Darlene's Digest

BOSKONE 48 or "How I Spent My Winter Vacation" I arrived in Boston a couple days before the convention to spend time with my son, who's in grad school in Cambridge.  We had a lovely visit, even though my credit cards were smokin' and begging for mercy by the time I kissed him goodbye and headed to the Westin Waterfront.  I didn't have any program items Friday afternoon so it was an opportunity for me to see some old friends, many of whom were working the convention, and get unpacked and ready for the festivities. The weather in Boston through Friday had been more than tolerable--highs in the 60s, and lots of slush and melting ice.  That all changed Friday night.  We were walking back from supper and about four blocks from the hotel a storm hit us sideways.  It was a combination of winds clocked at over 40 mph, driving sleet and hail.  One of our party had her glasses knocked off and blown away, another was a petite woman nearly blown off her feet! ...

     “I’ve never been a husband, Mandy. Sharing someone’s life in this manner is all new for me.”      “You already know the most important things about being a husband, Morgan. You are protective of me, you provide for my welfare, and you love me. Judith told me of an old proverb: ‘Love is good. Love and noodles is better.’ And that is what there is to being husband and wife.” ---Captain Sinister's Lady Happy 35th Anniversary to my dear husband, who still provides me with love and noodles.

Pompom paused at the sight of a blue-tailed skink sunning itself on a rock, his entire body stiffening. The two humans watched the dog, who was totally focused on the lizard. “If he was only a little larger, Pompom could hunt for us, Dr. Murray.” Alexander started to say something snide about the animal, then stopped himself. “Would he bring us a deer, do you think?”   Castaway Dreams  c. 2011 (WIP) The bichon in my WIP (work in progress) may not have been able to bring down a deer, but I once had a hound who could.  I was pleased this morning to read the news about Westminster Dog Show and see that the Redbone Coonhound is now recognized in  the competition.  When I was growing up we lived for a time outside Naples, Florida near to the sawgrass and hunting country.  One morning we awoke to find a dog on our doorstep, hungry, footsore, gun-shy and pregnant.   We couldn't find an owner, and the dog adopted us.  She was a huge Redbone hound a...

"If you give me your heart, I can give you mine, and I will be as true to you as the needle to the pole, darlin'."--Smuggler's Bride   Today is Valentine's Day.  It's a day to celebrate love and healthy relationships.  Be sure to hug your sweetie, and if you don't currently have a human sweetie, maybe you can do something special like donate or help out at your local pet shelter.  Love comes in all forms, and nothing says "I love you!" quite like wet doggy kisses or a cat purring in your lap.

My Boskone 48 Schedule, Part Deux: Here's the updated schedule with program item descriptions and moderators: Saturday 12noon Southern Vampire Mystery Woman -- The Charlaine Harris Interview Charlaine Harris Darlene Marshall She's the prize-winning, internationally best-selling author of almost thirty mystery novels. What's she doing at a science fiction convention? We suspect it starts with the day Charlaine Harris asked herself, "What kind of person would date a vampire?" and kept thinking until she had created Sookie Stackhouse. But we've got plenty of other questions about the resulting Southern Vampire Mystery series (running on TV as the acclaimed /True Blood/ HBO series) -- as well as about her Harper Connelly "grave reader" books, her 20-plus-years-in-the-making overnight success, and how she manages to write like the hilariously dark daughter of Anne Rice and Connie Willis. Saturday 3:30pm Reading: Darlene Marshall (0.5 hrs) Dar...

Over the weekend I learned what my heroine's dark secret is.  Now that I know it (and it's not what the hero or I expected!) I'm back at work.  I must say, this new information has made writing today much more fun.  I wish she'd revealed this information to me sooner. And if this all sounds a little like you should be calling the boys in white coats to take me away, don't worry.  It's a writer thing.  I see fake people, and they talk to me.  Sometimes it takes a while before they really open up.  But I'll have my revenge before I'm done, and then she'll learn what happens to characters who withhold information from me! Bwahahahahaha!

My Boskone 48 Preliminary Schedule Saturday12noon     Southern Vampire Mystery Woman -- The Charlaine  Harris Interview          Charlaine Harris              Darlene Marshall       Sunday  10am       The Spirit of the Place          Laird Barron              Charlaine Harris              Alexander Jablokov              Darlene Marshall              Margaret Ronald          Consider when scenery is so much a part of the fabric of the story      that it almost becomes ...

Dear Blizzard Sufferers, I'm sitting on my back porch finishing my mint tea, watching a sulfur butterfly hover over the impatiens.  The diva dachshund is stalking a lizard on the patio.  It's 77F and sunny.  I thought you'd want to know. Much love, Darlene