![]() This is the meeting place for readers to discuss their favourites and recommend new authors, and the place for budding and established mystery, crime and thriller writers to introduce us to their efforts. ![]() Join our intrepid moderators, “DCI” Donna, “Sherlock” Hayes, Nancy “Drew”, and Randy Money as we read and discuss our favourites, recommend new authors and explore the Genre. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over the hedgerow at the darkened, quiet house.”ĭo lines like these quicken your heartbeat and pique your interest? Then Welcome to the Mystery, Crime and Thriller Group! This is the place for you. ![]() Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over th ![]()
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![]() ![]() Canongate also won a Scottish Arts Council award for the book’s design. The novel, a semi-autobiographical mix of science fiction, fantasy and politics, won the David Niven and Saltire Society Awards. Between 19, Gray was a Writer in Residence at the University of Glasgow.Īlasdair Gray’s novel Lanark was finally published in 1981 by Edinburgh’s Canongate Books, then a very small company who accepted Gray’s offer to design the cover of the book to save money. Gray continued to paint and write playscripts for stage, TV and radio. Gray then became a stage painter for a Glasgow theatre, and in 1963 he submitted the first book of his novel Lanark to a literary agent. Between 19 he taught Art at schools in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, and painted murals on a number of churches and other buildings in the city. Born in Riddrie, Glasgow in 1934, he went to Whitehill Senior Secondary school in the city before studying Design & Mural Painting at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1950s. Home > Authors > Alasdair Gray Alasdair GrayĪlasdair Gray is one of the great figures of contemporary Scottish writing. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() They engage in a variety of wild and funny adventures as each makes a wish, carefully worded to allow for the feature of half fulfillment. The plot, as American Writers for Children, 1900-1960 puts it is that, “four siblings find a magic talisman that grants their wishes, but only by halves. They were new and very receptive fans and I doubt very much that they are alone. Turned out that their teacher had been reading them Mr. Suddenly they swarmed like fireants over the child who had said loudly from the fiction section, “Oh, SNAP! Edward Eager!” I am confident that this was the only time in history that those particular words were put in that order. After I did my usual intro and such the kids were allowed to look for books. A couple years ago we had a classroom of kids come into the children’s room. And I’m happy to report that it remains popular to this day. This is one of my own childhood favorites as well. This one has a classic concept and brilliant working out. Edward Eager writes the essential books about four children having a magical adventure. ![]() ![]() ![]() * Thousand-year-old spaceflight navigation charts * An alien astronaut preserved in a pyramid Most incredible of all, however, is von Daniken's theory that we ourselves are the descendants of these galactic pioneers-and the archeological discoveries that prove it. But here is where it all began-von Daniken's startling theories of our earliest encounters with alien worlds, based upon his lifelong studies of ancient ruins, lost cities, potential spaceports, and a myriad of hard scientific facts that point to extraterrestrial intervention in human history. ![]() This world-famous bestseller has withstood the test of time, inspiring countless books and films, including the author's own popular sequel, The Eyes of the Sphinx. Erich von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods is a work of monumental importance-the first book to introduce the shocking theory that ancient Earth had been visited by aliens. ![]() ![]() After defeating Murtagh in single combat, having Murtagh betray the dark king directly afterwards, Eragon fought Galbatorix head on and overpowered the ancient enemy of his order by casting an Empathy Spell on him. He was also named an Elf-friend and as a full member of Dûrgrimst Ingeitum, effectively binding him to more races than any other Rider in history.Īfter many bloody battles and much heartache, the Varden and their allies finally attacked Galbatorix at Urû'baen and Eragon fought his greatest enemy once and for all. After becoming an accomplished swordsman and magician in a relatively short time, the young Rider found himself championing the cause of the Varden, inheriting both the duties of the Dragon Riders and his father's place as Galbatorix's foremost enemy.Įragon was also the frequent traveling companion of the Elven princess Arya, the Dwarf Orik, the Lady Nasuada, as well as being the half-brother of the Dragon Rider Murtagh Morzansson and the cousin of the great warrior Roran Stronghammer. After the dragon Saphira hatched for him, Eragon became the first Dragon Rider to be born in a hundred years and was subsequently trained by Brom and later Oromis. ![]() ![]() I have become what I was meant to be - Eragon commenting on himself after the Agaetí BlödhrenĮragon Bromsson (named Shadeslayer after killing Durza) was the main protagonist in the Inheritance Cycle. ![]() ![]() How to Do the Work has already been translated into 17 languages. The final section teaches readers how to cultivate a sense of self-worth and build a healthy sense of self. The second section focuses on developing self-compassion and learning to be kind to oneself. The first section helps readers identify their negative thought patterns and the underlying beliefs that drive them. The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the “work” of self-improvement. She then uses this same research to explain how we can start doing the work that will help make us happier and more fulfilled. LePera investigates the self-sabotaging behaviors we all engage in. ![]() Drawing on the latest research from science and healing modalities, Dr. How to Do the Work offers a manifesto for Self-Healing and an essential guide to creating a more vibrant, authentic, and joyful life. If you don’t already have the book, order the book or get the audiobook for free to learn the juicy details. ![]() Has How to Do the Work been gathering dust on your bookshelf? Instead, pick up the key ideas now. ![]() ![]() ![]() Cantor introduces a fascinating cast of characters. ![]() In the Wake of the Plague presents a microcosmic view of the Plague in England (and on the continent), telling the stories of the men and women of the fourteenth century, from peasant to priest, and from merchant to king. Norman Cantor, the premier historian of the Middle Ages, draws together the most recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research to pierce the mist and tell the story of the Black Death afresh, as a gripping, intimate narrative. But what the Plague really was, and how it made history, remain shrouded in a haze of myths. The details of the Plague etched in the minds of terrified schoolchildren - the hideous black welts, the high fever, and the final, awful end by respiratory failure - are more or less accurate. ![]() Much of what we know about the greatest medical disaster ever, the Black Plague of the fourteenth century, is wrong. ![]() ![]() He edited the journal Plant Engineering for many years before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement is a contribution to the machine used to make Pringles potato crisps. ![]() After returning to the United States he earned a degree from the University of Houston and became an industrial engineer. ![]() Wolfe dropped out during his junior year, and was drafted to fight in the Korean War. While attending Texas A&M University Wolfe published his first speculative fiction in The Commentator, a student literary journal. The award will be presented at the 48th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in San Jose, CA, May 16-19, 2013. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Joe Haldeman. The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.’ Wolfe joins the Grand Master ranks alongside such legends as Connie Willis, Michael Moorcock, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. ![]() He was a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the field. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. Gene Wolfe was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. ![]() ![]() It’s a lovely book, and it was a sheer delight to have these two very lovely young people sharing it at the Tree House. He is a hugely talented artist, and it has really added something to my appreciation of his illustrations to hear about the process of creating, refining and ultimately finding the right style for the story, as well as the technical aspect of creating and digitising the drawings. ![]() ![]() I found Matthew’s discussion of creating the illustrations particularly illuminating (no pun intended, but it’s a nice one!). Sadly there were no children in attendance, apart from a month-old baby who slept through most of it! But we adults who were there thoroughly enjoyed hearing Tara read the book and then hearing both of them talk about the creation of their first publication. Tara Behan and Matthew Hill, author and illustrator respectively of new children’s book The Legend of Everwinter, graced the Tree House with their presence on Saturday afternoon. ![]() ![]() ![]() That is, until the private detective steals Sarah’s journal for Bendrix. All clues point toward a new relationship, though the identity of this other lover remains indiscernible. He hires a private detective, follows her, even befriends her husband. ![]() ![]() ![]() That is, until Sarah finds another lover.Īfter Sarah ends the affair following a rash promise, Bendrix goes almost mad in obsessively tracking down the other man he knows must exist. In his retelling, they fall into sex almost accidentally but then proceed to cling to each other desperately for some sort of consolation in what Bendrix calls “the desert” of experience, the dry, lonely wastes of life. Set in World War II era London, Bendrix’s tale paints the history of his affair with a married woman who lives across the square: Sarah Miles. Though relatively short, the first half of the story seems to drag, mostly because it is related to the reader by an entirely unlikeable first person narrator: heart-broken, hatred-filled novelist Maurice Bendrix. Graham Greene: An Affair With Christianityīritish novelist Graham Greene’s fourth major novel, titled The End of the Affair, does not immediately capture the reader’s attention. ![]() |