On arrival, like many of the characters in my WW2 spy novel–including Lord Mountbatten himself–I check-in at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon. Having written a first draft and read multitudes of books, I’ve come to discover their world. Despite modernization, much of the land remains as … Read more
At our last book club, a friend mentioned the feral kitty she’d trapped, a little orange fellow about three months old. Two days later, he had moved in to our house. Thus ensued the Great Name Debate. We liked Mango for the color and associations with India and our favorite fruit. Then the Daughter decided … Read more
We all have our public and private faces. So does that very grande dame Venice. Venezia. Everyone knows her canals, bridges, and palazzi. San Marco… And the gondolieri with their blue-and-white striped T-shirts… Her grand churches… But we have been lucky enough to spend time in her “backwaters” of Castello, a former ship-building center nearer … Read more