Category: Columns

Home > Columns

Titanic and Me by Jina Bacarr: How I discovered the ship of dreams

April 11, 2020 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , ,
Once upon the ship of dreams… me dressed as a first class lady

I first discovered the Titanic nestled among paperback romance novels on a shelf in a small library branch near the sea.

‘A Night to Remember’, that wonderful tome definitive of all things Titanic, had found an unlikely home among princesses and maids. I imagine the Walter Lord book was shelved there by a fussy librarian because of its provocative title, but oh, what a lucky break for me.

I was thirteen and living in a small beach town on the coast. Every day that summer I’d walk to the small library branch and take out as many books as they’d let me. Then I’d walk down to the beach and sit under the boardwalk, listen to the roar of the pounding surf, eat strips and salsa, and read.

Read… read… read.

I read ‘A Night to Remember’ a million times, imaging myself on the ship of dreams wearing an elegant gown and long white gloves, dancing in first class with a handsome gentleman. Then reality would set in and I realized I’d more likely be in steerage since my family came over from Ireland.

The place dreams are made of…

When I was a little girl, I lived with my Irish grandmother for a while and I remember sitting at the big, wooden table with her as she added flour, milk, and herbs to leftover mashed spuds for potato cakes, or wound her blue rosary beads around her gnarled fingers while she spun tales about life in Ireland. Grand times they were, and a lovely thread woven through the quilt of my childhood.

Books were my companions back then and I’d read anywhere, anytime. I read tons of romances, but I’d often end up in the history section of the library looking for more stories about the Titanic. Imagining sneaking into first class and pretending I belonged there. Something I found hard to do growing up since we moved a lot and I was always the ‘new kid’ (I went to fifteen schools before college). I yearned to be among the popular kids at the beach, but somewhere in my heart, I knew the way to better myself was reading and the rest would come later.

Reading was my world.

That became the basis of my heroine, Ava O’Reilly, in THE RUNAWAY GIRL, a girl who wants to better herself by reading books but it’s forbidden to the servants in the grand house in Ireland where she’s in service.

Then when she’s wrongly accused of stealing a diamond bracelet, she escapes.

To the Titanic.

And every tale I’d heard at my grandmother’s knee, every book I’d read, every film about the ship of dreams I’d watched over and over again became the fodder for telling my own story about the Titanic.

Based on my girlhood and love of books.

And the sea.

And yes, romance, too.

And how an Irish girl makes a daring choice on that fateful night when the Titanic hits an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. that changes her life forever…

And mine, too.

—————

————–

THE RUNAWAY GIRL

Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…

When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.

Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.

As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…

A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).

Praise for Jina Bacarr:

‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind

‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’

‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’

‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’

THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:

THE RUNAWAY GIRL
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Kobo
0 0 Read more

Just in Case by Tari Lynn Jewett

April 10, 2020 by in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as , , ,

When I was a little girl, both of my grandmother’s saved margarine tubs, whipped topping containers, reused aluminum foil, and even washed the plastic bags that bread came in, turned them inside out to dry and reused them. One of my grandmothers was known to scrape the black off of burnt toast and serve it, and I once even saw her eat a banana so black that I wouldn’t have used it for banana bread!! “You don’t waste food,” she told me.

My father’s mother, Mildred Porter, was born in 1902. My mother’s mother, Maclovia Villereal, was born in 1916. They both lived through The Great Depression, but came from vastly different backgrounds and were at different stages in their lives. My grandma Mildred, was a young mother, with the responsibility of keeping food on the table for her children. My grandmother, Maclovia, who went by the name of Maxine, was a teenager at the beginning of the depression, and by the time those dark days ended, was in her early 20’s. Yet, for both of them, that depression era mentality of not being wasteful was ingrained in their behavior to the day they died.

As a child growing up in more prosperous times, I thought it was funny to wash bread bags and foil, then hang them up to dry. The margarine tubs and cool whip containers were more reasonable and something I’ve always done. They’re convenient for sending leftovers home with guests, if I’m out of plastic containers. But, bread bags and foil…I didn’t get it.

And today, with all that’s going on in the world, I find myself doing many of the same things. I’m washing jars and instead of tossing them in the recycling bin, I’m putting them aside…’just in case’. Yogurt containers that I’d normally throw away, I’m washing and storing…’just in case’. I’m saving my butter wrappers to grease bread pans with, and I’m using cloth napkins instead of disposable napkins, and using dish-towels and rationing paper towels, and serving almost every meal on glass plates. Why? Just in case… Not because we’re broke…at least not yet, but because we can’t get them.

Food, and daily necessities have become precious, in a way that we’ve forgotten that they should be all of the time. For many people, it’s already a matter of financial necessity, but for everyone it’s a matter of access. We don’t know when we’ll be able to get toilet paper again, or diapers. Will there be mayonnaise on the grocery shelves this week? Will they be out of chicken in the meat department? (It was three grocery orders before I got fresh chicken!)

We’re cooking more, rationing more, appreciating small things…I mean, who ever thought you’d be so excited to get a package of toilet paper??

Things have changed, and we don’t know for how long. Will this be a permanent change? Will these new habits become ingrained in our behavior? What about our children?

And would that be a good thing? And while we don’t want to become hoarders, maybe we should continue to conserve, to waste less and appreciate more.

So, what do you find yourself doing now that you didn’t Before? Are you saving containers? Rationing? And do you think that some of these changes will be permanent for you and your family? I’d like to know…

7 0 Read more

When Your Life Depends On It by Kitty Bucholtz

April 9, 2020 by in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as , , , ,

I had the most interesting conversation this week with Brad Borkan. He co-authored the book, When Your Life Depends On It, about Antarctic explorers of the early 20th century. At first, I didn’t think I’d find this very interesting at all; I just wanted to interview him to talk about writing nonfiction.

But boy, was I wrong! Brad studied decision sciences and works during the day with a major software company understanding how businesses and people make decisions. He wrote his book as a study of how these explorers made so many life and death decisions – and stayed alive most of the time. And then he showed us how to apply those lessons to our own lives.

I think you’ll find this episode really interesting, just like I did! I hope you enjoy it. 😀

3 0 Read more

Kidd Wadsworth, April Featured Author

April 7, 2020 by in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as ,

Kidd Wadsworth writes to bring to life our magical, fire-breathing world. She believes we are super heroes. It’s time we put on our capes.

You can read Kidd’s monthly column, Infused with Meaning, here on the 18th of every month. More information about Kidd is found on her website, make sure you take the time to read her “about me” section.

A selection of books that include Kidd’s short stories.

0 0 Read more

Life and Writing

April 6, 2020 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , , , ,

Life has changed. For everyone. At least for now.


Covid-19, the Corona virus, is out there. Hopefully none of you reading this has caught the virus, and neither have your family members or friends. But even so, it has affected you.


For one thing, I’m in California, where we’ve been directed to stay at home except for important outings such as buying food. Most states have given the same directive to their residents. As a writer, I’m used to staying home. But it still feels different when I don’t have an option, even for good reason.


So, no visits to exercise classes.  My dogs are happy enough about that since my husband and I are taking them on more walks.  Everyone else in my neighborhood seems to be doing the same thing, dogs or not, so we cross the street often to stay away from one another.


And writing? Well, I’m in the middle of an important edit, and that’s what I’m concentrating on. I’ve more writing to come, too. But I’m wondering how I’ll refer to the pandemic in future stories, when hopefully this is all behind us. Will I mention it? Will I ignore it? Will I take on writing a fiction story that is based on what is currently happening? 

Not sure.


Even my reading now has been affected.  When I read about a major gathering in a story, for example, my mind leaps out of the book and I scold all those people for getting together till I realize where I am and what I’m doing. Or even as I’m editing, I think about whether the people in my story need to be together at their workplaces, then slough that off as being today’s reality, not the fiction I’m writing.


So how long will this last? The experts vary in their estimates but in any case it’ll still be going on tomorrow and the next day and most likely several weeks, or months. It feels weird. It feels scary. And as a fiction writer having to deal with reality—it’s definitely difficult.


So… hang in there. I will.

Linda

0 0 Read more
«‹195196197198199200201›»

Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

>