Just in time for Kindle…

VARNISHED FACES, an Amazon Short Story by David Blixt.

VARNISHED FACES is from a line from The Merchant of Venice. Shylock refers to the celebrations taking place outside his home as the Venetians revel in masks. He warns his daughter against those "varnish’d faces," meaning the leather masks – and also the men behind them.

In Romeo & Juliet, Romeo and his friends crash the Capulet ball in masks. Lord Capulet tries to recall when he last wore a mask to a party, and "Old Capulet" replies that it was at "Lucentio’s wedding."

All these elements are brought together in my first short story, published through Amazon Shorts, and available here for only 49 cents. A steal.

This is the first of nine stories I’ll be publishing as a lead-up to the sequel to THE MASTER OF VERONA. Due next Fall, it’s entitled VOICE OF THE FALCONER.

For those keeping score, VARNISHED FACES falls between chapters 27 and 28 in MV, at the very beginnng of the Fourth Act entitled The Exiles.

There are several reasons why this story pleases me. First off, it fills in a few deficencies in the novel – we get to meet Giotto here, whereas he’s only referenced in the book. We get a good long glimpse of Padua, a place only visited at night in MV’s Prologue. And while the rivalry between Pietro and Carrara has a nice arc, I never really touch on the natural anger that Antony has for the Paduan knight. Understandably, Antony blames Mariotto for the ending of their friendship, and that’s what plays out in the book. But Carrara had a hand in those events as well, and Antony certainly would not have forgotten that fact.

But my favorite reasons for writing this story are the Paduans themselves. While the novel takes place in and around Verona (hence the title), Padua was one of Shakespeare’s favorite places to reference. In this story I’m able to bring all those references together. Characters from Much Ago, Shrew, Merchant, and R&J all meet up in Baptista’s garden.

So while you wait to see what happens to Cesco, Pietro, Cangrande and the rest, use this to help fill the void. I promise, it’s worth every penny.