Wedding Dress by J. S. Marlo

 

Undeniable Trait

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J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

When my daughter got married... Actually, more like eleven months before my daughter got married, we spent a weekend together wedding dress shopping.

In one boutique we saw a gorgeous deep sapphire blue dress. It looked like a Disney Princess wedding dress. My daughter and I fell in love with it the moment we saw it, but unfortunately the style didn't fit her at all. The dress that she ended up choosing (or was it the dress that ended up choosing my daughter) was even more gorgeous, but it was a classic white, not a stunning blue.

Traditionally, white was the most common colour in many western cultures as it symbolized purity, innocence, and a fresh start. However, not all countries favoured the same colours for the same reasons.

In Chinese culture, red was the traditional and common colour that symbolized good fortune, happiness, and fertility.

In some countries, the more vibrant the colours were, the better for the wedding dress. While browsing for pictures, I saw all the colours, including black.

Until the mid-1800s, black was the traditional colour in Catholic Spain. It symbolized the bride's devotion to her husband until death.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, black was also worn by Finnish brides but not for the same reason. At the time, black fabric was more readily available, and black was seen as a solemn colour that reflected the bride's commitment to marriage.

Back when I got married, I wore my neighbour's wedding dress. It was white, not quite the style I would have liked, but it fitted perfectly. Besides, money was short, and it was cheaper to borrow it for one day than buy a new one that I wouldn't have worn again. In retrospect, it was a lucky dress... I'm still married to that same wonderful husband more than four decades later. 

Stay safe! Hugs!

JS

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

Cluttered Desks and Half-Finished Dreams- by Debra Loughead

 

https://bwlpublishing.ca/loughead-debra/

My home office is a packrat’s dream. And a neat freak’s nightmare. Not just the physical part of my office either, but the virtual as well. Even my laptop is cluttered with the verbose debris of my entire writing history. Hundreds of files of my started stories, of random chapters, of ideas that never actually took shape into something worthy of submission.

Why can’t I throw away anything I’ve ever written? Especially those actual paper files, stored in an actual filing cabinet, so many folders crammed with old stories from, I’m not kidding, the 1960s when I was a preteen and teen. And so many ‘compostions’ from elementary and high school. Boring typewritten essays from university. What good can all this possibly serve me in the future? 

One of these days I just might succumb to some sort of psychological guilt trip as the piles grow and the sheer volume of it all finally takes its emotional toll. What do they call it in Scandinavia? Swedish Death Cleaning? Does that count for disposing of old story ideas that never got developed? For half-written poems? Essays that never got published? Does it count for posterity? Surely my kids will want all of this someday. (Me, laughing right now.)

One of the pieces of advice I always proffer to budding writers is: save everything you ever write, because you never know when you’ll need it.  Hmmm.  Maybe that was a bad idea after all. Is it possible to become bogged down in the detritus of your own creative drive?  Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the thought of how much of my time would be devoured if, in fact, I actually forced myself to sit down and sort through it all and throw some if it away.

Just to imagine opening those desk drawers and filing cabinets and beginning to sift through several decades worth of material that I could never bring myself to part with. I’d be forced to dig through the burgeoning piles on my shelves and surrounding me on my desk, the newspaper clippings with story triggers, the stacks of old notebooks and file folders with scribbled ideas, all of which are beginning to severely limit my workspace; just the thought of it positively numbs me. I’m paralyzed—I can’t bring myself to get on with it and start flinging. And then there’s those daunting computer files. So many of them that I would have to open, peruse, then likely decide that maybe it’s a pretty viable idea after all, and surely I’ll find the time to get back to it someday. Hah! As if!

In Wikipedia, the characteristics of a compulsive hoarder are:

• the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value 

• living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed

• significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

That’s me! It fits the description of my desk! And just the fact that I’m writing this and stressing out over it is an indication that I’ve been besieged by it? Isn’t it? Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But I’ll bet I’m not the only writer who has this problem. Has anyone else out there saved absolutely everything they’ve ever written? And I mean everything, dating right back to the very first story they ever wrote in grade three called ‘A Narrow Escape for a Mouse’? (I was already obsessed with mysteries and thrillers back then, I guess.) Please say ‘yes’, so I’ll know I’m not the only one with this peculiar compulsion!

In a way it’s served me well. Way back when I was doing frequent school visits, I would  take along my scrapbooks of ‘everything I’ve ever written’ to show the students, and it’s truly an asset when the kids asked me how long I’ve know that this obsession to write has been my calling. In the past I’ve even ‘recycled’ old stories that I started maybe 30 years ago and never came to fruition. Using all of the creative skills I’ve developed in the interim, I’ve revised them and subsequently had them published. 

Hmmm.  Come to think of it, maybe this compulsion to hoard my copious collection of words and sentences isn’t such a bad thing after all! So I’ve decided I’ll live with this curated mess. After all, there might be a goldmine buried under here somewhere.  

Now where did I put that story I started writing in 1985?

Home Recipe

 

As the school year rolls to a painstakingly slow close, my heart aches for home.

My 8th graders are done (and pretty much have been for about three weeks). My colleagues are done (our witty banter has slumped to bland comments about the weather between blank stares). My inner cheerleader is spent (I've never been good at feigning enthusiasm). And to those who have ever found themselves saying something like, "But you're a teacher. You have your summers off!" I usually reply with a laugh, "I know! I don't know why everyone doesn't do it."  But the truth is, my body is crying for that ever-blessed two-and-a-half-month stretch affectionately known as "Summer Vacation" but should really be called "Recovery Period". 

I need to be home. Not on vacation. Not on a beach or at some cabin in the woods. Home. I just want to go home.

I want to get up with the birds, water and weed my gardens, love and train my horses.  Care for my chickens, dogs, and cat. Scoop poop. Cook and bake. Clean the house. Hang laundry outside in the sunshine. Mow. Make my weird and wonderful crafts. Read books and write reviews for those books. 

Most of all, I want to write. I want to curl inward at my laptop and let Forever Fields engulf me. I can't wait to see what Paisley Noon gets up to in the days to come. Even typing these words makes me smile.

Here is a poem I wrote long ago. I typically share it with newlyweds and then give the couple a fun collection of handwritten starter recipes. But for some reason, it hits home with me today. 

Enjoy!

Home Recipe

By Julie Christen

 

What does it take to create a home?

A place where you’ll never again feel alone?

 

If it was all written on a recipe card,

I bet it’d be complex, but prob’ly not hard.

 

You’d start with a crate full of laughter for flavor,

Then mix in a dozen warm memories to savor.

 

A bowl full of ideas, hopes, and big plans,

A heart full of love, you’d fold in with your hands.

 

Then you’d sprinkle a palm-full of hard lessons learned,

And season it all with each triumph you earn.

 

Next, you’d mix it all up with some family and friends,

And mash it and mold it, smooth out bumps and bends.

 

The secret ingredients: heritage and advice

Will be just what it needs to add mystery and spice.

You’d bake it inside four walls strong and sturdy

For as long as it takes … be it one year or thirty.

 

You’ll know when it’s ready; it’ll be no surprise

And serve generous portions to all who stop by.

 

Yes, that’s how that recipe card would look

If it were a part of a homemade cookbook.

Time to test yourself by donalee Moulton

 

www.bookswelove.com

I’ve been doing readings to launch my new mystery, Bind; introduce the world to Woo Woo, Charlene, and Lexie; and take them inside the hunt for an expensive watch that has been stolen. I’ve discovered one of the fun things about book readings is drawing participants into the subject matter—with a quiz. The Bind quiz has 11 questions that focus on two of the books main topics: watches and theft. Below are the questions about watches. They’re timely. Scroll down for the answers. Next month I’ll share the final questions.

 1.  When were the first portable timekeeping devices — in other words, the world’s first watches — first invented?

A.    16^th century (the Early Modern Age)

B.    18^th century (the Age of Enlightenment)

C.    20^th century (the Age when Bind’s characters were born)

 

2.  Who were wristwatches originally designed for?

A.    Men, because men get everything first

B.    Women, because they are the smarter sex

C.    Police officers, because they carry guns

 

3.  When did wristwatches gain popularity among men?

A.    During the Roaring Twenties

B.    During the Industrial Revolution

C.    During World War 1

 

4.  Which old Hollywood movie star’s watch shattered records when it sold at auction in 2017?

A.    Clark Gable, The King of Hollywood

B.    Archibald Alexander Leach (you probably know him as Cary Grant)

C.    Paul Newman aka Cool Hand Luke

 

5.  From 2021 to 2022, luxury watch thefts rose by 65% in London. And something happened as a result?

A.    A petition to ban the sale of machetes

B.    An ordinance prohibiting anyone wearing of a luxury watch in public

C.    A law forbidding anyone to take a photo of the Crown’s wristwatch

 

 

 

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And the answers are…

 

1.  When were the first portable timekeeping devices — in other words, the world’s first watches — first invented?

A.    16^th century (the Early Modern Age)

 

German clockmaker Peter Henlein is credited with inventing the first watch around 1510. Because of its size (about 3 inches), it was best suited to be worn on a pendant or attached to a belt.  

2.    Who were wristwatches originally designed for?

B.    Women, because they are the smarter sex

 

Wristwatches were originally created for women. They were seen as both elegant pieces of jewelry and functional timepieces. According to the Guinness World Records, Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe made the first wristwatch in 1868 for a Hungarian Countess. Men preferred pocket watches at that time.

3.    When did wristwatches gain popularity among men?

C.    During World War 1

 

During World War I, wristwatches became a necessity because soldiers needed to tell time quickly and easily. This translated to civilian life after the war. By the 1930s, wristwatch sales had surpassed pocket watch sales.

4.    Which old Hollywood movie star’s watch shattered records when it sold at auction in 2017?

C. Paul Newman aka Cool Hand Luke

 

Movie star and race car driver Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona sold at auction for $17.8 million in 2017. The watch had been a gift from his wife actress Joanne Woodward—engraved with the words “Drive Carefully, Me.”

 

5.    From 2021 to 2022, luxury watch thefts rose by 65% in London. And something happened as a result?

A.  A petition to ban the sale of machetes

 

A London councillor launched a petition to ban the sale of machetes after having his watch stolen by a machete-wielding thief in 2022. The petition got almost 140,000 signatures.

 

I hope you were intrigued—and challenged—by the questions. Let me know how you did.

    

                            

The ties that bind us – to research by donalee Moulton

 

As you know, my third mystery, Bind, is out in the world. Here’s the pitch:

 

Everything that happens in a yoga studio is not Zen. Sometimes it’s grand larceny. Three yogis, two cops, and one damn cute dog join forces to discover who’s stolen a Patek Philippe watch from what was supposed to be a secure locker.  Time is ticking.

 

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As I was writing Bind, indeed, as I was envisioning what the book would be, I patted myself on the back for picking a theme, a location, and characters I was more familiar with than in my previous two books. Less research, less investigation, less fact checking. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My first mystery, Hung Out to Die, follows Riel Brava, born and bred in Santa Barbara, California, and transplanted to Nova Scotia where he is CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. It’s business as usual until Riel finds the company’s comptroller hanging by a thread. Actually, several threads. It doesn’t take the police long to determine all is not as it appears. Riel is drawn into helping solve a murder. He’d rather not. His reluctance, in part, has to do with the fact that he is a psychopath. The nicer kind, not the serial killer kind.

To make Riel and the murder realistically come to life, I spent a lot of time researching cannabis production, psychopathy, death by hanging, and upscale coffees. I even spent some time exploring the inner workings of a donair. Riel eats his first in the book; I’ve never had one.

          In a twist, my second book, Conflagration!, is a historical mystery that centers around Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting the lower town of Montreal on fire in 1734.  Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document her case, believes Angelique might be innocent. Or not. A reticent servant, a boisterous jailer, and three fire-scorched shingles prove indispensable in his quest to uncover what really happened.

          Of course, the reality of history and the mystery I created immersed me in life nearly three hundred years ago. It also required learning about the French justice system of 1734 and specifically the trial of Angélique.

          You can see why I patted myself on the back when the idea for Bind took hold in my imagination. A watch goes missing from a changeroom at a gym – an expensive watch with a loud, arrogant owner. The theft connects three yogis in a way full lotus never could. As the search for a thief unfolds, so do seemingly unrelated questions. Why does Lexie have such an intense interest in a much-younger trainer at the gym? Who is the unnamed, unknown man who keeps leaving Charlene messages? Why does no one know Woo Woo lives in a mansion?

          I thought research would be minimal. The women in the book are my age, they live in my neighborhood, they do yoga – like me. What more could there be to research? Plenty as it turned out. One of the main characters, Lexie, is a comedian with a popular podcast, so now I’m learning about podcasts. Another main character, Charlene, is an auditor, and suddenly I’m delving into what auditors do exactly and how they do it. Another character, Woo Woo, is a reflexologist…. Well, you get it.

          It’s authenticity that makes writing come to life, and authentic writing requires writers to hunker down and delve into worlds they don’t know well and don’t know at all. I mean who knew a watch could cost $100,000. I had no idea. I do now.