What Happens Next? By Barbara Baker

Baker, Barbara - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)

After the release of What About Me? I panic. Do I need to post another ad on social media? Or have I done enough? Do stories and reels attract more viewer traffic than posts? Is Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram sufficient? Should I try Pinterest or Booktok? Don’t get me going about hashtags. There are so many to choose from. How and when do you know if any of them work? With my first novel, book trailers were in. This time round, they’re old school. It’s hard to keep up with the trends.

I don’t want people to stop following me because they’re tired of hearing about my new release, so I resist all of the above and post a picture on Facebook of a pelican coming in for a rough landing.

Even Google waffles about which is the best approach to increase sales. Have you found the right way to get your book more exposure?  And, as if advertising isn’t frustrating enough, checking views, likes and comments becomes addictive and my thumb aches from scrolling.

I move on to counting down the days until I can check my book reviews. So I don’t drive myself (and my husband) bonkers about what readers are saying, I only check reviews on the 17^th of the month. I embrace my vacuum and give the floors a good workout if I’m tempted to peek earlier than said date.

Yes, I realize readers have a life. And when they get to the end of a book, they carry on with that life. Most readers never leave reviews. If they only knew how much they meant to authors, my vacuum wouldn’t be so exhausted and I wouldn’t cringe when I ask them to post a review (the reader, not my vacuum).

When I’m done fretting about what’s next and the fact the 17^th of the month is still a week away, a different worry sneaks in. Can I write another story about Jillian and her adventures in Banff? If so, what will be the crack in her world that makes the story unfold?

As I insert a fresh cartridge in my favourite pen and grab a brand-new notebook, words from an editor replay in my head. “You need to be a more prolific writer. You need to get out of Banff and find new characters.” I look up prolific - producing much fruit or foliage or many offspring. I must have picked the wrong definition. I'm done having kids. Grandkids are way more fun.

A tarot card reader told me “Stop playing it safe. Write what you really want to write about.” What the heck does that mean? Is it a coy way of saying get out of Banff? Ditch Jillian? Who are these people and why do they insist on taking up space in my head? They certainly aren’t paying rent and they bring on a wave of imposter syndrome.

Should I even write another book?

The perfect solution to all these chaotic thoughts about writing – a colourful fall road trip. Maybe Jillian will tag along. Maybe she’ll meet someone new and start an adventure somewhere else. Or maybe she’ll only come for a mini-vacation and return to Banff after all. Regardless, road trips inspire me. And yes, I realize I’m procrastinating but is that a bad thing?

For all those celebrating Thanksgiving, have a fabulous feast and enjoy the fall colours. In Calgary we haven't had snow yet and there's none in the forecast. Although I already have my ski pass purchased, I'm loving the unseasonably warm weather. I hope you are too.

  

What About Me?: Sequel to Summer of Lies : Baker, Barbara: Amazon.ca: Books

What About Me? | Universal Book Links Help You Find Books at Your Favorite Store! (books2read.com)

New Brunswick—a surprising history

When I was asked to contribute to the Canadian Historical Brides series, with the stellar help of Nancy Bell, I was given the province of New Brunswick. I bought a book on the province’s history. I decided to set my story in the eighteenth century, a period I enjoy writing in, and picked the year 1784. From the book I learned that was the year the huge colony of Nova Scotia was divided in two, the western part to be called New Brunswick. This was my first surprise. 

Why the break? After the Revolutionary War, the numerous people who’d remained loyal to King George III had their property confiscated and risked arrest. Thousands of these Loyalists escaped north, into Canada, and the western portion of Nova Scotia. The colony swelled with a disgruntled population who needed land. They demanded their own colony, another capital.

I wanted to toss my characters into this morass, everything changing.

The Coming of the Loyalists by Henry Sandham

Nancy sent me several websites with old maps, documents on the settling of the Loyalists, so much to work in, or leave out.

Then I came across the history of the Acadian Expulsion, the original French settlers when the area was known as New France. Entire villages were slaughtered when the British took over. I just had to delve deeper into that period, and have an Acadian character, one whose mother lived through the expulsion.

Maliseet man

Of course, I couldn’t ignore the First People who were there when the French arrived, mainly the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet tribes. Every layer of settlement, wars, massacres, needed to be worked in without overloading the story.

The biggest challenge was to fit in my fictional characters with actual historical personages, the history timeline, and the extreme hardships of this as yet untamed wilderness.

I hope my novel, On a Stormy Primeval Shore, a "Night Owl Romance Top Pick", will intrigue readers about New Brunswick and its varied history.

Purchase this book and my other novels at BWL

For more info on me and my books, check out my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.

Setting a Novel in Canada -- or Not?

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Does setting a novel in Canada limit your readership to Canadians? Over the years, I've heard this question at Canadian writing conferences and other places where aspiring writers gather. Invariably, someone comments that he sent a query to an agent or publisher in the USA and was told Canadian stories don't sell. The implication is that Canada holds little interest for readers outside our country. 

Even Canadians might prefer reading about far away locations. I've been guilty of this, especially when I travel and want to learn about the country I'm visiting. A novel set in my destination gives me a flavour for the place and its history better than a guidebook.

I also recall hearing that a common feature of blockbuster novels is a variety of international settings. Author Dan Brown nailed that formula.  

But others argue that Canada might be exotic to those who live far from here. They cite writers who have found great success with their stories set in Canada. Louise Penny has a US publisher and an international audience for her mysteries that take place in a Quebec village. L.M. Montgomery's classic Anne of Green Gables is beloved across the world. Japanese tourists trek to modest Prince Edward Island to visit Anne sites. 

Readers of Britain's Rough Guide travel guidebooks and tours voted Canada the second most beautiful country in the world for 2019. Wouldn't that mean they'd want to read about people in this beautiful land? If Anne and PEI can charm the world, why not my home province of Alberta?  

Japanese movie poster

I went ahead and set my first novel, Deadly Fall, in Calgary, where I live. This made setting research easy.  My mystery sleuth Paula's drives the route pictured below in the book's opening chapter. I've driven and walked across this bridge numerous times. 

Paula works out in a former church converted to a gym in Calgary's inner city suburb Kensington. In the real world it's a sporting goods store. 

Book #2 of my Paula series, Ten Days in Summer, continued with my Calgary setting. This time Paula investigates a murder against a backdrop of The Calgary Stampede. My research included attending our annual Stampede parade. 

I was really sneaking peeks at the police offers present, since Paula's homicide contact, Mike Vincelli, is on crowd control duty during the parade scene in the book. 

My third novel, To Catch a Fox, is a departure from my mystery series and single Canadian setting. Julie Fox, a Calgary engineer, must travel to a new location, to search for her mother who took off when Julie was a child and hasn't been heard from since. I settled on southern California for the novel's alternate location because it was far enough from Calgary for Julie's mother to get lost in, yet convenient as well as enjoyable for me to visit twice to research. 

Santa Monica beach - Julie jogs along this boardwalk

In some ways, I find it easier to write about less familiar settings since I'm seeing the place with new eyes and am more likely to come up with fresh descriptions. 

At the San Diego zoo, bird of paradise plants are on the lookout, like Julie the pursuing and pursued fox

While I like writing about different places, I'm back to Calgary for my current novel-in-progress, the third book in my Paula series. I love travel, but lean toward writing about places I know well and deeply.   

And for those curious about the other countries that made the Rough Guide readers' list of the world's most beautiful countries for 2019, here they are:

1. Scotland
2. Canada
3. New Zealand
4. Italy
5. South Africa
6. Indonesia
7. England (UK regions were judged as countries) 
8. Iceland
9. United States
10. Wales (Do the British love their country's beauty best, or have not many travelled elsewhere?)

Calgary in winter - beautiful, eh?

Anachronism by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page

Who hasn't watched the movie Braveheart? It stars Mel Gibson as 13th-century Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace. In the movie, Wallace wears a kilt, Scotland’s most iconic piece of clothing. The only problem is: the kilt wasn't invented until the 18th-century. Ooops!

When I started writing my current novel, a historical/paranormal romantic suspense, I knew I would need to do more research than usual. Don't take me wrong, I love research...I love it too much. Discovering new facts is fascinating, and more often than none, I spend too much time searching details I don't need. Still, I'm trying to avoid the obvious and not-so-obvious "ooops".

My story takes place in 1941 during the war. Rationing wasn't enforced till 1942 in Canada, so I don't need to worry about food stamps. I discovered that less than one on four Canadian own a refrigerator, less than half use an electric or gas stove, and more than a third didn't have running water in their house back then. Needless to say, my heroine doesn't own a dishwasher, and when she injured herself, she didn't have access to antibiotics, but she could spend the night in a motel room for $3, which she didn't have. No credit cards.

All of the above were facts I knew I would need to research, but I didn't expect I would start questioning many of the words and expressions I take for granted. I'm constantly asking myself: Did they use that word in 1941? Did that expression existed back then? You could become very angry in 1941, but nobody went ballistic until decades later.

As a result, writing this story is fun and interesting, but it takes twice as much time than I had anticipated. I'm happy to report I crossed the halfway mark, but it won't be finished by Easter, not unless I lock myself in a hotel room at $150/night, which I can't afford either.

The challenges I encounter are giving me an even greater appreciation and renewed admiration for my fellow historical writers. I've read three books of the Canadian Historical Brides Series so far--nine more to read--and I bow to the talents of these writers. They researched every aspect of their story, in some instances every single sentence, and created compelling and accurate historical tales. Well done, ladies!!!
JS

 J. S. Marlo's Website

How hot is hot?

We complain about the cold in winter; we complain about the heat in summer. But how hot is hot? Like all good answers, “it depends.”

For example, hot in Vancouver is not hot in Texas. And hot in Texas is positively cool in comparison to Death Valley, California, where a world record temperature of 134 degrees was observed in 1913. (This temperature was matched on the 13^th of September 2012, in El Aziza, Libya.)

Surprisingly, humans can survive incredibly hot weather. It is noted that at 130 degrees F, survival time begins to decrease drastically, but it is estimated that people can survive temperatures of even 150 degrees, in dry conditions, for short periods of time, with adequate hydration. The Dallol Depression, also known as the Danakil Depression, a desert area in Ethiopia, is covered with sulphurous springs, lakes of boiling lava and an active volcano that spits out hot magma. The Afar people, who inhabit this place, eke out an existence herding camels and mining salt, in temperatures that regularly reach 122 degrees F.

The Earth itself is in a long cooling off period, known as the Quartenary Ice Age, which began 2.6 million years ago. Within it are periods of cooling temperatures lasting 100,000 years, interspersed with warmer cycles known as Interglacial periods. We live in once such Interglacial period, known as the Holocene, which began about 11,700 years ago.

Many scientists argue that the rapid industrialization of the past couple of hundred years has brought about an abnormal phenomenon known as global warming, caused by trapping man-made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

So how hot is hot? As far as I’m concerned, as a resident of Calgary, Canada, hot is never hot enough. We’ve had record heat this summer, but I’m not complaining—never-ending summer is what I dream of!

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)

Ten Really Interesting Canadian Things (No, Seriously!)

Canadians are described as nice, neighborly and predictable. Something like a Volvo, except for the fact that Sweden manufactures them, not us. Even in good qualities, we come in second. How Canadian!

Yes, we all know about Hockey and Maple Syrup. But did you know that Canadians are more than that; in fact sometimes we can be pretty fascinating. Well, okay, just once in a while. Here are ten really interesting Canadian things:

1)      Yes, Justin Trudeau’s hair is real. (Note to Americans: And it’s not orange.)

2)      It’s the Great White North (and Black, Brown, etc.) An astonishing 19.1% of the total population of Canada (nearly 6,264,800 people) identify themselves as members of a visible minority group.

3)      No beaver, no Canada. This country came into existence because of the European desire for this humble animals’ pelt. Otherwise, we might be all be (gasp!) Americans.

4)      Our dollar coins are called Loonies. (Question: What do you call a Loonie that whistles: A Loonie toonie.)

5)      Canada’s most ordered take-out food (other than pizza): Butter chicken, originally from the Punjab region of India. That’s right, it beats out poutine. (Though we consume more Mac-N-Cheese than any other country in the world.)

6)      Hawaiian Pizza was actually invented in Canada. According to Wikipedia, Greek-Canadian Sam Panopoulos created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario in 1962.

7)      Canada has a “Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.” Not oil, not gold, but maple syrup. Thirty-eight million pounds of this stuff is stored in 62,800 barrels in Laurierville, Quebec. The province produces 77% of all maple syrup in the world. We are, truly, the OPEC of maple syrup.

8)      Santa Claus lives in Canada. You can write a letter to him (in any language), send it to “North Pole, Canada, H0H 0H0,” and receive a reply from the old man himself.

9)      Canada has been invaded twice by Americans - in 1775 and 1812. (We kicked their butts both times.)

10)   I ran out of things to add. Sorry, we’re talking about Canada!

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books we Love Ltd. (www.bookswelove.com)