What's in a Burrito

https://books2read.com/The-Baganti-Attack

I really like Mexican food. I love Mexican food. Especially burritos.

Most of the time I get them at a retail place (from a major chain or a restaurant. They were okay. However, there was usually too much runny beans mixed in with the meat and not enough veggies. The restaurant style is similar, but includes a chair and table service. That is worth at least two points.

My homemade burrito had considerably more vegetables and more cheese. They were wrapped like you would get at a fast food place-a soft tortilla wrap. 

I’ve discovered something that was out there but not something that stuck in my mind-texture.

One day I was in a commercial area outside of downtown Toronto with a friend. We stepped into a small burrito restaurant. Rickety chairs. A mixture of table styles. Large windows opened letting a breeze in. We had to order at the counter. While in line (a very good sign) I noticed that one person took the order and two people behind prepared the burrito.

I saw immediately that the meat was cooked fresh for each order. Thus, a ten minute wait. The cheese was fresh. Everything was fresh.

This burrito cost more than any I had ever bought outside of a full-service fancy restaurant.

We had a seat and waited. Our number was called and we picked them up. The foil rap was hot. Another excellent sign.

I took my first bit. Bang! There was that texture I mentioned earlier. The vegetables had a crunch. As did the tortilla wrap. It had been placed under something similar to a panini grill. Or, it was simply properly prepared on a grill.

Each bite was met with a crunch. And, no half-cup of juice dripping out. Just a small amount. A very small amount. I slowed down and savoured each morsel.

This weekends challenge. Duplicate the amazing taste and texture on my grill at home. Under the sun. But, with a small breeze. A very small breeze.

The Ley Of The Land

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The Ley Of The Land

We all know that Victoria is a wonderful place to holiday, right? But have you ever wondered why so many ghosts feel the same?
Readers of my novel, The Joining, and past blogs will already know that Victoria is reported to be the most haunted city in North America, perhaps the world. What is known about spiritual Victoria is that two Ley Lines intersect the city, one North-South, another East-West. I've plotted many of the haunted sites and they draw a clear line from the seventh hole at Victoria golf course, all the way west to the inner harbour, and up to the north from there.
So the question going through many of your minds is; "What the hell are Ley Lines?"
The term was invented by Alfred Watkins in 1921, who happened to notice that many of the ancient pagan and religious sites in England (many built over older pagan sites) all seem to follow straight lines. "Ley" is based on an Anglo-Saxon term meaning 'cleared strip of land'.

Ley Lines In England As Drawn By Marian

What we refer to as Ley Lines are known in many cultures worldwide. The Shamans of South America call them Spirit Lines. In China, Dragon Lines. To the Aboriginals of Australia, they are Dream Lines. Most sacred monuments in the world, including Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, the Egyptian Pyramids, Easter Island and Stonehenge to name a few, are found along intersecting Ley Lines, like Victoria.
The ancient peoples of this planet knew of these Ley Lines. It is known that birds often migrate along magnetic meridians, which in essence is what the Ley lines are. The magnetic meridians of the Earth.
The Earth has a natural electromagnetic field, known as The Schumann Resonance, which registers at 7.8 Hertz. (To some, this is the heartbeat of Mother Earth.) Where Ley Lines are believed to cross, the charge is greater and causes a fluctuation in that field. (More of this to come in a future novel, working title Seeds of Ascension. You'll have to wait a bit though!).
Ley Lines are described by many Spiritualists as the energy chakras of Mother Earth. If you believe we are all connected to this realm, Mother Earth and the universe, and that in essence we are also a universe within ourselves, one can become in tune with this electrical current. Current that winds around the Earth like strands of DNA.
Yes, pretty heady woo-woo talk for a mere blog.
But I've been known to be a deep spiritual shamanistic person. So bear with my ramblings as we come back to Victoria.
What is known is that many of the First Nations graves (entire graveyards, back in the 1800's) were merely covered over as the city expanded. Even the entire Songhees village across the inner harbour was bought, the natives moved and the land paved over. Oh, yes, I've heard the money was supposed to go to them, but vanished into city coffers.
So what happened to the spirits buried within those coffins. Are they trapped here along with the later settlers? Can some pull memory or knowledge from these beings? Are they happy being trapped here?
This brings me to another point. Trapped within Victoria is a time vortex. Eerie I know. But many have reported to travel down Shelbourne and Hillside in the wee hours when the paved street disappears before them and they are instead travelling down an old gravel road. A minute later everything warps back to the present.  Yes, you read correctly.
So, bearing in mind the thirty or so well corroborated ghost stories I've researched, if anyone can claim that any city in the world is more haunted than Victoria, I'd be very interested to hear about it.
PS. If you have any ghost stories of Victoria and want to share them, let me know via email.
See you next month!

Frank Talaber
Email: twosoulmates@shaw.ca
Writer by Soul.
A natural storyteller, whose compelling thoughts are freed from the depths of the heart and the subconscious before being poured onto the page.
Literature written beyond the realms of genre he is known to grab readers; kicking, screaming, laughing or crying and drag them into his novels.
Enter the literary world of Frank Talaber.

My Publishers Webpage:
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http://twosoulmates.wixsite.com/frankt-author-blog
My novels and reviews on Amazon are at:
https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Talaber/e/B00UC407R0
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Links: #urban fantasy  #books  #author #paranormal thriller  #soul #muse  #fantasy  #Vancouver  #Victoria #BC #British Columbia

The Hanging of John André by Diane Scott Lewis

Spying for the British. In my novel set during the American Revolution, Her Vanquished Land, (Sept. release), I came across the many men and women who spied for the British and lost their lives. The main person, a man even showcased in the TV series, Turn, was Major John André. Since my heroine Rowena Marsh wishes to join the spy ring of her cousin, Major André is mentioned a few times. Especially his ignoble end.

John André

André was the man who corresponded with Benedict Arnold, aiding in his betrayal of the Americans.
When André was captured carrying letters that pointed to his involvement in this betrayal, General Washington offered him up for trade for Arnold. The British refused. André was doomed.

André was born in 1750 London to wealthy Huguenots. Well educated, he joined the British army at age twenty. By 1778 he was a major, had already been captured by the American rebels, and released through a prisoner exchange. In his off hours, he was a great society favorite with a lively personality and a talent for drawing.

In 1779 he took charge of the British Secret Service in America. He began negotiations with Benedict Arnold, a dissatisfied general in the Continental Army. Arnold said he was owed back pay and wasn't recognized as the patriot and hero that he should be. He wanted to defect to the British.

After his meeting with Arnold, André was given a safety pass by him to travel through the American lines, yet he also carried details about the fort at West Point (the one Arnold planned to turn over to the British). He was stopped by the Americans, searched, and captured. General George Washington wanted to do a prisoner exchange with André for the turncoat Arnold, but the British refused. The major was tried and convicted of spying, especially since he was wearing civilian clothes.

Sentenced to death, André was hanged at Tappan, New York, October 2, 1780. Both sides lamented the death of the amiable young officer who made friends wherever he was.

Self-portrait of André on the night before his execution.

I researched many aspects of spying during the American Revolution; brutality happened on both sides, and my heroine Rowena Marsh must find her place and make her mark. She strived to be as brave as the men.

To purchase my novels at Amazon or All Markets: Click HERE

 

 

For further information on me and my books, please visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org

 Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

Hidden Messages in Novels by J.Q. Rose

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
Romantic suspense

A handsome detective, a shadow man, and a murder victim kill Lauren’s plan for a simple life.

Click here to find more mysteries by J.Q. Rose from BWL Publishing.

Hello and welcome to the BWL Publishing Insiders Blog. I'm mystery author J.Q. Rose.

Hidden Messages in Novels by J.Q. Rose

Hidden Messages in Novels by J.Q. Rose

Readers learn from books. 

Readers are entertained by books. 

Readers are touched by characters in books.

But did you know that within the pages of a book, there are messages from the author? When an author is passionate about a subject, that passion will be incorporated into the story.

Within J K Rowling's Harry Potter books, a werewolf character, Remus Lupin, is stricken with a blood-borne illness which is a metaphor for HIV and the stigma surrounding HIV.

In Laurie Halse Andersen's The Impossible Knife of Memory, a teenage girl must cope with her soldier father's PTSD. The YA novel shows how mental illness can affect everyone in a family. Click here to read the entire article at Bustle.com.

I write mysteries because I love to read them and I love to entertain readers with my stories. But like most authors, I have a message I want to share with the world in all of my mysteries. I wrote Deadly Undertaking with a character stricken with Alzheimer's disease because I am passionate about bringing awareness to the epidemic of AD sweeping our world. 

I have many friends who are or have been caretakers of a family member suffering from this horrible illness. Not only is the patient going through hell because of the effects of the disease, but as the years pass, the loved ones watch as the patient slowly disappears from them overcome from an incurable disease that ravages their mind and body. 

I shared a blog post on this blog with the question, "Can you imagine a world without Alzheimer's Disease?" Medical staff and researchers can. They are working every day to eliminate AD. According to alz.org, the number of Americans with AD is growing fast. Every 65 seconds, someone in the US develops Alzheimer's Disease. It is the 6th leading cause of death in the US. 

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. Click here to go to the Alzheimer's Association website to find out more about AD and to see how you can help with funding research and bringing awareness. 

I hope my mystery novel and this blog post can play a part in wiping out Alzheimer's Disease from our planet.
Click here to read another post on this blog by J.Q. Rose--A World Without Alzheimer's Disease.

J.Q. Rose, mystery author

Click here to connect with J.Q. Rose online.

Afterthoughts and Aftermess in the Amazon by Stuart R. West

Click for the third Zach and Zora comic mystery

Well, all good things must come to an end, I suppose. Even if there were times I didn't think I'd survive the Amazon jungle. Not due to life-threatening situations, mind you, but rather the strenuous activities of hiking through a sauna-like environment in long pants, shirts, and those torturous boots.

Goodbye Peru...

But I made it. Even though the plane trips back were trying--eight days in the jungle and no ailments, but everyone on the plane was hacking and wheezing, sure to be my downfall; also, we had an encounter with an ugly American teenage girl who tried to cut in line (but my wife put a stop to that!)--we began the long, dull process of settling back into routine.

Fun in a germ-ridden flying tin can!

Upon return, Kansas seemed rather...lifeless. Sure, it felt safer and was definitely cleaner, but it lacked the energy, the vibrancy of Iquitos and the unfettered nature of the jungle. Everything about the Midwest appeared so ho-hum.

BO-RING!

Except, of course, for my week-long bout with diarrhea. Yay, TMI! (At least I didn't suffer while in the jungle; I can't even begin to imagine...wait, yes I can).

Wake me when we leave Kansas...

I learned a lot on my adventures. While I'm not quite ready to bunker down in a tent (too many serial killers lurking in the woods), or go backpacking in the Himalayas (too many yetis), or cannonball into a hot tub with Buddha (not enough room for both of us), I've decided to embrace nature as my friend. Finally. Call me ridiculous, but the other day there was a grotesque, hard-carapaced bug skittering down the hallway. I managed to scoop him up and put him outside. In the past, he would've been instant floor-kill.

The incredible power of the Amazon--nature at its wildest, most untainted state--proved awe-inspiring, not only in its beauty and yin and yang of terror, but also in the potential it has as a natural state of energy. If people would learn to coexist peacefully with the river, harness it without doing damage, it has the potential to power a good chunk of the world. It is to be respected.

So are people. After my trip, I've vowed to try and be nicer. A tough chore, but I'm committed. Our visit to Iquitos made me realize just how "rich" we are, comparatively speaking. We saw squalor, miserable living conditions, and even worse health care issues. But the locals' living conditions didn't get them down. On the contrary, they carried on with life, making our trials and tribulations appear petty. We could all learn something from the people of Peru.

I also came out the other side with the pleasure of bonding with new friends and reacquainting with old ones. You can't go through a boot camp of that type, storming the gates of hell, without growing close to those experiencing the trip next to you. And seeing as I write full-time from home, it was the most socializing I'd done in years. Big ol' honkin' baby steps!

New friends/family!

Best of all, I love the fact that "jungle pants" has become a nonchalantly dropped word in our everyday lexicon.

And the stories I heard, the things I saw and experienced, will shape and fill at least one future novel percolating on the back-burner, a paranormal mystery.

Onward and upward, the world's a great big, ol' beautiful and wondrous and scary place, much more than my previously staked-out back yard of Kansas City. I can't wait to explore more. (But, um, just with air conditioning this time).

Peace.

Storm's Refuge and our foray into audio books by Nancy M Bell

To find out more about Nancy's books click on the cover.

The world of audio books is relatively new to me and I was thrilled when my publisher decided to put Storm's Refuge into production. It's kind of weird to hear my words spoken by someone I don't even know and to hear my characters come to life, so to speak. The whole process was pretty painless. First I chose a short excerpt as a sample, then it was posted on the ACX site as a proposal for narrators to consider. There are also many narrators to choose from with samples of their various 'voices' and accents to choose from. You can narrow it down to female or male, certain age and regional accents etc. It was pretty cool listening to how one person could change their delivery just by altering cadence and pronunciation of vowels etc.
Fortunately, someone liked Storm and agreed to narrate for us. All this was done through the publisher's ACX account. Georgia Bragg is my narrator, and I was thrilled to find out she is an Albertan and as my book is set in Alberta, the accent and manner of speaking rings true to the characters. I had the pleasure of meeting Georgia in the beautiful hamlet of Bragg Creek, AB. If any of you are familiar with the TV show North of 60, you'll be pleased to know that Bragg Creek and surrounding area was the stand in for Lynx River. If you're ever in the area be sure to visit Bragg Creek and nearby Elbow Falls.

This is just a taste of the beauty that awaits you. Photo credit High Country News

It took a few months to produce 6+ hours of narration. Georgia did a wonderful job of keeping true to my characters and infusing them with humour and tension in all the right places. After months of reviewing and listening I'm happy to say Storm's Refuge is live on Audible. If you're interested in listening click here.

Until next month, stay well, stay happy.

www.nancymbell.ca

Hearing Your Book

Hearing Your Story

 

Recently my book Murder and Mint Tea came out in an audio version. Now I’m the kind or writer who sits and reads out loud the final draft of the mss to make sure there are no awkward places. The problem is that while I’ve been reading aloud, I haven’t been listening to more than pacing and flow. I also have trained to read my words loudly and without expression.

Hearing the book read by a professional reader was a surprising treat. There were times when I wondered if I’d really written those words. Several times I had to look in the print copy and those words were there but somehow they took on a different meaning. Sometimes the meaning was more sinister than I thought and sometimes showing an undertone I hadn’t realized was there.

Many thanks to Virginia Ferguson for her reading skills. Now I’m hoping for more reviews like the one that’s already there from one of the prior editions of the book.