Be daring... Be bold... by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page

The holidays are almost over, and for me this is the time of year to reflect on what I accomplished and to set new goals for next year.

Last summer I wanted a new look so I cut my hair short. I had shed a fur coat from my head and it felt amazing, but something went missing. I had a few hidden purple streaks underneath the top layers that could only be seen when I brushed my hair, quickly moved my head, or ran my finger into my hair. Still, the streaks were there and my little three-year-old granddaughter loved playing in my hair and looking at the purple. After it was gone, she kept asking “Where’s the purple, grand-maman?” – “When are you going to put more purple in your hair, grand-maman?”

I toyed with the idea for months, I browsed through hair pictures, then one day I stumbled onto a woman with short purple and blue hair. I reminded me of the northern lights. It was gorgeous...and daring. I showed the picture of the woman to my granddaughter. She loved the blue with the purple, so mid-December, I told my hairdresser to work her magic. The pic is me. The new “daring” me.

People’s reactions were across the spectrum. “You’re brave” – “I want hair like yours” –  “Why? But why?” – “You’re bold” – “I love it” – “It’s pretty” – “Wow...” (Many different nuances of wow)  – “Don’t worry, your hair will grow back” (I don't want it to grow back...) – “How long is that going to last?” (Hopefully many many months) – “Don’t let my wife see you or she’ll do it too” – “It’s your hair” – “It looks better than I thought it would”

When I go out, some strangers stare silently while others stop me in the store or the street to say they like my hair then they start talking to me about other things. It’s fascinating because I’m still me but some people’s perception has changed. So how do I feel about this?

Well... I like my hair and so does my little granddaughter.

Do someone people think I’m weird? Probably, but in all fairness, I am weird. I write mystery novels and I kill at least one person per book. It does qualify as weird, but deep down, I’m the same person I have always been. Still, I got to interact with lots of new people because I dared color my hair purple and blue.

The point is you never know what’s waiting for you around that daring corner. You may have written a novel but you’re hesitant to submit it because you’re afraid people won’t like it. It’s true that not everybody likes every book—not everybody likes my novels and I don’t like every novel that was ever written—but if you like your book and it makes one person smile, cry, or stay up late at night to finish a chapter, then it’s worth it. Don’t be afraid to try because you’re afraid of what people might think.

Be daring, be bold, but never forget to be yourself!

Happy 2018!

JS Marlo

 J. S. Marlo's Website

On A Stormy Primeval Shore - Canadian Historical Brides Book 9 - Just Released from BWL Publishing Inc.

Available January 1, 2018

Click the cover to purchase from your favorite online retailers.  Available in eBook and print online and in bookstores.

In 1784, Englishwoman Amelia Latimer sails to the new colony of New Brunswick in faraway Canada. She’s to marry a man chosen by her soldier father. Amelia is repulsed by her betrothed, refuses to marry, then meets the handsome Acadian trader, Gilbert, a man beneath her in status. Gilbert must protect his mother who was attacked by an English soldier. He fights to hold on to their property, to keep it from the Loyalists who have flooded the colony, desperate men chased from the south after the American Revolution. In a land fraught with hardship, Amelia and Gilbert struggle to overcome prejudice, political upheaval, while forging a life in a remote country where events seek to destroy their love and lives.
 

The Arc of the Story as I see it, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

I adore history and telling stories. I was born in California and published short-stories and poems in school magazines. I wanted to travel the world, so I joined the navy at nineteen, married my navy husband in Greece-and explored the ancient ruins-then had two sons. We traveled to exotic locales, giving me the urge to weave tales involving the past. My first novel was published in 2010, and many historical novels followed. I now live with my husband in Western Pennsylvania.

My current work in progress is in honor of Canada's 150th birthday: On a Stormy Primeval Shore
In 1784, Englishwoman Amelia Latimer sails to the new colony of New Brunswick in faraway Canada. She’s to marry a man chosen by her soldier father. Amelia is repulsed by her betrothed, and refuses to marry him. She is attracted to a handsome Acadian trader, Gilbert, a man beneath her in status. Gilbert must fight the incursion of English Loyalists from the American war to hold onto his land and heritage. Will he and Amelia find peace when events seek to destroy their love and lives.


What is a story arc? An agent once asked me if my story followed the three-arc format? I had no idea what she was talking about. Then I took a writing class, which helped—sort of—to explain this issue. I was under the impression I could write my novel any way I wanted to, rambling on and on, throwing in info dumps, but no, you must have an arc, a frame work, highs and lows and a wrapping up at the end.

Since I’m a ‘pantzer’ i. e., I write by the ‘seat of my pants’, I just start writing with a slight idea of who my characters are and what the setting will be. It’s after I’ve written several chapters that I figure out where the story will go.

For this novel, I read up on the history of New Brunswick, decided to start with the ‘break’ of the colony from Nova Scotia in 1784, and tossed my female character, Amelia, a young Englishwoman, into those events. My male character is Acadian. Gilbert grew up with the ebb and flow of changing events, the expulsion of his people when the British came, and so forth. This way I could show the colony from the POV of two different cultures.

As for story arcs, I’m not sure if I follow the framework as I should. I try to intermix action, with gentler scenes, have a big action scene near the end, then wrap up the story. My characters often tell me which way to go once their personalities flesh out and they take over the novel. I try to work in the history in ways that make sense and don’t overwhelm the reader. But I still like those info dumps, darn it!

Priscilla Brown tries to make silver jewellery

 COMING SOON

  An entertaining contemporary romantic comedy

He almost runs her over, she breaks a shoe in a drain...what can he do but play Prince Charming? This near accident caused by Alistair is Cassandra's introduction to life in the fun lane. Both fresh out of inappropriate relationships and jobs, each is novelty value for the other. But their exes are pulling tricks to be reinstated, offering lifestyles where income is guaranteed. So can Cassie's passion for fashioning silver jewellery and Al's for re-purposing driftwood timber keep them fed? And is this too-much-too-soon chemistry fizzing between them fit for the long haul?

Look out for Silver Linings on http://bwlpublishing.ca/authors/brown-priscilla-romance-australia

A few years ago, new to the area where I now live, I checked out possibilities for classes as I'm always interested in learning new things. Finding a six-week evening course on making silver jewellery, I asked it if would be suitable for a complete beginner; assured that it was, I signed up. Well, it wasn't. Or rather, the tutor preferred to work with the seven others, all of whom had done a course with her previously. Don't you hate it when a tutor pays attention only to those who already have some idea what they are doing? She started me off cutting silver, and only later did I realise she hadn't given any occupational health and safety information, surely essential in a studio with sharp tools, soldering and electrical equipment and a gas-heated dish. I pestered her with "is this OK?" and "what do I do now?" After the six weeks, I ended up with a ring, two pairs of earrings and an unfinished pendant.The ring was too small, one pair of earrings was too heavy, while the other, on which I etched a simple design, was definitely wearable.A few weeks later, I saw an exact copy of this pair under the tutor's name in the studio shop.So I might have been the student who knew nothing, but my design was marketable. I was very annoyed.

But I did come away from this unsatisfactory experience with something worthwhile: an idea for a story involving a silver jewellery designer. Silver Linings was hatched. I'd recently completed Hot Ticket which is located in tropical Darwin, and I wanted to set this new romance at the other end of Australia in an isolated area with harsh winter weather. I love researching, and if it involves travel, so much the better! I explored southern Tasmania, conceiving a wild island on the edge of the Southern Ocean. I also spent time in and around Hobart, visiting galleries similar to where my characters could sell their creations, and inventing a funky bar where Alistair takes Cassandra after he almost runs her over. No one almost ran me over, but I did get to a funky bar...

Whatever hopes and wishes are on your list, may 2018 deliver in spades! And, of course, great reading! 

Happy New Year from Priscilla

http://bwlpublishing.ca 

https://priscillabrownauthor.com

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COWBOY COOKIES

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/752162

Links to all my historical novels:

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We're between the Christmas holiday and New Year. Here in the northeast we’ve had our first real cold snap, with a not-so gentle reminder that it’s soon to be another year.  December crackles and shrivels like a dead leaf. 

It’s a time when ancestors are remembered, sometimes in the patterns of light reflecting from 2017’s LED decked Christmas tree, sometimes in the carp-like mouths of Byer’s carolers you got from your Mom, sometimes in the low angle from which the northern sun sends rays into our aging eyes. 

I've had my mother-in-law, Carol Waldron, in mind, along with memories of shared holidays, all fast receding into the distant past. I’ve had something of a celebration for her, in fact. This is done in two ways, both which would probably amuse her. The first, and I’ve already talked about this one, is by wearing her 1970’s coat to the gym or anywhere convention doesn't require anything more than utility.  Despite the best efforts of the beautiful people—and don’t get me wrong—I’m in awe of their skill at self-presentation—I never looked anywhere near that good on my best young day—I still claim the right to wear an old coat sometimes. (Could it be the next frontier on the road to gender equality, the right to not give a damn about appearances?)

I suggested to Chris—who has been enjoying his time in our kitchen (working on his Palmdale Punjabi dinners)-- that he, for a change, try his hand at baking a batch of his Mother’s cookies for the holiday meal. This Christmas, in our case, was minimally attended.  My husband’s brother Nick would come up from Maryland, but he too would remember--and eat too many--of Carol’s cookies. Then we’d all have a sugar-induced spell of recollection about our clan as it was long ago in those long gone days of 20th Century yesteryear.

The recipe is titled Cowboy Cookies—and I think that says as much about the probable time of origin as anything.  The brand new media television thrived on cowboy shows, and boomer kids like me were crazy about Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans.

 (Carol, Springfield, MA H.S. Valedictorian)

Mid-1950’s, when all those educated young women were expected to morph into docile homemakers, Carol, the ex-chemistry major, would bake this recipe by the gross. She did so, too, and far too often, much to the detriment of everyone's waistline, but let no one say she was not enacting "Mom."

 A friend recently tasted one of these cookies and said she thought they were the original Tollhouse© recipe. These are nothing like the now fashionable gigantic, soggy, under-baked and laden with too much everything "cookie" of today. 

Cowboy Cookies deliver a balanced mixture of dough and additive. They are thoroughly baked. Although soft and gooey upon first emergence from the oven, they get even better after cooling overnight, becoming crunchy and buttery crisp along the edges.

   

 This Christmas, Chris used what we had in the cupboard, substituting about 1/2 cup brown flour for some of the oatmeal, which we’d run out of. And of course, following our taste-buds, we had Hershey’s© Special Dark chocolate chips and local black walnuts from one of the nearby farm markets for the gussying up.  

Cowboy Cookies

Sift together:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. soda

½ tsp. baking powder

In a separate bowl , cream together:

1 cup softened butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

Once that’s fully integrated, slowly beat in two eggs.

Next, combine dry and wet mixtures.

Finally, add 2 cups of oatmeal, a bit at a time, and then work in the (chocolate) chips, nuts of whatever kind. Drop by teaspoon onto greased/parchment cookie sheet and bake for 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Rack or paper cool. 

(Warning: sugar shock possible with unchecked consumption.) 

Happy New Year!
~~Juliet Waldron

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/waldron-juliet/

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