, the Matter of Britain, the concepts of national identity and memory, early (medieval) concepts of what we now call race and ethnicity, and a theoretical framework grounded in postcolonial theory, myth/Jungian theory, and poststructuralist theory.

2. I am researching, together with a student of mine responsible for the initial discovery, a possible connection between Edmund Spenser and the mid sixteenth-century Scottish poet Robert Sempill. Preliminary study has yielded proof that many of the phrases and motifs employed by Sempill throughout his ballads are found, in some instances only slightly altered, in Book One of the Faerie Queene; yet, Sempill was active and published six years prior to the publication of Book One of the Faerie Queene. If this research is successful, then we will have discovered an as-yet unexplored minor source for a number of phrases scattered throughout book one of The Faerie Queene, including some of the most famous of Spenser’s lines.

3. I am working with the Female Biography Project (Editor Gina Luria Walker) researching updates on the biographies of 6 women included in the original Female Biography in six volumes published by Mary Hays in 1803. This marries my interests in medieval, Renaissance and nineteenth century studies as well as my interests in gender/women’s studies and commitment to research centering on women’s contributions to literature and culture, as the figures I am researching are medieval and Renaissance women, and the work itself is an updated edition of a nineteenth century text by a woman.

4. I am researching the function of feasts in literature. My argument is that feasts serve different functions dependent upon where they are held (indoors/outdoors), when they are held in the narrative (beginning, when they serve as catalyst for the tale; middle, when they serve to pause the action and regroup old or introduce new figures of importance to the overall story or end, when they serve as the scene for the denouement), and who is holding them and attending them. In particular, I am interested in the gender lines of feasts – the differences between feasts held by men, which always are a display of wealth and power and always are of a celebratory nature, and those held by women, which are always a display of wealth and power and nearly always intended to seduce – and again in concepts of race and ethnicity/ identity presented in feasts scenes. This is (at present) a survey work spanning Classical Epic through early 20th century modern writers such as Virginia Woolf and F. Scott Fitzgerald, with special focus on the Classical epics, Middle English romances, Renaissance and nineteenth century texts, and early modern fiction.

5. I am compiling materials for a book that deals specifically with women in literature, which I find to be underrepresented in accessible form for younger students (high school and lower undergraduate level). This book will incorporate women from both the Western and non-Western traditions, with extensive bibliographic appendices for each chapter. [This project has been tabled for the present]

Creative Projects/Fiction

The Mighty Knights: What if King Arthur were just your average, everyday high school quarterback going for a state record number of championships in a rural Virginia community? This project is currently housed at Author Salon (www.authorsalon.com).

Synopsis

The Camelot County Knights are competing to win their fourth consecutive state championship – the Holy Grail of football titles. Standing in the way of making high school football history is…themselves. It’s going to take focused leadership to keep this team together.

Their success relies on the concentration and passion of team captain and quarterback Arthur Draggon. But the arrival of exchange student Gwyneth Greidal awakens Arthur’s sexuality, and when his attention wavers, the Knights begin to fall apart both on and off the field.

Summer practices brought confidence and solidarity to the team, but when school started so did the chaos. Arthur’s best friend Lance finds the girl of his dreams in Gwyn; shy receiver Mark Howell loves Bella Fayre and learns betrayal from his best friend, hotshot young wide-receiver Tristan Linness; and rash linebacker Bret Anderson, proudly carrying his first hunting license, chooses his desire to bag a ten-pointer over his duty to the team with tragic results. As if all that weren’t enough to pull the team apart, Arthur’s siblings Morgan and K don’t want him to succeed if they can’t have their own glory: their actions constitute sabotage, but if that means the team doesn’t win the championship, it’s not their problem.

Personal betrayals polarize teammates, tragedy strikes when the stakes are highest, and human concerns trump the drive for greatness. Arthur must regain their confidence in his leadership, and each of the Knights must set aside his personal grievances, if they are to win and remain THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS. Told from shifting points of view and featuring a teeming cast of characters engaged in interwoven storylines, here are Arthur and his knights as modern readers have never experienced them before.

This project is currently in revisions and looking for an agent/publisher. Interested? Contact me!

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I am working on getting my song lyrics set to music and possibly having some of them recorded. If you are interested in more on this project or in seeing my lyrics, please let me know.

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I am also developing a book series. Below is the synopsis of this project as it currently stands as well as introductions to a few of the characters. Please bear in mind that this project is under development, is an original work, and the ideas for it may not be copied for any reason (here is one of those exceptions I was talking about on the licensing page). I am interested in obtaining a literary agent to represent this project; if you are a literary agent and this seems like something you would like to work with, feel free to contact me at madamemedievalist@gmail.com

The Vestribliss Academy Chronicles, by Melissa Ridley

Series Synopsis

There’s a private boarding school out there that is so elite, you’ve never heard of it. You can’t fill out an application to attend, your parents can’t petition to get you in, and there’s no way to beg, borrow or steal a spot in the entering class. The only way into this school is through a highly competitive nomination and pre-evaluation process conducted by the school ambassadors – themselves alumni of the program. The evaluation process typically begins prior to age three for most successful candidates.

Oh….and you have to be a complete fuck-up. The kind of student no boarding school in its right mind would ever accept. The longer your psychological evaluation record, the more shrinks you have been sent to in an effort to “fix” you, the better your chances are of getting in. Students with police records on top of psych evaluations are particularly well-viewed as potential candidates for instruction. Special consideration is given to those candidates who have actually spent time in a juvenile detention facility or psychiatric lockdown.

The final qualification for candidacy? Nominated candidates must be twelve, and cannot exceed fifteen, years of age.

At the end of the nomination and evaluation process, the incoming class is deliberated upon, announced and assembled by the teaching faculty. From the hundreds – some years, thousands – of nominees put forth by the school’s ambassadors, only 8 students will be given the chance to sign the registrar’s book and enter the program. These eight students will undergo a five year program of studies and mentorship that will ultimately transform their lives and bring to the forefront their true potential as magical beings, humans possessed of abilities far beyond those characteristically exhibited by mortals.

What we in the mortal plane see as destructive and problematic behaviors – ADHD, paranoia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, hypersensitivity, and vandalism, among others – are actually the untrained emotional manifestations of metaphysical powers mainstream society doesn’t believe in and therefore don’t seek to understand; powers like divination, empathy and synesthesia, mind-reading, kinetic and hyperkinetic control, and transfiguration and alchemy. Untrained and undisciplined, children with these powers become social misfits, problem students, and ultimately, in many cases, victims of bullying, suicide or the legal system. Properly trained to manage and wield these powers, however, their bearers can become not the burdens of society, but its salvation.

That’s why this school was founded.

This project currently under development is intended to follow one class of students through the full, five-year program at Vestribliss Academy, where the school motto – non scholae sed vitae discimus, or “not for school, but for life we learn” takes on new meaning as the 50 students – five classes, one cohort of 8 post-grads, and two students chosen by the Headmaster, himself, above and beyond the normal admissions process – either must learn how to live with their powers and aid in maintaining the neutrality of energy in the universe, or prepare for a life cut short or damaged beyond repair upon their return to the mortal plane, ultimately aiding in the tipping of the balance of good and evil and the potential destruction of all we know.

The first volume of this five-book series, appropriately, will be entitled 1800 Days – the length of the students’ time at the school from enrollment and the placement testing period through graduation.

As the Vestribliss Academy archivist,  I would be happy to provide interested parties with more details about the history of the Academy, the current program of studies and our placement records, biographical sketches of the Headmaster and other administrators, the names, positions and credentials of the faculty and staff – and, of course, alleviate your concerns about the truth behind the Apocryphal Finger and what you’ve probably heard about the Gatekeeper, should you wish to schedule an appointment to tour the facility.

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In addition to the books, this project will feature an Academy Website, with restricted public access. The home page and some of the basic informational pages, as well as a discussion forum, will be available to the general public; for other pages, access codes can only be obtained by those who have purchased the books, with more levels of access available by coded activation with each subsequent publication. Further, some book purchasers will obtain an additional code (generated at random) that allows them to “enroll online” as students in Vestribliss Academy, receive some of the classwork, texts and research materials available only to students, design a dorm room, participate (along with the characters, themselves) in restricted areas of the discussion forum, and register and maintain a blog if they wish, among other privileges. Those who do not receive this code in the book purchase CAN, if they are diligent and persistent, find it embedded somewhere in the website as well.

Additional Materials: Here are some of the characters currently found in Vestribliss Academy:

(From the Vestribliss Academy Student Handbook):

> Jocelyn Borealis (INSTRUCTOR). Mistress Borealis is an Auror, Advanced
Standing and is fully accredited by the International League of Academy
Instructors. She is affiliated with the Inter-Era Auror Institute and Wyrd
Sisters Mentoring Program as well as being a founding member of the
International Organization for Auror Accountability and Professionalism, listed
as the sixth among the top-ten metaphysical organizations in the Universe and
now going on its thirtieth year of the administrative supervision and quality
control of worldwide Auror activity. Borealis specializes in mind’s eye, past
life and connection work, and has achieved international distinction for her
future projections based on astral travel and charting. She is not taking on
first-year or post-graduate students at this time; second-years and advanced
students should arrange an in-person interview for consideration as Auror
pupils.

> ******************************************************************

Like all Aurors, Jocelyn can be hard to pin down. However, if you are
observant, you can usually know whether she has heard you or not by the color of
her eyes. When she is present and grounded in the current time and place, they
are deep brown; when she is engaged in astral projection, they are violet; when
she is seeing into the future, they are clear (which can be disconcerting for
those who have never watched an Auror in action before); when they are blue, she
is in a past era, and when they are green, she is scrying in the present time.
She can be vague and disinterested, bordering on removed, but generally she
seems scattered and disorganized, a result of being hopelessly overextended and
constantly fielding requests from colleagues and administrators. When she is not
overly busy, she is warmhearted and quite funny.

> ********************************************************************

Dialogue snippet

“Jocelyn…?”

Sitting before a map, the woman’s figure was oddly rigid. Her face was
composed, but her eyes were unworldly, deep blue and swirling strangely, as
though someone were stirring the contents of her head with a coffee stirrer.
Gregory stepped closer to peer at the map: 1601. What on earth was she looking
for so long ago? “Jocelyn? It’s Gregory. I have an urgent request,” he tried
again.

Slowly, the whirling patterns within her eyes slowed down and settled at the
bottom of her irises, and the deep brown color that signified her presence in
the here-and-now dripped like liquid into the space vacated by the blue.
“Gregory. I hope this is important enough to warrant your interrupting a request
from the Headmaster,” she said severely. She hated being interrupted in the
middle of a session, particularly one that required as much concentration as
consulting the past. And particularly not by Gregory, who should be monitoring
the first-years. Who was holding down the fort in his absence?

“It is of uttermost importance, I assure you,” Gregory replied. “I need you to
find a student.”

Jocelyn’s eyes narrowed “What do you mean, ‘find a student’?”

Gregory looked around furtively and leaned in towards her. “It appears some of
our newer charges aren’t exactly delighted to be here. I’m afraid young Tristan
McKendrick has taken off, and no one has seen him since second session this
morning.”

“Oh, honestly,” Jocelyn sighed. “Did Aloysius see him leave campus?”

“I’m afraid Aloysius may have been rather distracted,” Gregory admitted. “We
had another visit from Kardiff.”

Jocelyn was already pulling out her scrying crystal. “What are his powers?
Astral projection, or time travel, or…”

Gregory looked deeply concerned. “He hasn’t finished the entrance
examinations. All we know with certainty is that he is a synesthete and empath
and probably has apparative powers as well”.

“Probably?” Jocelyn’s voice broached no hedging around.

“I am more or less certain that he has the ability to transport himself Place
Whence at will. He, however, has no idea of it,” Gregory admitted.

Jocelyn gasped. “He could be anywhere. How could you let this happen? This is
your responsibility!” She raged at him as she pulled a half-dozen maps from the
rack on the wall and laid them out on the floor. “I’ll start in the
Here-and-Now, check the campus and its environs, begin with the Eastern
hemisphere and work our way to the West. If I can’t find him in an hour, we’ll
have to inform the Headmaster,” she warned him as she expertly strung the
scrying crystal on its silken thread. “As far as you’re concerned, you’d better
get back to the rest of the students, and alert the faeries to be on the lookout
as well. If anyone else goes missing, inform me immediately.”

Gregory half-bowed and hastened off, his dark robes swirling behind him.
Jocelyn took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and began to swing the scrying
pendant in long, slow concentric circles across the map, focusing on the name
Gregory had provided her with: Tristan McKendrick.

Aloysius McFarland; Memo To Parents

I would like to take the opportunity to alleviate any concerns you may be harboring about our Gatekeeper, Aloysius McFarland.

I understand that there are a number of students who have written home in
less-than-glowing terms concerning their interactions with him, but please do
understand from the outset that he provides an invaluable function for our
academy not necessarily because of his ability to prevent students from leaving
the campus – although, obviously, from a safety and liability standpoint this is
important – but more so because of what he can keep out of the academy. Our
Gatekeeper is the only-known Guardian left with fully-developed intuitive and
sensory capacities in addition to the usual physical ability to handle the
prompt and efficient removal of undesirable visitors and intruders. This means
that he can identify both seen and unseen beings and classify them as benign or
malignant within the space of mere moments; further, he can then quarantine and
remove malignant figures unaided, including but not limited to spirits, fallen
angels, werewolves, vampires, dark witches, demons, trolls, goblins, hobgoblins,
dark elves, and revenants. I think you will agree with me that the degree of
security this affords the academy and, by association, your children as they
navigate the program far outweighs the occasional untoward comment he may make
on any given topic.

Do understand also that, like all Guardians, Aloysius prefers to work and live
alone, and holds high standards of excellence in performance for himself and
others, standards no ordinary mortal being could ever hope to attain, and that
this can lead him to come across as being more arrogant and disparaging than he
actually is. Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to tell you that
Aloysius feels very keenly the approaching final decades of his life and is
rather embittered that in all of his time at the Academy there has never been
brought here a student to train for the Guardian position when he retires, nor
has he in the past century encountered another being with his particular skills
set – that being does not seem to exist, as both our Headmaster and our Auror
have been searching diligently for an apprentice to this position.

Aloysius’s love of the Academy and pride in his job, coupled with his
disappointment in several of his peers (who have failed in their own positions
as Guardians at various important locations – but this is a different story)as
well as the loss of his own family long ago, have rendered him a complicated
being to work with – but I assure you, he is fully committed to his work and
there is no better Gatekeeper in existence today. Your children are ensured
safety as long as they remain on the campus proper of Vestribliss academy.

*************************************************************

Dialogue snippet:

The vaguely distasteful look on the face of the man standing in front of the
door through which he was (apparently) supposed to walk tasted like pepper,
which only fanned Tristan’s temper. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I am the Gatekeeper,” The man said in a voice so smooth and dark that it
sounded like melted unsweetened chocolate to the young synesthete. “And you will
refrain from the use of that foul American vernacular in the presence of myself
and of the other adults at this school.”

“What school? Where the hell am I?”

The man regarded him with a coolly appraising look that indicated that he found
Tristan to merit the respect of a being somewhere between an ant and a flu germ.
“You have been admitted to Vestribliss Academy. Clearly not based on your
speaking skills. I will ask you once more to refrain from the use of American
vernacular slang. You are, ostensibly, a Higher Being and therefore should be
holding yourself to higher standards OF being.” Tristan felt an overwhelming
taste of rotting meat disguised with oranges and cloves flood his senses.

“What the fuck? Where the fuck am I? Why the fuck would my parents send me to
this place?”

The man’s sneer sounded like thunder rolling overhead, so much so that it
overwhelmed his undisciplined senses, so that Tristan cowered as the gatekeeper
responded to him: “Your parents have nothing to do with it. If it were up to
them, to an evaluation of their abilities, you could never get into this
school.” His face evened out, and Tristan felt his senses calming back down. The
Gatekeeper again regarded him coolly, and Tristan realized both that the man
before him knew his abilities and that his frightened response to the sneer, far
from being a natural one, had been calculated by the Gatekeeper – he had been
manipulated.

“And I will not tell you again, Synesthete….do NOT use American vernacular
slang in my presence.” The silky, dark chocolate impression had returned to the
voice, and Tristan realized he was well beyond his league; best to back down and
regroup himself before any further resistance on his part occurred.

“Now…enter.” The Gatekeeper waved his hand, and the door in the wall swung
open.

“Yes, Sir,” Tristan snarled helplessly. Where WAS he, and who WERE these people
who somehow knew what went on in his head? He walked through, the door closing
deliberately and firmly behind him. He did notice that the Gatekeeper never
bothered to glance back at him as he walked in; somehow, the feeling of having
been dismissed as unworthy of any further degree of notice tasted like unsalted
Collard greens and dirt.

************************************************************

Character Introduction: The Headmaster of Vestribliss Academy, the (Un)Known World’s most exclusive preparatory school.

While I would love to provide you with a detailed description of this character, that proves rather tricky, owing to the fact that S/He/It/They appear to whomever is being addressed in different fashion. I, myself, have only encountered the Headmaster once, when I interviewed for my position as Chief Archivist for the academy. In my case, He was a delightful man of approximately sixty years of age, though with a gravitas, wisdom, humor, and overall demeanor that belied that number and led me to believe that he may well be marking his second or even third millenium. (Some of the instructors think he dates back far later than that; the Auror swears he is nearing his 20,000th year). Because of this, I, myself, generally refer to him as “He” and “him”. Now, mind, I did not actually see him, corporeally – no one that I know has ever seen him corporeally – he is, after all, the Headmaster. But that is the impression he gave my mind’s eye during our interview. He has appeared variously to my colleagues also as the strictest of female bosses, as a young child throwing a temper tantrum, as a Lycanthrope, and as a savage mob. It depends on his reason for speaking with you; he will always appear in the guise that you are most receptive, or susceptible, to. After all, he is a very busy entity, and if he’s speaking with you at all, it is either to admonish, praise, or guide. He spends most of his time working with the students, in one-on-one conference and occasionally tutoring sessions, sitting in on disciplinary committees, following up on counseling sessions. While it may seem odd to have what constitutes a disembodied voice as the leading authority figure in a school for adolescents, the Board of Directors of Vestribliss tell us that it is very effective, in the main, at promoting overall campus safety and security as well as an intrinsic respect for authority that, although often tested, is usually quickly restored. The students actually consider it a mark of pride to have been spoken with one-on-one by the Headmaster – far from fearing the voice in their head, they have grown to desire it and sometimes go to quite great lengths to court it (in positive or negative fashion, I’m afraid).

*******************************************************

Snippet of dialogue: The Headmaster

Carmela sat on the ground, staring at the useless, two-dimensional bed she had drawn for herself during check-in. “So stupid,” she muttered. “Why didn’t I think to provide dimensionality? Now what? I have a stupid desk I can’t put anything on, a chair I can’t sit in, a bed I can’t sleep in. I hate this!”

Welcome, Carmela.

Carmela sat upright and wheeled around. “Who are you?”

I’m the Headmaster of Vestribliss. I wanted to personally welcome you to our school. I was very impressed with your application; I think you will do great things here.

Carmela felt the stirrings of a pride in herself she did not recognize; it had been years since anyone had said anything remotely positive about her academically. The woman’s Voice was motherly, warm; she didn’t sound at all like a strict school authority.

I do just want to caution you, however, that you must work on paying attention to details. In your case, in particular, this could be a major roadblock for you as regards progressing in positive fashion through the program, the Voice continued.

Carmela looked around. “Where are you?”

I am here. That is all you need to know, the Voice continued. I will be here when you need me. I will be here when I need to be here. And now, perhaps, I might be of assistance in ironing out your little…problem, here. We do want our new students to be comfortable as they undergo placement testing.

As Carmela watched, the bed lengthened and expanded until it occupied three-dimensional space; the desk widened, the chair turned into a real chair, not just a few lines.
There. That’s better, isn’t it?

Carmela felt a wash of gratitude. “Thank you so much, Headmaster.”

You’re welcome, Child. And remember, in your case, it’s all in the details. I am taking my leave now. You will not hear from me again until it is necessary.

Carmela looked around, tried to concentrate on the woman’s voice; but she knew the Headmaster was gone. She felt a strange prick of sadness in her absence; despite never having seen her, she knew this was an authority figure she could love and trust. She wasn’t used to that, at all. Climbing into the newly reconfigured bed, she lay her head on the pillow and wondered what tomorrow would bring.