Spinning the Moon

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Annie was only twenty-three months old when we took her to see her first comet atop Moon Mountain. Sky watching was a hobby of mine, introduced to me as a child by my Cherokee grandmother, and I was eager to share it with my daughter. Genetti’s Comet would be sharing the sky with a total lunar eclipse-a rare enough event to warrant mention of it in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Moon Mountain wasn’t really a mountain, but rather a largish hill and the perfect vantage point for celestial happenings. According to my grandmother, who was widely known for her eccentricities, it was a place with strong unknown powers. She called it a sacred place to the Cherokee Indians, who had inhabited this part of the country for centuries.

It might seem strange that the ocean would bulge on the side farthest from the Moon as well as the side closest to it. This happens because the Moon’s gravity affects the entire Earth, pulling at every point on our planet. The strongest pull occurs on the points closest to the Moon, and the weakest on the points farthest away, but every bit of water is affected. This is an incredible bunch of people to work with. It is a full-on rehearsal schedule and there is no let-up but everyone puts their heart and soul into every minute and works so hard, I am so impressed.” Different phases of the moon, photographed through a telescope. (Image credit: Yaorusheng via Getty Images) The novel succeeded in evoking a very Gothic feel, but the pacing was excruciatingly slow, the characterizations wavered and didn't always ring true, and the only plot element I didn't guess WELL in advance was Rebecca's true parentage. 2 stars is probably too generous, but the setting/tone were well done, and the narrator did an excellent job under the circumstances. Karen’s roots run deep in the South where many of her novels are set. Her intricate plot lines and compelling characters charm and captivate readers with just the right mix of family drama, mystery, intrigue and romance.

I dreamed I was running through darkness. My legs were leaden weights and would not propel me toward a dim light shining though the murkiness. A pervading sense of loss enveloped me, and I knew escape was neither imminent nor possible. A loud whirring sound buzzed in my ear and I turned my head from side to side to make it stop. Our daughter, Annie, was born exactly two weeks after moving into the house. Although my strange attraction to our new home never faded and questions remained unanswered, I pushed them aside and threw myself into my new role as mother. We made love slowly, in the comfortable way old lovers do, and then we held each other close, listening to the sounds of morning outside our window. Winter is when the northern hemisphere (where we live) is tilted away from the Sun. Sunlight hits the northern hemisphere at a shallow angle. This spreads sunlight over a wide area so it is weaker and less warm. Winter has the coldest weather and the longest nights of the year. Reading Karen White’s first two novels I was hooked by the time-travel theme of the first novel, In the Shadow of the Moon, and the Gothic overtones of the second novel, Whisper of Goodbye. The settings are the American Civil War and the Reconstruction of Louisiana which, of course, took place after the end of the Civil War, respectively. The author devised some differing aspects of time-travel that I had not seen before such as the ‘Shadow Warriors’. I truly enjoyed the Native American influences found in the first novel through the character of Zeke Proundfoot. As both novels take place in the South, the reader definitely experiences the deprivation of the South by the North. The second novel has a sister who has lost everything and everybody whom she loved going to visit her older sister who had married a Yankee officer and lives on their granmother’s plantation. What Cat finds brings remembrances, some welcomed, but many not, but where is Elizabeth, her older sister?

I sighed, enjoying the caress of goose bumps as they traveled down my spine. “Michael, not here. Someone might see.” I made no move to step away. Twice a month, when the Earth, Sun, and Moon line up, their gravitational power combines to make exceptionally high tides where the bulges occur, called spring tides, as well as very low tides where the water has been displaced. About a week later, when the Sun and Moon are at right angles to each other, the Sun’s gravitational pull works against the Moon’s gravitational tug and partially cancels it out, creating the moderate tides called neap tides.Now, the Moon is the biggest influence on Earth’s tides because of its proximity ― but it isn’t the only influence. The Sun ― with about 27 million times the mass of the Moon ― is always the gorilla in the room when it comes to solar system equations. But it’s a distant gorilla, about 390 times farther away than the Moon, which gives it a little less than half of the Moon’s tide-generating force. Yet it still plays a role. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray,” I sang as I twirled my delighted partner, my bare feet padding gently on the hardwood floors of the nursery. “You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.” I pressed my head into the pillow and tapped him gently on the head with the flat of my palm. “It’s not a shooting star-it’s a comet and an eclipse. It’ll really be spectacular.”

The play is being staged by Dorchester Community Plays Association who would like to thank everyone for their help, support and vital sponsorship that has made the play possible. I was especially intrigued because of something my grandmother had told me when I was a girl. As I was leaving her house after a day of learning about folklore and her own brand of ancient astronomy, Grandma had held my arm and whispered in my ear, “Be careful of moonless nights and speeding stars. Though the magic is there, there is danger, too, and great heartache.”

Tides

The only thing I noted that was a bit strange was her reference to riding a horse and what was used. This needed to be tweaked a bit because it wasn't correct. Other than that, I loved the characters and the exciting scenes as the mystery starts to unfold surrounding the family and what is causing their dilemma. I enjoy reading about time travel into the past. The mention of Sherman and how he dealt with his troops was very interesting. While the Earth is spinning to give us day and night, it is also moving around the Sun. This movement is called an orbit.