When I worked with my collaborator, Jack Shepherd, on Realmwalkers, I spent hours without a break almost everyday. I did this also when I wrote The Priestess and the Ravenknight. I kept forgetting to get up and walk or do chores or whatever. It never even occurred to me to buy a kitchen timer of some sort to help me remember. Hours would fly by before I realized I hadn't taken a break.
Well, I think I have an answer to this problem and I wanted to share it with you. No, it's not a Tiaeran timer, but this may help keep you from gaining weight and getting sick. It's an online clock/time/music/video website: http://onlineclock.net/
It has an long list of different types of clocks and timers, in various colors and functions. It's also free and definitely worth a try. Now that I am in the middle of my next book, Sirens of Swansong, I am already using this clock timer for it and it works for me. This reminds me. I should go when this timer goes off and do some archery outside! No, wait, it's too hot now. Maybe later! But I can go do something else to stretch my legs and get some exercise. I know! Dance! Dance and do a load of laundry!
Till then, back to this post.
In the world of Tiaera, time is not as important as death makes time not so precious as in our real world. Thanks to Goddess Astria and the druids, Tiaerans don't have to worry about dying as we may. And despite all the hours spent in the libraries and great scholarly halls, reading and writing doesn't affect my fictional characters. Besides, their life is still mostly medieval and so there is a lot of physical work that needs to be done. This helps to keep the inhabitants of Tiaera healthier and stronger. I guess the closest thing they would have for timers would be hour glasses. Sun dials would only work outside and only when the weather allowed. I also hear that special candles could be used as timers. Marked in hour long sections, one would be able to measure time as the wax melted from notch to notch. For more information about candle clocks there is a wiki about them. CANDLE CLOCKS No doubt, the tiaerans used these as they could afford them. I can imagine Audrey now, dipping candles at her convent.
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| Photo by www.myrandburg.co.za |
