Charlie Brown
clumsy, kind
walking, giving, helping
boy, friend, girl, bully
bossing, mocking, yelling
loud, mean
Lucy
Wordless Wednesday
Top Ten Tuesday
It’s time again for my TTT list. The Broke and the Bookish suggested a list of the Top Ten Books I Enjoyed that have Under 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads. I was quite surprised when I went to my Goodreads account in search of this information, and I hope that some of you will help increase the number of Ratings for these on Goodreads.
I thought this book was fantastic! I know that Betsy is a fairly new author, and she’s an indie, so read this book and rate it on Goodreads. This book is an incredible love story. It touched my heart deeply and left a lasting impression in my mind. It is absolutely unforgettable and worth the read. I was shocked to see that this book has less than 300 Goodreads ratings.
2. 
This is a good read as well. It begins with gladiators, includes a love story and the loss of a city. It currently has less than 700 Goodreads ratings.
3. 
This was one of the ones that really surprised me because Tosca Lee is a well-known successful author. She has co-authored some works with Ted Dekker, and yet this book currently has less than 1,700 ratings on Goodreads. I liked this story quite a bit. It was interesting to take a well-researched, yet also imaginative, journey into the story of Adam and Eve of the Bible. Since the Bible couldn’t possibly tell us everything about the lives of all of the fascinating people it teaches about and their time periods, it’s very interesting to think about what more of their lives may have been like, and Tosca Lee does this well within the structure of what their time and lives may well have been like due to her in depth research.
4. 
and 
These are two great books for those of you who like suspense filled with weird or otherwordly things. If you’ve never read any of Mike Dellosso’s books, you don’t know what you’re missing. If you like Dean Koontz’s works, you’ll like Mikes Dellosso’s stories as well. So, go ahead, read a Mike Dellosso novel and boost those Goodreads ratings.
5. 
This is the first book in the “Amazing Tales of Max and Liz” series by Jenny L. Cote. Technically, these books are written for kids, but if you are an animal lover, you will love these stories not matter your age. They are a great series for parents to read aloud to their kids or to enjoy as a family. I read this one on my own first, then I read it to my 11 year old son, who absolutely loved it. We just started reading the second book in the series and have already fallen in love with one of the new animal characters Jenny introduces in it. This book currently has less than 300 Goodreads ratings.
6. 
My favorite books have always been romance and love stories, and in recent years if they have history included, all the better. This is a wonderful story about Emma Chambers and a rash decision she makes so that her brother may be free from worrying about her. At first she believes she may face an unhappy future because of her decision, but things eventually change for the better. This is the first book in the “Beacons of Hope” series by Jody Hedlund. This book currently has less than 1, 400 Goodread ratings.
7. 
Yes, I am a big Mike Dellosso fan, and so I would love to see more people reading and rating his books. This one has been touted as “his best yet”, but there is a sequel to this that just came out — Kill Devil which is getting great reviews on Amazon. These two books are full of suspense and have been compared to the Bourne series by Robert Ludlum. Centralia currently has less than 200 Goodreads ratings.
8. 
, 
and 
This series by Eliot Pattison is a story about mysterious killings that take place in Colonial America. I love history and have always been fascinated by the American Indians and disgusted with the European immigrants’ treatment of them, so I enjoyed these books. Currently, Bone Rattler as less than 1,300 Goodrreads ratings, Eye of the Raven has less than 300, and Original Death has less than 200.
9. 
, 
, 
, 
and 
Yes, this is an historical romance series. It is set in the Old West. The books are short, easy reads and are quite enjoyable, especially when you want a good read but don’t have a lot of time. Also, Colleen Coble is a well-established author, who wrote this series sometime ago, and just recently re-released it. A Heart’s Disguise has less than 270 Goodreads ratings, A Heart’s Obsession has less than 210, and the last three books of this series each have less than 200 Goodreads ratings.
10. 
Dauntless is the first book in the Valiant Hearts series by Dina L. Sleiman, and it recently was in the finals for the Young Adult category in the Carol Awards. It’s a great book that includes history, action and adventure and romance! Yet it has less than 1,000 Goodreads ratings. Also, the third book of this series, Courageous, releases tomorrow!
Of course, I have rated all of these on Goodreads and you can also find my book reviews on them here on my blog under the Book Reviews category.
A Great Research Resource
When you write historical fiction, there is a need to do some research: research on the time period, the clothes people wore and the foods they ate during that time period, the cost of things during that time period, occupations of that time period, the way people spoke/words that were and weren’t used and more. Also, if your story is set in what was a real place in that time period, you need to know what that place was like, what the weather was like, what the land and buildings looked like.
In addition to time and place, you may choose to have one of your characters working a job you are unfamiliar with or that is no longer an occupation in today’s world or that requires them to work with tools or animals you are unfamiliar with. These things will then need to be researched also.
Research is time consuming, but it can be quite fun. You will learn interesting things that you may find fascinating. You may even find them leading you to research something else as another idea for something to include in your story may arise.
Being something between a plotter and a pantser, when I was in the beginning stages of my novel, I researched what I felt I needed to have accurate information about; mostly setting — place and time period. I also researched names to be sure my character’s didn’t have names that couldn’t possibly have been used in the time period. I had a good idea of what people wore but I still did some research to be sure, but I didn’t spend as much time on this as I did on the setting components. I researched a couple of occupations, one a lot more than the others.
Okay, you might think, but where did you look for the information you needed? Well, I did a lot of research online. The internet is a wealth of information, as long as you are careful and check that the websites and/or blogs you get your information from are accurate and legitimate. I never go to Wikipedia without checking other places to be sure the information lines up, and I rarely use Wikipedia.
One great source for historical research are the websites of museums. In addition, you may want to call the museum and ask if they have any information they would be willing to send to you through snailmail. I recently did this and was surprised at how easy it was. I thought I may have to pay a fee, at least to cover postage and handling, but the lady I spoke with was willing to gather information and send two packets to me. I was so excited! I can’t wait for these packets to arrive. I check my mailbox everyday, Monday through Saturday. It is is currently about a week and a half and I’m still eagerly awaiting my packets.
Other great resources: if your story’s time period isn’t too far in the past, older folk who lived during that time love to share memories, books (biographies, diaries and journals or logbooks written by someone who lived in your time period) are still a great resource, speaking with an historian who specializes in your story’s time period, and old newspapers or newspaper archives. Of course, if your story’s setting — place, isn’t too far away and it’s feasible for you to go there, visiting the actual place and checking out the museums and historical tourist spots is a great resource that really gives you a visual and makes your story’s place come to life.
Do you write historical fiction? What is your favorite research resource?
Flash Fiction Friday: Out of the Flames
She sat in a heap next to the smoking embers of what used to be a cabin. Her face was black except where the tears had run down. Her dress streaked with black had some holes where the fire had grabbed it but she had managed to extinguish those flames.
A rider came into the yard. She didn’t even look up.
* * * * *
He was too late. He had seen the flames from a couple of miles away and smelled the smoke as the wind carried it to his homestead. He had ridden as fast as he could in hopes of helping whoever was in trouble.
There didn’t seem to be anything left. Two buildings lay in smoking embers.
His heart lurched. Was that a woman?
He rode a bit closer, then dismounted. Yes, it was a woman, but she didn’t move a muscle, didn’t even seem to be aware that he was there.
He stepped closer. “Ma’am?”
No response.
He squatted and touched her arm. “Ma’am, are you okay?”
When her eyes met his, his heart plunged into his stomach. Her eyes displayed emptiness. A couple of stray tears trickled down her cheeks. She seemed unable to speak.
She appeared to be a few years younger than he. Her empty eyes were smoky gray and her brown hair lay in tangles on her shoulders. He was certain that cleaned up she’d be right pretty.
One thing was certain, she was alone and needed help. He wasn’t about to leave her here.
“Ma’am, my name’s Joshua Collins. I live just a few miles from here. I’d like to take you home with me. I promise no harm will come to you, but you can’t stay here. Can you stand?”
He took her hand and placed his arm around her waist to help her to her feet. She didn’t appear to have any injuries aside from some blisters on her hands he reckoned she got from trying to stop the fire. He led her to his horse and helped her mount. He climbed up behind her and headed back to his homestead at a much slower pace than when he was trying to get here.
At his homestead, he got some cool water and cleaned her hands and face. He put some ointment on her hands. She was exhausted and hadn’t spoken a word. He let her have his bed and he slept on a chair in the living room. He’d see about getting her some things tomorrow.
He had just dozed off when a woman’s scream startled him awake. He went into the bedroom to find the woman sitting up in the bed. She was screaming, “Clint, no, Clint don’t go in there! The barn’s too far gone! Clint!” Then she started sobbing. He sat down and held her in his arms. “It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m so sorry about Clint.”
When her sobbing quieted, he told her to lie back down, covered her with the blanket and went back to his chair in the living room. This poor woman had a long road ahead. He would do whatever he could to make it easier for her.
My Faithful Friend Poem
My Faithful Friend
by Kelly F. Barr
His ears perk up when I speak.
His kisses are wet and sloppy.
He senses when I’m sad or ill
And offers me comfort.
As soon as I take a seat
He is right beside me.
He puts his head upon my lap
For a scratch on chin or behind ears.
He’s quiet unless he senses a threat,
Then his growl and bark are menacing.
He is friendly, obedient, faithful
loyal; cuddly, soft and warm.
We play ball and take walks
Or go for rides in the car.
If you haven’t figured it out,
He is my Labrador Retriever.
Wordless Wednesday
Top Ten Tuesday
Today I get to choose what my Top Ten Tuesday list will be, since The Broke and Bookish have declared it Freebie Week! So, I have decided to do a topic that The Broke and Bookish did before I began participating in Top Ten Tuesday. Today’s list is “My Top Ten Bookish Confessions.”
- I learned to read using the Dick and Jane books.
- I’m one of those who read everything I could get my hands on as a kid including milk cartons and cereal boxes.
- I used to read and record myself for an organization that provided books on tape for people with sight problems.
- I love to read to children.
- I love to use different voices for different characters when reading aloud to children.
- I wish I would have made a list of ALL of the books I’ve read since I started reading. (I’m still not as faithful at this as I should be.)
- My reading tastes have changed over the years.
- I regret getting rid of books I never read.
- I cannot resist a book sale, bargain book rack, a box of books at a yard or garage sale, or a discount book store.
- In addition to reading, I LOVE to write. I am working on my first novel. It is an historical romantic fiction book.
What about you? What Bookish confessions are you hiding? Leave a comment below and tell me one of your Bookish confessions.
Writing Strengths and Weaknesses
Today I’d like to share about the strengths and weaknesses in my writing in hopes of encouraging some of you.
I’ve been writing for a long time, although I took quite a few years off to raise and homeschool my two older sons. I returned to writing three years ago and now am fairly immersed in the writing culture as I am a member of a large local writing group, a huge national writing group (most of which I participate in online), a small writing group that I started which is quite different from the first two mentioned, as well as two critique groups — one online and one that meets face-to-face. In addition to that, I attend at least two small writers’ conferences a year and have connected with quite a few writers online through social media. In addition to all of that, I have this blog.
All that to say that I AM WRITING! Also, I have learned A LOT over the past three years, and continue to learn daily. One of the things I learned most recently is what I am really good at writing and what I really need to work on in my writing, novel writing/fiction writing.
So, I will start with my weakness — description/setting the scene. You see, I have the scene and the characters so ingrained in my brain that I forget the reader cannot “see” it and I simply write the action and dialog with very little description and scene setting. Another reason this happens is because I have heard many people, in the writing world, over the past three years, say things like, “Be careful not to include too much description because it will bog the story down”; “readers don’t want a lot of description”; “too much description can be too telling instead of showing”. Because of these statements, I think that I simply avoided description.
However, over the past three months other writers have been explaining to me how important some description is so that your reader can picture the scenes in their minds. I’ve been told how important it is to include the five senses. I have some wonderful suggestions and examples from other writers that are helping me learn to do this, but I have to be deliberate about it. I have to re-read every scene I write to be sure I included some great description and use of some of the five senses to bring my writing to life.
Yes, as I use description and the five senses, I do see my novel coming to life. So some description and use of the five senses is important because it breathes life into the story! This is hard work for me because it doesn’t come naturally yet. As I said, I have to be deliberate about it, but I am finding it very rewarding, and I believe it will come more naturally the more that I do it because the more that I have done it over the past few days the more comfortable I have gotten with it. However, I will still rely heavily upon my critiques to be sure that the descriptions I write are of good quality.
Now my strength — dialog! Good dialog just flows from my brain onto the page. I was recently made aware of this when several other writers and my critiquers commented and praised my written dialog. I believe this is because I am so in tune with my characters and their personalities and character traits. I’ve never had to work hard to write dialog. It comes easily and naturally.
What do you find comes naturally from you for your writing? What do you have to work deliberately on in your writing? Leave a comment below and share. I’d love to hear from you.
Flash Fiction Friday: Who’s the Real Horse Thief
The horses galloped at a frightening speed. The sleek black stallion quickly gaining upon the bay gelding. The stallion’s rider pulled alongside the gelding and grabbed for the reins as the gelding’s rider jerked the reins hoping the horse would swerve to the right.
Too late. The horses halted, the stallion’s rider jumped to the ground and pulled the rider from the gelding. His grip was tight and through clenched teeth came the words, “You know what we do to horse thieves?”
The rider in his grasp twisted to break free, but he only gripped tighter. A whimper assaulted his ears. It was then he realized how much he towered over this rider. He pulled the hood from the rider’s head.
“What the . . .?”
Fiery green eyes glared at him from a peaches and cream face with a perfectly shaped pink bow mouth.
“Unhand me, you brute!” She said. “I’m no horse thief.”
“The horse you were galloping away on does not belong to you.”
“It most certainly does. It was stolen from our ranch with several other horses two weeks ago. I was simply taking back what belongs to me.” Her gaze never left his and never faltered.
The sudden silence between them was electrified. Their gazes locked. His eyes were the deepest blue she had ever seen, his face a bit weather beaten but attractive. The dark curls upon his head begged to have her fingers run through them. She found herself holding her breath wanting him to kiss her while fearing that he would.
Approaching riders broke the spell.
A large man with red, curly hair and red beard came to a stop upon a white stallion. There were two men on horseback behind him. The big man looked at the two people before him and let out a hearty chuckle.
“A woman! A woman has almost managed to steal one of our horses?”
“It is not your horse!”
The man beside her put his arm around her waist.
The man on the horse raised a brow at the man on the ground. “You know this little spitfire?”
“I’ve seen her on the rodeo circuit. She’s had my attention for some time now.” He grinned, revealing deep dimples.
“He . . .” The rest of her sentence was cut off as he pulled her closer to his side.
“Well, I’ll take the horse. You can do with her what you will.” The big man grinned at the man on the ground and reached for her horse’s reins.
The man next to her handed the reins, of her horse, to the big man. He and the other two rode away.
She pelted his chest with her fists with no effect. “Why did you let him take my horse again?”
“If you wouldn’t have given up that horse, you would’ve been in terrible danger. That man has no care for people and he will stop at nothing to obtain any horses he wants.”
“So you lied, and I suppose you see yourself as my hero.” Her eyes flashed.
A mischievous smile played across his lips and he bowed. “At your service.”
“Unbelievable! I don’t need a hero. I need my horse.” Her words sounded biting even to her own ears, and when she saw a flicker of what? Pain? Flash in his eyes, she almost wished she could take them back.
“Look, I’m sorry about your horse. Let me take you home.”
Again their eyes met and she couldn’t look away. What was it about this man that had such an effect on her. Why did she want to hit him and kiss him at the same time?
“Fine, but I’ll sit behind you.” There was no way she was going to sit in front of him on that horse so that she would have to lean back against his broad chest and have his muscled arms around her to hold the reins. The thought alone brought heat to her cheeks. She hoped he didn’t notice.
He smiled as her cheeks grew pink with her words. “Have it your way.”
* * * * *
When they arrived at the ranch, he brought his horse to a stop at the end of the lane where some low-hanging tree branches hid them from the house. He dismounted the horse and reached up, put his hands on her waist and pulled her down. His hands lingered on her waist longer than necessary and when she looked up, his mouth met hers.
The kiss was quick and tender but her pulse was pounding and her knees were weak. She clung to his arms to keep her balance. He put a finger under her chin and raised her head to look into her eyes.
“My name is Elijah Shepard. I’m not a horse thief and I’d really like to see you again.”
She stood on her own now with many thoughts swirling through her mind.
When the thoughts cleared, she said, “If you’re not a horse thief, prove it. Help me get my horse back. That’s the only way you’re going to see me again.”
His lips formed a tight thin line.
She turned to go.
“Hey, you didn’t tell me your name.”
“Samantha. Samantha Bennet.”
Kelly F Barr 