Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Some Tips

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Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Amazing; for those like Pym who love "Cookery Book...

Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Amazing; for those like Pym who love "Cookery Book...: Photo courtesy Regina's Studio, Etsy.com July 17, 2013 Calf’s head hash, and other recipes: librarian discovers 300 year old cook ...

Romance News

I know the photos won't come up, but this is for romance fans from Borroughs, a small indie publisher of ebooks and romances. Pym may have enjoyed writing for such a venue, given the chance. No doubt the Bronte sisters would have been thrilled!! Boroughs Publishing Group News The Wolves of the Red Ridge Pack are back! Born of Lies This prequel reveals Allison & Aiden’s past, their family secrets & the beginning of the deception & intrigue that ensnares the Red Ridge Pack The world changed for Lillian Michaels the day Marcus chose her. Gorgeous, strong fierce…and soon he would be alpha of her pack. But then the marriage was set. No choice. No looking back. Except, she did. Lillian started looking forward, too, and wondering if eighteen was too young to give away her life. Certainly, it is tonight. A rock concert. She and her friend, intoxicating music, sweat, bodies, freedom…and him: Paul. The human bassist’s touch makes her soul sing like the strings of his axe, and everything is possible. Yet, Lillian’s parents, her secrets, her entire world lies elsewhere. Paul doesn’t even see what she is, what she can do. What she must do. This to-die-for human is not of her kind. And yet, something special, something terrifyingly perfect, something eternally true has been…born of lies. learn more Start your journey into the mountains of New Mexico & the Red Ridge Pack with: The last thing Allison Wright ever expected when she moved to Red Ridge, New Mexico was to come muzzle to muzzle with the wolf of her dreams. learn more Aiden Wright is trying to figure out who he really is, but the truth could cost him his true mate - or his life. learn more The Genie Smolders Book 2 of the Zubis Chronicles Bethany O’Brien must find her enslaved genie lover in order to save her daughter, her broken heart, and the world. learn more How did it all begin? Clue in with: The Genie Ignites Girl meets genie. They fall in love. Girl gets killed. Genie gets cursed. Three millennia later, she’s reincarnated as a smart, somewhat sardonic 21st century editor who can’t remember the great love of her existence. The genie however, will never forget her. learn more Congratulations to Kellyann Zuzulo for being selected as a Finalist for the Abalone Award for Book 1 of the Zubis Chronicles, The Genie Ignites. The Abalone Awards recognizes achievement in Romance writing that has multicultural or interracial relationships. The winner will be announced at their ceremony at the RWA National Conference in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 17th 2013. RELEASE DATE – JULY 22nd 2013 Get ready for !#^%*! HOT Pre-order Now! Now that Shane Templar has stripped the armour from Matt Langer’s heart, will either of them ever be safe again? Though two years past, Matthew Langer is still getting over the death of a loved one. He’s steered clear of serious relationships, but when he meets the irascible, dirty mouthed and tempestuous Shane Templar that decision has never been harder. Shane is sexy, warm and funny, and Matthew finds himself trying like hell not to fall for him. Especially when Shane, with his quick wit and hacking skills, is quick to stand up for justice and avenge wrongs. Then Shane strikes at the wrong target, and Matthew realises just how far he’s already fallen. At the threat of losing for good yet another man who has broken through his armour, Matthew finds his heart stripped bare. He must face the demons of his soul or a future without love. learn more Wraith's Cry When a strange and horrible figure emerges from the mists of the river, Adriana and Jeff must face the ghosts of their past to find the beauty of their future. learn more Say it Again, Sam Izzy Hart just wants to hear three little words, but first she has to tell her best friend Sam that he’s ”the one”, deal with his blonde Amazon of a crush, fix a mistakenly administered love potion and decipher the meaning of one strange, sweet, awfully cuddly cat. learn more What's in a Name? Boroughs 2013 Novella Contest Congratulations to the Finalists Better as a Memory – Contemporary Girl on Fire – Paranormal/Fantasy Face to Face – Historical/Regency Somewhere Down the Line – Contemporary The Winner will be announced on Friday at our Open House during the RWA National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia Boroughs About Town (& Country) On Saturday, July 13th, our Editor-in-Chief, Chris Keeslar participated in the Digital Publishers’ Panel hosted by the New York City RWA Chapter. We’re packing our bags & getting ready to leave for Atlanta. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone Don’t forget to hang with us at our OPEN HOUSE RECEPTION Friday, July 19th 2013 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Suite 3803 The Marriott Marquis E-Musements A short monthly piece to show what's happening in the editor-in-chief's brain...and in his office. Besides reading. Lots of reading. EXTRA! EXTRA! In our limited TV time, lately my wife and I have been watching newsroom dramas. The two of which I speak? The BBC’s The Hour, season two - everyone join the petition and get a season three! - and the first few episodes of HBO’s The Newsroom. So far, The Hour has been much more gripping. Sorkin’s Newsroom does more preaching than demonstrating; the characters tell me what I should think rather than presenting the facts and allowing me to feel. Ironically, it’s The Newsroom that provides the topic of today’s piece and sums up so much of what I believe about effective writing. One of the show’s characters, when asked to revamp the central program to be a better forum for contemporary issues, sets up a checklist of questions to ask about each and every broadcast, about each and every guest. I started thinking about how those same questions can help a writer strengthen their stories. Below are Mac’s questions, in italics. Think about how they relate to fiction. 1.Is this information we need in the voting booth? Does this move your story forward and make us understand the hero, the heroine, and why they can’t be together but should be? 2.Is this the best possible form of the argument? Am I being easy on my characters or is this the conflict that wrenches them to the limit and truly shows who they are under duress? 3.Is this in historical context? Will readers with perspectives different than mine find this character or conflict compelling, and if not, how can I make things more accessible or thought provoking? 4.Are there really two sides to every story, or are there sometimes five and sometimes only one? Is there a true conflict here, and if so, have we seen all the angles and effects? Is it possible to open our hearts as readers to feelings or considerations we might never have otherwise imagined? My father was a newspaper editor. That pretty much determined that I would never go into journalism, a field I eschewed as producing soulless and uncreative (Jayson Blairs of the world aside) dreck, with nothing to teach me. As I grow older, the Mark Twain quote seems more and more relevant: “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But, when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” Good fiction-writing is often parallel to journalism. It’s about asking the right questions. Voices Where you get to hear the people who make publishing–and Boroughs especially–what it is. Aislinn Gilbert Happy Hauntings What is it about ghost stories and creepy tales designed to send chills down our spines? Children love them and adults return to them. We tell these stories on winter nights or around a campfire, hoping to give and receive a certain kind of reaction. Fear! What on earth could be pleasurable about being scared? For some people the fear might be cathartic, help them deal with frightening things encountered in everyday life. For me, ghost stories are waking dreams, imbuing a sense of mystery and suspense close to panic, a dreamlike feeling that brings sleeping and waking worlds together. How intriguing to be plunged into this world when awake. A romance complicated by a spooky tale can be so satisfying. A ghost story with a happy ending? That mysterious, chilling feeling we desire may follow us through the pages, but when we finish and set the book aside we’re assured of a good night’s sleep. Many scary stories explore the fear of losing our minds: the descent into madness. In Wraith’s Cry I was drawn to describe how this might feel to someone who held this as her greatest fear. A ghost can represent the past that haunts us when we can’t let go. A ghost can haunt a person or a location, but I’ve often wondered where a ghost gets its power. My wraith finds hers in a river, in the powerful, angry torrent that hastened her death. I hope you all will find a chance to read or tell a ghost story or two this year. Happy hauntings. Aislinn Gilbert author of Wraith’s Cry, a Lunchbox Romance, lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children. You’re receiving this newsletter because you signed up on our website. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Instantly. © 2013 Boroughs Publishing Group. All rights reserved. This email was sent to etsag1998@aol.com why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Boroughs Publishing Group · 1629 East Main Street · Suite A · Ventura, CA 93001

Shopping tips of which Ms. Pym would approve; I hope!

Never underestimate the power of donating and itemizing to charity. You save on your taxes and help ensure your items are not wasted and go to good use. The Salvation Army, in particular, will pick up things, but also uses parts and even broken items to provide work and repair things for other people. Since I wrote this, I encountered other charity shops that will help; DAV, The American Cancer Society Discovery Shops, Annual Sales to aid charities, all give slips to show tax deduction status for your items. This is a proof of donation for the most part, and it is up to you to itemize and value most of the time. We also donate to a children’s school, The Sun Valley Indian School for Navajo Children, Sun Valley, AZ. They send us pictures of the children and an occasional card or letter, which makes the kids in my school group very happy. There are many books and magazines that discuss thrift shopping and donating to charities. In turn, many like to shop these venues as another way of contributing, tax deductible or not. SA and GW often have new items. Club Goodwill in the Chicago area has special incentives and discounts. Their stores are very nicely set up and color coordinated. You might think you were in a boutique, yet their prices are reasonable. If you travel, it pays to go to the local stores. Merchandise is always different and "ever moving." As our friends at Reusable Usables might say, it pays to recycle items as well as garbage and organic substances. Many good clothes can be worn again and again, and many shoes, belts, accessories, and household goods can be repaired. They stay out of the landfill and reenter the stream of commerce to generate income once again. When artists use them to recreate and explore, as our friend Jeanne O'Melia does, they take on a whole new meaning. Collectors have also known this for many years. They salvage the past and popular culture, redisplay it, and say something entirely different to future generations. Their passion fuels everything they do in a positive way and leads to educational and economic opportunities. Our world is full of conundrums these days; we are encouraged to recycle and not waste, but not to collect, lest we hoard. We are encouraged to read, but eBooks and Kindle seem to take the place of print books. Then, we can't recycle the paper in a paperless world, either. Libraries are throwing out books, but with a few exceptions, one can't read an electronic device by flash light or candlelight in a storm. Sometimes, only a message in a bottle will do. Objects are more personal and tangible objects tell stories. Thus, they make better evidence and exhibits in criminal court than many electronic communications. Old buildings are sturdier and can often be remodeled; yet we are in a hurry to tear down and replace with less sturdy structures, thereby affecting negatively our infrastructure. Use what we have; donate where needed, and save by not wasting, overbuying, and deducting. 6. Eat home; pay attention to leftovers and casseroles. Recipes are cheap over the Internet, and are in all kinds of magazines, including The Radish, which is given away. Look for heirloom recipes your parents had, even grandparents and great grandparents, and practice and be creative. The American Women’s Cook Book, The magazines like Everyday Food, PBS cooking shows, Mr. Food, Martha Stewart, and Julia Child are great sources to look. The Discovery Shop and thrift stores are wonderful places to look for vintage and antique cook books, so are yard sales and antique stores, library book sales, book stores and book store chains, catalogs. Many of these are on sale before they are even out of print, including Edward R. Hamilton Books and Amazon and Alibris. All things in moderation, as Benjamin Franklin wrote and believed. It can be much cheaper to eat at home, and to buy dry staples like flour, sugar, salt, cans, and to keep them on hand. I like to buy spices whenever I see a good deal, I like to shop a variety of stores, including organic and health food stores. I like Aldi, Sav a Lot, Trader Joes, local chains with great deals. I look for the weekend supplements, and see how many meals I can plan with the onsale ingredients. I like it when things are sold in bulk. I can buy a pinch of this or that, and splurge a little bit this way.

With love from Tin Lizzie: A History of Metal Heads Metal Dolls Mechanical Dolls and Automatons by Tsagaris, Ellen: New, Softcover, $20.00 at Alibris Marketplace

With love from Tin Lizzie: A History of Metal Heads Metal Dolls Mechanical Dolls and Automatons by Tsagaris, Ellen: New, Softcover, $20.00 at Alibris Marketplace

Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Delectable Reading and Good Reads

Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Delectable Reading and Good Reads: I am a newcomer to Good Reads, am still getting the hang of it. I actually use lots of social media, and it is a big thing for writers. I ...