Peaceful. Grateful. Thankful.

Powerful words.

Respected and cherished by many.

Forgotten and abused by others.

Truly the backbone of our culture.

“These are troubled times …” they say.

From time to time, we must agree. Especially during contentious times. We (the collective we) often wonder and ponder over who they might be. Most likely at any given time, it could be me or you, or anyone that either of us know. Or even those who love to lecture and pontificate, either from a moral, a political, a religious, or even a general I-like-to-argue standpoint.

I had a cousin like that. It didn’t matter what the subject was, he would take the opposite side and work diligently to prove his point to you. Whether he believed it or not, he just wanted to convince you. I suspect there are people like that in positions of power even now in our country. Fortunately, most of us truly believe in what we choose to argue for or against.

We are not afraid to fight and defend ourselves when needed 

No matter our political or moral beliefs, we Americans love our country. Patriotism is alive and well, though at times, the way it is exhibited can be based on what any one of us might consider misplaced values while others consider it the only way to be. But that is the beauty of America, provided we can all remember the maxim we grew up with. “Do unto others as you would like to have done unto you.” Sometimes in the heat of the moment, that becomes a forgotten tenet. 

Grateful to be living in the United States 

I have lived in many places in my lifetime, and I have to say, no matter our issues, I prefer America. Our taxes may not be what we would like, but they are much lower than many of the European countries. I have had people in a couple of the poorer countries I have lived in say, “But your taxes are so high in America.” To which I reply, “Maybe to you, but the infrastructure functions, and the firetrucks and ambulances come when called. Police too.” And that is worth it.

 

 An optimistic look to the future

I am writing this piece before Election Day on Tuesday. It is a tight race, and we are all concerned. By the time this publishes on the weekend we will know the results. But no matter what, if we don’t like the outcome on Tuesday, each and every one of us has four years of opportunity to work to change it.

Do I hope my candidate wins tomorrow? Absolutely. If not, however, I will do my best to make sure it is different next time. I am an American. I have the right and privilege to do that. And so do you.

My books and website

 You can find information about me and my books on my website at https://darilaroche.com.

I am also in three of the most recent Windtree Press Anthologies which you can find on Amazon Books or at your favorite vendor.

Trip of a Lifetime by Paty Jager

Gullfoss

I just returned from a 6 day trip to Iceland. It was put together by the Authors Guild and Iceland Travel Agency.

Our tour guide said it was the best tour he'd herded in his 30 years as a guide. It was a combination of local sites and literary events. I won't go into detail of what all we saw, because I'll be spacing that out on my own blog this month and next. Writingintothesunset.net

I'm going to give you a brief recap of what I learned on this trip.

1- Iceland is not all ice. But it is mostly lava. Under neath the thick moss and grass are layers of volcanic ash and lava. The volcanoes that boiled and spewed to make the island are still active.

Much of the landscape looked like this.

2- The towns get their hot water and electricity from the steam and water of hot springs that boil out of the ground in many places across the island.

This was one of the several hot springs we stopped to see. Water boiling out of the ground.

3- The only native mammals on the island are foxes. But they have mice and rats that came over on ships early on. The Icelandic horses that were brought over by the Norsemen and have stayed pure to the breed. (more on the horses later) sheep, cattle, dogs, cats, and caribou.
Because they are an island there are no diseases in the animals and to keep it that way, they don't allow animals to be brought in.

4- The Icelandic horse is a pure breed. There has not been another breed on the island. They have 5 gaits- walk, trot, toilt, gallop, and pace. They said this is the only horse with 5 gaits. The toilt, a very smooth trot, looked like something I've seen Paso horses do.  They sell horses to people of other countries, but once a horse leaves the island it can't come back because it could bring diseases. There are 350,000 people in Iceland and 80,000 horses.

We had a show of the 5 gaits of the Icelandic horse.

5- Tourism, fishing, then sheep are the island's biggest incomes. We ate fish every day we were there- either for lunch or dinner or both. And we had lamb twice. Only had beef once. The cows are mainly used for dairy products. One is skyr a thick almost cottage cheese consistency type of yogurt that is made like a cheese. It is more sour than yogurt but when sweeteners like sugar or fruit are added it is good.

This is skyr- The white is plain, the strawberry was with sweetener and berry, and the blueberry was with a berry liquor

6- The first settlers of Iceland were Norsemen- people from the Scandinavian countries. And Viking is not a people or culture - the name meant pirates. Our guide went to great length to say that they are not descendants of Vikings but of Norsemen. Vikings was the name given to pirates of that time period.

This was an exhibit of a boat built to the specifications of a Viking ship and was sailed from Iceland to North America in the 1990s.

7- Icelandic Sagas are full of stories of brutality. Yet, the Icelanders love their sagas as much as we love the fairy tales of our childhood. And as they say, "these are stories made up to entertain".

We attended a play about the sagas

8 - Meeting the Icelandic Authors Union was an honor and an interesting evening. Two authors, a non-fiction and fiction, talked about how the union works and about sales both in their country and abroad. How difficult it is to get books into translation to other countries and that the most popular authors in Iceland are the crime fiction writers. Which brings me to...

9- Knowing we were going to have a meeting with Yrsa Sigurdardottir, a crime fiction author, I had read/listened to her first two books in a series. I loved them and was excited to meet her. She had a different view of translations and genre books in Iceland. The two at the Authors Union were NonFiction and Middle grade/YA authors.  I enjoyed visiting with Yrsa, and we talked about meeting up at Bouchercon in Saramento 2020, though she will be at Dallas this year.

Yrsa signing a book for one of our group.

10- We spent a couple hours at the Blue Lagoon a small lake of hot springs water and silica. I only stayed in the water for about 30 minutes. It wasn't too hot, but even though I sat on the cement bench along the edge in the water, my legs and body would start floating to the top. I float easily in regular water and this water I was unusually floaty.  The water was a light blue and thick. You couldn't see more than four inches into it.

The water of the Blue Lagoon outside the swimming part.

10- While there was talk of trolls (giants) and little people I didn't see... I caught sight of a water nymph while at one of the hot springs.

There is a photographer behind the bush. I think it was an advertisement.

I hope you enjoyed my bullet points of what I learned about Iceland. I would go back in a heartbeat to see more of the island. Maybe one day. And this time I would drag my hubby along.

Have you traveled or visited a place that filled you with awe?

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 40 novels, 8 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.

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My favorite time

By Courtney Pierce

The era of the 1920s pushes my buttons for so many reasons. A time that unleashed a visual feast propelled by free-spirited attitudes. Hemlines rose to meet a new generation. Necklines plunged to strip away austerity. Gauzy, fringed dresses shimmered over gyrating sin. Untaxed money flowed with the bathtub gin.

Freedom flows in generational waves, usually born from repression. The same pent-up emotion released from baby boomers in the 1960s in the form of free love, political rebellion, rock music, equal rights, and recreational inebriates. But I digress.

The Algonquin Round Table

Inspiration became an art form in the 1920s. When I travel to New York, I make a point of strolling into the Algonquin Hotel, a former haven for writers, actors, and critics between 1919 and 1929. Insurgence had class and an air of romance in this place. Members of this exclusive club were known as the Algonquin Round Table, with an insider’s group called the "Vicious Circle". Under a haze of smoke, the Circle's luncheons launched a whirlwind of wisecracks, wordplay, and witticisms made famous in newspapers across the country. Women wore suits and ties and cursed; men sported slicked-back hair and silk scarves and laughed with wild abandon. What a thrill to sit down with Dorothy Parker, poet, writer, critic, and screenwriter. No doubt, Harpo Marx sat next to her in carnivorous discussion about the ruthless movie business. I would've been happy to be at a far table just to eavesdrop on the birth of a new American culture.

I often ponder over whether globalization is a good thing or not, but I always circle back to the obvious erosion it's had on culture. Geographic differences and local history make us, as people, unique and interesting. We celebrate between wars that were fought to preserve a way of life. Culture in our DNA. French flair is French. English stoicism is English. And right or wrong, Americans tell it like it is―very American.

Elevator doors-Empire State Bldg.

In the 1920s, the world celebrated cultural expression in all its forms. Even something as simple as an advertisement became a work of art, an image to tuck away or frame. Nothing was mass consumed or thrown away. New-found freedom left its mark in books, music, paintings, prints. Think D.H. Lawrence, Irving Berlin, Pablo Picasso, and Leonetto Cappiello. 

Architecture became art in ’20s. One only needs to marvel at the elevator doors in Empire State Building, or to sit on the built-in furniture of a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Creative expression transformed simple functionality by design. Even telling time ticked toward the label of object d’art.

Heirloom Deco Clock

The romantic in me appreciates these things every day. The family history behind the heirlooms from my grandparents enriches their meaning. Funny, though, that I write for baby boomers. I live in a mid-century modern home that’s pretty darned cool. Music of the Rat Pack still swirls around the blond brick, triangle-shaped clerestory windows, and over its bamboo floors. I live in atomic and love the 1920s. We all have two sides.

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer living in Milwaukie, Oregon. She writes for baby boomers. Her novels are filled with heart, humor, and mystery. After a 20-year executive career in the Broadway entertainment business, Courtney had new stories to tell. Active in the writing community, she is a board member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and on the Advisory Council of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She is a member of Willamette Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, She Writes, and Sisters in Crime. The Executrix received the Library Journal Self-E recommendation seal. 

Check out all of Courtney's books at:

courtney-pierce.com,  windtreepress.com, and on Amazon.com

The Dushane Sisters are back with Courtney's latest release of Indigo Lake. More laughs, more tears...and more trouble. Protecting Mom's reputation might get the sisters killed―or give one of them the story she's been dying to live.

New York Times best-selling author Karen Karbo says, "Courtney Pierce spins a madcap tale of family grudges, sisterly love, unexpected romance, mysterious mobsters and dog love. Reading Indigo Lake is like drinking champagne with a chaser of Mountain Dew. Pure Delight."

Colorful characters come alive in Courtney's latest trilogy about the Dushane sisters. Beginning with The Executrix, three middle-age sisters find a manuscript for a murder mystery in their mother's safe after her death. Mom’s book gives them a whole new view of their mother and their future. Is it fiction . . . or truth? 

Get out the popcorn as the Dushane Sisters Trilogy comes to a scrumptious conclusion with Indigo Legacy. Due out in early 2017. Stay tuned!