Black Mountains...

I'll look up the details later on the map, but this one is looking north from a Roman and later medieval road.

Although this one is in England...

One of the stones in the biggest circle at Stanton Drew, about 15 miles east of Bristol Airport. The black and white object in the middle distance is a guardian cow.

-GRG

back from Wales...

...and I actually got some work done on #4 during the hours on the plane. Continental now has power outlets under the seats, which is brilliant - no battery worries! I added a page to the current chapter, changed its title, and now feel I'm back on track. If only I didn't have to go back to the Day Job tomorrow... oh well.

The first week in Wales I spent in Caerdydd, on a Welsh language course. Tutor was good, and I feel I made real progress (I'm in the nearly-fluent level). We finished up the week at the National Eisteddfod, where I bought - surprise! - a few books. The second week I wandered around, partly in England (Gloucestershire) and partly in Wales (Black Mountains), researching sites for #5. This was out of order, but since I had the opportunity to take the language course in Wales with a group I usually join every other year in North America, I couldn't resist. However, I'm glad to get back to work on the Irish book. I've changed the trilogy name slightly, from Gwernin's Quest to Gwernin's Quests, as I think this middle trilogy is not so closely linked as one quest would imply.

Pictures later.

(edited to add: one of the places I stayed... and another)
-GRG

Looking ahead

Thinking a little about the planned shape of the series, I thought I'd share this.

Young Gwernin trilogy (published):

1. Storyteller - location: Wales; date: 550-551 CE; publication: 2007.
2. Flight of the Hawk - location: Wales, Northern England, Scotland; date: 551 CE; publication: 2007.
3. The Ash Spear - location: Wales, Northern England; date: 552 CE ; publication: 2009.

Gwernin's Quests trilogy (writing in progress):

4. The Druid's Son - location: Wales and Ireland; date: 559 CE ; publication: 2011.
5. The Well of Wisdom* - location: Wales and western England; date: c. 562 CE; publication: ?
6. The Green North - location: Wales, Northern England, Scotland; date: c. 567 CE; publication: ?

The Fall of the North trilogy (planning stage only):

7. The Last True King - location: Northern England and lowland Scotland; date: c. 573 CE; publication: ?
8. Three Hundred Spears* - location: Northern England and lowland Scotland; date: c. 577 CE; publication: ?
9. The Fall of the North - Northern England and lowland Scotland; date: c. 580 CE; publication: ?

*Titles on these two keep changing. The rest have been fixed for a while, but might change before publication.

I'm also planning on a prequel, but that's a story for another day.

-GRG

still here...

Various mundane matters have been holding my attention lately (can we say "plumbers"...?), but I have a chat thread going on LibraryThing which might interest people.

Lots of gardening work, too...

-GRG

Not much progress...

Not much progress on The Druid's Son, and there won't be for the next two months while I turn my attention to things Welsh. In the meantime, however, I've had some new reviews of the first three books on LibraryThing, here, here, and here.

Beltane

Saturday we celebrated Beltane with some local Druids. This came about through a chance encounter last October, when we visited Newgrange on the Irish trip. All very appropriate to my current research.

I've tentatively started writing again. I realized I was waiting to figure out the rest of the plot, and it doesn't work that way - not for me, anyway. So it's time to get back to work!

-GRG

Still here...

How the time flies - and how the writing doesn't! Beltane already, and I haven't posted! (Memo to self: must do better!)

But the garden's dug, I've read quite a bit about ancient European religions, and the tomato seedlings are beginning to fill the cold frame. The first apple tree is in full bloom, the new one (got to pollinate the first) is starting, and the first cherry blossoms opened two days ago. Tonight and tomorrow we're celebrating Beltane, and Sunday I will start writing again - no excuses!

So - happy Beltane, all!

-GRG

Signs of spring

These are blooming in a sheltered bed by a building near where I work. Click on them for a gorgeous close-up.

The last week has been mostly mild - expected now that I have a new furnace.

-GRG

Winter has come back...

...and brought trouble with it. After a fairly mild and dry January, February in Colorado is being its usual snowy, cold self. It's been snowing on and off for about three days now - not hard, but persistently. That wouldn't be so bad, but this morning my furnace died. Had the repairman in, at weekend rates, but no luck. At least they've offered to waive the call-out fee since they'll be doing the replacement. In the meantime, three electric heaters and two canning kettles of water boiling on the stove are keeping things fairly warm. The estimator will come by first thing in the morning.

Estrella War, which I mentioned in my last post, was good this year, if not especially profitable from the bookselling point of view. We spent some evenings with a bardic friend, wandering the camps, participating in a competition Friday night (where I came second in the spoken word category with a story) and finishing Saturday night at our own fire with the Outlands Bardic - a circle this year, not a competition. Cold nights but dry, which is important. And a catchphrase from our friend Dolan: "A bored Calontiri is a dangerous Calontiri." But possibly not as dangerous as three caffeine-charged bards.

No writing this week, but I continue to research Druids and Ireland.