Mysterious Musings

Upcoming Release

2009-07-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to report MURDER ON THE CLIFFS will be out this November!

Be sure to look for it in your local bookstores.

It's the first in the Daphne du Maurier mystery series and there are many more stories ahead!

Travel news

2009-07-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

2008 was a very big year!

Much travel and inspiration for new books. I really enjoyed the walking tour of the Dordogne Valley in France...endless quaint villages, castles, hills, valleys, rivers, gourmet delights :-) and all self navigated with my friend Sonya. Next, Belgium and Brugges - Belgium, of course, renowned for its delicious chocolates and beer if you like it! Then on to Italy and the usual favourites Venice...this time walked the fishing villages along the coast -- Portofino among them (maybe a Daphne du Maurier mystery setting?).

Slovenia also surprised me with its fairy-tale appeal. A beautiful country.

And Prague! Ah, the medieval city of cobbled streets and free Mozart, Vivaldi, and Dvorak concerts. Next an overnight train to Krakow, Poland. The fantastic shopping a *must* there - everything is cheap! The city ofo Krakow itself is lovely, full of history and character.

Salzburg. Having missed it on all my travels , I determined to see it this time and it was just as I imagined. Early morning walks took me above the city into the mountains, exploring private castles and manor houses. I believe I even ran into an Austrian count!

Hat and Glove Affair

2007-09-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

I saw this beautiful picture recently...a book cover, Victorian.

A lady and her man standing under the shade of an open terrace, preparing to embrace the day. This was a day-light affair...a stroll through the gardens, perhaps. It made me think of what we can do today to re-capture the past, the romance, the flare, the fun...

So I went to the Opera. With my Black Satin Gloves. Amazing how one item in one's attire can make such a difference. I almost felt "Victorian." And like out of the Muppets, the old Theatre Man with large ears and looming sideways grey muff hair had to burst up to tell me "Darling, I just LOVE the gloves!"

I did feel special in them, I must say. And it's nice to clap with gloves too. Not good, however, for last minute dashes to the ladies. Nor is, arriving late and running up flights of stairs in Parisian heels :-)

But I got there. And enjoyed the moment.

TV Couch Nights

2007-08-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I really need to get out more.

But...a night in with one's favourite characters & movies certainly has its charm.
Perhaps that's why we keep returning to watch the same shows, read the same books by the same author, listen to the same music. There's a level of comfort; we almost make friends of such in-house delights!

....That said, however, a picnic, outing or dinner party with friends takes the ribbon. Where one can debate subjects, talk rubbish over good food and wine, share stories, and generally relax. That's why I love the friendship club in the Hugh Grant movie "NOTTING HILL." It's so....groovey, as Spike would say. Two favourite scenes: The part where the sister announces her engagement at the dinner table and then whispers to her companion (the lovable, slighty Odd fellow Spike), "by the way...it's you. What do you think?" And Spike replies with a smile..."yeah...groovey." And, of course, the fight for the last brownie with everyone delivering their best sad story, bad job, bad love affair, whatever - yes, this is true friendship! Always there for one another, through good and bad - a merry crowd to lift the spirit and support the soul :-)

So Cheers to Notting Hill Clubs everywhere!

Winter Concerts

2007-07-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

Went out with a few friends last night and the subject of concerts came up.
What kind of concerts do we prefer? Musical? Opera? Theatre?

A musical recital always appeals to me. Open air, out doors, under the stars...then there's the Tie and BallGown affair at events like Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. As for theatre, any one of Shakespeare's comedies or a very good version of something dark and tragic...

When you look around, there are free concerts to enjoy everywhere. In Prague, that great, wondrous medieval city, they hand out flyers in the streets. Very romantic of them -- and often the castle invites Mozartists and all kinds of evenings...

But wherever we are, there is music. I am going to one tomorrow...a day off, and what better way to spend it than a stroll by the river and a sojourn at the School of Music?

Music and art and beauty are life.

Book Lover's Treat

2007-07-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited a book-binding parlor.

If you've never been to one - you must! Old books galore crying out for restoration, the art of the enterprise...and choice of seals and fonts to delight the soul.

Which led me to think about the different places one can work with books. I always wanted to work in a library. The one in Beauty and The Beast (the cartoon fairy-tale) tops them all. Huge, circular, ladders and spirals leading up to levels and levels and levels. Sad thing is...how does one choose?

I have a similar problem on my visitations to the library. So much choice! And then one is forever running out of room to house all these treasures.

Currently reading.......Castle of Doves by Constance Heaven (an old fav) and listening to Robert Goddard's Painting the Darkness on audio book-tape. Both are amazing and I enjoy Goddard's historical mysteries - the way he captures the era and the heart of the characters.

Victoria Holt Mary Stewart Daphne du Maurier

2007-05-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

The old authors we love.
Why?
Recently, I checked back into the Victoria Holt fan club (sounds like a hotel, doesn't it? Or should we say a manor house?). The discussion was on The Shivering Sands and why generally we love those old stories / the hero / the heroine / the setting / the mystery.

The comments came from right around the world, as diverse as Norway to Australia. Jane from Norway infinitely prefers the 'younger, innocent heroine' meeting the older, wiser hero (but too old, mind!). The others agree. There's certainly an attraction having a sharp-witted young lass reforming an erstwhile rake of dubious reputation, often plagued by some dark mystery of his own. Universally, the hero is a good natured chap at heart, though he contends and broods and this makes him magnetic. Magnetic = Irresistible.

The setting invariably attracts too. An historical feel, always a mystery. A place where we can journey, via the landscape and the scenes for a good while to escape the mundane reality of life.
In short: a Fairy Tale of a kind.

Like "Beauty and The Beast."

We All Need a Fairy Tale...

Currently reading..........Jane Aiken Hodge's Maulever Hall. And loving it! Kind of has a Bronte feel to it.....the moors, the beginning, the uncertainty.......