Town Names for Winter/Christmas Stories

Are you trying to come up with a town name that makes one think of snow or the winter holiday season? Did you know towns appropriately named for winter and/or Christmas stories already exist? AlabamaBell, AlabamaBethlehem, AlabamaChestnut, AlabamaEvergreen, AlabamaStar, Alabama AlaskaCandle, AlaskaNorth Pole, AlaskaWiseman, Alaska ArizonaBell, ArizonaChristmas, ArizonaHumbug, ArizonaPartridge, ArizonaSanta Claus, ArizonaSilver Bell, ArizonaSnowflake, Arizona…

Dispocalypse – a Review

It is 500 years after the Great War destroyed the Earth. In this post-apocalyptic world where the governor is both feared and worshiped, Willow is a seventeen-year-old girl who is just trying to get through her last year of studies. But when her father dies, she experiences strange dreams that change everything about how she…

The Fun of Fiction: Using Famous People, Infamous Mobsters, and Real Places – Guest Post by Andrea Waltz and Richard Fenton

In a way, the Onyx Webb series can sometimes feel like Forrest Gump. What do we mean by that? If you’ve seen the movie, Forrest ends up in the middle of some of our country’s most noteworthy historical events. We have done the same in a way, and though we’ve used some recognizable people and…

Onyx Webb: Book Three: Episodes 7, 8, & 9 – a Review

Book three in the Onyx Webb series doesn’t slow down any. The history, the events, the characters and their actions—all keep progressing in such a way that it is impossible to disentangle oneself from their lives. Al Capone, Frank Sinatra, Sammie Davis Jr., and Walt Disney are some of the famous people in these three…

Chiroptophobia, the Fear of Bats

Phobias are constant, irrational fears that afflict some people. Their fears should be taken seriously. They should never be made fun of or belittled. But, as writers, we can bless (or curse) our characters with phobias and make the story so much more interesting. What happens if someone encounters the object of their fear? They…

My Kindle Oasis – a Review

Before I bought the Kindle Oasis, I was using the Kindle app on my tablet. Maybe it was because my tablet was old, but it was becoming a chore to read books on it. When I would open the Kindle app, it would have to warm up for about ten minutes before I could open…

The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton – a Review

Elizabeth Cady Stanton definitely had a mind of her own. She had no interest in things that women were supposed to find fascinating. Instead, she had an insatiable desire to involve herself in chemistry, law, mathematics, the freeing of slaves, and improving the rights of women. In 1823, many laws were unfair to women. This…

The Classic Poison Strychnine

Arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine are the classic poisons. The seemingly innocent little old ladies in Arsenic and Old Lace, one of my favorite movies, used these three poisons in their deadly elderberry wine. One gallon of this toxic wine contained one teaspoon of arsenic, half a teaspoon of strychnine, and just a pinch of cyanide. Unsuspecting…

Martha Kennedy Guest Post/Interview – The Protestant Reformation and Freedom of Religion

Did the Protestant Reformation improve the quality of the lives of wives? Or did it make it worse? When the Anabaptist Swiss immigrated to the U.S. during the 17th and 18th centuries, what three faiths did they bring with them? Why did the Anabaptists believe that the powers of church and state should remain separate?…