Not Fun Anymore by Helen Henderson

 

Windmaster Golem
Click the cover for purchase information

A rule often taught to fiction writers is adversity. Depending on the storyline and character, the author's job is to throw roadblocks into their creation's plans and make their life "interesting." While you can be told it is a blessing, "May you live in interesting times" can be a curse. This post covers a few examples of how "interesting" life can be from the mildly annoying to decisions that can change the direction of the someone's life.

The post, Green Plant versus Brown Thumb, discusses my history with gardening and my current attempt to grow tomatoes and onions. None of the onion plants prospered. Since none of my family had any better luck, I didn't feel too bad.

The tomato plants are the reason for the title of today's post. Why? Overnight they went from thriving, fruit-laden plants to defoliated sticks. And the tomatoes that were just about to blush went from food to garbage. The zen aspect of gardening and the pleasure of watching the plants grow vanished. It was not fun anymore. The plants had survived heat indexes of 105 to 110°F to succumb to four-inch long, green, ill-tempered hookworms that teleported in from nowhere. 

Image by Margaret Martin from Pixabay

How does this relate to writing? Not every situation has to be life-threatening. Even simple, everyday situations such as a bill arriving after a due date or being late to an appointment can be the setting for tension and "interesting" times.

When Kiansel hears the summons to the council fire in Windmaster Golem, her problem isn't that she will be late for the ceremony. Unlike the nervousness of the younger mages who know their destiny, Kiansel is unsure whether or not she will attend at all. For in doing so she might succumb to the lure of magic

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay

In Fire and Amulet (coming spring 2022), the environment makes life interesting for dragon slayer Deneas. Ahead of her is an impassible hedge row of poisonous, thorn bushes. Retreat means risking going beneath stone-laden ledges ready to collapse. Her only logical path is to walk the stones of a washout and freestyle climb a cliff face to get past places where the path eroded away.

 

To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL

~Until next month, stay safe and read. Helen

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

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 have adopted her as one the pack. 

Chance's Way Releases in September 2021 by Nancy M Bell

 

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

I'm excited to announce that Chance's Way is releasing in September of 2021. This book three of the Alberta Adventures series. This series turned out to be a series about rescues. In book one, Wild Horse Rescue, Laurel and friends rescue some wild horses, in book two, Dead Dogs Talk, Laurel and friends work to rescue some dogs from a dog fighting ring. Book three turned out to be something a bit different. Fans of the series will be familiar with bad boy Chance Cullen. He turned a bit of a corner in Dead Dogs Talk, in book three Chance's Way he is struggling to come to terms with his past choices and see if he can find a better way to go forward. He is still hopelessly in love with Laurel Rowan but knows she won't have anything to do with him unless he can turn his life around. And not to mention that she has a long distance relationship going with Coll Hazel, who lives in Cornwall UK. 

Chance's Way is the story of Chance's search for his truth, learning about who he is and who he wants to become. He is supported by Laurel's dad, Colt Rowan, who has had his own issues with his parents, so he can sympathize with Chance's problems with his n'er do well father and hysterical mother.

This last book in the series wasn't meant to be about Chance's coming of age, but that's how it evolved. 

There's a good mix of rodeo and ranch life mixed into the story and those who live that life will relate to the events that unfold. Concussion and injury are part and parcel of the rodeo way of life. The dangers of concussion and repeated trauma are only starting to be addressed. The tragic loss of Ty Pozzobon in 2017 was a huge wake up call to the rodeo community with regards to the issue of brain related injuries in much the same way as Lane Frost's death at Cheyenne in 1989 brought about the use of flak jackets for bull riders. I touch briefly on these issues in Chance's Way. 

I hope you enjoy Chance's journey. Below are some scenes from life on the Canadian prairies where the Alberta Adventures take place.

Till next month, stay well, stay happy.

Let There Be Dragons - Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Dragons Collection

 

Let There Be Dragons

I have been interested in dragons for many years. Not sure why but probably from stories read as a child. Then I discovered books by Anne McCaffrey and I found myself reading book after book about dragons.

 One day I went to a science fiction convention across the river from my house and I began my collection of dragons. This was about 25 years ago. My first five were cloth. Two large ones in red and blue and three smaller ones blue green and gray. At that time, I had three grandchildren and bought one for each. They gladly years later gave them to Gram for her shelf.

Collecting has been fun and my friends and family got into the act. I have oriental dragons, wingless and also flying ones with rings. Glass, metal and plastic dragons in various colors and sizes. There is one very small jade dragon a friend gave me. There’s a dragon cloch and a dragon light. Some have gems they are guarding. I even have dragon pens and book marks. There is also one on a chain that’s a necklace. My latest one is a scholar dragon with glasses and a book.

Eleven years ago, I found Christmas tree ornaments that were dragons and of course I bought one and have continued the practice every year. I shared my love of dragons with Jane Toombs, a fellow writer and a fellow BWLAuthor. She had at least one of the Christmas dragons, I sent her one year. I miss her very much.

So every day when I set out writing I look at my dragons and think I’m so glad there are dragons even if they are only in my imagination.

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When you swallow a molar, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The Twisted Climb
Book 1 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series

Home alone and enjoying my favourite 'me-time' snack: a glass of wine accompanied by lightly salted potato chips and homemade dip (Miracle Whip and Cheese Whiz. No, not yucky - yummy). I bite something extra hard and hesitate mid-chew. My tongue snakes around my mouth looking for the rigid intruder... I don't feel anything unusual. So I swallow. And have a few more chips and dip. But something feels odd inside my mouth. I move my tongue across my upper teeth. All normal. I move my tongue across my lower teeth and snag it on something sharp in the back corner. I press my tongue with more force on this area and dang, it sure feels sharp! Off to the mirror I go. Sure enough, there's half a molar missing and only the old metal filling keeping the other half in place.

OH DEAR! I swallowed my molar. Will I be OK? Will my tummy reject the enameled item and spew it back? What to do?

I did what many people do these days: I googled it.

I type: What happens when you swallow your tooth

Well, like many 'answers' from Google, there's good and there's bad.

The good is that the tooth is digestible, providing of course, that it passes through the narrowest portion of your intestines.

Another good is that you don't require a laxative to 'help' the tooth pass your system.

The bad? 

How to explain to the tooth fairy that there is no tooth under the pillow. Hey - I didn't make this up! It's from Google.

Also bad, and I quote:

"Ingestion of dental foreign bodies, while relatively uncommon, may cause serious, and occasionally fatal, injuries to the airways and gastrointestinal tract. Numerous case reports are available describing the clinical course of such ingestions."

I don't want to know the results of any clinical case reports so I go back to examining my tooth in the mirror. There's no pain in my jaw so the root must be covered by the remaining tooth. That's good!

I go back to my comfy couch and take a sip of wine. AAAAGGHHH THERE'S A NEEDLE POKER ELECTRIC SHOCK and my jaw sings a high C note. C C C for COLD COLD COLD.

Oh, the excruciating pain. What to do?

Well, I didn't have to Google my next step. When you really really want to finish your wine... Isn't that what straws are for? 

Stay safe everyone!

P.S. My dentist fixed me up the next day. Straw no longer required :)

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
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
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
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Five Canadian Novels by Aboriginal Writers

 

Canada has a rich tradition of Indigenous writing, with a strong record of support for both writers and publishers of such literature by the Canada Council for the Arts. That movement has blossomed in recent years, as more Aboriginal voices have found space in Canada’s literary and social consciousness.

Aboriginal writing has attracted many awards and prizes in Canada over the years. A few of these include the Governor General’s Award, awarded to Katherena Vermetter for her 2013 collection of poetry, “North End Love Songs.” Another award winner is Lee Maracle’s novel “Ravensong,” which won the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 1993.

 

Here then, are five highly-recommended novels by Canadian Aboriginal writers:

 

“Shi-Shi-Etko” and its sequel “Shi-Shi-Canoe” by Nicola I. Campbell. The first novel details the story of a young girl when she discovers that she is to be taken to a residential school in four days. The second novel details Shi-Shi-Etko’s experiences at the school and her joyful reunion with her family. The second novel won the prestigious TD Canadian Children’s Literature Grand Prize.

 

Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse” details the life of Saul Indian Horse, his experiences in the Residential School system, his career as an ice hockey player, and the eventual reconciliation with his past. It won the 2013 Burt Award for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Literature.

 

“Legacy” by Waubgeshig Rice. The novel describes the violence against an Indigenous woman and the effect it has on her and her family. Another one of his novels, “Moon of the Crusted Snow,” offers a dystopian vision of surviving postmodern civilization. The New York Times described him as an Indigenous writer “reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy.”

 

 

Eden Robinson’s “Son of a Trickster” humorously details the life of Jared, a sixteen year old Aboriginal boy who constantly gets into trouble, his suspicious grandmother and his balancing Indigenous beliefs with dysfunctional family dynamics.

 

“Fly Away Snow Goose” by John Wisdomkeeper and Juliet Waldron. The book follows the trials and travels of two young Aboriginals from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories as they are taken forcefully to a residential school, but yet begin a journey to return to their homes.

Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanauthor.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)