Falling into Fall by Nancy M Bell

 To learn more about my books click on the link above

It's that time of year again. The sun is making its way south through the skies and throwing golden slanting rays across the land as its position sinks toward the horizon. The air is full of shining motes of light as the sun glints off the dust raised by busy combines bringing in the harvest.

The days are drawing in as the Autumn Equinox approaches, mornings are blessed with the cool bite of what is to come and the grass is rimed with the last of summer's breath.

 

My roses are still blooming right now, the pumpkins are orange, the apples are glowing through the emerald leaves and the garden is getting ready for the winter sleep.  Fall is a time of renewal, much the same as spring.  The busy days of summer are coming to a close, the nights grow longer and wrap us in the comfort of our hearth fire and knowledge we are ready for the coming cold. The long nights gift us with time to spend in pursuits we have set aside for the warmer months. Time to bring out the projects that have been put on hold, time to savour the summer that is past, time for introspective thoughts and time to plan for the coming spring.

Nights through October and November are long and sometimes cold, but without the dark would we really appreciate the return of the light after the Winter Solstice? The slow trickle of lengthening days as January turns to February. For those who follow the old ways, Samhain, Alban Arthuan and Imbolc. No matter what we humans call the turning the seasons, the universe carries on with no regard to our celebrations or worries. I find comfort in that in some odd way. So I'm more than ready to fall into Fall. The short days will get me out of the garden and back into the house where the dust lays thick on my computer. There are stories to write and tales to tell.

Until next month, stay well, stay happy.  

 

Back Today by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Absence #Computer problem

 I'm finally back on line. The computer was hacked along with a hundred thousand New Yorkers last Monday. Just received the computer back from the computer gurus. So this will be a short post. 

I am gearing up for the release next month of the Horror Writer's Demise. 

Though I didn't have the computer, I kept writing and have been working on my next book. At this point, a medical romance. Rough draft is done but now I need to make the story make sense. My roughdrafts are usually heavy on dialogue and light on setting and action.

Oh you dirty rat, by J.C. Kavanagh

  

Click on the link below to purchase this award-winning series!

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

Rats. 

Who likes ‘em?

NOT ME!

So when I heard tiny feet scrabbling on my boat, I did not think ‘rat.’

Not at first.

We were tied up at an Erie Canal town dock in New York State. By outward appearance, the docks were clean and well maintained. Trash cans were evenly distributed. Me and my partner, Ian, had walked into town to pick up a few provisions (like fresh baked bread!) It was a warm and humid day and we left some ports open as the weather forecast was zero per cent chance of rain.

The forecast did not predict 100 per cent chance of rat. 

That night, we left the freshly baked bread and buns on the galley counter. The scrabbling sounds we heard before retiring for the evening was attributed to a few drops of rain (I mean, how often is the weatherman accurate?)

So imagine my shock - my first morning visual - was the sight of a half-eaten bun and multiple crumbs strewn across the counter, and one bun completely gone.

Oh, that dirty rat!

Ian and I marched to the nearest hardware store, which was not ‘near’ at all. After 45 minutes, our angry not-on-my-boat stride became a slow version of “are we there yet?”

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived. The hardware store had an excellent selection of rat removal products, so it seemed we weren’t the only ones with this problem. I took no comfort in that.

We set out our traps that night along with a tasty piece of homemade bread. 

At 1:30 in the morning, the big fellow was caught. It was promptly evicted and I did not hesitate to make the following announcement to the neighbourhood rats: NOT ON MY BOAT!

As you’ve likely ascertained, me and rats are not friends. So when I included them in an action-packed scene in A Bright Darkness, the final book of the Twisted Climb series, I did not place them in a good light. Literally. Dreadful creatures!!

Hope your summer was eventful, as mine has been. We are 1,000 nautical miles into our sailing adventure to the Bahamas. 2,000 more miles to go :)

Stay safe 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

History in the Footnotes

 

                                                                            

                                                                        My author page

I love finding history in the footnotes of my research. Did you know that Native Americans have used a now disgraced symbol in their art? For the first peoples of the American southwest, the symbol is the whirlwind or whirling log. But with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany its benevolence turned deadly. 

It is, of course, the swastika.

    Realizing the growing threat to the world, four nations--the Hopi, Navajo, Apache and Papago decided to have a ceremony to renounce its use. In 1940, representatives signed a proclamation which read:

Because the above ornament which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples,

Therefore, it is resolved that henceforth from this date and forevermore our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known as the swastika or flyfot on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sandpainting, and clothing.

 Here is a photo of the event:

Did I use this in book 3 of my Navajo Code Talker Chronicles, All of Me? Of course I found a way to work it in!

Since then, some artists and craftspeople have reclaimed their ancient benevolent symbol, which exists in many cultures throughout the world. Others think it should stay buried, because of the trauma it engendered by the Nazis.

What do you think? 

Home Sweet Homicide - but please don't try this in your own home

Please click this link for Susan's website  or click this link for book information.

In August, at Calgary's annual When Words Collide Festival for writers and readers I sat on a panel titled Home Sweet Homicide: the multitude of ways victims die at or near their homes. The moderator asked us panelists to describe the various methods we'd used in our mystery novels and why we'd chosen those approaches. 

I talked about my Paula Savard Mystery Series set in Calgary. Paula, my sleuth, is an insurance adjuster whose work gets her involved in crimes. In books # 2 and 3 of the series, Paula investigates a building fire and a hit-and-run collision near a victim's home. She comes to suspect both apparent accidents were coverups for murder. Book # 4 begins with Paula investigating a theft from a bicycle store during the COVID-19 pandemic. A murder takes place in the adjacent furniture store, which has closed for the pandemic and become the home of a squatter. The victim is bashed on the head with a weapon of opportunity: a candlestick from the store's dining room display. 

Home Sweet Homicide panel at WWC 2025

The panel's most engaging questions related to the allure of poisons and medications thanks to our expert panelist, Lee-Anne Hancock, a retired nurse who worked at the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre. Lee-Anne told us about ordinary plants and medicines that can kill if used incorrectly -- or correctly from a killer's perspective. She noted that poisoning has been called the female murderer's method of choice, perhaps because it is less messy and violent and doesn't require physical strength.

As a mystery writer, I'm intrigued by the medicinal method that can easily be disguised as an accident. In two of my short stories, someone kills a relative by administering an overdose of their prescribed medicine. Even if suspicions arise and victims are autopsied, it would be normal for traces of their own medicines to show up in their bloodstreams. 

In my novel, A Killer Whisky, set in 1918 Calgary, a man dies in his living room after drinking a glass of whisky. His symptoms are consistent with the "Spanish Flu" that has struck the city and the attending doctor diagnoses the flu as the cause of death. But the man's neighbour, who is the doctor's receptionist, suspects someone laced the whisky with a poison or a medicine that reacted with the alcohol to produce a toxic brew. She convinces a sympathetic police detective to investigate.       

The Home Sweet Homicide panel took a light hearted approach that entertained the audience at the end of a busy festival day. Afterward, I pondered why I've tended to kill off my novel victims in their homes or on nearby streets rather than farther away. I came up with three thoughts. 

1. My killers and victims always know each other, which is most common with real life murders, and relatives and friends often hang out together at or near their homes.  

2. Homes are, by definition, private rather than public. There will likely be fewer potential witnesses to a crime and perhaps no witnesses. Any friends or relatives present might lie or conceal information to protect themselves, someone else, or the victim.  

3. Home is supposed to be our safe place. A home break-in feels like a violation, and a killing in our home or neighbourhood threatens our sense of security.  

Me on the Home Sweet Homicide panel, perhaps contemplating a question