The Destruction of Port Royal by Katherine Pym

Buy Here

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Port Royal, Jamaica 1690

First, a little history of the town…

Port Royal (changed in 1660 from Point Cagway) was a village in Jamaica, taken by the English in 1655.  The town had a natural deep harbor perfect for ships, but there was little to defend it. Houses dotted the landscape up the hills and down to the water, some with stilts in the sand, their houses standing in the tidal swells.

A couple forts were built, but that was not enough to keep the Spanish at bay, so the inhabitants contacted the Brethren of the Coast, a pirate union of sorts, and invited them to settle there. Port Royal boomed. Soon 6,500 souls resided there. Ships in the harbor and a lively town with men known for their swashbuckling, rough ways were a deterrent for anyone thinking to come ashore and cause havoc.

Port Royal After quake

Before long Port Royal became a haven for pirates with brothels and lawlessness. Merchants bought and sold what the pirates dragged ashore, but this wild life had its comeuppance, with a final, deadly end.  

June 7, 1692 life in Port Royal changed forever. Just before noon a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Jamaica, its epicenter in the hills above the town. The ground suffered liquidation, sinking buildings, animals, trees and streets. Geysers erupted. When the town collapsed, a large tsunami crashed onto the island, taking a ship with it. 40 feet high on the wall of water the ship throttled inland to rest on a ruined building. Unearthed corpses floated amongst the debris. Landslides prevailed. Except for the ship perched on an old building, what remained of Port Royal sank into the sea. 

Over 5000 died. Looting and violence took over. Of those who survived the initial destruction, many later succumbed to their injuries or illness.

Port Royal Before the quake

Port Royal After the quake

As a species, people are enduring. They usually rebuild after a catastrophe, and many tried to rebuild Port Royal, but one disaster after another struck, hurricanes, fire, more earthquakes. What remains today is insignificant compared to the late 17^th century.

Today, you can swim over the sunken city, and see rooftops not far below. In the past years, archaeological digs have explored the remains. Interesting finds have surfaced. “In 1969, Edwin Link discovered the most famous artifact: a pocket watch dated 1686, stopped at exactly 11:43 (a.m.).”

~*~*~*~

Many thanks to:

Wikicommons public domain.

‘Port Royal, Jamaica, Sunken Pirate City at Port Royal, Nature took her revenge on the "Wickedest City in the World."’ https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sunken-pirate-stronghold-at-port-royal

History Channel:

“Earthquake destroys Jamaican pirate haven”

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-destroys-jamaican-pirate-haven

‘The History of Port Royal, Jamaica”

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-history-of-port-royal-2136379Bottom of Form

o    

Up to my ____ in Edits! by Diane Bator

Introducing my New Release:  Dead Without Shame

Once more, Gilda considers leaving the karate school to work for her friend Happy (no one has ever called him Harvey). When three men rob Happy Harvey’s Hangover Hut killing the woman at the front counter, Gilda is stunned to think that could have been her. Was this a mere robbery, or does someone have a vendetta against Happy, including his good friend Gary del Garda? The evidence keeps piling up while both her mother and another karate instructor come to town bearing secrets that may cost Gilda the life she loves in Sandstone Cove.

You can find it at:  https://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

I'm up to my ___ in edits! I was blessed to be able to go to Mississippi and Louisiana with my honey to visit two of my sons and one of their girlfriends. Visiting New Orleans and Biloxi was a great way to spend the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, it was not conducive to editing.

I was supposed to be working on finishing and editing my newest release Dead Without Shame. I had the book printed, I had 18 hours in the car... Just not the drive to get it done!

Some writers dread edits. I have to admit that I actually like the editing phase of the whole writing process. I like reading my stories and being able to make changes and tighten things up before I submit the book to my publisher. The opportunity to bring flat characters to life and color the settings to make them more real, is something I enjoy doing, especially in a little coffee shop or on the beach at my honey's cottage.

One piece of advice I would offer any writer, no matter what level, is to edit, edit, edit. We all miss things. The little typos your eyes don't see after sitting at the computer for hours on end. The kink in your story's flow of having things happen before they logically should. After days, months, or even years of writing, we no longer read what we actually see in print but what we think should be there. 

I write in longhand then transcribe to the computer. In spite of that, I always edit on paper before I make any changes in my computer. Why go to all the trouble? I find reading words on paper easier than on a screen. Maybe it's just the way I see. Maybe it's just that I like being able to make marks, squiggles and notes all over the paper. Whatever the reason, it works for me.

What do I watch for when I edit? 

• repetitive words. 
• using characters' names to the point that the flow becomes stilted. 
• lack of description
• too much description that takes away from the story
• characters being too wordy
• especially in a series, not filling in readers on important character information that appeared in earlier novels
• typos
• missing words/double words
• double periods or missing periods
• overusing he/she/it

As with any other writer who can't stop the flow of words, I'm off to the next new project. Since the book is already written, that means... More Edits!

And a chance to begin a whole new project.

Have an amazing day!

Diane Bator

Find me at:  https://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

January Blues

Well, here it is, Christmas and New Years are over, The decorations are put away and nothing to look forward to until Spring. No wonder the animals hibernate - besides the cold weather that is. Not that we've had much of that so far. December was an above average temperature month for the most part. We had a few extremely cold days. Not that December is an unusually cold month here in Ohio anyway, but 50s and 60s? Definitely not the norm.
And January started off pretty much the same way. You might say it was a roller coaster month. If you didn't like the weather one day, wait until tomorrow.
But weather aside, there's always a let down of sorts after Christmas. All that planning for a month and then bam, like that it's over and done. All the pretty lights are gone, living rooms go back to being their blah spaces.
Okay, some people might not agree. They like the uncluttered clean look. For me, it's almost depressing. I love the lights and decorations. So much so, I leave them up until January 7th. The day after the Feast of the Epiphany, or Feast of the Three Kings, Magi, or whatever term you want to use. My mom always waited, too. So it's become a tradition for me. Not many people I know do it any more, and I guess that's okay for them.  Many can't wait to put Christmas away.
But, it's away and now we settle in for the long winter days, waiting for warmer weather - at least here in Ohio. January had five Fridays, this year. And February has an extra day, being a Leap Year. Why would they add the extra day in February? Even with only 28 days, it feels like the longest month of the year already and they go and throw in an extra day. Why not add it in June, July or August. Heck even September would be better than February.
I know, it all has something to do with the earth orbiting the sun and it's all very scientific and I don't even pretend to understand it. "February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years and is called a leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure because the Earth doesn't orbit the Sun in precisely 365 days."
I still don't understand why they couldn't have added it to spring or summer. But who am I?
 I guess I'll just have to deal with it and wait an extra day for the warmer weather. Yes, I love the warm weather. I'm a Spring/Fall kind of girl. I'm not big on hot weather either. Anything with high humidity I can live without. I'm fine up to mid 80s as long as there's no humidity. After that, I take to the inside and air conditioning.
I'm good with temps in the 30s in winter, I can even handle the snow - provided we're not snowbound. A couple inches is fine as long as I don't have to drive in it. Although, around here they keep the streets pretty well cleared. Below that, I prefer not to go out.
It's no wonder people get depressed this time of year. Cloudy skies are the norm. Bad enough it doesn't get light until almost 8 AM and dark by 5 PM, add in the clouds, and it really gets you down. I feel bad for the people who have to work, going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark.
I was fortunate when I worked, I started at 8 and came home around 3:30. Still a little daylight left.
Okay, this blog turned out to be depressing and I didn't plan it that way. I'm really in a pretty good mood. And every day gets us closer to the bright sunshine and warm weather. Only 28 days, can that possibly be true? Of course there's still a lot of cold weather after March 20th - that's my youngest daughter's birthday, by the way.

Geriatric Rebels, one of my favorite books - although I love them all and they're all my favorites for one reason or another. I love the characters.

Forced to stay in a nursing home while undergoing therapy, seventy-two year old, Mike Powell refuses to get out of bed, won't cooperate with the nurses, and won’t take his medicine. At least not until he meets Elsa. The tiny, spunky little Elsa sparks new life into him.

Seventy year old, Elsa -left in the home while her son takes a family vacation - joins forces with Mike, setting the home on its heels, and later discovers deception and fraud. Can they find happiness together?

Who says life begins at 40? Life is wonderful at any age, as long you're willing to live it. Elsa Logan and Mike Powell prove it. And I want to be just like them when I grow up! One of Roseanne Dowell's best, and my personal favorite!
Elsa Logan bears a striking resemblance to a romance writer I know who shall be nameless but whose initials are R. D. ~ Romantic Suspense Author, Gail Roughton

BWL Publishing Inc. New Releases for February 2020

 

To Purchase Yvonne Rediger's Books visit her BWL Author Page
https://bookswelove.net/rediger-yvonne/

Alicia  Highmere is heading home, back to Musgrave Landing after a call from her mother’s care home. Accompanied by her bodyguard, Bryce Graham, Alicia won’t know until she gets there that Olivia Frost-Highmere is manipulating events regarding the estranged family members to suit her agenda.

Part of the reason the family has fallen out is due to the disappearance of Allister Highmere, some twenty years ago. Alicia’s father vanished without a trace upsetting the family company and leaving the seat of CEO vacant. Uncle Hugo had his eye on the power seat and accused Olivia of murder, to get it, but is it murder if there’s no body?

When a corpse is discovered in the family cemetery, where there shouldn’t be one, the cold case regarding Allister Highmere is reopened. Alicia has no idea who in the family or the Highmere estate staff is involved, but she will find out.

Coming up in February 2020

Struggling with a tricky assignment on a wild Scottish island, 

Australian journalist Jasmine's almost literal lifeline is the sexy ferry deckhand.

 But is he more than he seems?

https://bookswelove/net/authors/brown-priscilla-romance

 Recently I spent an enjoyable afternoon in a large local garden which is not often open to the public. It's on undulating land, semi-rural on the edge of town, with numerous mature trees, both Australian natives and others including Californian redwoods. Swathes of grassy areas are bordered with various flowers and shrubs; there's a vegetable and herb plot, and a 'secret' walled garden. Several benches invite relaxing and enjoying the ambience. Paths meander throughout; following one towards the boundary, I came to a coppice which thinned out to reveal a shady seat with an expansive view down over farmland to distant hills.

Sitting on the seat was a woman writing on a tablet. Maybe she was writing a novel, or a description of the garden, or a letter... Silence except for a light breeze through the trees; a faint scent of eucalypts; the sheer peace of the landscape shimmering in the heat. Since this grandstand seat was taken, I continued my exploration of the garden while musing on how such a setting for me would be a haven for creativity to blossom.

 

While not a gardener by inclination, I do like my own small low-maintenance garden to look attractive with its flowering trees, roses and pot plants. I find inspiration in the colours, the textures, the shapes, the delicate rose fragrance, and, too, the tiny honeyeaters feasting on the nectar in the bottlebrush and grevillea blooms (Australian native shrubs).

In my contemporary romance novels, several main characters have interesting gardens, and I enjoy researching these in person, from books, magazines, travel brochures and the Internet; as I write, I picture them in my head. I have been lucky with some personal research, combining this with my love of travel. However, a visit to the Grenadine islands, not planned for research as I did not have a West Indian location in my story bank, resulted eventually in Where The Heart Is, and Cameron's island garden. In this story, his and Cristina's garden in country Victoria (Australia) couldn't be more different. His,  'a tangle of jungle geraniums, buttercup bush and oleanders...a confusion of trees tousled with dazzling climbing plants' contrasts with hers, 'a teeming beauty of flowers with their faces to the sun, their zigzags of colours cascading and blending...honeysuckle on the fence smells so sweet and the air is full of bees'. (I am so envious of her garden!)

In Dancing the Reel, the above-mentioned deckhand tends a garden warmed by the North Atlantic Drift which enables palm trees to grow. My visit to a Scottish island inspired the inclusion of such a garden into the story, though on my trip no sexy deckhand/gardener appeared so I had to invent him (and gave him more background that these occupations).

And now, I must pay attention to my garden, specifically to dig up weeds which seem to pop up overnight. After admiring the result of my effort, I will spend time outside working on the next chapter in my current work in progress.

Enjoy your reading.

https://bwlpublishing.ca

https://priscillabrownauthor.com 

The Trials of a Fluffy Kitty

First of all, Happy Birthday to Alexander H., born on Nevis January 11, 1757. To begin, I will post a quote of his that feels utterly relevant.

"...a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that ... those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants."  ~~The Federalist Papers


Books2Read
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
I tunes
Scribed
Kobo



The trials of a fluffy kitty...



Here is the "Fluffy Kitty" the day she came to us as a baby, a bitten-up kitten who had just been to the vet so he could drain an abscess from a bite. 

My husband and I have learned a lot about her over the years both by observation and by inference. Kimi is the only one who could call us on any of these suppositions, but she's not talking, except for the ever-useful word "meow." 

That's what she said to my friend Patti who found her on the porch of her Palmyra house on a cold December day. Kimi was hungry and cold and Patti could see her ribs through the fluff, and also see that she'd been hurt. Hundreds of $$ of vet bills and a few days later, Patti brought Kimi to me. Patti already had three indoor cats in her double wide. She was was still covered with ticks, in her ears, her paws and just everywhere. Patti and I stopped counting after we'd removed thirty.

Life for her improved after that, for, with antibiotics and wounds stitched, she was already on the path to better health. We had a set-back, though, when the abscess had to be drained again. My husband and I soon learned that this little girl had been badly handled by whoever had originally “been responsible” for her -- before they'd decided to throw her away. 

I've come to believe that this is her story. As little kitten, she must have been a yellow fluff ball, looking more like a stuffed toy than a living being. This had led some cat-ignorant people to treat her like one. They'd probably allowed their children to tease her, chase her, and handle her far beyond her ability to endure. If Kimi was already a shy kitten, (and some kitties are emotionally fragile) this man-=handling must have pushed her beyond endurance. She became the hissing, clawing, fearful little girl who first came to live with us.



Kimi was definitely not a fan of being touched, not unless she initiated contact herself. If you reached out to pet her, you'd better come at her slowly and touch gently. Otherwise, there there'd be a steam-kettle worthy (dragon worthy?) hiss and she'd speedily decamp, glaring over her shoulder at the clod human who'd displeased her. She distrusted our other cats too, unsurprisingly, as she'd been beaten up and bitten while trying to get food at some stray cat feeding spot. 

None of the other cats who lived here liked her. She wouldn't play, she wouldn't accept an introductory sniff or lick; she wouldn't play or share the food bowl or space on the couch or be any fun at all. She was just plain scared, and her obvious fear made her a target for our top cat, a large streetwise male. There were periods when she spent most of her time hiding out in a grungy pile of rags in a basement box. In fact, she came darn close to becoming known as "Basement Cat."  




I began to coax her to come upstairs and sit with me, and then into accepting grooming, which her long hair definitely required. I bought a wide-toothed dog brush to start, so that it would pass easily through her thick, matted fur without tugging.  This way we began to break the ice. 

Gradually, she began to believe my intentions were good. After all, her  fluff was too dense for her to care for by herself. As all cat owners should know, hairballs are a standard problem for cats. Nature obliges felines to groom thoroughly every day. All that hair goes in, but if it doesn't come out one end or the other, then the cat will be sick, sometimes fatally. Brushing and combing are a daily must, especially for such a fluffy kitty. 



We'd brush until we'd get a growl. Nail clipping was the same--a few at a time. At first, these beauty treatments were all trials for Kimi, but slowly this necessary handling became routine. 



We still wait until she approaches us for attention and then obey the message of the tail lash which signals "ENOUGH." Her only significant daily trial is Anthony. He arrived last year, absolutely certain that all the other cats must be dying to play with him—and if they refused, he’d chase them all over the house mercilessly. I think, however, that "still he persisted" might win the day, even faced with her determined suspicion.  

Who can say? She may yet learn to enjoy the company of the other cats.

~~Juliet Waldron

The Princess in the Tower—Suburban Version by Connie Vines

The Princess in the Tower.  

Chanel, dressed as a princess

I’ve always been drawn to stories where the princess is trapped in a tower. After all, the standard place to imprison damsels in distress and overthrown princes is a tower. Preferably on top of the tallest tower, in the biggest castle, on the highest hill, in the most dangerous land in the whole wide world.

“Rapunzel" (/rəˈpʌnzəl/; German: [ʁaˈpʊnt͡səl]) is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. Is one story which comes to mind. 

Among the earliest examples of this theme are Perseus and Hercules saving princesses from hydras or sea creatures. In Yamata no Orochi, a hero also saves the princess from a type of hydra, which could be considered a primeval dragon.

“Beauty and the Beast” (Disney version) This is pretty similar to La Belle et la Bête, the French fairy tale (minus the animated furniture).

Why am I drawn to these stories? 

It sounds gloomy. . .even hopeless, without a chance of a HEA (happily ever after ending).  Unless, your version of the story is set in the suburbs. 

Think about this for a moment, or two.  

Life in the suburbs is hectic without a moment of down time.  Ever.

However, in the Tower there is:

Room Service.  All of your meals are prepared for you.  Clean bedding and clothing are provided (after all, you are a princess). 

View from the Window. Think of your beautiful view.  Clouds, forests, beaches.  A fresh breeze to tangle your freshly washed hair.

Solitude. You could read an entire novel without interruption, play an instrument, or journal to your heart’s content.

Uninterrupted Sleep.  Unless, you have a fire-breathing dragon guarding the entrance (this could present a problem).

Exercise.  With all those stairs, cardio will be a breeze.

Visitors.  Of course, but none will be a shouting solicitor trying to sell you lame horse or home improvement contracts.

Pets.  It wasn’t unheard of for a woman to be allowed to keep her small dog.  (Anne Boleyn had a dog—well, perhaps that’s not the best case in point. . .)

And since this tower is in the suburbs, imprisonment wouldn’t be enforced for very long. 

This does sound like a nice weekend get-away or perhaps, a B & B (Bed and Breakfast).

What is your favorite princess fairy tale?

Your favorite setting?

How do you feel about dragons?

Happy Reading,




Remember to sign up on Facebook to join our Reader Page and more!

Shop for my novels:

books2read