Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress – Chapter 4 Excerpt

“This is most odd,” said the sorceress. “They have their drinks. What else do they want?”
“Entertainment,” said I.
“We are not going to have to sit through another play, are we?” She rolled her eyes.
As if in answer, directly above our heads and directly above each of the tables in The Fairy Font, which is to say all over the taproom, small doors opened in the ceiling and little platforms were lowered on chains. When the platforms had reached the tabletops, knocking over quite a few tankards of ale is they did, we could see that upon each was a small basin filled with dark, rich, mud. Sitting on either side of the basin of mud was the tiny form of a fairy, wearing a teeny little robe cut open in the back to allow her wings to stick out.
The round basin of mud reminded me of the mud pies that we used to make as children. My sister Celia and my cousins Gervil, Tuki, and Geneva used to play on the front step of our house, which is to say Cor Cottage just outside Dewberry Hills. Celia was a master piesmith, at least of the mud variety. Interestingly enough, when she grew up, her pies at best could be considered mediocre. Tuki could make quite a fine pie as an adult—all the more strange as her childhood mud pies were the antithesis of Celias, which is to say that they were no good at all. Geneva’s mud pies were better than Tuki’s but not as good as Celia’s, and since she died as a child, no one can tell if she would have grown to be a decent piesmith or not. Gervil didn’t make pies, though he did force me to eat more than a few.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Myolaena Maetar.
“Pies.”
“Well stop it. We’re here to find Buxton.”
“And now the moment you’ve been awaitin’” said an unseen announcer. “Fairy mud-wrestling!”
A great cheer filled the room, but then all grew quiet as the audience watched the pair of fairies on each table disrobe.
“I’m Taffy,” said the six inch tall red-head, as she carefully pulled the robe over her gossamer wings.
“I’m Mustard Seed,” said the other fairy.
“I’m enchanted,” said I.
“I’m going to vomit,” said Myolaena.

History Card: Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel
(1833-1896)
Alfred Nobel, chiefly known today for establishing the prize which bears his name is also the inventor of dynamite. He had hoped that his invention was so terrible that it would make war obsolete, but like many who came after him, he underestimated mankind’s taste for destruction.

The Honor of the Queen – Mini Review

The second book I read on my Sony Reader was the second Honor Harrington book by David Weber, The Honor of the Queen. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Honor Harrington series retells the stories of Horatio Hornblower by setting them in the far future in space. In addition, Honor Harrington is a great military sci-fi series and well worth a read by science fiction fans.
This book takes our intrepid heroine into a solar system that is misogynistic and patriarchal, so in addition to the classic military plot, we also have a feminist perspective to the story.
I enjoyed this book, and I think it is my favorite of the HH series, and since there are more than a dozen, that’s saying something.

Featured Ebook

Two great things about ebooks are: 1, that you can get thousands of out of print books for free, and 2, that books that otherwise would be completely unavailable are easy to find.
Here you have a piece of history. The story of the Red Cross penned by none other than Clara Barton herself. Download if from Manybooks here.

Senta and the Steel Dragon – Illustration

“Pish posh,” said Zurfina. “Wine is good for the soul.”
Images Copyright 2009 by Clipart.com

Princess of Amathar – 25% Off

To conclude that Amathar details series of posts, here is a discout coupon for all you ebook readers out there. Get 25% off by entering the coupon code when you purchase Princess of Amathar in ebook form. Here is the code: HK94L. Good until November 11, 2009.

Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress – Chapter 1 Excerpt

Suddenly the door burst open and a woman strode into the tavern. She was striking. Tall. Blonde. Flashing blue eyes. They were flashing– literally flashing, which is really not normal at all. Of course if her eyes hadn’t been flashing, I wouldn’t have noticed them. There was all that bare skin to distract me. She wore a leather outfit that was more of a harness that an article of clothing. The lower portion was a sort of loose leather skirt made of strips of material which, though hanging down almost to her ankles, exposed most of her legs when she moved. The upper portion was little more than pair of suspenders and two small leather cups.
“Which of you low-lives is Eaglethorpe Buxton?” she snarled.
I stood up and stepped toward her, at this point still more aware of all the bare skin than either the flashing eyes or the glowing wand in her hand.
“What would you have with him, my lovely lady?” I asked.
“I am Myolaena Maetar, and I’m going to skin him alive!” she hissed through clenched teeth.“I, um, oh. Well, he was here a minute ago,” said I. “You just missed him.”

Senta and the Steel Dragon – Illustration

It certainly didn’t feel like his house. Technically it was, even though it didn’t feel like it. Under Brech law, all of a woman’s possessions belonged to her husband. And Egeria had a great many possessions. The table that Zeah was sitting at, made of sturdy cherry wood brought all the way from Mirsanna and inlayed with jade and mother of pearl probably cost more than he earned in a year—than he had ever earned, in his best year. The teacup in his hand probably cost more than the table—at least the set that the teacup had come from. Another man might have been bothered by this feeling that he was living in someone else’s house, or felt a certain unease at owning so many things that didn’t feel like his own. Not Zeah. He had spent his entire life living in a home that didn’t belong to him, and even when he eventually had his own home, he had only lived there a week or two before he moved back out and began living out of a small room behind his office.
Images Copyright 2009 by Clipart.com

Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress – Now Available as an ebook

Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress is now available as an ebook at Smashwords.com for $1.59. Follow the link on the right, or click here. Hopefully the paperback will be available in a few weeks.

Senta and the Steel Dragon – Illustration

Senta suddenly realized that the doll looked like her; or rather she now looked like the doll.
Images Copyright 2009 by Clipart.com