Elegant Orchids by A.M. Westerling

 

My local grocery store just received a shipment of beautiful orchids. 

Most orchids are tropical plants. They symbolize fertility, elegance and love and because of this are often given to new parents as gifts. Also known as Orchidaceae, they are a beautiful flower with long lasting blooms in vibrant colours such as pink, magenta, white, yellow and purple.

I’ve had orchids over the years and every time they finished blooming, I would toss them as I had the impression they were difficult to grow. However, last Christmas I received one as a gift from a dear friend and decided to accept the challenge of keeping it. After it finished blooming, I put it in my office and other than giving it an ice cube once a week, pretty much ignored it.

The only thing I knew was that orchids are dormant for 6 to 9 months after flowering so at the end of August, I moved it to an east facing window and gave it some all purpose fertilizer. To my delight, it’s putting out a new leaf!

 

I’ve since done a bit of research to aid in my quest to bring my orchid to bloom and have discovered that orchids in fact are one of the easiest house plants to grow. Although some varieties grow in dirt ie lady slippers, which grow in the loamy jungle soil, most orchids in the wild grow on tree bark which explains why the growing medium is not soil. The orchid uses the tree for support but receives its nutrients from animal droppings that wash down or organic matter decaying in the crooks of branches. Orchids are epiphytes which means their roots have adapted to absorb water from the humid jungle air. Many types deal with times of abundant water and periods of dryness so their thick stems, called pseudobulbs, allow them to store water for the dry times.

A few basic tips for proper orchid care:

-     Don’t overwater! That’s one of the most common mistakes people make in growing these beautiful plants. A clear pot helps determine water requirements. If you see condensation, it doesn’t need to be watered. Healthy orchid roots are green. If you’re overwatering, they’re brown and mushy and if you’re underwatering, they are grey. Mine are looking pretty good. 😊

 

-     Feed weekly or monthly (depending on the variety). I’ve been using 20 20 20.

-   Place your orchid in an east or west facing window. 

-     Repot in fresh orchid mix (not soil!) when your orchid stops blooming.

-     After flowering prune the old flower stalk near the base of the stem.

-     They grow best at 16 to 24 C

-     Mist regularly if you live in a dry climate.

With proper care, they can live for years. I’ll see how I make out with this one!

*****

Although you won't find orchids in this book, you may enjoy reading Sophie's Choice, a romance that Coffee Time Romance calls "an excellent Regency".  You can find it at your favourite online store HERE. Also available in print. 

Find all my books on the BWL Publishing website.

 

Featured Author Diane Scott Lewis

 

 

I’m an historical author at BWL Publishing, Inc. My pen name is Diane Scott Lewis. You can find my books at https://www.bookswelove.net/lewis-diane-scott/

 

I’ve always loved history and traveling in my mind to other places—that’s what spurred me to be a writer.

 

I grew up in the bustling San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve always loved to write since I first discovered the written word and could put pencil to paper, revealing the imaginative stories in my head. My first novel took place in ancient Egypt and Rome, written at age ten. My second was an Alfred Hitchcock style murder mystery, also at age ten (a productive year evidently).  The grand movies of the time influenced my stories: Cleopatra, Mutiny on the Bounty, and Marnie.

Reading was always a big part of my life. Our house had shelves of books, especially history, which fueled my interests.

In high school I had a short story submitted to a literary festival. I didn’t win, but my teacher’s faith in me excited my ambition.

 

After high school I joined the navy to see the world. I worked in communications, stationed in Nea Makri, Greece, where I met my husband. Traveling and living in Puerto Rico, San Diego, and Guam, I put writing aside to raise my two sons.

When we settled in Virginia, and my husband retired from the navy, my drive to write re-surfaced. Did I still have my writing muse? I wrote long rambling manuscripts, then learned the art of editing and revision. I traveled to England and France, where my first novels were set. I wanted to walk where my characters walked in these foreign locales.

I studied the eighteenth century through old books I found at the Library of Congress, later, on-line texts, and reading novels published in that era. I joined critique groups to hone my craft.

 

The road to publication wasn’t easy. I finally found a publisher, but then they sold out, changed hands, and I wasn’t happy with the new situation.

Meanwhile, I attended writers’ conferences, workshops, and made solid friendships with other authors. A close author friend introduced me to BWL, publishing, Inc. And my career has taken off. I strive to write what History and Women has said, “authentic characters and setting.”

 

My novel, The Apothecary’s Widow, an historical murder mystery, takes place in Truro, Cornwall, England in 1783. A squire with a murdered wife fights his attraction to the widow who prepared the tincture that killed her. Excerpt:

Branek stumbled into the apothecary shop and called out. “I’ve…been shot.” The room seemed to tip. He pressed against the wall and trembled with a sudden chill.

“A-barth Dyw! Where? Where were you shot, sir? In the stomach?” Jenna hurried close and clasped his upper arms.

“In my left side.” He grunted and tried to take a decent breath. The pain pierced like a sword deep inside his flesh.

Jenna slipped her arms around him as he tottered. “Dear me, sir. We probably need a surgeon; oh heaven help us.” She gasped. “Can you stand while I bring you a chair?”

He straightened, then sagged against her. She held him securely under the arms. Her breasts pressed against his chest. Her hair smelled like lemons. “Help me to...to your kitchen.” He was determined not to sink to the floor, or fall under her spell, but her embrace was a comfort.

 

On a Stormy Primeval Shore is set during the founding of New Brunswick, 1984, part of the Canadian Historical Brides series. A bride who rejected her soldier-betrothed and a handsome Acadian trader meet for the first time:  Excerpt:

At the bear’s growl, Amelia stepped back. She slipped, tumbling down the short embankment, rocks poking into her flesh. Her gloves were ripped off as she groped. She struggled to rise amid her tangle of skirt and petticoats and scrambled to her feet to scuttle up the hill to help her cowering maid.

Nearing the crest, dirt dislodged above her, sifting down on her face and scalp. Amelia blinked up, her pulse hammering. She heard movement, footsteps.

A large man with a black beard, wearing buckskin clothing and a leather hat, stood at the top of the slope. He aimed a musket in the direction of the bear. The animal growled louder.

“Don’t move, either of you, mes jeune femmes,” he commanded in a French accent.

 

My newest, Her Vanquished Land, begins in 1780 Pennsylvania: a young woman spies for the British during the American Revolution. Rowena tries to trick a rebel spy. Excerpt:

Fergus reached into his frock coat pocket and snatched out a small knife. “Now, if you’ll be so kind, tell me the truth. You’re lying about your mission.”

How could Rowena talk her way out of this? She slid a step back. “You are far too disturbed. Think about what you’re doing. I will call for help.”

Fergus grabbed her shoulder, pulled her close, and touched the side of the blade to her throat. His stink of breath gushed over her, the blade cold. “Not if I slash your gullet.” He blinked. “Trust me, I don’t wish to hurt you.”

“You’ve lost your senses, sir. I swear I’m only a messenger from…” She shoved at his arm and swung away from him, across the tiny office. Her hip bumped into the smaller desk. She plucked her muff pistol from the inside pocket and aimed it at him. “Step away from the door.” She had him, Fergus was a spy for the rebels. She must take him to the King’s men.

 

I currently live in Western Pennsylvania with my husband and one naughty puppy.

 

For more info on me and my books, please visit my website: http://www.dianescottlewis.org

 

 

Titles Tell All by Victoria Chatham

 

Available Here

You spend weeks/months/years writing your novel. You type THE END. And then it hits you. You haven’t got a title.

Titles come easy to some, not so easy to others. But how important is that title? In a word, everything. After all those thousands of words in your content, you now must encapsulate them all in a few words. Not as easy as it sounds because choosing a title needs as much attention as your characters, plot, and setting.

Available Here

A good title should be easy to remember and be appropriate to the book. It must hook the reader into picking up your book to find out what is between the covers. Is it clear what your genre is? Is there a hint of intrigue in the title, or does it have a hidden meaning such as Nancy Bell’s Dead Dogs Talk or
Stephen King’s It? 

Does your title state who your character is? Think of Connie Vines’ Lynx, or Jane Austen’s classic Emma. 

Place can also be a character, such as Eileen O’Finlan’s Kelegeen or James Michener’s Texas. 

All these book titles tell their own tale and give the reader a clear clue about the content of the book.

Available Here

Authors who write a series or link books will often have ‘follow on’ titles as in Mary Balogh’s First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Seduction, At Last Comes Love or Donna Alward’s Larch Valley or Cadence Creek series. The titles of these books set readers up with what to expect. There is no cheating in them and there should be no disappointments.

There are tools to help you, like the any one of several book title generators you can find on the Internet. Or you can create your title from your content, create your own list of possible titles and run a contest for your followers to choose one, or appeal to your fellow writers or critique partners. 

There isn't much doubt about Loving That Cowboy. It's a contemporary western romance and the title says it all. However, no matter how good the title or how attractive the cover, there really is no substitute for a good story. With National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO) looming in November, it's time to get writing the next good story.