Month: July 2023

Sunflowers In A Full Moon #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 31, 2023

A field full of sunflowers on a bright morning? Or rolling hills on a clear, full moon night?

I hate these kinds of questions. I don’t believe in shades of black or white. Well, they exist, but answers to problems often aren’t strictly defined.

Have you ever seen a field of sunflowers in the light of a full moon? A lifetime ago, I was on a bus trip halfway across the United States when I woke in the middle of the night. I’m not even sure what state we were driving through, and it took me a while to figure the scene outside the windows, but on either side, there were fields of sunflowers. The moon was playing hide-n-go seek in the clouds, and, aided by the bus’s headlights, I’d catch glimpses of individual flowers.

It was a long trip, and before too long, I drifted back to sleep. I slept a lot on that trip, in the days before cell phones and tablets, especially thru desolate landscape of Nebraska. But I ended up in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains., so it was worth the trip.

I once came across a cluster of wild sunflowers in the mountains of Colorado after a rainstorm, their heads rotating to seek out the sunshine as the storm clouds moved away. I guess I’ve been honored to experience several versions of the answer.

Now I have returned to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, where the trees can get in the way of the scenery. I don’t do much driving at night anymore, because my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be. But I love the soft sounds of the night. The quiet bird calls, the soft hum of insects, the whisper of the evening breeze. 

Back to the original question—a field of sunflowers or rolling hills? I’ve made my choice. How about our other authors? Check the links below to see what they choose.

Until next time, please stay safe. 

P.S. Don’t forget I will be at the Pleasantville PA Community Festival Aug 3-5. If you are joining the fun, stop by and say hi!

 

July 31, 2023

A field full of sunflowers on a bright morning? Or, rolling hills on a clear full moon night?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Chug Chug! Puff Puff! Ding Ding! #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 24, 2023

If you were a beloved children’s character, which one would you be?

There’s an entire world of beloved children’s characters that I know nothing about. Many have been added in the last decade. So, I am going to go old school. Really old school.

Sometimes, I’m the one everyone depends on. Getting things organized, making sure there’s food in the house, and bills get paid. Even when I’m burnt out, I keep pumping. Yep, I’m The Little Engine That Could.

The basis for the most popular version of the story was written in 1902, although the book most if us are familiar with was published in 1930. That predates even me. The story has gone through many revisions to bring it up-to-date, and I have, too.

Like the Little Engine, sometimes I get tired and want to give up, but with another Chug and Puff, somehow I keep going.

What children’s character are you? Tell us in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the other authors on this hop by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

July 24, 2023

If you were a beloved children’s character, which one would you be?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

 

My Most Favorite Cover #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 17, 2923

Post your favorite cover from your books and explain why it’s your favorite.

One? Just one? I’d offer you my entire gallery of book covers because I’m in love with my cover artist’s work. (Shout out to you, K.M. Guth.) Can I pick one and a backup?

I’ve learned a lot watching her do her magic. Not enough to duplicate her results, but at least I understand what she is doing and why. I can even offer intelligent suggestions! She may shoot them down, but rarely, I come up with something worthwhile.

Back to struggling to pick my favorite. Here it is.

 

 

I love the ferocity in the model’s eyes. She looks like she could tear you apart with just a glance. It fits my main character’s personality completely. What really amazes me is that at least three different pictures have been combined to create this image.

And I’m no artist, but I love how the background colors draw attention, and how those colors are reflected throughout the cover. To my eyes, the cover is a work of art.

I will confess that Lori, the main character of Wolves’ Gambit, is also one of my favorites, and that may have influenced my choice of cover.

Here’s the blurb.

Wolf-shifter Lori Grenville was rescued from near-slavery and a brutal pack leader by the Free Wolves. To pay back the favor, she’s dedicated her life to helping others in the same situation, leading shifters to safety and a new start, risking her life in the process. She’s faced down alphas and has no qualms in undermining pack structure.

Now she’s challenged with the task of restoring an alpha to his rightful place. If she gets it right, she can stop a war from ripping apart two packs and spreading across an entire state. If she fails, she’ll be among the first to die.

There’s still the option of walking away and letting the Jaeger and Destin packs destroy each other. That means she’ll fail in her original mission of rescuing the daughter of the Jaeger alpha before the girl is forced into marriage for political gain.

Lori hasn’t failed in a mission yet. This one may be the exception.

Because I can, I’m going to reveal my runner-up cover. It’s a totally different style. Which makes sense, because the story is nothing like Wolves’ Gambit.

 

I am going to include a gallery of covers below. While I love all the covers in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, seeing them together heightens the impact.

What are the favorite covers of other authors on this hop? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

 

July 17, 2923

Post your favorite cover from your books and explain why it’s your favorite.

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Over The River And Through The Woods #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 10, 2023

What do you order from your local Chinese restaurant? Do you order it every time or mix things up?

What do I order from my local Chinese restaurant? Clutch your pearls, I don’t really have a local one. The nearest one is over the river and through the woods and down a hill; not necessarily in that order. In the year since we’ve lived here, I haven’t ordered from it.

There’s a reason for that. I drive by it on my weekly trip to the grocery store and no matter what time it is; the place is never busy, which makes me assume the food isn’t very good. Even if people were getting takeout, there’d be cars in the parking lot, and the most I’ve seen even at suppertime is two. That’s not encouraging. (And they don’t deliver to my area.)

 How does a place like that stay in business? What are they selling out the back door? And what does that have to do with the mystery the private investigator in my work in progress is involved in? I can’t wait to find out!

It won’t be the first time I’ve used Chinese food in one of my stories. There’s a pivotal scene in The Rise of Jake Hennessey that takes place over a meal of Chinese takeout. Typical stuff – fried rice, lo mein, sweet-n-sour chicken.

That doesn’t mean those are the food I would choose. I like to experiment. I may not try any of the really spicy recipes, but I’m good with anything from mild to medium. It really depends on the restaurant, but put me in front of buffet and I will make several trips. I may not leave room for dessert!

What are my favorites? Honey chicken and pepper chicken. You can’t find them everywhere. I’m also fond of a good combination fried rice.

 

Oh, as a sidenote. I don’t use chopsticks. I’ve tried, and never got the hang of it.

How about the other authors on this hop? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 10, 2023

What do you order from your local Chinese restaurant? Do you order it every time or mix things up?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

Where Do The Ideas for My Books Come From #IWSG

  By IWSG
 
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the July 5 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!

July 5 question – 99% of my story ideas come from dreams. Where do yours predominantly come from?

 
I don’t remember most of my dreams. And most of the ones I remember are so scattered that they don’t make any sense. I had a dream that started on a cruise ship (I’ve never been on a cruise) and ended with me running up and down hills somewhere in Italy. (I’ve never been to Italy, either.) I can’t figure out how to turn that nonsense into a coherent story.
 
There is an exception. Wolves’ Pawn, my first published book, got its start from a snippet of a dream that turned into the prologue. The other two books in the Free Wolves series were a natural extension of that story.
 
The rest of my stories? They have a way of making themselves known to me. For example, The Marquesa’s Necklace was originally titled The Ghost Who Loved Me. The characters soon convinced me that my original premise for the story was all wrong and I switched it. What was supposed to be a paranormal romance turned into a whole series of mysteries. The Jake Hennessey stories were inspired by a background character in those books.
 
MY current WIP, The Edwards Agency, is a tribute to a story I wrote over a decade ago, and never attempted to publish. The time just wasn’t right. I thought I’d rewrite it, but soon realized that it needed a total reworking. The new book shares a title, some characters, and a few basic plot points. It has a life of its own, which it deserves.
 
So, where do my book ideas come from? The characters chose the time to talk to me. It’s up to them.
 
Find out where other authors get their ideas by following the links below. 
 
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
 
 
 

AI (Artificial Intelligence) It’s Not As New As You Think #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 3, 2023

Have you played with AI in your writing? Tell us what you think about it.

This article was not written with AI – or was it?

I read about it everywhere. How AI (artificial evidence) is writing blog posts, term papers, articles, and entire books. I’ve seen dozens of FB pasts proudly heralding the fact that a book was not written with the help of AI.

But we need a definition here. What is AI? The widely accepted meaning from Artificial Intelligence (courtesy of the website TechTarget) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.

The question becomes, how deep does this go? Does something as simple as Microsoft’s built-in spell-checker count? (Which was part of Office 2003.) How about sites like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Scrivener or a dozen more? Rytr or Jasper?

I’ve been using basic spelling and grammar checking sites for years. I’ve also used the option of looking for synonyms using the built-in capabilities of whatever document creation program is available to assist with tightening my writing. Does that mean I am using AI?

Shoot, ProWritingAid and Grammarly have added ‘suggestions’ to fix phrasing errors and bad writing into their standard functions. (I’m sure other systems have as well, but those are two I am familiar with.) Is that using AI? Will I run this entry through ProWritingAid before I post it? You bet your sweet bibby. And will I change things when it says bibby isn’t a word, or the phrase is a cliché and should be revised? Nope.

Does that mean I’ve used AI to produce this blog? Technically, yes. Do I believe this counts as an AI generated post? No. Absolutely not. I’ve poured a lot of energy into this entry. No computer wrote it for me.

What it comes down to is that I think we need new terminology. Just like a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square, we need terms that denote the differences between AI assisted and AI generated. And at what percentage is the dividing line? I will leave that discussion to others.

Would I consider using AI to generate a blog post? sure, I’d consider it.

.

.

It’s been considered. My magic 8 ball says it’s unlikely.

It’ll be interesting to see what the other authors on this hop have to say about Ai. To find out, follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 3, 2023

Have you played with AI in your writing? Tell us what you think about it.

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter