Award Winning Author!!

First I have to apologize for not writing most of this month. My PC was acting up and then out of commission altogether. But it's back now and so am I.

Forgive me also for sounding my own horn, but I wanted to share with you my big news.

Swept Away, Book 2 in my Touch the Sky series won First Place in the Historical Romance category in the 2016 Heart of Excellence Readers Choice contest.

I am told I can now call myself an "Award Winning Author." Who'd-a-thunk-it?

A novelist's life is a solitary one, at least when we're writing. You sit before your computer in the place you are most comfortable writing and stare at the screen for awhile until you decide how to best say what you want to say...

We all work differently, according to our nature. Some authors plan everything to the last detail before they start writing. Some of us have a vague idea of where we're going with the story, then sit down and start the screen staring bit.

I'm definitely the latter type and my blog posts are completely extemporaneous (or off-the-cuff.) It's fun for me to work this way, keeps me alert and interested.

Oh, there are times when I have to research for the story. For Swept Away, my research included life in Norfolk, Virginia in 1837; Members of the Powatan tribe in those days; a bit of the Powatan language; and literally everything about wooden sailing ships design.  You see, there are several merchant ships figuring in the story, a pirate or two, and a British Royal Navy ship. I had to determine the route taken to Casablanca from London. On the way two of the ships stopped separately off the Iberian Peninsula by a Spanish village of fishermen. Fortunately, I speak passable Spanish, so no research was required there...

All of these things put the pictures of my story in my mind and hopefully in the minds of the readers. It makes the tale vivid. It makes it real...like a movie. Now I grant you there are lots of historical mistakes in most movies, but hopefully not in my novels.

Just when I was confident about my knowledge of merchant ships in those days, steamships were created in 1838-1840. So my upcoming book 3 of the same series, His Wicked Lady has everybody traveling faster because they are traveling by steamships - no more following the prevailing winds and adding months to the trip. Foster Shipping is a most forward-thinking company!

I want to thank the readers of my blog who put up with my nonsense. My following isn't huge like some authors have.  But I am proud to announce I've got over 21,000 views over the life of the blog.

I hope you all keep coming back.

Have a good day, free of politics, and a warring cable company who turned everything on my tv pink today. Don't ask...

I watched dvds on which the color is perfect this morning...Just got season 4 of Longmire, one of my all-time favorite series AND Captain America: Civil War. HooHah!!

For some reason my usual political talk shows just aren't the same in pink...They're hysterical that way, but bother my eyes. I mean I like pink but not so much of it...

Thanks for letting me blather on.  Have a great day, free of tropical storms and pink Donald Trumps.

I need some coffee...

Take care.