Thursday’s Tale: The White Doe

by Carol2 Comments
  "The White Doe" was written by Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book, 1906. Marie-Catherine was born in Barneville-la-Bertran, a member of the noble family of Le Jumel de Barneville. In 1666, she was given at the age of sixteen in an arranged marriage to a Parisian thirty years older—François de la Motte, Baron d'Aulnoy. The baron was a freethinker and a known gambler. Over the next three years, the couple had three children. In 1669, the Baron d'Aulnoy was accused of treason but the accusations, in which Madame d'Aulnoy appeared to be involved, proved to be false, but two men implicated in the accusation were executed. Marie-Catherine's mother fled the country as she was also allegedly involved, however it is not known if the Comtesse d'Aulnoy herself had anything to do with the charges. She had three more children and discontinued involvement in the Paris social scene for twenty years. She later said that during...
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The Genesis of Roger Legion: Guest post by Vince Aiello, author of Legion’s Lawyers

by CarolNo Comments
Today I'm happy to welcome Vince Aiello, author of Legion's Lawyers, to my notebook today. He's discussing on of his main characters. The Genesis of Roger Legion By Vince Aiello When I first set out to create a character that would be the leader of a pre-eminent insurance defense law firm, I looked to my experience. There were great lawyers, there were fools, and there were incompetent lawyers that do a disservice to the profession. One thing that all the great lawyers possessed was that they were sociopaths. In the courtroom, they had flair and panache, but when they dealt with others, they were simply terrible people. They would yell and scream, make misogynistic jokes, and let you know that your life doesn’t matter. What matters is billing the client and winning; either in the courtroom or through settlement. What I wanted next was a man with a warrior mentality. Someone who had no problem with throwing a punch, no fear, and would be...
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Readers’ Workouts – 3/10/15

by Carol7 Comments
So, here are my steps for the week. Saturday we drove to Columbus for my nephews birthday party, so there was not much time to get any actual steps in. But look - I made my goal on Monday, a day I usually have trouble with. And here's my current workout plan. I just finished week 7, more or less. It's actually hitting the 50s this week. I'm just hoping for not too much rain. Tuesday - 20 mins of weight machines and then 3.5 miles on the elliptical Wednesday - Did this workout from Self using a 10-lb plate and did reps instead of time to make it 30 mins. Thursday - 60 minutes on the recumbent bike Friday - 25 minutes on the elliptical. I had to go during my lunch hour, so that was pretty much my only option. Sunday - 1 mile walk with the dog. 40 minutes on the elliptical. 60 minutes on the recumbent bike. 3 games of bowling. Monday - 1...
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Murder at the Book Group by Maggie King

by Carol6 Comments
I wanted to like this mystery. The set-up is right up my alley, a mystery reading book group whose member dies during a meeting. Books and murder, a bunch of middle-age women who are readers and writers - perfect. But it was all too much, too many (confusing) characters, too many potential motives, too much marrying/having affairs with each others exes. Maybe that was my main problem. Everybody was hooking up with everybody all the time, or so it seemed, but not in a romantic way, in a trashy way. The author also had a bit of an annoying habit of pointing out themes - like wow, Nazis keep coming up or lots of mothers and sons. Gee, I wonder if the solution has something to do with those two things. I liked the people. I liked Hazel, even though I'm not sure why people thought it was okay that she was digging so much into everyone's backgrounds, not just Carlene,...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Bee and the Orange Tree

by Carol2 Comments
I agreed to be part of a team for a friendly trivia contest on the 14th. I'm not sure how to really prepare for a trivia contest, but I've been playing QuizUp which can't hurt. One of the categories is "Fairy Tales" and it refers to so many that I haven't read. One that is had questions about that I hadn't heard of is The Bee and the Orange Tree by Marie Catherine Baronne from The Fairy Tales of Madame D'Aulnoy, 1892. It's one of the few fairy tales where we actually get names for most of the characters. After many childless years, a king and queen had a daughter, whom they named Aimée. Unfortunately, a ship she was on, wrecked. As fate would have it, she drifted ashore in her cradle. There, an ogre couple, Ravagio and his wife Tourmentine, found her, and the ogress resolved to raise Aimee, instead of eating her. She resolving that the infant would make a good...
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In the Eye of the Beholder: Guest post by D. J. Adamson, author of Admit to Mayhem

by CarolNo Comments
Today, I'm happy to welcome D. J. Adamson, author of Admit to Mayhem, to my notebook, talking a bit about what makes writing good. Her book definitely sounds like one I would enjoy. In the Eye of the Beholder by D. J. Adamson What is good and what is not good when it comes to writing is really up to the reader. And, what is read is not read is sometimes left to destiny. Thus, those who like to put a pen to paper need to do so without expectations. Art created for the sake of art becomes the most honest and gratifying work. Case in point: There have been many authors who did not see great enthusiasm for their work. Franz Kafka had a day job and saw little of his work heralded. At his death, he asked for his work to be destroyed. Thankfully, no one listened. What would literary life be without a man turning into a cockroach! Emily Dickinson didn’t...
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