Jane Lindskold's Blog

This week, I’m a bit distracted, so I am going to keep the Wanderings short and offer you cute.

Featured is Cascabel, our now eight-month-old kitten.  We took her in as a foster (along with her brother, Cayenne) earlier this year when they were very tiny five-month-old scraps of fluff and vinegar.  They won over not just us—which would have been pretty easy—but our three other cats, and so we adopted them when they were about two months old.

They’re nearly full-grown now and very, very sweet in different ways.  Cascabel is turning in to quite the cuddler, and if humans aren’t available stuffy toys will definitely do!

Cayenne actually thinks catnip (which is what is in the sock he’s playing with) is magic, but that is the exception that proves how important perspective is to continuing pleasure.

My reading is happily chaotic.  Many re-reads, but with a different perspective, because even if the book hasn’t changed, the reader has.  Before bed, I’ve been re-reading some old favorites by Elizabeth Enright.  I’m certainly not eight or ten as when I first read them, but I still enjoy.

Now for the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  One of my favorites of this series.

Penric’s Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  Follows some months after the prior.  Features some of the same characters.  Together, these two novellas would make one largish novel.

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright.  When written in the early 1940’s this was a contemporary novel.  Today, it would be classified as “middle grade,” but the prose is good enough for adults to enjoy.

In Progress:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirig.  Re-read, but it’s been decades.  I’m astonished how much of my undergraduate philosophy courses I remember. On final section.

The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright.  Set the autumn after The Saturdays.  The Melendys move from NYC to the country.  This was actually the first of her books I read, so I have a very soft spot for it.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Sviefvater.  Audiobook.  The best kelpie tale I’ve ever read.  This book has two readers, one for Sean, one for Puck.  Works well.

Also:

Candy is Magic by Jami Curl.  Cookbook not cozy mystery or fantasy.

Archeology magazine. Finished.  Good issue.

Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons: A Game Master’s Book of by Jeff Ashworth.  Not reading all of this, but as a long-time game master (my current group has been meeting for over thirteen years—although I’m not always the GM), I find it good to get someone else’s POV and approach.  Even if I disagree, it’s useful.  And this has maps.  I’m terrible at making maps.

We finally had a killing frost Sunday night when temperatures dropped to 29 F and took out our garden.

Except where it didn’t.  Plants in sheltered areas near walls or items that held heat (paving stones, sidewalks) are doing fine.  So, although most of our yard has shifted to the autumn/winter default of brown and grey, we have some brilliant flowers bravely carrying on.

Among these are the mixed zinnias featured in the photo above.  I cut these a couple of days before the frost, and they’ll hold up inside for the next several days.  We also have lovely flowers on our mini “rescue roses.”  These are roses of uncertain lineage, rescued from the grocery store discount bins after holidays like Mother’s Day.

I really enjoy microclimates.  Since I’ve been in this location since December of 1995, I’ve learned how to take advantage of them.  Of course, every year something changes.  A limb coming off a tree in a neighbor’s yard can change a formerly friendly area into a scorching full sun.  Or a shrub growing full enough to provide shade can create a haven where none had been before.  Or our success at convincing Virginia creeper to grow over where our neighbors put in a cinderblock wall has moderated the heat it holds so everything doesn’t bake there in the summer but, when the leaves fall off in the winter, there is climate moderating warmth.

Next up on my gardening list will be writing up a recommended planting guide for next year.  We’ll do some yard clean up, but we’ll be leaving a lot of the native plants in place to provide wintering over shelter for the toads and bees and other creatures that share our little bit of urban wilderness with us.

Writing, for me, is also a microclimate sort of thing.  Some ideas belong in the short story zone; others in the standalone novel zone; others grow in areas where—like my zinnias—they scatter seeds and spread into the next year’s crop.  Off to turn over my creative soil and see what wants to grow where!

While looking for another book, I came across Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and decided to re-read.  A bestseller in its day, which astonishes me on some level. 

Now for the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire.  Audiobook.  The rule against quests gets bent again.

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher.  The second Sworn Soldier novella.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire.  Audiobook.  Backstory of Nadia.

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie.  Audiobook.  Short stories.  Yes.  I’ve read it before.

In Progress:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirig.  Re-read, but it’s been decades.  I’m astonished how much of my undergraduate philosophy courses I remember.

Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold.  Audiobook.  One of my favorites of this series.

Also:

Archeology magazine.  Almost finished.

Uncanny Magazine.  Finished.

Also, several books related to crafts I want to look into, although not necessarily take up, like making soap and hard candy.  I’ll never underrate a bar of soap or a lollipop again.

To my great delight, Monday’s e-mail brought the page proofs of my short story “Dog Helps Those,” which will be in the next issue of DreamForge magazine.  It’s lavishly illustrated in color by art director, Jane Noel.

Because I was so pleased, I decided to sit down and start reading the proofs that afternoon.  When I opened the document, Adobe Reader decided to offer me an AI summary.  As I was about to remove it, I found myself reading instead, and was astonished at how utterly incorrect it was.

For your delectation, here it is:

Overview:  This document describes a dog’s encounter with a mysterious elderly woman named Sylvia. Sylvia’s encounter with the dog is described as a tense and mysterious situation involving a dog and a manfriend.

I don’t want to offer spoilers for those of you who weren’t at Bubonicon when I read the story, so I’ll just say that the only thing that is correct is that there is a character named Sylvia (but she is neither mysterious nor elderly), and she does meet a dog.

This is the first time that Adobe Reader supplied a summary without request.  I’ve turned down numerous offers to give me one, but as I mostly use Reader for contracts, I really prefer to read them myself.  (Yes.  I do know I can alter the settings so I don’t get these Overviews.)

I was amused that this short “overview” used the word “mysterious” twice.  I did a document search, and the word is never used in the story, nor is the word “mystery.”  I was also interested that the word “dog” was used three times.  Where “manfriend” came from, I have no idea!

I found myself hoping that magazine editors are not using these programs as first readers.  And I also hope that people who are sent important documents to read and sign don’t trust their fates to such summaries.

To do so would definitely be a tense and mysterious choice!

Lately, novellas are being packaged as novels as is the case with several of the works on this week’s FF list.

Now for the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

In the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire.  Audiobook.  Wayward Children.  Interesting in that unlike others in the series, this one concentrates on the adventure, rather than the aftermath.

Navaho Neighbors by Franc Johnson Newcomb.  Non-fiction.  Memoir of events from 1913 forward at a trading post on the Navajo reservation.  Very well written and a glimpse into days now gone. 

In Progress:

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire.  Audiobook.  The rule against quests gets bent again.

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher.  The second Sworn Soldier novella.

Also:

Archeology magazine.  This one seems to have “attire” as a theme.  Quite interesting, especially as I contemplate Halloween costumes.  Over halfway through.

Uncanny Magazine.  Read the stories.  Now am reading the non-fiction material.

I’m not a squirrel, although this time of year I feel distinct sympathy for those hard-working little rodents.  The cactus pears are harvested and processed.  The basil is picked, frozen, and ready to become pesto.  Next up is thinning some bulbs and moving a few plants to containers to see if I can winter them over.

And, in between, I’m working through several potential story ideas.  I’m not actually writing any of them yet, but researching and experimenting is part of writing.

This raises the question of when one should stop thinking and start writing.  To this I’ll add, “When should one stop writing and adding on, and just write a conclusion?”

Good questions, and I’m not sure I know the answers.  I had two good friends who left unfinished books when they died.  In both cases, these were not works under contract or anything like that.  They were “heart” works that the authors loved and loved working on.

These books were never finished.  That makes me sad, because I’ll never get to read them.  On the other hand, the writers received continued stimulation and pleasure from what writing and revising and re-revising they did.

With this in mind, I’ll hazard a couple of answers.  Researching and thinking should stop when they become counterproductive to the potential story.  When these become diving down the research rabbit hole only because it’s fun and cool, and the reason has been lost, then start writing.  You’ll find out quickly enough if the precise model of hat worn by a character is important or not.  Remember, you can go back later and research the most popular style of men’s hats in 1922 Boston when you’re in the revising and polishing mode. 

As for when to stop…  Stop when the story arc you started with is done.  If this story arc raised new questions, that’s fine.  That’s another story.

My Through Wolf’s Eyes began with the question “How would a young woman raised by wolves handle encountering humans and being tossed into the middle of competition to be named heir to a kingdom?”  This raised a lot more questions, but when that question and the consequences immediately related to it were resolved then the book was complete.

Obviously, Firekeeper and I had a lot more trails we could run, but that was the end of that particular story.

Is it wrong to not finish a story?  Well, Leonardo da Vinci rarely finished anything and is still regarded as a genius.  I think there’s a value in taking pleasure in the creative process.  That’s what I’m doing now, with plants and with beads and with the game I run and, yes, with the stories that I tell.

I often make a note of interesting books mentioned in the FF comments.  Sometimes, even if the book is on my shelf, as in Navajo Neighbors which is mentioned below, it takes me a while to get around to it.  Other times, I can’t locate a loaner copy, which is my usual way of trying new to me authors and series.  But I do notice!

Now for the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

The Dabare Snake Launcher by Joelle Presby.  Almost done.  I still like this book a lot!

The Potter’s Field by Ellis Peters.  Audiobook.

Brother Cadfael’s Penance by Ellis Peters. Audiobook.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher.  Novella.  First in her Sworn Soldier series.  Retelling of Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher.”  Very different emphasis.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire.  Audiobook.  First of her “Wayward Children” books.  Reader starts out too “once upon a time” in voice, but warms very nicely into characters.  Read before, but before I started some of the newer books, decided I wanted a re-read.

In Progress:

In the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire.  Audiobook.  Wayward Children.  Couldn’t remember if I’d listened to this one.  I had, but I remember very little, so am going on.

Navaho Neighbors by Franc Johnson Newcomb.  Non-fiction.  Memoir of events from 1913 forward at a trading post on the Navajo reservation.  Very well written and a glimpse into days now gone. 

Also:

Re-read Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” for obvious reasons.

Archeology magazine.  This one seems to have “attire” as a theme.  Quite interesting, especially as I contemplate Halloween costumes.

Last week, when I wandered on about harvesting cactus pears (also called “tunas” or “prickly pears”), I invited readers to offer ideas that would help Jim and me find uses for our cactus pear puree—especially ones that did not involve adding a lot of additional sugar.

Dame Trouble offered the following:

“Have you tried making your own “nice cream”? Take two ripe bananas and slice them into pennies and freeze. Put the frozen banana slices into a food processor with 1/2 to one cup of your frozen cubes (to taste) and process until smooth. It will be soft, but not completely unfrozen, so you can then portion it into servings and re-freeze.  Not having cactus pears, I use a cup of frozen mixed berries when I make nice cream.”

Jim and I made a batch with two large bananas and roughly a half cup of cactus pear puree.  It was fantastic!  The texture was about the same as soft serve ice cream or custard.  I plan to freeze some puree into smaller cubes next time, as our one difficulty was that the cubes we had were slower to break up than the frozen bananas.  I might try adding more cactus pear, but I’d hate to sacrifice the excellent texture of our first trial.  Cactus pear, unlike most fruits, has a slightly viscous texture, even after being frozen

Any other suggestions?  Low added sugar is a bonus.

We already make jelly, Italian ice, iced tea, lemonade, vinegar, and a few other things.  We’ve tried candy, but can’t get it to “set” at our altitude.  (We live at a mile high. The boiling point of liquids is lower.)  I have mixed some puree into homemade barbecue sauce to good effect.

Harvesting continues.  I now have two very overstuffed bags of mixed Italian and Thai basil ready to become pesto.  I’ve also dried some of each, and frozen a few of the larger basil leaves for a quick addition to sauces.

After the frost, we’ll dig Jerusalem artichokes (sometimes marketed as “sunchokes”).  These are the tubers of a plant in the sunflower family.  Raw they make a tasty addition to salads, but they also grill or roast well.

Now to go cut up late season veggies for dinner!  Later!!

As harvest season kicks in, I have been going through audiobooks rather fast.  Jim found us a collection of Brother Cadfael novels read by Derek Jacobi, who played Cadfael on television. Many of the novels are quite short.  The collection is not chronological but, since I’ve already read the entire series, that doesn’t matter as much.  Books I’m familiar with are particularly useful when part of my attention needs to be elsewhere.

Now for the usual reminder…  The Friday Fragments is not a book review column; it’s a list of what I’m reading and maybe a bit about my opinions.  I always read the Comments section, because I enjoy learning what other people are reading.  Oh, and I don’t usually list shorter works unless in a collection or articles.  I also don’t usually list my scattered research reading.

Completed:

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles by Clamp.  Finished, with issue 28.

Heroes of History by Will Durant.  Audiobook.  A short survey of history through the Reformation.

Monk’s Hood by Ellis Peters.  Audiobook.  As noted above, read by Derek Jacobi.  His choice of accent for Cadfael is interesting, as other readers usually give Cadfael a strong Welsh accent.  However, I can see the value of this choice, since Cadfael has done a lot of travelling which would soften his accent. 

St. Peter’s Fair by Ellis Peters.  Audiobook.

The Heretic’s Apprentice by Ellis Peters.  Audiobook.

In Progress:

The Dabare Snake Launcher by Joelle Presby.  Almost done.  I still like this book a lot!

The Potter’s Field by Ellis Peters.  Audiobook.

Also:

Finished American Archeology.  Reading cookbooks for ideas to deal with cactus pear puree, and also bead books for ideas for holiday gifts.