Saturday, November 26, 2016
A small tribute from Tricia McGill
Click here for more about Tricia McGill's books and to purchase
|
There are times in every writer’s life when their Muse will
not play fair, when the page remains blank far too long, when the ideas do not
spring to mind, and the enthusiasm to do what has always come easily fades.
This has been one of those periods in my life.
I have wracked my brain for something to fill the page but
nothing will come. It is not a case of writer’s block. I’ve had that before,
more than a few times, and have always overcome it by simply writing any old
thing that pops into my head, and before I know it, a page is filled.
No, this is far more serious. I’ve always said that life is a
series of pathways, and we choose which path to take on our journey, but when
Fate plays a nasty hand in things and we do not have a choice or say in the matter,
then it becomes disastrous.
I have been fortunate in that I had a happy childhood raised
within a family who always saw the funny side of life and despite not having
the luxuries of life always remained positive. My parents were good, honest
people who strove to do the best for their large family. I married a
hard-working, kind man who loved me enough to let me do whatever I wanted. A
man who helped me through many difficult situations, and provided me with all
the encouragement needed when I chose to follow my dream of becoming a writer.
A few years ago I encouraged one of my sisters to write her
life story. If I live long enough I will edit and finish it for her, as
although she tells of her many trials and tribulations in the pages she penned,
she in no way told the complete story. Currently this beloved sister is very
sick, hence the blockage in my brain. She is not afraid of leaving us, in fact
in the last weeks has prayed to go more than a few times rather than spend more
days unable to continue in the way she wants to. But I am afraid of losing my
lifelong friend who has been the best sister I could ever wish for. I have
faced grief a lot of times in my life and perhaps time does heal. I think
perhaps this is only half true as a tiny part of it remains with us forever,
but should never be dwelt on, just touched now and then when memories invade
the day to day activities. But then again what is life but a series of
memories.
Anyway, to get back to my sister’s story. She has suffered
more than any one person should but has always overcome her many health issues
stoically. In fact she has concealed the true extent of her childhood health
problems so well that most who know her have no idea of the suffering endured throughout
her life.
I re-read her story last week and this is how she ended it (she
wrote this in 2009).
“There are a
few regrets. I wish my Mother had lived to see me able to drive a car, I think
she would have loved to have sat beside me. I also wished she had been able to
see what my sister Pat has achieved with her writing. I wish she had heard me
play my music, and to have seen my paintings, I think she would have been very
proud of us. This has been my life up to now. There have been a lot of tears,
but mostly laughter. I have always tried to be nice to people. I have always
tried to be kind. Most of all, I always try to smile. I have a beautiful
family, and some lovely friends. You
can’t ask for more than that.”
And that says it all—if only everyone could live by those
words. Just be nice to people, that’s
really what it is all about.
All my books can be found on my Books We Love Authors page. |
Labels:
family,
family ties,
grief,
sweet memories,
writing
I was born in London but moved to Australia with my husband many moons ago. I always had the urge to write full time but wasn't able to fulfill this dream until I retired early from the fashion industry. Most of my contemporary romances are set in Victoria where I live or Tasmania my second favourite state. I have always loved to read Time Travels so it was obvious that I would like to write them. I love the research entailed in writing them and also historicals. All my books are with publisher Books We Love, and I am proud to boast that I was no 1 on the BWL best sellers list 2015/2016 and in the top 10 best selling authors in 2017. My greatest achievement was winning the Australian Romance Writers Book of the Year award with my Traces of Dreams that is now re-titled Remnants of Dreams. I am a fervent animal lover and support various charities that do their best to help animals in need around the world. I also volunteer for a local community group helping disabled people with their computers.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Randall Sawka, the Journey Continues
We have passed the six month
mark for our one year vacation. It has actually grown to two years thanks to
the amazing prices in the UK thanks to the Brexit pound collapse.
The countryside is so
peaceful. I walk the endless trails, roads, and bridle paths. I stop, sit on a
rock wall or bench and scribble down words, notes, etc. Totally relaxed. Sometimes we come across a
new friend. We will miss the Ross-On-Wye area. Everyone has been so nice.
This fellow was
hamming it up for us.
Here, with Nancy's help, is where excellent story ideas turnup
(sp, but coundn't resists.)
Took some time away from writing to make a hearty stew on a
Hungarian Kotlich cooker. It works so well.
This is the surprise ending. Yes, that is a zebra in rural
England.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
The Fantastic Fan by Victoria Chatham
TO BE RELEASED IN DECEMBER
WATCH THIS SPACE
In the Regency era, the hand fan was so much more than a fashion accessory or a cooling device. It had an art and language, all of its own, not only known to ladies but gentlemen too.
The fan with which we are familiar today has been around for thousands of years in one form or another. At its simplest, it could be just a large leaf or palm frond. At its most extravagant the sticks could be made from
The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians used them, two fans being found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. The Chinese use of the fan is reputed to date back to the Shang Dynasty (C.16th-11th BC). At first, the fans were large enough to shelter passengers in horse-drawn carriages, similar to an umbrella. It wasn’t until Song Dynasty (420-479) that the personal fan came into general use. These fans could be simple bamboo fans, or the moon fan so called from its round shape. These moon fans were much favored by ladies in the Imperial court and came to be painted with the most exquisite scenes of mountains and lakes, flowers, and birds.
The folding fan is reputed to have been introduced into China from Japan during the Song Dynasty. The design is said to have been inspired by the way a bat fold’s its wings. The size of a folding fan is determined by the number of ribs the fan has, usually 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, or 18. A fan painted by a famous artist could fetch a high price, as did the folding fan painted by Zhang Daqian, a Chinese artist, which sold for HK$252,000. The earliest evidence of the fan in Japan was discovered in the wall paintings of a 6th-century AD burial mound found in Fukuoka.
Fans were not much in evidence during the High Middle Ages in Europe but reappeared after being brought back from the Middle East by the Crusaders and from China and Japan by Portuguese traders. The fan became especially popular in Spain where it was adopted by Flamenco dancers. In 1609 The Guild of Fan Makers was formed in London, followed a century later by the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers. Although no longer fan makers, due to mechanization, the Company still exists as a charitable establishment.
During the Regency and Victorian eras no lady of quality would attend a social event without her fan with which she could hold a lively conversation without saying a word. For a list of the language of the fan, go to http://www.angelpig.net/victorian/fanlanguage.html or https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/ladies-regency-fans/ or just for fun watch this clip from The Princess Diaries 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bE3mRxWwM4.
Quite apart from the social etiquette surrounding the use of the fan, they were favored by burlesque and vaudeville performers such as Gypsy Rose Lee, who teased and titillated with large, ostrich feather fans.
Arguably the largest organization in favor of the fan today is FANA – Fan Association of North America which boasts worldwide membership. Like-minded members study, conserve, and collect antique and vintage fans.
You may wish to flirt with a fan or cool yourself with it. You can use it as a decorative conversation piece. Whatever your use for it, there really is nothing quite like the seductive allure of these fascinating concoctions of sticks and fabric.
http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Was That Really Elvis Spotted Having A High Tea In Victoria?
Was That Really Elvis
Spotted Having A High Tea In Victoria?
Who’d
have guessed that the city that we visit for high tea and whale-watching, where
they bang out a few laws to keep us in line and drain our wallets of tax money,
is the most haunted city in all of Canada?
Well, I didn’t.
I just go for the view and the great dinners. Yes, Victoria, home to our
parliament buildings, The Empress Hotel and their traditional high tea,
(apparently the English are jealous 'cos we’re
much Englishier than them. I know Englishier isn’t
even a real word; I just invented it!) and more ghost sightings in all of
Canada than your local haunted house on All Hallows Eve.
Actually the parliament buildings and The Empress Hotel
are where some of the spookier denizens hang out. Both were built by Francis
Rattenbury. He was found later brutally slain in his home, by either his
mistress or her young lover. Neither confessed. Never recognized as a great
architect, he’s buried in an
unmarked grave and it's reported that his ghost has been seen in both
buildings, still craving the recognition he deserves.
The Empress also boasts of an elderly lady dressed in
pajamas who knocks on hotel doors and leads guests to the elevator before
disappearing, and a maid so dedicated to her work she still polishes the china
to this day. Very stiff-upper-lip service.
But the fun doesn’t
end there. At the Chateau Victoria it has been reported many times that staff
in Clive’s Classic Lounge
have tried to wait on a distinguished old-fashioned lady sitting at the bar,
and that the elevators sometimes stop at every floor without anyone touching
the buttons. The hotel sits on the site of a former white mansion once owned by
Miss Victoria Wilson.
And you can’t
even have a relaxing game of golf in this city without ghosts yelling
"Fore!" and barging their way through. Usually in April, at the
Victoria Golf Course -- the second-oldest golf course in North America and the
oldest golf course in Canada -- people have spotted Doris Gravlin wandering the
course. She was strangled here by her husband in the spring of 1936. Yes, some
people take their golf very seriously and heaven help you if you touch their
balls.
In Bastion Square, where the pubs, markets, and hustle
and bustle of tourists hang out, it's reported that in nearly every alley and
building after dark you can find ghosts hawking their wares. Hey, they’re
even open to haggling and they’ll throw in a
finger or two to sweeten the deal.
In Market
Square, once the red-light area of Victoria, near Johnson Street, you can still
find someone to give you a good time for a screaming good price in a dark
alley. Even lovely Beacon Hill Park claims the ghost of a woman seen around
sunrise, who was murdered nearby.
St. Ann’s Academy, a
former convent, still houses the original cemetery with several nuns buried
there. In the wee hours of the morning nuns have been seen patrolling the
grounds. Emily Carr, one of Canada’s
most famous painters, has been seen at her home on Government Street and the
James Bay Inn. Looking for that last scene for another famous painting?
Many more ghosts have also been seen in Chinatown,
Langham Court Theatre, Ross Bay Cemetery, and Hatley and Craigdarroch Castles.
No, you won’t find these in
the tourist brochures. Pioneer Square, built over a former cemetery housing
more than 1200 bodies, also reports lots of ghostly unrest.
Roger’s Chocolates,
located on Government Street, is the oldest chocolate shop in Victoria and one
of the first in Canada. The couple worked all hours, slept in the store, and
have been sighted there on many occasions. Apparently they have quite a sweet
tooth and haven’t left yet.
Oddly though, high above a door near the front, a child’s
handprints can be seen.
And to answer
the question, with all those ghosts running around, yes, Elvis has been spotted
so many times eating at Nautical Nellies on Wharf Street, a block from the
Empress, that they're inventing a dish in his honour of chicken, banana and
peanut butter to add to the menu. Guess they want to keep him coming back to
belt out renditions of Jailhouse Rock and Hound Dog on full moon nights.
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon |
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon |
And coming from Books We Love in the Spring.
Thunderbird's Wake
A penitentiary is a dangerous place and
into the world of the criminal enters a saint. Well, bearing rattles and
guardian beasts, the native born find him a saint. To the rest he's more nuts
than a squirrels winter stash. There's a god asleep, awakening. Humans that
seek justice and a sprite that needs justice from humanity.
So what makes you want to break into
one?
You can ask Charlie, but he ain't
telling.
And if he did you wouldn't believe it in a dozen lifetimes.
Come enter, the madness this
spring.
Frank Talaber’s Writing Style? He usually responds with: Mix Dan Millman (Way of The Peaceful Warrior) with Charles De Lint (Moonheart) and throw in a mad scattering of Tom Robbins (Even Cowgirls Get The Blues).
PS: He’s better looking than Stephen King (Carrie, The Stand, It, The Shining) and his romantic stuff will have you gasping quicker than Robert James Waller (Bridges Of Madison County).
PS: He’s better looking than Stephen King (Carrie, The Stand, It, The Shining) and his romantic stuff will have you gasping quicker than Robert James Waller (Bridges Of Madison County).
Or as is often said: You don’t have to be mad to be a writer, but it sure helps.
Writer by soul. Words born within.
Karma the seed. Paper the medium.
Pen the muse. Novels the fire.
My novels on Amazon are at (copy and paste link): https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Talaber/e/B00UC407R0
Or check out this upcoming book signing with me and Suzanne De Montigny
https://www.facebook.com/events/1817078425207041/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1817078425207041/
Frank Talaber, 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.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Recipe: Pumpkin Dump Cake for the Holidays, Happy Thanksgiving
Pastor Christine Hobbs
never imagined she would be caring for a flock
that includes a pig, a kangaroo,
and a murderer.
Romantic suspense
Hello and welcome to the Books We Love Insider Blog! I'm J.Q. Rose, author of the just-released romantic suspense, Dangerous Sanctuary.
The US Thanksgiving Day is this Thursday. Are you ready? In case you're looking for something different for your dessert table, I'm sharing a Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe with you. Not exactly an attractive name for a dessert, but it is delicious. (In fact my son-in-law who doesn't care for pumpkin pie loves this dish.) The recipe is easy and quick to put together.
Every time I take it to a potluck (covered dish dinner), I receive compliments and requests for the recipe. So this will be a perfect dish to take to holiday gatherings, as well as serve to your family and friends at home.
Pumpkin recipes are very appropriate for this time of year, but this dessert is so good, you’ll even make it in the spring!
Pumpkins from our garden
Photo by J.Q. Rose
Pumpkin Dump Cake
1 x 29 oz.(812 grams) can pureed pumpkin
1 x 12 oz. (340 grams) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
1 tsp. (5 grams) salt
3 tsp (15 grams) cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup (200 grams) chopped pecans or walnuts
¾ cup (140 grams) melted margarine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degress C / gas mark 4
Mix first 6 ingredients until well blended and pour batter into a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 32.5 cm) greased pan.
Sprinkle cake mix on top and cover with pecans.
Pour melted margarine over top.
Bake 50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!
# # #
Gourds
Photo by J.Q. Rose
Wishing you a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.
“PIGLET NOTICED THAT EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A VERY SMALL HEART, IT COULD HOLD A RATHER LARGE AMOUNT OF GRATITUDE.”
― A.A. MILNE, WINNIE-THE-POOH
Connect
with J.Q. Rose online at
|
Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, J.Q. Rose is “focused on story.” She offers readers chills, giggles and quirky characters woven within the pages of her mystery novels, but truth in her memoir, Arranging a Dream.
JQ presents workshops on creative writing and life storytelling and takes the podium to encourage attendees to take the time now to write their legacy stories.
Blogging, photography, board games
and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with their two daughters, two sons-in-law, four grandsons, one granddaughter, two grand dogs, four grand cats, and one great-grand bearded dragon.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Why Women are Smarter than Men by Stuart R. West
Lord knows I never set out to be a feminist. It’s really not
in my genetic chemical make-up, having been born and bred in the backward state
of Kansas. Even my mom, who I used to think was the most independent woman
ever, recently said, “Politics need men in office!”(She clenches her fists in a
show of power.) “Someone who’s led by God. A man! A really strong man!”
I’m not gonna get into politics, let alone the silly, sexist
rhetoric of her proclamation. But she’s wrong.
Usually in my books, I begin with a male protagonist. But
it’s the female characters who soon take center-stage, pretty much hijacking
the action. They’re shrewder, much savvier.
They’re the characters who pull the clueless guy’s butt out of the fire . It just flows naturally, nothing I ever planned.
Because I write from proof. Maybe it comes from a deeply embedded
mind-set that all men know but are unwilling to admit: women are more logical
than men. Contrary to TV and movies, I believe women are ruled less by emotion.
They can survive anything. If the movie, Rudy,
played over wide-screen TV’s in a bar, the stool-campers would be reduced to tears
in seconds.
And what do men like to do? Fix things! Heck yeah! Jump
right in, make things right, no moss on us! But what happens when we can’t fix
things? We get lost in a world that’s incomprehensible to us. After we’ve
played out our ineffectual macho attempts to make things right, women swoop in
and save the day.
So far this is all just theory. But based on my highly
scientific research, here are the astonishing—yet absolutely true—findings:
FACT! While watching movies, I’m always the sobby mess by
the end of it. I can’t even think about the kid movie, Homeward Bound, without fogging up. (Oh…that final scene…sniff). My
wife asks if I’m alright. Totally embarrassing.
My “Man Card” should probably be revoked.
FACT! Outside of spider visits, my wife can handle any
crisis. Made of steel. She’s more prepared for the End of the World, always thinking ahead, one foot set in the bomb shelter.
FACT! Our dog respects my wife more than me. Why? Because
I’m the lovable playmate. Dang dog ignores me. But when my wife barks, the dog
bows down. He’s no dummy.
FACT! Whenever confronted with a store
or restaurant trauma, my wife’s the clean-up player. The way I “handle” the
situation? I scream, shake and sweat like latter day Elvis. Heart
attack in a Hawaiian shirt. Nothing good ever comes from my hissy-fits. My wife
smoothly rolls in like a pavement layer and attains positive results with cool
calm.
FACT! Women aren’t too proud to ask for directions.
I mean, who does that, right?
FACT! Women live longer than men. Because, duh, they’re
smarter.
If you’re a man reading this, I apologize, just ignore it. You'll forget about it soon enough. Women readers? You know I’m right.
For further FACTS, check out my “women are smarter than men
books.” Every last one of ‘em features a woman as the hero. (Never mind the shirtless male model on the cover below; it's the character's wife who's the true hero).
Sisterhood!
Click on the cover below for a preview!
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