Do you know the echinacea story? The North American Plains Indians used the plant to treat poisonous insect and snake bites, toothaches, sore throat, wounds, and bruises, as well as measles, mumps, and smallpox. It was their "heal-all," the plant they turned to as a treatment for almost everything that ailed them. The settlers copied these uses of the plant, and by the early 1900s it was one of the most popular medicines available. When plant medicines fell into disrepute in the U.S., echinacea disappeared with the others, although the Europeans continued to find it useful. It was brought back to attention again in the 1990s--unfortunately, with a lot of hype. There's a balanced discussion of this herb here.
Nice news from my publisher: the large print rights to The Tale of Applebeck Orchard have been sold to Thorndyke, and the audio rights to both Briar Bank and Applebeck Orchard had gone to Recorded Books. RB will be releasing both Spanish Dagger and Wormwood in audio in December, 09. I absolutely adore the British reader, Virginia Leishman, who narrates the Cottage Tales. Love the way she reads the animals--she brings them to life in exactly the way I heard them in my head as I was writing the books. Such a delight. I only wish they weren't so expensive. Please ask your library to get them, so they can be shared.
Making good progress on The Tale of Oat Cake Crag in the past few days, #7 in the Cottage Tales. I love the narrator in that series, who has become a character in her own right. She's so nosy and intrusive and has so many opinions (some of them wrong!) and isn't at all shy about expressing them. When the series ends (#8 will be the last), she's the character I'll miss the most. Funny thing, too: she's not something I planned in the beginning. She wasn't invited. She pushed her way into the books as they went along. Just had to get her nose in there, and then came the rest of her, like the camel under the tent. And now that she's in the books, and in my writing life, I think she may be here to stay. A new discovery. I wonder whether she'll push her way into The Darling Dahlias (the new mystery series, coming next year).
Welcome to my FaceBook blog followers, on NetworkedBlogs! Nice to have you linked in. Hope you enjoy Lifescapes and come back for more.
Reading note: Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do--the actual act of writing--turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird