Should I grow my own tea plants?

I don't have the green thumb of Zoe Faust, and I can't cook as well as Dorian Robert-Houdin. But through my novels, I can explore subjects I love in more depth and live vicariously through my characters.

I love scribbling plot and character ideas in my paper notebook, seeing what develops as I play with different twists and introduce strong-willed characters to each other. But to add the details that really bring a book to life, that's where book research comes in.

For The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin, part of that research involved tea. I already love drinking tea, so Max's journey in the book, as he prepares to open The Alchemy of Tea, was a great excuse to learn more about it.

Two books I especially enjoyed were Grow Your Own Tea: The Complete Guide to Cultivating, Harvest, and Preparing by Christine Parks and Susan M. Walcott and Homegrown Tea: An Illustrated Guide to Planting, Harvesting, and Blending Teas and Tisanes by Cassie Liversidge.

Technically, "tea" is made from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. The leaves of the tea tree are harvested to make white, green, oolong, and black tea. Anything else we think of as tea, such as mint tea or chamomile tea, is actually an herbal infusion—or a decoction made by boiling heartier elements like roots and bark. But "herbal tea" is so commonly used that I use that easily-understood distinction of tea and herbal tea.

I already knew a fair amount about tea, but one thing I didn't previously realize was that it's possible to grow tea plants in California. Any tea I grow in my backyard wouldn't have the same flavors as old-growth trees in parts of the world where tea has been grown and harvested for centuries, but still.... it's tempting to try it!

I also took an herbal tea workshop at the Herbal Academy, which was so much fun, and now I'm experimenting with even more loose-leaf teas.

A few of my favorite herbal teas right now. camomile flowers, a blend of green tea and herbs, CCF tea (an ayurvedic mix of spices: cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds), and nettle tea is in my mug right now.

For now, I'm sticking to growing herbs for herbal teas, like this mint growing in my backyard garden.

Read more in The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin.

"The Locked Room Library" Exciting News

Why am I smiling? Because I've been nominated for both an Anthony Award and a Macavity Award! My impossible crime story "The Locked Room Library" was nominated for an Edgar Award and an Agatha Award earlier this year, and now it's up for both an Anthony and Macavity, two awards that are given out at Bouchercon, the world mystery convention. Wow!!

I've always been a big fan of locked room mysteries, a style of puzzle plot mystery fell out of fashion in the mid-1900s, but I've been so happy to see it gaining popularity once more, and it's such a thrill to be receiving so much recognition for one of my impossible crime stories. Being shortlisted for four awards is rather mind boggling. I'm so pleased that readers are enjoying the story.

"The Locked Room Library" was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine last year. (For a little while longer, you can read the short story for FREE here on my website.)

Here's a teaser for the story:

The owner of San Francisco’s Locked Room Library—a new private library established to celebrate classic mysteries—has discovered a secret about John Dickson Carr’s controversial novel The Burning Court.

When a newly discovered letter Carr wrote to Frederic Dannay disappears under circumstances identical to one of the eerie impossible crimes in The Burning Court, it’s up to librarian Tamarind Ortega and stage magician Sanjay Rai (The Hindi Houdini) to prove the letter wasn’t stolen by a ghost who vanished through a bricked-up door.

The Locked Room Library setting was too good to abandon, so it's also a large part of my Secret Staircase Mystery Series, starting with Under Lock & Skeleton Key. And yes, Sanjay is in both!

Advance Reader Copies of the 2nd Secret Staircase Mystery, The Raven Thief

Book mail!

Look what arrived in the mail: A box of advance reader copies of The Raven Thief, the 2nd Secret Staircase Mystery that follows Under Lock & Skeleton Key! I adored the cover of the first book, and this one is even more beautiful.

The Raven Thief comes out from Minotaur Books in March 2023. Here's a little teaser:

One murder. Four impossibilities. A fake séance hides a very real crime.

Tempest Raj returns in The Raven Thief, where sliding bookcases, trick tables, and hidden reading nooks hide something much more sinister than the Secret Staircase Construction crew ever imagined...

Much more to follow as the release date approaches!

Road trip to Portland, fueled by Elizabeth Peters audiobooks

My husband and I drove up to Oregon to spend my dad's 87th birthday with him!

My favorite Elizabeth Peters novel

We live in the Bay Area, so it's a full day's drive to Portland from here. I had a few Elizabeth Peters audiobooks downloaded to my phone, so we listened to Amelia Peabody mysteryThe Mummy Case on the drive north and Vicky Bliss novel Borrower of the Night on the drive home. I've read both of those books (Borrower of the Night is one of my favorite "comfort food" books to reread), and I'm happy to report that those two books have now turned my husband into an Elizabeth Peters fan! I knew it was only a matter of time. Who can resist the allure of Elizabeth Peters?

My mom's artwork hanging next to a little bookcase 

I first started reading Elizabeth Peters when I was a kid, when I found one of her books on one of my mom's bookshelves. But my mom was never as much of an Elizabeth Peters fan as I was. Still, my parents house was—and still is—filled with dozens of bookcases crammed with books across genres.

As for the walls that aren't covered with bookcases, my talented mom's paintings fill much of the wall space. I'm lucky that before she sells her work through gallery shows, I get first choice of which of her artwork I want. We brought home a few more of her paintings, but I didn't pilfer any of her artwork already hung on their walls. It was a great visit.

More of mom's artwork

My parents 

New Book Deal for More Secret Staircase Mysteries

I'm thrilled that I can finally share this news: I've signed a book deal for books 3 & 4 in the Secret Staircase Mystery Series!

This has been in the works since shortly before the book launch of Under Lock & Skeleton Key, but I couldn't share the news with you until the contract was signed. Woo hoo!

Thank you to all of you who've bought the first book, requested it at your local library, told a friend, and/or left a review. I'm so happy that so many of you are enjoying Tempest's first adventure. I'm having so much fun writing these books, and I love working with my fabulous team at St. Martin's Minotaur Books, especially my wonderful editor Madeline Houpt.

Here's the announcement that my wonderful agent Jill Marsal sent me that ran in yesterday's Publishers Lunch:

Mystery/Crime
Edgar Award finalist Gigi Pandian's books 3 and 4 in the SECRET STAIRCASE MYSTERIES, continuing the locked-room mystery series in which an illusionist builds magical architectural details into people's homes while solving impossible crimes, to Madeline Houpt at Minotaur, in a two-book deal, by Jill Marsal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

The Edgar Awards

I've only been to the Edgar Awards in person once before, many years ago when I had just begun writing and friends suggested it would be fun to attend since I was already going to be on the East Coast. It was fun to see what the biggest gala in the U.S. mystery world was all about, but I never imagined I'd be back as an Edgar Award nominee!

After Malice Domestic, I rode the train with Laurie R. King from Washington, DC, to New York City for the Edgars. And I got to celebrate with Laurie at the Edgars as well—she was honored with the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. (photos by Aslan Chalom)

With Laurie King (photo by Aslan Chalom)

Many friends from Crime Writer of Color were also nominees this year, so we took a photo together: V.M. (Valerie) Burns, Tracy Clark, Naomi Hirahara, Vera Kurian, and S.A. (Shawn) Cosby. (Thanks to Shelly Dickson Carr for taking this photo)

And our official photo of Edgar Best Short Story nominees: Michael Bracken, James A. Hearn, Tracy Clark, me, V.M. Burns, and R.T. Lawton (photo by Aslan Chalom)

Edgar Best Short Story nominees:

• “Blindsided” by Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn

• “The Vermeer Conspiracy" by V.M. Burns

• “Lucky Thirteen” by Tracy Clark

• “The Road to Hana” by R.T. Lawton (the winner of this year's Edgar)

• “The Locked Room Library” by Gigi Pandian

• “The Dark Oblivion” by Cornell Woolrich (this was a previously unpublished story by the classic mystery novelist only recently discovered!)

Meeting my publishing team in person!

It was so wonderful to meet my amazing publishing team for the first time while I was in New York City for the Edgar Awards.

Under Lock & Skeleton Key is published by Minotaur Books, the mystery imprint of St. Martin’s Press, both of which are housed under Macmillan publishing. I got to tour their NYC building and meet with my fabulous editor, publicist, and marketing coordinator, shown here.

With my publicist, marketing coordinator, and editor

And they have a gorgeous view from their office—including gargoyles! Can you spot them? The office also has a secret meeting room through a bookcase—how perfect is that for my Secret Staircase Mysteries!? Sadly, the room was in use while I was there. Definitely a good excuse to go back to visit.

View from the Macmillan building (I spy gargoyles!)

With my editor

I had a little time to play tourist as well, visiting friends, museums, and of course the iconic New York Public Library. Not enough time, but I'm glad I was able to visit.

Detour to the New York Public Library

View from my hotel room

Malice Domestic, the traditional mystery convention back after 2 years off

With Agatha Award short story nominees

Malice Domestic is where I got my start as a mystery writer. Fifteen years ago, I was awarded the Malice Domestic Grant for my unpublished manuscript, Artifact. I didn't know any writers at the time, but the fact that people in the traditional mystery world saw promise in my work is what gave me the confidence to keep writing—and the fact that I found kindred spirits there was what made it a fun journey.

This year, it was wonderful to reconnect with my fellow traditional mystery lovers. I was up for an Agatha Award for my short story "The Locked Room Library" as well, which was icing on the cake.

For the first time, Kellye Garrett and Walter Mosley (my fellow co-founders of Crime Writers of Color) and I were in the same place all together in person.

With Kellye Garrett and Walter Mosley

Other photos:

With writer pals Lisa Q. Mathews, Ellen Byron, and Diane Vallere

With Shelly Dickson Carr.

Southwest Travels

Seeing people in person after so long has been wonderful. I hit the road with plenty of good masks!

In Albuquerque, in addition to seeing readers and writers at Left Coast Crime, I also got to spend time hiking and eating at great restaurants with my aunt who lives in New Mexico. Though I was sad to see that my favorite restaurant in Old Town Albuquerque had closed—the one that inspired Blue Sky Teas in my Accidental Alchemist mysteries, with a living tree in the center! But we still had a great time.

---

With Kellye Garrett and Mia Manansala.

With Naomi Hirahara, Mia Manansala, and Tori Eldridge.

With Catriona McPherson, Terri Bischoff (my editor who championed my Accidental Alchemist novels!), Ellen Byron, and Lisa Mathews.

5 Fun Facts About UNDER LOCK & SKELETON KEY

I can hardly believe publication day is here! Under Lock & Skeleton Key, my first Secret Staircase Mystery, is out in the world! It took me years to figure out how to tell Tempest Raj's story, so I'm thrilled that you can read it (or listen to it) today!

Fun fact #1: It's a locked-room mystery, aka an impossible crime. It's a puzzle mystery like those classic mysteries that posed a challenge to the reader. Can you figure out how Tempest's stage double ended up inside a wall sealed for a century?

Fun fact #2: The origin of the family business that builds sliding bookcases & more: "What happens when a carpenter and a stage magician fall in love? They form a Secret Staircase Construction business to bring magic to people through their homes."

Fun fact #3: Sanjay (The Hindi Houdini) from my Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries, is one of the main characters in the new series!

Fun fact #4: The library in the novel first appeared in my story "The Locked Room Library" published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (and now nominated for both an Agatha and an Edgar Award!). The setting of a library devoted to classic mystery novels was so much fun to create, and I wish it really existed!

Fun fact #5 about Under Lock & Skeleton Key: It shares a publication day with the wonderful Alex Segura. I'm happy to call him a friend and I'm also a fan. His novel Secret Identity is out today as well. I got an advance reader copy and it's seriously so good! I hope you'll have fun with both of our books!

I Love Librarians

LibraryReads highlights public librarians’ favorite new books. Public library staff vote for their favorite books each month, and their top 10 picks serve as a national “library staff picks list” for new books each month. I was thrilled to learn that Under Lock & Skeleton Key is a LibraryReads pick for March! This isn’t just mysteries, but all adult fiction. 

Library Journal, the monthly trade publication for librarians, also gave it a fantastic review!

“Excellent…This “Secret Staircase” series starter is a fresh and magical locked-room mystery filled with fascinating and likable characters, incredible settings, and Tempest’s grandfather’s homecooked Indian meals.”

—Library Journal

A Edgar Award Nomination

Today is Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday, so it’s the day Mystery Writers of America announces this year’s Edgar Award nominees. I usually stay offline in the morning until I’ve completed a solid chunk of writing for the day. This morning, my phone started lighting up with text messages from friends congratulating me. 

Congratulating me? What was going on? One text mentioned the Edgar Award, but… that couldn’t possibly be right. Could it? I broke my rule of staying offline to investigate. It turned it’s true! I’m an Edgar Award nominee!

I’ve been short-listed for an Edgar Award for my locked-room mystery short story "The Locked Room Library," published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine last year! Wow. Simply, wow. 

I'm a huge fan of locked room mysteries, aka impossible crime stories, and I love writing them. That particular style of puzzle plot mystery fell out of fashion decades ago, but I've been so happy to see it gaining popularity once more, so I'm thrilled to get this recognition for one of my impossible crime stories. 

The other nominees are Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn, V.M. Burns, Tracy Clark, R.T. Lawton, and a previously undiscovered story by by Cornell Woolrich. What a great group! I’ve read most of the stories, and it’s truly an honor to be a finalist alongside them. 

The Edgars are given out by the Mystery Writers of America, and this year’s Edgar Awards banquet is April 28 in New York City. I had hoped to attend two years ago, when I was nominated for a Sue Grafton Memorial Award, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic. This year, I’ll be there! 

The Best Short Story Nominees

• “Blindsided,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn (Dell Magazines)

• 
“The Vermeer Conspiracy,” Midnight Hour by V.M. Burns (Crooked Lane Books)
“Lucky Thirteen,” Midnight Hour by Tracy Clark (Crooked Lane Books)

• 
“The Road to Hana,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by R.T. Lawton (Dell Magazines)


• “The Locked Room Library,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Gigi Pandian (Dell Magazines)


• “The Dark Oblivion,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Cornell Woolrich (Dell Magazines)

The full list of nominees in all the categories can be found at: https://mysterywriters.org/mwa-announce-the-2022-edgar-award-nominations/

Congratulations to all the nominees! I look forward to seeing folks at the Edgars in April. 

Two New Audiobooks

Julia Motyka continues as the narrator of the latest two Accidental Alchemist books, novella The Lost Gargoyle of Paris and The Alchemist of Fire and Fortune, both of which are now available!

The Lost Gargoyle of Paris is even available free through an Audible Plus membership

"The Diamond Vanishes" in Midnight Hour

Midnight Hour, a collection of short mystery fiction by authors of color, is out today!

Edited by Abby L. Vandiver and published by Crooked Lane Books, here's the list of authors who contributed stories: 

Jennifer J. Chow, Tracy Clark, H. C. Chan, Christopher Chambers, Richie Narvaez, Frankie Y. Bailey, E. A. Aymar, Faye Snowden, Tina Kashian, Rhonda Crowder, V. M. Burns, Raquel V. Reyes, Callie Browning, Elizabeth Wilkerson, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Stella Oni, Gigi Pandian, Delia C. Pitts, Marla Bradeen. Yes, what a list! 

The book features my locked-room mystery story “The Diamond Vanishes,” a Jaya and Sanjay story: 

A cursed diamond, a midnight séance, and an impossible crime... Stage magician Sanjay Rai, aka The Hindi Houdini, reluctantly agrees to perform a fake séance as part of his act. But when one of the participants vanishes from a locked room, he and Jaya Jones must unravel a dark deception connected to India’s legendary Koh-i-Noor Diamond.

In The Alchemist of Fire and Fortune, Dorian the Gargoyle Gets His Own Point-of-View Chapters

The The Alchemist of Fire and Fortune, the 5th Accidental Alchemist mystery, is out in the world today!

Here’s what’s in store this time for Zoe and Dorian: 

The Goonies meets Charade in the 5th novel in the Anthony Award-winning Accidental Alchemist cozy mystery series. A blackmailer obsessed with gold, a boyfriend who’s more than he seems, and a treasure hidden on the Oregon coast lead Zoe Faust and Dorian Robert-Houdin on an adventure that could leave their found family changed forever. 

I’ve been a fan of the movie The Goonies since I was a kid. Set on the Oregon coast in Astoria, it’s why I gave Max Liu a backstory of growing up in Astoria, and in this book I get to fully explore that sense of adventure of pirate treasure on the Oregon coast. 

Le Penseur (The Thinker) is one of my favorite gargoyles at Notre Dame in Paris. He’s the gargoyle who inspired Dorian's character in my Accidental Alchemist Mysteries. I truly don’t think I would have created a living gargoyle character if I hadn't been writing only for myself as therapy while going through chemotherapy a decade ago, but now I cannot imagine my life without him!

There’s no stopping Dorian’s personality, so he gets his own point of view chapters in The Alchemist of Fire and Fortune. He gets his own chapters in the next book in the series I’m working on now. 

Original artwork of “The Locked Room Library”

I loved the original artwork that accompanied my short story “The Locked Room Library” that appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s July/August 2021 issue, and I’m so pleased that the artist, Laurie Harden, was open to selling it to me. Now I need to find a good spot for it!

That’s Sanjay and Tamarind on the right, next to a bricked-up door to nowhere, an important part of the story. “The Locked Room Library” is an impossible story that pays homage to John Dickson Carr and Ellery Queen. 

Here’s the story set-up Laurie was illustrating: The owner of San Francisco’s Locked Room Library—a new private library established to celebrate classic mysteries—has discovered a secret about John Dickson Carr’s controversial novel The Burning Court. When a newly discovered letter Carr wrote to Frederic Dannay disappears under circumstances identical to one of the eerie impossible crimes in The Burning Court, it’s up to librarian Tamarind Ortega and stage magician Sanjay Rai (aka The Hindi Houdini) to prove the letter wasn’t stolen by a ghost who vanished through a bricked-up door.

All the characters are shown in library, along with the brick door to nowhere that holds the key to the mystery. 

Advance Reader Copies of Under Lock & Skeleton Key

Remember that book I sold in 2020? My agent pitched it with the title The Vanishing Act of Tempest Raj. Well, now it’s got an even more amazing final title: Under Lock & Skeleton Key!

Advance Reader Copies with this gorgeous cover have arrived, so it’s beginning to feel real. I’m so pleased that some of my favorite mystery authors read an early copy of the book and loved it enough to give it an endorsement. 

With advance praise from Deanna Raybourn, Sujata Massey, Naomi Hirahara, Jenn McKinlay, Paige Shelton, and Ellie Alexander, I'm pinching myself! 

• “With dazzling sleight of hand, Gigi Pandian launches an enchanting new series . . . a must-read.” ―Deanna Raybourn



• “A stand out mystery. The fast-reading, suspenseful tale delights, with dashes of international spice and a powerful new heroine.” ―Sujata Massey



• “An absolute sparkling gem of a book! With masterful misdirection and literary slight of hand, Pandian has penned a delectable tale that kept me guessing.” ―Jenn McKinlay



• “A perfect blend of adventure and mystery.” ―Paige Shelton


• “A love letter to golden age mysteries . . . will keep readers guessing whodunit until the very end.” ―Ellie Alexander

• 

“Pandian is this generation’s queen of the locked-room mystery!” ―Naomi Hirahara

Here's a bit more about the book from the Minotaur Books description of Under Lock & Skeleton Key: 

An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases. 

After a disastrous stage accident derails Tempest Raj’s career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfather’s Indian home cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her closer to the inevitable: working for her father’s company. Secret Staircase Construction specializes in bringing the magic of childhood to all by transforming clients’ homes with sliding bookcases, intricate locks, backyard treehouses, and hidden reading nooks.

When Tempest visits her dad’s latest renovation project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall that’s supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Fearing she was the intended victim, it’s up to Tempest to solve this seemingly impossible crime. But as she delves further into the mystery, Tempest can’t help but wonder if the Raj family curse that’s plagued her family for generations―something she used to swear didn’t exist―has finally come for her.

Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine, Tempest Raj, in a series debut that layers stunning architecture with mouthwatering food and is an ode to classic locked-room mysteries.

My Cancerversary: Diagnosed with Breast Cancer 10 Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today, on June 30, 2011, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had just turned 36. My life was thrown upside down, my plans changed forever. I had a full year of treatments ahead of me, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

But along with the bad, there was so much unexpected good. I figured out how to live life to the fullest in ways I had never previously thought possible. I learned who my good friends were. And I realized my dream of becoming a published novelist—it was my fabulous writers group who bought me my favorite chemo wig! When I recovered, I rented out a big flat in Edinburgh and invited my writers group to join me on a writing retreat. No agenda, just living life to the fullest. 

I hadn’t realized the rut I’d been in, until this anniversary crept up on me. 

Initially, that cancer diagnosis was the kick I needed to think about what I really wanted to do with my life. What did living life to the fullest mean? Stop worrying about trivial problems, spend more time with friends and family, slow down, savor, travel, cook, throw myself into writing.

I confess that as the years go by and I'm further from cancer, it's more difficult to remember to not sweat the small stuff. I've achieved so many of my dreams from 2011, and my writing career has exceeded those dreams. Yet... unimportant worries push their way into daily life.

I'm healthy and thriving today.

So on this big 10 year anniversary, I'm taking a step back and assessing my life, just like I did 10 years ago during cancer. What will that mean? I'm not sure yet, but I’m doing the work this month, leading up to that fateful June 30 anniversary when my life turned upside down.

And next year, I get to celebrate 10 years cancer free! I wonder what I’ll do…

“The Locked Room Library” Published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

“The Locked Room Library” is my first short story to be published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine! I was thrilled to discover it leads the July/August issue, and also has this super-cool original illustration by artist Laurie Harden accompanying it.

 “The Locked Room Library” is an impossible story that pays homage to John Dickson Carr and Ellery Queen. 

The magazine is out now, and is filled with a lot of great stories: “Fox's Wedding" by Awasaka Tsumao (a Japanese mystery translated into English for the first time), "The Body in the Bee Library" by Jon L. Breen, stories by G.M. Malliet and Joyce Carol Oates, and the always-terrific Blog Bytes column by Kristopher Zgorski.

Intro from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Here's a teaser for “The Locked Room Library”:

The owner of San Francisco’s Locked Room Library—a new private library established to celebrate classic mysteries—has discovered a secret about John Dickson Carr’s controversial novel The Burning Court. When a newly discovered letter Carr wrote to Frederic Dannay disappears under circumstances identical to one of the eerie impossible crimes in The Burning Court, it’s up to librarian Tamarind Ortega and stage magician Sanjay Rai (aka The Hindi Houdini) to prove the letter wasn’t stolen by a ghost who vanished through a bricked-up door. 

Mystery Writers of America’s How To Write a Mystery

How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Child with Laurie R. King, is out in the world today. 

I contributed a small tip to this collection of inspirational essays, so I got a sneak peek at the book, and it’s a fabulous resource for mystery writers at any stage of their writing career. 

Here’s the book jacket copy: 

Seventy of the most successful mystery writers in the business answering the question: What writing advice do you wish you’d had at the beginning of your career?

How to Write a Mystery continues the Mystery Writers of America tradition of helping authors tell—and sell!—their stories, from the rank beginner to the established bestseller. This all-new MWA handbook helps writers not only create timeless and compelling stories, but also navigate an ever-shifting publishing landscape. From pacing and dialogue to creating diverse characters and building reader outreach, How to Write a Mystery is a complete guide for a new generation of mystery writers. Because: “Crime doesn’t pay… enough!”

Kirkus Reviews says of the book: "Everything you wanted to know about how to plan, draft, write, revise, publish, and market a mystery, courtesy of the cheerleaders from the Mystery Writers of America. . . . A chorus of encouraging voices that mix do-this instruction with companionable inspiration.”