My Self-Defense Class by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

https://www.bookswelove.com/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

My Self Defense Class
A friend of mine, Bonnie, was taking Ju Jutsu and she said that her instructor, Fred, lets people come out for a free class before deciding if they want to take lessons. She asked me if I want to try a class. I had been thinking of learning some sort of self-defense so I accepted her invitation.

     On the Monday evening I wore leggings and a t-shirt fully expecting to watch from the sidelines and maybe try a couple of moves. Bonnie told me to remove my shoes before walking on the mats and then took me to a room when she found a white canvas gi jacket that fit. I donned it over my t-shirt and wrapped the left side over the right. Bonnie showed me the proper way to tie the obi or belt.

     Everyone in the class did their own stretching and then Fred had us run around the room, first forward, then backwards, then sideways. Once that was done he said. "Line up senior to junior." I knew I was the oldest one there so I headed to the beginning of the line. Everyone looked askance at me and grinned.

     "I'm the most senior person here," I said. But, apparently, the line up isn't by age. I headed to the last of the line. The person at the end gave me a warm welcome.

     "At least now I'm not the newest member," he said.

     The instructor then told us to do forward rolls. The others immediately took turns rolling their way across the room. Fred stood beside me and showed me how to put the back on my left hand on the mat, tuck my head and shoulder down, and push off with my back leg. Talk about being disoriented and dizzy when I sat up. Definitely not like the summersaults I used to do as a child.

     "Do it again," he encouraged.

     I knelt, put the back of my hand down, tucked and, after a deep breath, pushed off. Same result only this time I also felt a bit queasy. I guess I shouldn't have eaten before coming. After the third time I quit and watched the others. Fred called out for backward rolls. He looked at me with his eyebrow raised. I shook my head.

     When everyone had practiced their rolls, Fred ran through a demonstration on how to get out from under an attacker when he has you pinned on the ground and is sitting on top of you. I watched others do it then tried it myself. So long as my attacker gives me lots of time and offers me a few helpful hints, I will be able to break his hold.

     Fred did tell me that I should not waste my energy struggling against an attacker. It will just weaken me, he said. He showed me a choke hold to use that is easy and effective.

     Ju means gentle, pliable or yielding and jutsu means technique and is the manipulating of your opponent's force against himself. It was developed to fight the armed samurai of feudal Japan in close combat by using throws, pins, or joint locks. Over the centuries ju jutsu evolved into different types of martial arts around the world, some of students practicing potentially fatal moves and also learning break falling skills so they can practice dangerous throws.

     Since the beginning, students of ju jutsu trained in formal kimonos. In 1907, the founder of Judo introduced a uniform called the judogi. The gi consists of three parts: a heavy jacket called a uwagi, light canvas pants, shitabaki, and the cotton belt, obi.

     At the end of the class Fred said I could come back for two more free lessons. I must have really impressed him. However, while I was glad to have had the opportunity to try a ju jutsu class I didn't return for my other two free lessons. I decided I didn't like throwing myself or other people around on a mat.

     Since I was a teenager, I have practiced my own techniques to prevent being attacked that have served me well. I try not to be on the streets after dark but if I am walking at night I stride confidently with my head up and shoulders back. Attackers are cowards and they look for someone weak whom they can overpower. I carry my car keys spaced between my fingers to use for stabbing or slashing. I wear pants which are harder for an attacker to get into and low shoes or running shoes so I can get away easier. New technology has given us panic buttons on our key fobs which can be pressed to start our vehicle's horn blaring. I keep mine handy.

     And I've noticed in books and on television shows that the women who are attacked and even killed are always wearing matching panties and bra. Just to be on the safe side, I make sure I never do.

What I Have Learned From Actors by Victoria Chatham

 

 

 AVAILABLE HERE

As a writer, I have learned my craft from many sources. Books, workshops, sessions at conferences, other authors, and reading as much as I can from a range of genres and not only my genre of choice, Regency romance. One avenue that is often overlooked is watching movies.

I have to say I am an avid movie buff but, much as I now read differently, I also watch movies differently. I listen more to the dialogue, and I watch the actors' faces more, jotting down notes about their expressions. It is so easy so write that he/she grinned, winked, frowned, or twitched a smile. But what does somebody’s face actually look like while they are grinning, winking, frowning, or twitching a smile? What does that even mean?

Watching any good actor is a learning experience from the way they move to the timing and delivery of their lines. Think of the great dames: Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Emma Thompson. Another of my favourite UK actors is Maggie Steed. In the US, anything with Katherine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger - especially her seduction scene in the movie Appaloosa, Sandra Bullock, and Anne Hathaway is worth watching.  

As far as the male line-up goes, and I don't mind dating myself here, I hark back to the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, and Laurence Olivier. Denzel Washington, Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins are also up there, and the list could go on. I’m sure many will disagree with my choices and have their own favourites whether they are writers or not.

Old movies are available from many sources, and it was only recently that I was able to watch Casablanca and The Black Falcon all the way through without any interruption. I also like foreign movies such as the Deepa Mehta Elemental trilogy, Earth, Fire, and Water which looked at controversial issues and social reform in India.

 

I recently watched a 1980’s era movie, Withnail and I. Much like the American classic Easy Rider, it moved into something of a cult status. I had heard of it, but never watched it and wasn’t sure the story of two seemingly continually drunk, hapless, helpless out-of-work actors in London in 1969 was something I particularly wanted to watch, but I’m glad I did. Written and directed by Bruce Robinson, and loosely based on Robinson’s own story, Withnail and I runs the gamut of emotions of friendship, love, sexuality, humour, letting go and loss. It is a tragi-comedy reminiscent of some of the works of Shakespeare. One of the final scenes shows the I character (never named in the movie) walking away from Withnail, played by Richard E Grant. The look on his face is a tour de force of despair, even to his flesh seeming to melt from his face. The monologue at the end, filmed at the wolf enclosure at the London Zoo, is one of the best ever.

The elements of great movies can be found in great books, and in many cases vice versa. Portraying the actors’ facial expressions in words to improve my own writing is an ongoing exercise, and one I shall continue to work at. 

 

Victoria Chatham

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Images from internet sources.

Choosing a setting by Dean L. Hovey

I recently visited Tuzigoot National Monument, in northern Arizona. It's a small US Park Service property compared to Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, and is off the beaten path. It contains ruins left by the Sinagua Indians in the 1100-1400 A.D. period, and has a treasure trove of artifacts being restored by a team of archaeologists. 

After waiting in line to speak with a ranger, I approached and asked, "Where would you hide a murder victim?" I could tell by the look on his face that he hadn't fielded that question before. After an awkward silence, I explained that I was a mystery writer looking for a future book setting.  His face brightened once he realized I wasn't a serial killer. He pulled out a map of the property and started marking it up.

"This dead end trail is a mile and a half long. We only get a handful of hikers a month who hike that trail in the winter. When the summer temperatures approach 100 degrees, hardly anyone goes back there."

I nodded and looked at a picture of the resident wildlife. "So, you might realize there was a dead body out there because the vultures would be attracted."

He was getting into it and jumped right in. "There'd be vultures, but the ravens and coyotes would probably be there first. Maybe the resident mountain lion or the bobcats might be drawn to it too."

I looked at the map and nodded. "Is that trail accessible by horse?"

"Horses aren't allowed on our trails." Then he hesitated. "But we close the entry gate at 4:45 and there aren't any residential rangers on site once we lock the visitor center. There's a trail along the river that's accessible by horseback from either the north or south and it links up with the trails inside the park."

I thanked him and walked a trail parallel to the dead end trail he'd indicated. As far as I could tell, there was no reason to use the other trail at all. The view wasn't great, just overlooking a marshy pond, and there were bushes and cacti that wanted to snag your clothing or scratch you. The signage warned there were rattlesnakes off the trail. (Having studied reptiles in college, I was reasonable certain that the rattlesnakes probably ignored the signs and crossed the trail when the rangers who erect the signs weren't looking.)

The ranger flagged me down when I returned to the visitor center. He went behind the counter and typed a password into his computer. "What's your name? Where can I find your books?"

After pulling up Stolen Past, the first Doug Fletcher mystery (published by BWL), he smiled as he read the blurb. "This is SO cool! I'll tell the superintendent and the other rangers. We'll probably each buy a different Fletcher mystery and pass them around."

I told him to look for a 2022 book set in Tuzigoot. He gave me permission to cite him as a resource in the acknowledgements, then added, "You might want to set a book at Montezuma's Castle National Monument. The ruins are only accessible by ladder. Visitors aren't allowed in them. BUT, if someone snuck in the park after hours and dropped a body into one of the pueblos..."

I thanked him, and added Montezuma's Castle to my list. It's now under consideration with Everglades National Park, Cypress National Preserve, Saguaro National Forest, Donner Camp National Historic Site, Little Bighorn Historic Battlefield, Big Bend National Park, and more.  There's a mystery to be solved in each of them. Now all I have to do is find the time to visit the locations and write the books!

Writing from the Wrong Side, a Heroine who fights for the British by Diane Scott Lewis

To purchase my novels and other BWL books: BWL

Tarred and feathered, tortured, hangings? That was often the fate of the Loyalists in America.

As an American, I should be fully behind the Patriots in the fight for freedom during the American Revolution. But writing about the establishment of New Brunswick in the Canadian Historical Brides series, I read numerous research on the Loyalists who fled the U.S. after being persecuted for backing King George III. Many settled in New Brunswick, forming a new colony.

That's stirred my interest in the Loyalists and their plight while still in the States.

I thought people would be offended by my telling this side of the story. To my surprise, they weren't. Even my Book Club loved the book. Especially the enigmatic Welshman, who takes Rowena on as a spy. Sexy guy!

Loyalists believed the country could never survive on its own, without the Mother Country. They thought the Patriots a ragtag group of trouble makers. In turn, the Patriots, anxious to be free of the tether of British laws, and taxes, considered the Loyalists traitors. Spies infiltrated both sides to see who was loyal to who. Plus, to gain troop movements to pass on to various commanders.

Also called Tories, the Loyalists consisted of one third of the thirteen original colonies. Their numbers were spread out in the colonies and came from differing classes, farmer to merchant. The Patriots ordered them to join the war to fight the British, or their properties would be subject to confiscation or burning. If Loyalists were captured in battle they were treated as traitors and often killed.

1774 British print of a Boston commissioner
being tarred and feathered.

My heroine's father is tarred and feathered in the novel's first scene. A true, particularly violent act occurred in 1775, in Georgia. Loyalist Thomas Brown was confronted on his property by the Sons of Liberty. Brown was beaten with a rifle, which fractured his skull. Strapped to a tree, stripped naked, hot pitch was poured over him, then he was set alight. Two of his toes were charred to stubs. Then the Patriots rolled him in feathers and scalped him.

Many fled north to Canada, especially after the war. Others were tortured or hanged. Out of desperation, some joined the Patriot side so they could remain in their homes.

                                        Loyalists refugees traveling to Canada by Howard Pyle

My heroine, Rowena, is a staunch Loyalist, along with her family. But as the war wears on, she wonders if she is on the right side. Do the Patriots have good reason to want independence?

"Rowena is a star. Bless Derec Pritchard who loves Rowena for who she is. Their chemistry is fabulous. Readers will love to read this alternative view of American history." InD'tale Magazine  

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

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Napoleonic Historical Society. She’s had several historical novels published. Her most recent is the Revolutionary War novel, Her Vanquished Land. 

Her upcoming novel Ghost Point, the 1950s Potomac oyster wars, love and betrayal, will be released in September.

Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dachshund in Western Pennsylvania.

Happy Father's Day in the USA!

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

Click here to discover more books by JQ Rose 

on her BWL Publishing author page.  

Hello and welcome to the Books We Love Authors Insider Blog. In the US, today is Father's Day, Sunday, June 20. We honor and remember all those fathers and mentors who step in for dads in the lives of children.

My Dad

My memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir, is about our life-changing year when my husband, my one-year-old daughter and I moved from family and friends and the security of two paychecks to West Michigan to become owners of a flower shop and greenhouses. In March of that year, 1976, my dad passed away. His passing turned my world sideways. Not only life-changing but also life-challenging. Dads and daughters have a special bond, and we certainly did.

I did not think I could move on from that horrible grief and despair that comes with losing a loved one. Those who have lost their family and friends to COVID come to mind as I write this. Believe me, you will conquer the grief and leave it behind, but the love and memories of your loved one will remain forever.

My dad influenced my writing as I grew up. He supported my efforts in writing poetry and stories. Sometimes I could hear the awe in his voice after he read one of my pieces. His reaction encouraged me to continue writing.

He was a funeral director. No, I didn't grow up in the funeral home. We always lived in a house not even close to the chapel. His personality, his love for people and his focus on details contributed to his success in caring for grieving families.

Dad was my model for the main character's father in my romantic suspense, Deadly Undertaking. It was a lot of fun writing that book and remembering growing up with Dad. He taught me how to operate a stick-shift, also known as a manual transmission, by allowing me to drive the hearse. Its called a funeral coach nowadays. He cautioned me not to take the corners too fast because the coach was top heavy. You can believe I proceeded with caution!

I hope you have good memories of your dad or the person who made a difference in your life.

Happy Father's Day!!

***

J.Q. Rose
Forever Daddy's Girl

About J.Q. Rose

Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, J.Q. Rose is “focused on story.”  She offers readers chills, giggles and quirky characters woven within the pages of her romantic suspense novels. Using her storytelling skills, she provides entertainment and information with articles featured in books, newspapers, and online magazines.  Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, travel and presenting workshops on life storytelling are the things that keep JQ out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with their two daughters, two sons-in-law,  four grandsons, one granddaughter, two grand dogs, four grand cats, and one great-grand bearded dragon.

Click here to connect online with Janet.

Storm Chaser? Not Me? by Helen Henderson

 

Windmaster Legend by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

For many years at every conference, lecture, and workshop I attended, the most often preached guidance was "Tell a good story." With "Write what you know," so close a second that it was just as often in first place as second.

While I have written tales based in the past and say I like to fly with dragons or hang with mages, I'm sorry to admit that in reality I don't. Research helps as does my imagination. But that isn't really knowing. So add "experienced" to part of the definition of knowing and it is easier to follow the rule. 

One setting (or event) that both myself and my characters have experienced is a storm.

Blizzards from my childhood and later years provided the inspiration for the sandstorm that trapped a character in a cave in Windmaster Golem.  

Winds howled outside the cave. Just beyond the entrance, columns of sand wheeled and pirouetted. Relliq watched the otherworldly dance. Anger mingled with dread. Desert storms were known to last for days. Some lasted season after season until the dunes swallowed up entire cities.

The characters in my current work in progress have to survive a different type of storm -- a tornado. When I started writing the scene my personal experience was primarily with blizzards, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. Superstorm Sandy was front and center in my memory as I didn't live that far from where she made landfall and had just finished archiving the photographs of its aftermath.

Although I now live in what is called the Dixie Tornado Alley, my experience with tornados was limited to local news coverage of the Christmas Eve tornado in Mississippi and  our town warning sirens going off whenever the national weather service issues a tornado alert for our county.  After the first alert and two hours of "wall to wall" non-stop reporting with the storms going farther south, not much thought was given them on later alerts. Then came Mother Day 2021. 

 

The local news broke into regular programming with details of a tornado sighted in our town and the warning to immediately go to our safe room. My husband got out a map and started tracking the tornadoes path by the roads announced. After I put my mother in an inside room, I alternated between a sky watch and the  news with its minute by minute radar reports. Luckily the tornado didn't zig right towards my side of town and dissipated before reaching an apartment complex and the three nearby schools.

 

Considering the weather events experienced in the world of Windmaster will I become a storm chaser in my real life? After the excitement of what could have been a close encounter with a tornado, my answer is an emphatic "No."

 

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 or Website.

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 the pack. 

 

Is it Spring yet in Alberta, Canada? by Nancy M Bell

 

To find out more about Nancy's books please click on the cover above.

This is the brand new cover for the last book in The Alberta Adventures series. I really love it, it's Chance right down to the cocky grin. Who doesn't love a bull rider (as long he's not dating your daughter LOL)

So....Springtime in Alberta. It can never quite make up it's mind. One day it will be +16 Celcius and the next it is snowing to beat the band. Hard on my delphiniums who are eternal optimists and always start to push up green shoots as soon as the earth warms even a bit. 

So far this year, we've had some nice warm weather, and then a cold front dips down from the north and BAM- wind, and snow, and sleet, and rain

The pansies tolerate the cold so well I always put them out first. The geraniums, not so much. They come inside to hide until the weather turns again. The flowering plum in the front is working hard to put on a show, but we had some chilly weather and I'm afraid some of the buds got nipped. Hence the old adage to 'nip something in the bud' meaning to stop something before it manifests. 

I'm hoping to have a full garden, but it will depend on what weather we get in June. In the past, it has offered up a hard frost, hail and even snow, so we'll see.

The Saskatoon bushes are blooming, so hopefully I will get some berries before the birds do this year. The Rhubarb is begging to be thinned out already, it doesn't seem to mind the snow either. 

Ian Tyson got it right when he wrote the song Springtime in Alberta. 

On another note, Chance's Way is coming along. Look for it to release in September 2021.

Wishing you all happy gardening and praying for a Covid free summer.

www.nancymbell.ca

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A Fond Memory #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Memories #Indian reservation

 

A bit of the past

 

 

Many years ago, my husband was a doctor in the Public Health Service. His first assignment was to an Indian Reservation. Not your usual one. On the grounds were the hospital, a meeting place and the houses for the two doctors. I was thinking about this the other day and had to laugh at one of my experiences.

 

Several young men helped us move in. At that time I had long dark hair, and I do mean long. One of the young men said when you hear the drums at night, they’ll come for your hair. I laughed.

 

Two nights later, the drums began. The young man came to the house and asked us to come. I knew they weren’t going to take my hair but I was curious as to what they wanted. We took our small son in his little seat and followed. Part of this was a welcome ceremony for my husband. The other was to give gifts to a young man leaving for the army.  My son loved the drums and rocked his seat in time to the beating. The women clustered around him. This presented problems later when I would put him outside for some fresh air and sunshine. He tanned easily and the sun bleached his hair blonde. I had to keep a close eye on his because he would be stolen. :The “Blonde Indian,” the pwople called him.

 

But back to the gift giving. The gifts weren’t given directly to the young amn but made their way through the gift being given to someone who then gave the gift to someone else. Always as a thank you. Finally all ended up with the young man who was leaving. This really impressed em, and I saw how close the community was to each other. I will never forget my time in the small town and the friends I made there and the stories I heard.

 

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Killers in the Pen, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

The Twisted Climb 

Book 1 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series

 

It was known as 'KP' to inmates and guards, but to Canadians, the Kingston Penitentiary was the maximum security jail home to Canada's nastiest criminals. Its 178-year history saw thousands of offenders incarcerated until 2013, when the Canadian government determined that the buildings were not equipped to handle the challenges of modern technology. It was designated a National Historic Site due to, among other things, "the number of its physical facilities of special architectural merit that survive from the 19th century." The penitentiary was then decommissioned and has been operating as a tourist attraction since 2017.

It was during a non-lockdown Covid breaks last autumn, that I made the trip to Kingston to stroll through the most notorious prison in Canada. The 90-minute tour was conducted by a former prison guard who shared a few stories about criminals who escaped the confines of the jail. Most were found, and most found due to their own stupidity. One convict successfully escaped after fooling two separate Wardens but then came back because he forgot to steal the stash of cash one of the Wardens kept in a safe. Another fellow, after successfully escaping, sent the Warden a letter from his 'safe' house and included the address on the envelope. Police were dispatched and the felon was returned to KP in handcuffs and leg irons.

Eerie feeling standing where so many felons have stood.

Construction at the Pen began in 1833 while King William IV reigned over the Commonwealth, which comprised the fledgling Upper and Lower Canada (later the provinces of Quebec and Ontario). The jail was originally one large stone block containing 154 cells in 5 tiers. There were other outbuildings including sheds, stables and separate lodgings for staff, who lived within the gated facility. Back then, the only thing keeping the inmates 'in' and visitors 'out,' was a 12 foot high wooden, picket fence. It was the largest public building in Upper Canada.

In 1835, six inmates were the first to call KP their home. The original cells were 2.4 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 6.7 feet high. A separate cell block housed the female convicts, who laboured as seamstresses. Construction continued as more wings were added containing shops for carpentry, shoemaking, blacksmithing, tailoring and rope making. A permanent hospital was completed in 1849. A central dome, connecting the four cell blocks, was added in 1860. The facility was noted for its architectural beauty.

Inner courtyard.

One of four cell blocks.

The recreation yard.

The front entrance.

The 'Hub' where guards monitored entrances to each cell block.

32 foot limestone walls form the Pen's perimeter

The Pen was known as Canada's Alcatraz and was notorious for housing the worst-of-the-worst criminals in Canadian history, including killers Paul Bernardo, Russell Williams, Michael Rafferty and Mohammad Shafia. (I have chosen not to disclose their heinous crimes.) These offenders were locked up for 23 hours a day in protective custody in the Lower-H cell range. Jail cells for these men were upgraded with plexiglass shields over the metal bars. Why? Two reasons. To prevent other prisoners from hurling objects into the cells and to prevent the killers from hurling their own human waste at the guards. 

Several riots occurred at KP, including the most serious riot in 1971 where inmates held six guards hostage over a period of four days. During this riot, sex offenders were rounded up at The Hub and a mock trial took place with the inmates acting as jurors and executioners. The sex offenders, deemed 'undesirables,' were covered in sheets, shackled to metal chairs and beaten with metal rods by other inmates. Two of these offenders were killed but the guards were not harmed. The majority of these guards, after surviving incarceration by convicts, decided to change careers. 

In the years since that riot, many changes were implemented at the jail, including a substance abuse program, family violence prevention program, AAA meetings, and a progressive educational program. A high school diploma was mandatory - inmates without the certificate were placed in classes where they were paid to attend. All inmates earned $6 per day, whether they were in school or 'working' at one of the many trades taught at the jail.

When the Pen shut down for good, a modern maximum-security facility had already been completed in a neighbouring city. The KP convicts were transferred there.

I've always been fascinated with Canadian history and my tour of the infamous Kingston Penitentiary quenched part of that fascination. Would I go back there? No. Sometimes historical places, even those with majestic architecture, are not worthy of a second visit. The horrors within those walls still reverberate in every metal bar of every cell.

But enough of that. I'd rather write about Book 3 of The Twisted Climb series. What happens to Dick after falling/jumping off the dream world cliff with Jayden and Connor? Has Georgia been saved? And Patty - that wicked mother of Jayden's, what is she doing? So much action. So much drama. Stay tuned.  If you haven't read The Twisted Climb or book 2, Darkness Descends, you need to check it out now. You won't be disappointed. 

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
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www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
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What is a ‘grammar nazi?’ Mohan Ashtakala

 

The use of the lower-case word ‘nazi,’ to describe an extremely authoritarian person, came into vogue in the 1950-60’s. It found popular usage in the description of fanatics of all kinds, such as ‘surf-nazis,’ whose zeal in the search for a perfect wave knew no bounds. More recently, audiences were introduced to the ‘soup nazi,’ an ill-tempered restaurant owner who had the habit of throwing customers out of his establishment, in the Seinfeld television series.

A grammar nazi is one who is obsessed with the formal rules of grammar. They are also eager to point out these ‘errors’ in others’ writings. Grammar nazis are usually amateurs with strong opinions on the usage of the rules of grammar. They are not to be confused with professional editors who wield a pen with the same expertise that a Japanese chef uses his trusty knife. The editor’s intent is to help the author refine his or her craft; the grammar nazi is more interested in proclaiming his or her expertise, especially on social media.

One of the issues is that grammar nazis accept only Standard English, while ignoring many other forms of English, such as Black or Asian English. Another defining characteristic of this type is the pointing out of inconsequential errors, usually done by mistake, while diverting attention from the plot itself.

All writers, even editors, make the occasional mistake. It happens. But it would be a mistake to judge writing only by its strict adherence to the rules of grammar. More important to most writers is the ability to create interesting characters, a compelling plot and the construction of well-written sentences.

We have all come across grammar nazis. My experience is that it never pays to engage in an argument or even a discussion with them. It is a losing proposition and only serves to encourage them in spouting further grammatical rules. Best to continue writing!

 

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)

Say it with flowers...by Sheila Claydon

Click here for my BWL page

Weather-wise, I don't know what the winter of 2020/21 was like in the rest of the world, but in the UK it was cold and wet, and the dreariness dragged on into spring. When the sun should at least have been trying to shine it stayed tucked away behind a blanket of grey cloud, and the rain kept on falling. The outcome, where I live on the northwest coast, was overflowing ponds, puddles everywhere, and, as the weather warmed slightly, lush grass and greenery. No flowers though. Everything was waiting for the sun to break through. Then it did, and my goodness the wait was worth it.

Too eager to show off, many of the plants burst into bloom before their time so that late winter, spring and the beginning of summer plants have been fighting for space all at once. And the growth is like nothing I've ever seen. Everything has doubled in size thanks to all that winter rain so that gardens are full to overflowing with colour and foliage. 

Waking up in the morning and stepping outside into all that beauty and colour makes every minute of the day worth living. Memories of that long winter are fading fast as another and then another plant bursts into bloom. And eating lunch outside under a pergola drooping with roses and honeysuckle, or drinking coffee in our tiny courtyard where the dramatic leaves of hosta provide a backdrop to pansies, pinks, and campanula is an absolute joy. 

In case you haven't realised it yet, I love flowers! My mother was a florist, which probably accounts for some of it at least, and my book Bouquet of Thorns pulls everything together. I know how to care for flowers because she showed me. I know how florists work because I watched her. And when I married I discovered that my mother-in-law was not only a keen gardener but someone who wanted to share her expertise and knowledge, so my garden now pays tribute to both of them. It has flowers that were originally cuttings from my grandmother's garden, there are plants my mother-in-law bought, planted for me and showed me how to care for, and the tubs and displays, while not as beautiful as the ones my mother would have planted, are as close as I can get. 

In Bouquet of Thorns, Sarah is trying to establish her own flower shop. Unfortunately she also has to manage her brother's run down wine bar when he is awarded a travelling scholarship. Working long hours, using the profits from her own business to prop up the wine bar, and trying to pacify her disgruntled boyfriend, she is too tired to think straight as she lurches from one catastrophe to the next. And even worse is the fact that Sean Marlow, with his Viking warrior beard and piercing blue eyes, always seems to be at the bottom of them.

It's a story about love amongst the flowers. What could be better?

The Company of Writers

 

   My site at BWL Publishing

             

     

Mercies of the Fallen has just been awarded First Place in the Laramie and Chatelaine Awards!

I love the company of writers! In my office bookshelves are framed photos of treasured author friends I've met all over the world.  We sometimes meet at conferences, at writing classes or library-started critique groups. My latest writer friends are co-entrants in writing awards... we have congratulated and supported each other through long lists and short lists notifications. We've happily shared announcements of making it to finalist levels, then attended award ceremonies together.

Even when it's in the same category, we don't consider ourselves in competition with each other... no one can tell your story but you. We read, review and enjoy each others' work. When we're together, we eagerly talk shop, method and survival in a difficult profession.

I hope you'll find a community of fellow writers or readers who will become lifelong friends!

Book Covers Paint Pictures

 

                  Please click this link for book, author and purchase information.

I like BWL's process for designing book covers. It begins about six months before a book's release, when we authors fill out a Cover Art Form. This includes factual information, such as the book title and author name to appear on the cover, a back cover book blurb, details about the story, keywords for online searches, and -- my favourite part -- ideas for cover images. After we submit the CAF, Art Director, Michelle Lee, designs our covers from purchased stock images. She combines and manipulates the images and adds background and other elements to create covers that hint at the story inside.  

I published my first BWL novel, Ten Days in Summer, in 2017.  At that time, the CAF stated that most of the covers would feature at least one person. When I searched for people images on the stock images website, I discovered a few problems. My main character, Paula Savard, is an insurance adjuster. A keyword search for her gender and job turned up images of women meeting with clients or examining construction sites and damaged cars. In this story, Paula investigates a building fire with a suspicious death. I expanded my search to 'female detective' and got pictures of women holding guns and magnifying glasses. The women looked in their twenties, while Paula was fifty-two. My search for 'professional women in their fifties' unearthed a few possibilities, although none looked like my image of Paula.  

A basic problem with people images on novel covers is that writers and readers form their own images of fictional characters. My searches made me realize that a full picture of Paula might inhibit this reader engagement, although partial images still maintained enough mystery. This explained why rear-view images of women had become popular in novel cover art, but so common they were now considered cliché.  

For the CAF, I chose the best of the images I could find for Paula, plus female images shrouded in mystery -- a woman's legs in cowboy boots, eyes peering through a hole, and a silhouetted woman in a cowboy hat. Since the story backdrop is the Calgary Stampede and the second most prominent character is a self-styled cowboy, I added images of cowboys in silhouette, the Calgary skyline, and fire, for the incident that sets the story in motion. 

I sent the CAF to Michelle, who found images for the cowboy, fire and skyline that were different from the ones I'd suggested. She meshed them together to produce a cover better than any I could have dreamed up myself. 

Two years later, BWL reissued the first book in my Paula Savard mystery series. During this time, the trend in cover design moved away from people to symbolic images. Now the CAF stated that most BWL covers would not feature people unless we insisted. I searched for people images anyway, since I found this fun, but was glad to focus on images related to the story setting and mood. For the new cover of A Deadly Fall, I sent Michelle images of the Calgary skyline, falling leaves, fall trees, and pathways through fall woods. The murder takes place on a Calgary walking path in -- you guessed it - fall. Michelle scored another hit with a cover design of leaves framing the Calgary skyline in glorious fall colours of gold, orange and yellow, along with the red of Calgary's Peace Bridge. 

In February I completed my CAF for Winter's Rage, book # 3 of the Paula Savard mystery series. This time, Paula investigates a hit-and-run collision that resulted in a woman's death. Images of a tire on a snow-covered road, broken windshields, and car headlights in the dark would suit the story, but I wanted this cover to continue the series style. One problem. A Deadly Fall's autumn time frame and Ten Days in Summer's building fire resulted in covers with similar colours. Yellow, orange and red don't evoke winter in Alberta. On the CAF, I suggested we bend the brand and go with white, blue or black winter shades. Michelle agreed. She created a scene of snowflakes falling on the Calgary skyline draped in snow, the Bow River shining ice. Yellow letters echo the two earlier novels.  

The front cover of Winter's Rage gives the first hint of the story. The back cover blurb reveals a little more. You can read what it's all about this August.                      

Writing 300 Words a day Will Give you a Novel in a Year, by Karla Stover

                                                                                                                                    I am a slow writer. Once upon a time, I would have been in good company: Margaret Mitchell spent ten years writing Gone With the wind; J.R.R. Tolkien spent seven years working on The Hobbit,  and Maya Angelou took fifteen years to write the final book of her autobiography. But when I read about others ( should there be an apostrophe?) writing habits, I realize I can't do the same. Of course, most of them were men where cooking, cleaning, yard work, dog walking--chores in general don't get in the way. However, I am always thinking. Does that count?  Right now, I am seven thousand words into Parlor Girls, my next book for BWL. Since it's a historical novel based on fact, there is always research to do. Here's an example: my protagonists have just arrived at a boarding house circa 1885. First I found one which fit what I wanted. I looked at the street and the neighbors. Then I went inside (virtually )and looked at the reception area. Up the stairs to a bedroom and once again, I had to research until I found one meeting my requirements. Another time, it took me a whole afternoon to find an appropriate toilet and then what to call it. Of course, I could have made it all up but I'm not comfortable with that; one reason is that I hate it when I'm reading something and a setting doesn't feel real to me. 

I decided to research the "slow writing" issue and found two comments, the first:

 “Not presently ready to begin writing” means you haven't done enough pre-writing to enable you to write under the framework “the words that I am writing are the words the reader will be reading.” ... Many writers who write painfully slow do not do the necessary pre-writing. It's not part of their process." https:academicmuse.org

Well, that isn't nice. I moved onto the second:

"To write slowly is to write deliberately, and often the best way to write 1,000 words in an hour is to sit down with the intention of giving yourself more time and writing 300. Slow writing also has greater clarity, because your thoughts have time to form. Writing fast works when you know exactly what you want to say," https://alifeofproductivity.com

Much better.

The johnfox.com says, "It is the fast writer who uses language in a utilitarian manner. The slow writer prizes the texture of language, and all the richness that creates language." 

Now, we're talking.

I have had two dental procedures recently, and after the shots (why hasn't someone invented a way to make them less painful?) I just zoned out and mentally worked on what was next in my book. Then, I came home and wrote my thoughts. Another thing I've discovered is to work on what I want to say when I can't sleep or when I am super depressed from missing my parents and my brother. It keeps the pain of their loss pushed away.

Here's what two of the best writers had to say:

"Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall." William Shakespeare. Hah! So said the man wrote wrote at least 38 plays and 150 poems.

And to paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, "I don't want to empty the well of my writing." Since he wrote 9 short story collections, 9 non-fiction books, 10 novels / novellas, among many other things, his well must have been deeper and fuller than mine is.

At least I'm doing better than Anna Sewell (one book, Black Beauty) Edgar Allen Poe (one novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket ) and Emily Bronte ( just the one book, Wuthering Heights.) She did have a good excuse, though; she died.

That's it. That's all I have to say. It's time to fold the laundry, sweep the floor and move the hose. Then I'll get back to my book.