Sunday, June 1, 2025

BWL Publishing New Releases June 2025

In the shadows of British Columbia’s Comox Valley, a tragic history refuses to rest. Based on chilling true events, Dancing Mary unearths the long-buried story of a young K’ómoks First Nation woman—named Mary by early settlers—who was betrayed and murdered by the very man she once trusted. Her spirit, said to appear as a shimmering blue orb, haunted the area for decades. The last vivid encounter occurred in 1914, when a soldier cycling down Comox Road rode through the ghostly light and described an otherworldly cold that he would never forget. From that moment on, the legend of “Dancing Mary” was born—named for the spectral sway of her ghostly presence.

But Mary's tale is more than just a ghost story.

Interwoven with the haunting is the emotional journey of a grieving father and daughter who return to the Comox Valley to lay to rest the ashes of their beloved wife and mother, lost to suicide in Vancouver. As they confront their own pain, they are pulled into the valley’s dark folklore, discovering a connection between past and present that is as healing as it is harrowing.

Blending historical tragedy, supernatural mystery, and human resilience, Dancing Mary is a gripping narrative of danger, loss, and the power of a spirit who refuses to be forgotten. Both a ghost story and a story of healing, it asks: what happens when the dead speak—and who among the living is ready to listen?

Baldwin, Barbara - BWL Publishing Inc.

Jordan Barrister loves her grandfather, her unique candle creations, and the life she’s built in present day Chicago. Her latest hobby obsessions, however, are love locks from a section of grille purchased at auction from Paris’ famed Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge. She’s determined to create a lasting tribute to those who put a lock on the bridge to safeguard their love. While a lock is normally used to keep something in, one particular lock accidentally opens a time portal and Jordan finds herself in 1926 Chicago.

Reporter Henry Douglas wants a more intriguing story than interviewing a magician named Harry Houdini. He is a man with a mission, on the trail of Chicago’s gangsters and bootleggers, crooked police and the man who shot his brother. His life doesn’t include beautiful mystery women falling into his arms out of nowhere. But there’s something about Jordan that intrigues him and discovering her secrets might be an even better story. He shouldn’t be surprised that along the way, he finds the other half of his heart.

In the beginning, all Jordan wants is to return to her own time, and she believes the now missing lock holds the key, but she needs Henry’s help to navigate this unknown period of history. By the time they discover the lock’s whereabouts and are in pursuit, she has fallen in love and wonders if she really wants to return to the present. How can she let go of the man who holds the key to her heart? When disaster strikes, they will need to use what they discovered to find the magic of the love lock that will keep their hearts together.

“Barb's books are like meeting up with a dear friend. It's a guaranteed good time full of magic, mystery, romance and a bit of mayhem.” – Anne Barringer, author

Lewis, Diane Scott - BWL Publishing Inc.

Sage, at fourteen, grows up in turmoil in Nahant, Massachusetts. Her changing body, her parents’ rocky marriage. When her cousin Patrick visits for the summer, his parents’ divorce has given him a reckless anger. He insists they explore the creepy mansion in the woods. Nate, Sage’s younger brother, is reluctant to approach the manor where a beloved teacher was found hanged months earlier. The children’s great-great grandmother worked at Lakeluster House in a previous century and was under suspicion of shooting another servant.

Now an old lady and her butler have moved in and the kids bring a welcome cake. Invited inside, Sage encounters a strange little girl who shows her the manor’s dark secrets—sparking Sage’s curiosity. Will the butler—a man with his own mysteries—throw them out for snooping? Who is real and who is a ghost? Was her relative guilty? And what danger lingers in the attic? Sage must gather her courage, risking her life to find out.

Editorial Review by Renee Duke

Review For Secrets Of Lackluster House by Diane Scott Lewis with Jorja Parkinson

TROUBLED TEENS TAKE ON EVEN BIGGER TROUBLE 5*

A YA novel that will definitely appeal to young teens who like scary stories, Secrets Of Lackluster House successfully conveys the insecurity and emotional turmoil of its adolescent and preteen protagonists as they find courage they didn’t know they had.

Hovey, Dean Doug Fletcher series - BWL Publishing Inc.

Deaths in US National Parks are not an uncommon occurrence. However, when the body of a Bourbon distilling icon is found at Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Historic Site, the industry and political implications of the death require special attention. Review Snippets Just finished Strung Out to Die and can’t wait until the next book Dean Hovey puts out. All of his books have been very enjoyable and leave you wondering who is the criminal right up to the end. Nice blend of humor and mystery. - Linda J.  A very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! This book is both thrilling and intriguing, all the way to the end. Western Justice is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

Saturday, May 31, 2025

DEADLINES

From the Editor's Desk

Friends, I know a little about 'time critical'.

Sometimes it's for a mission where you're finally actually doing something that may be impactful and the fuel gauge is running down 24lbs/min and the ship is sailing away from your current position at 22kts and if you spool up your sonar dome now from its 700' depth it should take about 4min then if you hustle back to the ship's projected position 25mins from now at 130kias you should have just about enough fuel to not have to ditch into the middle of the Mediterranean in time to turn you and your crew into shark bait.

Sometimes it's life and death and someone has had a couple too many beers and rocketed their snowmobile into the trees during a nighttime ride and their femur's shattered which won't be a problem if the hypothermia has it's way because it was 25 below in the daytime and you know you'll be 12 minutes loading up firing up and getting airborne then you have a 36 minute transit to the scene where the ambulance is useless because this wreck is in 3' of snow about 3 miles from any plowed roads and if you rush this and clip a powerline on final or don't do a thorough check of the weather and pick up a bunch of ice on your tailrotor on the way there you may now be looking at a quintupling of bodies your own included.

Sometimes it ain't such a big deal. 'Important', sure- for scheduling and goal setting and planning and all kinds of other elements that keep ink in the presses and our projects on the tracks, but none of these things are multi-million dollar operations or have lives hanging in the balance. I have to remind people of this sometimes (myself included), lest we get far too wrapped about the axle in this pursuit of writing and publishing- which, in my opinion, should ultimately be enjoyable and satisfying.

For one thing, we'd like to see finished products that we know the author has had time to go through a few separate times. A job worth doing is worth doing right, after all. If you find yourself saying at some point "eh, good enough, but I HAVE to get this to my editor or all hell will break loose", then you need to take a step back, read this article again (yes, you may reference it when next in this position) and let me know you're just not there yet. Oh believe me, we'd prefer all went according to our master schedule, but things happen, the best laid plans, etc. We get that, and sometimes it's pretty easy to talk someone else into releasing their book a couple months early in the spot where yours used to be!

All I ask is for you to keep your publisher posted, keep at it, do your best, and keep the urgency of things in perspective!

Friday, May 30, 2025

Locked Up by Eden Monroe

https://www.bookswelove.com/monroe-eden/

Most early jail cells were a horrifying experience.

For one thing, those incarcerated faced grossly inadequate sanitation in dark, squalid lockups, often relying on a slop bucket that ideally might be emptied once a day. Not surprisingly, disease and the spread of vermin were all too often the result of such conditions. But then poor sanitation was a widespread problem in general in past centuries. Besides, human confinement, and the treatment received while there, was seen as a form of degradation, no matter the nature of the crime. During those times anything terrible suffered by an inmate was deemed an appropriate deterrent to criminal behavior. That included unrelenting, agonizing brutality meted out in any number of cruel ways, with devices designed to inflict unimaginable suffering.

Says Daily.jstor.org about the inhumanity of the justice system of 17^th and early 18^th century colonial America:

“When the time for punishment arrived, it took the form of physical abuse or societal shaming. The stocks, whipping, pillory, and the ducking stool were common State responses used for lessor offenses.

“If someone was found guilty of thievery a letter ‘T’ would be branded on their hand after completing their corporal punishment. Human character at that time was perceived as permanent and immutable; a brand ensured the public would always see this person for what they were, a thief. Public hanging was the preferred punishment for a broad range of more serious offenses.”

Jail rations were typically inadequate and often putrid. With perhaps few exceptions (in some countries prisoners were required to pay if they wanted to eat at all), the accepted rule was that those in prison were not worthy of any form of decency or compassion, and in some jails, because of limited space, prisoners were not even segregated. Men and women were thrown into the same cell.

And whereas the wealthy often received more lenient consideration at the hands of a prejudicial system, such as release upon payment of fines, the poor usually endured much greater hardship. Because some facilities were inadequately constructed and escape possible, prisoners were commonly kept in irons for the entire duration of their stay. In most cases it could be years.

In the United Kingdom during the 18^th century, death was the punishment for more than 200 offences. As an alternative to hanging serious offenders, by Act of Parliament in 1718, prisoners were transported by ship to Great Britain’s colonies to serve their sentence on distant shores doing hard labour.

Debtors were also considered to be criminals with legal action brought against them by creditors, and jailed accordingly. Primarily during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, debtors could easily make up the lion’s share of the prison population. These were people, including tradespeople, who had simply fallen on hard times, and release was incumbent upon the payment of any outstanding debt against them. However, eventual overcrowding of prisons was actually in their favour, as (UK) Parliament would have to occasionally intervene and discharge many of these debtors on certain conditions.

A lack of prison space was an ongoing challenge for authorities, and in addition to small village lockups, castle cellars, underground dungeons and rusted cages, decommissioned war ships, moored at London area docks, were also pressed into service.

Says Parliament,uk about the incarceration of prisoners on those ships: “What began as a temporary measure became a permanent arrangement as prisoners were put to hard labour on the docks and dredging the Thames.”

In early Canada and the United States, debtors were also jailed locally awaiting due process, and to address overcrowding in general, Canada’s first large prison began receiving prisoners in June of 1835 at Kingston in Upper Canada (now Ontario). According to Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca: “Kingston penitentiary, opened with great hopes of solving the problem of crime and criminals, was plagued by dissension, corruption and inhumanity from the beginning.

“The first major investigation, the Brown Report (1849), is full of cases like that of Peter Charboneau, an 11-year-old child committed to Kingston prison for 7 years in 1845. While in prison he was lashed 57 times in 8½ months for offences in the jail, including staring, winking and laughing….”

Jail reforms were slow to come, but over time several individuals and organizations dedicated themselves to addressing systemic issues.

It was the harsh prison conditions witnessed by Elizabeth (Gurney) Fry in the UK’s “filthy and disease-ridden” Newgate Prison that spurred her into action. She was outraged that upwards of 300 women, along with their children, were packed into an inhumanely small space. It was her activism that first saw male and female prisoners properly segregated, also providing education for incarcerated women and children as well as many other important reforms.

John Howard was also an 18^th century social reformer, and he dedicated his life to not only improving prison conditions per se, but for better treatment of the prisoners themselves. In Canada, Agnes Campbell Macphail was the first female Member of Parliament in Canadian history, and also a fearless advocate for much-needed penal reform in Canada. In the US, Thomas Mott Osborne, a former prison warden, took up the fight for correctional improvements in his country, as did the like-minded countryman, Austin MacCormick.

There were certainly exceptions, where the gaol (early English spelling) keeper and his family lived in an apartment that was part of the overall structure, and regular meals were provided to prisoners.

Although the incarceration experience today is vastly different from what it once was for most in less enlightened times, and this too varies by country, public laws must still be upheld and justice served. As indicated in statista.com, topping the list of countries with the largest number of prisoners per 100,000 of the national population as of February 2025, is El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America. Last on that list is Belize, also located in Central America. The United States comes in at number five.

And while every country in the world has their own prison system to hold lawbreakers accountable, Vatican City “… the world’s smallest fully independent nation-state” according to Britannica.com, does not have a prison system as we know it.

(ewtnvatican.com) “Firstly, while the Vatican City State operates with its own judicial system and penal code, it lacks a traditional prison. It possesses facilities for temporary detention post-arrest, but these do not constitute a formal jail. Should sentences become enforceable, the convicted individuals would serve their time in Italy, as per the Lateran Pacts agreement. Secondly, the Vatican legislation stipulates that if sentences do not exceed a certain threshold, they may be suspended. Essentially, imprisonment only occurs if additional crimes are committed within Vatican jurisdiction.”

Unfortunately, for any number of reasons, countless innocent people have been wrongfully convicted and put to death, others incarcerated for extended periods of time. This is the fate that has befallen many (especially before fingerprinting and DNA analysis), the longest in the US being, according to theguardian.com, Glynn Simmons. He spent more than forty-eight years in prison before being exonerated for a murder he did not commit.

And being framed for a crime, including murder, is not just the unsettling stuff of entertainment industry imaginations. It’s very real, says mirandarightslawfirm.com: “‘Framing’ is a frightening reality for many criminal defendants. Yes, you could be framed for a crime, and it happens more frequently than we would like to admit….”

In When Shadows Stir, Book Two of The Kavenaghs (1870-1879) a harsh 19^th century jail awaits for just such a situation….

https://www.bookswelove.com/monroe-eden/

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Long Ago on the Internet

Roan Rose ISBN: 149224158X

Way back, more than 25 years ago, the Internet was a fairly new thing. Ordinary people, from their home personal computers, were finding their way into all kinds of list serves, usually aligned with some niche interest, from TV shows to movies to genealogy, to nascent gaming platforms. There was electronics tech talk, as well astronomy, mechanics, philosophy and music. Universities began connecting, sharing their resources. Fiction began to appear online. This was the time of the birth of what is now today's globe-spanning "social media" and the genesis of many mega-billion dollar fortunes, whose troll lord owners tyrannize the internet -- and the politics - of today's online world.

In those innocent days, however, the internet was a magical open door for those of us fortunate enough to have a desktop computer and dial up service. Through that electronic door people with all kinds of interests could connect, people from all over the world, in my case, the English speaking world. We could make friends everywhere we shared a language; we could travel vicariously to places like England and Australia, or to the West Indies or Canada.

Through an online friend, I discovered sites for history lovers--one in particular called "Later Medieval Britain" (LMB) where people who were fascinated by the Wars of Roses had debates and heated exchanges with one another. Many of these folks were British, some were Australians. I was one of the first Americans on the list, because the fate of "the princes in the tower" had been an obsession of mine since childhood. (My own on-the-spectrum "penguin.") Below: Richard III

I'd been advocating for the Yorkist side of this ancient strictly regional spat since I was a bookish kid, even arguing ("Rude American child") with the Beefeaters at the Tower of London in my young teens. I passionately believed that Richard III had been maligned, that he had not killed his nephews as his successors, the Tudors (Lancastrian side) alleged. Whatever the truth is, 500+ years later any evidence can only be circumstantial; we shall probably never know what truly happened to these poor little dynastic pawns, but that's not the subject here.

My subject is the friends I made--on the Yorkist side of the ancient quarrel, naturally! As time passed, we shared about other things: our families, children and grandchildren, pets, gardens, as well as all the historical sources which were passed around and discussed at length. I didn't have a lot of money, but here was a way I could travel without going overseas. Looking back, I loved the time spent on the LMB and then searching libraries for the books about which I'd heard, but most of all, I loved these people, who were as touched as I was.

I was writing a novel and many others on the listserve were too. We all had our own solutions of the whodunit, of course. When I finally got together the money to go to the UK, I managed to meet several of these much esteemed online voices. One of them drove a group of us around to various historical sites and museums. We had supper together in York in a little restaurant inside the medieval walls. One venerable gentleman, Geoffrey Richardson, who lived near York, had written books on the Neville/Plantagenet clan which were available in museum stores at the local castles and battlefields. I'd hoped to meet and walk upon his favorite battleground, but it never happened, for flooding rains drove all the tourists out of York. I was lucky to catch the last train that made it to London that week, and never had another opportunity again, for he passed away later that winter, taking all his wealth of knowledge and his caustic wit and unique northern turn of phrase with him.

Death happens more frequently in my world these days. I opened FB today--something I don't do much anymore. What used to be news from far-flung friends is now all advertisements, not the warm virtual connection that once was so reliably there. After scrolling down a bit, I suddenly came upon a funeral announcement for an old LMB Australian friend, one who was younger than I am.

I was shocked and saddened. Meredith was a fellow Ricardian, a fellow writer, a spirited member of our listserve. Later, she became my online publisher and a talented editor too, but besides that I was acquainted with her husband, her children and grandchildren, her garden and her home. I knew her kitties too--these often pictured lounging luxuriously in bed. Unasked, Meredith spontaneously sent several Aussie children's books which were informative, clever and funny for one of my southern granddaughters, kindly providing this little girl she'd never meet her first real view into life in far-off land. Another beautiful mind, full of learning, opinions, memories and humour, gone forever. RIP my dear friend!

~~Juliet Waldron

Juliet Waldron

I am in the grandma zone, a long time writer and poet, posting at Crone Henge and BWL these days just because. Wish I could travel, and last year I was lucky enough to get back to the UK, specifically to Avebury to reconnect with the ancient temple. Hiking, camping, lover of solitude, cats, moons and gardens.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

My Favorite and My Not-So-Favorite-Point-of-View By Connie Vines #ConnieVines

My Favorite and My Not-So-Favorite Point-of-View.

How does an author choose a point of view for his/her story?

I promise to only skim the surface of our high school creative writing class :)

Omniscient, 3rd person, or 1st Person, What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Reading:

The omniscient POV allows you to enter the heads of multiple characters, but you will act more as an observer than a reporter.

As a child (and even today), I enjoyed reading the Greek myths and Homer (author of the Iliad and the Odyssey)

The Odyssey is uniquely structured, with the narration split between a third-person omniscient narrator and a first-person narrative by Odysseus himself. The omniscient point of view is present in excerpts at each chapter's beginning.

In terms of gods, the Greek pantheon consists of 12 deities who were said to reside at Mount Olympus: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Poseidon.

Writing:

While I might consider this point of view in a noir-type crime story (short story or novella), I do not believe it would be widely accepted in a contemporary story.

Reading:

First Person POV

In first-person narration, the narrator is a character in the story, telling it from their own perspective. The narration typically employs the pronouns I (or we, if the narrator speaks as part of a group).

Writing:

I write in the first person when writing Young Adult contemporary and Young Adult historical novels.

I remain in the main character's point of view. At the beginning of each chapter, I may insert information using a quote, historical fact, etc. I also include an Epilogue.

Reading:

3rd Person POV

In the third-person point of view, the author narrates a story about the characters, referring to them by name or using the third-person pronouns "he," "she," and "they." The other points of view in writing are first person and second person.

Writing:

3rd Person POV

My contemporary novels, excluding young adult fiction, are written in the third person. While I may change point of view (POV), I strive not to head-hop.

First and foremost, this mode of storytelling comes most naturally to me when writing a romance. The third-person narrative is as old as time.

Third-person subjective:

From this perspective, you can enter the characters' thoughts and viewpoints. It goes beyond narrating the character's thoughts by telling the reader "she thought" or "he wondered." It lets you really be in their head the way first-person POV does.

My excerpts from "Gumbo Ya Ya," An anthology for women who like their romance Cajun Style!

(Opening Teasers from my anthology)

Marrying Off Murphy

Settling into his office chair, Professor Murphy Flynn glanced at the faxed copy of the OP News. "I Want to Get Married!" the headline shouted. He upended his coffee mug when he realized the grainy photograph was of him, sending the liquid perilously close to a six-inch stack of upgraded papers.

He snagged the papers with one hand, using the other to dab at the puddle with his tie. His gaze locked on the name of the submission's editor: Sylvie Dupree. The memories hit him hard and fast, leaving Murphy to feel like he'd taken a direct blow to his solar plexus.

Love Potion No. 9

"Don't shake your finger at me, Simone Basso. I know what I'm doing," Persia Richmond said, holding a pipette to fill a crystal half-ounce atomizer with perfume. The top notes of peach blossoms, bergamot, and mid-notes of gardenia, honey, and tuberose tanalized. Meanwhile, the tuberose, the most carnal of the floral notes and the high-ticket natural essence for her fragrance compound, merged with peony and orange blossom to temper the intoxication properties. The base notes linger, while a hint of something unnamed and mysterious beguiled and skimmed across the narrow processing room, saturating her senses.

A Slice of Scandal

"Hey, now, 'dis key lime pie's like de one I serve at my restaurant. Simple to make and good to eat! Key limes perk up de mouth and makes you happy."

Producer/Director Julia Kincade focused on her monitor and adjusted the mic on her headset. "Camera One, tighten that headshot." She watched as the camera feathered over the chef to capture the best angle. The camera should have loved Franklin. His height was average, his black hair was short and curly, and his skin took on a polished bronze color under the harsh camera lights, but the camera didn't like Franklin.

1-800-FORTUNE

The moon was full and huge in the sky, a brilliant iridescent orb that stared down at the earth. Enza allowed the energy to feather over her as she removed the silk cloth protecting her Tarot cards.

The tarot deck has seventy-eight cards, four suits of fourteen cards each, Swords, Cups, Wands, and Pentacles, and twenty-two cards called the major arcane—the big mysteries.

Enza's mother told her she would learn to associate cards with people. She knew this was true. Because through her travels, she had met them all...