Running Behind by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #Holidays #Release in December #Plotting new Book

 

Suddenly I realized it was my day to post on the blog. For some reason I've been runing a day behid for weeks. No excuses, really. As one ages, days seem to run into each other. So for the past few weeks, I've been pushing myself. Whatwith? First there's the December release of Seppal. I've been doing much promotion of the book. Trying something new with this one. I'll know if it works. That's Excuse no.1

Excuse number 2 is Christmas stockings. This year I have 17 to fill for an expanding fmily. The real problem is they must go out after Thanksgiving to make sure they arrive on time. Most of them will be sent out of state.

Excuse Number 3 is I've started plotting the last of the Moon Rising series - Keltoi and when I'm in that zone I lose hours and hours. The plot goes to bed with me and I often wake up with scenes ready to fit into the story. Once the plot is in line and it's almost done, I'll begin writing the story. That's the part I love, too. Next month I'll be back to my orderly self.

 

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The Seven Fires Prophecies, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

Book 3 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series: 

A  Bright Darkness

In last month's blog, I referenced an Ojibwe legend about the Seven Fires Prophecies. It's a fascinating, genuine tale handed down over hundreds of generations by tribe Elders and Wisdom Keepers. The significance of these prophecies and how they've transpired over the centuries, cannot be understated. These prophecies became pivotal in the final book of The Twisted Climb series. Curious? Read more below in an excerpt from Chapter 20 of A Bright Darkness. 

Chapter 20 - The Seven Fires Prophecies

“In the ages when time had just begun for my people – the original Anishinaabe nation – seven prophets dared to speak to the Elders about the future. Their predictions and warnings are called the Seven Fires Prophecies. Each prophecy marks a significant turning point for our people. Let me explain.” Mrs. Beeforth, the Ojibwe Elder, settled in her chair. “The first prophecy spoke of our origins, of how we had to preserve our history, our traditions, and medicinal practices. All these things were to be written on sacred scrolls. The prophet said we had to travel from the shores of the great salt water – the Atlantic Ocean – to the land where food grows on the water. If we did not travel to this land, we would die.”

“The Second Fire Prophecy would be upon us when we doubted the wisdom of the Elders. During this time, the ancient ways would be ridiculed and stifled. It would take the insight of a young native-born boy to re-direct the people back to the traditional ways.”

“The Third Fire prophecy declared that the nation must continue their journey west, to the chosen land – the land where food grows on the water. I can tell you now that our people travelled for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, settling in the Great Lakes Region. There, the food on the water was found – wild rice. Berries, beaver, deer and fish were also plentiful, and our people flourished.”

“The Fourth Fire Prophecy was met with skepticism. Remember, these prophets were from the beginning of our ages. In this prophecy, two prophets foretold the arrival of a Light-skinned race. One warned that the future of our people depended on whether or not the Light-skinned race was offering true brotherhood. If they arrived with a handshake and desire to share their knowledge, then our people would join to form a great nation. However, the second prophet advised that if they came with weapons, and if they spoke from both sides of their mouth and secretly desired to steal the riches from our land, we should beware. If the rivers turned sour and the fish die, that is the sign the Light-skinned race brings death.”

Mrs. Beeforth adjusted her glasses, eyes grim. “The Fifth Fire prophecy foretold a struggle amongst all Indian nations; an internal struggle concerning traditions and beliefs. The Light-skinned people promised their own kind of salvation as long as we relinquished our beliefs. The internal struggle amongst our peoples would last for many generations and bring the nations to the brink of extinction.”

“The Sixth Fire Prophecy speaks to the results of the Fifth Prophecy. The deceit of those pushing to destroy our way of life will become evident when the wisdom of the Elders is disparaged and ignored. It will become evident when children are removed from the teachings of the Elders, and when our people are driven from their lands. A new sickness will befall our people at this time. Languages will be lost. The purpose of life – of living, loving and learning – will turn into shallowness and grief.”

“This is horrible,” Jayden muttered, “because it all came to be.”

“Yes,” Mrs. Beeforth agreed. “It all came to be.” She took a sip of water and continued.

“It was during this time that the Wisdom Keepers – priests if you will – called upon every Elder and every Priest, from every tribe, to gather all the sacred writings and scrolls. Everything that defined our people – our medicines, our languages and our traditions – was to be inscribed on birch bark and placed in a sacred bundle. This bundle would be hidden in a hollowed-out log and the log hidden within the crevice of a rock cliff. The log could only be reached by scaling down the cliff. All the knowledge of our people, from time immemorial, would be kept hidden there until the Indian people were ready to practice their beliefs and traditions, respect their Elders, and resume our Native ways without reprisal from the Light-skinned people.”

* * *

Check out A Bright Darkness for yourself and read what the Seventh and final prophecy will bring.

In the meantime, stay safe!

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 Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2022

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

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Hold the Advice or Live by it? By BC Deeks, Paranormal Mystery Fiction Author

 

Visit B.C. Deeks' BWL Author Page for Book and Purchase Information

http://bookswelove.net/deeks-bc/

It’s taken me 64 years to learn not to teach others what it took me 64 years to learn myself. People must discover things themselves or it just doesn’t stick. That’s not to say I haven’t heard some really good advice that I wish I had known, or even listened to, over the years. For example. I wish I had known, Skip all the heartbreak and drama of teenage dating and just read a book until you’re 25 – Wish I'd had that nugget of wisdom at 15.

Ironically, now I collect advice sayings like tree ornaments and I even try to follow the sage wisdom to lead a more mindful life. Another one that I wish I had known way back is, Find your passion-Then figure out how to make money at it. I’ve known since I was twelve that I wanted to be an author, but my career took a very different direction.

I was a young woman in the ‘yuppy’ generation. We energetically threw ourselves at that glass ceiling determined to be the first to shatter it. I’ll admit I experienced some exciting adventures. In the early 1980s, I sat at a table with the CIA on one side and the KGB on the other! They didn’t speak to each other, but I spoke to both of them separately. Fascinating times. I also got lost in the warehouse district of Paris at midnight on another occasion and was rescued by a mysterious French businessman. He drove me back to my hotel and wished me fond memories of the city before disappearing again into the night. I’m not making this stuff up, but it sure does find its way into my writing.

It wasn’t easy being a single woman working in male dominated industries and traveling internationally. Computer security was an emerging field, and I was dealing with hackers, terrorists, and an emerging Dark Web. I was also rising into management, and sometimes encountered men who didn’t like a woman directing their work. Fortunately, there were also men along my journey who gave me a solid hand up. I’ll share another piece of advice I live by: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

And I did eventually get back to my dream of writing and pour all those experiences into my writing.

Maybe I should have listened to some of the advice I was given when I was younger. I wish I had believed then that I would survive the tough times and grow from my experiences. My mother’s favorite advice to me was, And this too shall pass. She was a wise woman.

Do you have advice you live by? Or wish you had listened to when you were younger?

Stick Season

 Find my books here

 Welcome to Stick Season here in Vermont!

What is it? It's that time when the leaves have left the trees but the snow has yet to visit.   Inexact, to be sure, like our maple sugaring season...more dependent on Mother Nature than on the calendar. 

Stick Season in Vermont is a time of transition. The days are shorter, the nights are colder. We start to nest indoors. It's time for contemplation, for walks among the downed leaves.

For me, it's a great time for cooking up plots for future novels, for trying to understand my characters and stories of books in progress, while enjoying our landscapes, transformed to an almost black and white beauty of bare limbs and grey skies letting us know that winter is on the way.

The Novel I Wish I'd Written

 

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My book club chose the classic novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier for our October meeting. This was the third time I'd read the book. I've loved it each time for slightly different reasons. 

I was in my twenties when I first read this story of a young woman who marries a wealthy older man she meets on a holiday in Monte Carlo. His late wife, Rebecca, looms larger-than-life and haunts the tale from beginning to end. Gradually the story builds to a series of plot twists. I didn't see any of them coming, yet I instantly recalled clues the author had planted along the way to make the surprises completely believable. The only author I've read who did this almost as well was Agatha Christie. Literary writers often dismiss such twists as mere plot. In Rebecca, every twist is embedded in character. If the story narrator, her husband Maxim, Rebecca, and all of the secondary characters had been different people, the story and twists wouldn't have happened exactly as they did.  

 

About twenty years later, I started writing mystery novels. Whenever the subject of favourite books came up, I'd say that I couldn't choose my favourite as a reader, but Rebecca was the novel I wished I'd written, mainly for the author's handling of surprise. Perhaps this prompted me to read Rebecca a second time. By then, I'd seen several movie versions and remembered all the twists, but I still found myself gripped by the suspense of what was to come. Fans will recall a scene where the narrator breaks a valuable figurine. As the narrator struggles to cover her action up, I was on the edge of my seat, worried for this sympathetic character.   

This third time reading Rebecca, I was mainly drawn in by du Maurier's writing. The novel struck me as a cross between two other classics written by women, Jayne Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, with mystery and suspense thrown into the mix. Rebecca features the grand passion and gothic qualities of Bronte's story, with subtle Austen-like touches of social observation and humour. All three books are about women who fall in love with men who are far superior to them in wealth and social status. I interpret each of the stories as showing how the woman becomes the man's equal. Perhaps this partly explains why these novels resonate with modern readers. 

In addition, on third reading, I realized that Rebecca contains a number of life lessons, about such things as not making assumptions about other people, assuming you know what they are thinking, and speaking out for yourself. In middle age, I read a popular book on cognitive therapy, which is commonly viewed as the most effective psychotherapy method. Everything in the book was already there in Rebecca. I wonder if this is why I easily grasped the therapy concepts and if, subconsciously, I applied them to my life after reading Rebecca when I was young. 

Our book club discussion leader also brought up some modern interpretations of Rebecca that I hadn't heard before. Maybe I'll grasp them if I read the novel a fourth time. You can dive into Rebecca forever it seems and surface with something new.   

When I reached the end of the novel last month, for the third time, I decided to go out on a limb say, Rebecca isn't only the book I wish I'd written, it's my favourite novel ever. Admittedly, I'm the only member of my book club who rated it this high. A couple of people didn't like it. Others had mixed feelings. A surprising number hadn't read the book before. Nobody predicted the twists on their first time. Rebecca is worth reading for that reason alone, and for so many more.                    

Rhododendrons symbolize Rebecca in the story