Quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien

These are the contexts of the quotes tweeted from @sueannbowling between December 12 and December 18, 2013. All but the last are from The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Map of the Misty Mountains, from the original English version of the book.

“I do not council you one way or the other.” Galadriel, offering Frodo a look in her mirror.

“Seeing is both good and perilous.” Galadriel. Continues, “Yet I think, Frodo, that you have courage and wisdom enough for the venture, or I would not have brought you here.”

“And what do you wish?” “That what should be shall be”. Galadriel has just told Frodo that if he succeeds in destroying the ring, all that has been wrought with the three Elven-Rings (including the one she wears) will end. He questions her, and she answers.

“All shall love me and despair!” Part of Galadriel’s understanding of what would happen if she were to claim the ring.

“That is how it would begin. But it would not stop with that, alas.” Still Galadriel, recognizing that power leads to the desire for power for its own sake, no matter how selfless the initial reason for taking it.

“What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a sea?” The end of Galadriel’s song as she joins the fellowship for farewell.

“As a player himself, he had no use for unruly fans.” Bowling, Tourist Trap. Xazhar is talking to the planetary administrator, who is considering having him represent her at the Plasmaball tournament.

North Pole Weather 12/16/13

The sun will rise this morning at 10:53 and set 3 hours and 45 minutes later at 2:40 this afternoon; But we are close to the solstice, and next Saturday the sun will be as far to the south as it gets. The day length then will be only a little shorter than today; 3 hours, 41 minutes and 29 seconds, and from that day on the days will be getting longer. The actual solstice will be before daylight, at 8:11 in the morning.

Looking north, near noon, temperature -38°F

We’ve had a little more snow, interspersed with clear weather, and now have a show pack of around 14”. Temperatures have been around 0, but the forecast for this week is well below zero with skies often clear.

It never got light enough for a good outdoor picture yesterday, but this is what I woke up to this morning. Sorry for the blurring; I couldn’t even see the thermometer until the flash went off.

And a last minute reminder. If you’re giving or getting a Kindle for Christmas, load it up. Horse Power (rural science fiction with good reviews) will be free Dec 20 through 25, and Homecoming is priced under $5.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

Sunday’s the day for snippets from all kinds of authors. To find those posting on Weekend Writing Warriors, click the logo above; for snippet Sunday click the logo below.

I’ve picked 8 sentences from my second published book, Tourist Trap. The group is hang gliding off a major escarpment to the plains below. Roi is the last of the group to take off, because of his telekinetic ability to help the others if needed, and has been admiring the jewel-colored gliders as they turn north along the mountain front to take advantage of the updraft it is producing. Incidentally, Roi’s perception allows him to “feel” the thermals.

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The cliff was beautifully streamlined, and the air beneath Roi flowed as smoothly as honey.  The cliff rim was dropping behind him, and the plains spread to the end of the world ahead, dotted with the warm columns of rising thermals.  He could fly beyond the horizon on a day like this, he thought exultantly, fly to the lake that lay somewhere at the end of the lazy curves traced by the Surprise far below.  He pulled in slightly on the control bar, accelerating to turn northward after the others.

The wing nosed over, diving so abruptly toward the toe of the slope that Roi was caught by surprise.  Startled, he pushed out hard, using his whole body to throw his weight as far back as he could.  Slowly, reluctantly, the wing leveled out into steady flight.  Then, as swiftly as it had dived, it tried to leap upward into a stall.

What’s happening? He just test-flew the glider yesterday, with no hint of a problem!

Tourist Trap is available from Barnes and Noble or Amazon. The blurb:

A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.

They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.

How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?

Jarn’s Journal Year 9, First Day

Start of Year 9

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It’s the beginning of spring, here in these northern mountains, but you’d never know it by the temperature of the air. Oh, the sun is riding higher in the sky and the days are now as long as the nights, but the snow is still dry beneath my skis, at least on the higher terrain.

I was right about the animals growing coats to fit the climate. Those that live here in the snow, like the foxes, grow coats so thick and warm they can lie on the snow and sun themselves. In fact all of the small to medium predators have wonderfully thick coats. Even those herbivores that the local hunters kill for food have far denser and warmer coats than those I am familiar with.

I am not going to let the northern hunters know of my existence if I can help it. I have, however, set up a peculiar form of trade for tanned furs. I have observed that they use salt as a preservative, and that it seems to be the thing in shortest supply when they are preserving hides. I realized this when I saw them saving and reusing the salt with which they treated skins, even at times evaporating salt solution in hides staked over a fire. So one day when a group ran off to help bring a butchered animal back to camp, leaving a tanned fur in plain sight, I stole it. Well, not quite stole it – in its place I left a pile of salt sufficient to preserve a number of much larger pelts.

They obviously observed the substitution, and I watched carefully for any sign that they considered themselves threatened. I think the men were somewhat upset. The women, however, seemed delighted with the salt. From that time on, whenever they have had to leave a campsite for a day or two (usually to haul in meat) tanned furs were left out in plain sight.

Rainbow is trying, but so far her efforts are not creating anything like what these northern hunters produce. But the rest of the People will be back soon, and some of them may have some suggestions for copying the furs I can show them. And Rainbow can surely construct me some warm clothes for next season.

Jarn’s Journal is the journal of a human-like alien stranded in Africa some 125,000 years ago. He has made friends with a group of early Homo Sapiens there, but he is determined not to repeat the mistake with the Neanderthals he has found in Europe. At the moment he is in the Alps, needing warmer clothes and finding that the Neanderthals are far better at preparing hides with the fur on than the People who have taken him in. The whole Journal (find it here) is part of the back story of the universe in which my science fiction is set.

Quotes from Jane Austen and her Hero

These are the contexts of the quotes tweeted from @sueannbowling between December 5 and December 11, 2013. Those from Mr. Darcy’s Guide to Courtship were tweeted as if Mr. Darcy were the author.

“In such cases as these, a good memory is unpardonable.” Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Elizabeth is speaking to Jane for the first time about her change of feelings and engagement to Darcy.

“Do anything rather than marry without affection.” Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Part of the same conversation of Jane with Elizabeth, Jane speaking.

“These violent young lovers carry everything their own way.” Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Mr. Bennett, after he realizes what Darcy has done for Lydia.

“I have no inclination to expend effort on those who have not taken the trouble to learn to read.” Mr. Darcy’s Guide to Courtship, by Emily Brand. As a writer, I have to agree with Mr. Darcy here, though of course he did not have access to audiobooks.

“In plain words, there should be no ‘falling in love,’ except with suitable persons.” Mr. Darcy’s Guide to Courtship, by Emily Brand. Clearly Darcy wrote this before he met Elizabeth!

“No matter how extensive your income, they will always exceed it.” Mr. Darcy’s Guide to Courtship, by Emily Brand. Part of Darcy’s description of the “artful female” who marries for money. (Of course he has no such strictures on the man who marries for money.)

“No sense staying in bed.” Tourist Trap, by Sue Ann Bowling. Penny’s thought when she wakes while Roi and Flame are still asleep.

Pride and Pyramids, by Amanda Grange and Jacqueline Webb (Review)

Pride and Pyramids, by Amanda Grange and Jacqueline Webb, is a sequel to Austen’s masterpiece, set some fifteen years after the wedding. It’s been a pleasant fifteen years, and fruitful – there are now six little Darcys. But with peace in Europe and the youngest children old enough to read and benefit from travel, they are tempted into a family trip to Egypt by Col Fitzwilliam’s younger brother, Edward. Elizabeth asks Charlotte’s younger sister, Sophie, along as a companion, as well as an artist, Paul Inkworthy, to record the trip. Mrs. Bennett invites herself, as fond as ever of her wayward daughter Lydia and Lydia’s even more wayward husband, Wickham. Those two aren’t included in the party, but they sneak after the Darcys and Wickham is as always the villain of the piece.

As a general rule I like my Austen sequels without paranormal trappings, but the fantasy elements in this one, based on ancient Egyptian curses, work as a part of the storyline. You can treat them as superstition (as the characters generally do) or as the real results of an ancient magician’s curse, and the story works either way. It’s not Jane Austen, but it is true to the characters she wrote while being an enjoyable read.

I read Mr. Darcy’s Diary near the beginning of this challenge, and frankly I much prefer Pride and Pyramids. The Diary was pretty much a rehashing of the original book; this one has a life of its own and some enjoyable new characters.

Might add I’m about halfway through Linda Berdoll’s Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and while I enjoy some of the humor, I tend to side with those who prefer to keep the bedroom door shut.

North Pole Weather 12/9/13

The sun will “rise” this morning at 10:39, and set barely 4 hours later at 2:45 this afternoon. The short days of winter are definitely here, with the sun getting only 5 times its own diameter above the southern horizon at noon.

We’re still getting winter storms. Not cold and snow, we’ve had a huge slug of warm, wet air aloft that has given us a few more sprinkles of freezing rain! But the air near the ground is still below freezing, so the result is mostly slippery roads. The depth of the snow pack has actually decreased over the last couple of days though the water content has increased, and we’re now below a foot of snow on the ground.

I’m very glad I was able to trade tickets for The Nutcracker Ballet and the Christmas symphony concert for transportation to both. I have a medical appointment (cancer doctor) near noon later this week, but aside from that and can’t-put-it-off shopping (which I try to get done on the same trips as medical appointments) I’m staying home and writing or watching Christmas DVD’s while riding the stationary bike. I watched 3 versions of The Nutcracker last week in preparation for the live ballet, and have to say that the live performance held up well. I hope to finish The Hogfather today. I’m happy to say I’m back to 2 hours or more of exercise a day, even if my balance is still shaky.

The upper left photo, by the way, was taken out of my south window with maximum optical zoom shortly after sunrise Sunday.The one on the lower right was taken by the University photographer, Todd Paris, at the Christmas concert. What did I ask for? Hair and a clear health check on the pesky cancer!

P.S. We had another 3″ of wet snow after dark Sunday night, so when it got light enough to see the snow stake, it was back at 14″ again, with the temperature up to 30° F which is ridiculously warm for this time of year. Far too slippery to drive unnecessarily.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Homecoming

It’s Sunday again, and time for Weekend Writing Warriors (click on the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click on the logo below.) Today I’m posting 8 sentences from my first published book, Homecoming, available in all formats from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

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This follows on from last week, when Derik explained to Roi what a poltergeist reaction was and why he was vulnerable to them. Most R’il’noids are blocked as babies; Roi was missed because no one realized he was part R’il’nian.

Roi perked up a little. “Does that mean you can stop me from doing it again?”

“Yes. My guess is you’ve done a pretty good job of blocking yourself, as a result of that earlier episode you mentioned. You just didn’t get the keying quite right. I’m going to have to go into that original block and help you change the keying, and for that I need to know exactly what happened – which means you’ll have to share what’s evidently a very unpleasant memory with me. And you’re strong enough I’d better do it with you under hiControl, which will temporarily knock out all of your esper abilities. If Nik’s right about how you’re moving, that’s unfortunately going to bring back the paralysis, at least temporarily.”

Poor Roi. And poor Derik, whose head still feels like it’s about to explode.

Jarn’s Journal Year 8 Day 285

Year 8 Day 285

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I suspect I am going to need warmer clothes in this area even in summer, no matter what Rainbow says.

The mountains here are not merely snow covered, they are glaciated – there are small amounts of rock peeking through deep rivers of ice. The hunters are not here, which is hardly surprising as there is little or nothing for them to hunt. But I’d still like to map the area.

I don’t have any forcewebs, of course, but I wonder if I could not make some kind of physical support for my feet, and try skiing? This area seems far more suitable than the one mountain I have discovered with snow on the continent where I landed.

At least Rainbow is no longer insisting that supple furs are impossible. Her method involves chewing the hides to soften them, which I can see would be difficult with furry skins. I’ve been spying on the camps of the northern hunters, and come to the conclusion that they scrape the skin side of the fur and then make it into a bag which they fill with the mashed brains of the animal. Then after a through soaking they keep working the fur until the skin is elastic, and finally smoke it.

Rainbow is experimenting with the hide of a jackal. I suspect that animals that live in the snow would have warmer fur, but I hate killing a healthy animal. I will, however, keep my eyes open for winter carcasses or fur-bearers that threaten me.

Jarn is a fictional alien who was stranded in Africa roughly 125,000 years ago. He has met and been accepted as a god (much to his annoyance) by a group of our ancestors, and is currently exploring the Alps in midwinter

Quotes from Andre Norton and A. C. Crispin

These are the contexts of the quotes tweeted from @sueannbowling between November 28 and December 4, 2013. All but the last are from Songsmith, by Andre Norton and A. C. Crispin.

“You will need all the belief you can summon.” Alon is suggesting that his magic – which he understands – and Eydryth’s songsmithing – which she does not – may be able to let them build a bridge over the final illusion.

“Her power is stolen. Mayhap her knowledge is lacking.”  Eydryth to Alon, speaking of Yachne.

“Fair can be foul.”  What Eydryth remembers Sylva telling her: not to trust outward appearance.

“You must. There is naught else to be done.”  Alon, arguing to Eydryth that she must take Monso and ride to find her kin, while he goes after Yachne.

“A promise, once having been spoken, must be kept, regardless of cost.”  Part of the song Eydryth sings her father while waiting to see if Dahaun’s mud will cure him

“Hope is something we will need sorely in the coming years.”  Eydryth’s reflection on the meaning of the name, Trevon, just given her youngest brother.

“I’m glad the lesson sank in.” Tourist Trap, by Sue Ann Bowling. Penny’s response to Roi’s insistence that he is wearing his warnoff after a previous problem.