Cod deworming, Sable Island, and the dark underbelly by donalee Moulton

 

I belong to a group of mystery writers. We’re all women, and together we share the joys and the frustrations of trying to make characters toe the line, plots hold together, and suspense build with just a little push from us. We recently posed a group of questions to each other about the writing life. My answers are below.

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1) What type of crime have you not dealt with in your stories or novels?

I don’t do gruesome, at least I haven’t to date. That is partly because I dread having to do research into some of these topics. It’s also because I would prefer not to dwell on the dark underbelly. That said, I can see a time coming when the underbelly may demand a scratch or two.

2) What is the most interesting police procedural/investigator/researcher you have encountered?

Right now, and in keeping with the times, it would be AI and how AI can be used to provide information about a crime scene. I understand this is the tip of a very big iceberg.

3) Do you prefer amateur vs. professional sleuths?

At present, I’m leaning toward amateur. I have more freedom and flexibility with how my characters do things – and how they can mess up. But there is a shift in the wind. I have been writing stories with two new main characters: one is a lawyer and the other a private detective.  Mind you, the lawyer sells sex toys.

4) Most authors have a first unpublished novel or story cavorting with the dust bunnies under the bed or in the attic. Have you ever considered dusting off that first attempt and rewriting it?

My first novel was a joint effort with a friend. We had entered a 48-hour novel-writing contest. We had great fun, but the dust bunnies are well deserved.

5) Do you have a secret passion that has lain dormant for most of your life?

I would love to be a rock star. One problem: I can’t sing.

6) If you woke to find a genie sitting on the edge of your bed willing to grant you three wishes, what would they be?

I’m assuming I can’t wish for more wishes. I’d have to consider this opportunity carefully. I don’t want to make a wish I’d regret or overlook one I’d really rather have. In the end, my wishes will deal with health and happiness. And maybe a unicorn.

7) In terms of nature, what is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

Sable Island, Nova Scotia, a thin crescent of shifting sand at the edge of the Continental Shelf that wild horses, grey seals, and one-of-a-kind plants, birds, and insects call home. There are also more than 350 shipwrecks surrounding this Graveyard of the Atlantic.

8) Name a profession you would not want to have and tell why?

Cod dewormer. Really, really don’t want to do this.

                         

BWL Publishing New Releases February 2026

 

https://glrockey.com/books/missing/

Nashville the setting, suspense the game, TV news director Jack Carr weaves his way through a tangle of greed, country music, murder, and a knockout undercover agent, Gillian Phoenix.

Review Snippets:
“Alcohol, sex, greed and just plain nasty human habits are the gist of this first-person account about a newscaster, his love life, kidnapped children and eviscerated organs. Readers who pick up this book will not be able to put it down.” – 4 Stars – Faith V Smith, Romantic Times

“…runs the gamut of emotions along with just the right amount of twists and turns designed to keep the reader twisting and turning -, and reading – As a serious writer, Rockey has the ability, as they might say in Tennessee, to “run with the big dogs,” when it comes to spinning the kind of yarn that could easily enter today’s best seller list.” – Peggy Russell, The Hinckley Record

https://www.amwesterling.com/index.html

Penniless and tainted by scandal, Miss Laura Courtenay must resort to any means necessary to provide for herself and her toddler brother. Coerced into participating in an ill-fated scheme, Laura finds herself in London’s Newgate prison where an unexpected visitor offers her temporary freedom if she plays the part of his wife. She agrees, seeing it as an opportunity to perhaps prove her innocence.

As stipulated in his grandfather’s will, Lord Evan Clarke must marry by his thirtieth birthday in order to become the Earl of Stonefield and take his place in the House of Lords. As the deadline looms, he concocts a ploy to fulfill the will’s stipulations. However, Evan quickly discovers his marriage of convenience includes a little boy, a growing attraction to the wife he must soon return to Newgate, and the horrifying realization he’d witnessed her father’s financial ruin.

EDITORIAL REVIEW by Victoria Chatham

A PROPER DECEPTION by A.M. Westerling

The Honorable Laura Courtenay is living in conditions no lady should endure. Responsible not only for her own well-being but also for that of her three-year-old brother, Reuben, Laura earns a small income sewing and mending for several households. The son of one of her clients lures her into a dubious scheme, promising her a tempting sum. The scheme fails, and Laura is imprisoned.

Evan Clarke needs a wife to fulfil the requirements of his grandfather’s will, not so much for the inheritance as for the title that will allow him to take his seat in the House of Lords. He plucks Laura from the horrors of Newgate Prison, makes her presentable, and introduces her as his wife to his grandfather’s lawyer, who does not believe they are married.

Within this story, A.M. Westerling not only highlights the plight of women in the Regency era but also captures the sights, sounds, and nuances of its society. Her characters are well-rounded, and the plot has several twists, making it a satisfying read from start to finish. Anyone who enjoys Regency romances in the style of Mary Balogh or Julia Quinn is sure to enjoy this one.

https://www.amazon.ca/Brewery-Penny-Cross.../dp/B0GFXSFB2V

The village of Sixpenny Cross hosts a weekend-long Medieval Fayre, but Winnie Hatherall is relieved when the knights, their companies, vendors, and visitors pack up and head home.

All notions of chivalry are shattered when Langston Oldrieve, owner of the Black Knight Brewing Company and winner of the Fayre’s jousting tournament, is found dead in his brewery. A frantic phone call from his wife when she is accused of his murder has amateur sleuth Winnie racing to Virginia’s aid. Who else might have wanted Langston dead? Local rumours suggest the brewery is struggling financially. Was that the reason for the growing resentment between Langston and his brewmaster and rival jouster, Peter Eversleigh?

Winnie and her sister, Amy, ask questions of people who are unwilling to answer, but then Wizard Lothar Goodwynne reads the Runes for Winnie. What they reveal leads her and Amy along an unexpected path.

Editorial Review by J.L. Cartwright

Once again Victoria Chatham has delighted this reader with her wonderful characterizations and the familiarity and fun of being part of the witty and humorous byplay between sisters Winne and Amy, along with Detective Inspector Anthony and his assistant Rachel. The main characters in this series have the kind of familiarity that you can only find in the best of British Detective Fiction. A Body in the Brewery is fascinating reading, and the activities in the Brewery combined with the preparation for the jousting and performing, along with the costuming required for the jousters and the squires handling the horses in the stables create the diversity of events, which effectively confuses the motivation while all the activities work together to create a complex and challenging puzzle. It is a genuine pleasure to watch Winnie as she very cleverly manages to poke her nose into the investigation while still keeping just on the right side of Detective Inspector Anthony while continuing to frustrate him with her oh so clever discoveries.

Accountant with Benefits : Tribe, Jeff: Amazon.es: Books

Sherry Strong’s coolly calculated career progression did not account for the romantic heat generated during her ‘voluntold’ assignment with Rolling L Ranch CEO Matt Logan.

All business’ was a verbal contract Sherry’s head had demanded, but one her heart refused to accept. Would that cold commitment protect progression toward junior partner, or prevent Sherry from discovering her truest life’s pathway?

Finally, the Right by Eden Monroe

 

I love to feature strong women in my stories, as I have in Tomorrow at Daybreak.  Although the women in this novel are guided by the social mores of that time (1879), the 1800’s did indeed see a “groundswell of change” by way of organized movements regarding women’s rights.  

❧ Really? No pants? ❧

 

            Strong women have made great strides in achieving many rights and freedoms, such as workplace equality to name but one crucial step forward, but some of those rights are so basic it’s a wonder they were denied in the first place. Some of us may even take for granted freedoms that were unavailable to us not so long ago in terms of world history. On that list, and a mere drop in the bucket when more important accomplishments are considered, was the freedom for women to wear pants in terms of everyday acceptance. As unbelievable as that may sound, it wasn’t until as recently as the 1960’s and 1970’s that that hurdle was cleared, and pants quickly became mainstream fashion.

Now this one I remember. I recall very well when the message came from head office (1970’s) that female employees were being given permission to wear dress pants in the ofice. I was still a teenager and so over the moon with that announcement I went home at lunch hour and found pants that would be considered suitable, although I was pushing the envelope a bit with pale blue brushed denim. There were strict guidelines to this pants-wearing experiment though. The top paired with the pants had to be long enough to fall well below the butt. In other words, a dress over the dress pants. Hilarious! Anyway, I wore a navy-blue mini dress over my pants and away I went back to the office. I remember being so excited because up until then only dresses, or skirts with blouses/sweaters were acceptable.

When one of the older salesmen came into the office after lunch that day and saw me in my new regulation getup, he was so taken aback we thought he was going to pass out. He actually put his hand to his chest and was making sounds like he couldn’t breathe because he was so outraged I would dare come into a public place dressed like that!

 

❧ It’s hard to believe the police were involved ❧

 

Interestingly, the women forbidden to wear pants thing was carried out more strenuously in some parts of the world (funfactfriyay.com):

“… for over 200 years, it was illegal to wear pants in Paris. An antiquated law enacted on November 17, 1800 had forbade women from putting trousers on and then showing said style to the world. While these were a cool form of political protest for men, women had to request police permission to wear trousers. And even then, there needed to be some sort of medical or professional reason…”

Strict female dress codes are still rigidly enforced in various locations globally, and the no pants rule was driven for the most part by religious ideoloy, as are many things.

Historically there have been countless restrictions on women, not just in terms of clothing, and Worldhistory.org offers some fascinating insights into the matter. Interestingly though, during at least one period in history men and women found themselves on equal footing:

“The lives of women in the Middle Ages were determined by the Church and the aristocracy. The medieval church provided the 'big picture' of the meaning of life and one's place while the aristocracy ensured that everyone stayed in their respective places through the feudal system that divided society into three classes: clergy, nobility, and serfs.

“Women's place in the clergy was restricted to the nunnery. Noble women's positions were dictated by how much land they brought to marriage because land equaled power; therefore the quality of life and opportunities for autonomy could vary significantly among the upper class. Women of the lowest class actually had more freedom of expression than the other two because life was uniformly difficult for the serfs – male or female – and women worked alongside men in the fields and in the medieval guilds as equals or near-equals.”

The biggest single breakthrough in terms of women’s rights is without question winning the right to vote. It was an enormous accomplishment in its fullest context, the refusal of it prior to 1920 far more restrictive than it might seem at the outset. Says Historyofrights.ca:

“The process of state formation included the unequal treatment of the nation’s female citizens, which was pervasive and entrenched in law. Women were denied the right to vote and were unable to become legislators, coroners, magistrates, or judges; they were also unable to sit on juries. They lost more than their last name when they married: they lost all status in civil law and could not own property or keep their own wages. In 1905 a Supreme Court judge in New Brunswick, reflecting on the role of women in society, explained that “the paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfil the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator.” Yet women were denied custodial rights over children. Also, criminal law was rife with double-standards. In the case of divorce, for instance, men had only to prove adultery whereas women had to prove adultery as well as desertion without reason, extreme cruelty, incest, or bigamy. Marital rape was unknown, not because it never happened but because it was not against the law. Discriminatory laws touched on almost every aspect of women’s lives: birth (infanticide), childhood (maintenance, child custody), work (labour laws, professions), courtship (seduction, marriage), sexual relations (rape, prostitution), marriage (property, citizenship, naming), parenting (maternity leave, abortion, adoption, legitimacy), divorce or separation (maintenance, child custody, pensions, desertion), and death (inheritance).”

We have certainly made significant progress considering that it was only in 1929 that Canada declared women as persons! (“The British Privy Council declared that women are ‘persons’ and could therefore be appointed to the Senate of Canada”). But the march forward continues. Here are some other notable dates in Canadian history with regard to milestones realized for women’s rights:  that all (including indigenous) women were given the right to vote in 1960. “Until the Canada Elections Act was enacted in 1960, First Nations women could not vote unless they had lost or given up their treaty rights or Indian status”); Women’s rights were enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1981, Canadian Human Rights Commission recommends a pay equity system in 2001; First gender-balanced Cabinet in Canadian history was announced in 2015 and in 2022, the endorsement of the National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, which was of course “a significant step towards gender equality”. (Canada.ca)

Women continue to make great strides through hard-fought battles for change, but equity issues still exist today. In some parts of the world women experience crushing discrimination because of profound, systemic gender bias. Much work remains, but importantly, we should value what has been accomplished and recognize what was sacrificed to do so.

❧ Oh no she didn’t? What! ❧

 

                     Looking back, I had occasion as a freelance reporter to interview women working in non-traditional roles, and the stories of some of those women were deeply touching. Like the woman who dreamed of becoming an engineer but as a post-secondary student, found university acceptance greatly restricted in terms of gender at that time. So she became a nurse instead. She lived long enough to become an engineer in the second half of her life, however her role in that capacity was still considered non-traditional in the mid 1990’s in New Brunswick.

                     One young woman I spoke with while conducting interviews for that newspaper special section was very critical of this “Women in Non-traditional Roles” series despite the fact she’d agreed to participate. I’m guessing it was only to set the record straight. She wasted no time informing me that being a woman had not stopped her in any way from realizing her career goals.

                     “I suppose all of those older women are telling you how hard it was for them in the old days,” she said, “but they did not pave the road for me!”

                    

  “No,” I suggested, “in most cases they built the road.”

                     She disagreed of course, although in story after story there were honest accounts of the very real roadblocks women faced on so many levels. But they’d persevered, broken down those barriers and without question made it easier for those who came after them.

                     Lasting change is brought about by those with the strength of character to take action, and persevere. To not acknowledge their courage and celebrate the significance of their accomplishments, is an injustice. Like that young woman who refused to acknowledge the very real educational barriers that once existed and were overcome so that countless others could gain from that success, or me as a young woman who didn’t grasp how incredibly valuable was my right to vote.

                     Here are some interesting and empowering quotes to finish with, compliments of compassroseinternational.org:

“I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – G. D. Anderson

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker.

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEdenMonroe/

https://edenmonroeauthor.com

https://books2read.com/Tomorrow-at-Daybreak

 

Capricorn Birthdays--Alexander Hamilton

 

Master Passion/Alexander Hamilton/Schuyler A Master Passion

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Here we are again in January, which is a month crowded with family birthdays as well as the birthdays of two of my great heroes. As to the family birthdays, I have two cousins, an uncle, my mother, and two granddaughters who were born in this month--Capricorns, everyone. They prize stability, are detail-oriented and hard workers. 

As to my heroes, the gentleman above, Hamilton, was born under Capricorn. He was therefore--according to the astrologers--the perfect man to have been America's first Secretary of the Treasury. Trained in the laws of commerce, he was the first balancer of our new nation's books, which, after the War of Independence were a sea of red ink. This initial knotty problem was solved through his knowledge of the way the young global economy functioned, as well as and a lot of unpleasant negotiating with the less well-fiscally-educated members of the legislature. In fact, some of what have proved to be America's original sins--those that endlessly plague us today, are the result of the political horse-trading--the compromises--that were necessary to stabilize a totally broke infant republic. 

Hamilton was also one of the three Founding Fathers who authored The Federalist Papers. From that framework, the one created by those three thoughtful lawyers, (Hamilton, Madison, and Jay) our American Constitution was born. Hamilton, who loved

an elaborate sentence, doubtless was the most verbose, though James Madison, the bachelor with whom his young family shared a back garden at the time, was a deeper philosopher and a pithier wordsmith. 

I follow on with a series of quotes from this statesman, "the ten dollar bill guy." There is plenty to chew on here, the words of a man who lived and died according to an elevated personal code of honor. I wish there were more in public service today who were as far-sighted, as self-sacrificing, and as honest. Unlike so many legislators today, Hamilton did not feather his nest while he held power. Within three years of his death, his wife had to sell their fine country home and take her seven children into New York City to live in a rented apartment.

 "There are seasons in every country when noise and impudence pass current for worth; and in popular commotions especially, the clamors of interested and factious men are often mistaken for patriotism."

"In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."

“The inquiry constantly is what will please, not what will benefit the people. In such a government there can be nothing but temporary expedient, fickleness, and folly.” 

"History will teach us that...those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants."

“For in politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.”

“If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.”

“Divide et impera must be the motto of every nation that either hates or fears us.”

“Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.” 

"Now mark my words. So long as we are a young and virtuous people, this instrument (the Constitution) will bind us together in mutual interests, mutual welfare and mutual happiness, but when we become old and corrupt, it will bind us no longer."

~ Juliet Waldron

 

      

     

Valentine's Day --A dash of spice; A splash of humor, or? By Connie Vines #Romantic fiction, #Valentine's Day, #The Big Easy #Perfume

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day!   😍💘💕💋🍫🍷

A dash of spice? A splash of humor? Or..a full-on die-hard romantic?

I confess, I'm on team "a splash of humor"!

Of course, a romantic dinner, soft bluesy music, and a walk along the beach certainly check all the boxes.

While many may consider breakfast in bed a dream-come-true, I would upend the tray and be sitting in a puddle of coffee. ☕

"Fondue night" might be a bit cheesy, but I think it's an original idea for an at-home Valentine's Day. Start with dipping your favorite veggies, breads, and proteins into melted cheese for a savory dinner, then switch it up with chocolate for dessert — marshmallows, fruit, cookies, and graham crackers.

One of my faves:

"Love is sharing your popcorn!" Stay at home and watch a favorite romantic movie or catch a new release.

💞It's the thought and effort behind your actions that truly count.💖

What is your idea of a "perfect" Valentine's Day?

🐊

Here's a teaser from my anthology, "Gumbo Ya Ya". (4 stories in one book!)

LOVE POTION # 9

The determined barking of his pedigreed champion Catahoula Leopard dogs sent Cooper T. Landrieu darting for the back door. There was another party at the plantation house, not that he cared. He spent a large part of his time in Lafayette or traveling,g so his opportunity to go fishing was limited to a few times each year. But, damn, of all the weekends for the Dubois' to throw one of those parties complete with band and pyrotechnics, that had to pick this one!

Expecting his cousin, he yanked open the door. Just when he opened his mouth to shout at the hounds, he almost fell against the screen door.

Cousin Beau wasn't anywhere to be found.

Instead, he spotted a woman standing on his doorstep.

He knew the woman.

"Persia?"

Even when she remained silent, Cooper T. knew it was she. There was no sane reason for finding Persia Antoinette Richmand Laudrieu, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, on his doorstep in the middle of the night; she was there nonetheless.

Yanking open the screen door, he grabbed her wrists. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, dragging her inside.

Her golden skin glowed in the light of the swaying porch-light, and her almond-shaped blue eyes stayed focused, unblinking on him.

"What happened to you?" he asked. She clung to the edges of some sort of slinky wrap that she'd draped around herself. The stench of stagnant swamp water dripping from its shredded remains. 

Persia brushed back her damp, slightly tangled tawny bangs from her forehead. "There was an unfortunate incident... with my car."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, darlin', but aren't you supposed to wait until after the divorce before you start to celebrate?"

He watched her perfectly arched eyebrows draw together in a slight frown. Why had he'd ever thought the habit endearing, he couldn't recall. He took a closer look at the woman. Maybe she wasn't his wife after all.

Naw.

She sounded like his wife: the liquid tones of her smoky voice were cultured, one-hundred-percent Creole, straight out of the Garden District of New Orleans Parish...

🐊

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it's a" good book" and a box of chocolates!

Happy Reading,

Connie

https://www.amazon.com/Gumbo-Ya-Connie-Vines-ebook/dp/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gumbo-ya-ya-connie-vines

Or at your favorite online vendor.

https://connievines-author.com/

Watch my book trailer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OumB8pFI6oc

(Love Potion #9, Marrying off Murphy, A Slice of Scandal, and 1-800-FORTUNE).

Remember: There is nothing better than a friend, unless it's a good book and a box of chocolates!

Connie