The Search

After about a year and a half exploring Sharon Shinn's mythical world of Samaria, I've finally turned the last few pages on her incredible fantasy trilogy. I think I'm actually in a period of mourning. Stealing a few minutes a day from my overtaxed schedule to reacquaint with Angel and Endori, Mandavii and Jacobite was quite literally a divine escape. In the future, I think I'll plan it out a little better; to leaf through the last chapter midway through Spring. Late January begs to be mated with a cozy curl in a cushioned arm chair, a warm tea steaming quietly on the side table, a fleece blanket embracing snugly from behind. But, scanning through the book shelves at Chapters to find a new book after just completing ones you've loved is a bit like surfing through the adverts on an on-line dating site. Sure. Friends can offer you their sloppy seconds. Oprah can guide you to the next pop culture phenom. But, I tend to like the hidden gems, the stories woven so cleverly that the subtext is lost on the masses, the characters so charming and coy that they almost choose to lie just below the radar. I do have a few friends a little left of cliche with whom I may have to consult. But, then again maybe I'll just let my wandering mind swim over the stacks, let my intuition guide me towards the next novel adventure.
I've had an inkling that, upon finishing the trilogy, something or someone would weave their way into my life and redirect my course. Perhaps that's why I've nursed each page like a jigger of well aged whisky. I think I'm ready now. I'm not sure if it necessarily has anything to do with the next book I'll read. Maybe some inspired passage will point the way to a future home. Either way, I'll have to trust my gut and the forces that live between the lines of space and time and stanza. Spring will soon arrive to wake us from our winter slumber. It's hard not to smile when considering the sweetness blended into that new wave of life.