Meet Smokey and Autumn Amelia by Eileen O'Finlan

 

                           

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All in the Furry Family, Book 2 in the Cat Tales series is scheduled for release in February. The main characters of the series are two sister cats, Smokey and Autumn Amelia. For those who have read the first book. All the Furs and Feathers, this is a refresher and for those who haven't read it, an introduction.

Smokerina "Smokey" Koshkyn:

Smokey is the elder of the two Koshkyn sisters. She is a Russian Blue cat, taking after her father's side of the family. Smokey is an architect employed by Fluffington ArCATechure, a highly successful business owned by Abigail Fluffington. Her best friend is Jasmine, also a Russian Blue and a web designer.

Coloration: Solid bluish gray

Strengths: Highly competent at her job and most other things, self-confident, formerly a superb mouser

Weakness: Terrified of coyotes
Quirks: She gets the zoomies about an hour before a storm and when excited. If it happens at work, she has to go to the basement to keep from zooming around the office.

Regrets: She feels responsible for making Autumn Amelia believe she's not a real cat.

Autumn Amelia Koshkyn:

Autumn Amelia is Smokey's younger sister. She's a calico Maine coon like their mother. Autumn is a baker and chef. In All the Furs and Feathers she works from home for Furry Confections, a bakery owned by Tabby Furry.

Coloration: Calico - white, burnt orange, and various shades of gray

Strengths: She is a culinary genius. Her lovable personality naturally brings furs and feather together.

Weaknesses: An overload of odd quirks and the fact that she's not sure she's a real cat because she's never caught a mouse.

Quirks: She snacks without realizing it while she's cooking because it gives her inspiration for new recipes. She can't go to restaurants because the aromas put her into a trance-like state that makes her take food from waiters' trays or other patrons' plates without knowing she's doing it. More than once, she's found herself in a restaurant's kitchen improving their recipes. She has a secret fantasy about being the Pirate Queen of the High Seas.

Regrets: She has never caught a mouse, not that she'd know what to do with it if she did catch one.

The characters Smokey and Autumn Amelia were inspired by my own cats of the same names. Sadly, the real Smokey went to the Rainbow Bridge a few years ago. Autumn Amelia, though getting on in years, still lives with me. She does not cook, but she does like to eat.

The real Smokey and Autumn Amelia

Scottish Penicillin by Paul Grant

 

https://bookswelove.net/grant-paul/

My name is Paul Grant and my first novel with BWL Publishing, Astraphobia, will be released in June of this year.  Please visit my BWL Author page by following this link to learn more about me and my novels: https://bookswelove.net/grant-paul/

Astraphobia follows three generations of a Scottish family who move first to Ottawa and then to Saskatchewan trying to outrun the curse of lightning.  I'm proud of my Scottish heritage, which includes a love of home-made marmalade or, as we call it, Scottish penicillin.

Marmalade is considered by some to be an aphrodisiac. Others think it enhances the effect of certain hallucinogenic drugs. 

Sherlock Holmes ate it with prawns, calling it brain food.  Of course most people prefer it spread on toast. And some, like D.H. Lawrence (and me), prefer to make their own. 

“I got the blues thinking of the future,” Lawrence said, “so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.”

The steam from the simmering citrus peel is a mid-winter tonic, and the final product will keep scurvy at bay.  March 10 is National Marmalade Day, marking the Sunday in 1495 when the first shipment of marmalade arrived in Britain from Portugal. That batch was made from quince, a hard and bitter pear-shaped fruit that’s almost inedible raw. But for centuries, people including the Romans, Greeks, 

French and Portuguese have made a sort of jam by slowly simmering quince with honey. In Greece the result is melimelon. The Portuguese call it marmalada, and still consider quince (marmelo) the only fruit worth using. But for millions around the world, marmalade means thick chunks of Seville orange peel suspended in jelly like burnished gold. 

Whatever its origins, marmalade is often associated with Scotland, thanks partly to a Dundee grocer called James Keiller and his canny wife Janet.

In 1777 a storm stranded a Spanish ship in Dundee Harbour. Keiller got a good deal on the ship’s cargo of Seville oranges.  But when he took delivery, he found the skin of the oranges to be thick and coarse, and the pulp sour, stringy and inedible. Janet had the idea to make a jam from the peel – like quince marmalada. More than two centuries later, Keiller & Sons still ship Dundee thick-cut Seville orange marmalade to half the world.

There are many other international and local purveyors of marmalade now, of course.  You can get ginger marmalade, three-fruit marmalade, even marmalade made with Scotch, which I think does a disservice to both. I prefer my marmalade straight up –oranges, water, sugar and pectin. Seville oranges are the best, but navel oranges are quite acceptable. Even the venerable marmalade-makers at Tiptree admit that using simply oranges and sugar makes it “...more time consuming and more difficult to make a consistent product, but it is still the best way and done properly, gives the very best results.”

Marmalade keeps well, and improves with age. At least, I’ve heard it does. Mine rarely lasts long enough.  Email me and I’ll send you my father’s recipe: homerink9@gmail.com  

                                                                    Marmalade in the morning has the same effect 

                                                                    on taste buds that a cold shower has on the body.
                                                                                Jeanine Larmoth - Harper’s Bazaar

 

 

 

Jitters by Julie Christen

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    I tend to be a Nervous Nelly. It doesn't take much to make my jaw clench or my tummy knot up. I have a special knack for predicting all the potential horrors in pretty much any situation. The What-ifs of my world know no bounds. Just ask my brain from 2:30 AM to about 4:30 AM.

    Case and point: two book signings in Bismarck, ND with Frank Kuntz and his family. 

• What if my car breaks down and I arrive tragically late?
• What if I realize three hours into the 7-hour trip that I brought the wrong box of books? Or worse, I forgot to bring ANY books?
• What if my dinosaur iPhone 5 decides this is the weekend to finally kick the bucket and I can't take credit cards?
• What if no one shows up? You know, like you used to imagine when you were little and had invited all sorts of kids to your birthday party.
• And what if Frank doesn't have a great experience and never wants to do this again?

    As with 99.5% of my What-if scenarios, none of these things happened. In fact, it was quite the opposite! We could not have asked for a better day, from the family-filled Balancing Goat Coffee Shop experience to the busy, bustling Barnes and Noble extravaganza. We drew people in with our winning personalities ;) and our love for the Nokota horses. We signed books. We sold books (sold out even!).  We talked about books and stories and writing and struggling and living. 

    Jitters dissolved early on as we realized our best advertising technique was to be ourselves and let the people see who was really behind the story we peddled.

    We already have plans to do more events together, particularly this coming summer with Chasing Horses at their store right in Medora near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Who knows how that will go!?

    Oh jeez, here come the jitters again...

    

    

 

Where has my Creativity Gone? by Jay Lang

                                                     

                                               bookswelove.net/lang-jay

                               To purchase: www.amazon.ca/One-Take-Jake-Last-Call

 Where has my Creativity Gone?

Lately, I’ve noticed that the weather here in BC can dramatically affect my creativity. In Vancouver, a rainforest, the standing joke among the locals year-round is, “We don’t tan, we rust.” But not much is ever said about the toll the constant winter weather can take—the dark clouds and endless precipitation can suck the energy out of you both physically and emotionally, which definitely affects your mood and creativity. So, I looked up some ways to combat the winter blahs, and here is what I found. I don’t think I’ll try all of these suggestions but there are a few that I will consider for sure! Here they are:

1.      Get outside, even on cloudy days: Even if it’s just for a short walk, the fresh air and natural light, even on overcast days, can help boost your mood and energy. Exposure to natural light helps regulate your circadian rhythm and improves sleep, which in turn supports creativity.

2.      Bring the outdoors in: Add plants, fresh flowers, or nature-inspired décor to your space. Studies show that being around greenery can reduce stress and increase creativity.

3.      Change up your environment: Sometimes a simple change in scenery can help reset your mind. If you’re feeling creatively stuck, try working from a new location—whether that’s a different room in your house, a café, or a co-working space.

4.      Exercise regularly: Physical activity helps release endorphins, combatting the winter blues. Whether it’s yoga, running, or just a quick home workout, staying active keeps your energy up and your mind sharp.

5.      Practice mindfulness: Meditation, breathing exercises, or simply taking a few quiet moments for yourself can help you reconnect with your inner calm. A clearer mind is often a more creative one.

6.      Embrace the cozy vibe: Winter can be an excellent time to lean into relaxation. Indulge in cozy, comforting activities like reading a book, making tea, or binge-watching a feel-good show. Sometimes, giving your brain a break can lead to fresh ideas when you’re ready to work again.

7.      Stay social: Isolation can intensify the winter blues. Reach out to friends, join a local class, or even just spend time with family. Social interaction helps boost mood and keeps your creative spark alive.

8.      Make time for hobbies: Whether it’s painting, knitting, journaling, or any other creative outlet, spending time on something just for fun can reignite your inspiration and help you tap into new ideas.

9.      Prioritize sleep: Winter’s shorter days can make us feel tired more often. Getting enough quality sleep helps restore both body and mind, which is crucial for creative thinking.

10. Set small goals: Winter can feel like it drags on, so breaking tasks into smaller, manageable goals can give you a sense of progress and accomplishment. Celebrate even the smallest victories to keep yourself motivated.

The trial and tribulations of researching life – and death – in 1734 by donalee Moulton

 

                                                                   Order Conflagration! here.

 

My second mystery novel, Conflagration!, is my first historical mystery. BWL has

a series of historical mysteries than span Canada from coast to coast. I was offered the 

opportunity to write the book and step back to 1734 when the colony of New 

France was ruled by King Louis XV. It was an opportunity I embraced. With trepidation.

 

At readings and book clubs, I joke that the I am not from Quebec, I do not speak French

as more than 80% of Quebecers do, and I do not write historical mysteries. So, of

course, I said “yes” when I was offered me the opportunity to write

Conflagration!. I am grateful I did.

 

What scared me most about the writing the book was getting something wrong.

Misspeaking. Misunderstanding. Misconstruing. The foundation for Conflagration! (and

for all historical mysteries) is accuracy. As a freelance journalist, I am used to writing on

topics that I knew little (and somethings nothing) about. I have written articles on

everything from buying cyber insurance to surviving a helicopter crash to paying the

tooth fairy. I know how to research, how to interview people, how to find people to

interview, and how to find accurate sources of information. For the most part though, the

research I’ve done was contemporary or contemporary adjacent. It wasn’t from 300

years ago.

 

Conflagration! chronicles the arrest, trial, and subsequent execution of Marie-Joseph

Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting the lower town of Montreal on

fire. When the flames were finally squelched, forty-six homes and buildings were gone.

The quarter, where the merchants lived and ran their businesses, was destroyed.

Fortunately, no one died.

 

I had never heard of Angélique, had never read her story in the many history classes I

took throughout school and university. I was not alone in this lack of knowledge. That is

because Angélique’s story is also the story of slavery in Canada, and for centuries we

have avoided the topic or rewritten the facts to shape the narrative. Fortunately,

Angélique’s story is more well known in Quebec, where a plaque has been erected in

her memory in Old Montreal.

 

As I delved into the events of April 10, 1734, I discovered others had gone before me.

There were books, websites, articles, documentaries, shorts. I embraced them all.

Some of these sources also referenced court documents, meticulously recorded, albeit

in French. One site translated those documents although translations from old French to

modern English are not always clear and understandable. The golden rule in journalism

is you must have at least two sources before you use any information. I also embraced

this rule.

 

As nerve-wracking as ensuring my story accurately referenced the trial transcripts and

sequence of events from the first flames to Angélique’s final breath, I discovered that

the justice system was only one element of research required. At one point, I had my

main character Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document

Angélique’s case, get up early and make himself a cup of coffee. Then I asked myself,

“Did they drink coffee in New France in 1734?” (They did, but tea was more common.)

 

This issue of everyday life came up in a myriad of ways. Philippe goes to put on boots.

(Did they wear boots three hundred years ago? What kind?) His wife, Madeleine, is

making supper. (How do you make supper when there are no stoves, no ovens, no

electricity? What do you eat?)

 

The answers to these and a multitude of other questions were answered thanks to

reliable sources on the internet, books written by authoritative sources, individuals

knowledgeable about aspects of the story, the time, the history – and more.

 

I owe them all a debt of gratitude.