Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2023- ‘Lucky Dip – #Hiking #Haiku #Rockies – Canadian Rockies Haiku by D. Wallace Peach

Welcome to the new series of Posts from Your Archives 2023 where I will be sharing posts from the last six months of 2022 I have selected from the archives of willing participants. If you wish to be included the information is at the the end of the post.

Diana Wallace Peach takes us on a trek in the Canadian Rockies and enhances her amazing photographs with delightful Haikus.

Canadian Rockies Haiku by Diana Wallace Peach.

Marveling at Bow Glacier Falls

I’m back after two weeks of exploring the Canadian Rockie Mountains. I hiked just shy of 55 miles (88 km) and climbed almost 15,000 feet (4572 m) in elevation. It was glorious.

The internet was horrible, and I dropped and smashed my laptop while searching for a place to get online. Oh well, more time to enjoy the beauty of the wilderness. While I get back into the swing of things (on my new laptop), I’m delighted to share some photos and mountain-inspired haiku.

The view from my room – Moraine Lake – unedited photo. The water is really that color.

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glacial ice trickles

into roaring white cascades

pristine topaz lakes

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Even the bad weather is beautiful

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fragrance of balsam

northern woodlands soothe the soul

deeply shaded green

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Lake Louise sunrise, another unedited shot

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at the water’s edge

sunrise creeps down the glaciers

reflections of gold

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On the way to the Plain of Six Glaciers tea house.

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tea house in the clouds

blueberry juniper tea

on top of the world

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Wildflowers everywhere.

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Indian paintbrush

yellow columbine abound

Alpine meadows bloom

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One of many waterfalls – Athabasca falls and canyon

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waterfalls cascade

thunder through narrow canyons

carving ancient rock

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No bears were harmed in the making of this photo

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far and wide we searched

for brown, black, and grizzly bears

not disappointed

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Thanks for coming along for a look!

©D.Wallace Peach 2022

My thanks to Diana for inviting me to share her posts and I know she would love to hear from you.

About D.Wallace Peach

Best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.

For book descriptions, excerpts, maps, and behind the scenes info, please visit:
D.Wallace Peach Books

A selection of books by D.Wallace Peach

One of the reviews for the Necromancer’s Daughter

Elizabeth Gauffreau 5.0 out of 5 stars A Highly Engaging and Beautifully Written Fantasy Novel!  Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 29, 2022

As a few other reviewers of The Necromancer’s Daughter have noted, I don’t usually read fantasy. However, I was so intrigued by the premise, I couldn’t resist: a humble, crippled necromancer named Barus brings Aster, a stillborn princess, back to life and raises her as her own–until she is called to fulfill her royal destiny.

I’m happy to say, I was well-rewarded for my time investment in Barus and Aster’s story. To begin with, the writing is superb: vivid, polished, and fluid, with enough detail to immerse the reader in the fantasy world without belabored world-building. In addition to the writing, the masterful characterization kept me reading. From the point-of-view characters to the bit players to the “sword carriers,” these are living, breathing people who inhabit the fantasy world the author has created.

The novel is told from three points of view: that of Barus, Aster, and Joreh, a young man who turns out to be the son of Aster’s sworn enemy. The use of multiple points of view provides different perspectives on the events of the story–a variation on the hero’s journey–thereby ensuring reader identification with each character, as well as building narrative tension. The use of multiple point-of-view characters also adds depth and complexity to the novel’s major themes of good versus evil, the lust for power, personal autonomy versus destiny, and the nature of life and death.

The novel’s main timeline is in the winter, and a particularly brutal winter it is. Wind-blown snow isn’t mere window-dressing, however. The author skillfully uses the frozen landscape to reinforce Aster’s “otherness” and fragility as someone who has been raised from the dead. Moreover, blizzard conditions and frigid temperatures pose additional challenges to overcome, over which neither she nor her antagonists have any control.

Dragons figure prominently in The Necromancer’s Daughter, which came as no surprise. However, the way they were portrayed did surprise me. The descriptions of what the dragons looked like, what they sounded like, and how they behaved were so realistic, not only did I believe they existed, they became one of my favorite elements of the novel.

I was also surprised by the details of necromancy practiced by Barus and then by Aster. The effect of necromancy on the necromancer and the light in which it was portrayed played against the trope of the obsessive mad scientist defying God to raise the dead. Their practice of necromancy was presented in an altruistic light–and the necromancer paid a physical price. I greatly appreciated the way necromancy was presented in all its complexity. As to be expected, Aster’s enemies believe it is the work of the devil, while Barus and Aster view it as a form of healing, in the way that medical treatment is a form of healing: interference with a natural process of a body that has been injured or become seriously ill. The question of where the line is between life and death and how far medical science should go to keep someone from crossing that line permanently is very much with us today.

I can confidently recommend The Necromancer’s Daughter to readers who love fantasy and to readers who appreciate character-driven, thought-provoking fiction. Kudos to D. Wallace Peach for this achievement! 

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And : Amazon UK – Follow Diana: Goodreads – Authors Website: D.Wallace Peach Books – blog: Myths of the Mirror – Twitter: @Dwallacepeach

How to feature in the series?

• All I need you to do is give me permission to dive in to your archives and find two posts to share here on Smorgasbord. (sally.cronin@moyhill.com)
• Rather than a set topic, I will select posts at random of general interest across a number of subjects from the last six months of 2022. (it is helpful if you have a link to your archives in your sidebar by month)
• As I will be promoting your books as part of the post along with all your information and links so I will not be sharing direct marketing or self- promotional posts in the series.
• If you are an author I am sure you will have a page on your blog with the details, and an ‘about page’ with your profile and social media links (always a good idea anyway). I will get everything that I need.
• As a blogger I would assume that you have an ‘about page’ a profile photo and your links to social media.
• Copyright is yours and I will ©Your name on every post… and you will be named as the author in the URL and subject line.
• Previous participants are very welcome to take part again.
• Each post is reformatted for my blog and I don’t cut and paste, this means it might look different from your own post especially if you are using the block editor

N.B – To get the maximum benefit from your archive posts, the only thing I ask is that you respond to comments individually and share on your own social media.. thank you.