Word Wenches

The Road West

Cruising the Ohio River

by Mary Jo

September was cruise time!  As with our April cruise of the Chesapeake Bay, we an American Cruise Lines small ship cruise.  Since ACL cruises only in American waters, it was much easier and less likely to be canceled than flying to Europe at a time when border restrictions are constantly changing.  We decided on a cruise of the Ohio River, starting from Pittsburgh and ending in St. Louis.  It would be simple to get to and from, and more important, it was a part of the US that we didn't know well, and which has masses of history. 

The Ohio River was the southern border of a vast tract of wilderness that had been ceded to the US by Great Britain in the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the American War of Independence.  The Northwest Territory doubled the size the young United States and covered all or part of what would become six states, but at the time, it was entirely undeveloped: no towns, no farms, no roads, only a handful of small forts. 

 

Forever Autumn?

by Mary Jo

Today's topic was inspired by a back room chat among the Wenches in which we extolled the delights of autumn: crisp air, vibrant colors, the recharging of energy after summer languor.  Several Wenches said they'd like it to be autumn all year round.  

But do we really want that?  So I asked: What  are your favorite seasons? Are there any you'd like to see all year round?

 

Island Stories

Nicola here. Since the time I first picked up a book I’ve been fascinated by islands, both in real life and as the setting for stories. Whether it's Five on a Treasure Island or The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton, or Robinson Crusoe or Lord of the Flies (well not so much that one, perhaps) there is something magical about an island.

Islands offer the idea of escape and retreat and also the opportunity to start afresh. They are places set apart where you can take time and space to think. They appear solitary and pure in some ways, an earthly paradise. But they can also be too isolated, even savage, which is perhaps they make such great settings for crime novels. An island, if you can’t get off it easily, is the perfect “locked room” mystery as Agatha Christie proved and countless other crime and thriller authors have used the setting.

Travels in Italy--Part One

Wench Pat here, just back from a two-week trip to Italy, combining business with pleasure. I’ve dug up some fabulous ideas for the new mystery series and enough material for a year’s worth of blogs. I should probably just post photos and not blather on!

One of the lures for this trip was the opportunity to explore the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. The winding, narrow coast drive is every bit as hair-raising as promised. We were a small group in a small bus and thankfully, most cars were smaller than us, but those giant buses. . . !  Ai yi yi. Traffic would back up on every curve when two buses met each other and had to maneuver their way out of the mess.

A Norwegian Adventure

Christina here and once again I’m going to take you all armchair travelling! A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to go to Norway on a research trip. My older daughter and I drove around the southern part of the country covering 1230 km in five days! Exhausting, but very rewarding.

We began our trip in the capital, Oslo, a beautiful town situated next to the Oslo fjord. In the city centre old houses mixed with new, overlooked by the royal castle up on a hill at one end of the famous Karl Johan Gate (street). Everything was within walking distance, including the cathedral, the harbour and Akershus, a medieval castle.

A Yuletide Kiss

by Anne Gracie

Anne here, interviewing Mary Jo Putney about her delicious new Christmas story, which came out last week. A Yuletide Kiss, an anthology written with Madeline Hunter and Sabrina Jeffries, brings together three couples caught out by a snowstorm and stuck at the White Rose Inn in the days leading up to Christmas.

Anne: Mary Jo, you've written linked stories before with other authors — The Last Chance Christmas Ball comes to mind — but this was only with two other authors, instead of eight. How did you work to make the stories intersect? Were there any difficulties?

Mary Jo: Anne, we were both part of the Word Wench linked story anthology, so you know that it's real work!  In LCCB, we had eight authors contributing, but they varied greatly in how much the stories connected. (Susan King's Scots got snowed in and never made it to the ball at all. <G>) 

 

Musing on Tea and Gardens

Andrea here, musing today about tea. But first, a bit of backstory—last week MURDER AT THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, my latest Wrexford & Sloane Regency mystery, released and like most authors these days, I was madly busy doing various promos on social media. (The introvert in me confesses that such things aren’t my, well, er . . . cup of tea. I would much rather be sitting quietiy with my nose to the keyboard, pecking away at a new story.

However, one of the fun promos my publisher and I put together is with the marvelous Ripped Bodice Bookstore, the first all romance bookstore in America. They are running s special Instagram giveaway of a signed set of all my Wrexford & Sloane mysteries, as well as a Botanical Garden tea set. (It’s free to enter . . . sorry—U. S. only. Just click here, but be sure to hurry as it ends on Oct. 8th)

Farewell Blues

Farewell Blues: An Interview with Maggie Robinson

By Mary Jo

MJP: I'm delighted to welcome Maggie Robinson here today.  She started out in historical romance and is now writing historical mysteries.  She's here to discuss her recent release, Farewell Blues, fourth and last of her historical mystery Lady Adelaide series. 

Maggie, I've been enthralled by this series ever since you first told me the premise for book one, Nobody's Sweetheart Now.  Will you explain the setup of the series?  And tell us about the men in Addie's life!

MR:  I’m delighted to be here! Ah, the set up. It sounds…a little crazy. But I’m reminded of this description of The Wizard of Oz: “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets, then teams up with three strangers to kill again.”

Boiled down to its basics, there’s a widowed marquess’s daughter, the ghost of her philandering yet fatally charming husband, and a handsome Anglo-Indian detective. They team up not to kill but find killers through four light-hearted cozy mysteries.  (Nobody's Sweetheart Now, Whose Sorry Now, Just Make Believe, and Farewell Blues.)

What We Are Reading—The September Edition!

Andrea here, putting together our monthly feature on What We Are Reading. As usual, there's a wonderful range of intriguing books—so sharpen your pencil and start making a list! And be sure to tell us what YOU have been reading!

Anne: This month I'm recommending a new YA author and some re-reads — one a contemporary rock band series and the other historicals set in Europe in the 1930's and onwards.

The new YA author was recommended to me by a friend.  Sarah Dessen's Just Listen  was the first one I started with. It's about a young woman in her last years of high school. Annabel's life seems pretty perfect, until something devastating happens. She tries to deal with it by blocking it out and withdrawing, avoiding all confrontation. But when school starts up again after summer, her problems all come crashing back. She's lost all her friends and all her confidence. An unlikely friendship with another loner, Owen, shows her the way back. He's a music buff in an anger management program, and he helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. 
I loved this book and went on to read three more of Sarah Dessen's books. When YA books are this well written, they're not just for young adults.

The rock band reread came about from a wench discussion with Christina, when we were talking about our love of Kylie Scott's rock band series, and I suggested she read Karina Bliss. Rise is about Zander, the charismatic, outrageous singer and leader of the incredibly successful rock band Rage. After the old band split up, he's started the band again with new members, taking huge risks to rebuild their popularity in a Resurrection Tour. 
At the same time, he's invited Elizabeth, a prestigious and award-winning academic writer to write his biography — a controversial move for them both. But Zander is hiding secrets, and one that could explode all his efforts to rebuild his band and reputation. 
I read this (and the others in the series) seven years ago and I loved them all over again.

Lady Johanna St.John's Recipe Book

Nicola here. A couple of weeks ago I took part in the UK’s Heritage Open Days Festival, the biggest celebration of history and heritage in the country. The theme of this year’s festival was Edible England and our display, put on by the Friends of Lydiard Park in Swindon, centred on a most fascinating historical document, a “recipe” book that was created by Lady Johanna St John in the 17^th century. Lady Johanna, as well as having many menus for sumptuous banquets, also used vegetable, flower, and herbal cures for everything from piles to nosebleeds. These are also included in her books and referred to as “recipes” so there is everything from a mutton stew to a cure for cramp! Some of the recipes are also for cosmetic treatments, such as to make your hands soft. We tried that one and the mixture worked beautifully as a hand cream; the only problem was that the cream – and us – smelled very strongly of vinegar! In fact a number of ingredients in some of the recipes would raise eyebrows now, including the use of cow dung!

As part of the festival, we invited Lucy Whitfield, women’s history specialist, to choose and recreate some of the recipes for visitors in the walled garden at Lydiard Park. The garden, which was created in the Georgian period and restored in 2007, is divided into six sections with wide pathways, a well and a sundial. The narrow beds contain trimmed shrubs and perennial plants, alternating with individual flowers and bulbs. Along the walls and in the centre of flowerbeds are trained apple, pear, greengage, peach, plum, cherry, apricot and fig trees. A part of the garden is dedicated to growing the types of herbs and other plants that Lady Johanna would have used in her recipes so it was the perfect setting to showcase some of the ingredients from the book. (I took lots of pictures which I was hoping to use to illustrate this bog, but when I tried to post them up, they all came up upside down so I've had to improvise!)