Category Archives: Writing

Falling Deep

Jordan lay awake thinking about how her life had changed so radically in the past few weeks. She prided herself on her independence and planned to travel through life with no attachments holding her down. It’s not that she didn’t enjoy the company of men, but she wanted to be free to go wherever life would lead her in a moments notice. That was before she met Aidan.

She had been on another adventure hiking in Nepal when her group took refuge at Gorek Shep. They were told it was too dangerous to try to climb Everest in the winter. She was lobbying her companions to take a shot climbing part of the way. She didn’t find any takers and resigned herself to spending the night and heading back to Lukla in the morning. She was drowning her disappointment in dark chocolate and a large glass of wine at the fireside when she heard his voice.

“You don’t give up easily, do you?”

Jordan looked in the direction of the voice and saw large dark eyes that seemed to penetrate her with their intensity.

” I guess I don’t,” she replied.

” Your friends are right, this is not the time to climb the mountain.”

“I have given up on that idea already.”

” I am planning on a caving trip. Have you ever tried it?”

” I haven’t done that yet. Where are you planning to go?”

“The Krubera Cave in Abkhazia. It’s believed to be the deepest cave in the world.”

“How deep?”

” The latest measurement was 2,197 meters.”

” That’s over 7,000 feet!”

“Yes, but I don’t recommend it for beginners. I would be willing to give you some lessons.”

” I have to head back to my home base but you have got me interested.”

“Where do you live?”

” I live in Nevada City.”

” Where’s that?”

“Nevada City is in the Gold Country in Northern California.”

“Gold Country?”

” It’s where Gold was discovered and mined in California. The site of the “Gold Rush.” I grew up there. It’s a small town but with a colorful history of people who took risks and sought their fortunes in the Wild West. Maybe that’s how I got my love of adventure. I’m Jordan Sullivan, and you are?

“I’m Aidan Rourke, nice to meet you. Nevada City sounds like an interesting place to visit. Did you ever go climbing around there?”

“Just hiking but I was just thinking about what you said, teaching me about caving. There is a large cave near Angels Camp called the Moaning Caverns. There is rappelling available at the site. If you would like to come to California, you could be my guest in Nevada City.”

Jordan had shocked herself with this invitation to a man she just met but there was something about him. She was drawn to him and wanted to get to know him better. She had relationships before but they never lasted long and she told herself not to expect this one would amount to much either. After all, she was not interested in commitment and the men she usually dated felt the same way.

Aidan had taken her up on the offer to visit California and she had spent the last week showing him around her home town and the surrounding area. She was used to getting into intimate relationships quickly and this one was no different in that respect. What was different about it was how she was beginning to feel about Aidan. Jordan saw this as a red flag. You’ve got to get hold of yourself, slow down. No commitment, remember? There was something about this one though. He had such an appealing way about him. He was strong but gentle and had a quirky sense of humor that made her laugh. And when she looked into those big dark brown eyes she felt herself melt. What was she going to do? This was getting serious!

They decided to head for the Moaning Caverns the next morning. Jordan found herself yawning over breakfast.

” I didn’t think my conversation was so boring,” Aidan remarked grinning.

” I had a little trouble sleeping last night.”

” Anything bothering you?”

” Nothing really. I’m not sure what kept me awake.” Jordan was not going to admit what or who was causing her insomnia yet, or maybe never she thought.

“Are you ready for some rappelling lessons this morning?”

“I’m ready to get going. Can we leave now?”

Aidan picked up on Jordan’s irritability but decided to ignore it. He was looking forward to teaching her how to use the ropes. He couldn’t wait to get close to her again. He had been attracted to her from the first night they met and now he didn’t know how he would ever live without her. He had the ring hidden in his backpack and planned to surprise her when they were in the cave. He just hoped she felt the same way about him.

They had a great time rappelling down into the cavern. Jordan took to it like a pro. They decided to make one final descent. Aidan started off down the wall of the cave and was halfway down when his rappel anchor suddenly broke loose and he plummeted. Luckily a ledge broke his fall. Jordan screamed and cried out to him but he did not respond. She quickly descended to where he was sprawled on the ledge.

“Aidan, darling, are you hurt?”

It took a few minutes for Aidan’s head to clear then he realized Jordan was touching his body looking for any injury. “Did you call me darling?”

” Yes, and are you going to make a big deal out of it?” Jordan shouted, tears glistening in her eyes.

” Yeah, I’m going to make a big deal out it,” he said as he pulled her close and covered her mouth with his before she could say anything more.

They never made it to Abkhazia but found much to explore in Nevada City after they were married in the Spring.

This Flash Fiction post is for the # WEPFF WEP-Write…Edit…Publish February 2018 Challenge-In Too Deep hosted by Denise Covey, Yolanda Renée, Nilanjana Bose, and Olga Godim. Featured image Harwood hole New Zealand by Dave Bunnell on Wikimedia.org

Word Count: 998

Full Critique

Virtual Perfection

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Fish

The children were fitted with Virtual Sight contacts at an early age. Everyone had perfect eye sight and everything in the world was in perfect high-definition. The Controllers questioned why anyone should view imperfection. So any flaws were quickly removed from view and everything looked perfect. Poverty,human suffering, or the elderly need not be seen. To prevent the population from tripping over unseen bodies in the street, the poor and sick were swept into hidden compounds. When people reached the age of 55 they simply disappeared. This arrangement was deemed sensible. No one should have to see the messy, imperfection of ageing. People sometimes felt uneasy though. A sensation of people walking beside or around, a whisper, a movement in the air, a shadow.

The disruption in the Virtual System occurred during a solar flare in the middle of the Summer Solstice celebration. People were disoriented as their brains fought to adjust to their natural vision. They froze in place as the creatures came into view. There were strange, imperfect beings standing among them. The older ones who had disappeared were still alive. They just had been unable to see them.

Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner is hosted by Roger Shipp. Click on link to learn more about this writing group.

Icy Surprise

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bike

“Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have spotted thick deposits of ice in the planet’s mid-latitudes that extend hundreds of feet deep.” – Amina Khan LA Times Science File “Icy surprise is exposed on Mars”

*********************

The Mars outpost was ordered to remove all traces of their colony. Tomir’s parents told him to gather up all his belongings to be shipped on the first transport. He had sorted through most of it when his eyes fell upon one last thing, a gift from his Uncle Domir brought back from the Earth Expedition. It was too embarrassing to show to any of his friends back home. All his friends had their own hover boards. What was he to do with this thing? That’s when he remembered that crevasse in the ice field.

“What do you mean you don’t remember where you put it?” his mother asked.

*********************

Mars Deep Explorer Mission announced that excavation of the scarps in the Milankovic Crater has resulted in an amazing discovery. Scientists have no explanation.

Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner is hosted by Roger Shipp. Click on the link if you would like to know more about this writing group.

Packing Up A Life

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Cup

I finished for the day and was taking a break in front of a cozy fire with a well-earned cup of coffee. My mother didn’t like earthen ware coffee mugs and all her cups were china. She had a particular affinity for English china cups. Definitely not my taste for a coffee cup but I did not have a choice in her house. It had been an exhausting day sorting through all of Mom’s possessions. My daughter had offered to help but she would not be arriving for another 2 days. My mother was nothing like a hoarder and had downsized once already when she moved into the cottage after Dad died. It was just that many of the things had memories attached to them. It is taking me a long time to go through them because a memory or feeling would be triggered and I’d get lost in a reverie. The photos were the worst. Like the one of me in Tuscany when I was away with a study abroad class. Mom said the photos were almost unreal, like a movie set. She did not know how real it was. This was where the love of my life died.

This post is for Flash Fiction For The Purposeful Practitioner Week # 2 hosted by Roger Shipp. You can learn more about the rules by clicking on the link.

Redwood

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Rachel Baum was looking forward to another opportunity to get out in the forest. Her job as a biologist at UC Berkeley was the study of the effect of climate change on Redwood trees. In recent years there was a growing alarm at the rapid changes in the California climate and how it was stressing the trees. Many felt it could be reaching a tipping point with how long the trees could adapt and survive. Her work sometimes required her to climb to the top of a 300 foot tree to check instruments that monitored the weather up in the canopy.
Rachel loved the spectacular views from the canopy and listening to the wind in the leaves. She came to the grove with another biologist who remained on the ground. Josh would send up any needed supplies with a pulley. There had been reports of a storm front moving in but Rachel and Josh thought they would have enough time. As she reached the top of the tree she heard a loud rumbling and looked up to see dark clouds rolling in.
“We better make this quick, Rachel,” Josh called over the two-way radio.
“I just want to check the fog monitor and then I will head down.”
Rachel was reaching over to the monitor when she saw the little Spotted Owl on a lower branch.

Female Spotted Owl

She was about to catch a quick photo when she felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. The lightning hit a nearby tree sending chunks of wood exploding through the air. A large piece hit Rachel.
Rachel was traveling through a tunnel. She felt the tunnel closing in on her body, squeezing. She thought she heard a young woman cry out and then she forgot about her life on Earth as she came into a new world. The midwife smiled as she welcomed this new life. Her parents named her Alexandria.

Alexandria Mata was one of the first babies born in the Mars colony. Her parents were part of the first colonists to live on Mars. They were both botanists working on plant cultivation. Growing up Alex liked exploring the gardens and small nature areas that were part of the biosphere. Her parents often found her reading her books under one of the few trees. Alex loved stories about trees. She grew up to be a botanist like her parents and her affinity for trees continued. Many of her contemporaries considered her a bit odd for her interest in Forest Biology because, as they told her, the forests are gone on Earth and there would be no forests on Mars. There was one friend who shared her interest in trees, Jeff Kimura. His focus was paleobotany, the study of fossil plants.

Artist concept Mars Colony via NASA

Alex was working the day a small package arrived in a shipment from Earth. The contents of the box were not revealed by the label which said it had come from the University of California, Berkeley. As she opened it she found a note from a biologist. I hope you can find a home for this specimen of Sequoia Sempervirens and help this majestic spirit survive in the universe. Most of these trees had been lost on Earth during the Great Drought of 2030-2045 when there were years of little rain with many months of wild fires. Global warming had denied the moisture giving fog to the giant trees and the drought dried out the soil and the surrounding undergrowth. The fires did the rest. Alex wanted to show the seedling to Jeff but he was at a dig site on Olympus Mons.

Olympus Mons was an old shield volcano and one of the tallest mountains in the solar system. Jeff’s team hoped that the volcano had some buried secrets in its slopes. They were looking for signs of earlier plant life on the planet. Jeff knew Alex would be very interested in what they discovered, part of a fossilized forest.

“Jeff, this is fantastic, proof of ancient forests on Mars! When will you get some specimens back here?”

“We have them here now if you want to come over to my lab.”

” Right away!”

Word spread fast among the scientists and Alex found a large group in the Botany lab. The lead paleobotanist, Dr. Albero, was speaking. ” The microscopic evaluation of the fossils suggest these trees were ancestors of Sequoia Sempervirens, or Coast Redwoods.”

“How could Mars and Earth have the same trees? “ Alex thought, incredulous.

After the announcement people broke up into smaller groups to talk about the discovery. Jeff signaled to Alex. She walked over to a corner of the room where he was standing.

“Can you believe it, Coast Redwoods on Mars?

“We found a body.”

“What! Where?”

“We found a body buried near the trees.”

“What kind of body? What did it look like?”

“Like this.” Jeff showed Alex a photo he had stored on his communicator.

“Oh my God! This proves there were humanoids here on Mars.”

“Well there was one anyway.”

“Why wasn’t the discovery of this body announced?”

“Dr. Albero wants to discuss it with some higher-ups at NASA. He thinks this discovery might cause some panic in the colony.”

The colony leaders called for a community meeting the following week. Dr. Albero was asked to speak about the discovery.

“I know there have been rumors about the other discovery made on Olympus Mons. We found the body of a humanoid buried near the petrified forest. Further testing on the remains indicates that this humanoid is genetically related to us.”

******

The expedition found two planets in the solar system with environments compatible to their home world. They decided to introduce some of their flora prior to colonization to see if it could survive. They planted some seedlings from one of their most revered and beloved trees.

Ancient Coast Redwoods tower above hikers at Simpson Reed Grove Trail

“The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.” – John Steinbeck

More information about climate change and the Redwoods. And 100 Practical Ways to Reverse Climate Change: Drawdown.

Featured Image ‘Growth, plant’ by Antranias on Pixabay.com. Image of ‘Female Spotted Owl’ by Emily Brauwer of the US National Park Service via wikimedia. Image of ‘Petrified Wood, Petrified Forest National Park, USA’ via Pixabay.com. Image of ‘Mummy’ from British Museum Collection by Klafubra on wikimedia. Image of Coast Redwoods in Redwood National Park via US National Park Service.

This post is part of the Write…Edit…Publish #WEP#ff December Challenge, The End is the Beginning hosted by Denise Covey, Yolanda Renee, Nilanjana Bose, and Olga Godim.

Word Count: 990 (excluding quote)

Full Critique

Wild Fires

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” When you’re evacuating from a wild fire it’s hard to decide what to take with you.”

My ability to write provides a path for expression about my life experiences. I am often moved to write when my feelings about a thing run high. Maybe a part of being a writer is the need to chronicle your life.

I thought we had been lucky and avoided the fire season in our section of Southern California. But as it often happens, the fires have their own secret plans. We were evacuated from our home a little over 10 years ago in the middle of the night so this time we decided not to wait until the evacuation order to get packed. Experiencing an evacuation does that to you. You know it can come suddenly, with little warning, and you must go. There had been no evacuation orders yet but we were busy gathering a few mementos and family photos, our wedding album, videos of our kids growing up and my son’s bar mitzvah, a small photo album of my son’s wedding, a few precious notes from my daughter, our kid’s baby shoes…It’s hard to decide and remember what to take with you. My son and daughter in law had to pack up all the equipment in their car for my little baby grandson, just in case. It’s not just the fires but the threat of power outages. Some medical equipment he needs requires electricity. We talked about them coming to our house or her parents depending on who loses power. If all of us lose power they may have to go into West LA to other family. We can see the smoke in the air and hope the Santa Ana winds die out soon.

This post is for One Liner Wednesday hosted by Linda G Hill and the monthly post for the Insecure Writers Support Group, #IWSG , Co-Hosts: Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!

Mothers And Daughters

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“See, people come into your life for a reason. They might not know it themselves, why. You might not know it. But there’s a reason. There has to be”
― Joyce Carol Oates

My mother in law was married on November 24, 1948. She did not know that her first daughter in law was being born a little over a week later. We did not meet each other for another 26 years. My future husband had talked me into driving down to Los Angeles with him after we had a big fight. She did not like me at first. He was her first-born and she was definitely not ready to relinquish him. I was the wrong religion. I would marry her son 3 years later. My mother in law had 4 sons and was used to a house full of males. It was a nice change to have me at the dinner table because I was appreciative of her cooking. She was my mother in law for forty years. She taught me how to make chicken soup. She helped me shop for my wedding gown and plan my wedding. I was her first daughter in law and I gave birth to her first grandchild, my son Scott. She first learned about being a mother in law with me. It was not always an easy relationship. Especially after my son was born and 4 years later my daughter, Kate. She had very strong opinions about many things including child rearing. I had my own ideas. As the years passed she became less critical and I became less sensitive. I suspected it might have been her experience with the next two daughter in-laws had taught her to be more diplomatic. Through it all, the holiday dinners, kid’s birthday parties, graduations, and major illnesses, my in-laws were always there. Both of my parents were gone and my children had only one set of grandparents, one grandmother. In her later years she developed dementia and gradually became less talkative. I think she still recognized me. She had often said she thought of me as the daughter she never had. My mother in law, Mary Lynn, passed away in the first hour of Thanksgiving day with most of her family around her. For a large part of my life she was the mother I never had.

One Liner Wednesday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Featured image is of the ‘Barbara Bush Rose’ via wikimedia.

Pen and Ink

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Do you remember fountain pens with the screw in ink cartridges? We used to have those when I was in grade school. We also had traditional fountain pens with the siphoning mechanism to suck up the ink out of an ink bottle. In older times there were ink wells in the student desks. Of course we had ball point pens too. But fountain pens seemed like more fun to use. Only sometimes they would leak and make ink stains on my middle finger. You could pick out the color of the ink, blue, blue-black, turquoise blue. Writing by hand with pen and paper is a lost art and my penmanship is not a good as it used to be. I do have a nice Montblanc fountain pen with a bottle of blue-black ink. You need to twist the barrel to siphon the ink into the pen. I’d like to start writing letters again.

Fountain pen ink cartridges (assorted) via wikimedia

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word for today is “ink.” Featured image of ‘Fountain Pen’ by WolfBlur on Pixabay.com Fountain pen ink cartridges, ( assorted brands) by Pavel.satrapa on wikimedia.

November

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It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month and encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The co-hosts today are: Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and Rebecca Douglass!

Click on the link above for the IWSG to get more information about the group and what is the latest goings on.

Each month on Wednesday you can join in and there is an optional question prompt provided. The question for November:

Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I have not participated in NaNoWriMo which, for those who may not know, is where people participate in a challenge to write an entire novel in a month. Knowing myself, this is something I would not want to do. Good luck to all the members of IWSG who are participating.

That leaves us wondering what are we going to do with the month of November if we are not choosing to spend it writing a novel. Well life goes on and I will be celebrating my first grandson’s 1st birthday. I will get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. This includes making a turkey dinner. I will continue to read some good books and watch some good movies. November begins with Samhain which has been thought of as the beginning of the dark months of winter in Celtic history. Winter is a time to draw in and conserve energy. I am drawn to slowing down. And there is the next WEP December Challenge coming up soon enough.

“A flashback? A new start? A cascading change? A branching off point? An end and a beginning? Celebrate year’s end with us!”

Featured image ‘Autumn’ by KreativeHexnkueche on Pixabay.com

The Prophesy

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“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” Frank Lloyd Wright

The scientists called their experiment Juvenis. It was to prolong youth and delay aging by altering the genes with help of a virus. It resulted in damage to the germ line that was passed on to future generations and doomed their people to a shortened lifespan. All efforts to reverse the Juvenis Effect had failed. The Olders had been brought through the portal from Earth because they were believed to be genetic descendants. The scientists were hopeful that the short life span of 30 years could be extended with gene splicing using the Erde DNA. They did not realize there could be more natural ways for the DNA to combine.

“How could I be pregnant at my age?” Sarah asked Nephele, the Council leader. “I was 55 and I had already gone through menopause when I came through the portal from Earth.”

“A plant blooms every Spring on Ortus called the Torrach. It releases a chemical into the air that promotes fertility. Many women become pregnant during the Spring Festival,” Nephele answered.

“I would never have casual sex with a stranger but the ceremonial wine had a powerful effect. It has clouded much of my memory of that night,” Sarah added as she remembered the face of the young Ortusun male.

“The wine contained a herb that we use during our Spring Festival celebration to heighten our senses. We did not realize it is would affect you in this way. It caused you to become intoxicated and to lose control. You had already mated before we realized what happened.”

Will my child be affected by the damaged genes?” asked Sarah.

“Our tests show that your fetuses do not have the defective gene, ” Nephele replied.

“Fetuses, you said fetuses.”

“You are carrying twins, Sarah.”

Sarah sat in stunned silence. Twins?

Sarah had never had children and never thought she wanted any. She noticed she did feel differently since finding herself pregnant. She felt curious about the unborn child. She had started creating sculptures of children. Sarah knew this was her way of imagining what her child would look like. But now it was not one child, but two. Twins.

“These children are very special to us. Their birth was prophesied in our legends and they show us that your DNA can reverse the Juvenis Effect.”

“What is the prophesy ?” Sarah asked.

“There is an ancient prophecy that foretold of an Erde woman who would give birth, in her later years, to twins who would become great leaders. These twins would have unusual powers. Their arrival would be heralded by the appearance of a twin nebula in our night sky. As you know the twin nebula has recently been sighted.”

“What kind of powers?” Sarah asked.

“That information has been lost in the long ago times,” Nephele replied.

The news of the twins conception was not welcomed by everyone. There were those who denounced the blending of Ortusun and Erde DNA. They did not believe that the Olders could be genetically related to Ortusuns as the rulers claimed.

Sarah went into labor on the night of the full moon of Coerulus Magnus, the larger of the two moons of Ortus. Sarah knew what she wanted to name the twins. She would call them Alexander and Merial.

Nephele was one of Sarah’s first visitors. “I am happy to see you and the twins doing well, Sarah. I want you to know that you and the children will be protected. We have taken the precaution of implanting security chips in both of them in case of any attempts are made to abduct them”.

“You think they could be in danger?”

“We want to diminish any risk of militia aggression.”

“What militia?” Sarah asked, her anxiety building.

“The militia call themselves The Praesidium. They claim to be defenders of our racial purity. We have been aware of them for some time. Do not be alarmed. You and the twins will be closely guarded until we are able to eliminate the threat,” Nephele reassured Sarah.

“We must destroy these half-breeds before their seed has a chance to pollute our world. What information do you have for me?” Marcen said to the group that had gathered at the compound.

“We have been watching the Erde woman and she is guarded commander. We have found some guards who are willing to cooperate under threat to their families. We will kill the half-breeds tomorrow night.” Ferox replied.

“Excellent! Victory to The Praesidium! ” Marcen shouted.

“Victory!” shouted the men.

The twins were very fussy. Sarah and Alexia, her android, struggled to settle them.

“I don’t know what could be bothering them, Alexia. They are usually very relaxed after their evening bath.”

Sarah decided to let the twins settle down in their bed by themselves for a while. They often found their own company entertaining enough. “Be calm my darlings. I will come back and check on you in a few minutes,” Sarah cooed to them as she lay them down. She sensed that they understood every word.

The twins were playing with the lighted orbs of the mobile that was suspended over their crib when suddenly they both became still as they listened to the sounds outside. They had been able to read each others thoughts since birth.

“The killer men are here, Merial.”

Ferox and his partner Quint quickly climbed through the nursery window. Quint had the hypospray that contained the deadly toxin. Ferox held down Alexander.

“Give it to this one first,” Ferox told Quint.

Quint held the injector over Alexander and was ready to follow orders when he heard Merial make a strange sound and looked over at the little girl twin. As he looked into her eyes his body was no longer under his control. Quint looked on in horror as his hand holding the hypospray moved toward his accomplice. Ferox was frozen in place, his eyes wide with terror.

Sarah could hear the twins giggling as she entered the nursery. “What are you two up to in here?” The answer was laying on the floor, their mouths oozing green foam.

Happy Halloween!

Word Count: 1025

Critique: Full

#WEPFF October 2017 WEP October Challenge,Flash Fiction Challenge, Halloween Challenge is hosted by Denise Covey, Nilanjana Bose, Olga Godim, Yolanda Renee

Quote about ageing via Senior Planet. 🙂 Skull image via publicdomainpictures.net was altered by me. Featured image of Twin Nebula via NASA altered with insertion of Twins image (altered) from Pixabay.com

Something extra:

As for “Write what you know,” I was regularly told this as a beginner. I think it’s a very good rule and have always obeyed it. I write about imaginary countries, alien societies on other planets, dragons, wizards, the Napa Valley in 22002. I know these things. I know them better than anybody else possibly could, so it’s my duty to testify about them. I got my knowledge of them, as I got whatever knowledge I have of the hearts and minds of human beings, through imagination working on observation. Like any other novelist. All this rule needs is a good definition of “know.”-Ursela Le Guin