Research on the Porch by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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We've finally entered my favorite season. I wait all year for summer, so when it finally arrives I do all I can to soak it up. It just doesn't last long enough in New England. However, writing, for me anyway, tends to be an indoor pursuit. If I'm working on a novel, I'm at my laptop indoors. If I'm doing research for a future novel I'm usually in my home library, on the internet, or at a pertinent historial site - mostly indoors. This is not condusive to enjoying summer weather. Yet I can hardly take the summer off from researching and writing especially given that I work a full-time job - also indoors. And, frankly, I wouldn't want to.

I think I have hit upon a solution. Recently, on an absolutely gorgeous weekend day, I took the book I'm currently using for research for my next Irish novel out onto my front porch along with my notepaper. I have a little bistro set out there with just enough room to set up what I needed. It was perfect. 

The next book in this series, which will follow Kelegeen and Erin's Children, will be set in Worcester, Massachusetts. Since it takes place during the 1860s the American Civil War will figure prominently in the story which means a lot of in-depth research for me. Fortunately, I love this part of writing historical fiction.

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Although I am in love with my new home library, I think the porch will be hosting me and my research books a lot this summer. After all, it's hard to resist this view...

                                  

...especially when it's combined with the company of my favorite muse:

Autumn Amelia

Do Something that Scares You - by Barbara Baker

I'm sure you've heard the expression "do one thing every day that scares you." The quotation is often misattributed to Eleanor Roosevelt who said, "you gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." Although her quote is lengthy, it doesn't sound as flippant as running around doing scary shit every day just because.

A few weeks ago, my adventure on Shuswap Lake became my scary event that will last for months. 

The first night out, I relax and float around. I’m a huge fan of bathtub warm water and lake is ideal. My life jacket is snug. The lake is calm. And I’m with friends who abide by my ‘no splashing’ rule. Life is perfect as the sun sets on Copper Island.

The next day a new water toy to pull behind the boat comes out. The guys watch a few YouTube videos of a teenager doing handstands and spins on the water disc. They grin and say he makes it look easy.

Fastening my life jacket up tighter than usual, I lower myself onto the disc, get on my stomach and grab the two handles in the middle. I rock side to side. Feels stable. I stick an arm straight down into the water to see when it gets cold. It's warm right up to my elbow. Works for me. I’ll just stay on top. 

With my thumbs up gesture, the boat moves forward, and the rope tightens. The guys say the boat shouldn’t go faster than 15 km/hour. Heck, I go faster than that when I’m biking downhill.

Once I’m skipping across the wake, I loosen my grip on the handles. The tension is less than water skiing. Nice. I scootch my legs up and wiggle around until I’m sitting. When I let go of both handles, I still stay on the disc. Easy-peasy. Feeling like a rock star I wave at my friends on the boat.

 Now I just have to stand up. 

I get into a crouching position. Almost there. I lift one leg up and move it forward. My foot steps over the centre line and the front of the disc tips down. Darn it. I know what’s coming but I try to shift my weight back in hopes I can compensate and counterbalance. Not a chance. My rock star status (with me right behind) fly over the front of the disc and I torpedo headfirst through the warm water into the cold. 

 

With lips shut tight (to keep the minnows out) I thrash my arms above my head to find the surface. When I pop out, water gushes out my nostrils. Hair clings to my face. Holding my chin up, I gasp a few good breaths and pat my life jacket. It performed well.

The expressions of the people at the back of the boat indicate I performed an awesome wipeout. If getting up and standing on the disc had to be unsuccessful, it’s good to know I can amuse people.

I wait for the boat to circle around and pick me up. After drying off, I assume a more relaxing position on the deck and watch the scenery pass by. So much for doing scary shit just because. 

 

With only a few weeks of summer left, have a few adventures everyone. If you try something scary, stay safe, and don’t be afraid to look fear in the face - even if you end up getting wet.

You can contact me at: bbaker.write@gmail.com

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

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

Summer Vibes by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

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Summer is always a busy time for me. Book wise, there is just a ton going on. This summer, I have already had several book signings and a few conventions. But now that the season is winding down, I have a writing retreat, which if you have been following my blog, know that I attended last summer! 

I. AM. SO. EXCITED. 

But on top of that, I have been invited to host a workshop for Wordsfall, which is an annual writing event in my hometown province. I'm pretty excited about it, as I get to talk about writing fantasy with a group of aspiring writers. I have also been invited to read that night. Then there is horror fest, and an upcoming release of a new novel, and finishing up the draft to Twice Hung, which is part of the Canadian Historical Mystery series. 

I'm pretty pumped. But also going crazy with all the writing projects that I have going on. Three novels, an upcoming project to be announced, as well as a workshop, reading, and keeping up with life in general. 

I guess... whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger? 

Road Trip by Barbara Baker

Going to Lethbridge, Alberta. Those familiar with Alberta geography might say ‘why’. Others might suggest putting rocks in my pocket. Both are valid statements.

First stop, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump - a UNESCO World Heritage site west of Fort MacLeod. The site preserves and interprets over 6,000 years of Blackfoot culture. According to the legend, a young boy wanted to see what it looked like when buffalo fell over the cliff. After the carcasses were removed, they found the boy’s body. The buffalo piled so high they smashed his head into the face of the cliff.

As I read the plaques along the trail, I try to imagine what the first buffaloes felt when they realized going over the cliff was inevitable. Or would a buffalo realize their demise was imminent?

The views across the plains are endless to the east and west. The lemon-yellow buffalo bean leans in the breeze and mixes with the wild rose scent as the landscape runs into the snow-covered Rockies.

After a quick lunch stop, we head for our destination. Lucky for me, there is road construction outside Lethbridge and it’s at the best vantage point for a picture of the train trestle referred to as the High Level Bridge. I jump out of the car, dash to the edge of the ridge, snap a few pictures and am back in my seat before the flag person waves us on.

I came here to learn about fossils. As a newbie rockhound with a ‘still shiny’ rock hammer, I’m keen to have fossil names roll off my tongue. If they didn’t have so many syllables it would be a lot easier – Brachiopoda, Articulata, Pachyrhinosaurus. I can remember red rock is pomegranates, but it took me a few times to realize ‘never take me for granite’ is rockhound humour. Also…faults, plates and shifts sound impressive if I could just remember the right sequence which creates the seam I stand on.

The specific type of rock I want to find is called Ammonite. To be honest, unless it’s stamped on the rock ‘I’M AN AMMONITE’, I’m not sure I’d recognize a fossil. But I love being outside and like shiny things so I’m game to see what I can find.

            Spring run off hasn’t started which makes it easy to walk along the wide banks of the Oldman River. With safety glasses on, I smash rock in the bank and watch it crumble. Nothing. I crack boulders as a pair of adult geese and 18 goslings float by. They make me thankful I only have three kids.

Bald eagles scout out their next meal as I roll stones over.

Trails run up the banks and into the river valley. A couple mountain bikes zip by. A fisherman with the biggest smile waves a large whitefish at us. More rock smashing and then around the corner, I see a cliff. Even in my newbie rockhound status, I can tell the layers in the face are different. Too bad it’s across the river. Apparently, people have found shark teeth in the sediment.

I did not find any Ammonites but am pleased with the lava rock (almost light as a feather) and worm fossils I uncovered. A fun and educational road trip with great food along the way and, of course, red wine.

Where are you going? If you could go anywhere, where would you end up?

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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)