Tag Archive for: #amwriting

Travel for Writing

By Kathryn Lane


For people with an appetite for
travel, 2021 promises to be a better year. We’re already picking destinations
and building itineraries to fulfill our yearnings
.

Yeah, I’m one of those crazy, exuberant travelers anxiously
waiting to renew my journeys!

Before becoming a writer, I jetted around the
globe for work purposes. I’d managed to leverage a CPA and finance career into
inspecting overseas affiliates experiencing financial issues or mismanagement.
Traveling fulfilled my dream of visiting other countries and learning their
cultures.

Yet I left the corporate world to write!

Since switching to writing mystery novels and
short stories, my travel is even more purpose driven. My husband and I
journey to foreign locations so I can research places where my female
protagonist, Nikki Garcia, and other characters find themselves – usually in
heaps of trouble.

Hong Kong, intended to be the next story site, had
to be cancelled. The pandemic in March 2020 posed too big a risk in Asia. I
rethought the plot and scheduled a May trip to Miami and Cuba. COVID had hit the
US and Caribbean by then, so we cancelled that jaunt. Surely by October, we
could travel. Barcelona beckoned us and we booked a trip to Spain. That too had
to be cancelled.

Upon researching “pandemic safe” tours, swimming in the Aegean off the coast of Turkey offered a possibility. Except
I’m not a swimmer. And it’d be difficult for Nikki to chase bad guys using a breaststroke!

Another option – “pretend to be in Paris from
home.” Glancing at the itinerary, it suggested baking Circus Bakery’s
cinnamon buns for breakfast. Turning on French music for atmosphere, adding a
scarf and sunglasses while reading Le Monde’s website for French news, enjoying
a leisurely luncheon of wine and cheese, and then taking a virtual tour of the Musée
d’Orsay
. By 5 p.m. it’s time to become your own bartender for aperitifs
before dinner. And finally you cook your dinner pretending to be a famous
French chef cooking Coq a Vin.

Cooking after all the wine from lunch and
aperitifs before dinner? They must be kidding. Or maybe that’s the secret of
famous French chefs – being plastered as they cook!

Seriously, I hope 2021 is a great year for all writers – and those of us who are also travel
junkies – that we can once again hit the road, rails, oceans, and airways. Or
even take hiking and cycling tours without concern of encountering closed
hotels and restaurants.

Wherever your passion leads you, I’m lifting my
glass of French wine to wish you a New Year of health, love, joy, peace, and
happiness.

***


Kathryn’s
books

The Nikki Garcia Mystery Series and her short story collection – Backyard
Volcano.
All available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082H96R11

Kathryn Lane started out as a starving artist. To earn a
living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in
international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two
decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and
suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from
her Mexican background as well as her travels
in over ninety countries.

https://www.kathryn-lane.com

https://www.facebook.com/kathrynlanewriter/

Photo Credits:

Boat in Hong Kong Harbor, Swimmer, and Wine and Cheese – Public Domain

Kathryn’s books – designs by Bobbye
Marrs

When Pigs Fly

 

“When pigs
fly” is an adynaton, an absurd figure of speech to describe an action or
event that will never happen. But in literature, there are several examples of
pigs that take action or participate in events, and a few indeed fly.

In
real life in 2020, pigs are flying…on commercial airlines!

A
consequence of less people on flights is that airline companies are repurposing
their planes to take pigs around the globe. That’s right – the cargo bays of
jets are transporting more animals than ever before, especially hogs to China.
In addition to the flight crew, animal handlers are on board to monitor the
pigs’ temperaments and to fill the porcine sipper bottles. The only drawback,
according to handlers, is the distasteful aroma of even the cleanest and most
scrubbed-down porcine.

Returning
to the idea of pigs in literature, most western kids grow up reading or at
least hearing about The Three Little Pigs. In recent years, children may
have read The Three Little Javelinas, where the story is recast with
wild boars of the Southwestern US. They build their home using tumbleweed,
saguaro ribs, and adobe. A coyote huffs and puffs to blow the house down instead
of a wolf. And there’s The Three Ninja Pigs intended to take literary swine
to ninja fans. And in Today I Will Fly, Piggie is determined to fly.

But
the best example of pigs in literature is perhaps Animal Farm.

If George Orwell were writing Animal Farm
today, would he have Napoleon and Snowball argue about taking over the future
of aviation, placing pigs in the cockpit, having flight attendants take
alcoholic drinks to the passengers in first class? Would it be Mr. Jones who
would be in the cargo bay?

Would
Orwell have the common animals in coach peering into first class and the
cockpit, and realize they could no longer differentiate the swine from the
humans?

Leaving
Orwell aside, I can see Noah’s Ark becoming Noah’s Jet. Instead of embarking on
a boat, the giraffes, elephants, chipmunks, bears, antelopes, horses, birds,
and remaining critters could simply board a Boing 777 or an Airbus A330, and fly
off to higher ground until the flood waters recede.

Personally,
I will never get on another jet without wondering if unpleasant odors will rise
from the cargo
bay. For that, I already have my mask ready!

Do you have your mask?

                                                                    ***




The Nikki Garcia Mystery Series  –  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZNF17G

Kathryn Lane started out as a starving artist. To earn a
living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in
international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two
decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and
suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from
her Mexican background as well as her travels
in over ninety countries.

https://www.kathryn-lane.com

Book Credits:

The Three Little Pigs by Joseph Jacobs, first published on
June 19, 1890

The Three Little Javelinas by Susan
Lowell/Illustrated by

Jim Harris

The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz/Illustrated by Dan Santat

Today I Will Fly by author/illustrator Mo Willems

Photo Credits:

Flying Pigs by BugMan50 – licensed
under CC BY-NC 2.0

Animal Farm book cover – Public
Domain

Flying Pig Mask – Public Domain

Kathryn’s books – designs by Bobbye
Marrs


Gay Yellen: A Writer’s Thanksgiving

The twining path…


Like a double helix, a writer’s journey can follow a twisty trail. One strand—the rational, professional one—involves studying the works of others, honing your own craft, unlocking a door to publishing, and eventually (hopefully) connecting with readers.

The second strand can be an emotional mind-trip filled with unsettling questions. Is my work good enough? Why is that writer so successful? How can I be successful, too?

This emotional trip is the tricky one. It’s easy to find lists of writers deemed better or more successful by certain measures. What should matter to a writer is how they respond to such information. With admiration… or envy? 

Author-envy can eat a writer alive and stifle creativity. On the other hand, clear-eyed respect for another’s success may lead to the discovery of what it takes to improve. Heartfelt admiration—and gratitude—can move us closer to our own dreams.

What makes writers so special?

When I became a full-time author, I was overjoyed to find the camaraderie and the willingness to help one another that thrives in abundance in the writing community. It feels like family here.

Successful writers form personal bonds, share professional tips, read and critique each other’s books, and genuinely root for one another. The Stiletto Gang is an example.

Here, authors come together to trade insights, bits of book news, and offer glimpses into our personal lives, as well as our professional wins and woes. And we introduce our own followers to the rest of authors in the Gang. Countless other bloggers do the same in other spaces.

It’s hard to find a profession that embodies such an open and welcoming ethos. Can you name another enterprise whose members so willingly share their secret sauce with the competition?
Gratitude.

I deeply appreciate my writing community, from the veterans who teach to the newbies who are eager to learn. I’m grateful to the people who manage our writers’ groups and who continue to support their members.

This year, when Thanksgiving celebrations may not be like those we know, there’s all the more reason to appreciate the things that continue to sustain us. So, here’s a huge thank-you to writers everywhere who generously share their knowledge and platforms and public spaces with colleagues.
And special thanks to readers…

Dear readers, please know that you are the most important part of our community. Thank you for reading our books, for leaving your reviews on our book sales sites, and for recommending them to your friends. We could not keep our writing spirits up without you. You brighten our lives.

What about you? What are you thankful for this year?

Gay Yellen was a magazine and book editor before she began the award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series, which includes The Body Business and The Body Next Door. Book #3 in the series is slated for release in 2021.


Gay would love to hear from you, here, on Facebook, or at her website, GayYellen.com.


Mystery and Romance Authors – How Many Books Should You Publish?

 

Antique Underwood Typewriter and Calla Lilies

Social media has swept instant and fleeting tidings over
us – the expectation of continuous news snippets. I wondered how this impacts the work of authors. In doing research, I found
an interesting quote from Donna Tartt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
The
Goldfinch
:

There’s
an expectation these days that novels – like any other consumer product
should be made on a production line, with one dropping from the conveyor belt
every couple of years.”

Every couple of years? I was astounded. Quite a few authors, including New York
Times bestselling ones produce at least one book a year, such as Stephen King, Danielle
Steel, Harlan Coben, and Jeffery Deaver. I also know writers who publish four
books a year – and happen to be USA Today bestselling authors. Probably none of
the ones I’m thinking of will be honored with a Pulitzer, but they are
satisfying their fan base by penning multiple novels per year.

 ca
Antique Printing Press

It gives the aphorism “publish or perish” a whole new
meaning. The impact on genre authors to keep
publishing new books increases
their fan base, improves their rankings on Amazon, and sustains their
visibility among readers within their genres.

Yet The Goldfinch author takes ten years
(that’s right – a full decade!) to write a novel. A literary genius, Tartt has
fans across the globe. Plus, she’s backed by big publishing houses and their
gargantuan budgets, here and abroad.

Most of us who write genre would “perish” if we only produced
one novel every ten years.

Selling novels boils down to two basic issues:

A. Storytelling writing a compelling and fascinating
story.

B. Markets how these “consumer products” that Tartt
mentions are advertised and distributed.

In 2018, more than 1.6 million books (both print and eBook
with registered ISBNs) were published in the US alone. You can dismiss a
portion of these as coming from aspiring writers or people doing a memoir for
family purposes. But the point is made
the diversity of choices for readers
contributes to the difficulty new authors encounter when trying to distinguish themselves
in a crowded market.

Despite the intense competition, I would not for a minute give
up my writing! It’s the most satisfying, and craziest, endeavor I’ve ever done.

Care to
share how you distinguish your novels in the crowded market?

***

Photo
credits: Kathryn Lane for Antique Underwood Standard Typewriter, Printed page
flying off antique printing press; Bobbye Marrs for Nikki Garcia Trilogy

Kathryn Lane started out as a starving artist. To earn a
living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in
international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two
decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and
suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from
her Mexican background as well as her travels
in over ninety countries.

https://www.kathryn-lane.com

https://www.facebook.com/kathrynlanewriter/


Untitled Post

Lessons
From My Garden
By
Saralyn Richard

I’ve always loved to plant flowers and vegetables and
watch them grow, but never, until now, have I had the time to nurture, weed,
water, and admire the horticulture. For all of the things the pandemic has
taken away, the joy of gardening is one thing it’s brought to my life in
technicolor.

            During
days when time inside seems to stand still, when one day pours into the next,
so it doesn’t matter whether it’s Monday or Saturday, the ever-changing
splendor of my garden provides something new. In March, I planted the caladium bulbs
kept in the garage all winter. Even from the first day after planting, they
were pushing up shoots that turned into buds, that opened into showy broad red
and green leaves. The progress was rapid and almost magical.



            The
caladiums reminded me of the book release process. When I published my debut
mystery novel, MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT
, in 2018, I experienced that creative
push of final edits, review blurbs, pre-publication hype, and, voila! The book
was “above ground,” out into the world. As the book was nourished by reader
reviews and a dizzying book tour schedule, it opened up to book clubs, new
readers, and beautiful new connections.

            The
fig tree in my back yard, however, has taught me patience. The sequel to MURDER
IN THE ONE PERCENT, A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER, was released in February of
this year. I had no idea that a pandemic would wreak havoc with every launch
party, book talk, and book club I had so enthusiastically planned. Like the new
mystery novel, the fig tree burst forth in a passionate profusion of fruit.
Once the first crop was picked, though, the tree slowed down. It’s still full
of potential. Hundreds of green buds remain, patiently awaiting their natural
time to explode into luscious purple fruit. Though the book launch for PALETTE
was not what I expected, the joy of the first crop of readers and the early
reviews has been gratifying. Now I need to nurture the green buds, knowing
that, if I’m patient, they will produce fruit.



            A
final parable comes from the enclosed planter on my front porch. I’ve never
been able to grow anything in this shady area. Too little sun, too little
water, and too little attention from me were all to blame. I had literally
given up on having anything there, except an air plant, a few aloe vera plants,
and a touch of tradescantia zebrine (wandering
jew). I decided that this was the time to experiment. I took a cutting from a
healthy ginger plant in my back yard, and I planted it in the planter. I
decided to keep the porch light on all night to give it extra light for
growing, and I water it every day. At first the leaves turned brown and I was
sure the plant was dying, but after a few more days, baby shoots started
popping up in the soil. Now the plant is thriving, and the planter is a source
of pride.


            So
many times in writing, the easy path would be to give up. I might blame a lack
of time, a dearth of creative ideas, a busy calendar, family demands, even a
pandemic—innumerable excuses for not writing. The truth is, however, that an
author with a creative spirit can produce a story to be proud of. Yes, there
are obstacles, but obstacles can be overcome, as long as the passion and will
are there.


            Those
of us who read and write, who love books, have likely learned many lessons
during these months of social distancing. Here’s hoping all of our lessons bear
the sweetest fruit.
Award-winning mystery and children’s book author, Saralyn Richard
strives to make the world a better place, one book at a time. Her books, Naughty Nana, Murder in the One Percent, and A
Palette for Love and Murder
, have delighted children and adults, alike. A
member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America,
Saralyn teaches creative writing at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and continues
to write mysteries. Look for A Murder of
Principal
to be released in January, 2020. Reviews, media, and tour
schedule may be found at
http://saralynrichard.com.

Top Ten Writing Tips

I can’t believe it’s already the middle of July! This year seems never ending–and conversely to be evaporating in an endless blur.


Remember an eternity ago (ie pre-pandemic) when you made New Year’s Resolutions? How are you coming with yours? 


One of my resolutions (the only one I actually remember and am still attempting) was to transfer the organization I always implemented in my day job to my writing life. Since my writing space and habits were a bit (cough, a lot) disorganized, I got together with some author friends. What quickly evolved was a set of writing tips. Many of these I’ve done without conscious thought. I’m attempting to be more mindful, however, and plan to use this structure as additional motivation to, as one friend puts it, finish the damn book.


Yes, as the launch activity for Calling for the Money wraps up (see below) I’m back at work on another story.


So, without further fanfare – the writing tips:


Ten – Make lists. Every day I make a list of the things I want to accomplish that day. (I’m not sure what it says about me that I love drawing a line through an item when it’s done.) The first line (every day but Sunday) is always, Write. Long-term-goals are listed on my white board: things I want to be sure I don’t forget, but I don’t have to do today.


Nine – Sprint.  A group of us grabs our first, or next, cup of coffee and checks in, then we all ignore each other, turn off the internet and the phone, and work steadily for an hour. It’s a writing club, a mutual support group, and a fabulous technique for working without interruption. I write until I meet my word count goal for the day. (Thank Steven King for this one.)


Eight – Work on one series at a time. I try my best to immerse myself in one setting, one set of characters, one story, whether I’m working on a first draft or revising a draft. Avoiding the “new shiny” keeps me focused.



Seven – Finish what’s due first. Except #8 blows up sometimes. I’ll be in first draft mode on Pony Ring and edits will come in from Beaver Pond. Then there was all the activity around the launch of Calling for the Money. Whew! I operate on the First Due principle. I knock out the edits, because they’re due in a week or two, then get back to the longer work. The problem with doing that, of course, is getting back up to speed with the work-in-process, so I can re-immerse myself in that world.



Six – Take time away from the desk. By the end of a writing session, my creative brain is mush. I usually go for what I call my plotting walk, especially if I’m writing a first draft. There’s something about the rhythm of walking that brings the next scene or a plot problem into focus. It makes the dogs happy to get out of the house, too.



Five – Separate creative time from admin time. I’m most creative in the early morning, so I do my writing then. A corollary is, Keep creative time sacred. I don’t schedule anything else for mornings. I try to keep writing blog posts, scheduling author events, record-keeping, and all the other business stuff for the evenings.



Four – Work ahead. Know what you want to accomplish. I’ve written my goals for the year and set up a time table to implement them. That means I work now on upcoming items instead of waiting and scrambling at the last minute.



Three – Outsource what I can’t do. While I tinker with art and photo-editing, I know my limits with graphic design. I hire a wonderful cover artist. I like formatting my books, but it’s something I can do in the evening while my husband watches TV. The key point is identifying what I’m good at and enjoy, versus what I can outsource. Why waste time on things it would take me forever to do and rob me of the hours I need to do what I’m good at – writing stories?



Two – Stay healthy. I always have a full flask of water on my desk. Fluids in, fluids out. It makes me get up and move around every hour or so. And if I forget, my Fitbit buzzes at me with a reminder. I try to eat lean fresh foods, and I get regular exercise even if it isn’t always a sweaty gym workout. And the exercise doubles as creative time – see #6!



One – Butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard. This is really the most important one. If I get distracted, schedule other things, or simply don’t do the writing, then…I’m not doing the writing. And that’s my job. Of all the varied jobs I’ve held, I’m lucky and blessed to have this one I love.



What tips can you add?



The launch tour for Calling for the Money is wrapping up, but there are still several ongoing giveaway signups. The entire tour is listed on my website (https://cperkinswrites.com) with assorted post, giveaways, reviews, and interviews.



Here are the remaining tour stops:





July 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 17 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT  
July 19 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW  

Stop by, and leave a comment!
You can download your own copy here (all vendors):

https://books2read.com/CallingForTheMoney

Enjoy! 

An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award.

Swiss Cheese Brain

Swiss
Cheese Brain by Debra H. Goldstein
Sometimes
having a brain that feels like a piece of swiss cheese has its benefits. Some
of you know I had surgery, under general anesthesia, last week to remove the
hardware from when my foot was rebuilt a few years ago. Although I almost
immediately traded the opiate pain pills for over the counter medication, I discovered
my brain continued working in gaps. I’d have a thought and then it would fade
away as my eyes closed. I’d snap back into the moment before again losing time.
Not
exactly what a Type A personality wants to have happening. I fought against the
drowsiness and the loss of what seemed to be logical brain connections, but I
didn’t win. If anything, it exhausted me more. So, I decided to surrender.
Once I gave
up, I saw things with more clarity (except for where the holes were). I
realized that sometimes we can’t control the moment or what we want to do any more
than we can dictate the flow of a story or the behavior of a character. Pushing
against what the story or characters want usually results in flat writing or a
dead end. Better to give in until the flow begins anew.

I’m
still taking it easy, but my eyes are brighter and my mind not as
circuitous.  Those characters and ideas
better watch out!

Finding Inspiration…

By Lynn McPherson
In a time of chaos and stress, writing fiction can be challenging.  Everywhere we look, there is tragedy and loss. There are always stories of hope to be found, but sometimes the world can bring us down. Today I’d like to share some ideas about how and where to find inspiration for our creative minds.
The first one is to get outside. Leave all devices at home and just walk, or ride, or roll. Whatever your favourite way to enjoy the outdoors, now is the time to do it. What better distraction from all the heavy news and numbers of the day than bright flowers and budding trees? Taking time to feel the sun, the wind, even the rain is worthwhile. It makes you feel good and gets your blood flowing. If you want your mind to move, start with your body. I’m always a sucker for a walk in the woods. In the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to spot deer, foxes, and even coyotes.  What are your best sightings?
Another way to get excited about writing is by finding some new authors that excite you. Reading great books is invigorating and fun. I’ve been reading an excellent Canadian thriller author, Shari Lapena, whose stories have kept me up at night. Another new favourite is Tana French. Her stories are absolutely gripping, leaving me amazed at the detail she puts into her descriptive and lyrical passages. What about digging out some old favourites? I’m always up for reading one of my favourite classic cozy authors, Rita Mae Brown or the hilarious and educational Bill Bryson. They make me feel good and are always fun to revisit.
My final suggestion is to get up early. Why? It’s the best time to work without distraction. My best work is always in the dark hours before sunrise. My coffee maker is set for five o’clock. I come downstairs to the only quiet time in my house, before the kids are up, the phone is ringing, and the news starts seeping in from the radio or television. It is my focus time. When the alarm goes off I’m not always excited to hear the ring, but I never regret the time it gives me to work on my writing and feel a sense of accomplishment first thing. It’s a great way to start the day. Not everyone is an earlybird like me. But it’s worth giving it a shot. After a week, if you’re still bleary eyed and no further along in your manuscript or project, give it up and hit the snooze.
I’d love to hear more ideas and suggestions for finding inspiration. Feel free to send yours in.
In the meantime, set that alarm and get to bed early.

Lynn McPherson has worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, ran a small business, and taught English across the globe. She has travelled the world solo where her daring spirit has led her to jump out of airplanes, dive with sharks, and learn she would never master a surfboard. She now channels her lifelong love of adventure and history into her writing, where she is free to go anywhere, anytime. Her cozy series has three books out: The Girls’ Weekend Murder and The Girls Whispered Murder, and The Girls Dressed For Murder.  

Wisteria Wars and Creativity in the Time of Covid—by T.K. Thorne

    
         

     Writer, humanist,
          dog-mom, horse servant and cat-slave,
       Lover of solitude
          and the company of good friends,
        New places, new ideas
           and old wisdom.

Most people assume, as a writer, that I’m eating up the hours a little virus has bequeathed to us by WRITING. They would be wrong. Yes, I am working on a novel, but it’s in the editing stage. That means I’m calling on some craft skills, but mostly just plain old boring, repetitive checking for errors.
This piece is the first thing I’ve actually tried to pull from the creativity well, and I have no idea where it will go. But that is okay. I give myself permission to ramble and see if anything worthwhile will arise. (I encourage you to do the same.)  So here we go.

I’m fortunate to live on several acres of property surrounded by beautiful woods. Our nearest neighbors are cows. For the ten years before we moved here, I lived in the city, and tried to grow on a tiny patch of land what I felt was the most gorgeous of plants—a wisteria vine. For whatever reason, the one I planted with hopes of it gracefully climbing the crosshatch wood panel on the side of my front porch and spilling grape-like clusters of blossoms—never bloomed. When we moved, I dug up a piece of the root and planted it in my front yard, determined to keep trying. The ground was so hard, I ended up cutting off most of the taproot and throwing a small piece of it into the woods on the side of my house.

Thirty years later, that little piece of discarded taproot has been . . . successful.  That is like saying a virus replicates. It did bloom, draping glorious purple curtains from the trees.

At first I told it, “Okay, as long as you stay on that side of the path.” It didn’t. Then, I rationalized, as long as it stayed behind the fence in the backyard. (I didn’t actually go in my backyard very much, being busy with life stuff.)  But I looked one day after covid-19 hit, and it had eaten over half of the back yard.  I couldn’t even walk to the fence line. Two huge trees went down, strangled, and too close to the house.

It was time for war.

This engagement, like those in the Middle East, will never end. Wisteria sends out shoots underground and periodically forms nodes that may change the direction or shoot out its own horizontal and/or vertical roots, so each section can survive independently and pop up anywhere.  Of course, I have the most pernicious variety, the Chinese kind that takes over the world (challenging even kudzu, which fortunately, hasn’t found my house yet.)

My first priority was to save the trees near the house. The vines were so thick at the base, no clippers would suffice. I girded myself with a baby chainsaw and determination. It hurt to cut into those old, twisty vines, to destroy something so beautiful, but the trees were more important. I imagined that with each cut, the tree could feel the release from the vine’s embrace, the reprieve.  I was taking life, but I was giving it too.

I sprayed the growth in the yard and pulled up (some of) the root systems.  If you want a mindless, exhausting, frustrating, impossible task—pull up established wisteria roots. It will take your mind off anything, even a pandemic.

One side benefit of the fallen trees was that a little more light found its way into the yard, and I decided to try growing vegetables. Another feature of my backyard is an old fashion clothesline with rusty steel posts. Periodically over the past decades, I’ve thought we should take them down as they are eyesores, but another part of me (the part that worried what young girls with flat stomachs would do during the famine) worried that we would have a pandemic one day or some kind of disaster that would require actually hanging clothes out to dry, so I left them, as well as the abandoned rabbit hutch in the far corner.  We would be ready, if not attractively landscaped.  And worse case scenario, maybe the hutch, in a pinch, would hold chickens.

I thought my creative well was dry, but looking at those old steel posts, the pile of wisteria roots, the vines I had pulled up and cut down, and a package of bean seeds that has been sitting in a drawer for a few years, something started stirring. Beans need something to climb.  One of the fallen trees had taken out actual wire lines of the clothesline, but the poles were set in cement. They will be there when I am dust. The pole surface might be too slick for a bean to be able to curl up, but maybe—
And so, as a product of WWI (Wisteria Wars Episode I) and covid-19, I found that the outlet for creativity isn’t always words on a page. If my beans grow, they will be beautiful and feed me, and if they don’t, I will at least have a couple of funky art pieces in the backyard.

Foreground: Metal pole with wisteria roots and vines. Background logs
from tree felled by wisteria, the carcass of another felled tree, and
old rabbit hutch.

T.K. is a retired police captain who writes books, which, like this blog, roam wherever her interest and imagination take her.  Want a heads up on news about her writing and adventures (and receive two free short stories)? Click on image below.  Thanks for stopping by!

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My Teenage Reading by Robin Hillyer-Miles

This is a stage of considerable anxiety in our world. I know you follow all the safeguards to protect you and your people. Please check in with those dear to you. 
In this time of turmoil, to take our minds off what’s next, I thought we could go on a trip down memory lane and talk about our favorite books from our teenage years.

One of my all-time favorites is “The Queen of Spells” by Dahlov Ipcar. I need to apologize to my hometown library as it seems I checked it out at the month I turned fifteen on Tues., Nov. 29, 1978, and never returned it. Oopsie. I remember checking it out a few times. I hope I bought this off the sale shelves when they had new inventory coming in and needed the room. 
Ipcar’s book, published in 1973, is not considered the best retelling, but it holds a dear place in my heart. The author had a lifelong career as an artist, we can see her work in major museums. She wrote and illustrated thirty children’s books, this book does not appear by name in her Wikipedia page. 
“The Queen of Spells” is a retelling of the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin. Tam Lin is a story of a prince, captured by the fairy queen, freedom can be obtained only with the love of Janet. In fact, I am writing a retelling of this same ballad. Many authors have done the same. I hope my story has more twists and interesting storylines that will set it off from the rest, and be judged more kindly by reviewers than this one. 
The next book on my teen keeper shelf is “Seal-Woman by Ronald Lockley, published in 1975. This too is a retelling of a myth. In the Faroe Islands there’s the tale of a seal woman who once married a human and had children. Seals were former humans who became seals on purpose. Once a year they return to land as humans. In Lockley’s story, a young man meets Shian and a relationship develops. I’d say more, but I’d rather not give the story away! The cover is rather racy for twelve-year-old me to read. I read way above my age, but still, I must have hidden this book from my mother.
“Portrait of Jennie” by Robert Nathan may be familiar to you as the 1948 film, starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotton. In the book, published in 1940, a young starving artist meets a strange little girl dressed in old-fashioned clothing who tells him, on their first meeting, that she wishes he’d wait for her to grow up but believes he won’t. He paints landscapes but captures Jennie, the girl, in a sketch and sells it.  
Jennie appears repeatedly, maturing more than the years garner. She’s mysterious and vague, saying things like, “This was tomorrow, once.” And “We can’t both of us be lost.” She sings a song with these lines, “Where I come from nobody knows, and where I am going everything goes.’
The story is ethereal, sublime, and haunting. If you’ve neither seen the movie nor read the book, I recommend them. I read this when I was an early teen and loved it ever since. You know that Facebook quiz about what movie makes you stop and watch it when you happen upon it on television? This is one of those movies you can’t take your eyes from.
“The Lady or the Tiger and Other Stories” is a collection of short stories by Frank Stockton. These eight stories all end in a twist. My mother bought our copy at a second-hand bookshop in 1978 for ten cents. The title story was published in a magazine in November 1882. This now well-worn book in my collection has been read numerous times. I can say my mother has been cleaning out her shelves for years and gifted me her copy.
Most people have heard “The Lady of the Tiger?” where the young man must choose from a door that hides a fierce tiger or a young lady suitable to his age and stance in society (and the same young lady he’d been seen speaking with in the past). However, the twist is, the princess with whom he has been having love encounters gives him a hint by motioning to the door on the right. Would she rather him live with another woman for his lifetime or to die at once and wait for his princess in the next realm?
Shivers! All these books hold a hint of magic, time travel, and mystery. It’s no wonder I love to write along the same lines. 
I hope these books helped you remember cherished stories from your past. Please share them in the comment section.

Stay safe and well! 
See these links for 
Ballad of Tam Lin – http://www.tam-lin.org
Here’s a review of the movie – Portrait of Jennie – https://lwlies.com/articles/portrait-of-jennie-william-dieterle-hollywood-melodrama/
And here’s how to get your copy of Frank Stockon’s story collection – https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781466804111

Robin Hillyer-Miles is a native South Carolinian residing in the Lowcountry with her husband, child, and three dogs. She works part-time for YWCA Greater Charleston, is a certified city of Charleston tour guide, and a 300+ hour yoga instructor. She writes cozy mysteries, contemporary romances, and magical realism. She’s published in the Lowcountry Romance Writers of America’s anthology “Love in the Lowcountry.” She’s durrently working on a novella entitled, “Cathy’s Corner.”

Visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RobinHillyerMilesAuthorTourGuideYoga/

Go here to see the anthology on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lowcountry-Winter-Holiday-Collection-ebook/dp/B07XJZSRBT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=217AR996F5G99&keywords=love+in+the+lowcountry+anthology&qid=1575124675&sprefix=love+in+the+loco%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1