In darkness or light...what makes for your best writing and reading time

by Maureen L. Bonatch 

Ever since I stopped making snow angels and the hope of getting a snow day from school was long past, I no longer found much to enjoy about winter. That is, until I found out how to embrace the short days, heavy with night and cold as a witches…nose.

My mumbled threats directed at the groundhog who regularly taunts with six more weeks of winter, turned to a thoughtful musing of…"It’s snowing again.” Smiles inwardly. “Well, I guess I could write another chapter, or snuggle under a blanket by the fire with a good book.” 

Not that I’d ever give up the sunlight, warm days and walks of summer, but maybe winter’s not all bad.

Because it makes perfect sense to curl up, inside away from the cold and dampness to write, or read a good book, because when the sun is shining, people emerge from their self-imposed hibernation and expect conversation and normal human interactions. 

And pants, they expect you to wear something besides pajama or sweat pants.

As midsummer rapidly approaches with the longest day of the year, and the shortest night, it’s become obvious to me that a balance is in order between the chattering of the characters in my head, the ones I visit in the books I read, and people in the real world.

Hope, my protagonist in my upcoming release DESTINY CALLING, suffers with a similar challenge of balancing darkness and light…inside her.

Hope only wants to find out if her ability to infuse euphoria or despair with her touch makes her the devil's spawn, or his exterminator. But when the woman who raised her is murdered by something not human, she loses the only family she knew and discovers one she might wish she hadn’t.

Drawn to the city she vowed never to return, her ability is seen as an asset to everyone but Hope, and she doesn’t know who to trust. Her family wants her to help them overcome an enemy oppressing the human population, while the man of her dreams is courting her for the Underworld. Time is running out, and Hope’s choice may be made for her, as she discovers she’s a pawn in a bigger game played by a merciless ruler who doesn’t lose.

Look for DESTINY CALLING coming soon from The Wild RosePress.

Do you have a favorite season to read and/or write?Are you outside in the summer breeze?   Or at the beach?   Or huddled inside by the fire?

Paranormal Weather

by Stephanie Beck






The last few weeks, Minnesota has gone through what I call a paranormal phase. That or menopause. Or maybe it tried some experimental drug that had unforeseen side effects.




I know we're not the only ones getting the crazy weather, so, my heart goes out to those who also got a foot of snow in mid-April. I think if we hadn't gotten a few really nice days, maybe, I would have been fine with the temperatures dropping again. But no. We had 70 degree days, followed by snow. And then more snow. But this weekend was beautiful and the rest of the week is supposed to be warm, sunny and very spring-like.






Ah, the kicker: This sort of thing is very normal in Minnesota. Last year, we had snow in late May. We catch all these weather systems coming from the west and because we can still get cold fronts from the north, bam, snow later in the season. Every year, we claim we are 'surprised' when really, we're ticked at ourselves for not moving to a warmer climate when we had the chance!










So, what is the paranormal element in Minnesota weather? I'm going to say it is the situational amnesia the Minnesota humans employ when that first blast of warm air blows in and we all think it is really spring and we put away snow boots in favor of flip flops...only to have to get the boots out the following week so we can shovel. Good thing, for the most part, Minnesotans are hearty people. We can handle the disappointment--the dollop of chocolate and family at Eastertime really helps with the lingering blahs as well.'






But not what it is 'late' April, this Minnesota girl is ready to get her yard cleaned up, pull out the capri pants, and open all the windows. If next week I need to get out the snow shovel, put on snow pants and turn the furnace on again...well, I'll fall back on Minnesota Nice and grin and bare it.




All the best,
Stephanie Beck
www.stephaniebeck.net
www.facebook.com/StephanieBeckAuthor
www.twitter.com/StephBeck123




Is it cold where you are? Need something to warm you up? Try Unraveling Midnight by Stephanie Beck!

An entanglement with a werewolf brings unexpected turns.
Scott, a lone werewolf expelled from his pack, bends over backward to give his kids everything he can—including knitting lessons for his daughter. Learning to knit becomes much more appealing with Lucy Jamieson as the teacher. His heightened senses tell him the compassionate and beautiful human might be what he and his little band need, yet getting involved with Lucy means exposing her to his paranormal reality. Although Lucy’s childhood skewed her expectations of family, she recognizes and respects Scott’s desire to protect and provide for his kids. When Scott is hit by a truck, Lucy offers to help with the kids--and gets more than she bargained for after learning Scott’s true nature...


Buy Now: Amazon   B&N

Weather Thou Goest

I’m a Weather Channel addict, so it goes without saying that I use weather to enhance scenes in my stories. Actually, if we're being honest--I have a bit of an obsession with thunderstorms. I think it's the lightning (or maybe it's the comforting rumble of thunder).

Case in point:

A rumbling growl overhead diverted his gaze, if not his thoughts, from the trim lawns and tidy houses lining the block where his latest mark had resided. Above him, a roiling blanket of clouds stretched across the horizon. He stumbled over level ground as he experienced the same instant of vertigo as always when faced with a view of their darkened underbellies rather than their luminous crowns. (Wicked Kin)  

Here's another:

Wind whipped at my skin as it drove solid pellets of rain in stinging slaps on my neck and face. Thunder crashed as lightning brushed veined fingers across the sky. The dim glow of light called to me from a few hundred yards ahead. I ran, slipping and sliding over ground undecided whether it wanted to refreeze or melt. (Everlong)

I can't help it. (Yes, I know I use that excuse a lot.) I’m fascinated by the workings of something greater than humanity and wildly out of our control. I picture weather as a sentient creature. If you’ve ever seen a tornado, ever survived one, then you know what I mean. Some people say a tornado sounds like a train. I can see that. My argument is this—a train is a hunk of metal hurling down its own track. You get in its way, and it runs you over. Tornadoes don’t give you that luxury. They hunt you down. And you know what? They get pissed off when you’ve hidden well enough they can’t find you.

(The most fantastic picture of a supercell thunderstorm I've ever seen. Came from here.)

There’s something to be said for the way that particular beast grabs a house and shakes it, as if the people inside are delicious treats just out of its reach. Sometimes, it grows bored and moves on. Other times, it punches through the roof or rips the walls from the foundation to reach its prize. Always, it bellows this inhuman roar that plugs your ears and makes your pulse skyrocket while you wait to see how hungry it is this time. Will it leave you and your home intact? Or will it rip aside the barriers humans have constructed and consume everything in its path until its hunger has been sated? You never know. Each time is a gamble. Every siren, a cause to hide in your storm cellar or bathtub and pray this time the beast is well-fed and you don’t look like dessert.

March is coming on fast. Sirens lay dormant, for now. Let the beast come, I’ll be ready.

As Assault of Weather!

For the most part, I don't write about weather. Maybe I'm just over saturated with it since I am living in a constant downfall of snow this year!

But, having said, that I did bring up weather in my book Initiation that is releasing from Decadent Publishing on February 2nd, 2011. Why, you might, ask did I alter my normal writing style in this book? Well, there is a very good answer to that.

Rachel has been living underground her entire life in a weather controlled habitat. The first time she goes Upwards she is assaulted by the cold. Here is a slight taste of that:

A burst of cold wind hit me in the face and I gasped, finding the sensation all consuming. I’d never been outside of the maintained weather environment of the habitats, which were kept at a constant eighty degrees, the coolest they could make it considering how far down we were in the earth.

I fell to my knees, closing my eyes. Okay, I told myself over and over. I could deal with this. Not one Warrior had ever perished from a cold breeze…that I knew of. For a minute, I could do nothing but feel the thin, frigid air hit me square in the face even as I huddled on the ground. I opened my eyes, hoping the wind had died down a little bit and saw in front of me a pair of very large legs obstructing my view. I jumped up as I forgot about the wind and grabbed the stake from my leg holster on my way up.

How about all of you? How much does weather play a part in your writing?