Update on Anglo-Saxon novel

Almost exactly two years from the day I first began researching Anglo-Saxon history with an eye towards writing a historical novel, I have finally written the last scene in the novel. The book clocks in at about 88,000 words so far, but it is definitely not finished yet. I skipped over some scenes, mainly ones that required additional research before writing them. The missing scenes (about 10,000 to 15,000 words total) need to be written, and then I must work on revisions. There are some scenes in which it seems more like the characters are giving a lecture on herbs rather than having a conversation, and it will take time to finish the editing. But it still feels good to have reached this point! Thank you to Camp Nanowrimo for for providing some extra motivation to keep on writing.

My main character has a horse that resembles this Icelandic mare. Picture from the Wikimedia Commons. Photograph by Audrey, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Book review: Miranda Warning by Heather Day Gilbert

I've always enjoyed mystery stories about detectives who garden or gardeners who do some sleuthing. Brother Cadfael from the Ellis Peters novels is a great example, as are Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme from the British television series Rosemary and Thyme. Every year around this time I get my name on the hold list at the library for the latest China Bayles book by Susan Wittig Albert. This year I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy of the first book in a new mystery series while waiting for Albert’s latest book, and it looks like I will now be adding Tess Spencer to my list of fictional detectives to follow.

As presented in the series debut Miranda Warning by Heather Day Gilbert, the main character Tess Spencer is not a gardener or herbalist like the other detectives I have mentioned, but plants nonetheless play an important role in the story. Another character in Miranda Warning compares Tess to Nancy Drew, and a resemblance can indeed be found in the uncanny knack that Tess and Nancy both have for untangling the confusing web surrounding mysteries. Like China Bayles, Tess solves her mysteries in a small town setting with the support and help of her husband, other family members, and a cast of endearing friends. 

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) photographed by Philip Jägenstedt in Stora Hultrum, Sweden. File from the Wikimedia Commons, released by the photographer into the public domain.

 When I was about a fifth of my way through the book, I thought I had everything all figured out, but instead I found plenty of twists and surprises to last through to the end. Miranda Warning was an enjoyable book and I will look forward to the next installment. Hopefully plants will continue to be featured prominently in the series, but even if this doesn’t happen, it will be fun to see what Tess Spencer confronts when we meet her again. I hope that next time Tess will even share some of her favorite recipes, like Nikki Jo’s eggnog pumpkin bread!

The book will be released on West Virginia Day, June 20, 2014. It is available in Kindle format and paperback from Amazon.

Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) photographed by Kurt Stüber. File from the Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.