Tripping trip to the mall – We live in a changing world – by Vijaya Schartz

Find links to these books and more on my BWL page HERE

It had been a while since I last visited my favorite mall, my old stomping ground, the Arrowhead Mall in Peoria, the West Valley of Phoenix AZ. I used to walk there with a friend on weekend mornings, when the scorching heat didn’t allow hiking on the mountains.

On this particular Saturday morning, my Tai-Chi class in the park was cancelled, so I decided to revisit the Arrowhead mall before hours, and walk around to get some exercise. Lots of people do it to get their steps in the early morning.

To my surprise, many of the familiar stores were gone, sometimes showing shiny black walls or mall ads for the new upcoming stores.

But what surprised me the most was the kind of stores that replaced them. Instead of “Forever 21” was a very spooky Halloween store. Well, tis the season, and this is probably a seasonal opportunity. Unless this new store changes its theme for each season… Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Mardi-gras, Easter, Weddings, Mothers’ Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day, etc.

A CBD Emporium in the mall? You better believe it. It’s legal in Arizona, and apparently it has become mainstream. Maybe this new and very lucrative business will rescue the malls from impending bankruptcy.

A shooting gallery, with airsoft guns, 50 shots for $9.99. Camo walls, military videogame style décor, and realistic looking guns. There used to be arcades in the malls, not anymore. But this isn’t a store for young children (at least, I hope not). It’s just a fun and game shop at the heart of the mall to practice your targeting skills. What does it say about our society?

The Disney store is getting bigger. T-Mobile has a larger space. A new game shop popped up. Not that surprising since videogames are definitely popular. Some of my old favorites survived, like Charlotte Russe. The Apple store is not going anywhere soon. There was a line in front of it, hours before opening time.

 

In a clothing store window, I saw a pair of jeans with wide bell bottoms, like the ones I used to wear in the sixties. It was presented as the “brand new” style of jeans. Oookaaay… new? Really? Like the brand-new revolutionary way to remove your makeup with this fantastic and totally new product called witch-hazel? For real? Don’t laugh it was a big commercial on TV. Then, the original company that had launched witch-hazel a long time ago did a commercial of their own, advertising selling it for over 150 years. I guess young advertisers should research the history of the products they promote.

A Pangaea Dinosaur Grill in the food court. First, I thought it was a Halloween feature, but no. It’s a true food court franchise. With realistic dinosaur head sticking out of the serving counter, and a dedicated line for the kids to take selfies with the dinosaur head. I’m sure they love it. Very smart way to attract customers.

A Sunglass Hut Ray-Ban window, advertising first generation smart glasses that can film and record and transmit or upload everything you see to Facebook. Spy technology? Or an obsession to record every minutia of our lives?

Do you see a trend emerging? You are right. Here is the cherry on the cake.

There also was a new SELFIE STORE. I was curious. It’s a store where, for as low as $18, you may use one of their photography booths and cubicles to take your own selfies. The small cubicles offer different color backgrounds and settings to choose from, and a photo friendly lighting. Having your picture taken at the mall just took a completely different meaning. The last time I did it, the trend was glamor shots… but I’m dating myself. Oh well…

Other than that, I had my exercise. Life is never boring.

For out of this world entertainment, read my award-winning sci-fi novels with lots of action and romance. Find all the links on my website and retailer pages below.

Vijaya Schartz, author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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A loyal Friend—Tricia McGill

Find all information on my books here on my Author page at BWL

In these uncertain times, it is our family and our friends who see us through. For those of us who live alone, most of the time it is our pets, be it dog, cat, rabbit or horse, who help us to cope. In my case it is my remaining dog, Candy, who you can he sure is always there at my side. She follows me from room to room, and although now completely deaf knows the moment I move. Don’t ask me how she does it for she most definitely cannot hear me but her sensory organ or whatever alerts her to my movements, can bring her from a deep sleep, head tucked down, to a wide-awake watch-dog, ready for anything.

I have had many pets in my lifetime and although of varying breeds and colours they had one thing in common—their loyalty. Nothing equals the welcome we receive no matter how long we have been away. There they will be at the window waiting patiently for your return. My love of animals is common knowledge—you only need to look at my Pinterest page to understand my infatuation with all creatures great and small. A dog, cat or horse or at times all three appear in most of my books. I recently realised that I do not have one in my current work in progress so that inconsistency will need to be taken care of very soon.

A few of my favourite doggie quotes:

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare, and in return dogs give us their all. It is the best deal man has ever made. M Facklam

I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source. Doris Day

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. Roger Caras

My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. Anon

If there are no dogs in heaven, then I when I die I want to go where they went. Will Rogers.

For me a house becomes a home when you add one set of four legs, a happy tail, and that indescribable measure of love that we call a dog. Roger Caras.

Some of our greatest historical and artistic treasures we place with curators in museums; others we take for walks. Roger Caras.

My Pinterest page if you are an animal lover: 

https://www.pinterest.com/authortriciamcg/

My Web Page

  

Beyond Barkerville by A.M. Westerling

 Those of you who know me know that I am an avid camper and that one of my favorite camping vacation destinations is northern British Columbia. Words cannot begin to describe the beauty of this area. Imagine towering, thick forests, tumbling white water rivers and soaring mountain peaks and you get the idea. If you like the wilderness and outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and camping, this is the destination for you.

We usually set up a base camp just outside of Terrace on Lakelse Lake. 

From there, we’ll take day trips and for today’s post, I’ll share one of our more interesting tours and that was up the Nass Valley. As you drive north of Terrace, you follow the Nisga’a Highway which borders Kitsumkalum Lake. You can drive for miles in pristine wilderness, with the lake on one side and forests and mountains on the other and you’ll rarely see another vehicle or any signs of habitation.

Eventually you’ll reach Nisga’s Mem’l Lava Beds Provincial Park. The Nass Valley is the site of Canada’s most recent volcanic eruption, around 1750 and lava flows cover a large area.

 

From there, it’s up to New Ayiansh, which replaces the original town that was destroyed in the volcano. No one knows for sure but it’s estimated about 2000 people died during the eruption.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can head over to Kincolith, which until recently was only accessible by boat or plane.

 I was fortunate enough to be included in BWL Publishing's Canadian Historical Brides Collection. My contribution was Barkerville Beginnings, the story of Rose and Harrison set in the historic gold rush town of Barkerville, B.C.. On this particular trip, we stopped in at Barkerville on our way home which of course helped immensely with my research!

 

You can find Barkerville Beginnings and all my books HERE on the BWL Publishing website. 

*****

Websites I visited to write this post: 

www.nisgaanation.ca/volcano

https://nassvalleyeruption.weebly.com/

The Agenda of Writing Novels by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

 

https://www.bookswelove.com/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

The Agenda of Writing Novels

Some people believe that there is an agenda or blueprint for writing books and as long as the writer follows that blueprint, they can write a book. However, that is not really true. Authors have different ways of writing their novels. Some outline each chapter. Others wing it just going where their characters take them. Some start with a plot and add characters and some have characters around whom they build a story. A few take an event or an idea and build on it putting in characters and settings as the story develops.

     I have never worked with a solid outline, or arc as it is sometimes called, for my novels, whether they are mystery, historical, or young adult. And this is mainly because I find that my characters seldom end up the way I first pictured them and the plot never takes the route I thought it would. I do start the story with a character in his/her everyday life so the reader can get to know them then I put in the trigger or problem that is out of the control of my main character or that starts the mystery. This puts the main character on his/her quest for a solution.

     I do have scenes pictured where characters are going to have a certain conversation or be at a certain place but unexpected conversations or character twists surface as I am writing the story. Some of these are surprises or mishaps or glitches that get in the way of my character’s quest. I strive not to make these predictable, nor so far out that they don’t make sense to the story. They should leave the reader with the thought that (s)he should have figured that would happen. Personally, I find that it is no fun to read a book in which you can foresee where the story line is headed and what is going to happen.

     If I get writer’s block or get to the end of an event and not really know what to write next, then I pick up one of the encounters that I know a character is going to have and I write that. Sometimes I will have two or three of them waiting to be put into the manuscript where they are needed.

     For the climax my character goes through the action of resolving the problem or solving the mystery. This has to be fast paced and sometimes at risk to my character. By this time the reader should be rooting for the main character and wanting him/her to succeed without injury. Hopefully, too, this is where the surprise comes in, where the reader goes. “Wow, I didn’t see that coming." or "I never thought it would be that person.”

     I have even been surprised or saddened or happy by the ending of my books. When I was nearing the end of writing one of my mystery novels I still hadn’t figured out which of two characters had done the killing. Suddenly, a different character put up their hand and said, “I did it and this is why.” I was surprised but realized that it made total sense.

     I believe that if my emotions are rocked by the ending so, too, should those of the readers. When the book was published I had readers tell me that they had also fluctuated between the same two characters as I had and they, too, had been surprised by who was actually guilty. Something a mystery writer is always happy to hear.

 

A Wayward Girl by Victoria Chatham

 AVAILABLE HERE

 Here she is. Miss Charlotte Gray in all her glory. Finally. I don’t know about my fellow authors, but some of my books have been easier to write than others and Charlotte’s story was the one I have least liked writing. Why? Because Charlotte defied me at every turn. This girl was hard work.

Now, to a non-writer, that might sound really weird. You’re the author, they might say. You pick and choose what your characters do. That’s what being an author is, you direct your cast just as a stage or movie director does theirs. Any artistic endeavor has it's challenges, but few, I imagine, as those authors might have.

AVAILABLE HERE

I rarely have any trouble creating characters. Often, they have simply turned up in my mind like a mental visitor, sometimes welcome and sometimes not. All three heroines of Those Regency Belles (Charlotte Gray is Book 2 in the series) came one after the other without me having to think them into being. Hester Dymock (Book 1) very clearly wanted to be involved with healing and medicine, Phoebe Fisher (Book 3 and due out in 2022) wants to have fun and is a tad saucy. But Charlotte?

I had her pinned for a lady’s companion in a secluded, quiet, Hampshire estate. There would be a love interest, of course. Probably a nephew of the lady to whom our Char was going to be a companion. An impossible match to the outside world because of her lowly status, but with wit and charm Charlotte would win her hero. Would Charlotte have that? Not a bit of it. She wanted action, adventure, and a hot-blooded hero.

Many Regency purists might point out that young ladies would not do the things they sometimes do in my stories, especially Emmaline Devereux in His Dark Enchantress when she drives a team of four horses. Can’t be done, one critic told me. However, this aspect of Emmaline’s character was based on Mrs. Cynthia Haydon (1918-2012) who raised and trained Hackney horses and ponies and drove them in many combinations (single, pairs, tandem, four-in-hand) and competitions and was an exceptional lady for her time.

Mrs. Cynthia Haydon

My thinking is that in any era there are women who step outside of the box society has built for them and quite literally break the mold. Most are familiar with Jane Austen, but what about Maria Edgeworth, Sarah Guppy, Harriott Mellon, and Elizabeth Fry. If you want to read more about these ladies check out What Regency Women Did for Us by Rachel Knowles. In more recent years, look at what the ladies in the movie Hidden Figures achieved.

Charlotte was never going to lead a quiet, orderly life. My character notes for her changed practically every day. I think, in the end, I like her better for it. If you decide to read her story, I hope you agree with me.

Victoria Chatham

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