Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Wordy Wednesday: CHICANERY




CHICANERY

(noun)-the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose.

Origin: late 16th century, French

To me, this definition sort of contradicts itself. “Trickery” and “legal” don’t seem like they should go together. “Trickery” may not necessarily be illegal, but it’s generally not right.

I recently had the opportunity to use CHICANERY in a novel I’m working on, The Daughter's Predicament, book 2 in my Quilting Circle series (due to release May 2019). One character is talking to another about an omission of a major bit of information that another character has a right to know before following through with an agreement—a wedding.
"And Mr. Mallory is fine with all this chicanery?"

CHICANERY led me to SOPHISTRY because it was in the definition in the picture. SOPHISTRY (noun) use of FALLACIOUS argument, especially with the intention of deceiving; a FALLACIOUS argument.

So naturally, SOPHISTRY led me to FALLACIOUS (adjective) based on a mistaken belief.

These would all be fun words to use, in either everyday conversation or in a story. Fill it with all sorts of CHICANERY, SOPHISTRY, and FALLACIOUSNESS. How fun would that be? Loads & loads!

I love it when one fun word leads to another. And in this case, another.


NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Tuesday Tidbits: BOTHELL MUSEUM part 2: THE SCHOOLHOUSE


BOTHEL MUSEUM ONE-ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE

A Photographic Tour


Touring this schoolhouse and looking at these photos made me think how simple their school supplies were compared to when I was in school. Which was so much simpler than when my children went to school. The children who went to this school all those years ago, learned just fine without all the three-ring binders, sticky-notes, and four different colors of highlighters. These children taught the children who taught the children who taught you and I who taught those who are teaching now. And it all started with simple supplies.

Enjoy!


















NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Thursday, August 23, 2018

ThrowBACKLIST Thursday: MARTY'S RIDE

Original Cover                     Updated Cover
Martha "Marty" Rawlings is not the typical, graceful young woman of the 1880s. Having been reared by three older brothers, she is merely "one of the boys," and goes out of her way to prove it. When her twin nine-year-old nieces are kidnapped, Marty doesn't hesitate to track them alone--ready to confront whatever dangers lie in the way of bringing them safely home. Reece Keegan, an accomplished lawyer, is drawn to the spirited Marty. His hopes have many obstacles to overcome, however-not the least of which is repairing the damage done when he, as a court appointed official, took Marty's nieces. If he can earn her trust, maybe he can win her heart as well. But this proves difficult when Reece keeps finding himself at the wrong end of her gun. Marty has learned to trust only herself. Can she begin to trust anyone else--even God?

You might notice that the updated cover is the same image as on the original, but it's been enlarged. I like how it looks all surrounded in blue. Though a beautiful cover, the one thing that bothered me was that they made Marty look like a girl on the cover. She wouldn't have been wearing a dress but Levi's. Her hair came down to her jawline, and she would have been wearing a Stetson. The publisher thought that would make her look like a boy, which would have suited Marty just fine.


When I wrote the first of the Rawling’s Family series, CINDA’S SURPRISE, it was a stand alone. When I met Marty in book 1, I knew she needed a story of her own, one with adventure and bravery. I also wanted to continue Marty’s story by telling her sister’s story through her diary, but that story nor the stories for the other two brothers ever got contracted. MARTY’S RIDE might be rereleased in 2019 in a collection. If so, I think I’ll try to finish LYNNETTE’S DIARY and self-publish it as a novella. In it, not only does it show how Lynnette contributed to Marty being a tomboy and Lynnette’s romance but follows Marty and Reece as they plan their wedding. Obstacles rise to stand in the way of them saying “I do,” and the wedding is in jeopardy.

MARTY’S RIDE, originally released in 2001, is book 2 in my Rawlings Family series. Marty holds a special place in my heart. I love her tenacity and fearlessness.

MARTY’S RIDE was rereleased in a five story collection in 2014 in THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER. This collection might rerelease in 2019. I don’t know if it will be the same collection of stories, and the cover will likely be different.





NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Wordy Wednesday: SKULLDUGGERY




Noun - Underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; trickery

Origin unknown

First known use 1856. I would have thought the first known use would have gone back a lot farther than that. At least back to the 1500s.

Synonyms:
artifice, chicane, chicanery, gamesmanship, hanky-panky, jugglery, legerdemain, subterfuge, trickery, wile, shenanigans


I just like the way this word rolls off the tongue, SKULLDUGGERY. And I want to put an "ARGH, Matey" after it. I mean SKULLDUGGERY and pirates go together.

I found a children's chapter book called SKULLDUGGERY ISLAND from Poptropica in a series for ages 5-8. It looks cute. I might have to check it out from my library just for fun.

I'll try to stay away from any SKULLDUGGERY, but I might toy with a shenanigan or two. =0)



NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Tuesday Tidbits: BOTHELL MUSEUM part 1: The CABIN


There is a sweet little museum in Bothell, Washington with three buildings; a house, a cabin, and a schoolhouse. I plan to shine a light on this little gem with pictures in three parts, possibly four. I have a lot of picture inside the house. I'll start with the cabin.

THE BECKSTROM LOG CABIN


Andrew & Augusta Beckstrom built this cabin in 1884



I have to wonder about these fellows.
I can't tell what the stars are for.
Could this be the local law enforcement?


This high chair is adorable!
Although it doesn't look very comfortable.


I love this stove.
It looks rather fancy for a cabin.






These last three picture were from a storage area to the left of the front door. Looks like farming stuff and things that might have gone in a barn.

I loved seeing all the various items inside this cabin. I tend to think in terms of the bare minimums; table & chairs, bed with pillows & a quilt, a cooking stove, dishes, lamp, shotgun, firewood, and not much more.

But just look at the the things! There's a grinding wheel in the background of one of the pictures, a treadle sewing machine with what looks like a space heater under it, an iron & ironing board, a washboard & wringer, and a myriad of other things. Some of the stuff I don't even know what it is.

I could look at these pictures for hours and probably not see everything.



NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Tuesday Tidbits: HOMOGRAPH



In light of my list of homophones last week, I thought I’d look at HOMOGRAPHS this week.

These are words that are spelled the same but pronounced different and sometimes have radically different meanings. Sometimes, it’s a matter of the emphasis being on a different syllable. Rather than simply listing them or defining them, I thought it would be fun to use them in sentences to highlight the differences.

I have READ this book.
I will READ that book.

My husband plays BASS guitar.
The man went fishing and caught a BASS.

We need to make more PROGRESS during these meetings, because we have not PROGRESSED fast enough toward our goal.

He went to a LIVE concert.
LIVE life well.

The DOVE cooed.
The man DOVE into the water.

Be careful not to TEAR the book pages.
A TEAR rolled down her cheek.

She put a BOW in her hair.
The front of a boat is the BOW.

SOW a layer of seeds in the ground.
The SOW has ten little piglets.

Wait here for a MINUTE.
A MINUTE fraction of an inch.

The music group will RECORD a RECORD.

Pencils are made with LEAD.
LEAD the way.

The WIND blew through the trees.
WIND the yarn into a ball.

She WOUND the yarn into a ball.
The hurtful words have opened an old WOUND.

Like with homophones, these were the HOMOGRAPH that popped into my head, so I’m sure that there are many, many that I have missed.



NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:


Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Wordy Wednesday: BEWHISKERED



BEWHISKERED

Adjective ~ having hair or whiskers growing on the face

BEWHISKERED is a fun word for someone like me who writes historical novels and stories. I could easily use it in my fiction. Someone who writes contemporary stories would need to have just the right character to wield a word like this. It isn’t one that can be carelessly bandied about lest it feel awkward and out of place.


Our dog Bishop was BEWHISKERED.

Today is a two-for-one special, because right below BEWHISKERED was BEWIGGED.


Adjective ~ (of a person) wearing a wig

I don’t know about using BEWIGGED. It sounds awkward, and if I used it, it might seem like I’m trying too hard. So much easier and cleaner to say that someone wore a wig. But just the right character could use BEWIGGED. I’ll have to think on what kind that would be.










NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:

Tuesday Tidbits: QUILTING: AN EXTREME SPORT

A Mini Quilt made by ME I’ve been sewing since I was in first grade. I ran my mom’s sewing machine at top speed, much to the consternation o...