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Read Rebecca Forster September Featured Author

September 29, 2020 by in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , ,

Read Rebecca Forster!

On September 15th, Rebecca announced she signed with Wolfpack Publishing. (Read about it here.) Good news for Rebecca, and good news for readers. Until September 30, 2020 Rebecca is have a sale on select titles.


On Sale Until September 30th: The Finn O’Brien Thriller Series

SEVERED RELATIONS

Buy now!
SEVERED RELATIONS

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Buy now!
FOREIGN RELATIONS

SECRET RELATIONS

Buy now!
SECRET RELATIONS
INTIMATE RELATIONS

DISTANT RELATIONS

Buy now!
DISTANT RELATIONS

Also on Sale are Rebecca’s Single Title Thrillers

BEFORE HER EYES

Buy now!
BEFORE HER EYES

KEEPING COUNSEL

Buy now!
KEEPING COUNSEL

THE MENTOR

Buy now!
THE MENTOR

BEYOND MALICE

Buy now!
BEYOND MALICE

CHARACTER WITNESS

Buy now!
CHARACTER WITNESS

Rebecca marketed a world-class spa when it was still called a gym, did business in China before there were western toilettes at the Great Wall and mucked around with the sheep to find out exactly how her client’s fine wool clothing was manufactured. Then she wrote her first book and found her passion.

Now, over twenty-five books later, she is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and writes full-time, penning thrillers that explore the emotional impact of the justice system. She earned her B.A. at Loyola, Chicago and her MBA at Loyola, Los Angeles. Rebecca has taught the Business of Creativity at University of California Long Beach Writers Certificate Program, UCLA and UC Irvine extension. Married to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, she is the mother of two grown sons and spends her free time traveling, sewing, and playing tennis.


Remember the books are only on sale until September 30, 2020

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Happy Fall… Or is it autumn?!

September 28, 2020 by in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field, Writing tagged as , , , ,

A Quarter Days’ Post

Greetings! I’m back for my quarterly post about various and sundry things related to writing historical fiction.

In my last post I talked about the delights of playing with words and creating Tom Swifties.

Today I’m talking about the difference between English and English, as in American vs. British.

Is it fall? Or is it autumn? More on that later.

What’s in your tool kit? 

Words are the building blocks we writers and speakers use to create story. We start hoarding those blocks early, and the resulting vocabulary says much about our own personal settings—where we grew up, what our social milieu is, what our family is like.

A case in point—my grandkids’ first words. We waited with bated breath for each munchkin’s first spoken vocabulary word. I coached them repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) to say “mama”.

But for both of them the first word was… DOG! (Yes, we do love our dogs.)

Fledgling writers

are taught “write what you know”. I wonder why? It’s a lot more fun to step outside the known world. But it does lead to challenges.

The biggest challenge: You don’t know what you don’t know

For a 21st century American like me trying to set a story in Georgian England, there are a million opportunities to err.

First there’s the issue of etymology. Was a word used during this story’s time period?

A couple of examples from a Regency first draft I was beta reading for a friend:

  • Hooligan: a great word, right? Unfortunately it dates to the 1890s.
  • Foyer: Sadly, this dates to 1859.

And a couple from my own first drafts:

  • Merry Widow: as my editor pointed out, this phrase references Franz Lehar’s operetta’s English title from 1907. Just a tad later than the Regency!!!
  • Shack: Not only is this a later word (1878) but it’s of American or Canadian origin.

Which brings up another potential pitfall for the fledgling Regency Romance author.

American vs. British

Americans and Brits may speak the same language, but we use different words.

I’m fortunate to work often with an editor in England, and so I’ve compiled my own list of Americanisms for my own pre-editing purging.

Some more examples:

This very funny post from a British writer complete with illustrations.

And a list of 60 American English words translated into British English.

Spelling and punctuation are different too.

Once, long ago, while reading one of Georgette Heyer’s books, I wondered why they kept writing “cosy” instead of “cozy”. Why had so many misspellings slipped past the editor?

The British spelling was different enough to make it a jarring read for this ignorant and unaware American who happens to be a good speller. Fortunately, I’m wise to them now.

There are also punctuation differences. Here’s a short post about some of those.  

And a long one about spelling differences.

I don’t believe Regency readers will pillory an author over this issue, so I’ve settled on using American spelling and punctuation in my stories.

One might say, in this area at least, I’m writing what I know!

Do you suppose we’ll ever go “one-world” on the spelling and punctuation rules?

Happy fall (and autumn) to everyone, and I’ll be back in December!

Images credits: autumn leaves and dog are from Stencil (I’d happily claim that dog though!); image of words is from Wikimedia Commons.

 

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Passing by

September 26, 2020 by in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik

Passing by

dusk casts its veil gently
as I walk along
this quiet street
under winged elms shedding
flaky white blossoms
at my feet

the hour is my own
no one here to nettle my peace
other walkers, far and few,
wave or smile occasionally

people come and people leave
I have learned to let them be
for on these intersecting trails
we’re passersby, you and I

© Neetu Malik


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BOOK REVIEW: THREE TREATS TOO MANY: A Sarah Blair Mystery BY DEBRA H. GOLDSTEIN—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE

September 22, 2020 by in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as , , ,

Three Treats Too Many

(A Sarah Blair Mystery) Book 3 of a series
by Debra H. Goldstein
Kensington Publishing Corp. 2020
ISBN 978-1-4967-1949-2

Sarah Blair couldn’t be happier. Her life’s on track and now her twin sister Emily’s dream of owning her own restaurant, Southwind, has finally come true. Soon Emily will be able dazzle Wheaton, Alabama with her superb culinary skills. But she can’t open until the building inspector clears her and he seems to be dragging his feet. Meanwhile, the nightmare across the street, her rival’s restaurant, Jane’s Place, has just celebrated its grand opening and threatens to eclipse Emily’s restaurant even before it welcomes its first customer.

To make matters worse, patrons are raving about Jane’s Place where Riley Miller, heart breaker and sous chef, is whipping up delicious and healthy recipes to die for.

But when Riley turns up dead it’s up to Sarah, faithful sister and amateur sleuth, to find the killer.

If you’ve read Debra Goldstein’s previous books in the series, One Taste Too Many and Two Bites Too Many, you know that things are never what they seem, and the killer is not who you guess.


Think you’re good at following clues and figuring things out? Convinced you can beat Sarah to the punch? Then you need to read, Three Treats Too Many.


Psst! Don’t forget to try the recipes. They’re a real treat!

Veronica Jorge
See you next time on October 22nd!


The Sarah Blair Cozy Mystery Series

ONE TASTE TOO MANY

Buy now!
ONE TASTE TOO MANY

TWO BITES TOO MANY

Buy now!
TWO BITES TOO MANY

THREE TREATS TOO MANY

Buy now!
THREE TREATS TOO MANY

FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

Buy now!
FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

FIVE BELLES TOO MANY

Buy now!
FIVE BELLES TOO MANY
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Read Rebecca Forster September Featured Author

September 21, 2020 by in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , ,
Picture of a woman reading a book by a body of water.

Read Rebecca Forster!

On September 15th, Rebecca announced she signed with Wolfpack Publishing. (Read about it here.) Good news for Rebecca, and good news for readers. Until September 30, 2020 Rebecca is have a sale on select titles.


On Sale Until September 30th: The Finn O’Brien Thriller Series

SEVERED RELATIONS

Buy now!
SEVERED RELATIONS

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Buy now!
FOREIGN RELATIONS

SECRET RELATIONS

Buy now!
SECRET RELATIONS
INTIMATE RELATIONS

DISTANT RELATIONS

Buy now!
DISTANT RELATIONS

Also on Sale are Rebecca’s Single Title Thrillers

BEFORE HER EYES

Buy now!
BEFORE HER EYES

KEEPING COUNSEL

Buy now!
KEEPING COUNSEL

THE MENTOR

Buy now!
THE MENTOR

BEYOND MALICE

Buy now!
BEYOND MALICE

CHARACTER WITNESS

Buy now!
CHARACTER WITNESS

Rebecca marketed a world-class spa when it was still called a gym, did business in China before there were western toilettes at the Great Wall and mucked around with the sheep to find out exactly how her client’s fine wool clothing was manufactured. Then she wrote her first book and found her passion.

Now, over twenty-five books later, she is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and writes full-time, penning thrillers that explore the emotional impact of the justice system. She earned her B.A. at Loyola, Chicago and her MBA at Loyola, Los Angeles. Rebecca has taught the Business of Creativity at University of California Long Beach Writers Certificate Program, UCLA and UC Irvine extension. Married to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, she is the mother of two grown sons and spends her free time traveling, sewing, and playing tennis.


Remember the books are only on sale until September 30, 2020

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