The New Year's Grandpa Blues

The New Year’s Grandpa Blues 

(there’s a song in there somewhere)

New year, new grandpa. Crap! Means I’m old. Don’t feel old. Do I look old? Okay, no looking at my wrinkles, or the arctic blonde that is quickly taking over my hair.
As one gets older you begin to ask yourself questions, like;
Should I take my pension early?
Should I eat that third bit of cheese? (Does it really matter?)
Maybe I should have gone to the gym more.
Why haven’t I hiked the new boardwalk trail through the Avatar Grove?
What the hell is this crazy person talking about?
I have hiked the world famous West Coast Trail. Way back in the eighties, when I wasn’t old, with my equally-not-as-old then girlfriend. We were a day in, around twenty kilometers or so (that’s maybe twelve miles for you imperialists!) and found out a major storm was coming. We swiftly turned tail but did not make it before the storm broke. We hiked through the downpour and waded several rising creeks (which were only ankle deep on the way out, now mid-thigh!), otherwise we’d be stranded at that beach campground for several days, squishing around in soggy hikers, a feeling one never forgets!
Quite bizarre, the behaviour of West Coast Trail seagulls. As we walked through the flock, it parted like the Red Sea, rising over us in one wave, settling again behind us. Mid-point we were lost in a cloud of feathers and beaks. I kept thinking, man, I hope they haven’t seen the movie, The Birds. I was beginning to feel like Tippi Hedren.
Ah, those fantastic hiking memories. But as that trail is seventy-five kilometers long it is not a spur-of-the-moment thing. Plan, people, plan! If it’s an easy day-trip you’re after, hike the Avatar trail. You’ll find it a couple of hours west of Victoria, just below the terminus of the West Coast Trail at Port Renfrew. Only three kilometers in length. Nice leisurely stroll, picnic, hug a tree or three, stroll back.

Man, there’s some awesome trees around there. Avatar Grove is home to Canada’s Gnarliest Tree. Just north stands Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second largest Douglas Fir. To the east, the Red Creek Fir, the largest Douglas Fir in the world, and the Harris Creek Spruce, the world’s oldest Sitka Spruce. Tree lover’s paradise.
Avatar Grove is a boarded trail, easy to use. Go stare at Gnarly’s burls and swirls. What will you see? Old spirits? Or Earthen beings being born?
Maybe Gnarly tree is welcoming a beautiful new grand-daughter as well. Hope you enjoy Grand-being-ship too. Oh, and have a Happy New Year.

This Blog dedicated to 

Karolena Bowie Brzokoupil

Born January 8th, 2018

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at Amazon

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Sincerely

Frank Talaber

twosoulmates@shaw.ca

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).

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.

https://www.facebook.com/FrankTalaber/

https://www.facebook.com/franktalaberpublishedauthor/ (My facebook short story page)

(PS, Be kind and give me a like on my Facebook Page, ah come on you know you really want to and I'll return the favor.)

http://bwlpublishing.ca/authors/talaber-frank-suspense-urban-fantasy-canada/

ENTER TO WIN CHOCOLATES AND ROMANCE NOVELS ~ THE PERFECT VALENTINE GIFTS

Enter to win our Valentine's Day Chocolate and Romance Contest

One entry per person.  Duplicates will be discarded

One Winner will receive their choice of a Valentine Gift Basket or 

A Godiva Valentine Chocolate Box

One Winner will receive a print copy of our January Romance Release, Silver Linings by BWL Australian author Priscilla Brown

Two Winners will Prizes their choice of a Romance Novel from any book in our BWL Publishing Romance Collection

Recipe: Healthy Granola, Happy New Year

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose

Mystery, paranormal

Click here to find JQ's books at BWL Publishing

Hello and welcome to the Books We Love Insiders Blog. My name is J.Q. Rose.

How are you doing with your New Year goals, resolutions, plans? Nearly three weeks have passed. All the "in" people tell us it takes 21 days to make your plan a habit. 

Happy New Year from J.Q. Rose

I believe it. Several years ago I resolved to write every day after lunch. No Internet. No phone. I took my time writing with no limits. Sometimes I played with the story for 15 minutes and sometimes I spent 2 hours on it. That's how I finished my mystery, Deadly Undertaking. 

I continue to keep that habit because it has proven to work well for me. That's how I penned Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, my latest release from BWL Publishing. Now, I look forward to that writing time after lunch and feel cheated if I'm unable to keep that appointment with myself.

Begin Now Quote

If one of your goals for 2018 is to eat more healthy foods, then I have a recipe for you. This granola recipe has all good-for-you ingredients, however, it must be eaten in moderation. I like it sprinkled on top of my Cheerios or yogurt. (not on ice cream, but just between you and me, it's delicious on ice cream!) Caution: It should not be eaten by the bowlful because it has calories and fat in it.

Cathy's Granola Recipe

8 c. oats uncooked (I use rolled oats)

1/2 c. + 1 T. olive oil

1 T. vanilla

1/2 c. + 1 T. honey

1/2 c. each of almonds, walnuts, pecans

1/2 c. each raisins, cranberries, dried fruit

Set oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine oats, oil, vanilla, honey. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. 

Bake 30 minutes turning and stirring every ten minutes. Add nuts after first 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Cool. Stir in dried fruit. Store in air-tight container.

Yield: 11 cups

Simple and yummy!

Click here to connect online with J.Q. Rose at her Focused on Story Blog.

Farewell to My Loyal Writing Companion, Zak by Stuart R. West

Click to See Stuart R. West's Books

Not too long ago, we lost our beloved dog, Zak. Zak sat at my feet non-stop while I wrote eighteen novels, the best muse a writer could ask for. The perfect sounding board with no mean criticism. 

More than that, he gave us ten joyous years of love, loyalty, and play, while the eleventh year was fraught with emotion, and at times harrowing as we saw him go through four major surgeries, one amputation, rehabilitation, and finally, loss.

Zak was an absolutely unworldly ball of energy finally done in by the limitations of his physical body. He simply couldn't be contained within his aging body. His high-level play did in his back legs.

He will be sorely missed. He is missed. This is the hardest blog post I've ever written.

But I don't want to mourn, but rather celebrate Zak's wonderful life.

Zak was a rescue dog. At six months old, we found him rummaging through trash cans, love at first sight! The first night we brought him home on a trial-basis, I found myself sitting on the kitchen floor, laughing hysterically as he licked me with wild abandon.

I said to my wife, "I really, really like him."

"Yeah," she answered, "we're keeping him."

And we were off! What an adventure we had...

Alas, because of Zak's breed--half pit-bull terrier (the other half never determined and it didn't matter to us one bit)--he faced a life-time of prejudice. My mom, brother, a good friend, even strangers on the street when I walked Zak, were terrified of our dog. We had to be extra careful with him.

Not that we needed to. Zak was the best-natured dog we'd ever met. The only threat from him came from loving you to death, smothering you in kisses. Everywhere Zak went--doggie daycare, the vet, the nail clipper gals at Petco, physical therapy--he received lots of compliments and made fans. Everyone fell in love with him, his good nature, his loyalty, his temperament. Even my mom finally came around (and she NEVER comes around on anything), proclaiming him, "such a sweet, good dog."

In his years of life, Zak only bit two people (not bad odds for any dog): one, a mower in the next yard, who definitely deserved it for taunting Zak; and two, a cable guy who I wanted to bite. Hey, Zak was just doing his job. Loyalty like his couldn't be bought. He took his protection duties very seriously. Just ask the mailman. Dunno what it was about the mailman, but it was pretty much the only person Zak never liked. Even on our walks, Zak could spot the blue uniform several blocks away and wanted to assure the postman stayed far away from invading our turf.

Zak shared with everyone a universal desire to be loved. And we did; we loved him so much that this has been a very painful farewell. Clearly Zak returned that love in bunches. Once, while I sat on the deck, he ran up to me, something draping from his mouth...two rabbit legs. He dropped the half-carcass at my feet. Wiggled his tail, golden eyes full of hope for kudos at his gift to me. A gift presented out of love. Unfortunately, I responded with girlish shrieks. But I understood the intent. It was the kind of dog Zak was. Very giving in many ways. Whenever my wife screamed at seeing a spider, Zak beat me to her rescue.

Oddly enough, Zak was never very food-oriented. Playing was his bag. And play he did, hard and fast and furious. When he was younger, he ran whip-fast, crazy-eights in the backyard. He'd actually pounce--pounce!--on his hind legs like a kangaroo. The first time I ever saw him "play" with another dog, I was horrified; it looked as if he wanted to tear the other dog apart, all growls, nips, rough and tumble worse than a no-holds barred Black Friday shopping spree. But I also noticed Zak never bit the other dogs. Even in the unrestrained passion of play, he withheld himself. When the other dog would take a bite, Zak would just back-off, tail wagging. He loved dogs, never met a dog he didn't like. Except for maybe my daughter's brat of a beagle. Which is weird, because they started as friends (my daughter insists it stems from an unseen backyard bone incident).

In his older age, Zak still maintained his energy and that's what ultimately did his back legs in. Both of them, one by one. We tried to repay Zak's unflagging loyalty. We did everything we could to save him. But my wife saw he was hurting. And the remaining back leg had developed another bone infection, one that antibiotics couldn't stop.

 Seeing that wonderful, loving, playful, force of great-natured energy stilled on the vet's table was hard. So very heart-rending.

Over the last six years, I'd spent nearly every minute of my life with my friend, Zak. As a full-time writer, I wrote eighteen novels with him always beside me. 

I'll miss him greatly. My friend. My companion. My dear loyal, furry love.

Here's to you, Zak. *Tink* I hope you're happily chasing stupid angelic rabbits and mailmen with wings.

His Brother's Bride is now available in French ~ Nancy M Bell

I am excited to announce the release of His Brother's Bride in the French edition. This is the first title of mine to be translated and released in another language, so I'm a little chuffed. You can click on the cover to see it.

This has been a busy year with His Brother's Bride releasing in March of 2017 and then I was asked to take over the creation of the Manitoba book for this collection. I partnered with Margaret Kyle as my research assistant and go to source of all things Mennonite in southern Manitoba. Landmark Roses is the result of that collaboration and the title released in November of 2017.

Click on the cover for the buy link.

Elsie Nuefeld loves to sit on her porch and watch the children grow in the Mennonite community near Landmark, MB. Returning to the area after moving to Paraguay for a time, Elsie is happy to be living on the wild rose dotted prairie of south-eastern Manitoba. Her granddaughters are growing up and getting married, it's an exciting time. Secure in her long standing marriage to Ike, Elsie is content to observe the community from the sidelines and rejoice in the joys of the young ones. She often walks with her daughters and granddaughters through the graveyard abloom with wild roses and shares the stories of the ancestors sleeping there. It’s important, she feels, for the younger generation to feel connected to those who went before. Elsie hopes when she joins those resting beneath the Landmark roses the tradition of honouring the memory of the forebearers continues.

Then I also had a hand in the New Brunswick title, On A Stormy Primeval Shore. Partnered with Diane Scott Lewis, I served as research assistant and alpha reader for this title. It was a wonderful experience and everyone I contacted for obscure information was very helpful. We are hoping to do some events in New Brunswick this June. On A Stormy Primeval Shore just released on January 1, 2018.

Click on the cover for the buy link.

In 1784, Englishwoman Amelia Latimer sails to the new colony of New Brunswick in faraway Canada. She’s to marry a man chosen by her soldier father. Amelia is repulsed by her betrothed, refuses to marry, then meets the handsome Acadian trader, Gilbert, a man beneath her in status. Gilbert must protect his mother who was attacked by an English soldier. He fights to hold on to their property, to keep it from the Loyalists who have flooded the colony, desperate men chased from the south after the American Revolution. In a land fraught with hardship, Amelia and Gilbert struggle to overcome prejudice, political upheaval, while forging a life in a remote country where events seek to destroy their love and lives.

All the titles in this series have been well received and garnered excellent reviews.

And to top it all off, my very first translated work!

until next post, stay well, stay happy, stay healthy

A Bit of Writing Advice - First Comes The Idea #MFRWauthor #Advice #Writing

 

 

For the next who knows how many months, I’ll be sharing writing tips I’ve garnered in my 50 years of being a published author.  The Aries Libra Connection is the first book I published electronically. It’s been retitled, revised, updated and now is published by Books We Love LTD. So now onto one of the things I’ve learned about writing.

 

 

Looking at writing your story from the Idea forward. What happens once that idea forms a seed in your thoughts? The idea can be anything that triggers you to want to write a story. You could read something and decide to from your own take on what you've read. How many stories are the fairy tales we've grown up with? Take Cinderella, Snow White, and a lot of other stories you've read or had read to you. How many tales share the themes of these stories?

 

The idea could be something you see. A couple embracing. A man and a woman quarreling. A child making mischief or being sad. What you see could be something like a milling mob, a merry-go-round, a speeding car. What you see can trigger the idea.

 

What you smell. Think of how you react to cookies baking or the aroma of spicy food.  You could find the scent of a place can trigger an idea. For me this can happen when I enter a hospital. The scents bring memories of my past as a nurse and often triggers an idea for a new story.

 

The idea could spring from something you've touched. A soft fur coat, the rough fabric of jeans. A rock, a bench, a brick. Any of these things could bring an idea to the fore.

 

Taste can also trigger ideas. We've all tasted something we think of as ambrosia or something that makes you ill. So let the ideas form.

 

Sometimes something you hear can trigger a story. The wail of a train at night. The sound of footsteps on the street behind you at night. The cries, screams of someone or even their laughter can form a seed for a story. I’ve had stories that hve come from reading something. Past Betrayals, Past Loves came from two readings. The first is Anna Karenina and the story with the unhappy ending. The other grain came from something I read in a book about Ancient Egypt. In a section on the time of chaos when there was no pharaoh came these words. A battle commander wished to be pharaoh. Mermeshu was his name.

 

But we all have these events in out life and ideas may form but once the idea is there, what comes next.  In the next few weeks, I'll be looking at the elements needed to make the idea into a story. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. Some people think only of the five Ws but for me, there's the How. After all, it does have a w in the word.

 

The idea takes root. For me, I take the idea and think about it while falling asleep. Sort of like a bedtime story, Usually after days of this story telling the book begins to take form.

 

I'll be sharing what I've learned and am still learning in the fifty years I've been a published writer.

 

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How cold is it? by J.C. Kavanagh

Award-winning book, The Twisted Climb

I live in Ontario, Canada and in mid-January, it's mind-numbing, nose-curdling, freezer-freezing cold. How cold is that? Well, it's colder than cold. Colder than the North Pole. Maybe the planet Mars. OK, not Mars. The average temperature there is -63 C. But at -39 Celsius where I live, well, that's not too far off the temperature on the red planet. And then, out of the blue, Mother Nature plays the see-saw game. Last week, the temperature here actually rose to +11. PLUS eleven! That's a balmy event, usually referred to as the January 'thaw.' But within 24 hours, the temp reverted back to -25 C. We Canadians take it all in stride, giving credence to the adage of being hearty and hardy folk.




The 'red' planet, Mars with average
temperature of -63 Celsius

The average temp at the North Pole
in January is -10 Celsius

 
I'll be the first to admit that I'm a hardy soul and that I love the outdoors - any temperature, any season. You can find me and my partner, Ian, traipsing around our property in any weather. Actually, the harsher, the better. Yah, that sounds weird but we love extremes. Breathing in that cold fresh air, tinged with the smell of burning wood from our wood stove, is the best perfume money can't buy. We constructed trails on our property and we've recently taken up with snowshoeing. Going through the deep snow is no problem thanks to this footwear. We like to follow the animal tracks - apparently they like to 'walk' the trails too! We have deer, rabbits, wolves, coyotes, fox and even the elusive ermine. One actually scampered to our back window last week and looked rather longingly at the flames in our woodstove.

An ermine (part of the weasel family)

A hungry fox eyeballing the birdfeeder

A funky, snow-covered tree along our trail

Me and Ian being 'hearty and hardy' Canadians, eh?

I'm still working on the sequel to my award-winning book, The Twisted Climb, so I'll keep this blog short and get back to my writing. Stay tuned for the The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends.

Take a moment and do something special today!

 

J.C. Kavanagh
The Twisted Climb
BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers' Poll
A novel 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)