I have been a stage designer, decorative painter, international development worker and caregiver. I am currently a visual artist, historical fiction writer and insurance adjuster. Lausanne’s Golden Road covers everything. It’s a catch-all for my zigzagging life and includes any old thing I wish, plus cross posts from my other blogs.
I now have a Substack called: Long Ago & Far Away which takes up where my WordPress site of the same name leaves off. I will cross post between them because, why not?
The Substack and WordPress sites of Long Ago & Far Away cover historical fiction set off the beaten path (meaning, primarily outside the US and Western Europe).
LDavisCarpenter – Writer – is my general writing blog. It will also mirror and point back to the newer Substack – Long Ago & Far Away.
Marsh Hawk Studio LLC – is my fine and decorative arts business website/blog – This blog/business is on ice but the website is up and still showcasing my old decorative work.
The Golden Road to Samarkand
HASSAN:
Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells,
When shadows pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly through the silence beat the bells
Along the Golden Road to Samarkand.
We travel not for trafficking alone;
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned:
For lust of knowing what should not be known
We take the Golden Road to Samarkand.
Open the gate, O watchman of the night!
Ho, travellers, I open. For what land
Leave you the dim-moon city of delight?
We take the Golden Road to Samarkand!
(The Caravan passes through the gate)
What would ye, ladies? It was ever thus.
Men are unwise and curiously planned.
They have their dreams, and do not think of us.
We take the Golden Road to Samarkand.
Love the degree of variety in your life. While the super busyness can wear you down, you must have a wealth of information to fit into a story =)
PS. Samarkand is inspiring a locale of my ‘Big Project’ story, as well as many other Middle East and Asian locales.
Thank you! My life is crazy but I wouldn’t trade it. I’ve always struggled to choose a focus and then when I have done so, life has intervened to keep me zig-zagging along.
Samarkand! Yay! If I can get my current project done (a trilogy in the Near East), my next set will be Central Asia. Hah. If I can live to 120.
Thanks for the visit!
That pesky life! Writers even now would do well in a remote country retreat, a pen and pad, sitting on a porch or under a tree… that spot Colin Firth ducked off to in ‘Love Actually’ would be awesome =)
All the best with the trilogy; a semi-regular progress update would be great =)