A Writer’s Garden–When a Garden Resembles a Manuscript by Gail Kittleson

Catherine Castle

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing. Today’s writer/gardener guest is Gail Kittleson, who is sharing her North Iowa spring garden.

Welcome, Gail!

Right now, our North Iowa garden resembles a manuscript that’s underway but certainly not near completion. That’s the way of gardens—nothing is ever truly static. The good thing is, every day offers beauty, even if the plants or the weather take peculiar turns.

In May, the lilacs took precedence. Everything else remained brown most of the month, and looked pretty bleak. But the enticing scent of lilacs in bloom broke in, and their blossoms won our winter-weary hearts as they do every spring.

When we moved here fourteen years ago, the house had sat empty, and the previous occupants paid no attention to making…

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Gina Briganti’s Protein Smoothie

Friday Features Tricia’s Dream

Sharon Ledwith shares her thoughts on marketing in these tough times.

Mirror World Publishing

Feeling overwhelmed when it comes to publishing and promoting a book? Are you getting lost in the crowd? Relax. Take a breath. Release it. By focusing on these nine key areas, you can find the traction your book needs to rise above the crowd, even in these post COVID-19 times.

Understand the Publishing Industry: Writing a book does not guarantee you readers—believe me, I know! So before publishing, ask yourself some important questions. Who are your competitors? What do they publish? How is your genre faring in the industry right now? Knowing your market is vital to finding and connecting with readers, receiving book reviews, and getting book sales.

Book Covers are Key: Pick up a book or view a thumbnail-size cover online. What’s your first impression? Is the cover unprofessional or tacky? If so, chances are you’ll think the writing is sub-par. It’s a smart move to…

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Wednesday Writers–Gateway to Elvendom by Carol Browne

Check out Gateway to Elvendom, another of Carol’s books in her epic fantasy series, The Elwardian Chronicles II.

Catherine Castle

Today’s Wednesday Writer’s guest is author Carol Browne, with Gateway to Elvendom, another of the books in her epic fantasy series, The Elwardian Chronicles II. Carol is sharing an excerpt with us today. Welcome, Carol

His adventures in Elvendom left Godwin a changed man, and now bereavement has darkened his world.

In another dimension, a new Elvendom is threatened by the ambitions of a monstrous enemy. But who – or what – is the Dark Lady of Bletchberm?

And what has become of Elgiva?

Reeling from the loss of their Elwardain, the elves ask Godwin for help.
Transported into a strange world of time travel and outlandish creatures, will he succeed in his quest against impossible odds, or will the Dark Lady destroy everything the Elwardain fought to preserve?

EXCERPT
His heart thumping in his throat, Godwin took in all the details of the goblin’s appearance. The creature was…

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Do You Suffer From Bibliophilia? Guest Post By Catherine Castle

www.ginabriganti.com

“When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.”— Desiderius Erasmus

Do you ever feel like this? I know I do. I’m a bibliophile and my house is full of books and magazines. Many of them I’ve opened for reference at one time or another. Many of them I’ve read cover to cover. Most of them I have not read at all, but I hope to one day. They had begun to run me out of my office and then we bought Kindles. Ah, the joy of endless storage. I can go through a twenty-five dollar gift certificate in no time flat.

Here’s the thing about my book habit … it knows no genre limitations. I have fiction books of almost all genres, non-fiction books, books for research, writing craft books, books about historical eras, quote books, half a dozen…

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Tell Again Tuesday People Don’t Understand #Writers #Creatives

C.D. Hersh

Tell Again Tuesday

A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.

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Why There Will Always Be People Who Don’t Understand Your Creative Live

By Lucy Mitchell

This can be a tough one to accept.

If you are a creative person there will always be people in your life who will never: . . .

For the rest of the blog go to:

BlondeWriteMore blog

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Musings from a Writer’s Brain-A Dream is Just a Dream: or is it? by Mary Gant Bell

Catherine Castle

courtesy of pixabay

Blame it on menopause or the full moon. All I know is – I have weird dreams. As I get older, they become more vivid. I wake up remembering every detail and emotion. This dream followed that pattern. Vivid colors. Clearly defined people. Pain. Suffering. Unity. And survival.

The only difference between this dream and the other hormonally-induced visions I have was that this one continued for four nights. Night two picked up where night one ended. Night three picked up where night two stopped. You get the idea. It went on for four consecutive dates. Each morning found me scribbling notes on the journal I keep in my nightstand.

It was a disturbing dream. For days, I caught myself pondering its meaning. Was it just a dream or more like a prophecy? Did it predict the future or replay some past, long-forgotten event? Had God revealed…

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Green Beans with Bacon Balsamic Vinaigrette

Yum!

chrispavesic

 

This is a quick and easy recipe that can use up some of your “pantry” items. If you don’t have fresh green beans, for example, canned ones are an easy substitute. Just warm the canned green beans since they are already cooked.

 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. green beans
• 2 bacon slices
• 1/4 cup minced shallots or green onions 
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped almonds or walnuts
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Materials:

• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Large saucepan
• Colander
• Large skillet with lid

 

Directions:

 

1.  Place green beans into a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans start to soften, about 3-5 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

 

2.  In skillet cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp.  Remove bacon.  Saute onions in bacon grease until soft for a minute…

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Trader Joe’s Simply Almond Beverage Review

www.ginabriganti.com

Videos are on hold while I put extra time into a project I hope will delight my newsletter subscribers, but I still have fun news to share with my foodie friends this week.

Trader Joe’s released a new almond beverage!

Simply Almond Beverage reminds me of the first time I had almond “milk” at a festival. Thick enough without additives of any type, creamy, the taste of almonds dancing across my tongue, with a natural sweetness, all these qualities make this a winner. There was one surprise from this beverage; the soft almond pulp floating in it. It adds a creamy texture that I found addicting. I drank a whole cup the first time I tried it.

I’m adding this to my essentials shopping list at Trader Joe’s and it is replacing the Trader Joe’s unsweetened vanilla almond beverage. Simply Almond Beverage is a bit pricier than the one with…

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