Let’s Take a Shelfie

by Joanne Rock

So I’m in a position where I need to reorganize my bookshelves. I realized that so much of how I organize books depends on how much space I have. When I have lots of room, I can afford to have more keeper shelves and maintain a broad collection of books from all my areas of interest. I have many shelves of the books I’ve written, the books I’ve written that are translated to other languages, shelves of friends’ books, and signed books. Plus there are books I organize by interest—medieval culture, castles, knighthood, medieval literature, the courtly tradition, the Pre-Raphaelites, mythology, psychology, world religions, literary novels, poetry, and the list goes on.

I love my bookshelves! Browsing is a joy, and I continually find old gems I haven’t looked at in a decade. If I had my choice, I’d leave them as is. But I’m consolidating homes after living in a few places of the last decade, and that means merging collections—and, worse, losing the home of the biggest, best bookshelves.

One of several shelves I had to dismantle.

Minimalist sensibilities might say that’s a great thing. Do less with more! And if it was anything in my life except for books, I’d agree with that idea. But we love books, don’t we? Parting with them is like saying goodbye to old friends.

First to go were books that weren’t favorites—works I’ve only read once and didn’t feel called to read again. That wasn’t so bad. But then there was the pairing down of my own foreign editions, which was hard because I had hoped to keep one of everything. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, so I mailed books to libraries all over the country, re-homing them.

Now, I’m in a period of stasis, trying to figure out what can go next. Most days I contemplate building more bookshelves in my new home to accommodate all the volumes. But in my more productive periods of organization, I try to choose the “best of” books from each favorite category. I don’t need all the books I have on mythology, so I pick my top two or three choices, and so on.

We’ll see if this yields a more manageable collection. For now, I can say that I have renewed appreciation for cyber bookshelves like those I have at Goodreads. Even if I no longer possess the physical copy of the book, I can keep track of what I’ve read there—when I remember to enter it. I also like that I can put a book on multiple shelves so that it’s not just a book poetry, it’s also a book by a friend and a book I read for book club. Having the ability to sort books into topical categories and specialized fields makes it easy for me to look up all the books I’ve read for book club or all the books I’ve consulted on Avalon.

But I’d love to know what you do! Do you keep track of books in a platform like Shelfari or Goodreads? Do you use a notebook and paper to list books you’ve read in a year or by series? And how to you keep your home shelf or shelves organized? Share with me here and I’ll give one reader a print copy of my Texas Playmaker story, THE PERFECT CATCH. Book #2 in that series is now available - GAME ON!

Ahhh, finally, the rains came…

I feel like the heat has had a death grip on us for too much of this summer—like it’s left bruised fingerprints around our necks as it strangles us with dire humidity.

Okay, enough with being literary. It’s freaking hot out here, people! I’m thrilled to be looking out the window at some rain, finally. Feel free to remind me of that next time I complain about too much rain, okay?

We’ve got a guest spending the week with us: our youngest started medical school (!) and has an intensive semester’s worth of biochemistry in two weeks so she sent her beloved Rosie back here to visit. We’ve missed Rosie (and Gillian) since they moved out last month, so we’re happy to have her. Though Rosie isn’t necessarily sure about this as now that she’s back, she’s being mauled by  our new puppy Pippa (they're half-sisters!), who has some seriously sharp teeth and knows how to use them (and fails to take social cues from dogs that they do not want to have their ears severed by puppy  teeth!).

Between bouts of bared teeth, they are having plenty of fun, though. I took them out back this morning before the heat broke and had them fetch tennis balls till their tongues lolled from the sides of their mouths like slices of bologna. Now they’re resting peacefully, and maybe I'll have a fleeting moment or two to actually  write a book. Highly unlikely, as Pip’s quite the demanding pup and loves to make sure I don’t get work done. Good thing I adore that girl!

If your demanding 4-legged or 2-legged babies are giving you a break, I hope you can find some time for end-of-summer reading. I’ve been engrossed with Ask Again, Yes. Author Mary Beth Keane (a homegirl UVA MFA grad!) has quite a gift for keen observations about everyday humanity. Unfortunately, this has caused  me to read until the wee hours, which does me no favors with our pup (and Rosie, natch) wake with the sun.

Happy end of summer and let’s keep our fingers crossed for some sweater weather soon!

Great news! I've got another free book for you to try! Falling for Mr. Wrong from the Falling for Mr. Wrong series is now free here:

Kindle
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Google Play


Also Red Hot Romeo is free! A hot Italian, a gorgeous supermodel, and fabulous wines…what’s not to love?!

You can check out the first book in the Royal Romeo series for free here:

Kindle: bit.ly/RedHotRomeo
iBooks: http://bit.ly/RHRom
Nook: http://bit.ly/RHRNook
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KoboRHR
Google Play: http://bit.ly/RHRgoogle

Check out my Falling for Mr. Wrong series! Falling for Mr. Wrong,  Falling for Mr. Maybe, Falling for Mr. No Way in Hell  and Falling for Mr. Sometimes and Falling for Mr. Right are now available for pre-order.

Lastly, don't forget, book one of the It's Reigning Men series, Something in the Heir, is free here!

I hope you'll have a chance to check out my Royal Romeos series, which is a spin-off of my wildly popular It's Reigning Men series--please do check them out!


Skirt Chaser, Boy Toy and Cabana Boy are available! And Bird Dog is available for pre-order!

Happy reading!

    

  

  

          

    

Michelle Styles:Scents of Memory

They say that a scent  can evoke a past sensation or bring back a memory. But I wasn’t thinking about the past when I landed  for the first time in Cyprus. I was thinking about seeing my youngest son, about going on holiday with my husband and enjoying a new to me country. These feelings lasted all the way through passport control, car hire and up the steep and twisting mountain roads which led to the house in the Troodos mountains where my son had his  field research  base camp. I was looking forward to eating halloumi cheese, seeing Roman ruins, birdwatching and generally be with my son who has been away from home for awhile.

View from the balcony

When I emerged from the car to hug him, I noticed an oddly familiar pine scent hanging in the night air. Not an unpleasant one but one which called unexpectedly  to my long ago memories. As a child,  we had a cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California where we used to go and where I stopped going in about 1986. A wave of nostalgia welled up in inside me and unaccountably I felt like weeping. I put it down to tiredness and because the house was in a pine forest. The mountains can be the mountains anywhere in the world.

In another direction -- nothing like California at all.

The next morning when we went out to the field site. I looked down and saw that the soil with its faint reddish tinge also reminded me of the soil in California. All around me, a sunburnt pine resin smell floated.  A wave of homesickness interspersed with nostalgia such as I have not experienced for many a long year washed over me. After thirty plus years of living in the UK, I am normally immune to such things.

And still another view.

 As we walked around, and the terrain in many ways was very different to the Sierra Nevadas, I found myself thinking back and remembering about my childhood, and all the magical times I had up at the cabin. Things I had forgotten about. I had to sit down as the memories were far too vivid.  Luckily my husband and son were far too engrossed in birdwatching to realise. It was an unexpected chance to think about people who had long gone from my life.  But I kept quiet because I didn’t want my family to consider me odder than they normally do.  Then on the way back to the car, my husband exclaimed at how much it smelt like California. My shoulders relaxed and I explained. We both agreed that childhood scents, particularly if you have not smelt for a long while can evoke powerful memories.

Oaisis Taverna near Paphos which does
great traditional food

After the initial oh, I found the experience to be cathartic, my time in the mountains allowed me a chance to heal and renew. I found I was able to think about people who were long gone and appreciate the good times. I also found solace in simply sitting and staring out at the mountains. It made me realise how much I had missed being in the mountains. When we finally returned home, I felt rested in a way that I haven’t felt for years.

Roman mosaics at New Paphos

My question to you all  is  -- do other people have this happen? Go somewhere completely new and find old  half-forgotten memories rekindled?

As a side note: I did have some excellent halloumi cheese at a tiny taverna where I even encountered the goats who gave the milk! And the Roman mosaics in Paphos are some of the best in the world. Paphos is also where St Paul was tied to pillar and whipped in the Acts of the Apostles. Aphrodite is supposed to have come ashore near there as well.

STOP PRESS
My cover for  A DEAL WITH HE|R REBEL VIKING just arrived in my inbox. in case anyone is wondering the model's name is Carson and he is repped by Sutherland models. 

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods for Harlequin Historical. Her next book A Deal with Her Rebel Viking will be published in December 2019. Visit www.michellestyles.co.uk to find out more about Michelle's books.

 

Christina Hollis: Happy Holidays!

My Alma Mater—Francis Close Hall at UoG

Next month I'll be returning for my second year as a mature student at the University of Gloucestershire. The terms whizzed by and the holidays passed even faster. I've gained such a lot from the experience, and had so much fun, I think everyone should try it!

I've already passed modules in Creative Studies, Genre Fiction and Phase One of the project that will become my dissertation. This coming semester I'm signed up for Research Methods. Then in the New Year I'll be studying the teaching of creative writing and starting an independent project. 

My independent project will link back to the Research Methods module. I live in the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire. The area has a rich industrial past, and the local people are proud of their background. The Dean Heritage Museum is an important resource for historians and writers. It's only a few miles from my house, so I'll be a constant visitor once the academic year begins. 

Find out more at mybook.to/BristolWomen

Building on the work I did for my current release, the non-fiction book Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol, my projects will centre on the big changes in home life over the past one hundred years. I'm trying to gather as much information as I can in advance. This is where you come in! 

Do you have any memories of the long school holidays in the days before mobile phones and laptops? Over on my blog, I'm recalling the endless sunny days and the feasts of homegrown food. What did you and your friends get up to when you were let off the educational leash for weeks on end? 

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Back to School!!

My Novel Freshman Experience Reboot

I've been going over some of my first year at school blogs for kicks and giggles. It was fun going back and remembering that first class. Finding time to take two years of classes has been a challenge. Time. Frankly, I don't have much time at all. One of those early posts I talked about making time stretch. I'm still stretching my time to its well-frayed limits on a daily basis. 

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've now had four freshman classes and I'm about to start my fifth. Yes, they've all be ceramics.

We're building a barn at our camp and I'll have my own ceramic studio before I finish my spring term ceramic class. That'll be six classes. And there's still so much to learn and experiment with.  I'm thrilled that I'll have the opportunity to keep studying ceramics in my own studio. But the question is, what will I study next at school?

Hmm. I have a year to decide. Yes, I'll have a fall and spring ceramic class, but then I'm done. I'm sure I'll be blogging about the decision! LOL

If you want to read more of my adventures, you can see more Novel Freshman posts here.

School starts in a few weeks...and I can't wait for this next adventure!

Yep, my life is beyond exciting!! Stay tuned for more My Novel Freshman Experience (Someday there might be some My Novel Sophomore Experience blogs LOL), more Days of Beauty, more Family Treeing and more...well just me chatting at Hollyworld and here!

Holly

PS Check out my summer of Rom Com:

The Makeover

How to Catch a Groom

How to Hunt a Husband

Back to Normal Life by Susan Sands

I hope you all are managing to stay cool with the heat waves that are passing through the country.

Today is unseasonable cool here in Georgia and I'm enjoying it immensely. I've just returned from New York City and the annual Romance Writers of America National Conference. What a whirlwind that was!

I finally met my agent, Erin Niumata, who is a senior vice president at Folio Literary Management in Manhattan, but works and lives in London. She and I were able to put our heads together and work out some ideas for submissions and other fun things we've got cooking.

New York city was wild and crazy as usual. The conference is set in the middle of Times Square across from Junior's. Which, if anyone cares, has the best cheesecake I've had. But I live in Georgia, so there might be better, but I haven't had it.

I attended the Broadway musical, Frozen  while there. I'm always amazed how true to the animated Disney movies the stage shows manage to perform live. The music, the performers, and the costumes and stage props are incredible!!

And as always, RWA did not disappoint. The hotel did an excellent job handling the many and varied needs of such a large group. Author panels, award ceremonies, meetings, and every kind of craft presentation imaginable were offered by seasoned professionals in the industry. The only way to not learn something new and valuable was to not attend.

I returned to both my children moving out of apartments, and I was pressed into service immediately upon touching down. It wasn't a glamorous week once I returned, let me tell you. Driving a cargo van and moving things in and out of storage brought me right back down to the nitty gritty of my normal life. And, as always, there is laundry...

Enjoy the last bit of summer, though it is bound to be hot around here for at least another six weeks or more.

Best,

Susan

Predicting weather through proverbs:St Swithins Day by Michelle Styles

Today (15 July) is St Swithin’s Day. In English folklore, if it rains today, England is set for 40 days of rain. If it is sunny, 40 days of sun.  What is interesting is that his day  used to be 2 July but was changed to the 15^th – L believe after the change to Gregorian calendar. In Norway, it is still celebrated as 2 July and they have the same sort of proverb.

There is some truth to the legend as weather patterns with the Gulf Stream and England are often set about this time. Some say it is more around midsummer than mid-July. The legend was first recorded  in about the 12^th century.  St Swithin was the bishop of Winchester from 852 -862 and apparently a terrible rain storm made his coffin float out on to the road where it had to reclaimed.

People suspect the saying was co-opted to him to make it acceptable in the Christianised world and that it was quite possibly associated with some other god or goddess before that. It is one of the things early Christians did —  co-opting or creating a hybrid belief with some saint which had previously belonged to some god. In this way, they made it easier.

What is interesting is that other European countries have similar sorts of proverbs but attributed to different saints.

Anyway I am hoping that the weather stays fair today as my bees have been suffering in the rain and I would like to get a good crop of honey. I remain hopeful because of the old saying – a swarm in May is worth a load of hay, a swarm in June a silver spoon but the swarm in July is not worth a fly.  My bees swarmed in June and the new Queens have finally started laying and the colonies are starting to build.   Again, the old proverb has some merit as the earlier bees swarm, the more likely it is to have the colonies build up to sufficient strength. Most late swarms are what are called casts  or much smaller swarms.

Collecting old proverbs about the weather and animal behaviour is something I have started to do since I started keeping bees because there is some truth in the observation.

We are not in a drought up here in Northumberland so I am hoping for a fair day and I think we might just make it.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods including Roman, Regency and Victorian but most recently Viking. Her next novel will be A Deal with Her Rebel Viking (to be published December 2019). You can find out more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

Christina Hollis: These are a few of my favourite Apps...

Pic by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

Back in May I asked for app suggestions for my first smartphone. Thanks to you, I'm now on Instagram as christinahollis8664. 

Although I've loved using my  phone's camera from Day One, I haven't posted anything with it yet. I've been snapping several rarities in the woods around here, and didn't want them tracked down. It took me a while to find out how to switch off the EXIF tracker on my phone. 

The Day Job—
find out more at mybook.to/BristolWomen

Checking my Twitter and Facebook accounts is always fun, but I try not to do it too much when I'm out and about. There's plenty of time for that when I'm sat at my computer. When I'm away from my desk, I'd rather enjoy the face-to-face company of friends  than stare at a screen.

When I'm walking the dog I (quite literally) dip in and out of BBC Sounds, the radio app. Although I can download podcasts and listen offline, live broadcasts lose the signal beyond about a hundred yards/metres from home. It's a case of miss the end of a radio play, or turn round and start for home!

My top favourite app at the moment is definitely Headspace. This was mentioned during a women's empowerment course I went on during June, which was organised by the University of Gloucestershire. The course was amazing. You can find out more about that on my blog. Headspace teaches mindfulness through meditation. I spend fifteen minutes or so each morning using it to calm my mind before another busy working day. 

It's a lovely way to find some perspective.

Christina Hollis's first non-fiction book, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is published by Pen and Sword Books. You can find out more about that here, catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Cottage in the Woods

Future Studio

See that picture at the top of the page?  That's the site of our future pole-barn. And you know what'll be in the pole-barn? My future studio!!! My studio be facing the woods and pond. There'll be lots of windows and a big porch out the back.  I soooo can't wait!

It's been a crazy summer so far and craziness appears to be on the calendar for the rest of the summer. So whenever I can, I take a moment to myself enjoying the silence. Well, not silence. I hear cars go by and a lot of birds. But that's about it. That silence is a balm. I didn't talk, didn't turn on music. I just settled in that silence by myself.

I was thinking about silent religious orders and realized I get it. There's a certain appeal to being that quiet. To listening to yourself think.  When things are chaotic here, quiet days like this are a balm and recharge me.

My pond.

People tend to move full steam ahead. Jobs. Family. Chores. Sometimes everyone needs to just stop and listen to ourselves think.

I'll keep you posted on the studio. First project is having a road put back to it and leveling out that site (which is currently a big pricker patch). They're supposed to do that next week, then a week or so later, the pole-barn starts! By the time I run out of ceramics classes at the university next spring, I should have my own workspace. A studio in the quiet, quiet woods. Perfect!

Holly

PS Looking for something to read? Check out my New Releases and Books on Sale...and when you're done, please leave an online review!

New Releases:
The Makeover
How to Catch a Groom

Books On Sale:

Just One Things (Which is set at my fictionalized cottage in the woods!)

Writing the Male Point of View by Susan Sands

I attended an author event for my friend, Kimberly Belle's new release, Dear Wife,  a few days ago at FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA.

She was in conversation with my other friend, Emily Carpenter, another suspense/thriller author. The book is fantastic and I highly recommend it to everyone. But I bring this up because, during the course of author conversation, Emily remarked on how well Kimberly had written the main male character's point of view in the book. The discussion was a good one.

I've written men's points of views (POV) in all my books so far and find it to be a fun challenge. Obviously, women writing as men can only do our best to nail the thought processes and actions that drive another sex. Men and women often think and act differently  because of our biology, along with other factors we set up in our stories.

Obviously, there's a huge variation in the range of men's behavior and personalities, same as women. Not all men are the same. No two people are the same. Hormones, nature and nurture, and straight-up genetics determine humanity and how a person behaves. Every character is unique.

This isn't a "women good, men bad" post. Just some things I've picked up over time.

There are some behaviors in the male characters I've written, both alpha and beta that I've taken from the males I've known in my life. These often differ from the women I've known. Keep in mind, I'm talking about behaviors, some very subtle, some not. They might even be considered stereotypes, but only for showing purposes. When writing, this is meant to be nuanced and subtle, and very specific to each character. This is my experience and opinion, so no need to take offense...

These are sliding-scale societal norms that seem to be changing lately. But not completely yet:

*Men often are confident in their opinions, decisive, or they make people believe they are.

*Women tend to go through the minutia of each idea and feeling. Men feel the feelings and have the thoughts, though in a less expansive way. They ask why less and wonder less about their role in how it all started. They are more about how to fix it.

*Men are less inclined to show outward emotion or cry. Often show emotion or sadness as anger.

*Men can be goal-oriented and see things in a less-complicated way. Women tend to worry about all the things in between:  everyone's feelings and emotions, the pitfalls, the possibility of failure. We worry about everything and everyone. Men often have an over-simplified view of getting to the solution then but get mired in the mess along the way.

*Often turn away from others when in need of comfort or emotional support. Women, in general, turn to friends and family for comfort.

Emily told Kimberly she had a mean man inside of her, which made us all laugh. As I'm reading the novel, Dear Wife, I now see what she meant. The male character in the book is a bad guy. This guy is flawed, angry, and has abused his wife for years. Kimberly is none of those things, but she's done an excellent job in persuading the reader that she knows this man.

I hope all the readers out there appreciate how much time and effort their favorite authors put into making their novels authentic. Writing outside sex and culture takes an extensive amount of research and work to get right. We don't take it lightly and don't just throw in "stereotypes" and hope it works out.

I did work out some basic male stereotypes to give examples of the differences of writing male and female characters but it's far more nuanced when done right. I hope I do it right.

And I hope you all have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday!!

Susan Sands

The Art of Acknowledgement

by Joanne Rock

I was reading something in the Guardian online yesterday and got tugged into reading an article called- excuse the somberness- regrets of the dying. Now, that’s not normally something that would get a double click from my mouse, but there was a sweet picture of a wrinkled hand holding a strong, youthful one and the emotional author in me was hooked. I had to take a peek to make sure I wasn’t going to have any regrets on my way out. You can guess most of them—I shouldn’t have worked so much, I should have followed my dreams—but one that really caught my attention was a wish to have kept in touch with old friends.

Writers are fortunate to have a secret, powerful weapon that helps them do just that. Not many other professions encourage “acknowledgements” each time you finish a piece of work, but upon completing a novel for publication, writers are asked to recognize the people who have helped them on their journey. Every time I’ve penned a dedication, I’ve thought about how lucky I am to be able to publicly reflect like this.

From The Wedding Audition by Catherine Mann & Joanne Rock

It’s a huge treat for me, for one thing. It nudges me to be introspective for a few hours and really think about who has helped me to come up with an idea or who inspired me to write. I’ve acknowledged high school English teachers, bloggers, other writers, family members and yes… old friends. I’ve penned dedications to women who cheered me on personally and professionally, girlfriends who cheered me up when life got too difficult, and mentors who showed me how to do things better, faster or more efficiently. People who’ve made an important impact on my life and my happiness.

I also like to think this tradition is a treat for the people who are recognized. Actually, I can attest that is an honor because I’ve been named in friends’ books as a helper in the story process and it always makes me walk a little taller. Plus, it touches my heart to be valued that way, and to have a friend use that limited space to give a shout out to me. When my first book came out and I mentioned my English teachers in the dedication, I had fun sending them a copy of my debut along with a letter telling them how much they inspired me. I hoped that my enthusiasm would help make up for the fact that some kids occasionally yawn in their classes (who could yawn during a lesson on the Romantic Poets??) and it was just plain fun.

Win my June release!

Knowing how cool it’s been to send out acknowledgements into the world, I guess I wanted to share the idea with anyone who hasn’t written a book and had the thrill of penning a dedication. You can still write a letter to tell someone who inspired you that you still remember their awesome contribution to your life. That their words meant a lot to you or helped you grow, change, see the world a little differently.  Your old friends, mentors, teachers or family members will be touched to be recognized, and the joy you spread will sure make you smile too.

***Who came to mind right away when I mentioned someone who has inspired you? Share with me this week in the comments and I'll send one random commenter a copy of my June Harlequin Desire release, Rancher in Her Bed.