tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50799315414600494062024-03-05T17:59:49.617-08:00ClassicAndCozySweet Romance, Cozy Mysteries, Classic WesternsSofie Couchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11702484708743477860noreply@blogger.comBlogger608125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-46468177116296927512023-04-26T08:38:00.000-07:002023-04-26T08:38:14.903-07:00A Few Words ...<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MXx29GkudSQEkxHnrAVgOQmtmYPnIH15xOjJeYClEXpTLauBZT-PYBNGRnECGWnRoOEJUF6mTMsRAnOz0zKPwJhvSXrcoqnMF3kKOX9TjcE0Ke3m-Hvc0nUKV5-S7HRsdVnlqrX0lrtRUKN6Iv00AmltmcDikoavMc0srq-dDMeS96DBgcKUh76v/s305/Pavane%20for%20Miss%20Marcher%20Digital3rdEdition200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="200" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MXx29GkudSQEkxHnrAVgOQmtmYPnIH15xOjJeYClEXpTLauBZT-PYBNGRnECGWnRoOEJUF6mTMsRAnOz0zKPwJhvSXrcoqnMF3kKOX9TjcE0Ke3m-Hvc0nUKV5-S7HRsdVnlqrX0lrtRUKN6Iv00AmltmcDikoavMc0srq-dDMeS96DBgcKUh76v/s1600/Pavane%20for%20Miss%20Marcher%20Digital3rdEdition200.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />…Can make a difference.<o:p></o:p><p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">After working for days on the next book in my In Maine project, I returned to <b><i>Pavane for Miss Marcher</i> </b>to make a <i>Dramatis Personae</i> to remind me of all the characters that may turn up as I write <b><i>That Kentucky Boy</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">In that prcess, I reread the entire novel and, seeing and unabashedly enjoying the story, I found errors and omissions that needed attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">That led to the necessity of a 3<sup>rd</sup> edition of the novel in print and digital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">This edition is available now in digital format at: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H7JNMZW" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;"> as well as the many Amazon sites worldwide; </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pavane-for-miss-marcher" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">KOBO</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">; </span><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pavane-for-miss-marcher-leigh-verrill-rhys/1126976558?ean=2940158877285" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Barnes&Noble</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">; and in print on: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pavane-Miss-Marcher-Leigh-Verrill-Rhys/dp/1958967084/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">amazon.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">/ and </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H7JNMZW" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">amazon.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; line-height: 17.120001px; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">And now on </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1361985" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;"> and its many retail partners, including iBookstore and libraries. <o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.973333px;">Ask your librarian to order <i>Pavane for Miss Marcher, 3<sup>rd</sup> Edition</i> as an ebook through a library distributor such as <strong><span style="color: #212529;">Library Direct,</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #212529;"> </span></span><strong><span style="color: #212529;">Baker & Taylor's Axis360, Gardners, OverDrive, Bibliotheca, Odilo</span></strong><span style="background: white; color: #212529;">, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><strong><span style="color: #212529;">The Palace Project</span></strong><span style="background: white; color: #212529;">.</span></span><p> </p>Leigh Verrill-Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05768398558019474096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-70471106903332595612022-05-30T06:05:00.001-07:002022-05-30T09:31:03.551-07:00May 30, 2022<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalo5xI_gaoIjra8yYr3qbJVdxFrvQDtfTg4ZGWQSz9TtoMK3UIBhIVySOooU3F5Md8xAhqFGXxfVsNFamka2kewOjQkMtYnC1wOZCrPdUHrX6S1G-MbMCUy_TNSdWRYOeuLAKr9VUCFmnUQLg-nrgiTZa8Cc9NyD6mlF_lLuSdyRE6G945lPz0y_h/s1502/LibertyFlag.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1502" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalo5xI_gaoIjra8yYr3qbJVdxFrvQDtfTg4ZGWQSz9TtoMK3UIBhIVySOooU3F5Md8xAhqFGXxfVsNFamka2kewOjQkMtYnC1wOZCrPdUHrX6S1G-MbMCUy_TNSdWRYOeuLAKr9VUCFmnUQLg-nrgiTZa8Cc9NyD6mlF_lLuSdyRE6G945lPz0y_h/s320/LibertyFlag.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> In honor of the men and women who gave their lives to protect our great country:</span></h3><div><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://veteranswords.eresbooks.com/wp/keep-saying-their-names-ii/" target="_blank">Keep Saying Their Names</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.tapsbugler.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/01-Taps-Jari-Villanueva-CW-Bugle.mp3" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.tapsbugler.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/01-Taps-Jari-Villanueva-CW-Bugle.mp3" target="_blank">Taps</a></div></h2>Leigh Verrill-Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05768398558019474096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-32778813986513936012022-05-18T23:00:00.264-07:002022-05-18T23:00:00.185-07:00The Written Word<p> I started this blog post in December of 2020, the 17th to be precise. In January of that year, regular blogging by participants was suspended, not because of the soon to be worldwide pandemic, but a general ennui we had all, in varying degrees, felt at the time. </p><p>Why the title, <i>The Written Word</i>, I don't recall, but I do know that I had not written or published anything of significance since September of 2018. In January of that year, my husband and I went house-hunting in Billings, Montana. His chamber orchestra arrangement for the Welsh opera <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://dulaisrhysmusicservices.com/blodwen.htm" target="_blank">Blodwen</a></i> had been taken up by Rimrock Opera to be performed in May of the following year. He had also been offered the position of Musician in Residence (MIR) at NOVA Center for Performing Arts in the same city. </p><p>Before this post becomes an advisement for my husband, let me say that Montana had been a location in one of the books that I was writing over a period of time and my interest in the "Last Best Place" had not been diminished by the decades that had passed since I first experienced the "big sky country" as a teenager eager to meet my penpal living in Bozeman.</p><p>On our final* day of house-hunting, we found the perfect house for us: a tri-level built in the 1960s with character and features we loved. We had to be out of our San Francisco apartment by midnight, February 28th and therefore move into our house on the 1st of March, exactly 28 days from the day our bid on the house was accepted - the *day we were leaving Montana.</p><p>All details fell into place and the cab that took us to the airport arrived on time. We even managed to drop our keys to the apartment in the box before midnight on the 28th. Only one item was left behind: an oblong stained glass window we had acquired somehow and parked behind a closet door. We slept at the airport and arrived in Billings on the morning of March 1st, signed all the title papers and moved into our home with no furniture but the blow-up double bed we had checked as luggage.</p><p>Writing from that point became a matter of stolen minutes. Between my husband's work as MIR at NOVA and the premiere American performance of <i style="font-weight: bold;">Blodwen</i>, I sang in the <i>Blodwen</i> chorus as the only Welsh-speaker and was the Assistant Director, as well as continuing my "day job" as Administrator working remotely and two gardens to tend, there was little time or energy left for completing a novel. The best I could do was prepare a 2nd edition of <i>Pavane for Miss Marcher</i>, the first novel in my "In Maine" series which began with "<i>Nights Before: The Novel</i>" - a compilation of six novellas. </p><p>I am still in Montana, still tending two gardens, still working a "day job," still involved with any work I can do for NOVA and my MIR. But, writing? Very little such luck. Steven Pressfield, in his book, <i>The War of Art</i>, has labelled this behavior as <i>resistance</i>. I don't disagree with that assessment. My excuse is "finding time." </p><p>For writing, the cure is "make time." </p><p>I think about the book I am writing, plot the next scene, read what I wrote the last time I "made time" and still have not moved ahead with the two books I originally scheduled for publication in 2020, then 2021 and now, 2022. I have written blog posts about procrastination - I am an expert! </p><p>This is my promise to myself: I will publish <i>That Kentucky Boy</i> - a sequel to <i>Pavane for Miss Marcher</i> - and <i>Dance by the Light of the Moon</i> - in the "American in Love" series which includes <i>Wait a Lonely Lifetime</i> and <i>This Can't Be Love</i> - before the end of 2022. </p><p>I don't need luck, I need perseverance. But wish me luck in any case!</p><p>With gratitude to all my fellow contributors to <a href="https://classicandcozybooks.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Classic and Cozy Books</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Leigh Verrill-Rhys, Novelist</i></div><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Leigh Verrill-Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05768398558019474096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-10271536386978302902020-01-01T00:30:00.000-08:002020-01-01T00:30:08.982-08:00It's a New Year and Changes Are A-Comin'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">A new year means changes and we of the Classic and Cozy blog are changing too. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Over the years we have enjoyed bringing you our thoughts and news and sharing what we know, but all of us are spending more time working on our books, which decreases the time for blogging. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Don't worry - we are not going away, not really. Our blog is still active, but we are have all voted to end regularly scheduled postings in favor of random blogging and special announcements. Do keep an eye on this area for news and exciting announcements as they happen. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">The past years have been wonderful, and we hope you will join us in this new phase of Classic and Cozy.</span></div>
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11286314155783213006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-46111473881884178532019-12-25T02:00:00.000-08:002019-12-25T02:00:05.847-08:00The Waiting is Over<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
Fran McNabb</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you’re reading this, you’ve probably already experienced the excitement of
Christmas morning, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">especially if you have children in the house. You still
might have lots of torn wrapping paper around the Christmas tree and empty
boxes where the children left them after getting their toys. Watching the
excitement on a child’s face on Christmas morning makes all the stressful weeks
before the holiday worthwhile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maybe
you’re relaxing in a big chair after feasting on a traditional Christmas meal
or waiting for the rest of the family to come in to enjoy a later meal
together. Christmas is about family and what better way than to sit at a table together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Every
family has a different tradition as to how Christmas day will be spent. I hope
whatever you choose to do with the rest of your day and the rest of the holiday
week, you spend it with family and friends and find the peace and joy that
Christmas should be all abo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
lastly, if you or someone you know received a Kindle or an iPad and you’re
looking for some great reads, don’t forget the ladies on this blog: Susan Aylworth, Sandy Cody, Sofie
Couch, Roni Denholtz, Victoria M. Johnson, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Karen McCullugh, Deborah Nolan, Janis Susan May, Leigh Verrill Rhys,</span> of course, me, Fran McNabb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The waiting is over. Enjoy your holiday. Merry
Christmas and Happy Hannakuh to you and yours. See you in 2020.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">FRAN
MCNABB and her husband live on a quiet harbor on the Gulf Coast. She writes sweet, traditional romances and uses her beloved Gulf Coast in many of her books. Check her out at <a href="http://www.franmcnabb.com/">www.FranMcNabb.com</a></span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fran McNabbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17193141285229214245noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-31541734199917036972019-12-22T08:27:00.001-08:002019-12-22T08:27:43.548-08:00Holiday Traditions<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
With Christmas approaching I start the count down for the big day, stress over the right gifts for the folks on my list, and how to squeeze in time to decorate. I also think about what I’ll serve for every meal surrounding the holiday. Planning those meals is the fun part. I enjoy the whole process—from the menu and the special ingredients needed, right down to the actual preparation. My trip to Zabars is done, the herring, Stilton and brie are in the fridge, and my husband is in the middle of the three day preparation for the gravlax. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We have our traditions and each of them is sacred. But all this delicious and to some, exotic food, accompanied by great wine, doesn’t overwhelm the fact that this holiday has always been a family affair with my husband and children, and now their spouses, helping out at every step. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When I started writing this piece I was thinking the food was what made Christmas so special. But I realize that really isn’t true. There’s no dispute that the meals and preparation are important, but it’s not what makes holiday so meaningful and enjoyable. What is important are the rituals and the traditions that have been created from having these family meals and being together. The dinners, including the planning and preparation, are what the holidays are about and are so much of our family’s tradition. It’s why I try each year to make them special.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I marvel at friends and acquaintances and even extended family that tell me how they’ve figured out how to make Christmas easy. “Cold cuts,” they say. “We pick up food at the deli the night before so no one has to fuss.” Others tell me they’ve discovered the solution to a peaceful Christmas: the simplified menu. “We just get a spiral ham,” I’m told, “and with a Caesar salad, we’re set.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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In our house, there would be a revolution if I ever suggested either menu. I wouldn’t be happy either.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But in the end, I understand it’s really not about the food per se. Focusing on the meals isn’t about having a gourmet feast or the extraordinary wine that’s been chosen to accompany all that good food. It’s the being together around a table enjoying each other’s company.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t have the perfect family—does anyone? But in spite of our differences and maybe because one of my daughters and her family live on the other side of the country in LA, we want to come together as a family and so far have managed to every Christmas and several other times of the year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s the real meaning of the holiday, being together around the table enjoying the time that we have. Of course what we eat and drink adds to the fun, at least in our house, and the fact that everyone pitches in to cook and help with the clean up makes it all possible and enjoyable for everyone. So really, cold cuts or a simple and basic meal may not be my choice, but it’s not a sacrilege. The important thing is the comfort and joy of being at the table together this time of the year. <o:p></o:p></div>
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Deborah M. Nolanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267288250424093883noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-47484799168122914272019-12-13T05:53:00.000-08:002019-12-13T05:53:05.983-08:00It's Snowing at the Classic and Cozy Corner!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Welcome to the world of Classic and Cozy writers...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvwiCqTujZ3bmF08khlF2H2OLjPI6YuFftaiaTedzDthpvOR4XSiJbNrKLSlgeJL4l8LVCyoT5xxqFRCBmJp1WqtkUcHlsgFnblV37tmyHaxEK3Dz41eI6csWh9RJszyVb1v39jdnGFEF/s1600/church-648430_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvwiCqTujZ3bmF08khlF2H2OLjPI6YuFftaiaTedzDthpvOR4XSiJbNrKLSlgeJL4l8LVCyoT5xxqFRCBmJp1WqtkUcHlsgFnblV37tmyHaxEK3Dz41eI6csWh9RJszyVb1v39jdnGFEF/s320/church-648430_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Come on. Walk with me down Main Street! (We'll cut through the park.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfGBzJB3_YqPAtPKwO6UtCcwuYRzbQfGEbBfuRK1fNPOnIPbwp8Mm6n9vmroBawogg9aVlhInFwrcIlizLPugj48K7nofBDiBUcF9kUeGkZBkksRrK-fFoshWyzHREItMi_kI6Ra-gn3F/s1600/bank-2547356_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1600" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfGBzJB3_YqPAtPKwO6UtCcwuYRzbQfGEbBfuRK1fNPOnIPbwp8Mm6n9vmroBawogg9aVlhInFwrcIlizLPugj48K7nofBDiBUcF9kUeGkZBkksRrK-fFoshWyzHREItMi_kI6Ra-gn3F/s320/bank-2547356_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's not far now. (Crunch, crunch, crunch.) This is it... Can you hear the music coming from inside?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWZ6zcWTqw5GE_3PRYR17SPkjFUBwEY2GYtCCIB5aeAOgLr8GJmexSKIvG-XJk4WP7fXkcf3ECg5R8FQxwPzgR5Q7xuoGcSrRpKESddFyWlUKEKksseYxH84OFxSHUPwKfv4xMCPyuNYt/s1600/snowman-321034_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWZ6zcWTqw5GE_3PRYR17SPkjFUBwEY2GYtCCIB5aeAOgLr8GJmexSKIvG-XJk4WP7fXkcf3ECg5R8FQxwPzgR5Q7xuoGcSrRpKESddFyWlUKEKksseYxH84OFxSHUPwKfv4xMCPyuNYt/s320/snowman-321034_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As we step inside, we are greeted by the smell of cookies...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNVnwyHPMhlMRR90hDbvUEPmf6OAlOIQ0gvCjzyv401gh99HJG9em5vdxRONB4SsTNLaL5p_3xAbxJehRP-L3yk49rj98kwu5C2I_-62GkUOSdOgXr_4FbevxcXw36EONwusFWmrKrbyO/s1600/christmas-cookies-2918172_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNVnwyHPMhlMRR90hDbvUEPmf6OAlOIQ0gvCjzyv401gh99HJG9em5vdxRONB4SsTNLaL5p_3xAbxJehRP-L3yk49rj98kwu5C2I_-62GkUOSdOgXr_4FbevxcXw36EONwusFWmrKrbyO/s320/christmas-cookies-2918172_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...the sound of a crackling fire...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6TXJu3BlYihmCr1cAFy4UcWZC7OQn-QoPCwazagCvVmFftKfkhP4UdqWJEqo231nSAF9QuWJtpNy7pa86lk3FvYLhyFcJeVvUpnpEH290vQesuHjTUFhSE45VPhC6o5xbChAb998VaSz/s1600/warm-and-cozy-1975215_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6TXJu3BlYihmCr1cAFy4UcWZC7OQn-QoPCwazagCvVmFftKfkhP4UdqWJEqo231nSAF9QuWJtpNy7pa86lk3FvYLhyFcJeVvUpnpEH290vQesuHjTUFhSE45VPhC6o5xbChAb998VaSz/s320/warm-and-cozy-1975215_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...the sight and smell of a tree...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdGnv7lsCFR6pSW5VUl1WOomb4kGenZdJ7p_d2B5JpCUmU2oV1u91WkJp_0SpLQWlbpVSR2ZSNF7AJaGA0vYJ8vbS5JUgU-Xby-lJbWeqlBu_2-QFydxAvtLfQuCG69lsMm1P3wf492h7/s1600/christmas-tree-1149619_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdGnv7lsCFR6pSW5VUl1WOomb4kGenZdJ7p_d2B5JpCUmU2oV1u91WkJp_0SpLQWlbpVSR2ZSNF7AJaGA0vYJ8vbS5JUgU-Xby-lJbWeqlBu_2-QFydxAvtLfQuCG69lsMm1P3wf492h7/s320/christmas-tree-1149619_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">...and coming from the corner of the room, someone is reading from a Classic and Cozy Book.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">My gift to one of you...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98fVMgcSYjW8QvCfKgYqmc5rjodEzISEqsuwjMf1V84dmdp3b4_KIBw4BC_Nn45ZWcNvGuBm3_iQ0giiY6SffiBNfrTLTMJG7BlyzWhBP6aO-mxe3A4rnfLQHJ9AyIVkZdXaJ2Q0cgVXi/s1600/ChristmasPromotion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1358" data-original-width="1600" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98fVMgcSYjW8QvCfKgYqmc5rjodEzISEqsuwjMf1V84dmdp3b4_KIBw4BC_Nn45ZWcNvGuBm3_iQ0giiY6SffiBNfrTLTMJG7BlyzWhBP6aO-mxe3A4rnfLQHJ9AyIVkZdXaJ2Q0cgVXi/s320/ChristmasPromotion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So sign up to follow my blog at <a href="https://sofiecouch.com/blog/" style="text-align: left;">https://sofiecouch.com/blog/</a> and I'll choose a couple of names and post the winner on my blog,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In celebration of the holiday, to launch an overhaul of SofieCouch.com, I’m giving away the Christmas Trifecta –
one of each, IN THE ST. NICK OF TIME, IN THE ST. NICK OF TIME…AGAIN, and DRAGON
RUN, a not so Christmassy collection of short stories. I’ll draw a name from
our current followers here at ClassicAndCozyBooks.blogspot.com, and a name from new and old followers at SofieCouch.com
and those folks will receive a copy of each of those short-shorts! Well, I
think it’s exclamation worthy!!! Woot, woot!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if you haven’t already, you can still order books in
time for Christmas from the many amazing writers here at Classic and Cozy. They
are books with heart that anyone would appreciate finding under their tree.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
Sofie Couchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11702484708743477860noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-41805868234390294232019-12-01T00:30:00.000-08:002019-12-01T05:43:25.313-08:00Of Travel, Ideas and a Heavenly Heliodore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 13pt; text-indent: 0.3in;">by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have long said that everything is research, and that ideas
fly around us with the intensity and persistence of a gnat horde. It’s true.
It’s also frustrating. And overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Right now I’m sitting at an ungodly early hour of the
morning, my inner clock still refusing to synchronize with my home time, trying
to sort out the masses of information boiling in my brain. The Husband and I returned
(LATE!) a few days ago from a trip to the Munich Gem and Mineral Show, a
wonderful trip concluded with long hours of flights on uncomfortable planes
interspersed with long hours spent sitting in uncomfortable airports. Our
return day began at 5 am in Munich and ended right around midnight here in
Texas. My poor jangled electrons are still trying to catch up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So what does that have to do with ideas? Everything. As I
said, I believe ideas are everywhere, and they are there in spades at the
biggest gem and mineral show in Europe, if not the world. (5 acres under roof –
it may be weeks before my poor abused feet recover!) All we have to do is open
our minds and imaginations to them. Ideas, that is, not my feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Everywhere you look there is the germ of an idea. Fossils,
for example. Who found them? What kind of creature were they? Where were they
found? What kind of adventures did the discoverers have bringing them to
market? Or take the case of the 38 carat emerald cut heliodore (a gloriously
clear pale yellow-green stone) that looks as if it might have been snatched
from the crown of some pagan idol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
made my little jewelry-junkie heart beat like a hyperactive triphammer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While my rational mind is completely assured
that it was legally acquired and is purely legitimate, my warped writer’s mind
is off on a wild ride of ‘what ifs.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Adding to this rich mix of stimulation are the languages.
Walk down any aisle and in fifty feet or so you will have heard at least a
dozen languages, some of which I could identify, some of which I couldn’t. While
doubtless all these people were either exchanging gossip or talking about
business, that self-same warped writer’s mind can spin a tale of international
skullduggery or heroic derring-do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, no writer has to make an exhausting and punitively
expensive trip just to find ideas. You can do the same thing with a trip to the
grocery store (which, to be honest, can be punitively expensive, too!) as long
as your eyes and your mind and your imagination are open. And maybe that’s the
trick – not where you go or what you see or anything else – just be sure that
your mind is open. Explore. Dream. Think. And imagine. It’s easy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11286314155783213006noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-8816013699985076662019-11-22T04:58:00.000-08:002019-11-22T04:58:55.942-08:00BEING A STRONG WOMAN THESE DAYS<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
I told my husband I was thinking about writing a blog about Jane Fonda. The instant I said it, he had a negative reaction--as I expected he would. For those of us who were young adults during the Viet Nam war, Jane Fonda is still a controversial figure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But I’m not writing about that time and whether or not Fonda was a traitor for going to North Viet Nam. I’m writing about who Fonda is today and how in many ways she’s a model for older women in our society. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Jane Fonda was born into Hollywood royalty. Her father was Henry Fonda, a respected and beloved actor. From what I’ve read, her childhood was not happy or stable even if privileged. She married three times and has throughout her life put herself into the limelight. Sometimes it seemed she’d gone off the deep end, case in point, Viet Nam; or cashed in on her notoriety or celebrity, cue to her exercise tapes. But she never slowed down and she kept reinventing herself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There were her marriages. First Roger Vadim, the French director and ex-husband of Bridgette Bardot. Then husband number two, Tom Hayden, the political activist, who first came to our attention during the 1967 Democratic Convention in Chicago. These two men could not have been more different except, like Ted Turner, her last, they were famous, successful, and most likely, egotistical and probably narcissists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But Jane Fonda persisted. You have to admit, if you’re still reading and not turned off by the very mention of her name, Jane Fonda is resilient and now, even at nearly 82, remarkable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was struck by that resiliency the other night watching her on the news after being arrested in D.C. She appeared as herself, sans the make up she wears when filming Grace & Frankie. She looked, while fabulous, closer to her age. Nonetheless, besides being attractive and articulate, she displayed an enormous amount energy and intelligence for anyone, much less an older woman. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The person I saw on the screen was not some old lady wacko, but a vital person who believes in climate change and her obligation to do what she could to bring our attention to its dangers. She used her celebrity to get the world to pay attention. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was impressed and struck by what she said, that being almost 82 she didn’t have to worry about coming across too strong or too aggressive and could say, do, and be whatever she wanted. She didn't have to try and entice a man. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That struck a chord with me and I imagine with many of my peers. We are of the generation that thinks before we speak lest we came across as too aggressive or even too smart or, heaven forbid, unlikeable. It’s been suggested that’s why certain female candidates are unelectable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are some men and even women reading this who will deny that there is a prejudice against smart, outspoken women, and maybe in some circles there isn’t. But from where I sit, I see a prejudice against that kind of women that needs to be acknowledged and addressed or else we’re in danger of missing out on the wisdom and assistance of far too many. </div>
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I'm not suggesting that Jane Fonda should be a role model. But I do think her responses to the life that she was born are understandable and I'm impressed that she never stopped trying to figure out who she really was and what she could offer to the world. I think she finally has. <o:p></o:p></div>
Deborah M. Nolanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267288250424093883noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-72116005245028937252019-11-16T04:00:00.000-08:002019-11-16T04:00:07.184-08:00A private Memorial DayAs I write this post, on Friday, Nov. 8, I'm doing a great deal of remembering. First, I'm thinking of my dad.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32159Qg1YMeYA0ur9K6N1FJB52W9k5lS_QqjWMDGjcelJtrrMugrG_TNmZCX-1W6FWBpyoxcBgu6Jiam7Qdh7chZ-hr6J4kvTTwZk4QgPszoTPo5n9AltAbs8ayWw8cmMElTse_Fegg4/s1600/Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32159Qg1YMeYA0ur9K6N1FJB52W9k5lS_QqjWMDGjcelJtrrMugrG_TNmZCX-1W6FWBpyoxcBgu6Jiam7Qdh7chZ-hr6J4kvTTwZk4QgPszoTPo5n9AltAbs8ayWw8cmMElTse_Fegg4/s200/Dad.jpg" width="200" /></a>Anthen Hugh Hubbard was born on November 8, 1922. If he were still with us today, he'd be 97 years old. I feel blessed that I had him until seven years ago. My children, all adults now, remember him as one of the kindest, best people they ever knew. To me, he was Dad. His unconditional love carried me through all kinds of childhood and teenage crises, and strengthened me when the more serious adult challenges came. I always knew I could turn to Dad and he'd be there. I miss him.<br />
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The other memory associated with today is harder, perhaps because it's much more raw. Missing my dad can bring me to tears, but thinking about a year ago today is a whole other ball game. A year ago today, the most destructive and deadly wildfire in the history of California galloped through the county where I live. It wiped out the towns of Concow and Paradise, left 50,000 people displaced, and changed our county forever.<br />
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Many of our friends lost their homes and all their possessions. Some lost loved pets, a few lost relatives, friends or neighbors. 85 people lost their lives. The impact wasn't so great in my town. Although the fire burned within five miles of our home and threatened us with evacuation warnings, we were spared the flames. We were not spared all of the shock and horror. There's a hymn frequently sung in my church. The third verse begins:<br />
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When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us, and threaten our peace to destroy,<br />
There is hope smiling brightly before us, and we know that deliverance is nigh.<br />
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I can't sing it without tears. Any time I think of dark clouds of trouble, I remember stepping outside my home last November 8 and watching the black smoke, thousands of feet high, rolling toward us at 50 miles per hour, blown by the same winds that fanned the voracious flames. We lived in hazard masks for three weeks, doing our best to render aid to others while we all worked through shock.<br />
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My book, <i>Sunny's Summer,</i> the second book in the "Seasons of Destiny" series, works with characters who experienced that day as so many did. It takes place in the aftermath of the Camp Fire. In it, I've tried to give others the visceral sense of what that first day was like, and what the past year has been like for everyone who experienced it, each of us in different ways. Maybe, for me, it was a form of therapy, of working through the enormity of it all.<br />
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People here are recovering. Folks wear t-shirts that proclaim they are #ButteStrong or #ParadiseStrong. The first game of the Paradise High School football team this fall saw the stands overflowing with people who were moving back, or had sworn that one day, they will. Still, every community in Butte County has felt the impact, and nothing will be the same again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7r4kl2yZzgOckwHvY8inpmR6Ik34bbidkEKRVKZwijAUY4VofI0QgRIqpOxI63301XZ5-t-aRHj5XmGnhxZ3uiHlcWtmBauaZGdgtU6mRoEYSo6kdjzTgHUKVUKjF4Q0zqirY-elOV8/s1600/CampFire2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7r4kl2yZzgOckwHvY8inpmR6Ik34bbidkEKRVKZwijAUY4VofI0QgRIqpOxI63301XZ5-t-aRHj5XmGnhxZ3uiHlcWtmBauaZGdgtU6mRoEYSo6kdjzTgHUKVUKjF4Q0zqirY-elOV8/s1600/CampFire2.jpg" /></a><br />
Paradise may indeed rebuild, but it will take ten years before it begins to look like Paradise, and probably 30 years before the population numbers return. The population once here will not return, as displaced people scattered across the map, taking root elsewhere. Speaking of roots, most of the beautiful trees that did not burn died because of toxins in the air and soil. The forest that went with the town may not fully regrow for a century or longer.<br />
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While November 8 means little to the people of the world, for me it's a private memorial day as I think of my dad. To the people of Butte County, it's a day that will live forever in memory, a memory we hope to make happier as life goes on.<br />
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-indent: 48px;">Susan loves to hear from readers. Write her at susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com, or visit www.susanaylworth.com or her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Susan.Aylworth.Author. </i><i style="font-family: "times new roman";">Watch for</i><u style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: italic;"> </u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Amber in Autumn</span><i style="font-family: "times new roman";">, Book 3 in the "Seasons of Destiny" series, coming early next year. Books 1 and 2, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Paris in the Springtime <i>and </i> Sunny's Summer <i>are available in e-book and paperback formats. </i>Winter Skye <i>will follow soon. Subscribe to the newsletter or stay in touch for updates. </i></span><br />
<br />Susan Aylworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950324917778043680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-8372368492269567962019-11-13T01:00:00.000-08:002019-11-13T01:00:07.595-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Tiara? Check.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Coffee? Check.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Notebook? Check.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Favorite ink pen? Check.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Computer all fired up? Check.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So no excuses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh! And did I forget
to mention, it’s also November? That’s National Novel Writing Month for all of
you out there who have been saying, “I’ve got this book idea floating around in
my head…” Well, we’re half-way through NaNoWriMo (pronounced Nay-no-rye-moe
with your thickest southern accent) so you’ve got some catching up to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The goal, after you create a free account at nanowrimo.org,
is to create wordcount equivalent to a short novel… in one month. That’s 50,000
words to the noobs, and “all in a day’s work” to you seasoned writers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So you can do the math, or have the nanowrimo.org site do
the math for you. Thirty days in November, divided into 50,000 words, that’s…
er… that’s 1,667 words per day, every day. Wait! You’re already a half month
behind! That’s a little over 3,000 words per day. Pshhht. That’s only about 12
pages per day, 250 words per page. Easy peasy, lemony squeezey. Hey, if this
humanities major can do that much math in one paragraph, you can whip out 12
pages per day for the next 15 days.</div>
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Computer. Pen. Notebook at your side.
Coffee. Tiara. GO!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sofie Couchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11702484708743477860noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-73104722862631189292019-11-10T01:00:00.000-08:002019-11-10T01:00:00.588-08:00An Author’s ThanksgivingBy Karen McCullough<br />
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I think there’s some kind of unwritten rule that November
blog posts in the U.S. have to be about being thankful--and, really, that’s a
good thing! Cultivating gratitude as a top-of-the-mind trait is something we
should all do and it’s great we have a special time of year to remind us to do
so. I’m more disappointed than I can tell you that retailers are turning a beautiful
holiday into a gateway to the profligate spending money for Christmas season,
the antithesis of what Thanksgiving should mean.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But anyway, back to gratitude. I firmly believe that gratitude
isn’t something you do. It’s one of the most important underpinnings of how you
live your life. It’s an attitude that everything you are and everything you
have is a gift. It means taking nothing for granted.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With that in mind, I want to take a slightly different slant
and talk about some things I’m thankful for, strictly in my capacity as an
author. Some of these may be controversial, so feel free to disagree in the
comments. Here are some of them:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Computers and word processing software</b> – I’m old
enough that back when I was in college all my term papers and theses were
produced on a typewriter. I developed into a fairly speedy typist, but not a
very accurate one. The typewriter I used was old enough that when you messed
up, you had to either use that messy white-out stuff or just retype the whole
page. I shudder to think how many times I would’ve had to retype each of my
book manuscripts to get a reasonably clean copy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The freedom to write what I want</b> – I’m grateful to
live in a country where I have the freedom to write pretty much whatever I
choose. But let me be clear, freedom to write whatever I want doesn’t absolve
me of responsibility for my words. I can write what I want, but the rest of the
world has the right to object to my words, to refuse to buy my books, and to
write scathing reviews. They can sue me if those words are stolen from someone
else (something I’d never do, by the way), or hold me responsible if someone
uses my words as inspiration to commit a crime. (I like to think my books are
inspirational but not that way!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The ability to travel for research and inspiration</b> –
I love travel and it inspires me with ideas for stories, settings, and
characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And several of us here on
this blog have talked about the importance of getting details right in your
settings. There are some substitutes for actually visiting a place, but none
will give you the richness of detail of the actual experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Libraries </b>– As a kid, I hung out in libraries as much
as I could. I loved to read, and I loved to research odd facts, pursuing all
sorts of information. I don’t go as much as I used to, but it still gives me
joy to be in a library. Usually when my grandkids are visiting, we’ll take them
to the library and let them check out a few books to read during their time
here. I love that they regard that as a huge treat. In the early days of my
writing each book would require several trips to the library for research
purposes. The staff at the research desk knew me and sometimes I could just
call to verify a few facts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Google and Wikipedia</b> -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Google created the first search engine that
delivered really accurate results, speedily, and Wikipedia created the first
crowd-sourced, comprehensive encyclopedia. I do a lot of my research using
them. I don’t take everything I read on the Internet as gospel, but at the very
least, the articles I find suggest leads to more authoritative sources. I try
to verify everything I learn with another source.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Amazon</b> – I know not everyone will agree with the
gratitude here, but Amazon did create the first online bookstore and, let’s
face it, that has changed the world. Before Amazon I bought books at the local
bookstore, but frequently would find an author I liked and had to go searching
through used <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
to mention the time I’ve saved because I can do most of my shopping online and
have everything delivered right to my door! That’s more writing time for me!<o:p></o:p></div>
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bookstores to find the rest of the author’s works. Since my taste
runs a bit off mainstream, I often had to special order books I wanted and then
wait, and wait, and wait some more for them to arrive. And Amazon popularized
the ereader. It’s hard to describe what a boon that has been for people like
me, with poor eyesight. Now every book can be a large print book! And for the
author, the advent of epublishing has meant I can make my backlist available as
I get the rights back to my older published books, and also have a chance of
putting out those other books that mainstream publishers didn’t want – usually because
I crossed too many genre boundaries!<br />
<br />Karen McCulloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15709823258020421437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-61293910032396322892019-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:002019-11-07T00:00:01.699-08:00Booking a trip<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whenever I travel overseas, I try to read novels ahead of
time, usually mysteries, which take place in the countries I am visiting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It wasn’t always that way. I didn’t read Icelandic mysteries
until after my husband and I visited that country. We’d heard that there were a
lot of authors in Iceland who loved to write, especially during the long dark
cold winters, probably one in three of the 375,000 residents. Perhaps that
writing bug had been sparked by the Edda but it was something with which I, as a
writer myself, could identify. Yet I discovered when reading the books, one set
on an island off Iceland where a lava flow had obliterated a town not all that
long ago, that I wished I had read the book first so I could have had a sense
of place and known to ask more questions while I was there. I can’t beat myself
up too much about that though, since the book was not available in the U.S. It
was just something my husband picked up (along with a copy of the Edda he still
hasn’t read but does double duty as a doorstop) on our way home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We both enjoyed the Icelandic books and for a while bought
as many as we could find online. Many were written by Yrsa Sigurdardottir and
Arnaldur Indridason. The descriptions of the land, weather, and amount of
daylight, which was either too much (no such thing in my opinion) or too
little, fascinated me, as did their children naming conventions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Taking our past experience into consideration, I read a few
mystery novels written on the Emerald Isle to get a sense of what we might
expect on our trip to Ireland. I found that while the language is the same, (at
least the English, not the Gaelic) there were several words that I didn’t know.
More words unknown to me were explained by our tour guide when he mentioned “gob,”
which is mouth, “bog,” a word used in many places but in Ireland refers to where
peat comes from, and “craic” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which
somehow meant good, or news or gossip or conversation, I think. I’ve been
taking a refresher course by reading a book by Patricia Gibney and watching
Derry Girls, with the helpful subtitles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I tried to find Scottish writers’ books before our trip. I
had read Outlander many years ago, but I still wanted to see some modern-day people
and activities, so found one mystery by Pete Brassett. It put me on the lookout
for Scottish food, such as sticky toffee pudding, black pudding, haggis, and
the ever-present shortbread which was as common as fish and chips. I also read
about the extremely changeable weather which was totally integral to Scotland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I looked forward to learning some Scottish words and I was
not disappointed. I heard terms like “hoolies” (big windy storms, not to be
confused with a hooley, a traditional dance and music party,) which tap into my
inner linguistic interests. I’d learned long ago about all the words for snow
the Inuit have, depending on the conditions, and I was fascinated that the
Scots have “dreich,” “snell,” “fret,” “drookit,” “stoating” and many more for
rain. They expect the weather to change frequently, and I found myself layering
up, but always leaving the umbrella on the bus when the sun was shining, only
to be caught in rain on the way back to it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Shortly after returning home, I picked up a book by Jenny
Colgan about a fictional island off the northern coast of Scotland. I had
almost forgotten about the unpleasantly sweet drink called Irn-Bru, which our
tour guide offered us, when I saw it mentioned in Jenny’s book. She reminded me
of many other things we had learned about during our trip, such as Cranachan, a
delicious whipped cream raspberry dessert never prepared the same way twice.
The book also referred to the coos, which is what they call cows, especially
the adorable Highland ones wearing bangs. Reading it was almost like extending
our trip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Don’t get me wrong. I like books written in this country
too, and many of them remind me of places I have visited. But if I go somewhere
new, there is a very good chance I’m going to try to find a book written by a
local author.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Joani Ascherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959356711407358403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-63886382395115377312019-10-25T02:30:00.000-07:002019-10-24T04:08:58.909-07:00Setting -- More than a Name<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">by Fran McNabb</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Recently
on our Classic and Cozy blog, several of our authors wrote about using accurate
details when creating setting in a piece of fiction. Those posts got me thinking
and I’d like to add to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Setting
puts readers into time and into the place of a story. Historical writers
usually have a good grasp of setting. It’s easy to feel where the writer of
historical fiction wants the reader to be because she or he understands that
point must be made early in the story. Unfortunately contemporary writers
sometimes neglect to place their characters in a specific place other than
simply naming a town. If a reader can plop the character down in any town in
the United States or in any other county, the writer has missed her mark to make
setting as strong of an element as character and plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
if the writer has accurately placed the character in a specific setting and
built that world correctly, has she captured the feel of the place? I’m
speaking from experience here. I recently submitted a manuscript to an editor
whom I personally know and who works with one of the top ten publishing groups.
I had my story set in Key West, a place I love and have visited several times.
She rejected the manuscript because she wanted a series and she said she didn’t
think I had captured the feel of the Keys and what I had written would not
sustain the area's thread throughout three novels. Needless to say, I was baffled
because I thought I had done a good job with the setting. Obviously, I had not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
the manager of a very nice welcome center on my Gulf Coast suggested I have a
book launch at the center for my next book release, I thanked her and hoped I’d
actually have another book release. With that piece of information in mind, I
started thinking about my rejected story and realized I might not know all the
nuances of Key West, but I certainly understood the region where I called home.
I took the same story and rewrote it with a Gulf Coast setting, outlined three
books that could come from the idea, and found a small press to publish the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
point here concerns setting. Just finding a place on the map to put characters
in won’t work unless the writer understands the place. Sure it can be done
without actually living there, but when an author feels the setting, he or she has a better chance of helping the reader feel the area as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What’s
it like to walk down the sidewalk of a town? Are sidewalks actually there? Do
neighbors know each other? Do they sit on their porches and talk to each other? Do neighborhood children play in the streets? Do
taxi cabs and other ride sharing vehicles get people around or do citizens rely
on their own transportation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
though I know the area where my new book is set, I still did not use the actual
name of the town. Instead I named the community Marsh Isles. Readers along the Gulf
Coast should recognize the town where I placed my characters though I gave it a
different name. By not using real names of cities or streets I can change the
physical setting to fit my story while still keeping the feel of the town—I
hope. It doesn't always happen though. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
name of this book is PARADISE LANE, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ry22Nl117LmYFFdK9XtJGp2Jc3i6k5lGNMniJx-oIJ6j8dy06mkOUjZtDXZZLlJlE0gnGuyGbRCTRgC69n2TGe9brhFO74rvG1qdGRE_BhmSY7MmSSem1P-KdAgY9JVVGwWPrm0Zz8YT/s1600/Paradise+Lane+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1153" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ry22Nl117LmYFFdK9XtJGp2Jc3i6k5lGNMniJx-oIJ6j8dy06mkOUjZtDXZZLlJlE0gnGuyGbRCTRgC69n2TGe9brhFO74rvG1qdGRE_BhmSY7MmSSem1P-KdAgY9JVVGwWPrm0Zz8YT/s200/Paradise+Lane+1.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">and at one of my talks a lady
raised her hand and said she wanted a copy of the book because she lived on
Paradise Lane in the same area where I set the book. I was floored. I thought
there wasn’t a street by that name there, but who knew there would be one in
one of the newer subdivisions?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
pleased that I changed the setting to the Gulf Coast, and so far I’ve had good
feedback from my readers. I can’t wait to see what other locals think about the
book. Fingers crossed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Where are your books set? Do your readers feel the area? It doesn't matter if it's real or simply based on a place you know, think about the little things that make it special and make your readers know where they are.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL21rpGuQBKkPUKWvUTIKJcxjHwyxfyKWV80chUsHFMfB-9P1o_wTo0nreV6BBid-25kLJKnM-U3NGvodrwKgigV-9mqKGp-tfE_HemiTrDvlglXWAndfrxxbcKJ0efyyJR3LbGOEoiqzC/s1600/FranA+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="665" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL21rpGuQBKkPUKWvUTIKJcxjHwyxfyKWV80chUsHFMfB-9P1o_wTo0nreV6BBid-25kLJKnM-U3NGvodrwKgigV-9mqKGp-tfE_HemiTrDvlglXWAndfrxxbcKJ0efyyJR3LbGOEoiqzC/s200/FranA+%25282%2529.jpg" width="175" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">FRAN
MCNABB lives along the Gulf Coast and uses this setting in most of her novels.
PARADISE LANE is her newest book in the three-book GULF COAST SERIES. Check her out at <a href="http://www.franmcnabb.com/">www.FranMcNabb.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Fran McNabbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17193141285229214245noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-43212095207532578652019-10-22T06:15:00.002-07:002019-10-22T06:15:39.850-07:00New York: My City<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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When I hear people who don’t live in New York City say how much they hate the city I always wonder what part of the New York they’ve visited. If it’s Times Square, I don’t blame them. If that were how I experienced the city, I’d hate it too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I do understand the city isn’t for everyone. Lots of people prefer to be in less congested, more bucolic settings and/or have more space to live in. I actually can’t imagine living in the city without the ability to regularly leave for the country and space. But I still love New York City and if I had my way, I’d live here part of the time for the rest of my life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I lived in the city right out of college for eleven years and then again as an adult after our children were launched. This second time has been for 16 plus years, but in May that time will all be ending and we’ll be moving upstate to live in our country house full time. Knowing I’ll soon be leaving New York has gotten me thinking about why I like New York so much and has reminded me that why I love New York is, in many ways, contrary to how a tourist thinks of and experiences the city. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My New York is a city of neighborhoods including mine on the Upper West Side. My city is a friendly, caring place where if everyone doesn’t know my name, they at least recognize me and will, if necessary, look out for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Most tourists think of New York as the midtown area, consisting of Times Square—a place in my opinion that should be avoided at all costs—and the streets between Fifth and Park Avenue from 42<sup>nd</sup> Street to Central Park. This is where the high-end hotels are as well as the most expensive restaurants and the same international boutiques you’re likely to find in every other major city in the world. But it’s not my New York. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course I go into midtown—but not often. Most Christmas times, like so many tourists, I make a pilgrimage to see the tree at Rockefeller Center and the windows at Saks and Bergdorf’s and stop and have a drink at a bar in one of the fancy hotels. I also go to the theatre every chance I get and Lincoln Center and the art museums—all in midtown. But otherwise, I stick to my neighborhood. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I live in a medium sized prewar apartment building where the doorman knows me and my husband and my grown children, their spouses and my grandchildren too. They may not know every member of my family by name, but they know them all well enough to let them into the building without calling up to check. They’ll also give them our key if we’re not in town. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The doormen also know the minute details in our lives and everyone else’s in the building. They inquire if they see me by myself on a Friday night, wondering where my husband is. They also keep tabs on me if they see my husband out by himself during the week. They know we leave for the country most weekends and where we’ve gone on vacation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some may think all this interaction is overly intrusive. I think it’s being neighborly. In many ways our building is like a small town where everyone knows who you are and looks out for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s also true at our typical New York City grocery store just around the corner. It’s not Whole Foods with its fancy labels and boutique cheese selection, but the produce, thanks to Asian owners who know what they’re doing, and fussy Hispanic customers who also know their fruits and vegetables, the produce is always fresh and reasonably priced. It’s at least as good as Whole Foods and much cheaper—I know because I’ve checked. The store is also friendly. I lived in a small town in New Jersey for twenty-three years, but no cashier ever called me Sweetie until I moved to this neighborhood and became a regular customer. Now I’ve come to expect it. These people know me and I know them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Contrary to many myths about the city, New Yorkers look out for one another and can be counted on to help if you’re lost or in trouble. The city is such a communal place that when I rode the crosstown bus last week with my nineteen- month old grandson on my lap, the entire front of the bus where we were sitting got involved. By the time we got out at Amsterdam, I knew where my seat companions were from, Poland, and they knew my grandson was in from L.A. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But you don’t need a baby to make a travel friend. It’s not unusual when I’m riding the subway for women my age to ask where I’m headed and what show I’m seeing if I’m riding the train in the evening. In every one of those encounters, what show I’m seeing is just the icebreaker with conversations then veering off from theatre and restaurant recommendations to quick synopses of each other’s lives. This has happened so frequently that I no longer think of it as unusual and recognize it for what it is, New Yorkers at their best. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is not to say that I’m sad about leaving the city. I think it’s time to downsize and simplify my life. But I’ll always treasure these past sixteen years and attribute my stay here as a great transition into retirement and helping me stay mentally fit. I also imagine visiting often. After all, I know my way around and can get on the subway to reach my favorite neighborhoods. <o:p></o:p></div>
Deborah M. Nolanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267288250424093883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-65831615320219163092019-10-16T04:00:00.000-07:002019-10-16T04:00:07.933-07:00Dogged Deadlines!I've been Missing in Action for much of the last month. My family wonders where Mom has gone. My neighbors may be asking if I've moved away. Social media connections almost certainly believe I've unfriended them. I've been on deadline.<br />
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This particular deadline crunch began with a challenge. I attended a writers' conference in mid-September. A woman I've known for years and have worked with frequently, managing editor at a publishing house that has produced some of my books, attended the same conference. She issued a broad challenge to anyone willing to accept it: The publishing house had a contest going involving three different genres. They sought novellas in each of the three categories, with the best entry in each to be published next year. One of those categories is historical romance and my friend, the editor, challenged me to send her a manuscript.<br />
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The problem? She showed me the flyer for the contest and issued her personal challenge on September 14. The deadline for all entries was October 15. Could I write a novella start to finish in a month?<br />
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Now you understand why I've been MIA. I've been pushing that deadline. The good news is, the novella is complete at 36,000 words. Three lovely readers and an editor gave it a once-over for me, even when I gave them a two-day deadline to get it done, and I submitted my complete manuscript two days ago, on October 14, actually one day early. It's a good story, too. I did it! But that's about all I've done lately.<br />
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What has this experience taught me? For one thing, I can be stubborn about taking on a challenge, even if it doesn't seem realistic. Also, I can write a book in a month if I'm highly motivated. Those are good things to know. Not so good are some of the other lessons, like realizing I can disappear so completely into the black hole of my fictional world that I can practically vanish from the physical world we inhabit. Not good. Not good at all.<br />
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I'm back now, remembering where I live and reconnecting with the actual people around me. I'm even working again on my other deadlines, which got pushed back or snubbed altogether during my month of publishing panic. Today, I appear to be just like other people with other jobs, people who work given hours and live the rest of the time with family and friends.<br />
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I'm not cured, however. Deadline Fever will surely strike again. One day soon, I'll realize I've spent so much time playing with my imaginary friends that my actual, physical friends wonder what has happened to me. Or maybe not. My friends know I'm a writer, after all.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-indent: 48px;">Susan loves to hear from readers. Write her at susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com, or visit www.susanaylworth.com or her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Susan.Aylworth.Author. </i><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Watch for</i><u style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: italic;"> </u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Amber in Autumn</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">, Book 3 in the "Seasons of Destiny" series, coming early next year. Books 1 and 2, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Paris in the Springtime <i>and </i> Sunny's Summer <i>are available in e-book and paperback formats. </i>Winter Skye <i>will follow soon. Who knows? There may even be an historical romance novella to add to the mix. Stay in touch for updates. </i></span></span></div>
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<br />Susan Aylworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950324917778043680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-64212395450347536102019-10-13T03:00:00.000-07:002019-10-13T03:00:07.361-07:00Books and Crabs... a lesson from the trenches<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I usually try to write to appeal to readers, but today, I'm making an exception. This is for writers, and readers who want to see the man behind the curtain.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5Qqw6QpmJoXLVdV489qvkV0AXLWyt9T9FOEsCa4Y9FY7I7sTiqvLAAqMFnKL4Mh_tbgjF20jm6OxNddDl-4JFt-MDnwRAnqqd6_cR9oNAppy75hdz7K3NllQjMvgfwGgJjOUNF5_11fh/s1600/CrabCarnival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5Qqw6QpmJoXLVdV489qvkV0AXLWyt9T9FOEsCa4Y9FY7I7sTiqvLAAqMFnKL4Mh_tbgjF20jm6OxNddDl-4JFt-MDnwRAnqqd6_cR9oNAppy75hdz7K3NllQjMvgfwGgJjOUNF5_11fh/s320/CrabCarnival.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I recently participated in the West Point (Virginia) Crab
Carnival as a vendor. Two friends and I, with riparian themed books,
participated and here’s a smattering of what I learned. Although this isn’t my
first time around the festival block, I always learn something new.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbETVSadY5l8lM9Wxve6jxpk2be_ZqfqMA27gQF0j1I15fVNdKaYAFLesm2wjp_iPFx_2nYEQVYkxzRlidRua4C6QaJxpbJZnijlWHuYXSC-uOPrR69FeZPuTsRm1yVEQjY8FejV9V5mt/s1600/CrabCarnivalFireWorks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbETVSadY5l8lM9Wxve6jxpk2be_ZqfqMA27gQF0j1I15fVNdKaYAFLesm2wjp_iPFx_2nYEQVYkxzRlidRua4C6QaJxpbJZnijlWHuYXSC-uOPrR69FeZPuTsRm1yVEQjY8FejV9V5mt/s320/CrabCarnivalFireWorks.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><o:p>Don't expect to actually sell books. That's not the point at all.</o:p></li>
<li><o:p>The point is networking, name recognition, and goodwill. </o:p></li>
<li><o:p>I know you're an introvert but bring your social face.</o:p></li>
<li><o:p>Bring more books than you expect to sell... just in case.</o:p></li>
<li><o:p>Know where the bathrooms/port-a-potties are located. You'll be giving a lot of people directions.</o:p></li>
<li><o:p>Know your audience. (Bring appropriate enticements to lure them in.)</o:p></li>
<li><o:p>Plan for inclement weather. (This was an outdoor event and we had beautiful weather, but oh, the wind.</o:p></li>
<li>Bring enough change to make change... for yourself and others in need.</li>
<li>Don't forget your Square reader or similar device for taking credit card purchases.</li>
<li>Appropriate (and easy to assemble/disassemble) tables, chairs, props, tents, etc.</li>
</ul>
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So now, go out there and have fun! Practice makes perfect! See you next year!</div>
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Sofie Couchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11702484708743477860noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-47089764425121921252019-10-10T01:00:00.000-07:002019-10-10T01:00:03.261-07:00Pencils<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ezqrUUWTUK2g1wfAUkWCz6G1iaLBhTpUfJW6PEwYc7hyphenhyphenuf55Mk1zqMZ5Xz0D_J9w9nGf_ZiNZDVxXsQENvPS_idFjGw0mokmYFlGnuDscBHGsGtQie84IveqbLkEjNKiiExKIDxyb1I/s1600/K_Day4_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ezqrUUWTUK2g1wfAUkWCz6G1iaLBhTpUfJW6PEwYc7hyphenhyphenuf55Mk1zqMZ5Xz0D_J9w9nGf_ZiNZDVxXsQENvPS_idFjGw0mokmYFlGnuDscBHGsGtQie84IveqbLkEjNKiiExKIDxyb1I/s320/K_Day4_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
On a recent trip to the Lake District in England, we used a rainy day as an excuse to visit one of the few indoor attractions in Keswick, the Derwent Pencil Museum.<br />
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Before I talk about the museum, though, a bit of quick history – Writing instruments of all sorts have been in use for thousands of years, but a sort of proto pencil was a lead-based stylus used since the time of the Romans (which is why we still call them “lead pencils” even though lead hasn’t been used in pencils in hundreds of years).<br />
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The modern version of the pencil dates back to the 16th century with the discovery of a large deposit of graphite near Keswick in the Borrowdale Valley. The story says that it was found by accident by a group of shepherds who, on finding that it wouldn’t burn like coal, used the mineral to mark their sheep. But they soon discovered it left marks on their hands and other things that were hard to remove.<br />
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People soon discovered that the mineral was too soft to use by itself, but stuffed into a wooden tube, it made an easy-to-use writing instrument.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxs-V0IwJeMb2hh8yW-Qevp_inZ9wXsYy5jypcS1WjmazqAqRF0arGLF_zLf0fYgr5a-piVK-RGHINfCfFFzjVlpNeiNcejYRBYWy8-3TXSoRE5prC7ZkXgYPKYbjZsiyJX9X3WH44sw/s1600/K_Day4_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxs-V0IwJeMb2hh8yW-Qevp_inZ9wXsYy5jypcS1WjmazqAqRF0arGLF_zLf0fYgr5a-piVK-RGHINfCfFFzjVlpNeiNcejYRBYWy8-3TXSoRE5prC7ZkXgYPKYbjZsiyJX9X3WH44sw/s320/K_Day4_4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The World's Largest Pencil</td></tr>
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By the early 18th century a cottage industry creating pencils had grown up in Keswick and the surrounding area. In 1916 the Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company or sometimes just called The Cumberland Pencil Company was formed to manufacture pencils. The first Derwent color pencil was produced in 1938. The Derwent brand is still recognized for produced some of the finest artist’s pencils in the world.<br />
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The factory has since moved, but the museum remains in Keswick. It’s a fascinating place. In addition to displays showing the history of the pencil, there are numerous historical items, a look at the manufacturing process, the varieties of pencil and art supplies now available, and a couple of fascinating, related stories. It also features the world's biggest pencil, as certified by the <i>Guiness Book of World Records.</i><br />
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During World War II, Brittain’s secret service operatives worked with the company to develop ways to incorporate various bits of miniaturized technology into the pencils. They were also used as a method for passing secret messages. None of this has ever been officially confirmed, of course!<br />
The museum gave us each a plain Derwent pencil with our entrance ticket. I was glad to get one.<br />
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Personally I use pencils quite a bit. Although all my books are written on the computer, I do a lot of preliminary work and planning using a pencil and paper. I like a pencil that writes fairly dark and has a nice sharp point. There’s something about the physical act of holding a pencil over a blank piece of paper that gives opens the spigot and gives the ideas a channel to emerge and begin to grow.<br />
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<br />Karen McCulloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15709823258020421437noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-62409288903692440562019-10-07T00:00:00.000-07:002019-10-07T00:00:07.907-07:00My latest problem<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My husband accumulates T-shirts. Not in a way that collectors
of valuable items amass art, or fine wines, or vintage baseball cards, but more
like the way a scoop of ice cream dropped on the sidewalk attracts ants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The shirts are
getting to be a bit of a problem, but I can’t really blame him. He comes by
most of them without making actual purchases. Sure, we might get a souvenir Been
there, Done that, Got the T-shirt when traveling, or a shirt proclaiming us as
Seeing Eye Puppy raisers, but most of my husband’s T-shirts come from the numerous
events, formerly on bicycle, now on foot, that he participates in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">He gets shirts
from his walking events, with the name of the various walking groups emblazoned
on the front. There are several from Freewalkers, EverWalk, Rails to Trails
Conservancy, New York- New Jersey Trail Conference, and others. He also got
shirts for participating in charity rides and walks, and various fundraisers.
Some of the events take place annually and so there might be several shirts
from the same organization, with only the years and sponsors on the backs
changing. He gets shirts from radio stations for donations and shirts from
conferences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Lately, though,
he’s picking up hats from conferences instead, but I won’t go into that except
to say that Slobodkina’s monkeys from Caps for Sale have nothing on the stack
of caps we now own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">There is no
good place to store all these shirts and hats. There is also no reason to keep them
all. But so far that has been a losing battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’m not saying
that I’m not also guilty of saving things beyond their period of usefulness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think many people may feel the same way
about the items in their lives that bring back memories of some other time,
when the keepsakes were new and held the full meaning of the moment. But
memories fade and so do T-shirts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Joani Ascherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02959356711407358403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-61499641538523248022019-10-04T16:09:00.004-07:002019-10-04T16:13:35.843-07:00Outrageous Pumpkin Carving Ideas (And Some Classics)<br />
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By <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Victoria M. Johnson</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It's
pumpkin carving season!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means
it's time to get out your serrated knife, scoop out mounds of seeds, and get
busy designing and carving faces on your pumpkins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you prefer whacked out faces or the classic
jack-o-lantern face?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way,
here are some ideas to get your creative pumpkin juices flowing.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">But I NEVER
Carved a Pumpkin Before!</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not
to worry, you can find step-by-step instructions to carve your pumpkin on almost
any food website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a sampling: </span><a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-carve-pumpkin"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">BBC Good Food</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/a22196/pumpkin-carving-tips/"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Good Housekeeping</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, and </span><a href="https://www.marthastewart.com/275075/how-to-carve-a-pumpkin"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Martha Stewart</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJG1h0dmiQpagNNvKLPkIpOMt2U5GOc2GKk3aieaDO2KYWGYi2iej38489rHxOuvtFV0DJmgpo1E1_7xVYlnf3OPFAbDoN3YFS6yL6jwZybk043L1UWJJ9tXcXa9qLYGL7pMvBGdiWWl7j/s1600/pumpkin+rohan-reddy+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1594" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJG1h0dmiQpagNNvKLPkIpOMt2U5GOc2GKk3aieaDO2KYWGYi2iej38489rHxOuvtFV0DJmgpo1E1_7xVYlnf3OPFAbDoN3YFS6yL6jwZybk043L1UWJJ9tXcXa9qLYGL7pMvBGdiWWl7j/s320/pumpkin+rohan-reddy+2.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Rohan Reddy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomgYWJIlTe8SDdL9sTpiko_A2Lu-03sDKvvU7U_R89s1_s454uJqe0G0SuIGqtLnf7XYryEmUD1avrga2Xdi_W-g1_9qAjEwGZysddbl4e7-9tYfKEQ3is98kGjz5na3ce98Q5ivWvCA4/s1600/Pumpkins+david-menidrey+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1600" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomgYWJIlTe8SDdL9sTpiko_A2Lu-03sDKvvU7U_R89s1_s454uJqe0G0SuIGqtLnf7XYryEmUD1avrga2Xdi_W-g1_9qAjEwGZysddbl4e7-9tYfKEQ3is98kGjz5na3ce98Q5ivWvCA4/s320/Pumpkins+david-menidrey+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by David Menidrey </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiTIVC94ftl9TGFcqCmVitIflR-ADIGUtxnphlTHCCZQHQd7bcnyUuZlnNRGEQJ8CfwIboNAIHPDK30Fy17JooIKg9ZXGTrauBdvRab6HlZG3bKqsCy-J-FFiDzlCwxO1Z-EcDaF9J57L/s1600/paula-smith+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiTIVC94ftl9TGFcqCmVitIflR-ADIGUtxnphlTHCCZQHQd7bcnyUuZlnNRGEQJ8CfwIboNAIHPDK30Fy17JooIKg9ZXGTrauBdvRab6HlZG3bKqsCy-J-FFiDzlCwxO1Z-EcDaF9J57L/s320/paula-smith+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Paula Smith</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktKs5A0P06g3J9zqLr6ejINUuQBiK_TwNVkavxd1lQjT1bFf9_LZZDliYC-417LBIpQ-BTW1EQOYOXtbkekDJO4G6UTP4pDuVjrvIUJGZNGhNHlpRnHiQ-qnGyZJURTWhAor_8DCnJk6c/s1600/benedikt-geyer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1428" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktKs5A0P06g3J9zqLr6ejINUuQBiK_TwNVkavxd1lQjT1bFf9_LZZDliYC-417LBIpQ-BTW1EQOYOXtbkekDJO4G6UTP4pDuVjrvIUJGZNGhNHlpRnHiQ-qnGyZJURTWhAor_8DCnJk6c/s320/benedikt-geyer+2.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Benedikt Geyer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBQyjVGtNKee2PK_9wqzWHGB3rGrMWmxBsrp2V_iEGGfZ69T2LPEF507u6tTQ-MQHjWVlUT9ieBCP1c83tuZzhhnuGWZ0XbnTWpxGJUtGlQ7jlYsNCjeA_lj0FiLY9Vw92g-fEZFmYyg6/s1600/ian-dooley+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1347" data-original-width="1600" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBQyjVGtNKee2PK_9wqzWHGB3rGrMWmxBsrp2V_iEGGfZ69T2LPEF507u6tTQ-MQHjWVlUT9ieBCP1c83tuZzhhnuGWZ0XbnTWpxGJUtGlQ7jlYsNCjeA_lj0FiLY9Vw92g-fEZFmYyg6/s320/ian-dooley+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Ian Dooley</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
couldn't share enough pictures here so I included links below to more
outrageously cool jack o lantern faces… just click on the name.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
adore this </span><a href="https://archzine.net/feste/halloween-kurbis-schnitzen-coole-ideen/?image_id=475508"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Whimsical Face</span></i></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here's
a cute </span><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/755619643713364481/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Zombie Pumpkin</span></i></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Check
out these eye-catching </span><a href="https://www.womansday.com/home/crafts-projects/a28713862/eye-see-you-pumpkins/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Eye Can See You Pumpkins</span></i></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here's
an amazing </span><a href="https://www.womansday.com/home/crafts-projects/g950/funny-pumpkin-carving-ideas/?slide=50"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sweet Tooth Pumpkin</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
hope you feel inspired to carve your own pumpkins this holiday season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you already a pro?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What's your favorite design?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please share in the comments
below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happy Halloween! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe6oYnmOsyKKTFlMmqu9yWvK_3RdCN0TSWVj2PLvrAX7-Iq14By29fjyRU9tWOtWmSFzkwnrB88E1_pdspK98MhNmMXDirytvznHDR_jSTEr6igVK9go6bvgs_j1obnLquIitoN61uCWw/s1600/VMJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe6oYnmOsyKKTFlMmqu9yWvK_3RdCN0TSWVj2PLvrAX7-Iq14By29fjyRU9tWOtWmSFzkwnrB88E1_pdspK98MhNmMXDirytvznHDR_jSTEr6igVK9go6bvgs_j1obnLquIitoN61uCWw/s1600/VMJ.jpg" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Victoria M. Johnson</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
knew by the time she was ten that she wanted to be a writer. She loves
telling stories and she's happiest when creating new characters and new
plots. Avalon Books and Montlake Romance published Victoria's fiction
debut, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Doctor’s Dilemma</i>. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Her other fiction book is a
collection of romance short stories titled, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Substitute Bride </i>and a novella,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Hot
Hawaiian Christmas</i>. She is also the writer and director of four short films
and two micro documentaries. Visit Victoria's website at </span><a href="http://victoriamjohnson.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">http://VictoriaMJohnson.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> for inspiration and tips and find her </span><a href="http://amzn.com/e/B0046CG6PQ"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Amazon
author page</span></i></b></a><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> or connect
with her on </span><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/ByVictoriaJ"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Pinterest</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> and </span><a href="http://twitter.com/ByVictoriaJ"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Twitter</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11.0pt;">.</span><br />
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<br />Victoria M. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734245351838987045noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-84881585757954295502019-10-01T04:30:00.000-07:002019-10-01T04:30:05.413-07:00Memoirs of a Stripper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
by Janis Susan
May/Janis Patterson<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm lucky. I grew up in my parents' ad agency - Don May Advertising, one of the
top 300 in the country (as rated by AADA) for 16 of the 17 years of its
existence. I started 'working' there when I was 9 - as, believe it or not, a
stripper. (Bring that out at a cocktail party and see what happens!) No, my
folks were not perverts; in those antique days the idea of what we know as
computer publishing was not even a dream, it was the stuff of science fiction. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back then you first thought up the ad, then did a rough
pencil sketch of layout to the specs of the ad space, whether it was in pixels,
columns and/or inches. Then you decided how much space you had for the
information your client wanted in the ad and how much for graphics. Then you
typed your copy - yes, typed, on a typewriter and in our office that meant on
an office-sized manual. Some clients wanted blocks of typed copy instead of
fancy fonts, so we gave it to them, which meant what you typed had to be not
only within certain space parameters it had to be letter perfect. And if you
had a client (as we did) who wanted typed copy in different typefaces, you had
to buy different typewriters. When my folks' office closed back in the early
70s, we had 27 of them. All standard manuals, big as an old-fashioned monitor
and heavy as an anchor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You chose your clip art or photograph, your headline and
sub-head, and added the client's logo/information. You chose which type font to
use (if they didn't want plain typed copy) and then the fun began. You had to
use that tool of the devil, the proportion wheel, to figure out how much space
each unit needs and how it all fit into your space and design. The copy
(perfectly typed and with every word - especially the names - correctly spelt)
was then sent to the typesetter with the name of the desired type and the
measurements of the space. The images were sent to the photostatter with the
measurements of where they were supposed to go. Then you waited... sometimes up
to three days, which was not considered abnormal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once all the elements were returned you could (hopefully)
construct your ad. However, if some mathematically-challenged person got the
proportion wheel readings wrong the process - which was quite expensive - had
to begin again, which made both the agency and the client furious. Don't ask me
how I know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once everything was right, you cut out the various elements
and pasted them down on art board with rubber cement, then once it was
finished, cleaned up the little escaping dribs of cement with a square of
something rubbery whose name I have forgotten. I pulled the little bits of
collected cement off the rubbery thing and, instead of discarding them as the
other artists did, rolled them into a ball. When the office closed forever, I
had a ball of rubber cement drippings roughly the size of a softball. Have no
idea of whatever happened to it, though.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My first job, as I have said, was stripping, which meant
taking an eyedropper of acetone and very carefully using the acetone to
dissolve the rubber cement so I could lift off the reusable elements, put them
on a sheet of typing paper according to type and file them, so we could re-use
them later and not have the expense of photostatting. Hence - I was a stripper.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a smelly, sticky job and I did it proudly (remember, I
was nine years old, and the status of earning a paycheck however minuscule was
great) but when at the age of 12 I was promoted to writing copy I was ecstatic.
It wasn't romantic or even really interesting - ours was an industrial
advertising agency rather than a consumer one - but I took to writing copy
about industrial washers and drop-coin meters and car washes like the
proverbial duck. I worked there until it was time for me to go to college. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was all long ago; aeons in technological time. When our
agency closed copy machines were huge boxes with a tub of liquid that the copy
went through to 'set' it, turning out a slightly slimy, slightly blurry copy -
and we thought they were not only incredible, but almost magical. Computers
were around, but they cost millions (millions then!) and took up entire floors
of office buildings. The thought of a phone you could carry with you or a
computer that would fit in your pocket only existed in the realm of fantasy.
Now they're not only commonplace but ubiquitous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wish my father could have lived to enjoy the age of
computers and desktop publishing. He would have delighted in it. I still do a
few graphic jobs, mainly for organizations to which I belong, and in an hour or
so I can produce a job (including the inevitable 'tweaking' time) in what used
to take three or four days. How my father would have loved such ease and
control! Unfortunately, he died before computers left the 'full floor of an
office building' stage. My mother, on the other hand, lived well into the
computer age and never ceased to regard them with suspicion and dislike. She
said that nothing so easily done could be good and the internet was a tool of
the devil. Well, I guess sometimes she can be regarded as being right, but on
the other hand modern convenience can be wonderful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only sad thing about such ease and luxury is that there
is no place left for 9 year olds to enter the business world by stripping.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br /></div>
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11286314155783213006noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-61230528142019573852019-09-25T00:03:00.000-07:002019-09-25T00:03:01.455-07:00Mothers & Persistence
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<br />
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph">
Many years ago, my mother travelled with
a group from her church to England. On this trip, she visited the birthplace of
John Wesley, the founder of the Wesleyan denomination of the Protestant Methodist
Church. When she returned, she gave me a few packets of seeds from the shop
associated with the site. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph">
Although I was still a student, I had a
small garden in my rented suburban house, in which I grew a few flowers, the
proverbial and ubiquitous tomatoes as well as a six-foot by ten-foot lawn. I
made every effort to plant and grow the seeds but without success. Instead, in an
attempt at atonement, I wrote a short story, “John Wesley’s Hollyhocks,” and
included it in my Master of Arts Degree thesis in Creative Writing. The opening paragraph
begins:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph" style="margin-left: .3in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mrs. Fortinbrough approached the ground, all
her weight braced heavily against the brick border of the flowerbed and,
stroking the fine, new shoots, raised her face to the window. The girl let the
curtain fall back over the window and disappeared. Her daughter was no more
interested in this season’s hollyhocks than she was interested in going to
church….<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph">
This is a story about the relationship
between an adolescent daughter and her mother.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>As we can all imagine and is indicated by the closure of the
curtain, the relationship is strained at this stage. Happily, my actual relationship
with my mother, though frequently contentious—as is any interpersonal interaction—was
healthy and positive. Her passing has not lessened my love for and dependence
on her wisdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY87zFl-D9MpNSxtTF-zAdOcTaim4XiXej7hVJEq-dlrqdhW-HevCh1rwme5taKfaWFz_5WBG404PHpp3Ap-mAVLAlmWFvD6VwfK7p3cUObZa21YqT56athXtKr10ora7fHzbGHqJ3Vg/s1600/Hollyhocks2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY87zFl-D9MpNSxtTF-zAdOcTaim4XiXej7hVJEq-dlrqdhW-HevCh1rwme5taKfaWFz_5WBG404PHpp3Ap-mAVLAlmWFvD6VwfK7p3cUObZa21YqT56athXtKr10ora7fHzbGHqJ3Vg/s200/Hollyhocks2.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph">
This year, for the first time in nearly
thirty years, I have a garden which has eventually proved to be responsive to
hollyhock propagation. When I first planted the seeds, directly into the soil
in the spring of 2018 with absolutely no response, the letdown was palpable. The soil in these high
desert plains is river-bottom clay<span style="text-indent: 28.8px;">—</span>as hard as rock when it’s dry. This spring,
I started hollyhocks and delphinium among other varieties in the proper potting
soil in seedling pots. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph">
I then prepared an area of the garden
with compost and other organic material. When I transplanted the seedlings, I
had to protect the young plants from the wild rabbits with plastic collars.
Once the hollyhocks began to grow above where the bunnies could reach the leaves,
the plants flourished. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhO2o4WelKrHFQA31R2csh5Y3__V1VhKZ5R5eMsdnM0wJRtmrJFVF6wVcmQ-T5fYl7FkyKn75NepwDsN41EgBTBghE0l8oBm25ucbXsCgUSiAasJhonQA8mWyM2-C4AauOKeaDm1AmP0/s1600/Hollyhocks3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhO2o4WelKrHFQA31R2csh5Y3__V1VhKZ5R5eMsdnM0wJRtmrJFVF6wVcmQ-T5fYl7FkyKn75NepwDsN41EgBTBghE0l8oBm25ucbXsCgUSiAasJhonQA8mWyM2-C4AauOKeaDm1AmP0/s200/Hollyhocks3.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph">
In many ways, I equate gardening with
writing. Persistence is the key to success. As Steven Pressfield remarks in his
writers’ guide, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The War of Art</i>,
procrastination is a form of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">resistance</i>.
Persistence and perseverance get results, just as Mrs. Fortinbrough will get results
with her daughter:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText-Paragraph" style="margin-left: .3in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">…Just as the hollyhocks had needed her care
and discipline, so did the daughter. It was not too late for </i>her<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> roots to be tapped and the plant to grow
straight again….<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Leigh Verrill-Rhyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05768398558019474096noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-15572606836089107272019-09-22T06:10:00.000-07:002019-09-22T06:10:04.287-07:00LEARNING TO DEAL WITH REJECTION<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
I went on a food tasting tour in Manhattan’s Little Italy last week. The guide was an actor. While we walked and sampled pizza, burrata, prosciutto wrapped figs, blackout cupcakes and other fattening delicacies—which she, by the way, did not eat—she told us a bit about herself, including a course she took to learn to cope with rejection because she has to audition for parts and needs to develop a thicker skin. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The remedy? Several times each day, she’s to go up to strangers on the street and ask for something they have like their newspaper or change for the bus or a drink of water. You get the idea. Ultimately, the goal is that she’ll learn to handle rejection easily and won’t hesitate to put herself out there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a writer, who has submitted manuscripts to publishers and agents, rejections are both my reality and my nightmare. I don’t have trouble pitching—that’s child’s play compared to being in court and explaining a complicated concept when my adversary keeps interrupting with objections. But the rejections are different. Each time it happens, I have to regroup, try to learn from the rejection—and then remind myself that it’s only one person’s opinion. It often takes a while before I gather myself together and submit again. I know, having been in the work force, that it’s the same with applying for a job I really want. It’s certainly true for an actor who has to audition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If like me, you’re ambitious and continue to strive for the brass ring, no matter what field you’re in or how successful you are, there will be rejections. The worst ones may be the “almosts.” You get positive feedback either because of a second interview or the request for the full manuscript, and you start to think you’ve got it. Then the email appears saying while it or you were great, it just wasn’t right for them. Those are the rejections that really set me back. In fact, a simple and impersonal, printed “this is not for us” is almost kinder. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not going to stop submitting, at least not this week, and I’m not going to do a rejection exercise—real life is bad enough. I am going to try to remain upbeat. The alternative, writing, but not submitting, is intolerable. At least that’s what I tell myself. Anyone else have a thought?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
Deborah M. Nolanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02267288250424093883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-16074742783340443662019-09-16T04:00:00.000-07:002019-09-16T04:00:07.170-07:00When writers gather<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing is a lonely vocation. Most of it is done either alone in an office or with a cadre of imaginary friends inside the author’s own head. Occasionally, that cycle is broken and a group of writers gather. That happened for me this past weekend in Gilbert, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I belong to a few different writers’ organizations, each with its own purpose. The conference this weekend brought together members of the American Night Writers Association or ANWA. Founded in October, 1986 by Marsha Ward and five other women, the group served mommies with young children. These mothers also chose to be authors; some were already published and others saw themselves publishing one day. They wrote at night, after the children were asleep, hence the name.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78a2E9L0PiFRtcRhFUEsFxsvscUtUgAxG97U7So8MCCYOF6JQHAoi9M6kwKcIfm7ESIcoHvwbvZmoqj-Os7miwshe7WCeLCTruagXtDRAuhS1iQEN062-3do9vrV5Cy2Xg-_v3fllkcQ/s1600/P1100387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78a2E9L0PiFRtcRhFUEsFxsvscUtUgAxG97U7So8MCCYOF6JQHAoi9M6kwKcIfm7ESIcoHvwbvZmoqj-Os7miwshe7WCeLCTruagXtDRAuhS1iQEN062-3do9vrV5Cy2Xg-_v3fllkcQ/s320/P1100387.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The group that started 33 years ago in a living room now includes 350 members. About half are published authors; the rest aspire to be. Many members have years of publishing experience, multiple book contracts, and designation as best sellers on some impressive lists. Creative energy abounds. It practically buzzes in the air all around us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6smZuJ83lpSEqzUgKLDyWCDeccUd8F0S5QV4soA94yWa79umMrR8XoeDoAsmavfI95Vg8z-Arr0IQgi8IqB93ej0IAqFmvnA_jFXVzzI_hNOs_Sm6yTbuf3JFZ4d45piyltr6Fw_IzI/s1600/P1100392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6smZuJ83lpSEqzUgKLDyWCDeccUd8F0S5QV4soA94yWa79umMrR8XoeDoAsmavfI95Vg8z-Arr0IQgi8IqB93ej0IAqFmvnA_jFXVzzI_hNOs_Sm6yTbuf3JFZ4d45piyltr6Fw_IzI/s200/P1100392.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we combine large numbers of writers—who, by nature, are introverts—with the opportunity to network, teach, and learn, beautiful things happen. I attended workshops on everything from how to create emotional resonance, to writing inspirational non-fiction, to book marketing and taxes; met some multi-talented people, shopped in a store stocked with members' books, and had the opportunity to share some of my own experience in the publishing industry. The weekend inspired, thrilled, impressed and <i>exhausted</i> us all, but it was a lovely kind of tired.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gEOZBai98pOblgY7lSDZPGFHifvrk3QV5Adikd_InREeg5orD0vJYoFQhyphenhyphenrjGxAPMihxcqaNO8d6KYx-zEWaEDAIP6P4KVprTd9LJtOg2LVxTMWE5m8IfvXB0RlkU0o-IPlmBvCt7E4/s1600/P1100402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gEOZBai98pOblgY7lSDZPGFHifvrk3QV5Adikd_InREeg5orD0vJYoFQhyphenhyphenrjGxAPMihxcqaNO8d6KYx-zEWaEDAIP6P4KVprTd9LJtOg2LVxTMWE5m8IfvXB0RlkU0o-IPlmBvCt7E4/s200/P1100402.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">One highlight came when I sat at a table with Marsha Ward, whose vision created ANWA and whose books—dozens of them—grace a number of different publishing platforms and top-seller lists. (That's Marsha in black.) I’ve been to conferences before and I plan to attend more. Every one sends me away refreshed, invigorated, and eager to sit down and write. I can hardly wait to finish </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Winter Skye.</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Any day now. . . .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX86ZShOWKMZPEYAqokQmbf22yg1p7F_CvuewQm62JOeBbfPc1A3OC0Ge2rCI7p7homN0FydWDPPQqPYh7ORq7b1VY5gX8Q5q0bM2i7yJ9QGDTlgBs5TDPBy3YAUOkasxBaJzOCghpM18/s1600/P1100404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX86ZShOWKMZPEYAqokQmbf22yg1p7F_CvuewQm62JOeBbfPc1A3OC0Ge2rCI7p7homN0FydWDPPQqPYh7ORq7b1VY5gX8Q5q0bM2i7yJ9QGDTlgBs5TDPBy3YAUOkasxBaJzOCghpM18/s200/P1100404.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-indent: 48px;">Susan loves to hear from readers. Write her at susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com, or visit www.susanaylworth.com or her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Susan.Aylworth.Author. </i><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Watch for</i><u style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: italic;"> </u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Amber in Autumn</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">, Book 3 in the "Seasons of Destiny" series, coming near the end of September. Books 1 and 2, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Paris in the Springtime <i>and </i> Sunny's Summer <i>are available in e-book and paperback formats. </i>Winter Skye <i>will follow soon. Stay in touch! </i></span></span></div>
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Susan Aylworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950324917778043680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5079931541460049406.post-55610268898980831532019-09-10T18:09:00.002-07:002019-09-10T18:09:45.469-07:00The Lake District in England
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by Karen McCullough<br />
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<br />
For years I’ve wanted to visit the Lake Country in England.
The historical association with the romantic poets and the cultural connection
to Beatrix Potter influenced that but the real decider for me is all the stories
I’ve heard about the remarkable beauty of the area.<br />
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The region has been a go-to vacation spot for many English
families for years, including my son’s in-laws, who are avid mountain-climbers.<br />
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I recently got the chance to visit when we arranged to spend
a week in Keswick, one of the largest towns in the District. We shared a
vacation cottage with our son, daughter-in-law, and their two children. The
journey to the place was a fairly easy but rather long car ride from their home
in Hythe, Kent.<br />
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For us, getting there meant taking planes from our home in
Greensboro to Atlanta, from Atlanta to JFK in New York, and from New York to
Glasgow. After a couple of days stop-over in Glasgow, we took a train to
Penrith and then a bus from Penrith to Keswick.<br />
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Was it worth all the travel? From the purely personal
perspective, a chance to visit my grandchildren is worth any amount of effort.
But the countryside offered a lot of rewards as well.<br />
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The Lake District is actually an area of mountains, valleys,
and rivers as well as many lakes. The scenery ranges from gorgeous to
breathtaking. Mild weather and frequent rain ensure that the place is very
green. It’s a playground for lovers of nature and the outdoors.<br />
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<br />
Although there are other entertainments, including a theater
by the lake in Keswick, the place attracts mostly hikers, mountain climbers, bikers,
boaters, and other water sports enthusiasts. The entire area is a warren of narrow
roads, trails, and walking paths.<br />
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We had a beautiful view of a nearby mountain from the large
window of our house and the deck overlooked a river. On our first full day we
took what was billed as an easy hike to the Castlerigg Stone Circle, an ancient
stone circle that lacks the size and grandeur of Stonehenge, but is more
accessible and intriguing. The day was unusually sunny and hot, making the
mostly uphill hike there more strenuous than expected. Still we managed it and
an even longer downhill hike back to town.<br />
<br />
<br />
Day two featured a boat trip around Derwentwater, one of the
many lakes in the area, followed by some time in town, followed by lunch in a
pub and poking around the town of Keswick. Day three also featured beautiful
weather. While my daughter-in-law and oldest granddaughter climbed Catbells (a “beginner”
mountain I wasn’t ready to tackle) the rest of us walked a mostly level trail
along a lovely, winding river. <br />
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It’s worth noting that the landscape is also dotted with
numerous small pubs and cafes. Most walks included breaks for refreshment at a café
and ended with a meal in a pub.<br />
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Unfortunately during the last couple of days of our stay the
weather deteriorated sharply. Rain isn’t unusual in the area. Our first few
days, which featured sunny warm weather, were more of an anomaly. But the solid
deluge and heavy wind of our final days were not the norm. On one of those
final rainy days we all visited one of the most interesting non-outdoor
activities in the area, the Derwent Pencil Museum. The pencil as we know it had
its origin in the area and Derwent still makes some of the best quality pencils
around. <br />
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<br />
The last day we stayed inside and played with the
grandchildren. And that was good too. All things considered the trip was well
worth all the travel involved.<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Karen McCulloughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15709823258020421437noreply@blogger.com8