Lisa Hendrix

I learned this morning that Kate Duffy, long-time Kensington editor and extraordinary friend to romance, has died. I met Kate the first time in 1993, and although I never had the opportunity to work with her, I learned a lot from her over the years.  She will be missed.

For those who never had the chance to hear her quick laugh, or those who just want to hear it again, here’s a glimpse of the amazing Kate:

It’s excerpt month over at the Rose City Romance Writers blog, and to celebrate, I contributed a never-before-posted bit of Chapter 2. While you’re over there, take a few moments to read all the other excerpts. There are lots of talented ladies in the Portland chapter of RWA.

And have a good Sunday.  (I’m going shoe shopping with Child2!)

Sorry I’ve been so delinquent about continuing our travels through Nottinghamshire. It’s been a busy couple of weeks, what with driving Child1 to college nine hours away, then turning around 24 hours after I got home to make the ten hour round trip to a signing in Portland. I barely got back from that in time to attend Child2′s acting debut, literally walking in just as the play began. And then two days after that, I started running a character workshop for the FF&P Chapter of RWA. Whew!

But things have settled down now, sort of, so we’re off again, backtracking, as Steinarr and Marian did, from Haworth toward Sudwell, stopping off at the Retford market. This is the market where Ari sat in the tavern and spun the story that inadvertently started the rumors about Robin Hood.

Retford, which lies on the River Idle about 30 miles north of Nottingham, has long been the prinicipal market town in an area known as the Hundred* of Bassetlaw. Ret-, or Red- (the town appears in the Domesday Book as Reddeforde), is a reference to Read the rest of this entry »

Well, not here, but at Powell’s Books at Cedar hills Crossing.  I’m one of a dozen members of the Rose City Romance Writers who’ll be autographing their books this evening (Friday, 9/18/09) at 7pm. Show up and you can get books signed by Meljean Brook, Margaret Mallory, Delilah Marvelle, Jean Johnson, Cathy Lamb, Minnette Meador, Elisabeth Naughton, Jenna Bayley-Burke, Hanna Rhys-Barnes, Gina Robinson…and moi.

Full details are on the Meet Lisa page, but here’s a Google Map to get you pointed in the right direction:

View Powell’s Books At Cedar Hills in a larger map

Be there or be square—and utterly without a decent book to read this weekend.

Lots of folks are marking the date today by buying lottery tickets. For me, it’s a reminder of how heavily the number nine figures in the Immortal Brotherhood books:

Nine warriors. Nine amulets. Nine books.

Nine words in the tag line the copywriters created for IMMORTAL OUTLAW:

“When the sun goes down, the beast comes out.”

Nine clues in Marion and Steinarr’s quest. [I didn't plan this one. I didn't even realize it until after I submitted the manuscript, but when I started listing them in preparation for making the Google map—Surprise!—there they were.]

And nine because the Norse gods, especially Odin, are obsessed by the number: there are nine worlds in the cosmos; Heimdall, the guardian of the gods, has nine mothers, and Ægir has nine daughters; Odin hung upside down on the world tree Yggdrasil for nine days in order to gain the wisdom of the eighteen (twice nine) runes of Wyrd; the Swedes assembled every nine years at the temple of Uppsala to celebrate and sacrifice for nine days; Odin’s ring Draupnir released eight drops of gold every ninth night, each of which formed a equal ring for a total of nine rings (Tolkein’s inspiration, btw – and there were nine members of the Fellowship at the outset, too). [Find out more about nines in Norse mythology at Wikipedia.]

So tonight at 9:09, I’ll be lifting my glass of honey mead and taking nine sips to my warriors. And then I’ll go back to work on IMMORTAL CHAMPION. Because I know you’re waiting…

Although it lies almost due east of Maltby, which is in South Yorkshire, the little village of Harworth is a part of Nottinghamshire–barely. It’s name comes from the Old English words har for gray (think hoary) and worth, meaning enclosure. The countryside used to be cultivated fields near the village, surrounded by the northern part of Sherwood Forest, but as in much of England, the forest has been destroyed, leaving open countryside and heath.

According to White Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853 (found on genuki):

“Harworth is a pleasant village, with a small stream running through it, 2 miles east-south-east of Tickhill, and 3 miles west-south-west of Blyth. It contains 595 inhabitants and 1,428a 3r 2p of land, principally belonging to Lord Galway. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient fabric, built about the 12th century, except the chancel, which was erected in 1672. In repairing the building in 1828, an arched recess was discovered in the wall, with a cupboard containing a garland, a cribbage board, and several other articales of a more sacred character. At the same time a handsome cross was found in the churchyard, and is now placed above the east window.”

Unfortunately, in 1869, Read the rest of this entry »