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><span><span>Harold Godwineson, the Last Anglo-Saxon King, owed everything to his father. Who was this Godwine, first Earl of Wessex and known as the Kingmaker? Was he an unscrupulous schemer, using King and Witan to gain power? Or was he the greatest of all Saxon Earls, protector of the English against the hated Normans? The answer depends on who you ask. He was befriended by the Danes, raised up by Canute the Great, given an Earldom and a wife from the highest Danish ranks. He sired nine children, among them four Earls, a Queen and a future King. Along with his power came a struggle to keep his enemies at bay, and Godwine's best efforts were brought down by the misdeeds of his eldest son Swegn. Although he became father-in-law to a reluctant Edward the Confessor, his fortunes dwindled as the Normans gained prominence at court. Driven into exile, Godwine regathered his forces and came back even stronger, only to discover that his second son Harold was destined to surpass him in renown and glory.</span></span></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>