Black cats, Friday the 13 th and Spilt Salt

 by Diana McCollum

Well, here it is, one of the most superstitious days on the calendar. I have never taken it seriously. Have you?

I'd like for you all to comment in the comment section as to your feelings on Friday the 13th. Is it good, bad or do terrible things really happen on Friday the 13th?

Do black cats crossing your path signify bad luck? What about walking under a ladder? Spilt salt? Spilt milk?

In some cultures black cats are a symbol of good luck! Some people even believe black cats bring wealth and good fortune.

The saying goes if you spill salt you are supposed to pinch it with your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder to prevent evil from manifesting. Evidently, evil lurks over the left shoulder.

2023 harvest of pumpkins husband grew

Do you knock on wood for good luck? Did you know that horse shoes should always be hung on the wall with the open side towards the ceiling. This is done so all the good luck won't fall

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Paradise, CA sunset (Just threw this in because, well Pretty!!

Scary lights?

Old haunted cabin in northern CA

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you an experience with a ghost you'd care to share?

And what pray tell are your thoughts on Friday the 13th???

Blog-O-Versary: The Year 2011 by Lynn Lovegreen

 

Happy Blog-O-Versary!

 

Romancing the Genres is 13 years old this year! Congrats to our Blog Queens Judith and Sarah, and thank you to everyone who has made this blog a special place for so long.

 

This anniversary got me thinking about what things were like back in 2011. While there were some serious events that year, we also had some happy or fun ones. Here’s a list for you to consider, in no particular order.

 

The popular show Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

 

Prince William and Kate Middleton got married.

 

Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” was at the top of the Billboard hot 100.

 

The movie The King’s Speech swept the Academy Awards.

 

The first full (not alpha or beta) version of Minecraft was released.

 

Lady Gaga’s performance of her song “Born This Way” and Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch’s tribute to Aretha Franklin were highlights of the 2011 Grammy Awards.

 

The world’s largest Legoland theme park opened its gates in White Haven Florida.

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth was the Goodreads Favorite Book of 2011.

 

And, of course, Romancing the Genres was born!

 

I probably missed something. What do you remember from 2011?

 

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for most of her life. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering for her local library. Her young adult historical romance is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. 

 

Triskaidekaphilia and Positive Change

 

I bet you thought I spelled the word "triskaidekaphobia" wrong. The truth is, not everyone hates or fears the number 13. And that's a good thing, because RtG  plans to make 13 look good 2024. This blog started 13 years ago, and I've been here almost from day 1, something almost impossible for me to believe. 

Whew. 

For people who suffer from  triskaidekaphobia, a thirteenth anniversary might be considered scary. They consider the number 13 to be synonymous with bad luck.  Some point at the explosion that almost wrecked the Apollo 13 lunar spacecraft in 1970. (Although it did return to Earth safely.) Thirteen guests at a dinner party is considered very unlucky.  A few fearsome folks worry when they find their hotel room is on the 13th floor or their plane seat is in the 13th row. Some even refuse to get behind the wheel on Friday the 13th. 

Statistics says the number makes no real difference. But many triskaidekaphobics, including author Stephen King, don't need statistical evidence believe the number is truly cursed. Anything that scares him should leave the rest of us terrified, right?

Then along comes Taylor Swift, born on Dec 13, 1989. True, that was on a Wednesday, not a Friday. But she happily celebrated her 13th birthday on Friday the 13th. This year, 2024, she will reach 35 on a Friday the 13th.  Romancing The Genres and the Genre-istas celebrate our own 13th anniversary this year. Swift makes 13 cool, and I'm happy to be joining the Swifties  of the world in rocking the number with joy instead of fear.

Don't be frightened by any number.  The negative superstition about 13 is pretty much an ancient European thing that we in America simply inherited. Then we enhanced the fear factor by making movies like Friday The 13th. In many other parts of the world there are other traditions where the number is considered neutral, if not lucky. There are people who believe the Number 13 has the ability to bring about positive changes, and symbolizes love and compassion.

Yeah RtG!  Positive Change!

Readers, can't promise you 13 more years, but I will continue blogging here about anything that hits me as long as I can. As for you, whether you are a long time reader, or brand new to the blog, welcome (back). Hope to see you again this year. And I'd love to hear where you stand about the big 13.

Fun & learning

In just over two weeks I’ll be heading to my favourite writing conference in the whole, wide world. Back to the motherland of my writing journey – the Maine Romance Writers Retreat. Yippee! Can you tell I’m excited? Though short (1.5 days), small (one meeting room), and intimate (attendance capped at 40), the Retreat is jampacked with information and fun. 

Check-in is Friday afternoon, during which I’ll reconnect with wonderful writing friends who I only “see” via Zoom during our chapter meetings. And you can’t really have a good gossip in a Zoom group, can you? And then we start our learning.

Jennifer Probst will host two workshops, Write Big, Write Smart, Write Naked (I hope clothing is NOT optional), and Tips to Grow Your Audience, and we could all use a bigger audience.

Jamie Schmidt will present Pitfalls of Publishing, and one assumes methods to avoid those pitfalls? And, really exciting, Making Friends with AI.  It’s here to stay, folks. I already use ChatGPT to help me fine-tune my back-cover copy and I can’t wait to learn how to use the tool for more of my marketing. (And since Ms. Probst will show me how to grow my audience, I’ll have a huge fanbase, right?)

Last but not least, Ellen Joy will share The Joys of Self-Publishing (see what she did there?). As a hybrid author, I already appreciate the benefits of maintaining complete control of all aspects of my publishing empire (in theory), but sometimes all that control steals the joy of writing. One thing I’m sure to get from Ms. Joy’s workshop, and from the entire Retreat, is a rekindled excitement and optimism about this thing we do.

And I haven’t even mentioned the fun and delicious meals we’ll share or the lobby bar we’ll invade.

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing many flavours of romance. When not torturing her characters, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and a hen.

Website ~ Instagram ~ Bookbub

Twelve Years!

Wow! It's Romancing the Genres anniversary month! This blog has been going for 12 years and I've been a monthly blogger from the beginning. It's hard to believe that I've come up with something every month for that many years. I thought about posting my first post here but then decided that would be lazy. 

Over those twelve years, I have seen monthly authors come and go and participate in many of the unique themes that the Blog Queens have come up with for us to blog about. It has been fun being part of this blog because it has been so well run. 

During the years this blog has been running, I've switched from writing historical and contemporary western romance, with an action-adventure/romantic suspense thrown in, to writing murder mysteries and police procedurals. Which is what I feel shows growth in my writing. 

Just as my writing has grown over the years so has this blog. We went from authors who all knew each other to a blog with international authors and viewers. And we have nearly a million views! That is something we are very proud of! 

What I want to tell you about is something I came up with for this blog. Starting this month, once a month on the 3rd Saturday, you will meet an author who writes in a specific subgenre of romance. I've come up with an interview for each one. The subgenres are:

Contemporary   

Romantic Comedy

Historical Romance

Regency 

Paranormal 

Sci-fi 

Romantic Suspense 

Western Romance 

Inspirational Romance 

Post-apocalyptic 

Urban Fantasy 

Adventure Romance 

These are not all of the subgenres, but they are ones I found authors to represent and twelve matches the years this blog has been entertaining you. I hope you will find this a fun post to read each month. 

I'm hoping each of these authors is new to you as a reader and from their interviews will intrigue you to pick up one of their books and maybe even branch out into a subgenre of romance you haven't read before. 

We hope you will continue to follow the blog and find we have even more fun things lined up for you in the coming year!

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 56 novels, 10 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

Website: https://www.patyjager.net

Blog: https://writingintothesunset.net/