My Amazing Research Trip: Day Two by Susan Calder

Please visit my website for author information and to read my earlier blog posts in this series

Our second morning in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, my husband Will and I took a guided walk of the central spa zone. In my historical novel-in-progress, The Water Cure, my protagonist Marie walks this route almost every day. Much of the current landscape would be familiar to Marie. Three of the city's main colonnades have changed little since 1914. They still shelter visitors who drink the local mineral spring water from taps flowing into old basins.  

Mill Colonnade - the city's largest colonnade has 124 Corinthian columns

The Mill Colonnade is a significant setting in my novel-in-progress. Our guide Barbora Volfova said that when the colonnade opened in 1881, many people disliked its classical style. I find the Mill Colonnade impressive but agree the picturesque Park and Market Colonnades might better reflect Karlovy Vary's predominantly baroque architecture. 

Park Colonnade 

Me and Barbora Volfova in front of Karlovy Vary's typical buildings 

Market Colonnade 

Of the city's five original spa buildings, the Elisabeth Spa is the only one that still offers bathing facilities to the public. Today's visitors generally "take the cure" at one of thirty accredited spa hotels that pipe in the mineral water. In my story, Marie works at the Elisabeth Spa, and I was eager to see the inside. Before my trip, I emailed the Elisabeth Spa, explained my writing and research project, and asked if I could view their historical areas. Director Miluše Bartoňková and her assistant Kristína Jabornická generously offered Will and me a tour of the building as well as complementary traditional baths.   

My protagonist Marie gets her first view of her future workplace on her first day in Karlovy Vary. She calls it a palace. Austrian Emperor Franz Josef commissioned the spa building in the early 1900s to honour his late wife Sisi (Elisabeth). 

Marie's first view the Elisabeth Spa

Miluše, Will, me, and Kristína in front of the building 

When Marie goes for her job interview, she glimpses the building's opulent interior. 

Marie's workdays as a bath attendant are spent in the spa's bathing area. I had pictured an enormous room with sculptures and ornate decorations, individual tubs scattered throughout, men on one side of the room, women on the other, soaking in bathing costumes and sometimes chatting with their neighbours. 

It turns out people bathed in plain, private rooms along corridors. Will and I bathed nude, which I gather is the tradition. After our baths, our attendants wrapped us in sheets. We lay on table beds to let the water's warmth seep through us.     

Chairs for waiting your turn in a private room
 

Miluše and Kristína took me to the basement to show me the old equipment for peat baths. These involved immersing your body in warm water infused with peat or mud. 

It all looks yukky to me, but having Marie administer peat baths would add interest to the story.  

Will and I left the Elisabeth Spa by the back entrance as Marie and the other service staff do in The Water Cure. Now I can visualize the outside lane.  

Next, we scouted lodgings for Marie within walking distance of her workplace. Will liked this building. 

I found it too large and luxurious and preferred this simpler lime green home. 

My choice will probably win, since it is my story. 

This day of research/touring provided me with many new images and descriptions for the second draft of my novel-in-progress. The numerous changes required feel daunting, but I'm excited to enrich the story and get things as right as I possibly can.     

   

Lazy Days of Summer – Barbara Wackerle Baker

 

 

 

What About Me?: https://books2read.com/What-About-Me

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Amazon

The lazy days of summer are wide open for camping. Our first shakedown cruise is to Kinbrook Provincial Park to make sure the old motorhome is ready for adventures and our tiny clown pull-car still fires on all three cylinders. The park is only 2 1/2 hours east of Calgary. It’s almost a guarantee we won’t run into snow and it’s close enough to home in case something goes wrong.

After we settle on our campsite and the kayak is pumped up, we take our first paddle along the shores of Lake Newel. It takes a few strokes to get our timing right but soon we’re skimming through the glass-like water. No other boats in sight. I’m hopeful the birds are eager to cooperate because I’ve got my telephoto lens cradled in my lap.

When we head to the tiny island speckled with squawking gulls, the noise level escalates. Like a thousand toddlers arguing over a juice box. What in the world are they saying? And Dad says I talk a lot.

 

We skirt the shore and I spot my second favourite bird. The pelican. He’s surrounded by a platoon of gulls and a line of cormorants. As we paddle towards them, a few heads turn but since we don’t have to get close with my man-lens, most of them ignore us and continue with their sentry duties.

 

On the other side of the island a few gulls strut along a sandbar far away from the squawking cluster we passed earlier. And they have a couple of chicks with them. The pin feather fluffy young waddle about mimicking their parents.

 

Just then, a large pike jumps right in front of the kayak. We’re not in alligator infested water but holy smokes, it scares the crap out of me. Pikes are opportunistic fish and if they come upon a chick bobbing in the water, they’ll snatch it up and eat it.

  

I verbally encourage the gull parents to keep their young safe. 

The wind picks up. We head for shore and after the kayak is tucked away, I go down to the dock to see what's rolling in. Dark clouds darken the west horizon. The cacophony of noise from the island is replaced by crashing waves. And a gusty cold breeze chases me back to our site. 

 

Phones throughout the campground blast the Alberta Alert siren and broadcasts the announcement: extreme winds, heavy rain, potential for tornadoes in the vicinity. 

“Drive the car over to the Visitor Centre parking lot,” my husband shouts as he unplugs the motor home. “And park behind me.” 

In mere seconds the wind is so intense I have to use two hands to open the car door. The wipers bounce across the windshield as I creep along the dark pavement and park a few feet behind our RV in the treeless parking lot. 

The car shakes. I can’t open the driver’s door. Rain pours in through cracks in the convertible top. I crawl over to the passenger seat. It can't last long, right? 

 

Five minutes in, a red-coated figure comes from the side of our camper and opens my passenger door. He’s such a knight – a bit soggy though. I run behind him, get inside the RV and peel off my raincoat. The storm rocks the motorhome like it’s a dinky toy. 

Two hours later, the sky clears. The sun comes out. And we head back to our site. Before we can park, I gather all the downed branches and stack them close to the road for the park’s staff to pick up. 

   

So much for lazy days of summer. Much like winter and spring, summer also has a wicked sense of humour. 

Summer of Lies by Barbara Baker — BWL Publishing

What About Me? by Barbara Baker — BWL Publishing

Jillian of Banff XO — BWL Publishing

SHILOH’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE VIII by Naguib Kerba

 SHILOH’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE VIII ~ Breaking Dad — Naguib Sami Kerba Photography

Characters' Hobbies by J. S. Marlo

 

Wide of the Mark

(Click here to buy)

   

 

  

To buy any of my books, visit

J. S. Marlo's Books

My characters are normal people, though I tend to give my heroines unusual jobs and my heroes... well, I like them in uniforms but not always. I also like to give them a hobby, something that I can weave throughout the story.

In my 'in-progress' novel, my hero goes fishing to relax. What he catches will turn his life upside down. I figured him out, and so far he behaves as predicted. My heroine is another story.

The story demands that she has a hobby that turned her spare bedroom/craft room into a disaster zone, making it impossible for someone to sleep there... unless my heroine is inclined to do a big tidying up, which she isn't because she has a last-minute wedding to plan. So, what can she be doing in there?

My first idea was a sewing project, except it can't be something directly related to the wedding, like the dress or decorations, since she wouldn't have had enough notice for such projects. She could be making stockings, except it's not Christmas, or a quilt, but that's the hobby I used in The Red Quilt.

It can't be painting, even though she lives in the picturesque Rocky Mountains, because my heroine in Voted Out is a painter with a art gallery.

It also can't be weaving, since it's part of Blown Away (Indomitable Spirit #2) set to be released in 2027. Besides, a floor loom wouldn't fit in her spare room, though she could have a table one.

It could be knitting, crocheting, or cross-stitching. She could be making blankets, tuques, scarves, or wall decorations. I haven't used any of them in a story so far. The problem is, I do all of them, and they don't turn a room into a disaster zone that takes forever to tidy up.

So, right now, I can think of two hobbies that could somehow fit with the story.

1- Jigsaw puzzle. She lives in the mountains, so doing puzzles could be her way to unwind during her lone evenings. She could be working on a 5000-piece puzzle. The puzzle could be on her craft table, barely 10% done, and the pieces could be separated (right side up) by colours or shapes in trays spread on the bed. It wouldn't be messy, but that takes lots of space, and space is a luxury she doesn't have in her quarters, so that could be her excuse.

2- Diamond painting. It's a cross between cross-stitch and paint by number. There's a sticky canvas with tiny dots with numbers/letters printed in them.

Each number/letter corresponds to the colour of a tiny gem. The gems are pressed on the canvas and they eventually make a great picture to hang on a wall. The gems are the size of a... I couldn't think of anything that size, so I took a pic of my finger on the gems. The gems are kept in different trays and some are very similar in colours. Good luck picking them up from the floor if you spill a tray, let alone more than one tray. And don't put your hand, or wrist, or elbow, or glass on the canvas, or those tiny gems won't stick anymore, and you might as well throw the entire thing in the garbage. (Yes, I did that once.) A diamond painting takes less space than a puzzle, but it doesn't like to be disturbed, so she wouldn't want anyone to stay in the room until the diamond painting is done.

These are the two options that I'm considering. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Enjoy the summer. It's hot and rainy in my northern corner of the world.

JS

PS: All the photos are projects that my oldest granddaughter and I made.

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

Astraphobia by Paul Grant

https://www.bookswelove.com/search?q=astraphobia

Lightning has stalked the McKenzie family for three generations, striking seemingly at

random, but always taking a first born. Who will be next to fall victim to The McKenzie

Curse?

Astraphobia (fear of lightning) is set in Saskatchewan because I love the place, and

because it’s one of the most lightning-prone places on the planet, with more than

600,000 strikes every year, most of them in the summer. The story was inspired by

events around Moose Jaw in 1890. Henry Battell, his daughter, and his daughter’s

friend were all killed when lightning came down the chimney, through the cast iron

stove, and across the kitchen to where they were sitting. Battell’s cousin, David Hawke,

was also struck by lightning and killed.

Despite the dire consequences for the McKenzies and the Batells, there is only a one in a

million chance of a person being struck by lightning in any given year, although men are

four times as likely as women to be struck by lightning. The average age of a person

struck by lightning is thirty-seven, and ninety per cent of them survive.

Astraphobia is a perfect novel for the cabin or the beach, part of BWL’s Paranormal

Canadiana Collection: https://www.bookswelove.com/search?q=paranormal