What activities come to mind when you think about lakes? Sailing, fishing, picnicking, swimming, water skiing, or just hanging out…
Read more →The Quinstons and their cat, Silver, have finally settled into their home in Bluffington Hills. They are looking forward to…
Read more →Adding new words to my vocabulary is something I really like to do. Since I like learning new words so…
Read more →Flowers are beautiful, and their lovely smell can brighten your day. Plenty of flowers can be seen at weddings as…
Read more →Sometimes family life and relationships are scary. The stories in 𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝐾𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑟 show this, each one in a different way.…
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When you draw in air, do you breath or breathe? If someone tells you what a great job you did, is this person paying you a complement or a compliment? Does lightning or lightening occur during a thunderstorm? When you are at that place, are you their, there, or they’re? affect, effect Affect is a…
Slavery and sex trafficking still occur today. In parts of the world, when a female is kidnapped, most of the time she is sold to serve others through slavery or prostitution. The horrifying things these girls and women are forced to endure should never be experienced by anyone. Allison Wagner, an American journalist, travels to…
Curare, the poison that South American tribesmen would put on the tips of arrows to poison either the game they were hunting or their enemies, is also known as flying death or moonseed as well as other more scientific names. This poison kills the animals but does not infect the meat. Where can this poison…
Secrets. Every family, whether rich or poor, has them. What happens when these secrets are no longer hidden? What would it have been like to be the daughter of a famous painter? Fourteen-year-old Cornelia has a famous father, Rembrandt van Rijn. He was once greatly admired and his paintings sought after. Now he is tottering…
How many horror stories have you heard about the bite of the brown recluse spider? How would you know if you ran into one of these arachnids? How could you use one or more of these venomous creatures in your writing? The first thing you need to look at is the color of the spider.…
Times were hard for everyone during the 1930’s depression. For Negroes, the fact that most did not respect them as people made it even harder for many of them. What they said was seldom believed, and most thought them useless. Then Jonah, an unassuming, exceptionally polite Negro who seems to know just what is going…
Just about every writer dreams of writing words that will have a lasting effect on civilization. Wouldn’t it be awesome if at least one line from each of your books tended to stay in people’s minds? An avalanche on a snow covered mountain can be triggered by something as quiet as a person’s voice. A…
Momo loves to play hide-and-seek. Can you find him in these pictures taken in various places across North America? Yes, this is a photography book, but I have found it to be so much more than just a book of pretty photographs to look at. In what other ways can this book be used? For…
Are you restrained by bands or by banns? Do you eat at a banquet or a banquette? Is a poet called a bard or a barred? Does a bare or a bear live in the woods? bands, banns, bans Bands are materials used to restrain or confine. The bands around their wrists were not easily broken.…
From abbe to ayes, there are a lot of confusing words that begin with “A.” Below are links to each of my articles that explain the differences between these words. Confusing Words from Abbe to Access – Would a nun live in an abbe or an abbey? Is the mother superior an abbess or an abyss? When…
Do you believe that the name you are given at birth has a lot to do with how you live your life? If you do, what would a child named Don Juan Casanova grow up to be like? How would being blessed (or cursed) with such a name affect his life? Look at what these…
How much of The Redemption of Don Juan Casanova based upon his life experiences? Does he have any more storylines in mind for this character? Out of all the books this author has written, which one is his favorite? Is there a special place he has set aside to write? You used to work in…
When Lloyd was in the first grade, his mother was told by the “experts” that he would never learn to read. The world would have missed out on a great author if they had been right. I am glad these “experts” were wrong. Mr. Lofthouse went on to become an author and a teacher in…
As amazing as this may sound, the democratically managed public schools in the United States have been slowly and steadily improving over the last 114 years [actually longer than that], and they continue to improve in spite of the false claims to the contrary. How much of an improvement am I talking about? In 1900,…
How would you respond if you were framed for crimes you didn’t commit? What if there was no way you could prove your innocence? Ethan Card, a Marine fighting in Vietnam, is about to become a patsy for a cruel, power-hungry rogue CIA agent who only wants to cover up his own crimes. Tuyen, a…
How much of Running with the Enemy is fiction? How much of it really happened? How completely does he develop his characters before writing? When did he first have a desire to write? What advice does he have for writers who are striving to be published? You are a Vietnam veteran, and this book started as a…
The food didn’t taste good at all. Was it bad or was it bade? If your toddler refuses to move, is he balking or is he bocking? You go to see your daughter’s dance recital. Did she take ballad, ballade, ballet, or ballot? Would you apply a balm or a barm to wounds? bad, bade…
For what audience was this book written? Which character was her favorite? Where did her inspiration come from? Why did she start the group Kentuckiana Authors ? For what audience is this book intended? This book is for those who like dark, twisted, psychological thrillers. It is not for young teenagers. I’m thinking New Adult…
My Beautiful Suicide is the story of a young girl who wants to end her life in such a way that it helps others. It is also a profound love story of two individuals who, through a series of events, discover just how perfect for each other they are. I will start by saying that…
Luck is defined as the things that happen to a person because of chance. It is the accidental way things happen without being planned. Nate Harlow believes in luck, only he believes that all of his luck is bad. I mean, he always burns his toast. His birthday wishes never come true, and he can…
We all have them. As unique as a fingerprint, this scar left behind by the umbilical cord is a source of fear for some people. What is it about belly buttons that frighten them so much? Whether you fear belly buttons or not, there are ways you can use this phobia in your writing. Facts…
May 1 is Save the Rhino Day. The rhino is a magnificent animal that can weigh anywhere from 750 pounds to 8,000 pounds. The two African and three Asian species stand anywhere from four and a half feet tall to six feet tall. I wouldn’t want to encounter one of these animals. Even though they…
An idiom is a group of words or expression whose meaning cannot be taken from the literal meaning of the individual words in the expression. What does it mean if one is happy as a clam, happy as a clam at high tide, or happy as a clam in mud at high tide? These idioms simply mean that…
You are preparing to go on vacation. Are you going away or aweigh? When you chop down a tree do you use an ax or an acts? The drinks need to be kept chilled. Do you put them on ice or on eyes? avocation, vocation An avocation is a hobby, a diversion, or a distraction. Our doctor’s…
