BWL Publishing's newest releases

All available now. Click the book covers to purchase from your favorite etailers.

NOW IN PRE-RELEASE
OUR NEWEST  RELEASES

Old and Older

Alberta Bound

If you're following my blog you'll know we spent our summer vacation in breathtaking  province of Alberta. Using Canmore as a base we enjoyed day-trips, touring the area. We couldn't possibly fly home without a trip to a totally different part of the province, and a history every kid likes.

Looking at the map, we had two options to head east. As beautiful as the Trans Canada is, we came in that way, so opted for a scenic route with a different perspective.

With the luggage packed and a picnic lunch ready, we waved goodbye to the mountains as they vanished in the rearview mirror. 

Our journey took us through Cochrane, Airdrie & Acme. Beautiful, bustling towns with gorgeous parks. So much to see, so little time, we kept rolling along toward our destination.

Why is it our stomachs had to have the worst timing in the world? Seriously, all three of our bellies imitated a thunderstorm in the middle of nowhere. One grumbled and the domino effect went wild. The rumbling drowned out the music. 


So where did we stop for our picnic lunch? On a side-road by a farmers field of course. I'm surprised the residents of the area didn't send men in white jackets to rescue us. 


I must admit it certainly was peaceful. Most of the time. Too bad the odd truck went by. Nothing quite like a cloud of dust smothering our sandwiches. Just kidding. We closed the doors and raised the windows to keep the air clean and fresh. At least we tried to. We kept the mini coughing fits to a minimum. Amazing what guzzling a mouthful of water can accomplish.  

The picnic bag / cooler went back to the trunk and our journey continued. 

Once we got out of the mountains, Alberta seemed relatively flat. And then suddenly, out of the blue, the descent began. 


Impressive really. It felt like we were entering a tunnel, but I could see that rich blue sky through the skylight. Doing a little research, if you think about how the area came about, it really does make sense. They began mining for oil and low and behold, didn't they find dinosaur bones and fossils. Yes, we had arrived in Drumheller, Alberta. 
    

First impressions. Wow. Simply wow. Driving through the winding hills into the valley known as the town. Second impression. Wow. This truly is the land of the forgotten, in more ways than one. 

Shame on our previous government. Nine years in power. His home province. This area is and should be heavily promoted as a tourist attraction. We saw and talked to a lot of people from all over the globe. A little bit of money and this town will flourish. They just need a help to get started with the cleanup. Give me a reason to stop and stay more than a day. 

But then, when has there ever been employment created through tourism. (Just a touch of sarcasm there).  

After checking into the hotel, the highest point in the entire city, we headed for the renown Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Friends had raved and with good reason. The state of the art building is nothing shy of spectacular.

We paid our admission and walked through the archway. A humongous dinosaur and her not so tiny baby greeted us. Literally. Eyeballs glared into our souls and they spoke. Well, they growled, a chest rattling friendly sort of voice. Excited as a kid Christmas morning I was hooked. 

The stroll around the museum continued. A five star review for the museum. I couldn't come up with a complaint about the place if I had to. A must see if you're anywhere near the area.

 We met Clement along the path. Knowledgable and super enthusiast his words rolled off his tongue like he was born to discover these ancient creatures. 

We overstayed our visit, hogging his time, closing the place down but not before getting a 'recommendation' for dinner from another tourist. My travelling companions wanted a beer so we headed the Vintage Pub and Grill and had a meal with the locals. Relaxed service and yummy food. We trudged back to the hotel with full bellies. 

Energized the following morning we would tour around this incredible area. But that can wait to next month.  Stay tuned. Hoodoo!

My author page

The Witches of October... by Gail Roughton

Hop on the Broomstick!

It's that time again! Time for ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night.  In my neck of the woods, it arrives at an opportune time because during September, the spiders around here go stark freakin' nuts working overtime through October to produce webs so huge they threaten to totally encase my entire house, webs they manufacture so quickly folks frequently walk straight into one when they exit the front door because it wasn't there the last time they walked in it.  But hey! It's October, with Halloween just around the corner, so I just smile and call them decorations. 

Personally, I've got a special spot in my heart for the Witches of October.  Witches have come a long way in modern society. They aren't just old crones with ugly warts and crooked noses and pointed hats who cackle with glee while proclaiming "I'll get you, my pretty!" Movies and television abound with beautiful witches dedicated to fighting evil, like the Halliwell sisters of Charmed (and even the evil witches they fought were usually  pretty dang gorgeous). Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame's right hand gal was Willow, who started out as the geeky girl next door, and who, by the end of the series, was one of the most powerful witches ever to wave a wand, with flaming red hair and power-blazing eyes.  

Who doesn't love the witches of Practical Magic?  It's hard to top that cast, especially the conga line of the Owens witches making margaritas while chanting "You put 'de lime in 'de coconut and drink it all up...." And then there's the mother of all Halloween movies, with three of the greatest witches ever to grace the silver screen.  Okay, the sisters of Hocus Pocus aren't gorgeous, exactly, and they're definitely not good, but they're just so irresistible! Can anybody watch and not sing along? "I put a spell on you......and now you're mine..." (Fun factoid I just discovered when I looked up the cast of Hocus Pocus.  How many of you knew that Thackery Binx was played by Sean Murray?  Better known to countless viewers these days as Special Agent Tim McGee of the NCIS team?  And as soon as I saw the name and looked at the eyes I didn't know how I'd ever missed it.)

No, witches aren't what they used to be.  They're a lot more fun, thank heavens, not to mention easier on the eyes, and I like to think in my own humble way I've contributed a bit to the modern witch mystique. Get in the mood for Halloween by checking out the War-N-Wit, Inc. series, why don't you? It'll make you trade in your broomstick for a Harley!

Purchase Links

Purchase Links

Check out all Gail Roughton titles at BWL Publishing, Inc. (with direct purchase links for all books to all sites).

Please come visit my Facebook page and web-blog, Writin' With Southern Stylin'!

Purchase Links

Purchase Links

Thoughts about Writing a Novel - Theme

   

 Click the covers for Purchase links for the first three novels in my Heroines Born on Different Days of the Week 

 For more information on all of my novels visit my BWL author page.

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary-romance-historical-uk/

 The theme of a novel is different to the plot. It is the subject. The plot is action, it shows the reader what happens and answers the questions, Who, What, When, Where and How. The theme is often abstract and drives the plot forward. It might focus on the cause of conflict or a main character’s goals. An effective theme should not overpower the plot. It should be used as a background - the characters’ experience, the author’s individual style and word pictures which tie theme and plot together. The beginning of the novel should indicate the theme.

Some themes can be applied to any time and at any place e.g. conflict between family members, others are specific such as an event that could only take place in a country during a particular time, for example, the London Blitz in the 2^nd World War or an issue such as women’s suffrage. Religious intolerance or another form of intolerance also provide strong themes.

Emotion is a thread which can run through a novel and be employed as a theme that creates conflict, for example, any one of the following, fear, greed, hatred, jealousy, loneliness, love, revenge.

Some authors choose explicit sex as a theme but, although my novels are sensual, it is not one of my chosen ones.

Three of my novels set in the Regency era, heroines born on different days of the week, have been published, the fourth, Wednesday’s Child will be published before the end of 2017 and I am now writing Thursday’s Child.

After I wrote Sunday’s Child, I decided to write six more novels with titles taken from the children’s poem.

Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace, Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s Child has far to go, Friday’s Child is loving and giving, Saturday’s Child works hard for a living, And the child that is born on the Sabbath day, is loving and blithe, good and gay.

Themes in my Regency novels

Sunday’s Child Post-traumatic stress syndrome. (At a time when this condition was not recognised.) Monday’s Child The tension in Brussels during the 100 days after Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba and the Battle of Waterloo Tuesday’s Child Divisions between upper, middle and lower classes of society. Wednesday’s Child Coming to terms with death. Thursday’s Child Disinclination to marry in an age when young ladies were expected to make a good match. False Pretences (A Regency Romance). A Search.

Themes in my Early 18^th Century novels

Tangled Love Revenge, Far Beyond Rubies Greed, The Captain and The Countess Injustice.

Theme in my Mediaeval Novel

Yvonne Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book One Relationships

The themes in my romantic historical fact fiction are ones with which modern day readers can identify with. In Tuesday’s Child, the tension mounts as a mother struggles to retain full custody of her child.

Tuesday’s Child - Extract

Harriet looked out of the drawing room window in Clarencieux Abbey – all stone carving, arched windows and hideous gargoyles - now transformed by her father-in-law into a fashionable gothic mansion. On any other occasion, the view would have delighted her. Beneath a cloudless, azure blue sky, from which the sun poured its welcome warmth, the recently scythed lawn stretched down to the still surface of the large man-made lake fringed by graceful weeping willows on its farthest bank.

Alarmed, she watched the Earl of Pennington, who rode a sleek gelding, and her four-year-old son, seated straight-backed on Prince, his strong Exmoor pony, which he doted on. Compared to the eighteen-hand dun with black points his grandfather rode, George looked frighteningly small and vulnerable.

No matter how often the earl assured her well-schooled Prince made an excellent riding pony for a young boy, Harriet could not control her fear of an accident.

Moreover, throughout the last year her resentment of the earl’s high-handedness over his grandson’s upbringing, and his total disregard of her wishes concerning it, had swelled to the point of bitterness. Her jaw tightened when she remembered one of his most unwelcome dictates.

“My child,” his lordship had commenced, shortly after she took up residence with him, “in future, my grandson shall be known by his second name, Arthur

Review

And, for Harriet Stanton, she is grace under pressure. Left widowed during the Napoleon War, which also killed her father, the destitute heroine turns to Georgianne Tarrant for help. Georgianne introduces her to her late husband’s father, the obnoxious Earl of Pennington, who accepts this “mere baronet’s daughter” into his home. His action is far from altruistic for Harriet brings him a precious gift—her son, Arthur. The child gives the old Earl the heir he desires to replaces the detested distant kinsman who currently fills that role. Morris’s knack of creating realistic characters, both likeable and not so much, is again in the forefront of the story. Her heroine is not a member of the haute ton and the hero who is, has a surprising occupation. This third book in the Heroines Born on Different Days of the Week series is the latest in an engaging set of tales that provides readers with an intriguing glimpse into the lives of people with whom they can identify. Even the time-honoured plot of the lost heir has a surprising twist. I highly recommend the book for those of us who need to escape our 21st century lives and catch another peek of a fascinating period of history.

Robbi Perna, PhD – Author and Lecturer.

Some 17th c History & James Bartley by Katherine Pym

Smashwords Sale Coupon Here

You’d think we’d get along considering the size of our world. We should have our own patch of land, our own lean-to and a garden plot to grow veggies but it seems we are an argumentative species. Nothing is safe. 

Take the 17^th century. Compared to today, there weren’t many folks on the planet. London was a metropolis, with a large portion of the English population within its walls. Holland had her canals and Amsterdam. Paris belonged to France. These nations found plenty of land to explore but as squabbling children, they all wanted the same spots. 

East India Company Battle in Indonesia

During the early part of 17^th century, the English and Dutch each had an East India Company who plied foreign waters, seeking trade. Whenever the Dutch or English sailed into the same harbor, there were sea battles, torture and murder. There were plenty of islands in the South Pacific and the Caribbean but the grass was always greener on the other’s atoll. 

To compete, it wasn’t until the 1660’s that France established their own East India Company, but the French had not been idle the first half of the century. They established colonies all over the world, in the East and West Indies, along the Norwegian and North American coasts. 

In the Banda Islands of today’s Indonesia where nutmeg grew, a fierce rivalry sprang up between the Dutch and English. They fought over these islands until the native peoples were decimated and the crop completely destroyed. It reminds me of a Star Trek episode where the mindset is so stubborn, the enemy would rather see the death of a planet than share it. 

Killing a Whale

Whaling was another product the French, English and Dutch fought over. There were a lot of whales in the seas, but everyone congregated on the same shores. Initially, Norwegian islands offered places where whale and walrus meat could be processed but others sailed on to the cold waters of the Atlantic for whale blubber. 

Stories ensued from these exertions. Hostilities transferred from country against country to whales against men. 

Whales are big animals. They fight for what is theirs. Moby Dick came into being where a large mammalian beast fought in a life and death struggle against a madman, and then there was James Bartley. 

Off the Falkland Islands, the crew on a whaler spotted an 80’ whale basking in the cold waters, sifting krill through its fringed baleen. Men climbed the ships’ shrouds, hung from the yardarms and pointed. Two small boats were launched. It was time to kill a whale!

Processing Whale Blubber etc.

One harpooner sent his weapon into the whale, who lashed out. The small boats in peril, men fell overboard. Water sprayed the remaining men but they bagged their prey. They hauled the 80’ beast onto the vessel and began to dissect it. 

Someone reported a man missing, a James Bartley. Everyone assumed he had drowned in the battle against the big whale. They shrugged and continued to dissect the animal. After 6 hours of backbreaking work, they threw in the towel and went to sleep for the night. 

The next morning, they were at it again. “Suddenly sailors were startled by something in the stomach which gave spasmodic signs of life. Inside they found the missing sailor, James Barley, doubled up and unconscious. He was placed on deck and treated to a bath of seawater, which soon revived him, but his mind was not clear and the crew placed him in the captain’s quarters.” 

Poor Sod about to Beaten by Whale

Once Bartley recovered his senses, he related that he’d been hit by the whale’s tail and had been “encompassed by great darkness, and he felt he was slipping along a smooth passage that seemed to move and carry him forward. His hands came in contact with a yielding, slimy substance, which seemed to shrink from his touch. He could easily breathe, but the heat was terrible. It seemed to open the pores of his skin and draw out his vitality. The next he remembered he was in the captain’s cabin.”

Even as James Bartley survived being sucked into the belly of a beast, he was lucky. The whale was more benign than being tortured by a hostile, East India Company person. 

The Salt Box, YA Fantasy

Smashwords Sale Coupon Here 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Many thanks to: 

The People’s Almanac by David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY, 1975, page 1399

Wikipedia Commons, public domain