Yelena, an oysterman's wife caught in the crossfire, by Diane Scott Lewis

  

"Ring of Stone (former title) is an entertaining read, combining accurate historical details with a fast-paced plot and a number of credible characters." Historical Novel Society" Review for Rose's Precarious Quest.

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the Navy at nineteen and. She writes book reviews for the Historical Novels Review and was a historical editor for an online press. She lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund. 

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

Find out more about me and my writing on my website: Dianescottlewis

In my upcoming novel, Ghost Point, my heroine, Yelena, struggles to better her life while her husband, Luke, is in the middle of the Potomac Oyster Wars in 1956. He toils, dredging for oysters on the Potomac River. Does she still love Luke or has she outgrown him? A girl from a higher class family, everyone warned her not to marry a gruff waterman's son.

 After she obtains a bookkeeping job in the local used bookstore, a mysterious man with a foreign accent catches her attention. Is he attracted to her, or after information on her husband's illegal activities? His suave demeanor enchants her. The town begins to whisper that she is leaking evidence to the hated inspector.

She is caught between her wish for a fancier life and her youthful love for Luke. And what about their little boy? He will suffer in the consequences. 

Yelena must choose, tear her family apart and chase the unknown, or stay put and fix the issues with her husband.

The Potomac Oyster wars, between Maryland and Virginia where watermen fired and murdered one another, was a real event in the small coastal town of Colonial Beach, VA in the 1950s..

Inspiration for Writing Arranging a Dream: A Memoir, Life Storytelling

 

Arranging a Dream: a Memoir by J.Q. Rose

Click here to discover more books by JQ Rose 

on her author page at BWL Publishing 

Hello and Welcome to the BWL Insiders Blog! My name is JQ Rose.

BWL Publishing released my memoir, Arranging a Dream, in January 2021. Launching the book and getting readers' reviews has been so much fun. 

Readers most often ask, "What inspired you to write Arranging a Dream?" BTW, that was not the first title of the book. The working title was JQ Rose Memoir. Catchy, huh? So, after much thought, I came up with Pink Petals and Baby Poop. In my mind, it was a real keeper. 

My writers' group laughed at that one. When I told them I was serious, their laughter turned to concern. I dropped the Pink Petals, etc., but I still like it because it summarizes what the book is about. Starting a florist and greenhouse business and the joys and concerns of motherhood.

Question mark
Image courtesy of Peggy Marco on Pixabay

Back to the question about why I wrote this memoir. I have several reasons.

1.   1. I have presented workshops on writing life stories for years. I encourage people to record their stories for their family and friends all the time. I thought it was about time for me to do what I preach.

2.    2. I wanted to pen this slice of my life for our daughters and grandchildren.

3.    3. I look at our story as a guide for readers now and in the future. As I wrote the manuscript, I realized it was a story about having a dream and turning it into reality. People bury their dreams due to the many obstacles they must overcome to achieve them. I don’t want anyone to look back at their life and have regrets for not trying to have a career in something they are passionate about. Reading through the pages of Arranging a Dream, they can be assured we overcame problems to have an extraordinary, ordinary life, and they can too. 

Woman writing at her desk
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

     Have you considered writing your life story? Oh, I know that sounds overwhelming. I don't mean to write the entire story of your life from birth to the present. Your life story is made up of lots of little stories. Just think of the experiences you have had. Your brain is a storehouse of memories. Our memories are all tangled together, but once you pull out one, you will begin the untangling. One will spark another and another and another and so on.

      Filter through those memories and pick out one. Write it or make a video with you telling your story using your mobile phone. Start with a story that you often tell your family and friends about the good 'ole' days. Or choose to write about a family member like your grandma and what a great cook, seamstress or game player she was or is.  Give yourself time to scribble down the basics of the story. Don't try to write an award-winning novel. Do not edit. Take 10 minutes to just begin.  Choose a time to sit in a comfy place and set aside a few minutes or an hour every day. You can share it, or not. 

     You are the author of your story! Have fun with it. Life storytelling rewards you with new perspectives you gain about events in your life seen through the lens of time.

    Please leave a comment and let us know if you have thought about recording your story, have already begun or actually have a published life story or memoir. You can do it!

 Click here to connect online with JQ.

Author JQ Rose

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Challenge, Hop, or Blog by Helen Henderson

 

Windmaster Legend by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

 

After the past year, and since this is April (more on that below), one topic seemed a natural to write about, "Challenging oneself as a writer."

 

One definition of a challenge is, "a call to take part in a contest or competition." This is especially appropriate for April. For the past two years, the month has been dedicated to posts based on the AtoZ Challenge. Like the name implies, each day during the month of April (except Sundays), bloggers write a post using a different letter of the alphabet as the topic. Which got me to thinking about challenges. Instead of my usual focus on history, this post is more of my philosophy as a writer. 

 

As a rule I don't like to write about myself, nor reveal too personal details, so these challenges can be, yes, I am going to say it, challenging. However, that doesn't apply to the characters whose tales are told in the Windmaster Novels. Their words, actions, dreams and fears are all fair game.

 

Where the AtoZ Challenge is once a year, writing challenges can also be weekly, monthly or even daily. Since romance tends to fight fantasy for top element in my works, I also participate in various writing hops for romance writers. One monthly hop has a topic that you have to write to. The weekly is more challenging in that each author chooses the subject. Other hops start with inspiration suggestions. Some are book related, others can be more personal. Answering an inspiration doesn't necessarily mean you will write a full-blown post for release. The purpose is often is to help a writer break through writer's block or a dry streak, expand their horizons as a writer, or just to journal a thought or two.

There are different reasons to do a challenge, sign up to receive inspirations, or participate in a blog hop. It can be to get your books in front of readers by having other authors in your genre list your name and topic on their post. A reader goes to their favorite author, then hops from one to another post in the list. Hopefully they will stop at yours and something will catch their fancy. When there are several hundred participants organized by genre (and a downloadable list that can be customized,) the potential recognition and exposure is significant.

 

How do blog hops and challenges try a writer? Working an excerpt into a post based on the letter of the alphabet, a specific word, or topic forces you to look at your writing from a different perspective. And to make the posts more interesting, finding or creating appropriate images.

April isn't finished and there are still several more posts to go. Click on the link to my blog to check out the excerpts and posts that go from A to Z and to see if I make it through the entire alphabet. And be sure to check back here, because as I said the month isn't over yet and there are still interesting posts by other BWL authors.

 

To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL

 

~Until next month, stay safe and read. Maybe use your favorite BWL author's works to help you meet another type of writing challenge, one where you dare yourself to read a given number of books in a year.

Find out more about me and my novels at Journey to Worlds of Imagination.
Follow me online at Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter or Website.

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 husky who has adopted her as one the pack.