X is for Xanadu

Xanadu is not, properly speaking, epic fantasy. Xanadu is the Mongolian name for the summer capital of the Yuan Dynasty, Shangdu. However, the name has passed into Western culture filled with overtones of a more magical place. From its first descriptions by Marco Polo to the famous poem “Kubla Khan” by Coleridge to its use in music, movies, and astronomy, the word and the place have captured our collective imaginations. ( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.

Christmas Tree Farm Murders for sale

My alter ego, Sara Penhallow, has published her first mystery. As soon as I figure out this “Multisite” functionality of WordPress 3.0, I’ll be creating a blog for her on her page, although I won’t be updating it as often as I do this blog. This is the first of two mystery series I’m working on; I won’t launch the other until two or three of the River Corners series are up.

Below, I’ve posted the first chapter of this mystery, along with links to buy the e-book. (Sorry, no paperbacks yet. I’ll let you know when they’re available, possibly later this year.)

Isobel Santini–managing editor, terrible cook, and best friend–is present at the discovery of a grisly murder. Shaken, she tries to return to her normal routine working at the college press, but when her best friend becomes the prime suspect and a second murder follows the first, Isobel has to drag herself out of her slush and into the snow to hunt for clues, much to the disapproval of her cousin, the chief of police. Along the way to finding the killer, she encounters a handsome newcomer, endures the town Christmas pageant, evades her match-making aunt, and forgets to put up her own Christmas tree. The dénouement comes in the off-white linoleum halls of academe, when Isobel and the killer confront each other face-to-face.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.