“The Healer”

by Carol13 Comments
The Healer 362 words Shayne hated the sounds of battle, the clashing of swords, the war cries of the men, the groans of the injured. She stood on the hillside, away from the clearing. If the spies were speaking true. the Duke's men would be passing by here midday, heading toward the castle, but the men behind her would be waiting, ready to protect the kingdom. She could feel their excitement, tinged with apprehension and even some fear. She knew too, that seeing her here on the battlefield would give them hope and courage. As a young woman she shouldn't be near the combat. As a single woman, she should be wary of the fighters, roughened, violent men. As a princess, she should be safe at home in the castle. But as a healer, she could be nowhere else. When the skirmish was over she had a purpose. Just a touch could stop the pain, heal the wounds. The dead were beyond her...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Star Maiden

by Carol6 Comments
Image credit: First People As you can guess from the beautiful image above, "The Star Maiden" is a Native American story, from the Shawnee tribe. It's a shame, really, that I'm more familiar with European fairy tales than I am with stories whose origins are in my own country. One day, a skilled warrior, Waupee the White Hawk walked farther in the forest than he ever had and came to a large grass-covered plain with a ring in it, as if made by feet walking around and around, but no path led to the ring or away from it. He decided to hide and watch, hoping to see who made the circle. Soon, he heard sweet music and a basket descended from the sky, carrying twelve lovely maidens. The girls danced gracefully around the magic circle, and while they were all beautiful, the youngest captured Waupee's heart. He rushed from his hiding place to hold the girl, but the sister were quicker. Frightened,...
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Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

by Carol15 Comments
I am obviously not the right audience for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. In a nutshell, a girl named September is at home alone; her mother is at work in a factory and her dad is off at war. The Green Wind shows up at her window and invites her on an adventure in Fairyland. Of course, off she goes. In Fairyland there is off course an evil Marquess she must defeat, but she gathers up a couple a few friends to help her. She also meets all kinds of magical creatures and fantastical places, which is kind of obvious, really , considering it is Fairyland. Adventures and dangers abound. There must be blood, the girl thought. There must always be blood. The Green Wind said that, so it must be true. It will all be hard and bloody, but there will be wonders, too, or else why bring me here at all? And it's...
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Teaser from Holmes on the Range

by Carol11 Comments
There are two things you can’t escape out here in the West: dust and death. They sort of swirl together in the wind, and a fellow never knows when a fresh gust is going to blow one or the other right in his face. So while I’m yet a young man, I’ve already laid eyes on every manner of demise you could put a name to. I’ve seen folks drowned, shot, stabbed, starved, frozen, poisoned, hung, crushed, gored by steers, dragged by horses, bitten by snakes, and carried off by an assortment of illnesses with which I could fill the rest of this book and another besides. So it’s quite a compliment I bestow when I say that the remains we came across the day after the big storm were the most frightful I’d ever seen. (Tuesday Teaser from Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith)...
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Cooling Down with AC: “Three Blind Mice”

by Carol7 Comments
I'm pretty sure that I've read "Three Blind Mice" before. I couldn't remember any of the details but it just felt familiar, and I wasn't surprised by the ending. A blinding snowstorm was not an auspicious beginning, but Molly and Giles Davis were determined to make a go of their new guest house, but among their first guests at Monkswell Manor was a murderer. The man, or woman, had already killed one "blind mouse" and is planning on catching number two and three. Christie does an excellent job of making the atmosphere menacing. You can understand why the character's jump at every little noise, why they each suspect each other. She makes all of the people in the Manor plausible suspects,and interesting characters. It's interesting to see how they each become more and more scared, more suspicious of the others, but at the same time some enjoy the mystery, the tension, the excitement. It's a departure from the ordinary. The twist at...
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