Michelle Styles's Blog, page 47

Ashes to Ashes -- the final season

As anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows I am a long term fan of the series, starting with the first series of Life on Mars just after it came out in dvd. Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) is what makes it. Totally unreconstructed alpha male. When I needed a Viking hero for Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife he fit the bill and I thought I was odd. But then other women started coming out of the woodwork -- the reason they watched was Philip Glenister. It has to do with integrity and...

Does anyone know what this is?

Several weeks ago, my youngest dug the bottom half of it out of the dene. He had retrieved the top half a few years ago. They are a perfect match. We are stumped as to its original purpose. it had been holding the bank up by the stream...
Several members of the RWA Northumberland thought it might be an oil lamp cira the late 1890's. I am inclined to agree.
But any and all suggestions welcome. The glass is about an inch thick and there used to be stripes painted on it. There is a metal screw on...

Sinai Adventure Day 7 and 8: The Red Sea

Today is my day for the PHS Destination Life column so my adventures with snorkeling on the Red Sea are there. It was tremendous fun but in the end hard work. I have never been so glad for the final snorkel to be ended.
The return journey was relatively painless. Once again the guides at the airport came into their own -- seeing off a porter and then guiding us to the correct queue. You would think getting in the correct check in line would be in a cinch BUT a group in front of us waited for ...

Sinai Adventure Day 6 -- Into the desert

Our sixth day saw us going into the desert to have a meal with a Bedouin tribe. It included a camel ride, watching the sunset and looking at the stars. Originally we had wanted to go to Tiran Island but the boat trip did not come off and so we did camels instead.

The Bedouin of the Sinai are divided into about 19 tribes, although some say as much as 27. Each is headed by a sheikh. Sheikh simply means the leader and he really does the power of life and death over his tribe. Depending on the tri...

Sinai Adventure Day 5 -- St Catherine's

By any measure, St Catherine's Monastery is remote. It is in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula and there is one road which leads to it. It is only open 3 hours per day, three or four times per week. The Greek Orthodox monks are determined that this is not a tourist attraction but a working monastery of enormous significance to all Christians, but particularly to those of the Orthodox faith.

Why is St Catherine's important?
First of all, St Catherine is the wrong name for it. St Catherine of Ale...

Sinai Adventure Days 1 - 4

Before I begin, I should explain recent history of the Sinai has been volatile. The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt as part of the Camp David Peace Accord back in 1979 and still hosts foreign observers. Out in the desert, unexploded ordinance lurks and the tourist coast suffered from three separate terrorist attacks -- Taba, Dahab and Sharm El Sheikh. The authorities do not take chances and security is high. Each hotel has its own security checkpoints and you do get screened, bags check...

Back from the Sinai and other things

I have arrived home -- sunburnt, with a streaming cold but throughly relaxed. Egypt, in particular the Sinai Penisula was a wonderful experience from snorkelling with sea turtles and Moray eels to riding a camel into the desert sunset to dine with Bedouin and visiting St Catherine's. More on this later when I have downloaded my photos and sorted my thoughts. We all survived...no one was sold for camel and no one had difficulties in the water. The Egyptian men (they are almost exclusively...

In Egypt

Currently I am on the way to Egypt -- Sharm El Sheikh to be precise. So sun, sand and sea. More Presents than Historical but I am planning on going to St Catherine's and Mt Sinai. Research for the Ottoman Empire book.
Normal service will resume on 2 April.

Congrats to all the Rita and GH finalists as they are announced today. I am looking forward to find some fantastic books to read! And to seeing the ceremony live in Nashville in July.

Good News

Last night, it was with some trepidation that I opened an email from my editor. The fear immediately turned to joy when I discovered that His Runaway Governess (working title) had been accepted. It has been a long haul with this book. It was originally turned in last July and has gone through several major revisions. Some books are just like that. My editor thinks it is a classic Michelle Styles now...her earlier thoughts on it were probably unprintable!
My editor has my latest ms so I will h...

Kittens

Mr Darcy has taken to trying to catch shadows by climbing the walls. He has not figured out that he can only go up so far and then fall. Heathcliff spends much of his time watching out the windows, calling to the birds.
This morning Heathcliff found a bell which he rang precisely at 6 am. Annoying as I had not set the alarm clock and had hoped to sleep in. However given that sort of treatment, I rose and fed the kittens. The bell will be removed. It does make we wonder if kittens were behind t...