Day 19 - Miscounts

I took a look back over my progress and discovered that I counted Day 9 twice -- so to get back on track, I have skipped Day 18.

I don't think today is a migraine day (I think it's actually an allergies, eye strain and sleep disturbance day) but it kinda feels like one.  It started well -- exercise and lunch and ideas -- but after a nap it went down hill.  Caffeine perked things up for a bit, but I really didn't settle into anything until too late to do much.

And... I sold a copy of Fables and Enchantments today, which inspired me to look at some old ideas for more fantasy and folktales.

Today's Progress: about 300 words on Robarc The Coward.

Robarc was one of the first few stories I ever wrote (and I'm writing it anew from scratch).  It took place in a land called Cantor, a place originally populated by justice-giving flying unicorns, which were hunted into extinction by an invading evil king.  The series took place many generations later, but Robarc was a folktale told to children within the story.

Robarc is a weak and mousy palace guard who is visited by one of the last of the unicorns. It gives him a sword made of a unicorn horn and sends him off to assist three Great Heroes Who Know Nothing of Fear in their quest to defeat an evil wizard.  It turns out that knowing something of fear can be useful....

I don't think this will be long enough to publish by itself, but it will be a good part of another children's fantasy collection.

Eating, Watching, Reading:

Dosas!  We went to a an Indian place for brunch today.  They have wonderful fermented dough breads of all sorts, but the last few times we were there, they didn't serve them with the buffet, and said they couldn't even be special ordered during the buffet.  It turns out that it was only when they had a special holiday buffet that they couldn't use the dosa maker.

So, today we were able to get them to make a couple of crispy, ultra-thin crepes made of rice and chickpea flour.  There was no filling for them, but they were good with just chutney. (Normally they are served with a potato masala, or a spiced cream of wheat thing.)  While we were enjoying them, some Indian people stopped at our table and asked "Where'd you get the dosas!?!"

We hope that once people start requesting them again, they will get the hint and start making them more available again.

Green For Danger!

That movie recommended by Tired Old Queen At the Movies, Steve Hayes, turned out to be a really great whodunnit.  So often an old-fashioned whodunnit doesn't translate well to screen.  It's trickier to plant the clues and either you can't make head or tail who might have done it, or you spot the killer in the opening scene.

Green For Danger did a nice job of balancing the clues, laying subtle trails for the more advanced mystery buffs, while keeping the front story on a kind of "Murder She Wrote" level for the general audience.  I would like to talk spoilers on this one one day, because of the suspicion structure of it.

It had a great cast, and Alistair Sim was marvelous as the inspector. The only other name I recognize is Trevor Howard, who plays the put upon anesthesiologist.

It was also that great combination that you don't get in U. S. cozies so much: it was both delightfully cozy, and also suspenseful.  Aside from a spooky scene or two on a windy night, this story took place during WWII, and though it was in a nice, sunny countryside, there was the ever-present danger of buzz-bombs.  I think fans of Foyle's War would be particularly fond of it.

It is available via Amazon Instant Video for rent and purchase.  There's also a Kindle copy of the book, which I haven't read yet, but will be on my list.  (Also, YouTube has it, though I don't know how long it will be there.)

See you in the funny papers.