Something to take your mind off our crazy world by Nancy M Bell

TO learn more about Nancy's work please click on the cover.

It seems the world has gone a bit crazy. So I thought I would take your mind off it for a bit by sharing some writing advice. I hope it works. I also everyone stays safe and healthy.

Building the backdrop of your story is a little different that wholesale world building. I liken world building to crating something piece by piece like Lego, where as I view building the backdrop as a less intense (but not less important)endeavour, more like creating a water colour with wide bold sweeps of creativity.



Building the Backdrop
Nancy M Bell

Where do our stories take place, can our characters exist in a vacuum? Of course not. Our stories need to play out against a rich and engaging background. The environment our stories take place in can become as important as the actual characters and an integral part of the reader’s experience. Examples of this are Tolkien’s Middle Earth, McCaffrey’s Pern, Graham’s portrayal of Cornwall in his Poldark books, Rowling’s Hogwarts and alternate London to name just a very few.
Whether we are creating a whole new world complete with maps and exotic flora and fauna or are just setting our tale against something that exists in reality (or close to it), the behind the scenes part of our creation needs to be the layered, deep and rich foundation upon which we tell our story.
As the creator/author you need a strong concept and vision of what your world consists of. Where is it located, what types of characters live in the background to give flavour to our main characters. Consider the weather; are there seasons, is it always hot or cold, is the environment harsh or lush, are you building a backdrop in a city or a town or a more rural area. Take the time to think about these things before you begin. Draw maps if you need to in order to give you a sense of scope and ground yourself in the environment. Those maps may never get into the actual book, but it will help the author navigate through the fabric of his story and weave his characters into that fabric in bright colours.
You need to develop a 360-degree view of your characters. What dialogue will they speak? Is it cultured? Rough? Upper, middle or lower class? Consider how and what they say and what they don’t say but can be implied by their actions/reactions or movements which may be enhanced or initiated by elements of your backdrop. Sometimes what isn’t said comes across more powerfully than what is said.
Mine the stories behind the main story without distracting or overpowering your main characters. This helps create a vibrant and rich tapestry for your story. An interesting experiment is to write the same scene from different character’s point of view. This often gives a deeper view into the circumstances surrounding your main story thread and enrich your world.
Another important thing to consider is how your characters react to these four things:
Money, sex, food and sleep. This is a good way to get into your characters’ heads and will aid in your development of the characters and the backdrop against which they play their parts.
You want to evoke in your readers a strong emotional connection to your characters and to the world through which they move.
The backdrop is important to your character as it will dictate how they behave; their personal motivation should be reflected in the world you create for them.
What is the economy of your world? Supply and demand is a concept that knows no barriers as to genre or length of story. Consider how the economy you create shape and affect your characters both primary and secondary and the world dynamics. An example of this would be the Avengers and the Blue Cube (Tesseract) all you need to know to grasp the essential concept is that people want the Blue Cube and that dictates the rules of the world. The basis of this world is the Tesseract is the containment Bessel for the Space Stone, one of the 6 Infinity Stones that predate the Universe they’ve created and possesses unlimited energy. This one concept is the basis for the foundation of the that world and the fabric of the backdrop for their adventure.

Be careful not to over explain things, show don’t tell is still a rule to live by.
Consider what the character wants- this algorithm will drive your story forward.
You can draw from history for the foundation of your religious and political systems, given you’re not writing non-fiction you can mix and match from different sources, taking what works best for your story.
Your economy isn’t just based on wealth or class- supernatural powers or lack thereof can enter into it, as well as exchange of power or energy.
Don’t forget the sensory issues when creating your backdrop, what are the sounds, smells, what kind of food, what tastes do your characters enjoy, how tactile is your backdrop, can your reader appreciate the feel of your world, smooth concrete, rough cobbles, deep sand, rolling surf etc. You reader need to feel “immediate” in your world. That is to say engaged in the whole experience of your story. Give your readers physical sensations they know intimately- we all know what a paper cut feels like, or burning your hand on a hot pot etc.
Be sure your created fabric isn’t too perfect or sterile- there must be costs attached to actions, consequences for things that do or don’t happen. The reader needs to feel and enter into the tension and care about the stakes.
There are three hills to die on. Three points of high conflict which helps define your world. Know what they are before you start and work from there.
Alternatively, there is Dan Harmon’s Story Circle consisting of 8 major points to hit. Not unlike the various versions of the Hero Cycle.
Remember to write the book. Don’t get stopped or hung up by the little things. Write the climax first if that is what comes to you.
Write with a ragged edge, release control and allow yourself to be nimble.
Don’t be afraid to kill or rehome your darlings.
Always think “what is the point of this scene.”
Does it serve to drive the plot forward
Be sure your backdrop doesn’t over power your characters or story line- they need to mesh and be compatible.

Until next month, stay well, stay healthy. Please don't hoard food or paper products. Reach out to those vulnerable members of our communities. You can drop groceries or other needed items at their door without any contact if that is what is needed. Seniors are in the high risk group - as well as other vulnerable demographics. Let's all do our part to be sure everyone is safe and taken care of.

March Is For Murder

March Is For Mysteries

 

Though today is St. Patrick’s Day and I have a smidgeon of Irish in my blood, I would rather talk about writing mysteries and suspense. Murder and Mint Tea was my first ebook and still remains one purchased. 1998 is a long life for a book. I did have to do some updating when I reissued the book. House phones and station wagons area thing of the past. So I had to give my heroine a cell phone, something she reluctantly uses and give her friends new rides. I’ve lost track of how many copies of the book were sold over the years but the number is many.

I’ve written only one romantic suspense. Code Blue began as Code Blue but the first publisher changed the name to Obsessions. When Book We Love took over the story we went back to the original title. That pleased me. This is another book that has been around for a long time and has also had some updating. Not enough according to one reader but that’s all right. The interesting thing I discovered is the rough draft of another medical suspense put away after my long ago critique group and some doctor friends were upset with the subject. I’m going to rework this story because I really enjoyed reading what I wrote and so some day you can read Committee of Angels.”

Leprechauns in Leinster, by J.C. Kavanagh

The Twisted Climb - DarknessDescends 

Short-listed for Best Young Adult Book 2018,

The Word Guild

Book 2 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series

The rolling hills and mountains around County Leinster are home to Ireland's famous attraction: the leprechaun. The wee fellows, and there are only fellows, stand about two feet tall and are known for their mischievous shenanigans. According to folklore, the leprechauns live in 'faery mounds' found under solitary trees. 

They are talented shoe-makers (only the Irish would conjure up a tradesman fairy) and love to dance so much that they wear out the soles of their shoes. True! If you are able to outsmart a leprechaun and catch him, you may be able to find his pot of gold. He will grant you three wishes in order to be released but since he has magical powers and can disappear in an instant, the chances of having your wishes granted are slim.

If you scoff at the idea of actual leprechauns dancing around the Irish countryside, scoff no more. Under European Law, leprechauns are an endangered species. Don't laugh, it's true, I'm not uttering a single dollop of Blarney. In 1992, the European Commission declared that a forested area in County Carlingford be officially protected land for the estimated 200+ leprechauns that live there. This land is under the European Habitats Directive.

Oh, those Irish! My own Kavanagh clan hail back to the Kings and Queens of County Leinster in the 11th century, well before England invaded the Emerald Isle. Hmmm, I think there may be an historical story brewing...

If you love a good tale, then you'll love my books, The Twisted Climb and the sequel, The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends. Find out for yourself why both books were voted Best Young Adult Book in 2016 and 2018. 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)

Remebering Einstein

On March 14, 1879, a hundred-and-forty-one years ago, a son was born to Hermann Einstein, an engineer and salesman, and Pauline Koch, in the kingdom of Wurttemberg, in present-day Germany. Pauline was well-educated and showed a passion for music. It was on her insistence that Albert Einstein took up violin lessons at the age of five, which developed into a life-long passion.

The young Einstein was slow in learning to speak. In fact, his condition prompted his parents to seek medical help. But this disorder affected his learning in positive ways. His imagination was astounding: he tended to think in terms of images rather than words. When his father gifted him a compass at age five, he puzzled constantly over the nature of magnetism.

He tended to be rebellious, questioning conventional wisdom, which resulted in his being expelled from one school and for another headmaster to famously declare that the child would never amount to much.

Despite his struggles in speech, Einstein showed his genius quite early, especially in mathematics. In primary school, his gift for this subject became apparent and he obtained the highest marks in his class, performing far above the school requirements. By age twelve, he had mastered applied arithmetic and decided to learn algebra and geometry on his own, which he did over a summer vacation.

His great breakthroughs in physics came directly from his thinking in images. He conducted a series of mental experiments, which he named Gedankenexperiment, or thought experiments. At age sixteen, he imagined what it would be like to ride alongside a beam of light. But the dictates of the physics of the day didn’t correspond to his imagination. He wrestled with that mind experiment until, ten years later, he arrived at his Special Theory of Relativity, a ground breaking theory that shattered the conclusions of Newtonian physics.

In 1905, at the age of twenty-six, Einstein worked at a patent office in Switzerland, as he was neither able to get a doctoral dissertation accepted nor obtain an academic job. Despite working six days a week, he produced four papers in his spare time that changed the course of history. The first showed that light could be described as waves as well as particles, leading to the field of quantum physics. The second proved the existence of atoms and molecules. The third, the Special Theory of Relativity, said that there was no absolute time or space. And finally the fourth propounded and equivalence between light and mass, represented by the famous equation E=mc2.

Much of what we take for granted today comes from the work of this great physicist. Among these are cell-phones, satellite communications, lasers, semiconductors and atomic power. And many future discoveries still await unfolding, such as space travel and quantum computing. Rarely has one man’s work entirely changed the course of history. Einstein is one such man.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. www.mohanashtakala.com, www.bookswelove.net.

Keep safe...by Sheila Claydon

Click this link for my books and author page

COVID 19, or Coronavirus as it is more commonly known, is taking over the world. Countries are putting the most drastic measures in place to contain it and, in the process, damaging the global economy, causing what may be fatal disruptions to some small businesses, and upsetting the normal routines of their citizens. Despite what is still a relatively small number of people affected when measured against the world population, it has everyone running scared.  Especially those who have compromised immune systems because of other underlying illnesses, and the elderly.

Although I have visited many other countries around the world and know some of them well, in this instance I can only speak for the attitudes of the people in the UK, where measures different from those of the rest of Europe and beyond are beginning to unfold.  The decisions are based on the developing science of Coronavirus as well as from discussions with experts across the world. Only time will tell if they are the right decisions. In the meantime there is a new problem. The influence of social media. Despite clear and repeated guidance from medical experts, and despite there being 24 hour advice and access to free medical care, many people and organisations are beginning to panic and, instead, to copy the restrictions that are happening elsewhere. Again only time will tell if these personal decisions will interfere with the science the government is trying to follow. In the meantime most of us are doing the best to get on with our lives, especially the older members of the population even though they are in the high risk category.

Where I am life is continuing more or less as normal. The only difference is that everyone is making sure their larders and refrigerators are well stocked just in case they have to self-isolate, and this is a community top heavy with older people. Jokes about the situation circulate daily, neighbours wave cheerily and there is not a mask to be seen. Attitudes have been likened to the blitz spirit of 'we are all in this together' in WW2. Of course it will only take a couple of local cases for this to change but in the meantime the writer in me is fascinated by the phlegmatic attitude of so many people. Maybe growing up immediately after the war when food was rationed and choice was limited has had a long term effect, or maybe it's because older people have so much life experience that they are less easily frightened. Or maybe it's just that because so many of them don't follow social media that they remain exempt from the fears percolating the rest of the world.

Whatever it is, it is to be admired, and it is that spirit that is imbued in the very elderly grandmother as well as in some of the other older characters in my book Remembering Rose. Whatever happens in the world, writers can't help storing up the experience for future use. In the meantime, my cupboards are full, my family is safe, the sun is shining and the dog is asking for a walk.

Until this is over, stay safe and take care. Tomorrow is another day.

What's in a Book Title?

My BWL books

my email

Most authors think hard and long about the titles of their novels. They need to be memorable, of course.  How to find the perfect title?

We can go to the classics... Some of what Mark Twain wrote were considered "boys' stories" in their time. And so his titles were meant to draw the interest of this audience...The Adventures of Huckeberry Finn, Tom Sawyer.  Very what you see is what you get. When I was writing my adventure novels for young people, a seasoned author advised me to follow Mark Twain's example and so: The Ghosts of Stony Clove got a title. (She also told me not to be afraid to put ghosts in the title!)

Mark Twain, who knew a cracking good story

How about those one word titles... they are easy to remember!...Jaws, Jazz, Beloved, Atonement, Emma, It, Middlemarch, Mudbound, Room and Outlander come to mind. I've never achieved the magnificent feat of a one word title!  The closest I've gotten is two words: Seven Aprils, my novel of the Civil War that is the first of my American Civil War Brides series.

My two-word title novel

Some titles are beautifully poetic and evocative...To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Ring, Catcher in the Rye, Tender is the Night, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Don't those titles make you want to dive into the story? 

My upcoming novel, Mercies of the Fallen came from a beautiful song written and performed by my one-time neighbor Dar Williams. Mercy of the Fallen. It begins:

Oh my fair North Star, 
I have held to you dearly,
I had asked you to steer me...

Those lyrics spoke to me as I was writing this story of damaged people growing in grace and beauty through the travails of war. Here's more of what proved deeply meaningful to me 

in my own storytelling:

There's the wind and the rain, and the mercy of the fallen...
There's the weak and the strong and the many stars that guide us, 

we have some of them inside us

Speaking of song lyrics, I used popular songs of the 1940s to title my romantic suspense Code Talker Chronicles. The first is I'll Be Seeing You because my team of Luke Kayenta and Kitty Charante have not yet met, but Luke's longing for Kitty is already in place.  In Watch Over Me, they have their first adventure together. This sets the stage for what they'll do from now on: watch over each other.  Book 3?  How does All of Me (one of my mom's favorites) sound?

Book 1

Book 2

How a Pandemic Inspired my Writing

                                  Please click this link for purchase and author information 

In 2009 my husband Will and I spent a month in Italy. I hadn't been to Europe in fourteen years 

and was eager to return to its history and culture, but a little anxious about the adventure. Shortly before we were due to leave, the swine flu hit Mexico and the United States. Unlike most flus, including the current Coronavirus (COVID-19), the swine flu (H1N1) didn't largely kill the elderly and sick. A strain of the 1918 Spanish influenza virus, many healthy, younger people succumbed to H1N1, which quickly spread to Europe. People talked of a worldwide pandemic. And here we were setting out on a plane into this risky situation. I thought of cancelling the trip. But, out of my anxiety came an idea for a short story. A man, grieving the death of his wife, travels through Italy, worried about catching the swine flu. I'd call the story "Pandemic."

2009 H1N1 (Swine flu) Pandemic - laboratory confirmed cases and deaths

In the Rome airport, I noticed several people wearing surgical masks. This struck me as unusual, but now would be common for travel at any time. When I later wrote the story, I included this detail along with others I wrote in a journal I carried through Rome, Venice, Tuscany and Sorrento. Will and I rented weekly apartments in these locations, as did Tony, my story protagonist. I took photos and made notes about our residences, which were part of the story landscape along with the tourist attractions that Tony, Will and I visited.. "Pandemic's" first turning point occurs when Tony is impressed by Bernini's sculptures in the Galleria Borghese Museum in Rome. Tony thinks, as I did, that he is witnessing genius. How did Bernini make a pinch of skin on a marble thigh look soft and real?

Aside from occasional sightings of surgical masks, I forgot about the swine flu while absorbing Italy's museums, eating pizza and drinking wine in cafes, exploring ancient sites and warrens of medieval streets. After our trip, The World Health Organization declared H1N1/09 a Pandemic. It was tragic for the people who died. They were far fewer in number than those who die annually from a seasonal flu, and this is expected to be the case with COVID-19.

At home, I returned to my novel-in-progress, but Tony's story kept churning through my mind. Eventually, I sat down and wrote "Pandemic," my first work of fiction set in another country. Aided by my photos and journal notes, I found setting descriptions easier to write than ones in my stories set in Canada. Tony's encounter with two sisters while climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa felt fresher than scenes of people meeting in ordinary, North American restaurants. I've sometimes thought of  "Pandemic" as part story, part travelogue.

In "Pandemic," Tony and the sisters take comical photos of each other 'holding up' the Leaning Tower of Pisa

"Pandemic" isn't published yet. At almost 12,000 words, it's too long for most short story markets and too short for a novella, much less a novel. I've broken "Pandemic" down into four standalone stories, set in the different Italian locations. The Venice standalone is titled "Gondolier Groupies;"  Tuscany is "La Brezza." Still no luck with publication. Now, COVID-19 has prompted me to dust off  "Pandemic" and revise the whole story again.

I find it interesting to work on a story that aligns with the zeitgeist. Today's constant news and worry about a pandemic infuses Tony's actions and the story descriptions. I'd have thought that immersing myself in the fictional world of a crisis similar to COVID-19 might make me anxious about our present situation. Instead, it's a release from concerns of impending disaster, and this is one reason writers write.

In Venice, Tony embarks on an ill-fated adventure with two young women and a pair of gondoliers

   

Name That - - - by Karla Stover

AUTHOR OF: Wynters Way (gothic)
                        Murder: When One Isn't Enough (murder on Hood Canal)
                        Murder on the Line (murder in Tacoma, Washington)

and odds and ends on kindle for 99 cts.



Ever since Ricardo Maltalban touted Corinthian Leather in the 1975 Cordoba ad, I have been fascinated by words used to create an emotion. As I result, I've been looking at cars. My husband drives a Toyota Tacoma. I'm not sure what being a Tacoma as opposed to being a Portland or a Boise is supposed to imply but some company man thought it had connotations. And my Honda is an Accord. Is that even a word?

I get what the Subaru Outback, GMC's Denali, and even the Volkswagen Beetle imply, but the Senna? Senna is an herbal laxative. An advertisement for the Senna shows it going really fast, which tickles my off-beat sense of humor. But an herbal laxative seems a really odd name for a car even if  "driving,ca/auto-news calls" it one of the best car names of all times.  

Spitfire works, so do Thunderbird and Mustang, but Mulsanne? Mulsanne is a specific corner on the Le Mans racing circuit. Does everyone but me know that?

Most sports teams have good names--names that hint at where their home is--think Houston Astros reference its NASA Space Center, the Milwaukee Brewers, a nod to the city's brewing history, and the Indiana Pacers which honors the city's harness racing past. Seattle has a new semi-pro football team but they're the Dragons. I don't know of any dragons in Seattle and there are so many cool things that could have been acknowledged--the Cohos (a salmon) the Roosevelts (an elk) or the Fishers, an extremely feisty mammal often found in Mt. Rainier. Now the city is getting a hockey franchise and is thinking about calling it (them?) the Crackens. Not even Google seems to knows what a Cracken is.

Authors have to be careful to chose names that tell us about the character even before we begin reading. Jay Gatsby, Dorian Gray, Holly Golightly all work. Freesia Summers is just awful. I wonder if the author chose it because freesias are hard to grow. 

The website, "name-generator.org.uk" will come up with names based on parameters the user puts in, i.e. sex, character type, nationality, birth year. Peyton, Emery, and Riley are considered weak male names. I don't know any weak female names, and would I say if I did--especially during Women's History Month?

So go ahead Jane, be meek. And be strong Virginia or Grace or Diana. According to your name, you have to bre and we who write will recognize that.

P.S. When Montalbán was asked by David Letterman on Late Night with David Letterman what Corinthian Leather was, "the actor cheerfully admitted that the term meant nothing."

Soap Bubble Rhetoric

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While going through some old writing files, I came across this meandering essay and thought I’d share.

Soap Bubble Rhetoric

Reading my latest copy of a writer’s magazine reminds me I haven’t written anything for quite a while. Anything does not include bill paying, completing rebate forms and make grocery lists.

            Oh, I have lots of ideas. That’s why I’m writing on top of the washer instead of folding clothes. Regardless of the fact I punched the hot button for a load of bright colors, when an idea bubbles forth, I grab a pen.

            As an educator, I have developed numerous ideas and activities that mu students love, so I have been sending queries to educational publishing companies and periodicals. But alas, I can decorate the laundry room with rejections slips. The most ingenious states, “due to a paper shortage, we must return your manuscript.”

            Why is there never a laundry shortage?

            While I may run out of stain remover, I always have another publishing company on my list. So I begin again. Some of my articles have been accepted, but I haven’t gotten paid in the traditional cash method. Many educational journals are forums for professional advancement and writers contribute articles in return for a byline and a few contributors’ copies. While that is fine up to a point, I’ve found it difficult, if not embarrassing, to pay my grocery bill with a copy of my latest published article:

            “Oh, you got published (finally). That will be $41.50 please.”

            Now I shouldn’t be wishy-washy. In addition to contributor’s copies, some educational publications do pay contributors in merchandise. But have you ever tried to use an apron that says, “Teachers are neat” to barter for bleach?

            I pour fabric softener in for the next load and a fantastic idea materializes. I realize I’m writing for the wrong market. Instead of submitting to educational publications, perhaps I can interest soap manufacturers in putting little activities on the sides of their soapboxes to keep kids busy at the Laundromat. Little Bobby can help mom pour soap into the washer and get fun games like “How many words can you make out of Proctor & Gamble?” or a word search for items of clothing washed only in cold water.

            I could create entertaining stories as inserts for detergent boxes with titles like “Soap Bubbles Whisk Grass Stains in Water Polo Finals,” or “Detergent Detectives Collar the Dirt Ring.”

            My hands negligently fold socks as I mentally assemble my next dirt fighting, biodegradable creative effort. The washer gyrates in the background, unaware of my neglect as my mind floats away on a soap bubble.

Barbara Baldwin

http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin

http://www.bookswelove.com/romance-authors/baldwin-barbara/

Don’t forget to visit the Books We Love website at http://www.bookswelove.com/ for their March contest. Find 4 leprechauns on the authors’ pages, submit their names and win some great prizes! Contest is open until March 17.

Catching and holding attention by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

Last weekend, I visited the Police Museum in Calgary. There was an helicopter hanging from the ceiling, a motorcycle, a police cruiser, a jail cell, uniforms, weapons, forensic evidence, the canine unit, and so much more for FREE (https://youthlinkcalgary.com/)

I was chasing a five-year-old who enjoyed locking her uncle, auntie, and grandma in the  jail cell and the police cruiser, so I didn't get to read about the exhibits, programs, and history as much I would have liked, but it was fun. I will go back.

Let me tell you about the bench in the jail cell. It wasn't kind to my bottom. No cushion at all! Sitting in the back of the police cruiser was a big more comfy, but not roomy. There was no legroom, and I'm not a tall woman. It struck me as funny what the police in movies say when they push a beefy 300lbs suspect into the back seat. First, I can't imagine a man that size fitting on the back seat, and second, they should warn him to watch his knees and legs, not his head LOL  They were bars in the windows and the doors didn't open from the inside, so we were at the mercy of a very mischievous little girl.

Before we left, I bought earrings from the museum.  They have a gun attached to a pair of handcuffs. The perfect earrings for a writer who can't help but kill at least one person per book. In all honesty, I'm not sure I will wear them on a daily basis, but I will wear them at my next book signing later in March.


Book signings are interesting events. I get to meet people, but after the initial greeting, something aside from books needs to hold their attention to move the conversation along. At my first book signing, the manager of the book store suggested I mingled with the customers. I thought great idea so I got sticky nametags.

Well, lots of people talked to me...to ask where they could find a certain book. Needless to say, the "nametag" idea didn't work as planned. Most people saw me as another employee.

At the following book signing, I stayed closer to my book display, I still wore a nametag, but I also colored my hair purple and blue. My hair was a great ice breaker, so I've kept coloring it ever since. Now I'm eager to see if these earrings will catch anyone's eyes.

Happy reading...and don't get arrested reading and driving!
JS

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

Thinking Ahead by Eileen O'Finlan

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Click here for Eileen O'Finlan's website

One hundred years ago women won the right to vote in the United States. It’s hard to believe we couldn’t vote until 1920, but that’s the fact. It was a long, hard fought battle, one for which American women owe gratitude to the suffragettes who made it happen.

For several years an idea has been simmering in my brain for a novel set during the struggle for American women’s voting rights. As with many of the yet-to-be-written multitude of novels floating around in my head, scenes from this one play themselves out in my mind every so often. I don’t think this will be the next novel I write (after Erin’s Children, my novel in progress, and sequel to Kelegeen), but certainly it is in the top three currently germinating in my imagination.

As with all good historical fiction, there will be lots of research before and during the writing. Though I may not start the actual writing for a while, when a research opportunity pops up I’m certainly not going to ignore it.

This afternoon I will be attending an event at the Worcester Historical Museum entitled “Suffragist Tea with History At Play”. The play, “How Long Must We Wait?” is a “multi-modal performance art piece detailing the struggle for women’s right to vote and equality” according to the Worcester Historical Museum’s website.

Despite being way ahead of my schedule regarding research for my future novel, I’m not about to pass it up. Something like this might not be available when I’m “officially” ready to start my research. Notes can be kept, memories held, videos replayed (History At Play’s website appears to have videos of many past performances). As an author of historical fiction, research is a high priority. When an opportunity comes my way, I’ll grab it while I can. No need to wait!

March Musings by Rosemary Morris

To learn more about Rosemary's work please click on the cover above.

March

“March brings breezes sharp and shrill,
Shakes the dancing daffodil.”

3rd and 4th lines of a nursery rhyme. Anonymous.

Hertfordshire. S.East England. 2019



2nd February.
This the day on which it is thought Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Day
Shrove Tuesday is on the first Tuesday before Lent. During the two previous days, known as shrove tide, people confessed their sins. On this day pancakes were made with eggs, which symbolise, creation, flour, the staff of life salt considered wholesome and milk for purity. This day was one of revelry and pancakes are still served in many homes.
Ash Wednesday the Beginning of lent
Ash Wednesday lasts for forty days which represent the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness. At church the priest or minister might use ashes from palms burnt in the previous year after Palm Sunday to mark Christians’ foreheads with the sign of the Cross. This is a sign of mourning and repentance. It also represents the cross Jesus sacrificed his life on. As a child during Lent, I was encouraged to renounce sweets, which made chocolate Easter eggs very welcome.
14th February - St Valentine’s Day
There are several saints called Valentine but the martyrdom of two falls on this day. In times past it was believed birds mate on this day and sweethearts were chosen. The custom of sending anonymous cards developed from that belief.

Classic Historical Fiction by Rosemary Morris

Early 18th Century novels: Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies, The Captain and The Countess

Regency Novels False Pretences. Heroines Born on Different Days of the Week Books One to Six, Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child, Wednesday’s Child, Thursday’s Child, and Friday’s Child. (The novels in the series are not dependent on each other, although events in previous novels are sometimes referred to and characters reappear.) Saturday’s Child will be published in July 2020.

Mediaeval Novel Yvonne Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

https;//bwlpublishing.net/authors/rosemary-morris-rosemary-historical-uk/

The Carrot by Katherine Pym

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Colorful Carrots

The other day I watched a historical documentary on the Stuarts (are you surprised?) when a lady marched through a market and stopped at boxes of carrots. She said the carrot started out purple, but if you match it with another color, the new crop is yellow. You match it with another color, and that crop of carrots is orange. This was done in honor of William of Orange. I thought, “What?” But intrigued, I went in search of the carrot. 

Purple Carrot

The Greeks and Romans cooked with white carrots. Asia Minor peoples threw purple and yellow carrots in their pots. They were used in medicines, and carrot seeds have been found in these areas from as long ago as 5000 years.

They think carrots originated in the Himalayas and Hindu Kush and were transported across the mountains via the Silk Road. A popular item, merchants stored them on ships and transported the root all over the world.

They were once very bitter but with our technology, we’ve made them into a fat and tasty vegetable. I’d wager they don’t taste anything like what the original peoples ate. I even heard those beautiful, succulent carrots you buy in bags, have been whittled down from unseemly, unsaleable roots. I can imagine all the carrot debris everywhere. What do the manufacturers do with all that waste? Probably something we don’t want to know. On a positive note, maybe they crush it into carrot juice.

Okay, now I’ll confuse you.

Asiatic carrots are often purple/black, although some are yellow.

Western carrots are generally orange, red or white, some of which may have developed from mutations, which cooks seem to prefer because the darker pigments do not leech into the broth.

White & Red Carrots

I don’t understand how the carrot became so popular when the original roots were long and thin, tough as nails to eat, and bitter as the day is long. It is not something I would take in hand and say, “I’ll make this better.” But man as a species is quite amazing. There’s a lot out there that may or may not have been a good idea to cultivate and expand, but we have them and we eat them, anyway.

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Many thanks to the carrot museum, http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html

and wikicommons, public domain.