TLDR: I Like Writing Strong Damsels in Distress by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

  Hoo boy! So this month's blog post may be a tad controversial, as I aim to pick apart the reasons I enjoy writing strong female characters that have a tendancy to get in trouble and need--in some capacity-- a little help getting out of a jam. 

And I'm also a strong, independant woman!

I think the overarching reason I enjoy the much overused trope of a female in requirement of aid, is due to my increasingly larger than life laziness that is only growing exponentially each and every year. Yes. I COULD take out the trash, yes, I COULD take out the kitty litter, but its raining outside, and it's smelly and oh won't you do it for me you big strong hero because I couldn't possibly...

Even though I really, REALLY tried...

But, as my post should HOPEFULLY suggest, I am in favor of strong heroines who may need a little bit of help every now and then. I don't think that's anti-feminist--just in case some of you here are waiting to pounce on me when I'm not looking--it's realistic! We all need help here and there, and I like the idea of a strong woman who can rely on her romantic partner when all else fails. Even the strongest of us need help every now and then, whether it's with taking out the smelly cat litter that we took too long to empty... or if it's help with putting a giant raging dragon in the hurt locker!

Uhh... little help there, honey?

But it is a give and take. I'm all for the dashing champions coming to help out a dame at her lowest hour, but lets face it, we can't--and probably shouldn't--always rely on those hapless yet huggable heroes. A strong woman should be allowed to shine. Help out those big lugs. And just to be clear, though I am calling these nameless characters heros, the heroine is just as much, if not more, a protagonist as her romantic counterpart!

It actually bothers me nowadays how many female characters are infallible. Yes, many are bada$$ bit%^es that look fine as heck in a leather leotard, but c'mon! They must need help every now and then! Don't put the bar so high that I can't even see it, Hollywood! Because I can't even do a chin up now, let alone find the darn bar so I can keep up with the strength of your females. 

I'm still strong and independant, gosh-darnit!

 But yes. I like damsels in distress. I like Princess Peach--who is so often being captured by Bowser that people are beginning to suspect there is a relationship there *AHEM* Koopa Kids *AHEM* I like Princess Leia and Fiona, who were strong women in their own right, and totally kicked some serious a$$, as well as my own character, Scarlet Fortune, who is a vampire detective in the 20's but also quite capable of screwing up and needing a bit of help from her short statured beau. 

Even George R. R. Martin, who has yet to release his long... 

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG awaited book Winds of Winter, has quite a few kickbutt female characters who need a bit of a pick up along the way. Damsels in distress? Yes. But also damsels doing damage!

   

And sometimes damsels doing too much damage... right, Daenerys?

Holidays by J. S. Marlo

 

 

 

Seasoned Hearts

"Love & Sacrifice #1"

is now available  

click here

 

 

The Red Quilt

"a sweet & uplifting holiday story"

click here

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

I started a new series titled Fifteen Shades. The series consists of holiday tales inspired by colours. The first book The Red Quilt was released in December 2021. The Red Quilt takes place at Christmas and features fifteen shades of red.

I started the second book. It is supposed to take place during Canadian thanksgiving and feature fifteen shades of blue. Now, in the last few weeks, I’ve been rethinking the setting, so I’ve been looking at other holidays celebrated in my home country.

Valentine’s Day (St. Valentine’s Day):

 

Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic love, friendship, and admiration. It is celebrated on 14 February in over 28 countries. In the Philippines, 14 February is the most common wedding anniversary day.

 

St. Patrick’s Day (The Feast of St. Patrick):

 

St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. It is celebrated in more than 50 countries.

 

Easter:

 

Easter is both a pagan and a religious holiday. It is referred to a as a moveable feast. Its date varies according to the calendar originally used (Gregorian vs Julian) and the day of the last full moon (either astronomical or Julian). In Western countries, it can fall on any Sunday between 22 March and 25 April, but in some Eastern parts of the world, it can fall on any Sunday between 4 April and May 8. Around 95 countries celebrate Easter, but traditions vary by countries.

 

Canada Day:

 

Canada Day is celebrated on 1 July.

 

Thanksgiving:

 

Thanksgiving celebrates the harvest and blessings of the past year. There are roughly 17 countries that celebrate their own version of
Thanksgiving. The date and traditions varies by countries. In Canada, it is celebrated on the second Monday of October, and in the United States, it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

 

Halloween:

 

Halloween is a combination of pagan and religious rituals, and is believed to be one of the oldest celebrations in the world. It is celebrated toward the end of October/beginning of November (mostly on 31 October and 2 November) in around 40 countries.

 

Remembrance Day:

 

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed on 11 November throughout the British Commonwealth since the end of WW1. It is also known as Armistice Day or Poppy Day. The day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.

 

Every year since 1919, on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, we observe a moment of silence to mark the sacrifice of the many who have fallen in the service of their country, and to acknowledge the courage of those who still serve.

Christmas:

 

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. More than two billion people in over 160 countries celebrated Christmas. It is the most celebrated holiday in the world, but the day (see map) and the traditions associated with this holiday vary by countries.

 

New Year:

 

The New Year celebration is a global event with different types of celebration. The Pacific Islands of Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati were the first to welcome 1 January 2022 while Baker and Howland Islands were the last.

 

Happy Spring! Happy Easter! Stay safe!

JS

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

 

Show Your Library Some Love by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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Click here to visit Eileen O'Finlan's website and sign up for her monthly newsletter

I love libraries! I'll bet if you're reading this post, you love libraries, too. Libraries are like portals to a multitude of other worlds. Entering a library offers nearly limitless access to anywhere you want to go or anything you want to learn. You can even travel to other time periods, planets, alternate universes, and more. Of course, the many books in the library are the vehicles that will take you there. 

But there is more to libaries than books. Libraries connect us with technology, media, programs. They also connect us with one another, offer a community, invite us to events. Libraries are just plain awesome!

We are in the midst of National Library Week. This year's theme is "Connect With Your Library." Today, specifically, is Take Action for Libraries Day. By clicking on this link you can access the American Library Association's information on how you can tell Congress to fund libraries.

So, show your library some love today and let those hard-working librarians know how much they are appreciated!

Georgette Heyer. English Novelist and Short Story Writer by Rosemary Morris

 

 

To learn more about Rosemary please click on the image above. 

Georgette Heyer. English Novelist and Short Story Writer

 

16^th August 1902 – 4^th July 1974

Brief Biography

 Born in Wimbledon, Georgette is a feminine version of her father’s name, George. Her grandfather, George Heyer, a Russian fur merchant might have fled from a program and settled in England during the mid-nineteenth century and married an English woman. Georgettte’s father, bred to be an Englishman, had three older sisters. He read classics at Sussex College, Cambridge. His father had financial reverses, so he taught French at Kings College School, his salary a pitiful £135 a year. Nevertheless, he married twenty-five year old Sylvia Watkins, (from a family of tugboat owners) who studied the cello and piano at the Royal College of Music. In 1902, Georgette was born, followed by George Boris and Frank Dimitri.

Georgette’s father, who her friend described as a rolling stone resigned from the college Boris and Frank received good educations. In her own words Georgette mentioned: I was educated at day schools and did not go to college. Her well-read father an interesting conversationalist, encouraged her to read widely.

While Boris, a haemophiliac convalesced in Hastings, she made up the tale of The Black Moth to relieve her own boredom and her brother’s. Subsequently published in 1921 she contributed to the family income She later described its publication as ‘the first crack out of the bag.’ Her mother was uncertain about Georgette’s writing, but her father and literary agent encouraged her. She had embarked on a long, successful career as an author.

A friend said the young novelist was attractive, tall, her light brown hair had gold tints curled at the ends, and she had beautiful grey eyes. In the 1920’s ‘she was admirably soignee’.

At Christmas 1920 Georgette met tall, handsome Ronald Rougier when their families were staying at Bushey Park hotel. His family had a Huguenot heritage. They had settled in York and dealt in imports and exports. George was born in Odessa. He lived there for a while, learnt Russian and enjoyed caviar. He qualified as a mining engineer in 1922. After going out with each other for five years they became engaged in spring 1925 when Georgette’s fifth novel, Simon the Coldheart was published. A month later her father had a heart attack and died while Ronald played tennis with George. Her brothers were only 19 and 14. Boris had a job, but their sister supported Frank at school and at Cambridge, and she helped her hard up mother. From then on, Georgette wrote because ‘writing was in her blood’ and she needed money.

25-year-old Ronald married Georgette on the eighteenth of August, two days after her 23rd birthday. Until 1929 they lived in Tanginika Territory (Tanzania) and Macedonia then settled in London. Ronald and their son, Richard, pursued successful legal careers. Richard married Susanna Flint, divorced mother of two little boys. Georgette wrote Susie was the daughter we never had and thought we never wanted. The Rougiers enjoyed the role of step grandparents and were delighted when their grandson, Nicholas, was born

Georgette only answered fan letters about interesting historical facts. She refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: My private life concerns no one but myself and my family. When she died after fifty years of a happy marriage, her fans learned about her private life from obituaries.

Georgette Heyer wrote Pistols For Two in 1960 a collection of short stories, subsequently published as Snowdrift, which included three short stories. She wrote fifty-six novels, Between 1921 and 1972 Georgette Heyer wrote four historical novels, thirty-nine Regency Romances and twelve thrillers. My Lord John a historical biography about Henry V’s younger brother, John, Duke of Bedford was published posthumously in 1975. Six of Ms Heyer’s early novels Instead of the Thorn, Helen, Pastel and Barren Corn The Great Roxhythe and Simon the Cold Heart were supressed.

Georgette’s Regency novels are still in print. They created a popular genre, but few authors research their books as meticulously as the world famous novelist.

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

 

Rosemary’s novels are available from Books We Love Publishers: https://bookswelove.net/morris-rosemary/

 

 

When I Don’t Write, and When I Do by S. L. Carlson

 

I am S. L. Carlson, a proud and grateful BWL Publishing Inc. author. My books can be viewed and purchased by visiting https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l

 

WHEN I DON'T WRITE AND WHEN I DO  by S. L. Carlson

I am an author. I have been telling stories since I was a kid, with captive audiences wherever I could find them – siblings, cousins, friends, gullible adults. I have been writing down my stories for decades. I love writing. I love observing. My husband once bought me a T-shirt which read, “Be Careful! You may end up in my Novel.” <Raising my eyebrows about the truth in this.>

 

One time I was in Mississippi helping with hurricane relief. While our crew was taking a break, one man came up to me leaning against the tree shade to ask what I was scribbling: writing gobs of notes on things I saw, heard, and felt. It was all for potential future stories. He seemed relieved, as he thought I was some sort of spy keeping an eye on the group. Not quite sure if he was kidding or not. Not quite sure he was wrong, either.

One neighbor used to greet me from across the street with a dog howl. It wasn’t until after said neighbor returned from a long trip, that I told him I missed his howling greeting. He looked so hurt. “It wasn’t a howl,” he informed me. “It was a train whistle.” <Raised eyebrows again.> Yes, that one actually got rewritten into a book.

 

I write when I get an earworm – an idea, a conversation, an entire scene unfolding, etc. That used to happen at night until my husband complained of the clicking of the pen. When I switched to a pencil, he complained of the bed jiggling when I scritch-scratched on the paper on the nightstand. I then used to wake and type on the computer, but these days I mostly just sleep.

 

I love the pathways of outside adventures and experiences.

Subbing something (up to 3,000 words) once a month to my critique group keeps me writing during my darkest or most hurting times. We’ve been together a long time, and I’d hate to disappoint.

 

Three on-line writing groups I’ve been involved with are NaNoWriMo, the Goodreads 750 Group, and a now defunct BIW. That doesn’t count the several online critique groups I’ve been in for periods of time. I’ve done six rough drafts of novels during National Novel Writing Month, trying to keep up with the 1,667 words per day.  In Goodreads, all writers who sub less than 750 words to topic, then vote on the best story of the month. I won 1^st place several months in a row, so that it got boring and I stopped; but I will probably do that exercise again. I loved the personal encouragement of Book In a Week. You set a goal of so many pages to write, and then the first week of the month, tried to reach that goal.

 

I find it quite difficult to write while on vacation, or the holidays, or playing with the grandkids, or when there are major house or yard projects going on, or a tornado, or when there’s a pandemic (and moving in the midst of that), or when I get injured. These past 3 years have been difficult on the writing side of life.

 

Yes, there are several reasons why not to write, and I’m sure other writers can continue that list. But there are many more, very pleasant reasons why I do write. Now…off to revise chapter 16, which I sent to my critique group last week. Will our hero be able to save his village against all odds?

 

S. L. Carlson Blog & Website: https://authorslcarlson.wordpress.com

BWL Inc. Publisher Author Page: https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l