Rose Anderson's Blog, page 6
November 29, 2015
November’s last
Where has the year gone? No Fun Day Sunday today. I’ll pick that up again next week. Too busy right now, and frankly still operating in a holiday haze of too many calories consumed over a short period of time. Today, I’m sharing the last Thanksgiving postcard.
Why do vintage postcards fascinate me? The short version of the long story is my husband and I have an affinity for old things. It was something we shared from the very beginning. Because we’re two people undoubtedly born out of time, we love to track down old treasures in antique stores, flea markets, and estate sales. In these excursions, we often see bundles of letters and old postcards in shoes boxes. They meant something to someone once, but the owners pass on and those left to settle things often have no attachment and no reason to keep them. Hubby and I love these keepsakes of days gone by. If you take the time to immerse yourself in these common things, you’ll get an insider’s view of history. This stuff is called ephemera.
The wordie I am compels me to explain that Ephemera, by definition, is anything short-lived or ephemeral. (ephemeral means lasting but one day) Generally these things are useful or important for only a short time but linger as mementos and tokens of happy memories — things such as ticket stubs and pamphlets, advertisements such as matchbooks, greeting cards of all sorts, and notices and clippings etc. That these things were kept as keepsakes speaks volumes of the regard in which they were held, especially the old valentines, cards, postcards, and correspondence.
So, as mentioned before, my husband gave me a mostly empty album for collecting vintage holiday postcards and together we’re building a scrapbook one postcard at a time. The album is set up by the decade with sleeves for each and covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960.
Each day from now until January, I’ll share one from our collection. And sometimes two!
This 1904 card was once glued into a scrapbook. Go on, immerse yourself in the image. Sometime this week I’ll explain the inks and printing processes for these old cards. Sometimes a little background knowledge can help you determine the approximate age at a glance.
:)
Scroll down to see previous vintage Thanksgiving postcards and read the how postcards became popular greetings to send. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥NEW!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Exquisite Quills, my international readers/writers group, is trying something new this year — a romance cookbook! The ebook is available for pre-order now, and the hefty paperback comes out at the end of the month. It’s a lovely book, if I do say so myself with its 21 charming holiday stories and even more delicious recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/Exquisite-Christmas-Romance-Authors-Holiday-ebook/dp/B018F4ACSC/
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ My Other Book News ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Four 5-star reviews of The Changeling!
♥My other recent release has shining stars too!
Entice Me – a multi-author collection. It’s a steal for 99¢.
My story is Heart of Stone
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Words worth mentioning for November
“The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning.”
~Ivy Baker Priest
Authors and Industry representatives all month long.
Stop by today for Author Denyse Bridger’s blog day and be sure to get her free Holiday short story. It’s a charmer.
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The December contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
From my family to you and yours, have a safe and happy day.
November 28, 2015
#3 A little rough but the greeting is perfect
Four years ago, my husband gave me a mostly empty album for collecting vintage holiday postcards and together we’re building a scrapbook one postcard at a time. The album is set up by the decade with sleeves for each and covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960. That these cards were kept as keepsakes speaks volumes of the regard in which they were held. We love them too. From now until January, I’ll share one from my collection every day.
Just one more for November. Tomorrow winter postcards begin. Scroll down to see previous vintage postcard and read the how postcards became popular greetings to send. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥NEW!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥Exquisite Quills, my international readers/writers group, is trying something new this year — a romance cookbook! The ebook is available for pre-order now, and the hefty paperback comes out at the end of the month. It’s a lovely book, if I do say so myself with its 21 charming holiday stories and even more delicious recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/Exquisite-Christmas-Romance-Authors-Holiday-ebook/dp/B018F4ACSC/
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ My Other Book News ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Four 5-star reviews of The Changeling!
♥My other recent release has shining stars too!
Entice Me – a multi-author collection. It’s a steal for 99¢.
My story is Heart of Stone
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Words worth mentioning for November
“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”
~Aesop
Authors and Industry representatives all month long
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The December contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
From my family to you and yours, have a safe and happy day.
November 27, 2015
Vintage Greetings
Four years ago, my husband gave me a mostly empty album for collecting vintage holiday postcards. Together we’re building a scrapbook one postcard at a time. The album is set up by the decade with sleeves for each and covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960. That these cards were kept as keepsakes speaks volumes of the regard in which they were held. We love them too. Each day from now until January, I’ll share one from my collection. And sometimes two!
Scroll down to see yesterday’s vintage postcard and read the how postcards became popular greetings to send. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥NEW!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥Exquisite Quills, my international readers/writers group, is trying something new this year — a romance cookbook! The ebook is available for pre-order now, and the hefty paperback comes out at the end of the month. It’s a lovely book, if I do say so myself with its 21 charming holiday stories and even more delicious recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/Exquisite-Christmas-Romance-Authors-Holiday-ebook/dp/B018F4ACSC/
Would you like to join our Thunderclap campaign with a one-time, no-strings-attached Tweet and Facebook blast? Thanks in advance!
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/35136-order-exquisite-christmas
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ My Other Book News ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Four 5-star reviews of The Changeling!
♥My other recent release has shining stars too!
Entice Me – a multi-author collection. It’s a steal for 99¢.
My story is Heart of Stone
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Words worth mentioning for November
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
~Thornton Wilder
Authors and Industry representatives all month long
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The December contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
From my family to you and yours, have a safe and happy day.
November 26, 2015
Happy Thanksgiving & snapshots of affection
How often do you think of the time before common things? Even the simplest things in our lives started as a spark in someone’s imagination. Four years ago, my husband gave me a mostly empty album for collecting vintage holiday postcards and together we’re building a scrapbook, one postcard at a time. The album is set up by the decade with sleeves for each and covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960. Cards kept as keepsakes speaks volumes of the regard in which they were held. We love them too. Each day from now until January, I’ll share one from my collection.
I think postcards have an interesting past. Did you know this hobby is as popular as stamp collecting? Collecting postcards is called Deltiology from the Greek deltion or writing tablet. Before there were cards sending wishes, there were decorated envelopes. The first concept for the postcard appeared in 1861, brainchild of John P. Charlton of Philadelphia. Shortly after he transferred his copyright to H.L. Lipman. The postcard idea had a slow start.
It wasn’t until 1889 that postcards became popular. It all started with the Eiffel Tower and the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. People visiting that modern wonder could send a photo postcard to family and friends. It wasn’t a souvenir per se, more an advertisement. It was after the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago that postcards really took off. And they only cost 1⊄ to mail vs. the going rate of 2⊄ for letters. Comparatively speaking then and now, a penny back then had a value equal to a quarter today. If 15⊄ could buy you a quart of milk for your kids, you’d likely think saving a penny to send a greeting to your loved ones was a bargain.
Subscribe to get them in your inbox!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥NEW!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
My international readers/writers group, Exquisite Quills, is trying something new this year — a romance cookbook! The ebook is available for pre-order now, and the hefty paperback comes out at the end of the month. It’s a lovely book, if I do say so myself with 21 charming holiday stories and even more delicious recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/Exquisite-Christmas-Romance-Authors-Holiday-ebook/dp/B018F4ACSC/
If you’re a Twitter or Facebook user, please consider helping our international endeavor by joining our Thunderclap campaign. With this one-time, no-strings-attached Tweet and Facebook blast, we expand our world exposure for one day. Thank you for considering!
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/35136-order-exquisite-christmas
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ My Other Book News ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Another three 5-star reviews of The Changeling!
♥My other recent release has shining stars too!
Entice Me – a multi-author collection. It’s a steal for 99¢.
My story is Heart of Stone
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Words worth mentioning for November
“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”
~ Saint Basil
Authors and Industry representatives all month long
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The December contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
From my family to you and yours, have a safe and happy day.
November 25, 2015
Something New!
NEW!
My international reader/writers group Exquisite Quills is trying something new this year. It’s available for pre-order for ebook now, and the paperback comes out on November 30th. It’s a lovely book, if I do say so myself. 21 c
harming holiday stories and even more delicious recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/Exquisite-Christmas-Romance-Authors-Holiday-ebook/dp/B018F4ACSC/
If you’re a Twitter user, please consider helping this international endeavor by joining our Thunderclap campaign. With this no-strings-attached tweet-blast, we expand our world exposure for one day. Thank you for considering!
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/35136-order-exquisite-christmas
My Other Book News~
Another three 5-star reviews of The Changeling!
♥My other recent release~
Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone
Creating things has been a part of my life from the very first time I picked up a crayon in my small stubby-fingered hand as a child. My head was full of images, but as a very young child I could never get them out on paper when I tried to draw them. They appeared as scribbles. Very frustrating. I just didn’t have the coordination.
Eventually my little self moved from those sadly unmaneuverable crayons to colored pencils that went exactly where I wanted their colored lines to go. Over time I learned how to draw and sketch and incorporate shadows and light. I mastered charcoal and oil pastels and time passed. Paint on paper started out difficult but I eventually got the hang of tempera paints and later acrylics and oils. Later I added sculpting, carving, and sewing to my list of creative pastimes. Through all those many years and many mediums, it was paper itself that formed a special bond with me.
I was very young when I picked up forbidden scissors for the first time and cut out a paper duck. The real scissors were heavy and hard to wield but sharp and pointed– so unlike those useless snub-nosed children’s scissors that tore more paper than they actually cut. How odd I remember that long ago moment. I remember it because my child’s imagination was vibrant but what my mind conceived rarely appeared when I drew–just the scribbles I mention above. But that day with adult scissors I was told not to touch, the thoughts reproduced in paper were almost exact to what my mind envisioned. It’s the same today. Put paper and scissors before me and anything might come from it — a snowflake or a Hagia Sophia with a genie and a flying carpet (yes, I once cut that out of paper).
I don’t do much paper cutting these days, nor do I do draw much. Forty-three years of rheumatoid arthritis, sneak thief it is, has made such things only doable in small amounts. But paper and I are still close companions. I still incorporate shadows and light, and I color imaginary worlds with sentences precisely snipped from every corner of my mind. I write books.
:D
This time of year, I temporarily set aside writing for other creative outlets. It’ll be rough on my hands, I know, but my gift making is a labor of love. Discomfort is a small price to pay to show family and friends what they mean to me. What greater expression than something made of hours of our precious time? We only get so much.
I find such multi-level creating does much to boost my literary crafting a few short weeks from now. While I’m busy expressing my love, I invite you to get acquainted with the other side of my creativity where all that imaginative vibrancy still finds ways to come out — in print. Scroll down to previous posts and click on the tabs above to see my book trailers and my other blogs filled with snippets, insights, and blogging challenges. take a look at my tag cloud on the right and you can see at a glance the creative force that drives me. You’ll also find recipes, writerly and chatty things, and more.
Take a moment to stop by Thursday. I have wonderful, whimsical vintage postcards from the 1870s to the 1950s. Long story. I share it tomorrow.
Words worth mentioning for November
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”
~Melody Beattie
Authors and Industry representatives all month long
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The December contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
November 3, 2015
Diminution & Inflation ~ Funny in all sizes
I’m wrapping up my exposé on satire today with Diminution and Inflation. There are more subcategories of satire, many more, actually. But some are so slightly nuanced, I read them as shades of what I’ve already discussed.
I chose to put these last two examples side by side because it just made sense. Though they both shine a light on the absurdity of whatever topic is being examined, it’s all about scope — one enlarges (Inflation) and one reduces (Diminution). In my opinion, no one does Diminution better than Jon Stewart. The same goes for Stephen Colbert and his Inflation. I’ve found two clips that perfectly represent both. It wasn’t easy to find examples with language clean enough to keep WordPress from shutting down my blog over indecency issues. As it is both are a tad irreverent. lol
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/qjwxgb/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-grazed-and-confused—hannity-obsession
Diminution: Reduces the size of something in order to make it appear ridiculous or that it be examined closely and have its faults seen close up. Here’s a favorite of mine:
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/qjwxgb/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-grazed-and-confused—hannity-obsession
Inflation: A common delivery of satire is to exaggerate real-life situations to such a degree that they become ridiculous and flaws and faults are highlighted.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/je51p5/the-colbert-report-rich-white-guys-agreeing-with-each-other-alert—neil-cavuto
I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into Satire.
:D
I’ll be taking a short blogging break.
See you next week.
۞>>Other Happenings<<۞
The Romance Review’s Year End Splash
http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/
A 5-star review of The Changeling!
♥My other new release~
Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone
Words worth mentioning for November
“With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it.”
~Aristotle
Today’s guest ~ Colleen S Myers
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The November contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.
http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
November 2, 2015
The Highs & Lows of Burlesque
Because the world needs more laughs, I’m continuing on with my Satire Series today and start up again on Monday. Who knew Satire was such a vast human expression? I’ve been breaking it down by nuance and showing examples.
If you’ve stumbled across my blog for the first time, do scroll back to read the first posts on the topic. Should you enjoy these eclectic posts of mine, I invite you to subscribe. My interests are broad and varied so topics could be anything.
Satire
The word satire owes its roots to the Latin for well-fed as in saturated and sated. Makes sense to me. Being well-fed feels good and so does having a good laugh. There’s a lot to Satire. For one, it’s ancient, possibly the oldest, most trenchant way to observe society because the things people find funny offer an inside peek at the person within.
People naturally want to poke fun. The Ancient Greeks and Romans took their friendly ribbing and formalized the delivery to make satire an art form. Today I’m examining burlesque. When I began this exposé I had no idea burlesque was a form of satire.
Burlesque has been around a while and it’s more than just a striptease. In the 16oo-1700s it was divided into two classes: High Burlesque where inappropriate subject matter was dolled up and treated like it was literary gold. Sort of like Morgan Freeman and other actors reading 50 Shades of Gray aloud as though it were Shakespeare. (Yes, you can find that on youtube. I won’t put it here.) Then we have Low Burlesque where a serious subject is treated to an irreverent, mocking style. Think Monte Python and the Holy Grail.
The Victorians here and abroad played with this type of satire in everything from carnival and circus shows to Can-Can. I suppose that’s how burlesque eventually became synonymous with striptease. In the last century coming out of Vaudeville, most strip shows were anchored by comedians such as Mae West, Abbott and Costello, W. C. Fields, Jackie Gleason, Danny Thomas, Al Jolson, Sid Caesar, Danny Kaye, and Red Skelton. These are just a few well-known names in comedy who started their careers in Burlesque. We also had famous dancers come out of those acts such as Gypsy Rose Lee, Blaze Starr, and Sally Rand.
When my dad was a young man of 20, he went to the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago. There he saw the incomparable burlesque show of Sally Rand the fan dancer. The lady had some moves.
:)
Burlesque as satire. Who knew? It’s funny how things begin one way and turn into something else entirely.
Tomorrow~ one more!
۞>>Other Happenings<<۞
The Romance Review’s Year End Splash
http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/
A 5-star review of The Changeling!
♥My other new release~
Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone
Words worth mentioning for October
“Personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a checklist of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications are not your life.”
~J. K. Rowling
Today is Author Krista Ames’ blog day
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The November contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.
http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
November 1, 2015
#SundayFunday!
Sundays on my blog are all about wonder and smiles. In honor of mentally kicking back once in a while, Sundays are Fun Days! My Sunday visitors will find a fun, interesting, or unusual something here. I’m a nerd with a complex sense of humor and absurd wit. It could literally be anything.
If you’ve been here before you’ll know I’m a world drummer, that is, I make music with percussion instruments from all over the world. Occasionally while drumming with my drumming friends, we’ll fade our playing one person at a time and go to clapping hands. Then one by one we pick up our drums and start playing again. I found this percussion concert recently. It’s pretty much what we do. Enjoy!
Starting Monday ~ Satire series continues a few more days.
۞>>Weekend Happenings<<۞
The Romance Review’s Year End Splash
http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/
Snippet Sunday
(open promo opportunity for you!)
http://exquisitequills.blogspot.com/
A 5-star review of The Changeling!
♥My other new release~
Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone
Words worth mentioning for October
“When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.”
~Japanese Proverb
Today is Author Nicole Morgan’s blog day
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The November contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.
http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
October 31, 2015
The Story of Stingy Jack & How he Tricked the Devil
Happy Halloween! It’s my favorite holiday. I’ve been over at The Romance Studio’s Spookapalooza all week talking about my other-worldly stories and villains. I have five posts up so far and will be adding one more for today a little later. Do stop by. TRS parties are filled with prizes to be won.
:)
http://trsparties.com/author/randerson/
If you’ve stopped by my blog before you’ll know I’ve been writing a series for years. As it stands, the unnamed work I call my magnum opus (MO for short) is five books long and approximately 5k words in toto. For today’s post I’m sharing a snippet from the MO. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep this little bit in the series. Sometimes my characters force these moments on me. lol The following was inspired by a folktale.
The Story of Stingy Jack and How he Tricked the Devil ~
Mac and Aggie settled onto their father’s lap with their popcorn balls. Aggie took a bite. It was difficult biting without front teeth, but the six-year-old’s incisors did their best. She gave her elder cousin a snaggle-toothed grin and asked, “What story are you telling tonight, Maddock?”
Maddock hadn’t decided until that moment. He leaned close. “I’m thinking I’ll tell ye the story of Stingy Jack. What do ye think, Connor?”
Connor laughed. Aggie looked up at him, a question bright in her green eyes. “Do you know this story, Dad? Is it a funny one?”
He winked at Maddock and gave his daughter a hug. “Wait and see.”
Maddock chuckled, and began, “So once there was a blacksmith named Jack. Everyone from miles around called him Jack, ye see, for this was in the days when no one used last names…”
Across the fire, Aidan whispered to Liam, “Wasn’t Jack was a farmer?”
An accomplished storyteller, Maddock used the moment to his advantage. He met the eyes of the children around the fire, and said, “True, Jack was a farmer too. An’ a good one at that because he could shoe his own oxen. Now Jack had a wonderful sense of humor an’ he loved playing tricks. He found it great fun to bore a hole in someone’s water bucket or paint a white stripe down the back of a neighbor’s black house cat.”
The children laughed.
“But Jack never harmed a soul. He was a very careful man — careful with his beasts, careful with his craft, and careful with his coin. Some say too careful with his coin. While Jack wasn’t a stingy man in his business, he was a stingy man in the pub.
Well, one evening when the animals were bedded down, and the coals of his forge banked well, Jack grew thirsty an’ thinking a pint might do him good, he headed straight to the pub. But who do ye think he met there?”
Several children asked at once, “Who Maddock?”
Maddock paused then suddenly blurted, “The devil himself!”
Liam whispered to Aidan, “Didn’t the devil meet Jack on the road?”
Maddock coughed. “Aye well, the devil gets around, no? So, Jack sat himself down at a table an’ had several pints of stout ale. Desiring another, he opened his purse but there was only enough coin for the drinks he’d already had.
Now the devil saw all the empty glasses an’ watched Jack turn out his pockets looking for more coins. He thought he’d be an easy soul to take for his own, ye see. Pulling up a bench, the devil sat beside Jack. So busy was Jack, he didn’t realize who sat beside him. The devil said, ‘Ye look troubled laddie. Can I help ye?’
‘I had a long and thirsty day. I worked the iron and I worked my fields. Now I’m too tired to go home for more money, but it’s thirsty I am.’
The devil stroked his pointy beard and said, ‘I’d like to help ye laddie, but I dinna help unless there’s something in it for me.’
Jack finally noticed of the pointy beard. He looked at the floor and saw the cloven hoofs. Though he pretended to be confused and befuddled by drink, Jack knew who the devil he was talking to!”
Chuckles and giggles went around the fire at the play on words.
“Now, Jack was in the mood to play one of his tricks. He knew this creature could turn himself into any form he wished an’ he thought a moment before saying, ‘I’d sell my soul for one more coin to buy another pint.’
Well, no finer words could be spoken to a devil out hunting souls. He said, ‘Ah, there is something I can do for you after all, laddie. I’ll turn myself into a coin so you can buy your last drink, then I’ll change myself back an’ your soul will come with me to Hell.’
Jack scratched his nose, then he scratched his chin, then he picked up his empty glass and drained the last drop from it. He licked his lips looking wistfully at the jug the barmaid carried. Then meeting the devil’s eyes, he said, ‘I’m in the mood for a good bargain such as that!’
In a flash, the devil changed himself into a gold coin. And just as fast, Jack grabbed it up an’ stuffed it into his wallet!”
Aggie was wide-eyed. “Couldn’t the devil get out again?”
Maddock chuckled, “Oh no, ye see inside that wallet was a copper sator square.”
Aggie turned to her father. “I don’t know what a sator square is, Dad.”
“It’s a very old luck charm, honey.”
Maddock nodded, “Aye, and it bound the devil inside Jack’s wallet for ten whole years.”
Aidan whispered to Liam, “Didn’t Jack trick the devil up a tree?”
Narrowing his eyes at the pair, Maddock continued, “At the end of ten years Jack opened the wallet an’ said, ‘Tell me ye won’t be taking my soul to Hell will ye. Make your vow, devil. Tis the only way I’ll be releasing ye.’
The devil laughed, ‘Damn my eyes you’re good. Yes, ye have my word on it!’
With that Jack released him. So years and years passed and eventually Jack grew to be an old man. One day the devil appeared an’ said to him, ‘I’ve been a watchin’ you since the day you released me Jack. So ye love playing tricks, do ye?’
Jack chuckled, “Aye. As long as they bring harm to none, I do.” He’d always loved a good prank, ye see, but was always careful not to hurt another in the process. That’s a good way to be no?”
The children nodded.
“Well, do ye believe it, the old devil laughed! ‘I like tricks myself’, says he. ‘If I canna make ye stay with me, at least come for a visit. We can discuss the fine art of trickery an’ maybe I’ll get some new ideas.’
Jack thought a moment. He was an old man with nothing better to do. He no longer worked the forge an’ farm. That hard work now belonged to his strong sons an’ grandsons. As long as he didn’t have to stay to in Hell, he might enjoy listening to the devils exploits now an’ again. Especially in the fall when his old bones ached an’ the heat would feel good. He said, ‘Alright. If I don’t have to stay, I’ll visit ye.’
Reaching into his pocket, the devil pulled out an ember that would never burn out. He handed it to Jack who promptly dropped it on the ground.
Blowing on his singed fingers, Jack tipped his head to the ember an’ asked, ‘What am I 
supposed to do with this?’“Alive or dead, your soul canna see to find its way unless I bring ye myself. Carry this with you an’ for one night each year you’ll be able to find your way to my world an’ back.”
‘Fair enough.’ Jack told him. Taking an old turnip from the field, he carved out the center an’ then whimsy took him an’ he carved out eyes, a nose, an’ a mouth. He carefully placed the ember inside where it made the little lantern’s face glow.
“Jack o ‘lanterns!” Aggie shouted and looking quite the part, gave Maddock her snaggle-toothed smile.
“Aye, an’ every year you’ll see Jack walking at night with his smiling lantern lighting his way to Hell.”
Tomorrow ~Sunday Fun Day
A 5-star review of The Changeling! ♥My other new release~Heart of Stone part of the Entice Me anthology~ a multi-author collection is on sale for 99¢.
Words worth mentioning for October
“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
~Franklin D. Roosevelt
Today’s guest~ Jessie Clever
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us The November contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items. http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
October 30, 2015
Pushing the Pull Door
Because the world needs more laughs, I’m continuing on with my Satire Series today and start up again on Monday. Who knew Satire was such a vast human expression?
If you’ve stumbled across my blog for the first time, do scroll back to read the first posts on the topic. Should you enjoy these eclectic posts of mine, I invite you to subscribe. My interests are broad and varied and topics could be anything.
Here’s a short recap if you’re stopping here for the first time ~
Satire
The word satire owes its roots to the Latin for well-fed as in saturated and sated. Makes sense to me. Being well-fed feels good and so does having a good laugh. There’s a lot to Satire so I’ve been breaking it down by nuance and showing examples. Today I’m examining juxtaposition — specifically ironic juxtaposition.
While ironic juxtaposition feels somewhat sarcastic to me, it’s really an artistic form of absurdity. Cartoons, caricatures, and comedy are the main vehicles that get the absurdity message across, but it also shows up in literature and drama. The internet is filled with meme images and snapshots that cleverly show ironic juxtaposition, but it wasn’t easy to find a written example of it. Here’s a funny one.
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:)
It’s easier to recognize and appreciate this form of satire when we actually see conflicting things or thoughts set side by side. An example would be my guffawing colonial gentleman 
above. His proper language when saying he was laughing his butt off is sort of funny and it’s certainly an absurd contrast when delivered by a man of his time.
Cartoonist Gary Larson and his Far Side did a fantastic job with ironic juxtaposition. He often presents bizarre visuals like hippos wearing tap shoes, or ducks walking in a V formation rather than flying.
And a few more:
More~ An interview with Gary Larson.
Satire returns on Monday with burlesque!
As for Saturday and Sunday’s posts…It’s Halloween weekend! Come see what I have planned.
:D
A 5-star review of The Changeling!
♥My other new release~
Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone
And 5-star reviews for Entice Me too.
Words worth mentioning for October
“Man is born to live, not to prepare for life.”
~Boris Pasternak
Today is Author Suzanne Rock’s blog day
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us
The November contest starts soon. Prizes often include $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N, ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.
http://www.romancebooks4us.com/
