Empi Baryeh's Blog, page 36

Word Wednesday: Tintinnabulate

Yes, I did it again! A word you guys will probably never use. I’d heard/read this one before, but to be honest I don’t think I’ve heard it in conversation. It’s more like one of those words that come up when you’re discussing funny/interesting/words-we-never-use-so-they-shouldn’t-have-bothered-creating…

But those words are there for a reason, I guess and I bet Shakespeare and his peer used words like this. And I’m talking about:

TINTINNABULATE /pronounced tin-tinABULEYT/ a verb meaning, to ring or sound like a small bell. 

If you ask me, I’d say go with ‘ring’ – it’s shorter to type and faster to say. In fact, I did a brief internet search and didn’t come across tintinnabulate being used in a sentence. The more common usage is is the noun, tintinnabulation /tin-tin-abu-LEY-shun/ e.g. “the tintinnabulation that so voluminously swells from the ringing and the dinging of the bells” (thank you, to my trusty WordWeb).

Related forms:

Tintinnabulous – adjective (Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the tinkling of a bell; having a tinkling sound; tintinnabular)

Okay, now that I have you all giggling and thinking of ways to use this one to get your friends and loved ones thinking that you read the dictionary in your leisure time (guilty  *blush*), I’ll bid you goodnight. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Exercise:

Try using tintinnabulate in a sentence

Belated announcement: Excerpt Monday

Hi everyone. This was supposed to have gone out yesterday, but alas I couldn’t complete it. It’s not too late, though. If you’ve missed the excerpts of Chancing Faith in previous posts, I invite you to read an excerpt that was featured on Excerpt Monday yesterday on IRMC (Interracial and Multicultural) Books.

Leave a comment on the excerpt. 20 comments unlocks a brand new – never before share excerpt of Chancing Faith!

Word Wednesday:Somnambulating

I love today’s word. Not because it’s outrageous, but because it’s a rather big name for such a common thing. And I’m talking about:

SOMNAMBULATE \pronounced, som-nam-byuh-leyt, suhm-]  a verb (used without object), meaning to walk during sleep; sleepwalk. | “He concluded that it was the desire for drink which caused the man to somnambulate in this manner”

(Told you it was a simple thing).

Related forms

somnambulant (adjective, noun)
somnambulation (noun)

Origin

Somnambulate comes from somn (us) sleep + ambulate (walk about; not be bedridden or incapable of walking)

Yes, it’s a short post, but I think you’ll agree with me that it was an interesting one. Not an uncommon word, but usually not one we tend to use in regular dialogue, so I challenge you to use it in conversation this week. If…correction: when you do, let me know how it went.

In the meantime, have a wonderful week!

Versatile Blogger Award

Yay! I’ve been nominated (read: awarded) the Versatile Blogger Award by Celestine (aka Reading Pleasure). Thank you, Celestine. This means a lot to me. It’s good to know that people read my blog – even when posts get no comments (hint, hint). Well, among the many definitions (yes, I know it’s not Wednesday yet) ’versatile’  means: Having great diversity or variety. Although my blog is dedicated to writing, I think I’ve provided quite some variety over the years with Word Wednesday, reviews, guest bloggers, puzzles, etc. 

Here are the rules:

*If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.

*Thank the person who gave you this award. (done)

*Include a link to their blog. (done, but here it is again: http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com/)

*Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. (now that may be the kicker. I might just be put to shame for not following enough blogs). Here goes nothing:

Adonis Devereux
Kassana
Eugenia O’Neal
Bri Clark
Ye Olde Inkwell
Ayaba Odusote
Just Another Book Addict
The Pen and Muse
Minxes of Romance
Maggi Andersen
Pamela Stitch
Mona Karel
Work-a-day-Reads
Sugarbeat’s Books
Mass Musings

(By jove, I did it – thanks to all the incredible blogs that I encountered on my blog tour. )

*Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself. Hmmm…

I love the smell of new books (my apologies to all trees)
I love when it rains at night
I think the internet is the best thing since sliced bread
I’m a Hanna Montana fan  
Actually, I’m a fan of pretty much everything Disney
I’m in a quest for the elixir of youth
I don’t like bad reviews (yes, along with every other author in the world, but hey, it’s the truth)

So that’s that! I’m going to sign off and undertake the task of informing the above-mentioned bloggers that they’ve been NOMINATED.

Have a wonderful week.

Six Sentence Sunday: Dialogue, Thoughts and Actions

First off, it’s Mother’s Day (US) and I want to take the opportunity to wish all mothers, mother figures and women in general a happy mother’s day! And now on to Six Sentence Sunday. Good writing, as I was told during a writing workshop, comprises of a good mix of  Dialogue, Thoughts and Actions. It is the only way to capture the character’s reality in full and get the reader to experience the stories as though s/he were in the character’s stead. Well, I’ve done quite a few excerpts with narration and I thought I should do one with a combination of dialogue, thought and action. And as today is mother’s day, I’ve picked a snippet that makes reference to my hero’s mother – something that I think many can relate with.

“Speaking of your mother,” his father said, “she says she hasn’t heard from you in over a week.”

Whenever his mother started complaining, the next thing was to show up at his house, unannounced, and pretend she saw skin and bones, instead of muscle. She’d cook up a storm, trying to fatten him up in one day. He couldn’t afford to have his mother show up tomorrow and ruin his time with Chantelle.

He gave his father a determined look. “I’ll call her tonight.”

***

That’s a little scene from Most Eligible Bachelor as my hero determines to ensure his loving mother doesn’t foil his plans to win over his woman. If you enjoyed that snippet, I invite you to read chapter 1.

To learn more about Six Sentence Sunday and/or to find links to over 200 six sentence snippets, go here.

In the meantime, I wish you a very wonderful Mother’s Day and a great week.

Word Wednesday: Macaronic

After a bit of a hiatus, Word Wednesday is back! Actually, I am back, since I haven’t posted in a few weeks. I needed a rest following my blog tour. Anyway, when I saw this word, I knew it should be the next Word Wednesday, and therefore the perfect post to return to blogging regularly.

Here we go:

MACARONIC \pronounced: mak-uh-RON-ik\, which functions as an adjective and a noun:

Adjective

1. Composed of a mixture of languages.

2. Composed of or characterized by Latin words mixed with vernacular words or non-Latin words given Latin endings. e.g. “a macaronic verse” 

3. Mixed; jumbled.

Noun:

1. Macaronics, macaronic language.

2. A macaronic verse or other piece of writing.

Quotes

The tradition is even more significant in Folengo’s Italian works and especially in his macaronic writings. -- Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World

The macaronic mode swivels between different languages. I believe Beckett chose French against English for similar reasons to those of Jean Arp in selecting French against German.  – W. D. Redfern, French Laughter: Literary Humour from Diderot to Tournier

The journalistic multiplicity of voices found in the Magazine corresponded with the poetic multi-vocality of Fergusson’s macaronic compositions, texts that combined elements of neo-classical English and vernacular Scots diction.  – Ian Brown, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature

Related forms

macaronically (adverb)

As may have happened to some of you, the first thing that came to mind when I saw the word was: mac and cheese, and of course Macaronic is related to the word macaroni. Specifically, the pasta is named after the Southern Italian dialect maccarone, which was also associated with a mixture of Latin and vernacular languages. (ha! bet ya didn’t know that).

 

 

Blog Tour Winner: Final Week

At long last, my blog tour is over. It’s actually been done for over a week now, but I have yet to announce a winner for the final week. As you may have noticed, my final week was quite busy with six, stops. So I decided to give away two books instead of one. The first will be by a random draw and the second will go to the commenter who visited the most stops during this week.

WINNER #1

Lauri Kubuitsile

#

WINNER #2

(visited the most number of stops on my blog tour)

Leslie R. Wright

Congrats on your wins and thanks for commenting on my blog tour. The prize is an e-copy of either Most Eligible Bachelor or Chancing Faith. Please use the ‘Contact Me’ form on this blog (or Twitter or Facebook) to let me know which of the books you want.

Author Interview: Maggi Andersen

Hi folks! I'm happy to present to you, Maggi Andersen, a fellow Black Opal Books author. If you remember, she hosted me on Tuesday, so we're doing a semi blog swap .

Welcome to my blog, Maggi. Let's start off with a little intro. Tell us about yourself and your writing.

Thanks so much for hosting me on your lovely blog, Empi. I began writing quite late after raising three children and studying for two degrees. I write in different genres, young adult, historical romance, mysteries and romantic suspense. I find it recharges my creativity to change from one to the other. It took me a while to get published, but I see those years as the time I honed my craft and found my voice. It takes ten years to achieve an overnight success, they say.

Good one! What are the differences (or challenges, if that applies) between writing historical and contemporary stories?

Historical romance is more demanding. You have all the elements required of a contemporary novel, but have to research every step of the way. Both genres need the same vital ingredients: more emotions, bigger problems, impossible choices.

Writing a good story isn't easy though, whatever you're writing. Who was it who said it was harder than working on the roads! I wish it was as physical, though, it might improve the part of me that sits on the chair all day.

 What part of the book is the easiest for you to write? Why?

Dialogue. When I understand my characters and their motivations, it just seems to flow.

What part of the book is the hardest for you? Why?

Mysteries are complex and require a lot of planning. I tend to be more of a panster (I write by the seat of my pants) and have to call on other skills to map it out, adding the essential ingredients a good mystery requires, foreshadowing, red herrings, characters a reader cares about, and you can't forget the developing romance. It's like weaving a carpet. The best method for me I've found is to write a chapter, edit it the next day, and work out where the next will go before I write it, shaping the story as I go. That way I don't paint myself into corners, although my character still have the ability to surprise me and go off on tangents.

If you were to pick one of your books to become a movie, which would it be? What celebrities would you like to star as your hero and heroine?

Murder in Devon, definitely. I think it would make a great movie. Full of action, shadowy figures and romance! But don't all authors think that about their books? 

Hero and heroine: Michael Fassbender and Kate Beckinsale

Oooh, I love Michael Fassbender! Great inspiration. What's your strongest point as a writer?

I'm told it's my setting of the scene and description. My mother was an artist and I'm very visual. I see what I write quite clearly and like to paint pictures with words. Some readers like my heroes too. I'm very fond of Rod Carlisle myself!

What hobby do you enjoy when not writing?

Reading is number one. I like movies and the theatre too. A good BBC series, like Downton Abbey. Dining out with friends. I swim and go the gym to keep fit. What I hate most? Housework! DH has taken up cooking dinner, in fear of starvation, I suspect. He's quite good at it too.

Where can we find you online? 

Website
Blogspot
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter: @maggiandersen

Can you give us a sneak peek at your book, Murder in Devon, and tell us where we can get copies.

BLURB

She wants the truth, but it may cost her more than she thinks…

An ex-patriot-American living in England, magazine reporter Casey Rowan wakes to find one best friend murdered and another seriously injured. Casey is determined to find the killer, despite running afoul of the detective in charge of the case—a blue-eyed Scot named Rod Carlisle, who considers her a prime suspect. As Casey gets closer to the truth, losing her heart to the sexy cop isn't the only thing she risks. Now her life is danger, too.

He wants her, but he may have to choose between love and duty…

Rod has no patience with civilians who interfere in police matters, even hot little numbers like Casey. Though he tries to keep things professional, Casey's beauty and spunk are hard to resist. He warns her that what she's doing is dangerous, but he only succeeds in alienating her. She refuses to listen and goes off on her own with disastrous results. Now Rod's in a race to find the killer before the woman he loves becomes the next victim.

EXCERPT

"Are you with me, Ms. Rowan?" The words pulled Casey's attention back into the room. She took a sip of cold, sweet tea from the mug. Someone's hand reached for her cup, and she moved her gaze up to a pair of concerned blue eyes.

Michael Fassbender

She bit her lip hard, needing to feel something. She wanted to scream and cry, but a cold vacuum seeped through her insides, and a sharp pain at the back of her throat sealed the scream inside. She'd stayed by Tessa's side until they'd taken her away. Don was gone too, packed into an airless body bag, zipped up tight. "I have to go with Tessa," she begged him. "Will you take me to the hospital, Inspector…"

"Carlisle, Ms. Rowan. There's no point in going to the hospital right now. And you can't stay here. Is there somewhere we can take you?"

"I have to know if Tessa is going to be alright."

Kate Beckinsale

"Is there somewhere you'd like to go, Ms. Rowan?"

Casey shook her head. The tears flowed and eased the pain in her throat a little. She sniffed and wiped them away with the sleeve of her dressing gown. "Someone has to take care of Soc." She struggled to gain a hold on herself, not recognizing the strange, high-pitched voice.

"Who's Soc?" A policewoman came to stand beside the man.

"Socrates is Don's cat."

"I see." The policeman stood and spoke into the policewoman's ear. Casey didn't try to listen, her attention drawn to another policeman securing tape to the sitting room door. A fourth packed away his video camera. Be careful of their things, she wanted to say, pick up the cup I dropped.

The blue-eyed man left the room.

"Come on, love." The policewoman took Casey's arm.

"Now, don't you go worrying about the puss. We'll find someone to take care of him. First, we'll go up and get dressed.

Detective Chief Inspector Carlisle has found somewhere for you to stay."

Casey opened her mouth to protest. "Right near the hospital."

She shivered and wondered if she'd ever feel warm again.

***

BUY LINKS

Black Opal Books | Amazon  

Wow! What an intriguing excerpt. I love detective stories, so this book sounds like it will be fun to read. Thanks, so much for spending time with me today, Maggi. I hope you all enjoyed the interview. And to you, readers and friends, please say hi to Maggi and leave a comment for a chance to win a free e-copy of Murder in Devon.

And in case you missed it, don't forget to check out my interview on Maggi's blog.

Cheers,

Blog Tour Winner #4

It's time for another winner to be selected in my blog tour. This is drawn from my guest posts at Cassandra Jones' and The Write to Make a Living. And the winner is…

Yakira R

Congratulations on winning. The prize is your choice of an e-copy of either Most Eligible Bachelor or Chancing Faith. Please use the "Contact Me" form on this blog to let me know which of the books you want.

My blog tour is in its final week and that means there's one more free e-book to be given away. Today, I'm being interviewed at Maggi Andersen's blog. Here's the full schedule so you don't miss out:

09-Apr-12: Getting Naughty Between the Stacks

10-Apr-12: Maggi Andersen

11-Apr-12: Mass Musings

11-Apr-12: Minxes of Romance

12-Apr-12: Sugarbeat's Books

13-Apr-12: Workaday Reads

I hope to see you one or all of the stops. Good luck and have a wonderful week.

Hoppy Easter Winner!

Another blog hop done, another set of winners to announce! If you will recall, my prizes in the blog hop are one eBook (winner's choice between Most Eligible Bachelor and Chancing Faith) and a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

And the winners are…

Free e-book winner

Claire Gillian 

 $10 Amazon gift certificate winner

Shadow

Congratulations to both of you on winning, and thanks for your wonderful Easter stories.

Shadow, your gift cert will be delivered to your email in a moment.

Claire, please let me know which of my books you'd like to receive as your prize.

I hope you all enjoyed the Easter. I did. I was volunteering a soup kitchen with a friend and it was a wonderful way to spend the day. We caught a movie afterward. It was a good day.

Have a great week.