“I never told anyone that I saw the Grassman steal our baby.”

So begins Book II of the Karakesh Chronicles.

If you read Book I, Tangled in Magic, you met Scrub, the waif Agatha rescues in the forest.  In Part 1 of Guided by Magic, Sada tells of her quest to find Scrub, the changeling the Grassman put in the pram, and whom Sada grows to love.  The only thing Scrub leaves behind is a magic necklace.  But are the visions in the necklace to be believed?

In Part 2, Miela, Sada’s little sister, sets out on her own quest.  Trouble follows her, threatening to destroy her dream.

Guided by Magic is particularly special to me because I had the opportunity to do the illustrations.

I used linocut to achieve the brooding quality of the story.

Guided by Magic, as well as Tangled in Magic, will be available from me at the Car and Craft Show in New Paltz, on September 29, at the Ulster County Fairgrounds.  I will also be selling the books at the Unison Arts and Crafts Fair on December 2.

Guided by Magic will soon be on Amazon, too!

Please add a book review!

Here are the final photos of Claremont that I couldn’t upload onto my iPad.

The Margaret Fowler garden at Scripps College.

Bird sculpture at the Square I gallery/ two horses in a garden/sculpture in a village park

And a Green Man in someone’s garden!  The Green Man/Leshy character shows up in my fifth Karakesh chronicle, so I’m partial to this image.

The trees of Claremont, above.

We’ve returned to New York, to the lush green and the humidity of the Hudson Valley.  My conclusion: Claremont is a wonderful place, full of culture, friendly people, and beautiful scenery.  BUT– the rest of LA between Claremont and LAX is mostly ugly.

So here are photos of Claremont that I couldn’t wrangle onto my iPad when in Claremont.

   This garden is typical of the desert landscaping around Claremont houses.

I met this rangy coyote on my morning walk.

It was great to hang out with my sister and her friends.  I loved the cool, breezy mornings and evenings, when the air stroked my skin.

Travel provides new perspectives, and a respite from the responsibilities of life at home. I’m sure we’ll be back in Claremont within the year, as we have a new family member on its way.

My sister has lived in Claremont for many years.  She has an extensive network of interesting, talented friends who have been dropping by with news and goodies now that she is post-surgery.

I actually lived in Claremont in 1973, just after graduating college.  My sister, Jan, found me an apartment and a job.  Even back then she had many connections.  I worked making hand-forged jewelry for a now-defunct store named Figg.

Recently I read that Claremont is known as the City of Trees.  There are many venerable eucalyptus, pepper, palm, and sycamore trees, along with many others I can’t identify. And of course there are the six colleges whose quads and gardens make for great walking.

The houses around the village are highly individual and imaginatively landscaped. Here’s my sister’s front walk.

The inside of my sister’s house is more like a museum.  We wander around looking at the art on the walls and the collections of old dolls and wooden chests of drawers full of beads and yarns that she uses in her artwork.

The figures in the foreground are a collection of carved wooden doctors she found in a shop somewhere.  We had fun guessing which specialist each depicted.