leonardo-visitor-clos-luce I was privileged in this, the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, to visit the chateau in Amboise, France, where the Renaissance master came to serve as first painter, engineer and architect to King Francis I beginning in 1516. Leonardo had, by most accounts, worn out his welcome in Florence, Milan and Rome, … Continue >
On a recent Thursday afternoon in February, I was invited to do a Twitter Takeover for Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntMag), doing a #YAauthorTakeover. I was a little nervous in the lead-up, but the two hours flew by. I’ve used screen shots to capture here–because ye olde Storify is no longer an option (boo!). So the … Continue >
Capture a child’s imagination and you’ll create a lifelong learner, says Robin Stevens Payes, founder of Edge of Yesterday Media (EOY) and author of the teen time-travel adventure series and interactive “learning through story” platform, Edge of Yesterday, and Richard Tavener, CEO and founder of Fused Learning of Monterey, CA. Payes and Tavener announce their … Continue >
Leonardo da Vinci is very much with us. The recent sale, at auction, of his Salvator Mundi, for $450 million, puts him in a rarefied field–some would say, out of this world. There is no other artist in history whose work has claimed anywhere close to that price. The new biography by Walter Isaacson is … Continue >
“A strong heroine and intriguing concept” ~Kirkus Review Rockville, Md. (April 15, 2017) – In a debut novel, Edge of Yesterday (www.edgeofyesterday.com), author Robin Stevens Payes, brings Leonardo da Vinci and his visionary powers to life through the eyes of a modern-day teen. When 13-year-old Charley Morton decides to build Leonardo da Vinci’s plans for … Continue >
On the hunt for Leonardo da Vinci ever since starting on the novelization of my time travel novel, but it seems, instead, he’s been stalking me. The genius is very much alive. A few of the most notable Leo sightings, up-close-and-personal. The Da Vinci Machines exhibit, currently on display in Bradenton, Florida. Artisans from Florence, … Continue >
Smoking gun: Asian gerbils, not European rats, caused the plague. No doubt if such news had appeared in the broadsheets of, say, 14th century Italy (and did the have anything even remotely resembling a newspaper for informing citizens in those largely illiterate days?), trade with Asia would have been banned, and the traders themselves shipped … Continue >
Had a blast doing a half-hour interview with Sylvia Henderson, host of “Talk About It’, a biweekly community affairs program on MMCTV, here in Montgomery County, Maryland. We talked about the STEM to STEAM to MASTERY link that is becoming fundamental to student learning in K-12 education. MASTERY, here, includes learning across multiple disciplines, but … Continue >
In the time travel adventure story Edge of Yesterday (originally, Out of Time), our heroine Charley plays violin–taught and encouraged by her professional violinist mom, Gwen. Charley and Gwen even compose what Charley calls a “sound poem” together–the song “Out of Time” that ends up connecting mother and daughter across centuries. Practicing the violin is … Continue >
I am in rustic Rochester, Vermont, a contestant in Pitch Week II. I am deep in the throes of this midsummer nights competition–in the running for the publishing trifecta of a book deal, agent and publicist. As part of the contest, I am presenting my vision for a rebirth of learning based on the resonance … Continue >