Nesting Osprey

This weekend marks the third year I've been doing this blog.  I've found some new friends, and invited others to do guest posts.  I've enjoyed sharing things with readers, like my idea for my new book, "Say Cheese Before You Die" and exposing my inadequacies in "The Earnestness of Being Important."  But mostly I've enjoyed sharing my precarious relationship with the wildlife.

A couple of weeks ago I lugged a sixteen pound bag of cat food across the parking lot at the Jantzen Beach Shopping Center and heard the insistent call of a bird.  I looked up in time to see an Osprey gliding overhead.  But the desperate command continued, and I looked around the parking lot until I found it.

The Osprey nest, on top of a light fixture in the middle of the parking lot, was occupied.  I used to see Osprey when I kayaked on the Northwest rivers, watching as they circled the river in search of a tasty fish dinner.  The Osprey is a large raptor, though not as big as an eagle.   Their nests are huge, and they like to use flat surfaces.  I would think it would get warm on top of the light fixture.  Will the branches catch fire?

Lovely birds.

Sophie Moss, The Selkie Spell

A while ago, I entered a contest on a blog by Sophie Moss.  The prize was a copy of her book, The Selkie Spell, and I won.  Normally the only thing I win is drawing for random drug testing at work, so I was thrilled.  The book was fabulous, and I wrote a review on Goodreads.  Someone "liked" the review and I decided I liked her book so much, I should invite Sophie to do a guest post for me.  She was hesitant, but after I sent her a bunch of questions, she gave in and answered them.  Without further ado, here is the guest post from Sophie Moss, author of The Selkie Spell.

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Tell us about your road to publication... Is this self-published or through a press? Why?
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today, Melanie! I’m happy to share my road to publication. Yes, The Selkie Spell is self-published. I decided to “go indie” for a number of reasons, but mostly because the opportunities for self-published authors now are tremendous. Self-publishing offers an incredible sense of control and ownership of the publishing process. It allows you to connect directly with readers and find and build your audience in a way that is fundamentally transforming the publishing industry.

Did you send out query letters?
I tried the traditional route: querying agents and editors, pitching at conferences, joining writers groups, and entering contests. But watching the indie author revolution take shape last fall, I decided why wait around trying to be discovered by a publishing house when I could jump into this publishing party right now?

Tell us a little bit about The Selkie Spell… 

Photo by Joseph Mischyshyn

The first book in The Seal Island Trilogy is about an American doctor whose life is transformed when she travels to an enchanted Irish island and discovers she has the power to break a 200-year-old curse. At first, Tara Moore laughs off the villagers’ speculation that she is descended from a selkie—a magical creature who is bewitching the island. But when a ghostly woman appears to her with a warning, Tara realizes it was more than chance that brought her to this island. Desperate to escape a dark and dangerous past, Tara struggles against a passionate attraction to handsome islander Dominic O’Sullivan. But the enchantment of the island soon overpowers her and she falls helpless under its spell. Caught between magic and reality, Tara must find a way to wield both when a dangerous stranger from her past arrives, threatening to destroy the lives of everyone on the island.

How did you come up with the idea for The Selkie Spell? 
When I was living in Ireland, I took a weekend trip to the magical, windswept island of Inishbofin. The moment I stepped off the ferry, I felt like I was home. It was the strangest feeling: being so far from  home and yet sensing I belonged. After returning to the states, I discovered the movie, The Secret of Roan Inish, and first learned of the selkie legends. Intrigued by the thought of seals who can transform into beautiful women on land, I decided to weave my love of romance novels, Ireland, and fairy tales into one delicious novel!

Blasket Islands, County Kerry, Ireland  Photo by Snalwibma

When do you expect to release the second book in The Seal Island Trilogy? 
The Seal Island Trilogy continues with Caitlin and Liam’s story, The Selkie Enchantress, coming out this summer! As readers of The Selkie Spell know, Irish islander, Caitlin Conner, has been in love with professor of Irish folklore, Liam O'Sullivan, for as long as she can remember. But just when he's starting to look at her as more than a friend, a mysterious woman arrives on Seal Island and captures his heart. As Caitlin discovers the truth behind the woman’s lies, she realizes Liam is trapped in a dangerous enchantment and the only way to break the spell is to uncover a secret Irish fairy tale that has remained hidden for hundreds of years. But when the petals of a white rose grown in winter start to fall, the legend is set in motion. And Caitlin must find a way to change the ending before the last petal falls.

Sophie Moss

Author's Bio:  

Sophie Moss writes contemporary Irish fairy tale romances. Her stories are full of magic, mystery, and small-town Irish charm. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Vermont. When she's not writing, she's tending to her garden. She has a strange knack for finding four-leaf clovers and writes best while sipping a Guinness. http://sophiemosswrites.com/

You may purchase The Selkie Spell by clicking HERE.

Elaine Ash browbeats me to write

I met Elaine Ash on Twitter a couple of months ago. She invited me to do a guest blog on her blog, Ashedit. At that time, the post on her blog was, "I, Crappy Writer" and I mistook it to be the title of her blog. It kind of depressed me, yet still, being invited to write on a blog of that title must mean something, right? If one must be a crappy writer, one can at least be a great crappy writer.

Elaine assured me that was only the name of the post that day, and that her blog is a respected blog. She also mentioned she is a professional editor. While I may have been tempted to offer her a guest post on "I, Crappy Writer," I was not willing to submit a post on a nice, professional editor's blog.

I mean, really.

But Elaine is persistent, confident, and does not take "no" for an answer. All the things you'd want in a professional editor.

Please click here to see my guest post on Ashedit. And please feel free to leave a comment.

Help wanted, must be able to spell

I want a chicken wap, and I want it my way.

The next time you hear someone say learning to spell (or learning to use a dictionary) is a thing of the past because of spell-check, ask them if they used to work at a Burger King in Lincoln City, Oregon.

What flavor is that cat food?

I started a diet last month, and I've been doing pretty well. But Easter was one of the hardest days, so far. It started out with a breakfast buffet at the senior living place where my parents are. I dragged myself past the hot cinnamon rolls, pound cake, and cranberry scones, but even the small piece of cheese/asparagus quiche made my palms clammy with fear. Still, when breakfast was over, I thought I'd been successful. Then the little basket of jelly beans was placed in my hands, and my tongue swelled, forcing my mouth open. I'd probably scarfed down six or eight before my family could rush around the table and pry the little basket from my fists. The entire rest of the day I was starving. STARVING. Like I'm back to square one. The rest of the day I ate the pitiful meals, but I'm back to eyeing the cat's kibble and wondering if they'd miss a few morsels. And I tried to log in everything I ate, but I'm not sure if the numbers are correct, which is frightening because I'm inches from the edge of the cliff as far as my calorie goal.

When "sky blue" is actually gray

This is the sixth straight day of rain. It is when people buying cars must be careful when the salesman says the car is "sky blue." He may be selling a gray car.

But there are still things in the Pacific Northwest that make me smile. As I sat in my home office, adding up mileage to and from doctor visits, listing all my medical/dental co-pays for 2011, and searching for the 10-99 from the Walt Disney Company, I spied this outside my window.

I snatched the camera, snapped the above picture through the window, and then ran to the front door, cringing as it squeaked open. I stepped out and aimed the camera at my field beside the house. It is fenced in, but the deer know the places they can get in and graze.

Four black-tail deer turned and stared at me, two adults and two yearlings.

The yearling on the right has a lot of white on him. That is rare, and I'm looking forward to seeing it when it is older, keeping my fingers crossed that the white will still be there.

Close up of the yearling with the white.

I'm always thankful for these brief interludes to remind myself of why I live in the vast Pacific Northwest.

It certainly isn't because of the weather forecast.

Areal Flood Watch
Day	Forecast	Description	Precip Chance
Today Apr 1 Details	Showers Hi:51°Lo:42°	Day: Showers. High 51F. Winds S at 11 mph. Air Quality:NA, UV Index:2	90%
		Night: Mostly Cloudy. Low 42F. Winds S at 10 mph.	0%
Monday Apr 2 Details	Mostly Cloudy Hi:59°Lo:46°	Day: Mostly Cloudy. High 59F. Winds S at 16 mph. Air Quality:Good, UV Index:5	0%
		Night: Rain. Low 46F. Winds S at 6 mph.	90%
Tuesday Apr 3	Rain Hi:51°Lo:42°	Rain. High 51F. Winds S at 6 mph. Air Quality:NA, UV Index:2	40%
Wednesday Apr 4	Showers Hi:53°Lo:40°	Showers. High 53F and low 40F. Winds SW at 5 mph. Air Quality:NA, UV Index:4	40%
Thursday Apr 5	Showers Hi:54°Lo:40°	Showers. High 54F and low 40F. Winds W at 5 mph. Air Quality:NA, UV Index:NA	40%

The (Many) Things that Divide Us

If you have ever been a substitute teacher, been taught by one, or heard of one,

No Substitute for Murder will have you laughing.

It is time for another guest post from Carolyn J. Rose. She has outdone herself on her latest book, No Substitute for Murder which had me snorting water through my nose at a restaurant when I got to one particular scene where the protagonist is as close to being a fly-on-the-wall as you can get, at her ex-husband's biggest embarrassment. Even covering my mouth with my hands couldn't withhold the guffaws from sneaking through my fingers. Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing to win a copy of this fabulous book.

Without further ado, here is:

Carolyn J. Rose

The (Many) Things that Divide Us

During the political season—which lately seems to be 24/7 and year-round—the beliefs, opinions, prejudices, and preferences that divide this nation are clear. Often they’re not only clear, they’re magnified or blown out of proportion by one side or the other.

But these “big things” aren’t all that separate us into groups and set our diverse agendas. Every time I check into a hotel, twirl the radio dial to a particular station, drive on the freeway, or select a sandwich spread, I make a choice that defines me or act according to one I made in the past.

Every day, every one of us makes choices that set us apart from others—choices that may be so ingrained and automatic we can’t remember when the opinion was formed or who influenced it or when it turned into a way of life or even—in extreme cases—came to be a symbol of our Constitutional right to certain freedoms.

I can almost hear you asking: “What the heck does she mean by that?”

Well, imagine you’re checking into a hotel and you don’t get a choice between smoking or non-smoking rooms. You could end up with the room you wanted, or you could be forced to breathe third-hand smoke or go outside to light up.

Chances are, you wouldn’t be happy about that. In fact, you might be furious. You might rage against the hotel and “that other group of people.”

Or let’s say you visit your aunt Matilda and she makes you a BLT but, instead of mayonnaise, she uses another spread. If you’re firmly in the mayo-is-best camp, it will be tough to choke down that sandwich.

Now suppose your aunt tells you to stop being so picky because “there’s no difference between mayo and the other stuff.”

Is she serious?

That’s like saying there’s no difference between black and white, summer and winter. Sheesh.

The Great Sandwich Spread Skirmish could turn you against your aunt if she refuses to budge on the issue and admit that there is a difference and you have a right to your preference. The dispute could even escalate, dividing your family and turning you against anyone who doesn’t agree mayonnaise is the right stuff. You might take to picketing stores that carry other spreads and even (gasp!) allow them to mingle with the mayo on the shelves.

From there, it’s a short hop to setting up gated all-mayo communities and working to pass laws to outlaw other spreads. And it’s another short hop to taking aim at other divisive issues:

• Dark vs. Milk Chocolate
• Coffee vs. Tea
• Dogs vs. Cats
• Classic Rock vs. Rap
• Cheese Puffs vs. Corn Chips
• Dieters vs. Those who can eat all they want
• Neatniks vs. Slobs
• Procrastinators vs. Get-there-on-timers
• Speeders vs. Slow-pokes-who-drive-the-limit
• Shaken vs. Stirred
• Well-cooked vs. Rare (or even raw)
• Toilet Seat Up vs. Toilet Seat Down

Fortunately, most of us will never get that worked up. And for many of us, the lines of opinion blur and we slip back and forth across them in the course of our lives. We learn to appreciate things we didn’t like when we were young—types of music, kinds of food, the need to be more organized, the reasoning behind posted speed limits.

But if you’re like me, there are lines you’ll never cross, opinions you’ll never compromise on until and unless you’re forced to. That’s why I’ll make a sandwich my way until I scrape the last smear of mayonnaise from the bottom of the last jar on earth.

What are the division lines in your life? What are you willing to be flexible about and what would you never give an inch on? Leave a comment and get your name in the drawing for a copy of No Substitute for Murder.

Bio:

Carolyn J. Rose is the author of a number of novels, including recent titles A Place of Forgetting, An Uncertain Refuge, No Substitute for Murder, and Hemlock Lake. She and her husband, Mike Nettleton, penned two cozy mysteries, The Big Grabowski and Sometimes a Great Commotion.

She grew up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She lives in Vancouver, Washington, and founded the Vancouver Writers’ Mixers. Her interests are reading, gardening, and not cooking.