Book Launch

I've just received copies of Wolf Moon, Boook 3 of The Wolves of Vimar Series, for approval. As soon as I give the go ahead, it will be on sale.

This book follows the half of Wolf not arrested and taken to Frelli, the capital of Erian. They must escape and take news of the war preparations being made by Erian. During their escape, they have many adventures and surprises.

I will let you know as soon as it is with Amazon.

Special Offer

Hurry and get your copy of Viv's Family Recipes. The offer ends today.

Viv's Family Recipes is a collection of recipes from V.M.Sang's family. It gives a glimpse into the sort of things people ate and cooked from 1909 to the present day.

Filled with anecdotes of the people who gave the recipes, it is, as well as a recipe book, a history of food during the while of the 20th century.

The book is on offer at only 0.99 (£ or $). Follow this link to go to its page at Amazon in your own country, but hurry. Don't miss this opportunity.

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Review of Terry Ravenscroft's Stairway to Heven book 4, Still Hanging On.

I have recently finished reading Book 4 of Terry Ravenscroft's Stairway to Heaven books. He has been writing these autobiographical books about his life and escapades for a while now, and they are very funny.

Terry Ravenscroft was, until he retired, a scriptwriter for  many well known TV comedians and sit-coms, including such names as Les Dawson, the Two Ronnies, Morcambe and Wise and Ken Dodd as well as Alas Smith and Jones, Not the 9o'Clock News, The News Hudlines and many others.

This book does begin on a sad note when Terry tells of the sad death of his wife, The Trouble, from the earlier books. It is very clear he misses her immensely, and at first, he said he did not think he would write this book. I'm very glad he did,

Terry relates his escapades with his friend, Atkins, as well as tells of some letters he wrote to various pompous organisations. From trying to get Atkin's neighbour, who has designs on him, to desist from her advances, to an incident with a letter Atkins wrote to David Beckham and Terry replied in Beckham's place, we are kept laughing throughout the book.

I do not want to spoil it for anyone wanting to read it by saying too much of the events and escapades this book covers. Just let me say it is very funny and well worth a read.

This book is titled, 'Still Hanging On.' Keep on hanging on, Terry, long enough to write the next episode.

I have no hesitation in giving it *****.

Horselords 5

They rode into the camp to be greeted by Chief Andrid, Davrael’s father.

‘You were gone a long time, son,’ he said.

Davrael slid from his horse and embraced his father.

‘We had some problems,’ he replied. ‘We found some of the Prowling Lynx on our territory. We followd them for a while, then approached. They attacked us, so we had to retaliate.’
‘Were any of our men hurt?’

Davrael shook his head.

‘Those Lynx are no match for the Swooping Hawks. We easily defeated them. But they had stolen some horses from the settlers at the far side of our territory. What’s more, when the settlers tried to regain their horses, the Lynx took a young woman captive. We rescued her.’

‘Well done, son,’ Andrid said. ‘That’s typical of the Lynx. What were they going to do with the girl? Ask for ransom?’

‘No. The chief was going to make her marry his son.’

Andrid’s face grew red and he clenched his fists at his side.

‘What!’ he exclaimed. ‘That is against all our laws and customs. The Tribes do not force marriage on anyone.’

Davrael then brought Kimi forward and introduced her to his father.

He smiled at her and said, ‘We will make sure you are returned to your family, but we need you as a witness to what these men have done. We will begin the trial tomorrow.’

Davrael gave Kimi into the hands of his mother. She smiled warmly at the girl and told her to call her Mimola. Kimi smiled back and soon found herself telling Mimola all about her ordeal with the Prowling Lynx. That night she slept in Mimola’s tent. the best night’s sleep she had since her capture.
The following morning, true to his word, Andrid sat on the only chair in the camp, on a raised dais made of wooden planks laid across tree trunks.

‘Bring the prisoners forward,’ he commanded, and half a dozen of the Swooping Hawks led the Prowling Lynx warriors to the space before the chief.

Around this space stood the rest of the Swooping Hawk tribe, all agog to see what was happening.

All kind of rumours had been circulating during the previous evening and night, and the people wanted to know what was going on.

Kimi stood to one side, with Davrael. His presence reassured her as she did not know what was going to happen.

As soon as the Prowing Lynx arrived, they stood, hands tied, before Andrid.

‘You have been accused of trespass and stealing horses,’ he said, ‘but what is worse, of kidnapping a young woman with the intention of making a forced marriage. This is against our laws, as you know, and so you must face this court.’
The chief of the Prowling Lynx stepped forward.

‘I do not recognise this court,’ he said, and stepped back.

Andrid laughed. ‘You may not recognise it, but it is perfectly legal. You are a chief and are being tried by a chief, as the law insists. Your men should be tried by your own chief, by rights, but as you are on trial, too, for the same crime, then that is not possible. I will try them also.

‘What do you have to say?’

The Prowling Lynx Chief said nothing.

‘Then I will ask a witness to come forward. Davrael, what have you to say?’

Davrael stepped forward and gave an account of how he and his men had been patrolling their territory when they came across the Prowling Lynx men. They challenged them, but were met with an attack. When they finally beat the Lynx, they found Kimi in one of the tents.’

The young man who Kimi understood to be the Prowling Lynx chief’s son shouted out.

‘We were not trespassing. We were just on our way back to our own lands. We had to cross yours. We had no intention of doing any harm, notr interfering in any way with your horses.’

His father gave him a stony stare, but he continued.

‘We only took horses from the settlers. Everyone knows they’re not proper Horselords. and ;the girl asked to be taken. She came after us and attacked. What were we supposed to do?’

Davrael stepped forward.

‘You should not have stolen their horses in the first place. Then she and her family would not have followed.’

‘They’re settlers for the gods’ sake. They aren’t proper horselords.’

Andrid scowled at the young man.

‘Settlers or not, true horselords or not, although on that point I agree, we do not steal.’

Andrid then turned to Kimi.

‘Kimi, come forward and tell me what happened.’

Then it was Kimi’s turn. She told how she had been captured and how the chief had told her she would be taken to their camp and married to his son. She told of the abuse she had received at the hands of that son, and how frightened she was. then, with a smile at Davrael, she told how he and his men had rescued her.’

The trial continued and lasted all day. Each of Davrael’s men gave evidence, as did the Prowling Lynx men, and eventually, their chief.

As the sun began to set over the plans, Andrid gave his verdict and sentence.

‘You are all guilty because not one of you stood up to say what happened is wrong. However, I accept it is difficult for warriors to go against their chief. Therefore, you warriors I am going to allow to return to your territory. However, if any of my men see you within five miles of our territory, then you will be recaptured.’

He turned to the chief and his son.

‘As chief and probable next chief, you have more responsibility for what happened. I cannot allow you both to go in the same way I did your men.’ He turned to the chief. ‘You hold great responsibility as chief of your people. You uphold the law and are responsible fora keeping it. Therefore it is doubly worse for you to have taken part in this theft and kidnapping. I sentence you to be beaten and kept in custody for two full years. Every day you will receive four lashes.’

There was an intake of breath from the crowd at the severity of this sentence. Andrid then turned to the chief’s son.

‘You were fully complicit in this. You could have had some influence over your father. but instead, you used the situation to frighten and abuse a young girl. You I sentence to be kept in custody for only one year, but because of the way you treated a young and frightened girl, each day you will receive six lashes.’

Andrid then dismissed the court and the Prowling Lynx warriors mounted their horses and rode off.
As he as taken away, the chief of the Lynx shouted, ‘What is going to happen to my tribe? They will be without a chief for two years.’

Andrid turned and said, ‘Your problem. With any luck, they’ll decide to reject you and choose a better leader.’

That evening, Kimi and Davrael talked long into the night. The next morning, his father had told him he was to accompany Kimi to her home. He chose a few warriors to accompany them in order to drive the horses, and his mother to act as chaperone.

How will Kimi’s family respond to her return?
Find out on the first Tuesday of December.
Please add a comment to this episode. I like hearing what you think.

You can find out more about Kimi and Davrael in their adventures with The Wolf Pack;

Follow this link to buy, or click on the book image at the side of the page.
http://myBook.to/thewolfpack
http://myBook.to/NeverDying.

Horselords 3

The raiding party moved ever westwards. the mountains the Horselords called The Barrier, retreated ever further away until they were just a blue haze on the horizon. Kimi looked longingly at them as she rode surrounded by Prowling Lynx warriors. Her home was at the foot of those mountains. Would she ever see it again? She prayed for a miracle, but the days passed and none arrived.

One evening, just as the men began to set up the camp, Kimi heard the sound of galloping hooves. She was inside her tent with a guard as they had put her tent up first. Not for any chivalrous reasons. Just that they thought she would be less likely to escape if she were safely in her tent with a guard.

Sounds of shouting came through the thin walls of the tent, followed by the noise of fighting. Horses whinneyed in fear, men shouted and the sound of metal on metal rang through the air. Kimi's guard was in the process of tying her up, but when he heard the sounds, he rushed out to help his friends, leaving her alone and free. She thought of trying to make a break, but the sounds of fighting were all around. She thought she might be safer in here than out there.

Then suddenly, all was silent. Kimi crept to the tent door and peeped out. Her captors were now the captives. They stood in a huddle, surrounded by other men. A few bodies lay on the ground, and several of the captives had sustained wounds.

I hope the chief's son is hurt, she thought, surprising herself at this thought. She had never been vindictive. But then, she had never been kidnapped and threatened with marriage to a violent man before.

One man walked round the group of captives. she listened to what he said.

'You dare to cross the lands of the Swooping Hawks? You will come with us to our chief. There you will be tried.'

Kimi tried to slip back into the tent, but the man saw her and came over.

Kimi shrank back. This man was fairly tall, around five foot eleven, with a proud bearing. He wore his dark hair long and tied with a bandana to keep it from his eyes.

It was not his height or bearing that made Kimi afraid, though. On his face was a tattoo. This tattoo was in the shape of a hawk with its wings spread over his forehead, head down his straight nose and talons on his cheeks.

'Who are you?' he asked her. 'I'm surprised they brought a woman on their raid. Even if they are Prowling Lynx '

'I...I'm not with them,' she stuttered.

He raised his eyebrows, making the hawk's wings seem to flutter.

'Then what are you doing here?'

Kimi swallowed. They raided my family's ranch and took our best horses. When we went to try to get them back, they captured me.' She took a deep breath to try to stop tears. 'They were going to make me marry their chief's son. He was cruel. He taunted and hit me.'

Now Kimi could no longer be brave, and tears began to fall. The young warrior strode out of the tent without looking back.

She heard the sounds of his feet striding towards the group of prisoners. Then she heard the young warrior's voice calling to them. He called a name, but no one replied. There was silence for a while, then she heard quiet voices before the sounds of someone being beaten.

Shortly, the young warrior returned.

'I taught him a lesson,' he said. 'Now we go to my father for him to judge them for trespassing and theft. Come.'

He left the tent before Kimi could reply, leaving her to follow.

When she caught up, he turned and said, 'You ride one of your horses. We go back to my people.'

'Why can't you take me to my people?' Kimi replied.

'We need to take these men back first. See my father then see what he says.'

Has Kimi fallen into the hands of another tribe? What will they do with her?

Find out on the first Tuesday of next month.

Aspholessaria. The End. Or is it?

A few days later, Asphodel took some food to a family not far from the temple. They were a very poor family, and the children were hungry. She had been taking food to them for weeks now, preventing the children from starving. Their father had no work and occasionally stole in order to feed them.

When she arrived, one of the children was sick. Asphodel did what she could to heal the child, but as a novice, her strength was not sufficient yet to heal him completely. It tired her.

She arrived back at the temple, exhausted. It so happened that a rector was passing as she entered.

'You look tired, Novice Asphodel. Where have you been?'

Asphodel told her she had been visiting a poor family and had healed one of the children as well as giving them food.

'Most commendable, Novice. Charity is extremely important. What family was it you were visiting?'

'The family of Yelver, Rector,' replied Asphodel, bowing her head as was expected of a novice to a rector.


The rector frowned. 'Isn't he a thief? One of the evil folk we have been told not to treat?'

'Rector,' said Asphodel, 'he might have stolen from time to time, but he only did it because his children are starving. He's not an evil man.'

The rector raised his eyebrows. 'A thief is a thief. Why doesn't he get a job to feed his children? No, don't answer,' she held up her hand as Asphodel was about to speak. 'There's no need to say anything. I must remind you not to visit this family again. You are not to have anything to do with them. Understood?'

'But...'

'I said, is that understood? Have I made myself plain?' The rector looked severe.

'Yes, Rector. Quite plain.'

The rector then walked away and Asphodel returned to her room.

'Yelver would love a job,' she muttered to herself as she walked along the passageway, 'but he's often unwell himself and can't work.'

A week later, on the day Asphodel usually went to visit Yelver's family, she collected alms as usual from the alms box and food from the kitchen. With her basket of food and pouch of money she set off on her charity work.

All week she had been thinking hard. She did not believe Sylissa meant for anyone to be ignored, and her vows said as much, so, after visiting those families on her list, she took the remaining food to Yelver's home.

The little boy seemed a bit better, and Asphodel did another healing on him, and told Yelver's wife to make sure he had extra food, then amid the thanks of the family, she left.

This went on for several weeks. Yelver's boy got better and the family were grateful--so much so that Yelver went to the temple to give thanks and some money he had saved from his last work.

His donation was noticed by the rector who had seen Asphodel a few weeks previously. He called the girl to him.

'Did you visit Yelver after I had forbidden you to go there again?'

Asphodel looked at her feet. 'Yes, Rector,' she said.

'Why?'

'His family were starving. His children were in danger of dying from lack of food. I went out of common sympathy.'

'Come with me,' the rector told her, and he took her to see the Great Mother.

Asphodel knelt before her as was expected.

Mother Caldo was not impressed by Asphodel's reasoning.

'We have had a directive from the Most High,' she told the girl. 'The leader of our church has given us specific instructions. Yet you, a mere novice, seem to think you know better.'

Asphodel said nothing. Novices were not supposed to speak in the presence of a Great Mother or Father unless told to do so.

The Great Mother paced the floor, then she stopped.

'You have shown yourself, on several occasions, to be willful, young lady,' she said. 'You seem to think you know better than your elders. I think the discipline here is perhaps too lax. My friend, the Great Father in Hambara, runs a more strict regime. Perhaps he can make you see the importance of obedience. I will write him a letter asking him to take you and you can take it there.'

She sat down at her desk and picked up a quill. Dipping it in the ink, she began to write.
Then she looked up.

'You are, I believe, almost ready to be promoted from a novice to a curate. I will put this in the letter and you can be tested in Hambara. I understand there's a caravan leaving tomorrow. You will take that.'

So Asphodel left Bluehaven to travel to a new temple in Hambara.

But her story did not end there. You can find out more by reading The Wolf Pack. Just click this link.
http://mybook.to/thewolfpack

Interview with Kimi from The Wolves of Vimar Series

I interviewed Kimi, Davrael's wife. You may remember I interviewed Davrael some time ago.. Here is what she told me.
Me: As you know, I have interviewed your husband,
Davrael. He told me something of the life on the Plains.
Perhaps you can tell me something about how you two met.

Kimi: Of course. It will be a pleasure. As you know, Davrael
is from a nomadic family. One of the Tribes. They travel the
Plains following and herding the horses that roam across
them.

Me: The horses are free then? Don't they belong to the tribe?

Kimi: Yes, each tribe calls particular herds their own, and
they brand them when young to show their ownership, but
most of them are wild and free. I am from the settlers. We
once roamed the Plains just like the Tribes, but our
ancestors decided to settle in order to have more control
over the breeding of our horses. They thought that they
could breed better animals that way.

Me: And did they?

Kimi (smiling): There are still arguments about that.

Me: How did you and Davrael meet then?

Kimi: One day I was out riding with my brothers when we were attacked by a group of Tribesmen.

Me: Was one of  them Davrael?

Kimi: Oh, no. It was an enemy tribe of the Swooping Hawks. They are called the Howling Coyotes. The Tribes have never liked the settled folk. They think we have abandoned tradition and the settled folk think that the nomads are primitive people, so there was no love lost between us. Anyway, my brothers tried to fight them off but there were too many of them and they took me with them. I think they wanted to marry me to one of their men. They did raid sometimes for both horses and women.

Me: Where did they take you?

Kimi: They took me to their camp several days away. It wasn't their main camp. In fact they had strayed into the territory of the Swooping Hawks. That was why the trouble began.

Me: Trouble?

Kimi: Yes. A band of Swooping Hawks came upon the camp and a battle began. I know little of that battle because I was tied up in a tent, but I could hear the noise--shouting and screaming. Then it suddenly went quiet. I heard a voice commanding the capture of all the horses and a search of the tents. After a while, a man came into my tent. I was petrified. He was an imposing-looking man, although not really handsome, with long hair held back by a braid around his head. What was the most terrifying, though, was the tattoo of a hawk on his face. I tried to hide, hoping he wouldn't see me and that I could somehow escape, but he was too observant and saw my little wriggles behind a bed. He lifted me out and said, 'What have we here then? A little mouse trying to escape the hawk?' He laughed at my frightened expression and continued, 'Well, it seems the hawk has caught the mouse after all.'

Me: This was Davrael I assume.

Kimi: Yes. He freed me of my bonds and told me that I would be well treated. He asked me where I had come from and what tribe I belonged to. I told him that I was not a tribeswoman and where my family were settled. He agreed to take me back to my family if I could assure him that they would pay in horses for my return. Coin has little meaning for the Tribes. They count their wealth in their horses and trade by barter, you see.

Me: Did you give him this assurance?

Kimi: Yes. I was confident that my father would pay him whatever he wanted.

Me: So he took you back to your family?

Kimi: Not immediately. Davrael and his men were out searching for some horses that they suspected that the Howling Coyotes had stolen. They were some of his best animals. Beautiful golden horses with silvery manes and tails they are. Come to think of it, their manes and tails are almost the colour of Randa's hair!

Me: Where did he take you?

Kimi: Well, I rode with them for quite a long time actually. Some of the horses had strayed a long way, and some had even been taken to the territory of the Howling Coyotes. There were a few battles, but eventually he got them all back. Every evening he would come into the tent he had said was to be mine and we would talk. Gradually I learned that he was not the fearsome warrior I had thought, but was, in fact, quite a gentle perso, although he could fight well when required. He was kind to me and I gradually began to fall in love with him. I was surprised when he told me that he reciprocated my feelings.

Me: There were problems though I understand.

Kimi: Yes. This is quite painful for me to relate. Davrael took me to his father and told him that he wanted to marry me, but his father flew into a rage and said that no son of his would marry a settler. We the went to my family. They were delighted to see me as  they had given me up for dead or worse. When Davrael and I eoldthem of our love, my father said that there was no possible way that he could allow it. He offered Davrael two of his best horses if he would go away and forget about me.

Me: He didn't, of course.

Kimi: No. We met in secret for a time, but then decided that it was impossible to live like that and so we decided to elope.

Me: You went to Grosmer then.

Kiki: Yes. We went to Grosmer. If all that had not happened, or if either of us had obeyed our fathers, then we would never have met Carthinal and the rest of the Wolves. I wonder what would have happened then?

Me: Thank you very much, Kimi.


If you want to find out more about Kimi and Davrael, you can buy The Wolf Pack by clicking on this link.

http://mybook.to/thewolfpack

Aspholessaria.

The journey continued. There were, as Trinelli expected, a number of times her healing skills were called upon. True to her word, Asphodel helped as much as she could. It was little enough, because the girl had not been trained in healing. She knew nothing at all. Not even the simplest remedies used by almost every housewife in the land.

She had been brought up as a privileged daughter of one of the ruling families of Quantissarillishon. Although only minor royalty, she had not had to work, The result was that she knew little of how life would be for most people. She was fascinated by Trinelli's healing, both the mundane and that which the goddess channelled through her priestess.

One day, after they had been travelling for a week, Asphodel asked Trinelli about her religion.
'Well,' began the other woman, 'What do you know about Sylissa?'

'Not much, really. We elves tend to worship Grillon, as the god of nature. We know a little of the others, but Grillon is our god, really.'

'Well, Sylissa is the god of Life and Healing. She is the twin sister of Kalhera, god of Death. They are like two sides of one coin. Sylissa's colour is white, as you can see from my robes, while Kalhera's is black.'

Asphodel settled down to listen as Trinelli told her about how Sylissa and Kalhera were the daughters of the Chief of the Gods, Kassilla and her consort, Zol the god of Knowledge and Learning. how each chose some aspect of life to be their jurisdiction.

Because she chose to aid those who were sick, occasionally there were disputes between the two sisters, if Kalhera thought Sylissa were denying death to people, but generally they were on good terms.
The clerics of Sylissa were the doctors and nurses of the world, but they did not rely wholly on the power of the god to cure sickness and injury. No, they learned other ways too, such as herbs, and manipulation. They could set broken bones, although sometimes they would call upon Sylissa to help.
Asphodel became fascinated by this and began to ask questions about the various herbs and other methods Trinelli used, She fould the rest of the journey passed quickly, especially as Trinelli sometimes gave her little things to do.

Just as they approached Bluehaven, Trinelli turned to Asphodel and said, 'You seem to have some aptitude for healing, you know. Have you ever thought of becoming a healer.'

Asphodel was amazed. The idea had never crossed her mind.

'I'm not sure I'd make a very good cleric,' she said.

'You don't have to. We have some lay people who help us. Why not come to the temple with me and see the Great Mother there. You can decide then what to do.'

So Asphodel went to see the Great Mother and decided to become a lay healer.

Soon that was not enough, and one night she dreamed of Sylissa.

'Come and join me,' the goddess told her. 'You have great potential. It's wasted here. Join my clerics.'

So after a year in Bluehaven, Asphodel joined the novices at the temple of Sylissa.

All went well during her first year as a novice. Mother Caldo, the Great Mother of the temple praised the young elf, saying she thought she had great potential, and could rise through the ranks quickly. Mother Caldo told Asphodel that she could probably become a Great Mother herself, such was her potential in healing.

'There's just one thing, though,' Mother Caldo said one day, in conversation with one of the archbishops. She sighed. 'The girl is lacking in discipline. Sometimes she seems to think she knows better than her superiors.'

One day, the Great Mother called together all the clerics of the church of Sylissa in Bluehaven. She stood in the pulpit of the temple and began to speak.

'As you all know,' she began, 'the annual meeting of all the Most Highs of all the religions was held recently in Asperilla on Holy Island. There, they decided that all the sickness and other problems that surround us are a punishment by the gods for the evil that we do.'

She looked at the paper before her before continuing.

'The consensus of this meeting was that we should try to eliminate evil from the world. The best way to do this, they said, is to refuse aid to those who perpetrate evil. The discussion, apparently, decided against the active persecution and killing, as this would make us as bad as them. The Most High of Sylissa, therefore, has decreed that we will not give aid or healing to such people.'

She shuffled her papers and left the pulpit. An astounded Asphodel followed her fellow novices from the temple deep in thought.

This cannot be right, she thought. Surely we are supposed to give healing to all comers, regardless of anything they might have done. At least, that's what I understood I was promising when I took my vows.

She listened to her friends talking, and they all seemed to think it was a good idea to eliminate evil in this way, and so she said nothing.

Aspholessaria Part

Asphodel stumbled as she landed in the covered wagon. She lay breathing heavily for a few moments, then she heard a voice and a hand lifted her up.
'You just made it,' said a melodious female voice. 'A few more seconds and you'd have missed us.'
Asphodel looked at the woman who had helped her up and onto a seat. She was wearing white robes tied with a green sash. Asphodel knew this indicated the woman was a vicar and a cleric of Sylissa, the goddess of healing. The woman looked around forty years old and had a few grey hairs just beginning to appear in her dark hair. Her brown eyes had small laughter lines around them and she smiled at Asphodel.
'Thank you for your help,' the elf said. 'It might sound like an odd question, but where is this caravan going to?'
The cleric raised her eyebrows, then replied, 'To Bluehaven ultimately. We pass through a number of other towns though. First we go through several small villages in Erian before we get to the border with Grosmer. There aren't any large towns between Frelli and Grosmer.'
The vicar leaned back in her seat and then asked, 'Where are you going?'
Asphodel sighed. 'Wherever my coin will take me,' she said.
The vicar frowned. 'Running away? What have you done, or who are you running away from?'
Asphodel closed her eyes foe a moment, then opened them and looked straight at her companion.
'I've not done anything. It's what he did.'
The vicar said nothing, but continued to look at Asphodel.
Asphodel paused, then it all came out in a rush. She told the whole story from meeting Vass to him hitting her. Then her eyes filled with tears and she looked away.
The other woman moved across to sit next to the girl. she put her arm around her and said, 'You made a mistake, yes, but we all make mistakes, especially when young. How much did you give the caravan leader?'
When Asphodel told her, she tutted. 'That won't even get you to the border,' she said.
'But Vass saw which caravan I was on. He'll get the next one and come after me, I know it.' Her eyes darted around the wagon as though expecting to see Vass jump out from behind the cloth roof.
The cleric patted her hand. 'Don't worry about than for now,' she said. 'We'll sort something out. The next caravan in this direction isn't for a couple of days. By the way, my name's Trinelli.'
'Asphodel,' replied the elf, not giving her full name as she knew the human woman would have difficulty in pronouncing it.
The caravan stopped for a meal at midday. While they were eating, a man came running up to them.
'Vicar,' he shouted as he approached, 'vicar, please will you come to look at my wife. She's sick.'
Trinelli stood up. 'What seems to be the matter?' she asked.
'She's vomiting and says she feels dizzy,' he said. 'She says that whenever she moves, it feels as if the world is spinning around her.'
Trinelli followed the man to a wagon and went inside. Out of curiosity, Asphodel followed. She stood in the entrance to the covered wagon and watched as Trinelli placed her hands on the woman and prayed to Sylissa.
The cleric's head slumped forward. Asphodel watched as the sick woman's colour began to return. Trinelli, at the same time, became paler. Asphodel almost thought she could see something flowing from Trinelli to the woman, but then she decided she was imagining it.
When they left the wagon, and received the man's grateful thanks, Asphodel had to support Trinelli back to their wagon. The older woman rested for a while, then, as the wagons began to move once more, she seemed to be back to her normal self.
'What happened there?' Asphodel asked her.
'The healing?'
Asphodel nodded.
'Well. I prayed to Sylissa. She used me as a conduit to send her healing power into the woman.'
'But it was more than that, wasn't it?'
'Yes. When I--or any of us--heals someone, the goddess sends her power, but it also takes some of our life essence to work. That's why we're always tired after healing.'
'I thought I saw something going from you to her,' Asphodel said. 'I couldn't have, though, could I? What you give her is invisible.'
Trinelli looked sharply at the young elf. She frowned,
'You shouldn't have been able to see anything,' she told her, and she shook her head. 'I don't know what this means, but I need to think about it.'
The caravan stopped for the night. The caravan leader came to Asphodel and told her that her money had only given her passage to the next village. The girl looked frightened.
'I have this ring.' She reluctantly held out the ring she had picked up before leaving. 'It was my grandmother's. I think it's valuable.'
Trinelli turned to the caravan leader.
'You can't take her grandmother's ring,' she scolded him. 'It's valuable enough to take her to Bluehaven and half-way back again.'
'Well, she can't have free passage.' He shrugged. 'She has nothing else. Seems it's the ring or she leaves next stop.'
Trinelli fumbled in her purse and withdrew several gold crowns and a sovereign, which she handed over to the man/
'Here. This should pay her fare to Bluehaven.'
The man took the coins and left.
'I can't let you pay for me,' Asphodel protested. 'That's a lot of money. When we get to a town, I'll sell my ring and pay you back, I promise.'
Trinelli smiled at the young girl.
'You'll do no such thing. If you want to pay me back you can help me when I go to heal people. People are always getting sick or hurt on these journeys. Your help will be worth more to me than coin. I'm going to Bluehaven, to the temple there, so I paid enough for you to get there too.'

Has Asphodel has found a means to get far enough away from Vass? How can she help a healer? She's been brought up as one of the privileged classes in Elven society. How can she help a healer when she has no idea of healing?

To find out more about Asphodel's later adventures, read The Wolves of Vimar Series. 

Here are the links.
http://mybook.to/thewolfpack
http://mybook.to/NeverDying
 

Winter Night (a poem)

I intended to post this poem some time ago, when it was really winter, but I didn't get round to it. I suppose it's still technically winter until March 21st.

Snow covers the ice-hard ground
And ponds and lakes are frozen.
All is muffled, every sound.
The birds are silent in the trees,
No moths or butterflies or bees
Just snowflakes by the dozen.

The moon is full and her pale light
Shines gently through the flakes.
But creatures shiver through the night.
The icy wind makes branches quiver
And every living thing to shiver
In trees and hills and lakes.

Across the field there trots a fox.
An owl flies by on silent wings.
On the frozen lake, some ducks.
As snow falls gently on them all,
And cattle low within their stall
We are waiting for the spring.


If you enjoyed this poem, I would greatly appreciate it if you would follow me. I can then read an;y comments you might make.

Aspholessaria

Asphodel held the ring tightly in her hand. Her mother had given it to her not long before she left Rindisillaron. It had been her grandmother's ring and she felt an emotional attachment to it.

Although elves lived long lives in comparison with humans, they did not, contrary to popular belief, live forever, nor were they immune from diseases that ravaged the world of Vimar. Her grandmother had succumbed to one of these diseases the previous year. She wanted Asphodel to have her engagement ring as a keepsake.

Now, Asphodel clutched the ring as she wept for what she knew would never be. Vass had become addicted to the drugs and alcohol that his so-called friends had plied him with. He would never make the fortune he had promised her. All his money, and hers, had gone on his own addiction and not to selling the goods to others.

Asphodel did not approve of his work as a drug dealer, but now he was not a dealer, but an addict. She needed to get away.

She packed her few belongings and searched the apartment for anything she could sell, and for some food. She packed it all into the pack she had carried away from Quatissillaron when she and Vass had eloped. She paused to think for a moment before opening it again and taking out half of the food. She could not leave Vass with nothing.

The few objects she had stuffed in, she left there. After all, Vass had plenty money with her jewellery. How he chose to use it was up to him. She blew her nose, looked round the apartment that now looked presentable after all her efforts and walked out of the door.

She looked both ways along the street. A few people were going about their business, but they took no notice of a girl coming out of her apartment. Vass was nowhere in sight. Asphodel supposed he had gone to sell her jewellery. The jeweller's shop was to the right, so she went left in the direction of her workplace.

It was dark on the street and Asphodel felt a little afraid as she walked. Where could she go? Perhaps her employer would allow her to spend the night there, then she could go and see if she could find a caravan going away from Frelli. If she could find her way to the caravanserai through the winding, spiral streets of the city.

She found herself outside her place of work. Lights gleamed from the upstairs windows. She knocked on the door.

A head appeared from the window upstairs.

'Yes? What do you want? We're closed now. Come back tomorrow.'

The Krommel, the scribe, was pulling his head back inside when Asphodel stepped into the light cast by his window.

'Asphodel,' he gasped. 'What are you doing her at this time of night? Wait, I'll be down in a sec.'
After no more than half a minute, the door opened and Krommel beckoned the girl inside. She entered into the room where they did the copying ever day, but Krommel led her upstairs to where the family lived.

As soon as she entered the room, Krommel's wife, a plump woman of around forty years of age, noticed her bruises.

'Oh, my dear, what happened?' she exclaimed. 'Let me tend to your injuries. Sit down over there.'
While she bustled around finding things that would ease the bruising on Asphodel's face, Krommel handed her a bowl of stew and a spoon. The girl ate gratefully.

After she had finished and the curious children been sent to bed, Asphodel explained what had happened.

'I need to get away,' she said. 'I'm sure Vass will try to find me. I need to go a long way away. I can't go back to him.'

She put her head in her hands and wept.

Krommel's wife put her arms around the young elf.

'Of course you can't,' she said. 'Men who hit women never change. Oh, they say they're sorry and perhaps they are, but then the drink and drugs will take over again and it will keep on happening.'

'I still love him,' said Asphodel, raising her tear-streaked face. 'I don't know why, after what he's done. Not only to me, but to others by selling them drugs. He started selling before he started taking them. I know if I saw him, and he asked me, I'd go back to him. That's why I need to get right away.'

Krommel smiled.

'I'll be sorry to lose you, girl,' he told her, 'but I agree. You must go away. Do you have money?'

She nodded. 'A little. I've also got a ring I can sell until I find some other employment.'

'Well, you must have your pay for what you've done since your last pay packet,' Krommel told her, walking over to a safe in the wall.

He returned with a pouch of money and handed it over.

'There's more here than you owe me,' Asphodel said.

'Take it. I can afford to give you a bonus.'

Asphodel thanked him and stashed the pouch away into her pack.

The next morning, Krommel told one of his sons to escort Asphodel to the caravanserai. Asphodel was glad of his company and guidance as she knew she would never have found it on her own. It lay just inside the walls to the west.

The lad said goodbye, and Asphodel rummaged in her pack and found a small coin to give him. He thanked her and quickly disappeared into the crowds now gathering in the caravanserai.

Which one to take? There were several that looked ready to leave. suddenly, Asphodel saw, through the crowds, a familiar figure. Vass. He looked angry as he pushed people aside. His head turned this way and that, looking.

How had he found out where she was? Had Krommel told him? No, her former employer wouldn't have done, she was certain of that. Perhaps he had just guessed. Then he spotted her. He reached into his pocket and gave something to a small figure. It was Krommel's son. Vass had bribed the child into saying where he'd taken her. She could not blame the child. No one had told him not to tell Vass.

She looked around anxiously. A caravan was just about to leave. Asphodel rushed over and asked the leader if she could join.

'We're just leaving,' he said as the wagons rolled forward. 'Do you have coin?'

'I have some. Just take me as far as this will allow.'

The man took the coin and Asphodel jumped into the last wagon and watched as Vass's figure grew smaller and smaller.

Where will Asphodel's coin take her? Can she escape from Vass?

An Interview with Fero from The Wolf Pack

 It's been a while since I did a character interview, so I decided to track down Fero from The Wolves of Vimar Series and ask him a few questions


Me: Thank you for agreeing to talk a bit about yourself,

Fero. I know you don't talk much about where you came
from, but please fill me in. You were born beyond the
Three Seas, I believe.

Fero: Yes. I was born in the land of Beridon. That is not only
beyond the Three Seas, but also beyond the Great Desert.

Me: Tell me about your family.

Fero: My father was a sandalmaker in the village where I
was born and grew up. I was the eldest son. I have three
sisters older than me. My parents were delighted to have
a son at last as in Beridon, girls are deemed to be of little
worth.

Me: That is shocking.

Fero: Yes. I now realize how bad that is. How much talent
is being wasted in that country I can hardly begin to
contemplate. It wasn't until I came to Grosmer that I really
learned the value of women.

Me: I suppose, growing up with that way of thought you
wouldn't think it unusual.

Fero: No, but I am ashamed now for my past, my family and my countrymen.

Me: What was life like in Beridon?

Fero: It was hard. We were not actually in the Great Desert, but in the summer there was usually a drought. Frequently our animals and crops died and we went hungry. However, in the past, we had learned about irrigation and so it was not as bad as it had once been. Only in really bad drought years were we in very bad conditions.

Me: Tell me about your family.

Fero: I haven't seen them for many years. I hated sandal making but my father thought that,  as the eldest son, I should follow him and take over the family business. I would then marry a girl of their choice and look after them in their old age. I hated that idea and was something of a rebel. I took every opportunity to go out into the wilds and it was on one of those forrays that I met an old druid.

Me: Did you decide to bevome a druid yourself?

Fero: Oh, no. I am not a very religeous man, although I do revere Grillon, the god of nature and wild things. The old man taught me much, but even he could see that I was not cut out to be a druid, so he sent me to a ranger friend of his.

Me: What did your family think of this?

Fero: My mother would have been quite happy with this. I had two brothers now and they were both happy to go into sandalmaking. My father was completely opposed and forbade me from going. Mother couldn'yt go against him as he would have beaten her and it would still have made no difference to his thoughts. He beat me too, and tried to lock me in my room.

Here Fero laughs.

Fero: He should have realized that he couldn't really do that as my brothers had to come in and out!

Me: What did you do?

Fero: Well, I escaped, of course. I gathered my things and went to tell mother that I was going. Father came in at that moment, just as I was going out of the door. Mother called 'Goodbye Fero. Don't forget us.' Father pushed her back indoors and I heard him say 'Go in, woman, we have no son called Fero.'


Me: That must have been very hard. What did you do then?

Fero: I went to join my new master. She was very good and understanding and taught me well, until one day she deemed my apprenticehip was ended and I was to go out and make my own way in the world.

Me: Where did you go?

Fero: Firstly I wandered Beridon, then decided to go and look at the Great Desert. I almost died of thirst then. I was completely lost, but a tribe of nomads found me and saved me. I was sunburned, blisters all over me. They tended me and then took me travelling with them. I learned to wear the long enveloping robes they wear and to keep out of the direct sun as much as possible. They wandered eventually to the seaport of Candor on the Inner Sea. I had never seen a large expanse of water and it fascinated me. I got passage on a ship crossing to Grosmer. I worked my passage, of course, and eventually came to Bluehaven. Here I abandoned my new career as a seaman and wandered around the south of Grosmer for many years, doing jobs here and there. Sometimes I would pick fruit, grapes or peaches or oranges. At other times I was scouting for caravans. Then one day I was with a group of young men who decided to go to Eribore. I joined them, intending to cross the Western Mountains and see the Horselords on the plains.

Me: Did you see them? The are supposed to be quite a sight when they ride their horses.

Fero: No. I have wondered and wondered why I took that path towards Hambara, but I can't tell you why. Just a sudden impulse came upon me and I left my companions and turned east instead of west. If I had not done that, I would not have met Carthinal and the others. I wonder what the outcome of their quest would have been if they were not 8 questors as the prophecy had said? Would they still have found the Sword or would the quest have failed? Also, I would not have met Randa either.

Me: Thank you for your time.

35 Words That Do Not Follow Plural Rules

Today I'm going to discuss a few words that don't form the plural by adding the letter 's'. These words come mainly from foreign 'imports', although a lot are very old. Some people are confused by these words and use the plural as a singular.
So here we go.

 Singular: Bacterium        Plural: Bacteria
 Singular: Phenomenon        Plural: Phenomena
 Singular: Medium            Plural: Media
 Singular: Datum            Plural: Data
 Singular: Criterion            Plural: Criteria
 Singular: Cactus            Plural: Cacti
 Singular: Fungus            Plural: Fungi
 Singular: Stadium            Plural: Stadia
 Singular: Nucleus            Plural: Nuclei
 Singular: Syllabus            Plural: Syllabi
 Singular: Focus            Plural: Foci
 Singular: Thesis            Plural: Theses
 Singular: Crisis            Plural: Crises
 Singular: Index            Plural: Indices
 Singular: Appendix        Plural: Appendices

It is becoming more acceptable to hear 'stadiums', 'syllabuses' and 'indexes', although they grate on me, personally.

Now for some that don't change for the plural.

 sheep
 deer
 fish (although the word 'fishes' can be used if referring to a number of different types of the creatures. e.g. There was a great variety of fishes swimming around on the reef.)
 aircraft
 moose
 offspring
 species
 salmon
 trout

Now what about those that are completely different in the plural? Here we have the following:

 Singular: Child            Plural: Children
 Singular: Man            Plural: Men
 Singular: Woman            Plural: Women
 Singular: Mouse            Plural: Mice
 Singular: Goose            Plural: Geese (N.B. The plural of 'mongoose' is not 'mongeese', but 'mongooses'.)
 Singular: Die             Plural: Dice
 Singular: Foot             Plural: Feet
 Singular: Louse             Plural: Lice
 Singular: Ox             Plural: Oxen
 Singular: Person             Plural: People
 Singular: Tooth             Plural: Teeth

Aspholessaria

The days passed. Asphodel worked and Vass went out with the people he called his friends. One day he brought them home with him. Asphodel did not like them and after they had gone, she told him so. Vass laughed at her and said that it did not matter. They would get them money and riches.

'When, Vass?' Asphodel asked him. 'I see little coming in yet.'

Then one say, about a week later, he placed a bag of coins on the table.

'I told you I'd get money, Asphodel, didn't I?' he said.

'Where has this come from?' she asked. 'There's as much here as I earn in two days.'

'Ah, from selling stuff,' he replied.

'Selling what?'

'Stuff.'

'Where did you get it from? You didn't steal it did you?'

'Steal?' Vass's eyes widened. 'Why would you think I stole it?'

Asphodel walked to the table and picked up the bag.

'Because I can't think of what you had to sell that would bring this much money,' she told him.
She put the bag down again.

'I need to know where you got the 'stuff' you sold, Vass.'

Vass turned away from her and stomped to a chair.

'You sound like my mother, Asphodel. My friends gave it to me to sell. They took some of the money and I had the rest. Now give it a rest. We've money for the rent with some left over. I'm going out again.'

And with that he strode from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Asphodel worried. She worried about where the money came from and what Vass had been given to sell, and she worried about Vass himself. He seemed to be changing. He was out much of the time and when he was in he was not as loving as he had been.

Asphodel waited, and waited, and waited. She went to bed. In the early hours of the morning she heard the door open and Vass came in. He was full of energy and sat on the bed.

'That was the most amazing evening, Asphodel,' he told her. 'We went all over the city and my friends took me to some places I'd never have been able to find without them there were lots of taverns hidden in back streets and I couldn't have got back on my own.'

Vass paused to take a breath. Asphodel rubbed her eyes and sat up.

'One tavern had a bear in a cage at the back and you'd never believe what it could do and they had a talking bird--I don't know what kind, but it was colourful--it was swearing like a...a...oh, I don't know. Someone who swears a lot.'

'Vass,' said Asphodel, 'slow down. I can hardly make sense of what you're saying.'

Vass laughed. It was almost a giggle. He stood up and began to jump around the room like a child.

'Oh, I feel so great, Assy. I could do anything. I can't sleep. Come out with me.'

'Vass, I need to sleep. I've got to go to work tomorrow.'

'Oh pish to your work. I can earn enough for us both. Look, I've got a bag of money here.'

He pulled a rather thin bag out of his pocket and put it on the table. He looked crestfallen for a moment, then he laughed.

'Oh, look. I seem to have spent it all. I wonder how that happened?'

Asphodel got back into bed and turned over.

'Asphodel, come out with me, please.'

The girl took no notice of him and so he eventually left once more, picking up the meagre money pouch as he went.

This went on for several weeks. Vass had initially been selling grimlo, a powerful drug. Then one night his friends has persuaded him to try some himself.

'After all, you need to know what you're selling to the punters,' one of them said.

Soon Vass was spending more money on buying the drug for his own use than he was getting from the sales. His 'friends' demanded their share of the sales, but Vass did not have enough to pay them for the drugs he bought from them. He was also drinking heavily.

One day, he came to Asphodel and demanded she give him money.

'Vass, you've been spending money we can't afford on your drinking and, I suspect, drugs too. That was the 'stuff' you were selling, wasn't it?'

Vass looked her in the eye.

'What if it was? It got us money, didn't it? We needed money too.'

Asphodel sighed.

'Vass,' she said, 'you've not brought any money in for an age and you've spent all my earnings. I don't have any money. We are in debt and are likely to be thrown out of this hovel because we have no money to pay the rent.'

Vass narrowed his eyes.

'Then give me some of your precious jewellery to sell. I can get some more grimlo from my friends and sell it for more than a necklace is worth. That'll get the rent and more.'

Asphodel reluctantly handed over one of her gold necklaces and Vass left. She left soon afterwards for her own work.

Later that day, when she arrived home, she found Vass sitting on a chair in the apartment. He looked at her as she came through the door.

'I need some more jewellery,' he said abruptly. No greeting nor kiss.

'Where's the money you promised when I gave you the last piece?' demanded Asphodel.

Vass made no reply, but stood up and walked over to her.

'I need some more,' he said. 'That wasn't enough. I needed to pay my friends for what I've already had. Now I need money to get more.'

Asphodel looked him in the eye.

'Well, you're not getting it from me. You've spent all my cash and my wages and are now spending my jewellery. You aren't going to sell any grimlo, are you? You'll buy some more from your so-called friends and use it yourself. You're addicted, Vass. Those people saw you coming. They trapped you nicely. Get you to start off selling the stuff and promise great riches, then they get you to try it yourself, and bam! you're addicted and spending all your, no my, money making them rich.'

Vass's eyes blazed.

'Give me your jewellery.'

He reached towards the cupboard where the jewellery was kept.

Asphodel stood in front of it.

'No!'

Vass raised his hand and swiped Asphodel across the face, then he punched her in the stomach and left her doubled over in agony as he reached into the cupboard and took the pouch of jewellery. As he stormed out of the room, a ring fell from the pouch and Asphodel crawled over to pick it up.

Review of The Revenge of Excalibur by Sahara Foley

 Blurb

After Pamela's father vanished twenty-seven years ago, her life has been content. That is, until she is visited by disturbing dreams, telling that her father is in danger.

She also receives a mysterious message, telling her that Arthur has been imprisoned on a distant planet, and only she can rescue him. To do so, she must release the evil entity trapped within the famous sword, Excalibur. If she trusts this strange messenger and releases the terrifying Shalit from its confinement, Pamela could be endangering Earth and all the other planets in the universe.

Will she be strong enough to control the Shalit, save her father, and protect everyone she loves? And can she risk destroying all life if she's not?

My Review 


This book is the second in the Excalibur series and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first one. This time, instead of following Arthur and Daisy on their adventures out in the Universe, we concentrate on Arthur's daughter, Pamela.
Arthur does not know of the birth of his daughter, nor that she has inherited his gifts.

Pamela feels something of a misfit on Earth as she has to hide her powers from others. If they know what she is capable of, they would fear her. One day she is whisked off to space by mysterious forces that turn out to be intelligences contained in a living spaceship. These two women, granddaughter and grandmother, tell her that her father is in danger and that he and his wife, the alien Daisy, whom he met in The Secret of Excalibur, are imprisoned.

The rescue of Arthur and Daisy involves the releasing of the Shalit from Excalibur, one of the entities known as Planet Eaters.

Pamela has to use her powers and faces great danger. She finds her true love in a most unusal person, and the twist at the end caught me by surprise.

Ms Foley has built complex worlds with strange alien creatures and a politics we can all recognise. Pamela's change from a timid, self-conscious girl to a confident woman is believable, after what she goes through.

The writing is excellent and I have no hesitation in giving this book 4 stars.

Relaunch of Viv's Family Recipes

I'm adding an extra blog today to announce the imminent relaunch of my recipe book, called Viv's Family Recipes.

These recipes have been gathered by my family and friends over the 20th century and give an insight into the kind of foods we ate from 1909 to the present.

Some of these recipes we would not do today, either due to their high fat content, or the long time it takes to cook them, but they are interesting, nonetheless.

There are many more modern recipes in the book though, that I use on a regular basis.
I have also given a bit of information about the people who gave me the recipes and there a
re some old-fashioned Hints and Tips, too.

Watch this space for when it will be available.

Aspholessaria

Once in the village, the pair found an inn where they booked a room for three nights. Vass said if there were work in this village they would see about finding a more permanent place to stay, if not, they would need to move on. After all, their money and Asphodel's jewellery would not last for ever.
Asphodel left Vass in the inn bar talking to some of the villagers about work. She made her way to a herbalist.

'Do you have any herbs to prevent pregnancy?' she asked the old woman who seemed to be in charge of the shop.

'Is it for you?' the old woman said, peering over her glasses.

When Asphodel answered in the affirmative, the old woman looked at her sharply.
'Are you married?' she asked.

Asphodel blushed and looked down at her feet. 'Why do you ask?' she said.

'Because I don't encourage promiscuity. I don't sell to unmarried women and girls.'

'Y-yes,' lied the girl. 'We were married in Quantissillaron just before we came here.'

'Hmm.' The old woman peered again at Asphodel, then said, 'I'll have to believe you. I don't know anything about elves so I can't tell if you're lying or not.' She turned round and reached up to a box on a shelf behind her. She weighed out some of the herbs then reached for another box. From this one she added a different herb. She put them into a pestle and began mixing them together.

When she had finished, she took a small pot and poured the herbs into it, then fastened a lid over the top.

'Take a tea made with one spoonful of the mixture each evening and you will have no trouble with pregnancy,' she said. 'You have enough there to last you for three or four weeks, but don't forget you need to take it every evening.'

Asphodel handed over the money the old woman demanded than almost ran back to the inn.
Vass laughed when she told him she had got the herbs, and almost rushed her up the stairs to their room.

They did not find any work in the village, and so they left after their second night at the inn. Vass thought they should go to Frelli, the capital of Erian. There would be more work there, he reasoned, and so they set off once again.

It took them a sixday to reach Frelli. The capitol city was in a wide valley in the Mountains of Doom, not too far from the border with Grosmer. in days gone by, there had been many wars and skirmishes fought between the two neighbouring countries and Frelli had developed into more of a fortification than a city.

From the Erian side, it appeared as a normal city, with surrounding walls it, but on the Grosmer side, the valley narrowed and the walls had been built across the valley, completely barring access.

Asphodel and Vass approached form the Erian side, of course, and so did not see the forbidding approach from Grosmer. They passed through the gate into a city of streets that seemed to wind around in a spiral towards a castle with a high tower.

'So this is Frelli,' Asphodel said, as they searched for an inn. 'I'm not sure I like it very much. Not much in the way of trees is there.'

Vass shrugged. 'We can stay here for a while and make some money, then we can go somewhere you'd like better, if that's what you want.'

Asphodel smiled. 'Yes, I'd like that. Somewhere where the wildlife can flourish, Perhaps a little farm somewhere.'

Vas put his arm round her. 'I know nothing of farming,' he told her, 'but if that's what you want, I'll learn.'

The pair found an inn, and the next morning set off to try to find work. Asphodel quickly found a scribe who was looking for someone who could read and write. His last clerk had left the previous week. Vass, on the other hand, found work more difficult to come by. He had no skills required by the businesses in Frelli.

'Couldn't you get something as a labourer?' Asphodel asked him one evening.

'What? Get myself filthy? Darling, I don't want to come home to you dirty.' He lifted up a lock of her black hair and kissed it. 'I have more respect for you than to expect you to live with someone who's dirty.'

'But you could get washed, Vass. I would barely see you dirty.'

Vass looked at her. 'Asphodel, the labourers end up with the dirt ingrained in their skin and hard hands. I don't want you to have to put up with callused hands on your beautiful skin.'

Asphodel sighed. She argued no further but thought she would not mind as long as the hands belonged to Vass.

Vass left again the following morning to look for work and for somewhere for them to live. After all they could not live at the inn. It would be far too expensive. Asphodel left soon afterwards to begin her new job at the scribe's office. At the end of the day, she rushed back to the inn to tell Vass about her day. He told her he had not looked for a job that day, but had found them somewhere to live. He had put down a deposit and they could move in immediately.

Asphodel was delighted they had somewhere to live, but said, ' Why didn't you wait until I came home before you took it. I'd have liked to have a say in where we're going to live.'

Vas put his arms round her and said, 'Asphodel, my darling, I daren't wait. The place might have gone by the time you got home. There aren't many places to rent in this city, you know. I had to make a decision straight away.'

They gathered their meagre goods and, after eating a last meal at the inn, went to the apartment Vass had found.

Asphodel was appalled. It was in the poorest quarter of the city with rats running around in the filthy street. The apartment itself was one room. It had a filthy rug in the centre of the room and a sofa that looked as if it had been dragged in from the rubbish tip. It, too. was filthy. There was a greasy sink in one corner of the room, and a fireplace with an oven at the side. In the fireplace were ashes left from several fires.

As she stood there, not believing that Vass could have agreed to rent this place, a cockroach ran across her feet.

'Vass, this is awful,' she told him. 'We can't live here.'

'It'll only be until I find work and we can then get something better. Darling, we can't afford anything better at the moment.'

'I suppose it won't be too bad if I can get it clean. I'll start now. It's a good job we ate before we left the inn. I wouldn't like to eat anything that had been cooked in here.'

Vass told her he would only be in her way if he stayed. He was not very good at cleaning, he said, so he would go out.

Asphodel spent the evening cleaning. She did not get everything to her liking, but it was better than before. She killed at least two dozen cockroaches, and went out to buy mousetraps as she felt sure there must be mice there.

A large cupboard stood next to the sink, and this she filled with cleaning products and then she cleaned out a small cupboard with a mesh front for food. The bed she could do little about, but she determined to wash the sheets the next day. They had access to a small garden at the back of the house and she thought she could wash the sheets before she went to work the next day and with any luck they would be dry when she got home. The mattress she could do little about that night, but decided that one of the first things she would do would be to go out and sell some of her jewellery and buy a new one.

Vass turned up just before the eighteenth hour of the day. (On Vimar, the day began at sunrise on the equinoxes, 6am, and so it was the middle of the hours of darkness when Vass arrived home.)
Asphodel brushed a strand of hair from over her eyes and stopped cleaning the fireplace.

'You're late,' she said.

'S-sorry,' stammered Vass. 'I meeted, no, met, shome blokes in the tavern.' He staggered. 'They shtold me all shorts of shtuff. Oh, I feel shick.'

He rushed to the sink and was sick.

'That'sh better,' he said, collapsing on the bed.

'Vass, you're drunk!' Asphodel said, but he was already snoring.

The next weeks followed a similar pattern. Asphodel cleaned before and after work and Vass went out to meet his new friends. Each evening he came home drunk. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
One evening Vass did not arrive home at all. Asphodel was at last satisfied with what she had done to the apartment and had been out and bought some flowers and put them on the table. she cooked a meal with what they could afford and waited for Vass to arrive.

The meal got cold, then congealed. Asphodel threw it away. The night crept on and Asphodel fell asleep on a chair. She worried that Vass had gone somewhere else in Frelli and had got lost in the maze of streets. The layout of the city was confusing. It appeared to be straightforward, with the roads spiralling towards the castle, but in reality it was a maze.

Just as she woke, the door opened to admit Vass. She had dark circles beneath her eyes from worry and lack of sleep.

'Asphodel,' Vass said, taking her in his arms. 'You look awful. so tired.' He ran a finger over her eyes. 'You mustn't go to work today, but sleep to get your beauty back.'

Asphodel yawned and pushed him away.

'I must,' she told him. 'You've no job and we need money. You're spending what I earn drinking with your friends.'

Vass laughed. 'I'm investing it,' he replied. 'My friends can get me work. I need to keep on their good sides though, so I must drink with them.'

'What sort of work? Your 'friends' don't seem to do very much.'

Vass tapped the side of his nose.

'I can say nothing, yet,' he told her. 'I need to sort a few things out first, but be assured, I'll soon have more money than you've ever dreamed of.'

Asphodel turned to the door. Then she turned as she left and said, 'I've never dreamed of money, Vass. Just you.'

Crisalisk, The Red Dragon (a poem)

Today is the third Tuesday in the month, and so it's poetry day.

This poem is about a dragon who you can meet in my next book, yet to be published. Crisalisk and her mate Monarlisk are separated by Monarlisk losing a fight to another male dragon for the attentions of Crisalisk, but this poem refers to a time before that.
 
Her scales are the red
Of sunset in Autumn,
Her eyes are the gold
Of midsummer sun,
Her horns are as white
As snowfall in winter
And she dances on high
Like the birds do in spring.

Her beauty is evident
To all who do see her.
Her grace in the sky
Is a joy to behold.
With pinions spread wide
She dives then she soars
But beware, if she sees you,
Her flames she'll release.

She thinks she's the queen
Of all that surround her.
All other things living
Are there just to serve.
If any refuse her
She roars out her challenge
As Death on wide wings
Dives down from the skies.

But who is it comes
On black wings high soaring?
'Tis Monalisk who
Is her mate and her love.
For him she will bow down
Her arrogance dwindling
For he is her only
True love in the land.

This is a poem that has no rhymes. Poetry does not need to rhyme, but it has to have either rhyme or rhythm or it's just prose broken into lines.

Poetry nowadays seems to be that way, I've read many so-called poems that have neither rhyme nor rhythm. One had short lines, then suddenly a long line that took up 2 lines of text. Some of the poems I've read are incomprehesible too. I may be old fashioned in my ideas, but those things aren't poetry!

Today is a day when I address some things about our beautiful, interesting, but strange language.
There are many words in English that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. Also there are words pronounced the same, but spelled differently. Then there are words that are the same in spelling and pronunciation but have different meanings, depending on context.

The strangest, in my opinion, are words ending in -ough.

We have:

 Though, pronounced 'tho'
 Bough, pronounced 'bow'. (although that in itself has different pronunciations)
 Enough, pronounced 'enuf'
 Thought, pronounced 'thort'
 Through, pronounced 'threw'

No wonder foreigners have some difficulty with it, although (another one, similar to 'though', here) it seems they are able to manage quite well if the number of foreigners who speak the language extremely well is anything to go by.

I was in an Italian restaurant in Germany and was greatly amused to see the German waiter speaking to a French customer in English. This also happened when I was in Croatia. The Croatian receptionist spoke to a visitor I think was Russian in English. These strange inconsistencies seem not to faze them, even if they confuse some native speakers!

5 Stars

Today I learned that someone has given 2 of my books 5 stars on Goodreads.

The books are The Wolf Pack and The  Never-Dying Man, Parts 1 and 2 of The Wolves of Vimar Series.

I'm well chuffed.