Rose Anderson's Blog, page 62

The Devil you Know

Putting the cart before the horse

My posts over the last few days (with a break for the Sneak Peek) have been all about colloquialisms and proverbs.  If you’re here for the first time, scroll back to previous posts to find Proverbs, Americanisms, Nautical, Biblical, and Shakespearean colloquialisms — all creative additions to the tapestry of thoughts, insights, and cultural input that make up our speech.

Today, I’m adding to the proverbs from yesterday’s post. All cultures have memorable and often metaphorical sayings. These axioms, idioms, maxims, and proverbs encapsulate our beliefs and values and are used to convey traditionally held truths.  Because there are so many that have been absorbed into the English language , I’m breaking my posts down to offer a selection a day.  You’ll see a few repeats here from my last several posts and you’re sure to find one or two that you’re familiar with.

B & C:

Bad money drives out good * Bad news travels fast * Barking dogs seldom bite * Beauty is in the eye of the beholder * Beauty is only skin deep * Beggars should not be choosers * Behind every great man there’s a great woman * Better late than never * Better safe than sorry * Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don’t * Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all * Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness * Better to remain silent and be thought a fool that to speak and remove all doubt * Beware of Greeks bearing gifts * Beware the Ides of March * Big fish eat little fish * Birds of a feather flock together * Blood is thicker than water * Boys will be boys * Brevity is the soul of wit * Business before pleasure * Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion * Carpe diem (Seize the day) * Charity begins at home * Cheats never prosper * Children should be seen and not heard * Cleanliness is next to godliness * Clothes make the man * Cold hands, warm heart * Comparisons are odious * Count your blessings * Cowards may die many times before their death * Crime doesn’t pay * Cut your coat to suit your cloth

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Last day for the hop over on my satellite blog. I’m sharing bits of my novels and offering prizes.

Come see!

The Hot Summer Nights Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

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~ Coming Soon ~

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A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Growing up in a household with few books, I have no memory of ever being read to. No one in the family recalls teaching me how to read, but I started kindergarten knowing how and was bored to tears by my classmates struggling with The cat sat on the hat. Weird words that broke the rules like neighbor, weigh, sure, island, sword, colonel, cough, Wednesday, and foreign, weren’t foreign to me. I was enchanted by the written word at a young age. Words evoke. They capture imagination. They convey. They inspire.  Words symbolically take the place of actions. They give us the ability to take a nebulous idea born in our minds and share it with the world. As a writer, I really dig that.  And speaking of colloquialisms…

My posts over the last few days (with a break for the Sneak Peek) have been all about colloquialisms. Some of these things are so ensconced in our language, we forget that there was a time when someone said them first. If you’re here for the first time, scroll back to previous posts to find Americanisms, Nautical, Biblical, and Shakespearean additions to the tapestry of thoughts, insights, and cultural input that make up our speech.

Today, I’m adding proverbs to the mix. Memorable and often metaphorical, proverbs encapsulate our beliefs and values and generally convey traditionally held truths. All cultures have these sayings, axioms, idioms, and maxims, particular to them, and I’ve found so many that I’m breaking my posts down to offer a portion a day. To begin, here are a few that have been absorbed into the English language starting with the letter. You’ll see a few repeats here from my last several posts, and no doubt you’ll find one or two that you’re familiar with. I recognized a few attributed to Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin.

A:

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link * A change is as good as a rest * A dog is a man’s best friend * A drowning man will clutch at a straw *  A fool and his money are soon parted * A friend in need is a friend indeed * A golden key can open any door * A good beginning makes a good ending * A good man is hard to find * A house divided against itself cannot stand * A house is not a home * A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step * A leopard cannot change its spots * A little knowledge is a dangerous thing * A little learning is a dangerous thing * A little of what you fancy does you good * A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client * A miss is as good as a mile * A new broom sweeps clean * A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind horse * A penny saved is a penny earned * A person is known by the company he keeps * A picture paints a thousand words * A place for everything and everything in its place * A poor workman always blames his tools * A problem shared is a problem halved * A prophet is not recognized in his own land * A rising tide lifts all boats * A rolling stone gathers no moss * A stitch in time saves nine * A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly * A thing of beauty is a joy forever * A trouble shared is a trouble halved * A volunteer is worth twenty pressed men * A watched pot never boils * A woman’s place is in the home * A woman’s work is never done * A word to the wise is enough * Absence makes the heart grow fonder * Absolute power corrupts absolutely * Accidents will happen * Actions speak louder than words * Adversity makes strange bedfellows * After a storm comes a calm * All good things come to he who waits * All good things must come to an end * All is grist that comes to the mill * All publicity is good publicity * All roads lead to Rome * All that glitters is not gold * All the world loves a lover * All things come to those who wait * All things must pass * All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy * All you need is love * All’s fair in love and war * All’s for the best in the best of all possible worlds * All’s well that ends well * A miss is as good as a mile * An apple a day keeps the doctor away * An army marches on its stomach * An Englishman’s home is his castle * An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure * Another day, another dollar * Any port in a storm * April showers bring forth May flowers * As thick as thieves * As you make your bed, so you must lie upon it * As you sow so shall you reap * Ask a silly question and you’ll get a silly answer * Ask no questions and hear no lies *

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One hop is still running where I’m sharing bits of my novels and offering prizes.

Come see!

The Hot Summer Nights Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

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~ Coming Soon ~

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Take the Cake

For the last few days (with a break for the Sneak Peek) I’ve been blogging about colloquialisms. It’s amazing just how often they come up in daily conversation. They certainly come up in my writing. If you’re here for the first time, scroll back to previous posts to find Nautical, Biblical, and Shakespearean additions to everyday  chats. 

Today, in honor of Memorial day, I’ll give you a few Americanisms: 

A-D

A shot in the arm * A sledgehammer to crack a nut *Acid test * An arm and a leg * As easy as pie * As happy as a clam * Baby boomer * Back to the drawing board * Back-seat driver * Bad hair day * Barking up the wrong tree * Bats in the belfry * Bee’s knees * Between a rock and a hard place * Big fish in a small pond * Bigger bang for your buck * Birds and the bees * Blast from the past * Blaze a trail * Blonde bombshell * Born again * Break a leg * Bronx cheer * Brownie points * Bury the hatchet * Card-sharp * Catch 22 * Chaise lounge * Chick flick * Climb on the bandwagon * Close, but no cigar * Coin a phrase * Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey * Cold turkey * Colder than a well-digger’s … * Cost an arm and a leg * Customer is always right * Cut to the chase * Dead ringer * Doom and gloom * Double whammy * Down the tubes * Drop-dead gorgeous

E-K

Ethnic cleansing * Face the music * Fancy pants * Fashion victim * Feeding frenzy * Fifteen minutes of fame * Filthy rich * Five o’clock shadow * Flavor of the month * Fly off the handle * Foot in the door * Fuddy-duddy * Funny farm * Generation X * Get down to brass tacks * Get your dander up * Get your goat * Gild the lily * Go haywire * Go whole hog * Go postal * Go to hell in a handbasket * Good riddance to bad rubbish * Goody, goody gumdrops * Gung ho * Have an axe to grind * Heads up * Heavy metal * Heebie-jeebies * High on the hog * High and wide * Hissy fit * Hold your horses * Hunky-dory * Identity theft * I don’t give a rat’s ass * I don’t give a flying… * If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen * In like Flynn * In spades * In the bag * In the sticks * Indian summer * A Job for the boys * Joined at the hip * Jump on the bandwagon * Jump the gun * Jump the shark * Jury is still out * Kangaroo court * Keep the ball rolling * Keep your chin up * Kit and caboodle *

L-Z

Lame duck * Level playing field * Loose cannon * Lose your marbles * Make a bee-line for * Middle of the road * Mother country * My bad * New kid on the block * Nitty-gritty * No dice * No-brainer * Off the record * On cloud nine * On the wagon * On the warpath * Paddle your own canoe * Paint the town red * Pass the buck * Peter out * Pie in the sky * Piece of cake * Pipe dream * Play by ear * Power dressing * P.D.Q. – pretty damn quick * Prime time * Pull the wool over your eyes * Quality time * Red letter day * Rise and shine * Road rage * Run a mile * Run of the mill * Cash cow * Security blanket * Seven-year itch * Skid row * Smart casual * Smoke and mirrors * Sold down the river * Sound bite * Spill the beans * Spin doctor * Spring forward, fall back * Square meal * Stool pigeon *The tail wagging the dog * Take the cake * Talk to the hand * Talk through one’s hat * The Real McCoy * That’s all she wrote * That’s All Folks! * The whole nine yards * The whole shebang * There’s no such thing as a free lunch * Top notch * Tuckered out * Up a gum tree * Up shit creek without a paddle * Wear the trousers * Well heeled * What you see is what you get * What’s not to like? * What the heck? * Whoops-a-daisy *Wild and woolly * Zero tolerance.

What the heck is a Bronx cheer? I’ll have to go look that up. I’ll spill the beans when I find out.

That’s All Folks! 

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Two hops are still running and I’m sharing bits of my novels and offering prizes.

Since I’m doing that there, I can share colloquialisms here! Come see.

The Hot Summer Nights Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Hop Against Homophobia

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com

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~ Coming Soon ~

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Sneak Peek Sunday!

It’s Sneak Peek Sunday!

This fabulous artwork is for sale by artist here:
http://sgorbissa.deviantart.com/art/selkie-267415690

Here’s my Sneak Peek from my soon-to-be-released Enchanted Skye

As with all legends, their roots often hold truths. My new tale is based upon actual legends of sea creatures and the Scottish family whose long oral traditions say they are Selkie — beings able to live on land as human or in the sea as a seal-like creatures. These aren’t fun stories the family sells to tourists. According to this family, they’ve been Selkie for many generations.

Setting the Stage: L ike his siblings and his father and the rest of his family back hundreds of years, Alex MacCodrum is a Selkie. In this scene, Alex’s brothers and sister discuss his odd reaction to a tenant staying at the family’s inn. The night before, Jenna MacLeod and Alex got off to a very bad start when she was inadvertently locked in his room. She’s embarrassed and furious. He’s inexplicably head over heels.

“The legend Gavin. The Legend of the Seven Tears.” Bea explained.

Gavin’s shoulders dropped. “No.” That kind of charmed longing would eat Alex alive if Jenna didn’t return the sentiment. “You’re right! It’s happening now. I’ve never seen him like he was this morning.”

The elder warned them both, “Listen, don’t ye even think about telling him…”

Concerned for Alex, Gavin said, “But she’s avoiding him Lachlan, in the long run it will break his heart.”

It would indeed. This was old magic. So old it was the stuff of fairy tales. If Jenna MacLeod cried seven tears into the sea with Alex nearby, it was a binding contract of love or obsession – lasting love if he could win her heart, obsession and eventual suicide if he couldn’t. “If he doesn’t figure out a way to win her over, it will kill him.” Lachlan’s frown deepened. “And damn it all, there’s nothing the three of us can do about it.”

Beatrix MacCodrum tapped a finger to her chin. “Maybe there is.”

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Things are still hopping this week and there are still prizes to be had!

Hot Summer Nights Blog Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Hop Against Homophobia

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com

~ Coming Soon ~

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A Labor of Love

For the last three days I’ve been blogging about colloquialisms. Our lives are peppered with them. Many have surprising origins — like the term slush fund has a nautical origins, and all of a sudden comes from Shakespeare. Surprisingly, a good deal of those compact quips so familiar to our day-to-day have only a handful of sources.  In many cases, if it didn’t come from  Shakespeare, and it’s not Nautical, then there’s a good chance it’s a quip with Biblical origins. Though there are loads more than I’ve mentioned here,  those three sources give us so many of the common ones we all know and use every day. Loving words like I do, especially evocative words, it’s only natural that I’d get into colloquialisms.  Like quotes, they often encapsulate exactly what needs saying in the moment. When you’re a writer, it doesn’t get better than this!

Today, I’ll give you a few Biblical examples. I have the large groups separated alphabetically. You might catch  a repeat with an extra word now and then.

A:

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush * A broken heart * A drop in the bucket * A fly in the ointment  * A labor of love * A law unto themselves * A leopard cannot change its spots * A man after his own heart * A multitude of sins * A nest of vipers * A peace offering * A sign of the times * A two-edged sword *  A wolf in sheep’s clothing * All things must pass * All things to all men * Am I my brother’s keeper? * An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth * As old as Methuselah * As old as the hills * As white as snow * As you sow so shall you reap * Ashes to ashes dust to dust * At his wits end 

B – I:

Baptism of fire * Bite the dust *By the skin of your teeth * By the sweat of your brow * Can a leopard change its spots? * Cast the first stone * Charity begins at home * Don’t cast your pearls before swine * Dust to dust * Eat drink and be merry * Eye to eye * Faith will move mountains * Fall from grace * Fat of the land * Feet of clay * Fight the good fight * Fire and brimstone * Flesh and blood * For everything there is a season * Forbidden fruit * Give up the ghost * Go the extra mile * Good Samaritan * Harden your heart * Heart’s desire * Holier than thou * How are the mighty fallen * In the twinkling of an eye * It’s better to give than to receive *

L – S:

Labor of love * Lamb to the slaughter * Law unto themselves * cast the first stone * Let there be light * Letter of the law * Living off the fat of the land * Live by the sword, die by the sword * Love thy neighbor * Man does not live by bread alone * Manna from Heaven * Many are called but few are chosen * My cup runneth over * My heart’s desire * No rest for the wicked * Nothing new under the sun * O ye, of little faith * Out of the mouths of babes * Peace offering * Pearls before swine * Physician heal thyself * Pride goes before a fall * Put words in one’s mouth * Put your house in order * Red sky at night; shepherds’ delight (I know this with sailor instead of shepherd) * Reap the whirlwind * The root of all evil* See eye to eye * Set your teeth on edge * Sign of the times * Skin of your teeth * Sour grapes * Spare the rod and spoil the child * Strait and narrow * Sweat of your brow *

T – W:

Tender mercies * The apple of his eye * The blind leading the blind * The breath of life * The ends of the earth * The fat of the land * The fly in the ointment * The fruits of your loins * The letter of the law * The love of money * The powers that be * The root of the matter * The salt of the earth * The skin of your teeth * The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak * The strait and narrow * The sweat of your brow * The wages of sin * The way of all flesh * The wisdom of Solomon * The writing is on the wall * Thou shalt not kill * To everything there is a season * Wash your hands of the matter * Weighed in the balance * White as snow * Wolf in sheep’s clothing Writing is on the wall You reap what you sow

And these are only the ones I thought commonplace. There’s a LOT more.

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I’m in three blog hops at once this week sharing excerpts and offering prizes. What’s more, using my other blogs for hops means I can share colloquialisms  here! Come see.

The Hot Summer Nights Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Wet and Wild Blog Hop (last day and last chance to win!)

http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Hop Against Homophobia

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com

And that’s not enough! Tomorrow I’m doing the Sneak Peek Sunday. I might offer a peek at my soon-to-be-released Enchanted Skye. Or…I might offer a snippet from my MO (5-year-in-the-making, 500k, 5-book, recently returned to, as-yet-unnnamed, magnum opus — my labor of love. Hey that’s biblical! 

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~ Coming Soon ~

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Thar She Blows

Wordie I am, in the last post I mentioned how colloquialisms tickle me.  Surprisingly, those compact quips so familiar to our day-to-day have only a handful of sources. If it didn’t come Shakespeare, and it’s not a Biblical quip,  then there’s a good chance it has Nautical origins.

Today, I’ll give you a few Nautical examples.

A shot across the bow * All at sea * Anchors aweigh * Batten down the hatches * Between the Devil and the deep blue sea * Broad in the beam * By and large * Close quarters * Cut and run * Edging forward * Fathom out * Get underway * Give a wide berth * Go by the board * Hand over fist * Hard and fast * High and dry * In the offing * Know the ropes * Loose cannon * On your beam ends * Panic stations * Plain sailing * Push the boat out * Shipshape and Bristol fashion * Shake a leg * Shiver my timbers  (or depending on what Pirate you’re talking to Shiver me timbers)* Slush fund * Taken aback * The bitter end * The cut of your jib * Three sheets to the wind * Tide over * Walk the plank.

Slush fund??

I’m in three blog hops at once this week sharing excerpts and offering prizes. What’s more, using my other blogs for hops means I can chat like a sailor here! Come see.

The Hot Summer Nights Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Wet and Wild Blog Hop

http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Hop Against Homophobia

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com

Now… back to my novel in progress. That should be novel(s). I’ve recently returned to my long standing labor of love — my MO — my as-yet-unnamed magnum opus.

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~ Coming Soon ~

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Method or Madness?

I really get a kick out of wording. I’ve mentioned how I love a good quote, but colloquialisms tickle me too. Curiously, many of the compact little quips so familiar to our lives have only a handful of sources. I’ve recently read that if it isn’t Biblical, and it isn’t Nautical, then there’s a good chance it’s Shakespearian.

Today, I’ll give you a few examples from Shakespeare.

Who knew the Bard was so ensconced in our day-to-day conversations?

A foregone conclusion * All of a sudden * As dead as a doornail * As good luck would have it

* As pure as the driven snow * At one fell swoop * Be all and end all * Come what come may

* Eaten out of house and home * Fair play/Foul play * Fight fire with fire * Good riddance

* Heart’s content * High time * Hot-blooded * I have not slept one wink * I will wear my heart upon my sleeve * In a pickle * In stitches * In the twinkling of an eye * Lay it on with a trowel (thick) * Lie low * Love is blind * Make your hair stand on end * Night owl * Out of the jaws of death * Pound of flesh * Rhyme nor reason * Send him packing * Set your teeth on edge

* Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep * Star crossed lovers * Such stuff as dreams are made on * The be all and end all * The Devil incarnate * The game is up * There’s method in my madness * Thereby hangs a tale * This is the short and the long of it * There’s the rub* Too much of a good thing * Truth will out * Up in arms * Vanish into thin air * Wear your heart on your sleeve * Wild goose chase  * Woe is me

Sound familiar? There are a LOT more Shakespearean colloquialisms  out there. This handful seemed to me to be the most common.

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So you might have noticed my blog has a new look. I tried to create this look when I first made the blog, but for the life of me I had a devil of a time (nautical colloquialism) figuring out WordPress.  In many ways it still frustrates me. My main Muse Calliope would have used her stylus and pressed her words into her clay tablets.  I use my laptop to write my stories and update my blog.

A few months ago, I went searching for a new blog format that would allow me to post easily. I tried a lot of different sites — Blogspot.com, Blog.com, Wix.com, etc, and I have blogs all over the place as a result. Some, I’ll never return to. They’re simply placeholders for me on the web. One I can’t figure out how to get back into to make changes, and absolutely no response though I’ve asked twice for help. It’s just floating out there like the Flying Dutchman.

A curious thing happened by chance n early spring. I had the opportunity to take part in a blog hop that wanted steamier excerpts from the participants. Well, rules are rules and WordPress has rules regarding adult content. After they mistakenly suspended my blog several months back, I wasn’t about to give them a real reason to take it down. The thing is, the mechanics for this blog are so hard to figure out, I haven’t put an Adult Content block on it (Not that any underage person wouldn’t just click to the next page). 

Enter Google’s blogspot.com aka  Blogger. It has a pretty straight-forward settings panel so I created my adult content post there. I found it fluid and easy and once I learned how to make a pretty blog with it, I made several satellite blogs. And just because I can, I’m in three blog hops at once this week sharing excerpts and offering prizes. What’s more, I can chat about Shakespeare here!

Now… how about I find time to write more books…

Come see.

The Hot Summer Nights Hop

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Wet and Wild Blog Hop

http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Hop Against Homophobia

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com

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~ Coming Soon ~

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Contemplating Weather

Like any child of the American Midwest growing up on the old Wizard of Oz movie, I had an early concept of twisters and weather. The recent deadly storms in Oklahoma have reminded me I have a phobia — lilapsophobia, aka a tornado phobia.

The roots of my phobia run deep into my early childhood. Growing up in Chicago, Illinois, put me on the end of Tornado Alley. And whether or not we got one was dependent on Lake Michigan. If it added heat to the turbulent atmosphere we could be in trouble. If it added moisture we’d send potential woe to Indiana and Michigan.

They say 90% of US tornadoes occur in Tornado Alley…something to do with cold dry air coming down from Canada to meet the warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. This meteorological  dance macabre takes place in the wide channel between the Rockies and the Appalachians.

My first encounter with extreme weather came in 1967. I remember it was a warm day in April, my birthday had passed. I was in public school at the time and it was recess. This was back in the old days when hazards weeded out the stupid kids and taught you how to be careful. I remember the monkey bars could really break your neck, or at the least, knock out your teeth. I saw that with my own eyes a few times.  Back then most playgrounds were patchy ground and gravel. You just knew if you fell, you were going to be picking that gravel out of your knees.

That day, anyone could see the weather was changing and we were going to have rain shortly, but the teachers felt 30 minutes of being outside was a good idea. Within minutes the sky changed. That was the first time I’d ever seen a green sky. The wind came out of nowhere and the sound of it was terrifying. I was this skinny little girl in a dress and the gravel whipped against me and left me with welts and cuts on my bare legs. The kids rushed to the doors, but this was shortly after the Our Lady of Angles fire when schoolchildren were trapped inside a burning school because the doors opened inward instead of out. Our doors opened out.

The pile of screaming kids jammed against the door preventing the teachers from letting us back in. I remember the principal running from the side of the building. He must have charged out the front door and ran to the back to move us away from the doors so they could be opened and we ran inside. Back in those Cold War days with the threat of Russian bombings, we had drills where we crouched below our desks (like that would make any difference what-so-ever). We crouched now. The storm passed, and later, the sorry basketball hoop at the far end of the gravel playground was bent at an angle and neighbors were out dealing with broken windows and the trees that had fallen.

That summer, my sister and I went to California to visit relatives by train. It was a marvelous train called the California Zephyr. I spent most of the ride in the dome car looking out the massive windows. I loved watching the sunrises, sunsets and mountains, from that car. In the wee hours of the morning, when we were half way through New Mexico, the train slowed. Morning in the dome car revealed the reason. A tornado hit just before dawn and the tracks needed to be cleared. So there I was, in the dome car as usual with lots of time to stare at the sights. And the scene burned into my brain. Especially the cow carcass hanging from the tree and shell-shocked bloody people holding one another.

Storms came and went through my life and some bothered me more than others. Many years went by and I swallowed my anxiety as best I could for my childrens’ sake because parents do their kids a disservice letting them witness anxiety of any magnitude. My husband knew. I wish I could be as fearless as my family but I’m not. The three of them make me crazy that way. I’ll sit out a bad storm in the basement by myself and they’re outside with the sky churning overhead so I can add envisioning the funnel cloud touching down long enough to pluck them off the driveway to the rest of my anxiety!

Anyway…my kids were young teens and we were hired to do a living history portrayal in southern Wisconsin one particularly oppressive July weekend. We put up our camp quickly because it was obviously going to rain, and after decided it was too hot to build a fire for cooking dinner. We ended up driving to a Subway for sandwiches. No sooner did we get our meal when the siren went off. A moment later, a father and daughter come running into the Subway shouting “It’s right there!”. We were sitting ducks.

Everyone ran to the washrooms and hunkered down against the wall of sinks and we covered our children with our bodies as best we could. One woman in there with us started sobbing and babbling, and in all honesty I wanted to clobber her for scaring my kids worse than they already were. As quickly as it came on, the sirens ceased. Fearing the worst for our camp we loaded into the car. The next thing we knew the sirens went off again. At the police station an officer was waving us in. We ran there and got under the tables. It went on for hours. Literally hours. We were in a historic F-5 tornadic supercell. By the time it ended, our camp was blown to bits and the small group of history presenters had taken cover in a cinder block pool house at the park. The town put us up in a hotel overnight. I was numb.

My next experience happened several years later and was close to home..very close to home. The sky that afternoon ranked as one of the weirdest I’d ever seen in my life. Not greenish but a deep slate gray. I was driving and dropped my husband off to close our gates and went to turn the car around to pick him up.  As I turned my eye caught a bizarre sight — a white hourglass against the slate gray. I was dumbfounded. My mind worked it. What was that?? It couldn’t be a tornado, tornadoes are funnels and tubes. Not hourglasses in the sky. Then I saw the debris. Coming to my senses, I remembered I left my husband at the gate and I sped there. I picked him up and headed home. He dropped me off then went to help some people whose car had been blocked on the road by a fallen tree. I ran to the house and nearly got knocked to my knees. Inside, I stuffed my birds into a paper bag and grabbed my house rabbit and put them in the basement. I stayed upstairs for once. In full fret mode, I paced. My kids were out, where were they?? My husband was out there with that misleading hourglass. Was he ok?? A few minutes later he returned with a family of four, and two teenage girls crying hysterically, and we all went to the basement. Lesson learned: tornadoes come in many shapes.

So yes, I have lilapsophobia. My experiences and anxiety pale by comparison to what those who faced the tragedy in Oklahoma went through. My heart goes out to them and wish them all strength and healing.

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~ Coming Soon ~

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Sneak Peek Sunday!

It’s Sneak Peek Sunday!
The love story that began in Loving Leonardo continues in Loving Leonardo -The Quest

Blurb:

Art Historian Nicolas Halstead never could have imagined a book Leonardo da Vinci created for his lover Salai existed, let alone lead to subtle declarations of love worked into da Vinci masterpieces. Nor did he ever picture himself a married man in a polyamorous relationship.

Happy and content, lovers Nicolas, Ellie, and Luca embark on a quest to learn all they can about the greatest mind of the Renaissance. But their world takes a devastating and deadly turn that sends Nicolas into the seedy deviant underworld of Victorian London. It soon becomes clear that Conte Acario Bruno lives, and the madman wants far more than Leonardo’s book. He wants Nicolas dead and Luca for himself.

Here’s my Sneak Peek from Loving Leonardo – The Quest

Setting the Stage: Separated by tragedy, the lovers reunite. Following the book and finding the hidden messages in Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpieces must wait. There are pressing issues to discuss.

I shook my head.

Ellie echoed the sentiment. “Don’t, Luca. How could either of you have suspected he’d survive such a fall?”

It wasn’t the reunion any of us wanted. Matters were far too dire. By necessity we spent the next hour or so discussing Bruno in London. Our conversation lingered on the need for caution. My fatigue weighing heavily, there came a point where I simply couldn’t absorb any more. I rose from the settee and held my hands to them. “I’ve experienced such heartache this week, I can’t think anymore. I’m so very tired. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since before our storm at sea, and my soul needs respite. Come to bed. I want nothing more than to hold you both and escape these anxious thoughts.”

It didn’t take long to bare ourselves and slide between the linens. I laid between them wishing like hell my mind had a valve or a key with which to shut down the specters looming within. I wished I could simply lose myself in loving. But I didn’t have a means to close my mind to the ticker tape thoughts that ran endlessly. Thomas had always been my connection to the world that lay beyond titles and privilege — an enviable salt of the earth who might go where he wished and do as he pleased. Through his connections to other servants, he knew the rough side of London. Anything I’d learned about the city’s seedier side I’d learned from him. If he didn’t know, he’d know someone who knew someone who did. But Thom was gone. I had no such connections and I felt as helpless and vulnerable as a quail chick without a wing to hide under.

A madman was out there in a dark corner, an insidious spider weaving his web and waiting for the day I’d innocently stumble into it. Bruno wished to hurt me and how I saw it, he had several ways in which to do this. Scandal, of course. But I found it hard to believe my social ruin would be enough for the man. I loved four people alive in this world, Ellie, Mrs. Fletcher, Grannie, and Luca. Coming at me through any of these precious souls would cause me pain.

Bruno had already been responsible for my best friend’s death and it chilled me to think he might have known what Thom meant to me. A small shiver ran up my spine as I had a sudden perception. A passage from the Book of Matthew flashed before my mind and I knew: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Whatever the man proposed to do to me through any channel he found, the end would see me mutilated. I knew it as surely as I knew my own name.

In ebook and Paperback On Amazon

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Sneak Peek Sunday

It’s Sneak Peek Sunday!

Here’s a bit from The Witchy Wolf and the Wendigo (book 2) ~

Blurb:

An ancient hatred seethes in pastoral Wisconsin. Denied access to the White spirit world of the ancestors, ancient shaman Eluwilussit finds himself in the Red Realm and receives a terrible gift from the forsaken spirits dwelling there. Blaming Ash for this misfortune, as well as Aiyanna’s death, he vows to be rid of the other shaman once and for all.

Meanwhile, Ash declares his love to Livie and reveals the truth of his existence as a Witchy Wolf. Warned that Eli is coming for him, Ash sends Livie north to the reservation hoping John’s family will keep her safe. In the inevitable confrontation to come, only one shape-shifter can live, or both will die.

Here’s my Sneak Peek from The Witchy Wolf and the Wendigo book 2 Eluwiulussit

Setting the Stage: In the sweat lodge, Ash trances and finds himself in the White Spirit World where he discovers  the other shaman followed him. Needless to say, they are surprised.

Not understanding any of this, Eric frowned in confusion. “Followed you?” He then asked the question he knew lay on the tongues of the other men. “Who are you Ash RedLeaf?”

Ash put his hand out to his peers. “I desire you above all others to know me as I am. I am Ashkewheteasu.”

Joseph shook his head in disbelief. “We are to believe this?”

Recalling how Old Edgar addressed the young man, Omashkooz looked Ash over from head to toe. “The Ashkewheteasu? Ashkewheteasu the Witchy Wolf?”

Ash smiled. Had he been in their place, he might find it hard to believe as well. With that he assumed the form of an eagle and flew into the white sky, circling twice before landing. Changing back, he told his stunned companions, “I am simply who I am.”

Each man standing there believed there was truth behind every legend, no matter how farfetched or astonishing that truth appeared to be. The Spider proved this recently. And now the greatest Manidoowadizi of legend was standing before them after unbelievably transforming into an eagle and back again.

The Witchy Wolf and the Wendigo

Book 2 Eluwilussit

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BRWJMU4



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