E-Book or Paper Book, That is the Question

~~When I read Rachelle Gardner's post, E-books vs. Real Books, I thought I'd add my two cents. I like Rachelle's assessment that it isn't an "either/or" situation, but a "both/and" one. In fact, I think that's the way of the future.

~~I've had a Kindle since May and I love it. That doesn't mean I don't love paper books, too. I sit here surrounded by a large personal library, but I'm picking up fewer and fewer of the paper books. The reason is personal, too. I have trouble holding paper books open. My wrists just get too tired. So if I'm going to read at all, it has to be an e-book. Rachelle mentioned that readers are buying more books both electronic and paper. I'm an example. I've probably bought ten times the books I would have if I were still only buying paper books. We have transfered our newspaper subscription to the Kindle, too. That's really helped with the mounds of paper we use. And it's far cheaper. ; )

~~I also have a huge list of books to purchase for my Kindle that will transfer many of my favorites from the shelves to e-ink. And that's all good for the writers. ; ) And while I'm buying e-books for all my fiction, I'm still buying writing books in paper so I can take old-fashioned notes in the margins. The last such books is Volger's The Writer's Journey. I don't think the diagrams would show up as well on my Kindle.

~~So what about you? Are you on the e-book band wagon, or are you still buying all your books in paper?

Mystery Words

~~After a week of very few words, imagine my surprise when 150 stray words popped into my head this morning. I have no clue why. They don't fit with anything I'm writing. I don't plan to write historical fiction, though that's the genre I think they would fit. The only thing that makes sense is that I did focus on European medieval history in college and my master's thesis is a biography of Blanche of Castile. But I never wanted to be Eleanor of Aquitaine.

~~Here are the mystery words:

     When I was a girl, I wanted to be Eleanor of Aquitaine. Dashing troubadours would sing love songs to me. I'd be Queen of both France and England and own the richest province in Europe. Then I learned her whole story--about the civil wars between her sons and husband and that she spent sixteen years imprisoned by her husband, Henry.

    But reading about Eleanor's life led me to her family and the little talked about daughters who married into the ruling families of the Holy Roman Empire, Toulouse, and Castile-Leon. It was among Eleanor's grandchildren that I found my true lodestone--Blanche of Castile, who married Louis Capet, destined to be Louis VIII of France. While it's true she would lose children before they were grown and her husband would die young, her life typified a woman of learning, justice, power, and grace. In Blanche, I found a guide for living life based on belief.

~~What do you think happened? And do you ever have mystery words showing up uninvited? Do they ever lead you into a new WIP?

~~There is one other bit you should know that my long-delayed SF trilogy (The Dawn and the lion)originated as a fictionalization (that's an understatement! ; ) of Blanche's life. It's moved a long way from it's origins now.

Blame it on the Season...

~~Yes, I'm still here, but I've been busy. I've been rewriting the opening of FRIENDLY FIRE (several times) for this month's exercise at Books and Writers. Add to that the painting of windows, hanging of new blinds, and all around household chaos and you have a writer with no time.

~~So I thought I'd give you a lovely shot of my mother-in-law's ginkgo tree in all its Autumn glory. And a line to describe it. Enjoy. ; )



~~Autumn's leaves--The pot of gold at the end of Summer's rainbow
Have a great Thanksgiving if you're in the States.