Tag: Avi Kaplan

Today's selection -- from President McKinley by Robert W. Merry. In both 1868 and 1895, many decades before Fidel Castro, rebels in Cuba rose up against its government: "Cuba was threatened by an insurgency that began in February 1895 with the aim of ripping this 'ever faithful isle,' as it was called in Madrid, from […]

Today's selection -- from The League by John Eisenberg. In 1930, the New York Giants, part of the new and struggling National Football League, played the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, a far more popular college football team: "In the early 1930s, college football remained significantly more popular than the pro game. And no team […]

We got our code word to conduct our war time assigned mission? We ran lots of training exercises in Special Forces. I don’t believe we were ever alerted at 9:00 AM on a Monday. It was usually odd hours on odds days. Occasionally the alert was real: something that had to be done. But we […]

Many people consider the two the same, but I don’t. One is inward oriented, the other outward. At West Point we had to memorize quite a bit of ‘trivia’ otherwise known as Plebe Poop, which is self-explanatory. One bothered me a lot: In 60 major battles of the Civil War, West Pointers commanded both sides […]

Have you ever suffered from blogging anxiety? Meet guest blogger Samantha Smith, who reveals why she almost gave up blogging, and what she did to get herself back on the right tracks.Continue reading

Why you should ensure you never make this mistake when leaving your first comment on a blog post.Continue reading

on BookWorks: I have an inordinate fondness for—some might say obsession with—intrusions. Not physical ones. I don’t get into breaking down doors or smashing windows. I’m not talking B&E here. I mean written ones, like the one in the first sentence in this post. That clause in the parentheses is an intrusion. Why did I choose […]

Originally posted on No Wasted Ink: Welcome to No Wasted Ink’s Writers Links. Each Monday, I like to select the ten best articles about the craft of writing to share here on the blog. This week I happened on several great articles for fantasy authors, but there are general writing tips as well. I hope…

flying high at our class circus.   — “as one, they leap, laughing, and that is where we leave them – mouths open, arms spread wide, fingers splayed to take in the whole world, bodies flying high in defiance of gravity,  as if they will never fall.” – libba bray

It’s another Monday in October, so I’m going to present two more characters from War of Nytefall to answer questions in the comments.  Hopefully, this gets a lot of responses and we have some fun.  To check out the books in … Continue reading →

Female Reproductive system – Breast Cancer Unfortunately cancer is a common condition and there will be over 14 million new cases this coming year and over 8 million deaths world wide. In many developing countries that do not have screening … Continue reading →

True story…Once when my mother was hospitalized, my three sisters and I all showed up at her home to give our help, support, and love. Of course we didn’t mind, but we lived in different states and it had been a while since we had all been together. We took advantage of the situation as […]

Note: A lot of what I learned about Highly Sensitive People (aside from my own personal experience), came from Elaine N. Aron's book, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You. If you want to learn more about the info that's not personal-experience-based, I highly recommend you check it out or […]

Someone please call me in late spring. Notable Bene – all photographs in this post are from previous winters, we’re … More

Doris? Fetch the binoculars, I do believe that they’re at it again. There are many, many things that no-one warns … More

Hardly any writer is an overnight success. Very few writers sell his or her first manuscript.There's one thing I want to tell you though. You don't have to sell a manuscript to feel like a successful author. Writing is a business involving:1. a learned set of narrative skills - grammar, spelling, plotting, characterization, viewpoint, scene […]

Happy Indie Author Day!Today, all over the world, libraries and literacy organizations are paying tribute to independent authors and their books.Want to know more? Click Indie Author Day to find out about this annual event.In the meantime, I'm celebrating by giving away Kindle copies of LuvU4Ever,  a holiday romance that's free at most Kindle stores.(Some […]

********* The Cape Peninsula and Western Cape region are absolutely breathtaking! I especially love the turquoise waters that are so typical for the Cape scenery. You can instantly recognize this region just by that color – that’s how special it is! A Road Trip Around the Cape Peninsula One of the most fun things to do […]

"Jacqueline Cochran was looking for WASP.  They told me I would have to be interviewed and they would contact me when they came to the Wichita area.  But I didn’t wait for that.  I went down to Houston for my interview, to speed things up.  And I think that’s one of the smartest things I […]

"My first flight was with a barnstormer at the age of five.  I loved it!  I also tried to 'fly' out of the barn loft with an umbrella.  This was less than successful..."  WASP Jean Terrell McCreery, 44-10 The indomitable Marguerite Jean Terrell Moreo McCreery has "...slipped the surly bonds of Earth. And danced the skies on […]

Welcome to the Minstral Show, the podcast that spotlights the very best music from around the world, made exclusively in the 21st century.Three awesome sets of music on Today’s episode of The Minstral Show including new music by Ivan & Alyosha, Mikal Cronin, Christopher Paul Stelling, Glen Hansard, and a collaboration between Markus Reuter & […]

The book I am trying to find is called: “NEW SYSTEM”.  The main character’s name is PAGE (not sure of spelling) It was published in the 1930’s or early 40’s – it’s WWII, or before America enters the war- but nothing … Continue reading →

Broken Knight by LJ Shen  Narrated by Savannah Peachwood, Jacob Morgan, CJ Bloom, and Christian Rummel 2nd in a Related Series. Can Stand Alone Angsty, Ugly Cry New Adult So many people have written raving reviews for Broken Knight by LJ Shen that despite my misgivings about reading a New Adult book again, I went […]

Celebrate The Heart of The Season With EIGHT BRAND-NEW, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED CHRISTMAS STORIES From Nine New York Times & USA Today Bestselling, Award Winning Authors for just 99 cents!! Ranging from fun and flirty romantic comedy to poignant holiday romance, this collection of semi-sweet and steamy stories will have you crying one moment while […]

Recently I finished writing my 48th book and I went back to look at just how many words that I had written. When I counted up the numbers from my first drafts, it was over 3 MILLION words! Oh my! That’s not even counting the words written in edits, marketing, website, emails, and posting on […]

It’s not at all uncommon in the United States for those who receive medical treatment to feel like they were overcharged. After this situation, you’ll likely want to file a dispute over your bill in order to get things settled. Not everyone is aware of the best way to handle medical billing complaints, however, so […]

Paint Stripper Buying Guide Paint strippers come in a variety of styles and formats.  When you need to get one for your projects it...

The Things I Liked This Week October 13, 2019 I started doing The Things I Liked This Week in June 2015 and it’s definitely become my favorite regular post. I love adding to my list throughout the week. Here are the things I liked this week: 1. Clipart This is impressive   2. This year’s […]

We often hear that some types of plastics are safer or less toxic than others, but what does that really mean? There are many guides available that categorize plastics according to their toxicity.  These guides can be misleading because most plastic consumer products have additives to enhance their functionality.  A single plastic product can contain dozens […]

Question from Clara I am currently doing a bakeout in my garage. I have a pleather couch I am trying to off gas and a table and chairs. Will the bake out off gas furniture? if so how long would it take? Lisa’s Answer I am no longer recommending bake outs.  Debra has had success in […]

In Florida, the fall garden is filled with “cool season” plants. Think brassicas and roots. We’re talking broccoli, Brussels, cabbage, kale, collards, cauliflower, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, to name a few. These plants do not like temperatures in the 80’s and above, so now is the perfect time to get them in the ground. They’ll […]

So I’m officially jealous of the Eustis High School hot pepper plant. I grow lots of peppers–hot, sweet and Hungarian–and my plants have NEVER grown larger than 18″ in height. Ever. Imagine my surprise when I visited the high school this week to discover this enormous pepper plant! I stopped. Blinked. And double-checked the fruit […]

Moisturizing, astringent, and stimulating to circulation, this all-natural undereye serum can be helpful for dark circles and puffy skin. The recipe was discovered within the pages of the Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book. Created as a companion to the Herbal Academy’s lovely Botanical Skin Care Course, the recipe book is also sold separately on their […]

Hi friends! If you’re a longtime reader you might maybe have thought “hey I wonder what’s up with SMSG this year?” Well … it’s like this – if The Ohio State University Buckeyes break 70 points and win their game, I’ll donate $10 to a non-profit charity. (This seemed like something that might happen a […]

Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik (Consortium Rebellion #2) Science Fiction Romance published by Harper Voyager on October 1, 2019 To save her brother and protect her family’s future, a powerful princess must join forces with a dashing man from her past in this thrilling space adventure, the second novel in the Consortium Rebellion trilogy. As […]

We broke camp pretty early at the St. George, NV lotdocking site and after tanking up we drove to Snow Canyon to peruse the sights there.We spent most of the time at Jenny's Canyon, but the light wasn't right for good pics of the slot canyon that is Jenny's Canyon: Martha in the slot canyon that […]

Yesterday, Oct 12, it was my please to have coffee in the town of Henderson, NV with fellow Uralista Val H. and her husband Wayne. Val showed up in her Baikal Limited Edition Patrol and Wayne rode a BMW 1200 GS.We had a good time chatting, getting to know each other and sharing stories.  For instance, […]

Originally posted on Lorie Schaefer: Another in the sometime series from “Annie Cooper’s Recipe Scrapbook.” The foods are all mentioned in my still-in-heavy-rewrite novel. Claire holds a tender spot in her heart for this recipe and for one particular member of the family it came from. Enjoy! Butternut Squash with Apples from the kitchen of Claire Jordan…

In the stillness of the morning I see her again The woman in black Standing on the rocks in silence Staring at the sea motionless Continue reading at Poetry for Healing

* Gardens out of bounds Rain that stops play makes them glow Loving paradox *