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February 1st, 2012
And our 99-center for February is—
Read the first chapter of Nicole of Prie Mer here. January 30th, 2012
The Thief
January 27th, 2012
Ngaio Marsh’s houses
In my previous post on Marsh, I mentioned the first thing that was driving me crazy about her superior Roderick Alleyn mysteries: How to pronounce his name. After having covered that thoroughly, we now turn to the second irritant, which is: how does one distinguish between the house styles that she mentions so casually? Here in our neck of Texas, you have three basic house styles: shotgun, ranch, and a schizophrenic Georgian, which builders hope looks expensive. Well, in her various novels, Marsh tosses around styles such as Victorian, Edwardian, Queen Anne, and Georgian, and I stop midsentence to wonder, “What exactly do these look like?” After a little digging, I think I’ve found examples that she might recognize. And they are: January 25th, 2012
pronouncing “Alleyn” (and “Ngaio”)
I’m still enjoying Ngaio Marsh’s Roderick Alleyn mysteries very much—am now on the 20th book, Singing in the Shrouds. However, two minor points have been driving me crazy. First: What is the correct pronunciation of “Alleyn”? Up till this book, she hasn’t really said. Then, in Chapter 3 of Shrouds, the reader suddenly comes across
Huzzahs! One point resolved and it only took her 20 books to let us know. Eek. Not so fast. The captain may be exaggerating for effect, and Alleyn doesn’t respond. Four chapters later, there’s this exchange between Tim and Brigid:
So it looks definitively like “Allen.” But THEN we hit Chapter 11, wherein we find this amazing confluence of information:
So there you have it, assuming that Marsh has finished having her fun with us over that. The second point is really beyond Marsh’s responsibility to help us with. But that I have to cover in another post, since this one grew to such absurd lengths the more I read Shrouds. Oh, and, Ngaio? Is pronounced NIGH oh. So there. January 23rd, 2012
99¢ ebook all February
We just haven’t decided which one. Stay tuned. January 19th, 2012
the faithful
It was from Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous speech that I first grasped the astounding concept “unearned suffering is redemptive.” Over the years, as I have regarded the suffering of good people—the righteous made perfect—I have seen this demonstrated over and over again. I saw this in my mother. Shortly before my marriage in 1976, she was diagnosed with cancer. Through four surgeries and intense suffering, she grew deeper and stronger in her faith. Her family and friends, who prayed ceaselessly for her healing, could only watch helplessly as she succumbed and died on a Sunday morning in 1978. In 1987, when I was a busy writer/housewife with two young children, I began to experience clear symptoms of the same disease that had killed my mother. In great fear, I made an appointment for a thorough screening. The night before my appointment, I awoke in the middle of the night to see my mother standing beside my bed, holding my hand and praying. I was not dreaming; I saw her clearly, but only for a moment. The next day I knew I was well, but I went through with the appointment. It was uncomfortable and time-consuming. The results came back negative. In the intervening years, I’ve had no recurrence of the symptoms. Now, I know that I will die at some point of something, but I am no longer afraid. I only pray to be made worthy of my suffering so that I can be a blessing to others as my mother has been to me. There are saints in the making all around us. I would like to be one of them.
January 17th, 2012
waiting for spring
Marigolds:
Swiss chard:
Livingston daisies:
Parsley:
Tango leaf lettuce:
Isis candy tomatoes:
Lemon grass:
and Vanilla butterfly flowers:
Thank goodness the dogs aren’t allowed in the dog run! Wish me luck! January 16th, 2012
all Sammys are not the same
To wit:
The books share similarities in titles and subject matter. The protagonist in both is very cute; each likes kisses and gets bored when he is not at work. Also, both books are interesting. There, however, the similarities appear to be exhausted. One book is nonfiction, the other is fiction. One is chock full of photos, while the other leaves everything to the reader’s imagination. One has an index while the other, alas, does not. Also, the authors are different. The book on the right is one of mine. So I felt it advisable to issue a clarification before the publication of my next Sammy.
“Former Dallas Police detective Sammy Kidman is now a private investigator working for his wife Marni’s agency, MK & Associates. While he is out tracking down scofflaws who owe past-due child support, he rescues a dog from becoming road kill. “Miraculously, Marni allows Sammy to keep the gangly mongrel, whom Sammy soon discovers to be an unexpected asset in his work. He has no idea how much of an asset, however, until he tangles with a high-powered woman executive who resents his collection efforts so much as to concoct a particularly harrowing revenge.” Look for it this July. January 13th, 2012
Texas flag quilt
DeAnna created the nine-patch pattern and fabric.com supplied the beautiful fabrics (free shipping on orders over $35). I’ll probably hand-quilt it with a simple outline stitch. Where I will put it is another question, unless I can convince my daughter that she needs a big Texas flag on her family room wall. January 11th, 2012
Guess which author of proven classics was snubbed for a Nobel?
But the Nobel Prize jury considered his work “second-rate,” and that it “has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality.” |
Robin Hardy is the award-winning author of Chataine's Guardian and Streiker's Bride. Her books include the Annals of Lystra, the Latter Annals of Lystra, the Streiker Saga, the Sammy Series, The Idecis, Unknown Name, Un- known Number, Padre and its sequel, His Strange Ways. She is also the editor of W.W. Melton's classic devotional, Sifted But Saved.
Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog. See my Amazon page here. It lists both the print and Kindle editions (which are $2.99) of my books. Down- load your free Kindle reading app here. See my B&N e-book editions, also for $2.99: Chataine's Guardian Stone of Help Liberation of Lystra Streiker's Bride Streiker: The Killdeer Streiker's Morning Sun Padre His Strange Ways Nicole of Prie Mer Ares of Westford Prisoners of Hope Road of Vanishing Dead Man's Token Games of God and Men In Extremis All Mirrors and All Suns The Laughing Side of the World Sammy: Dallas Detective Sammy: Women Troubles Sammy: Working for a Living Sammy: On Vacation Sammy: Little Misunderstandings Sammy: Ghosts Sammy: Arenamania Sammy: In Principle Sammy: Grave Agreement Sammy: Love Shouldn't Hurt
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