Food, and some Interesting Facts, by Karla Stover

 

Check out all my books here:  https://bookswelove.net/stover-karla/

And by the same author:

Parlor Girls

Wynters Way

Murder: When One Isn't Enough

A Line to Murder

    Julie Andrews may have liked "Rain Drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens," and I do too, but if push came to shove, I probably like food better. And If and when it comes, to avoid global starvation, I'd have to go to France, the only European Country that is self-sufficient. At least, that's what I read on google, but google can be confusing. Consider this: regarding "Food waste produced annually in selected countries worldwide 2020, China and India produce more household food waste than any other country." versus this: "The United States discards more food than any other country in the world."  

    Huh?

    But what if I don't want to go to France? Well, there's always the cheese caves in Missouri. The cheese story has been created by several presidents but the gist is this: In the 1970s, America had a dairy products shortage. To alleviate the crisis and encourage production, President Jimmy Carter poured money into the dairy industry. The two billion dollars provided pushed the industry into overproduction. Struggling dairy farmers were motivated to produce as much as they could, knowing that the government would buy whatever went unsold. But then, with all the dairy products on its hands, the government scrambled for a solution to the problem it had created. The answer was convert the dairy to cheese, which was okay for a while. Then, in 1981, the Secretary of Agriculture told the country that the government owned 60 million, five-pound blocks of cheese which was starting to get moldy. Thus was born TEFAP, the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program which gave cheese to food banks to be doled out. However, issues with dairy products seems to be a never-ending problem.  Demand has declined, the number of lactose-intolerant people is growing but neither government subsidies nor production are waning. And, as a result, in 2016 farmers dumped 43 million gallons of milk into fields, animal feed, and anaerobic lagoons also known as manure lagoons, in other words, places where waste can be treated. And, now, cheese having become a totem of American culture, both Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z referenced it in songs.          

    But we are not alone. India and Norway are stockpiling wheat, and government involvement ( dare I say interference? ) created what became known as The Butter Mountain in the European Union. It joined beef mountains, grain mountains, milk lakes and wine lakes. 

    Here's something funny from Wikipedia: note the dates.

    Bloomberg News, New York, NY Retrieved 28 December 2017. "Europe's Butter Mountain Has Melted Away " 

    and

    The New York Times, Castle, Stephen (2 February 2009 ) Retrieved 28 December 2017.  "EU's butter mountain is back.     

    In 2021, Canada, surprised the world when it made a withdrawal from its strategic maple syrup reserve, which many people didn't even know existed, in order to stabilize prices.

    In 2019, China, thanks to African swine fever, auctioned off 10,000 metric tons of its pork reserves to help offset the damage done.

    In a series of former mine tunnels deep below the surface of Central Russia the government has a top-secret cache ( though how top-secret the cache is seems questionable since I found out about it on google )  of cereals, sugar, canned meat, and other food staples, all managed by Rosreserve, an agency which manages all of Russia's federally-mandated reserves.

    There are reserves other than food all over the world: animal DNA, rubber bullets, vaccines, cotton, there is even a library of ice. Like helium, raisins, and opinions about reserves, some stockpiles seem to come and go. I just hope the cheese holds out.

Jillian of Banff XO – Book Release July 1st / Barbara Baker

 

 

As the July 1^st release day for Jillian of Banff XO creeps closer, the jitterbugs get more active, and my house gets cleaner. When I worry, I clean. What if I didn’t get Jillian right in this story? What if someone finds an error between the pages? What if? What if? Clean. Clean. Clean. My knick-knacks cringe at the site of me coming so I head outside to walk. The outdoors helps me refocus on the seasonal changes and for a while I forget to worry about ‘what if?’

Initially, I never thought I would write a sequel to Summer of Lies but then What About Me? came to fruition. And then the need for yet another story, Jillian of Banff XO. Now it’s a series—something I never expected to happen when I wrote the first book.

Each novel takes Jillian through a stage of her teenage years and the turmoil life has in store for her. And it all takes place in Banff, Alberta where I grew up. The school’s hallways, a few favourite teachers and the places she walks past are so familiar to me. 

I hope readers can relate to my characters and will cheer them on to The End. I also hope readers will tell friends and family to check the books out. I hope. I hope. I hope. Yes, I will be out walking shortly replacing ‘what if’ with ‘I hope’ and taking a different trail to see if the shooting stars are blooming yet.

    

 

As if the emotional turmoil is not enough to deal with, I have to choose from a plethora of sales strategies and prepare a series of social media posts to promote my new book. And then of course, the dreaded - asking readers to leave a review. Ack. I get imposter syndrome when my finger hits the post icon. It sounds like I’m boasting … ‘look at me, look at me, I have a book release coming up.’

When I received the proof of the cover, I held my breath. It’s beautiful. One step closer to getting published. What if it becomes a best seller? My ego goes on a runaway for a few seconds, and then I chuckle because I’m right back at the beginning—what if? The whole process is overwhelming and frightening and exciting all mixed together and you can bet I will be logging in a lot of steps each day as July 1^st approaches.

Canada Day and my release will happen on the same day – almost like I planned it. How cool is that?

If you would like a reminder when the link opens for pre-orders, send me a note at bbaker.write@gmail.com

 

  

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

What About Me?: Sequel to Summer of Lies : Baker, Barbara: Amazon.ca: Books

 

Twice Hung! A Historical Mystery by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

    

Twice Hung came out last week! I'm so excited! If you're into historical mystery, with a sprinkle of romance, this one's for you! It features Ethel Arsenault and her journey to Charlottetown to see her affluent, business saavy brother Ernest, who has made a name for himself in the shipbuilding industry. When he turns up dead, Ethel is left to care for his estate, Eden Hall and his wife, Dolly. But Ethel is sure that there is something afoot when she starts hearing voices at night. Is she being plagued by the past, or is something more sinister at work? Please check out Twice Hung at all available retailers now. Though I wrote way out of my genre this time around, this book has been lovingly crafted with a ton of research into 1800's Charlottetown PEI. My visits to the island in the last few years really paid off here. Can you solve the mystery of Eden Hall? Oh! And don't forget to write a review! :)

PIC: The real Eden Hall my story Twice Hung was based on.

Nursing Home by J. S. Marlo

 

Undeniable Trait

is coming

in July 2024

   

 

  

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

I'm part of what my friend call "the sandwich generation". That's the generation of 50 to 70 yrs old who takes care of elderly relatives and young children at the same time.

I enjoy babysitting my grandchildren when they can't go to daycare. Being my children's backup babysitter isn't a chore, it's a ray of sunshine in my week, but taking care of two elderly relatives who live at the other end of the country is a whole different story.

These elderly relatives require special assistance, assistance that I'm not equipped to provide, assistance only available in a nursing home. Ironically, finding the right nursing home isn't any easier than finding the right daycare. One of my elderly relatives wouldn't be able to tell me if the care she receives is adequate any more than my 15-month-old granddaughter could.

The Covid years exposed the ugly management of too many nursing homes where basic care wasn't even basic. Some say you get what you pay for, but what happens when you can't pay more than you earn?

In Undeniable Trait, Willow is a young female plumber struggling to care for her elderly grandmother. Willow can't afford to stay home and not work any more than she can afford to pay for home care. Her only option is to send her grandmother to the only nursing home in her isolated northern town -- a nursing home that hides more than a few deadly secrets.

    Hoping to start afresh, Dr. Zachary Auckerman moves to a northern Canadian town in desperate need of a doctor. Within days of his arrival, he stumbles onto suspicious deaths and illegal activities at the nursing home, and encounters a fascinating female plumber with a spunky personality and six fingers on her left hand.

    After suffering an injury fixing a toilet tank, Willow Mitchell falls for the new doctor who stitched her hand and called her to thaw his frozen pipes. 

    The murder of her mother, a woman who seduced and extorted men, prompts Willow to dig into her past and seek her father’s identity, but the secrets surrounding her birth are buried deep in old medical files and locked in the ravaged mind of her grandmother who lives at the nursing home.

    Amid rumors, lies, deceit, and betrayal, Willow and Zachary hunt for the truth, unleashing deadly events that threaten their lives. Can they trust their hearts, and each other, before one of them becomes the next victim?

Undeniable Trait will be available next month (July 2024). 

As for me, one relative is a work-in-progress who's giving me lots of grey hair, but the other elderly relative and my three grandchildren are in good nursing home/daycare. 

Happy Reading,

J. S.

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

Teaming Up for Author Talks by Eileen O'Finlan

 

Click here for purchase information

One of the most fun things authors get to do is go to libraries, bookstores, and other places to talk to interested readers about their books. It's even more fun when we get to do it with other authors. Early this spring, I got to enjoy talking about Erin's Children, historical fiction set in Worcester, Massachusetts, with my friend and fellow author, Mary Anne Kalonas Slack. Mary Anne's debut novel, The Sacrificial Daughter, is also set in Worcester and, while it's not historical fiction, it does, like Erin's Children, feature an Irish family. We felt that was enough for us to do author talks together. Apparently, we were right because we've had great turnouts with very enthusiastic attendees.

More recently, I have done a talk with fellow BWL author, Eileen Charbonneau. Eileen and I have teamed up before and we truly enjoy it. This time we're talking about our most recent releases - my novel The Folklorist and Eileen's novel, Spectral Evidence which she co-authored with Jude Pittman and which is part of the Canadian Historical Mystery Series. Both are historical fiction. The Folklorist centers on the New England Vampire Panic while Spectral Evidence incorporates the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Since we are focusing on the folk beliefs about witches and vampires that came to America along with the European immigrants, we've titled our talk, "Witches and Vampires: When Old World Nightmares Invaded the New World." 

Most of the people in our audiences have never heard of the New England Vampire Panic and, though nearly everyone knows of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, most are surprised to learn that one accused husband and wife managed to escape from prison after having sent their children off ahead of them. In Spectral Evidence the children are sent to relatives in Newfoundland where they try to adjust to a society very unlike their own. We both enjoy enlightening talk attendees on these little-known events from New England history and about how they connect with other places outside of New England.

It is always a pleasure to talk to readers about our books. It's especially enjoyable to answer questions, listen to comments, and interact with readers. You never know who might be in the audience and what gems they may want to share.

Case in point:  Early in May I did a presentation with Mary Anne and another author, Ed Londergan, at the Hibernian Cultural Center in Worcester. In it I talked about my research on the history of Worcester including the fact that a resident of one of the historical districts gave me a private tour of his 1850s house which is nearly the same now as when it was built. Afterwards the President of the Hibernian Cultural Center told me that he and his wife are in the process of restoring an 1852 house and asked if I would like to see it. It was adjacent to the building we were in so I got an impromptu tour of a once- magnificent gem in the heart of the city right then and there. I have a feeling it will make an appearance in the next book in that series.

Eileen Charbonneau and I have started our Witches and Vampires book tour in the comfort of home. For me that was the Gale Free Library in Holden, Massachusetts, and for Eileen it was the Village Square Bookseller in Bellows Falls, Vermont, each being in the towns in which we live.

Presenting at the Gale Free Library in Holden, Massachusetts

Interacting with the audience at Village Square Bookseller in Bellows Falls, Vermont

While doing our talk in Bellows Falls, we found that one attendee was a direct descendant of Rebecca Nurse, one of the people hanged for witchcraft in Salem. During the Q&A portion of our talk, he told us the fascinating story of how he came to find out he was related to her. Again, an unexpected delight while on tour!

Now it's time to take it a bit further afield. In August, after we present at the Rockingham Public Library on the 9th, we will head north to the Champlain Valley area of Vermont. On this leg of the tour, however, we will be joined by another writer, Jane Willan, author of the Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery series. Having another author onboard necessitated a change in title, so it will become "Witches, Vampires, and Murder!" We are booked for a talk at the Pierson Library in Shelburne, Vermont in conjunction with the Flying Pig Bookstore on August 12th and are in the process of lining up more dates for the 10 days we've allotted for this leg of our tour. In our down time we'll be enjoying our own mini-writer's workshop as well as a little site-seeing.

We haven't forgotten that October is truly the best time of year for talk of witches and vampires. You can catch us at Tidepool Bookshop in Worcester, Massachusetts on the evening of October 29th. Follow us on Facebook to keep up with newly added dates and locations.

https://www.facebook.com/eileenofinlanauthor/

https://www.facebook.com/EileenCharbonneauAuthor/