Beth Carpenter Books

Have you ever noticed what a huge role jealousy plays in fairy tales? In Cinderella , our heroine has to stay home and clean out fireplaces because her stepsisters and their mother are jealous of her. In Snow White , we have an evil queen, jealous of her stepdaughter’s youth, beauty, and sweet disposition. Even Sleeping Beauty begins at the baby’s christening, at which fairies are invited to be her godmothers, but another fairy who was left out is jealous and curses the baby instead.*   Jealousy is a classic motivation in stories, especially murder mysteries and thrillers. Shakespeare called it "the green-eyed monster." It also pops up a lot in the romance genre, but I sometimes find it troubling. It’s often used as a signal to alert the main characters they’re starting to think of the other as more than a friend, but it can easily cross the line into creepy. Have you ever read about a heroine who interprets the hero's jealous behavior as proof of love, while your i...

A first draft is all about the big picture. Who are these people? What happens to them? Why should I care? If done right, it paints a sweeping picture of the story.   Draft two adds more layers to the story and makes it come alive. And to do that, we need details. Last October, I decided to cheer myself up by dedicating a week to noticing the beauty around me by photographing  one beautiful thing every day. An interesting finding from this project was that it isn't usually the huge, expansive views that make me smile. It's the little things. A plant growing bravely out of a depression in a rock.                                                                                                            ...

Anticipation    -   Why don’t we celebrate Christmas all year long? One of my kids asked me that once in January when the bloom was off the new toys. I told him it wouldn’t be special if we did it every day. Anticipation is part of the reason Christmas is so much fun. I think the same is true of gardening. In early February, I found this cranesbill in full bloom in London. In Alaska, mine won’t be blooming until June. The picture below was taken in July. The cranesbill are in the lower left. I planted tulips under a deep mulch on the north side of the house once, and they actually bloomed on the Fourth of July.                                                   I don’t know if I appreciate flowers more than a Londoner, but I suspect I get more excited about them. If I hadn’t waited all winter...

Yesterday was Mother's Day. With my broken leg I'm basically home-bound, so it wasn't terribly exciting, but I had a good day. I had a long talk with my own mother, who will turn 90 this year. My kids spoiled me with flowers, chocolate, and books -- my three favorite luxuries. My husband took good care of me and made me tea.  Bottom line - it's good to be loved. I'm thankful.

You may remember my experiment in early March with setting out lettuce and Brussels sprout seedlings early to see what happened. It failed. As often happens, the hazard was unforeseen. I planted them in a fenced garden lined with welded wire to keep the deer and rabbits out. I mulched to give some protection from frost and weed competition.  But I forgot to look up. After spending the winter foraging on dried seeds and plants, the birds were hungry for fresh salad. Those tender green shoots lasted no time at all. The good news is that as soon as I set out the seedlings, I started another set indoors and they’re ready to be set out, this time under netting. The bad news is my broken leg isn’t going anywhere near that garden, but judging by the tomato plants he brought home yesterday, my hubby is catching spring fever, so he’ll be doing all the planting this time. And my leg should be better by time for harvest. Hope everything is greening up and growing for you this s...

With sunshine and no ice or snow on the ground Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a nice walk in the park. It was a little windy, but the dog and I enjoyed being outdoors. At least until I made the rash decision to walk up the hill for a better view of the mountains. Okay, actually the bad part was when I started down the hill and stepped on a patch of wet grass, resulting in a twisting fall and an ominous popping noise, followed by the realization that I couldn't stand up. Of course, I'd forgotten my cell phone, so I worked my way down the hill, thinking once I was on flatter ground, I'd be able to stand. Alas, no. I had to call for help. Each time I called, the dog, who's leash I'd dropped in the fall, gave moral support by running back and licking my face before running off to sniff another bush. Where' s Lassie when you need her? Finally, a neighbor heard me over the wind and fetched my husband. Together, they got me to a car so I could go to the emergenc...

"What advice would you give your sixteen-year-old self?" I saw that headline somewhere, and it got me thinking. At sixteen, I was a rule follower. I got good grades, because I did what teachers asked me to do. I assumed if I continued down the path the experts had laid out, all would be well. It took me a long time to discover this: The ten commandments were brought down from the mountain on a stone tablet; all other rules were made by people, and people are fallible. Now don't get me wrong. Rules and tradition are important. The only way to make progress in society is to build on the experience of those who came before us. It's a sign of wisdom to listen to those who have been down the path and can give us the pitfalls and highlights. But nobody knows everything, and if they say they do, they're lying. In college, I continued to follow the rules. If my instructor assigned reading, I read. If the TA rambled incoherently in the 8:30 lecture, I was there, ...