“In Need of a Champion”

by Carol11 Comments
In Need of a Champion 405 words I hate this place. This forest full of creatures and plants, birds pulling at my hair, apples falling on my feet, grass staining the bottom of my gown. Even the trees and flowers seem to mock me, their rich hues and graceful curves overshadowing my beauty. But I have my mission. The hunter I need is in the woods today, stalking the deer. He will be my champion in the games on the Mount. I've been watching him. He's agile and swift, his arrows fly true, he's intelligent and not a little cunning. He will beat the other god's representatives, by skill or by deception, I care not which. Ah, he's coming.  I sit on a tree stump, spreading my teal skirt around me, and wait. He approaches slowly, warily. He nears and I see the surprise in his face when he recognizes me, wandering no doubt why I am here. He falls to his knees...
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Thursday’s Tale: Bluebeard’s Ghost by William Makepeace Thackeray

by Carol11 Comments
Image source: SurLaLune Fairy Tales "Bluebeard's Ghost," written by William Makepeace Thackeray in 1843, picks up where the original "Bluebeard" left off. Mrs. Bluebeard, Fatima, is a widow, but a very rich one, having inherited Bluebeard's entire estate. Funny how a nice inheritance can make you forget all of the dead's faults. She's even convinced herself that the previous wives were not killed, after all, Bluebeard had written in the family Bible what had happened to each of them, like the one woman who died of a sore throat, and the one who had a complaint about the head and shoulder. After they were dead, he just couldn't bear to be parted from them. Finally, Mrs. Bluebeard decides that it is just too difficult to live in the country home, too many memories of her beloved husband, so she and her sister go to her town home. Once in town, she first refuses all social engagements, only allowing the vicar into her...
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Review: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

by Carol18 Comments
I found myself laughing and crying while listening to this, something I don't find myself saying about traditional or cozy mysteries usually, especially the crying part. Penny just has a gift of writing the characters and events in ways that I connect with. Of course, walking the dog around the block choking back tears probably got me some odd looks, but there's a fire scene that just grabbed me. This is the second in the Gamache series, and I do think it could be read alone, but the events of the first were alluded to occasionally. I think I appreciated it more by having read Still Life first. Three Pines is a delightful town in Canada and the residents are celebrating Christmas. I love some of their traditions by the way, especially the Réveillon, a party that many of characters gather for after the Christmas Eve service. It just seemed very heart-warming to me, maybe I just like the fact that the...
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Teaser from Still Alice

by Carol5 Comments
They sat side by side on the couch, Tom on the left and Anna on the right, like they had in the backseat of the car when they were kids. Tom was a lefty and liked the window, and Anna didn't mind the middle. They sat closer now than they ever did then, and when Tom reached over and held her hand, she didn't shriek, "Mommy, Tommy's touching me!" (Tuesday Teaser from pg 108 of Still Alice by Lisa Genova)...
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Cooling Down with AC: “The Witness for the Prosecution”

by Carol10 Comments
I've been an Agatha Christie fan for years, but have only started reading short stories on a regular basis within the last couple of years, so most of her short stories are new to me, "The Witness for the Prosecution is no exception. The story was originally published in Flynn's Weekly in 1925, then included in collections in the UK in 1933 and America in 1948. It was developed as a play in 1953 and as a film in 1957. It's an interesting tale. Leonard Vole is arrested for murdering a rich elderly woman. His alibi is that he was at home at the time of the killing, but when his lawyer goes to meet Vole's wife, Romaine, she states that she hates Leonard and do everything she can to see him convicted. She becomes a witness for the prosecution. Of course, this is Agatha Christie and the story is not as straight as it at first seems, each character has...
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