Letters from Annie Douglass Lima
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Taiwan Quarantine, Day 5
I'd heard and sung "Here Again" many times, but the lyrics were never so meaningful as they were to me today, shut in a room away from everyone and everything.
Here's the first chapter of my first book, Prince of Alasia. Take a look (or direct your friends over to take a look) and see what you think!Know a friend who enjoys young adult fantasy or action/adventure stories? Use the "give as a gift" button on Amazon to send them a copy! Below are the […]
http://martial-arts-shop.euThis is the final interview I've done with characters from my second novel, In the Enemy's Service, due out two weeks from tomorrow. Take a look at the first one, the interview with Anya, to read why I've been interviewing people from my world and where I got the idea in the first place.I’ve chosen a […]
http://demo.webify.ws This is an interview with the character Eleya, midwife and physician's assistant in the Alasian palace in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. As I cross the palace courtyard toward the clinic, Eleya meets me at the front door. “Come in, come in. […]
This is an interview with the merchant Karro, father of the ten-year-old protagonist in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, take a look at my interview with his daughter Anya. Glancing at my directions to double check the address, I knock on the front door of […]
http://image0-rubylane.s3.amazonaws.comThis is an interview with the character Talifus, the Alasian traitor who betrayed his kingdom in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. Lieutenant Talifus has agreed to meet with me in a tavern in the city of Almar, not far from the Alasian royal […]
This is about how I picture Rampus. This is an interview with the character Rampus, regent of Malorn and conqueror of Alasia in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. Pushing my way through the heavy blue curtain that hangs across the entrance, I step into […]
This is an interview with the character Almanian, a Malornian military captain in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. “Come in,” Captain Almanian calls when I knock on his office door. I open it and step inside, finding myself in a lamplit room that […]
This is an interview with the character Wennish, a guard in the Alasian palace in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. Wennish waves me to a stool beside his bed in the palace clinic. He looks weak and pale, but his voice is steady. […]
http://thumbs.dreamstime.comThis is an interview with the character Tonnis, a physician in the Alasian palace in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. I sit down with Tonnis, a stout, graying man in his forties, in the front room of the palace clinic where he works. […]
http://www.coldsteel-uk.comThis is an interview with the character Lasden, a lieutenant in the Malornian army in my novel In the Enemy's Service. For an explanation of why I'm interviewing my characters, click here. Lieutenant Lasden and I sit down in the empty conference room in the Alasian palace where he has agreed to meet with me. […]
Want to meet an Alasian?With my second novel, In the Enemy's Service, (hopefully) coming out this spring, I decided to create a series of "interviews" to introduce friends and fans to some of the main characters. Thanks to Tina Morgan at Fictionfactor.com, I discovered the idea of creating imaginary interviews with characters to help develop […]
After reading The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare, I assigned my fifth graders a project with several sections. In one, they had to imagine they were going to go and live alone in the wilderness like the main character. They could only choose ten items they would bring with them, and they […]
Monday was one of those days.I knew it might be a little hectic because it was the start of the second semester and I was getting two new students (and it's the week before Chinese New Year break, so the kids would be antsy anyway). I was also told I'd have a high school student […]
Floyd and I had a long enough layover in Narita, Japan, this time that we decided to leave the airport and do a little exploring. On the advice of a helpful person at the information desk, we decided to visit a nearby temple with some scenic gardens out back. We took a short subway ride […]
http://www.leadingedgecorp.com/Never have I been so happy to be in Kentucky before! (Actually, never have I been in Kentucky before, but that's not the point.)We were supposed to fly out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, on Tuesday. We would change planes in Houston on our way to Orlando, where we would spend about […]
I know, it's disgraceful. I've lived in Taiwan four years now, and have never made a whole phone call in Chinese. That is, not counting the wrong number calls we occasionally receive, or the Chinese telemarketers to whom we say, "Sorry, I don't speak Chinese" in Chinese and then hang up.I know enough Chinese to […]
After reading the book Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson, my fifth graders recently completed a project where they created their own imaginary worlds. One section of the project involved writing a list of the rules that must be followed in their worlds. Here are a few of my favorites - as you can see, […]
Lately I've been asking myself what the point of a blog is if I never write in it. It's just easier to post little updates in Facebook all the time than sit down and write something. Especially when life is pretty normal and there's nothing much exciting to write about. But I've decided I need […]
I'm here in Malaysian Borneo for a few days attending a teaching conference, and I'm loving it! (To see my first Bornean blog post, click here.)As one of our last activities before we had to leave, Floyd and I visited a fun zoo called Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. We really enjoyed it, and I'd recommend […]
I'm here in Malaysian Borneo for a few days attending a teaching conference, and I'm loving it! (To see my first Bornean blog post, click here.)Today after the conference sessions were over, Floyd and I took a taxi to visit the Tun Mustapha Tower. It's the second tallest building on the island of Borneo, and […]
I'm here in Malaysian Borneo for a few days attending a teaching conference, and I'm loving it! (To see my first Bornean blog post, click here.)Yesterday afternoon after the conference was over for the day, Floyd and I decided to visit an aquarium called the Green Connection here in Kota Kinabalu. It wasn't especially large […]
I love Malaysia! I'm here for a few days for a conference, which is being held in the beautiful, touristy town of Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah. This part of Malaysia is located on the island of Borneo, along with a piece of Indonesia and the whole country of Brunei. (The rest of […]
Wow, it's been forever since I posted anything here. Almost a year! I much prefer Facebook, since it's so convenient to post short comments, and they make it much easier to upload pictures. But this afternoon I decided it was time for another blog post.Floyd and I arrived safely back in Taiwan early this morning […]
Floyd and I enjoyed our visit to the zoo in Kaohsiung. It's smaller than the one in Taipei (which you can read about in another of my blog posts here), and not quite as nice, but still pleasant. You don't need all day to see it thoroughly. Here are a few glimpses of animals and […]
It's officially the Year of the Tiger now. Here are a few pictures taken in the Shui Nan Market and a local park right before the new year (though because it's been rainy for most of the last week or so, I didn't get as many as usual).A mini parade down one of the main […]
My parents flew in from the States to visit Floyd and me for Christmas. It had been a year and a half since we'd seen each other, and we had a great time together! It was fun to show them around our home, school, neighborhood, and country. They spent a morning in my classroom, met […]
From what we hear from the States, it seems that swine flu is a big thing in the news there right now. It's certainly a big thing here in Taiwan, and although it's widespread, the Taiwanese are taking great precautions to try to keep it under control. For a couple of months now, Morrison has been […]
I had a fun weekend with friends in the little mountain community of Gu Guan. It was refreshing to get out of the city and actually see some green!Peggy, Natalie, Fiona and I spent time hiking through the forest, soaking in the hot springs, and hanging out in 7-Eleven. Yes, even in Gu Guan!"Recrotion" area?! […]
A couple of days ago, after we had finished reading Katherine Paterson's novel Bridge to Terabithia, my fifth graders turned in a project where they each had to create an imaginary world. My class this year was exceptionally creative: they came up with worlds populated by rabbits, robots, talking candles, stick figures, otters, ghosts, and […]
Floyd and I are enjoying our fall break here in Taiwan. We spent three or four days this week in Taipei and had fun playing tourist. Here are a few snapshots of our experiences there.The Museum of Drinking Water! Yep, it was about as exciting as it sounds. But the building was beautiful, and you […]
Hsi Touby Annie Douglass Lima God's glory shows in all He's madeI see it in the woods displayedFrom mossy rocks in riverbedTo silver ferns in sunlight spreadAnd shrubs with shining leaves arrayed.The green-clad mountains rising highLoom misty-headed to the skyAbove the bamboo and the pinesAll robed with lichen, draped with vines Where brilliant blossoms catch […]
http://upload.wikimedia.org/Hello from Taiwan! We've been back about a week and a half, and a full week and a half it's been! We didn't expect to be greeted by a typhoon and a kidney stone, but I'm getting ahead of myself....Floyd and I arrived last week on Wednesday morning, and spent most of the day cleaning […]
Happy Easter! The day really isn't celebrated here in Taiwan, so we haven't seen any chocolate eggs or bunnies or other decorations around - which is actually kind of nice. I think it helps us focus on the real meaning of the day when all the extra stuff isn't there (much as I'd enjoy a Cadbury […]
We just got back from a fun little four-day vacation in Kenting (pronounced "kun-ding") at the southern tip of Taiwan. We went with some friends from Morrison who were nice enough to let us ride with them in their van (we don't have a car here in Taiwan). Kenting is one of the most famous […]
Ever wonder what a dog's life is like in Taiwan? I'll give you a hint: scooters and clothes both play a big part!
The Year of the Ox is upon us, and oxen (in various forms) are everywhere in Taiwan. I took these pictures at the Shui Nan Market the Saturday before Chinese New Year.Decorations (mostly red and gold and cow-themed) are for sale or on display everywhere. Even fruit (designed to be given as gifts) comes with […]
Our apartment building had a Christmas party a week and a half ago. It's interesting: most people in Taiwan don't really celebrate Christmas (public schools and offices are open on the 25th for business as usual), much less understand what it's about. And yet they do see it as an excuse to have parties and […]
Our friends and co-workers, Dondi and Liana Peleo, invited us to their apartment building's Christmas party last night. The party was in the form of a twelve-course Chinese banquet! The dishes were brought out one at a time - none was huge, but most were delicious, and several looked very fancy. I took pictures of […]
It's that time of year again. My 5th graders handed in their "Terabithia Projects" a few days ago. We just finished reading Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia in class, and they each had to create their own imaginary world and write up a report about it. One section of the report calls for them to […]
I just got back from a 4-day trip to Hong Kong to attend a teachers' conference. The conference was great, but Hong Kong was even better. It was my first time there, and I had decided I was going to squeeze in all the sightseeing and fun I possibly could in whatever spare time I […]
Floyd and I enjoyed a brief but fun vacation in the scenic coastal town of Taitung (pronounced "tai-DONG") in southeast Taiwan. Our hotel (which cost about $30 US per night) was pretty nice, with a unique "aboriginal" theme to it, especially out front. Taitung is home to one of Taiwan's aboriginal tribes, so the local […]
Have you ever had a day that wasn't just busy or stressful, it was absolutely insane? One of those days where nothing works as it's supposed to, and you barely make it over one unexpected issue that wasn't in your schedule before another one looms up before you? Today was definitely one of those days. […]
I can't even express how wonderful it is to be back in Taiwan. As much as we enjoyed our summer in the States, Floyd and I both are just thrilled to be home again!Our flight went smoothly, with no hassles about our luggage in either LAX or Taipei. We landed on Thursday early morning, and […]
In early July, Floyd and I enjoyed a fun vacation with his family in Wyoming. The Grand Tetons (above) were some of the most beautiful sights we experienced.We spent a day in Yellowstone National Park, where we saw buffalo and elk and lots more beautiful scenery. Old Faithful (left) was a highlight.The family rode a […]
I recently had the privilege of attending a teachers' conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The conference was great and I learned a lot, but I especially enjoyed seeing Kuala Lumpur. The Petronas Towers and Batu Caves were two of my favorite sites. At 88 storeys, the Petronas Towers are the world's tallest twin towers. They're […]