Helping a Friend

The solution fixing my sandals caught the attention of dear blogging compatriot Strayer in need of a footwear fix. I am clueless, so any suggestions are appreciated.

Can you see how the Velcro tore away from its base?

Funny enough, I think my favorite sandals are similar. The insoles had stretched out to the point my feet slipped around inside, making them a trip hazard.

These are so comfortable...

I resolved the issue by cutting out the original fabric and sticking in a replacement. The results are rather slipshod but I don’t care.

This stuff is very useful...

You can see the plastic core in spots...

Do you think so-called moleskin once came from those tiny creatures? Likewise, doesn’t ‘slipshod’ seem like it literally pertains to footwear?

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Author Spotlight - Nick Wilford's "Black & White" Trilogy

Today I am delighted to announce the upcoming release of the second book in Nick Wilford’s ‘Black & White’ trilogy. 'Corruption' will be available February 11, 2019. I reviewed the first tale here, and now I’m happy to announce that book #1 has a new cover and is now available as permafree.

Blurb: Wellesbury Noon and Ezmerelda Dontible have found themselves in a position where they can make their native land somewhere that lives up to its name: Harmonia. However, they’re setting their sights further afield for their number one task: eradicating the disease that has plagued the neighbouring country of Loretania for generations and allowed the privileged Harmonians to live in a sterile environment.

After dispatching a team of scientists to Loretania, armed with cratefuls of an antidote and vaccine and headed up by their friend, Dr George Tindleson, Welles, Ez, and Welles’s brother Mal – who grew up in that benighted nation – start to worry when they hear nothing back, despite what they had agreed. Commandeering a fishing boat to follow the science team over the sea, they soon find that, while the disease may be on the way out, a new kind of infection has set in – the corruption they thought they had stamped out in Harmonia.

Can they get to the root of the problem and eradicate it before even more damage is done to an innocent people?

*** Warning – this book contains themes that some sensitive readers may find upsetting. ***
Pre-order links: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / Kobo  

Add it on Goodreads

Black & White (Black & White #1)

Cover Design: Germancreative

Blurb: What is the price paid for the creation of a perfect society?

In Whitopolis, a gleamingly white city of the future where illness has been eradicated, shock waves run through the populace when a bedraggled, dirt-stricken boy materialises in the main street. Led by government propaganda, most citizens shun him as a demon, except for Wellesbury Noon – a high school student the same age as the boy.

Upon befriending the boy, Wellesbury feels a connection that he can’t explain – as well as discovering that his new friend comes from a land that is stricken by disease and only has two weeks to live. Why do he and a girl named Ezmerelda Dontible appear to be the only ones who want to help?

As they dig deeper, everything they know is turned on its head – and a race to save one boy becomes a struggle to redeem humanity.
Buy links: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

Add it on Goodreads

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Have you read any good books lately?

PS My apologies to Nick Wilford as I made a mistake and didn't post yesterday as planned.

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Please Help Me Welcome the Lovely Ellen Jacobson, a Darla Discovery if There Ever Was One!

While this doesn’t include my usual Thursday home care tip, I ‘discovered’ the delightful Ms. Jacobson through her blog The Cynical Sailor and His Salty Sidekick. Dear Ellen is a hoot, and her comedic styling shines in her new book, “Murder at the Marina”, which I was privileged to read early in exchange for a fair review. I’ll be sharing that in a few days. Now, as I requested a story for today’s book promotion, I’ll let her take it away. Enjoy, dear readers.

Click to Visit the Amazon Page

Simon the Time Traveling Cat Goes for a Visit

Simon opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched his front paws, sinking his claws into the couch.

“Wait a minute, where are we?” he asked, peering around the room. “This doesn't look like where I fell asleep.”

“Oh, we're at Darla's,” I explained.

Simon sniffed the throw cushions, then growled. “Who the heck is Darla?”

“Darla has a lovely blog and offered to host us to celebrate the release of my cozy mystery, Murder at the Marina.”

“You're not still going on about that stupid book of yours, are you?” Simon jumped on the coffee table and pushed a pen onto the floor. He turned and glared at me. “Listen, lady, no one cares that you wrote a book. All they care about are your stories about me.”

I sighed. “Simon, for the last time, I'm not going to write a book about you. You'll have to be content with the occasional story on my blog.”

Simon's tail swished back and forth. “If you keep it up, lady, I might just stay at Darla's permanently.”

“I'm not sure she'd have you,” I said. “Now just be quiet for a few minutes while I tell everyone about Murder at the Marina and then I'll get you a saucer of full-fat milk.”

BLURB

Murder at the Marina is the first in the new lighthearted and humorous Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery series.

A dilapidated sailboat for your anniversary—not very romantic. A dead body on board—even worse.

Mollie McGhie is hoping for diamonds for her tenth wedding anniversary. Instead, her husband presents her with a dilapidated sailboat. Just one problem—she doesn’t know anything about boats, nor does she want to.

When Mollie discovers someone murdered on board, she hopes it will convince her husband that owning a boat is a bad idea. Unfortunately, he’s more determined than ever to fix the boat up and set out to sea.

Mollie finds herself drawn into the tight-knit community living at Palm Tree Marina in Coconut Cove, a small town on the Florida coast. She uncovers a crime ring dealing in stolen marine equipment, investigates an alien abduction, eats way too many chocolate bars, adopts a cat, and learns far more about sailing than she ever wanted to.

Can Mollie discover who the murderer is before her nosiness gets her killed?

BUY LINKS

You can get a copy of “Murder at the Marina” at:

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CHXQ29Y

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/murder-at-the-marina

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-at-the-marina-ellen-jacobson/1128516692

Apple iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1373848719

Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ellen_Jacobson_Murder_at_the_Marina

ABOUT ELLEN

Ellen Jacobson writes mystery and scifi/fantasy stories. She is the author of the “Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery” series. She lives on a sailboat with her husband, exploring the world from the water. When she isn't working on boat projects or seeking out deserted islands, she blogs about their adventures at The Cynical Sailor.

You can connect with Ellen on:

Author Website - https://ellenjacobsonauthor.com/

Author Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/EllenJacobsonAuthor/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17395138.Ellen_Jacobson

The Cynical Sailor Blog - http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.com/

The Cynical Sailor Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheCynicalSailor/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Ellen__Jacobson

Newsletter Sign-up - http://eepurl.com/dpy5sv

Doesn't this delightful cover just scream 'beach read'?

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Friday Fill-Ins

(Disclaimer: to anyone visiting from the Feline Friday blog hop, I apologize if I don't visit to see your beautiful feline. I didn't expect the lovely host of Comedy Plus to include my Luna, whose photo is at bottom. I am busy with rewrites/editing and thus limiting my time on blogs right now. Be well!)

Thanks go to two lovely bloggers at McGuffy's Reader and Fifteen and Meowing for hosting a blog hop today. Every week, these lovely ladies provide open-ended statements they compile together. I didn’t join the hop officially because I need to write but decided to share here anyway.

Feel free to join in, however. And visit as many blogs as you can. There are some truly nice folks around, like you, dear readers. Here are the prompts:

1. The Winter Olympics are _________.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is _________.

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when _________.

4. I believe that love _________.

1. The Winter Olympics are something I watched as a kid. Now, I don't care about them, though I wish the athletes all the best.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is my 'BloodMoon' series. Heh...

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when I realized my character's early love interest becomes an unwilling villain years later. He and his sister 'gave it away' with their hair and eye color when I was working on their origin story yesterday, which was super cool.

4. I believe that love from my cat Luna was the soulmate type.

RIP Luna (1999 (?) - August 5, 2014)

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Please Welcome Author Nick Wilford with Excellent Writing Insight

Hi Darla! Thanks for helping out with my blog tour today. I’d like to engage your readers in a discussion if I may.

Darla: Splendid, Nick! Thank you for guest posting. I really enjoyed "Black and White" and am delighted to host you.

Why is it important to include some romance in non-romance books?

I’m the last person to count myself as a romance writer, and it’s not a genre I had read a lot of before I started writing books. But I have met some really excellent fellow authors who write romance, and seem to do something different with it. There are always new things to do in every genre; it’s all in the hands of the author. And it’s interesting when genres mix and mingle. When beginning to write Black & White, I didn’t set out to include the element of romance. It was something that arose naturally, and it did serve the plot. I don’t think anything should be included in a book just for the sake of it.

The world of my novel is quite grim on the face of it. Not because there are bad things happening – crime as we would see it has been eradicated, people have been conditioned out of it, and of course that’s a good thing. But the society is very sterile. Not just for the fact that there is no dirt or illness – things are hyper-ordered and regimented, with people eating meals and working out at set times. It’s as if the human touch has been lost. Marriages never seem to be particularly affectionate, and people also don’t extend that much love to their kids (only one is allowed per family). My two young leads, Wellesbury and Ezmerelda, both have friend groups that are characterised by quite a mean, cutting sense of humour. So the idea of romance blossoming between them was something that really helped offset this and offered some light relief. It wasn’t immediately obvious – as I said earlier, it wasn’t planned from the start. But right away I was intrigued by the dynamic between them. It was clear that Ezmerelda is smarter than Wellesbury – and smarter than her whole peer group, in fact, which irks them. But her intentions are always good, so hopefully it doesn’t irk the reader. She’s also the practical, level-headed one, where Welles is wide-eyed and optimistic. She’s great at taking his ideas and fleshing them out into a concrete plan, and she’ll also give him a pep talk whenever he gets discouraged.

So initially, this was more a case of two like-minded souls finding each other than something that was written in the stars to be a great romance. But then, I find the appearance of “insta-love” in books quite bothersome. At least give them a chance to get to know each other first. With Welles and Ez, their feelings developed after they had been through quite a lot of stuff together – some very adverse circumstances – and they started to realise that it really was them against the world. Hopefully this will make the reader root for them to succeed even more, especially when it looks they might not get the chance to be together.

All in all, I think a splash of romance is a great addition to any story. It can help round out your characters and draw the reader in. But just like our real-world affairs of the heart, don’t try and force anything. In fact, just get on with the main plot and if things develop organically – well, then it was meant to be. This will make for a much more satisfactory experience for the reader.

What are your thoughts on including romance in non-romance genres?

Title: Black & White

Author: Nick Wilford

Genre: YA dystopian Series #: 1 of 3

Release date: 18th September 2017

Publisher: Superstar Peanut Publishing

Blurb:

What is the price paid for the creation of a perfect society?

In Whitopolis, a gleamingly white city of the future where illness has been eradicated, shock waves run through the populace when a bedraggled, dirt-stricken boy materialises in the main street. Led by government propaganda, most citizens shun him as a demon, except for Wellesbury Noon – a high school student the same age as the boy.

Upon befriending the boy, Wellesbury feels a connection that he can’t explain – as well as discovering that his new friend comes from a land that is stricken by disease and only has two weeks to live. Why do he and a girl named Ezmerelda Dontible appear to be the only ones who want to help?

As they dig deeper, everything they know is turned on its head – and a race to save one boy becomes a struggle to redeem humanity.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

Add it on Goodreads

Meet the author:

Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those early morning times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. He has four short stories published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. Visit him at his blog or connect with him on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, or Amazon.

Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of my collection A Change of Mind and Other Stories or a $10 giftcard! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meet A. Catherine Noon, Coauthor of Tiger Tiger (Chicagoland Shifters)

In celebration of Tiger Tiger (Chicagoland Shifters) becoming available so recently, I am lucky to announce that one half of the dynamic writing team of A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder could take a few minutes for an interview.  Ms. Noon, you honor me by agreeing to be grilled.  ~grin~  While I focused on the writing aspect here, folks reading should know that there is another side to this interview on The Nightlight Blog.  It features questions from the fangirl in me.  ~squee~  Now, down to business, as it were.

Advice from Author Ann Somerville

I decided to share something I think is really interesting to aspiring authors. Now I need to go back to reading it myself!

Publication, self-publication, and getting yourself out there

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Interview with Josh Lanyon

Come enjoy my quirky email interview with gifted writer Josh Lanyon. I'd love comments to make him feel welcome!

Nightlight

Guest Thursday Thirteen

A good friend of mine wrote a great list before ever seeing the rather opposite one that I posted last week. She's a gifted writer with invaluable insights and encouragement. And I thank her for the honor of sharing this, as well as reminding me of the good in my partner! I'll let her writing speak for her talent and wonderful personality:

Inspired by Darla’s lists, when my husband did item number one, I decided to add twelve more to make my own list of thoughtful things he does. These are in random order, other than the first one that started my thinking.

1. He frequently calls me from his drive home to be sure I don’t miss a beautiful sunset.

2. He buys little items for my various collections and lets them take over the house.

3. When he finds an interesting critter or natural phenomenon outside, he’ll stop what he’s doing to find me and shout “Honey, bring your camera!”

4. He offers to take me out for dinner on special days or just to give me a break from cooking, even when he’s too tired to go anywhere.

5. One evening, after I left for a meeting, he brought out his smuggled supplies and made a dessert for my birthday. He was disappointed I came home early because he was about to start the cake. In addition to the surprise itself, I was impressed he found all the ingredients and remembered which pans I prefer to use for that item.

6. He happily agrees to proofread even my longest stories.

7. Even when tired from an especially long day at work, he’ll ask if I have any errands for him to do on the way home.

8. My writing stories in my head while we’re having sex doesn’t bother him. This isn’t entirely his loving nature because there is a useful side effect of writing erotica, but I think it’s unusually understanding.

9. He doesn’t mind me watching over his shoulder while he reads my fiction, knowing I just want to know which parts caused him to laugh.

10. I’m presented with flowers and cards for no reason other than he is thinking of me.

11. When he traveled for work on a regular basis, he’d find attractive scenery postcards to send with his “wish you were here to see this with me” messages. The postcards would often arrive after he returned, but that didn’t lessen the sentiment.

12. Although primarily shopping for his own voracious reading habit, he often makes sure to include a book or two on a subject he knows I find of interest.

13. He makes an effort to find things to compliment. That, or it comes naturally. Either way, it’s appreciated.