Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The Song Her Paddle Sang










The Song Her Paddle Sang



For nearly two decades Emily Pauline Johnson, known by her stage name as Tekahionwake, thrilled audiences at the turn of the century across Canada and Europe with her recitals. Born half native Mohawk and Caucasian in Brantford Ontario. Although more white than native, by Canadian law she was classed as a native.
Her father was head chief of the six nations tribes and her mother of pure English bloodlines. Their marriage shocked Canadian society, at the time in the late 1800’s. Pauline went on to continue that wave of awe during her stage performances with many of her plays and poetry stood up for native beliefs, unheard of in her time.
            Her health, precarious as a child, led to her early death in Vancouver where she died of breast cancer at an early middle age in 1913. Pauline grew up devouring poetry and read most of Shakespeare, Longfellow and Byron, among others. One night her lucky break occurred when she was part of a Canadian authors reading night. She recited a poem about the plight of the Indian’s side of the North-west rebellion, titled ‘A cry From An Indian Wife’. The assembled crowd went nuts and she was the only one to be given an encore. From there Pauline Johnson went on publish several books of poetry and tour Europe and North America for nearly two decades.






All her poems, recitals and comedy sketches she wrote and produced at a time when the country was still in its infancy and women were not known, for the most part, to take control of their own lives. While not really classed as a feminist, she was proud of her native heritage.
Most of the time she toured the country in rickety horse drawn buggies, slept at flea bitten hotels, or worse in sheds. Although on one trip to the log mile houses of BC she was treated so well Pauline was quoted as saying ‘slept like a baby, laughed like a child and ate like a lumberjack’. In many towns where the populations were less than the cows surrounding it, word would spread like wild fire and soon people would be packing into the place. She also attracted the attention of many famous people, presidents, prime ministers and dined with royalty while in London.
She eventually befriended Joseph Capilano, the Squamish chief, at the time, which lead to the publishing of the book ‘Legends of Vancouver’, detailing many of Vancouver area oral stories.
The streets of Vancouver were lined with hundreds of people for her funeral procession. A memorial built to honor her in Stanley Park now sits now mainly forgotten under a stand of trees next to the Teahouse Restaurant.



For those who love poetry, I’ve condensed below her most famous poem, ‘The Song My Paddle Sings’.

West wind, blow from your prairie nest, Blow from the mountains, blow from the west
The sail is idle, the sailor too; O! wind of the west, we wait for you. Blow, blow!
I have wooed you so, But never a favour you bestow.
You rock your cradle the hills between, But scorn to notice my white lateen.
I stow the sail, unship the mast: I wooed you long but my wooing's past;
My paddle will lull you into rest. O! drowsy wind of the drowsy west,
Sleep, sleep, By your mountain steep, Or down where the prairie grasses sweep!
Now fold in slumber your laggard wings,
For soft is the song my paddle sings. August is laughing across the sky,
Laughing while paddle, canoe and I, Drift, drift,
Where the hills uplift, On either side of the current swift.
The river rolls in its rocky bed; My paddle is plying its way ahead;
Dip, dip, While the water flip In foam as over their breast we slip.
And oh, the river runs swifter now; The eddies circle about my bow. Swirl, swirl!
How the ripples curl, In many a dangerous pool awhirl! And forward far the rapids roar,
Fretting their margin for evermore. Dash, dash, With a mighty crash,
They seethe, and boil, and bound, and splash. Be strong, O paddle! be brave, canoe!
The reckless waves you must plunge into. Reel, reel.
On your trembling keel, But never a fear my craft will feel.
We've raced the rapid, we're far ahead! The river slips through its silent bed.
Sway, sway, As the bubbles spray
And fall in tinkling tunes away. And up on the hills against the sky,
A fir tree rocking its lullaby, Swings, swings,

Its emerald wings, Swelling the song that my paddle sings.





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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Owl Card by Cheryl Wright

 



I have four granddaughters. Three of them go crazy over anything owl. My now fourteen year old twin grandchildren had a birthday recently, so I decided to make each of them an owl card.

Today I'm sharing my granddaughter's card. 





This was a very simple card.  I sponged around all the edges, then stamped the top section with leaves, using the same ink. 

I made an owl using the Stampin' Up! Owl Punch, which I love, and decorated it up. I wanted the owl to look like it was on a swing hanging from a tree, hence the leaves, but didn't have a swing stamp. 

So... I took some twine, cut a small piece of brown cardboard, which I distressed to make it look like wood, and added the twine as thought it was attached to the wood. 

Last but not least, I stamped Happy Birthday. The stamp was again from Stampin' Up! 

Next month I'll showcase the card I made for my grandson. 


I hope you've enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!






Links:

My website:  www.cheryl-wright.com 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor 
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/writercheryl
BWL website: http://bookswelove.net/authors/wright-cheryl/ 

Monday, June 20, 2016

Books We Love's Tantalizing Talent ~ Author Sandy Semerad



Sandy Semerad has been making up stories in her head since childhood. She was born in Geneva, Alabama, to an eccentric, talented mother and entrepreneurial father. Her dad died when she was seven, and after he passed her mother’s Viking spirit compelled her to travel, taking her two daughters hither and yon, far outside the confines of their small Alabama town. Sandy earned a journalism degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. She has worked as a model, newspaper reporter, broadcaster, columnist and news editor. She has two grown daughters, Rene and Andrea and a granddaughter Cody. She and husband Larry live in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida with P-Nut, their spoiled Shih Tzu and wayward cat, “Miss Kitty.”


Books We Love has published three of Sandy’s novels: SEX, LOVE, & MURDER (Mystery); HURRICANE HOUSE (Mystery); A MESSAGE IN THE ROSES (Romantic Thriller) 


Amazon
Her latest novel, A MESSAGE IN THE ROSES, is based on a murder trial she covered as a newspaper reporter in Atlanta.

Warning: It contains steamy Romance.

A Message in the Roses is both lovely and exciting, a nail biter to the quick. It brings a delightful combination of journalistic craft and romantic prose that warms the heart and steams up the room,” says Dave Straub former CNN anchor, white House reporter and NBC Presidential Advisor.





Amazon
Sandy’s second book, HURRICANE HOUSE, is set in a Florida Fishing Village. A hurricane strikes the fishing village while a murder is at large. Protagonist Maeva Larson is a catastrophe investigation. She suspects some of the deaths aren’t hurricane related.5 out of 5 starsAn excellent pick for mystery fans, not to be overlooked,” By Midwest Book Review 





Amazon
Sandy’s first book SEX, LOVE & MURDER (previously Mardi Gravestone) combines the mystique of Mardi Gras with the soulful spirit of New Orleans, adds a suspicious accident, a plot against the U. S. President, a mysterious suitcase and a crystal necklace from a graveyard psychic. "A very intriguing mystery," says Romantic Times.





Both HURRICANE HOUSE and SEX, LOVE & MURDER feature the same crystal necklace. Question to readers: Do you think the necklace has magical powers?



Sunday, June 19, 2016

New Weekly Winner ~ Get Fired Up For Summer Contest


Eva Minaskanian wins a copy of Damsel of the Hawk by Vijaya Schartz.

Eva, please email bookswelove@telus.net 
to claim your prize. 

Congratulations!

Books We Love









Find the contest details here

 

Get Fired Up For Summer with 
Books We Love!

Coming Soon, an exciting new series from Books We Love


                                         
                      Canadian Historical Brides 

Each of the Canadian Historical Brides novels features a historical event in one of the ten provinces and three territories of Canada. The books, based on actual historical times, combine fact and fiction to show how the brides and grooms, all from diverse backgrounds, join in marriage to create new lives and build a great country.



Written or co-authored by some of Books We Love's Best Selling Canadian and International authors.





Watch for release dates on our blog, Twitter, and Facebook pages, or in our monthly newsletter.



Get Fired Up For Summer! Win a Kindle Fire in our new contest.

The Importance of Villains by Stuart R. West

Clickity-click to purchase loads of thrills!
I believe every book should have a villain. Every genre needs them, a crucial component to a compelling dramatic arc. Romance books should have them too, hence the requisite love triangle. Readers want to root for two out of three people to fall in love. What's the fun of reading a book about a beautiful, untangled relationship?

As a reader, at times I find villains more interesting, particularly when the heroes are sort of the bland, never-can-do-anything-wrong archetype. Definitely as a writer, I have more fun writing the bad guys. Call it a form of therapy, vicariously channeling my inner villain in safe ways.

There are many great quotes about villains. Tom Hiddleston, the actor who plays Loki in the Avengers movies (who knows a few things about villains), said, "Every villain is a hero in his own mind." Many writers have echoed this sentiment. And that's what makes the enemy interesting in fiction. (Um, not so much in real life, of course.)

The more humanized, the more empathetic, the more understandable a villain is in a book, I find myself nearly rooting for him/her at times.  There's something to admire about such unfettered villains, joyfully embarking upon their path of mayhem, unbothered by social restraints. Liberating, even. Of course I keep this unpopular sentiment quiet more often than not.

And it helps when the villain is charming, intelligent, witty and just wants to go on his sociopathic, merry way. When someone has that much confidence, it's hard not to root for them. As I said...I enjoy writing these types of villains. Fun!

Which reminds me of another quote: "A hero is only as good as their villain." (For the life of me, I can't find the origin of this quote! Some say it was Batman...wasn't Batman a great Greek philosopher or something?). So when I pick up a book with a fascinating villain, I expect the hero to hold his own. This means a flawed, interesting hero, perhaps even one step away from villainy himself. The temptation of a hero is always compelling.

Now in writing my Killers Incorporated series (Secret Society and Strike with a third one on the way), I sort of stacked the odds against myself. My (anti) hero, Leon Garber, is a serial killer. But he's one with a code of honor, a disturbed individual who preys only on abusers. He has his reasons. But my challenges were two-fold: how to make Leon a hero; and to create an even more despicable villain so the reader has no choice but to cheer Leon on. And what's worse than an evil corporation that sponsors serial killers? Did I succeed? Beats me, that's up to the reader to decide.

Long live villains! (Just in fiction, though. I don't wanna hang out with them.)
One click away from serial killer hi-jinx!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Everything is coming up roses Nancy M Bell


It's been an early spring here in southern Alberta. The roses are beginning to bloom, the delphiniums are almost there with just a few blue spikes already showing. We had some really hot weather in May and then some cold weather in June. But that's springtime in Alberta, I guess. Last weekend we drove up to Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies and it snowed a bit while we were walking along the lake path. The lake was a very milky turquoise blue due to the snow melt, but still very lovely. The canoes were out in spite of the cool wet weather. Some of the trails were closed due to bear and wolf activity which is pretty common in the spring when the bears are just getting moving.

But back to the garden. I planted two new Echinacea plants, one is white bloom and the other a deep pink. They join the original one I planted a few years ago which gets a big seed head but no petals. Looks kinda funky, but I wanted to add a couple with actual blooms. This year I planted vegetables in containers on the front porch in the hopes that I can actually get some tomatoes to grow. It gets too cold at night as a rule, but I have then close to the house on the south side and sheltered, so I have got my fingers crossed.

Right now I have an adorable foster mommy cat with four kittens. She came in as a feral cat and was pretty hissy at first, but now she is so friendly and wants attention. The kittens are four weeks old and becoming more active. Two boys and two girls. The momma's name is Louisa, actually they named her Louie when she first came in as they thought she was a boy. There were a bunch of grey cats all looking the same. But ooops, no. Louie is a girl and pregnant! I brought her home and a week later she presented me with four babies. My husband loves the British show Doc Martin which is set in north Cornwall. Louisa is one of the characters, so we have named the kittens after people on the show. The boys are Martin - for Dr. Martin Ellingham played by Martin Clunes, and Bert for Bert Large played by Ian McNeice. The girls are Morwenna after Doc Martin's receptionist, and Ruth for Doc Martin's aunt. Life in our house is never dull.

I'm also fostering another cat at the moment. His name is Jackson. He came to us from Ponoka, AB, the victim of being hit by a car. Jackson had a broken pelvis and had to have his tail amputated. He is the most loving affectionate cat you could imagine. He spent 6 weeks on crate rest and has now been given the okay so he is roaming free with my other cats. He loves people, gets along with other cats and loves the dogs. He should get a good home very shortly. You always hate to see them go, but I can't keep them all. Knowing they are going to good homes helps a lot. The rescue is very careful about who adopts the animals which helps set the foster's mind at ease.

Last but not least, I am working on the third book in the Longview Romance series. Cale and Michelle are getting married at last, nothing can go wrong. Right? The second book in the Arabella's Secret series released recently. Arabella Dreams fills in some of the questions readers of the Cornwall Adventures series have asked about Laurel Rowan's Gramma Bella. I love the cover. Kudos to Michelle Lee for created the perfect cover.


Arabella Angarrick is heartbroken. Exiled from her beloved Cornwall, she must come to terms with life on the Canadian prairies and her arranged marriage to D’Arcy Rowan. She struggles to reconcile herself to life on a remote ranch with a man she barely knows. He knows he’s getting a two for one deal and Bella is thankful he is happy to welcome her unborn child into his home. D’Arcy is a kind man, but try as she might, Bella just can’t bring herself to love him. Her heart still yearns for Vear Du, the father of her baby. Will she ever stop dreaming of him?

Until next month, stay happy, stay safe!

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