The Girdle of Melian

hoto interlude! Work has gotten busy and so has writing life, so here's a photo interlude! Two things I'm focusing on: Plotting for NaNo ! I have the names of my heroine and hero, the identity of the murder victim, the main suspect, the method of murder...and an inkling of some of the interpersonal conflicts. Hope the writing goes well! I was meant to be attending the Surrey International Writers' Conference this year! While this didn't work out, I am attending this year's virtual conference! Not quite what I expected for my first time, but motivating and inspiring nonetheless! I'm very glad that the conference didn't have to miss out on a year. Funny, it was eight years ago that I hosted my own virtual Surrey for all those unable to attend... Dolphins! Jellyfish! Interesting glassworks history Octopus! Ground floor display at the Museum of Natural History An update on the pangolin... Text of the United Nations Charter on its first adoption

ocooning. In between the work and the NaNoWriMo prep (come find me, I'm Denizb33 on the site!), I'm still knitting and baking a lot. A fruit cake that turned into a crumble... Vanilla icebox cookies dipped in chocolate! A special birthday cake! It took three tries, but I've nearly perfected these Sally's Baking Addiction chocolate chip cookies ! Next step is to make them smaller, but just as yummy! First snowfall on the Alps! September 2020 A baby blanket for a colleague! All about knitting in Yorkshire, from Amanda Owen , the Yorkshire Shepherdess's books A random flower that appeared in the pot in which the dill failed! Morning yoga beside Lac Leman, bliss! I'm thinking of tackling a murder mystery for the first time during NaNoWriMo. Not a suspense, not a romantic suspense, but an actual murder mystery... Nothing to lose, right? If it doesn't work out, I have the elements in place to switch it to a second-chance romance! All I nee

uestionnaire! I picked this one from The New York Times interview with John Scalzi (I skipped the two questions about science fiction authors). What books are on your nightstand? I just cleared my nightstand! I read a bunch of new releases , mostly mysteries. Now I'm going to try to read a few books in French, and then start compiling a new list of 180 books to read (i.e. reading books I already own!). What’s the last great book you read? I'm not sure. I've quite enjoyed all the books I've read recently (ongoing list at the bottom of this page). But great as in classic? I don't know if I could pick one. Marilynne Robinson's language is delightful as usual. And I really enjoyed the look and feel of and wealth of information in The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien by John Garth . Are there any classic novels that you only recently read for the first time? I read War and Peace and Moby Dick a couple of years ago! And I read Shirley Jackson's The Ha

ooks, books, and more books! I've recently read a bunch of new books: The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith The Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny Jack by Marilynne Robinson Still Life by Val McDermid Today is Insecure Writer's Support Group Day! This month's question is: When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like? Definitely a working writer! I think as long as you're writing all the time, reading, thinking of your stories, researching... You're a working writer! Never mind whether and where you've been published. I think we're lucky in that nowadays there are so many places to share our writing with read