Romance in Bloom--The Art of Perfuming By Connie Vines #The Art Of Perfuming, #BWL Insider Blog, #Gumbo Ya, Ya, #Cajun Romance

 Romance in Bloom

Fragrance can transform your entire mood. 

And when the mood you want to conjure up is romance, a whiff of the right scent gets you there faster than a binge session with your favorite romance movies. 🎥

From spicy, sensual accords to rose-based floral diaries, I’ve updated rounded 5 of the best fragrances to wear to Announce Spring—or whenever you won't feel like you're living in a fairy-tale! 🏰

Perfumes, like wines, are categorized by notes. As many of my readers know, I was a fragrance consultant at a Perfumery. I love to share my acquired ‘secrets’ in blog posts and novels.

 *Remember, perfumes are a personal preference, and all fragrances lingering scent (bottom note) vary by a person’s PH Level.

Now let the fun begin!

1. Ralph Lauren's ROMANCE

Designed to hit all the feelings associated with falling in deep L-O-V-E, a spritz of this classic and light romantic fragrance treats you to notes like white violet, patchouli, musk, rose, and marigold.

2. Tom Ford’s infamous BLACK ORCHID Fragrance has become a cult icon in the beauty industry.

It is recognizable from just one spritz, but it's also one of the most compliment-inducing smells I've ever come across. Smells like: Warm incense spices, creamy vanilla, and heady patchouli.

3. Lancôme's TRESOR

The diamond-shaped bottle is one of the most popular fragrances out there. The brand evoked the radiance and warmth of love using floral and fruity notes like rose, lilac, peach, and apricot.

4. YSL’s BLACK OPIUM (one of my personal favorites) The fragrance is: Initially sweet with punchy notes of vanilla and coffee but dries down to a musky white floral base.

The creamy notes of coffee and vanilla give a non-sickly sweetness that develops into a dry white floral scent, after which you get the base notes of musk and patchouli. It's unique and oh-so moreish; this one will 100% become the most reached-for in your perfume collection.

5. Jo Malone London's LIME BASIL & MANDARIN COLOGNE. Smells like: Long summer days.

This fresh and zesty scent will have you dreaming of warm summer days with every spritz. Juicy notes of lime and mandarin are balanced with earthy basil and white thyme.

Like so many BWL authors and our readers, I love their gardens!

While my garden is no longer producing the lush harvest of fruits and vegetables of my two son’s elementary school years. I still maintain a PERFUMED GARDEN.

My Perfumed Garden is small because the scent can be overwhelming—robust scents. I try to intersperse my fragrant garden plants with scentless plants that complement their appearance over time.  

Lilacs have a strong scent, but only in late Spring. Therefore, Jasmine is a vine and a plant I utilize where ever possible. And, of course, roses🌹 and herbs.

The garden brings peace to my life, nourishes my soul, and inspires my creative spirit.

This clip has New Orleans Music: 🎤🎹🎵

How do I keep the Romance in Bloom in my stories?

Gumbo Ya Ya—an Anthology for Women who like Cajun Romance, features Persia, a New Orleans perfumer, and Cooper T., a breeder of the Catahoula Leopard Dog and Westminster Dog Show favorite handler in “The Love Potion.”

You will discover that the art of perfuming creates complications for this no-longer-together-couple. But love is, and a happily-ever-after is definitely in the air!

Enjoy the fragrances of Spring and Summer....and the latest releases from BWL Publishing, too!

Happy Reading, everyone,

Connie

XOXO

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*copyrights of photos and videos have been granted to the author by Canva.

Imagination, science fact, science fiction, ancient history, and fantasy – part 2 - by Vijaya Schartz

 

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“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke

Last month, we covered the mythology of Asia as a source of inspiration, and Indian mythology that could be interpreted as advanced technology. But this is not unique to that part of the world.

In the Norse legends, Odin possessed two magical raven who flew over the world and showed him everything that happened in real time. These black birds often represented inside a clear globe would now be called “camera drones.” There is mention of a rainbow bridge, which, according to Albert Einstein, could have been a wormhole (or Rosen bridge). Also, Thor, God of Thunder, did have the power to harness lightning and thunder and used them as a weapon.

Similarly, in Greece, Zeus wielded weapons of lightning and thunder capable of great destruction… not unlike our war missiles.

The god Apollo flew north each year in a golden chariot… in other words a shiny metal craft.

The Anunnaki (meaning: they who from the heavens came) claimed to have come to Earth to harvest gold, a commodity they needed to save their own planet. In the process, they genetically improved, educated, and enslaved humans to provide a labor force to work and mine the gold for them. In doing so, they may have started the Sumerian civilization.

The Egyptian pharaohs claimed to be descended from the gods who came from Orion in barges. They were embalmed to make the trip back. The pyramids are aligned on Orion’s belt.

Ezekiel - St. Augustine Church - Paris France

The Old Testament says Ezekiel saw a chariot coming down to Earth with wheels turning inside wheels… not unlike the modern representations of UFOs.

Jacob witnessed angels climbing a ladder into a luminous craft.

And the Book of Enoch, one of the oldest manuscripts banned from the bible, describes in simple words his trip into space with angels, aboard a spacecraft, where he saw the Earth from space, then went to another planet and studied in their company. The elaborate details of his trip make a lot of sense to a modern mind familiar with space travel, but couldn’t have been fabricated by someone who didn’t understand advanced technology. Yet, this witness account was penned millennia ago.

This happened all over the world. In the Americas, many Native American tribes relate that sky people came as teachers (Kachinas) to educate their ancestors. The Thunderbird can also be interpreted as a vehicle transporting sky people.

The Incas, the Mayas, the Aztec, all had similar stories, about beings coming down in crafts from the Pleiades, sometimes demanding blood sacrifices, and strongly influencing their culture.

Several African tribes also spoke for centuries about being visited by space travelers from the Sirius II system. No one knew Sirius II existed until quite recently, as it is hidden by Sirius I.

So, you see, one doesn’t have to go far to find inspiration about science fiction stories. Space travel and alien visitation are old recurring themes even on our little planet.

This month, Congress reviewed undeniable footage of UAP (Unexplained Aerial Phenomena) taken by the US military, to discuss the implications for National Security.

Soon we will explore space on our own, search for new planets and encounter new civilizations, some more advanced, and others in infancy, and we, too, will become the powerful beings who encourage the pursuit of knowledge and accidentally start new myths and new religions… like in the Star Trek movie, where Captain Kirk inadvertently starts a new cult when the natives witness the Enterprise rising from the depths of the ocean and taking flight.

In the meantime, you can dream and imagine other worlds by reading science fiction, my favorite genre.

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 Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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Ancient Celts--Tricia McGill

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While searching around during research for an entirely different subject I stumbled upon some notes I took long ago on the Celts whose tribal societies lived throughout Europe centuries before the birth of Christ. Often described by Ancient Greek and Roman writers as ferocious warriors there was certainly more to these people than warfare. Farmers, miners, seafarers and traders, they produced amazing works of art and jewellery. Their bards would recite many tales of their gods and heroes at their resplendent feasts. 

By the 1st century BC, the Romans controlled most of Gaul but under pressure from tribes to their north the Celtic Helvetii tribe attempted to migrate out of Switzerland. Confronted by Ceasar’s forces some Celts rebelled under the leadership of Vercingetorix. Julius Caesar, now the governor or Gaul, and known for his speed and decisiveness in battle had six Roman legions under his control and saw a perfect chance to gain great glory.

The ancient Greek writer Strabo said the Celts had little on their side in a fight except strength and courage, but were easily outwitted. The Celts were no match for the disciplined Roman army and especially strategic generals such as Caesar.

It seems that Celtic warriors liked to make a tremendous noise on the battlefields, beating their wooden shields while yelling to intimidate their enemies. They also favoured a trumpet called a carnyx which consisted of a 12-foot-long thin bronze tube, bent at right angles at both ends. The lower end terminated in a mouthpiece, and the upper end flared out into a bell which was most often decorated to look like the head of a wild boar. Historians believe it likely had a tongue which would flap up and down thus increasing the noise produced by it. 

The religion of the Celts remains somewhat a mystery. They did worship both gods and goddesses and we know that their religion was based on nature. They rarely built stone temples, instead visited shrines set in remote places, such as clearings in woods, rivers and springs, or near lakes to worship their gods and to make offerings. Celts saw water as a transition between this world and the next. In the 1st century BC Celts in parts of Wales threw weapons, chariot and horse harness as well as certain tools into water as offerings to their gods. Perhaps they saw this as a way to seek protection against the Roman armies or were giving the gods their spoils of war.

Celts lived on farms in small villages. In the 5th and 6th centuries BC leaders in different parts of Europe built vast hill forts. Later they often lived in a fortified town while in Scotland they built defensive stone towers. From the most humble to the wealthiest their burials took very careful preparation and is testimony to the belief in life after death. Bronze funerary carts found in some Celtic graves show a goddess directing the procession to lead a soul of the deceased person into the next life. Some classical writers and Irish poets also recorded their ideas of an afterlife, which included the concept of a soul passing from one body to another or of the soul continuing to control a person’s body after death. They might enjoy a land of peace and harmony after death, or warriors could carry on enjoying the combat they loved through life on earth.

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Romance Novel 'Snobbery'?

 

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Romance Novel 'Snobbery'? 

In the past, I’ve had comments from two different acquaintances that have made me think. Here is the gist of the conversations.

First conversation:-

Her (with a smirk on her face): Please tell me you don’t write for Mills and Boon.

Me: No, not now, but I wouldn’t mind being published by them again.

Her (with mouth dropping open): Why? Their novels are rubbish.

Me: How long is it since you read one?

Her: I haven’t read any. I wouldn’t be seen dead reading one of that bodice-ripper kind of book.

Second conversation (on the phone with someone I hadn’t seen for several years):-

Her: So what have you been doing with yourself?

Me: Actually I’ve been writing novels.

Her: Really? Have you had anything published?”

Me: Yes, over a dozen in the past ten years.

Her: Oh, well done. What are they about?”

Me: They’re romances.

Silence, then Her: Oh, sorry, I never read romances. They’re so predictable, happy ever after and all that.

I’ve paraphrased these conversations, but you get the idea.

The first conversation made me realise the stereotypical image of romance novels has persisted, at least for my generation, for 30+ years. The “bodice-rippers” were the hallmark of Mills and Boon/Harlequin in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and, in my opinion, gave romance novels a bad rap. They had archetypal characters and contrived plots, usually involving a virginal heroine who was ‘rescued’ by a alpha hero, and often contained a barely disguised rape scene. On the whole, this kind of novel has gone ‘out of fashion’ (with a few notable exceptions which have dominated the best-seller lists!). However, a kind of stigma still remains.

The second conversation made me wonder about the word ‘predictable’. Yes, romances have, if not a ‘Happy Ever After’ ending, then at least a ‘Happy’ ending where the hero and heroine overcome the obstacles in the path to reunite. Aren’t thrillers, detective stories, and mysteries equally predictable? The goodies will triumph, the baddies will receive their deserved punishment, and the crime or mystery will be solved. What’s the difference? Why are romance novels considered predictable, while other genres aren’t?

And why are romance novels considered by some to be the ‘lowest form of literature’? Why do people want to disassociate themselves from reading romance novels? I’ve had a few reviews which start, “I don’t usually read romances but …” as if that is somehow praiseworthy. It seems to be okay to say you read thrillers or mysteries, but not the ‘done thing’ to admit to reading romances, even though thousands (millions?) of women obviously do!

Have you come across this kind of ‘literary snobbishness’ and, if so, what’s your response?

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Putting a Puzzle Together VS Mystery Writing by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

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My daughter and son-in-law gave me a one-thousand piece puzzle. It has been years since I’ve put a puzzle together and I thought it would be fun. However, as soon as I dumped out the pieces on the table I realized that putting the puzzle together would be much like me writing a mystery novel.

     First, the big pile of pieces is like the big mishmash of ideas, clues, scenes, characters, and settings that make up the notes I have for my mystery. Before I can start the puzzle I have to turn all the pieces upright so I can see their colour, just as I have to sort through my notes when I start my novel. I have to decide where in the story my book begins much like I have to decide how to start my puzzle. I can outline my novel as some writers do or I can jump in and start writing. With the puzzle, I can find all the outer edge pieces and put them together or pick scenes of the picture and find the colours to match.

     I decide to start with outer edge and I sift through the pile to find them. I return the rest to the box. As I work on the edge I have to go back through the box to find edge pieces I missed, just like I have to go through my manuscript and find where I have missed adding some important information or missed putting in a misdirection.

     Because of the way they are cut, it is hard to decide if a piece is part of the outside edge or if it is a regular piece. Just like writing, is that a clue or a red herring?

     With the puzzle I know at the beginning what the end result will be because of the picture on the box. Sometimes when I start my mystery, I know the ending, however sometimes the characters say or do something that I hadn’t planned on and I am left trying to figure out how to get them out of a situation or how to diffuse something they have said.

     I learned that there are various names for the parts of a puzzle piece: loops and sockets; knobs and holes; tabs and slots; keys and locks; even outies or innies. Sometimes it is frustrating to try and get knobs to fit into the holes. The colour looks the same only the tab doesn’t fit correctly into the slot. Or the pieces lock perfectly but there is a slight difference in colour. If one doesn’t seem to fit in a spot, I have to match it somewhere else. That is the same with my writing. Sometimes I come up with a good line or a scene only to find that it doesn’t suit where I want it and I have to find a better match somewhere else.

     When I get stuck with trying to figure out where my story goes next, I can work on a different section in my novel. In the puzzle if I can’t seem to make a scene come together I can go to a different part and work there. Every puzzle piece is tailored to go with the rest to make the picture just like every clue, every scene, every red herring has to fit into the story properly.

     What is frustrating to a puzzle solver is finding that one or two pieces are missing at the end. This is true for the reader of a mystery. All the clues have to be pulled together, the red herrings explained, the mystery solved, and the murderer caught. I can’t leave any pieces out.

     And the last thing I realized about how putting puzzles together and writing mysteries are similar is that both of them are an excruciatingly slow process for me.