Marshall Thornton is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright and author living in Long Beach, California. He has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA where he won the Carl David Memorial Fellowship for his romantic-comedy, Husband Material, as well as a BA in Creative Writing from California State University at Long Beach. He has had plays produced in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Marshall has published in literary journals and is currently exploring the world of on-line downloadable fiction.
<p>Richard II found himself under siege not once, but twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all seemed lost. Alas, his triumph was short-lived, and for the next ten years he struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles. Just like in the days of his great-grandfather Edward II, vengeful magnates strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding. The Lords Appellant, as they came to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and defenseless. He would never forget his humiliation at the hands of his subjects. Richard's inability to protect his adherents would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.</p>
<span style="color:#333333;font-family:Arial;font-size:12px;line-height:18px;"><strong style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;font-weight:bold;">Review by: </strong><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/boxeroxny" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:#336699;">Cynthia Roberts</a> on Feb. 24, 2009 : <img src="http://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" alt="star" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;" /> <img src="http://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" alt="star" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;" /> <img src="http://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" alt="star" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;" /> <img src="http://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" alt="star" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;" /> <img src="http://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" alt="star" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-size:100%;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-left-style:none;" /> <br />A brutal homicide shocks the residents of a tiny snow-covered town in Marshall Thornton’s “Coffee Clutch”. Stylish and atmospheric, this story is a detailed Whodunit set within the wider context of the idiosyncrasies of small-town life. The quirky yet oddly appealing characters who inhabit Thornton’s fictional hamlet are well defined and easily recognizable. Refreshingly streamlined and free of clichés and gimmicks, “Coffee Clutch” will leave you wanting more of this tiny municipality and its inhabitants. One can only ask, “Where is the novel?”</span>