Favorite Word of the Week – 30 Mar 24

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve always loved Calvin and Hobbes, so when this word appeared in one of Bill Watterson’s comic strips, it perfection! And of course, I had to memorize such a lovely line.

Here – have fun:

Calvin and Hobbes (March 19, 1992)

trenchant – caustic or cutting

😏

It is Finally Finished!

Posted on by
Reply

Yes, you heard right! The fourth book in the Sword’s Edge Chronicles, tentatively entitled The Reluctant King, is finally done!

Now to send to beta readers, then polish it, then send to the copy editor, then recheck everything because, you know, typos are worse than roaches at surviving anything and everything, then finally—it will be ready.

Interested in my attempts at a blurb? I hope so, because here it is:

Maradhor and his new bride flee for their lives, pursued by his former clan who have now become their enemies. With the treacherous mountains looming ahead and the harsh winter weather closing in, their only hope of salvation lay in crossing the distant Great River.

But even as they struggle towards safety, Alcandhor faces his own troubles back home. Forced to take the throne in order to protect Maradhor, he now confronts the terrifying possibility that his friends may have fallen into peril and are beyond his reach.

As he grapples with the weight of his newfound kingship, his ex-wife returns, demanding to be made queen or else she will take away his beloved daughter.

To add to the turmoil, the return of the Enaisi, a mysterious and powerful alien race, throws their society into even greater chaos.

And just when it seemed like things can’t get any more complicated, Alcandhor also has to contend with a band of scheming nobles, each vying for his favor and with their own hidden agendas. If they feel threatened, how far will they go to protect their interests? Assassination?

What do you think? Fairly interesting?

🧐

Favorite Word of the Week – 16 Mar 24

Posted on by
Reply

Waaaay in the past I posted the lovely word petrichor.

While talking with my granddaughter recently, we discussed how we both loved soil, and then our conversation meandered to the smell after the rain. I told her it was called petrichor.

So my rabbit-trail brain went on to talk about the word biblichor—that lovely smell of old books. This word cannot be found in dictionaries (or at least not that I could find – prove me wrong and find it in one!).

Related is the word vellichor, which was coined by John Koenig in his book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

🧐

Favorite Word of the Week – 9 Mar 24

Posted on by
Reply

Ah, I see sophistry practiced quite a bit. Very often by my students when they’re trying to get out of something or just get around me somehow. Kids aren’t the only ones who are good at being sophists though.

Any stories you care to share about someone who tried it on with you?

🧐