Barbara Edwards's Blog, page 28

The Statue of Liberty with Barbara Edwards

Everyone intends to visit the Statue of Liberty. Not only is it impressive and a huge part of our history, but it’s part of our American Dream. You know: Give us your tired, your hungry, your huddled masses yearning to be free. My grandparents followed that invitation and here I am.

The statue’s in a metropolitan New York a major population area, withing driving of three huge airports and a short hop by train.

Why did it take me so long? I hate to drive in the city. So I put it off until the day my husband said he’d bought tickets for a tour. Another of my least favorite ways to travel, but hey, we’re already going.

It turned out to be a lousy day weather-wise. Pouring rain and cold kept us under overhangs and huddled in our raincoats.

The first stop was Liberty Park in New Jersey. This was my first surprise. I didn’t have to contend with the city traffic and parking is a huge lot. We entered a converted rail station where the emigrants took to the rail to cross this country. Chicago, St Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans could all be reached by those with a ticket and a little name tag with a destination fastened to their coats.

The ferry took me to Ellis Island. The place is a huge echoing building with areas describing the medical quarantines, the long lines, the luggage or lack of, and pictures of the ships.

Can I share with you my heart wrenching moment? I stood in the emigrant center. A huge room where every person had to register at one of the desks. A clerk phonetically wrote the name  in a ledger and  made sure you had enough money to find shelter.

All four of my grandparents walked through that room. Crossed the marble floor. Found a home and a dream. I cried as I had my husband take my picture. Because of them, here I am.

We crossed the short channel to the Statue. As many of you know, repairs are underway. I didn’t need to climb to the top to be happy I’d come.

Visit my website: http://www.barbaraedwards.net to see how I’m living my dream to be an author.

Filed under: family and friends, history Tagged: Barbara Edwards,, New Jersey, New York, Statue of Liberty

A trip to Niagara Falls

I mentioned our recent trip to friends and had to explain. Visiting Niagara Falls wasn’t at the top of my list of places to visit. I felt that it was kind of old-fashioned. A place people used to think romantic for a honeymoon. Like many Americans , I’ve seen those pictures. Yawn.

So it was a side-trip.  A lucky choice.

Niagara Falls is the most impressive view I’ve seen on the East Coast. It ranks up there with the Rockie Mountains and the Grand Canyon. Since we had the time, we chose to do the local tour. My husband likes the convenience of someone else finding parking, getting tickets and generally explaining the features.

Our first stop was the power plant. Huge turbines turn on both the American and Canadian sides.

Niagara Falls carries one fifth of the world’s fresh water supply. Of that, fifty percent of the water goes through the electric turbines not over the Falls. I can’t imagine what a full flow would look like and neither can anyone alive since the last time one hundred percent went over the Falls was in the 1880s. Electricity is supplied to the entire East coast of the United States from this place.

We stopped at the whirlpool where water is forced through a narrow gorge before reaching the river. The waters churns like an old-fashioned mixing bowl.

We descended to the Cave of the Winds and looked up at Bridal Veil. It’s too early for the decks to be erected and we walked as close as allowed.

I didn’t see the rainbows since it was cloudy but the birds were too numerous to count. It seems that any fish caught in the current gets ground up by the turbines and the birds gather to feast.

From the observations tower we could see the boats being readied for tourists. The Maid of the Mist isn’t in the water during the winter, but my husband vowed to return to take the voyage under the Falls.

I walked out on the Three Sisters, a set of small islands extending into the river above the Falls. Because of the location, it feels like the water will wash over your head at any second, a wonderful and scary place to take a picture with your feet at the edge of the rolling water.

Niagara is a small city with the biggest surprise being the Seneca Casino in the center of town. It seems the New York constitution doesn’t allow gambling in the state so they land was deeded to the Indian tribe who built the glass structure.

Another place to visit on another day.

Visit my website http://www.barbaraedwards.com

Filed under: writing Tagged: Niagara Falls, traveling

Social Media makes me crazy

Did you notice that every time you learn a new method to use social media it changes?

I hopped on the Triberr train and it changed two weeks after I got it to work. Okay, I’ll grudgingly admit it is better. The problem is it took me hours to learn the new stuff.

Then there’s Goodreads. I happen to like the site. It’s fun to find my friends and their books, to see what everyone is reading, and even sign up to get their blogs. But I think there’s a lot more that I haven’t had time to explore.

Its the same with Amazon Central. I have my author’s page, but am I using  it effectively? I don’t know. I do reviews as I read books and post them. Does it mean anything? I don’t know. I hope so. I know I like to have a nice review posted for my work.

My recent adventure is with FaceBook. Why do they change things that work for me? I sort of followed the directions and updated my stuff, but it doesn’t have the pizzazz of many others sites. Sigh.

But. And this is a big but… I have the most fantastic banner photo posted. It was done by LK Hunsaker, websitewww.LKHunsaker.com

Author Website: http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook: http://facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards

Ancient Blood http://on.fb.me/naHRY5

Twitter: http://twitter.com/barb_ed

Authors Den: http://authorsden.com/barbaraedwards

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/barbaraedwards

Buy hyperlink Ancient Awakening http://www.wildrosepress.us/maincatalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_136&products_id=4511

Thanks for the wonderful image.

Filed under: writing Tagged: Facebook, HL hunsaker

Do you have psychic ability?

I'm truly curious about how many authors can claim psychic abilities. I'm going to be on a panel addressing this area and woke this morning wondering if I have to admit I have some psychic talent.

It's like rattling my closet skeletons. I'm so nervous. People will think I'm weird. I'll be pointed at on the street and have to move or change my name. Boy, am I going off on a tangent.

Writers are the most accepting people in the world. We understand what makes people different and value all the quirks. It all adds to the characters and plot we create.

I use psychic abilities to round out my characters, but it's usually a secondary part of their personality. Annie knows her child is threatened. Rachel senses her twin's feelings. That's recorded and researched ability. Lily sees auras, but not on everyone or even when it will reveal the villain.

I don't share those talents, but I do know how it feels to have that unexplainable episode occur. I am puzzled, even confused. For a minute I question why the people around me didn't see or hear that 'other'.  I always have a lag time. My reality has to accept the unreality as real.

Confusing? Oh yes. I think my mother had a talent, too, but she died young and I didn't know enough to ask. She always explained to me that it was all right. I remember once waking from a vivid dream of a recently deceased person who grabbed my arm. I had a finger pattern of bruises on my bicep. Mom said I was the only one she could reach and to pray for her soul. Scary now that I look back.

I have vivid dreams that sometimes do come true. I also dream my story before I start writing. Along with a few other things I didn't mention.

Let me know what you think. Do you use psychic abilities is your stories? Do you have one?

On my website are tidbits and urls to reviews for my books.

Author Website: http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook: http://facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards.Author

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Barb_ed

Ancient Blood http://on.fb.me/naHRY5

Authors Den: http://authorsden.com/barbaraedwards

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/barbaraedwards

 

http://www.wildrosepress.us/maincatalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_136&products_id=4511

 

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TG4NFG

 

 

 

 

Filed under: psychic ability Tagged: Ancient Awakening, Ancient Blood, Barbara Ed, Barbara Edwards,, psychic abilities

At My Place with Cathie Dunn

I hope you're enjoying a similarly sunny spring.

Here's my post at My Place: http://cathiedunn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/author-barbara-edwards-at-my-place.html

I'll be sharing  the description of Rhodes End, the setting for my paranormal romance series with The Wild Rose Press. Enjoy discovering the setting.


Filed under: writing Tagged: Barbara Edwards. Ancient Blood, Cathie Dunn, My Place, Rhodes End

Rejection Hurts

 "Rejection Hurts" at

http://twrpblackrose.blogspot.com/
Stop by and share how does rejection affects you.
Barbara Edwards

Filed under: writing Tagged: Ancient Blood, Barbara Edwards,, rejection

What is that smell?

What is that smell? For almost a week I have been enjoying a wonderful fragrance outside the camper. I'd wake in the morning with a glorious, sweet, pleasant, almost sensuous aroma filling the air. I couldn't figure out where it came from.

I walked around looking for Confederate jasmine that I know grows in the area. Nothing close. The clusters of bright Azalea bushes didn't have any scent. I walked across the grass looking for wildflowers.

The scent didn't come from the spiky Blueweed or the Wisteria vines twining among the trees. I did notice the number of butterflies. I couldn't count the varieties, but didn't have my camera when we found a Luna Moth under the pavilion roof. The soft green of its wings reminded me of the new sprigs of spring.

 I did get a picture of a Buckeye. I wanted it to fly away soon since it was near the path to the restrooms, but it took the entire day to set its wings for flight.

Anyway, I forgot the sweet perfume in my enchantment with the butterflies. Painted Ladies, Swallow-tails and Sulphurs were everywhere along with dozens I didn't recognize.

I joined my husband for a soda under the awning and that wonderful smell filled the air.

Leaning back in my chair, I idly watched a butterfly join another, then another. They flitted upward to a tree with glossy green leaves.

Last year's oranges still hung from the thirty foot top of a very out-of-place orange tree. Remember we're camping in the Osceola National Forest; A harvested pine forest, not an orange grove.

I took some picture but my camera doesn't have a zoom so I hope you can see the butterflies among the white orange blossoms and orange fruit.

I'm working on my book when I'm not hunting mysteries.

Visit my website at http://www.barbaraedwards.net for excerpts and buylinks to my books. Or follow me on twitter @Barb_ed or friend me on Facebook at BarbaraEdwards.Author

Filed under: Camping Tagged: Barbara Edwards,, butterflies, Orange blossoms

Killing an immortal is hard work

My question is: If you use an immortal character as the villain, how do you kill him?

In Ancient Awakening the monster drained the life from his victims. He is an immortal.

Ancient Awakening

The problem was how to resolve the dilemma. If an immortal is immortal, how can he be killed?

Dracula, Frankenstein and Dorian Grey are familiar names to readers of horror. They were disposed of handily by the authors, but that makes it more difficult for me to rid the world of my monster.

Dracula? I reread Bram Stoker's tale with interest. He built the suspense in dribbles and drabs. I was fascinated and frightened by his weaving of ordinary life with the bizarre encounter with vampires. When he accomplished the destruction of Dracula, he'd built a total believability into his story. Wow.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly was a more difficult read. She had a literary background that shows in her writing and reflects the time she lived in. I was afraid of her monster. And glad it was banished to the icy reaches of the far North.  Only he's not dead, is he?

The Portrait of Dorian Grey is another story of undeath.  Dorian choses to live forever, then makes the mistake of confronting the portrait that depicts all his sins. Makes me glad the only thing I see in my photos is an extra ten pounds and smile wrinkles.

I've been doing research on various stories of immortality. The vampire is alive and well in cultures around the world. It's hard to write something fresh and frightening. Various Gods and Goddesses are also immortal: sort of a requirement I decided. When I printed a list it covered over a hundred pages. Too many choices, too little time.

I'm working on Ancient Curse, Book Three in the Finding Rhodes End Series.  Should the villain be immortal?  Maybe, but if he is,  I need to find a way to kill him.

Author Website: http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook: http://facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards

Ancient Blood http://on.fb.me/naHRY5

Twitter: http://twitter.com/barb_ed

Buy hyperlink Ancient Awakening http://www.wildrosepress.us/maincatalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_136&products_id=4511

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TG4NFG

Filed under: writing Tagged: Ancient Awakening, Barbara Edwards,, Dorian Grey, Dracula, Franekenstein, immortal

#Review – No More Lies by Mona Risk

#Review: No More Lies by Mona Risk

Dr. Olivia Crane is hiding a secret. She survived an abusive relationship and escaped with her infant daughter.  She has a successful career as a psychiatrist and has put the past behind her.  Giving up Dr. Luc George, the man she loves to protect her daughter seemed to be right until he returns from France.

Their attraction instantly flares.  He wants to resume their relationship, but she is afraid to upset her daughter by exposing her lies.  All her doubts resurface.

To her horror, her child's father has been referred to her Department for an evaluation on his violent behavior. Olivia fears he will recognize her and discover he has a daughter.

Dr. Luc George has never stopped loving Olivia and this time he intends to keep her. Learning her secret, he insists only telling the truth to her daughter will enable Olivia to be free of her fears. He takes over the difficult case for Olivia. His insistence she reveal the truth forces her to tell her daughter about her father.

The situation explodes, but Mona Risk handles the conflict with skill. The ultimate resolution to Olivia and Luc's love is nicely woven and left me satisfied. I'm looking forward to reading more work by Mona Risk.

Visit me at http://www.barbaraedwards.net.

Find excerpts from my books and free reads.

No More Lies

Leap Year Blog Hop

This is my first hop and I'm a little nervous. I pictured bunnies hopping over the fields, then small green frogs hopping from lily pad to lily pad. Such is the way my mind works. Next I remembered playing leap frog as a child. Everyone got to participate so it does relate to our hop today. This is for fun. Jump from blog to blog and leave a comment at each. The authors are rewarding the bunnies, frogs, playful children or commenters with a chance to win a book at each blog.

I'm awarding an e-book copy of Ancient Blood. Please leave a comment with a contact email address in be put in the drawing. Read to the end for the next leap. I've also included the full list for those who missed one.

Ancient Blood

Ancient Blood by Barbara Edwards is a Paranormal with strong romantic elements

This excerpt is sensuous

Lily Alban escapes a murderous stalker, but his vicious attack leaves her with the ability to see auras. She finds safety in the tiny hamlet of Rhodes End where a stranger stands out like a red light. Try as she might to deny her growing desire for Cole, she seeks his help but soon discovers the man she loves is not a man at all.

Werewolf Cole Benedict resists his attraction to Lily. A botanist researching the healing herbs to find a cure for Lycanthropy, he's determined to protect Lily from her stalker as well as himself even in human form, but instinct takes over when he changes to his inner beast.

Together they must use their extraordinary gifts to catch Lily's stalker before he attacks again, but revealing their secrets to one another could destroy their growing love or save them both.

 

Excerpt:

"Lily?" His strong hands gently cupped her shoulders.

"Don't, please don't."

She pulled away, fully intending to flee. Her resistance shattered, and she turned into his embrace. It was too late to escape. Pressing against his strength, she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His erection prodded her stomach, and she moaned. A heavy groan filled his throat as he lifted her from her feet. He kicked the bag aside as he sat her on the counter.

"I can't wait," he growled. His flaring aura spiraled with colors she couldn't name. She caught her breath. One hand burrowed through her hair, keeping her still as he stepped between her thighs. "You're all I could think about all day."

Clasping her bottom, he slid her to the edge of the counter. With his lips claiming her mouth, he unbuttoned her slacks, than lifted her slightly to push them down and off.

The cold surface only made her more aware of his scorching heat. His rough denim pants scraped her inner thighs in contrast with the silky hair under her palms. Her pulse leaped, and she gasped. His male scent mixed with hints of the wild forest filled her nostrils. When his fingertip explored the heated moisture gathering at her juncture, she tightened her thighs around his hips.

Don't forget to comment and leave a contact.

The next stop is at ML Spenser – Tale Spinner

http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com

 

Happy Leap Year Day!

Here's the full list of participants so you can see them all!

http://amberkally

wordpress.com


 


http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com


www.darkersideofromance.com


http://wendysoliman.blogspot.com/


http://rachel-haimowitz.blogspot.com


http://ladyjanice.blogspot.com/


www.lynncrain.blogspot.com


http://www.rannsiracusa.com/blog




Filed under: My Books Tagged: Ancient Blood, Barbara Edwards,, Leap Year Blog Hop