Last night Jupiter and Saturn were closer together than they have been in the past four hundred years. I’d been looking forward to this event since I first heard about it a month ago. We drove to the VRE (Virginia Rail Express) parking lot and stood on the top deck to get our first glimpse. We weren’t the only ones there. You can see it with the naked eye, but binoculars helped. When we got home we realized that despite the trees we could see it here too. If you missed it yesterday, you can try again for the next couple of days.
My fascination with the stars started as a child. I remember laying out on our driveway on warm summer nights, staring up at the stars with my best friend. In my sixth grade science class we did a section on astronomy. One night we gathered on the playground of our elementary school and our science teacher pointed out constellations. Orion the Hunter has always been a favorite, but maybe it’s because he’s easy to spot.
I still love to go out and watch meteor showers. One of the best was when we were in Idaho visiting my husband’s family on their small farm. There is very little light pollution. We took blankets and pillows out onto the lawn and we saw so many falling stars.
If you do an internet search on star myths you’ll find almost every culture had their own myths. How many times have you wished upon a star? Star light, star bright, first star I’ve seen tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.
There’s something so comforting about myths and storytelling. Like many authors, I’ve been writing stories since I was a little girl. One was inspired by a chair in my sixth grade science class. The screws looked like eyes and a scratch like lips. The chair in the story came to life and I had to battle it.
I still love telling stories and am thrilled the ninth Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery will come out right after Christmas on December 29th. As I was thinking about writing Absence of Alice, I wondered what would happen to Sarah if the people she usually depends on—the police, Seth, and Mike the “Big Cheese” Titone–weren’t available to her. I also wondered what would happen to her relationships with them in the aftermath. That is what the story is centered around.
I don’t really believe our destiny is in the stars, but I won’t stop looking up at them as people have done for thousands of years.
Readers: Do you love star gazing?
Here’s the back cover copy: For bargain hunter extraordinaire Sarah Winston, starting life over in Ellington, Massachusetts, has been a true trash-to-treasure success story, except when there’s a run on dead bodies…
Sarah’s latest client, Alice Krandle, is sure she has a fortune in antiques on her hands. She’s already gotten a generous offer for the whole lot before her garage sale has even begun, but she thinks she can earn more with Sarah’s expert help. The problem is that while Sarah’s sorting through items from decades past, her landlady, Stella, faces a clear and present danger.
Stella’s kidnapper has contacted Sarah with a set of instructions, and “Don’t call the police” is at the top of the list. But they didn’t say anything about Sarah’s friend Harriet–who happens to be a former F.B.I. hostage negotiator…
Signed copies of my books are available from One More Page.
I’m so excited about the new book, Sherry! I was disappointed when the clouds almost cleared here last night but then settled back in. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this conjunction. Tonight will be clear, though, so I’ll take my binoculars to upstairs, or else drive to a higher spot. Thanks for the pictures!
It was amazing to see.
Skies have been overcast here for the last several days, so no sightings since Friday night. Hoping for clearer skies tonight. Looking forward to reading your latest!
I hope your skies clear!
Congratulations on the upcoming release of ” Absence of Alice”! I can’t wait to read it.
We love seeing the wonderful things in the sky – especially those that only come around once in a lifetime or at least rarely. On a trip to the New England states in the fall, one of the highlights of the trip was seeing the lunar eclipse when we were at the most eastern point in the United States. That night we were staying at the old coast guard station right on the water’s edge way outside any town so there were no street lights or lights of any sort making the view amazing. We stayed up all night taking photos and just admiring the view even though it was cold. It’s amazing how much a mug of hot cocoa can warm you up when you are having so much fun otherwise.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
That sounds fabulous!
We were looking forward to seeing this last night, but clouds and rain made that impossible. I wonder if we’ll get a break to see it tonight.
Congrats on the book, Sherry!
I hope you get a break in the clouds!
Congratulations on An Absence of Alice – can’t wait to read it.
Skies were cloudy here in northern Maine. I’m holding out hope for a break tonight or tomorrow. Love your photos!
All these clouds conspiring against everyone! I hope they clear.
Cloudy here, too! No viewing last night, but tonight we will try again. Thank you for the photos! This morning while walking our neighborhood streets in the dark early hours, I looked up just in time to see a shooting star, so magnificent, bright and very fast as they always are! It did not make up for last night, but came in a close second. I wish for everyone that at least once in life every person could spend some time in one of our least populated states where the stars shine so brightly you feel like you could reach out and touch them…Wyoming. We were blessed to live there for six years and never tired of the starry skies. The snow and cold weather for most of the year…now that did get to be a trial or we would probably still be there. 😉 What a great series you have with Sarah and her most interesting livelihood.
I love seeing shooting stars. The skies are so clear in Wyoming because of the low humidity!
The skies were just clear enough last night, and my husband looked out in time, so we could watch the conjunction for the few minutes before the planets set behind the horizon.
Yes, I am a stargazer! We were delighted to realize, 13 years ago, that we could see the Milky Way at our then-newly purchased farm in rural Kentucky. Over the years light pollution has diluted our view, but I still love going out on a clear night and gasping at the stars from horizon to horizon there.
Congratulations, Sherry, on An Absence of Alice!
I’m so glad you saw it! And it’s nice to have a place to get away from the light pollution!
Alas, last night was too cloudy to see anything, but will try again tonight. I love stargazing, especially in a place where you can get away from light pollution.
Good luck!
I love star gazing. But it is harder and harder to find a place where you can do that without light pollution. Didn’t try to see the planets last night. I might tonight.
I am 70 pages away from the end of Alice, and I need to finish today. On a practical front, I want to write my review before Christmas so I can take a few days off from the blog. But I really NEED to know what is happening.
I hope you get a chance to see the planets! I’m so glad you need to know and I do hope you can take a few days off!
Looking forward to the new book, Sherry! I have always lived too near cities (even small towns have too much light) to do much serious stargazing. It was so foggy last night it would have been hard to find my way safely out of the house. However, many years ago, I spent several hours at night in a small boat on Lake Titicaca. The experience was life changing.
That sounds amazing!
“I wondered what would happen to Sarah if the people she usually depends on—the police, Seth, and Mike the “Big Cheese” Titone—weren’t available.” Good concept!