Welcome to my writing life by donalee Moulton

 

I’m often asked interesting, insightful – and difficult – questions about my writing and my writing life.  I’d like to share some with you.

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Who or what inspires you to write?

My mother taught me to love language – and to respect it. She cared about words and getting the words right. She was my greatest influence.

When I was about eight or nine, a next-door neighbor tossed me a Nancy Drew book. She thought I might like it. I sat on the curb between our two houses and read the entire book cover to cover. I loved the puzzle, figuring out who dunnit, and being propelled into a world outside my own.

That same year someone gifted me Charlotte’s Web, and my life was forever changed. Not only could words transport you to new worlds, they could become a part of your heart, change you in ways you could not have imagined. I wanted to do that.

What is the best thing that has happened because of your writing?

As a journalist, writing took me to places and into situations I would otherwise never have experienced. I’ve been a stone’s throw from the Arctic Circle and submerged in a survival suit. Creative writing taught me to look within as well as without. But always, the best thing about writing is when someone remembers something you’ve written, drops you a note to ask a question, comments on a character. It’s a connection you make. It’s a connection that matters.

What is the most difficult thing you have experienced about writing or publishing?

Writing is difficult. Finding not just the right word, but the best word; developing characters that take you places you didn’t expect but is exactly where they need to be; struggling with plot and immersing yourself in timelines and red herrings.  Then once the writing is ready, the publishing process begins. That is a whole new – and evolving – world. Keeping current in that world is a challenge and a necessity. I would rather curl up with a good book, but that is not an option.

What didn’t you do during your writing or publishing journey that you wish you had?

I wish I had started writing books earlier. I wish I had taken more courses. I wish I had spent more time talking with writers about writing. I wish I had spent less time talking with writers about the business of writing. I wish I had read more. Tons more. I wish I had been more patient, with myself and with the drive to be published. I wish I had pushed myself more. I wish wishes came true.

Which genre(s) do you like to write in, and why?

I really like mysteries. When you’re busy, career focused, juggling meetings and deadlines and interviews and research and editing and teaching and scurrying to find something for dinner, there isn’t a lot of time for reading. As wrong as that is, it is also a reality. So, I embraced the mystery genre and read as much as I could as often as I could. That was sheer enjoyment. I also wanted my ideas to be challenged, my senses to be assaulted (gently but definitively), and my heart to be broken. So, I read as many novels, especially Canadian novels, as my mind, heart, and spirit could bear.

Order Hung Out to Die here.

Do you outline your books before you write them?

Sort of. I have a rough plot outline and a brief backstory for the main characters before I start writing. I know who the culprit is and why they committed the crime. But I wait for the writing process, the research, and the thinking about everything (usually in the middle of the night) to help me flesh out the who, what, where, when, why, and how.

How do you define success as a writer?

People are reading what I’m writing and in some way my words touch them if only for a few seconds.

If you could have lunch with any author, who would it be?

If I could go back in time, I would love to have lunch with E.B. White author of the essential and divergent classics Charlotte’s Web and The Elements of Style. Today, I would love to share a meal with Delia Owens. Where the Crawdads Sing is simply beautiful writing.

Tell us about a great adventure you’ve had.

Firsts are always thrilling: first article I ever got published, first interview of a really famous person (Tina Turner), first interview of a really famous person who was a huge disappointment (Gene Simmons from Kiss), first class I taught, first presentation (where I was the expert), first time I was introduced as “a writer,” first book, first mystery book, first blog.

 

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When Fate Comes Calling by Eden Monroe

 

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

When Fate Comes Calling is where it all begins in the romantic suspense series, Emerald Valley Ranch. The home of the golden horses, this family-owned spread, prospering under the leadership of Kane Davidson, is set in beautiful Eastern Canada.

“Rolling green hills surround Davidson land, a fertile lowland jewel refreshed by broad streams that dash down from the hillsides and dotted with lofty sugar maples, stout conifers and Mother Nature’s own personal wind chimes – thick groves of leafy poplar trees. In an age-old tradition, all of the Davidson barns are painted a deep rich red. After all, most of them house the heart blood of the ranch, the sixty mares who lead lives of pastoral content on the sumptuous grasslands….”

There are any number of ranches tucked away in the picturesque province of New Brunswick, serving a variety of functions, although in most cases they might typically be called farms. The difference between a farm and a ranch is that a (livestock) ranch raises animals and a farm raises crops as well as livestock, although of course those definitions aren’t always completely accurate.

 

 

 

There are countless ranches in other parts of Canada as well, usually in the west, and the oldest continually operated Canadian ranch is the Flying U Ranch in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. Established in 1849, it was made possible by a generous Crown grant by Queen Victoria. At the outset it served as a stopover for trappers and fur traders, and boasts a colourful history situated as it was along the Alaska Trail to and from Yukon Territory and Alaska. (flyingu.com) Today it is a popular guest ranch.

“Before British Columbia was settled and even before the gold rush, the Flying U Ranch had set the simple timeless principles of cowboy life. It turns out that the cowboy traditions struck a chord with people from all walks of life for generations that followed. The iconic cowboy represents the best of Canada — the courage, optimism and plain hard work. Cowboys are heroic not just because they do a dangerous job, but also because they stand for something — the simple, basic values that lie at the heart of the cowboy way.

“Even though the way of life has changed over the last 150 years, cowboys still honor and live by their code: Three square meals a day delivered hot and on time, a bottomless coffee pot 24 hours a day, respect for the herd and every wild animal who lives in the forests, living each day with courage and commitment regardless of weather, keeping our word, talking less and saying more, total discretion, and always finishing what is started.

“The Flying U Ranch tradition is alive and well.”

The largest ranch in Canada is once again located in British Columbia, in the south-central interior of that province, and comprised of more than one million acres. (harbourpublishing.com) Founded in 1884, “Douglas Lake Ranch is the largest privately held cattle ranch in Canada and one of the largest in North America. (www.douglaslake.com)

“The combination of its size, superior grasslands, extensive infrastructure, and sound management principles, have earned Douglas Lake Ranch the reputation of producing cattle of exceptional quality and uniformity in addition to being one of the lowest cost cattle producers in the country.”

“An equally important component of Douglas Lake Ranch is the Quarter Horse operation. The Ranch Horses originated and were maintained by horses raised at the Ranch until the early 1960’s when the Ranch and Mr. CN Woodward became interested in the American Quarter Horse….

“Now the ranch raises horses exclusively for it’s own Remuda, but is maintaining the bloodlines that the ranch worked so hard to build in the 1970’s and 1980’s. In November of 2004, Douglas Lake Ranch was honored by the American Quarter Horse Association with the “Best Remuda” award and in 2013 with the “Legacy Award”.

In the United States, the oldest working ranch is New York State’s Deep Hollow Ranch. (historictownsofamerica.com)

“The compound includes several working barns, a 5,000-square-foot antique timber framed farmhouse, and a 2-acre buildable lot. This oldest ranch in the U.S. is also known as the birthplace of the American Cowboy.

“With a history that dates all the way back to 1658, Deep Hollow Ranch is considered to be not only New York's oldest, but also America's oldest working ranch. The ranch traces its history back to the cattle punching of Long Island’s earliest settlers.

“These settlers took advantage of the region’s lush pastures and the fact that the ocean and sound provided natural boundaries that made the need for fences moot. The ranch is situated right along the oceanfront.”

The title of largest ranch in the US goes to the King Ranch: (Britannica.com)

“King Ranch, largest ranch in the United States, composed of a group of four tracts of land in southeastern Texas, totaling approximately 825,000 acres (333,800 hectares).

“The King Ranch was established by Richard King, a steamboat captain born in 1825 in Orange county, New York. Drawn to Texas by the Mexican War (1846–48), King piloted a steamer on the Rio Grande. After the war he bought his own steamer and went into partnership with Captain Mifflin Kenedy, who had been his commander. King purchased a part of the 75,000-acre (30,350-hectare) Spanish land grant known as Rincon de Santa Gertrudis. The King-Kenedy partnership dissolved in 1868. King and his heirs eventually accumulated more than 1,250,000 acres (505,850 hectares) of land, building an empire (supporting chiefly cattle, sheep, and horses) that spread over Kleberg, Nueces, Kenedy, and Willacy counties in Texas. Headquarters for the ranch are in Kingsville….”

There are several large ranches in the US, including the spread made popular in the Yellowstone series – the Four Sixes Ranch (6666ranch.com):

“Four Sixes Ranch is part of the famous Burnett Ranches LLC, which is among the most storied businesses in Texas history. Founded by Captain Samuel “Burk” Burnett in 1870—when he purchased 100 head of cattle wearing the “6666” brand from Frank Crowley of Denton, Texas—Burnett Ranches today encompasses 260,000 acres, including the Four Sixes Ranch headquarters, near Guthrie, and the Dixon Creek Ranch, between Panhandle and Borger—both located in the western half of the state.

“Legendary Quarter Horses and Superior Angus Cattle are hallmarks of the “Four Sixes.” The ranch not only offers state-of-the-art reproductive services and a full range of equine veterinary services but also stands to the public some of the most well-respected Quarter Horse stallions in the industry. In addition, the ranch’s elite broodmare band produces some of the best ranch, and sale horses available anywhere….”

According to education.nationalgeographic.org: “Ranching is common in temperate, dry areas, such as the Pampas region of South America, the western United States, the Prairie Provinces of Canada, and the Australian Outback. In these regions, grazing animals are able to roam over large areas. Some Australian ranches, known as stations, extend more than 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles). The largest, Anna Creek station, covers almost 24,000 square kilometers (9,266 square miles).”

Ranches can also be found in many other parts of the world, including China and Africa. Working ranches abound, and the lifestyle is so appealing that guest/dude ranches, in North and South America, Canada and Australia, continue to be a popular choice for vacationers looking to capture that magical spirit of the west

Ranching is a way of life idealized by the legendary working cowboy/cowgirl and that never-ending allure makes for a booming guest/dude ranch industry. Even a temporary ranch experience is exciting enough to satisfy the appetite of those seeking a thoroughly authentic adventure.

Real-life working cowboys are estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands in number, and according to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) about a third of that number are women. There’s even a Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA) whose mission statement is:

            “To promote ranching on a National and International level and to preserve the lifestyle of the working ranch cowboy.”

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

 

Story From a Small Kingdom

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Why after 500 years would anyone care about an August battle which ended a 423 year-long line of Plantagenet Kings? When Richard III died, so, in a manner of speaking, did the medieval world.

Of course, I didn't think of things that way when I was ten after reading The Daughter Of Time by Josephine Tey. As my mom was a passionate Anglophile, taking up this (then) obscure interest was a great way to please her and to amuse the academic adults in my life. English history was the most important European history to a young colonial brought up in the 1950's U.S. (Glad that's over!)

While my elders drank their afternoon cocktail and indulged me, I would passionately argue the case of "who murdered the princes in the Tower." If you don't know, well, these were the sons of Richard's brother, King Edward IV, the ones who vanished while in Richard's keeping. Richard, until then a faithful younger brother, had been appointed "Protector" because Edward's sons were minors. I soon read many more Ricardian histories (so-called for those books that dealt with the very short reign of Ricard III) and became a kind of young lobbyist for this (then) little known late medieval King. 

If you know Shakespeare's Tudor propaganda piece, you know that Richard III was the original wicked uncle, as well as a murderer of just about every other kinsman/royal who ever crossed his path. He was "crook-back," his physical deformity matching his wicked mind. God sent Henry Tudor to defeat him and deliver England from a tyrant.(!) 

Richard III

History, however, isn't quite so cut and dried. Richard of York was slain by a man whose claim to the English throne was supported--not by God--but by the treachery of power-hungry  noblemen and women, and it rested upon an extremely tenuous claim through an illegitimate line. Henry VII, as he became, was "The Godfather" of the next murdering, famous/infamous English dynasty. His reign set a kind of record for beheadings of kinsmen and those he believed were rivals. He set up an organized program of legally extorting the high nobility, in order to break their power. These actions he took evenhandedly, not sparing those who'd betrayed Richard to support him. He had something of a record for judicial murder--at least, until the reign of his son, Henry VIII.

No saints here, whether of the White Rose Party or the Red! Check out the feudal history of any country in the world, and you'll see the same story, universally. Looking back dispassionately, something I can do after many, many more years of reading world history, all I see is one gang of vain, self-serving, murderous, paranoid, grasping 1%ers succeeding another. It's just "human beings being human," only in the worst possible way. 

Henry VII

Despite all "older and wiser caveats," I wrote Roan Rose, because this was a story I "owed" my childhood obsession, Richard. Besides, take away the aristocratic, medieval window dressing, and here's a story worthy of an opera--or a series TV show, like Succession. Family feuds, vast wealth, sibling rivalry, hubris, greed, addiction, betrayals by the score, and unions made with passion and unions made for gain, are similarly on display. 

This, however, is more of a "downstairs" story, which allows me to explore what the life of ordinary people was like during this turbulent civil war period. A personal "body servant" was privy to all manner of royal secrets. Faithful Rose loves both her mistress and her master, who are, by the accident of birth, both placed loftily, high above her. They can hardly see her, this couple whose hearts she can never truly possess.  "Loyaulté me lie," ("Loyalty Binds me") was Richard's chosen motto. Perhaps it's even more true of this fictional commoner who remains so dear to my heart, Roan Rose.

                                                                             

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004HIX4GS

"Juliet Waldron's grasp of time and period history is superb and detailed. Her characters were well developed and sympathetic."

"One of the better Richard III books..."

(Amazon reviews)

 

~~Juliet Waldron

The Art of Perfuming and Fragrance Layering--Are you a Purist or a Rebel? By Connie Vines #perfume, #Fragrance Layering, #The Art of Perfuming,

 

 "Creating Your Own Signature Scent" is the latest buzz in the fragrance industry. (Or Signature Look in the World of Fashion).

This is also known as  Fragrance Layering.

This term is deceptive. 

My background in perfuming and employment as a Fragrance Consultant would make you assume I'm a purist.  

My personal "favorite" fragrances

Yes, I have the collector/ Limited Edition of Phantom. 

There's no better compliment than asking, "What fragrance are you wearing."

Intimate.

A scent also invokes an emotional response. Or can trigger a memory.

This is why fragrances are memorable.

Layering of fragrance can be a simple pairing of body lotion and perfume. 

Thus creating a "Signature" scent for daytime and a second for evening events. 

Yes, I'm a purist, though I may pair a lotion with only "one note" from my chosen perfume for an evening fragrance.

🌺🌹

Many fashionistas today long to create an "exclusive" scent by dabbling in fragrance cocktailing. 

Layering scents to create your own blend can be intimidating.

Layering scents doesn't mean spraying two perfumes on top of each other.

You can spray a fragrance on your neck and another on your wrists. *Never spray a fragrance on the front of your neck or rub your wrists together afterward.

Are you a rebel? 😉 

If so, I'd select an unfussy/straightforward fragrance with a Vanilla base note and then add something with a more complex top note.

You may have a favorite citrus fragrance, but you feel the fragrance fades too quickly. You could put sandalwood or cedarwood underneath.

Or select a vintage scent and echo the top note.

Example: My favorite Chanel No. 5. top notes: 

Ylang-ylang, neroli, bergamot, and lemon; middle notes: iris, jasmine, rose, orris root, and lily of the valley; and base notes are civet, sandalwood, amber, musk, moss, vetiver, vanilla and patchouli.

Remember: a fragrance can smell radically different from one person to another (depending on their pH level).

I love Chanel No. 5. Powdery floras and fresh soap smell. The fragrance lasts up to eight hours.

However, the musk element may be the prominent scent of another wearer.

Perfume is expensive. Perfume will last for years if kept away from sunlight and heat. 

How do you decide if the perfume is right for you?

Hint: Cotton balls in a ziplock baggie are a must-have when fragrance shopping.

1: Spray one cotton ball with a fragrance and dab it on your forearm. 

2. Wait 20 minutes. (The alcohol evaporates, but the scent remains.) Move your arm to catch the scent—a whiff, not a deep inhaling. I call it a "whisper of fragrance." 

3. Now, you can make an informed decision. If you need more time, toss the cotton ball in your clothing drawer and decide in a few days.  

To learn more about the art of perfuming (and Cajuin Love Potions), download my anthology,"Gumbo Ya Ya."

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

Remember, my books are available on: 

BWL link (above) as well as on your favorite online bookseller.  

Where's Connie?

Facebook: Connie Vines, author

Instagram, X,  Pinterest, Substack, and my website :)

Happy Reading,

Connie