Ancient rock art

I found these at my family's summer place. What are they? They're painted rocks that are supposed to look like - well, books, of course! The green one says "Satuja" (Fairy tales) and the red one is "Hamlet". I can't quite remember when I made these, but it must have been over 20 years ago! I do remember elaborate plans to make many more (all my favourite books, of course), but if I did make any, I can no longer find them. Perhaps it was too much of a challenge to find rocks of a suitable shape. Still, I like the idea, and it was interesting to see that my love for books was such a big influence all those years ago already.

Cover Art for Elite: Tales from the Frontier

Yesterday, Fantastic Books Publishing released the cover art for Elite: Tales from the Frontier. This anthology will feature 15 stories set in the Elite: Dangerous universe, and one of those stories is my 'Blood is Thicker'. I'm very excited to have my story published in such a beautiful book. :) Here, this is what it will look like:

I'd love to show you the rest of the covers in the FBP's Elite set, but my skills in any sort of... hmm, I don't even know what it's called... the sort of wizardry that allows one to post pictures and organise them so they won't leap randomly all over the place... aren't up to such a challenge. I think the complete set will look stunning, but if you refuse to take my word for it, you can view them all here.

Review: Milk chocolate with blueberry yoghurt crisps

This has nothing to do with words, but rather one of my other passions... chocolate. This is just a very short review of something I hadn't tried before: milk chocolate with blueberry yoghurt crisps. The chocolate is the familiar Fazer quality (very well known to every Finn). The blueberry crisps are a refreshing addition, and their slight tartness forms a nice contrast to the smooth sweetness of the chocolate. There could have been more crisps, though, and I didn't quite taste the yoghurt. Still, definitely delicious. :)

Relationships with books

Today, I came across an amusing article which describes four different types of people on the basis of their relationships with books: surfacey relationship people, serial monogamists, committed people and commitment phobic people.

I'd describe myself as a loyal adventuress. I have a type. I have my favourite authors. I have my favourite genre. When I fall in love with a book, I think about it, I dream about it, I want to talk about it (and I hardly ever want to talk about anything). It gives me comfort. It is a love that never dies.

I used to be clingy with books: once I started reading, I was determined to finish. Even if I knew it wasn't a good match. These days, I have no time for an unsatisfying fling. If a book doesn't engage me, I break up with it.

But I confess: my loyalty has its limits. Unless the book I'm reading is a keeper, a real catch, I have affairs on the side. I have threesomes. I read two books at the same time. Usually three. Or four. Or...

The adventurer part of me enjoys novel experiences and craves change. It is that side which makes me sample new authors, try genres I've never tried before or pick up books I don't normally read. To keep a relationship fresh and the romance hot, you need to break the routines, try something new.

That's why, when I go to a library, I get all giddy: all these different books! Any one of them is a potential treasure, a portal to new experiences, a start of a beautiful friendship. Or a love affair. Sometimes I go on my expedition with a plan, with a mission: a list of books I want to read. But I enjoy those adventures more when I don't have a map. Just browsing the shelves, randomly picking up books... you never know, you might find the one!

Review: The Devil's Grin by Annelie Wendeberg

One of the first things I learned as an adult was that knowledge and fact meant nothing to people who were subjected to an adequate dose of fear and prejudice.

- Dr. Kronberg

London, 1889. When a cholera victim is found floating in London's drinking water supply, Dr. Kronberg, England's best bacteriologist, is called to investigate. Also on the case is an eccentric, intriguing, intellectually incomparable man... Sherlock Holmes. Holmes, being Holmes, discovers Dr. Kronberg's secret: the dangerous double life she lives in order to practise medicine, a profession not acceptable for a woman in Victorian England.

Kronberg and Holmes are brought together by a murder mystery, but there appears to be more between them than the desire to solve the case. Holmes meets his match in intelligence and deductive talents. The dialogue between the two is constant sparring where words left unsaid speak as much as those uttered aloud. They are masters at reading between the lines and never stop trying to figure each other out.

This book has a great, gritty setting and a potentially fascinating protagonist. Anna Kronberg is a strong, courageous woman and a dedicated physician who has her scars (literally and metaphorically) and her weaknesses. Her life in the world of men isn't easy, and the decisions she is forced to make as the investigation proceeds are morally questionable – and they will haunt her all her life. However, her portrayal doesn't quite have the depth that I need to fall in love with a character.

'The Devil's Grin' is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The writing is solid and the main character has an interesting voice, but there were some instances where the language didn't feel quite right for the setting.

I wish the book had been longer; while I got a sense that the author and the protagonist were capable of deeper reflection, there was little time for that. There were moments where tension could have been tighter and moments where I wished for more emotional involvement. In hopes that some of the questions left unanswered will be solved and the characters further developed, I might well read the next book in the Kronenberg Crimes series.

Freeeeedooom!

Nearly all the stories I've written lately have been about people living under a totalitarian regime or a dictatorial rule or in downright slavery - and fighting for their freedom. Last night, my husband sat me down, brought this up and asked, "Is there something we need to talk about?" :D

Well, no. But yes, he's right, and I've been wondering for a while now - why this obsession with freedom? I see the same theme everywhere, including what I read, what I watch, what I hear. For example, I hear an album for the first time, and the songs I remember afterwards are the ones about freedom.

Yes, freedom is important to me - but isn't it to everyone? And is that why it has - without me making any conscious decisions about it - become an underlying theme or subject in so much of what I do? Of course, it is a theme that can be explored endlessly, not only as being free (from, say, slavery - or from pain, something that in one of my stories stems from personal experience), but in terms of freedom of speech; freedom to be who you are, to think and dream and write as you will; freedom to make your own choices and not be judged for them...

Strong protagonists

Boudica, one of my favourite characters.

I recently came across this article about the characteristics of strong female protagonists. While I think that the characteristics listed there make great characters, the term 'strong female protagonist' gives me a pause. I'm all for strong female characters. I love them! We need them! But I'm always a little... disappointed when a book is described as having strong female characters. I've never seen it mentioned that a book has strong male characters. And I would say that the characteristics in the article define great protagonists, whether they are male or female.