A No Fuss, No Muss Getaway by Helen Henderson

Fire and Amulet by Helen Henderson
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A snow-covered road turned into a gorgeous warm spring day. The results of the incongruous weather turned thoughts to a getaway. As part of the effort to share a little more of myself, the topic is "the Perfect Weekend Getaway."

At one time, I would have said a quiet weekend camping in the mountains amidst the trees would be perfect. But since the track record for camping has included several mountain cloudbursts and three hurricanes, I no longer think that is a good idea. And mountain campgrounds are not known for good internet access.

An alternative to camping would be a seaside cabin. Quiet time on the porch is good for the soul. Hiking the dunes or bicycling a nice flat trail provides just enough exercise. Again, storms or a hurricane have taken perfect and given it a different descriptor not suitable for public consumption.

At this point I am not sure what a perfect weekend would be. Maybe a three-day cruise or a glamping camp out at a dude ranch. Good weather, comfortable accommodations are important. I've reached the age and stage of life where roughing it is no longer fun. And the most important considerations to make a weekend perfect, someone to do the planning and cooking.

Over the New Year's weekend, I did a version of the someone else do the work and went on a river cruise from New Orleans, Louisiana up to Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Day trips had a list of places and a hop-on/hop-off bus cycling between them. For food, all we had to do was to go to the grand dining room or the small, more informal area on the bow of the boat. And best of all, the weather didn't include blizzards or hurricanes.

 

 

 

Transportation was a contemporary version of a Mississippi River steamboat. The crowds in the French Quarter were heavy due to the holiday and the Sugar Bowl game, but not enough that you couldn't do what you wanted, as long as it wasn't eating in a restaurant. And there was the surprise treat of a New Orleans street parade. It might not have been perfect, but the long weekend qualified for a no fuss, no muss getaway.

 ~ May all your weekends be your idea of perfect. Until next month, stay safe and read.   Helen

 

To purchase Fire and Legacy Novels: BWL (And an advance notice: Watch for announcements for the April 2024 release of Fire and Legacy, Book 2 of the Tear Stone Collectors.)

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. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.

Developing Characters by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor ##MFRWAuthor #writing #characters #development

 

Janet Lane Walters is visiting and talking about characters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #characters #heroes #heroines #villains

 . Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?

My favorites to write are the villains. I think this is because I want my villains to be on the wrong sideof life but not too far. I rather like those villains who with different events in their lives could be heroes.

 

3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Since I usuallyuse astrology to create my characters. I hit my books on the subject and look at the Sun, Moon and Rising signs and toss together bitsd from both. Naming my characters is as much a part of creating a character as their physical, emotional and nature are. Theyalways com after I have the idea for a book. The idea is always first when I write.

 

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Heroines are created the same as heros. They also come after the idea and the plot.

 

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

Love villains. Sometimes they aren't really bad butsomethign they stand inopposition to the hero or heroine in a story. Giving themsomething that makes them seem good helps set them up. My favorite villain loves his mother, and is helpful to others. Unfortunately some of his good traits become obsessive.

 

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release is Iced Tea and other short stories. The characters are a mixture of people rather than singletons.

 

7. What are you working on now?

I'm currently working on Keltoi a romantasy and the sixth book of a series. Have no idea what i'll do with it when done. an researching the start of a new mystery series. The Horror Writer's Demise.

9. Who are your favorite authors?

There are probably too many to mention. I am a reader with 2000 plus books in my Kindle library, not to mention the books that surround me in almost every room of my house.

 

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The Concrete Giant, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The award-winning trilogy, The Twisted Climb
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https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

It's heralded as one of the top attractions in Canada and identified as one of the seven modern wonders of the world. Built to service communication needs and later, the city's tourism industry, Toronto's CN Tower, (Canada's National Tower), took just three years to build at a cost of $63 million Canadian dollars. Construction began in February 1973 and continued through each Canadian season, opening in June 1976. The final height is a dizzying 553.3 metres (1,815.3 feet) which includes the broadcast antenna portion of 96.1 metres (315 feet).

Me proving once again that taking a 'selfie' involves very little of 'self.'

There are no specific, numbered floors until you get to approximately 1,100 feet. That's when you're on the first of eight floors, with the top floor at almost 1500 feet. On these levels you will find several observation areas, including the fear-factor-inducing Edgewalk. At this point, 356 metres (1,168 feet), you are in the open air, harnessed to a steel bar above, and free to 'walk the circle' of the tower. You'll also find the Top of Toronto restaurant, billed as the tallest restaurant in the world. Here, views of the city are not limited to where you're seated: the restaurant completes a full revolution every 72 minutes.

For thrill-seekers, strap yourself to the Edgewalk on top of the main pod.
(Photo by Sergiu Dumitriu @wikimedia.org)
Would you do this?

Futuristic, science-fiction like photo of the CN Tower main pod under construction, 1975.
Photo by Robert Taylor, (Bobolink) @wikimedia.org

The engineers who designed the CN Tower originally called for a super-crane to raise the communications antennae up to the top. However, when a Sikorsky helicopter from a civilian operator became available, the 36 antennae pieces were lifted and positioned during a period of three and a half weeks, saving over six months of construction time.

Skycrane helicopter 'Olga' lifting one of 36 antenna segments, March 1975. 
(Photo by WikiPedant @wikimedia.org)

CN Tower is the 3rd highest freestanding tower in the world.

For 32 years (1975 to 2005), Toronto's CN Tower was recognized as the tallest freestanding structure in the world. With dozens of towers/buildings/structures vying the for this prestigious honour, the Guinness Book of World Records re-defined the definitions of 'tower,' 'free-standing,' and 'building.' In 2009, China's Canton Tower took the top honour of freestanding tower at 604 metres or 1,982 feet. Two years later, Japan's Tokyo Skytree became the tallest tower at 634 metres or 2,081 feet.

How many times will lightning strike?

According to the CN Tower's website, pictured above, lightning strikes the tower approximately 75 times a year. The metal components of the antennae attract lightning, so the engineers incorporated multiple copper strips into the structure, running from the top of the tower to the bottom. Because copper conducts electricity so thoroughly, the electricity that's generated from the lightning is drawn down the copper strips to the grounding rods buried below the tower. As a result, lightning strikes are safely and effectively discharged into the ground.

Visiting the CN Tower is a 'must' for anyone travelling to Toronto. If heights aren't your thing, there's always something happening at the Scotiabank Arena, or the Rogers Centre (formerly the SkyDome) and Ripley's Aquarium which is at the Tower's base. All within walking distance!

Below are the many faces of the iconic CN Tower (Photo credit: J.C. Kavanagh)

Until next time, stay safe and remember to tell the ones you love that you love them.

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3)
and
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, 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

February New Releases by BWL Publishing Inc.

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1692 And All That...

 

Find my books here

I'm so happy that my new novel in the Canadian Mystery series with my co-author Jude Pittman is coming out next month! What do you think of the cover? I think this series is a fine way to learn more about Canadian history, province by province, while engaging in great stories and tacky mysteries to solve, along with resourceful amateur and professional detectives.

Our assignment was Newfoundland-- an island I've admired since seeing the enchanting musical "Come From Away." Since I'm a New Englander, a place with historic ties to Newfoundland in the colonial period, Jude and I decided to link the province's vibrant cod fishing trade to that of Salem, Massachusetts. And what was happening in 1692-93 Salem? You know it-- a witch hunt.

That got our creative juices flowing! 

Then of course, came research and lots of it. I have not set a novel this far back in time, so I thought I share some of our research that I found fascinating...

Did you know....

* That most witch hunts took place, not in the so called "Dark Ages" or medieval times, but in the period of the Renaissance?

*That there was a secret alliance between England and France that left Newfoundland's settlements vulnerable to attack during King William's War?

*That the delightful puffins of Newfoundland did not get their name until 1760? So in Spectral Evidence we needed Newfoundlanders to call them sea parrots!  

Puffin (Sea Parrot)

*That the First Peoples of Newfoundland, the Beothuk, were declared "extinct" by the 1820s, but their friends the Mi'kmaq disputed the claim. Genetic evidence have proven them right.

The Beothuk of Newfoundland

*That there are "easter eggs" in Spectral Evidence that fans of Star Trek might enjoy?

What??? Oh, yes, make it so!