QUOTH THE RAVEN “NEVERMORE.” OR DID HE? By Michael D. Rigg

"Once upon a midnight, dreary...."

Okay, you got me. Edgar Allan Poe’s fantastical Raven really said “Nevermore,” at least in the famous poem. Of course, the Raven and the nearly-napping-guy were figments of Poe’s fertile mind. He created them. So, if Poe quoted the Raven, the Raven must have said it.

But can we make the same assertion about actual historical figures? Did various people utter the pithy, wisdom-laden sayings attributed to them? Quoth the Raven, “Maybe, or maybe not.”

In grade school, many of us learned of George Washington’s commitment to honesty. When confronted by his father about chopping down a cherry tree, six-year-old George confessed his horrific, axe-wielding deed and declared, “I cannot tell a lie.”

SURRENDER, DOROTHY by Guest Blogger Judy Fowler

Intimidating words. Plucky Dorothy Gale—the protagonist in Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz—isn’t scared off for long. Eventually, she’ll confront her fear of witches because she wants to go home.      

In parts of my life, I’m like Dorothy. When my own “Over the Rainbow” dreams of singing on Broadway and writing books met with setbacks, I threw my support behind my husband’s acting career. All I asked for—if he made it—was a house in Beverly Hills where I could write. This never materialized. I went back to school and bought myself a house in Virginia Beach.

I could have done that earlier, but—like Dorothy—I had to learn it for myself.

STRENGTHEN YOUR SUBMISSIONS STRATEGY, PART 2 by Adele Gardner (writing mysteries as Max Jason Peterson)

Rocco writes a story.

In Part 1, I outlined the reasons why we need to keep trying rather than getting discouraged by rejections. In essence, each rejection brings you one step closer to the goal of getting published. Your mission is to find that one editor who loves your piece. Feel free to tinker with your work as you go along, but don’t feel obliged to rewrite or scrap it based on the comments of someone who is not offering to buy it (if the editor is seriously interested & wants some rewrites in order to accept it, that’s another story).

TALK TURKEY TO ME! By Jayne Ormerod

There comes a time when a woman must start hosting her own Thanksgiving celebrations. For me that day came at the tender age of 22, when I married a Naval officer and moved 2,500 miles away from family. Had I any inkling that I would have to prepare Thanksgiving feasts entirely on my own, my childhood holidays would have been better spent hanging out in the kitchen learning the tricks of preparing a flawless holiday mean instead of curling up in an over-sized armchair with my nose buried in the latest Nancy Drew mystery. As a result, I’ve had to learn a lot of Turkey Day lessons the hard way.

In the spirit of the season, today I’m offering a Top Five List of Things I Wish My Mother Had Taught Me about Preparing (and Enjoying) a Thanksgiving Feast:

RECIPES OF WRITING by Sheryl Jordan

 

A co-worker gave me a Strawberry Pretzel Dessert recipe over 35 years ago when I was living in Minnesota. It quickly became a  favorite dessert of my family which I make for most holiday celebrations. It’s a relatively simple recipe with only seven ingredients, but it tastes so delightful!

I didn’t get to make this desert much during the summer holidays as we were quite busy. We sold our previous home, and moved into an apartment, putting most of our possessions in storage. Throughout July we traveled quite a bit for our family. We traveled to New York for a quick getaway. Upon returning home, we found a home we love and put an offer in. We then traveled to Washington, D.C. with our daughter and grandchildren so they could see some of the beautiful historical landmarks of the city. We returned to Norfolk and prepared for a quick trip to Chicago for a family gathering.  We closed on the new house and moved in the latter part of September. We are still moving things from the storage unit into the new home. All of this is going on while we are both working demanding jobs, making sure the grandkids come over each weekend and trying to get settled in at our new home.

Classic Halloween Movies Based on Books

With Halloween just a couple of days away, I thought it would be fun to share some classic Halloween movies based on books. 

Since most of my favorite childhood Halloween movies were adapted from books, generations of readers have discovered these timeless classics and memorable characters.

So, grab some candy, light your spooky candles, and curl up on the couch with a classic Halloween book or watch a movie based on a book.

’TIS THE SEASON. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NOVEL OR MOVIE ABOUT BASEBALL? By A. Doubleplay, Guest Blogger

 

"If you build it, he will come."

Wow! It’s that time of year. Crisp fall breezes. A hint of buttered popcorn and roasted hot dogs wafting across the infield. The crack of a wooden bat sending a screaming line-drive toward the shortstop. Yes, that’s right, it’s baseball playoff time. The World Series is just around the corner.

What a game! It’s only been around in its current form for about 150 years. And baseball has been the subject of scores of novels and movies. Two come to mind: Shoeless Joe a 1980 novel by W. P. Kinsella, adapted to the big screen as Field of Dreams in 1989; and The Natural, a 1952 novel by Bernard Malamud, the basis for a movie of the same name in 1984. There are probably other baseball novels that were made into movies.