Cindy Tomamichel's Blog: World Building, page 11

Review - Modesty Blaise

Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Yet another re read for me, this series would be the most re read on my shelves.

A fantastic start to the series, where we meet some enduring characters, the scene is set for action and mayhem, with splashes of humour, deep emotion and a partnership that risks everything for the other.

I can't rate this series highly enough. The writing cracks along, the villains are plot drivers, and the evolving depths of the characters keeps you coming back for more. If you haven't read any, banish any prejudice you may have about their comic book origin and get stuck into them. For action, adventure and splashes of humour you won't read anything better than Modesty Blaise.



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Modesty Blaise

Update on Jeanette O’Hagan blog prizes

A big thank you to everyone that joined in and commented during Jeanette O’Hagan’s blog tour! Here are Jeanette’s comments.

Winners:

Overall winner – Nola Passmore for the most comments – always interesting and entertaining

My Kingdom for a hot shower

Fantasy books are often set in a more primitive world where the chance of having a hot shower is minimal and toothbrushes possibly not invented. Likewise, in space, water is at a premium, needing to be recycled over and over. In both scenarios, the issue of bodily odours and hygiene can be ignored by the writer as something not of great importance. Yet these are the sorts of details – smells, itches, blood, sweat and dirt – that drag the reader into the story, sympathising with your characters and creating a very real world.

For a fantasy setting that is a quasi Earth, then looking to medieval times for scented herbs and earlier to the Romans for hygiene tools would be something to add to the story. Jean Auel in her ‘Earth Children’ series makes much of herbs for cleansing, using soapwort roots pounded into a mash to create a foamy lather to wash hair. Difficult as it might be to identify and gather soapwort (which is still used as a gentle cleansing agent for ancient tapestries) the alternate she offers is not for the squeamish. Her character uses stale urine to wash her hair, the ammoniacal fluid removing headlice and grease. One hopes a good rinse would get rid of the smell. Lemon juice can also be used to clean the hair.

Roman strigil

Other washing agents for hair and body could be a floral scented herbal vinegar. Herbal vinegars are easy to make if you would like to experiment with scents – white vinegar in a glass jar with a plastic lid and infuse flowers such as rose, lavender and jasmine or more manly ones of bay and rosemary. Leave in a warm place, changing the flowers until the sent is strong enough, straining at the end. Herbal teas using rosemary or chamomile could also be used to wash and freshen up. The Romans used to rub oil onto their skin, then scrape it off with a small metal tool (a strigil, pictured) before having a good bath. More northern snow bound countries had sweat baths or saunas set up, where pine needles could provide a nice scent, and then a brisk roll in the snow to make you feel alive.

For teeth cleaning, sage leaves offer a good rough surface to rub over your teeth, as well as chewing parsley or mint. Of course, sugar was not invented or not available, and this has a great effect on cavities- ancient Pompeiian bodies had excellent teeth. However, some Neanderthal teeth show evidence of treated abscesses, so I guess it varies.

EMSH artwork in 1958 edition of Heinlein “Have Spacesuit, will travel”

For science fiction, the confines of a space suit or ship would I imagine tend to get pretty rank. Robert Heinlein in his book ‘Have spacesuit, will travel’ makes much of the odour of old socks and garlic of the suit, and the efforts to disinfect it. In Andre Norton’s book on the traders, often they trade in aromatic woods and costly spices from alien planets, and this forms a basis for trade and is an integral part of her world building. The deodorising, shaving and drying cabinets in Harry Harrisons ‘Stainless Steel Rat’ are an attractive feature in the future of showers.

Another aspect of smell in science fiction is the perception of it by different species. One aliens rubbish pile might be other aliens aphrodisiac! This would have some profound and potentially disastrous effects on contact and diplomacy between species.

Travel to other countries is often an assault on the senses – different smells, tastes and sounds. What one accepts, another may take offence. Using these aspects of real life in your book will help the reader identify with the character, and it is a good chance to introduce humour or unexpected drama. Take the reader into a different world by all means, yet give them a tool to understand what it is really like to live there.

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In the meantime, click and have a read of Druid’s Portal

For those that like time travel romance – or historical fantasy – or a page turning action adventure – Druid’s Portal has been described as a book you can’t put down. Join archaeologist Janet and Roman soldier Trajan on an adventure with plenty of barbarian fighting, ancient goddesses and druids. It’s not your typical romance, but it will set your heart racing!

The post My Kingdom for a hot shower appeared first on Cindy Tomamichel.

Transgressor Review

Transgressor: The Entire Fortune's Fools First Trilogy by E.M. Swift-Hook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Transgressor is a trilogy, and forms part of the Fortune’s Fools universe of EM Swift-Hook. Readers of earlier pulp fiction may be reminded of the category ‘swords and planets’ first made popular by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Transgressor is a worthy addition to that literary history, and yet is so much more.
The story opens in a primitive world, and the basis for the first book is laid out – that of a man from an advanced civilisation ending up in a more primitive world. The world is detailed, and each page builds detail and characters that form the basis of the increasingly complex world and its people.
But all is not as it seems. This is a complex and lengthy series, and there is intrigue that spans planets, and people are never quite who they appear to be. Political machinations and personal ambitions vie to create a future universe that is a compelling read.
My only criticism is I found the pace a little slow, however that is more personal preference. For readers that enjoy epic high fantasy or science fiction with a large cast of characters and a complex political setup (Game of Thrones or the Dune series comes to mind), I think the pace is about the same.




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Transgressor: The Entire Fortune's Fools First Trilogy

Blog tour: Jeanette O’Hagan

Something a bit different for this blog- it is part of a blog tour and competition, and we have an interview with young adult fantasy writer Jeanette O’Hagan.

Blog Tour and competition Details:

Opportunities to win:

Throughout the blog tour there will be many opportunities to win prizes.

Comment below

Comment below on this post (and on any of the posts in the Blood Crystal Blog Tour) – the best comment (in Jeanette’s opinion) will win a copy of Heart of the Mountain: a short novella.

Heart of the Mountain on Amazon

Scavenger Hunt

Blood Crystal Scavenger Hunt will run throughout the  Blood Crystal Blog Tour.  Each blog will have a reflection or memory related to themes within Blood Crystal – and a related question. The first person to answer all NINE questions right will win a $50 Amazon voucher. The runner up will receive copies of both Heart of the Mountain and the sequel Blood Crystal.

Follow each post on the blog tour to find the questions & list your answers in the comments on the final blog post of the tour on 28 July. There will also opportunities to win prizes at each blogspot.

 

 

 

 

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday 12 July – Jeanette O’Hagan, Jeanette O’Hagan Writes

http://jeanetteohagan.com/blood-crystal-blog-tour/

Friday, 14 July – Paula Vince, The Vince Review

http://vincereview.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/blood-crystal-by-jeanette-ohagan.html

Saturday 15 July – Lynne Stringer, Lynne Stringer Author and Editor

http://www.lynnestringer.com/uncategorized/blood-crystal-blog-hop/

Tuesday 18 July – Cindy Tomamichel

Wednesday 19 July The Write Flourish

https://www.thewriteflourish.com.au/posts/blood-crystal-blog-tour-pov-setting

Friday, 21 July – David Rawlings

Monday, 24 July – Adele Jones,

Wednesday, 26 July – Adam Collings

Friday, 28 July – Jeanette O’Hagan, Jeanette O’Hagan Writes

Clue for the Scavenger Hunt:

An excerpt from Druid’s Portal: The First Journey.

Trajan was glad when the moss was replaced by damp rock, crumbling and cracked with thick tree roots snaking down through the fractures from the surface. Chill trickles ran down the walls, and the tunnel went down further and deeper underground. What was this place? Trajan tried to speculate on its origin to take his mind off the increasing thickness of rock above him. He had seen a lot of old temples in his travels, and Rome itself was full of decayed buildings and hidden caverns. But entering a presumably forbidden temple made him uneasy. Who knew what powers remained, and he thought them unlikely to be friendly to the lone Roman invader.

He had never liked being underground, as a boy having to shame himself into exploring the catacombs below Rome, and now, the feeling of tons of black rock above him was oppressive. He squared his shoulders and continued. Janet needed him.

Question: What is Trajan’s secret fear?

Author Interview

Today I introduce Jeanette O’Hagan, an Australian writer and author of the recently released book “Blood Crystal”. 

What is your current project?

I’ve just released Blood Crystal – the sequel to Heart of the Mountain. Blood Crystal continues the adventures of the twins Retza and Delvina and shapeshifter Zadeki in their efforts to save the underground realm from certain destruction. I’m planning another two novellas in the Under the Mountain series.

What are the hardest and easiest aspects of writing for you?

The easiest aspect is conjuring up the stories and writing them down (or typing them). The hardest aspect is finding time to juggle all the different ‘hats’ an author wears these days, especially promotion.

What’s your favourite imaginary world that’s not your own?

There are so many wonderful imaginary worlds, so hard to narrow it down to one. I think probably Tolkien’s Middle Earth for its scope and grandeur, though Narnia and Pern and Earthsea and so many others fire the imagination too.

If you were stuck on a desert island for eternity and could only take one book, what would it be?

Would it be cheating to say a Kindle with solar powered batteries?

You write in fantasy. Do you stray into other genres?

Most of my stories are not only fantasy but also set in the world of Nardva. I have written a couple of contemporary short stories – and last year I wrote a sci-fi flash fiction which has grown into a trilogy, working title The Chameleon Protocols.

Name another author that you would recommend reading.

I’ve read so many good authors, it’s so hard to limit to one. Of course, there are the obvious – like Lewis, Tolkien, Asimov, McCaffrey, Le Guin, Gaiman etc but for more recent publications – I would say Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles – Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Winter. Brilliant.

If you travelled in time, when would be your choice? Would you prefer magical or technological means of travel?

If I was to travel in time, it would have to be with the TARDIS. As to where – maybe to the beginning of the cosmos, to see where it all started.

What do you like to read, and has this changed over time?

I love reading fantasy, science-fiction, historical fiction but also contemporary women’s and issue-based fiction (like Jodie Picoult), the classics, poetry and young adult books.  As a teen & in my early twenties – along speculative fiction, historical and the classics –  I read a lot of regency romances (Georgette Heyer), and mystery (Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, the Bonny mysteries). I don’t mind romance and mystery (in fact both elements appear in my fantasy works), but I don’t read them as often these days

What is the next project?

I have three main areas at the moment – writing the sequel to Blood Crystal – working title Stone of the Sea, final edits on Akrad’s Children – the first novel in the Akrad’s Legacy series – and finishing the rough drafts on the cyborg trilogy.

People want to know more! Where can we buy the latest book and where are you on the internet?

My books are on Amazon and Draft2Digital

Blood Crystal on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Crystal-novella-Under-Mountain-ebook/dp/B073H83F42/ or  https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B073H83F42/

Blood Crystal at other outlets https://www.books2read.com/u/3yPBwV

You can Find me

Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/JeanetteOHaganAuthorAndSpeaker

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9833645.Jeanette_O_Hagan

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bythelighto...

Twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteOHagan

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Jeanette-OHagan/e/B00RBSE85C/

Websites Jenny’s Thread (http://jennysthread.com/) or Jeanette O’Hagan Writes (http://jeanetteohagan.com/).

if you want to stay up-to-date with latest publications and developments, sign up to Jeanette O’Hagan Writes e-mail newsletter http://eepurl.com/bbLJKT.

If you enjoyed this blog, have a think about signing up on my website. www.cindytomamichel.com

The post Blog tour: Jeanette O’Hagan appeared first on Cindy Tomamichel.

J.W. Luff: Author interview

Today I introduce JW Luff, a Science Fiction writer and author of the Virago 4 and The NOAH Equation series.

What is your current project?

My current WIP is the third and final instalment of The NOAH Equation series, The NOAH Warriors. It’s Science Fiction written from a Christian perspective.

What are the hardest and easiest aspects of writing for you?

Probably the hardest is staying focused and setting time aside to write. I have a weird schedule that is dependent on many factors, not the least of which is the weather. The easiest is coming up with ideas. I’ve been told I have a vivid imagination.

A writing routine or inspiration? What works best for you?

Like I said before finding time is a challenge, so any kind of set routine is out the window. My job is in aviation and is very dependent on many factors. Now that is offset by current technology. I can work just about anywhere. I’ve spent many hours editing a manuscript on my IPad while sitting in an airport lobby waiting for the weather to clear.

What’s your favourite imaginary world that’s not your own?

That would have to be in the future where faster than light travel is as common as air travel today. The idea of travelling to distant worlds, meeting alien life forms and learning about their societies is fascinating to me.

How much research do you do for your novels?

I like to do a lot of research. I feel I owe it to the reader. I want the technology to be believable even if it doesn’t currently exist in our world. The problem is sometimes the research becomes so interesting I can get caught up in it and put the project on the back burner.

Name another author that you would recommend reading.

Robert L. Beers. I consider him a mentor. (catch Robert’s work on Amazon click here)

If you travelled in time, when would be your choice? Would you prefer magical or technological means of travel?

I would love to visit the future. I would prefer technological, but as Arthur C. Clark said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

What do you like to read, and has this changed over time?

I’ve always been a Science Fiction fan, the more technological the better. I’m more likely to read Science Fiction written by a Christian author.

What is the next project?

After I finish The NOAH Warriors, I’m looking to get into short films. I’m getting better using Daz3d Over the last few years I’ve used it to create book trailers and I’ve received a lot of compliments. The software is a lot of fun and I’m able to create scenes right out of my books. I’m one of those people that can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. This software allows me a way of getting the image from my head to the computer screen.

People want to know more! Where can we buy the latest book and where are you on the internet?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jwluff

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/JW-Luff/e/B00PEPHSLU

The post J.W. Luff: Author interview appeared first on Cindy Tomamichel.

Furry Fictional Friends

Pets, be they cats, dogs, birds or toads do enmesh themselves in our lives, with most people owning a pet at some stage of their lives. So it is not to be wondered that they infiltrate works of fiction as surely as they twine themselves into our lives.

Dogs and cats have been companion animals for thousands of years, gradually adapting even their body shape to the needs of humans. Dogs have been bred to perform many different tasks, from terrier rat catchers to greyhound racers or huskies pulling sleds, there is a dog type for most human needs. The ever loving and adaptable dog even becomes a human bodyguard, sniffing out cancers with their perceptive noses, or contraband at border security – and all this work for nothing more than treats and some affection. Dogs have been beside the human race, panting with eagerness since we first sighted game from the mouth of the cave.

Dogs in fiction also bolster this image, with many retellings of heroic dogs and their deeds saving humans. Jean Auel has Wolf, the precursor to domestic dogs, giving an insight into the possible path of dog domestication. A dog had the distinction of being the first host in ‘Alien’ although this is unlikely to be a favourite scene for animal lovers.

Cats stepped up to the mark with the dawn of agriculture. They were already hunters of rodents, so made little adaptation to be able to fit into human society. Cats roamed the trade routes, eating rats across the oceans, and travelled across the globe, snoozing comfortably in the back of a wagon. Today they still perform vital rat catching services in museums such as the Hermitage Art Museum in Russia, and can still often be found in bookshops. The book ‘Dewey the library cat,’ tells the charming story of an abandoned kitten who lives in the library and helps spread the love of books and cats.

Cats in fiction reflect some of their history, and yet they are more developed than other pets in fiction. I postulate this is because many writers struggle to write with a cat draped over one arm, or sitting in front of the screen, so they force their way into the story! A writer is nothing more than a warm lap for cats. Science fiction writers such as Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein often had cats in the story, and sometimes as the main character. Readers may remember or like to read the ‘Zero Stone’ series of Norton, or ‘The Cat who walks through Walls’ by Heinlein. Andre Norton has a cat on her lap in her wiki author photo as well. Another of her books is ‘Breed to Come’ a post apocalypse book with evolved cats (leading society naturally!), dogs and the evil rats. An excellent read. Other large, sentient cats in novels are the ‘Gandalara Cycle’ by Randall Garrett, where the characters and cats form a strong telepathic/empathic bond. Alan Dean Foster also has the furcot- giant 6 legged cat beasts – in Midworld, which is an excellent read. JK Rowling had Crookshanks, Hermione’s familiar who was instrumental in saving the main characters. Lewis Carroll had the Cheshire cat, while CS Lewis seemed altogether less keen on cats, making the cat a deceiving villain in ‘The Last Battle’.

Birds – particularly parrots with their high intelligence and ability to mimic – also make popular pets. Notorious pirates can be readily identified by their companion parrot, such as RL Stevenson’s Long John Silver as well as the real pirate Blackbeard. The marooned Robinson Crusoe had a bad moment when he was awakened by his parrot talking. The paranoid Crusoe panicked, hearing a ‘human’ voice, as well he might after 26 years mostly  alone with the only other humans sighted being cannibals.

Other pets perhaps fair less well in fiction. Rats suffer from their association with garbage and their ability to survive. ‘Willard’ is not for the faint hearted, being a tale of a social outcast and his too intelligent rats. Even JK Rowling cast the rat as a bad guy, with Scabbers being the notorious dark wizard and Voldemort henchman, Peter Pettigrew. Although we have the flipside with the charming series ‘Rats of NIHM’ by Robert O’Brien, where the rats are mostly intelligent heroes, although the books have a range of good and bad rats, as well as the mice, who are in general more heroic. Reepicheep the mouse in the ‘Dawn Treader’ by CS Lewis is the epitome of heroism.

So as they have travelled beside humans throughout evolution, it seems likely our pets will continue as companions to the stars and beyond. Certainly they have travelled there often in the imaginations of writers. As we encounter and evolve on the strange worlds beyond Earth, maybe the stories will come true and we will be able to share the journey as equals.

Enjoy this blog? Have a think about signing up via my website or catch them as they fly around the ether on twitter or facebook . They will stay where they are pinned on pinterest .

For those that have not read Druid’s Portal yet, here is a link to the first chapter   DruidsPortal

The post Furry Fictional Friends appeared first on Cindy Tomamichel.

Pets in Fiction

Pets, be they cats, dogs, birds or toads do enmesh themselves in our lives, with most people owning a pet at some stage of their lives. So it is not to be wondered that they infiltrate works of fiction as surely as they twine themselves into our lives.

Dogs and cats have been companion animals for thousands of years, gradually adapting even their body shape to the needs of humans. Dogs have been bred to perform many different tasks, from terrier rat catchers to greyhound racers or huskies pulling sleds, there is a dog type for most human needs. The ever loving and adaptable dog even becomes a human bodyguard, sniffing out cancers with their perceptive noses, or contraband at border security – and all this work for nothing more than treats and some affection. Dogs have been beside the human race, panting with eagerness since we first sighted game from the mouth of the cave.

Dogs in fiction also bolster this image, with many retellings of heroic dogs and their deeds saving humans. Jean Auel has Wolf, the precursor to domestic dogs, giving an insight into the possible path of dog domestication. A dog had the distinction of being the first host in ‘Alien’ although this is unlikely to be a favourite scene for animal lovers.

Cats stepped up to the mark with the dawn of agriculture. They were already hunters of rodents, so made little adaptation to be able to fit into human society. Cats roamed the trade routes, eating rats across the oceans, and travelled across the globe, snoozing comfortably in the back of a wagon. Today they still perform vital rat catching services in museums such as the Hermitage Art Museum in Russia, and can still often be found in bookshops. The book ‘Dewey the library cat,’ tells the charming story of an abandoned kitten who lives in the library and helps spread the love of books and cats.

Cats in fiction reflect some of their history, and yet they are more developed than other pets in fiction. I postulate this is because many writers struggle to write with a cat draped over one arm, or sitting in front of the screen, so they force their way into the story! A writer is nothing more than a warm lap for cats. Science fiction writers such as Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein often had cats in the story, and sometimes as the main character. Readers may remember or like to read the ‘Zero Stone’ series of Norton, or ‘The Cat who walks through Walls’ by Heinlein. Andre Norton has a cat on her lap in her wiki author photo as well. Another of her books is ‘Breed to Come’ a post apocalypse book with evolved cats (leading society naturally!), dogs and the evil rats. An excellent read. Other large, sentient cats in novels are the ‘Gandalara Cycle’ by Randall Garrett, where the characters and cats form a strong telepathic/empathic bond. Alan Dean Foster also has the furcot- giant 6 legged cat beasts – in Midworld, which is an excellent read. JK Rowling had Crookshanks, Hermione’s familiar who was instrumental in saving the main characters. Lewis Carroll had the Cheshire cat, while CS Lewis seemed altogether less keen on cats, making the cat a deceiving villain in ‘The Last Battle’.

Birds – particularly parrots with their high intelligence and ability to mimic – also make popular pets. Notorious pirates can be readily identified by their companion parrot, such as RL Stevenson’s Long John Silver as well as the real pirate Blackbeard. The marooned Robinson Crusoe had a bad moment when he was awakened by his parrot talking. The paranoid Crusoe panicked, hearing a ‘human’ voice, as well he might after 26 years mostly  alone with the only other humans sighted being cannibals.

Other pets perhaps fair less well in fiction. Rats suffer from their association with garbage and their ability to survive. ‘Willard’ is not for the faint hearted, being a tale of a social outcast and his too intelligent rats. Even JK Rowling cast the rat as a bad guy, with Scabbers being the notorious dark wizard and Voldemort henchman, Peter Pettigrew. Although we have the flipside with the charming series ‘Rats of NIHM’ by Robert O’Brien, where the rats are mostly intelligent heroes, although the books have a range of good and bad rats, as well as the mice, who are in general more heroic. Reepicheep the mouse in the ‘Dawn Treader’ by CS Lewis is the epitome of heroism.

So as they have travelled beside humans throughout evolution, it seems likely our pets will continue as companions to the stars and beyond. Certainly they have travelled there often in the imaginations of writers. As we encounter and evolve on the strange worlds beyond Earth, maybe the stories will come true and we will be able to share the journey as equals.

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Short Story – Choice

Thanks to readers of Druid’s Portal. It has had some modest success, and I appreciate people taking the time to let me know how much they enjoyed it. Please make sure you review authors, it all helps other readers find their books.

I am posting a short story of love, life and gladly made choices. This was an entry in a competition where the first and last paragraphs were provided by the competition organisers. The rest is mine.

Choice.

They laid the train tracks back to front and this caused a great deal of confusion – you’d think you were on the train to New York and arrived in Kinshasa, or to Shanghai and found yourself lost in Istanbul. The last announcement sounded as I sank into my seat next to the window. I watched as some double checked their destination, while others jumped aboard without a backward glance.

The litany of names thrummed in my head, and I remembered. Remembered when they had been different, when I had been different.

Before I gave up my immortality and thought it well lost for love.

New York had been New Amsterdam, Istanbul once Constantinople. Shanghai in the distant past had been part of the romance of Cathay, before the geographers got their maps right. I had been a Princess when Kinshasa was a fishing village. I had known these places when they wore the swaddling clothes of youth, roamed the streets and listened to the sound of a new world birthing.

I roamed the world as an observer, watching the brief lives of people flit by like bright images caught in a window reflection. My eyes refocused as rain beat down on the train window, and my own face looked back. I was no longer the princess that had enchanted Marco Polo, leading him around the world in a merry romp. Nor was I the light footed dancer at the feet of the last of the emperors. Their bones lay as dry and desiccated as the business reports I had typed this morning.

I had almost given myself to Marco Polo. An adventurer, a seeker of new things. He had found me, for one. But I was not ready to be part of his collection of exotics, a treasure given to a King and forgotten as the next new thing beckoned. But I had not forgotten. Mortality is a curse, the few remaining immortals told me, you will be cursed with remembering all that you have given up, all that you could have been in the centuries to come.

A blessing I had found it. A wanderer over the earth, my stories had become part of me, and one man found his heart stolen by my words. My memories wound their way into his heart, as his poems bound me to him. With the magic of his words he bound me, and for him I gave up my wandering, glad as a ship anchoring at a safe docking after a voyage that has gone on too long.

Their faded words I remember. The immortals whispered you will be diminished, less than you could have been. Never will you celebrate another millennia with your kind, you will be in your grave while we live still. But I had roamed while they had not, I had seen what they had missed.

Love cannot last the millennia, it needs fresh blood for renewal, the freshness of a life lived at frantic pace, sure in the knowledge that life will end. How else could one bear the intensity of giving your soul and thoughts to another? I learnt of the pain of being mortal, the daily hurts and worries that had never touched me.

Like earning a living. I looked at my hands, no longer the pampered hands of a princess, they bore the stains of life now. For despite the whirlwind of love, the reality was that a princess and a poet had to work to earn enough to live. For love, I had cleaned, and for love I had done a hundred different jobs while I listened to the words flow from him. The words of my love, the stories I told to cheer him were woven into poems of such beauty that they drove away the aches and pains of mortality.

The intensity and pain of this short life. I glance at the others on the train, wondering if they too ponder their final destinations. Easy it would be on this train to say yes dear, I am on my way home, and then step through the door into another city and disappear. Your old life would vanish. Some talk on their phones, their faces as glum as only mortals can be. Their emotions change so quickly, as if they are actors behind a curtain preparing for the final scene.  Many things might vanish if you choose to go to a different place, but inside you are still the same.  To gain a new life, great sacrifices must be made, I could have told them, but I did not.

One stop from my destination, and the rain has slowed a little. I open my bag and get out the book. Fresh from the printers, I look at the back cover first. My love smiles back at me, our children as well. I know it all by heart, I have heard him wrestling for the perfect words so many times that they have wound through me like silken cords.

My children, our children, the unexpected bonus of a mortal life. They roar into the world, so precious and fast. Running with all the energy of their short existence, flowering for only a brief season. All the energy of the immortals compressed by time into urgency, not stretched and faded into lassitude and boredom.

The others had been wrong, I had not been diminished. Immortality takes many forms and I had not lost it. It had been shared. In the words of my love that would live on, and the lives of our children and theirs. Not lost, not diminished, but renewed.

The train slowed to a stop and I grabbed my umbrella. With all the other passengers I got up to continue this life I have chosen.

Rain dripping from the rusty gutters made a curtain between the platform and the tracks.

 

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Druid’s Portal – cover competition

Druid’s Portal has been selected as a finalist in the cover of the month competition at Books & Benches!

It is a great compliment to the artist Melody Pond (click here for her website).

I would appreciate it if you could vote – it is a once only vote, and there is no sign ups or later spamming.

Click the link to vote: https://www.booksandbenches.com/cover-contest

And a big thank you to everyone that has posted reviews of Druid’s Portal- much appreciated!

Well, best get back to some research and writing.

P.S. For anyone that hasn’t got their copy – I am donating 10% of June profits to the Robert E Howard Museum in appreciation for many years of entertaining reading from the creator of Conan. I doubt Druid’s Portal would be what it is without his influence!

Amazon link : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LBLQ1G/?tag=geolinker-20

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