A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Today (31 January 2024) is the second anniversary of my mother’s death. She’d been living with us for over a year and near the end receiving in-home hospice care. Prior to her moving in with us, we lived several states away and had only visited a few times over the years since we’d moved away.  Having her here was a time to reconnect and enjoy getting to know her all over again. She loved mysteries and westerns, since she could no longer read because of vision problems she could watch TV and we saw more of these of these gene moves and episodes than we’d ever watched before.  Not to mention that with the worsening memory issues we watched many of her favorites multiple times a week and spoke about the movie, the episode, and the things she remembered about her life that she was reminded of when watching.

So, today, I’m a bit sad so … The Sound of Silence by one of my favorite groups, Pentatonix:

I recently published my first novel, Road Kill, a project which has been percolating in my head for over a decade although, technically speaking, it’s not my first novel, it’s just the first one I managed to complete. The larger universe in which Road Kill is set has been under development for over forty years and 99% has been created through sheer chaos.  A prequel and sequel could be available as early as next year, depending on how cooperative certain characters are.

Two primary characters, Meagan Robichaud and Hyperion, were the first components of my universe. Meagan is a woman that has the superpower of invisibility, but it only occurs when she’s scared. And, just to be contrary, knowing she’s invisible helps alleviate the fear.

Meagan’s situation established one of the plot components of the universe, useless superpowers that can, somehow, be forced into being useful. Numerous characters with these powers have come to life over the years, such as Jamie Sullivan, who has the power to cloud people’s minds and make them think she’s a coat tree. She got bored at a Christmas party once and ended up having to hold three coats, two hats, and an umbrella for a half-hour before she could escape.  She now works as a corporate spy, which pays enough to make the boredom worthwhile.  Jamie and most of the others have yet to make their way into any story, but they continue to bide their time.

Hyperion is a smart-ass, talking, European lynx. Nobody knows what secret government laboratory he comes from, or whether he escaped or was kicked out.  He’s annoyingly resistant to speaking about his past or how he came to be wandering on North Turner Mountain for Meagan to rescue. I like to think of Hyperion as the Batman of the stories. He has no powers, and only holds his own due to his intelligence and cleverness … and the fact that the humans put up with him beyond all reason. But then they’re fantasy stories. And he is kind of cute.

Into this setting, Road Kill was born when I had a dream. A lot of plot points come from dreams, but never whole-cloth because my dreams tend to be stupid. In this case, I dreamt I had the power to travel back in time to a point when an animal has been hit and killed by a car. I would then stop the assassination and return to the present. I’m guessing the dream came about because of the number of dead animals I see abandoned on the side of the road, and the several times I’ve seen drivers deliberately swerve, trying to hit one. At the conclusion of the dream, I was hauled up before the Time Cops because I saved a cat, which somehow resulted in the total annihilation of humanity. My defense of “The bastards had it coming” was not considered legally well-grounded. Once I woke up, Emily Charron got that power, minus the legal hassles.

Emily is a graduate student, closing in on her PhD, and so totally focused that she’s been ignoring everything and everyone else around her.  And once I had Emily, Chris Rodriguez popped into my head, cruising down a rainy road, volunteering to be the Watson to Emily’s Sherlock in a mystery revolving around a grand academic mystery that would, I hoped, somehow manage to include time travel, if only I could figure out how.  Chris is an IT security specialist, working to help law enforcement deal with cybercriminals while also trying to keep Emily’s life from imploding under the strain.

This brings up the final component of my plotting and writing style. Neither the plot nor the characters listen to me in the slightest. Chris transformed into Emily’s childhood friend and a romance began to bloom before the conclusion of the first chapter. Chris gained his own superpower, which inconveniently appeared while they were eating pizza. It took me entirely by surprise and I had to go back and sprinkle hints into previous chapters. And to solve the issue with the time-travel sub-thread, Emily popped back to save an animal just because, even though it was the worst possible time.

Once that happened, the rules of time travel quickly grew from a half-page of notes to several pages with timeline graphs and detailed breakdowns of all the permutations I could think of, one of which became the central premise for the sequel, The International Criminal Conspiracy.  But, more importantly, suddenly, the novel was no longer a mystery but instead an urban fantasy, geeky, romance, with a mystery sub-thread.

Worse of all, two-thirds of the way through Road Kill, Hyperion found a way to force himself into a novel he had no business being in. He just showed up in Chris’ living room, dragging poor Meagan along with him. This, in turn, dragged in Kristina Trantor, an individual with a questionable superpower who had been languishing, unused, on my dramatis personae since I had a dream back in the 80s.

The next thing I knew, a previously non-existent teenage daughter, Kaylee, apparated out of the ether and revealed herself to be Hyperion’s partner in sarcasm, forcing herself backward through time to a starring role in the long-suffering prequel, The Cat Who Came in from the Cold, replacing a lackluster neighbor that I never really liked anyway, plus shoehorning herself into the sequel as well.  I, merely the author, stood no chance.

So far, I’ve been posting snippets from Road Kill and I hope people are enjoying them and the novel as a whole.  But, this time I think I’ll provide a small sample of the prequel in which we are introduced to Meagan and Hyperion, and their characters are quickly established.

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The Cat Who Came in from the Cold

Chapter 1

Meagan Robichaud gratefully closed the large, circular, hobbit-styled outer mudroom door behind her, shutting out the rain and wind that still howled around her house and rattled the few outward-facing windows. An occasional crack of thunder made the walls rattle as well. She leaned her umbrella against the hall tree, making sure the tip was safely inside the rimmed rubber mat, and slowly unbuttoned her rain jacket with fingers still numbed by the icy rain.

It had been a long day down in Bangor, attending another boring business meeting that had come, once again, within a hair’s-breadth of convincing her to terminate her contract. Why they insisted on face-to-face meetings was a complete mystery to her. Why she insisted on dressing up for them was equally mysterious, but unfortunately could not be blamed on them, not that it stopped her from trying.

What had started as a worthy cause was fast devolving into a quagmire that only existed for the sake of existing, offering incompetent bureaucrats validation for their paychecks, and as a transparent ploy for staving off the inevitable audit for another month. Keeping the internet services running for the residents of the Sunshine Retirement Villages now seemed to have been totally dropped from the list of objectives, written or otherwise.

By trade, Meagan was an Information Technologies Security Consultant. It looked snazzy on a business card, but what it really entailed was hours in front of a computer screen, keeping people out of places they had no business being, and tracking them down for law enforcement’s attention when they occasionally managed to do it anyway. Fortunately, that could all be done from the peaceful sanctity of her lair, allowing her to totally avoid humanity except for groceries, doctor’s visits, and business meetings. The latter was what had forced her unwilling participation on a day that nobody should have been out on.

Today’s meeting, filled with face-saving and finger-pointing, had been called due to an automated report that somebody had inexplicably decided to read. Yes, there had been a minor breach. No, it has not been the fault of her security team. Yes, they had it under control. And no, it did not require several hours of pontification by people that couldn’t find the computer’s power button without an administrative assistant.

Kicking off her shoes, purchased for their professional look and certainly not their long-term comfort, she gave a sigh of relief and slipped into her clogs. The jacket and blouse would follow as soon as she could get upstairs, but at least her feet were now free from hours of torture.

From the kitchen came the thumps and bumps that signaled the approach of the cat. She smiled as she dropped her messenger bag on the hall tree’s bench and finally shrugged off her dripping coat. It was nice to be back home with those that actually liked her and didn’t just make a poor pretense out of social politeness. She hadn’t wanted to leave him for so long while he was recuperating, but at least her worry had been mitigated by being able to wrangle him a cat-sitter.

She hung the coat on an empty hook and turned to say hello when two heavy paws slammed into the wall on either side of her head. Instinctively she recoiled from the bewhiskered face that stared her eye to eye, causing the back of her head to bounce lightly off the wall.

“Welcome home dear,” the cat said. “Would you like a martini before dinner?” Without so much as a pause, the whiskers swept back in amusement. “What? No kiss?”

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Persuading Miss Mary by Leenie Brown. Leenie B. Books (November 28, 2010). ISBN: B081XBGKGW.

Persuading Miss Mary by Leenie Brown is the fourth book in the Marrying Elizabeth series. So, if you haven’t read the preceding books you may need to know that Jane is married to Bingley, Elizabeth is married to Darcy, and Lydia is privately engaged to Col. Richard Fitzwilliam (by privately engaged—the families know but not outsiders). Mary and Lydia Bennet are staying with Lord and Lady Matlock in London while Kitty Bennet is a guest of Georgiana Darcy and is staying in Darcy’s London home.

Mary Bennet met Reginald Arthur Fitzwilliam, Viscount Westonbury (Wes to his friends), when he visited Netherfield to check on the health of his brother, Col. Fitwilliam. When Wes saw Lydia, he asked offered her money for a kiss which Mary immediately connected to the drunk man who requested a kiss outside the brothel in London which Elizabeth and Lydia had approached to ask for help when abandoned at night, alone and lost. Mary, of course, took an immediate dislike of him believing him to be immoral, irresponsible, and a rogue.

Wes, on the other hand, had always been able to win every woman of his acquaintance into liking him as he was Lord Matlock’s heir, rich, handsome, and charming. He found Mary Bennet fascinating and a challenge. It wasn’t long before he wanted to be her friend and if he could earn her respect and prove worthy maybe even her hand.

As Wes makes an effort to change to become a better man and earn Mary’s regard. He also learns that being an heir to a title and land is not just a matter of birth but also comes with a great deal of responsibility—something he’d never really thought about. Mary on the other hand begins to question her fierce devotion to rules and regulations. Lydia and Kitty seem to do well with their more carefree attitude to rules so maybe she should rethink how she behaves and acts.

There’s a lot more going on in the story with side issues involving friends and relations. But it is a clean, charming story of two people coming to understand themselves and each other better. One of the key things they learn is to communicate with each other rather than assuming they know what the other thinks, believes, or feels. Which I feel is key to any relationship and seems to be echoed in all these books.

You may start with this book and move back to the beginning as we wait for the final volume. There is enough information that if you are familiar with the base characters, you won’t be too confused with these plot variations. However, I advise treating yourself with the entire series and start with book one, Confounding Caroline.

I try to be normal. I want to normal. To live like I imagine everyone else does. Go about my daily tasks. Work. Clean house. Do the laundry. Sleep — oh, sleep … I miss that most of all believe it or not.

I’ve got several health problems that all involve pain. Migraines. Fibromyalgia. Chronic fatigue. Arthritis. Each involves some degree of pain. Like most people suffering from these issues, I have good days and bad. And a lot of days when I can just ignore it and get on with life.

But, this past month has been a surplus of bad days. I work at home — self-employed mostly and so I make my own schedule. But this month (July 2018) has been just one thing after another. The weather affects my migraines (as the barometric pressure moves up and down rapidly) and we’ve been having one storm sweep in followed by a few nice days and another storm. There was nearly a week of heavily overcast days with intermittent showers — I mean the kind where you might as well been in the shower stall it was raining so heavily.

Add in the fact that due to the war on opioids that pain medication is hard to come by. So over-the-counter medications have to do but mostly they barely touch the pain. So, this month it has been a lot of time just meditating — or staring off into space hoping that I could push the pain just a bit off to the side and get on with things. Some days I’m more successful than others.

The upshot of the this is that this month I’m disappointed with myself. Usually, I’m so much better sometimes I can even hide it from my husband so he doesn’t worry. But this month, I feel like I didn’t succeed at all. I whined — a lot. I managed to get some work done but mostly this month was a complete waste. Most days there weren’t enough spoons in the county to do the bare minimum of what I expect of myself.

In fact, I surprised that I managed to actually get out of bed, check on the chickens and refill their water, walk down to the mailbox to get the mail (1/4 mile each way), and do some actual proofreading and writing. Managed to attend meetings and take notes and follow up later with what I promised to do. Maybe I did better than I thought now that I write it down — but, I feel I could have done more — I should have done more.

Maybe it is the “shoulds” that I didn’t do that cause me to feel disappointed in myself. Maybe I just need more spoons. I’m trying to keep up the exercise regime in spite of it all as that is really what helps the most to keep me going. I can’t afford to give up — but every day is a challenge. And, I know that others are having a more difficult time than I am so I slog on each day.

Highland Knits: Knitwear Inspired by the Outlander Series by Interweave Editors, Interweave (April 28, 2016) ISBN: 978-1632504593, Trade Paperback, 112 pages. List Price: $22.99 (Amazon: $15.63 / Kindle: $11.99).

I loved the knitted items that I saw watching season one of Outlander so I was naturally interested in seeing what would be in Highland Knits. I was impressed that the items were definitely in keeping with the simplicity and usefulness. The book has patterns for four Cowls, two Caplets, two Gauntlets, one Arm Warmer, one Shawl, one Shurg, one Wrap, one scarf, three Boot Cuffs, and one Stockings.

About half the patterns call for bulky or chunky yarns and seem like they’d knit up fast. The rest of the patterns call for worsted or Aran yarn. So basically all the pattern are geared to keeping you warm and snug on those crisp fall days and nights and the colder winter weather. All of the patterns are classic enough to fit into current fashion for keeping one warm and different enough to stand out as special.

I read the digital edition. Sometimes knitting ebooks are difficult to work with because the photos are small and charts are hard to read. Highland Knits handled this by making all the photos and charts enlarge to screen size with a double tap. Some patterns are only written and others are written and charted. When there is a chart it tends to be simple so screen size is not the problem it would be with a complicated pattern.

I feel in love with the photo showing the Brimstone Faux Fur Cowl designed by Claudia Maheux. The yarn called for was Louisa Hardings Luzia (80% viscose, 20% nylon; 43 yeards/39.5 meters per skein, 7 skeins) and was listed as bulky. Knit on US size 10 straight needles. Reading over the pattern I wondered how faux fur yarn which I’d looked at often in various yarn stores could be called ‘bulky’ but then it said to use two strands held together. It seemed like an ideal pattern to try to learn by doing just how clear the directions actually are to follow. But I ran into a few snags.

The first snag was that the yarn that was called for was out of stock — and several sites implied it was no longer made — and the few places that carried it had prices that were marked up a lot — imagine 10 times or more the original price per skein which was rather high to begin with. Yeah, there was that to burst my bubble. But with Goggle-Fu, I managed to find several yarns that seemed to meet the criteria of the original yarn. I ended up using James C. Brett Faux Fur which I purchased from Loveknitting.com. It comes in several different shades and I choose a silver-ish version listed as H2. Each skein was 90 meters or 98.42 yards. The yarn is 90% Supersoft Nylon 10% Polyester. I ordered 4 skeins and doubled it was just enough as I had barely any left at the end of the project. Total project cost was about $26.00 US. The yarn is hand wash only and dry flat.

Here are two photos of the finished cowl. A front view and a side view. It’s very thick and heavy and my hubby was kind enough to model it for me while I took pictures. It’s also very, very warm.

My real problem came at the end of the project. When starting the pattern called for a provisional cast-on. The Glossary had directions for the Provisional (Crochet Chain) Cast-on. They were very clear and I followed them and had no problem getting the project started. The problem all came at the end when you pull out the crochet chain to expose the live stitches. That’s where it all when pear-shaped. The crochet chain wouldn’t pull out or at least it wouldn’t pull out easily. So, while I knit the cowl over 4 evenings it took me a few hours per night (or until I couldn’t keep my frustration in check for a week to manage to pick up the stitches. Even then I wasn’t sure I had all the live stitches, I’d seemed to pick up several extra as I tried to free the crochet chain from the live stitches but a little judicious pulling didn’t seem to generate any runs so I called it a win.

Next was to use the Kitchener st to join the beginning of the cowl to the end of the cowl to close the circle. This was faux fur and very fluffy it was difficult to see individual stitches using two strands together and I’d just fought a valiant battle with the crochet chain my reading glasses and a magnifying glass to finally get the 55 live stitches recovered so … I decided to do a three-needle-bind-off instead. The three-needle-bind-off was a lot easier on my nerves, solidly melded the two ends together and, more importantly, with the faux fur was hard to identify or see among the fluff of the fur.

I believe the provisional cast-on would have worked well if the yarn had been smooth but with the faux fur it just exceeded my personal capabilities and I should have realized that when I started. However, the final project came out beautifully and I’m looking forward to using it when I need warmth with a bit of class or even just when I feel I want to look special for me.

Looking over the patterns in this book there were several that looked great for gift giving as they used bulky yarn and would knit up quickly. This particular cowl that I made would have only taken several hours from start to finish if not for the provisional cast-on problem I ran into. I spent more time looking for a substitute yarn than actually knitting — if I don’t count the time trying to finish it off.

Check the book out online by using the look inside option. I think it is a good one to have on hand for making truly useful and stylish cold weather accessories.

Tudor Roses by Alice Starmore.  ISBN: 978-1606600474.  Hardcover. Calla Editions; Revised Expanded edition (November 8, 2013).

There are a couple of things that I can tell you right off. First, this edition has no sweaters for men. So the Henry VII and Henry VIII sweaters are missing. Second several of the women’s sweaters have been revised. There’s also a couple of new sweaters for women in the Tudor line.

[Reviewing Note: I own the original Tudor Roses, 1998 edition, and will try to give my impressions as to the changes as I go through this new edition. Note that I’m reviewing a digital advanced reader copy so while I have photos and text information, I can’t comment on instructions as this copy not formatted for reading the knitting instructions and all the charts are missing and formatting was problematical.

4/28/17 Update: I bought a copy of the newly revised hardcover edition of Tudor Roses because I feel in love with a couple of the new sweaters, now seeing others in these new richer saturated colors — well I found myself willing to buy this copy.]

Below is a photo of what I mean by richer colors. The photo from the new book is on the left and the old book on the right. Photo were snapshots with my phone’s camera with flash.

A major difference is the sweater photos in the 1998 version were mostly taken outdoors in natural settings. This new edition is more controlled with studio photographs (several of each knitted item) against a black backgrounds. This makes for more uniformity in displaying the knitted items and keeps the focus on the pattern, style, and colors.

All of the women’s sweaters from the 1998 version are in this version though the color choices have changed for many of the sweaters. There are also several new sweaters each named for a woman important to the Tudor line: Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, Lady Mary, and Mary, Queen of Scots. Though some of the sweaters for the women have changed as the sweater on the cover of the new edition is Jane Seymour’s and in the 1998 edition her sweater was a pullover.

Here’s a partial list of the differences between the 1998 version and this edition:

• Elizabeth of York’s sweater has also changed to be more of a bolero or vest instead of the original longer length though the stitch pattern is basically the same.
• Margaret Tudor’s sweater is shown in a cream and the sleeve pattern has been changed while the body is the same.
• Anne Bodeyn’s sweater has changed to a stunning fitted jacket that draws the eye with a contrasting thin stripe detail.
• Katherine Howard’s sweater is the same but the color is now dark blue with a liter blue for the diagonal stripes giving it a bit more drama.

Each section starts with a short letter from the point of view of the woman featured, giving a flavor of who she was and how she viewed her place in the world. I found these short notes to be touching and to bring this woman to life as a person not just a historical figure. Reading these notes made it easier to see how the sweater fit with their personality and position which added an extra layer of enjoyment to the book.

I’d suggest going to the Amazon website and take advantage of the Look Inside feature to determine if you wish to purchase this book. It is a beautiful edition with just enough changes to make it worth purchasing even if you do own the 1998 copy. However, others may have a different view of buying a new edition of an already owned pattern book. Check it out and decide for yourself.

This post is going to be a bit of a whine. We’ve been dealing with a lot of health issues this year and it seems that things get better and then they get not so very much better — meaning things slide downhill. I was just congratulating myself that I’d made it through Capclave okay with only a minor headache and a few muscle spasms. Then, I felt up for World Fantasy Convention (WFC) in Columbus, Ohio. Had a great time at both conventions.

Got a lot of exercise as well as fresh air walking about within a 1/2 to a mile of the hotel while in Columbus. However, had a couple of severe muscle spasm and a low grade migraine the last two day which got worse on the drive home to Maryland. The day before we left to come home, our cat sitter texted that the cat, Dorian, had a few accidents but was still greeting her when she came to the house and didn’t seem lethargic.

Just after Christmas last year, Dorian had a severe downturn in his health but recovered and is known in the vet’s office as the miracle cat because they didn’t think he’d make it at all. He’s got a heart problem and only 1 half of a functioning kidney and is 14 years old going on 15 (so in cat years that mid-70s). We got home to number of accidents (from both ends – use your imagination) throughout the house. We called the vet and took him right in. He was dehydrated and with really high levels in his blood work that indicate his kidney may be shutting down. They did some rehydration and gave him anti-nausea meds along with some other medications. We took him home and had to bring him in again today. He was there all day for treatment. His tests came back today much better in some way and yet still worrisome. He’ll go in again tomorrow and then we may, depending on his test results, have to start making some very hard decisions about his quality of life. He’s more active and moving about but seems not himself. I’m cautiously optimistic but still worried.

Afterall, what can you be but cautiously optimistic when the cat sits and stares at the bubbling water bowl for extended period so time. Maybe it is cat meditation. Currently, he’s crawled under the lowest level of the cat tree and is not sleeping but probably contemplating the universe and his place in it.

Meanwhile, the magazines (SFRevu.com and GumshoeReview.com) went up as planned on November 1st. However, I still have some things to do — essential the reviews I was doing still need to be finished and added to the contents as well as writing the overview editorial for each magazine. Hoping that a good nights sleep will finally vanish the migraine — it is really hard to think clearly when someone invisible is using your head for an anvil.

If the headache finally eases off with a good nights sleep, I can finish up tomorrow while Dorian, the cat, is again at the vets. But, with so much stress my allergies and asthma have kicked in. This puts a bit of perspective on the migraines — though on the whole, lots of pain vs difficulty breathing seem to be in a tie.

Life goes on so far.