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Where It All Began
All of us have origin stories, ranging from epic tales of how the universe began to smaller but equally important moments in life that set us off in fundamentally new directions. One of my origin stories happened in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. I first traveled to the Osa in the summer of 1991, one…
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On Connections and Castanets
There are several aspects of flamenco that have bedeviled me since I first started studying the dance form a few years back. One of these is contratiempos. The other is the use of the castanets. Last week, I had the opportunity to tackle both in an intensive workshop with the Escuela de Flamenco Paulina Peralta in Costa Rica. Contratiempos is…
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The Importance of Heroism
Happy New Year! I hope you had an enjoyable holiday season. I’m feeling rested and refreshed from a lovely time with family and friends. My husband and I were reunited after several months living in different countries. My brother came into town with his family, and my nephew was home from college. All in all, we…
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Peace on Earth, Good Will to All
I’m settling in for a very nice holiday. The whole family is in town for Christmas, and that of course makes these days extra special. Fans and followers of Eolyn know how very important Winter Solstice is for the mages and magas of Moisehen. One of my favorite chapters in the first novel covers the…
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Guest Author: Sheryl Tempchin
I am very excited today to be able to welcome author and editor Sheryl Tempchin. Back in 2008, Sheryl purchased my short story ‘Turning Point’ for the speculative fiction magazine Zahir. This was my first sale ever, an even that gave me the courage to continue as an author. It was a period before blogs and Eolyn and even Hadley Rille…
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My Brush with Greatness
I’m coming off the high of the World Fantasy Conference last weekend in Washington, D.C. Monday I posted on Heroines of Fantasy about the unforgettable experience of hearing Patricia McKillip read from her new novel. Today I’m going to rave just a little more, this time about Guy Gavriel Kay. First, a confession: I had a dismal…
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In Earthen Vessels
Among the things that linger from a Catholic upbringing are songs from Sunday mass. One can hear those songs thirty years hence and still remember them word for word, note for note. So it was today, while we were driving back from Konza Biological Station, that the lyrics of a particular hymn returned to me:…
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One Child, One Teacher, One Book, and One Pen
I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to express in my journal how very happy I am to see Malala Yousafzai announced as one of the winners of the Nobel Peace Price. I have the deepest admiration for her and her struggle to bring international attention to the oppression of women in Pakistan…
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Dragons in the Heart
So here’s the thing: I am two episodes away from finishing the second season of TVE’s Isabel, an excellent series based on the life of Queen Isabella of Spain. I have raved about this series before, and I am going to rave about it again. The story never once shies away from the harsh brutalities of the…
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Checking in From Las Cruces
On the trail in Amistad Biosphere Reserve. This summer has been so extraordinarily active, I’ve had very little time to just “hang out” on the internet. All in all, NAPIRE has been an amazing new journey through Costa Rica. From the lowland Caribbean forests to the high reaches of the Talamanca mountain ranges, we have…
K.R. Gastreich, Author
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K. R. Gastreich, Author 