Our Christmas Novels by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

https://books2read.com/The-Twelve-Dates-of-Christmas

https://books2read.com/Single-Bells

https://bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

My sister, Gwen Donaldson, and I wrote these two holiday/comedy/romance novels together. They are about women who try dating sites and the strange, wonderful, and unexpected men they meet. We had fun doing this, joking that they are loosely based on Gwen's love life: she does the research while I do the writing. Most of the stories, though, are made up. I don't think anyone has had that many dating disasters. At least, I hope not.

Here are the blurbs from the back of each book. 

The Twelve Dates of Christmas

Stacy Martin, who has been married three times and had many relationships, doesn’t want a man in her life right now but her friends have other ideas. As a forty-ninth birthday present they pay for her to join three dating sites on the Internet. She just has to fill out the forms and pick the men she wants to meet.

The only stipulation is that she must find a man by Christmas Eve so that the two of them can join Kate, one of her friends, and her boyfriend in Hawaii for New Year’s Eve. “All you have to do is pick twelve men to date in December,” Kate said. “After the first date you can decide if you want to see each again. In the end you should be able to choose one for our Hawaii trip.”

Stacy has a full life with owning a flight attendant school, owning a rental condo, and owning a cat. Will she choose a man from a dating site, the man who has accused her female renters of being prostitutes, or the stranger she meets as he is leaving the rental condo building?

Single Bells

Simone Bell-Watson owns a literary agency in Vancouver, B.C. It is just before Christmas and she has discovered her husband is cheating on her. This sends her into a frenzy of starting a divorce, changing her name, selling their condo, and moving in with her mother. She also has to contend with her sister trying to set her up on dating sites to get her back in the dating scene.

Serena Bell owns a popular pub in Richmond, B.C. After many years of dating she is still hopeful of finding the ideal man or at least a man who doesn’t try to change her or who doesn’t point out her faults. She has a profile on many dating sites and has her own rules about when to take texting with a man to the next level of actually going on a date with him.

Their mother, Patricia Reed-Bell is a widow who writes historical romances.

Join the sisters and their mother in this holiday romantic comedy as Simone deals with her new life, Serena dates a number of men, and Patricia flirts and freely talks about sex.

Careers for Characters by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

In my historical romances, careers, as we understand them today, did not exist for my heroines. Young ladies of quality were trained from a young age to look for an advantageous marriage, manage a household, and raise a family. However, my leading ladies all had a streak of independence and wanted more than being lady of the manor.

Emmaline Devereux followed in her father’s footsteps and became a spy in the Peninsular Wars. Juliana Clifton learned to swordfight because she didn’t want her brother to have all the fun. I knew next to nothing about sword fighting, so I watched several YouTube videos, but my understanding of methods and techniques with different swords grew to a new level when I attended some fencing classes.

Lady Olivia Darnley loved books and knew her way around libraries. One of my Regency belles, Hester Dymock, was an herbalist and healer. Charlotte Gray learnt map-making skills from her father and millinery from her mother. Phoebe Fisher grew up on a farm and became a competent horsewoman. My Brides of Banff Springs heroine, Tilly McCormack, became a chambermaid at the famous Banff Springs Hotel. The heroine of my new cozy mystery series is a sixty-six-year-old retired primary school headmistress.

I don’t recall having to create a career for any of them, as they all evolved organically. Charlotte Gray was the only one who gave me any trouble. As I saw it, Charlotte’s story was about being a lady’s companion in a quiet country home. I thought she might become the vicar’s wife, very genteel and respectable, but Charlotte wanted adventure, so that was what she had, and then some. It took me a while to figure out a connection between spying and map-making, smuggling and millinery, but once I built her backstory, it came together quite quickly.

AVAILABLE HERE

When we start writing, we are encouraged to write what we know. I knew very little about any skills my heroines needed other than using herbs and horseman(woman)ship. I’ve been around horses since I was five, and my life-long interest in herbalism at age nineteen. Spying during the Napoleonic Wars was rife, and the Duke of Wellington was rumoured to have a network of some four thousand spies. I have always liked maps, so it wasn’t too hard to work that theme into Charlotte’s story. The millinery, not so much.

As the author, you can choose any career for your character, but they will tell you what they like and don’t like, what they can and can’t do, and what they might want to learn. Authors may use their own experiences of a career, as John Grisham did with his legal thrillers, or let their imaginations run wild as J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter. With judicious research, you can build careers for your characters about which you, the author, know nothing. Dick Francis, the author of over forty horse-racing-related thrillers, had many different careers for his characters, from a glassmaker to an art forger, a horse transporter to a meteorologist, a barrister to a movie star playing detectives on the big screen.

I needed to learn about ranching, cattle, and rodeo stock for my contemporary Western romances. One of my heroines was a lady rancher, another a photojournalist, and the third an interior designer. You might wonder about those last two characters, but those leading ladies became involved with ranchers, so they had to have their own careers.

Once an author has the career background, has done the research, and has begun writing, what emerges is as authentic as possible. However, I hope none of my future characters wants to climb mountains or be a trapeze artist, as I have no head for heights.  

Victoria Chatham

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Seeing the setting

 Each book in my Doug Fletcher series is set in a different national park or historic site. While there is information about all of the locations on the internet, there's really no substitute for having been to the locations. As fiction writers, we create a variety of towns, businesses, and people who never existed. One writer explained how she, and introvert, worked. "I create things that never happened, in places that don't exist, with people who were never born. All this while sitting at my computer. It's a perfect world for an introvert."

That's not an option when setting the books in national parks. They do exist, and readers know what they look like, even if the events and characters are fictional. In a few days, we're going to Kentucky where I plan to visit Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Site. I've got an outline for a mystery I want to set at Lincoln's birthplace, and I need to experience the place before finishing the book. Being there, allows me to add "texture" to the setting that I can't get from Google Earth or YouTube.  My victim owns a fictional distillery, and his murder is related to the imminent release of the first batch of his new bourbon. 

I've really enjoyed the research about bourbon making (not sampling,,,internet research). The definition of bourbon requires the largest portion of the "mash" be corn, and that the liquor be aged for at least two years in charred white oak barrels. Kentucky is the birthplace of bourbon, but it can be made anywhere in the U.S. as long as it follows the rules. Beyond that, there are nuances in the grains, and aging that add flavor and mellowness to the liquor. Having some chemistry background allowed me to dig into the science behind the art. There are literally hundreds of ways to tweak the flavor profile on the final product, and my victim was a master distiller, who was making his competition nervous. 

That said, I may have to make room in our trip to visit a distillery, or two. Just to better understand the process and the feel of the facilities. Hmm. That may require me to sample some product. Hmm. Maybe we'll visit a couple of distilleries. I wonder if they have Uber in central Kentucky? I'd hate to be ticketed for oversampling and driving while doing my research. (Seriously, that will NOT be a problem).

Look for "A Bourbon to Die For" next summer. In the meanwhile, check out "Strung Out to Die" and the previous Doug Fletcher Park Service mysteries from BWL publishing.

Hovey, Dean Doug Fletcher series - BWL Publishing Inc.

Writers On War, JD Shipton

 The glorification of war can oft be found in books, on film, and throughout video games. Keeping the manageability of scope in mind, I'll limit my premise to the written word here, and we'll focus on books.  I've read several (fiction, for this enterprise) which were thematically based around war, and have found there to be a common ground in many of them which were written by veterans: Condemnation.  

 A sort of "what in the hell are we even doing here?" always seems to become the mantra as the story progresses.  We are given a daguerrotype of human suffering rather than a playbill for the honor and panache of armed conflict.  Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front does (in my opinion) the best job of this: highlighting the initial gusto with which young men go to war, then supplanting that with misery and despair and futility. Remarque would know, having spent nearly two years in the hellish trenches of WW1.  

The ultimately ludicrous nature of what is happening in the midst of war is best captured by Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, in the sort of stark human experience language and expression that he is uncannily capable of.  Having deployed with the 423rd Infantry Regiment to Europe in '44 as an advance scout, he really did have a first-hand perspective of the situation.  Given his sublime insight into the nature of the human condition, his account of the sheer folly of the whole endeavor should not be discounted by anyone.  

Occasionally there is represented a sort of justifiable violence- always perpetrated in the aide of comrades and brothers in arms, rather than for the goals of the state.  We see this in Flight of the Intruder when Coonts has his protagonist, Jake Grafton (essentially Coonts himself, who won the Distinguished Flying Cross, and flew 2 combat tours over 'Nam in the A6), fly one last renegade mission over Vietnam with the ultimate goal of saving future A6 jockeys from his own experiences and turmoil.  

While having never served in declared combat, I have deployed numerous times to numerous theatres, and found myself asking many of these same "what in the hell are we even doing here?" questions.  The answers one comes up with on the dark nights are not often conciliatory.  Who knows, maybe I'll write about it some day...

Is the sun shining?...by Sheila Claydon

Find my books here

I've just realised that many of my books are either set in sunny countries or the protagonists visit them during the story. Kissing Maggie Silver is one of them. Is this because as an English person living in the northwest of the UK I want more sunshine, or is it just that I've travelled to the places I write about? And why am I thinking about sunshine, after all the UK is not known for it.

Indeed, people living in warmer climes mostly think of it as a grey, rainy island with erratic weather. Sometimes they are right. July can be cold and August wet and dreary, only to be followed by days of sunshine and soft breezes through September and October. Then another year gives us a long, hot and dry summer followed by an autumn of biting winds and snow on high ground. It isn't consistent and in many ways that's how we like it. It's why British people are teased for always talking about the weather. It's why, when we holiday, we can sometimes be overwhelmed at having to face the same sunny weather day after day. We seem to like not quite knowing what the following twenty-four hours will bring. 

When we take our dogs for their daily walk nearly everyone we meet comments if there has been a sudden change in temperature, or if it's dry after a week of rain and puddles. It might only be 'it's a bit cold today' or 'that cloud looks as if it's going to rain on us in a minute,' or it might be a five minute conversation about how great it is that we've had a whole week of sun. So given the erratic nature of British weather, why would we decide to have solar panels installed? Surely it can't be worth it.

We, however, have a friend who is a battery expert (quite what that means I'm not sure!) and he, after much discussion, has persuaded us otherwise, so now we have solar panels installed on our roof. It's been a noisy and busy week what with scaffolding being erected, then roofers spending a day installing the panels, followed by the scaffolding being taken down again. Initially the dogs made a fuss but then they seemed to shrug and give up, whether that was because the workmen were making more noise than them, or whether they just got used to it, we'll never know!

Anyway the panels are up and running and wow! Despite almost universally grey skies ever since they were installed, plus snow yesterday, the miracle of photovoltaic/solar panels and battery storage means that the house has been running almost exclusively on sunshine during the day, even though it was hidden behind the clouds. This is a bonus we weren't expecting. We knew when the sun came out we would get our free power, but we didn't expect much in November. 

Of course at this time of year the hidden sun isn't storing enough energy in our batteries to keep us going 24/7 but it's doing its best. Yesterday, as well as supplying the ongoing power for fridges, televisions, battery chargers etc., it saw me through using the dishwasher, the washing machine twice, the tumbler drier once, and cooking an evening meal before it reverted to online power. We are so amazed by the systems's ability to use the faintest of the sun's rays, that we have to keep going to look at the battery readings. And once the sun really starts to shine we will be able to sell any surplus power back to the National Electricity Grid, so a win win all-round.

And there is something very satisfying about it too.  It feels a bit like growing our own vegetables or, maybe a more apt example, foraging for fruit in our nearby woods, something we do every autumn, and which results in blackberry and apple pies, crumbles and cobblers, apple chutney, rosehip syrup and plum jam. Of course everyone likes getting things for free, but when nature is involved it is far more satisfying.  To know that our house will now be almost exclusively powered by sunshine is a fantastic feeling...and guess what, while I've been writing this the clouds have rolled back and the sun has come out. Happy days!

Cold Weather Changes by Helen Henderson

 

Fire and Redemption by Helen Henderson
Click the title for purchase information

Harvests are complete, hay is in the barn, fruit and vegetables have been put up, and the cool temperatures of autumn are shifting into the cold of winter. All signs of changing seasons. 

Various sections of the country welcome temporary visitors they called "snowbirds," people who leave the cold, ice, and snow behind for warmer temperatures. As a child, my family had our own version of the "snowbird." She was called Grammy.

As soon as the first hard frost turned the ground white, it was time to move Grammy from her mountain bungalow.The bungalow was heated by coal and it was hard for her to feed the scuttles of black rock into the furnace or to remove the ashes. Snow covered roads meant the family could no longer make the two hours or more journey from their homes in the next state to the coal county of their kin. Grammy didn't drive, however that was not a problem in the summer when the grandchildren spent a week or two at a time with her. And the parents took the elderly relative to the doctor or shopping when the younger generation was swapped out.

The cold weather solution was to turn Grammy into a snowbird and move her south. Preparations would be to fill the coal bin, bring the porch swing inside, pack up any unused food from the pantry, and lastly, to drain all the water from the pipes to winterize the bungalow. Then the winter routine began. Grammy would spend three or four weeks with one daughter and her family and then a month or two with a son and his family. The periodic shifting would continue until spring, when like those who move to the warmer climes for the winter head north to avoid the heat, she would return north to the mountains.

Dal's kin in Windmaster had a similar means of surviving the weather. To set the scene, Dal and Ellspeth rescued a young woman from a group of evil monks, earning the cult's anger. When an invading force is sighted on its way to Dal's family's winter home, a decision had to be made. Fight or flee. Dal's mother chose to use the weather as protection and moved the clan to the mountain caves that was the clan's escape from the summer heat of the valley far below. Now it would protect them from those who meant to destroy all magic -- and anyone touched by it.

After Ellspeth’s light touch woke him, Dal sat cross-legged on the floor, his back against the bed leg. An emerald gemstone the size of a small egg lay in his hand, the stone’s facets catching the glimmer of moonlight that filtered from a crack in the shutters. A spark flared in the heart of the crystal. It brightened into a green-tinted image. Dal watched a line of horses and wagons slowly wind around waist-high snowdrifts. “At least Eilidh and the clan are safe,” he whispered. “They made it safely through the pass.” He closed his eyes and released the spells that had been controlling the blizzard and holding the clan’s pursuers at bay. How long he sat there he didn’t know. He felt the energy he used to control the weather slowly flow back into his body.

~Until next month, stay safe and read.   Helen

To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a matronly husky and a youthful feist who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL Author page.

Tom Thomson Book Launch a huge Success! by Nancy M Bell

 

To learn more about Nancy's books click on the cover please.

The book launch at The Purple Platypus Bookstore in Castor, Alberta was huge success. There was tons of fun,  door prizes, swag bags and of course a reading from the book. There was a great turnout with over 20 people joining me in the cozy confines of the bookstore. It's such a pleasure to support and be supported by an independent bookstore. Castor is a small town in east-central Alberta and The Purple Platypus draws patrons from as far away as Red Deer and Wetaskiwin. I'm so happy that the lovely Lynn Sabo agreed to host this book launch. Even though the day outside was a bit dreary, the warm and companionship within was wonderful. 

Not to mention I sold lots of books which was good for me and the store. So win win.

As anice way to cap off the day I got the first look at the cover for my upcoming book Night at te Legislature, a Manitoba paranormal set in the Manitoba Legislature building. This one is the first book in BWL Publishing's news collection The Paranormal Canadiana Collection which will feature a novel set in each of Canada's provinces and territories.

Until next month, stay well, stay happy

 

Holidays on the Horizon by Janet Lane Walters @BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Holidays #Stockings #Christmas #Horror Writer's Demise

 Another month has arrived. At present I'm busily working on a new book in a new Series The Writer's House. In the area where I live, there was and still may be a house that rented space to various membrs of the Arts community. This new series takes place in a house where the authors can find a space to write and not be bothered by family and other diversions.

Valentina Hartley is the heroine. She is new to town and goes to an evening lecture on Ideas for Writing Your Book. When the lecture is finished, Val who does research at present for college professors leaves to find the foyer, porch and parking lot lights out. She stumbles over the body of a dead man. His throat has been slit. She is helped to stand by her new friend who has a half house she can rent to bring her son and mother to town. At present she is living in a warehouse her business partner has rented.

Kyle Bradley a detective on the local police force is a widower. His sister, Dana has given up her position as a nurse to care for his son following the boy's mother's death. The dead man is a mystery. Fairly new to town, he has taken the horror writing community by storm, His origins are mysterious.

Thus the story begins and hopefully will be solved. But can the murderer be caught?

How do the holidays fit in. They are there since I need to have the book to my publisher before Christmas. The holidays will be busy this year.

I;ve started buying for Christmas Stockings. This year I have seventeen to do. They must be started early since many of them must be sent to children and grandchildren at a distance. Six to Florida and 2 to Georgia. The rest are rather local which is nice. Except  five must be done before they leave on their cruise.  I really enjoy doing the stockings and finding unusual things they might use. Pens are always put into them and I ave new ones with myname on them for this year. I also give them socks to wear. One year I decided not to do the socks but I got calls in protest so now they receive their socks.

The value (?) of junk, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The award-winning Twisted Climb trilogy
(Book 1, The Twisted Climb, is also available in audio format)
Click here for the purchase link:
https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

It's valuable to you. At least you think it is. Or was. But junk is junk even if it has a special history and even if you love it and no one else does. 

Which makes giving it away that much harder. And selling it? How do you put a price on precious pieces of your history. Especially when it's something so old it actually is part of history?

Well, I've been navigating this emotional crisis for over a year - first selling our home and purging the least precious items - then un-packing two sea containers of our belongings and making them fit in a home half the size. Trying to, that is. And discovering that it just won't work. 

Those antique pieces? Too big. 

Those lovely framed pictures? Not enough wall space.

Those extra chairs? No room.

I tried selling the antiques on FB Marketplace. I researched the pieces and based the prices accordingly. There were a few quasi-buyers but nothing concrete. So I reduced the prices and still no bites. I even contacted a local antique dealer who said he didn't have the space in his store. Since I had the same problem with the size of my new home, I didn't pressure him.

I had to make a decision. A tough one. When does something precious become junk? Is it when nobody else wants it? 

Yeah, it seems that way.

So, I've been giving away the items that caressed my mind and soul, and hoping that the next owner will feel the same joy that I once had. 

After all, it's only junk if there's no value to it. Right?

1939 tiger oak hutch, hand engraved.

1920ish mahogany hall table and mirror

1910 Morris Stickley Lion Claw mechanical reclining armchair.
Just a few of the items that have found a new 'forever' home.

I can tell you with absolute certainty where you won't find junk. In my novels - The Twisted Climb trilogy. No junk. No no no. But you will find great characters, fantastic adventures, emotional drama and a story line that merits the "Best Young Adult" book status. Young adults and adults-young-at-heart give the series two thumbs up. And 5-Star ratings. Enjoy.

And remember to tell the ones you love that you love them.

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
and
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
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)
Instagram @authorjckavanagh

Robie’s World – The Backdrop for Detective John Robichaud by H. Paul Doucette

 

 

https://bookswelove.net/doucette-h-paul/

Hello again,

 

            It recently occurred to me that there might be some of you who would like to know more about the city that has played such a prominent role in many of my stories; my hometown of Halifax.

            The city is one of the oldest in Canada and was founded by the British in the early seventeen century, primarily as a base for their naval operations and as a counter to the French fortification at Louisburg, in Cape Breton. It also became key location for the British, notably during the American Revolutionary War and during the following world wars.

            It quickly developed into a major seaport because of its natural deep ice free harbour and its  access to the Atlantic trade route with Europe.

            The city, like so many in Canada, is a product of converging influences from both French and English colonial interests in the past. However, it is the Halifax of the twentieth century where I have drawn my inspiration. When I took up the pen I wondered what I ought to write; what stories did I want to tell? It did not take long before I saw my direction. Here I was, living once again in the city of my birth; a city rife with history and character. This, combined with my love of history and mystery stories was to good to pass up.

            Halifax from the turn of the twentieth century has been a ‘navy’ town. It has been and remains, the seat of political power for the province and the financial center for trade and commerce. Throughout the fifties Halifax thrived as a major seaport for merchant shipping with several of the larger steamship lines maintaining offices here. In addition to this, there also the navy and a major fishing company with a fleet of ships based here. This meant that there was almost as many foreign seaman as naval personnel on the streets, all looking for a ‘good time’ which often led to, ‘incidents’ that kept the police busy.

            The city itself was not unlike similar cities portrayed by Hollywood during its film noir period: dark, dirty, menacing. There were bootleggers, gin houses, back room poker games, sex workers. Everything you would expect to find in a seaport sans the gunplay. A perfect backdrop for building a series of stories.

            As a writer, I relished this because of the wealth of story ideas across the spectrum of genres: romance, murder, mystery, military adventurism, political intrigue, whatever you can imagine. So began my first steps to becoming a novelist. I am also blessed because I had the good fortune to have travelled and lived throughout the world over the last fifty plus years which has contributed greatly to my life experience and overall understanding of humanity.

            I hope that you find the above of interest and will consider looking into your world. You may be surprised what is waiting there!

            Paul

Maps with the feel of the European Middle Ages by Tobias Robbins

 

I originally made this rough draft of a map just to help me visualize all the places in my book just for my personal story aid. These pictures are of the upgraded version of that original map. Because so much of my story involves the power of place on individuals and entire cultures, I wanted a way to see it. The places we’re born into have a lot of power over us. Whether we want to admit it or not. I’m not going to get into a nature versus nurture argument, but it feels safe to assume that our surroundings have an impact on our decisions. On the micro level, it helps us build an identity.  And on the macro level, I point to Jared Diamond's book Guns, Germs, and Steel, which reinforces the importance of natural resources for different civilizations. My story is told from dozens of different characters’ points of view and each of them are from different areas. I wanted to really make sure that I had an accurate continuity in how I described my setting. My map helps me do that. My only regret is that I wish I would’ve gotten a professional to help me illustrate the drawings on the map, I did them myself and they look a bit immature but it’s fine. I wanted it to feel like an old, illustrated map from the European Middle Ages so in a way the map’s simplicity fits that tone. Just like in our world today, locations have unique advantages and disadvantages. Some could be extremely technologically advanced, while others are still in the Stone Age.

To Story Is Human

 

my latest storytelling adventure

                   My page at BWL Publishing

My friend Juliene likes to say "we're hot-wired for story." I agree. It's one of the things that make us human. We find evidence for this in the very earliest cave paintings...daring tales and the handprints of those telling the story.

We choose our stories for many reasons...to inform and educate, to delight, to feel less alone.

We witness stories too...an argument at the grocery store, a look between lovers. Sometimes we choose to step into the stories going on around us and become part of them.

We think about stories, and allow them to change our perspectives, increase our understanding of an event, a person, a long-held belief.

We may even engage in the creative act of storytelling ourselves...in a heartfelt letter to a friend, a journal entry, a story to a child at bedtime.

And we support each other in our storytelling by sharing a treasured poem, novel, a performance.

My friend Juilene and I have been supporting each other over our 30 years of hot-wired for story friendship.. I hope you have a friend like mine.

Eileen & Juilene

                  As always, happy reading, friends!

 

---

Travels Through (Former) War Zones

                                        Please click this link for book and author information

My new novel, A Killer Whisky, takes place during World War One, and I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject for research. The books have made me realize my ignorance about the Great War, as it was called at the time, despite having watched numerous costume dramas set during that era (Downton Abbey springs to mind) and visiting sites on the Western Front during a 2015 holiday in Northern France.   

Canadian National Vimy Memorial commemorates the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge in France

This September, I travelled to Croatia and Slovenia in the former Yugoslavia, which was a battleground for three wars in the twentieth century. A Serbian nationalist set off the First World War when he assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and, as part of the empire, Croatia and Slovenia were conscripted to the side of the Central Powers. Italy joined the opposing Allies and attempted to break through the Slovenian mountains to capture Vienna. The result was 12 Battles of the Isonzo (Soca) River. Italy's efforts largely failed -- the mountainous terrain favoured the defenders -- and accounted for half of the Italian military deaths in WWI.    

Our September drive through Slovenia took us by the Soca River, which originates in the Julian Alps and is one of the world's rare rivers that maintains its emerald-green colour for its full length. Today, the region is popular with hikers, kayakers, and others who enjoy wilderness activities. 

After WWI, the victorious Allies carved Yugoslavia ("Land of the South Slavs") from the Austria-Hungary empire. When WWII broke out twenty years later, German, Hungarian, and Italian forces invaded Yugoslavia and divided the regions among themselves. A Yugoslav resistance movement emerged led by Josip Broz Tito. After the war, Tito's communist party (the only party on the ballot) won victory. Tito served as national leader until his death in 1980.    

Tito's former summer home on Slovenia's beautiful Lake Bled is now a luxury hotel. You can rent an economy room at Vila Bled during this current off-season for about $230 CAD a night including breakfast. 

Vila Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

A decade after Tito's death, ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia erupted into civil war. During our trip, we encountered the most evidence of that war in Dubrovnik, Croatia. In 1991, the fortress on Mount Srd outside the Dubrovnik Old Town became the last stand for this southern part of Croatia against the Yugoslav army, composed of Serbs and Montenegrins. 

View of Mount Srd from the Old Town - the darker tiles on roofs have replaced tiles that were damaged during the war

When they couldn't capture the fortress, the Yugoslav army bombed and blockaded the Old Town, killing 92 civilians and damaging half the buildings. This map on a city wall marks the property damage. 

Most of the damage was reconstructed during the next 30 years. The city's Sponza Palace features a Memorial Room dedicated to the city's volunteer defenders who died during the seven-month siege. 

The fortress on Mount Srd now contains a museum depicting the war's events. We overheard a young tour guide point out her father in this photo of the volunteer defenders. 

The siege ended when Croatia finally got its army organized and drove out the attackers. Between 1991 and 2008 Yugoslavia became seven separate nations. The ones we visited seem peaceful now, but the war's history is startlingly recent.    

None of this detail appears in my novel, A Killer Whisky, which takes place on the WWI home front in Calgary, Canada. But the war in Europe is a constant presence in the story and my characters must deal with its impacts on daily life, the uncertainties the war creates for their futures, and sudden, unexpected deaths -- since the book is murder mystery. A Killer Whisky, the 12th and final novel of BWL's  Canadian Historical Mystery Series, will be released in December. 

Each November, Calgary's Field of Crosses commemorates Southern Alberta soldiers who died in wars 

      

        

UNDERWEAR IN SPACE by Karla Stover

https://bookswelove.net/stover-karla/

BY THE SAME AUTHOR:

A Line to Murder

Murder: When One Isn't Enough

Wynter's Way

Parlor Girls

  I've been worried about astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore being stuck in space, worried that they have enough food, worried that they're on a spaceship built by Boeing, and worried about them having clean underwear. Putting together a number of articles on Google, a brief history of underwear in space is as follows:

    "In the 1980s, NASA designed disposable absorption containment trunks (DACTs) for female astronauts. In 1988, NASA created the maximum absorbency garment (MAG) to replace the DACT which was later adopted by male astronauts as well. Typically, astronauts bring extra cotton shirts and pants, sleep shorts, slippers, and lined jackets. They wear T-shirts and trousers with pockets and Velcro stripes to attach things, and multiple sets of underwear to change into every day. However, because there are no laundry facilities on the International Space Station, astronauts may wear the same underwear for up to a week. To get around the problems of zero-gravity bathroom breaks, a newly-designed vacuum toilet has been developed. It consists of two parts: a hose with a funnel at one end for urinating and a small raised toilet seat for - - I'll call it number 2.

    But getting back to underwear, according to Jeff  Owens, a scientist for the United States Air Force, "During Desert Storm, most casualties were from bacterial infections—not accidents or friendly fire."  So, scientists created a fabric for t-shirts and underwear so they can be worn hygienically for weeks without washing. The "technology" attaches nanoparticles to clothing fibers using microwaves. Then, chemicals that can repel water, oil and bacteria are directly bound to the nanoparticles. These two elements combine to create a protective coating on the fibers of the material. The coating both kills bacteria, and forces liquids to bead and run off. The soldiers who tested the underwear for several weeks found it remained hygienic and also helped clear up some skin complaints."

    And finally, all the dirty clothes are incinerated through atmospheric reentry and turned into dust. 

                                                AN AFTER THOUGHT

    On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the sun emitted a burst of energy that counted as a very powerful solar flare. Could it have been incinerating underwear?

                   NEXT MONTH: a bra that converts into a shopping bag. Ain't science fun?

Writing Letters and More – My Writing Roadmap / By Barbara Baker

When I was a kid, I didn’t write stories. I wrote letters. A lot of letters. At first, I only sent them to relatives and Mom would dictate what I was supposed to write – We are all fine. How are you? Is everyone doing well? The weather here is cold … hot … wet (depending on the season) - you know, the riveting news people couldn’t wait to read.

After a few test drives, Mom stopped checking my letters. Fabulous. I added tales of family misadventures, after the mandatory weather report, and embellished details to ensure I came out as the heroine in all escapades. My newly added details which were not exactly accurate, in my head, were pretty darn funny.

When my grade five teacher asked the class if anyone was interested in having a pen pal, my arm flew up. Imagine the stories I could tell them? I ended up with writing pals in London (England), Lethbridge (Alberta) and Ottawa (Ontario) and for decades, we exchanged letters. 

In the 90s with the evolution of email, connecting with people became easier. I spread life events further and faster. Sometimes even instantaneously after said event occurred.

It wasn’t until 2009 that I wrote an actual story. A friend sent me the link to the CBC Ultimate Canadian Commuter story contest. At the time, I commuted four hours a day to get to work and home again. In Alberta. Where winter weather can happen in every month.

I whipped up a story about a bad weather driving day, sent my entry off in an email and carried on with life. What a surprise to get a call from CBC’s Shelagh Rogers a few weeks later asking for an interview because I was one of the three finalists. I didn’t win but wow, who knew writing was so easy?

After the interview I wrote dozens of short stories and submitted them to contests across North America totally anticipating a warm reception. Rejection after rejection rolled in. WTH? Was my CBC entry just beginner’s luck? I pouted for a bit and then decided I needed to figure out how to be a real writer.

Off I flew to a writer’s workshop to learn about story telling techniques and how to become a legit author. After I arrived and took in the sights at the facility, I thought if I failed at the writerly part of the retreat, at least my camera would excel at snapping images of the sunsets.

 

 

The first night, workshop participants gathered for introductions and supper. I sat at a table and listened to snippets of conversations from total strangers:

    -    who's your editor?

    -    congratulations on making the slush pile

    -    did you go hybrid or traditional? - it all sounded like a foreign language.

 

 

A friendly gal sitting next to me, turned and asked me, “What are you working on?”

As I forked through the colourful salad on my plate, I said, “Do you think there’s raspberry vinaigrette dressing on this?”

The table erupted into an animated discussion about the salad dressing and its possible ingredients. Yes, call me the Queen of Deflection. And thank goodness it worked.

The following days were filled with writerly information:

    -    show don’t tell when writing – there’s a difference?

    -    use an active voice – what would a non-active voice sound like?

    -    use powerful verbs, avoid ‘ly’ endings - why?

    -    less is better – really?

    -    read your writing out loud - what if someone hears me?

    -    discover your own unique voice – how is that different from my normal voice?

    -    pantser versus plotter - pardon?

    -    how to beat writer’s block – do I use a chopping block?

    -    decide on your genre – how?

So much to learn since my letter-writing days of embellished heroine antics … and the learning continues as I debate working on my next novel about Jillian. 

 

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