January's Blues by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #January #Blues #Weather

 

January has arrived with cold weather. This isn't my favorite time of the year these days. But I'll manage to get into better weather. As a child, I loved winter, especially the marvelous snow storms. Winters these days seldom bring more than snow dusting. Enough complaints about the weather.

January brings a new year and new ideas. Hoping to finish the book I've been working on for months. The main problem is the writing was interrupted by two hospital stays and both times helped me lost the gist of the story. I'm on track now and hopefully by the end of the month the story will be ready to set off. The Horror Writer's Demise is the start of a new series. The second book is starting to gel. Title hopefully is the Historical Writer's Snuff Boxes.  Looking forward to writing this but not for a time but there is a medical romance perking and partially planned.

Looks like next year will be a writing one. In my old files, I found a draft of a story I don't remember when I write it. A post Civil war historical. I want to look it over and see if it can be saved. There's also a Regency Historical with a plan that could be written. I'll see what happens there.

A palace for Chuck. Chuck who? by J.C. Kavanagh

To purchase these award-winning books, click here:
https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

Have you ever said 'never-have-I-ever?' Yes? No?

Well, I used to say that a lot. Until I met my partner, Ian. That's when all my 'never-have-I-ever' escapades/dreams shrank in number. One by one, they became reality.

If you had asked me 21 years ago, before I met Ian, these questions, this would have been my response:

Ever sailed? Never.

Ever publish a book? Never. How about three? Are you kidding?

Ever built a palace? Really?

Today I can tell you that I've been sailing for 21 years; that we're on our third sailboat, and through BWL, have published three award-winning books.

As to the question, 'Ever built a palace?' Well, that depends on what kind of palace.

Some background first. Last year, we purchased a property that's approximately one kilometre from Georgian Bay (read LAKE EFFECT SNOW). The home came with a phenomenal woodstove fireplace but alas, no shed to store firewood. What to do? 

Build one of course.

So we did our research and came up with a design that would delight the most fastidious wood stacker (that's me). For those who are new readers, I have to mention when Ian and I work on a project, we go "all in." Most people would call a wood shed, a, well, a wood shed. But no no no, not us. We have to design and build a structure that is fit for a king, or in this case, a Woodchuck King. Not a Beaver King, that just sounds wrong. But a palace for a woodchuck? Chuck's Palace? That sounds just right.

We started our project November 1 and finished the structure a month later. Just in time for a Georgian Bay winter :)

I could write an entire blog on the installation of the metal roof.
Shenanigans!

Then we had to stack two bush cords of hardwood (wood art), and design and build saloon-doors...
with the snow flying! 

The finishing touches...
Ian pointing to where the real 'Chuck's Palace' sign will eventually be hung.
Ian carved eyes and a mouth into the upper post 
using one of his favourite outdoor tools -  a chain saw.

More finishing touches... antique oil lanterns I restored.

Never-have-I-ever... chiseled. 
Chuck's double-sided sign in the making!

We're going to stain the sign and then paint the chiseled letters black. Thankfully, this part of the project can be completed inside!

If you're wondering about your own never-have-I-ever done that, well, consider what Jayden, Connor and Max went through. Never-did-they-ever dream they'd 'cross over' to a dream world, let alone an Un-World. Curious? Check out The Twisted Climb adventure-packed trilogy. You'll be gobsmacked (Yes, it's a real word. My Irish Mather, RIP, told me so.)

Until next time, stay well and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :)

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Instagram @authorjckavanagh

A Collection of Ancient Documents by Tobias Robbins

 

https://bookswelove.net/robbins-tobias/

The main premise for my book is that it is a collection of ancient documents that have been collected and sorted into chapters, each with a different author. I wanted to find a way to visualize that idea. Here is what I imagine some of those ancient documents might look like. I made each character's handwriting different and artificially distressed the pages so they would look old and dirty. I asked a few friends to pick out a few “cool quotes” to help capture the essence of each of the characters. PS- if there are any spelling and grammar mistakes, I will just say it’s intentional because it fits that particular character, so don’t bother pointing it out to me. 😉

 

The Importance of Reviewing

 Find novels by Eileen Charbonneau HERE

January is a great reading month. Do you that you as a treasured readers have the power in this digital age, to give your favorite authors a boost?

How?

Reviewing!

There is nothing as sweet to an author's eyes as the sight of a satisfied reaction to all her moths of hard work to bring you the best storytelling she can manage!

Reviews help authors find new readers, too. And they help your favorites pop up in search features. If we want our books to move on the online marketplace, they must have reviews attached.

Some places to post reviews are: 

Amazon

Goodreads

bn.com

bookbub

kobo

Storygraph

And of course you can post the same review on all these places. So dear readers, give authors a nice boost, short or long, good or even disappointed this time out...we'd love to hear from you.

Here are some of of my favorites reviews of Spectral Evidence from readers I treasure....

"The characters are well written. I loved how the author portrayed the bond between Charlotte and her father and how she seamlessly wove several fascinating subplots into the story."

"This book should have great appeal for all who love historical fiction and/or mysteries. It works on the levels of both adult fiction and YA."

"The authors draw their readers back to colonists in Newfoundland, who, in 1692, wanted to stay out of Old World politics."

"Spectral Evidence is a well-written novel with interesting historical fictional characters." 

"While reading I learned much about Newfoundland and fishing. This material was woven into the story so skillfully it neverstuck out. This is a historical mystery and much is different than today in mysteries. Think of no fingerprint data,no DNA. The detectives were ordinary people and they had to use what thy knew and what they could learn."

Planning a Book Launch

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My new novel, A Killer Whisky, was published in December. For my previous books, I've held book launches close to the release date, but December isn't generally a good month for these events. Booksellers who host launches are busy with Christmas sales and everyone is shopping and attending parties. They find it hard to fit an additional activity into their hectic schedules. 

So, I postponed my book launch event to the new year. Due to other commitments from January through mid-March, I'm looking at late March for the party. The period between now and then will be my soft launch and planning time. 

The first step is to settle on a venue and date. My local bookstore, Owl's Nest Books, doesn't have space in their premises for our hoped-for number of attendees. I'm considering a couple of options and waiting for more information and confirmation of the date.  

Next, I'll plan the launch program. The last few times, I've prepared PowerPoint presentations. I enjoy doing them and the 1918 setting of A Killer Whisky provides more scope than my contemporary novels. I'll discuss Calgary history in relation to the book and show archival photographs as well as photos I've taken on my visits to story locations. In the past, I've liked inserting readings from the novel along with an image of the scene's setting.  

I imagined one of these preserved 1912-13 Calgary workers' cottages as my novel protagonist's home 

It's customary at launches to serve wine and light refreshments. I had the idea to shake this up by serving whisky, which is in the novel's title and plays a large role in the story. But one venue I'm considering makes providing alcohol problematic. So, how about a Prohibition theme with virgin cocktails? Prohibition features prominently in the novel.  

Theme is key to a successful launch I learned from a speaker at a writers' festival last summer. The best launches create a vibe and atmosphere that brings the world of the story alive. Venue, decorations, activities, food, drink, and music chosen to fit the theme. I'll probably stop short of appearing in period dress. 

Unfortunately, my Roaring Twenties costume is a few years after A Killer Whisky's era

During this soft launch time, I've lined up some online happenings that build to the actual launch. First up is an interview by my friend Shaun Hunter, a Calgary writer and literary historian. You can read the interview, which includes historical photographs, on Shaun's website. 

In February, I'm scheduled to appear on BWL author J.Q. Rose's blog.  I'll also participate in an online discussion with two fellow Sisters in Crime writers in an event called Between the Covers.    

I'll keep my eyes open for other soft launch opportunities during these next two months of planning and preparation that are turning out to be less relaxing than I'd expected. 

Happy New Year