Introducing John Rawlings, a young man newly out of his apprenticeship. It is 1754 London. Having finished his indentures, Rawlings is celebrating at Vaux Hall Pleasure Gardens when he trips over the body of a young girl. Summoned to the magistrate's office as prime suspect, Rawlings not only clears his own name but impresses the blind magistrate, John Fielding so much with his powers of recollection that he is asked to investigate the crime. From gaming hell to fashionable house, Rawlings follows a trail of lustful liaisons and illicit intrigue which prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the girl has quite a past - a past filled with threatening secrets.
This book was originally published in 1994; the Back-in-Print edition was published in 2002 which is the version I'm reading. It has 179 trade-size pages. It has a charmingly stilted narrative that reminds me of Ellis Peters' works. I got about half way through last night and if all goes well, I'll finish it tonight. Lake's website can be found at www.derynlake.com. At this point, I'll definitely be reading more of this series.
The recipe I tried last night I think worked out, a version of spaghetti bolognese (recipe in previous post). I didn't use the onions except for a sprinkle of dried minced. I added mushrooms. Some tips if you try it: make sure when you cook it down for the 25 minutes you REALLY let it cook down to pretty much nothing otherwise it will be too runny. Also, I used "table" cream instead of "heavy" which I think makes a difference, maybe someone can enlighten me on that. Otherwise, I thought it had great flavor and Steve didn't really object to it which is high praise indeed. So this may get added to my rotation, perhaps once a month.
Keep your fingers crossed and send all good vibes this way. I applied for a really good one today and I didn't hold back, I attached several writing samples. I don't know when it closes though so there may be a wait.
Today's Blog/Website of the Day is Pandora Radio found at www.pandora.com. This site helps you create your own online station, so to speak. You type in an artist or type of music you like and they play that music and similar to it music. For instance, today I typed in Elton John -- I was in the mood for balad-y classic rock. So in between Elton John, they've played Eric Clapton (Layla slow version, Tears in Heaven), The Beatles, The Eagles (Hotel California), Aerosmith (Dream On), Harry Chapin (Cat in the Cradle), The Police (Every Breath You Take), Fleetwood Mac (Go Your Own Way), John Lennon (Imagine), etc. And as they play you can click the thumbs up/thumbs down on each song so you can tell them that you don't like Led Zepplin (yuck) but you do like Phil Collins (Against All Odds). I've also got "stations" of The Who and trance/ambient. Occasionally it gets repetitive but I believe they are scanning online for what's playing so sometimes I think their selection gets limited. Careful, it can be addicting. :)
Oh, shoot, I just remembered that tonight is tv night again so I probably won't get as much reading done. Lie To Me has NOT been preempted by American Idol so that's a new episode to watch. And a new cycle of America's Next Top Model is starting up. Why do I watch such a stupid show? I like to see skinny beautiful girls getting criticised ... bwa hahahaa! Ok, yes, I'm evil but I accept that.
Yay, I'm getting my hair cut this afternoon. I've got to trim a couple inches off the ends and I'm considering having bangs again, I'll have to think about that. I should spend some time looking at hair styles online but they're not exactly accurate, of course, because none of them are really I-styled-it-myself-and-only-had-5-minutes-to-do-it photos.
I'm sure I'll be posting about my good or bad reaction to how this went. Stay tuned.
Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster
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