Angels and Aliens - Myths and legends, or ancient history? by Vijaya Schartz

This sweet sci-fi romance novel includes a strong heroine, a brave hero, a spoiled cat, and an angel race
Find the direct link to purchase it from your favorite online store HERE

Throughout the ancient world, various mythologies feature extraordinary beings with incredible powers, coming from the heavens to teach and help, or chastise the Human race... or to mine some rare metal.

Whether we call them deities or angels, or aliens, or any other name, they look very much like technologically advanced extra-terrestrials, some with blue skin, some with several sets of arms, some with wings, others with animal heads. They taught our ancestors and made a lasting impression upon the minds of the population of the time. So much so that they left us gigantic statues and sculptures to remember them by... not unlike the US presidents immortalized in the rock at Mount Rushmore.

In the ancient Sanskrit texts of India, these beings wield fantastic weapons. There are several factions, and sometimes they wage war in the sky against equally powerful beings from the stars. They ride flying chariots of fire, and inhabit floating cities... not unlike a mother-ship.

Shiva is represented with blue skin and four arms. This protector of India, possessed a weapon so powerful, they named him the destroyer of worlds:

Some of these beings in different cultures are represented with bird heads, some with wings:

Anunnaki ancient Sumeria

 

Egyptian god Thoth

  

Indian god Garuda

Others have different animal heads, like Ganesha the elephant god, bringer of harmony and happiness in the home.

When you read the Vedas (ancient Sanskrit texts) or ask the people of India about these incredible beings, they will tell you these epic adventures actually took place in their ancient past. According to them, these beings were real and lived among the population of the time, and these are not stories or legends, but their ancient history.

If you want to explore exotic India in an award-winning novel, I suggest this one:

ASHES FOR THE ELEPHANT GOD

by Vijaya Schartz

A novel of reincarnated love, set in India - Two lovers, murdered in a previous life, meet again in India, where their murderess awaits...

To scatter her brother's ashes over the Narmada River, Fabienne leaves France for the mysterious India of her childhood dreams. As she awakens to a newfound spirituality, unexpected visions of a former life during the Raj stir ancient yearnings for a long lost passion.

Mukunda, the palace architect Fabienne loved a century and a half ago, lives again as an American engineer and works on the local dam project. As Fabienne falls in love again with India and the man of her destiny, the tapestry of her previous life unfolds.

But, in the karmic land of the blue gods, a ruthless foe lies in wait. The Kali worshiper, who murdered the two lovers in a faraway past, has come back through the centuries to thwart their dream once more.

"... a broad-stroked, magnificent picture of a lavish India of the past and the present... a vivid tale of suspense... a gripping account of a woman coming to terms with heightened awareness... a destiny that yields true fulfillment." The Book Reader Magazine - 5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, author
 Strong heroines, brave heroes, cats, romance with a kick
 http://www.vijayaschartz.com
 amazon  -  B&N  -  Smashwords  -  Kobo  -  FB   

The life of a female in the past—Tricia McGill

Now available for pre-release--on July 3rd

I’ve said it many times, much as I admire the women who were full of spirit and gumption in the past, there is no way I would like to share their lives other than in my books. I have often thought it would be great fun to be a time traveller so that I could return to the ages I have written about, just to be sure it really was as horrible, nasty and unhygienic as the historians tell us it was. But be sure, I am glad I live in a time when we have mod cons and the niceties in life.

When commenting on my historicals and time-travels I have always stressed my admiration for the women, especially those who had to endure tremendous hardships as the wives of the early settlers, regardless of what continent or time period. Even today, there are still women who have to endure all kinds of deprivation in certain countries where they have no running water or sanitation.

The inspiration for book one in my Settlers Series came from a book I happened upon at the library. This gem contained letters sent home to the country of their birth by women who, whether by choice or circumstance, were forced to follow their menfolk into what must have seemed like the gates of hell to them. Most of these women left comfortable lives in Britain, brought up in genteel households that possessed, if not running water and heating at a touch, in some cases housemaids to pander to their needs. Elizabeth Hawkins sent letters home telling of the journey across unfriendly seas and then the trek in 1822 across the Blue Mountains west of Botany Bay to a fledgling Bathurst, where her husband was to take up a position as Commissariat Storekeeper. This family were the first free settlers to cross the barrier of the mountains. They travelled with eight offspring aged from I to 12, and Elizabeth’s 70-year-old mother. If you read Mystic Mountains, you will see just why I hold women like Elizabeth and her mother in such high esteem. On top of enduring the constraints of a corset in much hotter weather than they were accustomed to, there was the lurking threat of snakes and venomous creatures they would never have encountered in their homeland.

Love, as the song goes, is a many splendoured thing. It convinced many women to get on a sailing ship that would take them and often their children to a far off country on the other side of the world. Apart from the odd snippet garnered from newspapers or the like, of the conditions in this New World, they had sparse knowledge of what awaited them. I’ve seen enough movies set on sailing vessels in the 1800s to understand the horrendous conditions aboard a ship that took weeks upon endless weeks to reach its destination. I recently viewed “To the Ends of The Earth” a series on TV with Benedict Cumberbatch. As a naïve young gentleman, his character is on his way to take up a Government post in Australia. This movie brought home more than some just how horrendous the conditions were aboard a sailing vessel, even if you were a man of substance assigned a cabin of your own.

Life in the fledgling colony was horrendous for the women who were transported, in some cases for petty crimes, such as stealing a loaf of bread to feed their children or perhaps taking a fancy to a strip of ribbon or a bauble of little value that wasn’t theirs to take.

My third book in this series starts in 1840 when certain improvements had been made, but even so, conditions were still unsanitary. My characters take off from Sydney Town on a trek to seek out adventure in a new colony recently settled down south in Port Phillip. The journey took a month—that’s four weeks travelling over a barely surveyed land on horseback. The threat of escaped convicts turned bushrangers lurked, even the scattering of inns along the way were ill prepared for travellers. Forget bathrooms or hot and cold running water. Then there was always the other inconvenience shared by young women—imagine a life with no sanitary products.

My heroine appreciates the magnificent achievements of the earlier settlers and her wish is to do something similar with her life. Women such as Caroline Chisolm, who recognised the need for assisting migrant women who arrived in Sydney but could not secure employment. Apart from sheltering many new arrivals in her own home, she took groups of them out to the bush where they easily found work with the settlers. By 1846 when she returned to England she had helped about eleven thousand people to either find work or establish themselves as farmers in outback New South Wales. Without her assistance, many of these women would have been forced to walk the streets as prostitutes in order to survive.

I guess my admiration for strong women stems from the high regard I hold for two special women in my life. Our mother reared ten children through two world wars and depressions, without the help of a washing machine, or any of the other appliances we take for granted these days. She struggled daily to make ends meet but always put a meal on the table for her children and our father, probably surviving herself on a mouthful or two. I rarely heard her complain—women just ‘got on with it’ in those days. The other woman was my dear sister whose life I have written about in “Crying is for Babies.”

Could be the reason why I have little patience for people who moan about their lot in life, as they chatter on their mobiles—or drive about in their cars.

Available at your favourite on-line store

My Web Page

What's in a Burrito

https://books2read.com/The-Baganti-Attack

I really like Mexican food. I love Mexican food. Especially burritos.

Most of the time I get them at a retail place (from a major chain or a restaurant. They were okay. However, there was usually too much runny beans mixed in with the meat and not enough veggies. The restaurant style is similar, but includes a chair and table service. That is worth at least two points.

My homemade burrito had considerably more vegetables and more cheese. They were wrapped like you would get at a fast food place-a soft tortilla wrap. 

I’ve discovered something that was out there but not something that stuck in my mind-texture.

One day I was in a commercial area outside of downtown Toronto with a friend. We stepped into a small burrito restaurant. Rickety chairs. A mixture of table styles. Large windows opened letting a breeze in. We had to order at the counter. While in line (a very good sign) I noticed that one person took the order and two people behind prepared the burrito.

I saw immediately that the meat was cooked fresh for each order. Thus, a ten minute wait. The cheese was fresh. Everything was fresh.

This burrito cost more than any I had ever bought outside of a full-service fancy restaurant.

We had a seat and waited. Our number was called and we picked them up. The foil rap was hot. Another excellent sign.

I took my first bit. Bang! There was that texture I mentioned earlier. The vegetables had a crunch. As did the tortilla wrap. It had been placed under something similar to a panini grill. Or, it was simply properly prepared on a grill.

Each bite was met with a crunch. And, no half-cup of juice dripping out. Just a small amount. A very small amount. I slowed down and savoured each morsel.

This weekends challenge. Duplicate the amazing taste and texture on my grill at home. Under the sun. But, with a small breeze. A very small breeze.

The Ley Of The Land

To Purchase this novel

The Ley Of The Land

We all know that Victoria is a wonderful place to holiday, right? But have you ever wondered why so many ghosts feel the same?
Readers of my novel, The Joining, and past blogs will already know that Victoria is reported to be the most haunted city in North America, perhaps the world. What is known about spiritual Victoria is that two Ley Lines intersect the city, one North-South, another East-West. I've plotted many of the haunted sites and they draw a clear line from the seventh hole at Victoria golf course, all the way west to the inner harbour, and up to the north from there.
So the question going through many of your minds is; "What the hell are Ley Lines?"
The term was invented by Alfred Watkins in 1921, who happened to notice that many of the ancient pagan and religious sites in England (many built over older pagan sites) all seem to follow straight lines. "Ley" is based on an Anglo-Saxon term meaning 'cleared strip of land'.

Ley Lines In England As Drawn By Marian

What we refer to as Ley Lines are known in many cultures worldwide. The Shamans of South America call them Spirit Lines. In China, Dragon Lines. To the Aboriginals of Australia, they are Dream Lines. Most sacred monuments in the world, including Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, the Egyptian Pyramids, Easter Island and Stonehenge to name a few, are found along intersecting Ley Lines, like Victoria.
The ancient peoples of this planet knew of these Ley Lines. It is known that birds often migrate along magnetic meridians, which in essence is what the Ley lines are. The magnetic meridians of the Earth.
The Earth has a natural electromagnetic field, known as The Schumann Resonance, which registers at 7.8 Hertz. (To some, this is the heartbeat of Mother Earth.) Where Ley Lines are believed to cross, the charge is greater and causes a fluctuation in that field. (More of this to come in a future novel, working title Seeds of Ascension. You'll have to wait a bit though!).
Ley Lines are described by many Spiritualists as the energy chakras of Mother Earth. If you believe we are all connected to this realm, Mother Earth and the universe, and that in essence we are also a universe within ourselves, one can become in tune with this electrical current. Current that winds around the Earth like strands of DNA.
Yes, pretty heady woo-woo talk for a mere blog.
But I've been known to be a deep spiritual shamanistic person. So bear with my ramblings as we come back to Victoria.
What is known is that many of the First Nations graves (entire graveyards, back in the 1800's) were merely covered over as the city expanded. Even the entire Songhees village across the inner harbour was bought, the natives moved and the land paved over. Oh, yes, I've heard the money was supposed to go to them, but vanished into city coffers.
So what happened to the spirits buried within those coffins. Are they trapped here along with the later settlers? Can some pull memory or knowledge from these beings? Are they happy being trapped here?
This brings me to another point. Trapped within Victoria is a time vortex. Eerie I know. But many have reported to travel down Shelbourne and Hillside in the wee hours when the paved street disappears before them and they are instead travelling down an old gravel road. A minute later everything warps back to the present.  Yes, you read correctly.
So, bearing in mind the thirty or so well corroborated ghost stories I've researched, if anyone can claim that any city in the world is more haunted than Victoria, I'd be very interested to hear about it.
PS. If you have any ghost stories of Victoria and want to share them, let me know via email.
See you next month!

Frank Talaber
Email: twosoulmates@shaw.ca
Writer by Soul.
A natural storyteller, whose compelling thoughts are freed from the depths of the heart and the subconscious before being poured onto the page.
Literature written beyond the realms of genre he is known to grab readers; kicking, screaming, laughing or crying and drag them into his novels.
Enter the literary world of Frank Talaber.

My Publishers Webpage:
http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/talaber-frank-paranormal-suspense-romance/
My webpage
http://twosoulmates.wixsite.com/frankt-author-blog
My novels and reviews on Amazon are at:
https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Talaber/e/B00UC407R0
My Facebook Published Author's page.
https://www.facebook.com/FrankTalaber/
My Facebook short story page
https://www.facebook.com/franktalaberpublishedauthor/
Twitter: @FrankTalaber
https://twitter.com/FrankTalaber
Links: #urban fantasy  #books  #author #paranormal thriller  #soul #muse  #fantasy  #Vancouver  #Victoria #BC #British Columbia

The Hanging of John André by Diane Scott Lewis

Spying for the British. In my novel set during the American Revolution, Her Vanquished Land, (Sept. release), I came across the many men and women who spied for the British and lost their lives. The main person, a man even showcased in the TV series, Turn, was Major John André. Since my heroine Rowena Marsh wishes to join the spy ring of her cousin, Major André is mentioned a few times. Especially his ignoble end.

John André

André was the man who corresponded with Benedict Arnold, aiding in his betrayal of the Americans.
When André was captured carrying letters that pointed to his involvement in this betrayal, General Washington offered him up for trade for Arnold. The British refused. André was doomed.

André was born in 1750 London to wealthy Huguenots. Well educated, he joined the British army at age twenty. By 1778 he was a major, had already been captured by the American rebels, and released through a prisoner exchange. In his off hours, he was a great society favorite with a lively personality and a talent for drawing.

In 1779 he took charge of the British Secret Service in America. He began negotiations with Benedict Arnold, a dissatisfied general in the Continental Army. Arnold said he was owed back pay and wasn't recognized as the patriot and hero that he should be. He wanted to defect to the British.

After his meeting with Arnold, André was given a safety pass by him to travel through the American lines, yet he also carried details about the fort at West Point (the one Arnold planned to turn over to the British). He was stopped by the Americans, searched, and captured. General George Washington wanted to do a prisoner exchange with André for the turncoat Arnold, but the British refused. The major was tried and convicted of spying, especially since he was wearing civilian clothes.

Sentenced to death, André was hanged at Tappan, New York, October 2, 1780. Both sides lamented the death of the amiable young officer who made friends wherever he was.

Self-portrait of André on the night before his execution.

I researched many aspects of spying during the American Revolution; brutality happened on both sides, and my heroine Rowena Marsh must find her place and make her mark. She strived to be as brave as the men.

To purchase my novels at Amazon or All Markets: Click HERE

 

 

For further information on me and my books, please visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org

 Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

Hidden Messages in Novels by J.Q. Rose

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
Romantic suspense

A handsome detective, a shadow man, and a murder victim kill Lauren’s plan for a simple life.

Click here to find more mysteries by J.Q. Rose from BWL Publishing.

Hello and welcome to the BWL Publishing Insiders Blog. I'm mystery author J.Q. Rose.

Hidden Messages in Novels by J.Q. Rose

Hidden Messages in Novels by J.Q. Rose

Readers learn from books. 

Readers are entertained by books. 

Readers are touched by characters in books.

But did you know that within the pages of a book, there are messages from the author? When an author is passionate about a subject, that passion will be incorporated into the story.

Within J K Rowling's Harry Potter books, a werewolf character, Remus Lupin, is stricken with a blood-borne illness which is a metaphor for HIV and the stigma surrounding HIV.

In Laurie Halse Andersen's The Impossible Knife of Memory, a teenage girl must cope with her soldier father's PTSD. The YA novel shows how mental illness can affect everyone in a family. Click here to read the entire article at Bustle.com.

I write mysteries because I love to read them and I love to entertain readers with my stories. But like most authors, I have a message I want to share with the world in all of my mysteries. I wrote Deadly Undertaking with a character stricken with Alzheimer's disease because I am passionate about bringing awareness to the epidemic of AD sweeping our world. 

I have many friends who are or have been caretakers of a family member suffering from this horrible illness. Not only is the patient going through hell because of the effects of the disease, but as the years pass, the loved ones watch as the patient slowly disappears from them overcome from an incurable disease that ravages their mind and body. 

I shared a blog post on this blog with the question, "Can you imagine a world without Alzheimer's Disease?" Medical staff and researchers can. They are working every day to eliminate AD. According to alz.org, the number of Americans with AD is growing fast. Every 65 seconds, someone in the US develops Alzheimer's Disease. It is the 6th leading cause of death in the US. 

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. Click here to go to the Alzheimer's Association website to find out more about AD and to see how you can help with funding research and bringing awareness. 

I hope my mystery novel and this blog post can play a part in wiping out Alzheimer's Disease from our planet.
Click here to read another post on this blog by J.Q. Rose--A World Without Alzheimer's Disease.

J.Q. Rose, mystery author

Click here to connect with J.Q. Rose online.

Afterthoughts and Aftermess in the Amazon by Stuart R. West

Click for the third Zach and Zora comic mystery

Well, all good things must come to an end, I suppose. Even if there were times I didn't think I'd survive the Amazon jungle. Not due to life-threatening situations, mind you, but rather the strenuous activities of hiking through a sauna-like environment in long pants, shirts, and those torturous boots.

Goodbye Peru...

But I made it. Even though the plane trips back were trying--eight days in the jungle and no ailments, but everyone on the plane was hacking and wheezing, sure to be my downfall; also, we had an encounter with an ugly American teenage girl who tried to cut in line (but my wife put a stop to that!)--we began the long, dull process of settling back into routine.

Fun in a germ-ridden flying tin can!

Upon return, Kansas seemed rather...lifeless. Sure, it felt safer and was definitely cleaner, but it lacked the energy, the vibrancy of Iquitos and the unfettered nature of the jungle. Everything about the Midwest appeared so ho-hum.

BO-RING!

Except, of course, for my week-long bout with diarrhea. Yay, TMI! (At least I didn't suffer while in the jungle; I can't even begin to imagine...wait, yes I can).

Wake me when we leave Kansas...

I learned a lot on my adventures. While I'm not quite ready to bunker down in a tent (too many serial killers lurking in the woods), or go backpacking in the Himalayas (too many yetis), or cannonball into a hot tub with Buddha (not enough room for both of us), I've decided to embrace nature as my friend. Finally. Call me ridiculous, but the other day there was a grotesque, hard-carapaced bug skittering down the hallway. I managed to scoop him up and put him outside. In the past, he would've been instant floor-kill.

The incredible power of the Amazon--nature at its wildest, most untainted state--proved awe-inspiring, not only in its beauty and yin and yang of terror, but also in the potential it has as a natural state of energy. If people would learn to coexist peacefully with the river, harness it without doing damage, it has the potential to power a good chunk of the world. It is to be respected.

So are people. After my trip, I've vowed to try and be nicer. A tough chore, but I'm committed. Our visit to Iquitos made me realize just how "rich" we are, comparatively speaking. We saw squalor, miserable living conditions, and even worse health care issues. But the locals' living conditions didn't get them down. On the contrary, they carried on with life, making our trials and tribulations appear petty. We could all learn something from the people of Peru.

I also came out the other side with the pleasure of bonding with new friends and reacquainting with old ones. You can't go through a boot camp of that type, storming the gates of hell, without growing close to those experiencing the trip next to you. And seeing as I write full-time from home, it was the most socializing I'd done in years. Big ol' honkin' baby steps!

New friends/family!

Best of all, I love the fact that "jungle pants" has become a nonchalantly dropped word in our everyday lexicon.

And the stories I heard, the things I saw and experienced, will shape and fill at least one future novel percolating on the back-burner, a paranormal mystery.

Onward and upward, the world's a great big, ol' beautiful and wondrous and scary place, much more than my previously staked-out back yard of Kansas City. I can't wait to explore more. (But, um, just with air conditioning this time).

Peace.

Storm's Refuge and our foray into audio books by Nancy M Bell

To find out more about Nancy's books click on the cover.

The world of audio books is relatively new to me and I was thrilled when my publisher decided to put Storm's Refuge into production. It's kind of weird to hear my words spoken by someone I don't even know and to hear my characters come to life, so to speak. The whole process was pretty painless. First I chose a short excerpt as a sample, then it was posted on the ACX site as a proposal for narrators to consider. There are also many narrators to choose from with samples of their various 'voices' and accents to choose from. You can narrow it down to female or male, certain age and regional accents etc. It was pretty cool listening to how one person could change their delivery just by altering cadence and pronunciation of vowels etc.
Fortunately, someone liked Storm and agreed to narrate for us. All this was done through the publisher's ACX account. Georgia Bragg is my narrator, and I was thrilled to find out she is an Albertan and as my book is set in Alberta, the accent and manner of speaking rings true to the characters. I had the pleasure of meeting Georgia in the beautiful hamlet of Bragg Creek, AB. If any of you are familiar with the TV show North of 60, you'll be pleased to know that Bragg Creek and surrounding area was the stand in for Lynx River. If you're ever in the area be sure to visit Bragg Creek and nearby Elbow Falls.

This is just a taste of the beauty that awaits you. Photo credit High Country News

It took a few months to produce 6+ hours of narration. Georgia did a wonderful job of keeping true to my characters and infusing them with humour and tension in all the right places. After months of reviewing and listening I'm happy to say Storm's Refuge is live on Audible. If you're interested in listening click here.

Until next month, stay well, stay happy.

www.nancymbell.ca

Hearing Your Book

Hearing Your Story

 

Recently my book Murder and Mint Tea came out in an audio version. Now I’m the kind or writer who sits and reads out loud the final draft of the mss to make sure there are no awkward places. The problem is that while I’ve been reading aloud, I haven’t been listening to more than pacing and flow. I also have trained to read my words loudly and without expression.

Hearing the book read by a professional reader was a surprising treat. There were times when I wondered if I’d really written those words. Several times I had to look in the print copy and those words were there but somehow they took on a different meaning. Sometimes the meaning was more sinister than I thought and sometimes showing an undertone I hadn’t realized was there.

Many thanks to Virginia Ferguson for her reading skills. Now I’m hoping for more reviews like the one that’s already there from one of the prior editions of the book.

A night to remember, by J.C. Kavanagh

The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends 

Short-listed for Best Young Adult Book 2018, 

The Word Guild

I was recently honoured to have a book review of The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends included in the 25th anniversary booklet for the South Simcoe Arts Council - a southern Ontario organization dedicated to promoting local writers, artists and artisans. Here is the review: 

J.C. Kavanagh, award-winning author of The Twisted Climb books


“Word-movie.” That’s what a good book should create in the mind of the reader says local author J.C. Kavanagh. “A truly good book,” she says, “will draw the reader into the playground-mind of the writer so that they both ‘see’ the same word-movie.” 


It is this concept that Kavanagh continues in Darkness Descends, the second book in her Twisted Climb series (both published by Canadian company BWL Publishing). The books follow the journey of Jayden, Connor and Max as they side-step in and out of an ominous dream world where the diabolical Richard Hatemore dwells. It’s the dreaded place where the only way to ‘fall’ asleep is to ‘climb.’ Their fantastical adventures unite them as a team and ultimately bring them together to confront their greatest fears. The stark and often terrifying descriptions of the dream world, combined with the unique personalities of the main characters, bring vividness to the book that will delight readers both young and old. As one reviewer wrote: “J.C. Kavanagh does a superb job of creating a vast and puzzling dream world... unfolding the characters and bringing this story to life. I would love to see Darkness Descends grace the silver screen, or possible cable series.” Another reviewer wrote: “The clever plot twists make Darkness Descends an absolute page-turner.”


Both books have earned Kavanagh the Best Young Adult book award; in 2016 for The Twisted Climb, and again in 2018 for Darkness Descends. They are available at the South Simcoe Arts Council store on Victoria Street, at Chapters stores across Canada, and online wherever digital books are sold.

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/kavanagh-j-c-ya-urban-fantasy/

A night to remember

Last month, The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends, was short-listed by Canada's The Word Guild, in the Young Adult - General market category. The Word Guild is an organization of Canadian writers, speakers, publishers, booksellers, librarians and other write-minded individuals who are Christian. Darkness Descends does not point to a specific religion, thus, the 'General market' category. The book, however, explores the empowerment of love and unity in a broad format. The characters ultimately recognize that 'good' overpowers all.  

The Word Guild hosts an annual writers' conference and black-tie Awards Gala in Hamilton, Ontario. There were 31 award categories, ranging from inspirational column, poetry and song, to academic, book cover and best manuscript. More than 100 finalists made the short-list, as determined by a panel of six judges. The Awards Gala took place on June 14 and I was privileged to be there with my partner, Ian. We dressed up! For those who regularly read my blog, you'll know that when it comes to attire, I'm closer to nature than high heels. But we cleaned up pretty good, I'd say. I didn't win the award but I was inspired and honoured to rub shoulders with this elite group of writers.

Me and my 

handsome partner, Ian

Spring season is underway here in Canada. Well, maybe. The water in Georgian Bay is 4 degrees Celsius. That's 39.2 Fahrenheit. That is daaaarn cold. Nonetheless, I was swimming in Beausoleil Bay on June 9 and in the water for a full five seconds. Five seconds longer than necessary. Yes, there may have been some wine involved. The water is normally about 10 degrees Celsius at this time of year but this does not appear to be a 'normal' spring. Still beautiful, though!

Take a few moments today to enjoy nature.

J.C. Kavanagh

The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2)

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll

AND short-listed for Best Young Adult Book 2018, The Word Guild, General Market Category

AND

The Twisted Climb,

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)

It's dog's life...by Sheila Claydon

To buy this book

My BooksWeLove author page

Apart from the horse in the background, the cover of Mending Jodie's Heart doesn't immediately make you think of animals! It's very misleading because two of the book's main characters are in fact  Buckmaster, an incredibly well trained horse, and Blue, an old Labrador dog. A lot of birds feature too. I found them all incredibly interesting to write about and learned a lot while I was doing so.

Why am I telling you this? Well writing about them came to mind when I began training my dog...or maybe I should say started re-training my dog!  She is 4 years old and, like the fictional Buckmaster and Blue, generally very good. She likes other dogs and people, and can be walked off leash (away from traffic) without any worries at all. She is also fine indoors except for her latest habit, which is to ask to go into the garden then, when the door is opened, to rush out at warp speed barking as she goes. This mindless barking then continues intermittently until I go out and point towards the house, whereupon she immediately stops and dutifully trots indoors.  I have no idea where this very irritating habit came from but I do know it needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, until now, instead of working towards a cure I think I've been making it worse.

As you can see from the photos, butter wouldn't melt she is so cool and well-behaved...except when that door is opened when she turns into a whirling dervish, and now I understand why.  My irritation and consequent need to try to stop her barking means I am giving her attention every time she runs outside. She loves this and, in her own doggy way, has decided that because I immediately call her or fetch her I must like what she's doing. So she just does it some more!

Well now I've learned the answer and although it will take a couple of weeks of concentration from both of us, I've been assured it will work.  What do we have to do? Well for a start from now on she doesn't go out into the garden unless she is on a long leash.  Next I have to open the door a fraction and, as soon as she tries to run out, close it again, and I have to do this repeatedly until she calms down and sits quietly beside me. Then I open the door, step outside, and block her if she tries to follow me, waiting until she sits down again. Only then do I invite her outside and let her roam about on an extender lead.

Going indoors is the same thing in reverse. She has to sit outside while I enter the house and wait until I invite her inside. She is praised once her leash is removed but no treats are involved because learning that she receives treats on leaving and re-entering the house would just give us another problem.

And guess what, it works!  We started with her bouncing up and down like a mad thing today as soon as I touched the door handle, but within less than a minute she was sitting quietly beside me waiting for a command. The trot around the garden was painless (except for the rain - one of the hazards of dog ownership) and she sat and waited to be invited back in without being told.

She is highly intelligent and always eager to please, so I am now very hopeful. By the time the sun comes out again, something that is not forecast any time soon, she might be off leash again and trotting around the garden in almost silence. We don't mind an odd bark at a squirrel or pigeon or even a sudden noise from next door, but continual mindless barking? No way!

She might have been ultra cute as a puppy but that is no excuse for bad manners, something she learned once and is now having to learn all over again.  Oh, if only we could use the same technique on people!