THE SPOT UPON THE SEA - by Margaret Muir

Beware of Novice Navigators
A nonsense poem written on a tall ship in the Indian Ocean when the trainee crew was challenged to navigate the ship to a location designated by the Captain.

There was panic on the poop deck when the word was passed around
that the motley crew was taking on the ship.
The Captain gave a shudder, there was little he could do.
His only goal was to survive the trip.

But the Junior Officers – the leaders of the Watch
didn’t wait for the disaster to unfold,
They jumped into the fizz boat that was lowered to the sea
and sped off in the darkness, it is told.

The bold Captain, in his wisdom said, “You can take this barquentine,
if you prove that you can sail her true and square.”
So he handed them a challenge to navigate the ship
to a Spot upon the ocean, was his dare.

Three novice navigators to the charthouse they did go.
Their aim to meet the challenge, ‘twas their choice.
They would chart a course for sailing to this Spot upon the sea.
“We will get you there,” they bellowed in one voice.

And the goal the Captain set them was 32 degrees of south
and a longitude – one-hundred-fourteen east.
If they followed that chart reference to the Spot upon the sea,
they would prove themselves true sailors, at the least.

“We will do it,” said the boldest. “I will guarantee you that
we will take you to this Spot upon the sea.
Thirty-two degrees south latitude is easy,” they agreed.
With one-one-four we’ll have you there for tea.”

And no sooner had he spoken, than he wrote it in the log
- one-hundred-fourteen latitude of west
And with compass and a ruler started drawing on the chart.
He really felt he had to do his best.

‘Twas a tiny little error led the barquentine off course.
To the west of the meridian they were bound
and with sixteen sails a-flying, they would seek that special Spot,
yet they didn’t know it wasn’t to be found.

The days were long and balmy and the winds were fresh and warm
and time slipped by and no one seemed to care,
The crew was quite contented playing deck games in the sun
or to lend a hand when it was time to wear.

With the tall ship’s course still charted to one-hundred-fourteen west,
they passed Good Hope and headed for Cape Horn.
And the crew, they were oblivious to what was going on
just completed cleaning stations every morn.

North west in the Pacific, was the course they had to take
to that thirty-two by one-one-four degrees,
And the navigators gleeful, started looking for that Spot,
their binoculars focused on the seas.

But that Spot upon the ocean they never did locate,
though they looked and looked and looked and looked in vain
Perhaps it floated off to Chile or it sank beneath the waves
for that Spot was never ever seen again.

And the legend of this barquentine is many times retold
how the ghostly ship still sails upon the sea
with her crew forever looking for that damned elusive Spot
and it’s told they’ll look for all Eternity.

THE SPOT UPON THE SEA is included in a short book of verse entitled: 'Words on a Crumpled Page' by Margaret Muir and available from www.LULU.com

Images courtesy of BIGSTOCK photos

HIGH DINING for TASSIE DEVILS

It always irks me that the contraband/proceeds of crime when captured by the authorities usually go up in smoke (literally). For me, to see tons of stolen elephant tusks burnt is a travesty. Ivory, is a highly valuable commodity and regulated sale by the authorities of this contraband could return some finance to the people of these often underdeveloped nations where it happens. After all, the poor elephants have paid with their lives.
In Australia, any food products which are seized from criminals are destroyed – for obvious health reasons, but in this case a judge declared that the meat – T-bones, rump steaks etc. could go to feed the Tassie Devils – native and endangered species of marsupial (that carries its young in a pouch) of Tasmania. After all, their diet in the wild is carrion (stinking and rotten dead animals).
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/16428684/tasmanian-devils-to-feed-on-top-grade-stolen-meat/

On the Shelf - ode to an oil rig

...on the Shelf

You come by night
sink into my waterbed
and listen for my sounds
my deep
my intimate.
You know my contours
cracks
and run your probing finger
through my sandy hair
– soft flowing – sensuous
explore my cavities
and meld in me
swaying the gentle rhythm
of the moon.

You come by night
to satisfy your need
And then move on
Leaving me empty
Ruffled
Swaying
Still.

...on the Shelf - in case you didn't guess, is about an oil rig on the Continental Shelf.

This tongue-in-cheek verse will be included in WORDS ON A CRUMPLED PAGE by Margaret Muir

Welcoming Spring

Spring

A downpour heralds her arrival
Frogs clear their throats, croaking in chorus
Bees hum busily
Battalions of new leaves
stand to attention in double file,
while blossoms cluster on bare branches
blushing at the unashamed antics of mating birds.

Spring rushes in
She’s late again
But no one seems to care.

From a segment on The Seasons in WORDS ON A CRUMPLED PAGE due for publication my Margaret Muir

Ode to Trucking ...against the wind

Many years ago, I regularly drove the South West Highway in Australia. To break the boredom, I noted down hundreds of names that were displayed on the front of the big rigs.
This bit of nonsense is composed from some of those names – including the title ‘AGAINST THE WIND’.

... against the wind (Ode to Trucking)

Bitch Wheels, Barks ’n’ Bites
ex Northcliffe
Purring Log-hog, Pussy Torque,
Pussy Puller
Trailing Rubber
South-West Highway Carrion

Speed awakes the Senseless Ticking
Moonshine Gambler
High-on-Stress
Hot Tracks
Hot Stuff
White Stuff flowing
Rides the Fine Line
Cat from Hell

Basic Instinct
V8 Mongrel
Escapee on Roo-dog night
Prototype of Time Warp twisting
Purrr-fect Bitch – In Overdrive.

Post Script:
In November 2005, my partner, Peter Ryan, died in a head-on collision with one of those behemoths. Now is the time for me to move on.

‘…against the wind’ will be included in an eclectic collection of bits and pieces called, WORDS ON A CRUMPLED PAGE by Margaret Muir.

The Witch's Dance - by Margaret Muir - a poem

THE WITCH'S DANCE

Sweet female child
plucked from your mother’s swollen womb
before the tongues of searing flame
licked and devoured that pulsing
nursery of seed from which you came.

Sweet female child
transported on the tumbrel cart of life,
alight to sip the juice of maidenhood,
to dance upon the bosom of the earth,
that verdant mantle succoured by the ash.

Sweet female child
feet dipped in evening’s dew, you glide
swathed naked in a sea of liquid night,
twisting, rotating, turning, spinning fast,
invoke an aura, partner to your dance.

Sweet female child
with rainbow flames entwined
lapping your flesh in intimate embrace,
smooth swirling figures in cold fluid air
coloured in indigo, orange, violet, red.

Sweet female child
throughout the night you dance
till moonbeams shy from early morning’s glow
then to the arms of mother earth you fall,
wrapped in fine veils of misty rainbow hue.

Sweet female child
sleep safely in the ambience of dawn
warmed by your lover’s multicoloured cape,
and when he stirs, arise and greet the sun.
Sweet female child, it is your day – Dance on!

Margaret Muir
Copyright July 2001

This poem will be appearing in a collection of poetry titled: WORDS ON A CRUMPLED PAGE

ONE WAY TICKET - a short story

ONE WAY TICKET by Margaret Muir

Edith Selby smiled, as she touched the faces in the photograph album. Tiny mouths, half hidden behind clouds of pink fairy floss, smiled back at her.
Claire’s cup rattled, when she placed it on the saucer.
“Do be careful, dear,” Edith said.
“I’m trying, Gran, but it’s not easy.” She sighed. “I wish Steve were here.”
Edith closed the album.
“You know I don’t like a fuss, dear. Goodbyes are such silly things. Whenever your granddad and I went anywhere, we always liked to slip away quietly without telling anyone.”
Claire sniffed. “But I don’t want you to go.”
“I’m sorry, dear, my mind is made up. And I couldn’t let that nice young man down who make all the arrangements.”
“You could if you wanted,” said Claire adamantly, getting to her feet. “And besides, that nice young man is old enough to be my father.”
“Well, dear, when you get to my age, they all look young.”
Edith sipped her tea.
“You and Steve have been so good to me,” she said. “Letting me live here for the past six months. But the children are growing up so quickly and …..”
“And they love you,” said Claire.
“And I love them too,” sighed Edith. “But its time for me to go - and to be quite honest I will not miss the hot summers.”
Claire shook her head. “Oh, Gran!”
“Look, dear, you know my reasons. Maybe if your granddad was alive, things would be different.”
The phone rand, interrupting them.
Claire answered it.
“Hello! – No, she won’t change her mind.” She handed the phone to her grandmother. “It’s Mum,” she said.
Edith sat down, smiling into the telephone.
“Jennifer, how nice of you to ring again. No, don’t worry. Everything will be fine – that nice young man has assured me there will not be any problems.”
She listened.
“Not at all, dear, in fact I am getting quite excited. Remember to give my love to the boys.” She took a deep breath. “Goodbye dear. Goodbye.”
She held the received to her ear until the line went dead.
It was almost eleven.
“Isn’t it time we were going, dear?”
Claire nodded and reached for her bag and keys. After one final look around the room, Edith followed her granddaughter to the car.
* * *
It was almost midday when the four-wheel drive rolled to a stop in the car park. Tears were pouring down Claire’s cheeks “Gran, I will miss you so much.”
Edith squeezed her hand sympathetically.
“My little Claire,” she said. “You must remember, it is my life and I can decide what I want to do with it.”
A man appeared from the building and strolled across the tarmac to greet them.
“Look, dear,” said Edith. “It’s that nice young man.” She touched her hair. “How do I look?”
“You look fine,” said Claire, wiping her face.
“You don’t have to come in with me.”
“Yes, I do, Gran.”
“Alright, I suppose you do.”
Gordon Richie opened the passenger door.
“Good morning, Mrs. Selby,” he said, offering Edith his hand.
She smiled coyly. “You can call me, Edith.”
“Right on time, Edith,” he said.
“I don’t like to be late.” She paused and looked up. The sky was powder blue and cloudless save for the vapour trail from an aircraft. The sweet scent of gardenias drifted across the car park. Bees hummed around the waxy petals.
“Isn’t it a perfect day?” she said.
“It certainly is.” Gordon Richie waited patiently while Edith looked around.
“Now I’m ready,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then will you allow me?” Gordon Richie said, offering her his arm and escorting her across the car park.
“Such a nice young man,” she said, as she glanced back.
Claire followed them into the building allowing the door to close quietly behind her.
At the entrance a new brass plaque glinted in the sun.
Engraved on it were the words:

Dr. Gordon Richie
Euthanasia Clinic
By appointment only

* * *

This is a condensed version of the short story which seems appropriate at a time when Tasmania, the Australian state in which I live, is pushing for legalization of voluntary euthanasia.
This story will appear in a collection of short pieces - both poetry and prose to be published shortly under the title - WORDS ON A CRUMPLED PAGE
Pic: Morning mist over the Tamar Valley from my home in Northern Tasmania

Euthanasia in Tasmania

Tasmania leads way on voluntary euthanasia
The paper proposes a model for voluntary euthanasia based on laws already in place in Oregon, Washington State, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
Voluntary assisted dying would only be available to Tasmanian residents with an advanced terminal illness who have given written and verbal consent and have been assessed by at least two doctors. The law would be subject to independent oversight. Based on international experience, it is estimated that Tasmania could expect as few as eight cases of voluntary assisted dying each year.
This proposal is likely to attract strong community support, and so the real challenge will lie in Tasmania's independent-dominated upper house. If the numbers are there, Tasmania will lead the nation on this issue. This would no doubt put pressure, as it should, on parliamentarians in other states to wake up and listen to the views of those that they represent.
Sydney Morning Herald – Feb 27, 2013 (Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/tasmania-leads-way-on-voluntary-euthanasia-20130226-2f3wt.html#ixzz2MbxUFjyZ)

I support this proposal and, co-incidentally, am in the process of preparing some short pieces of writing which I have had tucked away for many years, and among them is a very short (and fairly light) story which addresses euthanasia.
Under the book title 'WORDS ON A CRUMPLED PAGE', I intend to include an eclectic mix of poetry, prose and trivia.
And because it topical in Tasmania, I will also reproduce the short story - 'ONE WAY TICKET' on my blog.
Image: Winter sky - Norhtern Tasmania

ADMIRALTY ORDERS - Work-in-progress

With the success of THE TAINTED PRIZE and FLOATING GOLD in e-book format, I have begun writing the next adventure in my nautical fiction series.
Having discarded one title because it appeared too many times in a Google search, I have titled my work-in-progress: ADMIRATLY ORDERS.
The series is headed: Under Admiralty Orders - The Oliver Quintrell Series, and in keeping with the first two books , Captain Quintrell picks up his orders from the Admiralty before joining his ship in Portsmouth and proceeding to sea.
In ADMIRALTY ORDERS, set in 1804, I have taken the liberty of hanging the fiction elements on a framework of actual historical events. But unlike Patrick O'Brian and CS Forester who are both guilty of manipulating events or substituting the participants in them, I prefer to adhere to the truth and report the battles merely from an observer’s standpoint.
There are certain events which were occurring in Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar in 1804 which are un-romantic and do not feature to any extent in any fiction books I have read.
Yet the facts surrounding these events are startling.
I hope my narrative will convey the enormity of the problems at that time and that this will make both enjoyable and interesting reading.
I hope to have the book completed for publication by the middle of the year.
As with the image for THE TAINTED PRIZE, this picture was taken during a recent visit to an old fortress in Portugal.
Other historical fiction books by Margaret Muir are available from Amazon.

Review - The Tainted Prize (Quarterdeck)

THE TAINTED PRIZE
by M. C. Muir
Lulu.com | $16.81, Trade Paperback
$2.99 Kindle Edition | 232 pages
IT IS 1803. After twelve months of peace under the Treaty of Amiens, England is once again at war with France. With virtually every post captain at sea, Captain Oliver Quintrell, late of the frigate Elusive, wonders why “he alone had been left on the beach” with the country threatened by a French invasion across the Channel.
In London, Quintrell seeks an audience with the First Lord of the Admiralty, John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent. “Captain Quintrell, you come here in the hope you will receive a commission…you will not be disappointed,” says St Vincent. “His Majesty’s Frigate Perpetual awaits you in Gibraltar.”
Arriving at The Rock aboard the frigate Isle of Lewis, Quintrell receives sealed orders directing him to the Southern Ocean in search of the missing 28-gun frigate Compendium, which is carrying the new British Ambassador to Peru.
A port call in Madeira to water and collect firewood allows Oliver to find a brief respite in the arms of his lover, Susanna, before setting a course for the perilous Strait of Magellan, seeking clues to the man-of war’s whereabouts.
Once Perpetual is at sea again, the pace quickens. Four days out from Madeira, she encounters a British frigate under attack by a pair of French corvettes and sails into battle, taking a prize.
Reaching the passage separating South America from the Island of Tierra del Fuego, the frigate slowly makes her way westward, eluding rocks and small islands.
Muir’s vivid description of this forbidding place left me with a chill.
Rounding a headland, a lookout spies an abandoned square-rigger, foundered and seemingly deserted, with condors floating on light airs above. A nightmarish scene greets Quintrell and the Perpetuals, as they board the ghost ship.
Escaping the dismal passage and standing out into the Pacific on a northerly course, the mood aboard brightens noticeably as Perpetual skirts the South American coast.
But French privateers and political schemes complicate the mission.
Muir writes a splendid story, combining crisp prose, heightened
by a keenness that kept me turning pages late into the evening.
The Tainted Prize, along with the initial Oliver Quintrell adventure, Floating Gold, scrupulously depict the Royal Navy during Napoleonic times.
George Jepson (Editor – Quarterdeck)

Review - 'The Elephant Voyage' by Joan Druett

‘The Elephant Voyage’ (Kindle edition), by Joan Druett, is an engaging read. Like a modern day Robinson Crusoe adventure, ‘Elephant Voyage’ tells a chilling latter-day real-life story, in which a group of seal fishermen are castaway on a desolate and uninhabited sub-Antarctic island through a deliverable act of negligence by the skipper of the ‘Sarah W. Hunt’.
The fact the men are eventually rescued is remarkable, and almost didn’t happen. Much vital time was lost as officials argue over cost and availability of vessels to attempt a search and rescue mission. In the end it is only providence that saves the men’s lives.
And why the captain abandoned them and sailed away leaving them to suffer starvation and potential death, is the question everyone asks.
Carried away with the dramatic events as they enfolded, exceptionally well told by Druett, I was jolted back to reality once the legal proceedings begin. Here the book takes on a non-fiction feel with the men’s evidence being repeated almost word for word.
‘Elephant Voyage’ is a remarkable story of survival and rescue, tied up in red tape and government bureaucracy, which must be fully unravelled if the reasons behind Captain Miner’s blatant act of neglect are to be thoroughly investigated.

Portuguese CARAVEL in Launceston, Tasmania

Launched February 2011, Port Fairy, Australia, NOTORIOUS is a replica of a 15th century Portuguese caravel, the type favoured explorers and pirates in its day. She is a compact 21 metres long, six metres wide and 17 metres tall. Every nut and bolt is made of wood, handmade by the ship's captain and creator Graeme Wylie.

Constructed from felled Cyprus and iron bark wood collected from South-West Victoria and coated in tar, Felicity Wylie says the total cost of materials (not labour) to construct NOTORIOUS would be about $20,000.
A cabinet-maker by trade, Graeme 'lived, breathed and almost ate,' the ship for more than 10 years, explains Felicity. While there is an engine below deck, it's used only sparingly.

I discovered NOTORIOUS in Launceston, Tasmania, yesterday. Unfortunately, I was unable to go aboard as the ship was being prepared to sail. Today she is heading down the Tamar River to Bass Strait which is 65km away. I hope I will cross tracks with her again one day.
For more go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notorious_(ship)

THE TAINTED PRIZE reviewed by Navy Fiction

THE TAINTED PRIZE, by M.C. Muir
by Peter (Navy Fiction) on January 1, 2013 (http://navyfiction.com/the-tainted-prize-by-m-c-muir/)
In The Tainted Prize, the sequel to Floating Gold, we once again, in the year 1803, meet up with the likable Captain Oliver Quintrell. Muir’s series – subtitled “Under Admiralty Orders – The Oliver Quintrell Series” – is a recent but welcome addition to the naval historical fiction genre.

The Peace of Amiens has collapsed, and Quintrell is now appointed Captain of the frigate HMS Perpetual. With the appointment comes a special, somewhat unusual, and quite possibly tough mission. Captain Quintrell is ordered by the Admiralty to take his ship and crew on an arduous mission to the far side of the world: to Pacific Southern America via Cape Horn. His task is to find a missing frigate – another English Navy ship sent on a secret mission to South America – or, if he can’t find it, try to find out what happened to it.

This, it turns out, is a much tougher mission than imagined , and one that will require Captain Oliver Quintrell and his crew to use their wits as well as their nautical skills to succeed. In the Age of Sail, there were few places more challenging than Cape Horn and the treacherous Straits of Magellan – with rough seas, rapid weather changes, storms, and freezing cold. In addition, Quintrell and his crew has to deal with French corvettes, privateers and slavers, as well as intricate diplomatic relations.

Once again Muir tells an interesting tale of hardship and struggle, against the forces of nature and against other men. The author is very good at describing life onboard the ship, both during “normal” routine days and during battle. Muir tells the tale from the point of view of several of the characters, and this broader perspective makes the book very interesting to read. We get to know several interesting members of the crew in addition to the Captain: the escaped slave, Eku; Tommy Wainwright, the persistent young boy and powder monkey, and several others. Muir has a great ability to draw interesting and lifelike characters as well as good interactions among her characters – they come alive and flavor the story. And the main protagonist, Captain Quintrell, is an intriguing and likable man, perhaps even somewhat charismatic: Smart, with integrity, skill and quite able to see the forest and not only the trees.

Having read and enjoyed Floating Gold, I was hoping for a second meeting with Captain Oliver Quintrell, and I was not disappointed. I recommend The Tainted Prize for all lovers of good naval fiction. It is an enjoyable and well-told tale. Personally, I am already looking forward to my third meeting with Captain Quintrell!
Links to books by M.C Muir at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

THE CONDOR’S FEATHER – a South American perspective

Review – by Amy Turner, Cascada Expeditiones/Cascada Travel, Santiago, Chile.

“It has been said that this land was the last place on earth which God created. That he used all the pieces He had left over, the deserts, plateaux, mountains, rivers, lakes and glaciers. Not wanting to waste anything He threw them all together and created the tail end of the earth.”

This is just one of Margaret Muir’s evocative and memorable descriptions of Patagonia, a land about which so much has been written and repeated. Muir spends a great deal of time creating a sense of the Patagonian landscape in all of its beauty and, at times, savagery. She evokes the constantly changing colours of the Patagonian sky but also takes moments to cover the vast open steppe with its violent winds and sandstorms that rake the land, so the reader is left in no doubt of the formidable wild frontier that Patagonia once represented to most, even until the fairly recent past. She also clearly has a love for animals, vividly describing both domestic animals such as the dogs and horses that travel with their masters, and the wild guanaco, pumas, ostrich-like ñandus and condors that the travellers meet on their journey.

It’s not just the landscape and nature that feel well-researched and rooted in fact. The Condor’s Feather is actually inspired by the real-life travels of fascinating Englishwoman Lady Florence Dixie who rode across the Agentinian pampas in 1878 at the age of just 21, and Muir’s tale bears all of the hallmarks of meticulous historical research. Starting out from her country house in England, our heroine Cynthia “Thia” Beresford heads first to Liverpool from where she embarks on a lengthy steamship journey to Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia. We are treated to all kinds of intriguing details about the boat itself and steamboat travel in general during the late 1800s that lend a feeling of real authenticity to the story. On arriving in Patagonia, the reader learns about the history of the native peoples, the colonisers and the cowboys that roam the land along with Thia herself, without it ever feeling like a history lesson.

Thia, meanwhile, is everything that a Victorian lady shouldn’t be. Outspoken, strong-willed and a champion of feminist issues long before they came to the fore of most people’s minds. Muir also deals with issues of class at Thia’s country estate, Huntingley, in the English countryside. As readers, we see into the lives of both the upper classes and the army of downstairs staff that make their life of ease and leisure possible, with the eternal appeal created by the tension between the two.

Back in Patagonia, although there is a hint of romantic tension from the moment that Thia meets mysterious Welsh stranger Euan, The Condor’s Feather is definitely more adventure travel story than it is pure romance novel. Although Muir makes us wait until the dying pages to give up Euan’s dark secrets, the real twist is not the revelation of his past at all, but rather his relationship with Thia. Without wanting to spoil the ending, it’s worth mentioning that for a book that could stray dangerously close to swooning Victorian damsels falling at the feet of strong, silent cowboys, Muir deftly sidesteps these clichés and serves up an ending full of promise and free of stereotype.

The Condor’s Feather is an easy and relatively quick read that canters through grasslands, mountains and rivers, mixing cowboys and indians, criminals and turn-of-the-century aristocrats. All in all, a great piece of Patagonia holiday fiction!

Read The Condor’s Feather if...
•You’re a regular viewer of Downton Abbey.
•You’re planning to go horseback riding in Patagonia.
•You’d like to know more about Patagonia’s turbulent past.

The Condor's Feather is available as an e-book for in paperback.

Introducing Karen Mercury - writer extraordinaire

I first 'met' Karen Mercury through the Historical Novel Society and thoroughly enjoyed reading her historical adventure, "The Hinterlands".
A love or writing, travel and adventure was something we shared across the Internet Miles (Tasmania - Australia to California, USA), and when I was writing "The Condor's Feather", a story with a Newfoundland dog in it, she introduced me to Ishi, her Newfoundland.

Over the years, Karen has worked hard as a writer, but like many authors, including myself, she found it hard to find the right niche - and a publishing house through which she could make an income from her writing.
Having been complemented on her hot and steamy sex scenes, Karen slid across genre boundaries to find success in the increasingly popular market for erotic fiction.

Here is a little about Karen Mercury from her new Blogsite. Be prepared to burn your fingers when you enter!

When Karen was 12, she had a dream of being in a village on the coast of Kenya, so at 23 she bought a one-way plane ticket to Nairobi to find the village. She climbed the Mountains of the Moon in Rwanda to see mountain gorillas, hitchhiked overland through Egypt, Uganda, Zaire, and Zambia, lived with the Turkana in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya, went down the Congo on a decrepit steamer, and sailed up the Nile on a leaky dhow.

Her first three novels were historical fiction involving precolonial African explorers. Since she was always either accused or praised (depending how you look at it) for writing overly steamy sex scenes, erotic romance was the natural next step. Now a multi-published author, she is currently writing about the Triple Play Lodge in Utah, and lives in Northern California with her Newfoundland dog.

She is specializing in MMF westerns because let's face it. With two men who can take care of themselves as well as you, a lady can kick back, relax, and enjoy the scenery.

Best wishes, Karen.

Eighteenth Century bilge pumps - HMS VICTORY

HMS VICTORY – The Chain (or Yard) Pumps
“Four bilge pumps (two on each side) were operated by crank handles and lifted water by means of leather saucers fitted every three feet (0.91 m) to a continuous chain. Working efficiently, these pumps were capable of removing approximately 1,350 gallons (6,143 L) or water per minute from the bilges.
Based on a much earlier type, the design of this pump was improved upon by William Cole circa 1774. Nearby is an elm tree pump which, taking a direct suction from the sea, could deliver 25 gallons (114 Lt) of water per minute for washing decks and fire-fighting.”
This information was placed in front of the square pump.

The pump in the second pic may be the elm-tree pump but I am not certain.
Courtesy of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The sequel to FLOATING GOLD - why the delay?

I have been asked - Why was there a 2-year gap between FLOATING GOLD and publication of the sequel THE TAINTED PRIZE?
The reason is because, when I asked my literary agent about writing a sequel, she said there was not much point!

That stopped me dead in my tracks. I stopped writing completely and took a year off, went back to University and did some more historical studies.
But, I held onto the belief that Captain Oliver Quintrell, Mr Parry and the rest of the crew of 'Elusive' were not dead in the water.
Having parted with my agent and publisher, I decided, in 2012 to go it alone and send the crew back to sea.
Hence THE TAINTED PRIZE is afloat - not packaged in the $54 hardback library version of a major publishing house (that was the RRP in Australia), but in a presentable self-published paperback, and also available as an e-book for only $2.99.

My joy is in sharing my work and look forward to the next adventure which I am just preparing to embark on.

FLOATING GOLD - a Review by Leserglede

Floating Gold, by M.C. Muir (Review on hardback edition)

In this salty nautical fiction novel from the romantic Age of Sail, Margaret Muir introduces Captain Oliver Quintrell, a man with an intruiging background, extensive nautical skills and a very good head on his shoulders. As we meet him, he is ashore, having been wounded and recently released from Greenwich Hosital and then stranded ashore due to the unexpected outbreak of the Peace of Amiens in 1802. He is a salty dog who has lost most of his fingers on one hand, an injury related to “direct contact with a four pound cannon ball.” Along with scores of other post-captains he finds life ashore somewhat difficult – his marriage is not nearly what it once was - and eagerly awaits a new command and new orders.

Floating Gold is a nautical thriller that involves a well-plotted treasure hunt. Other nautical heroes too have been chasing treasures on the high seas and in excotic locations, most often Spanish galleons loaded with gold, but none of them – to my knowledge – have ever been chasing a treasure like the one that is featured in this book. It is an innovative and entertaining tale, rich on detail about England and life at sea, and a tale that is very well told. Captain Oliver Quintrell had expected to be commissioned to a Royal Navy sixty-four gun ship-of-the-line or perhaps even a larger ship, but is instead given command of HMS Elusive, a frigate on a secret mission with sealed orders. As there is peace and ships are being decommissioned every day, he accepts the commissions even though he is disappointed.

The mission turns out to be very difficult. The Elusive encounters storms, treason, murder, and sabotage until they finally arrive at their ultimate goal – a treacherous island close to the Antarctic. And hidden on this desolate, dangerous island is a vast, very mysterious treasure of unknown origins that Captain Quintrell, his officers and crew must find and carry back to England. Can Captain Quintrell retrieve the cargo he has been sent to find and return with it safely to England?

The story is entertaining and excellently told. The book felt very authentic - Margaret Muir knows life at sea and has visited the mysterious and dangerous island in the story. Her background and travels show in her writing and gives a sense of reality to the fantastic scenes she describes. However, I felt it took a little too long before the action started, but when it did I liked the book a lot. There was also too little naval action in the book, I felt – but I tend to be a tad “bloodthirsty” when I read nautical novels. I also liked the hero – Captain Oliver Quintrell – and found him intriguing, but while I am quite convinced he has an excellent head on his shoulders, I am not as yet equally convinced that he has the balls to become a beloved nautical hero.

Floating Gold is an excellent nautical fiction debut by Margaret Muir. I hope she continues to write about Quintrell – a character that I feel has a lot of potential.

If you like historical fiction, salty sea tales or clever adventures, Floating Gold is a book you should get hold of – it is very entertaining, well written and intelligently plotted!
Thanks to Leserglede for posting this review.

Rack railway to Montserrat Benedictine Monastary (Spain)

A sea of cloud rolls in.

The Mountains at Montserrat in Spain is well known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.

The Abbey can be reached by road, by the Aeri de Montserrat cable car, or by the Montserrat Rack Railway. The lower stations of both the rack railway and the cable car can be reached from Barcelona's Plaça d'Espanya station. From the abbey, the Funicular de Sant Joan funicular railway goes up to the top of the mountain, where there are various abandoned hovels in the cliff faces that were previously the abodes of reclusive monks, whilst the Funicular de Santa Cova descends to a shrine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_(mountain)

The Montserrat Rack Railway - Catalan: Cremallera de Montserrat, IPA: is a mountain railway line north of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The line runs from Monistrol de Montserrat to the mountain-top monastery of Montserrat.

The line is 5 km (3.1 mi) long and has a rail gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in). The first 1 km (0.6 mi) of the line, between Monistrol and the only intermediate station at Monistrol Vila, is operated by conventional adhesion. The remainder of the line is operated as a rack railway using the Abt system, overcoming a height difference of 550 m (1,804 ft) with a maximum gradient of 15.6%. The line is electrified with an overhead supply at 1500 V DC.
The line is operated by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC).[1]

While the pics are my originals (Oct, 2012) the detailed information is coutesy of Wikipedia.

BOOK PROMOTION MYTHS DEBUNKED – for self-published authors

There is so much written about the importance of promotion, publicity and marketing with a new book that new authors often get caught up in it and forget that they are writers.
Here are my conclusions following the recent release of my latest novel.

WHAT I DIDN’T DO.
I did no pre-publication promotion. I did not send out media releases or media packages. I did not have a book launch. I did not do any subsequent book signings. I did not ask friends to buy my book. I have done no marketing.
Currently, I have NIL Reviews or Stars and only 1 ‘like’ registered on the Amazon book page – yet, after less than 2 weeks, my e-book is selling 6-10 copies a day on Amazon and, yesterday reached No 9 on Amazon’s eBook Fiction>Sea Stories list.
So why is my new book selling? And in a genre which is difficult to compete in (particularly for a female writer)?

WHAT I DID DO.
I finished my final edits to my manuscript on Thursday morning, 15th November (two weeks ago today). On the same afternoon, I published it as a paperback with LULU.com.
I ordered a single copy for myself and that night sat at home, opened a bottle of champagne and drank half (on my own) after toasting my achievement.
The same evening I sent the MSS to Custom-Book-Tique to be formatted for Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
Three days later – the book was published as an e-book on the Amazon Kindle website.
I created a page on Facebook dedicated to this new novel, I posted my release onto Facebook (twice) and on my blog. Then I sat back and within days was amazed.

The e-Book started to attract orders – 1,2,4,6 a day (90 books so far – not huge, but not bad in 2 weeks!
Remember – No pre-promotion. No who-ha. No costly mailings to libraries or news media. No printed promotional postcards or flyers. NO phone calls. (Yes, I have done it all in the past).
I did send out 6 review copies of the paperback to appropriate places, but so far have had no replies.

So, WHAT IS THE ANSWER? Why are people buying my book?
Firstly, and most importantly – sales are the result of Amazon’s unsolicited promotional tactic of adding the few short words on the book's page, namely “…Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
…..”
I understand this statement has a viral effect and I believe that sales grow exponentially from it.
Secondly, that this book was a sequel to an earlier book (also self-published as an e-book).
Other facts which are important but are not as significant here:
This is my sixth published novel, I am told I write well, and the book was professionally formatted (the sort of thing potential readers ‘look inside’ for when purchasing from Amazon).
In the past, I have spent hours on promotion and marketing on previous books and achieved very, very little. I have spent oodles of money on promotional material – in fact, in some cases, more than I ever received in Royalties from those early books from the traditional publisher.

MY ADIVCE:
Finish your novel – and if you are confident your work is polished and saleable, self-publish in paper and e-book.
Then ignore all the advice you get about promotion and marketing and START WRITING YOUR NEXT NOVEL.
The novel referred to here is THE TAINTED PRIZE by M.C. Muir

HMS Victory – CAPSTAN turned by 140 men

The Jeer Capstan “was used for hoisting stores, guns, boats, raising topmasts, yards and hoisting lower yards on their jeer tackle.
The upper part called the drumhead, worked in unison with its counterpart on the deck below, and was operated with 140 men manning the 14 capstan bars.

All of the iron stanchions surrounding the capstan were removed before operation. Ladders, wooden pillars and guns in close proximity were also removed.
This Capstan, which is still able to be turned in its original bearings, is the only surviving example of a late 18th century capstan.”

Pics taken by author and information provided on HMS Victory at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

From Garbage to amazing animal sculptures

Sayaka Ganz uses reclaimed plastic household objects as her materials. Her recent sculptures depict animals in motion with rich colors and energy. She was born in Yokohama, Japan and grew up living in Japan, Brazil, and Hong Kong. Currently she teaches design and drawing courses at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW).
Lalé Welsh wrote on FB: “Too bad the very garbage it was made with is what will keep the real things from soaring...” http://www.sayakaganz.com

The LEAGUER and NELSON’S BODY

Nelson was not the only senior officer to return to England in a barrel.
“The large barrel standing at the ship’s side represents the original water leaguer in which Nelson’s body was contained for its journey back to England for burial.
To preserve the body, Surgeon Beatty had the leaguer filled with brandy. Although carried in the ship as an alcoholic drink, brandy was the best available spirituous solution suitable for this purpose.
Under tow by the 98 gun ship ‘Neptune’, the ‘Victory’ finally anchored at Gibraltar one week after the battle.
Beatty used this opportunity to dilute the brandy with preservation fluids comprising spirits of wine and myrrh. The leaguer was then placed in the steerage and lashed secure to the mizzen mast.
The ‘Victory' sailed home Monday 4th November and anchored off Portsmouth Thursday 5 December. Arriving off Sheerness 18 days later, Nelson’s body was transferred into its coffin and taken up river in the Chatham yacht to Greenwich where Beatty found the body in a good state of preservation.
The idea of preserving a body in a cask of brandy was not just done for Nelson but was the accepted common practice for preserving senior naval officers who dies at sea.”

HMS Victory - Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

THE TAINTED PRIZE - Brilliant

It was only released last week and this message came through to me today:
I am half way through your newest book "The Tainted Prize" and finding it hard to put down. Besides knowing your maritime history and tall ship sailing, I love that you don't cookie cutter the plot and your characters are so well developed and believable. In every scene you set up, I feel I am actually there through the characters eyes , thoughts, and impressions.
Brilliant!
(Lisa Goodwin - USA)
THE TAINTED PRIZE is a nautical fiction adventure set during the age-of-sail.
It is the sequel to FLOATING GOLD.

Shipwreck painting - do you know the artist?

This painting was posted on facebook with no acknowledgement of the artist. I would dearly like to find out who painted this picture, where it is now and who owns the copyright.
For the present I have shared it on my timeline page and wish to acknowledge the unknown artist.
Please leave a comment if you can help at all.

Gibraltar's permanent residents - Barbary Apes

Who’s the cheeky monkey then?
On The Rock at Gibraltar – this was as close as I wanted to get to one of the Barbary Apes (macaque monkeys). Walking up the hill, one leapt up and grabbed my hat but was disappointed when he discovered it was pinned to my shirt – (old sailing habit).
Across the bay is the old Spanish town of Algiceras whose history stretches back to Phoenician, Roman and Moorish times.

Remembering the PILGRIM FATHERS - Happy Thanksgiving

This PILGRIM FATHERS MEMORIAL is in Southampton, England.
The plaque read: The Separatist congregation from Babworth, Nottinghamshire (1586-1604), which moved to Scrooby in 1606, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1608, and to Leyden in 1609, sailed from Delft Haven in the SPEEDWELL, ON August 1, 1620, to join the MAYFLOWER with its London colonists, here. Both ships sailed on August 15, 1620, for the New World. After turning back to Dartmouth, and a second time to Plymouth for repairs, the SPEEDWELL was abandoned and on September 16, the MAYFLOWER alone sailed to Plymouth, New England with 102 passengers.

THE CONDOR'S FEATHER - Free on Kindle for 3 days

FREE for 3 days - THE CONDOR'S FEATHER -22 to 24 November 2012
It's different and doesn't slot into any genre category easily. It's set mainly in Patagonia. It's Historical - set in the 1880s before this wild South American country was tamed. It's Travel. It's Action and Adventure. And it's Equestrian all rolled dinto one, but it's not a romance per se, which is possibly why it does not attract reviews. Here's hoping that will change. Here is the UK link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Condors-Feather-ebook/dp/B008H2RI5I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353569127&sr=1-1

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund presentation Sword

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund presentation Sword

Ornate gold engraved swords were presented to naval men for outstanding duty during the Napoleonic War era.
This particular gold sword is housed in the British Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
It was presented by the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund to Charles Mansfield, Captain of HMS Minataur for contributing to the victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar, Oct 1805

HMS Warrior - staying clean on an 1860 fighting ship

HMS Warrior equipped with washing machines!

At over 400ft long and 58ft beam and displacement of over 9000 tons, she was the biggest war ship of her time (1860). Her 5267 hp steam engine was fired by 10 boilers and 40 furnaces for which she carried 850 ton of coal.
But in grand British tradition, the Warrior’s stokers (the men shovelling the coal for the furnaces) had white uniforms!

Hence the necessity for washing facilities for both men and uniforms.

For the men and boys who worked in the boiler and engine rooms, baths were provided.
However, for the rest of the crew - each mess of 18 men had two buckets of cold water twice a week to wash in!

But rather than hand washing their white uniforms, HMS Warrior was the first ship to have washing machines.
The washing machines were filled with hot water. The clothes were put in, along with scrapings of soap. Turning the handles worked all the machines at the same time.
Clothes were then put through the wooden mangles to squeeze out the excess water.
(From HMS Warrior – Points of Interest – 1860)
HMS Warrior is a museum ship and a major exhibit of Portsmouth Historica Dockyard.