Thank You

is so huge that it must have its own post:

There are no words to express just how grateful I am to everyone who helped me with “The Scent of Magic”, listened to my woes while writing, my wibbling while waiting for it to post, and at last to my elation when it finally posted and was well received.

Therefore, a huge, heartfelt THANK YOU goes to:

• The owners of BPAL for allowing me to basically write BPAL fanfic, and Juniperus for paving the road to that gracious permission: without you, there would be no story.
• My patient, insightful, and endlessly supportive beta-readers, Bluestocking and Machshefa: without you, the story would be only half as good as it is.
• My enthusiastic and critical alpha-readers who cheered me along even when I thought the story would never end, Mis_T and Zauza: without you, there might be a story, but at the end there would have been nothing left of the author.
• Knowledgeable friends who patiently answered some very odd questions – besides my alpha- and beta-readers – ariadne1, Ferporcel, Juniperus, and Organic Chemist: without you, the details and the depth of the story wouldn’t be what they are.
• My amazing and supportive friends on LiveJournal and Buzz, who helped me brainstorm, listened to endless discussions of odd details, my ranting and raving, and still cheered me on and encouraged me every step of the way – you know who you are: without you, my life would be so much poorer, and my stories, too.
• The mods at the Exchange who graciously granted several extended extensions: without your patience, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the story the way it turned out.
• And last but not least, to every reader who took the time to leave a comment: without you, the story would have remained just a file on a computer – your comments and questions made the story come to life.

grateful

… so now I can openly admit to being the author of “The Scent of Magic” and the artist of the Art Deco illustrations to go with it.

(Just in case you didn’t know already or haven’t guessed it yet!)

And I can also reveal the identities of a few dear friends who grace chapter four of the story, “Anahata”, with their presence. Strictly in order of appearance I give you:

• Aranel Took as Lenara, the breeder of rainbow iguanas
• Bluestocking79 as Rowena, seller of magical crystals
• Annie Talbot as Lady Vonda, selling “Intrigue” and other dark scented draughts
• Zauza as the magical dollmaker Risa
• Juniperus as Jinifer “Nip” Arbor, the potter who sold Hermione the mastery phial for Severus
• Machshefa as Rikki, the healer from Jerusalem
• Mischievous_T as none other than the mysterious Mystery de Medici aka Velia Blanco
• and Paisley Snail as Lissa, the junior staff member of the Australian Department for Magical Law Enforcement

A thundering round of applause for my daring friends who visited the May Fair at my invitation, please!

Because I imagine some of you might be interested: YES, I will continue working on the Art Deco illustrations for the story. I have already started the shower scene, and I plan on painting at least one scene per chapter.

And last but not least, a link to a gorgeous piece of art that Hechicera made for my story (thank you again!!!):

Hermione’s Perfume Notebook
[→ new tab link to deviantART]

Please head over there and leave Hechicera some comment love!

thrilled

The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn [→ new tab link]

In 1909 the millionaire French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn [→ new tab link to Wikipedia] embarked on an ambitious project to create a colour photographic record of, and for, the peoples of the world. Kahn used his vast fortune to send a group of intrepid photographers to more than fifty countries around the world, often at crucial junctures in their history, when age-old cultures were on the brink of being changed for ever by war and the march of twentieth-century globalisation. Using the new autochrome process – the world’s first user-friendly, true-colour photographic system – he created the most important collection of early colour photography worldwide.

… this is the most amazing photography book I’ve EVER held in my hands. I’m almost reluctant to wrap it up for my husband’s birthday, desiring instead to curl up in bed with it and devour it, one picture at a time.

If you haven’t been there yet, have a lookt at the Albert Kahn BBC Books website, it’s breathtaking!

fascinated