A Silver Mirror (royal Dynasty, Book Four)

Blush: This is a suggestive romance (love scenes are not graphic) Alphonse d’Aix gave his tourney prize of a silver mirror to a lonely little girl. Since her affairs were also left by her father in Alphonse’s hands, Barbara was quite sure he was the man chosen to be her husband. Alphonse was too kind to laugh at an awkward, unhappy thirteen-year-old, but he made it clear that she was not his chosen. By the time Barbara returned to France, fleeing the unwanted attentions of Guy de Montfort, Alphonse had long regretted his refusal. His immediate proposal of marriage is swiftly accepted. Barbara had hidden her pain but never recovered from her first love. Still, thinking about Aphonse’s past life, Barbara decides a semblance of coldness will be necessary to hold his attention. However, Guy de Montfort had not forgotten Barbara’s refusal, and was determined out of spite to have her, even if it meant killing Alphonse. But Guy’s attacks drive Barbara and Alphonse into the hands of the rebellious Welsh, and amid the tension and terror of freeing Prince Edward from de Montfort’s prison, their true love is exposed. Publisher’s Note: Previously published elsewhere in 1989.

Blush: This is a suggestive romance (love scenes are not graphic) Alphonse d’Aix gave his tourney prize of a silver mirror to a lonely little girl. Since her affairs were also left by her father in Alphonse’s hands, Barbara was quite sure he was the man chosen to be her husband. Alphonse was too kind to laugh at an awkward, unhappy thirteen-year-old, but he made it clear that she was not his chosen. By the time Barbara returned to France, fleeing the unwanted attentions of Guy de Montfort, Alphonse had long regretted his refusal. His immediate proposal of marriage is swiftly accepted. Barbara had hidden her pain but never recovered from her first love. Still, thinking about Aphonse’s past life, Barbara decides a semblance of coldness will be necessary to hold his attention. However, Guy de Montfort had not forgotten Barbara’s refusal, and was determined out of spite to have her, even if it meant killing Alphonse. But Guy’s attacks drive Barbara and Alphonse into the hands of the rebellious Welsh, and amid the tension and terror of freeing Prince Edward from de Montfort’s prison, their true love is exposed. Publisher’s Note: Previously published elsewhere in 1989.

ouis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre (November 18, 1787 – July 10, 1851) was a French artist and chemist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Competition with Talbot 3 Development of the Daguerreotype 4 Popular Culture 5 See also 6 References 7 External links [edit]Biography Daguerre was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d'Oise, France. He apprenticed in architecture, theater design, and panoramic painting. Exceedingly adept at his skill for theatrical illusion, he became a celebrated designer for the theater and later came to invent the Diorama, which opened in Paris in July 1822. In 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce produced the world's first permanent photograph (known as a Heliograph). Daguerre partnered with Niepce two years later, beginning a four-year cooperation. Niepce died suddenly in 1833. The main reason for the "partnership", as far as Daguerre was concerned, was connected to his already famous dioramas. Niepce was a printer and his process was based on a faster way to produce printing plates. Daguerre thought that the process developed by Niepce could help speed up his diorama creation. Daguerre announced the latest perfection of the Daguerreotype, after years of experimentation, in 1839, with the French Academy of Sciences announcing the process on January 7 of that year. Daguerre's patent was acquired by the French Government, and, on August 19, 1839, the French Government announced the invention was a gift "Free to the World." Daguerre and Niepce's son obtained a pension from the Government in exchange for freely sharing the details of the process. Daguerre died in Bry-sur-Marne, 12 km (7 mi) from Paris. A monument marks his grave there. Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre. [edit]Competition with Talbot The work on the Daguerre process was taking place at the same time as that of William Fox Talbot in England on the calotype process. Both men knew that they were working on a process that would revolutionize the art world. The Grand Tours which were so popular were illustrated by drawings of scenes and the "photographic" process would improve the quality and ease with which these popular holiday memories could be produced. To protect his own invention, Daguerre himself registered the patent for Britain on August 12 (a week before France declared it "Free to the World"), and this greatly slowed the development of photography in that nation. Great Britain was to be the only place the patent was enforced. Antoine Claudet was one of the few people legally able to take daguerreotypes there. Daguerre did not need to make money from the invention to live, since he had been pensioned by the French government.[1] Fox Talbot spent a considerable amount of money on his process (est. ?5,000 in 1830s money) and licensed the process to British photographers where it was used instead of the Daguerreotype. [edit]Development of the Daguerreotype Main article: Daguerreotype "Boulevard du Temple", taken by Daguerre in late 1838 or early 1839 in Paris, was the first photograph of a person. The image shows a busy street, but because exposure time was over ten minutes, the traffic was moving too much to appear. The exception is the man at the bottom left, who stood still getting his boots polished long enough to show. (click photo to enlarge) The first permanent photograph was made in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce, building on a discovery by Johann Heinrich Schultz (1724): a silver and chalk mixture darkens under exposure to light. Niepce and Daguerre refined this process. Daguerre first exposed silver-coated copper plates to iodine, obtaining silver iodide. Then he exposed them to light for several minutes. Then he coated the plate with mercury vapor heated to 75° Celsius, to amalgamate the mercury with the silver, finally fixing the image in salt water. These ideas led to the famous Daguerreotype. The resultant plate produced a mirror-like exact reproduction of the scene. The image was a mirror of the original scene. The image could only be viewed at an angle and needed protection from the air and fingerprints so was encased in a glass-fronted box. Some ambrotypes were passed off as Daguerreotypes by being placed in these type of boxes. But the process was cheaper involving a weakly developed negative being placed on back card or paper to appear as a positive. Tintypes also were "boxed" as Daguerrotypes. Daguerreotypes were usually portraits; the rarer views are much sought-after and are more expensive. The portrait process took several minutes and required the subjects to remain stock still. Samuel Morse was astonished to learn that Daguerrotypes of streets of Paris did not show any humans, until he realized that due to the long exposure times all moving objects became invisible. The time was later reduced with the "faster" lenses such as the Petzval's portrait lens, the first mathe

A Mirror in the Heart There is a swan-white curtain Somewhere within the sky It's known of every sermon Every anguished cry The howls of hopeless people Frightened and alone There is a spotless silver mirror That hangs within the moon It's witnessed every winter The cities charred and ruined The herds of homeless people Filling all the roads Some may pray to their mirrors Some may kneel before the sun Me, I say there's a mirror In the heart of everyone Bullets paint the blue distance The mirror's stained from every gun Still, I say that it glistens In the heart of everyone And there are golden whispers Within the afternoon They've held the brothers, sisters Felt the mothers' wounds The broken-hearted people Burying their own Some may pray to their mirrors Some may kneel before the sun Me, I say there's a mirror In the heart of everyone Strike the bell, and we listen Light the candle, and we're shown The gods themselves throwing incense As all the world begins to glow Such a flame, such a mirror In the heart of everyone Such a flame, such a mirror In the heart of everyone –Duncan Sheik

When Agent Mara Brannigan struts into a low-rent bar on a mission to seduce and apprehend a pair of fugitives from the government, she doesn’t count on being the one caught in the snare of seduction.

Captain Frederick Ravenscraft has been duplicated during a rare space storm. Now the two versions of the sexy space trader disagree over which of them is the original and which of them is in charge. Two unique, heated kisses and one bar brawl later, Mara wakes up. On their ship, in their care.

Still, she’s used to ever-changing field conditions, so why not make use of them? Two sexy interludes and one deadly alien attack later, she’s shocked to discover these men are more than just her marks. Mara needs to do some fast talking to meet the needs of her heart and her job. Her Captains are a matched set of hardheads. Will she get through to them, or will she be forced to make a choice between love and duty?

When Agent Mara Brannigan struts into a low-rent bar on a mission to seduce and apprehend a pair of fugitives from the government, she doesn’t count on being the one caught in the snare of seduction.

Captain Frederick Ravenscraft has been duplicated during a rare space storm. Now the two versions of the sexy space trader disagree over which of them is the original and which of them is in charge. Two unique, heated kisses and one bar brawl later, Mara wakes up. On their ship, in their care.

Still, she’s used to ever-changing field conditions, so why not make use of them? Two sexy interludes and one deadly alien attack later, she’s shocked to discover these men are more than just her marks. Mara needs to do some fast talking to meet the needs of her heart and her job. Her Captains are a matched set of hardheads. Will she get through to them, or will she be forced to make a choice between love and duty?