Verb [with object]
1. Quench or satisfy (one’s thirst)
2. Satisfy (desire)
3. Combine (quicklime) with water to produce calcium hydroxide
I had an author friend recently use slake in the chapter she brought to critique group. (Waving to you, Suzanne!) I can’t rightly remember hearing this word before, but it sounded familiar, so I must have. It’s not often used, being edged out by its more common cousins quench and satisfy. I immediately knew what it meant though, and it was so refreshing (pun intended) to read a less common word that was easily identified.
Now that I think about it, I might have used “slake” in a historical novel that was released in 2015 (Romancing the Schoolteacher). But in that case, it would have been the number three definition. My hero worked for a lime mining operation, so I referred to the quicklime and likely use “slake.” Here is a picture of the lime mine's kiln on San Juan Island I used in my story. Well, this is what it looks like today, not when my story took place.
I need to remember to use slake (the first definition) in a future story, but I must be careful. Not just any character can pull off using a word like “slake.” Suzanne’s character was a perfect choice. I do have a gentleman in mind and will have to keep “slake” in mind when his story’s time comes around to write.
=0)
NEW RELEASES:
“Holly & Ivy,” my historical romance novella in A BOUQUET OF BRIDES COLLECTION, takes place in 1890, in Washington State. It's about a young woman who accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a Christmas mail-order bride and is helped by a gallant stranger.#BouquetOfBrides
A doctor or an Amish wife? She can choose to be only one…Kathleen Yoder comes home after fourteen years in the Englisher world. Practicing medicine means sacrifice—no Amish man will want a doctor for a wife. Widowed Noah Lambright offers a cottage as her new clinic, seeing how much Kathleen’s skills can help their community. But as their friendship deepens, could love and family become more than a forbidden dream?
#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance
MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January 2018, Courting Her Amish Heart in March 2018, The Widow’s Plight in July 2018, Courting Her Secret Heart September 2018, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December 2018. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:
1 comment:
Wow. I inspired a blog.
I never use "slake" in my own speaking. Don't know how it slipped into a story. Must have been the character speaking.
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