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Grammar Snufus by Karla Stover

Okay, here's the deal. When did people become "that" instead of "who?" I hear this on the radio on the TV ( and shouldn't news reporters know better )? and unless my memory is wrong, have even read it in places. Why? How hard is it to remember that people require a "who"? And here's another--myself instead of me. My boss did this all this time and it drove me crazy. Are we so afraid to  be in the spotlight that we have to say, "So-and-so and myself did such-and-so?"

The Secret

Reindeer & antlers by J. S. Marlo

J.S. Marlo's BWL Books I don't usually write my blog more than a week ahead of time, but I'm making an exception with this one. I was going to post about my New Year resolutions, which I haven't made yet since it's only December 14, when I saw this post on Facebook about Santa's reindeer. What I was doing on Facebook when I have a million things to do at this time of year is a discussion for another time, but the post caught my attention. Aside from the fact that reindeer, just like deer, don't usually have an "s" in their plural form, it struck me as odd that female reindeer don't lose their antlers, so I did some research. Female reindeer can grow antlers, just like their male counterparts, making them unique in the deer world. However, not all females have antlers since growing them costs a lot of energy. In habitats where food is scarce or of poor quality, antlerless females dominate. Now, why are female reindeer different from the other ...

Touring the Candy Company in St. Augustine, Florida, with J.Q. Rose

Dangerous Sanctuary  by J. Q. Rose Cozy Mystery Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined she would be caring for a flock  that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer. Find more mysteries by J.Q. Rose at BWL Publishing Hello and welcome to the BWL Insiders Blog. Touring the Candy Company in St. Augustine, Florida, with J.Q. Rose Traveling is actually a working holiday for me because, as a writer, I am always studying the people and places where we go. I may catch a name or an idea for a character or a unique setting for my next novel. Snippets of dialogue form in my head as I listen to the regional dialects. But of course, I love seeing new places and all the experiences that go along with that. I'm sharing a place I fell in love with in St. Augustine, Florida,  the oldest European continuously occupied city in the USA. Please join me for an armchair travel tour of the Whetstone Candy Co. in beautiful downSt. Augustine. The story of the establishment of this chocolat...

Advent calendars by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page I would be lying if I said I wasn't counting the days before Christmas, mainly because I take care of my five-year-old granddaughter every morning, and the first thing we do while we're eating breakfast together is to check the date and month on the calendar. Now that we're in December, we also count the days before Christmas Eve and then she opens her two Advent calendars. I debated which Advent calendar to buy her before I settled on the chocolate and the Lego calendars. There are so many different ones on the market, but like many Christmas traditions, where or when did this one start? Advent calendars originated in the 1800s in the German-speaking world when parents began to think up different ways to illustrate the remaining time until Advent for their children in order to highlight the special, holiday atmosphere of the season. Some parents added a new picture with Christmas themes to their wall or windows each day leading up to Christmas...

The NaNoWriMo Experience by Eileen O'Finlan

Click here for purchase information Click here to visit Eileen O'Finlan's website For the past few years I've been reading about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in the writing magazines to which I subscribe. It sounded interesting, but I had yet to give it a try. The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days starting on November 1st. I've been working on Erin's Children , the sequel to Kelegeen for some time. As with any historical novel, there is a ton of research to do before the writing can begin, continuing right up through the final draft. That eats up a lot of time, but it's necessary for an historically accurate story. Once I had enough research under my belt to begin writing, I realized that between a full-time job, caring for my mom who turned 93 in October, and various other obligations, I was having trouble finding time to write. So as November was approaching, I remembered that November is National Novel Writing Month and jumped on the Na...

Romantic expressions - part 2 by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page Like I said last month, I'm fascinated by expressions & idioms. In my October blog, I covered some criminal expressions, but since I write romantic suspense, not just suspense, there's also a romantic side to my stories. So, here are some expressions about love and romance, their meanings, and their origins: - To fall head over heels in love (late 1700s): to fall deeply and completely in love. "Heels over head" used to describe a bad fall, but then in the late 1700s,  it changed to "Head over heels" to describe falling in love. - Sugar Daddy (early 1900s): a rich older man who lavishes gifts on a young woman in return for her company or sexual favors . In 1908, Adolph Spreckels, heir to the Spreckel's sugar fortune, married a woman who was 24 years younger than him. She called him "Sugar Daddy". -  On the rocks (late 1800s): a relationship experiencing problems. It was o riginally used for ships which ran agr...

Criminal expressions - part 1 by J. S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page I'm fascinated by expressions & idioms. They are colorful and interesting, and they often stump me as many of them cannot be translated word for word in my first language. I write romantic suspense, so there's always a crime being committed in my stories...and a dead body or two hidden somewhere. I often use expressions and it got me curious to know where they come from. So, here are some of them: - To cover one's tracks (1898): to conceal or destroy evidence of a shameful or nefarious act. The expression stems from "hiding one's footprints". - To get caught red-handed (1432): to get caught in the act. It comes from Scotland, and it's an allusion to having blood, which is red, on one's hand after the execution of a murder or a poaching session. -  To keep one's nose clean (late 19th century): to stay out of trouble, to avoid doing anything shady. It originates from "to keep one's hands clean", an expres...

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