Richard III (SWC)
My story for the Steemit SWC involves past lives and communication with ghosts.
My name’s Cyrus Emerson. I live in Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Today, February 3rd, 2018, just discovered that the finding of Richard III’s body got confirmed five years ago. It’s Superbowl Sunday and my favorite team the San Francisco 49ers lost the Superbowl on that day five years ago. Yet my story doesn’t end here . . .
The world learned of the discovery of Richard III in a parking lot 500 years after his death. As the last King of England to die on the battlefield his remains were not respected by the winners. His life ridiculed in Tudor propaganda by Shakespeare’s play bearing his name, Richard III.
I too learned of this finding like most people, on the internet. At the time I’d already written two books. I also produced the world wide hit podcast Get Behind Me, Now Stay There.
In my spare time, I’d been reading all of Shakespeare’s histories, spanning the 100 Years War, and the Wars of Roses, from Joan of Arc, to Henry VIII. These plays remained in my subconscious, forming a narrative of English history that wished to manifest itself in a new book in the future.
One of our guests on the show, Matthew Shell, introduced us to a young woman starting on her musical career, Sydni Alexander. Since I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time, and didn’t want to give the impression of flirting with her, wanting to keep it professional, I declared my celebrity crush for Charli XCX on Facebook.
I’d discovered Charli XCX’s music around the same time. A British pop star over the age of 21 who looked like someone I’d loved. And her music made me think of an audiobook I’d made years before. Her album True Romance sounded like an answer. So I really did have a crush on her and followed her on Facebook as well.
I watched the Tom Cruise movie Vanilla Sky. I listened to “I Love It” by Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX. I got transported to a time when Charli XCX drove my 1958 MGA into a bridge in Lake Geneva. That kept me going for at least two years. The 200th anniversary of the Haunted Summer in Lake Geneva would be in 2016. I told international best selling author Jack Engelhard about it, tried to organize a writing retreat. I could be Lord Byron; Charli XCX Mary Shelly. The goal to write something we could collaborate on.
The show must go on. We continued to produce a hit podcast, continued relationships with people around the world, and promoted New York Times national bestsellers. The summer of 2016 came and went to no avail. Even now, a distant memory of what could have been. And yet, somewhere it happened, like a Shaman with an alter ego living another life the story had already taken shape.
My name’s Cyrus Emerson and I might be related to Ralph Waldo Emerson. My family tree goes back to Robert Emerson of Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the 1600s. Before that we have no family records. On an internet search discovered that the Emerson family seat to ancient times resides in Durham, England.
What of Charli XCX, her real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison. On the same family name website it said the Aitchison family seat to ancient times resides in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England.
On Google map, Berwick-upon-Tweed sits 82 miles to the North of Durham. Could our ancestors have known each other? How would they have met? And the idea of a carriage ride swirled in my mind like the wheels going round. And what would be the purpose of this carriage ride? What cosmic force could pull our ancestors together like the horses pulling the carriage? Richard III calling his subjects to him before the Battle of Bosworth Field the voice in my mind answered.
At this time I still hadn’t written much about this encounter, just an idea, a paragraph in a notebook, and a comment on Charli XCX’s Facebook page, my own posts on Facebook, nothing more than that. And still some time passed along doing mundane things. The show had ended. My Aunt passed away, and I had to take control over the estate.
In March of 2017 Charli XCX released her album #1 Angel with a song called White Roses.
Then in April of 2017, a secret tomb of Archbishops got discovered in England. It reminded me of Richard III’s body being discovered. I posted a prayer on Facebook.
Finally, a couple of weeks later while watching an NBA playoff game where the score got lopsided fast, and the winner determined before the 4th quarter, I began writing the Introduction to what would become my novella Red Roses in the comment section of a Facebook post.
It felt God inspired. Surprised at how good it read to me, I knew I had to copy it into a word doc on my computer. Then I began writing Chapter 01, Chapter 02, etc. The story unfolded to me. I felt as if the ghosts of Shakespeare and Richard III whispered in my ears. I finished the entire story in two weekends, from a carriage ride that began in Durham to the final battle of the Wars of Roses at Bosworth Field.
No one touches Shakespeare people say. Only in this context would it be possible. Shakespeare merely a playwright during a Tudor dynasty, while the ghost of a King had been set free wishing to restore his legacy, and I’d become the conduit for their project.
The audiobook company where I work had just gotten into printed books. Working near the people that put the books together they offered to help me put Red Roses into print. They did a fantastic job formatting the book to look like the Disney books we publish. I had some advance reader copies printed on hemp paper, and converted the print PDF into an epub file for publication on Amazon Kindle.
The story so real and vivid, I’ve joined the Richard III Society, and I’m currently competing in a UK book contest. I’ve never been to Europe. Born and raised in Oregon where I currently reside.
Still shocked by what I wrote. Some of the details discovered in the writing of the story defy explanation. For example, Richard III conquered Berwick-upon-Tweed. And the story begins with Charli XCX as the Lady of Berwickshire, and I as the Priest of Durham, sharing a carriage ride to York where we’ve been summoned by the King of England to bring about the end of the Wars of Roses between the Red Roses and the House of Lancaster, and the White Roses and the House of York.
So that’s my Supernatural Writing Contest submission for Steemit. Written before the Patriots play the Eagles in today’s Superbowl. This is not the end of the story either. There’s still a chance Red Roses wins the UK book contest. There’s still a chance that Charli XCX and I will collaborate on an audiobook project. And who knows? Maybe we’ll win a Grammy . . .
Still shocked
Yeah. Read the book again on hemp paper. So good it's scary. Just the flow of fiction mixed with historical facts. Poetic and concise.
I'm descended from the Emersons of Haverhill, MA, too. In fact, My 6x great-grandmother, Mehitable Emerson, plays an important part in my family even today. She was born in 1703, and Emerson was her maiden name. One of her granddaughters, Rebecca Burnham, became my 4x great-grandmother. Rebecca named one of her sons Emerson McKenzie (her husband being a McKenzie), after her grandmother.
Emerson had a son named Emerson who died when he was two. However, Emerson, Sr.'s younger brother Jacob, my 3x great-grandfather, gave his son Frank the middle name Emerson, in honor of his brother's son, as the son had recently died when Frank was born.
Since then, at least one McKenzie male in my line in every generation (and sometimes more than one) has had the middle name Emerson, even to the current generation of kids. And, it all started with a woman born more than 300 years ago. :)
One of my degrees is in History, and I did a ton of research on the Wars of the Roses for that degree. The era and the conflict fascinate me. Personally, I think it is FAR more likely that Henry Tudor killed the Princes in the Tower, rather than Richard III. I mean, Richard III had another niece and nephew who could have challenged him for the crown, and he took them in as his wards instead of killing them. Henry Tudor killed the nephew some years after taking the crown, and married off the niece into a family who supported the Tudors. Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort, could have done it, too, but I think she was too deeply religious to risk such a thing. Henry Tudor is the more likely culprit. If the princes were killed at all. There is a chance the older prince died of an abscessed tooth in the tower, and the younger one escaped. There is quite a bit of evidence for that theory, too.
I've always been fascinated by Lady Jane Grey, who came four generations later. I've dreamed about her, and in my dreams, I'm always trying to rescue her from being beheaded by Mary I (she was innocent, after all, and only killed because of her proximity to the throne and the fact she had supporters who wanted her there). I've often thought I must have known Lady Jane Grey personally in a former life. In this life, she is a 7th cousin, 8 times removed, on my family tree.
Wow. You got me to bust out the family tree. My Dad got it from someone that contacted us. West Coast ya know? Mom's Cherokee. Lost Angels in the wild west so to speak.
Robert Emerson born Nov. 10, 1629, died June 25, 1694 Haverhill, Ma.
Joseph Emerson born circa Feb. 26, 1668/1669 in Haverhill, Ma., died Aug. 6, 1755
David Emerson born Nov. 21, 1701 in Haverhill, Ma., died May 18, 1764
Then Philp, and we start moving around until we get to Oregon. Any help would be much appreciated.
Also, met an Emerson from the Richard III Society that has Emerson family history in Durham, England. Didn't include that in the story.
Hard to imagine Richard III could have been directly involved in the missing Princes. There's a great book from a leading historian available soon on the subject. Once again a member of the Society.
You might want to join for roughly 50 pounds a year at richardiii.net. If your on Kindle Unlimited check out my book for free. Or can Email a copy to you if you provide an address. Would really enjoy any feedback you might have.
That's what's awesome about The Wishing Shelf Book Awards; they give feedback on your book.
What did Mehitable Emerson do?
She was the wife of Solomon Burnham. Also, the daughter of Thomas Emerson and Philippa Perkins. Thomas Emerson's father was Nathaniel Emerson, and I've seen his headstone in Ipswich, MA. It's pretty old, but the writing on it is still visible and readable.
I've got this particular Burnham line back to Sedgefield Parish, County Durham, England in the 1500's.
Nathaniel Emerson was born in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, England and died in Ipswich, MA. His father was Thomas Emerson, born in Sedgefield Parish, County Durham, England, and died in Ipswich, MA. Thomas Emerson's father was Robert Emerson, who was born in County Durham, England and died in Hertfordshire, England.
I'll check out the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, as I've written three novels myself, and have two more in the works that should be published by sometime in April. Plus, I have tons of novel ideas after that. Being a novelist has pretty much been my goal for a career since high school.
I'll also check out the Richard III society, which I have heard of before, as well as your book on Kindle Unlimited.
Cool. They start the new contest after April when they announce the 2017 winners. Work at an audiobook company as well. Only they want a proven sales record.
No matches. On another note, our local history group is working on a cemetery project here. The famous person there named Nathaniel Myer. From PA, he moved to Ohio and became a congressman, before writing a diary about moving to Southern Oregon.
There is probably a cousin connection. In fact, there just about has to be. It's probably among Robert Emerson's children. My guess is you're from one child's line and I'm from another child's line. My family tree is on my other computer, so I'll have to check it tomorrow. I've got nearly 30,000 names on there, and quite a bit of work on the Emerson family. I'll let you know if I find any kind of connection in my tree.
Here's the help Hugh Emerson offered from the Society. May it help you if it hasn't already:
"There is one other unique source of information from the 15th - 16th Century called the Weardale Chest. This contains legal documents going back to that time much of which concerns disputes between landlord and tenant farmers. There are several Emersons mentioned including a Robert Emerson in 1606 (see also WEC.99/1-29)
http://tinyurl.com/kx7wn67
Weardale at that time was divided into the Park Quarter and the Forest Quarter. It was owned by the Bishops of Durham then sold to Sir Arthur Hesilrige, one of Oliver Cromwell's supporters in 1650."
Lady Jane Grey got beheaded today:
https://murreyandblue.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/a-grey-day/