Those of you who know me know that I love cats. So when I found this tender little song by David Archuleta, I knew I had to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Book Lover's Holiday Hop: Apologies, explanation, and winner!
My apologies for being late to choose the winner of the Book Lover's Holiday Hop here at JDP NEWS. I moved into a brand new house a week and a half ago and woke up yesterday morning to find this in one of my bedrooms:
That's a pocket of water inside the wall, traveling...well, down my wall. There was a leak in the ceiling which my builder spent all day attending to. (And thus distracting me from choosing a Hop Winner!) By the end of the day, the wall in the bedroom looked like this:
And the ceiling in my bathroom looked like this, because there was a water pocket hiding in there, too!
In addition to these lovely holes in my brand new house, there are three very large fans running day and night drying out the wet spots before the builder comes back and patches up these looming gaps.
All in all, I became a little forgetful about my blog responsibilities, but happily my brain got back on track tonight and I am now ready to announce the winner of the Book Lover's Giveaway Hop:
And the winner is...Jamie Wells! Jamie has won a copy of my e-novella, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance.
Thank you to everyone who entered and for being so patient while I worked through my latest house crisis!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Christmas Books Giveaway Hop: Winner!
Congratulations to Lu Ann, winner of the Christmas Books Giveaway Hop on JDP NEWS! Lu Ann has won a copy of my sweet e-novella, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Christmas Books Giveaway Hop
Welcome to the Christmas Books Giveaway Hop, sponsored by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Laurie Here.
Here at JDP NEWS I'm giving away a copy of my sweet medieval Christmas novella, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance. Here's the story summary.
When Burthred comes courting on Christmas Eve, Meg rejects his advances. She has her heart set on becoming a nun and insists that he call her Christina, the spiritual name she has chosen for herself. She tries to make him swear on her box of holy relics that he will not pursue her, but he carefully words his oath to allow him to stay in her candlelit chamber and try to change her mind.
What Meg does not confess is that her reliquary box holds a secret.
Burthred needs a wife, and no one will satisfy him except Meg. He swore on his father’s deathbed that he would marry her. But Burthred has a secret, too. When they come together before the Yule fire, their shared revelations will either join their hearts together or tear them apart.
This giveaway is open to International entries. The winner will have her choice of a Smashwords coupon to choose her own e-format.
Please enter via the Rafflecopter form below. (NOTE TO READERS OF MY BLOG ON GOODREADS. TO ENTER THIS CONTEST, PLEASE CLICK OVER TO MY BLOG AND ENTER VIA RAFFLECOPTER)
The hop ends at 11:59 EST December 7. Winner will be drawn on December 8.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Entrants must be 18 years or older. Winners will be selected on December 8, 2012. Winners have 48 hours to respond to an email notifying them of their win. Prizes not claimed within 48 hours will be reawarded Sponsor name and contact info: Joyce DiPastena, jdipastena@yahoo.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW
All entered? Click below for some more great Christmas giveaways!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Sweet Saturday Samples
Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Samples, where authors share sweet, clean excerpts from their works with you!Last week I shared with you an excerpt from my short Christmas story, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance. (Click here if you haven't read it and would like to.) This week I'd like to share an excerpt from a second short Christmas story of mine, called "Caroles on the Green." This story is one of six sweet short romances included in A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection.
Here is an excerpt from my contribution to the collection, where the characters are preparing to dance a medieval Christmas carole. (Yes, that was the spelling when it was a dance.)
*****************
Caroles on the Green
England
December 24, 1151
“We are to dance sinister, eh?”
Isabel stiffened. Amidst all the shuffling, she had not seen
Lucian maneuver into position on her right. Or perhaps it was mere coincidence.
He would have been on the opposite side of Ronwen had they been dancing the
other direction. Ronwen certainly looked unhappy to see him take Isabel’s free
hand in his. Lucian lifted her fingers lightly and gazed for a moment at the
pale yellow stone. Did he remember that she preferred the deeper hues of
emeralds and rubies to set off her dark coloring?
“They begin the circle to the right in the East,” he said,
as he slipped her fingers into the strong grip that she remembered so well.
She felt herself recoiling ever so slightly from Sir Theo’s
weak clasp on her other side and silently chastised herself. She would teach
him that he need not be so diffident, once he knew that she wished to marry
him.
“I do not see that it matters which direction we circle, so
long as we all move in unison,” she said.
She tossed Lucian one of her haughty looks and felt a little
hitch in her breath. He had recovered quite splendidly from their last
encounter, when he had sported two black eyes and a swollen nose. The latter
cast slightly sideways, a departure from the arrogantly straight nose she
remembered in his youth and in the proud young crusader who had returned from
the East. Judging from the dagger looks Ronwen threw at her, the flaw in his
otherwise absurdly handsome face had not dampened her cousin’s welcome of
Lucian’s courtship one whit. Then why did he not gaze at Ronwen, instead of
holding Isabel’s eyes with a weighing look that she refused to break first?
The hollow thump thump thump of a drum finally broke the spell for them both. Isabel saw the
confusion that flooded the circle as the music started. They surely wondered
which way Sir Theo would decide to step first. She would have leaned over to
him, but felt the subtle pressure of Lucian’s hand guiding her into a gentle
bounce on the balls of her feet in rhythm to the beat of the drums. She fought
back waves of memories at his touch, even as she watched Sir Theo’s face flame
when he realized himself the center of attention. All the watching eyes seemed
to freeze him into place.
Isabel’s bounce grew more impatient until at last she tugged
on Sir Theo’s hand, trying to signal him to begin. Sir Theo gave a visible
start and apparently thinking she wished him to move her direction, lurched so
suddenly to his right that he crashed into Isabel’s shoulder and sent her
stumbling into Lucian.
Lucian’s fingers fluttered around hers, as though instinct
commanded he release her hand and steady her with his strong arm around her
waist. Or so rose the unbidden vision to her mind. A vision which the crack of
his chin against the top of her head obliterated. She heard the clack of his
teeth before his chin snapped up. The blow reverberated through her skull and left
her leaning against his chest, momentarily stunned. The decorative band of
embroidery that ran around the breast of his deep blue tunic swam before her
watering eyes.
His hand tightened on hers and he nudged her upright with
his shoulder—but not before he lowered his head and murmured into her ear on a
soft note of mockery, “The same old Isabel.”
*****************
A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection contains six short, clean winter romances by Sarah M. Eden, Heidi Ashworth, Annette Lyon, Joyce DiPastena, Donna Hatch, and Heather B. Moore. This ebook is available for only $3.99 on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. To learn more about A Timeless Romance Anthology, visit our blog and like our Facebook page.
Now click here to read more Sweet Saturday Samples by more great authors!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Medieval Word of the Day
Rights of warren: permission granted to a knight or baron to hunt small game in the royal forests, such as hares, conies, pheasants, partridges, etc.
(From the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry series, late 15th Century)
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Medieval Word of the Day
Chase: a private forest not under royal forest law, or an area of the royal forest where a knight or baron had been granted permission to hunt big game, such as deer and boar.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop: Winner!
Congratulations to Ayse, winner of the Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop! Ayse has won a copy of my sweet medieval novella, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Medieval Word of the Day
Prime: the second canonical hour of the Catholic Church, after which nuns might listen to readings from the scriptures or lives of the Saints; in 12th Century England, it could fall between 3:40-6:00 AM.
None: the fifth canonical hour of the Catholic Church, after which nuns might eat dinner while one of their number read to them from the scriptures or lives of the Saints; in 12th Century England, it could fall between 1:40-3:00 PM.
See canonical hour.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Blog Tour for "Spinster's Folly": Guest Post with Marsha Ward
Write What You Know -- Or What You Can Research
by Marsha Ward
From the time I first studied creative writing, I've been
told to write what I know. You have, too. What does that mean?
First, let me give you some of my background. For several
years, I wrote feature and news stories for a series of small newspapers. I
wrote hundreds of articles on a wide variety of subjects and people, but I knew
little to nothing about those things or those people before I was assigned to
write about them. The experience I gained during those years taught me about
doing research, and finding out what you don’t know about from your own life
experiences
Now I concentrate on writing novels set in the 19th Century.
Did I live in the 19th Century? No. Does that mean I've broken that paramount
rule of writing what I know?
Again, no. How’s that, you may ask? Here's the explanation:
Writing students of school age are advised to write what they know because they
haven't lived very long. They only know what they have experienced first hand,
so that is all they can call upon. Writing students with more years of life
behind them are also advised to write what they know, but there is the unspoken
understanding that this includes what they can find out about through research,
as well as the life experiences they have as background.
I had to interview, investigate, study and research my news
subjects. That made me an "expert," at least for the moment, on that
topic or person. I knew what I was writing about.
Similarly, although I didn't live through the tumultuous
events of the 19th Century, I did read 150 books for research before I wrote my
novel, The Man from Shenandoah. Now my
readers ask if I was raised on a farm, because my knowledge of the tools and
procedures seems to be so intimate. Research made me an "expert" on
the things I neeced to know to write the book. I'm not as sure what to say
about the readers who congratulate me on my ability to get inside the mind of
my male characters. Maybe being a tomboy in my childhood and youth helped me
"know" what to write in that area!
In my newest novel, Spinster’s Folly, I wrote about abuse and manipulative behavior. Some
of that I knew intimately from an experience our family had in years past.
However, I still had to brush up on those topics, as well as doing heavy
research on experiences my characters would encounter in the course of the
story, like how to play poker. After my online research (hurray for the
Internet!), and picking the minds of friends with poker knowledge, I went so far
as to buy several books, including one on how to cheat at poker!
My next novel goes back in time from where I’ve set my first
four Owen Family Saga books. This one will explore Rulon Owen’s life as an
infantryman during the War Against Northern Aggression, as it was known in the
Confederate States of America. That’s the American Civil War to you Yankees. I
have acquired a knee-high stack of reference books on the topic, as well as
documentary videos and several notebooks filled with my gleanings from Civil
War sites online. Because many fans of those time are, well, fanatics, I have
to get my facts right!
You do what you have to do to get the facts right and tell a
good tale. The next time someone tells you to "write what you know,"
take the counsel with a grain of salt, remembering that unspoken addition to
the suggestion: "...or what you can find out about!"
More about Marsha Ward : Marsha Ward was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and currently
lives in a pine forest in central Arizona. Marsha is an award-winning poet,
freelance writer and editor whose published work includes four novels, two
collaborative non-fiction books on writing, a collection of prose and poetry,
and over 900 articles, columns, poems and short stories. Her novels, The Man
from Shenandoah, Ride to Raton, Trail of Storms, and Spinster’s Folly have
received rave reviews from both readers and reviewers.
Visit Marsha's author pages at Smashwords and
Amazon:
Or learn more about Marsha and her books at the following links:
Website: http://marshaward.com
Author Blog: http://marshaward.blogspot.com
Character Blog: http://charactersinmarshashead.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarshaWard
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Medieval Word of the Day
Canonical hour: One of seven prayer times observed by the Catholic church during the Middle Ages. During the Equinox, the hours fell as follows:
Matins: 5:00 AM
Prime: 6:00 AM
Terce: 8:30 AM
Sext: 12:30 PM
None: 2:30 PM
Vespers: 5:00 PM
Compline: 7:00-8:00 PM
These times naturally varied throughout the year as the days accordingly grew longer or shorter. To read more about the canonical hours during various times of the year, visit Court Will Begin at Half-way Terce: Keeping Time in High Middle Ages.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Medieval Word of the Day
Relics: objects venerated as sacred from their association with a saint or martyr.
Reliquary: a container where relics are stored.
Many reliquaries were elaborately decorated. Here's one example of an early medieval reliquary dated from the 7th Century:
You can see another example that I shared with you in a previous post: What Am I Writing Now?
Sweet Saturday Samples
*******************
England 1168
Norgate Castle
Christina ran her thumb over the third smooth bead and repeated another Ave. Her parents had taken away her devotional table, with its carved crucifix and kneeling bench and a rest support for her arms while she repeated her rosary. They thought they had taken her rosary, too, but she had hidden a second one under her mattress.
“Hail Mary, full of grace ...”
Her chamber’s floor chafed her knees through her woolen
skirts. Her parents had removed her prayer pillow, too. She should have thought
to dispose of that comfort herself. The austerity her father viewed as
punishment only prepared her for her chosen future. She had blessed him for the
reminder and promptly blown out her candles and doused the coals in her
brazier, as well. Her teeth chattered against the chill air that seeped through
her gown’s coarse fabric, but she pressed doggedly on with her prayer.
“ ... blessed art thou among women ... ”
Her voice pitched higher and louder as the strains of the
music swelled from the great hall of Norgate Castle below stairs, until her
determination to drown out the competing noise nearly left her shouting. Why
were they not singing solemn hymns on this holy night, instead of dancing like
heathens? She had been compelled to attend enough of her father’s Christmas
feasts through the years to recognize the driving beat that thrummed the
timbers of the floor as one of the lively carole dances Lord Alun was partial
to.
She imagined her father roaring in his deep bass voice, “The
holly and the ivy,” as his heavy body lumbered around in an otherwise lightly
skipping circle that included her mother and uncles and aunts and cousins and
more meddlesome neighbors than she cared to number. “The rising of the sun, the
running of the deer,” they would sing in their turn in united refrain. When her
uncle the abbot reproved them, they would widen their eyes and innocently deny
the words held any pagan meanings, but rather a mystical symbolism so wise a
priest as he could surely discern.
He had frowned at them for eighteen years, but this was the
year she would prove his strictures had fallen on one pair of listening ears.
Her thumb moved to another bead. “Hail Mary, full of grace ...
”
She wondered if God objected to being bellowed at on
Christmas Eve. Or to grumbling stomachs that rumbled a low counterpoint to
prayer.
Between the music, her determination to ignore her hunger,
and her vociferous invocation, she did not hear the tread of footsteps outside
her door. A sudden blast of pipe and drum warned her too late that someone had
flung open the door. She sprang up from her knees and tucked her hands with the
betraying rosary behind her back, thankful for the protective gloom that hid
her motion. She wondered if she could cast herself onto her bed in pretended
slumber before the intruder saw.
*******************
Thank you for stopping by! If you'd like to read more, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance is only $1.99 on Amazon, Smashwords, and Sony. Also available in the Apple Bookstore. (I'm still waiting for the Nook version to go live. In the meantime, you can download epub copies from Smashwords, if you'd like.)
Now click here to find some more Sweet Saturday Samples.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Medieval Word of the Day
Rosary: a Roman Catholic devotion consisting of a series of prayers spoken in a specific order; includes the Ave Maria and the Paternoster. Also a string of beads that helps the person praying keep track of the prayers.
(From the painting Medieval Pomanders with Rosary, 15th Century)
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Tuesday Teaser on Thursday
Oops! I forgot to share my Tuesday Teaser with you on Tuesday, so here it is on Thursday!
Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with “cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I’ve borrowed it from LDS Women’s Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!
I'm adapting the rules slightly. I'll be quoting some random lines from the last chapter I read before I post a teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book from me. Here's a teaser from The Unveiling, by Tamara Leigh:
She tossed the blanket aside and padded to the chapel to peer through the narow opening between the doors.
It was Wulfrith. Silver head bowed, he knelt before the altar. Seeing the proud warrior humbled made new doubt ripple through her and caused the vow she had made Rowan to stagger. She should not be here.
(From The Unveiling, 36%)
If you'd like to share a teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop
Welcome to the Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop, sponsored by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Tristi Pinkston.
Christmas is right around the corner, so here at JDP NEWS I'm giving away a copy of my sweet medieval Christmas romance, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance. This is a short story I wrote especially for Christmas. Here's the story summary.
When Burthred comes courting on Christmas Eve, Meg rejects
his advances. She has her heart set on becoming a nun and insists that he call
her Christina, the spiritual name she has chosen for herself. She tries to make
him swear on her box of holy relics that he will not pursue her, but he
carefully words his oath to allow him to stay in her candlelit chamber and try
to change her mind.
What Meg does not confess is that her reliquary box holds a
secret.
Burthred needs a wife, and no one will satisfy him except
Meg. He swore on his father’s deathbed that he would marry her. But Burthred
has a secret, too. When they come together before the Yule fire, their shared
revelations will either join their hearts together or tear them apart.
Since this is in e-format, I'm opening the giveaway up to International entries. The winner will have her choice of a Smashwords coupon to choose her own format or a PDF copy.
Please enter via the Rafflecopter form below. (NOTE TO READERS OF MY BLOG ON GOODREADS. TO ENTER THIS CONTEST, PLEASE CLICK OVER TO MY BLOG AND ENTER VIA RAFFLECOPTER)
The hop ends at 11:59 EST November 13. Winner will be drawn on November 14. .
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Entrants must be 18 years or older. Winners will be selected on Nov 13, 2012. Winners have 48 hours to respond to an email notifying them of their win. Prizes not claimed within 48 hours will be reawarded Sponsor name and contact info: Joyce DiPastena, jdipastena@yahoo.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW
All entered? Click here for more great blog hop giveaways to hop to! (Or click below. I'm having technical issues with getting the hop list to show up on my blog.)
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