Traveling Tuesday: A Southern New Year

Traveling Tuesday: A Southern New Year

I married into a southern family (roots that hearken from Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama), and part of my “orientation” included what meal to serve on New Year’s Day to bring the family good luck in the coming year. Without fail, my mother-in-law served black-eyed-peas, ham, collard greens, and cornbread. I’m not a big fan of the greens, so my husband and I now substitute spinach.

• Peas and beans symbolize coins or wealth. Black-eyed peas are the most commonly used bean, but lentils or other beans are acceptable. Be sure to season them with pork, ham, or sausage.
• Greens resemble money, especially folding money. Dishes are made using green leafy vegetables to ensure good fortune for the coming year. South favorites include collard, mustard, or turnip greens, cabbage or sauerkraut, kale, and chard.
• Pork is considered a sign of prosperity in some cultures because pigs root forward. (versus lobster that moves backward and is considered bad luck)
• Cornbread is supposed to symbolize gold because corn kernels represent coins. Combined with the peas and greens, it is said you’ll triple your luck by eating all three together.

Other traditional New Year’s Day foods include:

Hoppin’ John: a low country dish consisting of spicy black-eyed peas, rice, and fatback or ham hock. It is thought to represent one big pot of money.

Hog Jowl: represents wealth, but also ensures good health (considering the fat content, would doctors agree with this claim?)

Southern Caviar: A great appetizer, this black-eyed pea salsa combines the peas with corn, onions, tomatoes, and green chilies. Serve with golden corn chips for extra luck.

What traditions (food or otherwise) do you practice for New Year’s eve or day?

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Releasing January 15, 2020

Under Ground (Book 2 of the Ruth Brown mystery series): 

It’s been six months since Ruth Brown followed clues to England and discovered the identity of her sister’s killer. War continues to rage as Ruth reports on food shortages, the black market, evacuation of London’s children, and the bravery of the British people.

When a bombing raid destroys her home and unearths a twenty-year-old skeleton in the cellar, her reporter’s senses tingle in anticipation of solving another mystery. Unfortunately, the by-the-book detective inspector assigned to the case is not interested in her theories. As Ruth investigates the case on her own, she butts heads with the handsome policeman.

Will she get to the bottom of the story before he arrests her for interference?

Boxing Day: A Tradition or Not?

Boxing Day: A Tradition or Not?

Happy Boxing Day! Never heard of it, you say? The origins of the holiday and its name are a vague, but several websites I looked at indicate that it began in England sometime in the Middle Ages. In the countries (most of which are or were part of the UK) where it’s celebrated, it’s a “bank holiday”-a day when banks, government offices, and the postal service are closed.

Some historians believe the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but given the following day off and presented with gifts [boxes]. Others think it started because the alms boxes in churches were opened and the contents distributed to the poor. Regardless of how the day started, over the years it has developed into a time of charity, a time when service and tradespeople are typically given tips and bonuses for their work during the past year. The holiday has expanded to include giving to non-profit and needy organizations.

An episode of the TV show M*A*S*H explores Boxing Day. The 4077 staff treat a British regiment that talks about the tradition of enlisted personnel and officers trading places on Boxing Day. During my research I found only two references to this custom. The first was in a blog by a man who tells a story about his son’s army regiment participating in the tradition, and the other is an episode of The Nanny during which Mr. Sheffield refers to the custom and suggests that he and Niles switch roles.

The lack of evidence makes me wonder just how “traditional” this tradition is. What do you know about Boxing Day? Do you have traditions of your own?

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A Doctor in the House (part of The Hope of Christmas collection):

Emma O’Sullivan is one of the first female doctors to enlist after President Franklin Roosevelt signs the order allowing women in the Army and Navy medical corps. Within weeks, Emma is assigned to England to set up a convalescent hospital, and she leaves behind everything that is familiar. When the handsome widower of the requisitioned property claims she’s incompetent and tries to get her transferred, she must prove to her superiors she’s more than capable. But she’s soon drawn to the good-looking, grieving owner. Will she have to choose between her job and her heart?

Archibald “Archie” Heron is the last survivor of the Heron dynasty, his two older brothers having been lost at Dunkirk and Trondheim and his parents in the Blitz. After his wife is killed in a bombing raid while visiting Brighton, he begins to feel like a modern-day Job. To add insult to injury, the British government requisitions his country estate, Heron Hall, for the U.S. Army to use as a hospital. The last straw is when the hospital administrator turns out to be a fiery, ginger-haired American woman. She’s got to go. Or does she?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2tKsJ4F

Mystery Monday: Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Mystery Monday: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

The Christmas season can be a hectic and stressful time, so one of my favorite escapes is to read. Even if only for a few minutes each day, I try to carve out time to curl up with a book. Especially fun is delving into novels set during Christmas or New Year’s from classic authors, like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas.

First published by the Collins Crime Club on December 19, 1938, in the UK, the book was published three months later in the United States under the title Murder for Christmas. Eight years later, Avon books issued the book under the title A Holiday for Murder. The novel is considered a “locked room mystery.”

A hit with most reviewers, the book seems quintessential Christie-a country house, a long list of possible suspects, and Poirot’s brilliant deductive skills. The plot involved the multi-millionaire Simeon Lee, who although frail in his old age, is reminiscent of Dickens’s Scrooge. Apparently, he’s so awful, there is an endless cadre of people who have reason to want him dead. In addition, the family has dysfunction down to an art and includes black sheep, unknown relatives, and surprise guests.

Lee invites his family for Christmas, most of whom would rather be anywhere else but with their father. Then he is overheard on the telephone indicating he wants to update his will after Christmas. After dinner, the sounds of crashing furniture and a hideous scream are heard by some of the family, who rush to the man’s room. The door is locked, and they have to break it down. Inside he is found dead, his throat slashed. Before the family can call the police, they are at the front door.

Questions abound, and Poirot sweeps in to solve the mystery.

The story was adapted to television as part of the David Suchet “Poirot” series and aired for the first time on December 25, 1994. Interestingly, the plot inspired writer/producer/director Rian Johnson to release Knives Out on November 27, 2019. This loose adaptation features a host of stars including Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, and Christopher Plummer.

What is your favorite Christmas mystery?

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Emma O’Sullivan is one of the first female doctors to enlist after President Franklin Roosevelt signs the order allowing women in the Army and Navy medical corps. Within weeks, Emma is assigned to England to set up a convalescent hospital, and she leaves behind everything that is familiar. When the handsome widower of the requisitioned property claims she’s incompetent and tries to get her transferred, she must prove to her superiors she’s more than capable. But she’s soon drawn to the good-looking, grieving owner. Will she have to choose between her job and her heart?

Archibald “Archie” Heron is the last survivor of the Heron dynasty, his two older brothers having been lost at Dunkirk and Trondheim and his parents in the Blitz. After his wife is killed in a bombing raid while visiting Brighton, he begins to feel like a modern-day Job. To add insult to injury, the British government requisitions his country estate, Heron Hall, for the U.S. Army to use as a hospital. The last straw is when the hospital administrator turns out to be a fiery, ginger-haired American woman. She’s got to go. Or does she?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2tKsJ4F

Talkshow Thursday: Meet Lorri Dudley

Talkshow Thursday: Meet Lorri Dudley

Linda: Congratulations on your upcoming release, The Duke’s Refuge. What was the inspiration for this story?

Lorri: Thank you, Linda, for having me. After being buried under the largest snowfall in Massachusetts history, I wrote The Duke’s Refuge as an escape to warmer tropical climates, and what better respite than a romantic Caribbean isle with a mysteriously missing Duke? In the process I fell in love with the beauty of Nevis, it’s rich culture, and history.

My heroine Georgia lured me in the moment I realized she only wore pink. My psychology background had me digging deeper. I needed to know why. Why the obsession? What was the root behind the hurt? Why pink? How did she go from being a Tomboy to a dignified, Regency socialite?

LM: What did you do to research the book, and did you have any special tidbits you knew you had to include in the story?

Lorri: Researching a tropical island, I must admit, was a lot of fun. I’ve visited the Leeward Islands, but for the historical elements, Vincent K Hubbard has written some great historical books on the islands of Nevis and St. Kitts filled with sugar barons, pirates, fierce Caribs, disease, and healing hot springs. Georgia’s father suffers from the ague (which in modern-day is called Malaria), which sets up the premise for where Georgia is shipped overseas to care for her ailing father.

Some other tidbits I had to add were the now extinct “Squeaking Lisards” or land pike, which were described as resembling fish with legs that made hideous noises at night. You can imagine the fun I had with my poor main character when she first hears the nighttime wail of the lizards. Another small tidbit formed when a friend of mine spoke of their family trip to visit his mother. She happened to own a parrot, and after a week of the kids yelling each other’s names, the parrot imitated their shrieking. Even long after they returned to the U.S. the bird still screeched out their names. I couldn’t resist adding a mimicking parrot for a comical element and to harass my main characters.

LM: The age old question for writers-are you a “pantster” or a plotter?

Lorri: I’m more of a hybrid. I have a skeleton of a book somewhat fleshed out, but not so much so that when a character decides to do something unexpected, I can’t roll with it. (By the way, my characters love to do that to me. In my current work in progress, my strong hero surprised me by passing out at the sight of blood.)

LM: The Duke’s Refuge is part of a series. Did you set out to write a series or did it just happen?

Lorri: The Duke’s Refuge initially started as part of a Regency England abroad series, but my publisher, Wild Heart Books, liked the idea of a Leeward Island series. I was excited to continue writing about the Caribbean. I’d already started writing a second book, so instead of having the heroine travel to Boston, I re-routed the ship to St. Kitts.

LM: You live in Massachusetts, an area rich in colonial (and prior) history. What is your favorite historic site in the state?

Lorri: It’s hard to choose, but Paul Revere’s home has been a favorite of mine, along with the brownstone houses of the Back Bay area. The gold dome of Beacon Hill was built to represent “A shining city on a hill” based on Matthew 5:14-16.

LM: What are your passions outside of writing?

Lorri: I dabble a bit in art and set design. I used to teach art at Metrowest Christian Academy in Ashland but left to pursue writing. Now, I appease my art urges by creating VBS (Vacation Bible School) sets for my church. When I find the time, I particularly love painting portraits and have always admired artist Mary Cassatt. I hope to further live out my love of art through my next heroine, who strives to become a famous portrait artist, working in oils during a time when women were expected to only dabble in watercolor landscapes.

LM: Book two in the series, The Merchant’s Yield comes out in April. What are you working on now?

Lorri: Besides being in various stages of editing of book two, The Merchant’s Yield, and book three, The Sugar Baron’s Ring, I’m now researching and plotting a Boston Brahmin series. The setting takes place during a prosperous, antebellum period for Boston between the Revolutionary War and Civil War when Bostonians pioneered maritime, textile, and railroad commerce. Wealthy family ties conjured elite factions who invested in the humanities, arts, and sciences, but also created rising social tensions between the poor and Boston’s aristocracy.

LM: What else do you want folks to know about you?

Lorri: I have three teenage boys who are amazing young men and a wonderfully supportive husband, but all the wrestling, football, lacrosse, and tough-guy testosterone led me to seek a girlie outlet in writing romance. I’m a tea fanatic, even though my husband is working hard to convert me to coffee, and our local grocery store loves me because I buy at least seven gallons of milk a week for my boys to guzzle down.

Why I write...

I believe readers should be led on a heart journey. Romance should allow for an escape from everyday life. It should also lead us to a better understanding of the human condition and how God views us. I believe readers, like the heroines and heroes of stories, are not static creatures and can discover different aspects of themselves through empathizing with characters' comical mishaps and dramatic misunderstandings. I believe romance novels can depict a fallible human heart that can be made whole again by a merciful creator and remind us of the hope for the same.

Linda: Where can folks find you on the web?

Lorri: 

Website: https://www.lorridudley.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorri.dudley.14

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lorridudley14/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XWRK345

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dukes-refuge-lorri-dudley/1133549500?ean=2940163703777

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48346026-the-duke-s-refuge?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XS6wBjtjOQ&rank=1#other_reviews

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-duke-s-refuge-the-leeward-island-series-book-1-by-lorri-dudley

Traveling Tuesday: The State of Utah

Traveling Tuesday: Utah

Last month, the state of Utah welcomed home the remains of two of its World War II veterans with a Dignified Transfer. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency searches for missing U.S. servicemen and women then works with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System using DNA technology to locate the soldier’s family members. In addition to sending these young men and other citizens, the state of Utah played an important role during the war.

Near Salt Lake City, Fort Douglas (an installation since the Civil War when Col. Connor’s California Volunteers took up residence) became a processing center for recruits. Hill Field was established in 1940 supported the West Coast’s aeronautical logistics requirements being equi-distant from three major military centers: Seattle-Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles-San Diego. At its peak, Hill Field employed 15,000 civilians, 6,000 military, and house several thousand POWs. In all, Utah had fourteen military installations during the war.

Rich in natural resources, Utah contributed coal, iron, dolomite, limestone, alunite, copper, gas, and refined products to the war effort. A significant contributor was Geneva Steel Works in Orem that accounted for nearly two-thirds of the funds for Utah from the Defense Plant Corporation. GSW produced 634,010 ton of plate steel and another 144,280 ton of shaped steel.

Established since 1921, the Ogden Arsenal grew exponentially to become a manufacturing, storage,

and shipping location for the West Coast. Browning Gun Works, manufacturers of small arms since the mid-1800s expanded during the war, as did Remington Arms Company, a plant that produced 30- and 50-caliber ammunition. In Sanpete County, parachutes were produced at the Manti facility.

As with the rest of the country, men enlisted and were drafted by the thousands, and women stepped into fill the void. In addition, Utah created the Minute Women, part of the Volunteer Salvage Corps, a division under the federal War Production Board. Each woman was in charge of educating her neighbors about salvage initiatives as well as coordinating salvage operations in her area.  They collected tin cans, organized paper drives, and recruited dry cleaners to clean donated clothing. They helped with bond drives, surveys, footwear exchanges, bottle collections, and volunteer recruitment. With hunting as common pastime in the state, the Minute Women set up stations where hunters could leave deer and elk fats.

A big state with a big heart for the war effort.

___________________________

Emma O’Sullivan is one of the first female doctors to enlist after President Franklin Roosevelt signs the order allowing women in the Army and Navy medical corps. Within weeks, Emma is assigned to England to set up a convalescent hospital, and she leaves behind everything that is familiar. When the handsome widower of the requisitioned property claims she’s incompetent and tries to get her transferred, she must prove to her superiors she’s more than capable. But she’s soon drawn to the good-looking, grieving owner. Will she have to choose between her job and her heart?

Archibald “Archie” Heron is the last survivor of the Heron dynasty, his two older brothers having been lost at Dunkirk and Trondheim and his parents in the Blitz. After his wife is killed in a bombing raid while visiting Brighton, he begins to feel like a modern-day Job. To add insult to injury, the British government requisitions his country estate, Heron Hall, for the U.S. Army to use as a hospital. The last straw is when the hospital administrator turns out to be a fiery, ginger-haired American woman. She’s got to go. Or does she?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2qU0ZcF

Talkshow Thursday: LeeAnn Betts

Missing Deposits: 

The Story Behind the Story – with giveaway

By Leeann Betts

Readers—and writers, too, for that matter—often ask me where I get the ideas for my stories. Well, in this case, I wanted to set my story in Colorado so I could enter several state-based writing contests that require a Colorado setting.

As I do with just about every book in this series, I made up a fictional town based on a part of the state I’d recently visited and which I thought readers might like to learn more about. The Grand Mesa/Mesa Verde National Park area on the western slopes of Colorado is a world unto itself. The scenery is spectacular, the weather is iffy, but the people are warm-hearted and compassionate.

Well, most of the people.

Not the villain in my tale, of course. He—or she—is anything but warm and compassionate. Think the Grinch when his heart was three sizes too small. Yet, like every villain, this one has some good qualities. He or she knows how to show love. He or she is ferocious about what they believe in. And he or she isn’t a sociopath or a psychopath. They know right from wrong. They simply don’t like being backed into a corner.

I also wanted a politically conservative setting, because while not exclusively so, politically conservative folks also tend to be church-goers, and I wanted both Carly and Mike to be slam-dunked into a situation where they had to re-examine their spiritual beliefs. Throughout this series, a little here and a little there, Carly and her husband have been introduced to the Christian faith.

I don’t think that most folks make a huge decision about their spiritual journey the first time options are presented to them. It didn’t happen to me that way, either. So I’m using the entire series to take them along that path to deciding where they stand regarding their faith. And no, I haven’t decided what that is, yet, either. I’m hoping Carly will show me in the next book, which will come out in June 2020, Risk Management. If you want to know the answer, you’ll need to read that one.

The couple who hosts Carly and Mike on their working vacation are named after very good friends—first names, only. Their last name came from a desire to design a brand that I could draw. A Lazy L, in brand terms, is one that lies horizontally.

The details about the black-footed ferrets are mostly true. Not about the truck accident that dropped several of the critters on the western slope, but they were transported down I-25 into Arizona and New Mexico. At the timing of this story, 2005, they were on the “extinct in the wild” list, although they have since recovered are now on the “endangered” watch list.

Leave a comment, and I will draw randomly for a print copy (US only) or ebook version (winner’s choice) of Missing Deposits.

About Missing Deposits:

Carly looks forward to a vacation when Mike is hired to assist a rancher in western Colorado catalogue his mineral rights following the discovery of several large deposits. However, Carly soon learns that the real wealth—and the real danger—aren’t below ground. Someone is out to keep a secret bigger and more profitable than gold and copper. And they’re willing to kill for it.

About Leeann:

Leeann Betts writes contemporary romantic suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical romantic suspense. In the Money is the tenth title in her cozy mystery series, and together she and Donna have published more than 30 novellas and full-length novels. They ghostwrite, judge writing contests, edit, facilitate a critique group, and are members of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, and Sisters in Crime. Leeann travels extensively to research her stories, and is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary LLC.

Website: www.LeeannBetts.com Receive a free ebook just for signing up for our quarterly newsletter.

Blog: www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://bit.ly/1pQSOqV

Twitter: http://bit.ly/1qmqvB6

Books: Amazon http://amzn.to/2dHfgCE  and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2z5ecP8

Christmas Round-Robin Scavenger Hunt

Christmas Round-Robin Scavenger Hunt 

Merry Christmas! And welcome to the Christmas Round-Robin during which you have the chance to win one of three generous prizes! First prize is a $300 Amazon gift card, second place is a $150 Amazon gift card, and third prize is a $75 gift card. How cool is that?!

In each participating author’s blog post, you’ll find a questions that can be answered by checking out the book blurb or free Amazon preview of his/her book. The hunt stars here:  (Please note that you must answer the questions for EVERY author in the round-robin to be considered to win THIS PRIZE. At the end of my post is the link to the next blog, who will provide a link to the next blog…and so on…to the very end. When you're finished fill out your answers on this form.

My novella, A Doctor in the House, is part of The Hope of Christmas collection that includes stories by two other authors. I’m a history geek, and I write about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. 

World War II was a particularly life-changing event for everyone: those who served in the armed forces as well as those who “held down the fort” on the home front.

In a society that dictated how (secretaries, nurses, teachers) and when (as long as they were single) women could work, the opportunity to hold positions only previously available to men was exciting and scary. Facing prejudice, ridicule, and disdain, these ladies worked extra hard to prove their capabilities to the detractors. It was only after working side-by-side with female employees and witnessing their performance, did men grudgingly agree theses gals had what it took to get the job done.

Margaret Craighill

The military was slow to create women’s auxiliary forces, but once the chance arose, more than 350,000 enlisted. However, it wasn’t until April 1943 that President Roosevelt signed the Sparkman-Johnson Act allowing female physicians to serve in the Army and Navy Corps. A month later, Dr. Margaret Craighill became the first woman doctor to serve in the Army inspiring my character Emma O’Sullivan in A Doctor in the House.

Emma is assigned to England to set up a convalescent hospital, and she leaves behind everything that is familiar. When the handsome widower of the requisitioned property claims she’s incompetent and tries to get her transferred, she must prove to her superiors she’s more than capable. But she’s soon drawn to the good-looking, grieving owner. Will she have to choose between her job and her heart?

Let’s continue this scavenger hunt! Go to the book on Amazon at this link and check out the book blurb. What is the name of the requisitioned country home in Britain where Emma is stationed?  When you have the answer, fill out this form and head over to the next blog!

Thank you so much for visiting! The next author on the tour is Valerie Comer, who will share with you about her Christmas book The Cowboy's Christmas Reunion. You can find it at this link. Remember the round-robin ends on December 16^th at 11:59 PM EST.

Wartime Wednesday: The Lowly Milkweed Pod

Wartime Wednesday: The Lowly Milkweed Pod

“Necessity is the mother of invention” proved itself to be true over and over during World War II as the Allies fought to defeat the Axis powers. Each time the enemy conquered an area that provided goods, an alternate solution had to be found. After Japanese occupation of the island of Java, an exporter of kapok, the fluffy plant fiber found in pods of the ceiba tree that was used in life vests, the Allies found themselves in a bind. Cattail down, feathers, and “Bubblfil,” a plastic substance developed by DuPont, were considered by the military, but none of the options proved worthy.

Enter the lowly milkweed, a plant with pods that contain hollow fibers (or floss) coated in a waxy substance, making them waterproof and buoyant. Considered an annoying weed by most people, especially farmers, milkweed goes to seed creating the pods in September.

Physician and inventor, Dr. Boris Berkman was a long-time champion of the milkweed. During the 1930s, he proposed the plant as a new crop rivaling the soybean in usefulness. He suggested over twenty uses for the plant’s stems, leaves, and pods including insulation, pressed board, oil, animal food, rayon, cellophane, dynamite, surgical dressing, and textile fibers. In his 1939 patent application for a milkweed gin to process the plant, he touted that “milkweed is an American crop capable of producing untold benefits to the American farmer, and is not subject to the uncertainties attending the importation of foreign raw materials.”

Berkman presented his case to a congressional agricultural committee in March 1942 followed by extensive testing by the U.S. Navy that proved a 150-pound man could be kept floating in the water for more than forty hours using just over a pound of milkweed floss. Calling the weed “wartime strategic material,” the government rushed to appropriate $225,000 to build a processing plant in the milkweed-rich hills along Lake Michigan.

Word went out across the nation about the need for more than two million pounds of ripe milkweed pods. Citizens of twenty-five states and two Canadian provinces leapt into action. By the end of September 1942 more than 1.5 billion pods were collected to make 1.2 million life vests. Kids were paid fifteen cents to fill an onion bag, the open mesh sack holding about a bushel of 600-800 pods. Two bags provided enough floss for one vest.

Frances Joey Wilson, Jr. remembers his father tipping him off about a poster promoting the pod harvest near their home. “All my friends jumped on our bikes and took off for the post office to read the notice for ourselves.” Later his bags were collected behind the post office and hauled away by a big truck.

From problem to purposeful, the lowly milkweed saved the day.

Does milkweed grow where you live?

Pin it!

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Now available: The Wartime Brides Collection. You can read this four-book collection all at once! Inspired by exciting and romantic stories from the Bible (Ruth and Boaz, Shiprah and Puah, Rahab and Salmon, and Rebekkah and Isaac) each book is a modern retelling set during WWII.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2DxZV0C