Luscious Lingual Limosis: An Appetite for Words by Jody Wallace

I’ve enjoyed many of the reflections on laughter as meditation, medication, and manducation that have appeared on the blog this month. 

Laughter and endorphins do indeed make us feel better, lightness in the dark, babies giggling, pets being adorable, jokes and puns. 

Like this gem:

Doctor: Sir, I’m afraid your DNA is backwards.

Patient: AND?

But do you know what else makes us feel better?

Learning!

In writing this blog post, I composed my first line, realized I might like to add more M words to make it funnier, and went searching on the Google for “long words that start with m.” So today we are going to get our brain endorphins churning by playing a fun game. We are all readers and writers on this blog, visitors and bloggers alike. Words are awesome. So here’s what I want you to do. 

• Go to this page: http://phrontistery.info/m.html (but not yet, keep reading first.)
• Skim that etymological deliciousness.
• Pick your favorite.
• Come back here and tell us about it, and why it’s your favorite.
• Congratulations, we made endorphins together! Here’s the link again - http://phrontistery.info/m.html

 Photo by Josefin 
on Unsplash

It was very very hard to pick a favorite. Obviously meerkats are a favorite of the whole world, and I don’t know what that word was doing on the list.

Morology was a really big contender, because it means nonsense, and nonsense has been one of my most-used words since, oh, very early 2020 for some reason. Then again, what about morassic? It means having all the qualities of a morass, and that could have been a popular word with any of us since, oh, very early 2020 for some reason along with nonsense.

 Photo by James Lee 
on Unsplash

But I’ve got to hand it to myriacanthous. Not only did my Word program really hate the spelling of that word, but it means “having many prickles.” Quite frankly, I think of myself as having many prickles, like a cranky cat, and so I should obviously love myself the most. I also think of a scene I included in one of my Dragons of Tarakona books, a paranormal romance series I write with a co-author so neither of us gets too worn out. The book in question is GOLD RUSH , and in the scene, the protagonists are going to fetch a mystical grail-like cup that the hero has hidden from the evil demons in a place he figured nobody would ever look. (https://www.jodywallace.com/books/gold-rush/)

Turns out that place was inside a (SPOILER ALERT) Saguaro dryad cactus who is the very definition of myriacanthous in so many ways. Also, the cactus dryad is named Doug. Because why not?

Please join in in the comments with some more appreciation of “long words that start with m” and tell us why you love them!

Jody W.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JODY WALLACE

Jody Wallace’s 30+ titles include sf/f romance, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. Her fiction features diverse protagonists, action, adventure, and humor. Her readers frequently comment on her great characters, suspenseful stories, and intriguing and creative world building. When describing her methods, Jody says: “There are two sides to every story. I aim to tell the third. And I add cats regardless.” 

Outside of her fiction career, Jody has employed her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing to work as a college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and all around pain in the butt. The photo was taken at one of her first book signings, so years and years ago before she realized that myriacanthous was her favorite M word. You can learn more about her at https://jodywallace.com 

Curiosity ‘Pop Ins’ To Earlier Times

By Linda Lovely

In what time and place would I choose to live if I could time travel? That’s the question our blog poses this month.

I can honestly say I wouldn’t want to spend an entire lifetime in any earlier period. For the most part, women in the United States have more freedom now than at any time in history, and I wouldn’t want to give that up. I also can’t imagine being a man. So no permanent time-space relocation for me.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy “popping in” for a few choice years to experience select eras and cultures. My top pop-in choices are all within the geography of the current United States. 

Here they are:

For an idyllic childhood, I might pick life with the Iroquois in Upstate New York in the 1600s. Based on what I’ve read, the Iroquois let their children play, and women actually owned the family property. Life in Hawaii in the 1700s (before the Europeans brought disease and ideas about children being seen and not heard) also sounds rather idyllic. In both times and cultures, I’d have had great fun playing outdoors, and I wouldn't have been stuck in ridiculous clothes I couldn't get dirty.

For my twenties, I might want to land in San Francisco just prior to the 1849 Gold Rush and get caught up in the optimism and excitement of the era. However, the 1920s in Chicago are equally appealing. Of course, I’d be a flapper in the Jazz Age, and I wouldn't be a stranger to speakeasies.

As an octogenarian (hey, I’m not there yet), I think 1969 Anywhere USA would be appropriate. It would be amazing to see the first landing on the moon given that I’d grown up riding in a buggy before the first automobile.

Of course, there are also time periods I definitely would want to avoid. The Civil War (okay any war) and the Great Depression come to mind. Writers, however, embrace such times of societal trauma to add drama and depth to our stories.

FINALIST-Daphne Published
Historical Romantic Suspense

I set LIES: SECRETS CAN KILL, my recent romantic suspense, in 1938 because my mother had told me so many intriguing stories about the challenges everyone—but especially women—faced during this time. That made my heroine’s triumph over evil and injustice all the sweeter. 

While it might be fun to pop-in for the “good times” in history and then pop out again when things get rough, that’s likely not what would happen even if it were possible. The truth is it’s the people we love that make us happy. And, if I found love, friends and family in any era, I wouldn't willingly abandon them to jump to a more prosperous, exciting or peaceful era.

So, I guess I’ll stay right here and leave my historical forays to my books and imagination. How about you?

Writing About The Alaska Gold Rush

By Lynn Lovegreen

I was lucky enough to grow up in Alaska, and like many before me I fell in love with it. The scenery is beautiful, the history is fascinating, and the people have an independent yet friendly attitude. It’s home, but it’s also a great place to write about. I am working on a young adult historical romance series set in the Alaskan gold rush. For me, it’s an ideal setting. The time in history is exciting, and the place is full of drama itself.

Lynn Lovegreen

My first novel is set in 1898 and the last takes place in 1916. During that era, lots of interesting things were happening in this country; Teddy Roosevelt and other reformers were making life better for common folks, the first aviators were flying in the sky, and people were buying automobiles and telephones for the first time. Of course women were coming into their own in many ways, from the Gibson girl riding bicycles to the suffragettes fighting for the right to vote.

In Alaska, women were a little more liberated because of the Last Frontier attitude. Folks were more interested in people’s abilities than their position in society. Women were hunters, pilots, entrepreneurs and more. The first Alaska Legislature gave women the right to vote in 1912, before the 19th amendment passed nationally in 1920. There were some restrictions, but it was easier for women to lead different lives up here. 

There are so many amazing places in Alaska. Within the Gold Rush, there are lots of boomtowns and motherlodes. I chose four to follow the main strikes chronologically. The first novel is set in 1898 in Skagway, the first big boom town during the Klondike strike.  The second book is set in Nome in 1900, where the gold in the beach sand and the claim jumpers’ conspiracy made it distinctive. The third book is set in 1906 Fairbanks, now our second biggest town, with its own colorful characters. My last book in the series is set in Kantishna Mining District in 1916, where tension between conservation and mining developed when Mount McKinley National Park was being created next door to some prospectors. 

Building stories against this backdrop gives me lots of material to work with. I can set my main characters in the middle of an Alaskan gold rush, and these young women have lots of opportunities to challenge themselves and create the life they want to live.  They can find their own path in this great land. Their hearts know the way once they’ve learned how to listen, and Alaska gives them a place to do just that.

What is your favorite time period to write about? What do you enjoy about it?

Lynn Lovegreen is an Alaskan author with Prism Book Group who enjoys sharing her passion for Alaska and its history. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and www.lynnlovegreen.com.