Rose Anderson's Blog, page 8

In Honor of a Word Collector #MondayBlogs

There was an important milestone for all word weavers the other day– on October 16, 1758, Noah Webster, the Father of The American Dictionary was born. Noah was a lexicographer, that is, he practiced the art of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. A man after my own heart!

Born to parents who prized education, young Noah attended Yale at age 15. Apparently he was a restless young man– the proverbial ship without a rudder because it’s said he couldn’t settle on one career path.  It took him years of hopping from pillar to post up until the Revolutionary War when he served in the Connecticut Militia. He also became a lawyer during the war. If you can’t imagine how he managed that, remember the battles of war weren’t happening everywhere at once.

There’s no doubt that Noah was a man of seditious opinion. His thoughts were influenced by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau whose modern take on political, sociological, and educational thought contributed to the French Revolution. I’ve written about The Enlightenment before. Coming of age with these enlightened principles, Noah wanted that Utopian new world. Here you can see Noah’s words have decidedly Rousseau-esque ring to them:

America sees the absurdities—she sees the kingdoms of Europe, disturbed by wrangling sectaries, or their commerce, population and improvements of every kind cramped and retarded, because the human mind like the body is fettered ‘and bound fast by the chords of policy and superstition’: She laughs at their folly and shuns their errors: She founds her empire upon the idea of universal toleration: She admits all religions into her bosom; She secures the sacred rights of every individual; and (astonishing absurdity to Europeans!) she sees a thousand discordant opinions live in the strictest harmony … it will finally raise her to a pitch of greatness and lustre, before which the glory of ancient Greece and Rome shall dwindle to a point, and the splendor of modern Empires fade into obscurity.

This fellow of strong opinion soon found himself an unemployed lawyer and an unsatisfied schoolteacher. With a desire for a better world playing in his mind, he picked up his pen and began crafting an “an intellectual foundation for American nationalism”. In other words, he believed knowledge was power and gaining one’s knowledge early in life was key. Where better to begin than in the American schools? By 1785, Noah had written both a speller and grammar book for elementary schools. His Blue-backed Spellers were very well received and would go on to teach 5 generations of Americans. That’s an incredible run. Proceeds from his spellers allowed him to work on his more complicated ideas. Those  Blue-backed Spellers were only part of a bigger concept. 

Bigger concept?

America was multicultural from the start and by nature was comprised of people speaking different languages. In Noah’s time the King’s English was predominant but this was spelled, pronounced, and used differently everywhere you went. Noah hoped to standardize the hodgepodge into American English.  he realized to do this mega undertaking, he’d need to study historical linguistic changes of words. And to do that, he learned twenty-six languages, including several dead and obsolete. And so A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language was written, followed by The American Dictionary of the English Language. Because of him, we have our uniquely American words in the dictionary today — words like skunk and opossum, toboggan and canoe.

After Noah Webster’s death in 1843, George and Charles Merriam obtained publishing and revision rights to his work. When they published their first revision to the dictionary, they added new sections and illustrations but didn’t change any of the main text. A complete overhaul was done in 1864 and again the work retained many of Noah’s definitions as well as his original title. As language evolves more words are added and the dictionary undergoes revisions– with words such as texting, lifehack, and gender-fluid added to the rest.

From Noah Webster’s 70,000 words to today’s Merriam-Webster with more than 470,000, all I can say is these lexicographer word-nerds have given me years of wordie joy. Did I mention I collect words? I do I have dozens of word origin books, dictionaries, and thesauri. What can I say? I’m a word-nerd too.
:)







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

“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.”

~Saint Teresa of Avila

 

Today is Author Sharon Hamilton’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

#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.

I saw this the other day and have been saving it for my Sunday post. It made me laugh so I’m sharing. As a woman I can relate. lol

 

۞>>Weekend Happenings<<۞

Here on My Main Blog

Saturday’s Ramblings & Fun Day Sunday

**NEW**

Sunday’s Six of the Best

Madeline Archer’s blog

http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/

Sunday’s Six of the Best

Rose Anderson other blog

http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Weekend Writing Warriors

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com/

My Sexy Saturday

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

Sunday 7

(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

And a 5-star review for Entice Me too.

Words worth mentioning for October

“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”

~Benjamin Franklin

 

 

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

An author’s life: to build that backlist

An author’s life involves more than the creation of literary worlds, it’s an endless sea of self-promoting. It’s necessary because there’s also a Grand Canyon full of books out there and people won’t read yours unless they find them. Now there’s a needle in a haystack if ever there was. For an introvert like me, pushing myself front and center takes nothing less than monumental effort.

Early on it was explained to me that the backlist is the path to success– that stack of previous novels you’ve written sells the new book because you have fans waiting to read the next.  I’ll tell you right now it’s definitely a slow go. My stories come to me one line at a time. To date I have 8 full-length novels in print, 2 are three-book series (both waiting on their 3rd) and one of them also comes in a reduced-price bind-up of both books. I’m also in 2 free anthologies, a 9-author book set, 3 murder anthologies, 2 cookbook anthologies, and 2 more anthologies in the works. If I count my unfinished stories, there are about 16 or so (counting my pile of children’s stories just waiting on me to get them out into the world). And I’m not as prolific as some!

I’m also not a formula writer. That’s the ticket for authors able to plot out books quickly. I’m just not able to mechanically churn out plug-n-play stories. My mind doesn’t work that way. I find it fascinating that some people are adept at it, and not just that, they do it successfully.

It sort of looks like this example:

Story – It doesn’t matter when or where or even who, but the hero must marry against his will or lose his inheritance.

He is:

A. A playboy in London high society 1818

B. A Viking in 900AD

C. The son of a prosperous American Industrialist 1915

D. The hereditary leader of a Vampiric coven 2012

She is:

A. A penniless orphan with an undiscovered royal lineage

B. A Celtic high priestess

C. A salesperson in a high end department store living on public assistance

D. A goth chick working at an all-night diner.

External forces working against a happy outcome = their obvious differences.

It can simply be he chafes at the idea, acts like a jerk, but inexplicably falls in love anyway or love triumphs despite one of these:

A. It’s hard to break into the social strata lacking social graces

B. It’s hard to get over the pesky master/slave relationship

C. It’s hard to explain to wealthy mom and dad that she’s the working class

D. It’s hard to get past the deadly love you/love your blood boundaries

There you go. I’ve just created four separate books out of one story line. I know of authors who crank out a book a month using this formula.

I have to wonder though. In a recent comment on one of my titles, the reader said my story was refreshingly different. How so? Does this refer to repeat readers eventually burning out on all the same stuff different day scenarios?  I had exactly that happen to me not long ago. As a romance reader, I have my favorite authors. Readers usually do. There was one I’ve read for more than 20 years. Loved her books. The year before last I eagerly bought this author’s latest. I snuggled down with the book but soon found I couldn’t get past the third chapter. Damn. I’d read it before…several times. Only the names, dates, character lives and location were different than the last several books she’d written. The fan I was never saw it until that moment, and to be honest, it felt like a long time love affair had ended for me.  I went to my bookshelf and sorted back through the years to my favorites. Those I kept. The formula books had to go. I had moved on. Sad business that.

Yes, the idea of the mega backlist appeals to me. The idea of writing a book a month also has a certain allure and I just might join in the big book in a month endeavor–the NANOWRMO. But I don’t think I could put the emotion I do into books following the formula above.

۞>>Weekend Happenings<<۞

Here on My Main Blog

Saturday’s Ramblings & Fun Day Sunday

**NEW**

Sunday’s Six of the Best

Madeline Archer’s blog

http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/

Sunday’s Six of the Best

Rose Anderson other blog

http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/

The Weekend Writing Warriors

http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com/

My Sexy Saturday

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

Sunday 7

(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

And a 5-star review for Entice Me too.

Words worth mentioning for October

“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

~Brigham Young

 

Today is Author Jean Hart Stewart’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

Of Mice & Me

I imagine all authors have their cobwebs and dust bunnies. When the muse says write, you just have to. After a mentally exhausting 15 days promoting my two new releases (see below), I decided to get my house in order for fall and the winter to come. It’s time to chase the spiders outside. It’s time to oil the wood furniture before the dry, furnace-heated air of the colder months comes on full. It’s time to find the winter gloves and boots you put in “a good place” last spring. It’s time to look for those Tom and Jerry mouse holes and plug them up with steel wool. Yeah, extreme measures are required for country living.

Remember a few months ago how I complained about mosquitoes as the pest of the summer season? Well, I’ve entered the winter season early. In the last week, the cooler weather has driven the country mice indoors, and I’m not talking their indoors, I mean MY indoors.

We have two kinds here on the hill:  large sable-furred deer mice and little gray house mice. I like mice, they’re adorable. Outside. How can you not like them with their plump little bodies and their bright little eyes and cute whiskers? That’s my view of them in their habitat. When they enter my habitat… let’s just say my opinion changes. Studies show mice travel miles to get back home, so capturing them live and releasing outside is a lesson in futility. That only has them scurrying back indoors the instant their feet touch the ground. 

I’ve good cause to hate mice in my farm house. They chew on everything, they raid my pantry, leave their foul messes, and steal birdseed from my cockatiels (which they go stuff between the cushions of my sofa!). A few years ago, a friend of my husband’s gave him this weird flashlight-type thing with LED lights that spin. Would you believe the mouse or mice have taken all but one bulb off that flashlight? Why?? Are they Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca from Beatrix Potter’s Tale of Two Bad Mice? Are they part of the Teenie Weenies world from the old Sunday comics? Do they supply the Borrowers? Or are they relatives of Stewart Little? What the heck do mice do with LED lights??

All that said, we’ve officially waged war this week. It’s a sad business but there’s nothing else we can do. It makes me long for a cat but we have allergies here. The little terrier likes to think she’s on the problem. That is what terriers do. Between us so far I’m 2 to 1 in the mouse-catching department. The war continues…

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 a 5-star review for Entice Me too.

Words worth mentioning for October

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

~ Aristotle

 

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

Fleeting Beauty #Thursdaytreat

There are things I can always count on when the seasons change. In the winter when the snow comes deep and still, I can count on my dog to abandon her favorite “business” spot in the yard and crisscross the blanket of snowy beauty with tracks that leave it looking like the wheelhouse at Grand Central Station.

 

In the late spring and early summer the lilacs bloom first, followed by the peonies, then when the heat comes on the irises and roses bloom. At that point I can count on fierce storms and torrential rains to beat them to smithereens the instant they’re at their loveliest. 

The sky gets that crisp blue in autumn and the air fills with the sound of migrating birds. But the very week the trees deck out in fabulous color, you’d better not blink.  As oft happens during season changeovers,  the winds come to strip the branches bare. It happened exactly that way again. I no sooner commented on the flaming orange hazel bush out my window the other day, when high winds blew all the color away.

:(

One early autumn not long ago, my husband and I chanced upon a field of giant puffball mushrooms.  Hundreds of them. It had a surreal look to it. But then I find freshly rolled hay bales sitting in a field rather surreal–like something Salvador Dali would paint. If only we had come the moment the puffballs emerged to see it unmolested, because for some people walking those woods that same day, the staggering awe of hundreds of mushrooms the size of soccer balls was nothing more than how many they could stomp on. Rather than enjoy a precious and fleeting moment with nature, they missed the point entirely. Someone with an active imagination might have imagined them as fairy tents for a giant once a year fairy gathering or a fairy-sized world’s fair. I did.

This time of year, there are all kinds of mushrooms out there. It’s also the time of year where amateur mushroom hunters trod over the landscape looking for mushrooms to snatch. I get it. They’re tasty. But people often forget the important roll mushrooms play in the grand scheme of things. I’ve seen people take them all rather than just some. The eco system needs those mushrooms. People can sure be short-sighted in their greed.

I think the fleeting beauty of nature is what makes you appreciate these things more. If you saw it all every day it would soon become so common to your eye that it would get lost among your other thoughts.  Things like amazingly colored leaves, huge heavenly-scented lilac bushes, and puffballs are meant to be savored in their moment. It’s like a sweet spring-only Vidalia onion, summer bing cherries, or a Christmas tangerine. No, I take that back. This small window to appreciate the seasons’ beauty is more like a Marshmallow Peep or a Taffy Apple.

Get ‘em while they’re here for they will soon be gone.

♥♥♥ I’ve never had a professional promotional tour before for any of my books so it’s all new to me. From now until the end of the month, I’ll be a featured guest on many blogs and websites. Some posts will be big and others small.

Here’s today’s tour stop for The Changeling~

http://get-cozy.blogspot.com

And 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 a 5-star review for Entice Me too.

Words worth mentioning for October

“Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.”

~Jack London

 

Today is Author Fran Lee’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

Viva Satire! #HumpDay #Wednesday

I saw a youtube video on Facebook yesterday and it made me laugh out loud. I’m saving it to post here for Fun day Sunday. It was a parody in the classic sense of satire.

Pardody~ Noun. Any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc. 

Satire is an ancient practice viewed, by people who view such things, as the oldest and most trenchant way to observe society.  Given people’s natural tendency to poke fun, I’m sure it was a common occurrence around the evening fire. It took the Ancient Greeks and Romans to formalized the delivery of satire and make it an art form. I’ve read various origins of the word satire — everything from a spin on those half goat/half men satyrs to the Latin lanx satura which literally means “a full dish of various fruits”. I can see both in the word origins. It’s all good.

Some cultures have perfected satire to the point of the humor being lost on most Americans. (I happen to think British humor is hysterical) As far as American parody/satire goes, Youtube is filled with it. Not long ago, my son had me listen to a cartoon song with ugly animation. It was a parody on the opera Carmina Burana – O Fortuna. I swear I can’t get the O Fortuna Misheard Lyrics  out of my head. Every time I hear the real version of Carmina Burana – O Fortuna, I hear the spoof lyrics saying bring more tuna! Here’s the real version. Look up O Fortuna Misheard Lyrics on Youtube to get a brain worm of your own.

https://youtu.be/AdIpoE2LEps

Speaking of things sticking in your head. There’s also this parody by creative talent Weird Al Yankovic. Be prepared to smile:

He’s spoofing this one by Micheal Jackson:

:D

♥♥♥ I’ve never had a professional promotional tour before for any of my books so it’s all new to me. From now until the end of the month, I’ll be a featured guest on many blogs and websites. Some posts will be big and others small.

Here’s today’s tour stop for The Changeling~

http://nicolemorganauthor.blogspot.com

And a 5-star review of The Changeling!

My Hump Day Happenings Around the Web~

Entice Me~Facebook Multi-author Event

https://www.facebook.com/events/396410180568212/

Entice Me~ On Tour!

http://nickiday.blogspot.com/

Books Hooks

http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/

Paranormal Love Wednesday

http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/

Hump Day Blurb Share (open promo opportunity for you!)

http://exquisitequills.blogspot.com/

♥My other new release~

Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone

Just 21 more supporters to go!

Please help spread the word about Entice Me.

We’re running a Thunderclap Campaign. What is that exactly? People like yourself agree to allow Thunderclap to use your Twitter account for one tweet that you don’t even need to be involved with past giving permission. The idea is, 100 people donate one single tweet that joins others to all take place on one day. That’s 100 tweets talking about Entice Me spread across one day. In the Twitterverse ( social media’s Twitter universe) this means a little bit of news can go further than on its own. If you’re an author, let me know if you’re doing a campaign of your own and I’ll gladly help share your news. I do that all the time for other authors. It’s an easy way to help one another out.
:)

Words worth mentioning for October

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Today is Author Marianne Stephens’ blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

Let’s eat Grandma! Punctuation Saves Lives

I love this picture. lol I have a small collection of funny author things like this. I should share them all. Some are hysterical.

I’m the first to admit my Chicago Public School experience lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. By the time I was coming up through the ranks, the budget cuts started trimming all the fun things out of the curriculum. This left my education with holes, and that’s not good if you also happen to speak Chicagoese like I do (I consciously try not to). Let’s just say what we do to everyday speech is as unique as that of any Bostonian or Virginian. Secondly, those holes mean my grammar and punctuation are sorely lacking. (You’ve no doubt seen that here. lol) Thank goodness for my editor who gouges out misplaced semicolons from my manuscripts. For blogging I’m on my own.

Punctuation is the art of dividing written composition into sentences, or parts of sentences,  to mark the different pauses where required. The Comma, for example, represents the shortest pause. The Semicolon, represents a double pause. The Colon, represents a quadruple pause. And the period is final. Oh, just give me an em-dash and be done with it!

Who was Aldus Manutius? A Renaissance  printer from Venice who shaped the comma, invented the semicolon, and created italic fonts. Perhaps the greatest punctuator of all time. Thanks a lot, Aldus.

More~

Fascinating stuff here on the history of the apostrophe –who borrowed what from where and how England became the most literate country in 17th century Europe.

http://www.englishproject.org/october-and-apostrophe



The Apostrophe Protection Society (Yes, it really exists. Follow their links to a fantastic grammar resource)

http://www.public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/apostrophes1.html

By the way, today is English Language Day.

;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:

 

 

 

 

 

 

♥♥♥ Now this is nice! I’ve never had a professional promotional tour before for any of my books so it’s all new to me. From now until the end of the month, I’ll be a featured guest on many blogs and websites. Some posts will be big and others small.

Here’s my first stop~

http://thebookpub.blogspot.com/2015/10/madeline-archers-changeling-book-tour.html



The next stop~

http://sensuouspromos.blogspot.com/2015/10/madeline-archers-changeling-book-tour.html

And this is very nice too!

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

Would you like to help spread the word about Entice Me?

We’re running a Thunderclap Campaign. What is that exactly? People like yourself agree to allow Thunderclap to use your Twitter account for one tweet that you don’t even need to be involved with past giving permission. The idea is, 100 people donate one single tweet that joins others to all take place on one day. That’s 100 tweets talking about Entice Me spread across one day.  In the Twitterverse ( social media’s Twitter universe) this means a little bit of news can go further than on its own. If you’re an author, let me know if you’re doing a campaign of your own and I’ll gladly help share your news. I do that all the time for other authors. It’s an easy way to help out.
:)

Words worth mentioning for October

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

~Margaret Mead

 

Today is Author Cindy Spencer Pape’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to enter!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

Kill your Darlings #MondayBlogs

An author friend posted a quote from Stephen King the other day and when I saw it, a word popped into my head– Dénouement. I came upon the word a few years ago while looking up Washington Iriving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Wordie me looked it up.
:D

The final clarification or resolution of a plot in a play or other work. The solution or outcome of the plot of a play or novel: “In the dénouement of many tragedies, the main character dies.”

Origin: From the French meaning literally to untie, to dénouer from Old French desnoer, to knot. And that comes from the Latin nōdāre a derivative of nōdus or knot.

Dénouement



As a writer I struggle with the character dies part of this. I’ve mentioned before that family and friends often tell me I should up the ante of my storytelling by killing off beloved characters. The first time this was suggested, I was knee-deep in my unnamed 5-book, 500k magnum opus. It’s something to consider. The battle between light and dark is rather intense. Then again, they also suggested I bump off one of my main characters when I was writing Loving Leonardo. Such a blood thirsty lot they are.

;)

I do see the merit in raising stakes in mainstream fiction (like my magnum opus), but does romance truly need this?  If I’m to call in the Grim Reaper, the story and the characters themselves will have to give me a solid reason why I should. From my vantage point as fiction creator, I find this rather hard because these people on the page don’t always spring forth from a writer’s head fully formed. Oh sure, the concept of them may, but their personalities don’t always arrive until later.

In my experience, fictional characters slowly reveal themselves and I grow to love them as we become acquainted. At least that’s how it is for me. They’re my lovers and friends, they’re my desires and dreams, my secrets and aspirations. They’re also my laughter and joy, my doubts and my pain. In a nutshell, my characters are the sum of me and then some. Even my bad guys, as dark and murderous as they are, are me too. 

The sun is not yet up and the wind is howling as I write this. It’s a good time of year to acknowledge the skeletons rattling around in the closet of my imagination. Rattle on guys, rattle on.

And as long as the wind is howling…

Washington Irving’s story takes place in 1790 in Sleepy Hollow, the secluded countryside glen  near the old Dutch settlement of Tarrytown, New York . The area is famous for its ghosts and unexplained occurrences, and the most infamous spectre of all is the Headless Horseman. The creepy ghost is said to be the disgruntled spirit of a Hessian soldier who lost his head to  cannon fire in a nearby battle during the Revolutionary War. Because of this, he “rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head”. (love that line)

Enter Ichabod Crane, a superstitious and somewhat nervous schoolteacher, made even more so by the scary stories shared at a social gathering that evening. After failing in the business of love, he rides home that dark night and passes the old cemetery. As the legend goes, he encounters the Headless Horseman in his ghostly quest and is never heard from again.



This American classic is most definitely worth a read with the wind howling outside.

It’s a fitting time of year for a shiver up the spine.

More~

Find Legend of Sleepy Hollow here at Gutenberg.org

Listen to it on audiobook  I listened to four of these before I found one with decent inflection. Nothing worse that being told a story in a flat, monotone voice! This one is pretty good, in my opinion.

This is nice! It’s the first stop on my very first promotional tour. http://thebookpub.blogspot.com/2015/10/madeline-archers-changeling-book-tour.html

And this is nicer! A 5-star review of The Changeling.

♥♥♥NEW RELEASES!♥♥♥

Entice Me – a multi-author collection for 99¢. My story is Heart of Stone

The Changeling – A story inspired by the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin.

Words worth mentioning for October

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

~Robert Frost

 

Today is Author Gemma Juliana’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to play!

:D

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

 

#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.

When people think of bagpipes the first association made is likely Scotland. Believe it or not, bagpipes are found all over the world. (I’ll blog this in depth for next year’s A to Z Challenge). For now, here’s a clip of a favorite high-energy band from Germany ~ Corvus Corax (yeah, they are named for the raven). I love the drums– just watching it gets my pulse up! Enjoy.

:)

More~

A sizable list of bagpipes from other countries.

۞>>>>Happenings on my other blogs<<<<۞

Weekend Writing Warriors

http://madelinearcher.blogspot.com/

Snippet Sunday

**A promo op for you too!**

http://exquisitequills.blogspot.com/

۞>Recent Happenings<۞

http://www.fantasypages.ca/2015/10/be-enticed-by-heart-of-stone-from.html

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/2015/10/tea-with-finola-martin-by-rose-anderson.html

♥♥♥♥NEW RELEASES♥♥♥♥

HEART of STONE

Blurb~

The story opens with the notorious witch hunts in 17th Century Salem, Massachusetts.

As formal education for women lacks substance in 1904, Neila Flannigan leaves Ireland to attend Radcliffe women’s college in America. Shy and introverted, Neila passes her lonesome hours sketching the Harvard grounds and sending drawings home to her father. A chance encounter with a kind and elderly Irish woman inspires her to sketch a statue in an old, unused building. Desperately lonely, Neila ends up sharing her thoughts and feelings with a man carved in stone. Some days it feels like he listens.

Heart of Stone~ Part of the Entice Me anthology

A multi-author collection for 99¢!

Buy on Amazon

THE CHANGELING

Blurb~

Half-fae Lenox Pendry is surrounded by secrets and none are his to keep. Plucked from his mother’s arms as an infant and raised a changeling, Lenox grows to adulthood unaware of what and who he is and oblivious to the danger unfolding as his birthday draws near. After he’s unwittingly sent to the Scottish Lowlands out of harm’s way, he chances to meet a beautiful healer named Janet Roxburgh. The townspeople believe her to be a witch. It would appear Janet has a few secrets of her own.

Buy on Amazon

Check out my Free Reads in the tabs above. I have several character interviews there. Enjoy!

If you missed me at Author Denysé Bridger’s Fantasy Pages this week,

Read my post here.

Words worth mentioning for October

Life is a spell so exquisite that everything conspires to break it.

~Emily Dickinson

 

Today’s guest Kimberly Dean

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest. Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to play!

:D

Coming Soon: The Romance Reviews Year End Splash Party

 

#New Release Day ~ 2 of them!

♥♥♥♥♥♥TWO NEW RELEASES TODAY! ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Two new works out today! Boy these tales took a while to go to print. Finding words isn’t an easy thing sometimes,  especially when life throws you a curve. Both were nearly completed when my old puppy’s health started to fail.  Her heartbreaking loss derailed my thought train for a while. She was my companion for nearly 15 years.  Making a commitment to the month-long A to Z Challenge this past April got me writing again.

Anyway… I’m very proud of both stories. I really love making the fantastical seem perfectly normal. Both are written under Madeline Archer. Madeline’s next adventures include a new book trailer for The Changeling and taking part in another multi-author anthology coming in time for the holiday season. Rose Anderson is taking a break.

HEART of STONE

by Madeline Archer / Rose Anderson

Blurb~

The story opens with the notorious witch hunts in 17th Century Salem, Massachusetts.

As formal education for women lacks substance in 1904, Neila Flannigan leaves Ireland to attend Radcliffe women’s college in America. Shy and introverted, Neila passes her lonesome hours sketching the Harvard grounds and sending drawings home to her father. A chance encounter with a kind and elderly Irish woman inspires her to sketch a statue in an old, unused building. Desperately lonely, Neila ends up sharing her thoughts and feelings with a man carved in stone. Some days it feels like he listens.

Heart of Stone~ Part of the Entice Me anthology

A multi-author collection for 99¢!

Buy on Amazon

THE CHANGELING

by Madeline Archer / Rose Anderson

Blurb~

Half-fae Lenox Pendry is surrounded by secrets and none are his to keep. Plucked from his mother’s arms as an infant and raised a changeling, Lenox grows to adulthood unaware of what and who he is and oblivious to the danger unfolding as his birthday draws near. After he’s unwittingly sent to the Scottish Lowlands out of harm’s way, he chances to meet a beautiful healer named Janet Roxburgh. The townspeople believe her to be a witch. It would appear Janet has a few secrets of her own.



The Changeling

Buy on Amazon

♥♥♥ CHECK OUT OUR ENTICE ME CONTEST!♥♥♥

In honor of the first anthology by the Authors of Romance Books ‘4’ Us, we’re running an additional October contest (I mention our regular monthly contest below).

Prizes include a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a terrific “super power” Romance Reader or Romance Author t-shirt. If you’re into romances, the t-shirt will make you smile.

There are three ways to play!

 

:D

I’ve placed last week’s character interview at Romance Books ‘4’ Us, under Free Reads in the tabs above. I have several character interviews there. Enjoy!

If you missed me at Author Denysé Bridger’s Fantasy Pages this week,

Read my post here.

>>NEW this November<<

We’d Rather Be Writing – a multi-author cookbook and time-saving tips.

Kindle pre-order now. Paperback on the way.

Words worth mentioning for October

Does’t thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

~Benjamin Franklin

 

Today is Author R. Ann Siracusa’s blog day

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us

The October contest is on! We have $100 in gift cards for Amazon/B&N. Other prizes often include ebooks, print books, audiobooks, additional gift cards, and non-book items.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com/

Coming Soon: The Romance Reviews Year End Splash Party