tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9319811387474326102024-03-26T23:38:10.319-07:00The Uncrushable Jersey DressConquering the world, one Betty Neels at a time.Betty Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comBlogger1655125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-71469415407387085592020-02-07T16:36:00.000-08:002020-03-10T10:29:19.821-07:00A Spreadsheet!<b id="docs-internal-guid-17a3b379-7fff-5928-2f8b-185270f2dc36" style="font-weight: normal;">Oh World Citizens, I am SUCH a fan of emails that treat my Betty-obsession like a study written up for the Lancet. Our dear Betty Anonymous had a question and then dug into it like a treacle tart. Here are her conclusions:</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0c1k1fXID4wlfzKvdF6YI0YujatrOGpMQd3QBmOnb8oXre4YVwox4oVpf0RalrSTqQAKsPFHvqM-4Zhirc10d6xSX4P48qY1uduC0KnjBnqSNi6Y-48NkMVhoEV8rRCme7hDNFXiEoE/s1600/giphy+%25284%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="156" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0c1k1fXID4wlfzKvdF6YI0YujatrOGpMQd3QBmOnb8oXre4YVwox4oVpf0RalrSTqQAKsPFHvqM-4Zhirc10d6xSX4P48qY1uduC0KnjBnqSNi6Y-48NkMVhoEV8rRCme7hDNFXiEoE/s1600/giphy+%25284%2529.gif" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>We're ready to learn, Professor.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #31849b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What are the Ratios in the Canon: RDD+Nurse, RBD+Nurse, RDD+Non-Nurse, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #31849b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">RBD+Non-Nurse?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Over on our Facebook page, Betty Sutapa said it seemed to her "that the RDDs mostly encounter </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">heroines from the nursing profession whereas RBDs mostly encounter heroines from non-nursing </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">professions/stay-at-home heroines". And she wanted to know if her perception was correct.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Taking a leaf out of Betty van den Betsy’s book, I’ve made my business to find out the exact numbers, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">which I couldn’t have done without her awesome spreadsheet: </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">79 Nurses: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Yx_-3FbHqqGdxHwIIhZrFItv6Ws2ZA_oaor9tLKNdAg/edit?usp=sharing">A Neels Database-to-Be </a></span><br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSWwtmZBd8v3H9LgLDOtHquws7E3cy0Upx-DRr9CB_pEu-82GgZYtnr7ue-VGlaOMBzEaM-HIk1AooVaGODPCbJdoGBt9bMbopkJmnRfuYxublxsWvklQDuq5EfjRD1PsyxeLEUg7XB0/s1600/200%25281%2529.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSWwtmZBd8v3H9LgLDOtHquws7E3cy0Upx-DRr9CB_pEu-82GgZYtnr7ue-VGlaOMBzEaM-HIk1AooVaGODPCbJdoGBt9bMbopkJmnRfuYxublxsWvklQDuq5EfjRD1PsyxeLEUg7XB0/s1600/200%25281%2529.webp" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This spreadsheet will leave you breathless. It really will.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #31849b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">RESULTS:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nurse/RDD </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">70</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> couples</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nurse/RBD </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">5</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> couples </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Heidelberg Wedding</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Never Say Goodbye</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Once for All Time</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Romantic Encounter</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Summer Idyll</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nurse/Non-Medical Hero </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> couples</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Heaven around the Corner</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Judith</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufxWqq-7eixNrTErdqqhDD26HHSC9H1SnF7i7IBqX-x4Fuw3urAYDtyzpGzo86rSr4eYitsre3BWFvXp3Mf4APdbNvqRm8Yph-7f24dGnYkeemPVimwUN3nuDHgAH0nHcKx3jmlkrfEw/s1600/nurse_chews.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="499" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufxWqq-7eixNrTErdqqhDD26HHSC9H1SnF7i7IBqX-x4Fuw3urAYDtyzpGzo86rSr4eYitsre3BWFvXp3Mf4APdbNvqRm8Yph-7f24dGnYkeemPVimwUN3nuDHgAH0nHcKx3jmlkrfEw/s320/nurse_chews.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Judith willed herself to find competency in a man who didn't know how to suture.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Non-Nurse/RDD </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">22</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> couples</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Non-Nurse/RBD </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">32</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> couples</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Non-Nurse/ Non-Medical Hero </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> couples</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">All Else Confusion</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A Girl to Love</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Roses and Champagne</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Year’s Happy Ending</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">135 STORIES</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, in total:</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMkiGkNmUym_JGs6rtacU7sdlPYS8K3nj5s7ZLcKC91ov_2RjAzhyphenhyphenZSpOGN2HIzOo9XXgWPwyqJIoL9T2cPNzzghQNutzdR6JLoBD9yJX7Hn1_zkIMY_R4yMk3TEw9fq1boJeduK93ag/s1600/giphy+%25285%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="480" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMkiGkNmUym_JGs6rtacU7sdlPYS8K3nj5s7ZLcKC91ov_2RjAzhyphenhyphenZSpOGN2HIzOo9XXgWPwyqJIoL9T2cPNzzghQNutzdR6JLoBD9yJX7Hn1_zkIMY_R4yMk3TEw9fq1boJeduK93ag/s320/giphy+%25285%2529.gif" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>She totted up the sums on the underside of her crisp apron.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Of the heroines </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">77</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> are nurses, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">58</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> are not.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">On the heroes‘ side, we have </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">92</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> RDDs, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">37</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> RBDs, and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">6 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Non-Medical men.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #31849b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">NURSES</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">70</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> novels, or ~52% of the Canon, Nurses are paired with RDDs.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That means 76% of the RDDs marry Nurses.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nurses paired with RBDs are to be found in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">5</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> novels only, or ~4%. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That’s only 13.5% of the RBDs.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #31849b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">NON-NURSES</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">22</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> of the couples, or ~16%, are pairings of RDDs and Non-Nurses.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That’s 24% of the RDDs.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">32</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> stories, or ~24% of The Great Betty’s oeuvre, RBDs end up marrying Non-Nurses. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That’s 86.5% of the RBDs!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #31849b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">NON-MEDICAL HEROES</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGcdy8xFxO4hYg-9EKTxgKmn8wARRB_GMLVs8PZ9AOgAyQfj_PVTYHnaAC9VzQ0rEKiTb2vg0rnTP56noG_jTbDo0qVR-3P2sPfrxjmvVhyphenhyphennBSSvvnBTt9ce-Z7jSzc9fbfGO8e7XjA4/s1600/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="500" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGcdy8xFxO4hYg-9EKTxgKmn8wARRB_GMLVs8PZ9AOgAyQfj_PVTYHnaAC9VzQ0rEKiTb2vg0rnTP56noG_jTbDo0qVR-3P2sPfrxjmvVhyphenhyphennBSSvvnBTt9ce-Z7jSzc9fbfGO8e7XjA4/s320/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Not every man is a doctor.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> stories only, or ~1.5%, do we have Nurses marrying Non-Medical Heroes.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And in</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> 4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> stories, almost 3% of the Canon, Non-Nurses marry Non-Medical Heroes.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That means exactly ⅓ of the Non-Medical Heroes marry nurses, ⅔ of the Non-Medical Heroes end up married to Non-Nurses.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I counted student nurses as nurses.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nanny by Chance: non-nurse/short stint as student nurse/non-nurse — I counted her as a non-nurse.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Among the non-nurses, we have a physiotherapist, a heroine who spent part of the novel working as </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">an orderly at a hospital, one who jobbed on a geriatric ward, and a couple of nurse’s aids.</span></div>
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-49518670121627098862019-04-02T07:00:00.000-07:002019-09-30T08:13:43.639-07:00Reading with Betty Bridget<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Introduce
yourself (Be as vague or as specific as you like.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Hi, I’m
Bridget. I’m a lifelong reader and work as a youth services librarian. I was
born and raised in East Tennessee, but now I live and work in Western North
Carolina. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP13VDAG_G05-1N-oIqr0ZfOlFBtr6WvkGgvA-GLfmpA9ElFY-0_7FfGGxrEpLw1ykiUNafBnFJ-60cMrBsShzK1qDjUw3sTI2TjAgw5_UY0ML37Sze6lJoaEkQXOiq0vN5hi3tIb4g8o/s1600/giphy+-+2019-04-01T183910.770.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="425" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP13VDAG_G05-1N-oIqr0ZfOlFBtr6WvkGgvA-GLfmpA9ElFY-0_7FfGGxrEpLw1ykiUNafBnFJ-60cMrBsShzK1qDjUw3sTI2TjAgw5_UY0ML37Sze6lJoaEkQXOiq0vN5hi3tIb4g8o/s320/giphy+-+2019-04-01T183910.770.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Bridget aced the "Shushing With My Eyes" test.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When
did you start reading Betty Neels?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I first
read Betty in high school. My local library had some of the gold three-in-one
omnibus Harlequin Treasuries and I remember only liking the ones Betty wrote. I
started collecting Betty books in college via eBay lots. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
is your favorite book(s) and why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Do I have
to pick? I really like almost all of them for various reasons, but the ones I
reread often are Dearest Mary Jane, Cassandra by Chance, Henrietta’s Own
Castle, Damsel in Green, and Tabitha in Moonlight. I could go on but by then I’d
have listed all the books Betty ever wrote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Least
favorite and why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I don’t
recall specific titles, but any where there are particularly nasty Veronicas or
children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPnV-XkQvwS0yN00wbo2cMzqeriJTAD_D9WrufX3AWWYrVht7RckFUY_N8EiNEZ65un6sBHy1crjKeljquurT6huBycXIzw5t-_4bziC7eSW49TxhnHLIECllwPU6o6mumkzpkKcxL9E/s1600/giphy+-+2019-04-01T184156.768.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="500" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPnV-XkQvwS0yN00wbo2cMzqeriJTAD_D9WrufX3AWWYrVht7RckFUY_N8EiNEZ65un6sBHy1crjKeljquurT6huBycXIzw5t-_4bziC7eSW49TxhnHLIECllwPU6o6mumkzpkKcxL9E/s320/giphy+-+2019-04-01T184156.768.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Veronica had popped in<br />for a spot of tea...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself attached
to them?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
details—the food, the clothes, the pets, the quiet lives the heroines lead.
Plus I’ve always enjoyed anything British since I was in middle school and high
school and watched British comedies on PBS on Saturday night. Betty’s books are
comfortable. When I don’t have the mental capacity to start anything new, I
pick up a Betty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
is your favorite genre(s) to read?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I enjoy
cozy mysteries, literary fiction, historical mysteries, and inspirational
historical fiction. To be honest, I’ll try anything once although I don’t
really care for horror, science fiction, or high fantasy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Do you
have a favorite book in any of these genres?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Children's/Picture
book: As a children’s librarian who is responsible for ordering new books this
is an impossible question to answer. Some of my favorite classic picture books
are The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack
Keats, and Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins. More recent favorites include the
Bruce books by Ryan T. Higgins and the Mr. Panda books by Steve Antony. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Classics:
For adults or kids? I read a lot of classic books in college as an English Lit
major. Favorites include The Sketch Book and other stories by Washington
Irving, The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton,
Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith, and most of Shakespeare. My favorite
children’s classics are The Borrowers series by Mary Norton, The Little House
books by Laura Ingalls Wilder... </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSsxx25A7Y4l_9BESxFxthpZ4LjmLtpLCkvHZoMQK0ggrqjuiQBkfX-633rGhF4GKhRW_OaLe4TZCU6leK_T0jR3OASunUp1tgWuYPmzjQHDBA8x4gY6UjDFTP6_i3paW7nuv81t8zlw/s1600/giphy+-+2019-04-01T184546.581.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="300" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSsxx25A7Y4l_9BESxFxthpZ4LjmLtpLCkvHZoMQK0ggrqjuiQBkfX-633rGhF4GKhRW_OaLe4TZCU6leK_T0jR3OASunUp1tgWuYPmzjQHDBA8x4gY6UjDFTP6_i3paW7nuv81t8zlw/s320/giphy+-+2019-04-01T184546.581.gif" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira loved the 'Little House' books<br />and found the series so educational.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, The Pippi Longstocking
books by Astrid Lindgren , and almost anything written by Louisa May Alcott or
L. M. Montgomery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mystery:
My favorite historical mystery authors are Tasha Alexander, Anna Lee Huber,
Laurie R. King, Deanna Raybourn, Charles Todd, and Lauren Willig. My favorite
cozy mystery authors are Susan Wittig Albert (Beatrix Potter), Laura Childs,
Joanne Fluke, ,and Jenn McKinlay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sci-fi/Fantasy:
I don’t really do science fiction, but one of my favorite fantasy series is The
Enchanted Forest Chronicle by Patricia C. Wrede. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Biography/Autobiography:
Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Non-fiction:
anything by Bill Bryson—he’s hilarious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">YA:
It’s easier to mention a few favorite authors—Joan Bauer, Jessica Day George,
Frank Beddor, A. G. Howard, Maggie Stiefvater, Y. S. Lee, Nancy Springer,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Kenneth Oppel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
are the five books you would take if you were stranded on a deserted island?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: .25in .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "noto sans symbols"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">A
book by Betty Neels, a book by Diana Palmer, Anne of Green Gables, Emily
Dickinson’s Complete Poems, and Grimm’s Fairy Tales <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Where
do you do most of your reading?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">In my
apartment either in bed or on the couch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
books are in your to-be-read pile?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Belleweather
by Susanna Kearsley, The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton, Once Upon a
River by Diane Setterfield, Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor &
Heather Webb, The Taster by V. S. Alexander <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Do you
listen to books? Any favorites on Audible?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yes, but
I only listen to bboks I’ve already read because I don’t want to run the risk
of disliking the book just because I don’t care for the narrator. I haven’t
tried Audible yet. I have favorite narrators: Jennifer Ikeda, Kate Reading, and
Caroline Lee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Do you
have any memories of being read to or reading with others?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mom read
to my siblings and me at bedtime when we were kids. My brother is four years
younger than me and two years younger than my sister is. Mom was still reading
to him as my sister and I got older, but we would go to his room and listen to
mom read to him long after we were too old for bedtime stories. My cousin read
The Fairy Rebel by Lynne Reid Banks to me when I was eight. It’s still one my
favorite books. My 4<sup>th</sup> grade teacher Mrs. Sewell read us My Side of
the Mountain by Jean Craighead George in the afternoons. Again, it’s still one
of my favorite books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’ve
always been a reader. I don’t remember learning to read, but my 2<sup>nd</sup>
grade I was reading chapter books. Little Women has been a favorite since I
received an abridged copy when I turned nine. By 5<sup>th</sup> grade, I was
reading the original version along with Anne of Green Gables. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90ycQz73Ti71mtzfz7h6xrroK6lngIs1FTVjfZfau4753CbRS4Eib4UOgP2OMbY0xpjZ2MJwtQ8A_9BVCPOXoy3XF30zchszOixhR0zSCBtwhVAbwdvFOwLk_jqJbXojPQPoMey3V_-g/s1600/giphy+-+2019-04-01T184844.688.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="245" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90ycQz73Ti71mtzfz7h6xrroK6lngIs1FTVjfZfau4753CbRS4Eib4UOgP2OMbY0xpjZ2MJwtQ8A_9BVCPOXoy3XF30zchszOixhR0zSCBtwhVAbwdvFOwLk_jqJbXojPQPoMey3V_-g/s320/giphy+-+2019-04-01T184844.688.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Some come to reading early. <br />Some come late.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What's
a book you find yourself constantly recommending?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
actually make most of my recommendations to kids, their parents, or their
grandparents. It goes with the job. My favorites to recommend are The
Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall and The Sisters Grimm series by Michael
Buckley. I’m always recommending Betty to my friends, but no takers yet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anything
else?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thank you,
Betty Kiera, for this opportunity to talk about one of my favorite things! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFraX8MWwKkjc3GBEybZ779SUTBQeCsOPfUneAqbqQY8BWAFq-g82kxVXCvTh5paQhQD_hsFjtzVMeIk7Thfue-Pqc4JYgei0zHZDAHMy4pvuvgmOPCDarMgKGjEPI8R6xkZhYXn1CBeI/s1600/giphy+-+2019-04-01T185030.185.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="250" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFraX8MWwKkjc3GBEybZ779SUTBQeCsOPfUneAqbqQY8BWAFq-g82kxVXCvTh5paQhQD_hsFjtzVMeIk7Thfue-Pqc4JYgei0zHZDAHMy4pvuvgmOPCDarMgKGjEPI8R6xkZhYXn1CBeI/s320/giphy+-+2019-04-01T185030.185.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-5693741241518625282019-03-19T07:00:00.000-07:002019-03-19T08:24:43.247-07:00Reading with Betty Pam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZHQYNFJpTjnPz1W8ThBfSDREHMgvSzgH1LXACGfp0HoujrnL9pyf_PTcTkJb2saFyJOxhBRh2SpzZxoqWS5oZCgwPGS6JIKiVLSnD0YqYmuA17rnn3Hgbjqs-mfbp3hqDcmAY3ZMLXQ/s1600/St+James+Park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1110" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZHQYNFJpTjnPz1W8ThBfSDREHMgvSzgH1LXACGfp0HoujrnL9pyf_PTcTkJb2saFyJOxhBRh2SpzZxoqWS5oZCgwPGS6JIKiVLSnD0YqYmuA17rnn3Hgbjqs-mfbp3hqDcmAY3ZMLXQ/s320/St+James+Park.jpg" width="221" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
I’m 52 years old. I’m currently a paralegal, after having been through a couple of previous
careers. I am married to Professor Arthur Shropshire. We have two Pledges of Affection,
Stephen and Jonathan, ages 32 and 25. Stephen has a daughter, Irelyn, age 8 and the LIGHT OF
MY LIFE! and a son, Mase, age 6. Pledge #2 has two sons, Oakley who is 2 and Stetson who is
almost 1. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih57pKEo1UupDUDGKNdLOTqZ8AlTvMITh6CRnZRWMGOInYxBlJUsGNDkBx-mnDkN15BBLDbIVaQdeRncWJVB1xBM26hv48suG5J_9iZ54Fs31TpFm6Z26q-fsC0wy_tNTdXMXqNeuNttE/s1600/Irelyn+and+Mase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih57pKEo1UupDUDGKNdLOTqZ8AlTvMITh6CRnZRWMGOInYxBlJUsGNDkBx-mnDkN15BBLDbIVaQdeRncWJVB1xBM26hv48suG5J_9iZ54Fs31TpFm6Z26q-fsC0wy_tNTdXMXqNeuNttE/s200/Irelyn+and+Mase.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWt9AQ4jzPvdb0PdDo_rZHdynxUPUjqF7NIZ-meX84_-jU_9nMm4VjrQbF5etGhDmFGyB3mOKuFt3Z1OzK_PbkOmtKbjcH3XvdfD5F_hLXtNOHREyELd9XvoSRtpSu2vybymGPyD_Ra0/s1600/Oakley+and+Stetson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="289" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWt9AQ4jzPvdb0PdDo_rZHdynxUPUjqF7NIZ-meX84_-jU_9nMm4VjrQbF5etGhDmFGyB3mOKuFt3Z1OzK_PbkOmtKbjcH3XvdfD5F_hLXtNOHREyELd9XvoSRtpSu2vybymGPyD_Ra0/s200/Oakley+and+Stetson.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKmUI9VorWH8Z46LfIAnmtE0dEHKaOJ6bBIfJNPyXzP7EDMsUmaddARk2YmGCbhoibhNIHA6eu0x5SBhzcdCSqNh46Rgpq02uC5tlB6KsWRjAoR3DcX8hpYjz2JmVw6jmcq94_raVbMU/s1600/Dringo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKmUI9VorWH8Z46LfIAnmtE0dEHKaOJ6bBIfJNPyXzP7EDMsUmaddARk2YmGCbhoibhNIHA6eu0x5SBhzcdCSqNh46Rgpq02uC5tlB6KsWRjAoR3DcX8hpYjz2JmVw6jmcq94_raVbMU/s200/Dringo.JPG" width="150" /></a>The Professor and I share our home with 3 dogs, 6 cats and 6 outdoor cats. We have been caring
for a colony of feral cats for several years. Some of the younger cats had always lived around the
house, so last fall, after several disappeared within a week, we built a catio for them to keep them
safe from critters and vehicles on the highway. We are serious about our animals! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wZ99kiHodDjPBFNAavVilmzeBpLogrYWdx0sqdXSy3Fp32AyNh7g6BjSbQCPQfVy6ZlRhFzERieCzDdFwPaPUR6LtClW3oqg0X75AjtOSa8tWhferGl7R4xeen9xVPzLKZ5r48lSFUk/s1600/Fluffy+Mini.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="452" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wZ99kiHodDjPBFNAavVilmzeBpLogrYWdx0sqdXSy3Fp32AyNh7g6BjSbQCPQfVy6ZlRhFzERieCzDdFwPaPUR6LtClW3oqg0X75AjtOSa8tWhferGl7R4xeen9xVPzLKZ5r48lSFUk/s200/Fluffy+Mini.JPG" width="145" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidaojjatEj5hP72P66ZTd-fD8ZnySfRvXYoRwMcoSln7R3YJ3ReoI4ODU7ziB50REEOOhDZT0o4gS_T7ei84k2zIbI1JhWdmi5y1e3Re4YBQiLPExLweE9-3jkcBik2o4w0XQFrXsDu4/s1600/His+Majesty+Tagus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidaojjatEj5hP72P66ZTd-fD8ZnySfRvXYoRwMcoSln7R3YJ3ReoI4ODU7ziB50REEOOhDZT0o4gS_T7ei84k2zIbI1JhWdmi5y1e3Re4YBQiLPExLweE9-3jkcBik2o4w0XQFrXsDu4/s200/His+Majesty+Tagus.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGy3D6IUZ8AseE-IeELSNaN1kb3Q6l95Tjw88nrXUJ6kEE6VxzyNwDapmAUn3XE57y4oja8ug4t9SemPdCXG1xwQDZLCEcFxvTrZbrwroLagFP5ljo6T08P0JIGZKDfZT0ehOObMeWEM/s1600/Lily+in+red+chair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGy3D6IUZ8AseE-IeELSNaN1kb3Q6l95Tjw88nrXUJ6kEE6VxzyNwDapmAUn3XE57y4oja8ug4t9SemPdCXG1xwQDZLCEcFxvTrZbrwroLagFP5ljo6T08P0JIGZKDfZT0ehOObMeWEM/s200/Lily+in+red+chair.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
I feel like I share the same story with so many romance readers. I loved prowling through my
grandmother’s house (now that I’m a grandmother, I know that all grandkids do this), and I
found a box of books in her closet. I was probably about 9 and already was an avid reader. The
box contained Harlequins and Harlequin Presents. I sneaked one home and read it; returned it to
the box with no one the wiser. Eventually, I read the entire box in that way. At least one of them
was a Betty Neels - The Magic of Living - and I began looking for her books at every library
sale, book store, etc. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
I think nearly all the Bettys know my favorite Betty book is The Promise of Happiness, aka
Becky and the Hot Hot Baron. I wrote an impassioned argument in favor of it during the 2017
Best of the Betties Tournament. It’s a quintessential Cinderella story: this desperate and destitute
young woman, running away to save her pets from the evil step-brother; and then a knight (well,
a Baron) in shining Rolls riding to her rescue; and then watching the cold, haughty Baron fall in
love with this mousy girl - it’s just classic.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglC9Mb5mOcWCEOKc4-b9zskUnZmOg5PAV7EOFk4Yafn4JVTYYSsb3iIEYU74P-InFi-lUxIfKapbYK85FOmC4rVpkIJHbXhyphenhyphen2nHIOr_iKKZnaCMWxrZDhEKwfDjaiLc7kW7660_R4SjdU/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-19T081632.159.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="245" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglC9Mb5mOcWCEOKc4-b9zskUnZmOg5PAV7EOFk4Yafn4JVTYYSsb3iIEYU74P-InFi-lUxIfKapbYK85FOmC4rVpkIJHbXhyphenhyphen2nHIOr_iKKZnaCMWxrZDhEKwfDjaiLc7kW7660_R4SjdU/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-19T081632.159.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>We like classic.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
My least favorite Betty? Oh, boy. There are only 3 of Betty’s books that I actively dislike. I’ve
raved enough about Sir Paul in The Right Kind of Girl, but other than THAT LINE, it’s really a
charming book. I think my least favorite is one that we never seem to talk about - Paradise for
Two. Prudence is ill-tempered and constantly snips at Haso; Haso is an arrogant jerk most of the
time; the aunts are spoiled, selfish and thoughtless. The ending is nice, but very abrupt and just
not enough to redeem the earliest unpleasantness for me, although there is one line that is a gem.
Prudence and Christabel (the Veronica) are taking verbal shots at each other and Haso murmurs
“something that sounds like ‘Fifteen all.’” </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
I love many aspects of Betty’s books, but I think the main thing boils down to the fact that I’m
old fashioned, and I’ve finally reached an age where I feel like I’ve earned the right to own it.
Betty’s world is one of good manners and decorum; one where virtue and honesty and honor
and modesty are celebrated and rewarded. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
I don’t really have a favorite genre; I’ll read just about anything except horror.
Here are a few(!) of my favorite books: </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Children's/Picture book: Anything by Beatrix Potter; the Winnie the Pooh stories.
Charlotte’s Web - I have a vivid memory of lying on the sofa and sobbing when
Charlotte is saying goodbye to Wilbur; I must have been about 7 or 8. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Classics: A Tale of Two Cities - actually, just about anything by Dickens. I have a
love for 19th century literature; those Victorians knew how to use the English
language. Persuasion is my favorite JA novel. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a
fabulous coming of age story and quintessentially American, I think. To Kill A
Mockingbird - obvious, I know. Watership Down – I was shocked at how much I
loved it. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Mystery: Both of Anne Perry’s Victorian series. I adore the Lord Peter Wimsey
stories, especially the ones with Harriet Vane. Anything by Agatha Christie - I really
love the Golden Age authors - Josephine Tey, S.S. Van Dine, Rex Stout, Earle
Stanley Gardner (I see myself as Della - lol!). The Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy
Gilman is about a widow of a Certain Age who is feeling a bit lost and contemplates
stepping off a roof, feeling that no one would miss her. Instead, she drives to CIA
headquarters and through a comedy of errors, becomes a spy, traveling the world,
meeting new and *interesting* people and perhaps even a new love-of-her-life.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SkRrRyKmvKSQTicoJIiEsGvTCMweNLSN28xynvjhWbRquFlprpQ-r02uD18dhPFTI-v5XeO4rVfM4VaJMcfGkSA31lNhFWkF85R4o3pdmd4SezZXHeBK0n4LSGeAWoqC8uQqoaK_03Y/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-19T082023.864.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SkRrRyKmvKSQTicoJIiEsGvTCMweNLSN28xynvjhWbRquFlprpQ-r02uD18dhPFTI-v5XeO4rVfM4VaJMcfGkSA31lNhFWkF85R4o3pdmd4SezZXHeBK0n4LSGeAWoqC8uQqoaK_03Y/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-19T082023.864.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>We love Second Chance romance, too.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
● Sci-fi/Fantasy: This is a fairly new genre to me, with the exception of Tolkien, that I
only began exploring a few years ago. Fahrenheit 451. Swan Song by Robert
McCammon; the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. The Moon is a
Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. the Rivers
of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. I recently found the Murderbot series by
Martha Wells about an AI; most of them are longish novellas with some short stories
thrown in, and I have devoured all of them. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Biography/Autobiography: the Diary of Anne Frank, the Night trilogy by Elie Wiesel
- very dark but so REAL, The Story of My Life by Helen Keller; Helen Keller’s
Teacher by Margaret Davidson; Hiroshima Diary by Dr. Michihiko Hachiya. You
may notice most of these are WW2 related. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Non-fiction: C.S. Lewis’s books on Christianity (I’m rereading Mere Christianity
right now); The “Time-Traveler’s Guide” books by Ian Mortimer; anything on WW2.
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson, who is, IMO, America’s best gift to
Britain. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● YA: The Witch of Blackbird Pond - I loved that book so hard. Any of Madeleine
L’Engle’s books; I’ve read all of Louisa May Alcott’s books umpteen times. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Other: I’ve been a huge Ken Follett fan since I read “Key to Rebecca” in high school,
and Pillars of the Earth may be my favorite all-time novel. I’m not-so-secretly
addicted to spy stories. P.G. Wodehouse is a favorite by lots of Bettys, including me
(and thanks to Betty Melissa Hudak for sending me several titles). My favorite book
so far this year is, hands down, The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
● Poetry speaks to my soul. A few of my favorites include Shakespeare’s sonnets,
Emily Dickinson, Robert Herrick, Rupert Brooke and of course, Betty’s favorite John
Donne. I was thrilled to see his effigy at St. Paul’s! </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
My five Desert Island books would be The Bible, the Oxford Book of English Verse, The
Pickwick Papers (it’s very long and very entertaining!), The Count of Monte Cristo (ditto), and a
Betty. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
In winter, I do most of my reading in my library. In summer, I read outside a lot on the patio. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
My TBR pile. Bwahahaha. I own between 2000 to 3000 books, at least half of which I’ve not yet
read. Nevertheless my “immediate” TBR includes the rest of the Thrush Green series which I’m
rereading through; Donne: A Reformed Soul by John Stubbs; A Natural History of the Hedgerow
by John Wright; Lark Rise to Candleford; and The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7Q8F6_AYljhaObJs6qH-QemV4T9veL9gODkxZkApg2U4JY0HcZkDA_JyLSoWgzUHaCV0C6rZ1vkWovcI3IaHcIjMRlKjT-2gLoiAgvRzIm_cClTSZKhM9yXMERE-SYw4Y4cOUvCSShU/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-19T082210.198.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7Q8F6_AYljhaObJs6qH-QemV4T9veL9gODkxZkApg2U4JY0HcZkDA_JyLSoWgzUHaCV0C6rZ1vkWovcI3IaHcIjMRlKjT-2gLoiAgvRzIm_cClTSZKhM9yXMERE-SYw4Y4cOUvCSShU/s400/giphy+-+2019-03-19T082210.198.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Pam's TBR pile was getting out of control.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I cannot do audiobooks because I fall asleep or get distracted by my own thoughts.
I don’t really have memories of being read to, except later on at school. I know my mom read to
me from the time I was born, but I soon learned to read and insisted on reading to myself. My
mom says I started reading at age 3 but I have no memories of not knowing how to read. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Second grade was a big year for me, book-wise. I remember a book called Sabotage, an
adventure/spy story that I have looked for for years. My school library also had a lot of the
woodland stories by Thornton Burgess and I read them all several times. I remember I got a little
trophy because I read 256 books that year, and come to think of it, I suppose I’ve consistently
read about 200 books every year since then. That’s a lot of books (about 8,800). </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
I hate recommending books, especially for people I don’t know well, however, the ones that I
recommend the most, and with the most positive feedback are: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; The
Mrs. Pollifax series; and The Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross (it’s about a Southern Lady
(capital “L” on purpose) who has just been widowed and is introduced, by her husband’s
mistress, to her husband’s love child. What happens next is equally hilarious and touching.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-1V7Db4PRQTI9Gm5Gd07RMb_y1pSfPo07-L_7Ph5lgAWth9HedIqhoJBVbmyCrArvyRSmcRYcH9pNQPCBPWXVOFL1WrZvqfeJC7GMzLMwtfK44UytLVFvqOI1X8WYE5QkG6J9Ju7zRo/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-19T082342.926.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-1V7Db4PRQTI9Gm5Gd07RMb_y1pSfPo07-L_7Ph5lgAWth9HedIqhoJBVbmyCrArvyRSmcRYcH9pNQPCBPWXVOFL1WrZvqfeJC7GMzLMwtfK44UytLVFvqOI1X8WYE5QkG6J9Ju7zRo/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-19T082342.926.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Thanks for letting us rock out to your jams today, Betty Pam!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-4014232441022086412019-03-12T07:00:00.000-07:002019-03-12T07:00:04.196-07:00Reading with Betty Suse<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Well, hello there.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-9a58305b-7fff-08de-4d6a-70553fcb89ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My name is …… well it depends who you are and when in my life you met me! I have answered to: Susan,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sue, Susie, SueSue and Betty Suse, with a few cheeky variations during my early adulthood. My current </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">preference is Suse, but as my father always said “You can call me anything you like, as long as you don’t call</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> me late for my dinner.”</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgovu5zDDCp2EhmP-XPmtDLnRbH8YpAYK3yl0LlNQkKtyrs9pQlcyObhrAUJXpaV7Nowv_UDVPDfTVQ_5CDDyWytbGg0juvKw_T44TELUWcSsRCgWwBNSKMwI2ilPUhcR0npKDg6sZKk/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-10T210901.620.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="245" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgovu5zDDCp2EhmP-XPmtDLnRbH8YpAYK3yl0LlNQkKtyrs9pQlcyObhrAUJXpaV7Nowv_UDVPDfTVQ_5CDDyWytbGg0juvKw_T44TELUWcSsRCgWwBNSKMwI2ilPUhcR0npKDg6sZKk/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-10T210901.620.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Betties were desperately seeking Susan.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I began reading Mills and Boon – I’m British, can you tell? – when I “borrowed” my mum’s when I was about</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> 14. I progressed to visiting the local library and borrowing 10 Mills and Boon books at a time, mainly in </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">secret, I didn’t want my friends to find out that I actually read anything, never mind the fact that they were</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> romances.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I can’t remember my first Betty Neels, in fact I don’t think it actually registered due to the volume of books I</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> got through. I just knew that anytime I picked up a Betty Book I knew it was her about 2 pages in. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">They just seemed from another era – and believe me, I started reading them in the late 80s, and that is now</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> considered to be another era, according to the kids I teach! They harked back to “better days”, days with</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> characters who weren’t stripping their clothes off and getting married because “they had to”. I personally</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> have nothing against those books, but falling into a Neels book felt like a cushioning from the real world- if</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> romance books can be considered the real world.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBxG2t5ahrX_orIzYw4R7dT-thqYslkdHiugDjZuM1UmmEZfFibKbco4CoUXRVXoMMzdyVCMGpK6fG95XR9zpUO1GNbVmeoryGRHkSlwCudcbcLYRFD_ka6MFIsZGO_wUhJkdBl2p-qU/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-10T211826.568.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBxG2t5ahrX_orIzYw4R7dT-thqYslkdHiugDjZuM1UmmEZfFibKbco4CoUXRVXoMMzdyVCMGpK6fG95XR9zpUO1GNbVmeoryGRHkSlwCudcbcLYRFD_ka6MFIsZGO_wUhJkdBl2p-qU/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-10T211826.568.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira, too, liked to relax.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Yes, the heroines are, in the majority, almost pure innocents, and the heroes are just too good to be true. The</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> fact that on more than one occasion the heroine called her true love by his surname or title until the very last</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> page amused me. I must have a healthy dose of cynicism because the books are, and to be honest I suspect</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> always were, too good to be true. Today they write about billionaires, industrial and financial tycoons and</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> princes of fictional lands, at least Betty rooted her heroes firmly in real life, albeit a privileged, hard working</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> real life that she had some knowledge of.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I know that Mills and Boon brought out their anthology of Betty Neels before I turned 30, and monthly I</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> would buy the two that were published- this took quite some time. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">During this time I can remember visiting Amsterdam, and whilst not knowing where exactly I got my</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> references from, I would spot places, signs and buildings and just know them- the Begijnhof was a particular</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> case where I was on Spui and spotted the sign. I almost ran down the passageway, knowing there was a</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> hidden treasure to find. It was just as peaceful as Betty described.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My favourite book is Esmeralda. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the fact she doesn’t recognise</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> his feelings; he does anything, including trying to reignite the feelings of the man she was absorbed in, to</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> make her happy. But I also enjoy the marriage of convenience stories, including The Little Dragon and The</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> Secret Pool (boo hiss from many!)</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlEGicC2UxXdL2X-DQca1bgGuxbCBYF6Q1qxmuTAcR512k_BzcKAOVWPLSPl5deTZicJjipjkc3WM-_EeprNVywgR2B6nnGdGv-ySFwS9B3ZTsCa-CqySOOp4kOlC9FTZGEhui4z2kGE/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-10T212356.869.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="480" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlEGicC2UxXdL2X-DQca1bgGuxbCBYF6Q1qxmuTAcR512k_BzcKAOVWPLSPl5deTZicJjipjkc3WM-_EeprNVywgR2B6nnGdGv-ySFwS9B3ZTsCa-CqySOOp4kOlC9FTZGEhui4z2kGE/s400/giphy+-+2019-03-10T212356.869.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira appreciates any Little Dragon boosterism.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">My favourite books in the suggested genres are: </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The children's/picture books I recommend are: Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo or any Harry Potter.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Michael Morpurgo’s Friend or Foe is a little known book about two evacuated boys being rescued by a</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> German airman whose plane had crashed, and how they helped him and began to realise that people who</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fight wars are still human. It questions the idea of who is your enemy?.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As for HP – I prefer The Order of the Phoenix, mainly due to the fact that I read it in 36 hours as I knew that</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the Monday morning at least one of the children in my class would tell me which character died at the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">end. I was right- a child ran in screaming “It was Serious Black, it was Serious Black”. When asked if they’d </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">enjoyed the book the response was “No, I got my brother to look at the back of his and find out who died so I</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> could tell you”! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Just as an extra I love “When I grow up” by Tim Minchin. Basically the lyrics of the song from “Matilda”- </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">but they are very perceptive and make children think about the realities of growing up.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 47.25pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -47.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="199" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GCAcr2qQ8y3XziGEPjNfgSGw-kFKvQ_0XH9caUshAv_cWRTCT__9tV1WtVE9mkN0LD12y9HnRwSBJi-ozfcXjCeq1UPmVSEtW2aU--XyKr9eDw4h7C1B4ml7HiRbWkNDvyM5PogtIvqoBkB_jQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="198" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My favourite classic is Pride and Prejudice.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was 12 years old when I fell in love with the David Rintoul/ Elizabeth Garvie BBC production. It was on at </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">6pm every Sunday. Unfortunately, the final episode was on the “Sunday School Sermons” day, when I had to</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> go to chapel at 6pm. SO……. I missed the last instalment. I was beside myself and my mum promised to buy </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">me the book. She took a bus to the local town the next day, after work and purchased a Penguin paperback</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> copy, which, as a 12 year old, I read in 3 days. Only then was I happy! I have loved it ever since. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 47.25pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -47.25pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="See the source image" height="188" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/4yTj9RkCdo-PHBEDDL8A07oCIpdcMe24X02uRZ5jG2sGsBAMn-Qu8MnuMhdl9Z2BL_swkosU5UZx2DsnLR62q97pkALU_00CNgHxUNoN5pUEFn4boMB6_3HEScquDNtclKz4hJeiMm65msZT8A" style="border: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="250" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The future is so much cooler without scheduled television.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have since watched the tv version I missed and loved it, I still have it on video, but no video player! I was</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> very upset when they made the Colin Firth/ Jennifer Ehle version, but it grew on me (to say the least).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My favourite mystery is, basically, any Agatha Christie</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 47.25pt; text-indent: -47.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I love Murder on the Orient Express.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 47.25pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -47.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="179" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/GFZTPmDv8NPE4NgRaHD-sLz4iUXNWoAW6YRvZgNjN99JSnw3zk6-qXsbl78mOXHGJ0Bs4-tF1Rb1VcbWphqn5I1wFWjijgSSOUKJroLgiEnK_iSIOiBq7MKoWu-71ozYXwQbAdEB6b18fWKE_g" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="160" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Sci-fi/Fantasy books that have stuck with me are The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hitch Hikers was the book of my teenage years, funny, weird and always put me to sleep when I was unable to</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> – but amusing and hilarious! I was once on a cruise round the Norwegian fjords and when asked why I had </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">come, by a fellow passenger as we took photos of Geiranger fjord I replied “To see if Slartibartfast really did</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> leave his signature in the fjords”. The poor guy looked confused, but the bloke a few metres away started to</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> laugh and leaned forward to wink at me over the rail. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 47.25pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -47.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="148" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/sxoOxlsaamt8-_4FihelbizDgEOfXxq6kgR_MPDxyb8tSUWa9NHF9fEVYK5J7Rm5qBQDD0_xOh4uEaOU172RjY3rcUM78vXla4jEGFkfXJCx-006enkisdi2BpAzZt-yyQC9sYKUCXhtCNyelA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="305" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="151" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/tQ3FhDw_MXVqBI-m3eF1SjCCVjvaZw8l9t7VyUu9k_7a5jbs5pWQMakhfhOexg6ZV-0any7HqVdU3RktO25K12Mxk_fR_w1tgwvlA4uBrqpGe151v_DX1IjZT7_tVJTrqMIpOCze_zskV-E53A" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="226" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Good Omens, well, what can I say? A demon and an angel try to stop Armageddon. I love it. Buy it for god-</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">children, friends, colleagues and have even been known to stop and walk back to people sitting on benches</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> reading it to have discussions about it’s awesomeness! Plus, Amazon/BBC have just made it into a series with</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> David Tennant as the demon and Michael Sheen as the angel. Bring on the summer.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 47.25pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -47.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="223" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Pe8rodM8BK7d913GJIJDeOtUqTuxVBJW3lZwWsxHpaz_RgrhJxPPyl2ZHl-clqYuz9MnB42pWqJnbTmMk0Q75X14-howIVn8LShEPQGOy2MNdYKjELuqnwsuksZMwXmZCPZKPP2FFrqEaJWnlQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="156" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I enjoy biographies and autobiographies of musicians, royalty and historical figures. But, to be honest, it’s not</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> my favourite genre.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When reading non-fiction I like travel books and anything by Bill Bryson- Neither Here Nor There and The Lost</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Continent are still my favourites, early and fresher.</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Noto Sans Symbols'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 11.25pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/3zv6vO2-ZwyB4wSV_2IreqcoWdvuhSycWRZzxGhtvm0QEvMiNDtazCTZeaAsx5aTCYNYnq8X9oBREfybTTpaAXpWI12WoM-jKb2n4sdHsErEeSQBd2Ci6Rit8ZTxI3e9vnGnW589pQjwx3dCYQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="128" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="See the source image" height="190" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/QtaTbKpSVjpQFgwe7XD99wADDmleJbmN8BI93jTOCuqsC3NoJXUrqlFybj3fVLS1LKtvKBtX0PuOMILIo0gB7ScUInRhJXGIYQRGIbBClwVJQ6wwlYPragJvH11pcVlXGXOIWmDFGrgzUGLUxg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="125" /></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The book I would take if I was stranded on a deserted island apart from the books above are:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 36pt; text-indent: -36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Winnie the Pooh- it’s not just for children.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Most of my reading is done in bed, my Betty books are now on my ipad and I love to feel relaxed when</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> reading. I can of course cope with sun loungers by the pool on holiday and a reclining armchair!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The books in my to-be-read pile include a biography of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and American Gods by</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Neil Gaiman.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQu7_-ukyKGcqWdu523PJLnRv1ABwBLEI2LM5lysDu4PSm8IywTaUrszjQ0j2LGjrFkMe4OCmzXZ-lygXyL9rrejiFskBEyVReg8KTHHcQyzEVxCovqqxIZz6OwYk8D8VubJUY_A4qy7w/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-10T213051.056.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="540" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQu7_-ukyKGcqWdu523PJLnRv1ABwBLEI2LM5lysDu4PSm8IywTaUrszjQ0j2LGjrFkMe4OCmzXZ-lygXyL9rrejiFskBEyVReg8KTHHcQyzEVxCovqqxIZz6OwYk8D8VubJUY_A4qy7w/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-10T213051.056.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I find Neil Gaiman to be so wonderful and wanted to link to<a href="http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/160603396711/hi-i-read-that-youve-dealt-with-with-impostor"> this wonderful story </a><br />about Impostor Syndrome he shared on his blog.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I don’t listen to audible books any more as they stopped putting CD players in cars and I’m awful at</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> downloading stuff. Plus, my commute is ten minutes and I like the time to listen to music. I enjoyed thrillers</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> when I did listen, because they kept me alert.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My memories of being read to include a 1971 reel to reel tape recording of my dad and I reading an alphabet</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> book, where I can be heard reading “U is for underwella”. It’s amusing to listen to 47 years later. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Pride and Prejudice ignited my adult reading, as you can see above. However, I enjoy a lot of comedy/ </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">compilations of newspaper columns by a variety of writers- nothing too serious mainly a cynical/ amusing</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">take on the news/ issues of the day. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But, Betty is my go to stress reliever. I’ve read them all, quite a few times. Just to immerse yourself in</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BettyWorld is to put the day right. Happy Reading fellow Betties.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZAlEHs1IRuyD0P83RpozUwOkhHZYvO2UGXgjU0GD4ADcjuDQt3s_cA3CLIiR8ndmwI5aSty7qgeSuuA6gSlHF1KzFJzMqhgEW9OCB8A5A4zFjmu9GfDg7J5Q-2J6FpE_zV3Sog61ejo/s1600/giphy+-+2019-03-10T213356.139.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="425" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZAlEHs1IRuyD0P83RpozUwOkhHZYvO2UGXgjU0GD4ADcjuDQt3s_cA3CLIiR8ndmwI5aSty7qgeSuuA6gSlHF1KzFJzMqhgEW9OCB8A5A4zFjmu9GfDg7J5Q-2J6FpE_zV3Sog61ejo/s320/giphy+-+2019-03-10T213356.139.gif" width="316" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira does not withhold her winks when the occasion warrants it.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-65542533289084810372019-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:002019-03-05T07:00:07.358-08:00Reading with Betty Lauri<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Introduce yourself</b>-<br />
I am almost 61 years old, I currently work as a NP in a Urology practice, however that may change soon. Before that I worked as a NP for Reproductive Endocrinologist who specialized in Infertility. Before that I was a Labor & Delivery nurse on a High Risk OB unit for 13 years and before that I was in the Air Force for 14 years as a military linguist (Russian).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T3Zu51iL6lRFqcPCP8REmzdwsPAbZ-NwLzoY0XudRvkKuIHHEK1YjELFIeyxiGp7eJpcZa9FOcwOO7AR8phuIrn-zzK3o-H9vnm87xBZfhJv6EHPTuVRN942Lb5tvm3HIlb2mqcZK04/s1600/giphy+-+2019-02-19T220801.246.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="329" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T3Zu51iL6lRFqcPCP8REmzdwsPAbZ-NwLzoY0XudRvkKuIHHEK1YjELFIeyxiGp7eJpcZa9FOcwOO7AR8phuIrn-zzK3o-H9vnm87xBZfhJv6EHPTuVRN942Lb5tvm3HIlb2mqcZK04/s400/giphy+-+2019-02-19T220801.246.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira has some Russian questions when you get a second.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
I am married for 38 years, have 2 sons, one in the USAF and one going to Army BCT the end of this month. The one in the AF is married to a lovely Japanese woman and they have a son who will be 8 in July. I miss seeing them but now I get to go to England every year to visit. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>When did you start reading Betty Neels-</b><br />
I don't know, I read Harlequins in High School but don't remember any specific Betty books. I may have picked some up at the BX when we were in Japan. I know I got some when we moved back to Indiana at 1/2 price books, that was in 1991.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What is your favorite book(s) and why?-</b><br />
Fate is Remarkable, because I love the story and the hero & heroine. That he went to the ends of the earth to find her.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojlZDUp6AXLD1Q1DMWSQnXO3hcZdcAv7iY5kIW44L5W5V0Rq0bxMYUvWj3Jdl-zn60o4-iSdhEB7-CkIwQtI1tpMoMwBAvgq11RmOITVDiJZ2hx82aVQWbTIjfDHZfnj1ElmaN55QbXo/s1600/giphy+-+2019-02-19T221127.320.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="480" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojlZDUp6AXLD1Q1DMWSQnXO3hcZdcAv7iY5kIW44L5W5V0Rq0bxMYUvWj3Jdl-zn60o4-iSdhEB7-CkIwQtI1tpMoMwBAvgq11RmOITVDiJZ2hx82aVQWbTIjfDHZfnj1ElmaN55QbXo/s320/giphy+-+2019-02-19T221127.320.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Hugo van Elven was not going to let a little thing <br />like an impassable mountain stand in his way.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Least favorite and why?-</b><br />
The one with the alcholic sister, because of her and her brother. I did love the descriptions of Norway though. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself attached to them?-</b> I<br />
like them because they remind me of a gentler pace of life and that there are happy ever afters. I also love her descriptions of settings, clothes and foods. She makes things come alive. I got my interest in the Netherlands and parts of England from her books.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What is your favorite genre(s) to read?- </b><br />
Fiction, I will read anything. I have very eclectic reading tastes. I love Jan Karon's Mitford Series. I have all the books and I go back to them often. I like books with Asian characters, WWII stories, spy novels, etc.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Do you have a favorite book in any of these genres?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">C<b>hildren's/Picture book-</b> Ferdinand, Angus series, Goodnight Moon, Mike Mulligan's Steamshovel, Blueberries f<span style="line-height: 1.5;">or Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, Frog and Toad series. The old </span>fashioned<span style="line-height: 1.5;"> books.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_xK07mvDsGdXFbj-Q2kKnFZ-tWy_v9Iv0BQky-5oKiZzZK1_qG0H_l4dEu9g_9pZ3PVsyP2I_zJiayVwaDxjwM00XFMYIXkauL2zxFRL6bopa7aYAe3U2jUPo-G3M85ppCLrKhs7EgQ/s1600/giphy+-+2019-02-19T221756.203.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="245" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_xK07mvDsGdXFbj-Q2kKnFZ-tWy_v9Iv0BQky-5oKiZzZK1_qG0H_l4dEu9g_9pZ3PVsyP2I_zJiayVwaDxjwM00XFMYIXkauL2zxFRL6bopa7aYAe3U2jUPo-G3M85ppCLrKhs7EgQ/s400/giphy+-+2019-02-19T221756.203.gif" width="382" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira approves.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Classics- </b>Steinbeck</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Mystery-</b> Alexander McCall Smith and The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series. These remind me of an African Betty story. There is a delightful Veronical that reappears a lot.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Sci-fi/Fantasy-</b> Not into this however I did read the Dune series and C.S. Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet group when I was dating my now husband.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Biography/Autobiography-</b> Billy Graham's Autobiography</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Non-fiction- </b>Mostly travel books</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>YA-</b> I read the Hunger Games and a series that had a group called Abnegation and other groups, heck maybe they were part of the Hunger Games. Didn't make a big impression on me.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What are the five books you would you take if you stranded on a desert island? - </b><br />
Bible, A Betty book, Jan Karon's Bedside Companion, one of the books with Father Tim's favorite sayings and a huge Rick Steves travel book on Europe.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Where do you do most of your reading?-</b><br />
Bed or the downstairs sofa.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What books are in your to-be-read pile?- </b><br />
Empress Dowager CiXi, the latest Alexander McCall Book</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Do you listen to books?</b> No, I tried listening to The Book Thief and could not get into it. I thought the characters would be different voices and not just one person reading the book.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Do you have any memories of being read to or reading with others?-</b><br />
Not of being read to but reading to my boys and grandson.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading? </b><br />
Dont rememenber but probably the Dick and Jane books in school. And I had a wonderful first grade teacher who really ignited the interest, parents who let me read anything the libray had. I read Leon Uris and Michener in High School.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What's a book you find yourself constantly recommending?</b><br />
None really because the people that I work with now don't care about reading. But at my prior job the MD and I shared an interest in the Alexander McCall books.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_j3Fr5t-NOD9Zx2pTzSeWcllmSO9V7-4-iADqrAU0k-dggu01bUPIycncgL11YApn4Pa8hb9naXBETQ3KLqJ3hSmSPRDXuL0m7sThuGk2nXHzbRtcDvofQmVBwOTXzP1pR_iKjdsM95I/s1600/giphy+-+2019-02-19T220335.410.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_j3Fr5t-NOD9Zx2pTzSeWcllmSO9V7-4-iADqrAU0k-dggu01bUPIycncgL11YApn4Pa8hb9naXBETQ3KLqJ3hSmSPRDXuL0m7sThuGk2nXHzbRtcDvofQmVBwOTXzP1pR_iKjdsM95I/s400/giphy+-+2019-02-19T220335.410.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira doesn't understand people who don't care about reading.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-57696441036004633572019-02-26T07:00:00.001-08:002021-11-14T09:59:06.573-08:00Reading with Betty Sutapa<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Reading Habits of a Betty</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b05f45a1-7fff-e5d0-ae9b-3016f043e530" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyASRbRQ_0-Q-iOrguQ19D413eSaS53oO3pFWKfKYX1yUyAPOMUST_yAwNRC_SxtPjnXn16qP-JGvDkuiOAwQdWTMawzZkns1mZRKuTcrVUszzWhEzLRgQ-D04vmP9rqp7DvsohvhtTo/s1080/%25E2%2580%259CThe+Road+goes+ever+on+and+on+Down+from+the+door+where+it+began.+Now+far+ahead+the+Road+has+gone%252C+And+I+must+follow%252C+if+I+can%252C+Pursuing+it+with+eager+feet%252C+Until+it+joins+some+larger+way+Where+many+paths+and+errand.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyASRbRQ_0-Q-iOrguQ19D413eSaS53oO3pFWKfKYX1yUyAPOMUST_yAwNRC_SxtPjnXn16qP-JGvDkuiOAwQdWTMawzZkns1mZRKuTcrVUszzWhEzLRgQ-D04vmP9rqp7DvsohvhtTo/s320/%25E2%2580%259CThe+Road+goes+ever+on+and+on+Down+from+the+door+where+it+began.+Now+far+ahead+the+Road+has+gone%252C+And+I+must+follow%252C+if+I+can%252C+Pursuing+it+with+eager+feet%252C+Until+it+joins+some+larger+way+Where+many+paths+and+errand.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Introduce yourself (Be as vague or as specific as you like).</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Hello everyone! Betty Sutapa here! I am a mom, wife, and homemaker. I grew up in India and received </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">my B.A. from Delhi University. I was a high school teacher in India for five and a half years. Thereafter, I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">moved to the U.S. as a graduate student, received my M.A. in Economics, and taught undergraduate and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">associate degree students in the U.S. for nearly six and a half years. I have loved being a teacher. My </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">students in both countries were simply awesome! I am still in touch with many of them on Facebook.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2T-y5zvBPfx7Blp6WGPuLzA7_pW1NYKSyb_N7imse2gbLSDIgsmPSLiYVJ3nfcN4LDm8EIygRKt1uXaSINtUbXIyr4TccY-1FilchqbIpLoyskcekAD521tBHyrTL-REg0ioIfCWwJ0A/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="299" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2T-y5zvBPfx7Blp6WGPuLzA7_pW1NYKSyb_N7imse2gbLSDIgsmPSLiYVJ3nfcN4LDm8EIygRKt1uXaSINtUbXIyr4TccY-1FilchqbIpLoyskcekAD521tBHyrTL-REg0ioIfCWwJ0A/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><b>Betty Sutapa was the kind of teacher you wouldn't forget.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I got married to my Professor, and after my daughter was born, decided to stay home to raise her. I felt </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">blessed that I was able to make this choice. Once we decided to settle down in the U.S., we moved to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Middle Georgia with my husband’s job. We have lived here for almost nineteen years! I love small towns </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and we have enjoyed raising our daughter here, among wonderful friends. She is now a junior in college </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(speaks three languages, reads everything under the sun, is a really gifted writer, and is a huge Jane Austen </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">fan). </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have managed to nurture the passion for reading through all the busy years of my life. I was thrilled to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">discover all you wonderful and smart Bettys on TUJD. It’s been such a joy to discuss so many interesting </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">topics every day! Thank you, Betty Keira, for giving us this opportunity to introduce ourselves on TUJD </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and share our reading habits with kindred spirits. I love to travel, have tea with my friends, bargain shop </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">like a true Araminta, cook, and decorate my home. I am also a germaphobe and a neat freak. (The </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Professor’s favorite mode of addressing me: “YOU’RE CRAZY!!!) </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFaIYc1_wxdUHoheWM7AYObwlrlBKMQ8JXOJUXgzkOqNe6fH2s3T7fT_B5kMsErlGAdGOSzXHPkZ7LJgtWxIObxwGLv97kJd3Y991ItHkM1IEAbwrPbAniBAQzW2-fcSystff65OKUSK0/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="480" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFaIYc1_wxdUHoheWM7AYObwlrlBKMQ8JXOJUXgzkOqNe6fH2s3T7fT_B5kMsErlGAdGOSzXHPkZ7LJgtWxIObxwGLv97kJd3Y991ItHkM1IEAbwrPbAniBAQzW2-fcSystff65OKUSK0/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><b>Working Theory:<br />Betty Sutapa is Ferris Bueller.<br /></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When did you start reading Betty Neels?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">My first TGB book was Cobweb Morning (high school, grade forgotten). I really liked it, but I was reading </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">so many genres at that time, that I did not read her entire work in quick succession. I read a lot of Mills </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and Boon too, but it was a mix of authors. A few were bought from local bookshops, but the rest were </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">mostly borrowed from our school library. It should come as no surprise that I resumed my journey with </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Betty after joining TUJD. Most of my books were bought after that date. So far, I have collected 109 Betty </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">books on Kindle and in paperback. I have not read all of them yet.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What is your favorite book (s) and why? </span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Tough question. The Promise of Happiness and A Gentle Awakening run very close. Strong heroines who </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">win against the heaviest odds, gentle giant heroes (when not in a towering rage) who love family and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">children, rich descriptions of England and Holland, tons of yummy food, lovely FFRs, jugs of lemonade </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(the decline and fall of Wanda the Witch), and delightful HEAs - classic Betty recipes for coziness make </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">these books my favorites. I also like A Girl to Love, Damsel in Green, and Only by Chance. Same reasons.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<br />
<ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Least favorite and why?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">So far, Sun and Candlelight is my least favorite. I find the cruel behavior of the children very disturbing. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And their nanny is very scary too! I did not care much for All Else Confusion either -heroine too doormatty </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and hero too pompous. He comes across as a, “I did you a favor by marrying you,” kind of guy. Not my </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">cup of cozy tea, I am afraid.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-Kn2zQ7OX9R-5C8b5OYRfU-X5rwHjBIwK0X1NXmJvpEh3-41sT1XWo1ZcrxN-AiEn_mVgiMAtm1pTlHsuVGPxI8ffRUWtGv4mqPJta3J6TSfkiug2oiattr7HP4l54MI4u2X0d6bwpw/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-Kn2zQ7OX9R-5C8b5OYRfU-X5rwHjBIwK0X1NXmJvpEh3-41sT1XWo1ZcrxN-AiEn_mVgiMAtm1pTlHsuVGPxI8ffRUWtGv4mqPJta3J6TSfkiug2oiattr7HP4l54MI4u2X0d6bwpw/s1600/giphy.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Coziness will always play in BettyLand</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<br />
<ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">attached to them?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">They are books for lazy weekends. Or for bedtime reading in a quiet house. They are daydreamy books </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">you enjoy with hot tea. There’s dignity, chivalry, kindness, and love in Betty’s novels which soothe and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">delight us. They show privileged and ordinary people’s lives in juxtaposition. And yet, the rich hero and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the often-poor heroine, share similar values in what really matters for lasting happiness. It’s not the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">woman coming from the hero’s world who wins his love. It’s the woman from a very different world that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">he decides to spend his life with. How fabulous that good folks end up happy in the end! (The Nigels, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Veronicas, and horrible family members just fade away from the scene…yay!!!). Add to this vivid travel </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">diaries, clothes shopping, the comforts of home and family, FFRs, and the often humorous and accurate </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">descriptions of the lives of doctors and nurses-what a perfect recipe for a delightful, clean book! No one </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">does it quite like Betty Neels.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="6" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What is your favorite genre (s) to read? </span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Classics, mystery, historical romance, and humorous fiction are my favorites. I like poetry and short stories </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">too. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="7" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you have a favorite book (s) in any of these genres?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Children’s/Picture Book</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> – Asterix, Tintin, Winnie the Pooh, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and 1,001 Arabian </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Nights</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Classics </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">– All of Jane Austen, The Mill on the Floss, Far from the Madding Crowd, Jane Eyre, Little </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Women, Gone with the Wind, and most of Shakespeare </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Mystery </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">– All of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Dystopian</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> – All of Ayn Rand, and Brave New World </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">(I am also a huge Star Trek and Star Wars fan) </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Biography/Autobiography</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> – The Diary of Anne Frank, The Footsteps of Anne Frank</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Non-Fiction </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">– Travel books (love Rick Steves’ Europe on PBS)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>YA </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">– Anne of Green Gables, The Hunger Games Trilogy, and The Giver</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Poetry </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">– W. de la Mare, W. Wordsworth, R. Frost, R. W. Emerson, Rumi, and R. Tagore</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Short Stories</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> – Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekov, and F. Scott Fitzgerald</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Other </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">– The Prophet (Kahlil Gibran), The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho), The Thorn Birds </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">(Colleen McCullough), all of Victoria Holt, Georgette Heyer, P.G. Wodehouse, and Leon Uris </span><br />
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="8" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What are the five books you would take if you were stranded on a deserted </span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">island? </span></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-alpha; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">P.G. Wodehouse boxed set – (when the airline restricts luggage, I get devious…hope Betty Keira </span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">won’t mind </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">☺</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">)</span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT16oA61tbNPbpha8f59Po77UsdPFLSEx9fY_Zbzp9owN0sxn3bfRQcxGs78ncZ2LGulfN6CXWwoEDtUbN5cwyAukUbz6M68usNZ1uZSiHrgkRyyWwxIbxYiuH7f_Nv6vPEm5ENr9Huo/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT16oA61tbNPbpha8f59Po77UsdPFLSEx9fY_Zbzp9owN0sxn3bfRQcxGs78ncZ2LGulfN6CXWwoEDtUbN5cwyAukUbz6M68usNZ1uZSiHrgkRyyWwxIbxYiuH7f_Nv6vPEm5ENr9Huo/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I love Book-Babies too.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-alpha; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Emma – Jane Austen</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-alpha; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Promise of Happiness/A Gentle Awakening – Betty Neels</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-alpha; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Exodus – Leon Uris</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-alpha; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho/The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="9" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Where do you do most of your reading?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">At the breakfast bar, with a cup of cardamom tea and tea biscuits. Also, at night in bed. Strangely, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">reading on flights and in cars gives me a headache. I watch light movies instead, when available.</span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="10" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What books are in your TBR pile? (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Too many to list, but here’s some of them</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">)</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Middlemarch – George Eliot, The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton, My Cousin Rachel – Daphne du </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Maurier, The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck, And Quiet Flows the Don – Mikhail Sholokhov, and A Thousand </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini. Also, anything by John Grisham, and maybe other modern authors </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">recommended by the Bettys here. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="11" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you listen to books? Any favorites on Audible?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I read reviews about them often, but have not tried any yet. Not sure whether I would like them.</span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="12" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you have any memories of being read to or reading with others?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">My family had a great tradition of reading to children and storytelling by elders in my childhood. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My mom would read to us a lot, and to a lesser extent, my dad. But the most spectacular of them all </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">was a favorite uncle who had also been a freedom fighter under the British colonization. He was a big </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">fan of Jim Corbett’s stories. Summer vacations found us all (cousins etc.) in our grandparents’ home, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">sitting on the floor in a semi-circle, mesmerized by his narration of how the great hunter, Jim Corbett, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">had delivered men and livestock in remote Indian villages from ferocious tigers. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13fycjk12Wbz9bhtIOcdrYSNqapbIQz77MBgYHcxbXpNEpsLZX7CVtx4M7xYygPYZScbBA3N0GaG6Ih5JttsSD40PcBRWCBSeWkD8et7F0SqzCR-z7kL3n4Z3y9g983gfFMsP6v6AjMQ/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="640" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13fycjk12Wbz9bhtIOcdrYSNqapbIQz77MBgYHcxbXpNEpsLZX7CVtx4M7xYygPYZScbBA3N0GaG6Ih5JttsSD40PcBRWCBSeWkD8et7F0SqzCR-z7kL3n4Z3y9g983gfFMsP6v6AjMQ/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Tigers! I know I would be mesmerized.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I have such fond </span><span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">memories of those family story times! It was also the stage of my life when I began to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">read the works of </span><span style="font-family: cambria; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">famous Indian authors in Bengali and Hindi.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="13" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">As far back as I can remember, first Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and then the journey with Enid Blyton. Her first </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">book that I read was The Mystery of the Tally-Ho Cottage. I never looked back. I had finished 90% of her </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">work by 5</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> or 6</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> grade, and moved on to Nancy Drew, and the Classics. After that, I just read whatever </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">caught my fancy, and I do the same even to this day. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="14" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What’s a book (s) you find yourself constantly recommending?</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">The Razor’s Edge (W. Somerset Maugham), The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho), Trinity, Exodus (Leon Uris), </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen), and The Mill on the Floss (George Eliot).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“So often, in the past as well, a visit to a bookshop has cheered me up and reminded me that there </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">are good things in the world.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vincent van Gogh</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BrvXbuk-syebbLYcpvk1fLDvTuqcCKT_P7JAUqhdVdjchx6roGQLu81nmZDnL33acaUTrzA7DvumXlBvAo_6SFR6yAGXo_WA3n5u1Q8CEMYyhxgtGT9tUj-nw5fVKJzgXZzygLvrgNM/s1600/giphy.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="400" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BrvXbuk-syebbLYcpvk1fLDvTuqcCKT_P7JAUqhdVdjchx6roGQLu81nmZDnL33acaUTrzA7DvumXlBvAo_6SFR6yAGXo_WA3n5u1Q8CEMYyhxgtGT9tUj-nw5fVKJzgXZzygLvrgNM/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-2435024189871937322019-02-19T07:00:00.000-08:002019-02-19T07:00:00.253-08:00Reading with Betty Lucina<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Introduce yourself (Be as vague or as specific as you like.)</b><br />
Hello, I am Betty Lucina. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>When did you start reading Betty Neels?</b><br />
I stumbled on one book I fell in love with about 15 years ago.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What is your favorite book(s) and why?</b><br />
I cannot say for certain, maybe The Secret Pool<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkyZG2EMgO0UuelRzudxhw5SsYHotxABBbuG2OZc_wPJuPzJqrF588yQmjv4JwWp9aHY0u7D4w037i-kDfOAXay8DNY7rfLGX4YxSpXl3vAeZf1OfXsuQFVQk_0WBKaJVtMLNXkByVQg/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkyZG2EMgO0UuelRzudxhw5SsYHotxABBbuG2OZc_wPJuPzJqrF588yQmjv4JwWp9aHY0u7D4w037i-kDfOAXay8DNY7rfLGX4YxSpXl3vAeZf1OfXsuQFVQk_0WBKaJVtMLNXkByVQg/s1600/giphy.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I love it too!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Least favorite and why? </b><br />
Cannot say for certain</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself attached to them?</b><br />
They are cozy, and the detail is breath taking and the women are really nice. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What is your favorite genre(s) to read?</b><br />
Usually Non-Fiction<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Do you have a favorite book in any of these genres?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Children's/Picture book</b> Velveteen Rabbit</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Classics</b> To kill a mocking bird</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Mystery</b> An then there were none</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Sci-fi/Fantasy </b>Through The looking glass</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Biography/Autobiography </b>Mindy Kahlings books and Augusten Burroughs </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>Non-fiction</b> Holy-Blood Holy Grail</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><b>YA </b>Twilight lol </li>
</ul>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</ul>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sM_aBpIdhZUXqeI-NhLuxQyKQtkS7MkuMAcUUUmZiUEXx0jT6XxnWYoNbllMuFYpGOqje6ycx2NK7ylSHvKvGqSx7_MV2N-oHxMbfVtqZuBvlRo_ONbXgink2Rbyd2H3qA8XUny6kzg/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="250" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sM_aBpIdhZUXqeI-NhLuxQyKQtkS7MkuMAcUUUmZiUEXx0jT6XxnWYoNbllMuFYpGOqje6ycx2NK7ylSHvKvGqSx7_MV2N-oHxMbfVtqZuBvlRo_ONbXgink2Rbyd2H3qA8XUny6kzg/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Is Betty Lucina Team Edward or Team Jacob?</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>What are the five books you would take if you were stranded on a deserted island? </b><br />
( see above) </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Where do you do most of your reading?</b><br />
On couch</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What books are in your to-be-read pile?</b><br />
Mostley stuff on Aliens TBH</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Do you listen to books? Any favorites on Audible?</b><br />
No. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Do you have any memories of being read to or reading with others? </b>No, although my mom read to me a lot. Sometimes even her Harlequins<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDr2S9AzJ1SMibXbGAhovm91bP_uI1fapEpkL5ROC8NDQioc1BLANQCq_izyiUeTxVaEj92CG2S0gaQxpYzH-TqqdhTb9WR7vzQ_c-xjpMWnt0MtiI456GRbC2cYnSykOnXheJ8hCXgPM/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="360" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDr2S9AzJ1SMibXbGAhovm91bP_uI1fapEpkL5ROC8NDQioc1BLANQCq_izyiUeTxVaEj92CG2S0gaQxpYzH-TqqdhTb9WR7vzQ_c-xjpMWnt0MtiI456GRbC2cYnSykOnXheJ8hCXgPM/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"She sat back against the leather seats as his great, socking Bentley ate up the miles..."</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading? </b><br />
Babysitters Club</div>
<span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>What's a book you find yourself constantly recommending?</b><br />
Celestine Prophecy </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-48153467639682315542019-02-12T07:00:00.000-08:002019-02-12T07:00:05.014-08:00Reading with Betty Melissa<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Introduce yourself (Be as vague or as specific as you like.)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a librarian living in the Midwest of the United States. I’m a lifelong reader, a trait I think I inherited from my mother. I’m also an avid amasser of books. If I find a topic that interests me even a little, it isn’t odd for me to buy a book (or five) on the topic to learn more. I have no idea how many books I currently own, but it’s a lot.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUerExKQ_XetQiDCY9W943nwtVjuKemTJM6QNWkAm1TttERiOF0kDDGMRnaIFOVbKzzLbmQwVBJ8d7ZV2yrjkROm8dx86hgbaP5qsUQyiHhDQCbSuGCONsAoc-YPkkkhJ91IARLU8Ip14/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="245" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUerExKQ_XetQiDCY9W943nwtVjuKemTJM6QNWkAm1TttERiOF0kDDGMRnaIFOVbKzzLbmQwVBJ8d7ZV2yrjkROm8dx86hgbaP5qsUQyiHhDQCbSuGCONsAoc-YPkkkhJ91IARLU8Ip14/s320/giphy.gif" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Melissa likes books the way some people like breathing.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When did you </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">start</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> reading Betty Neels?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not too long ago, less than ten years ago. I was going through a bad patch with a lot of trauma and stress in </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">my life. My father was ill and my job at the time was toxic. I found a refuge in reading “comfort reads”, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">which I really hadn’t done before. I’d seen Betty’s name mentioned in various lists of recommended authors </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">but was very smug and thought a Harlequin writer could never be any good. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The story I love to tell: I was at a library book sale and somebody had apparently donated their Betty Neels </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">collection. I hesitantly picked up one book and bought it, thinking that if I didn’t like it no harm no foul. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And if I did, I would go back and buy a few more. I read the book—it was The Vicar’s Daughter—and went </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">back and bought every other Betty Neels book there. Roughly 65 total. It was a great start to my collection!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA74n8VCSf-hdjbyzgdo-J8m9YdPZI9C59wRLRW2eFjv6YLc_rG9ZCWWuGgztFioJjFjN2sGpO1qLszbbAhNuSq4v1z86L5jynCwhFCqj_KrQ4Nzo1oGm_fwPUSoxZTwD-y_fPuwKSpxk/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="138" data-original-width="245" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA74n8VCSf-hdjbyzgdo-J8m9YdPZI9C59wRLRW2eFjv6YLc_rG9ZCWWuGgztFioJjFjN2sGpO1qLszbbAhNuSq4v1z86L5jynCwhFCqj_KrQ4Nzo1oGm_fwPUSoxZTwD-y_fPuwKSpxk/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sixty-five books, sir. Sixty-five. It IS all flowers and fairytales.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is your favorite book(s) and why?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Favorite Betty Neels: The Promise of Happiness. And it snuck up on me. I read it, moved on, didn’t think </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">much about it. Then I ran across the Jersey Dress blog and was struck by how much the book was loved in </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the review and the comments. So I read it again and found that the heroine had to be the strongest, most </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">resilient of all of Betty’s gals, the vast majority of which are incredibly strong. Plus I loved the hero, the plot, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the pets, and slimy Basil. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Other Betty Neels books I love: Dearest Love, The Magic of Living, Caroline’s Waterloo, Winter Wedding, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Gemel Ring, Damsel in Green, Tabitha in Moonlight, Pineapple Girl, and one of Betty’s oddities without </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a doctor hero, A Girl To Love.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Other books…far too many to list. My favorite authors are D.E. Stevenson, Anne Hepple, Elizabeth Cadell, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Raymond Jacberns, Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, and Mable Barnes-Grundy…most of which will have people saying </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“who”? I love authors who wrote in the first half of the last century, from 1900 to about 1950. The home </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">front of both wars is a special fascination for me. Stevenson, Hepple, and Cadell all write lovely family </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">stories with a romantic element. For strong heroines, you don’t get better than Jacberns, Sidgwick, and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Barnes-Grundy, and considering they are all writing around of the turn of the last century, that’s pretty </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">amazing. I don’t usually like male authors but love Nevil Shute and Nigel Balchin. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Least favorite and why?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I hate to say it, but any time a book has awards it won listed on it is an immediate turn off for me. I read </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">largely for entertainment, and the authors I love aren’t the sorts to win awards. Nothing against those </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">books, but they just aren’t for me.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguTDZT9t4h4JZvJR3G10CmUxAyWKjvEH05nS-h83b6Axaw-Cb5OULdv2NS85T86smV7wT47rP-8e-08MApVqjL8JFZIzvUos9QfhkmpleHxivHRYWnRDZztXOyCp7oRvFAO27jXCdFfk/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="500" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguTDZT9t4h4JZvJR3G10CmUxAyWKjvEH05nS-h83b6Axaw-Cb5OULdv2NS85T86smV7wT47rP-8e-08MApVqjL8JFZIzvUos9QfhkmpleHxivHRYWnRDZztXOyCp7oRvFAO27jXCdFfk/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Life is too short to be bored to tears.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself attached to them?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The heroines. Nearly every Betty heroine is a strong, resilient, intelligent woman who gets things done. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Even if they seem “weak” they aren’t. They tend to know exactly what they want, and aren’t afraid to stand </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">up for themselves. Romance novel heroines are often dismissed as weak or silly. I think anybody who reads</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Betty Neels will know this is nonsense. From what I’ve read of Betty’s real life, she herself was a strong, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">resilient, intelligent woman who got things done…so it isn’t surprising that is the kind of woman she wrote </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">about.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">On top of that, Betty had a brilliant way with a descriptive phrase. “She swung around in a whirl of pink</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">dressing gown” from The Magic of Living is one of my favorite examples. Just lovely.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Top all that off with wonderful travelogues of England and the Netherlands, fascinating descriptions of food, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and great descriptions of clothes!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is your favorite genre(s) to read?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What is generally referred to as either middlebrow fiction or comfort reads from roughly 1900 to 1950. I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">view these as books that give a modern reader an insight into what life was really like for “normal” people </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">back in those years. The books I most enjoy generally feature ordinary people, not celebrities or artists or </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">politicians, etc. Not famous people. Just women going about their daily lives. I think it really gives you a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">glimpse into what life was like back then. I tend to read more British books than American.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’ve also recently become fascinated with “Girls Own” stories. These are stories aimed at British schoolgirls, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">again written largely from 1900 to 1950. Many are set at boarding schools but others are stories of family </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">life. Like the books written for adults I talk about above, I think they give modern readers an idea of what it </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">was like to live back in that era.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you have a favorite book in any of these genres?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Children's/Picture book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Probably thousands. Picture books-- I love Curious George and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. As I said </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">above I’ve recently become interested in “Girls Own” stories, and one of my favorite authors in that genre is </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Raymond Jacberns, who wrote about independent young girls and women way back in the late 1800s. She </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">died in 1911, but her books have some incredibly tough little girls in them, which for the era just fascinates </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me. I also like a series called Milly Molly Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley, which are gentle little stories of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a little girl living in a small English village with her loving extended family. Very sweet, and quite funny too. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I also love the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Classics</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was a literature major in college and pretty much exhausted my interest in classics back then. I used to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">love John Steinbeck. No idea what I’d think of him now.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgal7YTcxFsHLPvv0DUFf4qP1-Dz-svP7c1cc126U9RcGnBNn87Xdq2WPBRilqceLA630Y7KBEsqO5KhGYFkRmBX5ah-AArp7uL8bbnp7Hszw3p6SBxSNFRrFfbGAcmsW50KnPX0vSoI/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="480" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgal7YTcxFsHLPvv0DUFf4qP1-Dz-svP7c1cc126U9RcGnBNn87Xdq2WPBRilqceLA630Y7KBEsqO5KhGYFkRmBX5ah-AArp7uL8bbnp7Hszw3p6SBxSNFRrFfbGAcmsW50KnPX0vSoI/s400/giphy.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Tolkien' is my safety word.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mystery</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I used to be a hardcore mystery fan, and that was all I read for years. Then the genre just started getting too </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">repetitive and the same themes seemed to be used again and again, and I lost interest. Every once in awhile </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’ll pick up a new mystery but I’m usually disappointed. I do still like some of the older authors. Craig Rice </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">is one of my favorites.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sci-fi/Fantasy</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not my thing.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Biography/Autobiography</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I really enjoy reading books about authors. If I like an author I try to learn as much as I can about them, but </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">most of the ones I like are so obscure I can only find a tiny bit of information online. But I do have </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">biographies of Nevil Shute, Elizabeth von Arnim, and Nigel Balchin that I’ve enjoyed. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Non-fiction</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I do enjoy a lot of non-fiction. Generally if I’m interested in a topic, I’ll wander onto Abebooks and try to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">find a book or two or five on the topic. Which often means I’ve moved on to another interest, and then I’ll </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">find yet another book in my TBR pile on Land Girls that I bought a year before (this actually just happened). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Some of the topics I enjoy: I like old movies and am always buying biographies of the classic movie stars. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Pretty much anything to do with the home front, especially of England during World War II, like the Land </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Girls, rationing, or just everyday life in general. There are also some historical true crime cases I’m fascinated </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">by, like Lizzie Borden and Madeline Smith. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">YA</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not really my thing.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDry-YqF5e-kPM5jdmtcsXTlMdrOL8OxaoDRXsrcz32y8_SnibYVRPFTK5VWGyCL9qKE2AwS9iWLq_JpoBuGaoEm5fT3bj2QECOI1yR-_PxKbTc_Ai2Q3GTq0lAmIDmMs7dJRET39t30/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDry-YqF5e-kPM5jdmtcsXTlMdrOL8OxaoDRXsrcz32y8_SnibYVRPFTK5VWGyCL9qKE2AwS9iWLq_JpoBuGaoEm5fT3bj2QECOI1yR-_PxKbTc_Ai2Q3GTq0lAmIDmMs7dJRET39t30/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Hunger Games was way offended.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are the five books you would take if you were stranded on a deserted island?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Five books, or five pallets of books? Gosh, just five…I don’t really know. Probably The Promise of Happiness </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">by Betty Neels, Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson, The Corner Shop by Elizabeth Cadell, A Family of Girls </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">by Raymond Jacberns, Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute, The North Wind Blows by Anne Hepple, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, Cynthia’s Way by Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, Two in a Tent and Jane by </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Mabel Barnes Grundy, Sally’s Family by Gwendolyn Courtney, and Mr. Skeffington by Elizabeth von Arnim. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hmm, that seems to be more than five. But math was never my strong suit.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Where do you do most of your reading?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Either in bed or the bathtub.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What books are in your to-be-read pile?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not enough room to list. If I can manage it I’ll include a picture of a portion of my To Be Read pile. If the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">picture goes through okay, <part> of my TBR pile is on top of the bookcases. There are other parts of my </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">TBR scattered throughout the house, though they are organized, as befits a librarian. No idea how many </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">total—I’m certainly never going to count because I then might be compelled to stop buying books and I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">can’t have that.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9g3AqS_rG0nDt4OSE8RalYHv8tINAZwZUUu4Xc3r6Rs-0Hm9i7KJ6PwqBuQfgxcfByqmhc9UID2gQqXcKfPQcM0d0d8kgUIrk3HsJbTbBlK4SSZSsm976SwMPLp1qyHcnd7UxFD0v_6s/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9g3AqS_rG0nDt4OSE8RalYHv8tINAZwZUUu4Xc3r6Rs-0Hm9i7KJ6PwqBuQfgxcfByqmhc9UID2gQqXcKfPQcM0d0d8kgUIrk3HsJbTbBlK4SSZSsm976SwMPLp1qyHcnd7UxFD0v_6s/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The books on the shelves are my fiction books. I have other bookcases for other interests. The books on the top are part of my To Be Read pile. A small part of it. Books on the top left are "Girls Own" books. Books on the top right are fiction. You can see some storage boxes on the bottom shelves. Those are my unread vintage Harlequins. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">As to what I’m currently reading now, I’m reading a lovely story by Mabel Barnes-Grundy, one by Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, a girls’ spy story by Gwendolyn Courtney, and a few others. I’m generally reading anywhere from five to ten books at a time. I think right now I’m reading about seven.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you listen to books? Any favorites on Audible?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I do. I have a half hour commute each way every day and having something to listen to keeps me from </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">insanity and road rage during that time. One of my favorites is the Audible of The Corner Shop by Elizabeth </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Cadell. The narrator is brilliant, and does an amazing job bringing the book to life. I’m also fond of Agatha </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Christie stories narrated by Hugh Fraser. He does a very good job with the Poirot stories. I like the ones he </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">does better than the ones narrated by David Suchet.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you have any memories of being read to or reading with others?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I taught myself to read before I was in school, and family lore says I was reading at the age of three. No </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">idea if it’s true but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. So I don’t really remember being read to. And a small </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">humblebrag—I won a prize for the most books read in my kindergarten class. I think I read something like </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">120 books. The nearest other person read about twenty. I won a little plaster bank. It’s pretty much the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">only thing I ever won so I’m quite proud of it.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQq5shpRKAUrM-d2fCCqL63UtI8hGofWrLQBzEKewV1nfPqgfnwPu7c7Nm9Xdj_pc_mxGv6sXp_lO1Xy8X_HcMwX1OdKM1ydCcE-7fxNU6bmc1zfdm82EXMFkqVoeyXD_m5Dh1dQhyOOg/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="500" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQq5shpRKAUrM-d2fCCqL63UtI8hGofWrLQBzEKewV1nfPqgfnwPu7c7Nm9Xdj_pc_mxGv6sXp_lO1Xy8X_HcMwX1OdKM1ydCcE-7fxNU6bmc1zfdm82EXMFkqVoeyXD_m5Dh1dQhyOOg/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Melissa knew when her mother skipped pages.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I sometimes think I was born reading, so nothing really ignited it. Just always loved to read. I’m one of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">those people who, if they don’t have a book, is reading the cereal box. Just need to be reading all the time. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What's a book you find yourself constantly recommending?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I know people bash Facebook but I love being on the various groups for book lovers on there. Usually great </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">groups of kindred spirits who don’t mind me rambling on about my love for Elizabeth Cadell or Raymond </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jacberns. Some of them even know the author! I’ve tried to recommend Betty Neels to “real” people, but </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">generally just get a blank stare. I’ve never even tried with most of the authors I read.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XYtFdD38XvskspzTv5PdjMYmMZeD8rf9_PypjAXJmTCyVZbqzPTYmVkXQiDhkjDbZ5fW5P357Lep7XM51xN_gdau-CDa4sfoEoeLZisDmpcB2pkGr1xdn2nOMzWRnhvO2zjwbfWKYrE/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XYtFdD38XvskspzTv5PdjMYmMZeD8rf9_PypjAXJmTCyVZbqzPTYmVkXQiDhkjDbZ5fW5P357Lep7XM51xN_gdau-CDa4sfoEoeLZisDmpcB2pkGr1xdn2nOMzWRnhvO2zjwbfWKYrE/s1600/giphy.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Despite knowing that Amal would have loved Caroline's Waterloo, <br />the Clooneys refused to join the book club.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">So it is wonderful to be able to write an enthusiastic post on Raymond Jacberns on the Facebook page for girls’ stories and have people not only knowing who she was, but saying they love her too. I talk about Raymond Jacberns a lot on Facebook! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Ditto Elizabeth Cadell, who wrote such fun books. Romance, but usually with a hint of a mystery. The </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Corner Shop and Mixed Marriage are my favorites. The Corner Shop is about a woman who runs a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">secretarial agency and goes to a remote house in the wilds of England to find out why three of her best </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">secretaries refused to work for a professor. She ends up organizing his life for him, and falling in love </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">with him to boot. Mixed Marriage is laugh out loud funny, about a British girl who marries a Portuguese </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">man and ends up in serious culture shock.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Anything else?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">I love being part of the Uncrushable Jersey Dress group on Facebook! Such a great group of women!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-76642333477465739702019-02-05T07:00:00.000-08:002019-02-05T07:00:01.124-08:00Reading With Betty Rebecca<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Introduce yourself (Be as vague or as specific as you like.)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My name is Rebecca. I am 50 years old. I reside in Columbus, Ohio, USA for the last 20 years. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’m a long-time paralegal, now working on the life and annuity side of a major insurer based in </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Columbus after years in a law firm. I’m married to a university professor, although not one of the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">RBD/RDD variety, unfortunately! We’ve been married for 23 years, we have no children but an </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">abundance of felines, fish and a single dog who the cats absolutely adore. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zxSpMLCy2FotlHZts2XKOhgpb2FKQgZUGrm1pXrGbiGT90FvXS4988f4LQKC0tyYJV2TvRdQiorAj26uxg99zh8bsHxtfdlxgbwIh90vI8FRU4rt3s8ttYW41RDcY8LOazh4CGYt2C0/s1600/giphy+%252896%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="480" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zxSpMLCy2FotlHZts2XKOhgpb2FKQgZUGrm1pXrGbiGT90FvXS4988f4LQKC0tyYJV2TvRdQiorAj26uxg99zh8bsHxtfdlxgbwIh90vI8FRU4rt3s8ttYW41RDcY8LOazh4CGYt2C0/s320/giphy+%252896%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>We see how it is.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like to travel (preferably warm beaches and Europe), read and write although all three have </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">suffered due to changes in family members’ health.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">I found this group entirely by accident. I’ve been the caregiver for my MIL and FIL in Florida and </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">California. I have been “flying the triangle” once a month for the last three years. I usually work </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on the flight using the in-flight internet. One trip had bad internet. I wasn’t interested in the in-flight </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">movies, but had a couple Betty Neels books on my iPad purchased back in 2012. I re-read both on </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the flight and when I landed and had internet, I searched for a list of her books and found The </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Uncrushable Jersey Dress blog. I was almost devastated to see no recent comments on the entries, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">but I found “my people” had moved to Facebook and immediately asked to join the group. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">Thanks to the website’s reviews and comments, the FB group, and Amazon, I’ve read 114 Betty </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Neels books since June 23, 2018 – the day the internet went out on Delta. Now I’ll always say </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“The Nasty Marriage” and giggle if I hear about Brighton, no matter how innocent the reference.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9JqggQJmTDLQmX5djEPDGIzF4xJS6Kzxzd7Pt2l0l5h6gCSCUGTQhPBMqVkCAVkqMgpWDzFGbnwqAmDmOG5tQJ9xVnY973lKP79JiqBw8iR2VbGhEPPO6OefKJPQnazdEAAEU2EECSI/s1600/giphy+%252895%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="400" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9JqggQJmTDLQmX5djEPDGIzF4xJS6Kzxzd7Pt2l0l5h6gCSCUGTQhPBMqVkCAVkqMgpWDzFGbnwqAmDmOG5tQJ9xVnY973lKP79JiqBw8iR2VbGhEPPO6OefKJPQnazdEAAEU2EECSI/s320/giphy+%252895%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>We are all adults here.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve always thought I should introduce myself on the FB group, but as an introvert, I never found the right time for me. Betty Keira’s suggestion to do these interviews was my opening to “come out” to you all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">Thanks!</span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When did you start reading Betty Neels?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was in my early 20s, to the best of my recollection. I may have read a couple in my teens, but I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">just don’t remember. My mother liked Betty Neels, and I remember visiting her at her home in my </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">20s, and she had a few in the guest room, which I read and can’t forget. I know my first books were </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“The Doubtful Marriage”, “The Promise of Happiness” and “Esmerelda”.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">What is your favorite book(s) and why?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Oh, to be able to narrow it down to a single book!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">“The Doubtful Marriage” and “The Promise of Happiness” are favorites because they were my first. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Luckily, “The Promise of Happiness” is a great BN book! Knowing its alternate name of “Becky and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the Hot, Hot Baron” cemented it at the top of my favorite list. Since picking up Betty again, I must </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">add Caroline’s Waterloo to the list, as well. “The Secret Pool” and “The Hasty Marriage” would </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">round out my absolute favorites list, I think.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">For some reason, I’m quite partial to the Marriage of Convenience theme.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84PuBJcGN85XAHXj7uJDnicSpvuvOax74iaET6T1e8-Kv0FUFudvWMd8cA-r-8hsFHSfearE1tZF1CKmtgi-sN90MhpPxeeWNUyMK_jgNzI1ZmGjwdwsFtkf6Mppvjvect4xucl4C_OY/s1600/giphy+%252897%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="480" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84PuBJcGN85XAHXj7uJDnicSpvuvOax74iaET6T1e8-Kv0FUFudvWMd8cA-r-8hsFHSfearE1tZF1CKmtgi-sN90MhpPxeeWNUyMK_jgNzI1ZmGjwdwsFtkf6Mppvjvect4xucl4C_OY/s320/giphy+%252897%2529.gif" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Shout out to the Greatest Marriage of Convenience that almost was...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Least favorite and why?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I disliked Victory of Victoria immensely. Apparently, I don’t care for the mostly straightforward </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">romance (by Betty standards). Apparently, I need an arranged marriage, or a faux-courtship </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">punctuated by snippiness and misunderstandings! </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I dislike Winter Wedding for many reasons, but the top reason was the Seconal Twins event. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Right Kind of Girl is a bottom-feeder too just for the “Diana is worth a dozen of you” comment, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">with no apology. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself attached to them?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Even if I’ve never read the book, there’s a predictability in her work that is immensely comforting to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me. I don’t have a life – or at least I haven’t accepted quite yet that this is my new life - due to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">caregiving while working full time and trying to manage the house. These books are a welcome </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">escape that I simply can’t explain.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">Also, I watch Midsommer Murders. I’m not sure if any of Betty’s books are set in Midsommer </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Murder’s filming areas, but it never fails to amaze me what little Betty Neels things are still </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">referenced in a more modern TV show – tea (high and cream), elevens, village fetes, the vicar, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the local Lord/Lady, the Veronica-like wives (many of whom are annoying and rude), the kids with </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the nanny all day, and so on. I’m always saying to my not-rich psychology professor that some </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">little reference is always in my “old-fashioned romances”. Midsommer even went to Brighton for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">an episode!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqhvuh5GUEU81QBPHk_plsZzH5VwQYH1Q5CtOZnIfT2SyEvwWM4b8Wb__hNY-lhCB-RQXjmFpYucFlPWolFqYOzO7z3HbNwvoOj7D_kpn9IbRrpnZkVJdifa6PjkExuJWtqS3HAEKBmA/s1600/giphy+%252898%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqhvuh5GUEU81QBPHk_plsZzH5VwQYH1Q5CtOZnIfT2SyEvwWM4b8Wb__hNY-lhCB-RQXjmFpYucFlPWolFqYOzO7z3HbNwvoOj7D_kpn9IbRrpnZkVJdifa6PjkExuJWtqS3HAEKBmA/s320/giphy+%252898%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Is Betty Keira going to deny you John Nettles? No she will not.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What is your favorite genre(s) to read?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Probably contemporary fiction, although I like some non-fiction.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Do you have a favorite book in any of these genres?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Children's/Picture book</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Madeline series of books</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Classics</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Great Gatsby</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Most anything of Jane Austen</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Mystery</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Most of the Patricia Cornwell mysteries involving Dr./ME Kay Scarpetta.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Sci-fi/Fantasy</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Atlas Shrugged</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Brave New World </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Fahrenheit 451</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">1984</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqe13KRWWhCdeAf8WcxAVXbojHMj6MSXea0AIyk3FMQ74K0CysCNcx-NUWOXSvIWpmQxw0jYdqzuqDAiv8qU5iDp9DSJRepLf-OiPWRKbH3cvl6nGlahko3EJlhbTdxjhjethUpQneuQ/s1600/giphy+%252899%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqe13KRWWhCdeAf8WcxAVXbojHMj6MSXea0AIyk3FMQ74K0CysCNcx-NUWOXSvIWpmQxw0jYdqzuqDAiv8qU5iDp9DSJRepLf-OiPWRKbH3cvl6nGlahko3EJlhbTdxjhjethUpQneuQ/s320/giphy+%252899%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>No, You Guys. Not that 1984.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Biography/Autobiography</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Being Mortal</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Last Lecture</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Eat Pray Love</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Wild</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Anne Frank: A Diary of a Young Girl</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Anything by Bill Bryson</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Non-fiction</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Too many to list…I like WWII history, documentaries and related autobiographies and biographies. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I used to be a regular consumer of the self-help genre. If it involved organization and simplification, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was willing to read it!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">And the Band Played On – one that stuck with me for a long time for many reasons</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">YA</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Between</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Harry Potter series</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Anne of Green Gables series</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXC3nZSbYhncRJKi1a33FbPMGPbcKRPkBhqAGnhgLlmsko9bKT79z5yKtJBW7_KrcKbP5eVksSdbGSfKSJZ1JAV3C63LZIRlUQ64h925idUWxb-EjgwVJtZFceKC52In0An0P4O55ZpY/s1600/giphy+%2528100%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="268" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXC3nZSbYhncRJKi1a33FbPMGPbcKRPkBhqAGnhgLlmsko9bKT79z5yKtJBW7_KrcKbP5eVksSdbGSfKSJZ1JAV3C63LZIRlUQ64h925idUWxb-EjgwVJtZFceKC52In0An0P4O55ZpY/s320/giphy+%2528100%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Oh, Anne. We love you so.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What are the five books you would take if you were stranded on a deserted island?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Godfather</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Brave New World</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Caroline’s Waterloo (yes, a Betty is going!)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Gone with the Wind</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Atlas Shrugged</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Where do you do most of your reading?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Until October 2018, airplanes – I started picking weekend flights so I didn’t feel obligated to work </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and would just read for 6 hours. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">Now that I’ve moved my mother-in-law to Ohio, I usually read in bed for an hour or so. If I am </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">slacking on housework, I read in the family room.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">What books are in your to-be-read pile?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Far too many, but at the top of the Kindle download list:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Rock Needs River</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Forgotten Hours</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Feast: True Love In and Out of the Kitchen</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Of course, I want to finish the rest of the BN collection, but I do tend to pick these up when they go</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on sale at Amazon and the last handful hasn’t dropped in price lately.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Do you listen to books? Any favorites on Audible?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I don’t typically listen to books but I did listen to Under the Banner of Heaven, Me Before You and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">its sequel during my drives from LAX to Orange County.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGx1bgdQqTH9Ir7EVRLdqNsO-i-Xitd4CHgxbU6lUYIQXNd7Y3yvKNoRBGCFDp5JKedUslb_X8r76chx8JOH8wpdA_btmqpzhMCyFj2vgotpAXpMEOJ-pc-0klMMGeqPmUjIeIBVipt6Q/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="480" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGx1bgdQqTH9Ir7EVRLdqNsO-i-Xitd4CHgxbU6lUYIQXNd7Y3yvKNoRBGCFDp5JKedUslb_X8r76chx8JOH8wpdA_btmqpzhMCyFj2vgotpAXpMEOJ-pc-0klMMGeqPmUjIeIBVipt6Q/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Rebecca had yet to be sold on audio books.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you have any memories of being read to or reading with others?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I don’t, other than one teacher reading in the 4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7.199999999999998pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> grade. I’m not sure why I became a reader, other </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">than watching my mother read romances any chance she had. Or perhaps it was due to my severe </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">introversion. My sister, as an adult, became a prolific reader and we often shared books as adults.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">What book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Witch of Blackbird Pond… my fourth grade teacher read it out loud to the class. I grew impatient </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">waiting for the next chapter, and just checked it out from the school library myself and finished it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I became a regular library patron at that point. I also liked to read the encyclopedias, one of the few </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">things my father bought of use to us kids.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">What's a book you find yourself constantly recommending?</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Gift of Fear </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Atlas Shrugged</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Anything else?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">I think I’ve already typed too much. Anyway, thank you for putting this together and creating the </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Facebook Group and the book review site. My life lately, thanks to my rekindled love for all things </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Betty, has had far more joy than Kon-Mari’ing my drawers ever could.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVE0PIE6n6hNM7Ef8eI7Q0do_Njeo6C2UapLAUupBZh0CAUw3IUv8U-jl3pLK38GlncwLY7OXg34p_CBap9fwIr02K6q8O-Q5p-xG1PUDqXfeZUhRZ8HzYI9LPHKfme3_sd7R1eECGTVw/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVE0PIE6n6hNM7Ef8eI7Q0do_Njeo6C2UapLAUupBZh0CAUw3IUv8U-jl3pLK38GlncwLY7OXg34p_CBap9fwIr02K6q8O-Q5p-xG1PUDqXfeZUhRZ8HzYI9LPHKfme3_sd7R1eECGTVw/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Aw. That makes us feel as happy as a precisely folded shirt.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-87092927781537901122019-01-30T22:16:00.000-08:002019-01-30T22:40:31.250-08:00Reading with Betty Marie<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Welcome to our new series, Reading with Betty, wherein some of our readers (hanging out on the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">robust FB page) volunteered to let us paw over the contents of their bookshelves and take us on a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">tour of their reading lives. We are, all of us, riveted to the fixed point of The Great Betty Neels but </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">splinter from it in a thousand different directions. I am excited to learn about each of our intrepid </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Betties who have each been filling out the same questionaire. Let's go:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Introduce yourself (Be as vague or as specific as you like.) </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Salutations! I'm Marie. I'm live in Oklahoma with my fiance & our 5 kids, a dog & 5 parakeets. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Our kids are 4, 5, 6, 12 & 14. They keep us busy!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="goog_1270231658"></span><span id="goog_1270231659"></span><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSz9e-TOyemyNIEBX4Gui_TVvkM7mVq26cwlvYsNtOR0kLpr-zrHHFIE6gN_UKHpT7h8x8tGFaJU9wwGOTtBx9R2EJ9pKxMiz8yTiWFa3opGkGmhOqKsNPYIfLskWzGOh_c7LDBLeClsw/s1600/giphy+%252886%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="480" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSz9e-TOyemyNIEBX4Gui_TVvkM7mVq26cwlvYsNtOR0kLpr-zrHHFIE6gN_UKHpT7h8x8tGFaJU9wwGOTtBx9R2EJ9pKxMiz8yTiWFa3opGkGmhOqKsNPYIfLskWzGOh_c7LDBLeClsw/s400/giphy+%252886%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Marie is an excellent juggler.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I'm a nurse. I work agency & I sent my own schedule. My background is Cardiac & Stroke, but now </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I get to see a bit of everything. My fiance is also a nurse so we both understand the demands of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">work & can talk shop together. I also currently teach clinicals to first year nursing students. Prior </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to nursing, I was an English Lit major with a minor in Spanish. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Growing up my sister & I were both adopted from the Philippines. We also grew up as Navy brats. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We mainly lived on the East Coast, Panama & Spain. So I've been lucky to travel & see a lot of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the world. I have 2 siblings. My older brother lives in OK & my younger sister lives in Kansas. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I'm pretty quiet & love staying home, but don't have a problem getting out & doing fun stuff with </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">friends or family. I like to travel & went on a cruise of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales a few </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">years ago. I read a lot! I stumbled upon TUJD blog a few years ago & was so happy to know other </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">people loved Betty! I was very happy to find the FB group 😁</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b8cf6b1e-7fff-b406-3535-6b7748df053b" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>When did you start reading Betty Neels?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was introduced to TGB in high school. My BFF's mom had a whole box of them she was cleaning </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out. I asked to borrow some & she gave me the whole box. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8el3rzOZRoyfKlwjbywfZ-9rLpcDPDv9k8MXOES3LD5W3VAP6ZOpi2IljiEcX-lqtyKYxK930e0LoIkXuWac18QqWTbsehRMC8mhC8pfSlPqJzwLK8OXjKccxVkKKdaXHGZj1P54gsc/s1600/giphy+%252887%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="500" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8el3rzOZRoyfKlwjbywfZ-9rLpcDPDv9k8MXOES3LD5W3VAP6ZOpi2IljiEcX-lqtyKYxK930e0LoIkXuWac18QqWTbsehRMC8mhC8pfSlPqJzwLK8OXjKccxVkKKdaXHGZj1P54gsc/s640/giphy+%252887%2529.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Marie's BFF's mom was not in her right mind.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What is your favorite book(s) and why?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Wren to the Rescue. My dad bought it for me on one of his many business trips. He signed the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">inside with a message and the date. I love looking at the cover & remembering the moment he </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">gave it to me. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Least favorite and why?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Gone with the Wind. I love, love the movie. I've tried to read the book twice & haven't ever finished it </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in one read 😑 🙈</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The movie characters are so ingrained & loved in my head since age 4 (yes very young I know) & I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">can't separate them from the book. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaautJLxx03D8qFvoQ0L90E0Gx3TIQe0sNeHEp4NL6TFjiko8gbGPJ5U6fVaYf1R6ot1pzc5HOnaAIUGC-qP9GwDd6VnHyvI-em0cOZDAqCZjhc5_nCj5FkXHxQTWZLAv3NKPadTsEoM/s1600/giphy+%252888%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="168" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaautJLxx03D8qFvoQ0L90E0Gx3TIQe0sNeHEp4NL6TFjiko8gbGPJ5U6fVaYf1R6ot1pzc5HOnaAIUGC-qP9GwDd6VnHyvI-em0cOZDAqCZjhc5_nCj5FkXHxQTWZLAv3NKPadTsEoM/s400/giphy+%252888%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Books and movies have a fraught relationship.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels and why do you find yourself attached to them?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The simple romance & HEAs. I like the domesting details. I also like the nursing aspect. I began </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">reading Betty before I became a nurse, but enjoy seeing how nursing was in her time. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What is your favorite genre(s) to read?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance & YA </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do you have a favorite book in any of these genres?</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Children's/Picture book</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Fairy Tales (I have a small collection of different versions) & Eric Carlisle's books</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Classics</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Pride & Prejudice, The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings, so many others </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Mystery</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nancy Drew or The Cat Who books, Dan Brown series </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Sci-fi/Fantasy </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Orson Scott Card, Mercedes Lackey, Tolkien, Robin McKinley </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Biography/Autobiography </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I read one about</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nancy Reagan once</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Non-fiction</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I don't really read this genre 🤔</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>YA</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sherwood Smith's works & The Lioness Rampant series, Madeline L'Engle’ works. Too many to list </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What are the five books you would take if you were stranded on a deserted island?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Pride & Prejudice, Austenland, The Hobbit, Beauty, & my Martha Stewart cookbook, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuEZgk1qWyH1IM-mn0dVbKSS35eSk_X9eAaOA9ETz50NsoqwoNHUsgnX77gC6axRTKCj93AlbT9EvIHhUppauGqMIsY_MgTwcHPDi3WfV_MBJimsd_PIelj0Od1Wm50F9KdjMlvTJMW4/s1600/giphy+%252889%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="500" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuEZgk1qWyH1IM-mn0dVbKSS35eSk_X9eAaOA9ETz50NsoqwoNHUsgnX77gC6axRTKCj93AlbT9EvIHhUppauGqMIsY_MgTwcHPDi3WfV_MBJimsd_PIelj0Od1Wm50F9KdjMlvTJMW4/s400/giphy+%252889%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I am buying this.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Where do you do most of your reading?</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My bed, but I'll read anywhere. My car, work etc. I rarely leave home without a book. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What books are in your to-be-read pile? </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I always have a few Bettys in the stack. I'm going to start through Mercedes Lackey's Elementals </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">series again. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do you listen to books? Any favorites on Audible?</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not if I can help it. I have recently learned Richard Armitage does voice work for books. So maybe </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in the future I'll give it another try 😂</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do you have any memories of being read to or reading with others?</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">MY grandma reading me Mother Goose nursery rhymes. That's how I learned English. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What book was the first one to ignite your interest in reading?</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Little House in the Big Woods. I had to write a book report about it. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What's a book you find yourself constantly recommending? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sadly</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, my real life friends & family don't read much. My daughter gst YA recommendations from </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">my bookshelf all the time. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Fun fact.</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A high school friend & I share a copy of The Princess Bride. We each keep it for a year, read it, & </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">send it back. We include new notes, thoughts, etc. we've been doing this for a few years now. </span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5h7Vt85me3EpgFJdiVk2LzxX2s6hhhlBIAs-56oZRaa-mMvkz3a5C-ecfHltiqE4QN2UFuccosUS_NWoJi-JfO8RJS76wgnNJQ6IQGuK1GSEoWGoh3UQ2II4uk-vKqczytd4dKVkZrg/s1600/giphy+%252890%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="245" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5h7Vt85me3EpgFJdiVk2LzxX2s6hhhlBIAs-56oZRaa-mMvkz3a5C-ecfHltiqE4QN2UFuccosUS_NWoJi-JfO8RJS76wgnNJQ6IQGuK1GSEoWGoh3UQ2II4uk-vKqczytd4dKVkZrg/s400/giphy+%252890%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Solid choice, Betty Marie!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-33783731912185311272018-08-01T08:40:00.002-07:002018-08-01T08:43:42.887-07:00Writing with Betty: Beverly Farr<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Betty Beverly was kind enough to come around for a cuppa and a chat about her literary adventures. I've dipped into her catalog and found it to be full of humor and sweetness. Let's find out more about her! </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1txXBYLLYmicYAD3R2Yg8BOrYidBkr3e1YrXCKo3cRto0CWM2TrU-DnWrjYpoJ4gKWeRtVhvTyaOqGo3lRGTqKXx2nJymeHuH4nXRNP1qpsBiXcANvGMM8LwiS0AM8RJ7xpUVzph6qCI/s1600/515gP0O2unL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1txXBYLLYmicYAD3R2Yg8BOrYidBkr3e1YrXCKo3cRto0CWM2TrU-DnWrjYpoJ4gKWeRtVhvTyaOqGo3lRGTqKXx2nJymeHuH4nXRNP1qpsBiXcANvGMM8LwiS0AM8RJ7xpUVzph6qCI/s320/515gP0O2unL.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dressed-Darcy-Modern-Mr-Romance-ebook/dp/B07CC9S12Y/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533135890&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=jane+grix+author+page">link</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>You write under pen names. Can you tell us a little bit about the genres under each one and why you decided to split them this way? The pros and cons of pen names and, now that you're down the road a little bit, if you would do it differently?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Some people want to publish everything under one name, which is fine, but years ago, I remember picking up a Georgette Heyer book, thinking it was one of her historicals (yay) and finding out it was one of her murder mysteries (boo) so I think of my names like that.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Beverly Farr writes sweet contemporary romances and contemporary Jane Austen Variations</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Jane Grix writes traditional Jane Austen Variations and Regency Romances</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Cass Grix writes the paranormal/fairy tale Jane Austen Variations</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
And I wouldn't change it, I like having the three names. Beverly Farr is my maiden name, Jane Grix is Jane for Jane Austen and Grix (which was my mother's maiden name and her family came from England), Cass Grix is Cass for Jane Austen's sister Cassandra.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFRaYDAqOE3-jYpGel2fwGgSu4leXDnWyM6daN_42Mrd94xW4p9MUzI_z_qZQSLnlZ1uNqcKbhrRWZHUAqA8M04ZkY-2VHH0z7TJmhbfu7evVE5ObE8gyKfvrQIAtKxzcEX2Vtwm16vk/s1600/giphy+%252838%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFRaYDAqOE3-jYpGel2fwGgSu4leXDnWyM6daN_42Mrd94xW4p9MUzI_z_qZQSLnlZ1uNqcKbhrRWZHUAqA8M04ZkY-2VHH0z7TJmhbfu7evVE5ObE8gyKfvrQIAtKxzcEX2Vtwm16vk/s1600/giphy+%252838%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Beverly assured me it was nothing like<br />being a three-headed dog... Bit of a disappointment, really.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/pitbull-F0V5CXH2MRbDa">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>Are you traditionally published, self-published, a hybrid?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
I am self-published. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>When did you get your start writing and is this what you do full time?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
I've been writing since I was 8 years old, and started writing romances when I was about 12. I wrote more as a hobby for years, self published in 2012 and in 2015 started writing full time.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>What does your output look like? (From what I can tell, you have a pretty good catalog and I wondered how long you tended to work on a book before you sent it into the world.)</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Some stories take a long time (I'm currently working on a story I began more than 20 years ago) but some are quicker to write. My quickest book was <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darcys-Spotless-Reputation-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B06XVBQLRK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1533137957&sr=1-1&keywords=darcy%27s+spotless+reputation&dpID=51-wlAfnV2L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch">DARCY'S SPOTLESS REPUTATION</a> which I wrote <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_989098881" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">in 8 days</span></span>. But it's a novella and funny, so it almost wrote itself. On average, though, a novella takes about a month and a novel about 2 months.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVEj9LMWad937neECELYaWoTc_FJI8SvJRLK2LXoB0S70sZVuuot5JlgySns2cUJa41cRG_9u0ahoEm2VNHnmrEpCmzxoNux-wYxE5NwDBB99Iz4IqjQe1l8J_wmElioTW3ohfehn57M/s1600/giphy+%252841%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVEj9LMWad937neECELYaWoTc_FJI8SvJRLK2LXoB0S70sZVuuot5JlgySns2cUJa41cRG_9u0ahoEm2VNHnmrEpCmzxoNux-wYxE5NwDBB99Iz4IqjQe1l8J_wmElioTW3ohfehn57M/s320/giphy+%252841%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Of course, it goes slower when I take time to write <br />original poems about my love of software user interfaces.</b>"<br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/computer-napoleon-dynamite-kip-l3E6BG56dhjuawAX6">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>You might be our only Jane Austen Variations writer among the Betties. What appealed to you about that genre? When reading Pride and Prejudice, for instance, how do you find the right thread to start pulling, unravelling the tale and knitting it up into a different pattern?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
P&P is my absolute favorite book of all time. I used to read it at least once a year, but now I keep it on my desk and read bits almost every day. I still find passages that I never noticed before (because I read too fast)</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
I get ideas when I'm driving in the car. For my current story DARCY IN LOVE AND WAR, I just thought, "What if Jane was dead before the story starts? If Jane wasn't around, would Bingley just fall in love with the second prettiest girl in town - Elizabeth Bennet? I think so, and then what would Darcy do when his best friend is falling for the woman he is falling for? And how would the Bennet family dynamics change? </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqhap1xrWdk2oJrPKkKHuPOjodebF6WsAV41jz0K5XbBEgqJbdoCdHZKkunj_ARbsFVW74p1OaLQahV1cM4q6SytuitwBselP7hirVw9YweIeGlzqiQ0l0O4T0mJRsR_zUSNMAwWqmeY/s1600/5140T8pDDZL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqhap1xrWdk2oJrPKkKHuPOjodebF6WsAV41jz0K5XbBEgqJbdoCdHZKkunj_ARbsFVW74p1OaLQahV1cM4q6SytuitwBselP7hirVw9YweIeGlzqiQ0l0O4T0mJRsR_zUSNMAwWqmeY/s320/5140T8pDDZL.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Is it wrong to be rooting for a round of shirtless fisticuffs?</b><br />
(<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darcy-Love-War-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B07FTXPF7X/ref=pd_sim_351_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4AY4VH0N752KNY7EYK9Z&dpID=5140T8pDDZL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=detail">link</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>Who, among your books, is your favorite set of main characters and why? (Or in the case of Darcy and Lizzie, which of their books delights you most?) </b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
I do love Darcy and Lizzie, but with now that I've written 23 variations for them, it's hard sometimes to remember what events go with what story! As for my other books, the one I'm working on is usually my favorite. I just re-edited <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Her-Next-Door-Highland-Park-ebook/dp/B007RZV4PQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1533137907&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=beverly+farr+my+ex+next+door">HER EX NEXT DOOR</a> which I published in 2012 (it's one of my husband's favorite stories) and I was surprised how much I liked it again. I really like Derek, the tall, dark and sexy IT geek/billionaire hero of that story. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>What was the hardest of your stories to write and why?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
The easiest answer is that the hardest story is always the current story. I tend to hit an "oh, no, I'll never finish this" moment in the middle of every story. However, it is true that some stories come more easily or flow more easily. One of my most emotional/difficult stories was <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Something-Sweet-Love-Chocolate-Book-ebook/dp/B01FWTG69C/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1533137838&sr=1-1&keywords=beverly+farr+something+sweet&dpID=51Ef3tH4EGL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch">SOMETHING SWEET</a> by Beverly Farr, book 3 in my Love and Chocolate Series because the heroine is a single mom with an Autistic child. I have three children on the Autism Spectrum, and I wanted to be true to them as well as to all the moms with children with special needs. Amanda in that story is a Cinderella figure, downtrodden, but still kind and hard working. She gets a prince of a guy in Rick, the owner of a popular bakery chain in Dallas.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>What tools to you use to help you write? (I'm thinking of things like Pinterest or Tumblr or favorite songs to put you into a head space or a Costco-sized tub of peanut M&Ms or software or, or, or...)</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Country Western music helps me because it can be angsty. I particularly like Keith Urban music. I often pick one song that provides an emotional theme for a book. My story Forgotten Honeymoon was written while listening to Faith Hill's THIS KISS on a perpetual loop.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>What is your favorite and least favorite part of the writing process?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
My absolutely favorite part is seeing my books in paperback - opening up a box of new books! Then I can give them out to my friends. My least favorite part - finding an obnoxious typo after I've already hit publish and I have to wait 12 hours before I can upload a correction on Amazon.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFeJIUmT-c5_p8CPsKELfz8sRIOomGQFdzUBz-1tKcY8xuGBodWMA-yC2Cul9XwC3U29lFkzXHpt4TyqUrD-5i53mIafvwXVRLX97ckaiZLm0Mr9FxB9CO2GvSJsTxeI3imSXqD9B7IQ/s1600/giphy+%252840%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFeJIUmT-c5_p8CPsKELfz8sRIOomGQFdzUBz-1tKcY8xuGBodWMA-yC2Cul9XwC3U29lFkzXHpt4TyqUrD-5i53mIafvwXVRLX97ckaiZLm0Mr9FxB9CO2GvSJsTxeI3imSXqD9B7IQ/s400/giphy+%252840%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira dislikes the part where the computer fails to read her mind.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/angry-computer-frustrated-ReImZejkBnqYU">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Besides The Great Betty, of course, who are your favorite authors that you dip into again and again?</b><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Georgette Heyer for Regency Romances/Romantic Comedies</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Carla Kelly for Regency Romances</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Dorothy L. Sayers for her Peter Wimsey mysteries, particularly the romance ones with Harriet Vine</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Diana Gabaldon for the Outlander Series. It gets racy and I skip some violent bits, but she is great with dialogue.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Dick Francis - His books about steeple chase jockeys fascinate me</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Plain-Fame-Book-ebook/dp/B00U0N5GEC/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1533137739&sr=1-5&keywords=sarah+price+plain+fame+series">Sarah Price for her Plain Fame Amish series</a> (she's a friend in real life, and is brilliant!)</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Beverly Cleary. I adore Ramona the Pest</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Edgar Rice Burroughs. I read all the Tarzan books and lots of his other adventure stories.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>Why do you continue to read and reread Betty Neels books?</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><span class="im" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
They are warm, comforting books - like a hot bath at the end of a long day. I like them because they contain interesting things - interesting homes, interesting food, interesting medical problems. I like them because there are no trips to Brighton (although I would like the stoic heroes to talk a little more!) And although some of the characters can be over the top, there are often clever lines of describing people and why they do what they do. When I read a Betty Neels book, I imagine a movie in my head. Her books are a perfect escape.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>As an extra bonus, here's Betty Beverly, herself, chatting about the joys of sweet romance:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bbhTKDB2oyk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bbhTKDB2oyk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-79770691870142314612018-07-31T15:42:00.002-07:002018-07-31T15:42:53.274-07:00No Roses in June -- Video Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wG7jKNNMvdY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wG7jKNNMvdY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
Come for the stoicism, stay for the Power Rangers.Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-48918134903633868192018-07-31T10:59:00.001-07:002018-07-31T11:21:34.366-07:00No Roses in June--1961<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhcAL0Wf39I34_0T-NMtIU_0vzvEmBbJatHEJp6aObw5CKLh1pp5lbqSNeYaBjiZnVd1LOHnaUVBBs55Cp0R1u4dOUxvccHr_hJLSt8wBOHd65X8tgpo9BZWpC4TzXftq42jcKjbWbbo/s1600/IMG_20180725_143354195+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhcAL0Wf39I34_0T-NMtIU_0vzvEmBbJatHEJp6aObw5CKLh1pp5lbqSNeYaBjiZnVd1LOHnaUVBBs55Cp0R1u4dOUxvccHr_hJLSt8wBOHd65X8tgpo9BZWpC4TzXftq42jcKjbWbbo/s320/IMG_20180725_143354195+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Back up, Horse. Edward Campbell is about to make his move.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If wedding dresses could talk, what stories they could tell. This one, hanging in an apartment window, billowing into the room would natter over the back fence about the broken engagement she witnessed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlgpcRBuQO5DQkIbeWkE9LCDwnJXtTsfxGVnGtoqODmZQC_lHwU_bh3uDGWo3kW0DjNdbci_uIzzswrfw4NDkW9UdUpKnNGQF1B5yUhrExxAwT4_JGYHIDwIpEaZhEDaUhT2UJtHcqso/s1600/giphy+%252835%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdlgpcRBuQO5DQkIbeWkE9LCDwnJXtTsfxGVnGtoqODmZQC_lHwU_bh3uDGWo3kW0DjNdbci_uIzzswrfw4NDkW9UdUpKnNGQF1B5yUhrExxAwT4_JGYHIDwIpEaZhEDaUhT2UJtHcqso/s320/giphy+%252835%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"The wedding was days away and he flew in from South Africa<br />peddling some story about irresistible passion. <br />Said he's ALREADY married to her best friend!"</b>(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/warnerarchive-classic-film-warner-archive-l0MYzWYizq9VUuzjG">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Though Ian, her ex-fiance, tells her that she can 'take it', Fiona MacDonald is not without the need of a restorative. As a good minister's daughter, she's not
going to down a bottle of gin and get tight. But she will don a tight dress, garish make-up and go out to have a night on the town in the company of a noted Lounge Lizard. She ends up at a dive called Cat on the Tiles with “rowdy, thought-banishing company”.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0deHigaK1aOdSXnyDMkY7TRM_m4kBYEKgjv6CCZbISZ8H4TXGroSS_NnC5DgLHuv8HnA5pNvmmPjSAaFvuyiGZ1kkUWEr8IdMJQC_pqLXC8vhnRQ3W7kt-Aa5ISEvTTQEmnkqUXEj3os/s1600/giphy+%252831%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0deHigaK1aOdSXnyDMkY7TRM_m4kBYEKgjv6CCZbISZ8H4TXGroSS_NnC5DgLHuv8HnA5pNvmmPjSAaFvuyiGZ1kkUWEr8IdMJQC_pqLXC8vhnRQ3W7kt-Aa5ISEvTTQEmnkqUXEj3os/s320/giphy+%252831%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"What has being decorous and disciplined ever done for me?"<br />(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/ariana-grande-snl-the-sound-of-music-3o7abn5R09N4ZDsaXu">Giphy</a>)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just as she is thinking very seriously about pounding jello shots off of Lounge Lizard's sloping shoulders and signing the waiver for <b>Girls Behaving Badly: Dumped in Edinburgh</b>, she encounters a Hot Colonial-type sneering at her. But, after all, she will never
see him again. (Gentle Reader, this is her future husband.) After a fender bender in the parking lot, Hot Colonial makes himself their designated driver.
Fiona is dropped off last and the conversation goes really well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt02jRQ6UqYyNYNAnrO82fgc2sVtpcb0OvSbJdAYAHqDBUiaagh4qmgnm8w1nN0UHtVeWV2rTEipluOMpd6cse_2UvX60a1JH7X6M9ark6dQntdPvqDeUSKRuJt0oQuUe3Zj5vgwoBmuE/s1600/giphy+%252829%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="480" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt02jRQ6UqYyNYNAnrO82fgc2sVtpcb0OvSbJdAYAHqDBUiaagh4qmgnm8w1nN0UHtVeWV2rTEipluOMpd6cse_2UvX60a1JH7X6M9ark6dQntdPvqDeUSKRuJt0oQuUe3Zj5vgwoBmuE/s320/giphy+%252829%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Edward was about to lose his five star Uber rating.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/sitedazeddigitalcom-q5f2ESaimDwBy">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Him: You smell of whiskey and look like a hussy.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Her: You have the musk of self-righteousness which is much harder to shower off.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Him: Don't pass out on me since you are definitely drunk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Her: I'm drunk on sorrow!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona passes out. Not the best look for a girl trying to maintain that she is Most. Certainly. Sober. And as Hot Colonial carries her up to the apartment, let us pass around the box of Kleenex and dab our eyes gently over the fact that she has been carried across the threshold in the muscled arms of a stranger on the very night her ex-fiance carries his own bride across another. The Colonial sees the wedding dress and flings Byron (who knew a thing or two about shagging and inconstancy and diss tracks) at her feet:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>...as soon</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Seek roses in December, ice in June;</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Hope constancy in wind, or corn in chaff,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Believe a woman, or an epitaph</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Or any other thing that's false--</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Soon, Fiona has taken a job as a governess on a super remote (Is there any other kind, Essie?) sheep station in New Zealand. She is met by her new boss, C. Edward Campbell, the Hot Colonial.<br />
<br />
The trollop walks off the plane and he extracts the damning information that Ian jilted her. Of course, thinks Edward, Fiona was tramping it up with another man. She deserves what she gets. He's popped her into the same blender as his perfidious sister-in-law Fleur (also at Cat on the Tiles that night) and hit PUREE.<br />
<br />
As much as he'd like to send her away, they have a real emergency on their hands at Belle Knowes. Edward's brother recently died (in an "accident" with a gun) and his sainted sister-in-law (the first wife) died much earlier. Edward quit his job to run the farm and raise the children but help is hard to come by. What can he do?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zBc-3a-JdsW07Zk3Lp3uolytElWmUHNuvL55RdPugJQ5KY419wx2BnM_2spyPnI6nJ9wOh5JqE6Ttjm-gICEp5WsaNbvVK9Md0SxRUJhycCq9qfooTbLLTb-r0BMpFLtzLiyOqkJn-Y/s1600/giphy+%252830%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zBc-3a-JdsW07Zk3Lp3uolytElWmUHNuvL55RdPugJQ5KY419wx2BnM_2spyPnI6nJ9wOh5JqE6Ttjm-gICEp5WsaNbvVK9Md0SxRUJhycCq9qfooTbLLTb-r0BMpFLtzLiyOqkJn-Y/s320/giphy+%252830%2529.gif" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>You could take me back to Dunedin, Mr. Campbell.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/fryAJsHLPor16">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It is very telling that when she offers him a way out, Edward does not take it. Instead, he says, "It might straighten you up to taste life at Belle Knowes for a few months. It'll scare the hell out of you, of course." Yes, Mr. Campbell. But I didn't know we were running a Benevolent Home for Wayward Girls.<br />
<br />
Her first test in <b>The Great Rehabilitation of Fiona MacDonald, Lady-Delinquent</b> is on the boat ride over to the station. The rabbiters are flirtatious, the dogs are out of control and there is a hot wind kicking up. She exhibits heroism by saving a dog from going over the side of the boat, wins the trust of the captain and kisses an old rabbiter as a matter of honor. Edward sneers. But, note: This is when he says, later, that his heart did its first flippy-flop.<br />
<br />
He's so sure though that she is rotten. "...life up here is rather stripped of frills. Veneer soon cracks. You'll show up as shoddy before long." Instead of trying to explain herself to a brick wall like that, Fiona takes the stoic road and waits for time to vindicate her.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzTaB6dWfDt_7maqwLdliiRECNSJk2KCvMSiAT53UvVnnz9FB0rP54bmuMeyqtMaeGlENFa-y9GY8dXZsCnOg2MNF3e2iFQMPfHif8rep6M5BWzxXsOmSJ1gAiaa6A3GA0rKxG0L8EXE/s1600/giphy+%252833%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzTaB6dWfDt_7maqwLdliiRECNSJk2KCvMSiAT53UvVnnz9FB0rP54bmuMeyqtMaeGlENFa-y9GY8dXZsCnOg2MNF3e2iFQMPfHif8rep6M5BWzxXsOmSJ1gAiaa6A3GA0rKxG0L8EXE/s1600/giphy+%252833%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>When Fiona discovered that Sam Elliott would be her Spirit Guide <br />on the Stoic Road, she decided to stay the course.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/1989-road-house-sam-elliott-eZvjLSvYHhDJm">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Into the <b>Tar Pits of Fiona's Likeability</b> many creatures come to drink, sinking in the inky depths. Let us make a survey:<br />
<ul>
<li>Miss Trudington. "Quite Victorian" and Edward's best hope to "straighten" Fiona up. Instead, Fiona gives her a make-over and cures her arthritis. </li>
<li>Her charges, Victoria, Elizabeth, William and James. Half Maori, half Scots. Edward is sure she will be a terrible influence on them but Fiona begins as she means to go on, ringing the school bell, whipping them into shape, opening each day with a prayer and homily. They adore her because she is unstinting in her affection for them, unsparing in her discipline and, unlike one of Edward's old flames, NOT A RACIST.</li>
<li>A Maori station hand and his wife. He's gotten into trouble over alcohol (A real case of someone needing to work out his own rehabilitation here in the mountains.) and she is dangerously pregnant with their second child. Fiona does all the housework when the wife goes on bed rest, which proves her to be both not lazy AND NOT A RACIST. </li>
</ul>
<div>
Other steps on the road to Fiona's Rehabilitation include learning to ride horses (Something which terrifies her), giving mobility-saving massages to Trudy and taking the children to the cottage over in Wanaka for a couple of weeks. Edward agonizes over letting her go sample the wild lights of an obscure New Zealand town, but decides it will be fine as long as there will be another adult around to watch her. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2kWMmQTPPbobhBlGT55XlFFCRcFt8gZVkEIVZK1pniOgZnyhluVF90jbMijqN3hNV6m0ogF8U812rTqpUz92LqGrnDDyFdmoEypup3rL8zXZN5YBFu6zToOmDcAdGY5mGrTKh9-DOyo/s1600/giphy+%252834%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="400" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2kWMmQTPPbobhBlGT55XlFFCRcFt8gZVkEIVZK1pniOgZnyhluVF90jbMijqN3hNV6m0ogF8U812rTqpUz92LqGrnDDyFdmoEypup3rL8zXZN5YBFu6zToOmDcAdGY5mGrTKh9-DOyo/s320/giphy+%252834%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Miss Trudington was not the chaperone Edward hoped she'd be.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/thank-you-absolutely-fabulous-jamAg1Yqazrs4">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Meanwhile, Fiona just wants to do her job, have her character vindicated and love the children (all the while weeping discretely into her pillow for Ian). Moving on from that loss feels impossible. But (Symbolism Alert) have I told you what Edward's profession is? Road-building. Cutting passes through impassable terrain. Linking two distant points.When Ian sends an opal necklace (to match the engagement ring he got her), it's Edward who sends it back with a reminder that Fiona isn't his wife and that opals are kind of tacky anyway. I dearly hoped that when Edward's letter arrived, Ian's new wife opened it and caused a scene.<br />
<br />
One day, Edward asks Fiona to clean his study out and she finds an airmail letter from Edinburgh. It's Fleur's letter (telling her husband (the children's father) that she is going to leave him for another man--Edward) but it's not been opened. Robert never saw it. Ergo, the gun "accident" really was an accident. Edward tells Fiona that night that the emotional thickets have been cleared. (Claps hands.) It's time for him to do some courting!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgnPwhctcc4QV34LOmDT_fO68IKQabJBNYkl_C75BYwuLfIm8ByV_AQbHc-TMXa8L0jJkzKjZkQ7VJxNhrrqESJdYIuysGvHl-RCOH8ym9saJLD4_CCWXyLOfSW2awC1ToESlj9J8m6w/s1600/giphy+%252836%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgnPwhctcc4QV34LOmDT_fO68IKQabJBNYkl_C75BYwuLfIm8ByV_AQbHc-TMXa8L0jJkzKjZkQ7VJxNhrrqESJdYIuysGvHl-RCOH8ym9saJLD4_CCWXyLOfSW2awC1ToESlj9J8m6w/s400/giphy+%252836%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Alas, Edward was not as specific and unmistakable <br />as Teen Legend Jake Ryan.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/molly-ringwald-Y6PFS7R7mGmYM">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But first a rescue. Fiona and the children are caught in a landslip and she rushes to save James, the wee-est of the children, bracing herself above a protective culvert and shielding his body with her own. I love this scene so much. Fiona can be compared favorably to Mother Teresa and Edward is cool-headed and competent, engineering her way to safety. He stitches her up later but his cool-headedness deserts him and he rushes to the garden to vomit.<br />
<br />
Yes. Essie Summers turned vomit into a love token.<br />
<br />
Further tokens of love are Edward inviting her brother in from South Africa and having the domestic intelligence to have extra wild pig and cream on hand for her surprise guests. (Grab him, Fiona!) When Trudy is on the verge of announcing her engagement to an old beau, Edward takes Fiona aside. Isn't it time to admit they love each other?<br />
<br />
The timing of that is too perfect. Fiona wades into him with a lot of stabbing exclamation points about how he's never trusted her and now that he's about to be left high and dry of a chaperone, he can't start doling out the magnanimity. But Edward isn't going to back down this time. They're going to finally get it sorted out. He doesn't wait for her to explain that night in Edinburgh but takes her on wholly on the faith she has given him. It's New Zealand where there is ice in June and roses in December and Edward Campbell can believe in women.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrTob1NLiSeEyApsulriMQWNnzREqHjwiQmtz3IcFCG25yaZqsew24SOAgAxZOfJEZPKEflGq0HJxBuoaS_zRD9js0D87vDqf4D8LtYgY4pz1p7-mAgstas1QaPUl8BmSdz4CsMIhtI4/s1600/giphy+%252837%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrTob1NLiSeEyApsulriMQWNnzREqHjwiQmtz3IcFCG25yaZqsew24SOAgAxZOfJEZPKEflGq0HJxBuoaS_zRD9js0D87vDqf4D8LtYgY4pz1p7-mAgstas1QaPUl8BmSdz4CsMIhtI4/s320/giphy+%252837%2529.gif" width="320" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Edward got the rest after a probationary period of abject grovelling.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/clark-gable-loretta-young-call-of-the-wild-1935-nBtgIeNnWyfMQ">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Rating:</b> 8/10 Digging Out the Sheep. There are so many unforgettable scenes in this one. Here is a sampling:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>That image of the gauzy wedding dress wafting into the room--first when Ian is breaking her heart and again when Edward is judging her so harshly. </li>
<li>The rescue with little James and after when Edward is stitching Fiona up and has to excuse himself to throw up. </li>
<li>The young children greeting her with a haka on her first morning at Belle Knowes.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Something I wasn't crazy about was how devoted Essie was in re-quoting an exact quote (in one case a Joyce Dingwell poem about tourniquets) when it's resolved. ("Hey, Edward, remember how you said [quote]. It is being resolved this very minute!") It's mistrustful of the reader and these aren't long books.<br />
I liked the little moments of side-eye Essie casts the rest of the anglosphere about New Zealand not having an established "color-bar". She wants none of your apartheids and Jim Crow laws.<br />
But the real genius of this title is how Essie Summers shows Fiona and Edward's relationship building even when he hasn't put aside his distrust of her and she hasn't gotten over the broken engagement. Some authors would push too hard here, making them too obviously in love too soon. But Essie takes her time, clearing obstacles and whacking back misconceptions like she doesn't have a hard, 190 page count to fret about. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>The Misunderstanding:</b> He thinks she
leads a secret debauched life and must be reformed by wholesome isolation and fresh mountain air.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Location:</b> Belle Knowes a sheep station on the shores of Lake Wanaka, Otago region, New Zealand</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Other Notes:</b> Mentions made of <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g612500-d1144067-r337107832-Eco_Wanaka_Adventures-Wanaka_Otago_Region_South_Island.html">Pigeon Island, Lake Wanaka</a>, <a href="https://www.booksellers.co.nz/node/2637">Hyndman's</a> (a bookstore in Dunedin). Writers Patricia Wentworth (p. 102) and Joyce Dingwell (p. 114) are mentioned as well as one of her own poems (p. 115).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-87974471223180511802018-07-14T08:33:00.003-07:002018-07-14T09:20:12.191-07:00Writing With Betty: Janna Roznos<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I have another author interview and, I can't tell you how much I enjoy hearing from the Betties on the subject of writing. Betty Janna was good enough to sit down and answer a few of my most pressing inquiries: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoMsLi-tUIShEI7LkP7QhDAPrX-Dr0TLqoiHmspaEdLno3tc-IDrfkc9bkD877jA5rcHIcdnyEuuM5vsMcdplQ5U5M7KMSjB1XMgNeWVgVtD3L8an-YHw_KrYe8BH5svHjgCJJl81nGk/s1600/giphy+%252822%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoMsLi-tUIShEI7LkP7QhDAPrX-Dr0TLqoiHmspaEdLno3tc-IDrfkc9bkD877jA5rcHIcdnyEuuM5vsMcdplQ5U5M7KMSjB1XMgNeWVgVtD3L8an-YHw_KrYe8BH5svHjgCJJl81nGk/s320/giphy+%252822%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>We're here to ask the hard-hitting questions.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/news-facts-reporter-jD3xYbnuu0e5O">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is writing something you've always done/always wanted to do?</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have always been a writer. I made my living working in the aerospace industry here in southern California as a subcontract administrator so I spent my time reading contracts and writing them. Over the years, I've volunteered to write newsletters for several non-profits, grants for our local historical society, and of course I've written stories for myself. I have intermittently written fiction but usually gave up on it for various reasons until a few years ago when I finally decided it is now or never, so I sat down and started writing the book that was rolling around in the back of my head. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since then I have been published in an anthology, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Moonlight-Cove-Romance-Anthology-ebook/dp/B01M2B1PVG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531578914&sr=8-1&keywords=Janna+Roznos&dpID=51PeGaPARML&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secrets of the Moonlight Cove</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">. A group of writers from the local Romance Writers of America (RWA) that I belong to invited me to participate. It was a HUGE learning process for me . . . getting an editor, applying for a copyright, meeting the deadline, and of course working within the group of writers and having all our stories intertwined with each other.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeDzdgWq8WBdEXxeFIhcN7XldVIYtVPe2xijtsZEQfbqcwhvggThOi2I-VEjMy587OJrG4AvuS0nHERxO4COmHrpLzhd11HdG5sE-lqg-PmRWng4nWXalzMiEJ5SfVNsi3q0sL9f83pA/s1600/51PeGaPARML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJeDzdgWq8WBdEXxeFIhcN7XldVIYtVPe2xijtsZEQfbqcwhvggThOi2I-VEjMy587OJrG4AvuS0nHERxO4COmHrpLzhd11HdG5sE-lqg-PmRWng4nWXalzMiEJ5SfVNsi3q0sL9f83pA/s320/51PeGaPARML.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Moonlight Cove sounds like a place with ghosts <br />and nosy kids and a pesky dog. <br />Coincidence?</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">What draws you to the romance genre? Are there other genres you would try?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm interested in reading books with strong, unique female protagonists and romance novels seem to always meet this. Also, reading is a joy for me, so I want the happily ever after or happy for now ending. I get enough of ‘bad’ news from the newspaper or watching the evening news. I don’t want that in my books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I grew up reading Harlequin romances – those with the red edged pages. I didn’t belong to the Harlequin reading club nor did I know anyone who did. I bought them at the local YMCA used book sale. Needless to say, vintage Harlequins hold a special place for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">My other reading fascination is Mount Everest. Ironically, I suffer from altitude sickness so although I do like the outdoors (my husband and I fly fish) mountain climbing is off my agenda so I read about it. </span><br />
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you work with a critique group/belong to a trade organization?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and belong to two of their local chapters; one chapter is quite large (over a hundred members) so they have the resources to bring in some 'rock star' authors for programs. They also sponsor a local writers conference at one of the big hotels, which is always well attended. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other chapter is quite small (about twenty members) so the programs are usually local writers. So, both chapters offer different perspectives. Several of us got together and started a critique group but unfortunately it didn’t last – other priorities got in the way and it folded.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdybaLDMFPz56SZ2XTlFAFQuqwx1YuEH8exw_gcghxeGygeVto6UY79cIObcBExNhPB3fbWE1cWxJnUHIT8FFl01A1J0EJ-5nlJmUf0h-yLUAuBlcobb3u8arYYDt7znj5N9tW61kOEHY/s1600/giphy+%252823%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdybaLDMFPz56SZ2XTlFAFQuqwx1YuEH8exw_gcghxeGygeVto6UY79cIObcBExNhPB3fbWE1cWxJnUHIT8FFl01A1J0EJ-5nlJmUf0h-yLUAuBlcobb3u8arYYDt7znj5N9tW61kOEHY/s320/giphy+%252823%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Actual footage of a folding critique group.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-pull-infront-e37RbTLYjfc1q">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell us a little bit about how you developed the idea for your latest story.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">The current story I am working on (rewriting in fact!) was inspired by the recession. I saw so many people my age mid - fifties lose everything: first their job (their career really) and then their house, their car, etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">A good friend of mine, we grew up together and he has been like another brother to me, lost everything in the recession. Yes, he did make some poor financial choices too, but what stuck me was rather than reinventing himself he kept trying to grab onto what he had. I think the people who came through the recession were the ones that reinvented themselves for the ‘new’ economy. And so, my book is about a middle-aged woman who is wants to rebuild what she lost but then discovers — through a series of unfortunate events and meeting a really great guy, too — that for true happiness she must reinvent herself to be able to live happily ever after.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">What was the biggest roadblock to getting out that first draft? </b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although I've read lots of books, writing a book is very different. I struggle with grammar and spelling (And no, grammar check programs or spell check programs are not a help!) I also get frustrated and throw off the work and do something else. I’m very good at procrastination! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtqQD7fTHS0jnF6bq2tRlVAhXN1j4_NG5BnV7AwsDArikBIbZVysSxWjC1A4dm2ssVmWcMdu30h0-LPCM1sn1rCV32VXw9_r3rHePHdmMcLn-8GWwYSGpZ5EOUFbk-MR7gnfYVSAtvZQ/s1600/giphy+%252824%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtqQD7fTHS0jnF6bq2tRlVAhXN1j4_NG5BnV7AwsDArikBIbZVysSxWjC1A4dm2ssVmWcMdu30h0-LPCM1sn1rCV32VXw9_r3rHePHdmMcLn-8GWwYSGpZ5EOUFbk-MR7gnfYVSAtvZQ/s320/giphy+%252824%2529.gif" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"I could plot my next chapter or paint my whole house with this <br />tiny brush while I have an affair with Richard Burton!"</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/XsLknUSpObrmo">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, the more I write I think the better I am getting at it. Also, I try to ignore that voice in my head that is constantly telling me I’m not good enough, or that no one will want to read this, or this isn’t any good. </span></div>
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">What challenges do you find in making time for writing? How do you overcome those? </b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though I’m ‘retired’ I still find it a challenge to make the time to write. There are lots so of distractions – my garden, family, walking the dog, watching You Tube videos (Oh My Gosh! Don’t get me started!) and just life that demands attention.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcXhV_zstwzPk91_YtUiKy7FFI1fmBxLernvAxwgt1kDUeGYRnwTDEw8Nd4Yl2fWvVqhI6dAbko3fy-ZTfdaYEAUUKGgMiJh7F0F6q82X3CUaiPp8Dtw_lmrxwOm47e15yUAsL6MJ-R0/s1600/giphy+%252826%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcXhV_zstwzPk91_YtUiKy7FFI1fmBxLernvAxwgt1kDUeGYRnwTDEw8Nd4Yl2fWvVqhI6dAbko3fy-ZTfdaYEAUUKGgMiJh7F0F6q82X3CUaiPp8Dtw_lmrxwOm47e15yUAsL6MJ-R0/s400/giphy+%252826%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I demand attention too, Betty Janna.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/marvelstudios-3ohhwCYr8Z5IIAbiZa">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell us what challenges you about the process ahead of you--marketing, query letters, rejection, bad reviews, technical issues, etc., etc.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing is only one half of the equation - getting published is the other half. So many people have told me to just go head to publish it myself (through Amazon or iBook or another eBook platform). And, I think . . .yeah right! Self publishing is fraught with lots of decisions it’s not as if you just hit a few keys on the key board and then whamo! You have a book. I have entered a few writing contest and have done reasonable well – no wins . . .yet, but I have gotten some good feedback and that always helps.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've loved hearing about favorite books that our Author Betties love and are inspired by. Which are yours (of every and any genre)?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking over my bookshelf, some of my favorite authors (in no particular order) are: Joanna Trollope, Julie James, Madeline Hunter, Pamela Aidan, Elizabeth Hoyt, Mary Burchell, Anne Weale, and Essie Summers. There are more, but books have a way of coming into my life and then leaving again on to their next home.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you like about Betty Neels? Any favorite books of hers we can fight about?</b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlQWMhFu-EPwjIoTxanqoNAcaROPu0MSUiGoZ21iTOiDSLBRMYY_QXarZDDljz_RmEWV2FExzSu9tp9XEtfxwxv0T93SEVYpVBUnalQiEUdIDm88tYYHWVh6D9h67su_PHSZJgBjT0M0/s1600/giphy+%252825%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlQWMhFu-EPwjIoTxanqoNAcaROPu0MSUiGoZ21iTOiDSLBRMYY_QXarZDDljz_RmEWV2FExzSu9tp9XEtfxwxv0T93SEVYpVBUnalQiEUdIDm88tYYHWVh6D9h67su_PHSZJgBjT0M0/s320/giphy+%252825%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Partisans for 'Caroline's Waterloo' and 'Dearest Love' enter the octagon.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/jeanette-macdonald-5NNFAOXXHLcC4">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Betty tells a good story! In just few lines she sums up the character that as a reader we can truly see, identify with, and relate to. Her protagonists are strong woman within the context of the story. She also writes of a world that I’m not sure ever truly existed – right and wrong are definitely defined, good triumphs over evil. Love conquers all. It’s a place I think we all would like to live.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think my favorite Betty Neels book is </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dearest Mary Jane</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It is the one I return to again and again for yet another reread; however, I haven’t read all of Betty Neels so who knows maybe I will find another favorite one of these days </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "wingdings"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">☺</span><br />
<b style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank you so much, Betty Janna!</b><br />
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-91177371846005870142018-07-03T14:59:00.000-07:002018-07-03T14:59:27.009-07:00Come Blossom-time, My Love--Video Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KbuiUkQK-jM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KbuiUkQK-jM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-30490998121582476502018-07-03T10:22:00.003-07:002018-07-03T12:14:08.363-07:00Come Blossom Time, My Love--1961<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbr7H280UwCRGpWoOK3A5aI0N-Xo7JFOwQB8ujRpXRMbkMqxa_EwK7Q4M1eJ-1IZl8inv_Eim0nyF28LsBU5ghP_FpcWTcnFx9b7-Dmk-qoW250dRhyphenhyphenxSyLSL-Ulj2Ix1_dgj027Z6UI/s1600/IMG_20180702_184714983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1037" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbr7H280UwCRGpWoOK3A5aI0N-Xo7JFOwQB8ujRpXRMbkMqxa_EwK7Q4M1eJ-1IZl8inv_Eim0nyF28LsBU5ghP_FpcWTcnFx9b7-Dmk-qoW250dRhyphenhyphenxSyLSL-Ulj2Ix1_dgj027Z6UI/s320/IMG_20180702_184714983.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>*reads description of heroine with light <br />brown and curling hair...checks cover...<br />reads description again...*</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jeannie Fraser (22) is a typist by day and Cinderella by night. Like any good Cinderella, she comes with an evil step-parent (Miserly Bertram Skimmington who owns a pickle cannery!) and two siblings--Peter (14), who dreams of owning a sport coat, and Teresa (9), who writes revenge poetry.<br />
<br />
One day, Jeannie gets a letter from her dead-fairy-godmother bequeathing her an orchard in Central Otago. And it is about time! Peter is on the verge of step-patricide, Teresa has the sort of cough that carries off operatic sopranos to have romantic on-stage deaths and Jeannie has eaten enough 'hateful, horrible tapioca' to last her a lifetime.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEira57h76C63N1ZFA26ZlPS7QSp1iXnwim2CU_M_SXxg62r1T2sywXALhi9LvYd32Bz5G5eg7fWFo4ISyCBUjQxudH3z0sVFDJImZPdDDPOd4qdPwytlKbboGcianFN7ggq51Xc6WrvzZE/s1600/giphy+%252816%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEira57h76C63N1ZFA26ZlPS7QSp1iXnwim2CU_M_SXxg62r1T2sywXALhi9LvYd32Bz5G5eg7fWFo4ISyCBUjQxudH3z0sVFDJImZPdDDPOd4qdPwytlKbboGcianFN7ggq51Xc6WrvzZE/s1600/giphy+%252816%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jeannie couldn't take another night of pudding.</b><br />
(Giphy)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So she kidnaps the children and disappears. Yes. You read that right. She lays a false trail, buys new clothes, registers under fake names...It only wants aviator glasses and trench coats to be more thrilling.<br />
<br />
When she makes it to her new estate, she walks bang into the path of her new manager. And, <i>quelle horreur</i>, THEY KNOW EACH OTHER. Ahem. Back in Auckland, Jeannie caught him in a torrid embrace with her noble boss's Very Young Wife.<br />
<br />
Jeannie is ready to go off-grid like a doomsday prepper, and is horrified to think that she could be tracked down if her manager talks. For his part, Fergus MacGregor is still furious about the Puritanical self-righteousness she exhibited when she walked in on him committing a Class C Human Resources Violation in the boss's office.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzwV4eeGElJMq2WzsPSxl2TY__f6W9a-xlRqNCYt1PfpOhyphenhyphenplme8st3-fzH70obC7StP8CKiDqx4lF6lp4U6f3q9hOkR3tekSe44IRmupdlwh125uq7-5bmO73_vwtj48XnONMYBkia0/s1600/giphy+%252817%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzwV4eeGElJMq2WzsPSxl2TY__f6W9a-xlRqNCYt1PfpOhyphenhyphenplme8st3-fzH70obC7StP8CKiDqx4lF6lp4U6f3q9hOkR3tekSe44IRmupdlwh125uq7-5bmO73_vwtj48XnONMYBkia0/s400/giphy+%252817%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jeannie thought that his melting brown eyes bumped it up to a Class B.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/omar-sharif-and-his-chocolately-bottomless-depths-of-eyes-seriously-the-only-person-DDxgYbHX5Bjry">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And so they square off for The Great Patriotic War of Mutual Misunderstanding. Of course the children adore him. Children cannot be trusted to hold a grudge when you really need them to. Living on the same land doesn't help her either. Their proximity to one another means that little bits of correct information get shaken loose like sheetrock dust raining into a basement apartment. He notices that she is careful not to spend too much of the inheritance. She admires how he looks after his elderly uncle. She is quick to pitch in on the harvest. He's been trained as an accountant.<br />
<br />
And if it all looks like they're headed south on the gentle wheelchair ramp to Sensible Conjugal Bed-flannels, never fear. Neville is here. He's a local sheep buyer and I cannot imagine Essie Summers writing him without the hugest grin on her face. He is an unapologetic scoundrel and gets all the best lines.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqtf1xNkG5xwqzCw56TXj0vLXDs9jzmZwnoysuWlwAVGJwtPLhPyIZHxcvLIapDaHBr3z00Rv6nnchUVLzkiFu_8EqQH2-dGgQz3Lntyeu9PHW3pagd8oI377jlZRfmOpWQ3ZXpifqEQ/s1600/giphy+%252818%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqtf1xNkG5xwqzCw56TXj0vLXDs9jzmZwnoysuWlwAVGJwtPLhPyIZHxcvLIapDaHBr3z00Rv6nnchUVLzkiFu_8EqQH2-dGgQz3Lntyeu9PHW3pagd8oI377jlZRfmOpWQ3ZXpifqEQ/s400/giphy+%252818%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"No good getting mad with me. Just forget it. <br />I'm quite unsnubbable."</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/henry-cavill-the-man-from-uncle-cavilledits-3bi1Y9xyXFQhG">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
He is NOT, marriage material. When he asks her out, Fergus arranges to come and watch the children, bringing a game of Monopoly under his arm and some bottles of pop. (Does he hope Teresa will blab family secrets? The lime-fizz can't hurt.) Now Jeannie has no excuse to hide herself away. Soon she discovers that Neville has an unfortunate family connection: Cecily. The Young Wife. The Torrid Affair-er. A woman who knows Jeannie disappeared and has good reason to hate her.<br />
<br />
Over time, Jeannie hates thinking of that overcharged moment in her boss's office, even more than she used to. Fergus is fighting his own attraction for a woman who doesn't trust him. When he kisses her, he says, using insult like a suit of armor, "Neville will teach you if I don't." A girl cannot take that sort of thing lying down. She retorts, with a sort of malicious sting, that it's been pleasant to learn from Neville. But then she trips all over her dawning realization.<br />
<br />
The next time they kiss, it's for a better reason: wanting to. Too bad it's the night that Cecily, like a taco combination plate, returns. Thereafter, the emotional landscape becomes inflamed and feverish. No. Wait. That's her appendix. It bursts on the way to the hospital. Though they have just had ANOTHER fight, Fergus lies and says he's her fiance.<br />
<br />
<i>Editorial Hectoring: Look, Fergus. </i><i>I might have thought twice before adding another layer to the constraint and complication already so abundant in your relationship. But w</i><i>hat do I know? I've only been married for twenty glory-filled years. </i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CH11j8XguhJC-71qDflIyhZoQpA3Xh4J3CklwH7Xvi0sI_CJqBx2tbdoMqNFA4HpLLItSeIDLDMrD-vGZwGG37bcQLCXH-nqCDz_JeP-hAY0AcLsfuvPU9jcmlovnTS02nhAqYiZuxg/s1600/giphy+%252819%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CH11j8XguhJC-71qDflIyhZoQpA3Xh4J3CklwH7Xvi0sI_CJqBx2tbdoMqNFA4HpLLItSeIDLDMrD-vGZwGG37bcQLCXH-nqCDz_JeP-hAY0AcLsfuvPU9jcmlovnTS02nhAqYiZuxg/s400/giphy+%252819%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The More You Know.........</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/advice-crazy-eyes-icEKqWbHBxSXS">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When she is recovered enough to be interviewed by the Press, word leaks out that they are engaged. "I'll be termed an opportunist," he says, reading the item he helped to plant. His bright eyes are on hers, waiting... When she calls the idea ridiculous, he breathes easy. It won't matter to her that he has nothing but a modest bank balance and a decent car.<br />
<br />
When the engagement becomes known, they are forced into acting out the charade. But not in private, Fergus. "You know I'm a bounder," he replies. "You knew it from the start." He might allow his lips to twist cynically but they are too busy rearranging themselves over HERS.<br />
<br />
Later, Fergus confesses to having spent three month in prison on a charge of drunk driving. (That's why he's always pounding lime-fizz.) Jeannie's faith in him finally makes him tee up his pride, whacking it with the 3 iron for a long bomb down the fairway. May it be forever lost in the rough or eaten by an alligator.<br />
<br />
Then, Cecily's husband, The Noble Boss, dies.<br />
<br />
ROLL CALL! We have:<br />
Cinderella, Who is On the Lamb and Pathetically Pleased with her Sham Engagement<br />
A Chiseled Jaw With a Mysterious Past and an Unspoken Passion for the Girl Who Wears His Ring<br />
and<br />
The Well-looking Widow<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PYxLNoB_wCGiyCQDuVeMNNeRWvLFY6N2JUHB0LKIFrCWnPsihUAM_SPq_PQxJCYmuWkoz6pKNMFTnCVRdm8fxJqa4MzDETUS4YlrG3cN-7wuO3ijbugVHhwREhAXbZhmvTZPtvV5dXE/s1600/giphy+%252821%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PYxLNoB_wCGiyCQDuVeMNNeRWvLFY6N2JUHB0LKIFrCWnPsihUAM_SPq_PQxJCYmuWkoz6pKNMFTnCVRdm8fxJqa4MzDETUS4YlrG3cN-7wuO3ijbugVHhwREhAXbZhmvTZPtvV5dXE/s400/giphy+%252821%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><b>Bad-Girl Guidebook, Rule #4: If you can't BE good, have good lipstick.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/talkies-veronica-lake-hbd-RCB2vPxHJ0UNi">Giphy</a>)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The end comes when Cecily tries to blackmail Jeannie with the knowledge of how she left Auckland. Frightened for her brother and sister, Jeannie duly breaks off her engagement and Fergus gathers them all in Cecily's drawing room like Miss Marple, cracking the case at the end of the who-done-it. There will be no more things left unsaid and he addresses the DUI first. It was Cecily who was drunk and grabbed the wheel. He sold his accountancy practice to pay for her reconstructive surgery. But, all in all, he will be a decent marriage risk. (Which Jeannie had already sorted out for herself.)<br />
<br />
Jeannie unburdens herself about the Tyrannical Pickle Man and finds out that he DIED the day she left Auckland! Cecily, the lying snake, kept that info back. Oh, and she threw herself into his arms, that day in the boss's office.<br />
<br />
It's all over but the shouting...er, kissing. There is a LOT of kissing.<br />
<br />
<b>Rating: </b>6/10 Fire at the drapers. I have a lot more affection for this book than that rating suggests. It's kind of an outlier for The Summers Canon since the hero is an orchardist with a past. There is a smashing secondary love-story for a later-in-life couple. I also love that Jeannie has a really good reason (two actually--Peter and Teresa) to stay quiet about why she left Auckland. So it's not just pride keeping the plot going. But I wanted the main characters to have more fun together--to see that they would be a great couple--and, though I generally love the bits of poetry Essie Summers sticks into her books, these were not well integrated. Ultimately, I find that the parts hang together awkwardly. Still, it's a sweet book and I really love the way that the hero really has a serious set-back that impacts his marriageability.<br />
<br />
<b>The Misunderstanding:</b> She thinks he's chasing a married woman. He thinks she is a snob who refuses to mix with the rural community.<br />
<br />
<b>Location:</b> Strathlachan, an orchard near Corriefield, not far from Dunedin in Central Otago.<br />
<br />
<b>Other locations mentioned:</b> Fiji, Auckland, the Roxburgh Hydro, the Leviathan (a hotel in Dunedin), the drive (also in Dunedin) through the Octogon, down Princes St and to the Burns statue, First Church on Bell HillKeirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-1121669507386492432018-06-23T16:34:00.000-07:002018-06-23T16:34:32.114-07:00Moon Over the Alps--Video Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2Qg1B2cQmcE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Qg1B2cQmcE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-62007083764347697132018-06-23T14:32:00.000-07:002018-06-24T07:58:05.196-07:00Moon Over the Alps--1960<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9ECr9RgeRLfN5IrZX-bRjf3HgOMt30XyTiLDQgXG_ZApEJ0DyNnQxQQohZHjdQ3kS1EyJNbydGhFJBxj5LPsk9sqiYhJUAdKJUd0TEivpkoO9y-3lBoj1lm4_kkP1ZuqGf8mpLOtw4E/s1600/IMG_20180623_132230373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9ECr9RgeRLfN5IrZX-bRjf3HgOMt30XyTiLDQgXG_ZApEJ0DyNnQxQQohZHjdQ3kS1EyJNbydGhFJBxj5LPsk9sqiYhJUAdKJUd0TEivpkoO9y-3lBoj1lm4_kkP1ZuqGf8mpLOtw4E/s320/IMG_20180623_132230373.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>First order of business. Check out her orthodondia. <br />Nobody with teeth that good will ever be considered plain.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Penny Smith (actual name) has an awful fiance, terrible relatives and an inferiority complex. She's come to stew about them on a holiday where the fogs of indecision clear. Her engagement must come to an end. Unfortunately, an acquisitive magpie steals her engagement band just as she is on the point of mailing it back to Rotten Dennis.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph4I6ACOQMGTMjtOch00lZ4uGvF0VDYNF4fPCm6wDzwoK5vsvy8P8bv0tLzI5SKdqSQfo6wTykUkBnhgaAfKZErLBYjgpnsH5gZn7cpN80F47l4zXwidXjOGnx0SOPlJfMaUQDrgvRK4/s1600/giphy+%252816%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph4I6ACOQMGTMjtOch00lZ4uGvF0VDYNF4fPCm6wDzwoK5vsvy8P8bv0tLzI5SKdqSQfo6wTykUkBnhgaAfKZErLBYjgpnsH5gZn7cpN80F47l4zXwidXjOGnx0SOPlJfMaUQDrgvRK4/s320/giphy+%252816%2529.gif" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>She finds it...(reads text closely)..."horribly fouled".</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/bird-yellow-unimpressed-T84tNzoteR6MM">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So now she's got a poop-ring. Her moral compass is better than mine because she sends it to a jeweler to be cleaned instead of back to her crappy fiance. (PUN INTENDED)<br />
<br />
In the mean time, enter Charles...Smith (not actual name). He's on vacation too, irritated that all the ladies are swiping right on his Tinder profile. Because of the crushing realities of modern dating, Penny's only annoyance is fending off the Entertainment Committee looking for another spiffing shuffleboard player. The two Smiths decide to join forces for the duration of their vacation--leaving the details of their pasts behind them and pairing up anonymously. (And you thought my Tinder reference was off the mark.)<br />
<br />
But who can resist a tropical moon? Not these two. Soon Charles is making veiled promises and Penny is wishing her poop-ring were already winging its way to Dennis because she would like to snog Charles with a clear conscience. They snog anyway, you guys.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXY3avOLngeN73-huCWigo8yY1_ddrjgQJp0nSxeTPpmU_FeXoTMPuaYv2Z7uPbLmTDm2MGeCb4jUXe4gmPsHA0C9za-UAFG8mf_ZqV0g02l1R93YR4BymmcuqiG2G_ZSN3vVmmtBi78/s1600/giphy+%252817%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXY3avOLngeN73-huCWigo8yY1_ddrjgQJp0nSxeTPpmU_FeXoTMPuaYv2Z7uPbLmTDm2MGeCb4jUXe4gmPsHA0C9za-UAFG8mf_ZqV0g02l1R93YR4BymmcuqiG2G_ZSN3vVmmtBi78/s320/giphy+%252817%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Who hasn't returned a man's feces-encrusted love-token?</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/taylor-swift-guilty-vOChGLRKo2o0M">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next morning, Penny overhears Charles telling someone that she's fine for jaunting about on holiday with but she's rather a PENNY PLAIN!<br />
<br />
Heartbreak, like an odd-job man, has trod over her happiness in hobnailed boots, crushing the tender flowers of her love. Moments later, when Penny finally receives the ring back from the jeweler, Charles is there to see her slip it on. Now it's his turn for the odd-job man to wade through the fresh cement of his budding devotion. (As a metaphor, this is killing it.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOR-Qo8M_ERUSTGdAgm6Ijd2u5SvPPDc46LGjE275Tdrk6aS-TlYDe0p17DOfm_te9guw8WY9wikYOPt9E8vTIYJKx8C82wX2lkz3xOlf-21pIdbWdlqYB5ZKYLbLYIb0gxCibJmDi910/s1600/construction-646460__480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="721" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOR-Qo8M_ERUSTGdAgm6Ijd2u5SvPPDc46LGjE275Tdrk6aS-TlYDe0p17DOfm_te9guw8WY9wikYOPt9E8vTIYJKx8C82wX2lkz3xOlf-21pIdbWdlqYB5ZKYLbLYIb0gxCibJmDi910/s320/construction-646460__480.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>When interviewed, the laborer could not be bothered to do more <br />than shout over the sound of his concrete saw: "DON'T SEE HOW IT'S<br />MY FAULT," he bellowed. "THE KEY TO ANY GOOD RELATIONSHIP IS COMMUNICATION."</b><br />
(<a href="https://pixabay.com/en/construction-worker-laborer-646460/">Pixabay</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Though the terms of their agreement had always been "What Happens in Picton, Stays in Picton", Charles turns white and calls her a "rotten little cheat". Thankfully for the page count, she does not spend a moment wondering why a man who was so scathing about her looks should appear so shattered when he discovers she is taken.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to Dragonshill. Penny has cut all ties with her poop-fiance and the terrible relatives to take an emergency job on a remote sheep station in the mountains. The father of her charges has been in an accident in South America, the mother has rushed to his side and "Uncle Carl" is there too.<br />
<br />
Her responsibilities are the education and minding of four young children, most of the cooking and cleaning, and the companionship of Madame Beaudonais-Smith, a 91-year-old French woman. Let me skip a lot and tell you that she is FANTASTIC at it, whipping up delicious meals, enriching the young ones, baking bread for fun, being a champion skier, and speaking French with Madame after the poppets have gone to bed.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3w5oAAxuNARY8lG6kYQo3kfAK6sfoyFAlSzTPBuz-WL_Jn3e6PIU5X7NsB8NQpd85kE_g5J8z61O7BWpqyG_y2LjOoRsvCVkNJ8U7RLdj24CuwMDSwsfYhXbf4nPIssdkJZf5k7OsF6I/s1600/giphy+%252818%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="596" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3w5oAAxuNARY8lG6kYQo3kfAK6sfoyFAlSzTPBuz-WL_Jn3e6PIU5X7NsB8NQpd85kE_g5J8z61O7BWpqyG_y2LjOoRsvCVkNJ8U7RLdj24CuwMDSwsfYhXbf4nPIssdkJZf5k7OsF6I/s320/giphy+%252818%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>She's out to win "Survivor: New Zealand Sheep-wife"</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/survivor-67KKDz44HuNag">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Finally, "Uncle Carl" comes home and, lo and behold, he is Charles Smith...er, Beaudonais-Smith. The tender flowers of her love come poking hopeful shoots up and she's bashing them back like emotional Whack-a-mole, hiding behind the formality of using his whole double-barreled name to keep her safe. He relies on the tried-and-true method of quelling his own burning passion--a classic of elementary school relationships: Name-calling. <br />
<br />
<i>A cheap two-timer. Someone who cuts and runs at the first chance. A girl who is not to be relied on. </i><br />
<br />
A letter from her poop-fiance (I can't go change it now.) makes Charles scathing enough for even his grandmother to notice.<br />
<i>Madame: Charles totally likes you. Like, like-likes you. </i><br />
<i>Penny: No, no, I am a hump-backed, wall-eyed toad! </i><br />
<i>Madame: You have assests, girl! Your voice.</i><br />
<i>Penny: Um...?</i><br />
<br />
See, the French have a proverb: "The tongue is the road to the heart." (Clears throat, steps to podium, taps microphone) Dear Peoples of France, We know how you kiss. We have a name for it. That proverb's a little on the nose...even for you.<br />
<br />
But Penny is coping beautifully with all the hardships of back-country living until Verona shows up. Verona is just a stunning auburn-haired model with an antipathy to mountain living. Of course Charles is in love with her and not adverse to flirting with Penny to show Verona (whose name I cannot sign off on) he's got more than one string on his bow.<br />
<br />
I'm going to skip a lot here but notable highlights include Charles chucking Penny into a horse trough when she won't use his first name; Charles rifling through Penny's closet, choosing a dress and making her come to tea when she prefers to act like a servant; the careful way Charles proposes in hypotheticals, painfully aware that a mountain man hasn't much to offer; the almost Victorian law Penny lays down when she demands he (the son of the household) not 'meddle' with her (the help)...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dX6rlR2JmGfepoypNU3LnJeIFG-E6XYXGobmMM8bqmRJT1vjohHNt0QwTmR-y5j4c8cv0kwor3IgrkGsrMx2syRYvITFZfcyCRrLmc3I5LBwwBfDAYDEq_ZL_FDa7UBF2Ed6yXbo8hM/s1600/giphy+%252820%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="500" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dX6rlR2JmGfepoypNU3LnJeIFG-E6XYXGobmMM8bqmRJT1vjohHNt0QwTmR-y5j4c8cv0kwor3IgrkGsrMx2syRYvITFZfcyCRrLmc3I5LBwwBfDAYDEq_ZL_FDa7UBF2Ed6yXbo8hM/s320/giphy+%252820%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Penny had to remind herself that she did NOT want to be meddled with.<br />Definitely NOT. <br />Usually NOT.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/queen-albert-allrejoicingintheworld-S4dv31DjGxxgA/undefined">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the reasons she can't duck into an empty closet with Charles for some light meddling is that Penny has grown to like Verona. Despite her having all the qualities necessary to be a really cracking villainess, Verona is also a delight. But when a nearby neighbor is horribly injured, the truth comes out. Verona doesn't love Charles at all, but this other fellow with the crushed ribs...<br />
<br />
As for Charles? Embracing Verona would be as exciting as watching butter melt. (I don't know your life.) He makes it clear that he is not attracted to alabaster princesses, but is he interested in Penny Plains?<br />
<br />
We don't find out until after the best adventure ever. Penny, with no help at all, has to hike out to the snow-bound hut where Charles has sent a distress signal, stitch up his bloody wound, assess the likelihood of death (High), throw his massive frame onto a wonky dogsled and drag it over terribly rough ground (on her bloody knees) back to the homestead--all while Charles is out to it.<br />
<br />
Oh my gosh, you guys. I live for this stuff and I cannot approve of myself at all. It's all martyrdom and yet here I am: standing in a queue waiting for my Triple, Venti, Non-fat, Caramel Martyr-iato.<br />
<br />
As he recovers, Charles comes to the slow, dreadful realization that she was the one who saved his life and in what manner she did so. Later, he discovers her raw and blistered shoulders and says these actual words (no-I-am-not-kidding): "Off with your blouse."<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXL5K0yGAtmYEmREWtWwWphavD1Rdsdvwq18DjyrMSXbEdSmUiTEoEicmWr2q8mpNXJgqTh74Ffb-_owzKob1bqqwD-FR2GE8Ppc0CYlcz9p8GkNGcmbI_7IPJdlFmF2CxTB-lOnVZvNw/s1600/giphy+%252822%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="480" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXL5K0yGAtmYEmREWtWwWphavD1Rdsdvwq18DjyrMSXbEdSmUiTEoEicmWr2q8mpNXJgqTh74Ffb-_owzKob1bqqwD-FR2GE8Ppc0CYlcz9p8GkNGcmbI_7IPJdlFmF2CxTB-lOnVZvNw/s320/giphy+%252822%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Is this the right moment to tell you that Madame<br />investigates 'glandular fever' in one of the shepherds by<br />examining his groin?</b><br />
(<a href="http://but%20not%20really%20because%20i%27m%20a%20mormon-lady.%20%28giphy%29/">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
He summons the courage to try to win her again and has the good sense to laugh in her face when she tries to peddle the lie that she is just not interested. He knows she loves him. She's got the scars to prove it. So when she finally flings his words about 'holiday jaunts' and 'Penny Plains' at his feet, he tells her he'd been talking about a stupid boat and begins to tell her in no uncertain terms just how attracted he's been.<br />
<br />
When they finally get engaged, Madame is waiting for them in the salon with the parure of family emeralds.<br />
<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 8/10 Digging out the sheep. Honestly, this rating means nothing. I struggled to start this book but once I got going, I raced to the end. The really glorious part is that Essie Summers takes the time to go through Charles's wrong-headedness, point by point. Sometimes I feel so short-changed in that department by these mid-century Harlequins but if Essie Summers makes her characters suffer, there's going to be some settlement of the accounts. And I love it.<br />
<br />
<b>The Misunderstanding:</b> He thinks she's a worthess two-timer. She thinks he finds her plain and that he's in love with someone else.<br />
<br />
<b>Location:</b> Starts in the Queen Charlotte Sounds near Picton. Ends at Dragonshill, in the mountains near Lake Tekapo in South Canterbury<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-70587817207043729142018-06-17T22:30:00.003-07:002018-06-18T06:54:34.900-07:00Five Reasons to Read Betty NeelsI am a terrible door-to-door salesman. Granted, my evidence for this rests on an abysmal record of moving beef jerky sticks for the 4th grade school fund-raiser. But I did no better hocking chocolate bars, frozen cookie dough or novelty lollipops. Betty Neels, though? I am an evangelist for Betty. Here is a loosely compiled list of reasons everyone should read the works of The Mighty Betty Neels.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf_AsdhXETolnkpeh2YCK9L_QoTrn3h_o_XJP8-IkJ157zEqMw6pPNh4j1gpmLD2epmXCYsTQdLWd_R6-C-wPm0MTtr3QuvRgIFg96MUt-cmHjhLEQBoEVRKQj1-KUPD1aATjmiZImOg/s1600/giphy+%252812%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="358" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf_AsdhXETolnkpeh2YCK9L_QoTrn3h_o_XJP8-IkJ157zEqMw6pPNh4j1gpmLD2epmXCYsTQdLWd_R6-C-wPm0MTtr3QuvRgIFg96MUt-cmHjhLEQBoEVRKQj1-KUPD1aATjmiZImOg/s320/giphy+%252812%2529.gif" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Come buy what I'm selling.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/car-selling-dealership-9x53crlTtv4cx19bZf">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The cads</span></b>: These rotters work more angles than a lesser-known Kardashian. (<i>To what end, Betty Keira? To what end?</i> To seedy, loveless Brighton, my Betties.) They run out of petrol on lonely Dutch roads, march British nurses past antiquated mummies without a fortifying tea, stick them with the bill when offers to 'get away for a quiet weekend' are refused, run from fires, practice medicine poorly and, worst of all, damage original Gina Fratini gowns by being stupid and bad kissers.<br />
<br />
Yes, yes, I ought to long for the complicated embrace of classic literature's multi-faceted characters. But that's like telling myself I ought to eat kale instead of hot Cheetos. Those hot Cheetos have to be eaten, ladies. Just leaving them in the pantry would be wasteful.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The cleverness</b></span>: Let me give a hard eye-roll to the suggestion that sweet romance is, de facto, dumb romance.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0K3krFIEk-RsFdxB1r_mNViLhf9XviNo-UbnNAYnhMM8f6O13GF7jNqig3_t1H1qJRu_gkuW4t7M5SK4dDzSN3O-QOc6XbNNlVtvLY-z6pJDRBS6IQeb2oGByxfir-F0fY6iZYKNcNM/s1600/giphy+%252813%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="600" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0K3krFIEk-RsFdxB1r_mNViLhf9XviNo-UbnNAYnhMM8f6O13GF7jNqig3_t1H1qJRu_gkuW4t7M5SK4dDzSN3O-QOc6XbNNlVtvLY-z6pJDRBS6IQeb2oGByxfir-F0fY6iZYKNcNM/s320/giphy+%252813%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>For the love of Grabthar's Hammer, declining to write <br />about sexy-times is not proportionally related to IQ.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/RtqZpccRVNtpm">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Consider some Neels characters. Chef Florina Payne dumping lemonade over the woman who insulted her sacred honor, enjoying the chemical reaction all that acid is likely to do to tinted hair. Or <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gideon van der Tolck of <i>The Silver Thaw,</i> whose proposal, given too soon, betrays the depth of his love as well as the self-preserving humor he cloaks it in. How's about Rose Comely wooing her Dutch doctor by singing nursery rhymes to little Duert ter Brant as he revives consciousness, setting the doctor firmly on the path to appreciating the Amazonian goddess masquerading as a plain Gold Medallist.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Betty Neels is a master of the satirical observation, the not-quite-nice impulse noted and smothered, and the soft, soft moment when everything changes forever. </span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The comfort</span></b>: You Betties are a well-read lot so I find it particularly sweet that you've taken books from The Canon to the hospital as you've gone through surgery or turned to them after the loss of a family member.<br />
<br />
Following the inexorable courtship of a vast Dutch surgeon and an excellent British Night Sister who will invariably fall asleep in his socking, great Bentley as he drives her into the country for a spot of fresh air before bed... It's all very gentle and undemanding. Even when Aunt Thirza dies of leukemia, it sounds like the most charming pop-off in recorded history. Tea, a moss rose bush, the lies of a medical professional, and one's own garden. I found myself nodding, "What a lovely way to die." When one is feeling poorly, Betty Neels can be counted on to deliver the goods.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXf-op6VKI0oBELjrB4_Nyz78QCaS52GSDmc43ocbknwwKHhih_zSKqr6TDJpn9zjMZUcXhkzCArOHy6OPfC9aQeIiSJvvoC_lG-LtnpJIq77IpDfmroElqIiOqiW1_wbbgJDojzeWRw/s1600/giphy+%252814%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="245" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXf-op6VKI0oBELjrB4_Nyz78QCaS52GSDmc43ocbknwwKHhih_zSKqr6TDJpn9zjMZUcXhkzCArOHy6OPfC9aQeIiSJvvoC_lG-LtnpJIq77IpDfmroElqIiOqiW1_wbbgJDojzeWRw/s320/giphy+%252814%2529.gif" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Take some iron pills, lie down and go towards the light..."</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/henry-cavill-2u3FuUWQKItcA">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The cast</span></b>: So many extra characters round out the world of Betty Neels. Indian owners of the local grocery store who tot up the canned goods even while the lovers make their declarations, Jan in <i>Cassandra By Chance</i>, tending an ogre in a lonely cottage. Careless sisters forgetting to pay the nanny or forgetting they even have children, mothers illustrating in garden sheds, fathers with an elderly Morris and a dicky heart...<br />
<br />
There's something for everyone here.<br />
<br />
<b style="font-size: x-large;">The craving</b>: Okay, yearning. But I wanted another 'C' word since I was already on a roll. Though our characters stay well away from physical 'no-fly zones', this does not mean they are unmoved by passion. For instance, <i>Never Say Goodbye</i>'s Isobel Barrington. I'm thinking of the amber necklace--a token from a man she is sure doesn't love her--worn surreptitiously under blouses, next to her skin. All the heroines who take dreadful private nursing jobs to run away from hot, hot Dutchmen. Proposals, second proposals, swooping kisses, gleams in hooded eyes, slowing a car through a village on the off chance he might see the heroine in the yard...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYxzMLTSq9i_9Fz3f7rJCXTAoXcGCVCl6kxofNJfvcev0VQwQnUUDwa45br7ewfVd8FNAk5yv_PQP24c4a0NPWSjzP05iccTEhwb_FjZHBZh_vNg3ctJuzCs5Ce-DHmydMKhP6Ry6fN8/s1600/giphy+%252815%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="500" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYxzMLTSq9i_9Fz3f7rJCXTAoXcGCVCl6kxofNJfvcev0VQwQnUUDwa45br7ewfVd8FNAk5yv_PQP24c4a0NPWSjzP05iccTEhwb_FjZHBZh_vNg3ctJuzCs5Ce-DHmydMKhP6Ry6fN8/s320/giphy+%252815%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sometimes you have to read the subtext</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/love-colin-firth-bridget-jones-bh3Ip2levYFjO">Giphy)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So many feels, so much wanting. And The Great Betty's genius is getting you to want her couple to get together as much as they do.<br />
<br />
I cannot hope to spark the next battle in The Great Turban Wars with this post but I'd like to know some of your reasons for reading Betty Neels.<br />
<br />Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-30292609325155989182018-04-25T06:49:00.000-07:002018-04-25T06:49:33.931-07:00Writing with Betty: Interview with Ilana Miller<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9piYz6JsPV1rsF5iG2RvB2GqCkxs67TY0i22v6iPeHIXGmj8EIUVH6rIuu4rkOaJVTKEAeuIm0nIPJC8bJGfQ89fZTb_LGJAmve9RzG3f0QuCzTur514IOtB-HxhpY03Av4Fk8J_QS64/s1600/61BabHzkSZL._UX250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9piYz6JsPV1rsF5iG2RvB2GqCkxs67TY0i22v6iPeHIXGmj8EIUVH6rIuu4rkOaJVTKEAeuIm0nIPJC8bJGfQ89fZTb_LGJAmve9RzG3f0QuCzTur514IOtB-HxhpY03Av4Fk8J_QS64/s320/61BabHzkSZL._UX250_.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Ilana looks like she knows secrets and might share them. <br />Perhaps she is going to tell the new Baroness that <br />she IS a Baroness whether she wants to know or not.<br />Sadly, this will end with a cup of coffee being spilled<br />down her frock.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As an Adjunct Professor of History, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Four-Graces-Victorias-Hessian-Granddaughters/dp/097719616X">Betty Ilana</a> is super smart. But I also feel that she is the kind of Adjunct Professor of History who would nod approvingly and cast a sympathetic eye over my plan to wear a bedazzled tiara when I totally watch the entire broadcast of the upcoming royal wedding (even the part--no, <i>especially</i> the part where guests are dropped off in mortifying mini-buses, decanting on the sidewalk in their big hats and wedding finery.). I loved how game she was for this interview. Let's go.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When and how did you get your start writing?</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I’ve been writing since I was in the 2nd grade. It began with a trip diary that was given to me before a 5 month trip to Europe and Israel (when I first visited Holland and mother bought me a pair of wooden shoes which I never wore!), onto the third grade when I wrote short stories, and on after that. Mostly I just wrote for my friends and myself, but later I thought I would try to write a Harlequin Romance. Like most people, I was under the mistaken impression that it was a piece of cake. Boy, was I wrong!! Those little romances are very difficult. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFUEtLbub4u7bXgNSOLSQj3IcXItvHd5YB7QzaKrSVHeVILZDlzUajMolHs2NsSC2Wg-3fjfWBeuyTDIO2-8VmeCATVgdHfhBJj3oBr5YZjFvtWiO1zKP3AcTPQlxKCXSBepW8M5FLk4/s1600/giphy+%25285%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="341" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFUEtLbub4u7bXgNSOLSQj3IcXItvHd5YB7QzaKrSVHeVILZDlzUajMolHs2NsSC2Wg-3fjfWBeuyTDIO2-8VmeCATVgdHfhBJj3oBr5YZjFvtWiO1zKP3AcTPQlxKCXSBepW8M5FLk4/s320/giphy+%25285%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Yes, Tom Hanks. They are. They really, really are.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/oOTTyHRHj0HYY">giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I tried a couple, even got an agent, but nothing happened. Later on when I was doing my Masters, someone suggested that I submit my thesis to a medium sized British history publisher. It was accepted, and the rest, as they say, is …er…history...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Where did you get your love of royal history?</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My mother bought 3 volumes of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">My Life </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">by Queen Marie of Romania in New York city in the late ’40’s. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and her memoirs were fascinating and chock-full of amazing photographs of the Queen and her huge and varied extended family, “The Royal Mob” as QV called them. I was about 9 years old when I pulled them out of the bookshelf. I spent hours pouring over these photographs and eventually reading the memoir. Along with that, I had also read portions of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Nicholas and Alexandra </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">by Robert Massie and was completely enthralled with the mystery of Anastasia. As a graduate student I read a massive amount of biographies and memoirs of QV’s family and the Romanov’s and have been writing about them ever since. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>You write non-fiction* which I imagine must be so rich but so frustrating since you're not making up the people in your books and you have to take them as you find them. Who is the coolest person you've researched?</b></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaHHfRY8mL-XBZrwxhEJDsv9w_dgoJuKz34cg2WtjLsLJcVgmXchAaaJT3tzWBfsHzTkW_gFMAV-dnko8saD8426O4yElzmLRtJkUC7t_tiAfh9wlQDIvBSVyIJVo83Jx8y7SO70FzxM/s1600/51ss56pvcvL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaHHfRY8mL-XBZrwxhEJDsv9w_dgoJuKz34cg2WtjLsLJcVgmXchAaaJT3tzWBfsHzTkW_gFMAV-dnko8saD8426O4yElzmLRtJkUC7t_tiAfh9wlQDIvBSVyIJVo83Jx8y7SO70FzxM/s320/51ss56pvcvL.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>*Historical fiction too. <br />Even her pen name sounds smart</b>.<br />(<a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Royal-Mob-Theresa-Sherman-ebook/dp/B00KK8EV84/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">link</a>)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Actually, I suppose I like the limitations of writing non-fiction. Although you can project some of your theories (hopefully thoroughly grounded in facts), you have an outline and you just go along for the ride, the story is already there. The most wonderful person I’ve written about is Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, who became Princess Louis Battenberg and later the Marchioness of Milford Haven. Her family name was translated to “Mountbatten” and she is the mother of Lord Mountbatten, the grandmother of Prince Philip, the sister of the Empress Alexandra, and first cousin to 41 other grandchildren of Queen Victoria. She was smart, practical, she weathered great tragedy in her life and was completely honorable. She was also someone who did her duty, not a virtue that is celebrated these days. She became a role model for me. I wrote about her and her three sisters in a book called </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The Four Graces: Queen Victoria’s Hessian Granddaughters.</i><br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Whose story have you been sorry you couldn't change?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A couple. I guess like most people who are interested in this, I wish I could have at least saved the five children of Nicholas and Alexandra. The parents, I have very little use for, but I hate that the four daughters, one son and five servants, completely guiltless, were murdered with the pair. I might also change who Nicholas married as Alexandra was completely unsuitable to be Empress of All the Russias. However, theirs was personally a devoted and passionate love story. I don’t imagine one of them would have liked to have lived without the other.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOd6HJBa9f6t_-fWScjuEivRXW1Dj7-WH2IBzxQ2Dq3Ki4f_90O-6q7NIbb3N4RLNFEz6nYyfXe6I9BJnB2H9EjimZdsGo31AR7aMGjEpg6cUvk0WI2yMwwkDStObDz3WdAIoQq1-H1qQ/s1600/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="530" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOd6HJBa9f6t_-fWScjuEivRXW1Dj7-WH2IBzxQ2Dq3Ki4f_90O-6q7NIbb3N4RLNFEz6nYyfXe6I9BJnB2H9EjimZdsGo31AR7aMGjEpg6cUvk0WI2yMwwkDStObDz3WdAIoQq1-H1qQ/s320/giphy+%25286%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I would change Prince Harry's story, of course. Putting off growing a </b><br />
<b>beard for so long was a massive blunder.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/harry-connick-jr-TRTAHOtgxNgkw">giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>You have worked with a co-author. How does that make the process harder? How does it make it easier?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Easier since I didn’t have to write the whole book. However, with the gentleman with whom I collaborate, I don’t get the impression he puts half the thought into things that I do. However, he is also my publisher, so I am grateful get things out there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Where do you get the ideas for what to write about next? Do you have much choice?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My publisher gives them to me mostly. He publishes a royal history magazine and I am responsible for a feature called “Who’s in the Photograph”. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q3BMVbfl7Q1-Mv-h7bxTzhbbJ3p4UhQrEuu2L9SDngiS8TOV12k5IKfJ69RcGVRB8G6BLt8BCKOuHgQLkdRRpSkpsU6eatw3qozivmtJT2S9EvTlzDoPr9aWcuFgASjiCqfRom89FB4/s1600/giphy+%25288%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="400" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q3BMVbfl7Q1-Mv-h7bxTzhbbJ3p4UhQrEuu2L9SDngiS8TOV12k5IKfJ69RcGVRB8G6BLt8BCKOuHgQLkdRRpSkpsU6eatw3qozivmtJT2S9EvTlzDoPr9aWcuFgASjiCqfRom89FB4/s320/giphy+%25288%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>With a follow-up feature called "Who's Taking the Photograph?"</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/press-paparazzi-photographers-l0HlL4yLv8YFHzzkA">giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">He owns nearly ½ million rare royal photographs and he choses one and I write about it. He has the awareness of where my specialties lie and so usually gives me one with people about whom I have many opinions. Since it’s a feature, I can serve up those opinions at will. As far as another royal biography, it is possible I will write one in collaboration with my publisher about the Greek Princesses, cousins and sisters of Prince Philip.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>I imagine non-fiction writers to be more organized and systematic about their writing since they can't just go where their imaginations take them. What would I be surprised to find out about non-fiction writing?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I think you would be surprised to know how much of one’s own emotional experiences go into writing about historical personages. I think, for me, it was like understanding a friend's problems and issues and putting myself in their shoes. Because of that, there is an amount of perspective that is personal. I’m not sure that’s the right approach, but it works for me.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi-lCgADEBiRBtFEf-dm6-7zCpxzeZQrqmpCBD93FL2MXPcF49ac-e9rsm9_6S3N9falyFDjnlxAeHAatAwqWR5NvjH8otgcZHGfF5BT08o_NCQXZ3_RVaN7bWpGa4dZ5fA2Ix6lFmBs/s1600/giphy+%252810%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi-lCgADEBiRBtFEf-dm6-7zCpxzeZQrqmpCBD93FL2MXPcF49ac-e9rsm9_6S3N9falyFDjnlxAeHAatAwqWR5NvjH8otgcZHGfF5BT08o_NCQXZ3_RVaN7bWpGa4dZ5fA2Ix6lFmBs/s1600/giphy+%252810%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Araminta liked when Maise the Ward Maid confided her problems, <br />but she wondered if it was bringing her down.<br />(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/dear-9yaNOhpApY5wY">giphy</a>)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Let's pivot and talk about your own reading tastes.</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My favorite books are historical novels, non-fiction biographies (big surprise),romances and science fiction. My favorite historical novel has to be </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Katherine</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> by Anya Seton. Other favorites were </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Gone with the Wind, Exodus, The Nun’s Story. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In the 1970-90’s I also read lots of what were pejoratively called “bodice rippers” with lots of trips to Brighton, but I also loved the time-travel ones, and also like time travel science fiction.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>What do you find appealing about the works of Betty Neels? (It can't be the royals because they hardly show up--a couple of minor British royals open hospital bazaars and then there's the Dutch edel but otherwise hardly a mention*.)</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I actually remember one of the RDD’s living near Het Loo, which is of course one of the residences of the Dutch Royal Family. I discovered TGB in the 70’s when one of my girlfriends lent me of those Harlequin Omibuses which contained </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Fate Is Remarkable</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">. I loved it. A few years later I was in London and looking around for some airplane reading in the book section of a department store and there she was — another double header which of course I read on the plane with great pleasure. Eventually I started collecting as most of us because I found that these books, despite their formulas were good for constant re-reads. Why? I’m not sure…I know we’ve all said how cozy, comforting and relaxing a read they are. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zR_KLPb60uvh36lQ1n8f8m1iyaZmZBlloan_330KUCAvtxFG4jmPYRE1Eapd26aQ9FSLhFIJkDyBSVwEWV4SJ0g8rX3LSHPkhx_etTOiJ_BHnpXDkOIiIziRGwiNall_6KHb2kFWKfU/s1600/giphy+%25289%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zR_KLPb60uvh36lQ1n8f8m1iyaZmZBlloan_330KUCAvtxFG4jmPYRE1Eapd26aQ9FSLhFIJkDyBSVwEWV4SJ0g8rX3LSHPkhx_etTOiJ_BHnpXDkOIiIziRGwiNall_6KHb2kFWKfU/s1600/giphy+%25289%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Better if they're well-creased paperbacks. <br />Better yet if they're all on Kindle.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/news-oitnb-RZnTaU1aKBjJm">giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I suppose I like that most everyone is friendly, good, honorable and does the right thing. I love that they eat scads of food and don’t get fat. I love that they have servants who love them and whom they love. Their appeal is that they are the epitome of NICE. Also, they are better than sleeping pills.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">*I remembered that the Dutch queen does pop in at a garden or tulip farm in at least one of the books. </span></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></i>Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-83920558520044346462018-03-29T08:28:00.003-07:002018-03-29T09:34:23.449-07:00Writing With Betty: Interview with Alina Voyce<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Today we have the pleasure of hearing from long-time Betty, Sue Grainger. Her pen name is Alina </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Voyce and you've likely read some of her offerings on the TUJD FB page from time to time. Her </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Amazon author page says this about her: "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Sue Grainger is a wife, the mother of two adults (at least, that's what the law calls them - but they're fighting it), and has lived in East Yorkshire, England, for her entire life. It's an area she's proud to call 'home'."</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "amazon ember" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Our interview was lovely and I was gratified to discover so much more about her. Away we go!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistgyL3Zb5Bni9b88V0V1Jt8RxiTS27RaeUJNMTgvcF1b99HjLTNCuv4KJJePyL2LrmbycX2k-u70Tjbso0y6op4UEkDpIJ8Fbo9kiwqEecJV-fpd0HHuHKrPNX90b0v_X5KB1QPGb8UM/s1600/81iU6NizHPL._UX250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistgyL3Zb5Bni9b88V0V1Jt8RxiTS27RaeUJNMTgvcF1b99HjLTNCuv4KJJePyL2LrmbycX2k-u70Tjbso0y6op4UEkDpIJ8Fbo9kiwqEecJV-fpd0HHuHKrPNX90b0v_X5KB1QPGb8UM/s320/81iU6NizHPL._UX250_.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira wondered if she could winkle the secret of<br />Betty Sue's gorgeous hair from her if she kept her talking long enough.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What full-length novels have you published? </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">All my full-length novels are shown on my Amazon page, but my collection of short stories (which I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">put together after a couple of the Bettys asked if I’d ever thought of doing that) is published under </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">my ‘real’ name, and Amazon doesn’t allow me to link it to my Alina Voyce page, unfortunately.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigzMc0ulFC5FYcaLtmX8Z6X7E46aO7t2_J29QUsjwp-KwBV0GVBymqZCe7xVhm_eQXXANhyphenhypheni3hy7qjv3cnJ84C0rI-yxhvjlrJVWifoScY3jFlL_MFSRiUFkGci9dDOEoDyWQ6lHfZF0/s1600/511Z1w-VrwL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigzMc0ulFC5FYcaLtmX8Z6X7E46aO7t2_J29QUsjwp-KwBV0GVBymqZCe7xVhm_eQXXANhyphenhypheni3hy7qjv3cnJ84C0rI-yxhvjlrJVWifoScY3jFlL_MFSRiUFkGci9dDOEoDyWQ6lHfZF0/s320/511Z1w-VrwL.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>Here is the blurb to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lifelights-Extended-Lifelight-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0063ZOBHE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Lifelights</a>, the first book in her Lifelights series: </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It seems to Mara Austin that the Lifelights have always been a part of her life. They’re a secret she cherishes, the nearest thing to a family that she has and the one anomaly in her otherwise predictable existence.</span></i></div>
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On the day of her 22nd Birthday things begin to change. An American businessman, Sebastian Oran, visits ‘The Tea Cosy’ café where Mara works and a telepathic voice invades her mind.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Drawn to Sebastian, Mara’s main concern is for the Lifelights. It wouldn’t do for someone like him to find out about them…</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">But as attraction is transformed into a deeper bond, the result is unexpected. ‘Her’ secret reveals a truth that spans the globe - a supernatural species with the power to enlighten or destroy."</span></i><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>And <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sue-Grainger/e/B00VKOP18Q">here's a link</a> to her Sue Grainger author page.</b></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do they all tend to share the same genre and Brighton-rating? </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I would say that all my full length novels definitely share the same Brighton-rating –there’s the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">occasional trip, all the way into town, but Brighton is generally covered by a thin veil of mist, turning </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the scenery from high-definition to slightly out-of-focus. I never have been able to write graphic </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">‘Brighton’, and anyway… where’s the mystery in that?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The biggest compliment I’ve ever been paid, with regard to my Brighton scenes, was when an </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">adult reader told me that she thought those parts were ‘steamy and hot’, but at the same time, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">she’d have no qualms about letting her teenager read one of my books. She felt that I’d written </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">those sections without ‘actually’ saying much of anything, and by leaving the ‘heat’ to the reader’s </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">own imagination. I was absolutely thrilled with that analysis, because it was exactly what I’d been </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">aiming for.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLM-w7byq4gw021hTF3lpc1uHMnz8rHkdStqarjsBuTgmOp42qzQdiEXEOpFBCevgDRCHmGhJpGHIUuv6ezpcb94tK3iUiCoEhA_N-eTzNjHTymJcsDmYg1amyh1biC7snHxh1L5hF3B8/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLM-w7byq4gw021hTF3lpc1uHMnz8rHkdStqarjsBuTgmOp42qzQdiEXEOpFBCevgDRCHmGhJpGHIUuv6ezpcb94tK3iUiCoEhA_N-eTzNjHTymJcsDmYg1amyh1biC7snHxh1L5hF3B8/s1600/giphy.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Sue wanted her prose to be steaming, but not too hot. <br />Much like a good cuppa.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/bea-arthur-gifs-YyzpCWinSnHW0">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I loved the short story you posted on the TUJD Facebook page about the soldiers returning from war. Do you often work in short stories?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I love writing short stories, and have quite a few up on my website</span><a href="http://www.alinavoyce.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">www.alinavoyce.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> under the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">‘free reads’ heading. I like the fact that I can explore an idea briefly, but hopefully leave the reader </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">with something to think about, long after they’ve read the last sentence.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I try to write at least one short story a month; for either my writing group, or as part of an online </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">challenge. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What are the challenges to working in the shorter format? Some authors take 30 pages just to clear their throat.</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Keeping it short is THE challenge. You need to create a focus for the reader within the first few lines, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and keep the ensuing story as tight as possible (depending on what word-count you’re aiming for). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As you’ve noted, some authors (and I can definitely be one of them) take pages and pages to get into </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">their stride. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, so long as there’s plenty to keep the reader </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">interested, but at some point the plot line needs to take centre stage; and make it difficult for the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">reader to put the story down. With a short story, you haven’t got the option to slowly pull the reader </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in, which makes it a very precise way of writing.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwop4t8pXBU03h90BVEUkg-ldCmq3HC-s8npZbcsw11z1YQPW-nafJ-UjqA8oBLqGsODlvT-jEPs92IdJe_pKg0-Ge0IJgLG2k3_8UKiv9HsUQ29kNlMcJPuExw6YhLXSrREvYGtQ6NSU/s1600/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="436" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwop4t8pXBU03h90BVEUkg-ldCmq3HC-s8npZbcsw11z1YQPW-nafJ-UjqA8oBLqGsODlvT-jEPs92IdJe_pKg0-Ge0IJgLG2k3_8UKiv9HsUQ29kNlMcJPuExw6YhLXSrREvYGtQ6NSU/s320/giphy+%25282%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Sue does not need extra pages to be awesome.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/zXn1tTFe0OPUQ">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, along with the challenges of writing in the short form, I think that, on occasion, they can allow a writer to explore a subject in MORE detail than a novel. A novel needs to be filled with ideas that are intertwined and woven together. Keeping a reader entertained over 40,000+ words is no easy feat. However, with a short story, although it still needs a beginning, middle and end, I can focus on one particular idea or view point. For all the constraints, short stories can be liberating, too. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Your pen name is Alina Voyce. I think it must be terribly hard to come up with pen names. What made you choose this one and was there a reason you didn’t want to use your given name?</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My pen name came about through one of my early stories, and a website. When I first joined the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">WeBook site, I needed a ‘pen name’. This seemed a sensible precaution more than anything else, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">as this was the first time I’d joined an online writing community—and I wasn’t sure if the experience </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">would be favourable! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisz87dR5EgMkxoXwH_x_dDO-iwJ_36OKtb7NUqoXIfqw6wXDl3F3SAEj8CcrBvwUK1t9YSBcDtiI5-abQgzHtDh2v5E90bE9IZXggN5x-nCwxCq1E4VZaNA3PnWjJLrlRdE9LVPx9yvk0/s1600/giphy+%25283%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="480" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisz87dR5EgMkxoXwH_x_dDO-iwJ_36OKtb7NUqoXIfqw6wXDl3F3SAEj8CcrBvwUK1t9YSBcDtiI5-abQgzHtDh2v5E90bE9IZXggN5x-nCwxCq1E4VZaNA3PnWjJLrlRdE9LVPx9yvk0/s320/giphy+%25283%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Sue liked to keep a pen name in her back pocket<br />for just these occasions.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/starwars-movie-star-wars-3owzW1VPVGtiFJvxQI">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the time, I was writing a fantasy adventure called Thalamia (not that great and quickly discarded) in which the mother-figure was called Alina. So, as I am a mother, I decided to make my pen name Alina’s Voice (Mother’s voice). A year or so later, after I’d finished writing the first of the Lifelight books, and made some good friends on the site (all of whom knew my real name), I happened to mention that I didn’t think ‘Sue Grainger’ sounded like a supernatural romance author. One of them suggested changing Alina’s Voice to Alina Voyce… and that seemed perfect!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I think that many Betty Neels novels explore themes surrounding how you should conduct yourself bravely in the most difficult circumstances (unsurprising from someone who served in WWII). Have you noticed threads that come out in your own books, repeating themselves even if you don’t mean them to?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Oh yes… I’d say that the threads repeated most frequently in my stories are about people who are </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">‘lost’ or feel ‘unworthy’, but discover something wonderful and special about themselves, which gives </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">them confidence and strength. I also love writing about strong relationships; families, friendships and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">partners. Redemption and leaps of faith are other themes that seem to keep cropping up, whether I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">mean them to or not!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What do you like most about your characters?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Their strong sense of loyalty, and their ability to change and grow; I try to write characters who start </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out with quite a narrow outlook on life, and end up with a much broader understanding of themselves, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the people they interact with, and the world they live in.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What appeals to you about Betty Neels novels?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So many things! Where to start? I love her scene setting, the morals she weaves through her stories, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and the language she uses. Her stories are understated, yet powerful enough to make the reader </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">‘think’ beyond the words. One of my all-time favourite lines is from ‘The Right Kind of Girl’: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">February, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">tired of being winter, became spring for a couple of days…</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> - for me, these twelve words immediately </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">conjure up the feeling of joy I associate with bright, unexpected, early spring days, infused with </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">sunshine, clear blue skies, and that delightful freshness, with just a hint of warmth. I also love the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">strength of the bond between her couples; whatever the twists, turns and obstacles in their way, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">there’s always that moment when all the inconsequential ‘fluff’ is blown away, and one solid truth is </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">left standing: their love for each other. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What’s the hardest part of writing? The difficulty of making time for it? Self-publishing? Marketing? Querying? Editing? (That whole list looks impossible?)</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHe8HssUHWYH4UrXr_O7tudrvDMtpmLycSSRvUk_yK-Uao8i8qv-wyvjhqsNTGK-5mRvfuEZqQ6OfToYAIt5NO04PXmiztHrnnuRXt2bzaVI21YHTjpLyEzmWcN8-clWWP0LUITbOw64/s1600/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="426" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHe8HssUHWYH4UrXr_O7tudrvDMtpmLycSSRvUk_yK-Uao8i8qv-wyvjhqsNTGK-5mRvfuEZqQ6OfToYAIt5NO04PXmiztHrnnuRXt2bzaVI21YHTjpLyEzmWcN8-clWWP0LUITbOw64/s320/giphy+%25281%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Sue's marketing window had OPENED.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/bea-arthur-gifs-YyzpCWinSnHW0">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">First, I’ll confess that self-publishing, technically, hasn’t been difficult for me because my husband is </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">an IT specialist, with a talent for formatting books and producing cover art. Without him, even with the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">excellent platforms like Amazon’s ‘Create Space’, I have a feeling I would have run into difficulties.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So, for me, a dip in self-belief is the hardest part of writing. If I don’t feeling good about the story I’m </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">working on, and my ability to do it justice, I flounder… and believe me, there are days when </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">floundering is all I do. Sometimes, it can last for weeks! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Another major struggle is marketing, which definitely doesn’t come naturally to me. That said, I am </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">now making an effort to ‘network’ with other authors who have more experience in this area (and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">useful tips), and to read-up on the subject through publications like Writers’ Forum. There’s a wealth </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">of help out there for self-published and traditionally published authors alike—and the good news is: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">spending hours on social media is not necessarily the way to go about it…Hooray!!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Who is your ideal reader?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My ideal reader is someone who isn’t totally rooted in the reality of every-day life, and who isn’t afraid </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to let their imagination take over. My genre of writing is not for everyone; you need to be able to make </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a mental leap, in order to enjoy supernatural story lines. I like to take an idea and run with it… I’m a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">daydreamer who has never quite let-go of the feeling of wonder I experienced as a child, when I first </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">immersed myself in books like The Narnia Chronicles. So, I guess, my ideal reader is someone who </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">remembers that feeling too.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I seem to remember that you’ve been traditionally published and self-published. What is the best thing a fan can do for an author in either of those fields? Write reviews? Share posts? Write encouraging letters to the author?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqEaOdvJqBq0ErDOrY91coWC3xHj3Wz_mu6zVzO6FKL-gpLj5BqFHNxYn74PUhVUamj8AH-kXkIzTtW-pFJXmiCpsf5_E78e1OWrvrBjlb-_fkukmOVIDxNjFI2aEL7u2s68vNRnq_u0/s1600/giphy+%25284%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="500" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqEaOdvJqBq0ErDOrY91coWC3xHj3Wz_mu6zVzO6FKL-gpLj5BqFHNxYn74PUhVUamj8AH-kXkIzTtW-pFJXmiCpsf5_E78e1OWrvrBjlb-_fkukmOVIDxNjFI2aEL7u2s68vNRnq_u0/s320/giphy+%25284%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Professor Grainger was helpful in his own way.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/starwars-movie-star-wars-3owzW1VPVGtiFJvxQI">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think the best thing that any fan can do, for an author in either of those fields, is leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads (or both), or a star-rating if they don’t have time to write a review. Readers who are considering trying a new author take note of how many stars/reviews have been left and what previous readers thought of the book—so ratings and reviews are incredibly important.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am currently a solely self-published author. My first book, Lifelights, was published by a third party publisher for a few years, but due to some difficulties with them, and a lack of promotion of any kind, I have recently got my full rights back. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Thank you again to Betty Sue for such an enjoyable interview!</b></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e913c18-7231-3f1f-543c-76d5bbb3f5cd"><br /></span></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-7003292416838912762018-03-21T20:29:00.000-07:002018-03-22T09:08:33.929-07:00Writing With Betty: Interview With Violette Woods<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Betties on the FB page, our featured author is known as Betty Kat. I use pen names in my titles because I want each of the interviewees to feel like they could post a link to a professional page or Twitter account and have fans of their work know who the heck I'm talking to!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Violette was hesitant to be interviewed here since her work is far racier than anything we regularly consume at TUJD but I told her that as long as we dealt in euphemism and made our clear disclosures up front, that it would be totally awesome to talk to her. And Reader, it was.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9y-kvQNWsnhSeCQpMuHliuf1xmKuzb255q2qm2gj2bmQer0S1RQUMnjCEodwH13f-QGFilrZbOqog8vyxSoK6-_NBYCMnKYLfsVlcqmc9ToLxAae-qnmq2Kl09PWQ9fJyIAiGYZzO_9Y/s1600/giphy+%252872%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="500" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9y-kvQNWsnhSeCQpMuHliuf1xmKuzb255q2qm2gj2bmQer0S1RQUMnjCEodwH13f-QGFilrZbOqog8vyxSoK6-_NBYCMnKYLfsVlcqmc9ToLxAae-qnmq2Kl09PWQ9fJyIAiGYZzO_9Y/s320/giphy+%252872%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Due to competing turban factions on the FB page,<br />Betty Keira was adept at dancing around tricky topics.</b><br />
<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/maudit-maudit-fred-astaire-ginger-rogers-lxHnlRYG0YDoQ">(Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What full-length novels have you published? Mostly self-published or traditional? Tell me a little about them.</b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Both of my novels, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Their-Hearts-Siren-Publishing-Menage-ebook/dp/B00PR3CM92/ref=la_B00PXECUA6_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1521685470&sr=1-2">The Way to Their Hearts</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Temptations-Siren-Publishing-Menage-ebook/dp/B01MR9EEMX/ref=la_B00PXECUA6_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1521685470&sr=1-1">Sweet Temptations</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, are listed on my Amazon page. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nom de plume</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is Violette Woods, and I’ll tell you a Bettys-only secret: When I was searching for the perfect romance-author name, I was inspired by the bluebell wood in </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heidelberg Wedding</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do they all tend to share the same genre and Brighton-rating? (Now would be a great time to give readers your best Brighton euphemism. Example: “My books explore the Brighton suburbs but tend to avoid the downtown commercial district.”)</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Yes! My books are both categorized as MFM Menage by the publisher, Siren Bookstrand. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">They… provide full and in-depth group tours of Brighton’s biggest hotspots, complete down to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">architectural details, with no euphemistic curtains left undrawn.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGjJFgQj5u_2pbh3nKtzImEasWZFm0HEyEJ1nmokISjRxvxuMlHmmjX-t9hu58hkuS2Hv_H4c1durGcJBXh6lOA7kVlZBrxRjF4PnbjmiBKf9gko62AAU1HJu5bFr-mUh9E4RyuHVMXs/s1600/giphy+%252871%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGjJFgQj5u_2pbh3nKtzImEasWZFm0HEyEJ1nmokISjRxvxuMlHmmjX-t9hu58hkuS2Hv_H4c1durGcJBXh6lOA7kVlZBrxRjF4PnbjmiBKf9gko62AAU1HJu5bFr-mUh9E4RyuHVMXs/s320/giphy+%252871%2529.gif" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Keira wondered if it was <br />fair to say they were on the warm side.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/engine-twin-atlas-2SXXj2zmfCIVjfXTTU">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s also a good thread of suspense going through them, because my second love after Romance is Mystery, and nothing keeps me turning pages like wondering where the bad guys will strike next!</span><b style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>True. Here is a snippet from her Amazon author page: </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;">She also loves Victorian-era novels, fantasy and science fiction, golden-age mysteries, and cozies - the kind of mysteries that feature cats, teacups, and occasionally recipes. She dreams of being summoned into a drawing room by a brilliant detective with a mustache, and asked if she has been wondering why he's called everyone there today."</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2C4O3h8tbuou_7UNHOdy0wOm0JV-WSGdX0oPP_FIdBCtDcWAtEAWHtXEgPXN65-uxX5A0IfxwPlYy4tkQNQu8OSLUQWBgiNbQAUOKH7pnWTScPk6WpUUfmFRR5s01Ye2dHe0gni3lHA/s1600/giphy+%252873%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2C4O3h8tbuou_7UNHOdy0wOm0JV-WSGdX0oPP_FIdBCtDcWAtEAWHtXEgPXN65-uxX5A0IfxwPlYy4tkQNQu8OSLUQWBgiNbQAUOKH7pnWTScPk6WpUUfmFRR5s01Ye2dHe0gni3lHA/s1600/giphy+%252873%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>It was obviously Veronica. He only had to figure out <br />how she hid the weapon in that skimpy sequined jumpsuit.<br />Certainly not in her bosoms. She hadn't any.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/hulk-hogan-moustaches-U7ULsl4Qdf9mM">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What drew you to romance writing (or other genres if that’s where you also write) and is it your full-time work or do you have to find time to shove it into a schedule chock-full of other commitments?</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I think I’ve always wanted to be a romance writer. I started reading romance really early, and while </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I read a lot of other genres, it’s always been my favorite.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I do have a day job, as well as a household to run, so I publish far less often than I would prefer. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Fortunately, I have a loving and committed Mijnheer who also has a day job and an artistic dream </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">job (he’s a professional opera singer!) and we are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">really </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">good at teamwork.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For those of you who are interested, he is six foot three, truly vast, and has a Dutch last name, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a version of which appears somewhere in the Canon. And his hair is silvering. But I must point </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out that he only drives a socking mid-size Toyota.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>As does my Mijnheer. Fiscal prudence is my jam. </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What’s the most fun part of writing and which part is the part that you would rather walk barefoot across a room full of Legos rather than start? </b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Starting a new work is the best part! Finishing a novel is the hardest. I keep going back and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">tweaking this and editing that, and second-guessing whether it’s ready or not. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But pressing that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Send </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">button on the email that submits a manuscript to a publisher… that’s </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">definitely the barefoot-over-Legos part. The doubts and worries really set in at that point. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do you work with a community of writers--trade organizations, critique groups, press-ganged best friends--or do you prefer to work solo?</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I definitely work solo. I’ve tried collaborative writing, and I do a lot of it in my day job, but when it </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">comes to my romances, I’m best as a solo artist. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Who is your favorite character that you’ve written? If you could be that character’s get-a-grip friend, what would you tell them/warn them about? (I’m always wanting to tell Gold Medallist Rose Comely to slap on some flattering lipstick and un-do the uppermost button. She would follow none of my advice and still wind up with the man but I would feel like I’d gotten something off my chest.) </b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’d have to say Sara, the heroine in my current WIP [work-in-progress], is my favorite so far. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’m still deciding how she’s going to face down her personal demons, but for a woman who begins </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">her story by being abandoned at a truck stop and manages to wind up in a happy-ever-after romance, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">she’s doing pretty well for herself!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A runner-up would be Kris, my crafty and clever heroine from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Sweet Temptations</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. I don’t want to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">give too much of her adventure away, but she is pretty brave when armed with nothing but yarn! </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLoQZgDUNoGcfQOwaW2REdm5zsKACwluhYZqFRnYsqmyymAOf7LgJW75GY22evC4rf8fBtWV5PMjSFeL25i8oBvcwtUXVqpKuXbx2gG9ffI_BP5HX2pKfNVH-yrPbPTyxr5atOoZQYLU0/s1600/giphy+%252874%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="540" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLoQZgDUNoGcfQOwaW2REdm5zsKACwluhYZqFRnYsqmyymAOf7LgJW75GY22evC4rf8fBtWV5PMjSFeL25i8oBvcwtUXVqpKuXbx2gG9ffI_BP5HX2pKfNVH-yrPbPTyxr5atOoZQYLU0/s320/giphy+%252874%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Who among us hasn't taken out a hit man <br />with a well-timed stockinette stitch?</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/noise-wn9HU1Lrd7wxa">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I tend to insert the get-a-grip friend right into my books, so if you’re ever wondering what I would say to one of my heroines when she’s being stubborn or silly… look no further than the next time she talks to Jill or Maria! </span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>How do you introduce your work when you meet someone? Which book would you want them to try out first? (and why?)</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Oh, gosh. I tend to not mention it until I really get to know them. I mean, who wants to know that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the nice co-worker in the next cube who bakes cookies also writes smut on the weekends?</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_FkgRZCvrMiiKC0B1IqvSQRRYjUElLdnWQ_6ec7JWPFdmxIIvKo8oHfVSkbpCQJnAAdnQLgZkJLR9pqJwj9cIc0bRfKO0HrBxiuNVLq5Ixua7nUf-R2ZDm7K_2dBYQ4zirRZWgYUwSs/s1600/giphy1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="624" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_FkgRZCvrMiiKC0B1IqvSQRRYjUElLdnWQ_6ec7JWPFdmxIIvKo8oHfVSkbpCQJnAAdnQLgZkJLR9pqJwj9cIc0bRfKO0HrBxiuNVLq5Ixua7nUf-R2ZDm7K_2dBYQ4zirRZWgYUwSs/s320/giphy1.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reader, I am the person who wants to know.
I always want to know. </span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Who has been the most supportive person in your life, when it comes to your writing? What are your biggest obstacles?</b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Definitely Mijnheer is the most supportive person in my life, without a doubt! He is always there for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me, and cares for me beautifully. Sadly, he is not a millionaire, or even a thousandaire… but I am </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a good cook and a thrifty housekeeper, and I am comfortable shopping at the American equivalents </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">of the British Home Stores.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’d say my biggest obstacle is procrastination. It’s so easy to say, “Oh, I’ll finish this crossword, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">then I’ll start writing,” or “Let me get the chicken in the oven, fuss with the laundry, and then I can </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">start.” Keep that up, and you’ll never start.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Thank you again to Betty Kat! </b></span>Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-25455448285241568552018-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:002018-03-14T08:00:15.246-07:00Writing With Betty: Interview with Alissa Baxter<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Today we have Betty Alissa bringing us her thoughts on all things romance-writing. It's a never-ending source of delight to me that two Betty Neels fans, a world apart, can communicate so easily. (Fun fact: If you plug my zip code into one of those <a href="https://www.antipodesmap.com/">Antiodes Maps</a>, I'll pop up in the ocean. The nearest country will be South Africa--Betty Alissa's homeland. So we really are on opposite sides of the globe.) </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EiJ9hpsmSeRhoVUXxt9ra4oKIrnAa1ggdsal4YyhxwnTR5jeKVDJIxa7qp-QPcs2Ag6CCKFyU0d64SPxNiC0yPNpYJB3O23zdkT0ei4Sw0gjQzFqZAKoD-ChjHYvx8TbyvFlWf38iDw/s1600/71VQh55mIqL._UX250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EiJ9hpsmSeRhoVUXxt9ra4oKIrnAa1ggdsal4YyhxwnTR5jeKVDJIxa7qp-QPcs2Ag6CCKFyU0d64SPxNiC0yPNpYJB3O23zdkT0ei4Sw0gjQzFqZAKoD-ChjHYvx8TbyvFlWf38iDw/s320/71VQh55mIqL._UX250_.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The RBD's glamorous (but blessedly sensible) sister <br />senses currents between the plain, new nanny and her much too hidebound brother. <br />Machinations will follow. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b></b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Because she has written Regency novels recently, I drew some inspiration from The Mighty Jane Austen for some questions. Let's go!</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What full-length novels have you published and what name do you write under? </b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They're all available on my Amazon Page. I've written three Regencies, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Dashing Debutante</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> Lord Fenmore's Wager</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>A Marchioness Below Stairs</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I have also written two contemporary novels set in South Africa. I write under my maiden name, Alissa Baxter.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Here Amazon page and list of books<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alissa-Baxter/e/B001K8A8NA"> can be found HERE.</a></b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jane Austen wrote that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pride and Prejudice</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is “...rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade; it wants to be stretched out here and there with a long chapter of sense, if it could be had; if not, of solemn specious nonsense, about something unconnected with the story; an essay on writing, a critique on Walter Scott, or the history of Buonaparté, or anything that would form a contrast, and bring the reader with increased delight to the playfulness and epigrammatism of the general style.” For all the nonsense about Walter Scott, you can tell that she just loves her book. Are there any of yours that give you particular joy?</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All my Regencies give me that feeling of particular joy, if I'm honest - although </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>A Marchioness Below Stairs</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> stretched me in a way that the others didn't and it holds a special place in my heart.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rl-_O_QgoLRnIuqlmdZk0iCNKqfcqvkzaDr1ld5oX5RMCtJgUEPyi24nH8aNKnpllKYfjw2JzZIJW21Zty1J0m0AyevibUakVRYRUHKsEk7SJp_fdGL614wt80G3f7wfsIxm3NFatwU/s1600/51Ph62FRwbL._SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rl-_O_QgoLRnIuqlmdZk0iCNKqfcqvkzaDr1ld5oX5RMCtJgUEPyi24nH8aNKnpllKYfjw2JzZIJW21Zty1J0m0AyevibUakVRYRUHKsEk7SJp_fdGL614wt80G3f7wfsIxm3NFatwU/s320/51Ph62FRwbL._SY346_.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>As fans of my Essie Summers reviews know, I am 100% in on <br />competent domestic management. This book looks right up my alley.</b><br />(<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Marchioness-Below-Stairs-Regency-Romance-ebook/dp/B0779DF87P/ref=la_B001K8A8NA_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520975497&sr=1-2">Link</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jane Austen wrote to her sister: “</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your letter was truly welcome, and I am much obliged to you for all your praise; it came at a right time, for I had had some fits of disgust.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This was when she was wanting feedback for Pride and Prejudice. Do you ever have fits of disgust over what you’ve written? How are those overcome? Do you work alone or meet with a writing group and does either of those help overcoming challenges in any way?</span></b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's more like fits of panic for me! No matter how I try, I can only see where my story is heading once I start writing it. My characters spring to life on the page and sometimes it can lead to a situation where they don’t quite fit my idea of who they were before I started writing the book. Some writers plot every detail of their stories before they start writing and they get to know their characters fully before they start writing, but this has never worked for me. Unfortunately, I only get to know them properly when they’re on the page already. Which can make plotting quite tricky for me, and lead to those moment of panic.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2P8utZ4HQk_go9WBwx8eL_tlwSVGRQIbJfEU_aY-mRIY4uhZAqmvsCo1iFG4jiSh7GYRbzcJE8ZmX3mA96no0BGHDNnuyxgC1D-LWh9_MKlNKptXT7CmnpH4HF5i8nwQbhTvoejon3aE/s1600/giphy+%252870%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="480" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2P8utZ4HQk_go9WBwx8eL_tlwSVGRQIbJfEU_aY-mRIY4uhZAqmvsCo1iFG4jiSh7GYRbzcJE8ZmX3mA96no0BGHDNnuyxgC1D-LWh9_MKlNKptXT7CmnpH4HF5i8nwQbhTvoejon3aE/s320/giphy+%252870%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Alissa bangs out Chapter 10.</b><br />(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/trump-press-conference-joV1k1sNOT5xC">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another difficulty for writers is finding the time. I think of Betty Neels pounding away on her keyboard in that tiny little landing with people coming and going. When do you write and how do you make sure you are able to do it?</b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, I have two small boys (they're four and five). When they were under the age of three, I didn't write at all. It was only when my younger son turned three and went to a play group last year that I started writing again. I only had a few hours free in the mornings and I used that time well. Every spare half hour I had, I wrote and I would often burn the midnight oil. I didn't read a novel, watch a TV show, or socialize much for a period of four months (from March to July last year) when I was writing </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>A Marchioness Below Stairs</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7ggoHey1NZpM-P2W5jjVTJ4d0Pg5fa9IlbpBUlLl-B2T43e0tJ46OL72LGLBE3BA-zWkWlhk2fLLuJZDY6onZ-Wo27StEaGdAL9g7AKbqebiIk2pCTS3nczp5tH7zw_tC56vR4mz1A4/s1600/giphy+%252868%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7ggoHey1NZpM-P2W5jjVTJ4d0Pg5fa9IlbpBUlLl-B2T43e0tJ46OL72LGLBE3BA-zWkWlhk2fLLuJZDY6onZ-Wo27StEaGdAL9g7AKbqebiIk2pCTS3nczp5tH7zw_tC56vR4mz1A4/s1600/giphy+%252868%2529.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Alissa has no opinions on the second season of Stranger Things.<br />She was channeling her muse.</b><br />(<a href="https://www.antipodesmap.com/">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What draws you to Betty Neels? Are there any echos of her or other favorite authors in your writing?</b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I read Betty Neels' novels when I was a teenager when they were re-released with those red covers. Years later I gave away all my copies (now I kick myself that I did that!) but then I came across a collection of Betty's books at a Christmas market, and I remembered what gentle reads they were. And so I bought them, just before I gave birth to my second son. I read them while I was breastfeeding and then I discovered that they were available on Amazon. I found them to be such comforting stories, especially for a young mother looking after two small children. I'm married to a doctor, and I found it particularly interesting to get a glimpse into hospital life... I also enjoy<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Iris-Bromige/e/B001HQ59IO"> Iris Bromige's</a> novels, although they're out of print now. And of course <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Georgette-Heyer/e/B00C91VTFI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1520979646&sr=1-1">Georgette Heyer</a>, Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte have also influenced me. I love </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Jane Eyre</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Pride and Prejudice</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9SpUAtrZ1TqPoAhEBigZN7KR2hlFJWOAgt19downDxJwDj-kIt-YJQk9n9aF3cdLabomhq-h7Kfsfa3fWixlP-JUCWVrXYP8kXJno3FOL5v0qc_-zIRpLUwTRHbZklzUMiCUvNybmFI/s1600/giphy+%252869%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="500" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9SpUAtrZ1TqPoAhEBigZN7KR2hlFJWOAgt19downDxJwDj-kIt-YJQk9n9aF3cdLabomhq-h7Kfsfa3fWixlP-JUCWVrXYP8kXJno3FOL5v0qc_-zIRpLUwTRHbZklzUMiCUvNybmFI/s400/giphy+%252869%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"I spy with my little eye...PANTALOONS!"</b><br />(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/elizabeth-keira-knightley-jane-austen-vZqF4V83wekkE">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
Thank you Betty Alissa for sharing your delightful work with us! It has been such fun.</div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-31102732521231851892018-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:002018-03-12T16:29:17.464-07:00Writing With Betty: Interview With Jenny O'Brien<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jenny O'Brien is the pen name of our Betty Author Jennifer Bryson. Her Amazon author page can be found<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jenny-OBrien/e/B014TN5SKK"> HERE</a>. It was a delight to talk to her. Our chat spanned several days since we're on opposite sides of the world, but what a lovely thing to get to know her! </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_oMIMPy3Yu4vcPo7giFFlcPyFutk_qESmzQhqMvXbKXyguwG8EwubdsrIDWgk5E_OHeGdkY1kMmSHU-VsffBrqy0EvvfwY8_sMJzRWiLx9qqQFNG5IbKMhgkebur_DnuL5ia-8m2Dno/s1600/51VInjSASBL._UX250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_oMIMPy3Yu4vcPo7giFFlcPyFutk_qESmzQhqMvXbKXyguwG8EwubdsrIDWgk5E_OHeGdkY1kMmSHU-VsffBrqy0EvvfwY8_sMJzRWiLx9qqQFNG5IbKMhgkebur_DnuL5ia-8m2Dno/s1600/51VInjSASBL._UX250_.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Jennifer looks exactly like someone who knows who the murderer is. <br />She doesn't have to name him now. Maybe after the cheese course.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">As ever, my questions are in Olivia font (bold) and her answers are in Araminta font (plain text). I'd like to thank Betty Jennifer for being so generous with her time. Here we go...</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">First question: Tell me a little bit about what you've written (genre, Brighton rating, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">number of books, whether you have an Amazon page, etc.)</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I started out writing a children’s book (age 7-13) to raise the esteem of bullied kids but once </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’d started I found I loved the actual process of writing. With a nursing background and a love </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">of all things Betty I wrote three Doctor/nurse romances back on back, all clean reads but still a </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">little more racy than the Canon - instead of RDD’s they are all RID’s ( rich Irish doctors).</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’ve </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre;">also written a 5 book series inspired by Downton Abbey but a modern aristocratic world with </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">modern day issues, again anything racy is behind closed doors. My one dip into the Brighton </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">set is a short story, a fundraiser for the British Red Cross (my son volunteers there) it’s called </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Dunkirk, Rescuing Robert.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Funnily enough today it’s another book launch day for me (13, I think </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">but there’s some short stories in that lot). It’s another children’s book but this time I’ve set it in </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Guernsey and it’s another fund raiser for a local children’s cancer charity. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOx9EYSN7NiacGiKjKvZpAxkpLV5GXC4KrPiTDsWaU15JVmoniMFdexrvP-XY89PbLdgBE30Bkw4UwqgKuVBzWcmo3Yxi_uYTEEYB-QD7iVfiZaG6k_kzfKEAiZCprCJH70t_u2RHBN8/s1600/giphy+%252865%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="480" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOx9EYSN7NiacGiKjKvZpAxkpLV5GXC4KrPiTDsWaU15JVmoniMFdexrvP-XY89PbLdgBE30Bkw4UwqgKuVBzWcmo3Yxi_uYTEEYB-QD7iVfiZaG6k_kzfKEAiZCprCJH70t_u2RHBN8/s320/giphy+%252865%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>In her nursing days, Betty Neels was nearly at Dunkirk. <br />She missed seeing Harry Styles by 'this much'.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And now...I’m moving </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre;">away a little from romances with my current book because it’s a thriller </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre;">but, as a nod to the good </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">lady, I’ve decided to set it in Holland.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">You can find me on Amazon </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">- I write under the name </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jenny O’Brien and there is a couple of perma-free stories on there </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">if you’re interested in my scribbles.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What with children's books, short stories, romance and, now, thrillers it sounds like you've </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">really run the gamut. Do you feel like you're looking for the One, True Genre that really </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">excites you? Or do you feel like you'll always be a bit of a Genre Magpie?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Ha, what a question. I’m not really a children’s writer at all. The first book sort of wrote itself and </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the second one, published today, is only because I wanted to support a new charity as two of my </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">children were in the boy’s class (he passed away last year of leukaemia)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I think writers never stop </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">developing and learning. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This is the first thriller I’ve written so I’m new to the game. All I can really say is that I’m enjoying </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the process but I still have 30% of the book to write before I even reach that all important first </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">draft so there’s lots to do. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I do like the term genre magpie though - I think I’d like to be one of those but no sci-fi - I just </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">don’t get it.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwtCGcgrQwehFxCXw7fu1JQ66UVZPhyphenhyphenQOCSPlF9EuOJbCYORoSFpZfM_ckgz1-nb3i9cmlK24BMdkU3m9OkwPNW37aRUkRX5gjipUspUuMV1sebmNVvFG_pVjV2kDiH4yKYLKSjhHxoI/s1600/giphy+%252866%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="500" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwtCGcgrQwehFxCXw7fu1JQ66UVZPhyphenhyphenQOCSPlF9EuOJbCYORoSFpZfM_ckgz1-nb3i9cmlK24BMdkU3m9OkwPNW37aRUkRX5gjipUspUuMV1sebmNVvFG_pVjV2kDiH4yKYLKSjhHxoI/s320/giphy+%252866%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Jennifer sees the Noir-Fable-Epic romance subgenre for the first time.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;">Some of the Betties are Lone Wolves when they write, wanting to be alone to do the </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">work, but others belong to trade groups or critique groups. Where do you fall in that </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">spectrum? (And, if you're a lone wolf, at what point do you bring in other readers?)</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I’m a lone wolf. Living on a small island there’s little scope for a huge community of writers to </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">draw from. I do have a group of about twelve readers, I suppose you’d call them fans although </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">it’s not a term I’m comfortable with. I’ve never met them and they are scattered across the globe </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">from Ireland, the U.K., USA and Australia. but they get first dibs on any drafts and I find their </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">support and help invaluable.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Do you find there are themes that you return to or common threads that run through </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">your work?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not really although they all have a medical slant but that’s to be expected as it’s what I know. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I do try and use different locations for each book just to make them unique; the uninhabited </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Slate island of Belnahua off Oban being a favourite</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Speaking of favorites, do you have a favorite character? Or, failing that, a favorite character </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">name?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Mmm, my first Male RID, Mitch Merrien, from Ideal Girl has to be my favourite character. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He’s a brain surgeon. But my favourite character name is Lord Hector Brayely (Tor for short), </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">he’s a mycologist (into mould and fungi </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="😆" height="16" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/thr0cJAGerAcH69czd8dRlSO1Eyy8cxr5wZ0ANDMB-UzK-2VUELTbvP1Hyr9J253N4dqNUGaICD0VcK8hKHmN0CFpTYQtkevYL9M2o3QWHtR8ZPKexweo9dwYwx0qhzZvd9kEQmP" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="16" /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">)</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As he would be... </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="🙂" height="16" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IHuxytH_fHxNUyL1Dw-ZLhnuzEq6UdoQT8jbbEguF8y139IxJzkJc24aiUU8QjfNAz7aR8jfaFVhd2fZQB2V4RGDwRhbk7PAWWF_WPTh4HGB3agIPhR98MmgxXAoXCM647ua10KX" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="16" /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> What does your writing routine (plentiful? Crammed in between things?) </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and space (moving? fixed?) look like?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Like all working women with families their hobbies are usually crammed in between stuff. I </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">manage about 15 minutes each morning before work and then an hour or two in the evening </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">if I can. I always carry about a notebook and pen as I’m often hanging around in the car, waiting </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">for school pick-ups. There’s never enough time to write and always a feeling of guilt that I </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">should be doing something else like housework but writing is so much more enjoyable...</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKSqbkZdd1GCPxFWV8_Dfl6OtYrQ7-6Ib3yROWHSfnNHliAuBCauVXbkYhC766Lvu53tZ1e7rP74e-s_rfLaK-eSoqAv-i4YeMFrb2s8nbPCVBbrZRgVsqs-xubpdNlsw5WnmocVwxEg/s1600/giphy+%252867%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKSqbkZdd1GCPxFWV8_Dfl6OtYrQ7-6Ib3yROWHSfnNHliAuBCauVXbkYhC766Lvu53tZ1e7rP74e-s_rfLaK-eSoqAv-i4YeMFrb2s8nbPCVBbrZRgVsqs-xubpdNlsw5WnmocVwxEg/s320/giphy+%252867%2529.gif" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Jennifer is prepared for inspiration to strike at any time.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I've asked some of the other Betty Authors this and the answers I get are so different. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What are your strengths, as you see them, as a writer?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">These aren’t easy, lol. The first would have to be perseverance. I’ve been in this journey now for </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">10 years and the intention was always to be traditionally published, I haven’t given up yet. I </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">suppose another strength would have to be a good sense of humour, which does peek through </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in all of my books somewhere or other. Finally there’s always the fact that I don’t tend to take </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">myself too seriously. Writing is a hobby, only that. It’s lovely that some people like my words but </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">it’s not the end of the world if they don’t.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Any influences on your writing? (Doesn't have to be other authors. Answers could be </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">music or art or even friends and family.)</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Well, all my heroes tend to be very large, not sure where I get that from! I read widely, both </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">romances and thrillers so my exposure to other writers is large although I do try not to read in </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the genre I’m writing in when I have a book on the go. I was brought up on the likes of Jane </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Austen, Wilkie Collins and Agatha Christie so the reading gene is strong from both my maternal </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">grandfather and mother. I always have the radio bumbling in the background but I don’t really </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">watch TV apart from the odd tearjerker movie from the forties, my secret indulgence.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If someBetty wanted to begin reading your books, where would you start them out and </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">why?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I would recommend Englishman in Blackpool, which is a free short story - the introduction to </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the Englishwoman series. There are so many writers now that I think it’s good to get a feel as </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to whether the stories are for you. Funnily enough I wouldn’t recommend my medical ‘girl’ trilogy </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">simply because they are so different to the Canon being set in the modern world with modern </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">ways. They’re not Brighton but cheeky in places </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="😳" height="16" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jeBGDiC4T6yO0N9bKx_bNr4knl36X0UjR1xhI_bvzn9BjoxJh5rXNSxVROqWzjh3BhjlwsMK16Lg-W7R4kzvl17bJjq6tdWqNfpda9Spy4fKYpHZsk-HTycEhVORPxqGAGEqJ05F" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="16" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybhkrOwAZWnzRBg4rsTHA-G3pmm1CXUE0QFTE9Gn3_SXyqJRuKWBzuBe5dpmPRZ5T0pJJmZFbVv6x3yEjUVIlosWf_YtbachsdwpjJSqdMl_tf3psnePjQ3lKCKIsr0Fr6QeRNwikjtc/s1600/5186rxlIhYL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybhkrOwAZWnzRBg4rsTHA-G3pmm1CXUE0QFTE9Gn3_SXyqJRuKWBzuBe5dpmPRZ5T0pJJmZFbVv6x3yEjUVIlosWf_YtbachsdwpjJSqdMl_tf3psnePjQ3lKCKIsr0Fr6QeRNwikjtc/s320/5186rxlIhYL.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you like free? <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Englishman-Blackpool-Englishwoman-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B073H631PF/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">I LOVE free.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm curious to know what non-professional meaning writing brings to your life.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It expands my horizons just in the same way reading does. But, with writing, I’m in the </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">hot seat. I write the story I want to read but that hasn’t been written yet and that’s fun. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I suppose as a knitter an analogy would be the feeling I get from wearing something I’ve </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">made over something I’ve bought. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Boy, Keira, these are getting hard...</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Last two questions: The first is about where you live. Does does it affect your writing to be </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on an island/in a smaller community? Being able to chat like this with someone across the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">world is a miracle to me, so the internet smooths lots of this out, I expect. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Question 2: Which is your favorite Betty book and why?</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5d5323c5-fa02-dc58-0c7e-83880243ff44"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks, Keira for taking the time with me on this. As you say it’s amazing that we are hundreds of miles away and yet chatting as if we’re in the same room. I look forward to my daily Betty fix on the TUJD </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Question 2 first, the more difficult as I can’t really answer. I have 2 favourites, Cassandra by Chance, just a great setting and I love that he can’t see her and yet still falls for her in his own grumpy-man fashion. The loyalty of staff plays a large part in her books and there is an excellent example here. Henrietta’s own Castle is so romantic. The setting. The fact she’s been left the cottage with its own romantic story attached (two romances for the price of one) </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Question 1: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Living on a small island has its advantages. It’s really beautiful over here with lots to inspire. But it’s also a very expensive rock to leave which prohibits attending anything writerly in the U.K. but, as I’ve never written anywhere else, I suppose it’s a hard question to answer because it is what it is. The internet can be great for connecting with other writers and for book research but it can also distract - Facebook is a huge distraction when the words aren’t flowing but also necessary as writing, by necessity, is a very lonely hobby.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Thank you to Betty Jennifer for sharing so freely with me and all the Betties! </b></span>Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-91706531743947754312018-02-28T22:57:00.003-08:002018-02-28T23:01:10.883-08:00Writing With Betty: Interview with Janice Seto<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<b>Over on the Facebook page I asked some of our resident authors if they wouldn't mind being interviewed about the craft of writing and a little about Betty Neels. I'll have a series of several over the coming weeks. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></span>Author Janice Seto is a dynamo. What a pleasure it was to chat with her as we galloped through an interview on FB Messenger today. It was like lighting a firecracker and holding on to the tail. I am no longer surprised that she has produced four commentaries on the works of Betty Neels. But that's not all she's done.<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdPKU643RyllfaGOjoebeQd-zzG7SECOsjoSsoQ6bFt0ymjiSvubnvoQbSa0xh_zlpXvcQguBeoqYRBfZrZVIo4jKWSdWKGEtNFtF5Sb_uuoSNBEJnHVd3TtPyrTQLWnh4n08rLIptVI/s1600/28311944_10156089814296763_2002326610_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdPKU643RyllfaGOjoebeQd-zzG7SECOsjoSsoQ6bFt0ymjiSvubnvoQbSa0xh_zlpXvcQguBeoqYRBfZrZVIo4jKWSdWKGEtNFtF5Sb_uuoSNBEJnHVd3TtPyrTQLWnh4n08rLIptVI/s320/28311944_10156089814296763_2002326610_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Betty Janice's effervescence and energy <br />are about to melt some snow.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our talk was wide-ranging and there is a fair amount about her technical writing that I cut out but I wish I could keep it all. Janice is tremendously busy and works so hard. In places I compressed her answers but will use ellipses to indicate that and if we discussed a topic in two different places, I squished them together. My thoughts are in bold (though I cut most of my questions) and she is in the standard font. Away we go!<br />
<div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Give me a second to settle the kids. </b></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a0-149d-333e-60788203e2b1"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I shall put the kettle on the Aga...</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOL1Gp_kwj-VUVmvRzImlyWMOMU13UYJGYRY3sa1J_3Bxcdpp5UjwVYjiSETdBt_5tNuBM9d_1B3bcebLNCDV6lJvnwdRWE15HQF4dskhyphenhyphennLTzjaGPQ0U3iDWrxSOYHq4NVGs8VlTsCw/s1600/giphy+%252862%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="500" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOL1Gp_kwj-VUVmvRzImlyWMOMU13UYJGYRY3sa1J_3Bxcdpp5UjwVYjiSETdBt_5tNuBM9d_1B3bcebLNCDV6lJvnwdRWE15HQF4dskhyphenhyphennLTzjaGPQ0U3iDWrxSOYHq4NVGs8VlTsCw/s320/giphy+%252862%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>See? She is sweet.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/the-great-gatsby-baz-luhrmann-f-scott-fitzgerald-DS8bH3xGS3EQ0">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I had her tell me a little bit about how she started writing.</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After my father passed away 2 years ago, I wrote through my grief, and had not written for years. On the one hand, I tend to write commentary and analysis and on the other hand, I have been writing the [Betty Neels] 'alt' endings.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was in Oct/Nov 2015 when I came across the EveryNeelsThing site... I suppose after these long months of reflecting on my father's life and then about where I am now that I felt like Rearranging the ending of Sun & Candlelight...</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a1-5744-d1ee-3a2d0b727ae7"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNLEwafU_7aSs7DlqWwnT1voy9RrhuCOBQEEzXnrOO5tNBHKJt6bu9fQE4ZQPQqXPnRroE0Ei4kceXKSEY898U4dpNxKrXK3IGnYvHFHFVbluqhhg_NhYGMnDSFnQngB3AaiJEvG1emc/s1600/giphy+%252861%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNLEwafU_7aSs7DlqWwnT1voy9RrhuCOBQEEzXnrOO5tNBHKJt6bu9fQE4ZQPQqXPnRroE0Ei4kceXKSEY898U4dpNxKrXK3IGnYvHFHFVbluqhhg_NhYGMnDSFnQngB3AaiJEvG1emc/s1600/giphy+%252861%2529.gif" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>To get rid of the Nanny?</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/emma-thompson-nanny-mcphee-and-the-big-bang-C6xECy12IyIrm">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">...which was intended to be 5 paragraphs... [It] ended up being about 9 segments, Dank U Wel, Keira and the other TGB FB team for letting me post.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, THAT unleashed a wave of writing... and I published on Amazon and got 'commissioned' to write business and economics commentary for the MCBC The Bridge...</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">One article was to comment on the the first federal budget in Canada by the Justin Trudeau government. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">THAT was a worthy assignment - and since I had been teaching business/political economy at the community college/intro...they accepted it.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a3-c502-8497-b08eb1546df4"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I felt like Professor Gideon Beaufort </span></span><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Professor of Economics in Year's Happy Ending) </b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">when they published it </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="🙂" height="16" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Ccbze_ESLOpxJafCaScug5AJ_5oKqjmJo3MZRxsDwlqnrwi_LYyTSSHQel4qSbHlFCb_Z2a9SBZfxxpg6d2as4JNktM_9UJ3UCi04q0Xm5Dyo5rrybiHnDU4kQg7T6YC_aci0AKO" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="16" /> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqPxYKjGCGP3XuJi86T01E-y4iHrEYS9_5HF1MgE5z5GLm-o6FALWzrhgKDxieUhZiBXv_SU5UAsCxJatqNk1KWvmJm4oqj8mhvTsgAzbhRAMPu8dHkdC3N_PQlcCu8w81dId3xcsK_4/s1600/giphy+%252860%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="720" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqPxYKjGCGP3XuJi86T01E-y4iHrEYS9_5HF1MgE5z5GLm-o6FALWzrhgKDxieUhZiBXv_SU5UAsCxJatqNk1KWvmJm4oqj8mhvTsgAzbhRAMPu8dHkdC3N_PQlcCu8w81dId3xcsK_4/s320/giphy+%252860%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/age-core-turkentine-KEkIHXqrzBxfO">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I asked her about her background:</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am blessed that I came of age when jou</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">rnalism was mostly print and television. And book publishing was traditional. Back in the day, you had to look good and sound good to be in the field and I accepted that I did not have what it took then. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">I am born and raised in Canada - when your family owns a business, you are basically a business family. And when you own a family restaurant, you don't have holidays or vacations or much time off. I never went to a high school dance and I spent most of my time travelling through reading.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">A few Betty Neels were in the library--and my hometown had quite a sizable Dutch emigrant population = nice combo!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">...I taught in Bratislava, studied TEFL and got my teaching certificate, taught in Asia, worked in marketing and sales back home, taught in the Middle East, worked in labour relations...), I observed a range of life experiences </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">and 'honed' my writing through student journalism and helping students in student journalism and did not really think about writing.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now with the technology of the iPad (THANK you, Steve Jobs) and publishing (Gracias, Lulu.com and</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Smashwords.com and CreateSpace/Amazon) and free ISBN (Merci, National Library of Canada), </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">everything has changed and I have what it takes, through years in the wilderness.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4813d17d-b1a5-c7d5-e939-c8b5a26751ed"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I am pretty much...a one-woman publishing machine because of it and I write what I want and put it </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out there. Sort of like the late musician, Prince</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhts-Y-A2r7IRFijEBjaePMJRI8KhVUl9FQqZsCg9fxq9C5Nf280uYjw8e2eKVbrSuRHFG8-6c2QgVJNiy_fdmI8hXhE7oTobuSW9yvNL8lNVOKITKHzMeMDZrLwG0lv00Hs1uFfYFoC2Q/s1600/giphy+%252859%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhts-Y-A2r7IRFijEBjaePMJRI8KhVUl9FQqZsCg9fxq9C5Nf280uYjw8e2eKVbrSuRHFG8-6c2QgVJNiy_fdmI8hXhE7oTobuSW9yvNL8lNVOKITKHzMeMDZrLwG0lv00Hs1uFfYFoC2Q/s1600/giphy+%252859%2529.gif" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d555e34c-b1a7-2bc7-a5af-d8d64d5037be"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>On the TUJD site, Janice is best known for her series, bringing together Doc Love and Betty Neels:</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I talk too much, Keira!...About the Doc Love/Betty Neels series...</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He's like me, was in sales for years, and I came across his articles years ago, and purchased his books, and listen to his radio show - very practical and I got an insight this time last year that the </span>RDD<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sounded so much like <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/datingwomenradioshow">Doc Love's Gentlemen</a>... and a series was born...</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had planned just ONE. And then it grew... so far 4 are published and I thought I was DONE. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now I am on the 5th, Doc Love/Betty Neels and Pride & Prejudice. A draft version is out for Laurie K to read, and since then I have made extensive revisions. That's what happens...</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">About my Revamps of TGB, I always make sure there is a spiritual component - for example, in An Innocent Bride and other <span style="background-color: yellow;">[Betty Neels books]</span> where the heroine is the daughter of the rector - and also in my own life journey, there are places where I taught that it was so shadowy that one needed spiritual backing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJKlf-JvnkgYy4_q8cGewvo_d-umjAo_xgOhoC2Gr9zdbB_DqDWRvcfYff8k-PHzaGEtcdCJNU_-5Jc_XhOksW_LK3z3t8zrIg1deRzkJHqeTduPD-VhyphenhyphenoBZV4MFQRroE0Dv7P0hD6FU/s1600/51IIv7V3LlL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJKlf-JvnkgYy4_q8cGewvo_d-umjAo_xgOhoC2Gr9zdbB_DqDWRvcfYff8k-PHzaGEtcdCJNU_-5Jc_XhOksW_LK3z3t8zrIg1deRzkJHqeTduPD-VhyphenhyphenoBZV4MFQRroE0Dv7P0hD6FU/s320/51IIv7V3LlL.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Each of Janice Seto's books can be found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Janice-Seto/e/B00K8PN1YO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1519886281&sr=8-1">HERE</a> on her Amazon author page.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wanted to know how Janice views her own writing:</b></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad"></span><br />
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a8-5fae-5be2-8c802053b774"></span></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a8-5fae-5be2-8c802053b774"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Strengths as a writer... Hmmm, well, I would say that I related to the reader because I love to read. These days, young people are criticized for not reading enough, and having reflected on that, I redefine it as 'young people these days tend not to be curious about issues that matter to the extent to depth and breadth.'</span></span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a8-5fae-5be2-8c802053b774">
</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a7-cafc-5023-cad3c43ae4ad">
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Where does Betty Neels fit into all of this?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my forays into fiction, ie. sweet romances a la Betty Neels, as a reader, I want a pleasing resolution that comes about because the protagonists have a positive outlook and get a HEA as a reward for being decent people.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">There is so much grief and nonsense and malevolence in the world and on the news that I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">just need a respite from all that.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1ac-5f9c-75c4-baec5749e690"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">After my Dad passed 2 years ago, I was amazed to discover that there are MANY people who </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">live like TGB. Their quiet manner of going about life is hard to hear because the ANGST of others </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">is LOUD (and obnoxious).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKcfjongFuf0DWtFoiFFshGj8Bj5aP8D1k8o9HepcEpwLKS9TIeiVJYsxLc93DmS-YLb7vxNhG8sRk2QAYlPOKAy995SU6QNzO80p9fFcBw2ycH9EM8AFtqzeo0tksQePanqCU0GeMjo/s1600/giphy+%252863%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKcfjongFuf0DWtFoiFFshGj8Bj5aP8D1k8o9HepcEpwLKS9TIeiVJYsxLc93DmS-YLb7vxNhG8sRk2QAYlPOKAy995SU6QNzO80p9fFcBw2ycH9EM8AFtqzeo0tksQePanqCU0GeMjo/s320/giphy+%252863%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Quiet, humble people can tend their own gardens without getting into a flap <br />about what ridiculous off-season arugula the bear cub is planting in the next plot over.</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/gardening-IOKdBwYKN8iI">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre;">As someone who has worked outside of my hometown over the years, I was the recipient of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">genuine kindness. Not everyone out there has lives with jerk magnets and drama queens - </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I certainly do not - and my writing Revamps is based on the majority of people who go about </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">their lives without that kind of spice. And I try to 'play it forward' in my...Revamps.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>How about the challenges of publishing and marketing? </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">...I keep low key because I have a job and I focus on writing. Some great writers get caught up in the marketing and drink their own publicity </span>kool<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> aid and lose their writing 'mojo' like Truman Capote. Some great writers just write - they would like to be known for their work but sometimes they don't get recognized in their </span>lifetime</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The great Italian novel "The Leopard" for example.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>As a self-published author, how do you know when you are done?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That's the curse of self-publishing...</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For example, I had a self-imposed deadline for my Doc Love/Betty Neels series and actually uploaded and hit Publish </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and then 3 days later, I did an extensive revision (#$%@ beastly Dutch oaths) and had to republish again. Which is easy with Amazon/Create Space in that I did not have to pulp any printed books (as in the old days)</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYiMFyI0DhOdOwe3ouyUkVww3nqh6k6nZfZflSQPRa3CwH8upF88rtgJNbJznJV2dbIbd8INe5ure66Jmgpqldr9ad2KqkeTNbSAfJzdEtNe9Gmkj_Wm5huBc8QsHEzvBYjzky0OFxWc/s1600/giphy+%252864%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYiMFyI0DhOdOwe3ouyUkVww3nqh6k6nZfZflSQPRa3CwH8upF88rtgJNbJznJV2dbIbd8INe5ure66Jmgpqldr9ad2KqkeTNbSAfJzdEtNe9Gmkj_Wm5huBc8QsHEzvBYjzky0OFxWc/s320/giphy+%252864%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"It's fine. It's fine. It's fine."</b><br />
(<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/latenightseth-seth-meyers-late-night-with-l0IyjK57IEerH0xMc">Giphy</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1af-ca9a-339d-b503e9ab80dc"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The writing process...</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I tend to use a mind map and it looks like a 'spider dipped in </span>ink' <span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">by the </span>end.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<b>Janice had some things to say about reworking the ends of some Betty Neels books:</b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My TGB revamps... if you ask me to be honest, I think of it as the business consultant and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">executive coach in me saying, "If you two crazy kids listen to me, you will have a HEA. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So Sarre, put on your Big Boy pants and actually PARENT those twins or your beautiful </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">wife Alethea will drop you for a non-wimpy RDD."</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Does anyone help out when you write?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the members [of TUJD] in book 4 went OUT of her way and copy edited and proofread it extensively. A shout out for her. [I] w</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ould like more reviewers but everyone busy these days so I [am] grateful for my current go-to readers, they are wonderful and </span>generous.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2bafed36-b1b1-b3be-935d-e1f35a5b7ec6"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Other projects?</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For my first children's book, a bilingual Cree-English book, I needed an illustrator and found </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">an ARTIST on fiverr.com</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do not speak Cree but I asked someone to translate in return for a share of the royalties </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="🙂" height="16" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/F3NoPyWFeTscHzu13DwdEECaEbOCyH0Nb5xe60nPopmH3fqA6qbrZmKhs1s1zvZYkIsv-dbZOxb8UzK1lQhaultY_J7iqGVC4IMbtVvOch2nVbm4URJyFpaoKxZzPP2o9NIxXC-o" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="16" /> <span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">There is some interest in books on an Indigenous theme here in Canada</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Clean-Water-Pukatawagan-English/dp/1926935322/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> </a></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>How do you deal with the criticism?</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1b3-0b1f-c831-1ee3c8efe9a4"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">At my age, with my variety of experiences, and my own track record, I publish whatever I feel like. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Reader feedback is important and in the Amazon world, feedback by purchasers is seen as </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">more credible. Nevertheless I don't let a poor review devastate me (that's very drama queen, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">isn't it?) - some people will actually give up just because of feedback. That does the world no good.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1b3-6464-4358-3701062fb31c"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because I am currently based in northern frozen Canada, with no cell service and spotty Internet, I cannot be as engaging with readers as other writers, Keira, which is a pity. So this FB </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Messenger interview is the best way, given the constraints</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1b4-5380-5c26-4033d4062b9e"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>What keeps you going?</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I suppose there is a sense of limited time and energy. Two years ago today was my father's funeral. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Last year, my grandmother passed at age 100, and two other older family members were buried </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">after being told they had about 8 months to live. So they had time to 'get their affairs in order'. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I did the arithmetic, and in the best case scenario, how many years do I have left? if God grants </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me good health and good brain health, and I live to TGB, who managed to write 135 stories, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">then that is a good use of time</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1b4-c759-166b-e698ca323bab"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have lived in places where you do not have freedom of speech. I have also seen people fortunate </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">enough to live in the West who have chosen to be in relationships where they self-censor in order </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to stay in this marriage/keep the peace. Stifling oneself is no way to live -> you just get resentful </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and then it is hell on earth in that household. I am fortunate enough to exercise my freedom to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">think and that keeps me going.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For now, I still find teaching fulfilling - although when I get another class of holy terrors, well, life's </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">too short for THAT. I might just turn my back on it all and write full time </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><img alt="🙂" height="16" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/uQExOdmEDST4yZhb_tSoFMVQY_NRkzuA820olzRlfta2q6Kc8WOEeBMER7xuBZnPfniCK0db3N8QSefNz1uTU7HjQBquSCdevhGH8Y2Olenw86S4CrJc6Rm2NtnKMf9uYCU7VdKv" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="16" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1b5-319a-3eba-6ad9d2b3ebb5"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-top: 1pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God bless you, Keira, for the website and for the FB site!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><b>And thank you Betty Janice for being such a good sport! </b></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a0-9966-6107-0c3fd49631bf"></span><br />
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a0-9966-6107-0c3fd49631bf"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0615159d-b1a0-9966-6107-0c3fd49631bf">
</span></div>
Keirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.com4