Freedom

As of sunset this evening, one of the world's great religions will begin observing possibly the oldest feast to freedom that we know of, Pesach, or as is more commonly known, Passover.

For almost four thousand years the Jews of the world have been asking, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" It is the night on which they remember the joy of gaining their freedom after four hundred years of slavery to Egypt, and the sorrow of the cost of that freedom to their former masters. Freedom is never free.

Through these people, the world has been given the inestimable gifts of the concepts of freedom with responsibility, and the rule of just law rather than the rule of might. We can only say, thank you to our Jewish friends.

Happy Passover
Let Freedom Ring
Shalom aleichem

Frances

After the Storms

After the training storms of the past weeks, the last few days have been positively breathtaking. The rain washed most of the tree pollen away, so everything is no longer coated with yellow. Granted, my yard is getting a little weedy, but since I can’t see it most of the time, I can ignore it. It works for me.

I do most of my writing sitting in my desk (aka the bed) with books scattered all around me, computer on lap, and the Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery snuggled either beside me, across my shoulders, or around my feet, depending upon the temperature of the moment. Since the temperature has been especially pleasant, I’ve had the windows open wide and have been enjoying the spring scents and breezes. I’ve also been enjoying the colors. The Indica Azalea, Formosa, outside my window is in its full fuchsia glory. My room will remain hot pink for yet a few more days. The azalea is so desperately in need of pruning that it tops the eaves, and all I can see are fuchsia blossoms, chartreuse leaves, and cerulean sky. Well, not quite. Today, I see visiting mockingbirds, cardinals, bumble bees, and Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies. No interior decorator ever made more beautiful drapes. And for sure, no manmade drapes ever smelled so good. I dread pruning that azalea. There go the drapes.

Beyond the fuchsia azalea, are: blue, woodland hyacinths; lavender, woodland phlox; lemon yellow, pseudacoras iris; purple, William Setchell Iris (very old German Bearded); mauve, Persian Berry Iris (German Bearded); yellow, Well Endowed Iris (German Bearded); and yellow and white, Champaign Elegance Iris (German Bearded). All of these have such wonderful fragrances that my art students used to beg me to bottle them. I just might have to do that someday. :-)

As some of you know, and the rest of you have deduced, I used to teach art. I love wonderful art and while I was skulking, lusting after, looking for pictures of Iris I found prints of watercolor paintings by Clif Hadfield at the Cooley’s Gardens website. These are gorgeous watercolors, and I thought that you would enjoy seeing the rest of them. They aren’t expensive if your looking for something like them. Just click on Clif’s name to see more of his paintings. Click on Cooley’s above to look at their Iris collections.

Another incredible website is Schreiners Iris Gardens. Isn’t spring inspiring.

Be inspired.

Write inspired.

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

I Know. I Am so Twisted!

Happy April Fool's Day

:-D

Frances

Not writing much of anything right now.

Springtime in "My Secret Garden"

That's what my art students used to call my yard. It was their "Secret Garden" too. This is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I want to share it. My brother took this picture of a Japanese Magnolia in New Orleans last month.

Spring has finally come to my garden, and I am waxing eloquent. We still have chilly days mixed in with our warmer days, and rainy days always come between the sunny days, but you get the picture. Since January, we’ve had days that were warm enough to open the house and turn on the attic fan. The next night we are sleeping under quilts. Nothing is dependable. Go figure.

The songbirds have returned, and have been singing their fool heads off (under my window) since before daylight. The tree tops have turned bright chartreuse green, forming a lacy background to the drifts of white and pink dogwoods, magenta redbuds, and purple wisteria floating beneath their cathedral-like canopy. How do you like that for a run-on sentence? I warned you that I was waxing eloquent. Help me find some more adjectives, or just deal with it. I love this time of the year and it’s my blog so you can just suffer through my euphoric purple prose. Be glad that it’s about horticulture, not... errrah, those birds are singing awfully loudly...

Because my camera cord is misplaced, I snagged a few pictures from Google Images to show how things look. These pictures are from all over, but it really does look like this.

Here are a list of the things presently blooming in my yard: Rome Hyacinths (blue, pink and white); more Narcissus (yellow and white); Snowflakes (white); Redbud (magenta); Dogwood (pink and white); Wisteria (lavender); Carolina jasmine (yellow); late Forsythia (yellow); early Azaleas (read and white); early Iris (white, yellow and purple); Bridal Wreath Spirea(white); Woodland Phlox (blue and lavender); Homestead Verbena (purple). Every one of these, except for the dogwood, is very fragrant.

It’s lovely here. Wish you could share it.

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

P.S. This evening when I went out for the last time with His Highness, the Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery, the fireflies were having a party in my trees. How much better can it get? Stars and fireflies. May spring come soon for everyone, and may you have plenty of fireflies to light your evenings.

Computer Maintenance Day!

Today is Computer Maintenance Day. I have removed my old security system. I have installed my new security system. I am now downloading the updates to the new system. This is taking FOREVER! I am going stir-crazy!

I can't say that I blame the security system. Most of the problem is this dinosaur dial-up connection that I have. Being the only connection on a 70 year old phone line is not conducive to being at the top of Ma Bell's DSL list. I've been asking when she would install the new line for years(all my neighbors have it). "We expect it to be available for that line within two years." Yeah, right! That was five years ago.

Oh well, I defraged after removing the old program. I checked the 'puter for stray files. I found a few files, verified that they could be removed(the techie was great), and then removed them. I then installed the new system, and am getting the updates now. As soon as the updates are finished, next week, I'll defrag again. That way everything will be all right-and-tight with no wasted space on the hard drive. While I do this I keep a written log for emergency reference. It's saved my a$$ets more times than I care to think about, and I heartily recommend it for everyone messing with a computer.

Gee, that program only has 14 more hours to go on the download. I think that I had better leave the room before I write something that I would later regret. :-)

Happy computing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Night Sky: March 2009

In the spring of any year, not just the Year of Astronomy, there are lots of things to look for in the night sky. It’s a great time for the backyard astronomer in us all. Among the notable astronomy events are: Venus is leaving the evening sky; old constellations are at zenith; new constellations are visible; and the Vernal or Spring Equinox is about to occur. If you click on the pictures in this post, you will be able to see them in a larger size which will be easy to view and read.


Venus has been incredibly beautiful all winter, so please forgive me for not posting about a lovely event several days ago. On February 27th there was a close conjunction of Venus and the New Moon immediately after sunset. Unfortunately, we had cloud cover, and I forgot about it (What can I say, I was writing.). This picture, courtesy of Starry Night Astronomy Program, this is what it looked like right after full dark.


Keep Venus in your viewing schedule for the rest of the month. It’s leaving the evening sky on the March 27th when it has an inferior conjunction with the Sun. That’s fancy astronomer speak for crossing between the Earth and the Sun. DON’T TRY TO LOOK AT IT if you want to keep your eyes working properly. Venus will once more be visible as the Morning Star in April. (If you want to go out into a chilly morning to view it, more power to you. At that time of the morning, I’m usually writing for all that I’m worth, a mug of hot cocoa in one hand, a computer cuddled in my lap and the Supreme Pasha Zackery snuggled on my feet.) Your trivia for the day: Venus is moving toward the Earth when we see it in the evening. It is moving away from the Earth when we see it in the morning.

Taurus (Aldebaran), Orion (Betelgeuse), and Canis Major (Sirius) have been glorious in the winter sky. They are presently at their zenith in the evening and will soon be moving into the west. Before they leave us, there are several other constellations which I should like to bring to your attention. Directly to the north of Orion, and joined to the horn of Taurus is Auriga. It is shaped vaguely like a pentagon and has one bright star, Capella. This is another of the stars which Anne McCaffery uses as proper names for characters in her Science Fiction Romances (we writers steal wherever we can). Immediately to the east, almost the fourth corner of a diamond formed by Auriga, Taurus, and Orion is the constellation Gemini, the Twins. Their feet point toward Orion’s head. The two bright stars which form their heads are Castor and Pollux, the brothers of Helen of Troy and the navigators on Jason’s voyage to find the Golden Fleece.

There are two new constellations which are just coming into view in the east during the early evening. Cancer, the Crab, is just east of Gemini’s Castor and Pollux. You may not be able to view Cancer because it has no bright stars. I have a hard time with it. However, the next constellation, Leo, is just rising above the horizon at dusk. As the evening progresses, Leo is very easily recognized as the backwards “?” mark in the sky. Leo’s brightest star is Regulus, one of the ancient king stars and the heart of the lion. Look a little further down to the northeast, and you will see a small triangle of stars. Those stars are the haunches of the lion. The bright object immediately south of Leo’s haunches is Saturn. It’s not as bright as it sometimes is because its rings are not tilted far enough at this time for our viewing.

Last, but not least of the March astronomy events, is the Vernal or Spring Equinox on March 20th. This is the “moment” when Sun’s rays are directly perpendicular to the Earth’s surface at the equator, and when we count spring as beginning. It is also “commonly called” the moment when the Sun crosses the equator from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere; however, that is a fallacious statement because it is the tilt of the Earth, not any movement of the Sun, which causes the event. Language makes it impossible to escape the ideas of our ancient ancestors. In any case, equinox simply means equal hours of day and night. This only occurs two times a year, on the spring and fall equinoxes. Most ancient calendars were calculated as beginning on the Vernal Equinox, and astrology still works on this basis, even though the signs in modern astrology are now totally out of sync with the astronomical positions of the stars. If you would like to make an interesting observation, keep a log of sunset and sunrise times and the resulting increase/decrease in hours of daylight where you live. You will be surprised at how fast the change occurs.

Have fun, and happy viewing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Review: HOPE’S FOLLY by Linnea Sinclair

Publisher: Bantam

ISBN-10: 0553592181

ISBN-13: 978-0553592184

Science Fiction Romance

February 24, 2009

Hold on to your hats. Fasten your seatbelts. If you love Science Fiction Romance or action-adventure Space Opera, Linnea Sinclair’s newest addition to the Dock 5 Universe has been released! Hurry to your local bookstore, Amazon, Barn & Noble, Borders, or your best friend’s house and grab it. You are in for a non-stop, roller coaster, fun ride. Click on the title links below for my reviews of the prior books in the series to get a feel for the Dock 5 Universe. HOPE’S FOLLY is a “stand alone” but a quick background update will enhance your reading experience.

The first book in the Dock 5 series was the 2006 RITA Award winning GABRIEL'S GHOST, in which we meet Captain Chasidah (Chaz) Bergren, Gabriel (Sully) Sullivan, and Imperial Fleet Admiral, Philip Guthrie. Philip is Chaz’s ex-husband and a real tight-a$$ed, by-the-book, kinda guy, except…

In SHADES OF DARK, the second in the Dock 5 series, the Empire has fallen to pieces, and Chaz and Sully rescue Philip immediately after he sees all of his senior officers murdered. He is forced to reassess everything that he has ever believed. He finally understands Chaz and Sully’s deep love, and can only wish them the best. In the last conflict of SHADES, Philip’s leg is shattered and he almost loses his life to “once more” save Chas, Sully and the rebel Alliance. Perhaps he isn’t quite the up-tight, by-the-book guy that I first thought…

When HOPE’S FOLLY begins, Philip has lost everything and is on the run from the imperial bad guys. He is now a rebel Admiral without a fleet. Only partially recovered, with a still healing leg, he is traveling to take command of Hope’s Folly, a decommissioned imperial cruiser/orange hauling freighter, named after the resident cat, Captain Folly! What can Philip say? The price was right, and rebels (i.e. beggars) can’t be choosy. He knows there is going to be trouble when assassins try to kill him before he ever leaves the Kirro Space Station. He knows there is going to be trouble when the gorgeous woman aiding him turns out to be the daughter of his best friend, mentor, and one of his murdered officers. He remembered Rya Bennton as the green-pea flinging brat, Rya the Rebel, whom he first taught to shoot a gun. Now she’s a statuesque beauty and security expert who gets really turned on by big guns. “Can I fondle it?” That had to be one of the funniest lines that I have read in years.

After trials, tribulations, and foiled assassination/kidnap attempts, Phil assumes command of his new flagship…err, well, sort of. Nothing is going according to plan. They are running against a deadline (the imperial bad guys are coming and killing people along the way), and everything keeps suspiciously breaking down…and smelling of oranges. Philip’s got a cat in his bed when what he really wants is his security officer. He can’t trust anyone; there’s a spy onboard; and he can’t afford distractions. He’s already screwed up one marriage, is too old for Rya, and he’s too busy to love or be loved. He has a job to do…but (sigh), she certainly is incredible. Her father would kill him if he knew what he was thinking!

Rya Bennton has had the best security training that the Empire has to offer…but they killed her father and she wants payback. She has come to Kirro Station to join the Alliance, and protects a distinguished “older/crippled” gentleman from an assassination attempt before she realizes that: 1) he isn’t “that” much older; 2) she knows him; and 3) he is the “always and forever dream hero” of her childhood.” He might not be interested in her, but she can keep him safe and be the best security officer he ever had. Besides, he has that really big gun.

Linnea does an especially good job of balancing the story from Philip’s and Rya’s Points of View. Philip and Rya are intelligent, principled, dedicated people, with terrific senses of humor. They are a perfect match for each other, and I thought their problems realistic. It’s wonderful to watch characters grow as individuals as their respect for each other develops. By the end of the book you know that what they have found will last. I particularly enjoyed Philip’s growth from being a “company man” to being a maverick doing whatever it takes, molding a totally dissimilar group of people into a team able outsmart the best that the Empire can throw at them. I liked seeing Rya learn to trust her instincts, and do what she knows to be right. I liked seeing her finally realize that she is attractive and loveable.

HOPE’S FOLLY is much lighter in tone than either GABRIEL’S GHOST, or SHADES OF DARK. Even though the majority of the book takes place in a shipyard, the layers of tension only escalate with each malfunction. There’s no doubt that they have a saboteur onboard. I couldn’t tell who it was and was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I kept asking myself, “Are there more than one?” Besides being a Science Fiction Romance, HOPE’S FOLLY is an excellent thriller. The stakes are raised on every page, so that I now have band-aids on my knuckles.

One additional thing that I would like to pass on to Romance fans: HOPE’S FOLLY is character driven with an excellent suspense plot. In addition to superb characterization, Linnea is a master of World Building. Many Romance readers are afraid of Science Fiction because they fear technology. Let me allay you fears. Her techno-babble is so expert and natural that you won’t even be aware of it. It’s rather like your cell phone or TV remote. So go with the flow, and enjoy.

Happy Reading,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

This and That, and a Lot of Fun

Things have been busy around my house. Spring has been springing...off and on...since the first of January. Daffodils, hyacinths and forsythia are blooming, and the weeds are sprouting. One day it’s in the 70s and another it’s in the 20s. One thing that you can count on in the Deep South is that the weather will be totally unpredictable three out of the four seasons. Summer is guaranteed hot, but we’re not there yet, thank goodness. We have four more months of off and on good weather. *G*

Most of my time, recently, has been spent working on THE HUSBAND, my work in progress, and reading and writing a review of Linnea Sinclair’s HOPE’S FOLLY, which will be released Tuesday. Wow is it good! That review will be up as quickly as possible. It all hasn’t left me much time for blogging. I want to alert you to a few items which you might find of interest.

KimberAn, of The Star Captain’s Daughter, has posted her Young Adult Science Fiction Romance novel, THE STAR CAPTAIN’S DAUGHTER is online to be read or downloaded for free. This is a book of her heart and an engaging coming of age story. Growing up is so hard to do. Check out the opening chapter at Tia Nevitt’s Fantasy Debut.

Jess, of Jess Granger’s Butterfly Blog, is continuing to post her outrageous, interactive ETHEL THE SPACE PIRATE. Due to other writing obligations, in the future, she will be posting new episodes every other week. You never know what is going to be happening to Ethel, because Jess lets her readers vote on possible future courses of action. It is out of the frying pan into the fire in each episode, and always a hoot. Go back and read all the episodes from the beginning. It’s worth it to come away with a grin on your face. While you are at it, don’t forget to vote on the peril into which Ethel will be thrown in the coming episode. It’s your choice. Kudos for a gutsy writer for tackling so many possible scenarios!

For sheer fun, and hang on to your seat laughter, drop in at

Heather's The Galaxy Express:

Cosmic Idol: The Star Wars Edition
Cosmic Idol II: The Wrath of the Star Trek Edition
Cosmic Idol III: The Final Conflict

I dare you to keep a straight face on any of these. :-)

Happy Reading,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Happy Valentine's Day!

According to The Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Today is Valentine's Day, the feast day of St. Valentine, a priest and physician who was martyred about AD 270 in Rome, and the tradition of exchanging greetings of love on Valentine's Day is based on the legend that Valentine had signed a letter to his jailer's daughter, with whom he had fallen in love, “from your Valentine.””

We can't know for sure if Valentine actually sent that love letter, or even who he really was, because there were a number of early Christian martyrs who were linked with the name Valentine. Regardless, we know these were people of selfless, giving love, who never hurt anyone.

According to Wikipedia: "Many of the current legends that characterise Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love."

We have come to accept that hearts, roses and chocolates are absolute necessities to this holiday. We can probably think the Victorians for the first two, if not the Romans. We can assuredly thank Christopher Columbus and the American Indians for the third. However, none of those superficialities are truly important. What we need to keep in mind is the person who offers their love. Never miss any opportunity to show as well as to tell those who are precious to you how much you love them. That particular opportunity will never come again. Of course, a little chocolate never hurt either. :-)

Celebrate love all the year,

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

Raccoon Astronomy

It's been a great week for astronomy. It's been a bad week for the raccoons.

Twice this week, raccoons have sacrificed themselves upon the electrical altar of the same high-voltage transformer, throwing half of our town into darkness. Both times, this happened well after sunset, with a ziiiit-boom, and flash of light that could be seen for miles in the instant before everything went black. No house lights. No street lights. No nothing! Both times I rushed outside into the frigid night to gaze into the sky. Oh my, but it was lovely. Not for the poor raccoons, of course, but for stargazers like me it was gorgeous.

The skies were severe clear both nights. The new moon wasn't yet bright enough to interfere with viewing. High in the western sky Venus is the brightest object visible, and will remain so through March. Directly overhead, is the red eye of Taurus, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades he guards. In the southeastern sky, Orion is riding high with Sirius and Procyon, the noses of his hunting dogs, bounding at his heels.

A few bits of trivia: Sirius is the brightest star that we can see from Earth, and quite a close neighbor, only 8.6 light years distant. The Greeks gave us the term "dog days of summer" from this star. It was the rising of Sirius with the dawn, which told the ancient Egyptians that the Nile was about to flood, and that they would have abundant food for the coming year. Sirius, Procyon, and Betelgeuse in Orion's shoulder, make the Winter Triangle.

Viewing all of that clearly was wonderful. However, the great thing for me was that, for a brief while, it was dark enough to see the Milky Way. That doesn't often happen in our light polluted world. Right now, in the early evenings, it stretches from the southeast to the northwest, moving to the west as the evening progresses. If you can follow a path near to Sirius, Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus, and Cassiopeia, then you are in the neighborhood of the Milky Way. I hope that you get a chance to see it. It's worth it.

Happy Viewing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future