The Changes I've Seen in my Lifetime

 A Big Family Week:

Birthday photo with my children, Dave & Susie

Birthday photo at the "almost open" Capital Bar in Sanford

Cassidy's birthday is two days before mine. We celebrated in absentia with an old photo of our 17-year-old almost licensed pilot.

The Citrus Singers performed several times over the course of the International Girl Scout Convention in Orlando last week. (To great acclaim.) Below, a nostalgic moment, the final time Riley packed up equipment after a performance. She has not only aged out of Scouts but will be going off to Stetson University this fall.

 

 CHANGES IN MY LIFETIME

Having just passed a birthday that has me inching up on Methusaleh, I've spent a bit of time over the past few weeks thinking about the world that was. And decided it might be fun to share a few things with those who never knew that world. I've scribbled a whole bunch of notes but have undoubtedly forgotten a thousand changes I should have included, but here are the ones that seem most significant to me.

1.  Freedom. I was given an enormous amount of freedom to wander as a child, to play where I would, enjoy solitude if I pleased. My own children enjoyed the same freedom. And I hope that's still true in some small towns, but all too many of today's children never venture out of the house without an adult. They go to the park, have play-dates, etc., every moment under adult supervision. Yes, I know the world has changed, but not learning to be on one's own is a serious detriment to growing into an independent grown-up.

Grace note:  This is not my imagination. As previously mentioned on this blog, when I toured the FBI Academy a decade ago, we were told that it was getting harder and harder to find recruits with "street smarts." Children were no longer allowed to be "out there," discovering the world for themselves.

2.  Travel.  Before the gas rationing of WWII, my family drove from New England to Nebraska every summer to visit my grandparents. I stood the entire 1500 miles each way, poised on the floor of the back seat directly between my parents, so I could see where we were going. No car seats, no seat belts. Just the fun of seeing what was out there.

3. Travel.  It was a three or four day trip from Massachusetts to Nebraska at that time. We stayed overnight at "cabin camps." As the name implies they were little more than one-room shacks with a bed and an army cot (for me). If nature called, there was an outhouse out back.) As I recall, motels did not arrive until after WWII.)

4.  World War II. The war affected everyone's life. Nearly every house had a "star banner" hanging in the window. Blue for "currently serving," Silver for "missing," Gold for "killed in Action." Huge containers of chicken wire sat on every New England green; one for anything made of aluminum, particularly pots and pans; one for old tires. My mother did a weekly stint at the local emergency HQ; my father (who aged out of the draft by two months) stayed up all night once a week, doing his bit as an airplane-spotter. I recall learning all the plane silhouettes when he did. And I still remember sitting on the school's well-worn wooden stairs during Air Raid Drills. And once a week we brought in money to buy Savings Bonds to help support the war effort.  [Lots more, but time to stop.]

5.  Diesel Trains.  We moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut only months before the outbreak of WWII. Schools were strictly disciplined in those days, although we never considered it a hardship. That's just the way things were. But one day - I believe I was in sixth grade - we heard a loud noise we had never heard before. The entire class jumped up and ran to our second-floor windows. (I suspect the teacher did the same.) The noise came again - no one could figure it out. Order was restored and only later did we learn that what we'd heard was the whistle of the first diesel train to rumble through out small Connecticut town. [Time - c. spring 1944, as I recall.]

6.  Radio, Newspapers & Newsreels.  During the war and for many years after, these were our only source of information. Radio and Newspaper you can understand, but what was a Newsreel? Newsreels preceded the showing of every movie at the local theater. During WWII this meant photographers risking their lives to show us what was happening. (Something we take for granted these days.) And, believe me, I have not forgotten the impact of full movie-screen news, particularly the scenes of the liberation of the holocaust camps.

7.  Washing.  From Grade 3 through Grade 7 I remember helping my mother hang clothes from our second-story apartment in Connecticut. There was a pulley that ran from our back porch to a big tree twenty to thirty feet away. We'd peg each piece to the line, give it a pull, and peg the next. I'm not sure when, during that time, I was considered old enough to run the clothes through the "wringer" on our washer, but I still remember the thrill and tension of making sure my fingers didn't go through as well! When we moved to our very own house (I was in 8th grade), we had a standard clothesline in the backyard. [I'm drawing a blank on when the ancestors of our present-day washers & dryers first made their appearance.]

8.  Cars.  There was no such things as Automatic Shift, though, thank goodness, it arrived not long before I got my driver's license at age 19. And Turn Signals? No way. I still remember having to stick my arm straight out for a Left turn, bent at the elbow for a right turn. 

9.  Telephone.  I'm not sure what year it was, but we were living in our new house, so I was likely in 9th or 10th grade when, suddenly, we no longer picked up a phone and heard a live operator ask, "Number please?" We had to look up someone's number in something called a Phone Book and dial it ourselves, one number at a time on a wheel attached to the front of the phone? What was the world coming to? 

10.  Milk Delivery. I almost forgot - this was the era when milk was delivered directly to every house. Daily. When my husband and I moved into our waterfront home home in Branford, CT, in 1963, there was an entryway with a large aluminum-lined wooden chest (with lift-up lid) designed especially for milk delivery. 

Addendum to #10:  Oddly enough, grocery delivery is NOT new. My mother, the author, Wilma Pitchford Hays, had her groceries delivered, beginning way back in the late 1940s right up to the time we moved to the New Haven area in the summer of 1952.

PART II - Post 1950  will, hopefully, appear next week.

 

This week's shameless promo:

Although I wrote The Sometime Bride before Tarleton's Wife, TW was published first, in December 1999. A year or so earlier, my mother (the author) had handed me a newspaper article about electronic publishing, and we had wondered about this new method of publishing. So I suppose I was more willing to listen when I received a call out of the blue from a brand new e-publisher, Starlight Writer Publications, asking to include Tarleton's Wife in their opening line. (Evidently, the owner had been one of the judges in an RWA writing contest I'd entered.) A publisher was REQUESTING to publish my manuscript??? I wasn't about to say no!

And thus began the first of four e-incarnations and two paperback versions of Tarleton's Wife. Finally, after many years, I got my rights back, and it is now available on Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, and other e-vendors. One of the wonders of e-pub:  Nearly 25 years after its debut, Tarleton's Wife still makes the sales chart each and every month!

 On the night before the final battle in one of the most harrowing retreats in British Army history, a colonel wagers his only child in a game of cards. She is rescued by Major Nicholas Tarleton, who marries Julia Litchfield the next day, but only as he is dying. Julia, a hardy soul who has followed the drum all her life, takes over her husband's estate, becoming a heroine to Nicholas's tenant farmers, and is developing an interest in a new man when totally unexpected events plunge her into a conflict of love and honor that might have challenged Solomon himself.

Reviews Excerpts:

"A real historical novel, TARLETON'S WIFE places the author in the ranks with Victoria Holt and a handful of other writers of romantic fiction that I have read, reread, and loved." Patricia White, Word Museum

"TARLETON'S WIFE . . . is filled with action and emotion, and with well drawn, realistic characters headed by a strong, admirable and totally likable heroine. The author has extraordinary ability to bring her characters to life and to create a real world around them." Lily Martin, Romance Communication

"Ms Bancroft has a clear voice and the potential to be another Mary Jo Putney or Mary Balogh." Kathe Robin, Romantic Times

"This is a very well written piece, painted with rich history and wonderfully drawn characters. We will be seeing much more from this brilliant author." April Redmon, Under the Covers

~ * ~

 

For a link to Blair's website, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft) 

 

Gallery, Recipes & Blatant Promo

[Next Blog - July 29]

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

A big birthday coming up on the 19th. I've spent a remarkable number of years on this planet and know, for all the hassles and disappointments, my life has been blessed with great joys, as well as long stretches of peace and contentment. Love my family, love to write. Am blessed with a second family in my church choir. And have great confidence in the our next generation, just blossoming into the glory days of college. What more could I ask?

Please note:  None of my three grandgirls were responsible for the following.

 

Is that writing Japanese?

Japanese Cherry Tree

 

And for the authors among us . . .

~ * ~

SUMMER RECIPES

When summer comes around, recipe writers seem to talk barbecue non-stop. Well, I have to tell you, not all of us have barbecues - or a man of the house, as traditionally expected for a proper barbecue. (The male's chance to shine!) So today, I'm posting a few recipes that don't need a grill, charcoal, gas, or a male in a great big apron. Although I've concentrated on a variety of tempting asparagus dishes, the first is the absolute easiest and fastest way to cook that all-American dish, corn-on-the-cob.

Microwave Corn-on-the-Cob

 I have no idea where this recipe came from, but I've been cooking corn this way for 20 years or more. It's not good for crowds, but is absolutely amazing for 1-4 people. Instead of struggling to shuck the corn, clear the silk, boil water, cook 3-5 minutes "by guess & by gosh," then fish the cobs out, try this:

1. Do NOT shuck corn. Do not trim.

2. Lay corn, husk and all, in the microwave. Cook 2 minutes on one side; turn, 1 minute on the other side. 

3. Remove. Trim ends (which will cut with ease). Pull off husks & silk (now also much easier - they just peel away.

4. Insert "corn holders" at each end, if desired. Butter & season to taste. Eat. 

Grace note:  Keep in mind that in microwave cooking each item must be timed separately; i.e., 2 cobs = 4 minutes on one side, two on the other.

3 cobs = 6 minutes on one side, three on the other, etc.

 

ASPARAGUS RECIPES

 

Below, four asparagus recipes to add a bit of pizzazz to any summer meal.

ASPARAGUS WITH MANDARIN-PEPPER SAUCE

1 can (11 oz.) Mandarin oranges, drained & chopped*

½ cup chopped, canned roasted red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1 tablespoon soy sauce (or lite soy sauce)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or ¼ tspn. dry ginger)

1½ pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed**

¼ cup toasted, slivered almonds***

Gently combine Mandarin oranges, bell pepper, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil & ginger in a small bowl. Cook asparagus in a covered skillet or large pot, 4-5 minutes. Drain. Arrange asparagus on a serving platter; spoon sauce on top; sprinkle with almonds.

*or c. 3 Mandarin orange "cups."

**I prefer to cut asparagus spears into smaller bites.

***To intensify flavor, toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-5 minutes. 

 

BAKED ASPARAGUS WITH BALSAMIC BUTTER SAUCE

1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed

cooking spray

salt & pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

 Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray; season with salt & pepper.

Bake 12 minutes, until tender.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Removed from heat; stir in soy sauce & balsamic vinegar. Pour over asparagus.

 

ASPARAGUS WITH MUSTARD SAUCE 

1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed

1tablespoon water

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 

 

Place asparagus in microwaveable casserole. Microwave on High 3-5 minutes, or until asparagus is crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients.

Drain asparagus. Top with mayo mix.

 

ASPARAGUS WITH DIJON VINAIGRETTE

1 lb. thin asparagus, trimmed

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1½ tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley

kosher salt & pepper, to taste

 

In medium bowl, whisk mustard, vinegar & 1 tablespoon oil. Add parsley and season with salt & pepper.

Boil asparagus 2-3 minutes until tender. Drain; run under cold water to stop cooking.

Transfer to serving dish. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

Grace note:  Due to my allergies, I substitute good old cider vinegar for both white and red wine vinegars. Not ideal, but it works.

~ * ~

 For this week's blatant promo, the very first "sellable" book I ever wrote. 

Grace note:  I did write a book set in 1970s Russia (after a 10,000-mile trip through the Soviet Union), but back in the days of the Cold War, not even an agent could get New York to bite on a book not wholly critical of USSR. A book, oddly enough, in which I predicted someone would rise out of the KGB to take over the government. Several times in recent years, I've considered going "e" with it, but it's hardcopy only (written 10 years before the Computer Age), and every time I thought of revising, retyping, and publishing, our relations with Russia would blow up again, and the timing never seemed right.

So I put away my metaphorical pen until my children were grown, my husband had an incapacitating stroke, and as his caregiver, I was home all day with more than a bit of time on my hands. Which is why, twenty years after my first book and after reading a gazillion novels by classic Regency authors (at least three times each)—and as much as I loved them, wondering why they ignored the war raging on the Continent during that era—I plunged into writing a 140,000-word historical romance that turned out to be a saga of the seven years of the Peninsular War (Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian Peninsula). And somehow came up with the highly apt title of The Sometime Bride. [Ballantine offered to publish it if I'd change the heroine's age. Idiot that I was, I refused.]

My second novel, Tarleton's Wife, ended up being published first, with The Sometime Bride a close second. Both have seen several incarnations over the years and are available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and a long list of other e-book vendors.

 

 A very young bride finds herself married to an enigmatic British spy "for her safety." And is plunged into a seven-year, highly personal view of the Peninsular War—ending, after years of blind devotion, in discovering a betrayal of her trust so immense she can only wonder: Is she the sometime bride of a man who never existed? A discarded mistress? Or a beloved wife whose only rival is her husband's expediency in a time of war?

Author's Note: In addition to being a saga of young lovers caught up in a war, The Sometime Bride is the history of the Peninsular War, Britain's fight against Napoleon in Portugal and Spain. The story moves from France's invasion of Portugal and British troops being driven into the sea at La Coruña to the return of British troops under General Sir Arthur Wellesley, the fortified lines at Torres Vedras, and the gradual push of French troops across Spain and back to France. Plus the chaotic times in Paris after Napoleon's surrender and the Emperor's triumph as he gathers up his old troops, only to be stopped in one of the most famous and bloody battles in history—Waterloo.

~ * ~

 

For a link to Blair's website, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft) 

GALLERY ( incl. our budding pilot)

 

MAJOR FAMILY EVENT ON 6/29/23

On Wednesday, June 28, we celebrated my daughter Susie's birthday, and on Thursday, June 29, her youngest daughter, Cassidy soloed for the first time. Family went wild!

Short recap:  Cassidy, who won't be 16 until July 17, is one of 130 Air Force Junior ROTC students chosen for a government-sponsored 8-week flight training program. Which she is doing in a group of 16 assigned to Elizabeth City, No. Carolina.

Mike, Cassidy's father, has an app that allows him to track her flights, which he has been doing constantly since she started her training. A truly astonishing app, as you will see in the pic below. Cassidy describes the program as "stressful" - a barrage of instruction and flying from morning to night. But, she also reports, they are well fed! They are housed in a college dormitory. 

Cassidy embarking on her first solo flight

Below, the view on the Tracker App. Susie swears she and Mike didn't breathe for the entire 18 minutes of the flight as they watched Cassidy do three take-offs and landings.

Cassidy getting her way-too-big flight suit

On the left, her instructor

Riley, Hailey & the Birthday  Girl

On an entirely different note - from Facebook . . .
 

 

Mentioning Hell might have made me think of this one (sent to me by my son in CT):

 

 From Facebook - "Albuquerque Sky" by Meteorologist Grant Tosterud:

 

And one of the strangest sights I've seen on Facebook:

Mountain village in Tibet

~ * ~

 

The Vicar's Daughter

 If you're inclined to believe that all ministers, pastors, and priests are natural-born saints, you might not want to read this week's featured Regency Gothic by Blair Bancroft. But if you believe - if only a smidgeon - that a female has the right to follow in her vicar father's footsteps . . .

 

 

Independent and capable Prudence Wedderburn, daughter of a vicar, is a woman before her time. She not only manages the parish duties usually performed by a vicar's wife, she has learned the art of healing, and during her father's final illness, she also assumes some of his religious duties—all actions welcomed by her village until her father's death abruptly ends her life as First Lady of Kenner's Cove, Kent.

Well aware she must curb her independence—even learn to practice subservience, a quality entirely unknown to her—Prudence accepts a position as governess to a five-year-old girl in Cornwall. Where, alas, rumors of her activities in Kent plunge her into difficulties with the church, she clashes with her pupil's father (an earl), finds herself hip-deep in smugglers and Cornish legends, is befriended by a 500-year-old cat, and discovers that someone—several someones?—want to kill her. Finding a happy ending in a deluge of disasters will be the vicar's daughter's greatest challenge.

~ * ~

 

For a link to Blair's website, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft) 

 

Intro to MAKING MAGIC WITH WORDS

 We have had many Father's Day experiences over the years, but none as unusual as this one. It was a birthday celebration, as well as honoring fathers, Carlos and Mike. Cassidy was missing (at flight school in the Carolinas), and we dined under the benign gaze of Pope John Paul in a room dedicated to Popes through the ages. Except there was a naked lady in a niche and two wooden wall hangings that seemed Viking-themed (featuring both boat & horned helmet). The food was superb, but . . . 

(In case you haven't guessed, that's me on the right, the one in blue sweater (hand-crocheted).

 

I am not normally a fan of puns, but this one really tickled my funny bone - posted to Facebook this week.

 

A Facebook friend has been posting photos of the deer in her neighborhood. I thought this one particularly fine.

Photo by Susan Coventry

 

Below, a cloud formation posted by another FB friend from an anonymous source - originally titled in Spanish.
 

Cat in the Sky

                                       Or perhaps . . . The Cat That Flies

 

 

 Intro to Making Magic With Words

Way back in 2018, I began to compile a book of all my blogs on Writing & Editing, with miscellaneous comments on being an author thrown in for good measure. This finally became a 200,000+ words book, called Making Magic With Words. (An absolutely horrendous undertaking!) But the vast amount of information was finally organized by categories, and the index linked to each article by someone more technically gifted than I. (And yes, the links works. I just used the system to find the article I wanted. [Control+click on the desired article, et voilà!]

Below is the introduction to the Writing section of the book:  "On Being a Writer." I hope you enjoy it.   

 

 August 22, 2015

 ON BEING A WRITER

 If you're a regular reader of Mosaic Moments, you're already familiar with my favorite comment: Each morning I get up and can hardly wait to find out what is going to happen in my book today.

 

Even though not every writer conjures a book "out of the mist" or "by the seat of his/her pants," I think the excitement must be the same. What a wonder it is to start from nothing but an idea, a simple spark that must be nurtured until it bursts into flame. For some that nurturing is gentle; for others, a wrench from the soul. For some it means taking that idea, thinking it through, playing with it, juggling it, outlining possibilities, agonizing over selecting just the right path—the most dramatic conflict, the most heart-pounding action, whether to play the romance hot or tone it down for those who prefer Plot over Sex.

 For others, like me, it means creating intriguing characters—from vibrant, though sometimes flawed, heroes and heroines, well-fleshed-out secondary characters who add to the story, and a vague idea of the plot. After that, I let my characters tell me the details of what happens next. Believe me, it's exciting. Many mornings I get up with no idea of what's going to happen next. I sit down at the keyboard and my characters take over, dictating the story. Yes, certainly there are times when I thought it all out the night before—or perhaps before I get out of bed in the morning. Dialogue, action, it's all there. Except maybe eighty percent of the time, when I sit down to record my thoughts, I realize I skipped a vital scene that has to be written first. So, in spite of my best-laid plans, I still end of "winging it," grabbing the story out of thin air because it's suddenly obvious that the new scene has to come before the one I'd so carefully detailed in my head.

 And then there are the times when nothing comes. For me, thank goodness, those times have been few and far between. My approach, I've discovered, is similar to Nora Roberts's. I just keep writing, no matter how meandering or perfectly awful it might seem. That's what editing is for, right? Let's face it, even when I think I'm doing well, it's amazing how many changes I make.

Which brings me to: Why on earth do writers put themselves through all this torture?

I am constantly amazed at the dedication I see in other authors. I have it easy. I don't have a full-time job, young children, family obligations more demanding than being a grandmother. I have belonged to four writers' groups here in Florida, and I am simply stunned by those who get up a 5:00 a.m. to write before the family gets up. Or those who snatch spare moments during the day. Or somehow stay up half the night to get words down on a page. I freely admit I couldn't do that. When I first tried to write in the days before word processing, my style soon demonstrated that I was one of those who was constantly finding new and better ways to express what I had initially written. And in those days that meant laboriously re-typing every page. Multiple times. Aargh!

Needless to say, only the advent of word processing allowed me to become a serious writer. (I owned one of the very first word processing machines, an IBM's Displaywriter, which had alternate keyboards for a variety of languages and pre-dated the first PCs by at least a year. It was considered infinitely smart at 250K!)

 For almost a decade after that, however, I used word processing primarily to make money in a more mundane fashion than creative writing; for example, transcribing a series of taped lectures in French for the Yale French Department. (The Displaywriter was an expensive machine!).  But after getting the children off to college, things changed. Since 1991 I have written around 35* books, 32 currently available online. And I have a couple more on the back burner just waiting for a bit of additional polish.

And no, I've really never suffered from burnout, perhaps because I'm constantly looking for something new to try. For me, the inner excitement never flags. I get tired, worn to the bone, but  sitting down to write rejuvenates me. Constantly using my imagination keeps me young.

Yes, writing demands dedication and determination, but it's such a thrill to take the merest germ of an idea and spin it into gold. To grab an idea out of nowhere and somehow expand it into 400 pages that will, in turn, excite and inspire other people.  I like to think the famous words  Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote in 1839 are right:  "The pen is mightier than the sword."

 In the end, writers may not be able to save the world, but by organizing all those thoughts, ideas, and words tumbling around inside our heads, we save ourselves. And hopefully provide wisdom as well as entertainment for others.

 So whether you started to write at age fifteen or fifty-five, hang in there. There's joy here. And satisfaction. And, if we're lucky, a bit of money. And if you always wanted to write but haven't yet taken the plunge, it's never too late. Word processing makes it easy. Hit the Delete key and our mistakes go away. And no teacher hanging over you to point out errors! Wow, how great is that?

 Writing may be hard work, but it's also great fun. Inspiring. Joyous. Satisfying. A profession that is never obsolete, never goes out of fashion. So whether you have to outline every step ahead of time, or simply plunge into a new book with little but names to go on, writing can be one of the most satisfying occupations. I should add that although I address my blogs primarily to authors of fiction, much the same advice applies to non-fiction authors. Writing is a demanding business, an art form as unrelenting as creating a great painting, being controlled and practiced enough to belt out a high C, or twist the body into a triple salchow.

 Writing is not easy. Writing requires devotion, constant practice, discipline, and intelligence. And, I suppose, like all art forms, it requires at least a soupçon of arrogance. If we don't believe in ourselves, who will?

But above all comes persistence. No one, from the anonymous 3-D sidewalk artist to the author who just hit the Best-seller list, ever did so without hanging in there, no matter what. Success rarely comes easy. For most of us, that means being slapped down time and time again before our first success. And in my case, it meant being slapped down by publishers shutting down the line of books I was writing four times. But . . .

 You knew there was going to be a "but," right?

 It's not just a case of my soldiering on and finding a new niche for myself. Recovering from adversity can also apply to creating a book. So you had a bad day? A bad chapter? The whole blasted book's a mistake!  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start from Word One. You can fix this. Take a deep breath. Think! Editing works. Revision works. Eliminating characters can work. Creating new ones in their place can work. New challenges for you, new challenges for your characters. You can do it, you really can. See . . . you didn't waste the last three months after all.

 

SUMMARY.

Whether you've written twenty books, just one, or your book is nothing more than a gleam in the eye,  never forget that for all the work involved, writing is fun. It's inspiring. It's a reason to put a smile on your face as you crawl out of bed in the morning. Be grateful you have the "gift," no matter how rocky it may feel at times. And, let's admit it, no matter how rocky your life might be, you can always take refuge in the wonderful world of your mind. Even if your characters have a will of their own, they are yours. You created them. So let them soar. Your book will soar right along with them.

And your spirits as well.

 

*Grace note update:  In 2019 that number is 42, with No. 43 in progress.

* * *

 Grace note update, 2023: Frankly, I've lost track, but I think my Work in Progress is #52. 

 * ~ *

This week, I'm touting one of my best-selling Regency Gothics. (As many of you know I prefer "interesting" ghosts to scary ghosts.)

 

A Regency ghost tale inspired by the classic saying: "Marry in haste, repent at leisure."

The widowed Lady Marian Talbot is keeping a low profile as her exquisitely lovely sister, Vanessa, makes her come-out. Yet somehow it is Marian who attracts the attention of the most eligible bachelor London society has seen in a decade, a marquess who has spent the last dozen years in India. After a whirlwind courtship, Marian—now the Marchioness of Rushton—arrives at her new home, only to discover she is expected to solve the challenges of dealing with her husband's hostile brother and sister, his illegitimate young son, and a staff at war with itself. And, as if that weren't enough, Marian must also adjust to a panoply of ghosts, all supposedly benign, but that becomes doubtful as someone—or some thing—makes repeated attempts to kill both the marquess and his new bride.

~ * ~

 

For a link to Blair's website, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft) 

10-minute Supper & Gallery

 ***Next Mosaic Moments - Jun 24, 2023***

 

Some pics to inspire nostalgia, make us think, or simply amuse . . .

 

 

 I grew up in the world on the right, as did my children. 

I find it sad that my grandchildren did not.

 

When the NRA tries to pull the wool over your eyes, remember this!

On a happier note . . .

Susie—gone all 20s for the Central Florida Community Chorus. Her costuming skills were learned way back in Venice, FL, when she helped with my costume shop, The Dreamweaver. And yes, she made that headdress herself, from items purchased at Walmart.

 

Susie and Grace at The Capital Bar in Sanford, a long-term project we hope will finally make its debut this month.

 

And yes, that's a Guinness.

AMAZING 10-MINUTE SUPPER

(No, not frozen!)

Because of my allergy to chemical preservatives, I usually ignore the "prepared" foods section. But one day not long ago, I paused long enough to read the label on Jack Daniels Pulled Pork (in the same cooler section as hams and ham slices in our Publix). And lo and behold—perhaps due to the alcohol content—there were no foreign substances in the contents of this good-sized cardboard carton. So I added sesame buns to my shopping list and gave it a try.

Before preparing the pulled pork, I tore some lettuce into a bowl, added fresh herbs & packaged organic topping. And then, on to the pork. Wow! Three minutes in the microwave, and I had enough hot pulled pork for 3-4 buns. The flavor was sensational, but since I live alone, I  saved the leftovers for the next day. (They reheated perfectly in the microwave.)

Et voilà - Salad & Pulled pork in a sesame bun

 - less than 10 minutes, tops.

The next time, I tried Jack Daniels Honeyed Pulled Pork, which was equally tasty, combined with an "Everything-topping" bun. There is also a Pulled Chicken, which I have yet to try.

If you can't find these Jack Daniels products, ask. Hopefully, you'll find them somewhere in the "cooler" compartments of your favorite grocery.

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This week's promo is for Blair's Aphrodite Academy series. These four novellas are my sole "18 & up only" books. No, they are not particularly sexy, but they are extremely frank about a number of topics not dealt with in classic Regency Romances. The women in these books have suffered experiences no proper Regency lady would even dream of: being auctioned to the highest bidder, rape, birthing a child out of wedlock, a husband who enjoyed educating his wife in debauchery. Not an easy feat for Belle, Cecelia, Holly, or Juliana (the woman who rescued the others in her own unique way) to find peace, let alone their personal Happily Ever After.

While attempting to put on a good face for her first London Season, Lady Arabella Pierrepont goes home each night to endure the raucous attention of her father's gaming partners. One evening, when Baron Pierrepont reaches a new low, offering his daughter's virginity to the next winner, Gabriel, Viscount Ashford, helps Arabella escape. He takes her to The Aphrodite Academy, where she is given three choices: 1) the respectable but dull life of a companion; 2) a marriage well below her station in life; or 3) training to become one of London's finest courtesans. Since she has taken men in dislike and would like nothing better than to drain their purses dry, she chooses the scandalous life. But none of the armor she has thrown up can protect her when the highest bidder for her services is Lord Ashford, the one man she considers a hero. Both must grow wiser and listen to their hearts before Belle can put the abuse she suffered behind her and Gabriel can shed the casual sexual practices of so-called Regency gentleman.

The other three books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For a link to Blair's website, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)