Day: March 12, 2017

Daylight Savings Time

This is the Sunday we “sprang ahead” to Daylight Savings Time.

Everyone seems to hate when DST ends in the fall, because it’s darker “earlier”.

Well, no. It’s darker at the same time; we simply look at our clocks differently.

DST is actually the “unnatural” way of measuring our days.

I’ve often wondered if the advice I read about avoiding  the sun between eleven in the morning to one in the afternoon takes DST into account? Isn’t the sun supposed to be directly overhead at noon? Then wouldn’t the sun be hotter, brighter, more dangerous between ten in the morning and noon during DST because the sun would be at its zenith at eleven?

Several studies have found evidence suggesting that Daylight Savings Time is actually bad for our health.  There are more heart attacks, strokes, and road accidents in the days following the spring ahead than there are at other times. And “falling back” triggers depression and earlier onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder in some people.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for the extra sunlight at the end of the Day Job day.

 

Favorite Love Song

Valentine’s Day is coming up in a few days.

I was going to make a list of my Top 10 Favorite Love Songs, but I don’t have ten. Or maybe I can’t limit it to ten.

However, I do have a favorite. I consider it the best rock & roll love song ever written/recorded.

The Moody Blues, “Nights in White Satin”.

Enjoy.

The Organized Writer Pt 4

One of my RWA chapter mates asked me how I can come up with blogs on a regular basis. I needed to think about it. But I did come up with a true answer.

I spent 30 years in local television, the last couple of them writing news promos. Daily. Looking for the unique angle to make our newscasts stand out over the others in town.  My brain is wired to think of the little hooks.

I have also adapted the calendar (Excel spreadsheet) I used when scheduling sweeps story promos (rating period special news series). I now use the calendar to keep track of my blogs.

It’s all about adapting existing skill sets to current needs.

Loving Day: Getting Political

I try to avoid controversy/politics in my author persona.

Today, I make an exception.

Today is Loving Day, which may not be precisely what you think.

On June 12, 1967, the US Supreme Court struck down laws in 16 states which forbade “interracial” marriages. The defendants in the case were Richard  and Mildred Loving, a black man married to a white woman, who were arrested because their marriage was illegal in the state in which they lived.

Their surname was appropriate to the situation.

  • I am a romance author.
  • I believe in love.
  • Love should not be legislated.
  • The person you love is none of my business.
  • I am happy for you because you’ve found love.

 

 

Researching for Romance

A few months ago, at my very first booksigning, a woman kept hounding me about research. “Romance authors don’t do research,” she insisted.

I was offended. Such preconceived notions are part of why the romance genre continues to be disrespected.  I am here to tell you: Romance authors do research.

For my werewolf books: I researched country music performers, Toby Keith in particular. (The link will take you to the blog I wrote about part of that.) I also researched early American history and the country’s relationship with France during the French Revolution–it’s all the backstory of my werewolf pack.

For my baseball books: my husband and I had season tickets to the local Triple A baseball team for three seasons. We rarely missed a game. I followed player (and their wives!) blogs, interviewed players, and talked to the people running the stadium. I learned some of the rules of International League Baseball. I research what cities have teams. My husband and I researched cities that should have teams, based on certain criteria. My husband and I visit Cooperstown, NY (Baseball Hall of Fame) every summer.

For all my books: I research marriage laws in whatever state I’m writing about. I research floral, fauna, parks, highways, airports, etc. (The state of Montana is very generous with their free roadmaps.)

Early drafts of my books are filled with >>research this<< from times when I’m writing without Internet access.

Other author friends research such riveting topics as modern ranching, orchard husbandry, the Secret Service, how to be a chanteuse, professional bull riding, vineyards, and Scottish history. Books on my shelves include such fascinating titles as: Deadly Doses: a Writer’s Guide to Poisons; Practical Homicide Investigation; The Naming of America; two The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks; The History of Underwear; and 1001 Ways to Be Romantic.

I once had a contest judge suggested I rename the setting of my story because people might confuse it with the salad dressing. Except reality is Thousand Islands Dressing was invented and named for the Thousand Islands region of the New York/Canada border.

Another contest judge informed me I was wrong about laser ID numbers on diamonds–because diamonds are the hardest known substance. Except my former brother-in-law worked in the Diamond District of New York City and he’s the one who told me about laser identification of diamonds.

Research? Just because data isn’t info-dumped into the story doesn’t mean there the topic hasn’t been researched.