Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 196

Autumn Love

Today as I was trying to figure out what to write about (procrastination, anyone?) I heard birds in my backyard--lots of birds. And I got it. My favorite sounds of Autumn which segued into why fall is my favorite time of year.

For one--the sounds. Birds have be particularly vocal of late and in my backyard. It could be the unharvested apples hanging from my trees--which would be all the apples they produced as I don't harvest--let's get real. Or the fact that a few of my flowers are still in b...

Letters to Love

I found myself thumbing through a favorite old book last night and I decided instead of just thumbing through, I'd grab a few quotes and share them...That book is a book of famous love letters - one of my favorite things in the world, even though I usually get love-cards not full-fledged letters. I'm not complaining, though. Beggars can't be choosers!

Sometimes love has a bumpy path, as noted in these letters to star-crossed lovers King Henry VIII and Napoleon:


King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn (y...

I do!

Recently, I've become addicted to bride shows, Bridezillas and Say yes to the Dress. I don't know why. I was married 29 years ago, and I have no desire to renew my vows. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly happy with my hubs, but going through the whole ordeal of a big, Catholic wedding again holds no appeal.

But watching these shows got me to thinking about my characters. What would their wedding(s) be like? In Wild Horses, Jake and Castana have little family. Both of her pa...

The times--they are a changin'...

          I read—and loved—two books this past week. That’s more than I ever get read anymore unless it’s RITA-judging time, and the fact that I loved them both makes it even more of a rarity. In case you’re wondering—you are wondering, aren’t you?—the books were The Soldier’s Wife by Cheryl Reavis and The Lovesick Cureby Pamela Morsi.          One of the books was historical, the other contemporary; one was category,...

Let's Talk Trope!

This week on Word Wranglers,  we're talking about tropes. When the week started, I had no idea what a trope was, so I asked. I was relieved to find out I wasn't the only one who was clueless. There's a lot of them out there. Secret babies, arranged marriages, marriage of convenience, and my favorite, forbidden fruit. Since Margie talked about that one yesterday (you should check it out, it was great) I won't go there today.  I'll move on to my next favorite. Fated lovers.
               ...

Delecatable Bites

Last night I had an epiphany.  And it was about the tropes. I figured out my favorite trope and it hasn’t been mentioned here yet. So, yay me.<!--[if gte mso 9]>

Me, My Trope and I...

I know I'm the one being blamed credited with the Topic of the Week this week at WordWranglers. For better or for worse, I actually am the one who said, 'hey, lets write about tropes this week'! In my defense I was coming off the high of an all-writing-weekend with some of my favorite writer people in the world. And I did have a head cold. Nyquil was involved. Maybe a little too much of it.

But the damage is done. It's now Wednesday morning, my day to post and I'm staring at my computer screen...

Trope is a Stupid Word

Trope. What a stupid word. Trope. Say it. Trope.

In short, it means a plot device such as marriage of convenience or secret baby or whatever. What does that have to do with my mountain picture, you ask? Well, a common romance trope (stupid word) is the stranded theme.

It's one of my particular favorites. Another is thrown together against the elements. I love that one. I don't know why, but I've always found the notion of a man and woman stranded together in the mountains romantic.

Dont' kn...

Here a trope, there a trope, everywhere a...

          It’s been a while since we had a Topic of the Week here at the Wranglers and since I was clueless as to what to post today, I put out a whimper. Kristina Knight, fresh off a writer’s-soul-reviving retreat, suggested, “How about favorite tropes?”          Great, we all agreed. What a good idea. While I was looking it up, rather than admit I had no idea what a trope is (even though I’ve been seeing the word eve...

The X-Factor?

Earlier today, I had no idea what I was going to blog about. As a matter of fact, 2 hours ago I had no idea what I was going to say.  Then I watched the X-Factor. What do you know, a show I rarely watch inspired me.

There was a certain young lady that went off. Throwing chairs, water, yelling at the people who were there to support her, running blindly out in the rain. I'm assuming the young girl with her was her daughter, but I'm not sure. Watching her total melt down angered me. Especi...