C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 91
November 11, 2019
Tell Again Tuesday People Don’t Understand #Writers #Creatives
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Why There Will Always Be People Who Don’t Understand Your Creative Live
By Lucy Mitchell
This can be a tough one to accept.
If you are a creative person there will always be people in your life who will never: . . .
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November 7, 2019
Friday Feature Apples multi-uses @EmmaJLane
Guest talks about
Apples, ways to use them
by
Emma Lane
Photo by Fidel Fernando on Unsplash
Such a gorgeous fruit. Fruit bowl on the dining room table lends a nice fragrance to the room; apple bobbing and caramel apples are for Halloween. Did you mom ever make fresh apple sauce? Nothing like the stuff they sell in the grocery store, is it? At my little Herbtique Shoppe here in Western NY, we sell Gourmet Chunky Rum Apple Sauce. The recipe is a state secret, but here are some hints to make the most of this delicious fruit.
Select both soft and firm apples, ie Courtland is soft, Greenings are firm. One will cook down first leaving the other ‘chunky’. Stir frequently. Burned apples are not delicious and the soft ones cook rapidly.
To peel or not to peel: We leave the peel on at home. Commercially we don’t. Both are good. Taste before you add sugar. Most times it isn’t necessary.
Blend flavors: Buy as many different kinds of apples as you can. Not only is this tasty, but it’s way fun as well. As you peel, take a bite now and then to compare flavors.
Flavorings: You are probably familiar with cinnamon to taste. A very small dash of nutmeg and cloves is good too. Vanilla is a winner. One cap and then taste. Other flavorings are great too-here is a good place to experiment. Let your eye roam over the choices at the grocery store. My son swears root beer would be great; he could be right. Be careful with maple syrup; it gets too sweet fast.
Baked apples are wonderful when you use a touch of flavoring with your brown sugar—vanilla is one of my favorites but you might find others.
Regarding the RUM: If you are making apple sauce, add at the last minute with whatever flavoring you have chosen. It gives it a sort of butter taste. I am about to experiment with BRANDY. You might try it too.
A neighbor just hinted to me that apple added to salsa is good. Can’t wait to try.
Canning apple sauce takes expert knowledge. Please do not try it if you haven’t done quite a bit of reading. PH is a biggie. We use lemon juice and a ph meter.
Enjoy the apple harvest. There are so many ways and I didn’t even mention: apple pie, apples and cheese, cocktail apples, home dried apples, apple pan dowdy, apple crumb cake, apple butter, etc, etc. Dried apples and apple pie are delicious any time.
After you’ve mulled over all the apple opportunities may I suggest a peek into one of my Regency releases?
Can an arrogant duke overcome his prejudice against a beautiful but managing female in time to find true love and happiness?
Miss Amabel Hawkins acknowledges her unusual upbringing, but she thinks James Langley, the Duke of Westerton, might be a tad unbalanced when he protests her efforts to right his badly managed properties. The duke, who has been away on the king’s business, demonstrates no respect for the beautiful but managing Miss Hawkins. Amabel has taken refuge at Westerton, fleeing from a forced marriage to a man who claims to be her relative in order to gain control of her young brother’s estate.
The Duke arrives home to find his estate under the firm control of a beautiful but managing female. His suspicions are fueled by his recent task of spy-hunting and he wonders if Amabel Hawkins is just who she seems. While a dastardly spy lurks, a wicked man poses as her cousin threatening to take over the guardianship of her young brother. Amabel might be falling in love, but she knows for certain the duke would never approve of a meddlesome woman, and she decides to flee his estate. Will the duke finally realize the true value of the woman he loves or will his prejudice ruin his chances forever?
EXCERPT
Fatigue and the effects of the brandy on top of the ale now gave his gait a distinct wobble. He chuckled, amused at his condition.
As he reached for the portrait of great Uncle Barney, he lurched into the back of the red leather sofa in front of the cosy fire. “Deuce take it,” he exclaimed when a rounded arm rolled into view. He spotted the gentle curve of a hip and walked around to the front, where he spied a tumbled haze of dark curls hiding a face. It is indeed a female—a sleeping female.
Who was she? The gown was too rich for his household staff. Curious, he knelt beside the sofa.
“Only one way to find out,” he whispered and moved one dark curl. He sat back, satisfied when a handsome face swam into view. She sighed and rolled over, revealing a generous figure and a pair of rosy lips. She might be Sleeping Beauty—but not one of my relatives. He leaned over and kissed those tempting lips.
As he lingered there, she sighed and came partially awake. He could not resist. He deepened the kiss and sounds of satisfaction like yum and umm came from those delicious lips. Her hand stroked his face, then reached around his head to pull him closer. Delighted with this turn of events, the Duke of Westerton complied enthusiastically and extended an arm around a slender waist. How much of the ale and brandy had he imbibed? Dizziness overcame his senses as he slid down on the floor and knew no more.
Amazon Buy Link
Emma Lane is a gifted author who writes under several pen-names. She lives with her patient husband on several acres outside a typical American village in Western New York. Her day job is working with flowers at her son’s plant nursery. Look for information about writing and plants on her new website. Leave a comment or a gardening question and put a smile on Emma’s face.
November 5, 2019
Wednesday Special Spotlight @HL_Carpenter questions for writers.
Shines On
The question from HL Carpenter. Tomato, tomahto, what’s in a name? In the case of fruit, a name may not matter much.
In the case of authors, a name can make quite a difference. Why? According to one successful author, the difference between writing generally and writing for a living is branding.Amazon Author Page.
November 4, 2019
Tell Again Tuesday Writers and Bloggers Tips
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
The ultimate Pinterest 101 for writers and bloggers
By Lorraine Ambers
There are many ways to drive your audience to your blog and one of my favourites media sites is Pinterest. In this post we’ll be taking a look at how to set up an account, to maximize your chances of gaining new viewers, and how to set up visually enticing boards so that your followers can visually connect with your novel and get to know you a little better.
If you’re new to building your brand then I recommend reading The Importance of Building a Platform and How to Identify your Target Audience. Setting up solid foundations for your business is a vital first step, but don’t worry if you’ve jumped in feet first, sometimes simply beginning is the hardest part and I commend your enthusiasm.
Here are my four awesome tips . . .
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October 31, 2019
Friday Feature Christmas in the Highlands Shortbread #Recipe @AuthorMaddyHill
Guest talks about
Anthology with 2 stories: A Family For Christmas and His By Christmas
by
Madelyn Hill
In A Family For Christmas shortbread is the heroine’s favorite treat. Shortbread reminds her of happier times with her parents and special Christmas celebrations.
According to History UK, the story of shortbread begins with the medieval “biscuit bread”. Any leftover dough from bread making was dried out in a low oven until it hardened into a type of rusk: the word “biscuit” means “twice cooked”. Gradually the yeast in the bread was replaced by butter, and biscuit bread developed into shortbread.[image error]
Traditionally, shortbread was a treat reserved just for special occasions such as weddings, Christmas and New Year. In Shetland it was traditional to break a decorated shortbread cake over the head of a new bride on the threshold of her new home. The custom of eating shortbread at New Year has its origins in the ancient pagan Yule Cakes which symbolised the sun (one shape of the treat is a circle). In Scotland it is still traditionally offered to “first footers” at New Year. First Footers represents the first person who steps into your house on the New Year receives the gift of shortbread.
Scottish shortbread biscuits may in fact date back beyond the 12th century. I love the “finger” style of shortbread. But there is the traditional triangle shape which fits into a circle or those biscuits cut in a circle shape. No matter, the buttery biscuit is delicious no matter the shape. However, I feel that you must use real butter and not lard to flavor the biscuit and create the rich, crispy texture.
Read Christmas In The Highlands to see how our heroine brings people together with shortbread to create a Christmas spirit that has been missing from all of their lives.
Shortbread Recipe *
Ingredients:
3 oz (85g) icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
3 oz (85g) castor sugar (superfine sugar)
10 oz (280g) butter
1 lb (450g) plain flour (all purpose flour)
Directions
Set oven to 280F
Cream the butter, icing sugar and castor sugar together using a wooden spoon.
Sift the flour 2 or 3 times, then gradually mix into the creamed butter and sugar using your hands, until a firm dough is formed.
On a lightly floured surface roll or press dough until about 1/2 inch thick and use a cookie cutter to make ’rounds’ or shapes, or slice into 3″ x 1″ bars and prick the top with a fork. Depending on shapes and sizes will determine the yield of the recipe.
Bake in pre-heated 280F oven for for approx 30 to 40 mins, shortbread will be a light golden color when it’s ready.
Baking Tip: The shorter the time it takes to mix the ingredients, and the less handling is involved the better. When you minimize both of these you get shorter, crumblier and more delicately textured shortbread.
DON’T be tempted to ‘knead’ at the dough, as this will make it tough – and the finished result won’t be what you are hoping for.
*Recipe and image courtesy of Scottish At Heart BLog
BOOK BLURBS!
A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, BOOK ONE
Laird Malcolm Sutherland needs a bride. He has few requirements of his new wife; demands he should have insisted with his former betrothed—namely, honesty, loyalty, and resources.
Lady Rossalyn Gordon will do anything to be rid of her tyrant father, even if that means deceiving the man who offers her an escape. If revealed, those secrets will either bring her mercy, or thrust her back into the hands of the devil who sired her.
When Rossalyn’s bastard of a father arrives at Sutherland Keep, going back on his word and ordering her return, Malcolm must decide if he can forgive his wife enough to listen to his heart and have a family for Christmas.
HIS BY CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, BOOK TWO
Fiona Sutherland longs for love with the man she has pined after since she was a lass. When he weds another she is devastated, and questions why the man she pledged her heart to has forsaken a vow made in their youth. Could loving her be so hard?
Cameron Munro adores Fiona from afar, knowing her heart has been set on another. She is everything he desires—strong, loyal, and fiery in spirit.
Determined, he pledges to prove his love to her and win Fiona’s heart by Christmas.
BIOGRAPHY
Madelyn Hill is an historical author who loves the lure of Scotland, captivating Highlanders and the strong women they love.
Many of her novels were finalist for the National Rone Award, which honors literary excellence in romance writing. Highland Honor was award of the coveted Crowned Heart by In’Dtale Magazine.
Madelyn’s first book, Wolf’s Castle has been #1 in the Historical and Scottish Romance category at Amazon.
Madelyn lives in Western New York with her husband, three children and a naughty puppy named Cannoli.
Connect with Madelyn:
October 29, 2019
Wednesday Special Spotlight Latin – the Dead Language that Speaks to Us Today @CarolABrowne
Shines On
The Latin lover Carol Browne. Err. That is lover of the Latin language.
I know I was lucky when it came to education. Not only did I live in the UK at a time before austerity when the state paid for all our equipment, I also got to attend a grammar school. That meant I studied Latin for about the first four years I was there. At the time I didn’t see the relevance; none of my contemporaries did. It was a dead language confined to history. Something for academics and librarians and archaeologists. A difficult study for an English brain not used to complicated conjunctions and declensions. The concept that nouns had to be classified into gender was bizarre. All the different word endings that had to agree with each other made my head reel. It seemed Latin was something you did to get a qualification—and I did. I achieved what in those days was called an ‘O’ Level. So, job done. Stick it on the CV with all the others.
Image by Desi Maxwell from Pixabay
It was after I left school that I learned to love Latin and appreciate its value as a linguistic tool. More than that, I understood its historical significance, how it helped to shape the modern world we have today. How many languages have Latinate words as part of their lexicon? How many countries, corporations and institutions use Latin mottos? I’m thinking of a famous one here, E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one) which appears on the Great Seal of the United States of America.
Latin invaded Britain along with the Romans in the first century and it was clearly determined to take root as part of the language of the indigenous people because it became the language of the church for centuries. In 1066, when the Norman French invaded Britain, their Latinate tongue became the dominant language and married itself without ceremony to that spoken by the oppressed Anglo- Saxons. In this way, Latin moved up to another level and its words formed a large part of what was to become what we now know as English. People wonder why in English there are so many different words for the same thing but the richness of the language is a result of having input from so many other languages brought to Britain by a variety of invaders.
Image by Photos for You from Pixabay
So from a living language spoken by the Romans, to an elitist language used by the church and the legislature, it evolved in many ways, even giving scientific names to plants, animals, diseases and body parts! And now it is supposedly a dead language because no-one speaks it anymore except for academics and historians. And yet how can you call it dead when it is so widely used?
As a writer Latin isn’t dead to me. I can call upon my knowledge of Latin to help me work out the meaning of many words in use today. If I encounter an unfamiliar word, as long as it has had some truck with Latin during its evolution, I am likely to be able to recognise some part of it that will facilitate my understanding. Latin prefixes are extremely helpful: ex, inter, trans, sub, contra, for example. These are already pointing you in a certain direction. A submarine is obviously going to operate under the sea rather than above it! (And marine is also of Latin origin—‘mare’, sea.) Latin has also helped me translate words in other Latinate languages like Italian and Spanish, even though I’m not that acquainted with them.
Latin is timeless, as familiar in Shakespeare’s plays as in Hollywood movies. It has expanded its influence into popular culture without most people giving it a second thought—where would Hogwarts professors be without their Latin-inspired incantations? In the Marvel universe, what would Magneto be called without that ancient Roman language? (L. ‘magnes’?) All those horror films where the bad guys try to summon demons wouldn’t be half so dramatic if they didn’t use Latin to do it; likewise, exorcisms sound much more impressive in Latin. It is, I have come to realise, a rather beautiful language.
Versatile too. You can have fun with Latin. In The Handmaid’s Tale, ‘nolite te bastardes carborundorum’ (Don’t let the bastards grind you down) is grammatically incorrect Latin with some made-up words and was a joke Margaret Attwood remembered from school, but it struck a chord with her audience and people actually have it tattooed on their wrists!
Latin isn’t dead. It never really went away. Those ancient Romans gave us the gift that keeps on giving; even our planets are named after their gods and goddesses. Latin went global long before that concept even existed.
The question must be, did we absorb Latin or did Latin absorb us! Whatever the answer, Latin is here to stay.
Here is a little from my latest release for your reading pleasure. Yes, a little Latin has worked its way into this psychological thriller.
Gillian Roth finds herself in middle age, living alone, working in a dull job, with few friends and little excitement in her life. So far, so ordinary.
But Gillian has one extraordinary problem.
Her house is full of other people… people who don’t exist. Or do they?
As her surreal home life spirals out of control, Gillian determines to find out the truth and undertakes an investigation into the nature of reality itself.
Will this provide an answer to her dilemma, or will the escalating situation push her over the edge before she has worked out what is really going on?
BLURB
Thursday, 26th March, 2015.
My house is filled with people who don’t exist.
They have no substance. They are neither alive nor dead. They aren’t hosts or spirits. They aren’t in any way shape or form here, but I can see them, and now I need to make a record of how they came to be under my roof.
Why now? Why today? Because we line in strange times, and today is one of the strangest days this year; this is the day that Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England, was interred in Leicester Cathedral, with all due ceremony, 530 years after he was slain at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. How surreal is that? I watched the highlights on Channel 4 earlier. A couple of my house guests sat with me and together we marvelled at the event. They did Richard proud, no doubt of that.
I left them to it after a while and came up here to my bedroom to start writing a diary: this diary.
Life feels unreal today, as if time has looped back onto photo albums. The house clearly passed must itself and everything is happening now. And if I can set my thoughts down on paper, perhaps I can make sense of everything, make it all real somehow.
Where did it start, this thing that has happened to me? A couple of years ago? I can’t say when. It evolved without my conscious input. The existence of my house guests was a fact long before I began to wonder at it. I do wonder at it now and I know I must keep track of what’s happening before I lose myself in this crowd of imaginary beings.
At first there was only a few of them, and I observed their doings without much concern. I watched them snooping around the place, choosing the most comfortable chairs to sit in, leaning against the furniture, inspecting the bookcases, checking the kitchen utensils, and peering into my photo albums. The house clearly passed muster and they stayed. In time, they knew me down to the marrow. I have never known them as well as they know me. They have an air of mystery, as though they have a life outside my house they will never divulge. Even so, I felt I was safe with them and I could tell them my problems. Tell them what no-one else must ever hear. And so these shades thickened, quickened; their personalities accumulated depth and solidity, as though they were skeletons clothing themselves in flesh.
I no longer came home to a cold, empty house, but to a sanctuary where attentive friends awaited my return. I was embraced by their jovial welcome when I stepped through the door. I never knew which of them would be there, but one or two at least would always be waiting to greet me, anxious to hear about my day and make me feel wanted, and for a while I could forget the problems I have at work (even the one that bothers me the most). Since then I have felt a subtle change.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I really need this to be a faithful account of the entire situation from start to finish, so I have to try to work out how it all began, even if I’m not sure when.
If I cast my mind back, it floats like a lantern through a city cloaked in fog. I must try to isolate the shadowy figures that flit up at me out of the murk. So, let’s begin with the friend I remember first. I was cooking my evening meal. My mind wandered. I remember feeling sad. And there she stood, at my right elbow, peering into the saucepan.
“Watch you don’t burn that,” she said.
I don’t have names for my imaginary friends, just titles, so I call her Kitchen Girl. She’s dark-haired with porcelain skin, and she’s tall and voluptuous. The sort of woman I’d like to be except I’m small with red hair and a ruddy complexion, and I need chicken fillets to convince people I’m female.
I suppose Kitchen Girl is rather daunting, with those fierce blue eyes and no-nonsense approach to everything. I can stand up to her though. I use humour as my weapon of choice and she appreciates wit and banter. I’d like it if she didn’t nag so much, if I’m honest (“Use less salt… keep stirring… is that all you’re going to eat?”) but, criticism aside, I know she’ll compliment me on the finished product as it lies uneaten between us on the table. Long conversations back and forth have been played out while the meals go cold on their plates. Fried eggs congeal and go waxen. Ice cream melts into a tepid sludge. Sandwiches curl up with embarrassment to be so spurned. You know how it is when you get gossiping. Someone wants to talk to me and that’s better than food.
And sometimes, it’s curious, but it’s Kitchen Girl who cooks the food and serves it to me like a waitress. She likes to surprise me with new dishes.
I have no idea how this happens.
Nor why she never leaves the kitchen. But I wish she’d do the washing up now and then.
Amazon Buy Links e-Book – Paperback
Born in Stafford in the UK, Carol Browne was raised in Crewe, Cheshire, which she thinks of as her home town. Interested in reading and writing at an early age, Carol pursued her passions at Nottingham University and was awarded an honours degree in English Language and Literature. Now living and working in the Cambridgeshire countryside, Carol writes both fiction and non-fiction.
Stay connected with Carol on her website and blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
October 28, 2019
Tell Again Tuesday Self Publishing
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Self-publishing success tips from Tara Ames
As an emerging indie author of contemporary military and sports romances, I have enjoyed quite a journey into the world of self-publishing. Since I published my first book The Risk Taker, book 1, Alpha Aviators series back in August 2017, I’ve published a total of five books and two novellas, with three short stories featured in two anthologies and one boxed set. During this time, two of my works received awards, and I became a USA Today Bestselling Author.
And you’re probably wondering how I did it? . . .
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October 24, 2019
Friday Feature Vegan Pesto Parmesan Grilled Corn @ChrisPavesic
Guest talks about
Better options than processed food
by
Chris Pavesic
Recently The New York Times article, “Why Eating Processed Foods Might Make You Fat” by Anahad O’Connor, reported on a study that compared a “typical” American diet of processed food and a natural, plant-based diet. The study determined that eating processed food causes most consumers to overindulge, gain weight, and suffer health issues. As O’Connor states: “Observational studies of thousands of people have found that eating high amounts of these [processed] foods is associated with a greater likelihood of early death from heart disease and cancer.” The study extolls the virtues of eating a natural, plant-based diet in order to achieve optimal health.
Why, then, do people “treat” themselves with processed foods like take-out pizza, potato chips, and mass-produced candy? It’s simple. Big food companies spend a lot of money finding that sweet spot that combines the perfect ratio of fat, sugar, and salt that makes processed food addictive. There’s a reason we “can’t have” just one chip. Companies have worked over decades to “tweak” their recipes to make sure we keep eating and eating until the bag is empty! And then what happens? We buy more to satiate our cravings and the companies make more money.
So why not flip this narrative? Instead of craving take-out-pizza, why not make your own healthy version? Choose what you put into your body. Why not dream about a hearty meal with Vegan Pesto Parmesan Grilled Corn? If you retrain your brain, slowly, to crave these types of food, treating yourself will feel a lot better.
Vegan Pesto Parmesan Grilled Corn
2 – 4 ears of corn on the cob
1 tbsp. salt
Cold water
Set grill on medium.
Stir salt into water in a large bowl. Pull outer husks down the ear to the base. Strip away silk from each ear of corn by hand. Fold husks back into place, and place ears in water for 10 minutes.
Remove corn from water and shake off excess. Place corn on grill, close the cover, and grill for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, or until kernels are tender when pierced with a paring knife. Carefully remove husks, open, and scrap off the kernels into a bowl.
Serve vegan pesto, get the easy recipe here, and freshly grated vegan parmesan on top of kernels.
After you enjoy your meal, why not read a good book?
Amazon – Audible – Smashwords
October 22, 2019
Wednesday Special Spotlight Romantic Halloween Thriller
Shines On
The chill in the air and all things that go bump in the night that are about to happen. Time to curl up with a good romantic thriller by Tina Griffith .
On Hallow’s Eve, as the veil between the two worlds was thinning, the face of the full moon was lit up like a Christmas tree. The dead would soon come alive, the alive would dress up as the dead, and witchcraft had a way of piggybacking off other spells. This was the ideal night to be a witch, for the effectiveness of all incantations, divinations, and other avenues of magic, was perfect.
Jayla is a clever witch, who had been cursed in her teens by her friend, Ophelia. Since then, she has had to retrieve dark souls from shrewd men in order to survive. While she has taken hundreds of souls in her lifetime, this story is about her trying to take the one which belongs to Roger Casem – the man she accidentally fell in love with.
Could she kill him, as she had done with the others? If she wanted to continue living, she must. But today, when his eyes skimmed her body with unbelievable passion, she began to recognize her own needs. As she blushed and turned her face away from him, Jayla did the only thing she could.
AMAZON
Tina Griffith, who also wrote twenty-seven children’s books as Tina Ruiz, was born in Germany, but her family moved to Canada when she was in grammar school.
After her husband of 25 years passed away, she wrote romance novels to keep the love inside her heart. Tina now has eleven romance novels on Amazon, and while all of them have undertones of a love story, they are different genres; murder, mystery, whimsical, witches, ghosts, suspense, adventure, and her sister’s scary biography.
Tina has worked in television and radio as well as being a professional clown at the Children’s Hospital. She lives in Calgary with her second husband who encourages her to write her passion be it high-quality children’s books or intriguing romance.
Stay connected with Tina (Griffith) Ruiz on her Facebook group Tina Speaks Out.
October 21, 2019
Tell Again Tuesday Support Your Protagonist
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
How to Write Compelling Secondary Characters
By Lorraine Ambers
This week I’ve received a comment about secondary characters, and more specifically, how many characters should support your protagonist? In truth, every story is individual; Game of Thrones notoriously has a large cast of characters, whilst The Martian focuses solely on the plight of the protagonist for the best part of the story.
Therefore the plot holds the key to such questions, a better question to consider would be; how can I create context for the MC struggles? What internal or external circumstances, characters or environment will best serve and/or antagonise my protagonist? How can you help develop your protagonists story arc?
Secondary characters can . . .
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