Ned Hayes's Blog, page 131
December 31, 2013
"So begins the mystery and the adventure of going home."
- William Nicholson, from The Society of Others (via the-final-sentence)
What a New Year’s gift! I just received the following note...
What a New Year’s gift! I just received the following note from bestselling author Karen Maitland (author of The Owl Killers & Company of Liars). Wow… I am so grateful!
Novel Endorsement!
"An exquisitely written historical thriller that chillingly evokes the fear and cruelty of medieval England in the dark years after the Black Death. Told by a brave and charismatic narrator who will twist your heart-strings with her story from the first page to final startling revelation. An amazing novel based on a truly fascinating, unsolved mystery of the Middle Ages."
Thanks so much, Karen! Here’s her website, for more great medieval reads:http://www.karenmaitland.com/
And her new book trailer for “Falcons of Fire and Ice” is linked here as well.
Historical Novel - Endorsement from Karen Maitland
"An exquisitely written historical thriller that chillingly evokes the fear and cruelty of medieval England in the dark years after the Black Death. Told by a brave and charismatic narrator who will twist your heart-strings with her story from the first page to final startling revelation. An amazing novel based on a truly fascinating, unsolved mystery of the Middle Ages."
Thanks so much, Karen!
"We shall not cease from exploration.
And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we..."
We shall not cease from exploration.
And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, remembered gate, when the last of earth left to discover is that which was the beginning.
”- T.S. Eliot (via adeana)
December 30, 2013
"Under the sanctuary are the catacombs where the dead wait for...
"Under the sanctuary are the catacombs where the dead wait for resurrection. The living do not venture there. The caverns here underneath the Sanctuary are illuminated only by dim shafts of light from the sanctuary. The walls are etched with flowers of frost, but at least I am out of the wind. Dark bays line the hall in front of me, a vast rabbit warren, each hold filled to the brim with the scent of the past."
— from the novel Sinful Folk
“The next day brings snow. The black trees all around are...
“The next day brings snow. The black trees all around are edged each one in flakes, a pale white line on every limb. Jagged serrations of ice cover the road, hard as iron. When we move out of the ravine on the straight again, we can see that the manor house has grown slightly closer. The two small guardhouses of the manor stand between the road and the valley of a river.
If only we could reach the manor house, we might be safe. But it is too far away, a mirage on that distant hill.”
— from the novel Sinful Folk
December 29, 2013
“A great fallen yew with nurslings jutting evergreen from...
“A great fallen yew with nurslings jutting evergreen from its broken body lies near our path. This is the very place at which I first saw the village ten years ago. The line of trees here on the ridge is unchanged, as if I came here only yesterday.
I waited in the quiet vale of Duns far too long. At first, it was a refuge, where I could hide my tracks and recover my strength after the vicious attack that drove me from my home and my books. Then I met Nell, and she gave me sanctuary, and in that comfort of her friendship, I remained for years.
Last spring, after Nell was killed, I knew the village was no longer safe: my haven was gone. But I had only a few months to wait until Christian was ten years of age, and then he could claim his birthright. One winter more and then we would have left together.
But now my son is gone—alone, without me—where I cannot follow until my ending comes in its turn.
Breathing deeply, I try to still my fear as I stare down at my wet feet in rags trudging through the snow. I step onto the sunken, snowy track, and I move beyond the fallen yew. Past this point exists a world—a life—known to me years ago.”
PHOTO SOURCE: raises: nature/vintage blog
"I had forgotten how palatial is that vast dome of a narthex and...
"I had forgotten how palatial is that vast dome of a narthex and a church – like a hollow meadow found in the midst of a grove of ancient trees, reaching up towards heaven into murky depths where great beams are dimly glimpsed and the tiny patterings of a sparrow or a bat echo in the campaniles."
— from the novel SINFUL FOLK
PHOTO: (( The candle marking where Saint Thomas a’Beckett was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170 ))
December 28, 2013
“Fog lifts in the valley, rising as mist through the...
“Fog lifts in the valley, rising as mist through the bare-limbed trees. Far below lies the deeping combe with our village in the heart of it.
My whole world for nearly a decade has been contained in that place—and now the village of Duns looks so small. I hold up my hand, form a circle with my fingers. The distant village, wreathed in mist, seems a child’s plaything that I can hold in my own hand.”
— from the novel SINFUL FOLK
SOURCE OF PHOTO: 17butterbeers — Sulle nuvole by Alematrix on Flickr.
