Featured Author Dean L. Hovey

https://bookswelove.net/hovey-dean/

(click link above to purchase any of Dean's books)

I’m Dean Hovey and have been an author with BWL Publishing since 2019. I live in Minnesota but spend my days with my fictional characters. Doug Fletcher and Jill Rickowski are rangers who investigate crimes in National Parks across the U.S. Their first mystery was Stolen Past, set in northern Arizona, involving the deadly fall of an antiques dealer. Washed Away followed with Doug and Jill investigating deaths in an Arizona flash flood.

Research is the lifeblood of any author and I spend nearly as much time doing research as writing. At any given time, there are half a dozen search pages open on my computer as I write. I joked with a reader that I’m probably on an FBI watchlist for researching questions like how fast a body decomposes in the Arizona desert and what bugs are present when a body decomposes in the trunk of a car during a Minnesota summer. I had a wonderful discussion with a Wyoming coroner about the procedures for investigating a climbers fall from Devils Tower. Readers have said it’s those details that bring them into the story and make them feel like they’re a part of the action.

Part of my writing process is creating a backstory for each character. That backstory helps me write dialogue appropriate for their personality and life experiences. The downside is engaging with the characters and finding my emotions tweaked by events in the book. I’ve written with tears streaming down my face as my characters face challenging, unhappy, or emotional situations. I’ve chuckled as the Whistling Pines recreation director deals with crazy senior citizens and uncomfortable situations like those that arise in Whistling up a Ghost (to be released by BWL this coming October). I mentioned my character attachment to Dennis Lehane, the author of Mystic River. He quoted an old writer’s adage, “No tears in the writer. No tears in the reader.” As he put it, “If you’re not invested enough in your characters to evoke your emotions, the readers won’t feel those emotions either.” 

When speaking to a library group, I read a few paragraphs that reflected the character of Doug Fletcher. I read two sentences and sensed the adrenaline rush he’d experienced when rescuing a woman from a car in an ice-covered pond. I had to set the book aside and take a drink of water before going on. That passage had been rewritten a dozen times, but it still moved me.

I was approached by a reader who told me he’d been caught up in Washed Away, finishing it at midnight. He’d tossed and turned until one a.m. wondering what was going to happen to the characters after a cliffhanger ending. He got up and said to himself, “I’m worried about fictional characters who only exist in Dean Hovey’s head. Go back to bed!” We laughed about that when we met the following day. He bought a copy of Dead in the Water to read about the Fletchers’ next adventure on Padre Island National Seashore. Discussions like that keep me energized.

A reader submitted an Amazon review saying Jill and Doug had become his new best friends; people he’d enjoy having over for a beer. I laughed, but it made me reflect on my characters. I had a woman physically “buttonhole” me and tell me exactly what she expected to happen with two of my characters in the next book. I laughed, but it made me realize how deeply she’d become invested in those characters. I read mysteries when I’m not writing, and I’m loyal to my favorite authors because I like the characters. She reminded me that my readers feel the same way.

A reader emailed me after reading Washed Away, asking when I’d decided to become a romance writer. The question floored me. The relationship between the lead characters had developed so naturally, their dialogue guiding the story, that the resulting romance was an unintended outcome.

Fans of the Fletcher series have followed their investigations through five books, the most recent, Devils Fall, took them to Devils Tower National Monument. Doug’s been talking to me a lot during this COVID-19 shutdown, telling me he’d like to visit some of the more obscure National Parks, so he’ll be back next January, investigating a suspicious Black Hills death in Prairie Menace. Future BWL books will take him to The St. Croix National Scenic Waterway (Minnesota), Effigy Mounds National Park (Iowa), and Everglades National Park (Florida). Spoiler Alert: Jill Rickowski becomes his life partner. Her whispers have led to her growing role in future books.

My police consultant, Deanna Wilson, has warned me not to mention that I’m hearing Doug and Jill’s voices speaking to me. Apparently, the police put people who hear voices into 72-hour psychiatric evaluations. 

Happy reading! Dean Hovey

My First Novel was Too Long by Diane Scott Lewis

When I decided to write a novel as an adult (I'd written many stories as a child) there was no internet, no easy access to information. I plunged ahead, (secretly, at work) writing on and on, with little thought to plot, structure, and novel length. I had no idea publishers and agents were so picky about the length of a novel. I'd seen and read huge tomes in the library, Gone with he Wind, for one. Why couldn't I write a 200,000 word epic?

Escape the Revolution

Add in all that stellar research to make my historical saga real, the word count increased. When I read a few How-To books on novel writing, imagine my shock. I had to cut it down, or cut it in two.

I even entered a contest and the judges were impressed but told me a twenty page synopsis was far too long. My story was too 'busy'. I had a lot of editing to do.

I read books on style and structure, took workshops, and attended Writers Conferences. I rode the subway in Washington, D.C. to research my time period (eighteenth century, French Revolution in England) at the Library of Congress. A writer's paradise, all those books!

Jefferson Reading Room, Library of Congress

I submitted to agents, editors, and small presses: no one wanted this huge epic. One offered to read it over if I could cut it down to 70,000 words.

I learned to tighten my writing, delete characters (painful), move the action along, cut out unnecessary words, structure scenes: they all need a beginning and end, no rambling. And I made my story into two books. There was the perfect break. My heroine leaves England to find her mother in America, but her past will follow.

Hostage to the Revolution

Thus, my two novels on the adventures of a displaced countess, running from revolutionaries in 1790, into the arms of a man who may have murdered his wife. Cornish taverns, evil rogues, a neglected child, a man of mystery, and a determined young woman who strives to remake her life.

To purchase my novels, and my other BWL books: BWL

Find out more about me and my novels on my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of American Women Winning the Right to Vote by J.Q. Rose

 

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose
Romantic suspense, Paranormal

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

💗💗💗💗

Hello and welcome to the BWL Authors Insider Blog!! 

In my mysteries, my heroines are strong, capable women who stand up to obstacles in their lives. Today we are celebrating strong, purpose-driven women who banded together to fight with everything they had to gain a say in their government. The 19th amendment which is the law that allows American women to vote was ratified and certified 100 years ago this month.

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of American Women Winning the Right to Vote by J.Q. Rose

Groups of women fought and struggled to win women's suffrage in the mid-19th century in the USA.

 Image courtesy of pixabay artist fotshot

The 19th amendment to the US constitution was passed by Congress on June 4 and ratified on August 18, giving American women the right to vote in the USA. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1918. Although the amendment became law in the land, it did not eliminate state laws in place that kept black Americans from voting due to the requirement to pay taxes and pass literacy tests. It would take another fifty years to gain suffrage for black women.

Women began organizing, petitioning, picketing and parading in what today we would call protesting, to achieve awareness and support for laws to allow women to vote in the mid-1800s. Several Western states had passed laws by 1912 due to men's support of the suffrage movement.

Wyoming hoped to attract females to their state filled with gold miners--a ratio of six men to one female. But just as in contemporary politics, an ulterior motive played into the decision. Wyoming's political party in power allowed the vote, figuring if they gave women the right to vote in Wyoming elections, the ladies would vote for them!

According to ourdocuments.gov, " Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see the final victory in 1920."

Vote!!

2020 is the USA presidential election year. Please be sure to vote this year. We owe it to our sisters who sacrificed so much to obtain the right to vote.

In the 21st century, many women in the world do not have a say in their government. We can support women globally and come together during Women's International Day on March 8, 2021. The Women's International Network is a "global community of women helping women live their best lives through celebration, self-improvement and service." Click here to learn more about this organization.

Click here to visit JQ Rose online

Travel Ban

Find me and my novels here...

 Life in the time of pandemic has changed.  With children and grandchild living on another coast, my biggest challenge has been not being able to travel to see them.  

                                missing this little California fellow!

My husband and I share a love of travel, of seeing the world from a new perspective, learning about  new cultures, people, history. Here in Vermont we share a border with Canada and have beloved cousins there. No go, though only a few hours from the border! Our European dreams have been feasting on Rick Steves’ travelogues through beautiful counties on the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and along the Arno, Rhine, Danube. We now count on documentaries with drone flights across jungle claimed lost cities and imaginatively drained oceans in search of ancient cultures and shipwrecks.

                         guiding art lovers along trails that painter Thomas Cole hiked

Once upon a time, we conducted art tours through the mountains loved by the Hudson River School artists. Now we head to remote state parks and find beaches too crowded for us to get out of the car.

                                           The Piddocks have a lovely spot

Lately we’ve found a cure for our wanderlust...we've been taking walks through local graveyards and cemeteries, in search of lives that genealogists are trying to track down. You can find lists of such requests on FindaGrave.com.  Claim them to start your search. The oldest gravestones in our area are in church yards. We have seen some beautiful stone carvings from early America and our Federal period.  And the names! Sometimes the stones even the stories of lives well-lived or cut short by childbirth, disease, sudden violence. 

                                         The Ellis grave includes their wedding date...

Later in the the 19th century cemeteries were established in garden-like settings, for picnic visits with deceased loved ones. We found ourselves talking to the people on our lists, scraping away lichen from their stones to make out their dates. We were rarely in the company of the living except for an occasional groundskeeper or romping dog.  Ah, socially distanced mask freedom!

                                           keeping watch over fallen comrades

When we return home, I go on FindaGrave.com and log in our images of discoveries. 

A pleasant surprise? Within hours, my email inbox is usually full of messages from far-flung relatives with profound thanks.  

We recommend grave hunting to everyone.

The Dos and Don'ts of Pitching Your Work by Nancy M Bell

To learn more about Nancy's books please click the cover above. Dead Dogs Talk is Book 2 of The Alberta Adventures and a worthy addition to Wild Horse Rescue. Now in pre-release.



What is a Pitch?
A pitch is short, concise presentation which can be given in person, over the phone, via Zoom, other similar platform, or in an email. Very rarely are pitches sent by snail mail anymore. The content introduces your story idea, the genre and word count. If given in person in a formal situation such as a writers conference or an in person meeting with an agent or editor you should have a hard copy to leave with them. All formal pitches should include your contact information.

Why should you pitch?
If you want to sell your story, you need to have a way to get the agent or editor interested. In order to be published traditionally or be represented by an agent you need to be able to give them a quick concise bit of information that will enable them to ascertain if what you are offering fits with their current requirements.

When Should you Pitch?
Now this is the sixty-million-dollar question.
The manuscript must be complete and polished before you even consider pitching.
Your manuscript should not only be completed, it should have been read by new eyes in the form of beta readers. These fresh eyes will pick up things the author misses. For example: time line issues, consistency of names or locations and spellings of names etc.
Then, before you consider pitching, the manuscript should be edited to the nth degree. You need to hire a good editor for this. No author can edit their own work successfully.
The presence of spelling errors, words used in the wrong context, missing quotation marks etc. indicate to the agent or acquisition editor that the author is either lazy or very inexperienced. Neither impression is going to get an offer of contract if indeed the author gets far.
You need to be prepared to produce your polished manuscript upon request. Nothing will turn the agent or editor off quicker than to go through the pitch process, ask for a part or full manuscript and discover that the manuscript in question is incomplete or ‘still with the editor’.

Do you need more than one pitch format?
Yes, for sure.
What if you run into your dream agent or acquisition editor in the elevator or God forbid the bathroom? You have a very limited amount of time to say “Hi, I’m so and so, I’ve been wanting to meet you. I have a that centres around that I think will interest you. Here’s my contact info (hand them your card complete with contact info and website etc). It was nice meeting you, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Then exit gracefully.
Your pitch in this instance should be a very short summary of what makes your book:
Unique
Striking
Fresh
Compelling
That’s the famous Elevator Pitch.
Do’s:
Write your pitch out. As many times as it takes to fine tune it.
Practice this pitch until you can recite it word perfect in 30 or 40 seconds. You will sound polished, confident and professional.
Be polite.
Be succinct and brief. Twenty words is perfect and certainly no more than fifty words.
Do remove everything from your book description except that part that most interests the reader.
Fox example: Harry Potter Orphan boy with magical powers goes to school for wizards.
Do smile.
Be pleasant- agents and editors are human- speak as you would to a casual friend. Not too familiar but not like you’re overwhelmed.
Do respect their personal space. It’s fine to be passionate about your work, but don’t get too close and invade their personal space.
Don’ts:
Don’t get wordy and longwinded - they will check out.
Don’t be pushy even a bit. It’s okay to be passionate but no one is comfortable caught in a confined space with someone who is clearly giving you the hard sell.
Don’t linger, or follow them off the elevator or out of the bathroom still pitching.
Don’t be flippant. Respect their attention and time they are giving you.
Don’t be touchy-feely. It’s fine to offer a hand shake (although not in these Covid-19 times) but no touching their arm to make a point.
You don’t need to explain all the granular aspects of your story line. You just want this Important Person to say, “Hey, that sounds interesting. Tell me more.”

The Formal In Person Pitch at a Conference.
In this instance you have a bit more time than the Elevator Pitch. Usually there is a ten or fifteen minute window scheduled for each pitch.
Create your pitch and revise it until it is clear, concise, to the point, polished and most important geared to hook the person’s interest you are pitching to. You’re fishing for that “Please tell me more” response and a request for either a part or full manuscript.
Once you’ve polished your pitch practice it. Practice in front of a mirror, practice on your friend or writers group, practice on your partner. Practice until you can recite it in your sleep. Be ready for any questions the agent or acquisition editor might ask. Be ready to sell yourself, have a concise answer in the back of your mind or questions like: Do you have anything published? If yes, be ready to answer if you are self or traditionally published. Don’t reel off along list of publications if you have them, stay succinct. “I have twelve novels published by . If they wish to know more, have a hard copy of all your bibliography ready to hand.
The agent/editor will know your name, but introduce yourself anyway when/as you sit down.
Remember to meet the agent/editor’s gaze without being too intense.
Smile.
Give your pitch- which should be short enough to allow time for the agent/editor to ask questions and for you to answer.
Exhibit an understanding of how the publishing business works, be familiar with the books and authors that the agent/editor you are pitching too and be able to mention them should the topic come up.
Be ready to discuss your marketing platform if the agent/editor is interested in asking about it. The same with your online presence and social media presence.
Regardless of the outcome of the pitch, be polite and thank the agent/editor as you take your leave. You never know when you might run across this same agent/editor in the future. Just because this pitch might not have been successful doesn’t mean a future pitch won’t be.
A point to remember: Agents/editors talk to each other. If you make a bad first impression with one agent/editor, it stands to reason they might remember that if another agent/editor mentions your name or a pitch you delivered to them in a positive light. If the first agent/editor shares their less than positive first impressions of you it will colour the second agent/editor’s opinion and might be the deciding factor in you receiving a request to submit or not.

The Formal Written Pitch- either via electronic means or snail mail.
This one is a bit less nerve wracking for the author. No face to face meeting where nerves can get the best of you. However, this also means everything you put before the agent/editor had better be letter perfect.
Your entire formal pitch or query should be one page. No longer. Agents and editors get multiple emails and hard copy pitch/queries. You need to get their attention and keep it quickly. Cardinal rule: Don’t be boring.


If you are querying different agents/editors then make sure when you copy and paste that you have the name and company right. No spelling errors, especially in a person’s name. perfect grammar and formatting.
You will need your pitch and a cover letter. You can combine the two as long as you are careful not to get too carried away.
Your cover letter should make it clear you are serious about writing and are passionate about it, that you are not seeing dollar signs flashing. If you are pitching your first novel but are working on a another that’s a good thing to include, so the agent/editor knows your not that one hit wonder ( or hope to be one hit wonder) and you’re in this for the long haul. Briefly list any contests, competitions you’ve entered, any articles published in magazines. What kind of networking you’ve done, attending writers festivals or conference, writing courses you’ve taken. Show them you are serious about writing as a business.
Make sure your pitch/query/manuscript conforms to the agent/editor’s requirements. For example if the information states TNR 12pt don’t send your manuscript in Calibri 10pt. Should it be double spaced, 1.5 or single spaced? Please don’t use hard tabs for indents, you can format your manuscript in Word to automatically indent. Failure to adhere to requested requirements is an immediate turn off to the person you are trying to impress.
Know the nuts and bolts of your work- be able to provide the basics in a few short lines- similar to the Elevator Pitch.
Exhibit an understanding of how the publishing business works, be familiar with the books and authors that the agent/editor you are pitching too and be able to mention them should the topic come up.
Your job is to sell yourself and your work.
Please don’t be flippant or attempt to be humorous. This is hopefully going to be a professional relationship, start as you mean to go forward. Don’t send pictures of your dog, or your kids, don’t send ‘presents’, no matter how innocent.
Do outline a marketing strategy and provide an overview of it. Please be sure you have one. That’s a whole other topic I’m not going to cover here.
Include information on your website, social media presence and any other information that would make you and your work more saleable. That might include education or professional contacts pertinent to the topic or genre of the work you are offering.
Be sure the work you are offering is consistent with what the agent/editor is interested in.
This is a job interview in a sense. Any sloppiness indicates to the person you are trying to impress that you are not someone who pays attention to detail, which in turn implies your work may be full of the same issues. If you display a lack of attention to detail in the all important initial contact it would follow that you are not a competent self-editor which is important. Not to say that you won’t need an editor, but as an agent or editor, you want to be confident the author is going to present you with a pretty clean and tight manuscript.
The hardest part of this pitch is the waiting. There most likely will not be a quick response. It will depend on a number of things, including how many submission emails are in the agent/editor’s inbox, along with whatever else they may be working on.
Make sure you read their website and take note of any expected response times that might be noted there. For example the agent/editor may indicate it may be 3 months, or six months for a reply. If that is the case, don’t email or contact them before that time is up. If after the specified time has elapsed, you can send a polite brief email asking for an update. Don’t nag, don’t bug, above all don’t be pushy.

Your Bio
Something else I should mention is the importance of a good author bio. You want to highlight your writing cred, past publications, awards won, competitions entered. You can include a bit of personal info, but don’t dwell on it. We don’t need to know your dog(s)’ names, or kids names. Keep it short and to the point and then you can include a bibliography below the short bio if needed or asked for.

I’ve whittled mine down over time. I was recently asked for one that was 50 words MAX.
This one was targeted for the editor of a poetry anthology in answer to a call for submission, so I removed anything that wasn’t pertinent to this particular instance.
Nancy lives near Balzac, Alberta. She has publishing credits in poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her work is included in Tamaracks Canadian Poetry for the 21st Century, Vistas of the West Anthology and by the University of Holguin Cuba in their Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) program.

The earlier version was a bit longer and covers more info, but the anthology editor probably doesn’t care that I also facilitate workshops. And he specified a bio of 50 words or under, so you have to be able to cut to the quick without losing the information pertinent to this situation.
Nancy lives near Balzac, Alberta with her husband and various critters. She is a member of the Writers Guild of Alberta. Nancy has presented at the Surrey International Writers Conference, at the Writers Guild of Alberta Conference, When Words Collide and Word on the Lake. She has publishing credits in poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Recently her work has been included in Tamaracks Canadian Poetry for the 21st Century and Vistas of the West Anthology of Poetry. Her poetry is also being included by the University of Holguin Cuba in their Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) program. Her latest book Dead Dogs Talk will release in September 2020.


A Good Pitch
If in person- arrives on time-
Is targeted to the requirements of the agent/editor being pitched to
Is practiced and delivered confidently and professionally- if delivered in person
If by electronic means- copy sent to agent/editor is clean. Addressed to the correct person who’s name is spelled right. Copy is clear of spelling and grammatical errors and adheres to all submission guidelines.
Provides contact info clearly and easily found- you’d think this should be obvious, but you’d be surprised.
Gives a concise and succinct idea of what the work being pitched is about- the essence of your work, no long convoluted explanations-
Know what genre your work is- pick the ONE that most fits your work even if there are sub-genres involved
Gives an overview of your experience as a writer/author- publishing history- speaks intelligently about the publishing industry as a whole
Very brief overview of your marketing plans for the work at hand- social media/online presence
Wraps up in a timely and professional manner. Pitcher thanks the agent/editor for their attention etc
If in person- hand over your business card just before you leave.
A Bad Pitch
If in person- arrives late
Is not targeted to the requirements of the agent/editor- genre, word count, formatting
Is clearly not polished or practiced- fumbling for words- inability to answer questions
Inability to answer simple questions- i.e. What genre is your book? What is your word count?
Answers not straight and to the point, rambling on off topic or becoming too involved and convoluted to follow easily.
Uses unprofessional language and/or body language
Pitcher is abrupt or offhand or worse- defensive if hearing something they’d rather not
Going over the allotted time
Forgetting to say thank you and leaving gracefully
Failure to leave contact info- business card is best
Rudeness even if unintended- be aware of your body language and the tone of your words and how they are delivered.

If delivered by electronic means:
Addressed to wrong agent/editor OR name spelled wrong
Copy is not formatted to submission guidelines
Not carefully proof read- spelling and grammatical errors
Does not provide contact information OR it is hard to find
Does not provide some idea of author’s experience
No mention of any marketing strategy or social media/online presence
Rudeness- even if not intended- be aware of the tone of your words.
Incorrectly formatted
Genre not stated or clear


Until next month, stay well and happy.
Nancy www.nancymbell.ca

Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Me -- Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #Exercise #Dieting

 

Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Me

Everyone probably knows the rest of that quote. Why me, you ask. It happened about a week ago. In the last eight months I’ve lost fifteen pounds. Well for the past two, I have remained at the same level. I would like to lose a bit more. What to do? The only way to achieve this is to exercise and walk.

Walk to me is boring. But I know I must. Now they say the early bird… You know the rest. I am not a morning oerson. I am awake and my brain works but my body refuses to exercise at that time. I spend the hours from seven AM until around twp PM convincing my self “I can do that.” Therefore, I have cone to grips with the midday sun. But I set forth, increasing the distance every day. My goal is to reach the hook and that’s three miles from my house. I figure in a year or two I will reach that goal. Then the problem will be walking back.

One good thing about doing this walk is I can think about my WIP. That is moving forward. Since the first of July, I’ve planned and now have about finished the rough draft. The total will be 40,000 words and I write tight in the beginning. I figure when I’m finished the book will be somewhere between 50,000 and 90,000 words. So every day, I hit the pavement while the midday sun is high and push myself another hundred steps forward.

My Places

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

Buy Mark

http://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

2020 woes - throw in Shad fly swarm and Gypsy moth infestation, by J.C. Kavanagh

Book 2 of the Award-winning Twisted Climb series

Bugs. They're everywhere in Ontario, Canada.

In June, it started with the shad fly. A swarm of millions. We encountered the swarm near our home in south-central Ontario, and travelled several kilometres until we were clear of them. EW.

Driving into a swarm of shad flies

Smushed shad flies on my truck

... and on the antenna. What the heck?

Shad flies, also called May flies or fish flies (cuz they smell like fish when they're dead),
on the grill of my truck.

The next day, it took me a solid three hours of brush scrubbing and rinsing before the last of the critters were washed off my truck. Again I say - EW!

And then came the gypsy moth caterpillars...

First, they were crawling over trees, eating leaves, decimating forests.

Then, after 'hatching' from the pupae stage, the moths fly in your face, body-slam your back (can they see?), and lay eggs everywhere. Everywhere!

Mating moths (white-coloured female, brown-coloured male) beside tear-shaped pupae

The female gypsy moth and their egg patches

In Canada, duct tape is used for just about anything...
though this property owner forgot to put the 'sticky' side, out.

The gypsy moths (Latin name Lymantria dispar dispar), originated in Europe and were first detected in Ontario, Canada, in 1969. There have been multiple outbreaks over the years and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources staff agree that this infestation is the worst one since 1990. Gypsy moth caterpillars are voracious eaters and prefer oak, maple, basswood, beech and white pine. They will eat the leaves/needles of these trees, stripping them to bare branches. While defoliation won't kill the tree, the damage will cause a significant decrease in the tree's natural growth. Surprising fact: only the caterpillars eat - the adult moths survive for about two weeks with the sole purpose of mating / laying eggs. I was recently camping at Killbear Provincial Park near Parry Sound and I can say first-hand the infestation there is horrible. Gypsy moths were everywhere. EW!

Personally, moths, caterpillars and shad flies don't bother me. But spiders... oh they bother me a lot. So it was with great goose-bumps and shudders that I included big, black, hairy, hand-sized spiders in Book 2 of The Twisted Climb series, Darkness Descends. Uncovering a spiders' nest is just one of many adventures encountered by Jayden, Connor and Max. If you love action / adventure / suspense / drama and a hint of the paranormal, you'll love The Twisted Climb books. No EWs involved. Well, maybe a few. Enjoy!

J.C. Kavanagh, author of

The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2)

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada

AND

The Twisted Climb,

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)