Since it’s Mother’s Day here in Canada, I’d like to celebrate a daring Adventure Mom. I first discovered Capi Blanchet’s British Columbia adventure classic in a thrift store way back in 2002. Her literary tales captured me then, just as they do today.
The title derives from Maeterlinck’s theory that Time is a fourth dimension, relative to each of us, and can be plotted on a curve. This speaks to me. Time is anything but linear. It travels in circles and spirals weaving in and out of other dimensions. Capi says:
“Standing in the Present, on the highest point of the curve, you can look back and see the Past, or forward and see the Future, all in the same instant” (1).
The Curve of Time
This small, yet significant, book is a compilation of stories remembered by Capi—a nickname she took from her boat, Caprice—that chronicle her adventures exploring the British Columbia coast in the 1920s-1930s with her five children. I say loosely because I just read that her stories were highly fictionalized. Still, what she wrote is travel memoir and something now lauded as Creative Nonfiction.
According to Cathy Converse, author of Following the Curve of time: the Untold Story of Capi Blanchet, Capi’s depressed husband sailed off alone to Saltspring Island in September 1926 and never returned. The empty Caprice was discovered with his clothing onboard, but his body was never recovered. Blanchet was in her mid-thirties. To earn money to support her five children, Capi rented their seaside Little House near Sydney for four months each summer and took them boating. The 25′ Caprice was so small, they were only allowed to bring one bathing suit, one change of clothing, and one set of pajamas each. For the most part, they lived off land and sea, fishing and gathering, and were fortunate to meet generous homesteaders who sometimes offered them all the fruit they could pick and carry.
Capi was not only a risk-taker and independent woman, her prose is beautiful crafted and interwoven with natural history, archaeology, and dialogue AND she can fix a boat engine—something I’m most impressed with. Honestly, I’d love to pilot a boat but the thought of a breakdown out around the islands terrifies me. There were times too, that Blanchet was forced to row the dinghy for hours with Caprice in tow. She writes of lighthouses (most were built then), adverse weather and seas, and navigating tide rips like Skookumchuk and Seymour Narrows. They traversed rugged inlets with steep mountain walls and channels too deep to set an anchor, sighted bear and cougar, and survived all the strait threw at them.
Like her contemporary, Emily Carr, Blanchet discovered abandoned Kwakwaka’wak and Coast Salish villages, big houses, white shell middens, post carvings, hanging tree graves, artifacts, even bones. Out of respect, she doesn’t reveal the locations of these places.
The book began as a series of articles Blanchet sold to yachting magazines, Blackwood’s Magazine in Edinburgh, and the Atlantic Monthly. Perhaps that’s how they became fictionalized. In the 1950s, she compiled The Curve of Time which was published by Blackwood & Sons in 1961. It’s sad that only six months later, Capi died at her typewriter while working on a second memoir of their adventures at the Little House. She was just seventy years old, but it seems to me, most of those seventy years were packed with adventure and daring.
My 30th Anniversary Special Edition was published and introduced by Gray Campbell in 1968: White Cap Books, North Vancouver, B.C.
For more information, here’s a Tyee Review of Converse’s book, Following the Curve of time: the Untold Story of Capi Blanchet.
If you’ve read or watched The Girl on the Train, you’ll know how Paula Hawkins likes to mess with her character’s minds. Published in 2021, the slow fire that’s burning could refer to any of them, as all of these characters carry emotional wounds from past traumas.
There’s “The Girl Who Got Away,” but not unscathed, when she and her friend skipped school one day and accepted a ride with a predator.
The woman who was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run at age ten and bears more than physical scars.
The woman married to the story-stealing writer who lost her little boy and never recovered. And her sister with her own troubled son.
The old woman who no one sees but who sees it all.
Hawkins connects them all and situates them in the same community. She even provides a map. At its core, this is a murder mystery that begins with a vicious killing on a canal boat in London. Intelligently crafted, the author keeps us guessing as she skips between scenes from her characters’ pasts that reveal possible motivation, flaws, and ferocity.
Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before writing fiction. This training is evident in the structuring of her novels; as well as her fascination with people, their humanity, and their personal stories. She grew up in Zimbabwe but has spent the past thirty years in London. A Slow Fire Burning is a quick read, excellent for summer, and likely available at your local library. That’s where I found it … on the “Hawk” fiction shelf.
Kelley Armstrong is a wickedly voracious writer who often pens two series simultaneously, sometimes while writing or editing other projects as well. Still, she manages all with equal enthusiasm, detail, and creativity. I honestly don’t know how she does it. The woman must never sleep.
After Rockton’s demise, she followed the characters to a new, wild Yukon city: Haven’s Rock. Now, she’s flown across the sea and back through time to give us another new series that blends fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction.
A Rip Through Time, the first book in this series, introduces a brand new, eclectic cast of characters. Like Rockton’s Casey Duncan, Mallory Atkinson is a strong, clever thirty-year-old homicide detective. On May 20, 2019, she’s in Edinburgh, Scotland caring for her dying grandmother. When she goes out for coffee, she bumps into a man in the shop, and apologizes—she is, after all, Canadian. On her way back to the hospital, she hears a woman cry out in a shadowy alley and goes to investigate. There, she glimpses the woman and her attacker; then feels a coarse rope around her neck. Mallory passes out and when she awakens, finds herself in the body of the other victim, Catriona Mitchell, a nineteen-year-old maid who lives and works in the home of an undertaker. The date? May 20, 1869.
Timeslip is fascinating to read and write. It takes tremendous research as you’re effectively writing historical fiction mixed with sci-fi/fantasy, and in this case, crime. Armstrong has taken the time to, not only do an enormous amount of research on Victorian Scotland, but provide a “Selected & Complete Research Bibliography” on her website. Armstrong says, “It’s not just knowing whether an item was invented by that time (or out of fashion by that time.) It’s the language, the customs, the concepts, the ideas…”
Mallory Atkinson (wearing Catriona’s body) is as cerebral as Sherlock Holmes, and we process these timeslip issues along with her. She slips in and out of Victorian English and contemporary casual speech as we move from her thoughts to her encounters with the handsome Dr. Duncan Gray and his independent sister, Isla. Catriona’s miraculous personality change gains her a position as, not just Gray’s housemaid, but his forensic assistant. Yes, Gray is a little dense when it comes to women, and accepts that his maid has changed dramatically due to a bump on the head. Then the bodies start to fall, and Mallory realizes she didn’t slip through this time rip alone.
The close first-person point-of-view draws the reader into the mind of the analytical protagonist as she struggles to, not only understand her predicament, but survive and overcome it, then find a way home.
Reminiscent of Outlander, Armstrong’s newest series is Intelligent, detailed, and original; definitely a series to watch. Will Mallory return to her time? Or will she win the heart of Dr. Gray and decide to stay? Will they catch the serial killer who eludes them? Or will other criminals fall through the rip in time as well?
Occasionally, a book can surprise you, and every so often an old book can become new. The girl on the cover, Miss Sarah, with her Children of the Corn stare, makes me decidedly uncomfortable—enough to keep the poor wench face down on my shelf when my nose wasn’t in the book. But as I began to read, the author’s grasp of language, and ability to spin a tale like the story weavers of old, drew me into this page-turner with its delicious descriptions.
The Legend of Sarah is a science fiction novel reminiscent of John Wyndham’s, The Chrysalids. Set in the not-too-distant future following an unexplained apocalypse, we discover divergent societies separated by knowledge and technology. It took me several chapters to understand the reason behind these names: Philes and the Phobes, so I’ll tell you. The Technophiles live in a high-tech enclave somewhere in the American Midwest, but their resources are dwindling. The Technophobes are an old-time agrarian culture living in the City of Monn (Montana? Minnesota?) ruled by a genteel governor and a fire and brimstone preacher.
When the legendary Sarah takes a shine to a handsome Phile archaeologist named Reese, who’s come looking for answers among the Phobes, societal differences magnify into a xenophobic frenzy. Using her ingenuity and what little magic she can muster from an old crone named Cat Anna, Sarah takes it upon herself to free her wounded crush from the Phobe prison.
What intrigues me about this novel is that it’s a reprint. Alberta author, Leslie Gadallah, originally published it with Del Rey in 1988 as The Loremasters (that paperback is still available.) But Shadowpaw Press is republishing it now, thirty-four years later, to the delight of a new generation of Sci-Fi and Fantasy lovers. With its strong, female, teen protagonist—Sarah is competition for Katniss Everdeen—I recommend it to Young Adult plus readers, and also middle and secondary teachers and librarians.
The deep theme is one of Identity and Difference. Current examples run rampant from topics of Truth and Reconciliation to American politics and religion, so there’s plenty of room for discussion.
Gadallah is a chemist by profession and has written popular science for newspapers and radio. In the late 80s, she authored four Sci-Fi novels and several short stories. Gadallah’s grasp of language both captured and comforted me as I sank into this treasure. Descriptive phrases charm and impress: “the whuffling grumble of a horse” or Sarah sitting “on the stone wall like a ragged pixie” evading a redheaded boy and smiling “a crumb-laden smile.” Warning: magical literary language lurks throughout and, like Reese, you too will be captured.
I spent the last two nights reading Sinead O’Connor’s 2021 memoir, Rememberings. I’m not going to write about all the things this amazing woman’s said and done. You can pick up the book and read it yourself. What I will say is that I felt like I was listening to a compassionate soul, a friend, whisper in my ear. Sinead made me think, not just about her life, but about my own.
I still get shivers listening to “Fire on Babylon.” Sinead didn’t need to say she wrote it about the abuse her mother inflicted upon her and her family. That much is clear. But what I love is that Sinead opened her throat and funneled all her hurt and rage out her vocal cords and into the microphone. Her voice is unique, beautiful, like nothing I’ve ever heard, and driven by sheer unabashed power. I wish I could sing like that. At one point, I wanted to be a singer and I still love to sing. But I have a spastic larynx that’s inclined to shut rather than open.
There’s lots of information available now online about laryngospasms but when they started happening to me thirty or forty years ago, I knew nothing. I just thought, I am going to die. When I was really stressed and teaching a decade ago, I remember having one in front of the class at the end of a long first day of talking. In the middle of a sentence, I couldn’t breathe in or out. I simply stopped talking and breathing. I walked out and collapsed on the floor in the women’s bathroom. Fortunately, my kids called for help and the next thing I knew, my friend, Phil Roque, came walking into the bathroom carrying oxygen. He made a couple of jokes and helped me through it. Most of the time it happens at night. A spasm can be triggered by a nightmare, or a day of stress, or hidden butter on a sandwich (which is why I always ask, “Is there butter in it?) Many nights, I remember sitting up alone in my bed thinking, I’m going to die here and now, while my daughter’s sleeping in the next room. I learned to use self-talk to bring me back from the edge.
When I self-diagnosed five years ago, my GP had never heard of such a thing. She said, “Well, it’s in your throat so I’ll send you to an ENT.” He stuck a camera down my nose and said, “Yes, your larynx spasms. You’re right. Look.” My larynx looked like a mouthful of shut teeth. He sent me to a speech-language pathologist who taught me about pursed lip breathing, something I’d been doing myself on shamanic journeys. Now I think what I really need to do is let my anger out by screaming “FIRE!” as loud as I can into a microphone followed by a list of names. Maybe then I could take back my voice.
yahoo
I love Sinead. I love that she shaves her head. I want to do that. It would be so freeing. I love that she’s psychic and has visions. That she’s intensely spiritual and always has been. That she advocates fearlessly against child abuse. I love that she talks honestly about mental illness, post traumatic stress, and agoraphobia. That she cuddles veterans and wants to become a health-care aid. I love that she’s claimed her asexuality. That in discovering The Koran, she put on a hijab, became Shuhuda, and converted to Islam because it felt like coming home. I love that she loves her children with all her heart and canceled her tour to grieve her son Shane’s suicide. I love that she lives alone in a garden cottage in Ireland and has a “crew of girlfriends” so she’s not lonely anymore in her retirement.
My favourite Sinead album is Sean-Nós Nua which she says “contains the very best singing that I ever did in my life” (223). The songs are “like ghosts; you have to inhabit the character of these songs to bring them alive.” It was produced by Shane’s father, the Irish folk musician Donal Lunny, and is as ethereal and Irish an album as ever could be. Nights I party alone with my piano and a glass or two of wine, I sing “The Moorlough Shore” and dream.
Alright. I had to do it, With all the hype about AI, and particularly, this bot, I had to see what it would say about my first novel, To Charm a Killer. As most people know, I’m a book reviewer, and I was curious how this new intelligent writer could help me out. Is it ethical? I don’t know enough to go down that rabbit hole yet, but I will say this. I’m not a paid reviewer, and I actually read books that I review, sometimes twice, but I know many people who are paid reviewers, and I’ve read reviews where I can tell the person did not read the book. There’s a load of hype pulled from the blurb and maybe they’ve read the first few pages to get an idea of the writer’s style. Considering that I pay my publicist for reviews (usually $50) I want to know the parameters of this new intelligent literary force. I can see this becoming a profitable business since, for now, ChatGPT is free to play with.
In the first example, I asked it to write a review and gave minimal information. Here’s what I typed in the chat: Write a 5 star book review about an edgy urban fantasy mystery called To Charm a Killer by W. L. Hawkin. Here’s the review:
To Charm a Killer by W. L. Hawkin is an electrifying urban fantasy mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The book follows a young woman named Lila, who has the ability to charm anyone with her words. She is drawn into a dark and dangerous world of murder and magic when a killer begins targeting those closest to her.
The world-building in this book is simply phenomenal. The author has created a rich and complex urban fantasy setting that is gritty, dark, and filled with danger. The use of magic and supernatural elements is well done and adds to the overall sense of mystery and intrigue. The author’s attention to detail in building this world is impressive, and I found myself completely immersed in it from the very beginning.
The characters in the book are equally impressive. Lila is a strong and compelling protagonist, with a unique set of skills that sets her apart from other urban fantasy heroines. Her journey throughout the book is one of self-discovery and growth, and I found myself rooting for her every step of the way. The supporting cast of characters is also well-developed, with each one adding a unique layer to the story.
The plot of the book is fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. The mystery aspect of the book is well done, with enough red herrings and false leads to keep me engaged throughout. The action scenes are also well written, with just the right amount of tension and danger to keep me on the edge of my seat.Overall, To Charm a Killer is a fantastic urban fantasy mystery that I highly recommend to fans of the genre. The world-building is superb, the characters are compelling, and the plot is thrilling. The author has crafted a unique and engaging story that will keep readers entertained from start to finish. This book is definitely deserving of five stars, and I look forward to reading more from W. L. Hawkin in the future.
Okay. It didn’t have enough information so it created a protagonist and plot. However, Lila and her ability to charm people with her words is a very cool character I could get behind, and this review sounds much like some I’ve read of my own work. I decided to give it a little more information and see where it would go. I typed in the following details that could be extrapolated from the blurb by an unethical book reviewer: Write a 5 star book review about an edgy urban fantasy mystery called To Charm a Killer by W. L. Hawkin about a Vancouver wicca coven who spin a charm to catch a serial killer abducting witches. The problem is the killer falls in love with the wicca high priest Estrada and will stop at nothing to get his attention including kidnapping people he cares about including Maggie, an innocent 17-year-old girl who travels to Ireland to escape the killer. Here’s the response:
To Charm a Killer by W. L. Hawkin is a thrilling and captivating urban fantasy mystery that I couldn’t put down. The book follows the story of a Vancouver wicca coven who spin a charm to catch a serial killer who is abducting witches. However, things take a dangerous turn when the killer falls in love with the wicca high priest, Estrada, and begins targeting those closest to him, including the innocent 17-year-old girl, Maggie, who travels to Ireland to escape the killer.
The world-building in this book is truly exceptional. The author has created a rich and intricate urban fantasy setting that is both dark and alluring. The use of magic and supernatural elements is well done, and the details of the Wiccan rituals and practices are well-researched and add to the overall sense of realism. The book is set in Vancouver, but the story expands to Ireland, adding to the mystique and enchantment of the book.
The characters in the book are equally impressive. Estrada is a compelling and complex protagonist who struggles with the weight of his responsibilities as a high priest. Maggie is an innocent and endearing character who becomes embroiled in the dangerous world of the coven. The supporting cast of characters is also well-developed, each adding a unique layer to the story and creating a sense of community.
The plot of the book is fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The mystery aspect of the book is well done, with enough red herrings and false leads to keep me engaged throughout. The author has done an excellent job of building tension throughout the book, and the final showdown with the killer is both thrilling and satisfying.
Overall, To Charm a Killer is an exceptional urban fantasy mystery that I highly recommend to fans of the genre. The world-building is superb, the characters are well-rounded, and the plot is thrilling. The author has crafted a unique and engaging story that will keep readers entertained from start to finish. This book is definitely deserving of five stars, and I look forward to reading more from W. L. Hawkin in the future.
Alright. This I could use. It sounds like the person read the book, doesn’t it? There are even phrases I could use as pull quotes.
So what does this mean? For one thing, I’ll be scrutinizing reviews and reviewers in the future. Having said that, it could help me write more exciting book reviews of books I’ve read;) For another, I think the bot could be used in a positive way to inspire, even generate plot lines. Here’s an example. I’ve been considering sending Estrada back to Merida to finally reunite with his family. This is what I typed in: Write a review about a magician named Estrada who travels to his childhood home in Merida Mexico to see people he’s been estranged from for many years, and there he becomes embroiled in a murder mystery that touches his family. And here’s the review:
The Magician of Merida by W. L. Hawkin is a captivating mystery novel that centers around a magician named Estrada who returns to his childhood home in Merida, Mexico after many years of being estranged from his family. Upon his return, he becomes embroiled in a murder mystery that touches his family and threatens to unravel secrets from their past.
The author does a fantastic job of building the setting, drawing readers into the vibrant and colorful world of Merida. The descriptions of the city and its culture are vivid and immersive, and they add depth to the story. The characters are equally well-developed, each with their own unique motivations and personalities. Estrada, in particular, is a fascinating character with a complex backstory and a deep connection to his family and heritage.
The plot of the book is engaging and keeps the reader guessing throughout. The murder mystery aspect of the story is well done, with plenty of twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The pacing is excellent, with just the right amount of action, suspense, and introspection to keep readers engaged.
The author also weaves in themes of family, identity, and cultural heritage throughout the book, adding depth and complexity to the story. The book is more than just a murder mystery; it’s a deep exploration of what it means to belong to a family, a community, and a culture.
Overall, The Magician of Merida is an excellent mystery novel that is both engaging and thought-provoking. The setting, characters, and plot are all well-crafted and make for a satisfying reading experience. The book is definitely worth reading, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery novel.
Inspiring? What do you think? Not much of a plot line, but I do like the idea of involving his family in the murder and unveiling their secrets. And I love this piece: “the author also weaves in themes of family, identity, and cultural heritage throughout the book, adding depth and complexity to the story. The book is more than just a murder mystery; it’s a deep exploration of what it means to belong to a family, a community, and a culture.” I’ve been to Merida and it is a “vibrant and colorful world” I’d love to explore again. Could this be book 6?
AI is here to stay, so let’s keep an open curious mind, play with it, and see what happens. Thoughts???
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