From me to all of you, a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year. As the holiday season can be hectic at times, it can be difficult stop and catch your breath. The season is a wonderful time, when everything seems a little brighter, the world seems a kinder place, and even if that is only my perception, I still appreciate it. It is important, in my opinion, to keep in mind the true reason that we…
Image by G4889166 from Pixabay Aah, the joys of advancing age and receding memory. I knew I had a post due this week, but forget all about it until this morning! In keeping with December’s Christmas them, please enjoy an assortment of images to highlight the beauty of the Milky Way galaxy and the universe: Photo by NASA on Unsplash What, you might ask, does this have to do with the season? A lot, in my opinion. Image by Yol Gezer from Pixabay It is truly humbling and awe-inspiring…
As Colin mentioned in his last post, it’s time for Merry Mischief! For anyone who has read the blog since it began, you may recollect that we wrote a Christmas story to celebrate the launch of this very site. It’s short, only six chapters long, and tells the story of an obtuse (isn’t he always?) and determined Mr. Collins, Elizabeth’s attempts to fend him off, and Mr. Darcy’s scheming to take Mr. Collins’s supposed place as Elizabeth’s suitors. After a…
Photo by Chris Sansbury on Unsplash I confess to feeling a little morose on this particular Monday. November 11 or “Remembrance Day” as it’s called here in Canada, is a day of reflection and gratitude for me and my family, as it is for many across the world. The day brings somber memories of my father, who passed away in November 2011. Dad served in the US Marine Corp during WW II. He spent the war in the South Pacific, and was on…
For today’s post, I thought I would do a bit of a recap of recent audiobook releases and what is coming in the future. I tend to focus much less on audiobooks, and there is a specific reason for it. Once I provide Tantor with the manuscript, they run with it and do everything else. By contrast, as an independent author, I handle all aspects of the process for eBook and physical formats, though of late I have farmed out…
As I promised last week, I have a cover reveal today. Four Days at Netherfield was a project I conceived recently, one that has made it to the publishing stage far more quickly than most of my ideas. It is funny how that works sometimes, for delays can happen at any stage of the process, from outlining to final edits and covers. I currently have more than 15 variations outlined and waiting in my to do folder, which will give you…
I enjoy posting excerpts. It’s always interesting to offer a glimpse of what is in the pipe and hear what people are thinking. Before I publish each book, I do a rigorous editing program which allows other eyes to look at my manuscript, and ends up costing me many hours of time revising, dealing with any language not appropriate for the genre such as anachronisms, and trying to find that exact word that will say what I wish to say….
Image by Jackie Ramirez from Pixabay I don’t recall how it happened, but I inadvertently opted into a daily email from Inspiring Quotes, a website with a collection of quotes on various subjects. My initial reaction was to unsubscribe and delete the post, because I get enough unwanted garbage in my inbox now, so why would I want to add to the mess cluttering it now? For one reason or another, I didn’t get around to doing that and I am glad I…
Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay In planning for this post, I started thinking of proverbs and adages. Are they different? According to Wikipedia, they are the same. They are similar, in that both are sayings that impart wisdom of one sort or another, but there is a difference. While proverbs find their roots in tradition and culture, adages are more varied in both their origins and their applications. Ten of the most common proverbs, which are common to numerous languages, are: “Actions…
I haven’t done an idiom in some time, so I thought I would return to the fascinating world of idioms on this lazy Monday. Idioms are sayings that make little sense from a practical standpoint, but mean something in common language. Storm in a teacup is not one of the more used idioms, but is common enough that just about anyone who speaks English natively should know it. Storm in a teacup is the concept that a small matter is…