​I’ve been wanting to write this post since the night I got home from the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference, but somehow life got in the way. Post after post came up, and they needed to go first. Now it’s November 20, and I’m finally going to write this post all the way to the finish, I hope 😊
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​​Part 1 – Critique Guidance:  I took part of my middle grade novel to the Cleveland conference, and I had an author/agent take a look at the first ten pages from Chapters 1 and 2. She gave me a lot of great advice – like what didn’t make sense to her (I only had 1 or 2 spots – Yay!)
 
She also pointed out places where I needed to push up the writing. How? There was one place I remember where she wanted more historical detail.  I wrote about the green tablecloths at the Pennsylvania State House. She wanted to know what kind, so I googled colonial tablecloths . . . I found many were made from damask. If you’re not sure what it is, it’s a woven fabric with a pattern you can see on both sides of the cloth. It’s mostly used in table linen and upholstery, and it was used in colonial times.
 
There were a lot more places where she wanted me to show emotion. I went back and labeled each paragraph with a feeling like happy or sad. I have a writers’ book that’s set up according to emotions, and it has a list of ways that people show it in their faces, in their body language, and by their reactions. I picked one for each paragraph, and then went back to edit them in. I’m still polishing. I’m on my 14th revision of chapter 1, but it’s worth the time to get it right. If an agent or an editor isn’t engaged by that first chapter, they’ll stop reading. Then they’ll send an email that says thanks, but no thanks. I know – I’ve gotten a lot of those over the years ☹
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Part 2 – New Chapters – Where I Am Now:  In September before the conference, I just finished Chapter 13. It’s now November 22, and I’m stuck on Chapter 17. I was on it last week too. I got stuck trying to find my way in. Once I write the 1st paragraph or 2, I’m on my way.
 
Whenever I start a new chapter, I find 3 sources of information on a founder. I copy all 3 articles, along with their sources. I save them in a file with the notes for that chapter. Then I go to the actual chapter, and I paste in the 1st article, the whole thing. With the 2nd source, I cut and paste it where it fits in the timeline of the original article. I do the same for the 3rd one.
 
Because of this, all the facts about Ben as a printer are together in my timeline. The same is true for his time in the Continental Congress, and so on. The best part about this ‘lengthy’ procedure, it tells me which facts I can use . . . I can find them in 2 or 3 sources. If it’s only in 1 article, I don’t use it. BTW – I did that last week.

I also researched my main character, Charles Carroll of Carollton. For Charley, I only needed to find out what he and his family were doing in 1789/90. Ben died in April of 1790, and I figured that out last week too.
 
I also needed to know what was going on in America in 1789/90, and yes, I did that last week too. I knew the first US Congress started meeting in 1789 in Federal Hall in New York City. I had a list of bills President Washington signed into law, and I saved my sources, for future reference.
 
With all that, I still couldn’t find my way in. This morning - Ureka! I found it. I could always picture Charley at Federal Hall, but I couldn’t picture how he found out how his friend died – what was going on at that moment, in a historical fiction kind of way. Today I looked at 2 bills Congress passed in April of 1790. Bingo! Now I can picture how he might have learned about it. 

​It’s late, so I’ll wait until tomorrow or Friday to write those 1st paragraphs. Once I get going, I let the story take me where it wants to go. Sometimes I take the wrong path. Then I reread until I reach the point where I left the right path and took the wrong one. I delete that section, go back, and rewrite it. Usually it takes me 2-3 days to write and revise a new chapter.
 
Why? It doesn’t have to be perfect. I have one chance with my new chapter and my Friday critique group. Then I have to move onto #18 for next Friday, if I want to finish all 57 chapters by the end of the summer. Fingers crossed – may the force be with me!

​Part 3 – My Goals for December: Starting next week, I’ll be part of 3 critique groups. One meets every Friday. Another meets on Tuesdays at least once a month, maybe twice if I’m lucky. I have a third that meets on Wednesday once, sometimes twice a month. My goal is to have one new chapter critique-ready for each meeting.
 
My Friday goal will be the hardest one to reach. I have to finish a chapter a week, and I only get one chance to get it done. That means by the end of the month, I’ll be sharing chapter 22 on December 29th. There’s no room for revision.
 
I take my Friday critique notes, add them to the chapter, and move onto the next one. I’ve been on chapter 17 for 2 weeks. That’s how long it took to write the first paragraph. It seems to happen whenever I move to a new setting. It’s harder for me to find my way in. If that happens again, I’ll fall short of 22.
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​The Wednesday group is now my polishing group. It’s the opposite of Friday. We’ll meet once or twice this month. I’m on my 14th revision of chapter 1, and my Wednesday friends have looked at this piece 5 or 6 times. My goal –to finish it, I hope, then polish chapter 2. My Wednesday group, they have a great eye for detail. They won’t let me call it polished until it’s just right, like a bullseye on a target.

​My Tuesday group is BRAND-NEW! We’ll have our 1st  meeting next Tuesday. We might meet again in December, or we might not. I have chapter 2 almost ready for them. I might start working on chapter 3, but only if my Wednesday group says 1 is done. If not, I’ll have them take another look at chapter 2. The most important thing this month – polish chapter 1. The second – to reach chapter 22. May the force be with me 😊

I’d like to thank Cassidy Walker at Media Consulting for reaching out and offering this post from Harriet Moore. It’s on one of my favorite subjects – pets, and how to pick the right one for you.
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Pets can make wonderful additions to family life by bringing us companionship, unconditional love, and an excuse for the family to spend more quality time together. In fact, 94% of pet owners feel that having a pet makes them happy, and 84% credit their pet with improving their mental health. If you’re thinking about getting a furry, scaly or fluffy friend but you’re not sure which animal is right for your family, follow these three important tips to help you choose.

​                                       Tip #1 - Consider how active you are or would like to be.  
Every pet needs some form of regular exercise, but some are more reliant on their owners for exercise than others. Dogs are the most demanding in this respect, requiring at least two walks each day, although the amount of ground you cover on each walk will depend on the size and energy level of the breed.

If you want to be more active, getting a dog is a great option. If you already get plenty of exercise and don’t have the time or inclination for much more, a small pet like a hamster or rabbit could be a better choice. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to provide your pet with toys or equipment for exercising, such as a wheel or climbing tower. You may also need to supervise their exercise or play with them to encourage them to get active.

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                                     ​Tip #2 - Assess your Home Environment and Available Space
Some pets need more space than others, and it’s not just their size that dictates how much space they need. For example, rabbits require an enclosure that is at least eight square feet and tall enough for them to be able to stand on their hind legs. They also need an additional 24 square feet of secure space in which they can exercise.

Some pets, such as dogs, need frequent access to outdoor space and are best suited to properties with yards or gardens. Others, such as cats, are content living indoors but require additional equipment such as climbing trees and scratching posts to keep them entertained and active.


                     Tip #3 - Determine your budget for upfront costs and monthly expenses
It’s vital that you consider the affordability of a pet in both the short and long term. Upfront costs include the pet’s price or adoption fee, essentials such as enclosures, bedding and toys, and vet fees for things like vaccinations and neutering. Ongoing monthly expenses include food, toileting supplies, flea and worm treatments, pet insurance, and grooming fees. 

​You should also think about irregular additional expenses, such as boarding or pet-sitting fees when you go on vacation. Dogs tend to be the most expensive pet, costing between $700 and $2,000 per year, while fish are one of the least expensive, costing between $50 and $200. Keep in mind the expected lifespan of a pet and ask yourself whether you can realistically commit to the ongoing expense for the entirety of the animal’s life.

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                                          Final Thoughts - Take your time to choose the perfect pet

​Welcoming a new pet into your family is a huge commitment, so don’t rush into it too quickly. Take time to research different pets thoroughly to understand what they need for a happy, healthy life. Next, consider your time and activity level, your environment and space, and your budget to determine whether you can give an animal everything it needs. When you choose a pet carefully like this, you can be sure they’ll fit into your family life perfectly.
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​       ​          Meet My Guest Blogger, Harriet Moore

• After earning a first-class degree in wildlife conservation from a leading UK university, Harriet has gone on to apply her knowledge as an ecologist. She’s passionate about looking after the planet and the creatures within it, and is keen to share her insight through her blog posts.       ​          

Part 1 Guess Who I Met at a Conference:  Look who I met at the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference! Two dino-mite illustrators – Mike DeSantis and Barry Gott. They both love to draw dinosaurs, and they both have books out about them. My writing friend, Aileen, and I ate lunch at their table, and she got this picture.

Part 2 Meet Mike’s New Dinosaur Book: Remember Mike DeSantis from yesterday? I’ve known Mike for a long time thanks to the Northern Ohio’s SCBWI chapter. Mike is a former president and a fantastic illustrator. I know . . . I draw stick people. I admire anyone who can draw something as intricate as the page he’s holding up.

Would you believe you can get it free, or that  it’s the cover to his Dinosaur Puzzle Book? Would you also believe Mike’s cover isn’t in the book? I’ll show you how to get it, free!

Step 1 – Click on this link and take a trip to Mike’s web site:
​       Mike DeSantis – Mike DeSantis illustration
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​Step 2 – When you get to Mike’s page, look for the Instagram symbol, and click on it.

Step 3 – Once you’re on Instagram, this is what you’ll find. The top part of the page has the directions on how to get Mike’s cover FREE.

Ready? Click on this link. It will take you to Mike’s publishing house. Publishing your own book is hard to do, and it’s even harder for people to find it. I know, I’ve published three books myself. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I hope I can help a few more people find Mike’s book.

PS – If you know someone who loves hidden objects, this book would make a perfect gift! Do you see the two green order buttons? Click on one of them if you want to buy the book. My suggestion, the first. If you pick Amazon, they get part of Mike’s profit.

Part 3 Meet Barry Gott and his Dino-Mite Work: I was shocked to see Barry’s newest book on display at SCBWI’s Illustrator Showcase. I’ve had his books since 2012. That’s because he illustrated Lisa  Wheeler’s dinosaur books. She critiqued my dog story back in 2012 so I had to buy one. My second graders loved them too, so  I bought more, until I retired in 2015.​

Imagine my surprise when he was introduced during the conference. I had to say hello! How many chances do you get to tell someone how much you admire their work? And on the other side of the coin, who doesn’t like to hear they have fans in second grade . . . my students loved his work too.
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Then lunch came, and I joined my conference buddy, and guess who was sitting beside me? If you guessed, Bary, you’re right! I decided to take this opportunity to let you meet him too!
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​If you can’t meet Barry in person, head to his website. It’s the next best thing! Here’s his link: Barry Gott illustration, and a screenshot of his homepage. If you click Illustration, this is also where you’d land.

If you move down to Books, you can see some of the stories Barry has illustrated, or written and illustrated. If there’s a star in the left-hand corner,  that means you can click, then peek inside. The first one is for the cover of Dino-Dancing.​

​And the finale . . . Barry’s newest pair of books! Both of them just came out on September 5th. His Hanukkah book is brand new, but his Christmas book came out in a new form . . . a board book! If you have littles who love dinosaurs, sports, and holidays, Lisa and Barry’s board books are perfect for them! 

Growing up, I never thought of myself as being creative. I was a worker bee. I loved getting things done, and I still do. But when I started writing, I began to recognize that I have an imagination, that I connect the dots differently than other people do.

As I started writing I began to create more things than I ever imagined. This post is all about those things. It’s also a call to you – to recognize your own creativity, that you  see the world differently from anyone else.

​​                                                                  The things I create most days of the week . . . 

#1. My Blog – I wrote the first one back in November of 2016. It was about swimming with dolphins. That was even the title. I thought I knew what I wanted to write, but it bombed. It didn’t work out the way I planned. Reality showed me what really worked.
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                                                 Link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/archives/11-2016   
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This is the one I wrote last night about OSU football trivia. I started the original post last year, but now I’m into my second season.

Over the last seven years, I’ve written over 445 posts. If you compare the first to the last, I’ve changed a lot as a writer since 2016.

Link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/trivial-pursuit-the-ohio-state-football-way-season-2


​                                                                               The things I create once a week . . .
                                                                                           (There are six of them.)

#2. My Reads – Once a week when my blog is done, I pick a book to share. In the early days,  they didn’t match. I just picked a book I loved from my local library and reviewed it. Sometimes I pick picture books. Sometimes chapter books. I post them on my website under the button, My Reads, and I also post it on Amazon. Did you know whenever you review a book online, it helps the author, the illustrator, and the publisher. It’s a great thing to do!

​Fandango Stew was the first picture book I reviewed back in October of 2016. Think Stone Soup, but Tex Mex style.                 Link: http://www.rindabeach.com/my-reads/fandango-stew-review
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Stick and Stone is the last picture book I reviewed this September. It’s about two opposites who discover that a common enemy can turn them into friends. Would you believe I’ve done over 235 picture book reviews in the last 7 years?  
                                     Link: http://www.rindabeach.com/my-reads/review-of-stick-and-stone

The Extincts was the first chapter book I reviewed back in September of 2016. I still remember it! It was that good! Imagine getting a job at a farm that specializes in extinct animals. I HAD to read it!
                                          Link: http://www.rindabeach.com/my-reads/review-of

The Peddler of Wisdom is the last chapter book I reviewed back in July. I read it a few years ago,, and it finally matched one of my blogs. Imagine traveling back in time to 17th century France, AND you meet the ultimate fortune teller, Nostradamus. Would you believe I’ve done over 106 chapter book reviews in the last 7 years?    Link: http://www.rindabeach.com/my-reads/review-of-the-peddler-of-wisdom


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​​#3. Vlogs – Once a week I take a blog and turn it into a video. Behind the scenes, I write and revise a script, make the slides, and finally practice and record the video. I post it on social media every Sunday at 4PM. You’ll find it on Facebook, Instagram, and X, but not on my web site. 

The first screenshot is from my first vlog. I recorded it back in May of 2021. It’s about the things I remember from visiting the Madison’s house in Virginia. I shared two links – the video and the original blog.     Video: https://fb.watch/5PUG1rUGDC/          Blog: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/the-things-i-remember-from-my-visit-with-james-and-dolly-madison

​The second is from last weekend. It started when I heard a song in an Amazon Prime ad, Always Something There to Remind Me. I did some research, and then I shared its story.  Here are its links:
                           Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=264622939816322
              Blog: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/always-something-there-to-remind-me

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#4. Saturday Reads– I also look for a picture book that goes along with my vlog. I write and revise a script. Then I practice and record it. Every Saturday at 4PM I post it on Facebook, Instagram, and X . Sorry, but it’s not on my web site.

I did my first read-aloud in November of 2021. I used a real book, but I didn’t like the way it looked. I shared the screen with it, but the book should fill it, not me. The title – Twenty-One Steps. It’s about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington D.C. If you’d like to see my first try at reading online, try this link:            Video: https://www.facebook.com/BeachGirlPress/videos/677802673204597
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​​​I did the second one last weekend. I use eBooks now because the book fills the screen. I’m tiny, except for the beginning and the end. I picked Lupe Lopez – Rock Star Rules. It’s about the first day of school, when a Kindergarten drummer meets her new teacher. Oh, no!
                                          Link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=332318882605065​

​#5. Your Newsletter– I work on one newsletter over the course of a week until it’s ready to publish. This is the original I started with. I would cut and paste it into an email. It looked great with its words and illustrations, but it was a real pain to set up.
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I moved on . . . I sent the letter as an attachment, and I didn’t have to reformat anything, but I ran into another problem. Some addresses have programs that won’t accept attachments for security reasons.

​Don’t worry! I still use this form. It’s my writing template for my blogs and book reviews. I write and revise here before I post anything online. It has served me well for seven years. 
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​​ This is the newsletter form I use now. It’s not pretty, but it’s easy to glance and find the links you’d like to check out. I’ll stay with it, until I find a better way to serve my subscribers. 

#6. Pinterest– While I’m working on my newsletter, that’s when I add new posts to Pinterest. If you’re looking for specific content that I’ve written, this is a great way to find it. I have boards set up by curriculum content and standards.

​#7. Google Spreadsheets– I add new posts to my spreadsheets while I’m working on my newsletter. You’ll never see it – it’s just for me. It’s how I track my content. I add each blog, book review, and video so I can find it and use it again. And you can use it too. How?
If you’re looking for something for your classroom or for your child, email me. I’ll use a key word to see if I can find what you’re looking for. If I do, I’ll send you the link. If I don’t, I might decide to write a post, just for you.

 
                                         The things I create and hope will be published, someday . . . 


​​#8. My Unpublished Manuscripts – I have eleven manuscripts stashed away in my computer . Someday I hope they’ll be published traditionally. I listed them below in the order they were created.

I have two manuscripts featuring bats. The first is awful. I dragged in Herman the German, and the second is a chapter book that combines fantasy with what really happened with my bat. Someone suggested a third version, a middle grade fantasy, but it’s in the idea stage for now. None of my bat stories are ready for submission.

​I wrote about ants next. It started as a chapter book and somehow morphed into a middle grade novel. It’s gone through three rounds of revision, and I’ve sent it out on a few queries, but nothing yet – maybe someday 😊

My dog story came next. I started with what really happened, but it didn’t work so I fictionalized it to move the story. It started and stayed a picture book, but it’s my least successful manuscript. Something’s missing, but I haven’t figured out what . . . yet.

My safety story started as an idea for a chapter book, but it became a picture book. It’s been sent on many queries, but it really needs the right publisher to take it on, and I believe in my heart ​someday that will happen.  

​The duck manuscript is done, but it needs the right publisher to take a chance on it . . . so it’s still waiting in the wings of my computer.​

​I’m writing a middle grade novel about the founding fathers. It’s historical fiction, but it still demands tons of research. It will be 57 chapters long. So far I’ve drafted 13 and polished the first three. My goal is to polish the first 50 pages, then submit it to agents and publishers. My fingers are crossed it will find a good home.

#9. My Published Books – I have three published books. They’re not sitting in my computer . . . they’re on Amazon and in local bookstores. It’s lovely when your writing turns into a real book.

​Neil came first in 2019. He’s in a chapter book that’s all about his first dream . . . to build a wind tunnel like the Wright Brothers. (For grades 2 - 4)
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Lake Fun came out in 2020, and Zoe in 2021. They both allow kids to read a story, then journal about their own experiences. Zoe is a chapter book, and Lake Fun is a picture book. (For grades 2- 4)

Did you watch college football on Saturday? I did! The Buckeyes were playing so I had to watch. I also had to shop, especially after that first quarter . . . YIKES! It’s how I help my team 😊
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​Did you catch the commercials during the game? I didn’t know, until I started working on this post, that there’s a new set of commercials to promote the Big 10.

If I saw their commercial once, I saw it two dozen times. I didn’t mind . . . it made my toes tap every single time. And it brought back memories of my days as an OSU student in the Shoe. Funny, I discovered I love the commercial, and I only like the song. There’s a difference . . . Hmmmm . . . 

​​Part 1 – The Fall Out Boys: I’ve heard of them, but they’re not one of my favorite groups. I looked them up this weekend . . . actuallly I looked up the song title. You can too. If you want to hear the Fall Out Boy’s video, look for a link with Shazam on the end.
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Sorry, I can’t share the link. It’s probably copyrighted which means Shazam would want money if I shared it. But, I can share the screenshot . . . that’s free.

If you play this video, don’t expect the football commercial. The Shazam video doesn’t even come close, but look for the one that’s linked to football, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. (I’ll show you how to find it tomorrow)

 Part 2 – The Commercial vs The Music Video: This was the last screenshot I captured. . . it’s the one for the commercial.  I googled ‘here comes Saturday night commercial.’ When I checked tonight, I found two more versions. Scan down the page to find them.
Why is the commercial better? It’s shorter, like 30 seconds, a minute tops. It showcases the chorus, the part that repeats. Add in a video, and you’ve got a hit that features the best things about Big 10 College Football like . . 
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The Players . . .​

​The Cheerleaders . . .

The Marching Bands . . .

Here comes Saturday Night and the Big 10!

PS –There’s more!! Coming in 2024, four more teams. . . USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington!

Finished 8/30
I bought this book back in 2011, and I’m still fascinated by the way Nell Gavin wove it together. I didn’t know it was her first book, but it’s a unique story that I could never write.

It begins with the death of Anne Boleyn. Then it takes a step I’ve never seen another historical book take. It sends Anne to the afterlife where she must examine her choices across time, then choose her next one. I still don’t know after rereading it so many times, if this is a reincarnation story or one of purgatory.

A spirit/guide helps Anne examine each life. Her job – to determine what she did well and where she fell short. She sees patterns through time – her mouth, her dislike of baby girls, her love of Henry, and after her last life as Anne Boleyn, her fear and anger with Henry.

Another pattern she finds across lives – the same people appear – Henry, Catherine, Princess Mary, and Henry Percy to name a few. The ending leaves me wondering in their latest reincarnation in 1970, if Anne and Henry can finally resolve their issues, or if they’ll have to return and try again.

Don’t forget to read the back matter. This book may be totally fiction, but Nell researched the characters of Henry and Anne in depth during the Tudor period, and she also researched the other time periods she put them in. THIS is a remarkable book.

Amazon’s Description:
Threads, a reincarnation fantasy, opens with the death of Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII), whose execution appears upon first sight to have resulted from her inability to produce a son for the king. As Anne reviews her life, and several previous lifetimes, she learns about the true depth of her relationship with Henry VIII. Furthermore, she learns that she has been given a hard task: to forgive him. William Faulkner Competition finalist for best novel.


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Finished 8/15
​This is the 3rd in a series of books. The best part – getting to meet a different part of the real Jane Austen in each one.

In the 1st one I met a young Jane. She’d imagined and written in the real church records three married names. The third one becomes a lost love in this new novel. It’s used to explain why Jane stopped writing from 1801-1804, and later it explains the idea behind Persuasion. It makes for a great story, and it fits the private side of Jane. She really asked her sister to destroy letters/manuscripts after her death. Maybe, some of them were written from 1801-1804.

In the 2nd one I met an older Jane. This novel was about sisters – her real one Cassandra, and the ones she wrote about, like the Dashwood sisters. The 2nd novel added a modern pair of sisters who connect them altogether. As a writer, there’s always a piece of me in each story, and I was fascinated to find this piece of the real Jane in Sense and Sensibility.

And the final book, we discover the first draft of Pride and Prejudice.  Imagine finding something like that – incredible! But it might also take something away from the real final story. I discovered Jane did have a real first draft that was titled First Impressions. It was written sometime after she met Tom Lefroy. Much of this novel revolves around that first draft. I can’t imagine writing a first draft or any other version of a Jane Austen story, but by following Claire Prescott through this novel, I got a sense of how the real Jane Austen might have changed over time, and how that first draft grew into Pride and Prejudice. 
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Amazon’s Description:
Claire Prescott is a sensible woman who believes in facts and figures, not fairy tales. But when she agrees to present a paper to a summer symposium at Oxford on her ailing sister's behalf, Claire finds herself thrown into an adventure with a gaggle of Jane Austen-loving women all on the lookout for their Mr. Darcy. Claire isn't looking for Mr. Anyone. She's been dating Neil -- a nice if a bit negligent -- sports fanatic. But when a tall, dark and dashing stranger crosses her path, will the staid Claire suddenly discover her inner romantic heroine? Her chance meeting with a mysterious woman who claims to have an early version of Austen's Pride and Prejudice -- in which Lizzie ends up with someone other than Fitzwilliam Darcy -- leads to an astounding discovery about the venerated author's own struggle to find the right hero for Lizzie Bennett. Neil's unexpected arrival in Oxford complicates Claire's journey to finding her own romantic lead. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is the story of a woman who finds that love isn't logical and that a true hero can appear in the most unexpected of places.

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Finished 7/31
This is the 2nd book in this series. I bought it back in February of 2012. I liked it, but I didn’t love it . . . so I never looked for book 3 until I started rereading the series this summer. This time, I’m surprised. I like this book a lot more than the other times I read it. Why? I’ll try to figure it out as I write tonight’s post.

This story takes up after the first one. Mrs. Parrot and the Formidables are back. Ellen and Mimi Dodge are the new main characters. They travel to England to fulfill their mother’s will. Their job, to take a walking Austen tour of England and find the right spot for their mother’s ashes. SHE was a HUGE Austen fan.

Their mother also sends Ellen a package. She’s the older sister, the responsible one like Elinor, the big sister in Sense and Sensibility. Inside the package – ready – Cassandra Austen’s journal! Can you imagine?! The best part – the 1st line says this is Cassandra’s private journal. To be read only by Cassandra. Then the journal says . . . That means you, Jane! That sounds right, like how a pair of sisters should sound.

And the younger sister, Mimi, she takes on the role of Marianne in this version, and I think that’s what caught my attention this time – the interplay of the original book, the modern sisters, and the Austen girls. Along the way, I got to know Jane and Cassandra Austen as real people, and I also learned how their relationship affected Jane’s writing. It turns out some things about sisters are universal, no matter the century. That’s what made me buy book 3, and it has Mr. Darcy in the title. I had to read it, even though this version is a paperback, not an eBook, and I’m a Kindle kind of reader!

Amazon’s Description:
Following Jane Austen Ruined My Life and Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, Beth Pattillo returns with her new novel. Inspired by Sense and Sensibility, The Dashwood Sisters Tell All follows two modern-day sisters as they set out on a walking tour of Jane Austen's England and uncover what might actually be Jane's long-lost diary.
 
Ellen and Mimi Dodge have never been close, but their mother's dying wish sends them on a walking tour of Hampshire, England, that follows in the footsteps of Jane Austen. Their mother also left them something else: a diary that belonged to Jane's sister Cassandra. These pages shed light on the secrets that nearly tore the Austen sisters apart and inspired one of the greatest love stories of all time. They also bring Jane to life in a way that no one has ever seen before: through the eyes of her sister. As the Dodge sisters embark on their walking tour, they too are drawn together in ways they never expected. They also discover that Cassandra's diary holds secrets, and someone doesn't want Ellen and Mimi to discover the truth. As they stumble on their way toward love, the women learn how Jane and Cassandra Austen inspired the original Marianne and Elinor Dashwood and come to realize that despite their very different personalities, they are a vital part of each other's happy endings.

Finished 7/14
I bought this book back in 2010 because it caught my attention, and it kept it . . . I reread it every couple of years. Emma Grant was betrayed by her husband, and by Jane Austen. Now she’s out to get her life back by tracking down Jane’s letters. They’d been hidden away by the Formidables. BTW – that’s the nickname Jane and Cassandra were given by their siblings, nieces, and nephews.

Lucky us! We’ll travel with Emma to the places where the real Jane lived – her father’s vicarage at Steventon, London, Bath, Chawton Cottage, and Lyme Regis. At each destination, the current Formidables handed Emma a task that gave a fictional twist to Jane’s life.  

Along the way I got to know the real Jane through Emma’s eyes, but the trip to Chawton changed mine. Jane sat at a simple table with her writing desk. That’s where she wrote, edited, and revised all her novels. It sat between the family dining room and sitting room. I decided then and there that if Jane could write in the midst of her family, I could to, and I still do.

​Amazon’s Description:
English professor Emma Grant has always done everything just the way her minister father told her she should -- a respectable marriage, a teaching job at a good college, and plans for the requisite two children. Life was prodigiously good, as her favorite author Jane Austen might say, until the day Emma finds her husband in bed with another woman. Suddenly, all her romantic notions a la Austen are exposed for the foolish dreams they are.
 
Denied tenure in the wake of the scandal and left penniless by the ensuing divorce, Emma packs up what few worldly possessions she has left and heads to England on a quest to find the missing letters of Jane Austen. Locating the elusive letters, however, isn't as straightforward as Emma hoped. The owner of the letters proves coy about her prize possessions, sending Emma on a series of Austen-related tasks that bring her closer and closer to the truth, but the sudden reappearance of Emma's first love makes everything more complicated.
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In the end, Emma learns that doing the right thing has very little to do with other people's expectations and everything to do with her own beliefs. Laced with fictional excerpts from the missing letters, Jane Austen Ruined My Life is the story of a woman betrayed who uncovers the deeper meaning of loyalty.

​

Finished 6/30
I loved the first book, and when I found out there was a sequel, I HAD to buy it. I love parts of the new one, but I didn’t quite love it all. Something just didn’t work. I think the beginning and the middle are a little off, for me.

My guess why – it’s when two other characters take the lead. They worked in the first book, but they didn’t this time. Caitlin’s husband Thane pops in to tell the story. I think his part could have been written differently, to keep the action/plot with Caitlin. She is the star of the story.
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The other character is the villain, Pamela. She tried to kill Caitlin off in the first book, and she’s hatching a plot in this one too. It totally works at the end. Thane’s part does too. But before that, they stopped me, and I had to push myself back into the story. Nothing’s worse for a reader! I wish Pamela had been injected in, in a different way. 

What I did love, a lot . . . this story takes place after the happily ever after, which wasn’t quite so happy. Caitlin didn’t become the perfect wife or countess. She even believed her husband wanted to take their toddler, so she took him first and ran. Her next problem – to hide, so that her rich, well-connected husband couldn’t find her.

Caitlin’s solution – to get a job at a haunted castle. The owner – a necromancer. I guessed what he was, but I looked it up, to be sure. The earl is a sorcerer. He can communicate and command the dead. He summons their spirits, then won’t let them go. The worst part – his wife died giving birth, and he’s trying to bring her back, when he should have let her go. The other worst part – he won’t acknowledge his own son for reasons you’ll have to read for yourself.

I may not have loved the beginning or the middle, but the author stuck the ending. Stay with her when Thane and Pamela interrupt the story. It’s worth the ‘fireworks’ of this ending. Really!

Amazon’s Description:
The long awaited sequel to For Sale: Old Manor House (free ghosts included) tells what happens to the newbie countess, Caitlin McLeod Edmunds, when life tosses a serious glitch into her plans for a 'happy ever after' ending. With bank accounts and credit cards frozen by her furious husband, the Earl of Eastwythe, she is forced to look for anything that might support her tiny troop of runaways that includes her toddler, Colin and long time friend, Margaret.

Desperation has them answering an advert in the London Times, asking for live-in staff at Moorcrest Manor, the most haunted manor house in all of England and the family seat of the Earl of Dunwellen, who is reportedly in league with Satan. Equipped with her previous ghost hunting skills and believing in her spirit protectors, Caitlin talks Margaret into giving it a try.

​

Finished 6/16
I bought this book back in July 2011. I’ve read it a couple times since then. I love a good ghost story, and this one is great. It reminds me of Ghostbusters, only from the Midwest, not New York City.

Kaitlyn sees ghosts so she starts a ghost busting business with her two best friends. Moira is a Goth girl, and Wendell is into anything electronic. His specialty – inventing gadgets that can find and record ghosts.

Their business is pro bono, and they can prove whether your house is haunted or not. Usually it’s not, but if it is, they’ll help the ghosts – to move on, find peace, or if necessary, they’ll help you make a quick get-away!

The plot reaches light-speed when the ghostbusters get an all-expense trip to the United Kingdom. Then, things get interesting. I’m rereading the sequel. Keep your eyes open for that post sometime next week. 

​Amazon’s Description:
Gothic collides head-on with 21st century high tech in the isolated Cornish manor house hunkered on the cliffs above the restless sea, where the dead have their own plans for the living, as American paranormal investigator, Caitlin McLeod, is about to find out, when she accepts the assignment of ‘debunking’ a haunting at Mor Alys Manor.

Growing up with paranormal entities in all shapes, sizes and species in the Victorian mansion of her eccentric Aunt Penelope Trevelyan, who probably would have been burnt as a witch in another time, Caitlin had been told countless times that she was fated to travel to Cornwall “when the time is right” and find? Her aunt had said it would be love with a happy ending, but Caitlin had her doubts. So far, she hadn’t found any man she was willing to spend more than a few hours with let alone a lifetime. But when she opens the letter from Thane Edmunds requesting her help, she feels a strange, intense pull that shoots a shiver of awareness through her entire being. Deep down, all the way to her toes, she knows the time was finally “right” and destiny had come banging on her door.

Caitlin’s knack for ghost hunting had started in her college years, when she founded North East Paranormal Investigative Services, largely to protect her Goth friend and then roommate, Moira Smoot, from her own inept dabblings in the occult…something that had almost cost her more than her life. Since then, rules had been set up to help guard their safety in a setting, where anything could happen. Rules an excited Caitlin seems to forget, when she arrives in Cornwall ahead of her team and disregards NEPIS’ first rule of ghost hunting….”never go in alone”… by driving out to the site for a quick look around before night fall. Expecting a caretaker, she is disappointed to find the dilapidated manor locked up tight and no one there, at least no one living, for she senses more than one pair of ghostly eyes witness her arrival.

Circling the outside, listening to the pound of the surf on the rocks below the cliffs, she finds the lock broken on the kitchen door and enters. Looking around the fast darkening, cavernous room, she notices that a cot had been set up in one corner and the swing door to the rest of the manor both padlocked and painted with a crudely drawn red cross. Knowing that can’t be good…knowing she should get her keister out of there, but fast, and head back to the safety of the village, she finds herself battling an inexplicable compulsion to spend the night…and losing.

All alone in the dark, she begins to think she may have made a “horror”ble mistake, when she senses not only the usual ghosts and spirits that go ‘bump in the night’, but also the distant presence of Colin, the long dead fifth Earl of Eastwythe, now a restless incubus who plots to ensnare her in his delicious web of dark sexuality, since feeding his lust has been his sole antidote to an eternity he finds both “ducedly boring” and very lonely. But, listening to Caitlin moving about in the kitchen from his attic lair, he feels a twinge of conscience and decides to leave her “unmolested”…at least for the night. And so Caitlin, wrapping herself in the comforting memories of the past…cold…hungry…and more than a little scared, waits out the long, dark night unaware she has been given a short reprieve. One that Colin already regrets.

But when Thane Edmunds arrives in the morning, and hears Caitlin knocking out the hinge pins in his kitchen door in order to satisfy yet another compulsion to see the rest of the manor before she leaves for the village, the atmosphere heats up quickly in the old manor.

Confronting an angry Thane on the opposite side of the door, Caitlin manages to hold her own somewhat shaky ground, until the door falls inward and she finds herself just inches away from the most ‘beautiful man’ she has ever seen….a dark mix of fallen archangel and pirate…with a very disturbing way about him!

​Have you ever checked out my website? I hope so! Unless you visit every day, you’re going to miss something. Algorithms on social media decide what you see, and what you don’t.

The only way to be sure you’re reading my posts is to subscribe to my newsletter. It comes  out once a week, and it features a brief description and a pair of links for the blog. If you’re interested, click away. If it isn’t your cup of tea, try the next newsletter!


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Part 1 – Links to My Blogs:   ​The heart image is from the newsletter I’m working on for this week. If you catch this post on social media, you’ll get a head start on everyone else. Its title – What Love Can Do – Inspiring Quotes for You and Me. I found 3 great quotes and the people who thought of them first. My blog link is a great way to take a picture walk through the post, and the video link is a great way to listen while you do other things.

 The blog link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/what-love-can-do-inspiring-quotes-for-you-and-me
                                The vlog link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=615693403939931

The two bat images are from a newsletter I already sent. If you missed it, now you can check out the post. It’s one of my favorites. The title – I Am the Bat Lady, Times 4. Would you believe I’ve had 4 close encounters with bats over the years? Here are my true stories.

                              The blog link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/i-am-the-bat-lady-times-four
                                 The vlog link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=58517693043825

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​​The other post was titled, I am Bat Lady, Times 4, and its newsletter has a pair of book links for you. I reviewed the first, Amara and the Bats, with its bat-loving girl. The second came from Saturday Reads, Beautiful Bats. Funny, I never thought about beauty when I met mine.
 
                Book Review: http://www.rindabeach.com/my-reads/review-of-amara-and-the-bats
                        Saturday Reads: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=805185557949975

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Part 3 – Links to the Future: I don’t write my newsletters right away. It takes time to write, research, and find photos to match the story I want to tell you. Then it takes more time to write a script and prepare a vlog. That’s where I turn a blog post into a video for Sundays. They’re similar, but you read a script out loud differently than you’d read it silently. So I have to write it differently than the original post.
 
It also takes time to find a book to read aloud on Saturday. Then I prepare a quick, short script. There’s more! Time to put all of my links into Pinterest, then into a spreadsheet where I save my most important information. I have to find it later, in case you or I need it. When that’s all done, I’m finally ready to send out that newsletter.
 

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You’ll probably see these two posts with a vlog and a Saturday Reads’ book in about a month. Anything good takes time. Their newsletters will come out a week or two after that. If you’re interested in my content, the best/easiest way to find it is to subscribe to my newsletter. I hope you’ll consider a subscription.

​This post started with a search link that was supposed to find the most popular song on the day you were born. When I finally checked, it stopped working. Bummer!
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But I didn’t quit. I used the search bar to ask, “What was the #1 song in May of 1959?” It worked! Follow me back in time, and I’ll share the play list of my life.

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​Part 1 – From Birth to Graduation: These three songs were popular in May of 1959. That’s the month I was born. I didn’t recognize the titles, but when I played them, I remembered two – the first and the last. My sympathies to the one in the middle – I didn’t remember it at all. 
​

Fast forward to May of 1977. That’s when I graduated from Wapakoneta Senior High, and these were the songs I listened to on the radio. I had to look up two but recognized them right away.  

My favorites – Don’t Leave Me This Way, Southern Nights, Sir Duke, and I’m Your Boogie Man. They all made my toes tap.
​​

Fast forward to May/June of 1981. It was time for another graduation. I’d finished college and graduated from The Ohio State University.

I remember every single song, and my favorites have a beat you can dance to – Rapture, Kiss on My List, Morning Train, and Stars on 45 Medley.

​ Part 2 – A Family Affair: My husband and I got married back in June of 1985. It’s hard to believe that we’ll celebrate our fortieth anniversary in two short years.

Looking at both rows of songs, most of them weren’t my favorites. Ballads are OK, but I love dance music. I managed to find three oldies and goodies – We are the World, Everybody Wants to Rule the World (No, I never did), and Sussudio.
 

In May of 1987 I was getting ready to become a new mom. One of my all-time favorite songs was I Knew You Were Waiting because I was waiting, to have a baby boy.

I also loved Head to Toe and I Wanna Dance with Somebody. They both made my feet tap, but I was too tired to dance. I had a new baby to take care of. 

My second baby boy arrived in November of 1989. These songs were on the radio, lots of ballads, but I still found two favorites . . . Miss You Much and Blame It on the Rain.

There was another song that became an all-time favorite, but it’s not on this screenshot – Nothing’s Going to Stop Us Now by Starship. It’s how I felt about my new baby boy. 

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In March of 1992 I was waiting on a baby girl. No radio in the car . . . I had Disney songs on tape playing for the kids.

This screenshot has a lot of ballads, but these three still found their way into my memory – Black or White, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, and I’m Too Sexy (It made me laugh). My only wish – that I had a special song for my daughter.

Part 3 – My Pursuit of Writing: In June of 2007 I started writing, all because I held a bat on a mop in Germany. That experience made me start, and it took me two years to finish the bat’s story.  I was still teaching all week and writing on the weekends.

I knew the songs on this screenshot, but they weren’t my favorites. There were other songs I liked better.

​I finished that bat story in 2009. It was exciting, but I’d pushed it as far as I could with my friends. I needed to find someone who could tell me what was good, and what to work on. I took it to Highlights in July. There was something there, but I had a lot to learn about how to write a children’s book.

I checked out two of these song titles, but it turns out I knew them all from the radio. They were OK, but my favorite from 2009 was not even on the list. The title – Just Dance. It figures a song about dance would be my favorite.
 

​In 2019 I published my first book, Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream. I decided to write it in 2018. That’s also when I decided to self-publish. It was the only way I could get my story out in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.  It’s my bestselling book so far!

There was only one song to make it to #1 over the summer of 2019 – Old Town Road. I’d heard of it, but I didn’t recognize the lyrics or the melody. The other song titles were # 1 in the years following 2019. I wish I recognized them too.

There’s nothing better than a new baby, unless it’s a grandbaby. I’m blessed, I have three. The newest one arrived on July 30. I’ve been waiting to use this on my blog since I played it at a baby shower last year. It was tricky! I got one or two right. YIKES!

Try it yourself and see how you do. First find each country on the map. Then find the baby word that matches it. Good luck! 
                                               
                                                                                      Part 1 – European Babies:
                 Here are five countries. Guess their baby word, then check your answers below the map. 

Ireland       Sweden        Finland        Italy        Spain


bebé        vauva        leanbh        bambino         bebis

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​                                                                                                             And the answers are: 

In Ireland a baby is called a leanbh. In Irish Gaelic you’d say ‘Lan-iv.’

           
              In Sweden you’ll hold a bebis. In Swedish you’d say ‘BEE-bis.’

In Finland your baby is your vauva. In Finnish you’d say ‘Va-va.

​                  In Italy you’ll have a bambina, a girl, or a bambino, a boy.
          That’s ‘Bam-be-na’ for an Italian girl, and ‘Bam-be-no’ for a boy.

Part 2 – Babies from Africa and Eastern Europe:
Here are five more countries. Two are from Africa, and three are from Eastern Europe.
Guess their baby word, then check your answers below the map. One country has two words for baby.
Can you guess which one it is, and which baby word is used twice?
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​                     
                      Africa (2)                        Eastern Europe (3)
                 Chad     Egypt            Turkey     Croatia      Russia


               mladenets         bébé         dijete        طفل         bebek

                                                                                                                        And the answers are: ​

In Chad a baby has two names. In Arabic a baby is called a طفل [tifl].  It sounds like 'tif-lun' to me. In French it’s called a bébé. It sounds like Be-Be.
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                        In Egypt you’ll hold a طفل [tifl], like you did in Chad,
                                              and it still sounds like ‘tif-lun.

​In Turkey your baby is your bebek. In Turkish you’d say ‘ba-Bek.’

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        In Croatia you’ll have a dijete. That’s ‘De-A-day’ in Croatian. 

​In Russia you’ll hold a mladenets, In Russian you’d say ‘mu-la-D- nyetz.’ In Cyrillic it would look like this младенец.

​                     India           Vietnam           China           Korea           Japan


                     赤ちゃん           बच्चा            đứa bé              아기              嬰兒

                                                                                                                               ​And the answers are: 

In India a baby is called a बच्चा. I have no idea what that says in Hindi, but it sounds like 'veh-Cha.'

 In Vietnam, you’ll hold a đứa bé. 
In Vietnamese you’d say ‘Lu-Bay.’   

​​ In China your baby is your 嬰兒. In traditional Chinese you’d say ‘Ping-ye.’

                In Korea you’ll have a 아기. In Korea that’s ‘ah-Gee.’ 

In Japan you’ll hold a 赤ちゃん.
In Japanese you’d say ‘ah-kuh-Chan.’ 

Have you ever read a Jane Austen book, or seen one in a movie? I’ve loved her novels forever, but I never wondered about Jane. Not until I started reading a series of books by Beth Pattillo. That’s when I looked her up on the internet.
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Part 1 – Four Portraits: The first Jane is the only portrait of her in existence. Her sister Cassandra started it sometime around 1810, but she never finished it. She used pencil and watercolor. It’s small in size, only 4-1/2 inches x 3-1/8 inches, but you’ll find it in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The second Jane is a watercolor done by James Andrews. Can you tell it’s based on Cassandra’s original sketch? It found its way into A Memoir of Jane Austen that was written by their nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh in 1871. Every other portrait of Jane is based on this one, including the one on the Bank of England’s £10 note.

​Look below. There's another set of portraits. The first one is a silhouette of Cassandra, Jane’s sister and her best friend. The artist is unknown.

The second is a painting Cassandra did in 1804. This time she painted a back view of her sister using watercolors. Interesting – Jane allowed her sister to capture her image from the back, but not from the front. Remember the one Cassandra didn’t finish?
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Part 2 – Jane’s Childhood Home: This set of pictures came from A Memoir of Jane Austen published by her nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, in 1871.
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​Jane’s father was a minister, and this is the parsonage at Steventon where Jane grew up. It’s long gone, but it once sat in a valley surrounded by meadows.

The second picture is her father’s church, St. Nicholas in Steventon. Jane attended services from the time she was born in 1775 until her father retired in 1800. You can still visit St. Nicholas, but its name is now Steventon Church.
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The Move to Bath: When her father retired, he moved the family to Bath. Their new address: 4 Sydney Place. It was 50 miles away from Steventon, but it must have felt a world away for Jane.

She grew up in a quiet country village, but Bath was a busy city. It drew people from all over England. They came for the mineral water, and for the high society.

When her father died unexpectantly in January of 1805, Jane ended her time in Bath. She, Cassandra, and their mother were left without a home or financial resources of their own. They were dependent on the charity of Jane’s brothers.
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Part 3 – Her Final Two Homes: These two pictures are from Kent. The first is Godmersham Park, the home of Jane’s brother Edward. He was adopted by a wealthy family as their son and heir. Jane started visiting there in 1798. The last time was in 1813. Godmersham Park was her model for great houses like Pemberley and Rosings Park.

The second photo is her last real home, perhaps her favorite. Chawton was a cottage on her brother’s land at Godmersham Park. Edward gifted the cottage to his mother and sisters early in 1809. Jane spent the last eight years of her life there. She did her best writing in the country, first at Steventon and later at Chawton. She was a country girl at heart.

Jane wrote of her trips to London in books and letters. If you’d like to visit her in Town, click on this link: Jane Austen Goes To London | Guide London   

Her Final Home and Resting Place:  The next set of pictures are from Winchester. The first is a cottage on 8 College Street. Jane had been sick since early 1816, but she refused to give into it, or to stop writing.
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Her sister Cassandra and brother Henry brought her here for a cure in May of 1817, but it was already too late. Jane died on July 18, 1817. She was only 41 years old. Today her symptoms would have been diagnosed as Addison’s disease or Hodgkins’s lymphoma. 

​The second photo is of Winchester Cathedral. That’s where Jane Austen is buried, not because she’s a famous author. She’s there as the daughter of a clergyman, and the sister of another. That’s what Jane wanted, a private life. When she died, her name wasn’t on her book covers. She was listed as an anonymous lady, the way she’d requested.

If you’d like to learn more about Jane Austen, click on this link: Jane Austen - Wikipedia
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Winchester Cathedral reminds me of a song from 1966. It’s a little quirky, but fun. Here’s the search link. Click, then look for the video, and give it a listen: winchester cathedral song - Search (bing.com)