Do Your Hobbies Find a Place in Your Stories? (Author Confessions) By Connie Vines #BWL #Author Hobbies #RoseGardens

FACT: Authors often engage in unique, active, or intellectual hobbies that enrich their storytelling.

Ernest Hemingway’s big-game hunting and Agatha Christie’s archaeology, to mention a few. 

Do you, as an author, include your hobbies or your personal culinary choices, etc., in your stories?  Or, as a reader, are you drawn into the story because of the sensory details and "realistic'' tone?

I know my choice of location/setting is from personal experience. While the name of my city may be fictitious, it is based on a 'real-life' place. 

What about your hobbies?

As a writer, do you find your heroine/hero likes to cook, play chess, or tend to a garden?

I like to include my pursuits. I find it enriches the characters of my stories. The reader will gain insite to a character. One pursuit will highlight a character's patience; another will highlight a skill, creativity, or impatience. 

From a reader's perspective? 

Care must be given not to "over tell" or to convert my readers.

I dislike green peas. It doesn't matter how the peas are seasoned, hidden, or blended. I will 'gage' when I try to swallow them. 

There are certain 'troups' that will not follow; certain 'historical periods" I have no interest in reading.

I recognize this to be a universal truth.

Do not be discouraged. I know a "great teaser", book cover, or promo can/will entice a new reader to purchase a book.

However, dedicated fans are really purchasing "your voice".  The 'author's' voice.

The way you weave your story, the tone, the humor/emotional intensity. 

It is the unique way you add bits of reality into your 'fictitious world.' Making your story a reality for your reader.

This post focuses on my rose gardens.  

The vivid colors, the scents, and, yes-- the thorns!

Authors, what bits of yourself do you add to your stories?

Readers, what draws you into the stories by your favorite authors?

What plot would you like to see? What hero do you adore? 

Your favorite novel?  

What story heroine is most like "you"?

Hobbies?

I have many. 

Today, I'll share my rose garden(s). 

While many of you are shoveling snow to melt, I'm dealing with a heat wave of 91 degrees / 32 Celsius. 

Happy Reading and Listening,  (Lynx is now an audiobook!!)

Connie 

Links:

books2read.com

https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=connie+vines

Amazon.com Search: Connie Vines ebook or audio

https://books.apple.com/us/author/connie-vines/id624802082 (audio and ebooks)

Also available at your favorite online book seller!

Where's Connie?

Instagram/Twitter (X), Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and my website: connievines-author.com 

All Because of Neil Diamond by Connie Vines

Perhaps it's because of the never-ending-heat-wave here in southern California, 103 - 107 degrees (39 - 41 Celsius), or because my two pups (Chanel and Gavin) are following me around and continually begging to go outside so that they can experience sun-stroke first hand--but I find myself mentally designing my new and improved garden throughout  the evening.

My front yard has a huge mimosa tree, a small (stunted) mimosa tree, a southern magnolia tree and a grass lawn.  There is an area at the front of my patio which would make a lovely rose garden.  It's the perfect place for my roses.  Full-sun, facing west, and the area is nothing but dirt.

I've grown roses in the past, when my children were very young. During that time, I selected  the run-of-the-mill-generic varieties you find at you local garden--on sale and then discounted.  And, if I recall correctly, my rose bushes were particularly thorny.

Well, this time I was intent on finding  the perfect rose for my 'imaginary' garden's focal point.

Do you know how many 'new' varieties of roses are posted on the garden sites and Pinterest?
Do you realize how many photos there are to gawk over?

Too many to count, that's for certain.

These are three varieties of roses which caught and held my attention:

The Ingrid Bergman rose is so beautiful. 

.

The New Orleans rose would be perfect

This is the rose I should select as it goes along with my New Orleans/Cajun theme of my next release: Gumbo Ya Ya.


However, this is the rose bush I will be searching for during planting season:

The Neil Diamond rose is my favorite!

 Do you have a favorite rose or type of flower is a 'must' for your garden?  Do your have any gardening tips you'd like to share?

Well, now that I've selected my first rose bush of the planting season, I can get back to my novel.

🌹Thank you, 🎤Neil Diamond!


I always try to add something new for my readers to enjoy 😋

Rose Petal Tea

 

Ingredients

2 cups fresh fragrant rose petals  (about 15 large roses)*
3 cups water
Honey or granulated sugar to taste
Instructions
Clip and discard bitter white bases from the rose petals; rinse petals thoroughly and pat dry.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, place the prepared rose petals.  Cover with water and bring just to a simmer; let simmer for approximately 5 minutes or until the petals become discolored (darkened).

Remove from heat and strain the hot rose petal liquid into teacups. Add honey or sugar to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe Notes
* All roses that you intend to consume must be free of pesticides.  Do not use or eat flowers from florists, nurseries, or garden centers. In many cases these flowers have been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops. The tastiest roses are usually the most fragrant. 

Happy Reading!

Connie 

Fall of 2020!

Early 2021

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