Vin Stone – Not a Detective

Posted on 2022-01-21 by arjaybe

Credit Torley – CC-BY-SA


I have written the first chapter of this year’s novel, working title, Vin Stone – Not a Detective. I like Vin and his friends, so I’m happy to spend another year with them. The story follows on from the previous one, Vin Stone – Freelance Accountant, so readers can catch up with the characters and see how they’re doing.

You would think that by now I’d be over the uncertainty around starting a new project, but it’s still there. Happily it seems to be getting less substantial, but before I actually start writing it down, there’s always the possibility that it won’t work this time. Judging from this first chapter, I think I can say that’s not the case yet. My Parker 51 still flows.

rjb

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Wait, what?

Posted on 2022-01-10 by arjaybe

Lake Superior State University

Lake Superior State University in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan has published its list of banished words for 2022. The number one offender is the phrase, “Wait, what?” I congratulate them on their choice. I also think it has become an offense to the sensibilities. It seems as if every time I turned on the TV, someone said it. As if they all wanted to be sure they were seen being clever enough to do so. Worse, I was finding it in books. TV is almost understandable. It is an ephemeral medium, so any momentary foolishness will soon be gone from view. But a book? It will be right there in print for ages, mercilessly exposing the shallowness of imagination in any writer unfortunate enough to have written it. Of course, if they’re using it in dialogue, then it might be okay. There can be plenty of good reasons for a character to be saying things like that. There had better be, anyway.

Here are the top three guilty words/phrases:

1. Wait, what?
2. No worries
3. At the end of the day

Go to the Lake Superior State University website for the rest of the top ten.

rjb

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Burrowing Dove

Posted on 2022-01-07 by arjaybe


I was standing at the window looking at the snowdrifts in our back yard. There were some birds at the feeder and one of them – a Eurasian ring-neck dove – came hurtling toward the house. It flew under the deck and straight into the window, bounced off, turned in the air and flew away. It didn’t fly very far before plunging into the snow, which was fairly dense, having been drifted, but quite dry. That’s something I’ve never seen before. We have burrowing owls here, but not burrowing doves, as far as I know.

The bird was completely invisible, the only sign a small patch of disturbed snow where it went in. I watched, hoping to see it struggle out of the snow and fly away. Nothing happened. Naturally, I wondered whether it was stunned, or worse, from its encounter with the window. Maybe it was down there under the snow, dazed and slowly suffocating. After a few minutes I got my coat and boots on and went out to see.

You can see where I tromped down the snow working my way out to the impact crater. When I got close enough I bent over to brush the snow away with my hand. As soon as I touched the snow, the dove burst out of there, making me rear back as it came up. With its wings clacking together, it pivoted and flew away, disappearing beyond the neighbor’s yard. I guess it was just resting, unlike a certain Norwegian Blue parrot.

rjb

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