Writing in Multiple Genres by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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I've heard it said that writers should only write in one genre. Why? I read and enjoy more than one genre. Why shouldn't I write in more than one? For me (and, I dare say, for most writers) characters and story ideas pop up in my head unexpectedly. I can't help what genre they fall into.

Though I began my writing career with historical fiction and that will probably constitute the bulk of my writing when all's said and done, sometimes the characters who visit my head are not historical. Sometimes they're not even human. Take for example, my newest release, All the Furs and Feathers, the first book in the Cat Tales series. Though the animals in this book are highly anthropomorphized, not a single human is in the story. Nor are any mentioned. For the animals of All the Furs and Feathers, humans don't even exist. Obviously, this is not historical fiction. It's fantasy. Not the epic sort of Lord of the Rings, but the cozy sort. I couldn't anymore banish the characters in it from my head than I could banish those in my historical novels.

So what's yet to come? Definitely more historical fiction. There's one in the works right now and another taking shape in my mind. As for fantasy, there will be more of the Cat Tales series to come, but there may be others as well. A few months ago I awoke from a dream that featured characters I haven't been able to get out of my thoughts ever since. I picture them in period clothing, but they live in a world that does not and never has existed. Fantasy!

The parade of characters that march through my mind on a regular basis range from historical to fantastical to contemporary. So for the moment, historical fiction and cozy fantasy are my focus. What else may come depends upon my cerebral visitors and how insistant they are about their stories being told.

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All the Furs and Feathers by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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I am super excited to annouce the release of my new novel, All the Furs and Feathers Book 1 in the Cat Tales series!

All the Furs and Feathers is the story of two cat sisters, Smokey and Autumn Amelia. Smokey is an architect working for Fluffington ArCATechture. Autumn Amelia is a chef savant. When Smokey get the assignment of her dreams to design Faunaburg's first ever cat park, she quickly realizes it could turn into her worst nightmare. The land parcel for the park is adjacent to Rodent Way. Given the long-standing animosity between felines and rodents this can only spell trouble. She'll need the help of her adorably quirky sister to convince the rodents that the cats' good intentions are for real.

I'm often asked what age group best suits All the Furs and Feathers. Middle graders and up would certainly understand and enjoy it. However, I actually wrote it with adults in mind. Several years ago I was a member of an online community where all participants were cats. Each member's cat had its own page with pictures and a link to that cat's diary if they chose to keep one. The cats could all friend each other, send each other virtual gifts, and message each other. Very popular were the threads in which cats got together for virtual parties, trips, games, and weddings. Most of the humans behind the cats were adults. And we had a blast! Some folks who were good at photoshop would put the cats in clothes and include pictures of them in the threads. My Smokey even got married on the site. It was these people I had in mind as I wrote the story. So, while I will be thrilled to hear that kids are enjoying the book, I am also very gratified by the many adults I've heard from who are delighting in it as well.

If you're wondering what a cat wedding is like, here's a picture of Smokey's:

Libraries at Christmas

 

Find my BWL page here!

Here in Bellows Falls, Vermont, we're getting ready for our annual Holiday Party, the first one in a couple of years. We are so excited. Some local musicians are going to come and play old-time music. My fellow Friend of the Library Leslie and I will be leading a Christmas music sing along. We'll have treats and a pick your own present raffle. 

Lots of great choices!

My son-in-law Teddy make cute tags for the raffle gifts

My donation is two of my BWL YA novels and a bead ornament made by a local Abenaki craftsperson.

Do you have a favorite library story?

I grew up in a house without books, so the library was where the stories lived. I couldn't wait to get my library card. To achieve this passport to wonder, I had to be able to write my full name. I had a long last name, and like many young children, I was slightly dyslectic. I practiced and practiced, but as the librarian watched, I had a crisis in confidence over which direction the "b" in Charbonneau went. I hesitated. This prim, kind lady gave me a hand signal that opened up my world! Big thanks to her.

Happy Season of Light from Patience and Fortitude welcming all to the NYC Public Library!

The Beauty of Book Covers by Eileen O'Finlan

                    

                        Click here for purchase information     Click here to visit Eileen O'Finlan's webiste

As I write this blog post, it is less than a week since our celebration of Thanksgiving here in the U.S. That holiday always brings with it a time for reflection on the people and things for which we are thankful.

As I thought about my own debts of gratitude, I could not help but include the extraordinary art director who creates the amazing covers for BWL's books, Michelle Lee. Not only do I love the covers Michelle has created for me, I have yet to see a single BWL book that doesn't have an outstanding cover. Click here to check them out for yourself.

Whether it's rational or not, book covers are widely considered to be the most important factor, or at least the first one, in whether or not a reader decides to consider a book. That makes covers extremely important.

One of the most exciting moments for an author with a new book about to be released is his or her first look at the cover. So when I knew the cover for my next release, All the Furs and Feathers Book 1 in the Cat Tales series was on the way I could hardly contain myself as I waited to see what Michelle would create. Just as I expected, I was not disappointed. The cover is fantastic!

I am not quite ready to do a complete cover reveal yet. That will come when the pre-order is available and I have it to link the cover to. But meanwhile, here is a sneak peek at what everyone will see when All the Furs and Feathers is released on February 1, 2023.

Sometimes Inspiration has Fur by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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Click here to visit Eileen O'Finlan's website

I am delighted to announce that my next book, All the Furs and Feathers: Book 1 in the Cat Tales series will be released by BWL Publishing on April 1, 2023. Unlike my first two books, Kelegeen and Erin's Children, All the Furs and Feathers is not historical fiction. Instead it is humorous animal fantasy.

If you wonder what brought on such a deviation from my normal writing fare, it was occasioned by an illness and two cats.

About five years ago as I was recovering from major surgery after a long bout of chronic diverticulitis, I was watching my two cats, Smokey and Autumn Amelia, interact with each other - always an entertaining show. I started wondering what they would be like if they were human. Before long, a story began to form in my mind. As with most stories, I couldn't let it linger there for very long and started writing it. I made Smokey, my sleek Russian Blue, an architect at Fluffington ArCATecture and Autumn Amelia, my food-loving calico Maine Coon, a chef and baker savant.

When Smokey lands the account of her dreams, her boss, Abigail Fluffington, says that if she's successful, she'll become a partner and inherit the business when Abigail retires. This may seem like a dream come true, but there's a problem. The land for the proposed park is adjacent to Rodent Way. Activist Jerome J. Rately quickly organizes R.A.T. (Rodent Action Task Force) and stages a protest.

Meanwhile, quirky, but loveable, Autumn Amelia is busy dishing up meals too delicious for any fur or feather to resist and wandering into the kitchens of local restaurants to improve their recipes.

Together with their furred and feathered friends, Smokey and Autumn Amelia must find a way to make the proposed park a reality if only they can figure out how to abolish the long-standing animosity between felines and rodents.

When I began, I was only writing this story to amuse myself and pass the time while I was stuck at home recuperating. Before long, I had several chapters and it was flowing in a way that nothing I've ever written before or since has ever done. Even after I was fully recovered and back to work, I kept returning to it. By then I was completely hooked. I was working on Erin's Children at the same time so I didn't give it my full attention, but once that manuscript was completed, I returned to it until I could finally write "The End." 

But that's when I realized it wasn't really the end. So many more ideas for the characters filled my head, I knew it would have to be a series.

If you're wondering how I picture the cats, here's my Smokey and Autumn Amelia as they might look in All the Furs and Feathers:

       

              Smokey                                                  Autumn Amelia

The Ghosts of Brittany France by Diane Scott Lewis

 

 Isabelle is likable heroine, and I enjoyed watching her make the best of a bad situation. Anyone who enjoys historical romance with a paranormal twist might want to check it (A Savage Exile) out.
~ Long and Short Reviews

Could vampires have roamed the island of Napoleon's final exile? Will a young maid discover the truth, or become a victim?

Purchase HERE

In writing a WWII novel set in Brittany, France, I learned more about their culture. Since October is the time of ghosts, I wondered how the Breton's felt about the otherworld. The most shocking revelation was, they believe the dead are always with them: two worlds in perpetual relation to one another. If the dead rustled the fallen leaves, this was expected, not surprising.

Also, they believe the dead are doomed to return to the land of the living up to three times--though the souls of the damned were usually lost forever. In rare cases, a damned soul might return to scold a loved one, warning them to change their ways before it's too late. People who died violent deaths were forced to linger between life and death until the natural course of their life would be over. These poor souls wandered the seashores and hedgerows awaiting Divine Judgement.

It was once thought the dead didn't immediately enter the Otherworld, but remained near their families for nine generations.

People were warned not to be out at night, and especially not to whistle. This attracted demons and the dead. One man in Northern Brittany was traveling home after dark and whistled to keep up his spirits. Then he heard an echo of his whistle, but this one was clearer and sharper than his. The whistler came closer and the man quickly realized the Devil was on his tail.

Working outside after dark was also a dangerous task. One farmer in Northern Brittany continued to sow his buckwheat after the setting sun. When he heard the cry "leave the night to whom it belongs," he stopped and hurried into his house.

In Southern Brittany, anyone who gazed too long on a will-o'-the-wisp, would go blind. And never look upon the ghostly white clad girls who carried blessed candles in the woods, doomed for using them in a profane manner.

In earlier times people carried rosaries and lanterns if they had to be out after dark. Or they could challenge the dead: "If you came from God, tell me your desire. If you came from the Devil, go on your way as I go mine." 

Information provided by Bon Repos Gites; Ghosts and Revenants of Brittany

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

To find out more about her and her books:  DianeScottLewis 

Transitions by Nancy M Bell

 

To learn more about Nancy's work click on the cover.

The shoulder seasons of the year, spring and fall. Times of transition. Now in the autumn of the year the trees burn gold against the blaze of Alberta blue sky, the fields glow buckskin under the skies dotted with round bales where summer is wrapped up for winter feed. The nights draw in as the light slowly but surely loses its battle with the dark. The moon flares silver in the sable sky while the constellations march across the heavens. Orion leads his hounds and the Pleiades dance to song of star fire. 

Here on the Canadian prairies the sweep of night is wide and deep, often the moon lingers in the morning sky, a white wisp against the strengthening blue, while the sun breaks free of the eastern horizon to flood the landscape with pure gold light, pushing back the last vestiges of the night.

Our lives follow the seasons in a much slower manner. Childhood and spring, youth and prime of life and summer, the slow mellow aging and autumn and then the final dark of the final transition and winter. Leaving this turn of the wheel to walk the starlit skies, the winter skies, the summer stars, our feet sure on the path of the Milky Way. Perhaps that is fanciful, but I truly feel the rhythms and the stages and rightness of it. Everything in its time. In my case, maiden, mother, crone, all in their own time and with their own lessons. Part of a chain that reaches into the far distant past and into the future.

Children carrying the blood of our past and our heritage just as I do and the ones who came before me.

Transitions, always changing, always moving. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow...but always moving. Carrying us with them.

Until next month, stay well,stay happy.    

Autumnal Thoughts by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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There's something about autumn. It's gorgeous, mysterious, spooky, and magical all at once. It conjures up thoughts of trees ablaze in red, gold, yellow, and orange, of Halloween ghosts and goblins, harvests of apples, pumpkins, and winter squash, of simmering soups and hearty stews, the swish of leaves underfoot, and crisp, tangy air. Yet it has a tinge of sadness as well. The year is dying. That lovely, slightly fruity scent in the air is created by the decay of leaves and vegetation.  For many of us in New England, autumn is bittersweet. It is stunningly beautiful, but also the harbinger of the long, cold winter that's surely on its way.

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Autumn is a special time of year for me. Each of its months brings a different emotion. In September, I mourn the loss of summer's warmth and freedom. By October, I've usually made my peace with summer's departure, and I'm ready to embrace autumn in all its beauty and bounty. And in November, I'm consumed with the coming holidays.

The high point in my current work-in-progress takes place in a Vermont October. Working all of that month's enchantments into the story is both challenging and rewarding. Since I am close to that point in the writing now, at least I won't have far to look for inspiration. A glimpse outside my window will do.

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The Importance of Book Reviews

 

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As any authors can tell you, book reviews are extremely important. That's why so many of us include a call to action for a book review at the end of our novels. The more reviews we get, the better our sales.  I can't stress enough how important it is for authors to get reviews,whether it's on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnesandnoble.com or where ever you purchase your books. This is especially true for authors who are not huge household names like Stephen King or James Patterson. They don't have to worry about it, but the rest of us do.

However, I think some folks are intimidated by the thought of writing a review. I get that. But it's not as hard as you might think. You do not have to be a professional reviewer. No one expects that. It's actually very easy. All you have to do is click on the number of stars you want to give the book, then type something like: "I liked this book because..." or "My favorite part of this book was..." (just don't give away any spoilers). It doesn't have to be long. Even a sentence or two is fine. If you want to get more creative, by all means, go right ahead. It may also help to read some of the other reviews and see how they were written. The important thing is that you write something - anything!

The only other thing to know is that most sites will require you to give your review a title. All that needs to be is one line from your review or something as simple as "Great Book!"

I hope that quells any fears about leaving a public book review. Believe me, authors are extremely grateful. In fact, I want to take this moment to give a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who has left a review for either of Kelegeen or Erin's Children. You are the best!

The Long, Extremely Hot Summer by Diane Scott Lewis

 

Last year I welcomed into my repertoire of published novels, my oyster war story, based on true events, Ghost Point. A love triangle complicates my characters' lives as they battle through history in 1956 Virginia.

Someone told me this scenario would never happen, people shooting each other over oysters. But truth is stranger than fiction.

"The reader is thrust into what happens to both Yelena and Luke with emotional tension. The plot moves at a good pace. If you're a fan of sagas and dramatic fiction, you'll enjoy Ghost Point. Highly recommend!"    ~ N. N. Lights

Purchase here, ON SALE! on Amazon

Climate change is scorching us, the summer heat index up to 110, or is that just because we went camping.

Fires everywhere, burning up California, my home state. Friends evacuated. My oldest friend has had to leave her home, twice.

We drove to Nashville, TN, for a reunion of ex-sailors stationed in Nea Makri, Greece. Three years ago, we traveled to Greece after a forty year absence. We loved it.

In June we camped outside of Nashville in torrid heat. You couldn't breath in the thick humidity. An outside plug on our RV melted in the high temperature.

Runways in England were melting, that's how bad it got. 

It sounds like a dystopian novel, or for us older folk: The Twilight Zone.

Here is the Greek reunion in the air-conditioned hotel. My hubby and I are in the back row. I'm sixth from the left. Story of my life, (the back row) for being tall.

In July we traveled to Gettysburg to visit with his niece and sister. His niece has a camp and a beautiful outside set-up. But again, the weather turned scorching, the humidity impossible.

I sat in front of the fan and let it blow through my blouse. There's me on the far right. My husband is enjoying his home-made pina coladas, something he learned to make in Puerto Rico.

The earth seems to be melting, but the winters in Pennsylvania can still be harsh. Too many believe climate change isn't happening. But something is pushing nature to extremes.

Fires are everywhere in summer, in Greece as well. Now there's flooding in Kentucky. Lives were lost. Yosemite National Park is threatened by fire. Last year, Yellowstone was flooded. 

I rarely drive anymore, so I'm doing my part in cutting down on emissions. But the United States is so vast, it's difficult to function without a car. Are electric cars the way to go? But fossil fuels generate electricity.

Now our stream is running dry, the one that we get our house water from. My son's well is almost dry, too. We desperately need rain.

The weather has gone berserk.

Of course, all this would make a great novel: the future is now, upon us, not a millennia away.

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

To find out more about her and her books:  DianeScottLewis

How Far to Stretch the Truth in Your Writing, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

“A rich plot with building suspense, the writing is perfect and flows well. I loved this story.”   ~History and Women~

Purchase Ghost Point: Ghost Point

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

In the beginning of my writing career I was certain you couldn't move events around to suit your story. But then I read a note in a Sharon Kay Penman novel where she said she moved a battle up six months for dramatic purposes. Then I knew if you listed your 'changes' you should get away with it.

Years ago I wrote a novel that takes place on Saint Helena during Napoleon's final exile. But I wanted a twist at the end where he slips away to America. This was the farthest I've stretched the truth, or changed events, though others have hinted at the possibility, or (later on) written fictional accounts of an escape. Now I've come across a few other novels in which the French Emperor escapes his island prison. I tried to write it to where it made perfect sense and it could have actually happened. Agents at the time were horrified that I would even attempt it. No imagination!

Years later, I reviewed a novel not listed as a fantasy set in the fourteenth century where the heroine is eating tomatoes in England. Tomatoes weren't discovered by Europeans until the New World of the Americas were explored a century later. I asked the author about it. She laughed it off and said she knew.

But no author note? I mentioned in my review that she purposely had anachronisms in her novel.

Could a man survive a ship explosion in the eighteenth century and be lost for years? And the Admiralty determined there were no survivors? Well, you need to make it plausible for the reader. And you're not changing history, only stretching the likelihood that this is possible. Check out my novel, Hostage to the Revolution to find out if you agree. But to get the full story, start with Escape the Revolution.

In my recent novel Ghost Point, I do change history by combining three years of the Oyster Wars over the Potomac River into one season. I needed the drama, the murder, that happened later to enrich my plot. I made certain to mention that events were compressed for dramatic purposes.

In Rose's Precarious Quest, a novel about a woman who strives to be a doctor in the 18th c., but discovers disturbing secrets in her new village, I throw in a touch of magic near the end, though most of the novel is grounded in reality. What powers does that stone ring contain? Did the ring glow that fateful night when the villain chased after Rose's sister, or was it the protagonist's overwrought imagination?

If you want to stretch the truth, or move events around, annotate it in your author notes for readers to see. Make it as plausible as possible.

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

To find out more about her and her books:  DianeScottLewis

It's National Black Forest Cake Day--Let's Celebrate! By Connie Vines #BlackForestCake, #ChocolateLovers, #TheRomanceofChocolate, #BWLPublishing

March 28th is National Black Forest Cake Day!!

Chocolate = Romance 💝

If there’s one thing that we (Chocolate Lovers) are absolute suckers for, it is a black forest cake, and you bet we are super excited when March 28 rolls around and we get to celebrate National Black Forest Day. 

Why?

1. The absolute beauty of the cake deserves its own accolades: chocolate shavings accompanied with maraschino cherries and white cream! 

2. And the taste...  Did you know that the cake was originally a simple dessert consisting of cream, cherries, chocolate, and alcohol? 

Created Connie Vines @Canva

HISTORY OF NATIONAL BLACK FOREST CAKE DAY

There are many conflicting historical reports about the exact origins of the black forest cake. Some historical scholars believe that the cake originated in the 16th century in a German town called Baden-Wurttemberg. 

🎂The time and place, famous for its Romantic era, was also one of the first places where chocolate was added to cakes. Baden-Wurttemberg was also renowned for its sour cherries and kirschwasser (cherry brandy). 

 🍽However, the cake did become popular (main-stream) around the 1930s. 

📅 Today, the cake is enjoyed in many parts of the world with slight variations. The American version does not have any alcohol in it. Still, an authentic black forest cake must have alcohol in it to even be considered a black forest cake in places like Austria and Germany.

Connie's creation via Canva

Why is chocolate considered romantic?

Chocolate has been considered aphrodisiac food since the time of Aztecs. Chocolate is said to contain a substance that inflames desire and makes the beloved one more open to romance. In the olden days, this resulted in the tradition in European royalty to give their lovers chocolates mixed with amber to stimulate their love.

Happy National Black Forest Cake Day, everyone!

Remember to download my latest release: Gumbo Ya Ya. (4 stories featuring 4 independent Cinderellas and 4 reluctant Heroes!).

To tie in with today's post--one story in my anthology: A Slice of Scandal, takes place during the filming of a network cooking show. Oooh, La La. That Cajun man sure knows how to steam up a kitchen!

4 stories in one anthology:

Click on the book cover to take you to the purchase zone!

                              🡇

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

Connie

Find me here:

https://mizging.blogspot.com/

https://connievines-author.com/

both locations have links to my social media sites 

Why You Can (Almost) Never Read Too Many Books By Connie Vines #BWLAuthor, #WesternRomance, #BookTech, #connievines-author.com

Some would say, “You have too many books.”

You have books on the shelves. You have books on the nightstand. You have books in the closet, the guest room, and on the floor. Oh, and don’t forget about the books waiting for you in the mailbox.  

But as any book lover knows, there's really no such thing as “too many” books. If this sounds familiar, check out these hilarious things you can relate to if your house — or your e-reader — is overflowing with books.

1. First of all, there’s no such thing as “too many books.”

2. After all, if it weren’t for your books, how would you survive a blizzard? (Yes, I live in Southern California...but one never knows.

3. One of the reasons you can never have too many books is that reading is an adventure. It will take you to the past, the future, and countries you've yet to visit.

4. In my case, my parents were readers. It was a treat to read/ go to the library or books store.  

In my case, I have loved reading since before they even knew how. There is a photo of me sitting in my crib turning the pages of a picture book.

5. Like me, I'm certain others could relate to many of the memories:  of having my first library card. The frustration of being continually told by my parents to “take a break” from reading and “go outside.”

FAST FORWARD to today...

As you see the title of my blog post (Almost) Never.

If you follow my blog, website, or Facebook page, you are aware for the past year I've been setting up a new home office.  I had books, boxes, and boxes of books like very large knick-knacks throughout my home.

Once I had all of my bookshelves (I converted my office closet), a four-shelf bookcase in the living room, a three-shelf bookcase in my dining room, and my Nook eReader, and Kindle--I only had one problem.

A very BIG problem.  

How was I ever going to keep track of all my books?

Of course, being a writer, a large number of my print books are The Classics, out-of-print editions or nonfiction, diaries, etc. While my eBooks and Audiobooks are in digital format, that doesn't keep me from making a second purchase. 

Notebooks are cumbersome. Setting up an Excel doc seems excessive.  BookBub, GoodReads is fine for reviews but not helpful in this case.

I located an app. 😃 for my iPhone called Book Buddy (it's FREE) 

Are you rolling your eyes? 

I have a total of 180 books on only two bookshelves. So this is a REALLY BIG DEAL for me. 📚📙📘📗

And hopefully, a very useful tool for you also. (While you can give a book a star rating) There is also an area to make notes to yourself.  The heroine's dog...is sooo adorable, or LHM (Lord Have Mercy) this Hero!  

Here's the mini info video (just skip the ad). Canadian views may have a different link to youtube. 

BookBuddy App (youtube video) Also available for Android

There is a scan button/ or multi-scan choice.  I had those 184 books scanned, dusted, and back on the shelves in only a couple of hours. 

What about eBooks you ask?  I will set up an additional Category for ebooks and a second for Audiobooks.

Yay!

It's the little things in life....and of course, an unlimited supply of coffee and books..which bring joy!

Happy Reading,

Connie

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

AMAZON

https://connievines-author.com/  (Social Media links and more!)

How do you say Snow? by J. S. Marlo

 

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

I have often heard that Inuit people have more than 50 words for snow. It's not quite true, but they do have many words for snow.

Back in November, I was checking the weather, and one day I saw a term I'd never heard before: light snow grains. The grains threw me for a loop. I was taking a long walk that morning, and the white stuff resembled prickly snow, so once I got back, I googled snow grains. From there, since I like for my stories to take place in the winter, I looked at how many different kind of snow term I could find in English.

Snow: Frozen precipitation in the form of white or translucent ice crystals in complex branched hexagonal form. It most often falls from stratiform clouds, but can fall as snow showers from cumuliform ones. At temperatures > than -5 °C, the crystals generally cluster to form snowflakes.

Wet snow: Snow with a high moisture content.

Dry snow: Snow with a low moisture content.

Snow grains: Frozen precipitation in the form of very small, white opaque grains of ice. The solid equivalent of drizzle. Their diameter is generally < 1 mm. When grains hit hard ground, they do not bounce or shatter. They usually fall in very small quantities, mostly from Status clouds or fog and never in the form of a shower.

Snow pellets: Frozen precipitation of particles of either spherical or conical ice; their diameter is about 2 to 5 mm. They are brittle, easily crushed, and unlike hail, when they fall on hard ground, they bounce and often break up. Snow pellets always occur in showers and are often accompanied by snowflakes or raindrops when the surface temperature is around 0 °C.

Blowing snow: Snow particles violently stirred up by wind to sufficient heights above the ground to reduce visibility to 10 km or less.

Snow squall: A heavy snow shower accompanied by sudden strong winds.

Frost: Frost is the condition that exists when the temperature of the air near the earth or earth-bound objects falls to freezing or lower (0 °C). Alternately, frost or hoar frost describes a deposition of ice crystals on objects by direct sublimation of water vapour from the air.

Hail: Precipitation of small balls or pieces of ice with a diameter ranging from 5 to 50 mm or more. Hail is generally observed during heavy thunderstorms.

Ice: The solid form of water. It can be found in the atmosphere in the form of ice crystals, snow, ice pellets, and hail for example.

Ice crystals: Precipitation in the form of slowly falling, singular or unbranched ice needles, columns, or plates. They make up cirriform clouds, frost, and ice fog. Also, they produce optical phenomena such as halos, coronas, and sun pillars. May be called "diamond dust." Precipitation of ice crystals in the form of needles, columns or plates sometimes so tiny, they seem suspended in air. They are mainly visible when they glitter in sunshine and occur only at very low temperatures and stable air masses.

Ice pellets: Precipitation of transparent or translucent pellets of ice, which are spherical or irregular shaped, having a diameter of 5 mm or less. They are classified into two types: hard grains of ice consisting of frozen rain drops or largely melted and refrozen snowflakes; pellets of snow encased in a thin layer of ice which have formed from the freezing of droplets intercepted by pellets or water resulting from the partial melting of pellets. Ice pellets usually bounce when hitting hard ground and make a sound on impact. They can fall as continuous precipitation or in showers.

Freezing rain: Rain, the drops of which freeze on impact with the ground or with objects at or near the ground.

Freezing drizzle: Drizzle, the drops of which freeze on impact with the ground or with objects at or near the ground.

Can I tell the difference between  all of them when I'm outside? Most of the time, but I oblivious didn't know about snow grains LOLOL

One thing I can say, it's how cold it gets in my northern corner of the world.  

It's so cold...we had to chop up the piano for firewood.  Ya, we only got two chords.

It's so cold...grandpa's teeth were chattering.  In the glass!

It's so cold...eating ice cream was knocked down to #4 in the "Top Five Ways to get a Brain Freeze".

It is so cold...we can toss a cup of hot water in the air and hear it shatter into ice crystals.

Happy reading! Stay Warm & Safe!

Many hugs!

JS

 

J. S. Marlo's Website