Air today ...

... gone tomorrow. Sorry, just couldn't resist. Due to feeling much better today (hurrah!), I have been editing for Britain and have actually finished the Air Kingdom section in The Gifting. Well, huzzahs all round and somebody crack open the caviare. As it were. Now all I have to do is think about what the bloody hell Annyeke does next. I think she may nearly have cracked the mystery, by George. She'd better have as she only really has two sections of her story left before the finale.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more this fantasy is becoming like a rather bizarre crime cosy. After all, think of the similarities: they're all searching for something; the people they think are on their side might actually not be; the solution is standing right in front of them but nobody can see what it is; and, if I have my way, Annyeke will get the whole ruddy lot of them in the library at the end (or she would if the Gathandrian library hadn't been dispersed for safety's sake) and tell them who the criminals really are. Aha!

In the midst of all this excitement, it's been a lovely, crisp day, and I have been out in it - briefly. I've checked the car oil and water and cleaned the lights. Well, I don't want to overdo it, you know. Too much excitement is bad for me.

Tonight, I'm going to watch "Larkrise to Candleford" and Monty's Gardens - during which I shall also cut out headlines from the paper to use as writing homework for next week's University Writers' Group. Well, we have new people - they won't realise I did that last year with them and anyway the phrases will be different. I swear I am only one half-step ahead of my class and the gap is rapidly closing ...

On the reading front, I've just finished R N Morris' A Vengeful Longing - which is yet another dark masterpiece from the great R N, featuring the sharp-eyed investigator Porfiry, and a host of steamy, seamy 19th century St Petersburg scenes. The descriptions of the city and its people are first-class, as one would expect, and I particularly loved the interplay between Porfiry and his new sidekick, Virginsky. Long may that partnership continue! - it's an excellent way of bringing out Porfiry's humour and humanity far more deeply. Mind you, I really won't look at flies in quite the same way again. And I can't stand insects to start with ... The plot is also exciting and keeps you on the edge of your chair - full of clever red herrings and the tension notches up to a serious level towards the very dramatic end. I'm certainly looking forward to more Porfiry & Virginsky outings. Great stuff indeed. Go buy it. Now!

And as a special treat, this week you have two haikus (my, how generous I am!):

As the sea rolls in,
the cliff beckons me onwards.
Mystery and steep light.


Evening by the sea.
Wait for the starlings to roost;
wing clouds darken night.


Today's nice things:

1. Editing The Gifting
2. Reading
3. TV.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers