Coming in May 2010...it's a...

The Epic of Karolan

Our friend Ari's book is now for sale. Ari is amazingly gifted (he wrote this series while completing his PhD in Astronomy) and P and I have already had the joy to peek at his book electronically but are excited to have a hard copy. Please see info below and please pass on to anyone you know who may enjoy the series.

Lovers of deeply characterized, heroic adventures, rejoice! Bright Against the Storm, available now from http://www.hopewriter.com/Karolan.html, begins an epic on the scale of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – and one with “the wonder, the awe, and the heroism” of Tolkien’s masterpiece.

With the neighboring realm of Norkath girding for a brutal war of conquest, King Thomas of Karolan sends young Sir Ilohan on a quest. Ilohan chooses the bold peasant blacksmith Jonathan as his companion. The quest seems too easy at first – an irrelevant footnote to the coming war. Soon, however, the travelers find themselves hunted by pitiless foes. Back in Karolan, the beautiful shepherdess Naomi prepares to face the war alone, wondering if Jonathan will ever return to her to redeem his pledges of undying love.

Bright Against the Storm is the first book of four in The Epic of Karolan. The other three volumes are already written, and are scheduled for release in the spring, summer, and fall of 2010, respectively. The Epic of Karolan was written for adults and older teens who enjoy fantasy or Christian fiction. The books may not be a good choice for children under 14. Bright Against the Storm is an average-length fantasy novel, at 424 pages, or 125,000 words. It is self-published by the author, Ari Heinze, and therefore is not backed by the advertising budget of a large corporation. Please send this on to anyone you know who might enjoy The Epic of Karolan. Scroll down to read endorsements for Bright Against the Storm, and a more detailed plot introduction.

Endorsement 1:

“In Bright Against the Storm, Ari Heinze does a number of things that I did not think possible in a 21st century novel: he offers a believable and compelling portrait of true honor and chivalry; he depicts both male and female goodness in a way that is neither clichéd nor cloying; he creates a medieval-like world that is suffused by Christian faith but that never degrades into mere piety or self-righteousness; he meditates honestly on both the glory and horror of war; and he offers one of the best and truest portraits of a virtuous pagan that I have ever encountered. Lovers of Tolkien’s Middle-earth will find in Heinze’s Karolan a world that is far closer to our own—all the characters are human—but that nevertheless retains the wonder, the awe, and the heroism of The Lord of the Rings.”
Louis Markos, Professor of English and Scholar-in-Residence, Houston Baptist University

Endorsement 2:

"Bright Against the Storm, the first volume of this epic fantasy, is beautifully written and realized, its style exuberant, with a sense of immediacy that draws the reader deeply into the narrative. I look forward with anticipation to reading the rest of the Karolan series!"

Luci Shaw, author of Breath for the Bones, and Writer in Residence at Regent College.

Endorsement 3:

“Bright Against the Storm is a work I commend to all those who would be stirred in mind and heart by a saga taking on the grand themes of faith and fortitude, doubt and destiny and the abiding presence of the goodness and grace of God in the midst of the travels and travails of life in any time or place.”

Reverend Paul Karlberg, Proclamation Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Plot Introduction:

King Fingar of Norkath is planning a brutal war of conquest against neighboring Karolan, allegedly justified by a mysterious betrayal decades old. Karolan has a history full of heroism, but dread weighs heavily on her people now. Aging King Thomas has no heir, and they may face Fingar’s onslaught without an effective leader.

In beautiful Glen Carrah in Karolan, Jonathan the blacksmith and the shepherdess Naomi exchange pledges of undying love. Confident in his strength and skill, Jonathan tells Naomi that he will find and rescue her, no matter what, if war separates them. The separation comes unexpectedly soon, when young Sir Ilohan asks Jonathan’s company on a journey commanded by the king.

Is Ilohan’s mission what it seems, an irrelevant footnote to the gathering storm of war? Why do deadly foes dog his footsteps almost from the beginning? Can Jonathan and Ilohan escape their enemies and finish the king’s quest? Will Karolan – and Naomi – weather the storm?

Baby Morris!

We are very excited to announce we are expecting the littlest Morris in May! :)

Melanie's Easy Travel Recipe

I think you all know, I travel a lot. Additionally I grew up overseas this means that I have spent a great deal of time on transatlantic/pacific flights. I have, what I think, is the most refined travel system of all time.  In my own very modest opinion, my system works so well that I often arrive feeling relatively fresh and rarely have terrible jetlag. Fresh of my flight to Oz I thought I'd post it. This tip is only for long haul flights, if you try it on a brief 3 hour flight, I think it will just make you uncomfortable. I should also, begin by saying this is a modification of my mother's travel system that I watched her use when I was a kid. 

The key ingredient is a fully stocked carry on bag. In this carry on bag should be: toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste,  make up, brush, I like wet wipes, deodorant, and whatever else you need to get ready). Also and entire change of clothes, including socks, shoes, everything. 

FYI, my carry on of preference is a backpack you can cram it full of junk and carry it around easily. I found it more comfortable than a shoulder bag and more mobile than an annoying wheelie bag. (I'm short and rather clumsy so I find the overhead bins a pain and I invariably run over someone's foot with a wheelie bag) 

Step 1: Stay up late, wake up early the night before. I like to get on a plane slightly sleep deprived, I find it helps me sleep better on a flight. Find whatever sleep aid on a plane works for you-- sleep deprivation is my key, but a glass of wine on the flight works well, as does a dose of melatonin or tylenol pm. 

Step 2:  Immediately before leaving for the airport take a shower. It do it so immediately before that I arrive in the security line with my hair still dripping wet. It's a real treat for everyone.

Step 3: Relax on the flight and try to sleep, but if you can't sleep just try to rest/relax don't stress about not sleeping.

Step 4: About 1-2 hours before landing take your carry on bag stocked full of goodies and head to the lavatory.

Step 5: Transformation. This is the key part. Pull down the little shelf in the bathroom and put your bag there. Now brush your teeth, wash your face (use the wet wipes if you'd like), brush your hair and change into your new outfit. The bathrooms have outlets so if you curl or straighten your hair feel free to do that as well. You'll need to ignore the other passengers who will be banging on your door at this point and asking you to hurry up.

Step 6: Conquer Jetlag: If your flight arrives at your destination (my preference) push through the day. Do NOT under any circumstances go to bed early or take a nap. Go out, site see, whatever but stay awake.  Also, have something planned for the next morning. This will force you to go get up at a reasonable time and push through another day. I find that by the evening on the second day I'm pretty well acclimated. If your flight arrives in the evening, go to bed at a reasonable bedtime, and then follow the other steps. Have something planned in the morning and push through and entire day. Repeat. 

I can't guarantee a good vacay--but I think these tips work well! :) 

PS-- Have to give props to my mother. This system is really just an adaptation of hers, I watched her use it for years as a kid. 

The Perils of Training or Oh My Achin' Bod!

We're less than two weeks out from our next tri and things are not going well. In addition to my pre-existing condition of a torn ACL and cartridge damage in my knees I've developed a new condition. Searing arch pain! This has reduced me to putting arch supports in my shoes like a 90 year old.

The new low point for me came during my 3 hour brick (bike/run combo) last weekend. I was happily biking along the Mount Vernon trail, about 2 hours into my workout, (For those of you who don't know, the Mount Vernon trail is like a tiny road, it has lane dividers and it's used often by serious bikers) when I come whizzing down a hill, around a blind curve and to my surprise what is on the other side of the curve-- teenagers on skateboards!!! Skateboarding horizontally across the trail and blocking both lanes!!! I slam on my brakes and scream "LOOK OUT, GET OUT OF THE WAY!! MOVE!!!" but still WHAM I slam right into one of the kids. I, still clipped in to my bike, go flying and smack down on the pavement. By the time I landed in a heap on the asphalt the kid I hit was already there to see if I was okay, and to apologize. I said I was okay, and made sure he was okay too. As I sat on the side of the road and bandaged my wounds (this is why I carry a first aid kit) he kept apologizing. I told him we were lucky we weren't hurt more seriously, and that in the future they should be more careful and we'll all just chalk it up to lesson learned. He promised to be more careful in the future, assured me that he was fine and off I hobbled pushing my poor broken bike.

I'm okay, for the most part, my left side is bruised and scraped but nothing serious. My bike is damaged, but I'm not sure how much yet. Now I'm in the awkward position of being injured enough to not train but not so injured that I want to skip the tri. I think if my bike can be ready I'm still going to go for it and hope I can just finish-- even if it takes me 6 hours!

Isn't this really everyone's goal?

LOL--I saw this sign driving home from work.

Bronzed Beauties

Two weeks exactly before Camille's wedding she and I decided to go get fake tans. The spray on kind--made famous (or rather infamous) by that Friends episode where Ross gets freakishly tanned on only one side. We thought two weeks out would give us enough time to get a practice run in and figure out how to tan to perfection. It started with me calling to make our appointments:

YoungTannedPerkySalesClerk: "You've reached the tanning salon, how can I help you?"
Me: "I'd like to make an appointment for two people for..."
YTPSC: " We don't make appointments just show up-bye"
Me: "WAIT!!! DON'T HANG UP...what do we do?"
YTPSC: "What???"
Me: "I mean, is there anything we should know...how does this work?"
YTPSC: "Well, is this an emergency?"
Me: "An emergency...uh no this is NOT a tanning emergency." (all the while thinking--what the heck exactly is a tanning emergency? Do they have a tanning emergency room???"
YTPSC: "Okay then come in and we'll spray you with our clear mist solution."
Me: "Umm we want to be tanned not lacquered."
YTPSC: (clearly annoyed with me at this point) "The clear mist darkens over four hours its our best solution---if it was an emergency I'd have to bronze you so you could be tanned within an hour. It's not as good as the clear mist, but it works in an emergency."
Me: "Ooookay -- well, what should we wear"
YTPSC: "Umm..you're just getting a tan..wear whatever you want. BYE!"
CLICK

I pass on the info to Camille, and so we decide to go over on a Sunday afternoon. I'm busy gardening when Camille arrives in a white blouse and skirt. I just throw down my spade and head off in work out clothes and my crocs. As we get to the salon we're told it's important to not be wearing any makeup and to be freshly exfoliated. Camille and I look at each other--this information would have been helpful to have earlier. We decide to try it anyway.

This sales clerk is young, tanned, but more punk then perky. Punky explains that the tanner works much like an automatic car wash. We'll climb in and 'she' will tell us where to stand and what to do while automatic sprayer things move around us. There are feet drawn on the floor of the tanning booth and the machine orders us to do things like 'place left foot on 1 and right foot on 4.' Camille goes first. I'm terrified of the whole process. While I'm waiting for Camille to tan I realize I have dirt caked on my legs from gardening. I run into the restroom and give myself what amounts to a sponge bath with paper towel to get the dirt off. I come out just as Camille is finishing. She promises me it isn't too scary and really easy to do and it will be okay. She also warns me to hold my breath while my face is being sprayed.

I climb into the machine. The outer booth is a little changing room that has a hand towel, wet wipes, and lotion. I prep and climb into the actual booth. 'She' tells me to place my left foot on 2 and right on 4' I do as 'she' says, and the sprayer moves to the bottom of the booth to spray my foot. It starts spraying. It keeps spraying my foot. I start thinking--it seems like it's spraying one foot for an inordinately long time. It keeps spraying. Then it stops and 'she' says...please get attendant. I think -- what the heck!!!

I struggle to cover myself with a hand towel (not a pretty sight!), while frantically scrubbing at my foot with wet wipe--thinking my foot will be BROWN and the rest of me pasty white. I manage to get Camille's attention and she gets punky. Punky, comes over and plays around with the machine, completely ignoring me frantically trying to de-tan my foot. After a while, she announces that the machine is broken.

She's never seen anything like this happen before and offers to credit my account. She has to tell the other people waiting that the machine has broken as I pathetically plod out - past the people waiting for their chance to be tanned - with one tanned foot.

My account has been credited, but I haven't been back yet. You'll notice from the wedding photo's that Camille is tanned and gorgeous and I am am pale and translucent-- I think that works well on me!