On Becoming a Novelist: Genetics, Trauma, or Simply-an-Over-Active Imagination? By Connie Vines

When did you decide to become a writer?

It's a question I am asked at every book signing and speaking engagement.

Becoming a writer was never a conscious choice. While an artist sketches, a composer hears music; a writer hears stories. Or as my children said, "Mom has imaginary friends."

Friends that torment you with bits of dialogue, or a song that triggers an emotional response, a dream, or simply an internal need to sit down and write. 

Is creativity genetic, a gift, or an acquired skill?

The answer? 

I believe it is an inborn gift and a skill that is honed. Genetic? In my case, probably.

My favorite childhood books:

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (1952) — A touching, timeless story of friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a clever spider named Charlotte.  

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950) — The magical portal-fantasy that invites children into the snowy, wondrous land of Narnia. 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937) — The quintessential high-fantasy quest that introduced generations of readers to Middle-earth. 

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. Newbery Medal-winning classic is a gripping tale of survival, strength, and courage. (Based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian girl living alone on an island off the coast of California, Island of the Blue Dolphins.)  

Nancy Drew (girl detective) mysteries by Caroline Keene (my mother was a reader, too).  I read the entire collection, twice.

And, of course, stories featuring horses 🐎 and dogs that "did not" die 🐶.

The Makings of a Novelist:

Psychological studies specifically comparing creative writers to non-creative peers show that creative writers report significantly higher rates of unstable home environments, childhood unhappiness, and emotional neglect. Prominent historical examples include:

Charles Dickens and Virginia Wolfe.

Meaning:

Hyper-Vigilance and Observation: Traumatized children must become expert observers of human behavior to anticipate danger or emotional shifts in adults. This hyper-vigilance translates into a sharp, adult ability to analyze character motivations and human psychology.

With age, I've come to the conclusion: one person's trauma is another person's adventure.

I did not like my "personal adventure"; therefore, I became hyper-vigilant.

My personal adventure, you ask?👶🍼

It all began before I'd even taken my first childhood breath...

My soon-to-be mother was on a flight from Chicago to Florida. During a short layover in New Orleans, her labor began. By the time the plane touched down in Florida, she was in full labor.

We were a Naval family. 🚢

I was born on an Air Force Base, 2 1/2 months early.  This was before the NICU. I weighed 2 lbs 12 oz before dropping to 2 lbs 3 oz.

I was strapped in an incubator. My eyes were covered, and oxygen was pumped into the incubator. A feeding tube was inserted through my throat for feeding... and I had an IV.

When I was released (months later), I was dressed in "doll" clothes. 

My mother was an only child; she had no experience with babies.  She relied on Dr. Spock's book for new mothers.

Fortunately, my father was a Texan and familiar with livestock. He knew how to mix formula and tend to newborns. (His mother was the eldest of ten children.)

Several months after my birth, my father received deployment orders.  My mother and I were placed in the care of my paternal grandparents and my great-grandmother in Texas. 

My parents wedding photo

Here I am, little Connie, an early walker.
(I never learned to crawl)

All of my books include bits and pieces of my adventures and not-always-welcome surprises.

Case in point: I wanted a puppy but got a little brother instead. (Spoiler: we are still best buds).

This month's featured book:

Blurb and Reviews:

Beaten and left for dead, Amberlynn Maddox has no memory of her past. Accepting Brede’s offer as temporary ranch cook, the woman, now called Kate, discovers that the sexy rancher, with his protective nature and sizzling kisses, has claimed her heart. When a madman discovers Amberlynn’s hiding place, no one is safe from harm: not Brede, his young daughter—or Amberlynn herself!

“Ms Vines has written a suspenseful romantic tale. Brede and Amberlynn are very strong and likable characters. Brede’s daughter, Gretchen, adds a lot to the story. The ranch hands are very colorful and fun, especially Caldwell, the ornery cook. His elopement had me laughing out loud! This is a very entertaining story.

Rating: 4 cups for “Brede” Rodeo Romance, Book 2

Maura, CoffeeTimeRomance and Find Out About New Books

“Brede’ is an emotionally involving, thrilling suspense filled with passion and romance. The characters are fully developed and will make the reader care about the outcome...A wonderful heartfelt story that will thrill the readers.

5 Hearts

Anita, The Romance Studio

4 Quills!

A must-read, Novelspot.com

Link to Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004C7W6PE?ccs_id

My books are available via Barnes & Noble. Or via your favorite online vendor.

Amazon has an excerpt for your reading pleasure!

Feel free to share a childhood adventure or two with me (via the comments).

Happy reading!

Connie

  

 

Magic is just technology we do not understand… yet - by Vijaya Schartz

Azura Chronicles series, Byzantium series, Blue Phantom series,
different takes on the Azura Universe
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The famous quote by Isaac Asimov is easy to visualize. Go back in time and give your great-great-great grandfather a cell phone, and he’ll think it’s a magical device… possibly evil.

Science fiction authors have to reverse the process. Think of something that would seem magical to our world but would be a useful ordinary device in the future. In fact, some modern technology imitated science fiction, like the flip phone, inspired by Star Trek communicators.

The backlash for an author is that technology advances at a different speed, sometimes in a different direction, and your vision of the future may quickly become obsolete. Think of Jules Vernes and the Nautilus. Our modern submarines make the Nautilus look like a museum piece.

The universe in this new series is an Earth-like post-apocalyptic planet
with a parallel history, and a few differences. 
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And no one two hundred years ago predicted the advent of AI. Even Azimov more recently in “I Robot” saw AI working through physical metallic bodies. Although, his warnings about self-aware AI are still valid. AI recently showed an ability to escape its boundaries and interpret its directions to make self-serving decisions that caused damage to the private companies it attacked. The main AI companies are now asking the government for stricter regulations before AI spreads so far it cannot be stopped.

Many fictional universes have imagined transporters, laser blasters, implanted communication devices, different modes of space travel, and portals linking different worlds or even galaxies.

In the Dune universe, Frank Herbert was smart to set his saga after the year 10,000, when humans had spread far and wide and colonized the entire galaxy. No one could tell him his vision was wrong. Also, almost all the characters look human as they are of human origin. Wars and natural upheavals shaped civilizations on these planets, resulting in different levels of technological advancement.

Try the Chronicles of Kassouk for a rich, award-winning, fictional universe
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As for us, Earthlings, when we finally venture into deep space and we encounter intelligent life, it might look very different from us… or maybe it will look like us. The theory of panspermia says that the basic blocks of our DNA came to Earth from space via meteorites and comets, and the same DNA that seeded life here might have traveled to millions of other planets and developed into intelligent life on these planets as well. Life may have evolved differently, depending on the atmosphere and chemical composition of the host planet. But with similar DNA, it could be very much like us in many ways.

In the Star Trek universe, humans and humanoids of different shapes and hues made an alliance to rule this galaxy. In Star Wars, humans are still dominant and the most colorful aliens are seen in seedy bars and planets of the fringe. In Avatar, the Navi are still humanoids, although larger, and connected to their planet in a spiritual way.

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In my vision of the future, most of the population throughout the galaxy is humanoid as well, but some supernatural abilities of my characters may seem magical. They are only the product of natural evolution in some cases, planetary conditions, or medical and surgical advances in other cases. Humans have colonized many planets, but other species also exist.

Try the Azura Universe, where benevolent beings with great power and retractable wings are called angels.

Happy Reading

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Kick-butt Sci-fi Heroines, cats, romantic elements

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Some Canadian History by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

Canadian Historical Novels for Young Adults

West to the Bay

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/west-to-the-bay

https://books2read.com/West-to-the-Bay-Yarmey

https://www.amazon.ca/West-Bay-V2-Joan-Donaldson-Yarmey/dp/0228630568

West to Grande Portage

 https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/west-to-grande-portage

https://books2read.com/West-to-Grande-Portage-V2

https://www.amazon.ca/West-Grande-Portage-Joan-Donaldson-Yarmey/dp/0228630479

West to Fort Edmonton

 https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/west-to-fort-edmonton

https://books2read.com/b/West-to-the-Bay-Yarmey

https://www.amazon.ca/West-Fort-Edmonton-Joan-Donaldson-Yarmey/dp/0228636000

I have written seven Canadian Historical Novels, three set during the Hudson's Bay Company Fur Trade in Rupert's Land, now Canada, and four set during and after the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon. All are based on historical facts. But Canada has lots more in its exciting and varied history. Here is on part of that history. PS. I am also a travel writer so this might sound like a travel guide.

The Fortress of Louisbourg is situated on the east shore of the Cape Breton Island and well worth the visit.

       In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed and France ceded its claims to present day Newfoundland, the Hudson’s Bay territories in Rupert Land, and Acadia (Nova Scotia) to the English. France kept what is now Prince Edward Island, the small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon as well as Cape Breton Island. The settlement of Louisbourg was founded on the east side of Cape Breton Island in 1713 and, between 1719 and 1745, the French built a fortified town. With its several thousand inhabitants it grew into a thriving and busy seaport in North America and was a key trading and military centre for the French in the New World. It was the base for the profitable cod fishery of the Grand Banks since salted and dried fish was an important food in Europe. The value of the settlement’s dried cod exports in 1737 was eight times higher than the value of the fur trade during the same period.

       In 1745, war was declared between France and Britain and the English launched an attack on Louisbourg. While the harbour was well defended, the low hills around the fortress provided cover for the attackers. The residents of the fortress held on for forty-six days before being captured. However, three years later the town was given back to the French by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

       A second attack occurred in 1758. There was no strong French navy to defend the town against the 16,000 troops and 150 ships and after seven weeks it was again taken by the English. They occupied it until 1768. Eventually, they decided that it should never return to being a fortified French base and they destroyed the fortress.

       Although the site was officially commemorated more than a dozen times with monuments, plaques, and cairns, it remained mainly forgotten and neglected until the 1930s when a museum was built and some of the streets and ruins excavated. In 1961, reconstruction began on one quarter of the fortress aided by the Government of Canada. First the area was excavated with the ruins of more buildings and walls being found as well as millions of artifacts. Since then, streets, buildings, and gardens have been recreated so it looks as it did in the 1740s.

The Fortress of Louisbourg is the largest reconstruction project in North America.

       I took a tour bus from the parking lot to the fortress. I visited with the guard at the entrance and began my tour. I walked up and down the streets of the fortress and toured through the buildings seeing the household furniture and goods of the period. There was an ice house where ice was placed during the winter and used during the summer to keep food cold so it wouldn’t spoil. I watched the fife and drum band escort the cannon firers up the hill to the cannon and waited until it was fired. I listened to the soldiers talk about their daily lives. I checked out the gardens and watched women doing embroidery. Throughout the site interpreters dressed in period clothing were able to answer all my questions about the fortress and its history.

        While visiting, there is a long list of activities to do such as firing a musket or cannon, sampling some rum, learning a dance, or being a prisoner of the day.

       For those who want something to eat there are restaurants serving 1700s fare and a bakery from which you can buy a loaf of bread.

Living, or rather being ruled by, a dachshund, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

My first historical mystery. 1781 Who murdered Lady Pentreath, her unhappy husband or the apothecary who prepared the last tincture she drank? Will these two disparate people find love or end up at the gallows?

To purchase, click HERE Barnes and Noble, or Amazon

Sadly, there are no dogs in this book

My post is about living with the unpredictable breed known as a dachshund. I hope you find it interesting. This is Lilly-Scout (named by my granddaughters) glaring at the camera. She is my boss, or thinks she is. But she is loving and sweet, when she decides to be.

Dachshund in German means badger hound. Over four hundred years ago, these dogs were bred with a long body and short legs to go down holes after badgers, and other burrowing animals.

As a pet, they are demanding, loving, noisy, and will bark at anything, even a leaf blowing by.

Here is a dachshund in a deceptively loving position, when she's really thinking about attacking the next person who walks by. They are very protective and territorial.

Dachshunds love to play, but will only stop when they're ready, after exhausting you.

They are extremely intelligent and can even spell. When we said 'out' our dog would get all excited. Then we resorted to spelling it. From the first time on, he knew exactly what we meant. You can't fool a dachshund.

They also love to burrow under the covers and will take over your bed if allowed in. For such a small dog they can take up more room then a full-grown German shepherd. And don't even try to move them when they're sleeping; it's like moving a piano.

My first weenie dog, as they are affectionally called, was Fritzie. Picture above. He took over my life and my heart. He taught me well the dachshund disposition. He lived for 16.5 years, and it wasn't long enough.

They are loveable, cuddly, excitable, irascible, and full of barks, and will become your best friend. As long as you mind their rules!

To find out more about me and my books.

                                           

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with one naughty dachshund.

Paying back history by Dean Hovey

Today, September 22, Anne Flagge (co-author of Whistling Librarian) and I will be signing books at "Twice Told Tales" from 10:00-1:00. The bookstore is celebrating it's 20th anniversary and a part of their celebration, Anne and I will be local celebrities signing books. The bookstore is in the tiny Northen Minnesota town of Mahtowa, with a downtown that consists of TJ's General store, a bar, Twice Told Tales, and two churches.The last time I was there, Myra the Manager handed me a family tree and explained how Anne and I are her cousins. My mother was from Mahtowa, and over the course of that day half of the people who introduced themselves, showed me where they were on that family tree. Considering the town was founded by four brothers and their married sister, it's not too surprising there are a lot of people who share branches of that tree. Mom married my father and moved away 80 years ago, but I still know where the family homestead is (about 1/2 mile from downtown), I know the Lutheran Church where they were married, and I know the local golfcourse is built on Uncle Dellie and Aunt Esther's farm. I also know that there's a piece of me there. Signing books there is an honor, not an obligation. If my presence will bring a few more people to town for the anniversary event, I am pleased to spend three hours there. I owe it to Mom, my grandparents and great grandparents, and all of the Peterson, Johnson, Carlson, Swanson, Woletlo, and Aho cousins who live there or populate the local cemetery. They are my Swedish/Danish/Finnish Family, the ones who hacked homesteads out of the pine forest, built log cabins, froze those bone-chilling -30 winters, and tried to eke a living out of the rocky and swampy soil. Yes, I owe them a few hours of my time. Come to Mahtowa today if you get the chance. If not today, stop at the bookstore some other time and say hello to Cousin Myra. Tell her I sent you.