How the Internet Affects Your Brain Function by J.Q.Rose #BWLpublishing

 

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
Mystery, paranormal

Click here to find mysteries by J.Q. Rose at BWL Publishing

Hello and welcome to the BWL Publishing Insiders Blog! 

The Writing and Wellness site released a study entitled The online brain: how the Internet may be changing our cognition. According to the Oxford dictionary, cognition is "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses." 

Lead author Dr. Joseph Firth reported, “The key findings of this report are that high-levels of Internet use could indeed impact on many functions of the brain. For example, the limitless stream of prompts and notifications from the Internet encourages us towards constantly holding divided attention—which then, in turn, may decrease our capacity for maintaining concentration on a single task.” from the article 5 Ways to Power Up Your Writing in the Morning.

Dr. Rawan Tarawneh, in an article from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, states, "While digital multi-tasking may be a good practice for shifting focus, it may also weaken our ability to maintain focus on one area for an extended period of time." He adds, "In addition to its negative effects on cognition, excess internet use has been associated with a higher risk for depression and anxiety and can make us feel isolated and/or overwhelmed."

Photo courtesy of Pixabay by Geralt

Starting your day by checking your email and social media will set your brain up for a day of distraction. It's like starting the day eating sugar, so the rest of the day you will crave sugar. With all the multi-tasking online, you create a pattern for your brain to be in racing mode for the rest of the day.

If the Internet interferes with an adult brain, just imagine what it can do to a child's brain. The Internet has already shortened the attention span of adults to 8 seconds...shorter than a goldfish attention span. !!! 

The article suggests five ways to start off your morning so you will have a productive day of writing.

1. Read a poem
2. Read a book
3. Meditate
4. Make a gratitude list
5. Write down your thoughts for five minutes.

Have you noticed you have trouble concentrating during the day? Do you have any other suggestions on how to start your morning without first checking the Internet? 

Click the links below to connect online with JQ Rose:

JQ's Focused on Story Author Website

JQ Rose Author Facebook page

Changing Times by Helen Henderson

Windmaster Legacy by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

As I worked on preparing for the upcoming release of Fire and Amulet, I was struck by how things changed since my first established work.   

Those early pieces consisted of numerous messy drafts handwritten on lined notepaper. Next came the laborious and sometimes aggravating transformation of the drafts into double-spaced, typed manuscripts. This required mastering the skill of erasure and the ability to replace the paper in the typewriter for perfect alignment for the key strike to make the correction. The finished manuscript went into a box and consigned to the tender care of the postal service. Things such as antique photographs for the covers were often hand-carried to the editor to prevent their loss.

Review of the galleys required more than a careful line by line check. Unlike printing today with digital printers and modern word processors, since production was by offset printing, text autoflow and automatic pagination didn't exist. Changing the wrong word could mean the redo of several pages. Wanting a rewrite of several paragraphs, or heaven forbid, an entire scene resulted in a stern request from the editor to justify that significant a change. Which meant that the great idea you just had could not be used.

Magnetic card readers provided a means to save the work and easier corrections. Instead of retyping pages, mere reprinting accommodated text shifts and repagination. Then came large floppy disks. Yes, we used to crack the cases of corrupted floppies to remove the disks inside. The resulting games of frisbee provided entertainment in the wee hours of the morning. Desktop computers and early word processors made things even easier, but paper and pen remained the basis for drafting and brainstorming. Laptop computers allowed for writing while sitting on a riverfront bench watching boats parading up and down the channel.

Just as readers now have options besides printed books, so do writers. Writing the twist on a dragon shifter story, Fire and Amulet used even newer technology than my previous works -- a tablet. Until Trellier and Deneas' tale is available, it is a good time to read any of the fantasy romance series, the Windmaster Novels, you might have missed. 

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. 

Is it Spring yet? by Nancy M Bell

 

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

Spring

I chose the cover of The Selkie's Song because it's just so pretty and reminds me that Spring is coming. Really, it is.

With that in mind I thought I'd just share some of my poetry that celebrates Spring.

May Moonlight

How many times have you heard

You can’t go back again?

It’s true you know, you can’t

You can go back to the way things are now

Never to the way things were then.

Long summer nights spent under the stars

Riding in the moonlight up Spy Glass Hill

The May darkness rich with the perfume of apple blossoms

The orchard ghostly white in the gloaming

The world is dark around me where I stand alone

Once more at the apex of that steep hill

Silence gathers, deep and still

Muffling the subtle chatter of the river

I see them coming through the cedars

Rising through the pearly clouds of flowering trees

Young and confident riding sure footed horses

Too young to know how the sweetness of this moment

Will linger in memory long years after this enchanted night

Celebrate

The banners of Spring are flying on the blue of morning

Yellow catkins dance in the sunlit air over the ice-skim puddle

Purple crocus carpet the brown and grey prairie

Bright butter yellow jonquils nestle close to the house foundation

Sheltered from the ever present Alberta winds

Spring comes riding the coat tails of the mighty Chinook

The earth breathes in misty tendrils above the rough ploughed field

 

Winter’s back is broken, melt water runs like blood

Warm sun shyly promises the glory of June to come

Alberta blue sky and flowering prairie flowing forever

The long cold months are gone, come celebrate Spring  

But Spring doesn't always come gently, does it?

Spring Snow

The storm demons are howling rabidly across the sky

Dragging their icy talons against the window glass

Screeching their defiance through the hydro wires

Buffeting the house with their fists of wind

Shrieking they the fall upon the exposed prairie

Vomiting great gouts of snow to cover the earth

They hurl handfuls of icy pellets in my face

As I struggle to let the stock into the barn

Mean spiritedly they snatch the door from my frozen fingers

Slamming it open and popping one of the hinges

I bare my teeth at them and wrestle the door from their grasp

Hold it steady as the horses troop in out of the angry storm

The bale of hay spills its summer scent in the frigid air

A sunlit meadow song to battle the storm raging outside

The storm demons grab me in their teeth and shake me

As I blindly make my way back to the house

Power and fury personified; they scream their defiance

Their voices howling through the wind in my ears

Reluctant to exchange the winds of winter

For the thunderheads of summer 

Seasonal Sestina

Why is it that the first flowers of Spring

Are so special and the green of new leaves

Wakes a wild joy in my heart

Is it because they signal the end of Winter

Filled with the promise of long summer days

And the lazy hum of honey bees among the flowers

The tiny white snowdrops are among the first flowers

Along with the purple crocus of Spring

Courageously piercing the snow with their leaves

Small purple clusters to gladden my heart

Throwing a gauntlet in the face of Winter

Shining brightly through the short Spring days

The snow retreats with the lengthening of days

The garden paths are strewn with clots of flowers

The sweet bouquet of flower scented Spring

Bright daffodils dance above their pointed leaves

The tulips glowing red as the sun’s heart

They chase from the path the last of snowy Winter

Now only under the brambles lies the evidence of Winter

Soon that too will retreat from the sunny days

The lilacs burst into a froth of fragrant purple flowers

The scent mingling with the sun warmed air of Spring

Slow awakening summer flowers break the soil with their leaves

Heralding the coming of Summer’s heart

Spring passes softly into summer; the pulsing green heart

That rules the year opposite the white of Winter

The long halcyon green and gold days

Forged by the fire of the sun and the glory of flowers

There is just the faintest memory now of Spring

The full heady bounty of Summer canopied by trees of leaves

In due course fiery autumn will colour the leaves

And the flames of October will quicken the heart

The winds of snow will welcome the Winter

The frosty silver and blue of early winter days

Will make us forget the summer of flowers

Too new and beautiful yet to make us wish for Spring

By January we will be wishing for green leaves and Spring

Our heart will have hardened against the silver beauty of Winter

And we will hunger after the days of Summer and flowers 

Thanks for sticking with me this far, and here's hoping Spring is right around the corner.

Until next month, stay well, stay safe

February is for Lovers and Chocolate by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #romance books

 

In a curious moment, I started looking at all the series I've written and how many of them are strictly romance. Part of this was done in connection with how many series I've written. There are seven of them but not all are romances. While doing this research, I enjoyed a mug of mocha. Thus the chocolate.

Opposites in Love is the oldest of my series. These stories follow six young women who trained as nurses together. Each story is different but some appear in each others books and each finds their opposite - Astrologically,

Haunted Dreams is from the Moonchild series. There are a variety of careers but all the characters live in the same town. The heroines are all born under the Astrological Sign of Cancer.

Then for a little different take is the Island of Fyre fantasy series. Here each of the heroines belongs to one of the princedoms of the world. There are magical jewels, flying dragons and evil magicians.

Finally comes the Seduction series. The first four books in this series are two sisters and two brothers. The last two of the books belong to friends of the four siblings.

Now, I have other books that could fit into this category but they are trilogies. I don't consider those as series. For me there has to be four.

My Places

   https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

 

Buy Mark

https://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

Grey Cup vs Super Bowl, by J.C. Kavanagh

Darkness Descends, 

Book 2 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series

The Super Bowl took place February 13 and wasn't it a grand spectacle? Even the game was exhilarating. As a Canadian, I'm fascinated by the exuberance Americans display for football in general and the Super Bowl in particular. It's taken very seriously south of the border, much like ice hockey is 'Number One' in Canada. But back to football. What's the difference between the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL)? Here's my list of almost-everything-you-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask.

Teams

CFL: There are 9 Canadian teams divided into Western and Eastern Divisions.

There are 32 US teams divided into two 'conferences' - the National Football Conference  and the American Football Conference.

Longevity

CFL is entering its 109th season since forming. However, modern-day rules and regulations began in 1958 (64 years ago).

NFL held its 56th Super Bowl (LVI) but was officially founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA), though renamed National Football League (NFL) in 1922. After merging with rival American Football League (AFL) in 1966, the first Super Bowl was held in 1967.

Halftime shows

Grey Cup performers since 1991 include: Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Justin Bieber, Nickelback, Blue Rodeo, Gordon Lightfoot, Bryan Adams and Celine Dion. Prior to 1991, the halftime show typically featured marching bands.

CFL Grey Cup halftime show in 2017,
with a Canadian entrance on a dog-sled - Shania Twain

LVI Super Bowl halftime show featuring Eminem, Mary J. Blige,
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lemar

Super Bowl performers since 1993 include: Michael Jackson in 1993 who revolutionized the format and turned the halftime show into a 'must watch' feature, Prince, U2, Shania Twain, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Lada Gaga.

Season Length 

CFL plays 18 games prior to playoffs, from mid-June to early November.

NFL plays 17 games prior to playoffs, from September to January.

Field Size

CFL field is 150 yards (450 ft.) long. Each end zone is 20 yards and the neutral playing field is 110 yards. Field width is 65 yards (195 ft.)

NFL field is 120 yards long (360 ft.) End zones are 10 yards and neutral playing field is 100 yards. Field width is 53 yards (160 ft.)

Downs

CFL has three downs (attempts) to gain 10 yards in order to retain possession of the ball. Canadian teams favour long, 'passing' plays as a result, and teams tend to select 'running' athletes over bulk.

NFL has four downs to gain 10 yards. 

Players on field

CFL allows 12 players, with one additional 'receiver' due to the larger field area.

CFL 12 player field format

NFL 11 players field format

NFL allows 11 players.

Salary

CFL - average annual salary is $80,000 (US) and highest paid quarterback receives approximately $600,000 US.

NFL - minimum contract is $660,000 and highest paid quarterback receives $45 million per season (Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes).

Out-of-bounds catch rule

CFL requires player to have one foot on the ground, within the playing field, after catching the ball.

NFL rules dictate two feet on the ground after the catch.

Pass complete as Pittsburg Steelers player manages to keep both feet in-bound
(photo not from LVI Super Bowl)

Grey Cup vs Lombardi Trophy

CFL awards the Grey Cup to the game-winning team. In 1909, the cup was donated by Earl Grey, then the Governor General of Canada.

Canadian Football League Championship trophy:
The Grey Cup

NFL Super Bowl Champion team receives the Lombardi Trophy 

NFL awards the Lombardi Trophy to the winning Super Bowl team. It was named after the late Vince Lombardi, a player with five NFL championships and two Super Bowl wins. Mr. Lombardi passed in 1970 after a battle with cancer and the NFL board voted to name the Super Bowl trophy in his memory.

Trivia: In case you were wondering, it's estimated that 1.42 billion, yes billion, chicken wings were consumed on Super Bowl Sunday in the U.S. 

(All numbers and stats courtesy of Wikipedia, NFL and CFL official websites.)

Until next time, stay safe everyone.

 

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

Voted Favourite Local Author, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)
Instagram @authorjckavanagh