November of 2021 is when I started reading for other reasons. I did it to help my writing. I was trying to find a way to revise my 2nd bat story. I saved it in my computer back in 2011, and now a decade later I pulled it out.  

I’m only sharing the books I picked as mentors, and I’m cutting out the parts that don’t apply to the bat story. Here’s the link if you’d like to read from those titles. Link: ​Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
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Part 1 -  Me as a Reader, and a Writer – This is me, at a book event. I’m not just a reader anymore . . . I’m a writer. It changed the way I read, the way I write. Reading and writing are like opposite sides of the same coin. They work together.

I wrote my 2nd bat story ten years ago, and I haven’t touched it since. I pulled up the first chapter last week and revised it. It was easy . . . I’ve grown as a writer in the last ten years. My critique partners said I needed to push the characters, but I knew that. Ten years ago they were flat, and they still are. I was surprised that a couple people thought I should grow the story, a lot. I didn’t see the potential, last week.

This week I outlined my five chapters (I designed it as an easy chapter book) and sent it in . . . The response was universal! I need to grow this story . . . it’s way bigger than my original plot. I knew I needed to up the stakes and add complexity, but now I know . . . if I want this story to find its own depth, I need to let it grow. To become more than I can imagine now. WOW!
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After I finished my critique group, I didn’t know where to turn, where to find ideas. Then I remembered that books have always been my mentors so I found it. My next read is imaginative, creative, and a fantasy. It’s a great place to start rebuilding my story. I also thought I should look at fractured fairy tales, fantasies with princesses and witches. Maybe even bats and bugs. Here’s to my new voyage, and however long it takes! Here’s to the new series – The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. 

​Part 2 – The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, plus a few PSs: Most of my book posts are about my reaction to the book and the plot. The PSs are where I wrote my thoughts about revising my bat story.
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Book 1 - PPS – I’m three days in, and dragon magic is working! I moved the setting from Lienen to Tecklenburg. It has history and atmosphere, from the ruins of an old German castle to the Teutoberg Forest where Herman the German battled ancient Rome.

My story’s grandmother changed too. The bats called her a witch in the old version. Now I think making her into a real one, opens a world of possibilities. I also changed her granddaughter’s name from Hannah to Anna, because a real Countess Anna lived in Tecklenburg Castle. She didn’t want witches burned, and my grandma and her Anna won’t either.  Imagine what I can do with that angle!
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Finally, I did some research and picked out one kind of bat. I also discovered that all bats need help. Did you know they’re in danger worldwide because of wind farms? In Germany too! I read that if they turned the fans off when bats are out, it would save their lives! AND we’d only lose 1% of the power wind farms produce. WOW! Who knew this book could get my juices going and fill my head with ideas? WAHOO! 
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Book 2 - PS – I decided to rewrite/revise my bat story with the original five chapters. I need to explore it first before I look for ways to grow it. I believe in story magic, and I’m willing to let it take me wherever my story is meant to go.


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Book 3 – Time for the December Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach

​PS – I just finished the first two chapters of my bat book. The witch’s part is the most fun to write. It all started with a throwaway line in the 2011 version. A bat thought that the grandmother was a witch. Originally I said she was a nice old lady, but this time I decided to play with it. I’m having so much fun that I can’t wait to see where that witch takes me!
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​Book 4 - PS – My critique partners said the 1st two chapters are heading the right way. Their biggest piece of advice – GROW THAT PLOT! I’m working on it, but I’ll finish the last three chapters of the almost original story first.
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Then . . .  I’m moving the story across the ocean to my lake in Tennessee. That’s the setting where I’ll work to imagine the fantasy, I believe it can be.
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Part 3 – A Witch, Three Queens, and a Sorcerer – Follow me through the next 5 books. As I read each one, I left myself notes about where the bat story should go. 
December Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
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William - PS – I picked this story because I need to reimagine my bat story. It’s keeping me in the middle grade range, but I haven’t found the perfect path to stretch it out. I think the witch character is the right way to go, but I think I need to look into some bat lore to help me push my story farther. Here’s to my new quest!


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​Three Queens – I wrote this when I started reading the Hundredth Queen,
​and it’s what I noticed through the whole series . . . 

Harry Potter, My Writing Mentor - I’m still reading the Hundredth Queen series to look at world building, but my mentor suggested I look at Harry Potter for my bat book. Why? She thinks the tone and complexity are what my story needs. I’ve worked with her since 2018, and I trust her advice.

Harry Potter – that sounded so intimidating until I wrapped my head around it. I don’t have to write 800 pages or sound like J.K. I’ll write my story, and I’ll follow Harry’s footprints. Not exactly, but in a way that fits my bats and 2 humans.

Reading Harry as a mentor text is different than reading it for fun. It’s like taking a road trip. You read as fast as you can and enjoy the scenery. But now that Harry’s my teacher, I read a chapter at a time, then take notes. I’m looking at how Jo put the story together, and the elements I want to remember. I just finished chapter 3. Here’s a peek at my notes.

Chapter 1 is all about setting the stage – introducing the setting and characters. Jo doesn’t show the inciting incident between Harry and Voldemort. We’re told about it through the fallout. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on one incident per chapter. Chapter 2 takes place 10 years later, and Jo uses a birthday to show how Harry’s treated in the family. Chapter 3 focuses on a letter, and all of Mr. Dursley’s attempts to keep Harry from reading it.

PS – I got stuck on Chapter 4. Harry’s a great mentor text, but he’s not helping me picture my story.
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Part 4 – One Last Queen and a Spindle  - They’re the last two books in my journey, so far.
January Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
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The Last Queen - I wrote this after I finished The Warrior Queen. It tells you the direction I thought I needed to go with the bat story. The interesting part – I’d forgotten I wrote it . . .  
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I pick my books by author, and I’ll take a look at Emily’s, along with my other favorite authors. It’ll be a while. I have book 1 of Harry Potter to read. Then I’ll skip to another magical book, and it takes place in the Smokies. I have the where for the story, but I need to figure out a problem for my bats to solve. I’m hoping Story Magic will point me down the right path. Fingers crossed!
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 Spindled – This is the first thing I wrote about it . . .

Shanna Swendson is one of my favorite authors, and that’s why I picked this book. I’m rereading it to uncover details I missed the 1st time through.

 - And this is how it’s helping me with my bats . . .  

​This book was written for kids aged 11-18. That’s the range I want to hit with my bat story, so this is another good mentor book for me. I’m also happy to announce – there will be a sequel. Dawn’s parents, the true king and queen, are hiding somewhere in east Texas. I can’t wait to read it!
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​Part 5 – What I’m Reading and Writing Now – I’ve never posted this before. It’s new material that I put together, just for this post.
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​Writing Now - This week I finished revising the last chapter of my Almost True Bat Story. Next week I’ll hear what my critique partners think about it.

The old version’s pretty much what happened to me in 2007 when I held a bat on a mop in Germany . . . Really! What’s interesting is that this new version is still flat, and that’s the same comment an editor told me in 2011 . . . so I mothballed it, until now.

This weekend I’m going back to Chapter 1 for another round of editing, and I’m changing just ONE THING in the story. I’m moving it from Germany to the US . . . to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
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But I decided to change something else– the characters. I’m aging the girl. In the original she was 5-7 years old. Now she’ll be 11-13. That will turn it into a middle grade novel. I’m also making the grandmother a real witch. It was a throw-away line in the original chapter book, but now I’m ready to play with it in the new and improved story. And the bats, they’ll become American of course.
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Started on 1/16
Shanna Swendson is one of my favorite authors, and that’s why I picked this book. I’m rereading it to uncover details I missed the 1st time through.

I had trouble with the first chapter, that first time through – I couldn’t get my bearings. I’d forgotten the Amazon description. All I had was the title Spindled. I was thinking Rumpelstiltskin. Wrong story! I forgot about Sleeping Beauty.

I really liked Shanna’s modern twists with Sleeping Beaty. This time the evil sorceress captures the wrong girl, but the chapter changes were a little fast. In one chapter we’re following Dawn, the true princess. In the next one we’re following her best friend Lucy (the wrong girl). The chapters go back and forth between them until the story ends.

This book was written for kids aged 11-18. That’s the range I want to hit with my bat story, so this is another good mentor book for me. I’m also happy to announce – there will be a sequel. Dawn’s parents, the true king and queen, are hiding somewhere in east Texas. I can’t wait to read it!

​​Amazon’s Description:
She’d always read fairy tales. She didn’t expect to find herself living one . . .

Once upon a time, a princess was brought to a strange land for safekeeping, until the day the curse placed on her in infancy expired and she could return to her kingdom.

Lucy Jordan is not that princess. But thanks to a case of mistaken identity, she’s kidnapped by an evil enchantress’s men and taken to a magical world, where she finds herself living out a story that seems awfully familiar. Meanwhile, Lucy’s friend Dawn suspects the “aunts” who brought her up might have something to do with Lucy’s disappearance, and she feels compelled to travel through the magical gateway she finds in the garden shed to find her friend.

Now Lucy’s rewriting the storybooks as she goes on the run with a handsome young squire and plots to save Dawn’s rightful kingdom from the evil enchantress, while Dawn is drawn closer and closer to her true destiny, entirely unaware of how dangerous a spindle can be for her.

A delightful new fantasy from the author of Enchanted, Inc. and Rebel Mechanics.

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Started on 1/11                     2nd Read Finished on 1/16
​Would you believe I read Nora’s other book twice before the 11th? Tonight I’m starting I Remember Nothing, for a second time.

Why? I love Nora’s voice! I love her sense of humor, how she laughs at herself. I identified with her first book. It was about aging and the things I’ve gone through since I bought it, when I was in my 50’s.

Nora’s second book started with the things she’d forgotten. I had a hard time with it. I’m a daughter of Alzheimer’s, but it was easier the second time – I knew the rest of the story.

I loved when Nora moved into the things she remembered. Things that I was too little to understand when she was living them. Things like hippies and Vietnam. I got the women’s movement. That was easy! Boys could wear pants, but girls couldn’t, not until I was in 4th grade.

I loved the first book more, but I liked this one well enough to read it twice. Why? I really love Nora’s voice!

Amazon’s Description:
Nora Ephron returns with her first book since the astounding success of I Feel Bad About My Neck, taking a cool, hard, hilarious look at the past, the present, and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten.

Ephron writes about falling hard for a way of life (“Journalism: A Love Story”) and about breaking up even harder with the men in her life (“The D Word”); lists “Twenty-five Things People Have a Shocking Capacity to Be Surprised by Over and Over Again” (“There is no explaining the stock market but people try”; “You can never know the truth of anyone’s marriage, including your own”; “Cary Grant was Jewish”; “Men cheat”); reveals the alarming evolution, a decade after she wrote and directed You’ve Got Mail, of her relationship with her in-box (“The Six Stages of E-Mail”); and asks the age-old question, which came first, the chicken soup or the cold? All the while, she gives candid, edgy voice to everything women who have reached a certain age have been thinking . . . but rarely acknowledging.

Filled with insights and observations that instantly ring true—and could have come only from Nora Ephron--I Remember Nothing is pure joy.

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​Started 1/6                      Second Read Finished on 1/11
I’m still reading Harry Potter to help my bat story along, but I’m ready for a new book, and I wanted something different, something fun. I looked at 4 other titles, then picked this one. I wasn’t sure it was right. Then I read a page or two and knew I had the right one.

I’ve read it twice before and loved it both times. If you don’t know Nora Ephron, check out her movies . . . like When Harry Met Sally or You’ve Got Mail. They’re wonderful, and so is this book! Nora has a one-of-a-kind voice!

Amazon’s Description:
With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.

Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age. Utterly courageous, uproariously funny, and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling, I Feel Bad About My Neck is a scrumptious, irresistible treat of a book, full of truths, laugh out loud moments that will appeal to readers of all ages.

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Started 1/2                                                            Finished 1/6
I’m 84% of the way through Warrior Queen . . . And it’s better than I expected. Book 3 ended with Devon sucked into the Void, and I figured that Book 4 would be all about finding and bringing him home. What I didn’t know, or forgot, was how Kali did it.

Book 4 will take you to a new world. The world of the gods, the good ones . . . and evil ones too. The author took all the bread crumbs she strung through the other three books and used them to tell this final story . . . like Enlil’s hundredth rani, Inanna’s journey into the Void, Jaya, and more. I don’t think I’ve read this one before because I think I’d remember it . . . it’s that well written.

I pick my books by author, and I’ll take a look at Emily’s, along with my other favorite authors. It’ll be a while. I have book 1 of Harry Potter to read. Then I’ll skip to another magical book, and it takes place in the Smokies. I have the where for the story, but I need to figure out a problem for my bats to solve. I’m hoping Story Magic will point me down the right path. Fingers crossed!
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Amazon’s Description:
In the final volume of The Hundredth Queen Series, Kalinda will risk everything to save the man she loves.

Kalinda has brought peace to the Tarachand Empire, at least for now. Bhutas no longer need to hide their gifts. The last of the rebels have been banished. And Prince Ashwin is set to take over as rajah.

But for Kalinda, this all came at a great loss. Her childhood home. Her best friend. The love of her life.

Deven is still trapped in the Void, although he is able to find his way to Kalinda each night. He has been lucky so far—mortals are not meant to last in the Void for long, and Deven has lasted longer than most. But when he doesn’t visit her one night, Kalinda knows that his luck has run out.
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She will do whatever it takes to save the man she loves, even if it means convincing a god to guide her through the Void. Freeing a mortal from the Void is nearly impossible, but Kalinda has never let those odds stop her before…

​Food comes from all over the world. I picked three classic dishes for this post. Can you guess where they came from?

Part 1 – Swedish Meatballs
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Where did they come from?
Sweden looks like the logical answer, but is it?

Italy       Sweden       Turkey     Norway

Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

                                                                              And the answer is . . .  Turkey!

I know! I missed it too. In 2018 Sweden’s official Twitter account said that “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century.” That always confuses me. Early 18th century – that really means the early 1700’s, when America was still a British colony.

The meatballs came from Turkish ‘kofte.’ You start with ground beef, lamb, chicken or pork. Mix in some onions and a few spices, and you have kofte. But the Swedes needed a little more flavor – so they added gravy! Everything’s better with gravy!
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King Charles didn’t stop with those meatballs. He brought home Turkish stuffed cabbages and coffee too. Now coffee’s so popular that Sweden is one of the top coffee-drinking countries in the world. 

This is how the Swedes eat their meatballs – with mashed potatoes, brown sauce, lingonberry jam, and pickled cucumbers, AKA pickles.
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​​Coleslaw
Where did it come from?
Italy     Holland      Turkey    Germany
Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

​                                                                                And the answer is . . .  Holland!

Coleslaw came from Holland, AKA the Netherlands. It’s two Dutch words, combined. Kool is cabbage, and sla is their abbreviation for salade.

Dutch settlers brought cabbage to New Amsterdam in the 1600’s. It didn’t exist in the New World so the Dutch started growing cabbages along the Hudson River. When they made coleslaw, they drenched it in melted butter and vinegar. Later the British took over the city. They renamed it New York, but they kept the Dutch coleslaw.
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Coleslaw was on the table in Ancient Rome. They soaked it in vinegar before they ate it. As their Empire spread, so did their cabbage salad, to places like Germany, where they decided to add sour cream to some of their cabbage recipes. 
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​Coleslaw is part of restaurant platters from sea to shining sea, but with a small change in the recipe that came from Richard Hellman. He owned a deli in New York, and he bottled mayonnaise.  Would you believe his company is still making it for you today?        
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This question came from one of my trivia sites, but I forgot to copy the address. They got the idea for this question from . . . www.wikipedia.org   

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​Sponge cake is dry, but you soak this one in Kirschwasser or kirsch. That’s a special kind of brandy bottled only in the Black Forest. Don’t put any other kind in your cake if you’re in Germany or the European Union. It’s been against the law since 2013. Use cherry juice if you want it without alcohol, but whatever you do, don’t call it Black Forest Cake in Europe.

PS – if you want to make Black Forest cake, go to the link for Britannica. It has a video and text with the directions included.
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Sources:  Britannica                                                     Black Forest gateau - Wikipedia                                                 
https://www.traveltrivia.com/answer/where-did-black-forest-cake-originate/YZKS6XCprcEU2Kxs

​Do you trust your eyes to tell the truth? This post is about perception, and what your eyes tell your brain. Real or illusion – good luck deciding which you see!
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Part 1 – A Little Magic, Please! This story really happened. Sorry, no pictures, but don’t worry! I’ve got words.

Meet Siegfried and Roy! Back in the 1990s they had the biggest show in Las Vegas. My husband and I saw them a year or two before the accident that ended their careers.
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We lucked into front row seats. We were thrilled, and a little terrified. We kept looking at the tracks onstage and wondering how close the lions and tigers could get to us. 

​I watched the lights and mirrors, then turned my eyes back to the elephant. It was gone! How could that HUGE animal disappear so quickly?

My husband the engineer had the answer. He watched them walk the elephant offstage. He ignored those lights and mirrors, and he watched it leave.

It was a sleight of hand trick, but the real magic is in your perception, in how you see the world. Me, I followed the magician and his tricks. I’d like to think that I see the magic in something, the potential of what it could be.

My husband is logical, and he can stay focused, but he misses out on the magic. How about you? What do you perceive – magic or logic?
​ Source: Siegfried & Roy - Wikipedia

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​Part 2 – What Do You See? – It depends on how you perceive the world. If you’re like me, I always see the white space first. If your eye went to the black area instead, you saw something else. So, what did you see?

I saw the vase first, that white space. But if I know something else is there, then I’ll look at the black. That’s when I finally found those two silhouettes. 

Gestalt psychologists say we perceive individual sensor information, like the white/black shapes, as one big whole. For me, that means I see the vase. Wikipedia didn’t explain what that means, but I bet my eye doctor could. They always ask me what color is dominant when I get my eyes checked. Now I wonder whether the important thing is whether the line’s horizontal or vertical, and not so much its color. 
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​What do you see when you look at my necklace? There are two possibilities, depending on whether you see empty space in the circle, or the line? Can you guess what I saw?

Yep, the white space, and the jack-o-lantern. At first I couldn’t figure out why anyone would put a pumpkin in the middle of a cross. Then someone told me what it’s supposed to be.

Do you see the other shape? I don’t unless I focus on the line down the middle of the circle. Did you see it first, or after I told you where to look? The line makes a dove, which makes better sense on a cross.
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If you know Matthew 3:16, you know why. If not, here’s the NIV version of that verse . . . As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. Now, do you see the dove?

​It’s funny . . . when I turn it sideways, like this, I see the dove first. It makes me feel better as a Christian, now that I know it’s my perception that makes me see that darn pumpkin.

When the cross is vertical, I see the space, that jack-o-lantern. When it’s horizontal, I see the line, and that dove. What a relief!

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It depends on who’s answering. 70% of the people who voted on buzzfeed.com a few years ago said white and gold. The other 30% said blue and black. How could people like me get this wrong? Everyone knows the difference between blue and white, even preschoolers!
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It’s a matter of perception. My source said cover the dress so you see only white, then you’ll get the real color – BLUE! It must be one of those things eye doctors understand.

Sources: Posted originally by wiked on Tumblr  
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Color Illusions and Color Blind Tests (brainden.com)

​How about this one? It’s called a simultaneous contrast illusion, but which rectangle doesn’t change at all? The big one, or the one that’s long and narrow? One of them is really changing slowly from dark to light gray. The other one remains the same color. Which one is it?!

If you guessed the long narrow one, you’re RIGHT! The big rectangle starts out dark on the left, and gradually fades to the right. But the long narrow one – READY – it’s the same color all the way across. I’ll repeat . . . The whole narrow rectangle IS THE SAME COLOR! What’s the difference? It’s how you perceive the background around it.

​It makes sense when you know a little about combining colors. My nail lady and I love to do an accent nail. Some colors show up against the background. Some don’t. It depends on how close they are on the color spectrum. I have silver nails now, like the right side of that big rectangle. Patricia put white snowflakes on it. White shows up on silver! Why? Because the colors are different enough, but if we’ve used colors that are too similar, like pink and purple, they might fade together.

Source: Optical illusion - Wikipedia
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Picture Source: By Dodek - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1529278
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​And the finale . . . Sorry, this shirt isn’t an illusion. It represents a tie-dye yellow and gray one I almost bought. What stopped me? Whenever I looked at it, I saw maize and blue, Michigan colors, AKA that state up north. I absolutely couldn’t buy it!

Guess what! I wasn’t the only one who saw maize and blue. My friends at Casa Chic told me that a lot of people refused to buy this shirt for the same reason. Sometimes perception really is in the eye of the beholder!

Started 12/27                                                Finished 1/2  ​
I’m deep into Book 3, more than halfway through the series. There’s very little world building left, only one new kingdom to introduce. The chapters go back and forth between Kali’s point of view and Devon’s, like they did in Book 2.

Now in Book 3 Kalli and Devon have gathered their team to defeat the Demon. He’s been set free to grant a heart wish, kind of like genies do. After it’s granted, the Demon can do whatever he wants – like destroy the world for humans and open it up for demons. Buckle up! This story’s going to get bumpy . . . Kali’s going rogue!

​Amazon’s Description:
In the explosive third volume of The Hundredth Queen Series, the queen of fire faces off against a demon of ice.

Despite the odds, Kalinda has survived it all: Marriage to a tyrant. Tournaments to the death. The forbidden power to rule fire. The icy touch of a demon.

That same demon now disguises itself as Rajah Tarek, Kalinda’s late husband and a man who has never stopped haunting her. Upon taking control of the palace and the army, the demon brands Kalinda and her companions as traitors to the empire. They flee across the sea, seeking haven in the Southern Isles.

In Lestari, Kalinda’s powers are not condemned, as they are in her land. Now free to use them to protect those she loves, Kalinda soon realizes that the demon has tainted her with a cold poison, rendering her fire uncontrollable. But the lack of control may be just what she needs to send the demon back to the darkest depths of the Void.

To take back the empire, Kalinda will ally with those she distrusts—and risk losing those most loyal to her—to defeat the demon and bring peace to a divided nation.

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Started 12/24
I’m still reading the Hundredth Queen series to look at world building, but my mentor suggested I look at Harry Potter for my bat book. Why? She thinks the tone and complexity are what my story needs. I’ve worked with her since 2018, and I trust her advice.
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Harry Potter – that sounded so intimidating until I wrapped my head around it. I don’t have to write 800 pages or sound like J.K. I’ll write my story, and I’ll follow Harry’s footprints. Not exactly, but in a way that fits my bats and 2 humans.

Reading Harry as a mentor text is different than reading it for fun. It’s like taking a road trip. You read as fast as you can and enjoy the scenery. But now that Harry’s my teacher, I read a chapter at a time, then take notes. I’m looking at how Jo put the story together, and the elements I want to remember. I just finished chapter 3. Here’s a peek at my notes.

Chapter 1 is all about setting the stage – introducing the setting and characters. Jo doesn’t show the inciting incident between Harry and Voldemort. We’re told about it through the fallout. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on one incident per chapter. Chapter 2 takes place 10 years later, and Jo uses a birthday to show how Harry’s treated in the family. Chapter 3 focuses on a letter, and all of Mr. Dursley’s attempts to keep Harry from reading it. 
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Amazon’s Description:
Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

Started 12/24                                           Finished 12/26
​I started Book 1 because I wanted to look into world building. I got it in spades! The main character is forced to leave the convent to become the 100th queen. Kalinda survives, but the evil surrounding the rajah’s kingdom leaves her as a widow on the run.

In Book 2, those elements meld into a new challenge and a new world for Kalinda. She flees to Janardan for help, but their rajah plans to use his daughter and another tournament to take over Tarachand. It won’t be as simple as the rajah hopes . . . all the competitors have bhuta/superhuman powers. Hang onto your hats! You’re in for a bumpy ride and another great story!
Amazon’s Description:
In the second book in The Hundredth Queen Series, Emily R. King once again follows a young warrior queen’s rise to meet her destiny in a richly imagined world of sorcery and forbidden powers.

Though the tyrant rajah she was forced to marry is dead, Kalinda’s troubles are far from over. A warlord has invaded the imperial city, and now she’s in exile. But she isn’t alone. Kalinda has the allegiance of Captain Deven Naik, her guard and beloved, imprisoned for treason and stripped of command. With the empire at war, their best hope is to find Prince Ashwin, the rajah’s son, who has promised Deven’s freedom on one condition: that Kalinda will fight and defeat three formidable opponents.

But as Kalinda’s tournament strengths are once again challenged, so too is her relationship with Deven. While Deven fears her powers, Ashwin reveres them—as well as the courageous woman who wields them. Kalinda comes to regard Ashwin as the only man who can repair a warring world and finds herself torn between her allegiance to Deven and a newly found respect for the young prince.
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With both the responsibility to protect her people and the fate of those she loves weighing heavily upon her, Kalinda is forced again to compete. She must test the limits of her fire powers and her hard-won wisdom. But will that be enough to unite the empire without sacrificing all she holds dear?

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Started 12/11                                                 Finished 12/23
I’ve only read this book once, but I quickly fell under Kalinda’s spell. She’s the main character, and the heroine. It was written so well I wanted to find out who she was and where she was heading, so I read the whole series, all 4 books.

Now as I’m rereading it, I’m interested in how the author creates the Tarachand Empire based on ancient Sumeria. Think pre-Babylonia! That’s exactly what I need to do for my bat fantasy. To create a new world for them. The only problem . . . I can’t picture it yet, but reading this book gives me a sense of the kind of major world building that I need to do for those bats! Somewhere in my subconscious, I hope, I’m weaving this world together, bit by bit, character by character.

​Amazon’s Description:
In Emily R. King’s thrilling fantasy debut, an orphan girl blossoms into a warrior, summoning courage and confidence in her fearless quest to upend tradition, overthrow an empire, and reclaim her life as her own.

As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood in the ancient Tarachand Empire, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.

But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.

Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.
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Started 12/7                                               Finished 12/7 
I loved William the first time I read it, and I’m loving it again. This is another quest story like the Enchanted Forest series, but the main character is much younger. The plot . . . Mom has been missing for a while, and now Dad is too. That’s when a witch shows up. She wants something, but William must solve 3 riddles before he can figure out what she wants. Here’s to another successful quest!

PS – I picked this story because I need to reimagine my bat story. It’s keeping me in the middle grade range, but I haven’t found the perfect path to stretch it out. I think the witch character is the right way to go, but I think I need to look into some bat lore to help me push my story farther. Here’s to my new quest!
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Amazon’s Description:
A charming reimagining of Sleeping Beauty that “will appeal to younger middle grade readers who like fantasy, fractured fairy tales, and adventure” (School Library Journal)!
 
William and his little brother, Pinch, have been left alone at their home atop the mountain. When a witch named Morga shows up, William is forced to embark on a terrifying journey, the worst part of which is Morga herself. She has three riddles for William to solve, with only the help of an odd fellow who wakes up a different size every day and a tiny yellow dragon who can dream storms into reality.
 
Three riddles.
Three chances to lift an ancient curse.
Three chances to save his family.
 
Part fantasy and part fairy tale, and sprinkled with charming black-and-white illustrations, William and the Witch’s Riddle is a loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty and an adventure that’s just right for middle graders.
 
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Started 12/3                                                Finished 12/7
Wow! I knew there was a huge gap in time between Books 3 and 4, but I had no idea! Book 3 ended with Mendanbar locked inside his castle, and Cimorene on the outside, pregnant. She has the baby in the Epilogue. Then, they disappear.

That baby, Daystar, turns 16 in Book 4. That’s when Cimorene gives him his father’s sword and sends him off into the Enchanted Forest, with little more. His companions – a fire witch, a kitten, and a small dragon. Together they set off to discover the sword’s secret. It alone, will save the Enchanted Forest.

The best part about this series . . . the author’s note at the beginning of each book. Patricia wrote the back story for each one, for how they came into being. It’s helping me to reimagine mine!
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PS – My critique partners said the 1st two chapters are heading the right way. Their biggest piece of advice – GROW THAT PLOT! I’m working on it, but I’ll finish the last three chapters of the almost original story first.

Then . . .  I’m moving the story across the ocean to my lake in Tennessee. That’s the setting where I’ll work to imagine the fantasy, I believe it can be.
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Amazon’s Description:
One day, Daystar's mom, Cimorene, hands him a magic sword and kicks him out of the house. Daystar doesn't know what he is supposed to do with the magic sword, but knowing Cimorene, he's sure it must involve a dragon or two!​

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Started 11/29                                               Finished 12/3
Yes, that’s a blue donkey on the cover, but Patricia didn’t play with the Shrek theme. Killer (love the name) turned blue because he’s always so hungry that he eats before checking for magic.

There’s also a new main character. She’s one of my favorites from the 1st two books, Morwen! She’s leading the quest to find Mendanbar’s sword. The wizards have stolen it, and Morwen must find it before the Wizards steal every drop of magic from the Enchanted Forest.

Mendanbar can’t leave the forest – he also holds power that the Wizards want to steal. Cimorene goes since Mendanbar can’t. Kazul the Dragon King refuses to be left behind on this all-important quest.
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PS – I just finished the first two chapters of my bat book. The witch’s part is the most fun to write. It all started with a throwaway line in the 2011 version. A bat thought that the grandmother was a witch. Originally I said she was a nice old lady, but this time I decided to play with it. I’m having so much fun that I can’t wait to see where that witch takes me!

Amazon’s Description:
Those wicked wizards are back--and they've become very smart. (Sort of.) They intend to take over the Enchanted Forest once and for all . . . unless Cimorene finds a way to stop them. And some people think being queen is easy.​

​If you’re happy, and you know it . . . Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but not for everyone. I have three quotes from three famous people. I hope they help you find a little bit of happiness.

Quote #1 – There is in the worst of fortune the best chances for a happy change.

Who said it? Euripides! It came from one of his tragedies. Here’s a recording with a minute’s worth of information about him.    Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

If you’ve never heard of Euripides, I’m not surprised. He wrote tragedies about 2500 years ago. Would you believe only three writers from ancient Greece had their complete plays survive? I hadn’t heard of the other two either – Aeschylus or Sophocles. I think it’s amazing that a quote about happiness came from a writer who specialized in tragedies.    Source: Euripides - Wikipedia
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​This is how I’d illustrate Euripides’ quote, the worst of fortune leading to a happy change. It might be raining on their parade, but these two are still having fun, together.

​Who said it? William Carlos Williams. He was 20 when he wrote it in a letter to his mom. Back then he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania. Here’s a link to a minute-long recording about him.  Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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I’d never heard of William Carlos Williams. He was quite talented! He was a medical doctor, poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright. He may have been overshadowed by other writers, but he inspired the Beat generation of the 1950s and 60s. Who knew he lived a pretty normal life as a doctor for more than 40 years? Maybe that’s why his words still ring true to me!
Sources: William Carlos Williams | Poetry Foundation                       William Carlos Williams - Wikipedia
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When I think about what William said, this is what I picture . . . SHARING. One of my firm beliefs is that when you give, you get. When you get, you give. They work together.

Quote #3  – Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
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Who said it? Anne Frank. She’s unforgettable. She was forced to hide in an attic for 2 years during WWII. That’s when she wrote this sentence about happiness. Here’s a link to her recording. It’s about a minute long.        Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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This is Anne, back in July 1942. It was taken two months before her family went into hiding. Her father knew about some concealed rooms in his office building. They were hidden by a bookcase. The photo below is a cutaway of that building. If you go to Wikipedia, you can enlarge it and identify each room.
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​This model reminds me of a doll house, but this was no children’s game of hide and seek for the Franks. If they were caught, they’d be sent to a concentration camp.

Anne and her sister, Margot, were separated from their parents in November of 1944. They were sent to Bergen-Belsen, another infamous camp. They died a few months later, sometime in late February or early March. No one knows for sure.
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Anne’s father was the only one in the family who survived the war. Otto lost his wife, his daughters. When he returned to Amsterdam, he found his secretary Miep Gies. She’d helped them hide, and she saved Anne’s diary. Otto published it in 1947 because Anne wanted to be a writer. She succeeded! Her diary has been published in over 70 languages.
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​What Anne wrote about happiness is incredible. She was so young and so wise. She found happiness in writing, and I get to share it with you.

Information Source:  Anne Frank - Wikipedia

Photo Sources:  1. Her house: By Alexisrael - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31562690
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2. Anne and Margot’s grave: By Arne List - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=184880

​The 4 R’s, they’re for the Environment too? I knew schools had 3 – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, but I’d forgotten the ones for the environment . . . Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, and Renew.

Dear Earth is a story told in letters, with back matter that’s all about those 4 R’s. They inspired this post. I decided to review the book, and then write about those R’s in my blog.

My Review: http://www.rindabeach.com/my-reads/review-of-dear-earth-from-your-friends-in-room-5

Part 1 – REDUCE – That’s when you use less of something whenever you can, whether it’s plastic or energy. If you’re a kid, what could you do to make a difference?

Energy is tricky. You’re not driving a car, yet. But, you could turn off the lights whenever you leave a room. You could turn off the TV when you’re done watching. Both things reduce the amount of electricity your family’s using, and best of all, YOU’RE helping the planet! You go, kiddo!

Where do you use plastic? It’s in almost everything from toys to packaging. You could buy fewer toys by picking only the ones you really, really want. I love clothes. Here’s how I buy less. First I ask myself if I really want it (I don’t need any clothes. Ask my husband). Then I make myself wait a week or two after I see it. If I remember it, and I still really want it, I might go back and buy it. If I don’t, I just saved money to buy something else, and that’s a great thing!
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Whenever you buy something, look for a way to buy it with less packaging. Did you know you’re paying for each box, plastic container, or cords that it’s in? Here are a couple of things you might see at your house. Which one has the least packaging?

1. The Juice Box has at least 3 pieces of packaging – the box, the straw, and its wrapper. If the box came in a six-pack, that’s 18 pieces, plus the box. That’s 19 pieces of packaging total.
2. The Egg Carton has only one – the box. That’s it!
3. The Valentine Candy has at least 4 – the top and bottom of the box, the divider to separate the candy, and the seal around the box. There could be more, but 4’s my final answer!
4. The Juice Cans have at least one – for each can. They probably came in a six-pack, in a box or with plastic rings to hold them together. That’s 6 cans, plus the box/plastic piece. That’s 7 total.
5. And finally the Milk Carton probably has 3 – the carton, the cap, and the seal to keep the milk safe.

                                                              Surprise! The egg carton has the least packaging!
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​Part 2 – Recycle – That’s when you save things like paper, plastic, glass, and metal. They’re picked up, taken away, and made into something new.

Recycling looks different in different places. It depends on where you live. Some towns pick everything up once a week. Mine does. Every Thursday I put out a tub for paper, and a tub for everything else. Other places have a recycling calendar. You put out different tubs on different days.

1. It depends! I’ve never recycled a Juice Box because the cardboard’s coated with plastic. Check with your parents. Some communities will take the box and the straws. Some won’t!
2. Recycle the Egg Carton! If it’s all cardboard, it’s perfect.
3. Take off the bow. Then you can recycle the Valentine Box. It’s cardboard. You might be able to recycle the plastic divider, if it’s a 1 or 2. Ask your parents about the other numbers. A lot of places won’t recycle them.
4. Juice Cans – yes please! They’re metal and perfect to recycle!
5. It depends, again! The Milk Carton is just like a juice box, coated with plastic, so you’ll have to check. BTW plastic milk jugs use #2 plastic – recycle them.

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​Part 3 – Reuse – That’s when you use something again and again until it finally wears out. You could return, reuse, or recycle this coffee cup, but if you’re a kid, what could you reuse?
 
Think juice box. You can’t reuse them, but you could pick out a cup that you could use over and over again. Think paper – if you used the front, you could draw or write something on the back. I do that with every video script I write.

1. Juice Boxes can be reused like milk cartons at school. Rinse them out, and you can plant seeds in them. Once you have little plants, pull them out and replant them. Another idea – use those clean boxes to make blocks, or to build a miniature city.
2. Reuse Egg Cartons to store small things like earrings, or matchbox cars. You could also cut the cartons apart, then use the little cups for craft projects, like painting. Art teachers love them! One of my favorite teachers sent home a list of supplies she needed, like egg cartons.
3. The Valentine Box could be reused for storage. Use the whole box for something dear to your heart, like valentine cards or pictures of your family and friends. If you keep the dividers, think what might fit inside those spots, and you’ve got more storage for your stuff. That’s a really good thing!
4. Did you know if you save Juice Cans, turn them in the right place, that you can make money? MONEY! Who doesn’t love that?! Plus, do you see the pull tabs on top? Save those too, then turn them into your local McDonalds. Those tiny tabs fund the Ronald McDonald House. That’s where families of sick kids can stay, FREE!
5. I’d use the Milk Cartons as blocks or to build a miniature town with buildings of different sizes. They look too big to grow plants.

​Kids are creative! I bet you can think of more ideas to reuse trash. My suggestion, before you throw something away, think of how you can use it again!
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​ Part 4 – Renew – That’s when you can make something new again, or you use resources that will never run out. They’re always available, like the wind and the sun. They’re both considered clean energy, but they have problems too. Did you know bats are endanger because of windmills? The blades hit them when they’re out hunting for bugs to eat.
 
You can’t build windmills or solar panels, but can kids help to renew our planet? Think about cleaning up someplace where people litter. It could be a playground, a beach, or a street in your neighborhood. Think planting a tree. They breathe in the carbon dioxide we give off, and they give us oxygen. We’d die without it. 

​Think composting! That’s what you can do with leftover food, leaves, yard clippings, even newspaper. You put them in a box, or in a corner of your yard. Then you let nature take over. Decomposers like worms and bacteria will break down that waste and turn it into fertilized soil that you can use in your garden.  Maybe, that compost heap is already there!
 
One of these packages can’t be renewed, but the other 4 can. Can you find the nonrenewable package?

​The Juice Cans are the only nonrenewable, but you can recycle them. The other 4 – Juice Box, Egg Cartons, Valentine Box, and Milk Carton are made of cardboard. You can plant more trees to replace the ones cut down.
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​My conclusions . . . I was born in 1959, before the 4R’s. Back then people were beginning to think about pollution and the environment. No one recycled when I was a kid.
 
Fast forward 60 years, and people are using the 4R’s. Imagine where we’ll be in another 60? Green energy is new, but so was the automobile in the early 1900’s. Look how far they’ve come! I think the same will be true for green energy. It takes time and innovation to build new technology.
 
For now, I’ll keep doing those small things I’m doing, but I’m not alone. Lots of people all over the world are doing them too, and that gives me hope that things will improve. Here’s to tomorrow!

Started 11/26                                                           Finished 11/29
I don’t know what I expected, but this book wasn’t it. It was more! I’m glad it started with another author’s note. It grounded me. It helped me follow the twists and turns of the plot. I expected Cimorene to lead the story, but Patricia picked a new leading character. She wanted to broaden and deepen the story. She was right!  

Book 2 begins with Mendanbar, the King of the Enchanted Forest. He sets off on a quest to save it from the Wizards. His 1st stop – the caves of King Kazul and Cimorene. Be prepared – You’re on a magical journey that won’t stop until the Enchanted Forest is safe once more.

PS – I decided to rewrite/revise my bat story with the original five chapters. I need to explore it first before I look for ways to grow it. I believe in story magic, and I’m willing to let it take me wherever my story is meant to go.

​Amazon’s Description:
This time the wicked wizards are draining power from the Enchanted Forest. “This riotous sequel to Dealing with Dragons evinces the same wacky wit and skewed fairy-tale elements with the addition of a touch of romance. Once again, Wrede offers a story that will delight fantasy fans, particularly those who have relished Cimorene’s adventures in the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.”--Booklist

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Started 11/20                                                   Finished 11/26
A couple pages in, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to reread this book, but Cimorene, the main character drew me in, again! Now I’m hooked! I have to read her adventures, all the way to the end!

PS – I loved the author’s new introduction – it’s the story behind the story. Patricia Wrede and Cimorene had a real adventure just finding their way into this book! I hope they’ll help me find the adventure in my story.

PPS – I’m three days in, and dragon magic is working! I moved the setting from Lienen to Tecklenburg. It has history and atmosphere, from the ruins of an old German castle to the Teutoberg Forest where Herman the German battled ancient Rome.

My story’s grandmother changed too. The bats called her a witch in the old version. Now I think making her into a real one, opens a world of possibilities. I also changed her granddaughter’s name from Hannah to Anna, because a real Countess Anna lived in Tecklenburg Castle. She didn’t want witches burned, and my grandma and her Anna won’t either.  Imagine what I can do with that angle!

Finally, I did some research and picked out one kind of bat. I also discovered that all bats need help. Did you know they’re in danger worldwide because of wind farms? In Germany too! I read that if they turned the fans off when bats are out, it would save their lives! AND we’d only lose 1% of the power wind farms produce. WOW! Who knew this book could get my juices going and fill my head with ideas? WAHOO! 

​Amazon’s Description:
Meet the princess who rescues herself and the female dragon who would be king in this first fantasy adventure in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.
 
The traditional duties of a princess fail to please Cimorene, the daughter of a very proper king. She is quite sure that there’s more to the world than curtseying and courting. And what she finds in her chosen career as a dragon’s princess is sometimes more than she can handle. But fear not! Our intrepid heroine has just what it takes to keep her dragon, Kazul, safe and happy, while learning to fireproof herself, organize the treasure trove, and stay free from the clutches of pesky princes. 
                                         This updated edition features a new introduction by the author.​
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Me as a Reader, and a Writer – This is me, at a book event. I’m not just a reader anymore . . . I’m a writer. It changed the way I read, the way I write. Reading and writing are like opposite sides of the same coin. They work together.

I just finished a series about dragons, but I’m now starting another dragon series. Go figure! I thought I’d take a break, but today I started the first book in a series, again, even though I read it last year. I also bought the other three books in that series. Why? Because I thought it could help me as a writer.

I wrote my 2nd bat story ten years ago, and I haven’t touched it since. I pulled up the first chapter last week and revised it. It was easy . . . I’ve grown as a writer in the last ten years. My  critique partners said I needed to push the characters, but I knew that. Ten years ago they were flat, and they still are. I was surprised that a couple people thought I should grow the story, a lot. I didn’t see the potential, last week.

This week I outlined my five chapters (I designed it as an easy chapter book) and sent it in . . . The response was universal! I need to grow this story . . . it’s way bigger than my original plot. I knew I needed to up the stakes and add complexity, but now I know . . . if I want this story to find its own depth, I need to let it grow. To become more than I can imagine now. WOW!

After I finished my critique group, I didn’t know where to turn, where to find ideas. Then I remembered that books have always been my mentors so I found it. My next read is imaginative, creative, and a fantasy. It’s a great place to start rebuilding my story. I also thought I should look at fractured fairy tales, fantasies with princesses and witches. Maybe even bats and bugs. Here’s to my new voyage, and however long it takes!
         
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Started 11/16                                                      Finished 11/19
If you like intrigue and mystery, you’ll love Book 8. Elizabeth is home, but the people responsible for her kidnapping, and the dragon smuggling are still on the loose. Intelligence points to the Keepers’ Cotillion – the next date in a smuggler’s notebook.

Add in challenges for baby Pemberley – a trio of dragons are fighting to take away her estate. I’m on chapter 33, but the plot is still thickening. I can’t wait to see how it will all be resolved.

​​Amazon’s Description:
Territory challenges. Dragon battles. Baby dragon debutantes. When will the chaos end?

Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy longs for life to return to normal, at least as normal as it could be for a Blue Order officer who lives with more household dragons than most small villages. Having two sisters and an infant dragon to present as debutantes to the Order, make ‘normal’ difficult. The fine ladies—she-dragons one and all—of the Cotillion Board make it impossible.

Sir Fitzwilliam Darcy, Knight of the Pendragon Order never envisioned his oath to ‘protect and serve the interests of the Blue Order and dragonkind’ would demand immediate action. But only a Keeper can defend Pemberley’s territory against threats far too big for a baby dragon to manage. Threats against the Pendragon Accords themselves. And only the one closest to the Dragon Sage can protect her from the sinister forces menacing the Order, possibly from within its own ranks.

Can Darcy and Elizabeth ensure the Cotillion strengthens the Order rather than laying the groundwork for its demise? Meryton meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight readers of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike. Book 8 of Jane Austen's Dragons

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Started 11/9                                                    Finished 11/15
Book 6 starts with the she-dragons of human society. Who knew the Patronesses of Almac’s from other romance novels, would appear in this book and cause problems? Or, that real dragons would be easier to deal with?

But there’s more afoot . . . there’s a conspiracy going on in the Blue Order. People are selling live dragons, and/or their body parts. EWW! Somehow Elizabeth, her nephew, and his fairy dragon are kidnapped and taken aboard a ship heading to Bermuda. Escape seemed impossible until Darcy, the Wentworth’s, and a few minor dragons came to the rescue.

The best part, as always, was the interaction between the characters. It felt right! Occasionally, when the author told about the dragon trade instead of showing its awfulness, it felt preachy. It didn’t happen often, and the author always returned to the important part – the story! 

Amazon’s Description:
Smugglers. A kidnapping. A fire-breathing fairy dragon? The Blue Order is falling apart at the seams.
After months in Bath mentoring Dragon Keepers and Friends, Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy actually anticipates traveling to London for the Keeper’s Cotillion. Which says a great deal considering the she-dragons who make up the Cotillion board would very much like to show the Sage her proper place.

The she-dragons, though, are no match for what Sir Fitzwilliam Darcy finds waiting for him in London. Threats to the Order on every side, and Lord Matlock demands he keep them secret from Elizabeth. No one keeps secrets from Elizabeth.

In the meantime, Anne and Frederick Wentworth arrive in London with hopes of finally being accepted in good Blue Order society, unaware of the burgeoning maelstrom about to engulf them. Darcy manages to keep matters under control until a fairy-dragon’s prank unleashes sinister forces who perpetrate an unthinkable crime that could spell the end of the Pendragon Accords and usher in a new age of dragon war.

Can Elizabeth and Darcy, with the Wentworths’ help, restore balance to the Blue Order before the dragons decide to take matters into their own talons and right the wrongs themselves?
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​Started 11/2                                                    Finished 11/9     
I took a break from Maria and her dragons to read Persuasion. I wanted to look at the original to see how Maria worked her magic. My writer’s conclusion – She took the bare bones of the plot and the characters from the original. Then she wrapped them in dragon clothing to fit her story. My writer’s application – I should do the same thing with a story I’ve been trying to find my way into. Fingers crossed!

Now back to Maria and those dragons! Book 5 was about how Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth met their dragon friends and became part of the order. In Book 6 the dragons are weaving their ‘warm-blooded friends’ back together again. I’m a third of the way through, and I love what I’m reading! It’s fun!
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​Amazon’s Description:
Keeping a hibernating dragon should have been a simple thing. Should have been, but it was not. Apparently, nothing involving dragons was ever simple, at least not for Anne Elliot, junior Keeper to dragon Kellynch.

With the estate in debt, Anne’s father in denial, and the dragon’s treasure missing, Kellynch’s awakening is shaping up to be nothing short of catastrophe. Not to mention, there was the pesky matter of her own broken heart and resentment against the old friend who had caused it.

Captain Frederick Wentworth had spent his life making something of himself in the Navy. With the war that kept him employed at an end and a small fortune in prize money, he found himself beached and at loose ends. What was he to do with himself now—take a wife like Laconia, his dragon Friend, insisted? Not when none compared to the woman who had broken his heart.

Working as an agent of the Blue Order, managing dragon matters across England, seemed a much better alternative. At least until investigating one such matter sent him directly in the path of Anne Elliot, the woman who had ruined him for all others.

Now a royal dragon rages, a sleeping dragon lurks, and too many treasures have gone missing. Can Anne and Wentworth lay aside resentment, pride, and heartbreak to prevent Kellynch’s awakening from ending in bloodshed—or worse? Jane Austen meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight readers of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike. Book 6 in the Jane Austen's Dragons series.

Part 1 - A Little Family History: Do you recognize these characters? The Addams Family? I thought this post would be about two commercials, but whenever I start researching something, I find cool facts and images.  ​

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​This story started with Charles Addams. He created the original cartoon back in 1938 for the New Yorker Magazine. Charles drew another 58 cartoons in this series, and almost all of them were published in the 1940’s and 50’s, long before I was born.

​ The Addams family has come back in a few different incarnations since 1938. These photos are from two different TV shows from 1964. I was 5 back then.

 The 1st one is The Addams Family. I didn’t watch them, but this is their cast photo. Clockwise from the back left – Gomez (John Astin), Lurch (Ted Cassidy) Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax), Morticia (Carolyn Jones), and Wednesday (Lisa Loring).

​ ​ Photo Source:
- Cartoon By Charles Addams, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15992920
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- Cast: By ABC Television - eBay itemphoto frontphoto back, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19464844

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​The real theme came from the 1964 TV series. It was written and arranged by Vic Mizzy, a famous TV and movie composer. I knew Vic used finger snaps for the percussion section, but I didn’t realize he used harpsichord for the rest. Amazing!

​​If you’d like to hear it again, search out Addams Family Theme song, and you should see these two images. Click one, and listen. Don’t forget to check out the harpsichord!
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BTW - This is a harpsichord! I think it looks a lot like a piano. What do you think?

Information Sources:
​The Addams Family - Wikipedia 
​The Munsters - Wikipedia
​The Addams Family Theme - Wikipedia


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​​If you watch TV, you probably saw both commercials. I did, repeatedly! They got a lot of air time during October, when the movie, The Addams Family 2, came out.  

​I found the Progressive Addams Family commercial first. It used the original music, but changed the lyrics to add in the Progressive characters. They’re as funny and quirky as the Addams Family, and the contrast between them is clever!

My favorite moment – when Morticia asks Flo how long they’re staying. Morticia looks positively horrified when Flo says forever. If you love clever, search out this commercial and watch it one more time! Enjoy!

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​Information Source:   Go RVing Uses Real RVers To Create RV Orchestra Commercial To Promote Addams Family 2 Movie | RVIA

Part 1 – The Song that Still Inspires Me – Back in 2013 I wrote a slide show on Photo Peach about my writing adventure. It told my story starting in  2007 when I started . . . until I retired in 2015. Unfortunately I can’t use it any more . . . because Photo Peach went out of business.
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My slide show featured one of my favorite songs, Fantastic Voyage. It was released in January of 1981 by Lakeside, and it hit #1 on the R&B chart. I still remember it from my colllege days when I was into disgo and funk. This song still speaks to me, 40 years later, and it still makes me want to dance!

Information Source: 
​Fantastic Voyage (Lakeside song) - Wikipedia

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Album Cover:
By SOLAR Records - Discogs. Fair Use
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60306392

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​​I started my adventure last October, and I finished it this October. It was supposed to take 5 months . . . I should have been  done by February, but I couldn’t do it.
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I could have pushed to finish it. Or sent something in, but if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right. I persevered! I finally finished the 4th and final manuscript on October 20th. Two days later, I sent off my query.  I got an answer – that I could nudge the agent in a couple of weeks. I won’t. I’d rather wait until after Thanksgiving. No one wants to be nudged when they’re celebrating Thanksgiving.

It’s been a year! My safety story was done first. That was the one that got the ball rolling, but it took until March to get it right. ​

The fourth and final book was my dog story. I’ve worked on it since 2011. I’ve been revising those ants and that dog for a decade, and now finally,  they’re both ready to send out on submission. I’m so excited!

When I accomplish something special, I go shopping – usually clothes and jewelry to celebrate. This is what I bought when I thought I’d reached the room of requirement. It was 2011, and Bruce Hale said fine-tune and publish. That was my ant story so I bought a tunic and this necklace. I don’t have the tunic, but I still have the necklace. Whenever I look at it, I remember that moment. When I video tape this post, I’ll wear my agent audition challenge outfit. This time I picked something I’ll still want to wear in another 10 years.
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​​Bruce was one of the critiquers available at the 2011 SCBWI conference in Cleveland. He read the 1st ten pages and gave me suggestions. One of them was making sure the things I’d written about ants were true. My first page said Poppy’s heart was pounding. Bruce asked if ants had hearts. I said I didn’t know, and he said that, if I wanted to get it published, I’d have to find out. I did! 
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​I bought this necklace when I got home from the conference to celebrate. I thought within a year or two, Poppy would be published, and so would I. Oh, how wrong I was! I had so much more to learn! About ants and bees. I found photos and charts like the ones in this post to help me get my story straight!

I pushed the plot and the characters. I took a workshop in 2016 and discovered I had a saggy middle. That I needed more of the 5 senses in my story. That I needed to show, and tell how my characters felt.  It took me until the summer of 2020 to get things almost right. That’s when I added another character to the plot. Why? Because a writing friend suggested it. I didn’t want to add Chase right away. I never want to change. Ever! I have to think about it first, process it, but after a day or two I thought why not? Chase and Hunter, the bees in the story, add fun and humor, but together they play a jokester and his straight man. My critique partners think they’re one of the best things about the story.

The summer of 2020 I got all the way to chapter 18. The saggy middle was gone! But I got stuck . . . Then I started the Agent Audition challenge. I started back with chapter 1 in March of 2021. The hardest part of this voyage was bridging what I hadn’t changed since 2016; then matching them to the new chapters I’d revised in 2020. I kept pushing. I even found a chance to work with my mentor across 6 weeks. Instead of revising a chapter a week, I learned to do 5. It was hard! But so worth it.
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I didn’t let off the gas until I finished chapter 30 on the 26th, but, I won’t reward myself until Callie gives me the thumbs up on my last three chapters. When she does, I’ll message my friend Stacy. She does medical massage, and I think it’s the perfect reward for a year of very hard work!