Never Underestimate the Importance of History...by Sheila Claydon

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I think I enjoyed writing my  Mapleby Memories series more than any of my other books and, in part, this was because the research that was necessary to get the facts right sucked me in. For Book 1: Remembering Rose I had to discover what life was like in small town UK in the late 1800s and early 1900s. For Book 2: Loving Ellen I only had to go back a few years, whereas in Book 3: Many a Moon, I had to travel back to the 13th century.  Although all of this took a lot of time, it left me with a history bug. One I've been indulging ever since.  

Not by reading many history books though, but by reading historical fiction, because I know that good and committed writers get it right but in a much more digestible way.  I don't always read the books either, sometimes I listen to them on Audible or via the BorrowBox App from my local library. This way I can offset boring household chores with something much more interesting, such as what living in Shanghai was like before the Japanese invaded China - it was known as the Paris of the East - or Romancing the Klondike by Books We Love's own Joan Donaldson-Yarmey - a tale about the men and women searching for gold in the Yukon.  There are also TV series that open up the lives that people all around the world lived in the past.  I know some of them manipulate the facts a bit to suit their story but a factual check on almost anything I've read, listened to, or watched, (something I often do) has shown that most of it is faithfully reported.

In this way I've learned about so many things that I knew very little about, or, I'm ashamed to say, in some cases wasn't even aware of. Amazing books by foreign writers I had previously never heard of have opened my eyes to the devastation caused by wars, such as the Turkish/Cypriot war and the Biafran bid for independence. I've learned about the glassmakers of Venice and how they had to adjust their trade to survive over the centuries, and I've read so much about how the ordinary people of Britain and Europe lived from the thirteenth century to the present day. One of my favourites, however, is the story of Ninevah, an ancient city in Mesopotamia, where its history is told through the movement and importance of water.  The tale is so ingenious, while also being 99% accurate, that it stayed with me for days after I'd finished it, and, dare I say it, made me just a little jealous of the author for having such a skill. 

Inevitably, the lives lived in the past, before modern comforts and modern medicine, were often hard and unforgiving.  I've read or listened to tales of the displaced, the ignored, the forgotten, but then rejoiced that they have all been brought back to life by compassionate writers who want to tell their story.  In the hands of the skilled writers the humanity of the characters comes through, as well as the healing strength of love. 

I will continue to search out the history of the world because reading about it imparts the wisdom of hindsight, something the world urgently needs today. 

Falling into Fall by Nancy M Bell

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It's that time of year again. The sun is making its way south through the skies and throwing golden slanting rays across the land as its position sinks toward the horizon. The air is full of shining motes of light as the sun glints off the dust raised by busy combines bringing in the harvest.

The days are drawing in as the Autumn Equinox approaches, mornings are blessed with the cool bite of what is to come and the grass is rimed with the last of summer's breath.

 

My roses are still blooming right now, the pumpkins are orange, the apples are glowing through the emerald leaves and the garden is getting ready for the winter sleep.  Fall is a time of renewal, much the same as spring.  The busy days of summer are coming to a close, the nights grow longer and wrap us in the comfort of our hearth fire and knowledge we are ready for the coming cold. The long nights gift us with time to spend in pursuits we have set aside for the warmer months. Time to bring out the projects that have been put on hold, time to savour the summer that is past, time for introspective thoughts and time to plan for the coming spring.

Nights through October and November are long and sometimes cold, but without the dark would we really appreciate the return of the light after the Winter Solstice? The slow trickle of lengthening days as January turns to February. For those who follow the old ways, Samhain, Alban Arthuan and Imbolc. No matter what we humans call the turning the seasons, the universe carries on with no regard to our celebrations or worries. I find comfort in that in some odd way. So I'm more than ready to fall into Fall. The short days will get me out of the garden and back into the house where the dust lays thick on my computer. There are stories to write and tales to tell.

Until next month, stay well, stay happy.  

 

Back Today by Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Absence #Computer problem

 I'm finally back on line. The computer was hacked along with a hundred thousand New Yorkers last Monday. Just received the computer back from the computer gurus. So this will be a short post. 

I am gearing up for the release next month of the Horror Writer's Demise. 

Though I didn't have the computer, I kept writing and have been working on my next book. At this point, a medical romance. Rough draft is done but now I need to make the story make sense. My roughdrafts are usually heavy on dialogue and light on setting and action.

Oh you dirty rat, by J.C. Kavanagh

  

Click on the link below to purchase this award-winning series!

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

Rats. 

Who likes ‘em?

NOT ME!

So when I heard tiny feet scrabbling on my boat, I did not think ‘rat.’

Not at first.

We were tied up at an Erie Canal town dock in New York State. By outward appearance, the docks were clean and well maintained. Trash cans were evenly distributed. Me and my partner, Ian, had walked into town to pick up a few provisions (like fresh baked bread!) It was a warm and humid day and we left some ports open as the weather forecast was zero per cent chance of rain.

The forecast did not predict 100 per cent chance of rat. 

That night, we left the freshly baked bread and buns on the galley counter. The scrabbling sounds we heard before retiring for the evening was attributed to a few drops of rain (I mean, how often is the weatherman accurate?)

So imagine my shock - my first morning visual - was the sight of a half-eaten bun and multiple crumbs strewn across the counter, and one bun completely gone.

Oh, that dirty rat!

Ian and I marched to the nearest hardware store, which was not ‘near’ at all. After 45 minutes, our angry not-on-my-boat stride became a slow version of “are we there yet?”

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived. The hardware store had an excellent selection of rat removal products, so it seemed we weren’t the only ones with this problem. I took no comfort in that.

We set out our traps that night along with a tasty piece of homemade bread. 

At 1:30 in the morning, the big fellow was caught. It was promptly evicted and I did not hesitate to make the following announcement to the neighbourhood rats: NOT ON MY BOAT!

As you’ve likely ascertained, me and rats are not friends. So when I included them in an action-packed scene in A Bright Darkness, the final book of the Twisted Climb series, I did not place them in a good light. Literally. Dreadful creatures!!

Hope your summer was eventful, as mine has been. We are 1,000 nautical miles into our sailing adventure to the Bahamas. 2,000 more miles to go :)

Stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :)

J.C. Kavanagh, author of

The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
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

History in the Footnotes

 

                                                                            

                                                                        My author page

I love finding history in the footnotes of my research. Did you know that Native Americans have used a now disgraced symbol in their art? For the first peoples of the American southwest, the symbol is the whirlwind or whirling log. But with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany its benevolence turned deadly. 

It is, of course, the swastika.

    Realizing the growing threat to the world, four nations--the Hopi, Navajo, Apache and Papago decided to have a ceremony to renounce its use. In 1940, representatives signed a proclamation which read:

Because the above ornament which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples,

Therefore, it is resolved that henceforth from this date and forevermore our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known as the swastika or flyfot on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sandpainting, and clothing.

 Here is a photo of the event:

Did I use this in book 3 of my Navajo Code Talker Chronicles, All of Me? Of course I found a way to work it in!

Since then, some artists and craftspeople have reclaimed their ancient benevolent symbol, which exists in many cultures throughout the world. Others think it should stay buried, because of the trauma it engendered by the Nazis.

What do you think?