Blog Schedule

I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Monday, October 31, 2016

The Grand Tour Grand Finale and Encore! Being Thankful

Happy Halloween! 
What a great day to end this tour which has been all about a ghost story! And what better place to end it than with a woman I've never met, but whom I consider a friend.

31st - Lee McKenzie, The Write Game - The Mysterious Moving Grave (The Real Story)



Last chance to win a copy! The contest closes at midnight. (Mailing only within the USA)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And the winners are: Jess Haight and Shannon Lemoine O'Donnell! I'll be contacting you.


Being Thankful
Today I am ever so thankful to everyone who hosted me, who visited and commented and, who in a myriad of different ways, made this tour a most wonderful experience.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

The Continuing Wanderings of a Ghost - The Bowl and the Stone


Here's where I'll be the rest of this week!


26th - Shannon Lawrence, The Warrior Muse - More interesting *facts* about jumbies

27th - Jessica Height, The Secret Files of Fairday Marrow - Annaberg, a sugar plantation

28th - Karen Walker, Following the Whispers - The St. John slave revolt of 1733






Available at:

PLUS, you still have a chance to win a copy of my book! (Mailing only within the USA)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AND, look for my article "Myths and Folklore: Finding Old Stories to Make New" in the next IWSG Newsletter. If you haven't signed up for the newsletter, go HERE. You'll get a free gift if you do.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Welcome, Lynda R. Young


As many of you know, Lynda Young is a very active member of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, someone who is generous with her time and knowledge. 

As if she weren't busy enough moving, her daily devotional, CLING TO GOD, was released on October 18th. In an effort to help spread the word, here's all the important information you need to know about the devotional and Lynda.

Cling to God: A Daily Devotional. 
By Lynda R Young
Release date: October 18th, 2016
Published by Freedom Fox Press

Tagline: Cling to God in the chaos of life…

Blurb: Cling to God is a book of devotionals for every day of the year. The aim is to encourage Christians in their faith, to help them think about their beliefs and learn more about God. The devotions are short and inspirational so that people with busy lifestyles will still be able to spend time with the Lord each day. It will appeal to a wide Christian audience, to those new in their faith as well as those matured beyond milk and honey.

Author Bio: Lynda R Young writes devotionals, articles, and speculative short stories. In her spare time she is also an editor, game developer, artist, and dabbles in photography and all things creative. She lives in Australia with her sweetheart of a husband. 

You can find Lynda here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
and as an administrator for the Insecure Writer's Support Group

Her book is available at the following places:
Kindle,  Amazon, NookBarnes and NobleKoboITunes,

Goodreads

Monday, October 24, 2016

The Grand Tour Continues - Week Four of The Bowl and the Stone


We're rounding the turn and coming into the home stretch! What a great tour it's been so far. Join me for more interesting moments on St. John, a very small island.

24th - Meradeth Houston, Write Stuff - A brief history of slavery

24th - Natalie Aguirre, Literary Rambles - Follower News

26th - Shannon Lawrence, The Warrior Muse - More interesting *facts* about jumbies

27th - Jessica Height, The Secret Files of Fairday Marrow - Annaberg, a sugar plantation

28th - Karen Walker, Following the Whispers - The St. John slave revolt of 1733



PLUS, you still have a chance to win a copy of my book! (Mailing only within the USA)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AND, look for my article "Myths and Folklore: Finding Old Stories to Make New" in the next IWSG Newsletter. If you haven't signed up for the newsletter, go HERE. You'll get a free gift if you do.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

W.E.P. Constellations

As if I didn't have enough going on this month, I had to participate in another lovely challenge from Yolanda Renee and Denise Covey.



It's about constellations. And I'm offering up two poems, both written many years ago.










This one I wrote as a teen.

Orion constellation HeveliusOrion

He is silent, strong,
and patient.
He hunts the bear.
And, until Time herself
scatters his stars,
he will continue to
hunt the bear,
unafraid, and,
without success.





And this one I wrote in my 30s.

Scorpio
Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Scorpio
And when I gaze
into the south-southwestern sky,
do you see Scorpio as I?
There lies the great sweep,
the curve of tail,
the grand array of stars eternal...

I am reminded of my finiteness,
of numbered days,
but know it is not too late
to relate
the thoughts and feelings locked deep within the heart.

I know too
that Scorpio will have his day,
when all his stars will blow away.
Then he and I will understand infinity
and dance
the cosmic dance 
one hundred million million times
as molecules of space dust,
as atoms of ethereal air,
as star, 
as human,
as all things both great and rare.

Monday, October 17, 2016

The Grand Tour Continues - Week Three of The Bowl and the Stone

Here's where I'll be this week. Do stop by and say hello. I promise you'll probably learn something you didn't know before.

17th - Diane Wolfe, Spunk on a Stick - Manchineel - A deadly tree

18th - Clara Gillow Clark - Earliest known ghost stories (win a print copy!)

19th - Crystal Collier - 2 Truths and a Lie (win an ebook!)

19th - Nicola Burggraf, Burggraf's Blog - Interview with Sam and her best friend Nick

20th - Erik, This Kid Reviews Books - Review
        - Diane Burton - The Long Road to Freedom

21st - Yolanda Renee, Defending the Pen - Interview with moi



Have you signed up my giveaway? (Mailing only within the USA)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, October 10, 2016

The Grand Tour Continues - Week Two of THE BOWL AND THE STONE

This week you can find me hanging out with these wonderful people.



11th - Barbara Fisher, March of Time Books - Yard Culture (and we're not talking plants)

12th - Juneta Key, Writer's Gambit - Jumbies (or things that go bump in the nigh)

  14th - Chrys Fey, Write With Fey - Lignum vitae - The hardest tree in the world





If you haven't done so yet, sign up for my giveaway! (Mailing only within the U.S.A.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, October 7, 2016

Help! I've Been Abducted and Someone Has Taken My Place!

Wait! What's going on here? How is Roland on my blog? Is there shape-shifting going on? An ET abduction? Wizardly shenanigans? Do I have a strange looking doppelganger? Maybe, I've been whisked away to another dimension!

No!  It's the DON'T BUY MY BOOK blog tour, with ROLAND YOMANS! 

Coincidentally (is there really such a thing as coincidence?) I happen to be on Roland's blog.

AND, I'm here as well! Jacqui Murray, Word Dreams - Interview with Sam (Samantha, who tells the story)

Now, heeeeere's Roland!

***
I’ve heard of ships passing in the night, but bloggers?


Thank Bish Denham for having me on her Blog by buying her great new book, THE BOWL AND THE STONE: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands.



Now, onto my own nefarious DON’T BUY MY BOOK Blog Tour:


Why the tour name DON’T BUY MY BOOK?  Haven’t you heard of Reverse Psychology?
Bish’s book begins in 1962. Mine begins in 1836 London, England in the Royal Palace of all places. 

Princess Victoria has been kidnapped!  Unknown to everyone, the High Fae Queen of the Sidhe is the culprit!

What is the disgraced Texas Ranger, Samuel McCord, to do?  Why, rescue her of course … earning the enmity of the entire Sidhe Royal Court.

That enmity follows McCord down through the years to his honeymoon aboard the first Air/Steamship, Xanadu, as it flies over the Atlantic through enemy-filled clouds to France.
Bish’s locale is the exotic Virgin Islands. 

Mine is the enchanted Realm of Faerie, (just think of the contrasting images of a Texas Ranger contesting with magic-wielding Sidhe) then the myth-laden shores of France, where ancient enemies of McCord’s bride, the alien empress, Meilori Shinseen, wait to ambush the lovers.

Allied with Meilori’s enemies are her husband’s supposed allies, the Bastille Irregulars who are actually Rougarou’s, the werewolves of Paris, and his life-long enemies, the Worms of the Earth.

The trap is sprung deep beneath the towering, ancient Rouen Cathedral where the heart of Richard called the Lion-Hearted is entombed.

How do they fare?  Let the name of that chapter give you a hint: RED WEDDING along with the quote that begins it:

“I hate violence as only a man who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” 
- Samuel McCord

All of McCord’s enemies vie for the privilege of killing him:
The Vampire Benjamin Franklin, emissary of the undead Abigail Adams.
The insane Abraham Lincoln who blames the Ranger for not saving his wife instead of himself in that infamous assassination attempt.
The crippled General Sherman who hates McCord for stopping his March across Georgia.
High Queen Oyggia for foiling her attempts at corrupting Princess Victoria.
Thomas Edison for seeing through his thefts of others’ inventions.
And the deadliest: DayStar who believes himself to be Lucifer Incarnate.

Oh, and did I tell you there were dragons?  Lots of them. The bestial Germanic breed and the Celestial Dragons of China, like Qing Long who harbors strange plans for the cursed Ranger.

It all culminates in a whirling, fiery battle at the top of the Eiffel Tower and above the besieged Louvre.

It is myth come to life. But what is myth but the shadow cast by truths Man cannot quite believe?

See for yourself.  Buy THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS AT LARGE.
I know what I named this blog tour, but when did any of you guys pay attention to me?

Available HERE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Roland Yeomans was born in Detroit, Michigan.  But his last memories of that city are hub-caps and kneecaps since, at the age of seven, he followed the free food when his parents moved to Lafayette, Louisiana.  The hitch-hiking after their speeding car from state to state was a real adventure.  Once in Louisiana, Roland learned strange new ways of pronouncing David and Richard when they were last names.  And it was not a pleasant sight when he pronounced Comeaux for the first time.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and a Master’s degree in Psychology.  He has been a teacher, counselor, book store owner, and even a pirate since he once worked at a tax preparation firm.

So far he has written thirty-four books.  You can find Roland at his web page: www.rolandyeomans.blogspot.com  or at his private table in Meilori’s.  The web page is safer to visit.  But if you insist on visiting Meilori’s, bring a friend who runs slower than you.


Roland's Amazon Author Page is HERE
His Facebook page is HERE


***
It's me again, Bish.

Aren't you glad you dropped by? Go and visit Roland at his various hang-outs, and buy his books. They are filled with magic, wonder, and terror. Not to mention philosophy, psychology, and poetry. How he manages to weave these things together is amazing and entertaining.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

IWSG - I'm at Alex's and Joylene's!

How can it be? I'm in three places at once. I'm not only here, I'm over at Alex's talking about a dungeon that plays a small but important part in my book The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands. But wait! I'm also visiting with Joylene Butler where you can learn what St. John was like in 1962. Hope you'll stop by and say hello. 

***
Posting the first Wednesday of every month, The Insecure Writer's Support Groupis  the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate. 

Let's give our co-hosts  a warm welcome! 
Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Viola Fury, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Angela Wooldridge, and Susan Gourley!



This month's question is: When do you know your story is ready? 

Which is a good question considering how long it took me to write and "finish" The Bowl and the Stone. I can't tell you how many times I changed the POV and tense, deleted chapters, and changed the ending. Still, I wonder if it's done, if it's right. I think every writer could tweak and edit and revise and tweak some more FOR. EV. ER. *says to self* Have I made all the corrections I can make? Are all my commas in the right places? Could I use a better word in this sentence? How about a new sentence entirely? (On and on and on.)

But at some point (a point only you can decide) we MUST stop or we'll never write anything else.

Here's a bit of advice from Neil Gaiman. "The best advice I can give on this is, once it's done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes. Finish the short story, print it out, then put it in a drawer and write other things. When you're ready, pick it up and read it, as if you've never read it before. If there are things you aren't satisfied with as a reader, go in and fix them as a writer: that's revision."

See you at Alex's and Joylene's!

Monday, October 3, 2016

The Grand Tour Begins for The Bowl and the Stone


I'm so excited!
THE BOWL AND THE STONE: 
A HAUNTING TALE 
FROM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
is finally here.

Below is the list of the wonderful, fabulous people who will be hosting me on their blogs during the month of October. I hope you'll stop by and visit with me as I share the history and mystery, the stories and insights, that went to into the writing of The Bowl and the Stone.

Although some posts are about the same subject (particularly those mischievous jumbies) each post is different, many with an excerpt from the book. Hope that piques your interest.

Also, for your reading enjoyment, I'm offering up my first Rafflecopter giveaway and crossing my fingers that I did it right! Plus, during week three, there will two other chances to win a copy.

Thanks EVERYONE for all your help. I couldn't have done it without you.

To kick off the tour, today I'm visiting with Carol Kilgore, Under the Tiki Hut, in which you will be introduced to Jumbies, those mischievous spirits that have nothing better to do than cause problems.

October:
4th - Robyn Campbell - Interview with moi
5th - Alex Cavanaugh - The Dungeon at Annaberg
      - Joylene Butler - St. John in 1962
7th - Roland Yeomans, Writing in the Crosshairs - Moko Jumbies (protective spirits)

10th - Jacqui Murray, Word Dreams - Interview with Sam (Samantha, who tells the story)
11th - Barbara Fisher, March of Time Books - Yard Culture (and we're not talking plants)
12th - Juneta Key, Writer's Gambit - Jumbies
14th - Chrys Fey, Write With Fey - Lignum vitae - The hardest tree in the world

17th - Diane Wolfe, Spunk on a Stick - Manchineel - A deadly tree
18th - Clara Gillow Clark - Earliest known ghost stories (I'll be giving away a print copy)
19th - Crystal Collier - 2 Truths and a Lie (I'll be giving away an ebook)
        - Nicola Burggraf, Burggraf's Blog - Interview with Sam and her best friend Nick
20th - Erik, This Kid Reviews Books - Review
        - Diane Burton - The Long Road to Freedom
21st - Yolanda Renee, Defending the Pen - Interview with moi

24th - Meradeth Houston, Write Stuff - A brief history of slavery
        - Natalie Aguirre, Literary Rambles - Follower News
26th - Shannon Lawrence, The Warrior Muse - Jumbies
27th - Jessica Height, The Secret Files of Fairday Marrow - Annaberg, a sugar plantation
28th - Karen Walker, Following the Whispers - The St. John slave revolt of 1733

31st - Lee McKenzie, The Write Game - The Mysterious Moving Grave

***


Pirates. Explorers. And spooky ghost hunters.

It’s 1962. Sam and her best friend, Nick, have the whole island of St. John, in the U. S. Virgin Islands, as their playground. They’ve got 240 year-old sugar plantation ruins to explore, beaches to swim, and trails to hike.

But when a man disappears like a vapor right in front of them, they must confront a scary new reality. They’re being haunted. By whom? And why? He’s even creeping into Nick’s dreams.

They need help, but the one who might be able to give it is Trumps, a reclusive hunchback who doesn’t like people, especially kids. Are Sam and Nick brave enough to face him? And if they do, will he listen to them? 

As carefree summer games turn into eerie hauntings, Sam and Nick learn more about themselves and life than they could ever have imagined.
Available now at:

LOOK! A chance to win a signed copy! (Mailing only within the USA)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

I've joined this monthly bloghop because answering thoughtful/challenging questions is one way to expand one's mind. It's osted by Michael D'Agostino at A Life Examined .

This could be the last Question of the Month as Michael will be retiring from blogging. He's asked if someone will take over the bloghop and I rather hope someone does. 

 The question this month is: 
“What’s a decision you’ve made in the past that you know, logically, was the right decision to make, but which you still feel guilty or regretful about?”

In my youth I made some rather rash decisions that turned out to be for the best. There may have been a point where I regretted what I did, but days of regret are long gone. Every step I took led me to where I am now, which is a very good place indeed. So there's nothing to regret. Some decisions I made unintentionally and temporarily hurt people, but I made amends and have a clear conscience.