Transition

     The dictionary describes Transition as a passage from one  stage, subject or place to another.

Transitions are a part of life, they change the world, and they change you and the people around you.

They can be as devastating as the death of someone, or as simple as starting school or moving to another part of town. Or in my case, across the country.

       Romance writers know all about goal, motivation and conflict. When you think about it most genre fiction, be it romance, mystery, or whatever starts because of some sort of transition.

Think about it, the stranger moving to town. The injured soldier, or the injured cowboy, each with a secret. What happens when that secret is revealed will change them. That is a transition. The person who moves to another town, hoping to hide something. Even a murder and the effect it has on family, friends, even the cops who are investigating it.

        That is a transition.

        

        I like to think of transitions when I am starting a story. I usually start with a situation.

In my current book, The Pink Lady, I started with the main character inheriting a house; what she decides to do with the house that is her transition. Everything that happens is part of the journey or passage to another place, be it physical or otherwise.

         That after all is the description of a transition

Western Romance---It's The Right Thing to Read!

Jacquie Rogers

The combination of drool-worthy heroes, strong women, nasty villains, all in an unforgiving setting can’t be beat for a good read.  Whether humor or drama, the romance is gonna be good—you just know it.  Let’s talk about the men and women unique to the American West.

Men in Chaps

Knights of the frontier?  Why not.  I compared the Knight’s Code of Chivalry to the Texas Rangers oath at Romancing The West in Cowboys: Knights of the Old West.  

There’s nothing like a strong code of honor, no matter how the hero interprets it, to make any red-blooded woman sigh.  Think Paladin, or The Man With No Name.  Maverick, or Rooster Cogburn.  These four characters had completely different views on life, yet they shared one thing—they stuck to their own personal code of honor no matter what.   

And let’s face it, dress a macho man in cowhand garb—chaps, spurs, and a well-worn Stetson—and not only is he sexy, but his stride is purposeful, his posture is confident, and we’re ready for a ride.  What woman could possibly have a chance of taming this guy? 

Enterprising Women

Western women, especially those born in the West, were not clones of Eastern women.  They faced different obstacles and many times they faced them alone.  For those who think that the only career choices for women were teaching school and whoring, think again.  Women owned stores, farms, and ranches in their own right.  Some panned for gold, others drove freight wagons, and yes, some did teach school.

Suffragists didn’t have to work too hard in the West.  Wyoming granted suffrage in 1869 and many other states and territories gave women the right to vote before the turn of the 20^th Century, unlike the Eastern states.  Whether they had the right to vote or not, property ownership was never in question.  Women in the West had property rights.  The best book I’ve read on what a woman could do if she put her mind to it is Gambler's Wife: The Life of Malinda Jenkins.

In my latest book, Much Ado About Mavericks (♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥ #3) we have an enterprising woman and just the man to tame her.  Ben Lawrence isn’t just drool-worthy, he also has brains and is a successful Boston attorney.  Once we put him in chaps, there’s nothing not to like. LOL.  And the heroine is definitely a firecracker.  Named Janelle Kathryn O’Keefe, everyone calls her Jake (from J.K.) and she’s the foreman of the Bar EL Ranch, which Ben inherits.  She doesn’t think much of a man who doesn’t “work” for a living, and he can’t quite wrap his mind around a woman who does a man’s job.

Think love is in the air?  Here’s an excerpt where Ben (who’s 6’6” but his family nicknamed him Skeeter when he was a boy) and Jake first meet.  For a visual, think Gregory Peck and Maureen O’Hara.

Excerpt from Much Ado About Mavericks, By Jacquie Rogers

     “I think we should reintroduce ourselves.”  He placed the mug on the boardwalk and offered his hand.  “How do you do?  I’m Benjamin Lawrence, visiting from Boston.” 

     “Janelle Kathryn.”  She grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously.  “I’m surely pleased to meet you.” 

     He tested his shoulder to see if it still functioned after her hearty handshake.  Then, just to knock her off guard, he took her hand and kissed the back of it with grandiose gallantry.   

     “My pleasure, Miss Janelle.”~^~

     Jumpin’ juniper berries!  Jake snatched her scorching hand away from Skeeter’s lips.  His well-placed little smacker burned hotter than a branding iron in August.  Only better, but she sure as shootin’ wouldn’t admit it to a soul.  Ever.  Of course, she had no intention of washing her hand for a month either.  That hot kiss sent goosebumps clean down to her toes. 

     She sucked in a deep breath and cleared her throat.  “Let’s go.”  She hopped onto the wagon and picked up the reins.

     Ben leapt onto the seat and took the reins from her.  “I’ll drive.”

     His thigh rubbed hers.  She didn’t know how he could think right if he tingled anything like she did.  But, he probably didn’t.  She inched away from him as the buckboard moved out of town.  She focused on the sagebrush—at least it didn’t knock her plumb senseless.  He was too damned good-looking in a dandified sort of way.  Taller than she was, too, by a few inches.  Few men were.  She stood even with Whip, who, although bent with years of hard work, was taller than the rest of the men.

     It ate at her that Skeeter muddled her mind so, and she had no idea what got into her to tell him her real name.  She’d better set him straight.   

     “Just so’s you know, I ain’t no simpering female.  Folks around here call me Jake.  Jake O’Keefe.  I expect you ought to call me that, too.” 

     “Jake O’Keefe?” He smirked.  “My foreman?”

     Just what she needed—a greenhorn who didn’t think she could do a man’s work. 

~~^~~

Free book! Comment on this article and win a free Kindle copy of the first book in the ♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥ series, Much Ado About Marshals.  Be sure to leave your email address with your comment or we’ll have to draw another name.

Thanks so much to Romancing the Genres and Judith Ashley for asking me to be one of the highlighted western authors.  I’m in talented company here!

Jacquie Rogers

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Romancing The West * Blog

♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥ series:

Much Ado About Marshals 

Much Ado About Madams 

Much Ado About Mavericks

A western fantasy short story: Willow, Wish For Me (Merlin’s Destiny #1)

Transitions and Birthdays



Judith Ashley

With nothing coming to mind, I asked my granddaughter what ideas she had for my September post. She suggested I write about living with a teenager. I went to bed with that thought in mind and woke with another idea that includes living with a teenager.

Marking the Seasons/Transitions is the suggested topic for this month. When I woke, what was on my mind was Birthdays. And, this summer was full of special birthdays.

June: My youngest granddaughter’s birth month. Her 16th! It seemed to me that every day of the month we did something related to her birthday. Preparations included a mani/pedi, hair trimmed, and a massage. On her special day she had a professional photo shoot and included several of her friends; pizza party and sleepover. The next morning was breakfast out. Then Sunday was a combination birthday and Father’s Day BBQ with 30 people spending time with her including people she hadn’t seen in 10 years! Before the month was over, we had dinner at The Olive Garden, one of her favorite restaurants.

My aunt and cousin

July: My maternal aunt’s 103^rd birthday celebration was enough of an incentive to get me on a plane to Long Beach, CA. I spent 3 days with family – most of one day with my aunt. We reminisced about the past and talked of the present. Her philosophy is to take one day at a time. She and another friend of mine who reached 100 years of age have a similar life philosophy…they don’t stress out about things over which they have no control and they are good at discerning what’s what.

Best Friend

August: My aunt’s daughter i.e. my cousin and two best friends celebrate birthdays this month. I was able to pre-celebrate my cousin’s day with dinner out and then a ‘happy birthday’ call on The Day. I was called in to work unexpected on one of my friend’s birthday so spaced that off. She got a long, apologetic email from me several days later. Good friend that she is and because she celebrates The Month of her birthday I was absolved of any wrong doing. Two days ago I called my other friend to wish her a Happy Birthday. As we were talking I was reminded that my previous calls with her during August were to inform her of the death of one of our colleagues. We’ve reached that stage/age in life where that is a common occurrence.

In looking at my summer, I started it with a celebration of youth and the joys and tribulations of living through the teen years and ended it with a celebration of a long (40+ year) friendship and the thought that we don’t have another 40 years ahead.

You can visit me at www.JudithAshley.blogspot.com for more about my Long Beach, California trip and family connections. And, you’ve a standing invitation to check out my website at www.JudithAshleyRomance.com

September our guests are all Western Romance Authors. If you live in North America and leave a comment with your email address, you may win Linda Lael Miller’s Big Sky Country. Don’t tell anyone but I bought a second copy and only noticed it when I pulled the book from my TBR pile – thought that other cover looked familiar! LOL

© Judith Ashley 2012

Let Me Enjoy Spring

Dear Readers

August was a very busy month for me and unfortunately my writing took a back seat. I’m now going to be delivering my final book in my Wicked Wagers trilogy, To Challenge the Earl of Cravenswood, a month late. It will be released end of September, instead of the end of August. How did I let the month get away from me?

I didn’t factor in how much travelling I’d be doing during late July and August. I flew to the USA for a few weeks and then had the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference in Auckland. I had three conferences within four weeks – and I was presenting at one! It was tiring but so much fun. I got to meet wonderful people and I learned a lot.

So, here I sit, just as the New Zealand spring is starting, glued to my computer, writing frantically. We’ve had warm mid-winter months of July and August, unusually warmer temperatures, but punctuated with loads of rain. The grass is still soaking and the kids’ sports have been cancelled most of the month because the grounds are too sodden. At least that’s my excuse for not mowing the lawns.

 

I’m also on Jury duty this week which again has eaten into my time. I feel a moral obligation to do my jury service. I’d like to think that if I ever were facing a court that people from all walks of life were my jury pool. 

I have to report each morning to the District Court and we go through a ballot process to see who sits on a jury. I got selected for a jury yesterday, and it was a two – three week trial. There goes my writing! However, luckily for me, a very good friend was one of the lawyers so I was excused! It did give me some ideas for a story though so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

I hope to have the book completed by the end of September and then I’m going to take a week to enjoy spring. I’m building a house in the sunny Hawke’s Bay (a wine growing region) and I want to go up and spend some time picking curtains and furnishing etc. I’m hoping the spring weather remains warm and sunny while I’m up there.

Then for the rest of the year I’m finishing, Invitation to Passion, book three in my Invitation to Romance series. I’m hoping to get it finished by Christmas so I can enjoy the summer months of January and February in my new home.

BTW, I’ve some good news to share. To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield, book one in my Wicked Wagers trilogy, is now a FINALIST in the 2012 Kindle Book Review Indie Romance Book of the Year. It would be great if you could spread the news!

Let the Wicked Wagers Begin...
Lady Caitlin Southall’s temper has finally got the better of her. She’s challenged Harlow Telford, the Duke of Dangerfield, the most notorious rake in all of England, to a wager. She wants her house back. The one her destitute father lost to Dangerfield in a card game. But if she doesn’t win their bet, she not only loses her home, she loses her dignity and pride and damn it all, maybe her heart... For the handsome Duke has decreed, when he wins, she must spend the night in his bed.

Harlow Telford is amused by his hellion neighbor, Caitlin, or Cate to her friends, who seem to encompass everyone on earth except him. When she bursts into one of his private gatherings, he mistakes her for the entertainment. Her slap across his face sets him straight and raises the absurd desire to seduce the unconventional beauty into his bed. When she issues her daft challenge to win back her father’s pile of rubble, the terms are set. And he’ll do anything to win—except fall in love...

Click here to buy Amazon or B&N or Smashwords

What plans are you making for the next few months? Northern hemisphere readers will be heading toward winter. Is it hard to be perky about the change in season when it’s autumn, or are you a winter fan? I suspect the regions that have very hot, muggy weather are looking forward to cooler days.

An Accidental Tradition

Technically this is my September post and is supposed to be about seasons. But leading up to Labor Day, authors were posting about traditions and I have discovered a new one. And since yesterday was Labor Day, I'm sneaking this one in under the "oh ~ is it already over?" excuse.

Two words: Linie Aquavit

When I was in Norway last year, I heard the unique story of Linie Aquavit (originally spelled akevitt) which is a potato-based distilled alcohol. Basically, it's the Norse version of vodka, but often with flavoring. I was interested because when my historical characters are in Norway, that's their liquor of choice.

The story of Linie began over 200 years ago when Norway shipped several of their native products to Australia, looking for a new market. The distilled beverage was poured into used sherry casks and lashed to the deck of the ship for the voyage "down under."

Long story shortened, the Australians sent it back north, untouched.

When the returned casks were opened, the akevitt retained a unique bouquet and had taken on a lovely amber color. The taste was smooth and aromatic, unlike any akevitt they had made before.

Still longer story shortened again, after much trial and error, the only way to recreate the unique color and flavor of this brand of akevitt was to ship it to the southern hemisphere and back ~ unopened and lashed to the deck of a sailing ship.

The assumptions made as to "why" are as follows:

1. We believe the constant swirling of the alcohol due to the natural motion of the ship helps leach flavor from the casks.

2. It might be the changes in the weather which the casks are subjected to: cold to hot to cold to hot to cold again.

3. We have no idea.

But it does work. So they still keep up the tradition today.

The liquor is called "Linie" because it crosses the line ~ the Equator ~ twice before it's sold. Every bottle (and my local BevMo stocks it!) actually has that batch's sailing dates stamped inside the label plus the name of the ship(s) it sailed on. In addition, you can track your own bottle on their website.

Nowadays, they use barges, not sailing shops. Faithful to the original situation, those sherry casks still ride on the deck where the weather and the vessel's movement create that special color and flavor.

The one exception to their "crosses the equator" twice promise happened during World War II. Norway was occupied by the Nazis and they commandeered one of the "Linie" ships. After a couple of mishaps, the akevitt rode around the world and crossed the equator FOUR times, arriving back in Norway three years after it originally sailed.

I'm not a drinker of distilled alcohol ~ it's strictly wine or beer for me, due to my family history. But I was curious and bought bottle. The scent was so engaging. The color, a rich amber. And the aquavit itself was smooth and smoky. I definitely can see my characters drinking it.

And for the record, I handed the bottle off to the author of cookbooks with recipes based on literary characters. Brander Hansen's chocolate cake has this very aquavit in the cake AND the frosting! I'm impatiently waiting for the recipe to be published so I can try it myself. (See Rhonda Plumhoff on Amazon for more information.)

Because I found the story so interesting and akevitt ties into my books, I bought "Norway is the New Scotland" emblazoned shot glasses and plan to have Linie tastings at speaking engagements or book signings whenever it's appropriate/legal.

I'm starting a new tradition based in a very old one. Skåle!

http://www.linie.com/

Amazing Autumn by Paty Jager

Fall or Autumn is my favorite season. I've always lived where there were more evergreen trees than deciduous trees.  And the deciduous trees we did have mostly had yellow leaves but the bushes would add color. I love the full colors of Autumn- the red, purple, magenta, and orange. The vivid colors are eye candy to me.

When I traveled over the mountain to monthly writer meetings, I enjoyed the September, October and November months the most because the scenery over the mountain pass changed with each trip. The colors grew more vibrant each time.

Country magazine is one of my favorite because they have so many pretty fall photos. One of the things on my bucket list is to go to the NE United States in the fall and see those beautiful scenes for myself.

The town closest to me has planted a variety of leafy trees along the streets. When the leaves turn I look like a bag lady walking along tucking the colorful leaves in a sack. Then I bring them home and use them to decorate my house.

But the reason I love Autumn the most is I can wear sweatshirts. That is a silly reason but I love comfy cozy sweatshirts with hoods. They can zip or they can be pull over I don't care as long as I'm warm and my nose is the only thing getting nipped by the cold.


What is your favorite thing about Autumn?

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