The Cariboo Road by A.M.Westerling

One of the things I enjoy the most about writing historical romance – along with writing about love, of course! – is doing the research. Accurate research was especially important when I wrote Barkerville Beginnings, Book 4 of the Canadian Historical Brides Collection issued by BWL Publishing in honour of Canada’s 150^th birthday. The participating authors were instructed to write a story that combined fact with fiction. The challenge was on! I chose to write about Barkerville as I visited there a couple of times while on vacation.

Barkerville was a gold rush town in the interior of British Columbia that sprang up in the 1850’s. During its heyday. it was thought to be the largest town west of Chicago however, now it’s a ghost town and known as the Historic Townsite of Barkerville. Here I am on main street and below that is the Barkerville church:

 

During the early days of the Cariboo Gold Rush, getting there presented a serious challenge to the miners as Barkerville was located 400 miles north and east of Yale. Thick underbrush clogged the mountainous route and some of the mountain passes still had five feet of snow in April. Parts of the journey north were extremely dangerous and horses and their owners would often fall to their deaths over the mountains or drown in the swift and deep waters of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. Below you can see the Fraser River and how high the road was built to traverse the Fraser Canyon:

However, the success of the gold fields and the great influx of people made it necessary to improve access. The governor at that time, Governor James Douglas, determined that a safe road was required and the Royal Engineers were engaged for the task. In October of 1861, Colonel Richard Clement Moody recommended that the Yale to Barkerville route through the Fraser Canyon be built for the benefit of the country. The Royal Engineers assessed the route and suggested it be built in sections: Yale to Spuzzum, Spuzzum to Lytton, Lytton to the Lillooet Junction, Lillooet to Fort Alexandria, and Quesnel to Barkerville. It was a particularly difficult section to construct because of mud, swamp and fallen trees. You can still see a portion of the original road outside of Lytton:

When it was completed, some people called it the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Rose, a young single mother running from her vengeful ex, and Harrison, a young viscount running from scandal, are the two main characters in Barkerville Beginnings. They meet on the final section of the road between Quesnel to Barkerville.

Intrigued? You can find Barkerville Beginnings HERE.

Or better yet, check out all the great titles in the collection! HERE

Featured Author Jay Lang

Jay Lang is the author of four Lesbian thrillers published with BWL Publishing Inc., including the February 1, 2021 new release Storm - now available in pre-release at all the primary retailers and in print from Amazon.

Jay Lang grew up on the ocean, splitting her time between Read Island and Vancouver Island before moving to Vancouver to work as a TV, film and commercial actress. Eventually she left the industry for a quieter life on a live-a-board boat, where she worked as a clothing designer for rock bands. Five years later she moved to Abbotsford to attend university. There, she fell in love with creative writing. Hush is her first published novel. She spends her days hiking and drawing inspiration for her writing from nature.

In Hush, Jade Banks thinks she has finally found happiness. A home on a beautiful little island, and a good woman, Annie, by her side. But that all changes when her father dies and leaves her brother, Denny, in charge of the family fortune—a brother Jade knows is seeking to destroy her. After a night away, Jade returns home to find Annie hurt. A short time later, a body is found in the bay. Over a hellish few weeks, Jade is caught up in a police investigation while her insecurities and paranoia push Annie away. With the intention of restoring peace to their lives, Jade gathers clues that point to the murderer. However, she is not prepared for the shocking truth revealed by a shotgun blast that echoes over the bay.

In Shatter Jules Gordon has spent the past fourteen years as a recluse after her mother was brutally murdered and her father framed for the crime. Things seem to improve after she accepts a job as a private investigator for a local firm where she meets the enigmatic Katie, and a passionate romance develops. However, just as Jules’ life starts to show promise, she receives a call from a parole officer who tells her that her father is being released from prison. Apprehensive, Jules lets her father move in. Her father, now terminally ill, divulges the name of the man who framed him. In a twist of fate, while investigating her first case, Jules believes that she’s stumbled on the trail of her mother’s murderer. As Jules slowly unravels the truth, her pursuit for retribution turns deadly. A game of cat and mouse leads her deep into the underworld, and she realizes that she has been played for a fool as she stares into the eyes of the true killer 

In Shiver, Freedom Jones is a day away from being evicted from her Calgary apartment. So, when her criminal foster brother Johnny calls in a panic, she is not keen on adding more drama to her problems. Nevertheless, she goes to see him, and Johnny presents Freedom with a strange wooden box. Before Johnny can explain further, there’s a pounding on the door, and Freedom watches from under a bed as her brother is murdered. Freedom escapes and seeks refuge in Vancouver with Lola, a friend of Johnny’s, only to find that the woman only wants what’s in the wooden box: nine flawless diamonds. Freedom runs, leaving the box behind and the nine diamonds hidden in her pocket. From there, Freedom travels to the Sunshine Coast where she meets Skye. The women fall in love, and Freedom discovers how true happiness feels. 

In Storm, After taking the fall for her former lover, Paisley Stewart comes out of a stint in prison only to stay in another: her childhood home on Vancouver Island, where memories of her homophobic childhood linger. To her relief, her parents plan to vacation in Florida for part of the summer, leaving her to take care of the rental cabins. However, the relief is short-lived. She has a co-landlord: the know-it-all Ivy Logan, a family friend and childhood enemy. Little do they realize that their friction is setting off sparks, and a summer romance blooms. However, their happiness doesn’t last. Ghosts from Paisley’s past emerge, and what was once an idyllic dream becomes a living nightmare. The girls find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives, and Paisley must decide—how far will she go to save the woman she loves?

Why Write Historical Romance? by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

Authors are often asked questions by their readers or followers. I find the usual one asked of me is: why do you write historical fiction and romance? Let’s face it – with all of the details that need to be exact, writing historical fiction can be challenging. So why do it?

I freely admit to not having started off as a history buff, having found it to be the most boring subject when I was at school. Dates wars or invasions and the succession of kings didn’t matter to me at all as the subject had no relevance to my life at the time.

Jane Austen was a must-read at school and, at that age – ho hum. Sorry, Austen fans, but that is the truth. I have since returned many times to Austen, reading her books from a totally different aspect and discovering the treasure trove of minutiae they contain. The same applies to Georgette Heyer. The first of her books I ever read was Frederica (which I consider her best) but then I collected and read all her Regency romances without ever considering that they were, in fact, history books. A stylized history, maybe, but history nonetheless. Second readings of many of her titles gave me a whole new appreciation of the Regency era (1811 – 1820) beyond ladies’ dresses and gentlemen’s sporting preferences.

I started digging around in non-fiction history books, checking for myself anything I queried whether it was a style of dress or manner of speech and found I loved the research. At that time in my life I had no more thought of writing a book, historical or otherwise. But, in those odd and forgotten facts I came across snippets of past lives that really fascinated me. How other people lived, loved, how a table was laid and what cutlery they used and all the events that surrounded them came to life in an amazing way. More latterly YouTube has provided a visual and sometimes harsh view of life as it was lived in several eras.

Books We Love is fortunate to have a wealth of historical authors. Do you want to know more about Mozart? Check out Juliet Waldron’s book Mozart’s Wife. How about a taste of ancient Sumer? You couldn’t ask for more in Katherine Pym’s Begotten. A.M. Westerling’s Bakerville Beginnings takes us back to the gold rush days in British Columbia, and Diane Scott Lewis offers a background of the French Revolution in Escape the Revolution. There are many more historical titles, all offering  fascinating glimpses of past lives.

There is no doubt that history offers a rich and varied tapestry from which to draw inspiration for plots, characters and yes – happy-ever-afters.

Victoria Chatham

  AT BOOKS WE LOVE

 ON FACEBOOK

 MY WEBSITE

 

 

 

 

Writing in the time of Covid

 Having spent a number of days dipping a canoe paddle into the water, setting a book on the St. Croix National Scenic Waterway was logical. My protagonist, Doug Fletcher, is a former scout who grew up in Minnesota, so putting him in a canoe on the river was a no-brainer. Heck, there are even two scout camps along the river within a few miles of Stillwater, Minnesota. As a former resident of the Twin Cites (St. Paul and Minneapolis) he'd obviously know Stillwater, the camps, the river, and the risks of canoeing. Then came the hard part - what's the mystery?

The book opens with a honeymoon couple paddling down the St. Croix. A silly mishap causes their canoe to tip. Doug and Jill Fletcher, US National Park Service investigators, get a call at their home location, Padre Island National Seashore. The superintendent of the St. Croix park makes a frantic request for their assistance. VIPs are expected and she needs to know the fate of the missing couple before the VIPS arrive.

I had fun writing this book. Jill Fletcher whispered to me, offering hints about the plot, the scenery, her evolving relationship with Doug, and her anxiety about her new investigator role. In many respects, the characters told their stories and I was the scribe who recorded the events. 

I'd awake and rush to the computer (I may have started the coffee pot along the way) and spend an hour or two (or four) recording the thoughts as they came to me. The evolving dialogue steered the story, flowing into my rough outline. 

And Covid helped. Like the rest of you, I was mildly paranoid. With the encouragement of the Minnesota Governor, I sat at home, isolated from the outside world. Without the distractions of library and bookstore speaking commitments, I focused on writing. Jill and Doug Fletcher have been my friends for over a year, and they've shared their joys, their fears, and their deepest emotions as I recorded them. Thanks to Covid, they became my point of outside contact. I put myself in a canoe alongside them as we paddled, pushed along by the gentle St. Croix current. I felt the burn in unused muscles, saw the natural beauty of the river, and felt the sun on my back. I also endured the swarms of mosquitoes in the backwaters, the anxiety of the search for the missing couple, the terror of being on the water miles from the nearest landing as thunder rumbled in the distance. 

There's more to a book than the writing. I spend hours doing research into which diseases ticks and mosquitoes carry and the history behind the Park Service's acquisition of the property along the St. Croix waterfront. Which areas of the river are restricted to canoes and which allow motorboats? How fast does an empty canoe or lifejacket drift down river? Where would a pair of rangers meet a local cop for lunch? Which motel would they stay in? How far is their motel from the park headquarters and is it faster to drive to the park headquarters on the Minnesota or Wisconsin roads?

I contacted Chris, the ranger at the Andersen Boy Scout Camp, Mike, an fellow Eagle scout, Deanna, my consultant on all things cop and horse related, and others. Natalie and Anne proofread.

Finally, the manuscript went to Jude Pittman, at BWL Publishing. Michelle Lee designed the cover. Susan Davis edited and made the book even better. 

Greg Peterson, a reader, texted me to tell me how much he loved Jill and Doug Fletcher. He said they'd become old friends he'd like to have over for a beer and conversation. Another reader told me she wished Fletchers were her relatives. They're so nice, loving, and comfortable. My heart swells when I hear feedback like that. I'm pleased to be able to share the Fletcher's stories with you, the reader. Jill whispers to me. Right now she's telling me to end this before I give away the Down River ending. 

I hope you read and enjoy Down River and the other Fletcher mysteries. Doug and Jill will be back later this year.

A War and Murder over Oysters? by Diane Scott Lewis

When I lived and worked in Virginia I had a friend who went over my first novel with me. A story which became Escape the Revolution. She lived in the small town of Colonial Beach and told me of its history. She urged me to write a book on the Potomac Oyster Wars that took place in the 1950s. Then she brought up another historical fact, the Paying off at the Boom. This event took place in the late 1800s when new crew were hired to work on fishing boats. Instead of paying them, at the end of the season, they'd kill them and throw them into the Potomac. Their bodies would wash up at The Point, which became known as Ghost Point.

Potomac River off Colonial Beach
Photo by Alleyne Dickens

I began my research into the Oyster Wars. In 1785, the Potomac River, which spills into the huge Chesapeake Bay, and that into the Atlantic, was given to Maryland to police. Oysters were a popular meal, and both Maryland and Virginia fished the river to bring up bushels of oysters to sell.

Tonging oysters was the kindest method, plucking them up, and not damaging the beds. Dredging scooped up the bi-valves and ruined the beds, giving the oysters no place to repopulate. Unfortunately, dredging brought in much more oysters, thus more money.

By the 1950s, Maryland had imposed so many restrictions on the Virginians, the Virginia watermen grew furious. Out of defiance they snuck out on the river at night and illegally dredged. The Maryland Oyster Police mounted guns on their boats and shot at the Virginians. Seaplanes swept over the river, searching for dredgers. People were chased down and killed.

Maryland and Virginia fought in the courts as well as the river for their rights.

I had a critique partner once tell me, 'no one would act like this'...when I was writing exactly what did happen.

In my novel Ghost Point, due out in September, I explore this volatile time in Virginia's history with fictional characters mixed in with the actual people who were there.

The Paying off at the Boom will be addressed in a future blog.

Ice on the beach, Colonial Beach
Photo by Alleyne Dickens

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

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

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

The Importance of Book Reviews for Readers and Writers by J.Q. Rose

Arranging a Dream: a Memoir by J.Q. Rose

Official Book Launch January 1, 2021

Available for pre-order

Click here to discover more books by JQ Rose at the BWL Publishing JQRose Author's Page

Hello and welcome to the BWL Publishing Insiders Blog! I am J.Q. Rose whose purpose is to Focus on Story in my writing. In other words, I am a storyteller. 

I am also an avid reader. I have been all my life. If you are a reader like me, do you appreciate it when your friends suggest a book they loved? I do. That's exactly how book reviews on a digital bookseller's site work. Reviewers want to spread the word about good books so other readers can decide if that book would be the one for them. Read on to discover how important these reviews are for readers and authors and how to write one. 

Book Reviews: Their Importance and
How to Write Them

The Importance of  Book Reviews for Readers and Writers

Book Reviews. Oh, the pressure of reading the required book, and then writing the review brings back the picture of my sixth-grade teacher hovering over me. Don't even go there about her criticism about the grammar and spelling or even neat handwriting. Visions of the red ink-covered page come to mind when Miss Oldaker noted every error. And then, the command to "re-write" the entire review.

Okay, relax. You can breathe now. We are not talking about a sixth-grade book report. Far from it. I'm discussing online book reviews, a kinder, gentler exercise written because you want to share the great book you read with other readers so they can enjoy the experience as much as you did.

Word-of-mouth is the best advertising when one receives information about a product or service from a friend, neighbor, or family member. Online book reviews work in a similar fashion. Do you read product reviews online to help you decide whether to purchase? Click here for a study showing that 85 percent of people trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. Book reviews can make a difference in influencing readers to buy a book.

Book publishing has changed the way it does business. Authors and small presses can publish their books with easy access to readers instead of having to go through only the elite few of big-city publishers. The advent of super booksellers online allows readers to share their opinion about the books they read to help readers find a book as well as authors to get noticed.

No longer is a book published, then off the shelves after a few months. Instead, the book is available for a long time on virtual shelves, and its popularity can grow through time. Sales can occur throughout its lifetime rather than a flush of sales when first released. 

Readers and their reviews drive this new model and mindset in book publishing.

If you're a writer, be prepared to market your book forever! Just because your book is a year old or two years old or more, celebrate each birthday and in between with fresh new ideas on promoting it.

Tips on Writing a Book Review

Tips on Writing a Book Review
Consider these tips when writing a book review.
* Go to the page where you bought the book and near the book review comments area, you will find a place to click that says "Write a Review."
* Rate the book using the bookseller's ratings e.g. 1-5 stars. A 5-star rating means you really really loved the book, 1 star is you didn't like the book. 
* Because you are on the book's sales page, you do not need to explain the whole plot of the book because it is on the sales page.
* Don't worry about a title for the review yet. Write the review first, then pick out a phrase you used in the review as the title.
* You need not write a long review. Three sentences or more are fine as long as the reader understands if you liked the book or not and why e.g. I liked the book because I really identified with the main character or I liked the way the author described the setting of the book.
*Write as if you are talking to a friend on the phone or at a coffee shop. Keep it casual and write how you talk. 
* Compare it to another book you liked and why this book reminded you of the other book.
* If you feel you'd like to read another book by the author, say so.
* Recommend it to readers of the genre such as cozy mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, etc. If you received the book as a gift from the author or publisher, amazon requires you to divulge this. Just say you are voluntarily leaving a book review. 
*You'll receive an email from the bookseller allowing you to read through the review and make changes if needed.
* You can leave your book review at goodreads, amazon, kobo, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, and booksellers where you have an account.

****

The information in the diyMFA newsletter by Gabriella Pereira inspired this blog post. 

Thank you for stopping in. Happy reading AND wishing you success in leaving book reviews!!

Author JQ Rose

Click here to connect online with JQ Rose.

A Pie For All Seasons by Helen Henderson

 

Windmaster Legacy by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

 

Cold and gray skies that look like it will dump snow at any moment calls for comfort food. Although it is not a politically declared holiday, January 23rd is National Pie Day, which is as good a way as any to brighten a winter's meal. Although pies can trace its roots all the way back to the Greeks who are credited with creating the first pastry shell by mixing together water and flour, they and their Roman and Middle Age descendants bear little resemblance to the modern dishes called "pie." Fillings have ranged from honey and fruits or nuts to meats, fish, and mussels. The pumpkin, apple, and quince fillings once popular have expanded. Today, the top ten pie fillings include: 1) Apple, 2) Pumpkin, 3) Chocolate Creme, 4) Cherry, 5) Apple Crumb, 6) Pecan, 7) Lemon Meringue, 8) Blueberry, 9) Key Lime Pie and 10) Peach. And in recognition of my southern neighbors, don't forget sweet potato pie.

The smell of warm, fresh from the oven, pies pushes back the winter doldrums. The taste raises memories of holidays past and watching the elder members of the family make the crusts while us younger ones peel and slice what seemed like bushels of apples. Eventually, us "youngsters" progressed to making the crust under the watchful eye of our grandmother.

A family favorite that doesn't make the top ten list, but is very popular in the land of my kin is shoofly pie. For those who aren't familiar with this Pennsylvania Dutch dish from the 1800s, shoofly pie has been referred to as a molasses crumb cake baked in a pie crust. As to the name, flies had to be shooed away from the cooling treat. Or maybe because for some us us that was easier to say than Melassich Riwwelboi or Melassichriwwelkuche. For Valentine's Day (which is a short few weeks away). I may try something different, a "French Kiss" pie. It's described as a decadent French Silk pie, topped with strawberries dipped in Belgian chocolate, and kissed with fresh raspberries.

I like pie, but how about my characters?  One answer comes while shopping at the market when Lady Pelra helps a woman who tripped and fell.

“Why don’t you join me in a cup of chilled cider,” Pelra said. “I think we both can use a breather.” A signal to Cyfaill and Urith to maintain their distance and follow, she led Saibh to a booth farther down the street to a vendor who sold pieces of fruit pie and mugs of chilled cider. Four coppers later, she balanced plates of pie atop two mugs of cider and led Saibh to a bench in the trees behind the booth. (From Windmaster Legend)

On the trail, a hungry apprentice hopes for a meal. But his search raised a question.

Light wood smoke mingled with the enticing smell of fruit pies. Nobyn sucked in the fragrant air. Just the scent of the food was enough to start his mouth watering. Beyond the last of the large trees lining the trail, tall fruit vines covered neat rows of fences. Twisted branches laden with ripe green fruit showed the source of the pie fillings. But who was baking out here? (From Windmaster Legacy)

Whether you are a baker or an afficionado of the pie, here's to a happy pie day.

~Until next month, stay safe and read. Preferably with a big slice of your favorite pie and a cup of hot coffee to chase away the chill.  Helen

To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL

 
Find out more about me and my novels at Journey to Worlds of Imagination.
Follow me online at Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter.

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who has adopted her as one of the pack. 

Living With A Rough Draft - Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #Rough Draft #twists and Surprises

 

 

Living With A Rough Draft

 

Starting a new story is always an adventure. While I generally have a rough idea of where the story will go, things occur during the writing. I begin with a rough draft and look at what I’ve planned to have happen. Sometimes the story moves flawlessly through the roughing in of the scenes and some times there are little twists and turns that pop up unexpectedly.

 

My latest book has taken a few of these turns and I write them in as they occur. Soon the rough draft will be finished. Then comes the fun. This time several twists happened and I must when I go back to the beginning find a way to accept or reject them. For this story, I will probably accept most of them. Yes, it’s a romance but it’s also a story of the dreams haunting not only my hero and heroine but at least one of his children. Though I’ve a few more chapters to finish the rough draft, hopefully all the twists have been found.

 

How about you, do you plan your stories and then sit down and let the words flow and embrace all those strange and new twists never thought of when the idea for the story arose?

 

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

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

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

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

 

Buy Mark

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

 

 

Tapping the unknown, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The Twisted Climb
Book 1 of the award-winning series

There's a deep well. The stone wall around the top is waist-high, tall enough for you to lean over and peer down. The bottom is not in sight. What looms in that deep, dark cavern? Is it just water, a welcome, wet oasis for the parched? Or are there unknown, unseen creatures scurrying about, waiting for the unsuspecting human to drop a bucket and haul up... a blood-thirsty beast...

Yah, that would definitely be 'tapping' the unknown. But I made up that paragraph, just now as I gazed into the playground of my mind... ah yes, there they are. I see them - creatures in a deep, dark well. I tend to do that as an author. Look for the scare; an unexpected tingle of fear; a foreshadowing of something spooky to come. My dreams are twisted too - which is how The Twisted Climb story began. But that's another blog.

So when it came to tapping a non-writing skill, I was at a bit of a loss. Creativity has no bounds, as every reader and writer knows. But how about a craft? A Christmas craft? Hmmm. There's a challenge. I live on a rural property in southern Ontario, Canada, with thousands of trees. Trees of all kinds: pine, spruce, oak, maple, elm, birch, beech, chestnut, tamarack, apple and more. Because I have so many pines and spruces, I have hundreds, maybe thousands of cones. And because I have so many oaks, I have hundreds, maybe thousands, of acorns. What to do with them?

How about Christmas wreaths? I've never undertaken such a project but I knew I had the materials at hand. My neighbour Patricia, who is affectionately known as the 'bird lady' due to the geese, chickens, turkeys and peacocks that she lovingly cares for, is one of the most multi-talented women I have ever met. How to grow a vegetable garden? Ask Patricia. How to crochet a baby blanket? Ask Patricia. How to make a floral arrangement for any season, any event? Ask Patricia. So I knew when I asked her 'How do you make a Christmas wreath?' - well, I knew she'd have the answer. 

And so I began my untapped journey into the making of a Christmas wreath. Little did I know that it would take me five weeks, from start to finish, to make six wreaths. Yup, only six. Ha! Patricia taught me that a) you have to select similar-sized cones, b) you must soak them in a bowl of water till they close shut, and c) only then do you insert them through the metal frame while they're wet. Next step is to heat them by the wood stove so they dry and open again. This heating step ensures the cones are completely ensconced and tight in the metal frame.

Then the fun begins. Building layers of cones, acorns and chestnuts - all symmetrically pleasing - while hiding the metal frame. More than once I learned the peril of holding a glue gun too close to the fingers. With Patricia's guidance and her incredible knack of making bows, and using a variety of craft materials and ribbon, my foray into the building of unique Christmas wreaths was, I daresay, successful. 

Christmas morning: Ian's lovely daughter, Veroniqua, with her wreath.

As you can see from the photo above, I decided that such a gift required a 'keepsake box.' So that meant designing and building/staining storage boxes. With my multi-talented partner's help (Ian), we built the boxes from plywood, cut out a 'Christmas 2020' stencil, spray painted it and then signed each box. 

Tapping into the unknown - that's what my Christmas wreath project felt like. I've never done anything like it before and my fear was that the wreaths would not be worthy enough to give away as presents. But I think I did okay. What say you? I'll tell you one thing: I definitely have a renewed respect for all things 'hand made.'

If you're curious about the trappings of the fantastical dream world found in the playground of my mind and put to paper in The Twisted Climb series of award-winning books, please check them out at your favourite book store or through the online link found below. You'll be glad you did!

https://bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

Stay safe everyone!

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)

Albert Schweitzer’s Reverence for Life

 

In 1913, after having founded a hospital in Gabon, the religious philosopher and polymath Albert Schweitzer took a boat ride on the Ogooue River, to contemplate ethics and civilization. He spent two days in deep thought and, on the third, had a moment of enlightenment, which he called “Reverence for Life.”

In short, “Reverence for Life” is the idea that all life must be respected and loved and that humans should enter into a personal, spiritual relationship with the universe and all its creations. For humans such an outlook would naturally lead to a life of service to others.

Schweitzer was born into a well-educated family in Alsace, which was part of Germany in 1875, the year of his birth. His father was a Lutheran pastor and Schweitzer followed his footsteps and studied theology and philosophy. He also became an accomplished organist, but found his lasting passion in medicine.

With a degree in Medicine, Schweitzer and his wife Helene Bresslau, a nurse, he moved to Gabon, Africa, where he lived for most of his days, to start a hospital.

He had always had a kind heart towards animals. He wrote “One thing that especially saddened me was that the unfortunate animals had to suffer so much pain and misery…when my mother had prayed with me and kissed me good-night, I used to silently add a prayer that I composed myself for all living beings: ‘Oh heavenly Father, protect and bless all things that have breath, guard them from evil, and let them sleep in peace.’”

He carried this understanding throughout his life. In Africa, when planting a seed on a farm he had started, he was noticed gently scooping out a spider that had fallen in the hole. His reverence for life, while self-manifested, was developed and refined by Schweitzer’s reading of Indian philosophy. In his book, Indian Thought and Its Development, he wrote the following: “The laying down of the commandment to not kill and not to damage is one of the greatest events in spiritual history. Starting from this principle..ancient Indian thought..reached the tremendous discovery that ethics know no bounds.”

Ahimsa, the principle he referred to, appears in both yoga philosophy and in the religion of Jainism. In yoga, it is the first of the Yamas, one of the eight limbs of yoga. The five Yamas (standards of behavior) are Ahimsa (non-violence); Satya (truthfulness); Asteya, non-stealing; Brahmacharya (continence) and Aparigraha (non-covetousness.) The Jain religion brought Ahimsa into daily practice.

Schweitzer’s writings had a tremendous impact in a world that had suffered violence during the twentieth century. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1952, and he used the money to start a leprosarium in Gabon, Africa. Until his death in 1965, he worked tirelessly for peace, speaking out against nuclear weapons and for the humane treatment of animals.

Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanauthor.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)

The story behind the photo...by Sheila Claydon

 Click here for my BWL page

Remembering Rose is very special to me because it is my take on a family history. Not my family (although I might get to that eventually) but that of another family. 

It all started when I found a sepia photo in a box of jumbled mementos. The young woman at the centre  was mesmerising, not because of her looks, although they were striking, but because of her vivacity. And it was obvious from the faces of those around her, that they were equally entranced. Of course I will never know what she was saying any more than I will ever know why she was standing while the people around her were sitting on the ground watching her. Were they playing a game like charades? Had she just jumped up and suggested they all stop lolling around and go for a walk? Was she reacting to something the blonde curly-haired child next to her had done? The only thing I do know is that it was taken in the summer because some of the men were wearing striped blazers and straw boater hats, and the women's dresses seemed to be styled from light, summery materials. 

Like all photos taken in the days before the ubiquitous cell phone camera, there had to be a story behind it. In the late 1800s it wouldn't have been taken on a whim, so maybe the group had been posing and the photographer had grabbed a final photo just as the woman jumped up ready to do something else. I was intrigued enough to store the image in my head but not quite intrigued enough to write about it until, many years later, I was shown a photo of the same woman as an old lady. The contrast was both shocking and heartbreaking. What was it that had changed that vibrant young woman into somebody so thin and melancholy.  What had life done to her? And her husband too. In the sepia photo he had been handsome and dashing with luxuriant whiskers and his straw hat tilted at a jocular angle. Now he looked old and tired and his hands were swollen with arthritis.

The writer in me kicked in and I began to ask questions. The result is Remembering Rose. A fiction of course, but with enough of their real story woven into it to ensure they are never forgotten. Because their's is a story of love...real love, not the fleeting kind that runs as soon as it encounters problems...and consequently the love experienced by all the other people in the book is the same. The blurb on the back sums it up:

Rachel has a husband who adores her, a beautiful baby daughter, and an extended family she can rely on, so why isn't she happy? She doesn't know and nor do the people who love her. Only Rose understands but she is trapped in another century. To help Rachel she has to breach the boundaries of time itself as well as risk exposing the truth of her own past. When echoes from that past begin to affect other people in the village of Mapleby, things suddenly become a lot more complicated. Can Rachel put things right without giving away Rose's secret?

Because I needed a background for Rose's story I invented the village of Mapleby and the cottage where she lived as a child, and when I did that, Mapleby itself pulled back the curtain that separates us from the past and the future and told me Rose's story. And because it told me the story of so many of the others who live there too I soon found myself embarking upon a Mapleby Memories series. Remembering Rose is Book 1 and Book 2: Loving Ellen will be published in February. Although it's part of a series, it is still a stand alone book, but to really understand the village and the people who live there, you need to listen to Rose.

And if you do read Remembering Rose you might be able to guess who the heroine of the next story is going to be. A clue. It's not Ellen because there isn't an Ellen in Book 1. Have I intrigued you enough?

Even better is the fact that BWL has just updated the cover for Remembering Rose, ready for a relaunch alongside Loving Ellen, and the new image really does look like Rachel, who is the other heroine of the story. The cover for Loving Ellen is even better and I'll be showcasing that next month.

Angels in the Architecture

 

Find Eileen's books here...

Happy New Year, dear readers.

I love New York City. Since I was a child, it has always been a place of mystery and wonder. On our way to visit my grandparents’ apartment, I would stare in wonder at the tall buildings, vast avenues, steam coming out of worksites. My parents would point out the West Side tenements where each had been born. My father would give us a nickel so we could ride the Staten Island Ferry and get a close look at the waters around and Miss Liberty shining her light from the harbor. Free Shakespeare performances in Central Park and my first Broadway show made me a lifelong lover of theater.

Angel in the architecture, New York City

The last time I was there was Valentine’s Day, 2020.  My husband and I traveled down by train from our home in Vermont to see our son performing in an off-Broadway play. The play was about love in all its forms and complexity and was the perfect date. Afterward, we walked to Greenwich Village and had a lovely late night meal together. We should do this more often, I thought.

Back in out tiny hotel, I looked across the street from our 8th floor window and noticed a building had been converted from its previous incarnation as a church. Some of the details remained intact, including a beautiful concrete angel, recently sand blasted clean. There are wonderful surprises like that, even in this city that is forever re-inventing itself.

I’ve thought about that angel often over this year that’s followed, here in our quarantined Vermont. That angel has looked over a city crippled by a deadly virus (which our son suffered with and survived) a shut down, and political mayhem. 

I hope she will guide us all to follow the better angels of our nature.

Where do you get your ideas?

 

                                                                                                                                                                          Please click this link for author, book and purchase information

"Where do you get your ideas?" This might be the number one question readers ask authors.

My quick answer is that ideas pop into my head all the time and they come from everywhere. My personal experience, conversations with other people, places I've lived in and visited, the news, books I've read, TV, movies, perhaps a painting or line of music. 

This winter, I'm editing a novel-in-progress, book # 3 of my Paula Savard mystery series, while mulling ideas for book # 4. With a series, many of the basic ideas are already there. I start with my sleuth, Paula, a fifty-five year old insurance adjuster, and her cast of supporting characters, who impact her personal life and, in some cases, her sleuthing. Paula and most of her family, colleagues and friends live in my home city, Calgary Alberta. I could send Paula to another location for all or part of the next book, but I see her as grounded in Calgary. Unlike me, Paula isn't drawn to travel, although book # 3 presents her with a future travel opportunity. For now, I think her adventures in book # 4 will continue in Calgary. 

 

    An often deserted pathway behind Calgary's Saddledome arena inspired my idea for the murder in the first Paula Savard novel, A Deadly Fall. 

My current novel-in-progress, Winter's Rage, ends in January 2020, with Paula at a crossroads in her life. Book # 4 will begin with her dealing with that situation. I've decided it will take place in spring, since Paula's first three mysteries happened in fall, summer and winter. But which spring will this be? January 2020 was right before COVID-19 changed the world. Will we next meet Paula in spring 2020, as she grapples with the start of the pandemic both personally and at work? Or will it be spring 2021, when the the pandemic is (we hope) nearing its end? I could jump over the virus and set the novel in spring 2022. This would make the time frame more contemporary to my publication date, although I find it hard to envision the post COVID-19 world. What things will return to the old normal and what will be the long term changes? The year I choose for this fourth novel will affect my ideas for it. Thoughts to mull during the winter.

 

Calgary's annual Stampede parade prompted ideas for a major character and an inciting incident in my second novel, Ten Days in Summer. 

  

While Paula got into solving mysteries as an amateur sleuth, I decided her subsequent ventures would come from her insurance adjusting work. Ten Days in Summer starts with a suspicious death resulting from a building fire. Paula naturally becomes involved in the course of investigating the property fire insurance claim. In Winter's Rage, she adjusts a hit and run collision and gradually suspects the fatality was no accident. 

This quiet, suburban Calgary street plays a large role in Winter's Rage.

For book # 4, I'm thinking that burglary could make a good cover up for murder. Last spring, my husband and I bought e-bikes at a local bicycle shop. I was intrigued by the store's booming business. With most of their usual activities shut down for the pandemic, Calgarians sought outdoor activities and many of us updated our old bicycles. That store and the two guys operating it are giving me ideas for the crime that will launch Paula's next mystery.            

I also want to include a ghost in book # 4, because ghosts both interest and frighten me. At the end of Ten Days in Summer, Paula's office moved to Inglewood, Calgary's oldest neighbourhood. Many ghosts lurk in Inglewood, a location for Calgary's haunted walking tours. The ghost rumoured to haunt her historic office building will challenge rational Paula, who doesn't believe in other worldly happenings. 

A ghost walking tour of Inglewood inspired my choice of  this "haunted" building for Paula's office.

All of these bits and pieces, swirling in my mind, will converge into the start of a story, when I eventually sit down and write the novel. As the story moves along, it will pluck more ideas from my usual sources. That's the plan, anyway, and it's how I get my ideas.    

  

E-biking last spring triggered ideas for my next novel 

 

Little Boxes by Karla Stover

Every morning my husband and I drive out to the woods and walk our dog. There is always so much interesting stuff to see. Like right now, mushrooms are everywhere. And all summer long wild flowers bloom, my favorites being a shrub called ocean spray and madrone, a tree native to the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to Northern California. Right now it has clusters of red berries which many birds love. However, all waxing nostalgic aside, to get to the forest, we have to drive past new housing developments. (Hear me heave a heavy sigh).

It’s not that I don’t want people to have homes; it’s just that they all look alike; right down to the colors they are painted.  They make me harken back to a song called “Little Boxes” that my mother used to sing. A woman named Malvina Reynolds wrote it in 1962 for her friend Pete Seeger and when in 1963 he released his cover version, “Little Boxes” became a hit.

The song was written as a “political satire about the development of suburbia and associated conformist middle-class attitudes. It mocks suburban tract housing as ‘little boxes’ of different colors ‘all made out of ticky-tacky’, and which ‘all look just the same.’” “Ticky-tacky" was “a reference to the shoddy material supposedly used in the construction of the houses.” I’m not saying the ones we pass were built of shoddy material, it’s just that they’re boring to look at and don’t have yards where children can play.

An interesting bit of trivia. In addition to being an adjective for 'poor quality,' shoddy is also a noun for "an inferior quality yarn or fabric made from the shredded fiber of waste woolen cloth or clippings.  Mattresses used to be filled with shoddy.