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Grok is the youngest of 3 children in his family. He has always been strong, perhaps stronger than any other in his tribe.

One day, Grok’s mother had an inkling that something was troubling her son. While he didn’t say anything, she figured he was just bored. She suggested that he go to the tribe shaman for guidance.

Well, Grok was bored. Of course he knew about the problems on Caribdus, but for the most part, is was background. He still did the same things every day that he had been doing. He just had more trouble doing them due to the rising waters.

Anyway, he had heard tales of ships on the high seas and even some who wanted to find the sea hags and reverse the high waters. The adventure sounded like a good thing, and lowering the waters again certainly did.

So, when his mother suggested he go see the shaman, he went. He figured nothing would come of it, after all, he was simply bored, not lacking in spiritual guidance.

When he went to see the shaman, the shaman did a reading of the bones to get some insight. What he (the shaman) saw there was confusing. He said that he saw a member of their tribe setting out on a great adventure. He further said the adventure was vital to the survival of the tribe. But, that was all he saw.

The shaman figured that if someone was to set out on an adventure that was to save the tribe, then it better be the strongest member of the tribe. So, he then arranged for a strength competition to be held.

While this wasn’t quite what Grok expected by visiting the shaman, he was up for a test of strength. That was at least an interesting change from his day to day life.

It was agreed that the test would be held in one week’s time. During that week, Grok practiced, figuring if he won then he might get to leave the village where they lived. He didn’t allow himself to get excited about the prospect of adventure, but it was there in the back of his mind.

The day of the strength competition arrived. Grok lived in a small tribe, so the competition was between 25 of the men of the village. The competition quickly eliminated most of the competitors, but then got tight between the last 5.

In the end, Grok won, and the shaman declared that he must set out on an adventure. How it was vital to the tribe the bones would not say (despite several more readings).

While Grok was hoping for a privateer ship, the best he could get at the start was a merchant posting. Eh, well, it was a start. At least it got him on the high seas, even if the most interesting part of the day was docking and unloading the cargo.

And, so we come to the beginning of our story…

Ever since a friend played “Music of the Night” (from the Andrew Lloyd Musical) for me, I’ve been a Phantom of the Opera fan. That was in 1991, 20 years ago. In that time, I’ve seen the Andrew Lloyd Musical two times, seen a showing of Phantom of the Opera at a local dinner theater for my sweet 16 birthday, and read the novel at least a dozen times as well as other novels about Erik.

Erik has guided me on many creative endeavors, like:

• the Spoon River Anthology pastiche (work in the same style as) I did in High School.
• Or the term paper I wrote for my biology degree.
• Or the paper I wrote for my Abnormal Psychology class that same year.
• You’ll find all three of those, and lots more on this site.

With dragnmuse visits PTO, I want to examine many themes from the book. From analyzing the characters, to seeing how Gaston Leroux used writing tricks to pull the reader in, I’m delving deep into the original novel. Right now, it’s undergoing quite a bit of construction…but great Phantom stuff is coming, I promise.

Hi, my name is Kara and my friends call me The Egyptian Cotton Sheets Queen. Ever since I got my first set of Egyptian cotton sheets in college, I’ve loved them. If you’ve never had the opportunity to sleep on Egyptian cotton sheets you are missing out. Do yourself a favor – even if you can’t afford a set yourself, go to your local home/linen store and feel a few of the sample sheets. You’ll see what I mean.

Aside from my love of Egyptian cotton sheets, I’m a pretty normal gal. I have one dog whom I adopted from my local humane society. He likes to go hiking with me and he loves to swim as well.

I have many good friends, some of whom I mention in my stories on this site. We like to watch chick flicks, go for coffee, and go shopping. We mostly window shop, but I know that I can count on my friends if I ever need advice on fitting a particular style into my wardrobe. I guess you could say that I’m on the girly side, as opposed to being a tomboy, because of the Egyptian cotton sheets. However, as I already mentioned, I like hiking and I also like going target shooting. And while my friends call me The Egyptian Cotton Sheets Queen, they also call me a good friend and someone who listens well.

They would also probably tell you that I tend to ramble and I often say things out left field. I’m sarcastic and like to quote movies, but I also like to make people laugh.

Well, I guess that’s me in a nutshell.

Kara

Originally, this blog was designed to be a place where I hoped to sell Egyptian cotton sheets someday. However, I realized it was more fun to write the stories by Kara. Although there is only 5 posts from her, she did have some fun with several friends. Not any romance to speak of, but fun fiction none the less.

In: My First Experience With Egyptian Cotton Sheets, Kara tells how she became the Egyptian Cotton Sheets Queen to begin with.

In: Egyptian Cotton Sheets Help Quick!, Kara helps her friend, Teri, to use 5 mismatched Egyptian cotton sheets around her house.

In: A Friend Gets A New Apartment And A Set Of Egyptian Cotton Sheets, Kara helps a friend move into a new apartment and gives a set of sheets as a housewarming gift.

In: Egyptian Cotton Sheets Go On A Camping Adventure, Kara slips an Egyptian cotton sheet into the sleeping bag she loans a friend to make camping a bit more tolerable.

Finally, in: Egyptian Cotton Sheets as the Foundation For Room Design, Kara and Wendy do the interior design for a bedroom with a set of sheets as the inspiration.