Beauty Sleep or Sleeping Beauty? by Connie Vines

Beauty Sleep, what I wouldn't give for a good night's sleep.  How many times have we uttered those very words during our adult life?

Rodeo Romance

Remember the luxury of childhood, when you could fall into a deep sleep--any time, any place?

What we learned as children from the Sleeping Beauty Fairytale:

Filled with jealousy, the evil witch Maleficent curses Princess Aurora to die on her 16th birthday. Thanks to Aurora's guardian fairies, she only falls into a deep sleep that can be ended with a true-love's kiss (from her betrothed, Prince Phillip ). To prevent Phillip from rescuing Aurora, Maleficent kidnaps and imprisons him. The good fairies are the last hope to free Phillip so that he can awaken Aurora.

This is not restorative sleep. Nor does it hold the key to longevity that woman (and people in general)  strive to attain. For most of my adult life I've managed to function on six-or-less hours of sleep each night.

Was it a subconscious fear (Sleep Beauty Syndrome)? Naw.  It was just reality and obligations crowding out the remints of a childhood sleep pattern.

I found myself reading articles and even interviews given by famous and not-so-famous people. Why? because my doctor help harping, "you need to have 7 - 9 hours of sleep each night."

I promised I'd try.  

He didn't believe me (I could tell). He wrote down the amount of Vitamin D and C I needed to take daily and scheduled me for a return visit.

What did I learn in my research? 

Betty White is a 98 year-old actress and comedian whose career has spanned 80 years. In promoting sleep she says, "Get at least 8 hours of beauty sleep, nine if you're ugly."

Pinterest Meme

"The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night at a Time" by Arianna Huffington (Harmony Books, 2017).  Sleep is considered an important part of our routine and is essential for survival, as are food and water. Recent research suggests that sleep has a housekeeping roll by removing toxins in our brain that accumulate when we are awake. For older adults, less than seven hours of sleep a night generally is considered insufficient. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine refers to a study by UCLA researcher who discovered that "just a single night of insufficient sleep can make older adult's cells age quicker.

Betty White was right! (No woman volunteers to become ugly).  

8 hours of sleep?  

Since I hadn't even hit the 7 mark, this was going to be a difficult milestone.

No coffee after dinner. 

No writing until 2:00 AM. 

No late night news programs, or crime shows.

Little by little (15 minutes each week), I was able to almost make 7 hours.

Do I feel better? 

Yes.

Can I inch my way up to 8 hours each night, maybe.

How about you?

Are you sleeping the recommended 8 hours each night?  

If so, what's you secret? 

Or are you making it a goal for 2021?

Do you need a little help?

Here's something I discovered:

Chocolate also contains tryptophan, which stimulates serotonin and melatonin. And serotonin and melatonin are believed to help sleep.

Yay! This is the preverbal carrot at the end of the stick.

And here's an easy recipe: 

Heaven in a Crockpot

Prep time: 20 mins. Cook time: 200 mins. on low

(I use a crockpot liner so this doesn't stick). Thought a non-stick cooking spray may work well.

1 box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix

1/2 cup of melted butter

4 eggs

1 pouch of Betty Crocker Chocolate Cookie Mix (also tried Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Mix)

Cream all together  (I added a little water because I thought it was too thick). Scrape the edges of the bowl to make certain it's well combines.  Spoon into crockpot.

The end result is a hot, gooey, lava-cake-like dessert.  

I spooned into individual (small) Mason jars to cool and store in the fridge.

You can top with ice cream, if desired.

And, yes, it does help you sleep.

 

Sleep well. Eat well. 

Indulge in a Romance Novel and Chocolate both soothe the soul and bring that touch of magic back into your life.

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed 2021,

My Books are on sale at Smashwords and Amazon!

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https://www.amazon.com/Connie-Vines/e/B004C7W6PE

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/connie-vines

Warm Slippers and a Mug of Hot Cocoa By Connie Vines

 It's the holiday season and my house seems a bit empty; some days a bit too quiet.

My sons are grown with children of their own. So, there is no need for me to bake dozens and dozens of cookies and candy goodies.  Nor am I semi-overwhelmed because I'm working full-time, shopping and prepping to entertain a group of twenty on Christmas day.

I do miss the sound of scampering feet and the laughter which filled the house before day-break each Christmas morning.  The general chaos of torn wrapping paper, scattered bows, and then searching through the debris for the missing parts to a brand-new toy. 

A bit of Christmas humor! 

But with time and dedication to family, laurels are gathered and there is time to enjoy a new chapter of ones life.  Time to listen and enjoy the Christmas carols, or the silence of the house.  Time to sit in front of a fireplace and enjoy the crackling of a fire.  Or watch the "Yule Log" the cable station will stream to your television set or computer.

I have discovered that a pair of warm slippers, a mug of hot cocoa, and a warm fleece blanket make me happy.  My two pups cuddle up on my Lazy Boy couch with me to watch a Hallmark movie, and for two hours, there is bliss.  

Slippers from the Grand Canyon (gingerbread boys and candy embroidery) from youngest grandson. 

I have also discovered that when we are able to spend time with loved ones and friends again, I will host a hot cocoa bar.  I will bake my cookies, gingerbread cake, and all the goodies everyone enjoys.  There will be laughter, music, and candid photos being taken and shared via emailed to each other. 

credit: Party City

I have also learned (which was a difficult concept for me to grasp.):

Is anyone able to provide an answer to this question?

I hope you enjoy your winter holidays and your 2021 is filled with joy and good health.

Warm Wishes and Gingerbread Kisses,

Connie

bookbub

My Publisher's Website/buy link

A widowed rancher and his young daughter rediscover the joy of the holidays from an unlikely source.
A beautiful woman with a mysterious past who's gingerbread cookies and kind heart bring
comfort and joy and can melt the most hardened-of-hearts.

 

Holiday Countdown and Romance is in the Air by Connie Vines

 Is anyone doing the 'holiday countdown'?  

I'm in the habit of allowing every celebration/holiday it's due. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. No holiday blends into the next. I do not shop on Thanksgiving Day, or the mid-night Black Friday Sale. The Christmas tree never appears until the second week of December.

This year, I've tossed the rules out the windows.  

A local FM radio station and a music channel on cable  began playing Christmas music the 1st week in November. I'm listening. I have Christmas candy displayed in my candy dishes and in my Bell jars in the cupboards.  I even purchased a package of Hershey's kisses that are called: Sugar Cookie. White chocolate with colorful sprinkles. They do taste exactly like a sugar cookies, too. 

I scroll though the cable stations on a daily basis, searching for the Yule Log. You know, the fireplace with roaring fire image that fills your television screen, while the chamber music soothes your nerves via your sound-bar. Or the version with the puppies jumping around wearing Santa suites, with the bouncy music that quickly gets on your nerves. 

The fragrance of spices, cookies, hot cocoa fill the home with comfortable and familiar memories.

2020 has been challenging for everyone.  

Perhaps this is why I'm rushing into Christmas this year.

I love 'warm and cuddly' romance novels during the holidays? 

Romance novels with Cowboys, Kisses, Families, and old-fashioned values.

Stories where little girls, and little boys, have a special request for Santa. And there is always, always a happy-ending.

The holidays are a magical time, a time filled with memories and hope for a better future.

Classic holiday music, classic movies, family recipes and classic romantic stories.

What 'new' traditions are you planning for your holiday this year?

If you are looking for a cowboy romance. . . As luck will have it, Lynx (Rodeo Romance Book 1) is specially priced at $1.49 for Kindle!

https://www.amazon.com/Lynx-Rodeo-Romance-Book1-ebook/dp/B00ATSATM2

Brede (Rodeo Romance Book 2) is available at your favorite book retailer: htpts://books2read.com/Brede

Wishing all of my readers a holiday season filled with blessings and joy.

And Warm Wishes and Gingerbread Kisses for 2021!

Connie Vines

 

It's National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day! Let's all Celebrate by Connie Vines

Even those who know her/his way around the kitchen, are able to relate to the occasional--or daily kitchen mishaps.  

Writing, Painting/Drawing, Music, and Cooking are classified as the 'Arts".  I find creative people are usually gifted, to some degree, in all of the Arts. (I'm also inclined to include gardening under the Arts umbrella, however, that's another blog post.)

Culinary arts, in which culinary means "related to cooking", are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals.

I must admit most of my 'heroines/heroes" are able to cook.  However, as in real-life, there are Kitchen Klutzes in my novels, too.  I must also confess, I routinely have more than my share of kitchen mishaps.  Especially, since we have all been spending a great deal of time cooking family meals these past couple of months.

June 13th honors those who would like to cook and be in the kitchen, but it just doesn’t seem to work well for them. After all, it is National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day.

Klutz:  most commonly referred to as a clumsy person.




Kitchen Klutzes are the people who set out with the intentions of being like Ree Drummond, Molly Yeh, Gordon Ramsey, or even the great Julia Child as they open up the cookbook.   Mixing bowl or Kitchen Aide mixer and ingredients on the counter, they imagine knife cuts as swift as Wolfgang Puck or Bobby Flay. However, reality quickly dissolves all those dreams as smoke billows from the oven, skillets erupt in flames, and salt is mistaken for sugar. Those knife cuts turn bloody, cookies and fingers are burnt, cakes go flat. The Kitchen Klutz has struck, and visions of spilled milk are pitifully cried over.

It may be necessary to keep a first aid kit and fire extinguisher handy when Kitchen Klutzes are around. Eat a sandwich before going over to dinner. Be ready to call 911 and have your favorite take out restaurant on speed-dial if things don't go well.

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalKitchenKlutzesDay

There several ways to celebrate this humorous holiday.

Laugh at yourself. Share your mortifying stories of kitchen failure over a slice of microwave pizza.

Give your favorite Kitchen Klutz the gift of cooking classes. Or, better yet, offer to cook.

Watch your favorite cooking flops show.

Don’t forget to share your stories and celebrations using #NationalKitchenKlutzesDay on social media.

Or try a few of these never fail meals.

Walking Tacos

Heat a can of chili in the microwave (in anticipation of stove top misadventures).

Take smaller single-serving packs of Fritos and then slice them open on the side, then serve the chili right inside the packets of Fritos. Add in additional toppings of cheese, diced onions and minced jalapeños. You just hand everyone a fork and they each have their own individual servings of Frito Chili. It makes for an easy cleanup too!


Crab Fondue (For that Romantic Evening Meal)

Nobody really needs a reason to eat more cheese, but this crab fondue recipe is a good one. Crab meat (or imitation crab) and packaged cheese, this fridge and pantry meal is easy yet satisfying.

8 ounces cream cheese, cubed and softened
1 pound processed cheese, like Velveeta
1 cup dry white wine
12 ounces canned crab meat
1 dash of Old Bay seasoning, or to taste
In a fondue pot, slowly melt the cheeses in the dry white wine.

Fold in the crab meat.

Heat through.

Serve with crusty French bread, cut into squares.

Please share a recent, or memorable meal, you prepared. You know, it's the story which is forever embedded in the family oral history.

Let me share my first kitchen mishap.  I was a new bride and prepared Gumbo for dinner  (my husband is from Louisiana).

Gumbo requires a thickening agent.  I like okra (my paternal grandmother was from Texas and she prepared fried okra).  I also added ground sassafras powder.  This adds a fruit sweet flavor and also smells like root beer.  It is part of Cajun and Creole cooking--also a thickening agent.



Well, my gumbo had to be pried from the pot because it had the consistency of a paste.  Very thick, very hard paste. The rice, cornbread and pecan pie were delicious.  Not a healthy meal, for certain, but it stuck to our ribs for several days.


HAPPY NATIONAL KITCHEN KLUTZES DAY EVERYONE!

Connie Vines


Remember to sign up for Romance Gems Contest!





Connie Vines Website

Oh, Now Everyone Wants to Know What Introverts Do for Fun by Connie Vines

Amidst the COVID-19 stay at home order, it may be tempting to keep your eyes fixed on the TV or social media news feeds.

Instead, I encourage readers to use this time as a gift.  This is a rare opportunity to turn this isolation to your advantage; because the world is improved when its occupants are inspired and motivated, rather than anxious and overwhelmed.

Tonight, April 12th, at 11:55 pm, I’m motivated to create a few ‘fictional characters’ showing how he/she will answer the ‘Call to Adventure’ (Joseph Campbell’s classic, “Hero with a Thousand Faces” lectures and teaching materials).  Personality Types:  IB Learner Profiles.

My fictional “Call to Adventure” takes place in a house shared by a diverse set of ‘co-habitats’.  Current location: a mid-sized kitchen.   Mood: Frayed.  Day: 21

Cast of characters:

• Risk-taker: a person who is willing to do things that involve danger or risk in order to achieve a goal. (think: Indiana Jones/James Bond).

• Care-giver:  a person who is concerned with others feelings, focusing more on the care and needs of others. (think: Marie Barone, Everyone Loves Raymond).

• Communicator: a person able to understand and express information confidently, works well with others. (think: Radar, M.A.S.H.)

• Inquirer: a person who has a natural curiosity and conduct research. (think: Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series).

• Knowledgeable: a person who explores concepts, issues which have local and global significance. (think: Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Spock).

• Reflective: a person who is able to assess and understand strengths and weaknesses. (think: Batman)

Call to Adventure:

“We are entering an era of unprecedented recipe substitutions!” wails the Communicator, peering into the jumbled cupboard, searching for something, anything, to toss into the crock pot for the evening meal.

The Care-giver:  looks up from her organized arrangement of plastic containers.  “Why are you people taking your vitamins? People deficient in Vitamin D (and, most of us are) who start taking the supplement every day (400iu/40mcg), can get a 70% reduced risk of contracting any viral (or bacterial) respiratory disease. This is based on a rigorous scientific double blind, placebo study of 10,000 people. If you don’t get enough sunshine, take Vitamin D pills, or eat foods like tuna and egg yolks. . .Which I watched on this amazing YouTube lecture—”

“Really?” the Communicator interrupts.  “I’m worried about—”

“Here,” says the Risk-taker, plunking a plastic bag of dried red beans from next to the crockpot.  “Cook these!” he says before exiting out the back door yank a couple of leaves off the laurel tree in the backyard.

The Knowledgeable-person, fills a large pot with water and places it on the stovet op before setting the burner to medium.  “I’ll rise the beans and remove any agricultural debris. Afterwards, slow boil the beans for 20 minutes, drain and place in the crock pot.”

The Communicator smiles but still looks concerned.

Looking up from is journal, the Reflective-person, says,” I understand your concern, but you can add the canned tomatoes, onions and bell peppers from the freezer.  I believe there’s also a frozen ham hock you and toss also.  Red beans and rice are filling.

“Cayenne pepper, have many health benefits that are the result of their active component, capsaicin. They may reduce your appetite and help lower blood pressure, among many other benefits.” The Care-giver, added to the conversation.

Setting-up a speaker on the counter, the Inquirer adjusts the volume control on here iPad. “I’ve made a playlist for us to listen today.  Only feel-good songs.  I can make additions, if anyone has a request.”

The Risk-taker returns to the kitchen, holding several lemons.  He walks over to the sink and carefully cleans and quarters the fruit. “We can add this to the iced-tea.”

Music plays in the back ground while everyone enjoys a glass of iced tea.

##

Everyone has his/her own way of coping with the stress of being sheltered inside. 

Cooking, gardening, talking on the phone, meditating, taking an online class; or for the extroverts, a zoom class or live-streaming exercise workout may provide a positive recharge.
 
I like to write, exercise with my poodle (picture yoga with goats) and hunt for the missing-pouncy-ball.  I also keep in touch with family and friends via social media and phone calls. I also, as I'm certain you know from following my blog posts and Facebook page, I like to organize my kitchen.  I also have a obsession with canning jars.

Remember to find a good story to read.  It will brighten your day and give you something to talk about over dinner or in a call to a friend.

Be kind to yourself.  This means taking time for yourself, even if your day is filled with taking care of your loved ones. 

We will get through this—Together.

Remember, to follow the links for our April Raffelcopter prize and give-aways.  You will need to look for my ‘Easter Egg”


.Page link for contest

Happy Reading,

Connie Vines

Friday the 13th—the SpooOoky Date is Anything but Unlucky—Especially for Love by Connie Vines

You know the deal: Friday the 13th is a ghoulish and distressing day that will bring bad luck our way. 

Stop screaming-- the opposite is true.

 Contrary to superstitions, the number 13 is actually an essential number for life. The Moon (the intimate feminine planet in astrology) has 13 orbits in a year, the average woman menstruates 13 times a year (at the most), and 13 is the number of the Great Goddesses (of past and current cultures).

Friday itself is known as Venus’s day—a moment of relaxation and embracing sexual desires. In numerology, the number 13 is a master number that helps us manifest our desires.

In other words: It’s fine. You’re gonna be fine!

Wikipedia-common use photo

This Friday the 13th is actually positive for romance and dating. It’s a fruitful day to connect with others and to embrace passions. The Grand Water Trine among the Moon, Mars, and Neptune will create a tender and seductive vibe—one we will all not want to miss out on. It’s a fabulous time to schedule a date to form a solid connection. Expect to talk all night and hold on to your date’s every word (and vice versa too).

Venus and Pluto link up on the 12th, and while some may say this conjunction can make for extra-intense emotions (when these two planets collide, sparks—the good kind—fly. Expect a deep commitment to form on Friday the 13th…or luck on a first date or a fun romantic interlude with our one and only).

Don’t fear Friday the 13th! It’s actually lucky!


As always, I love to add an easy to prepare meal for my readers to enjoy.

Line your sheet pan(s) with parchment paper, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Gather your fresh veggies: wash and toss in olive oil.

Pan 1: Fingerling potatoes, cut length-wise, peeled and chopped parsnip, broccoli, mini-carrots, cook for 20-30 minutes.

Pan 2:  Fresh green beans, 4 eggs in shells.  I begin this pan about 10 minutes later since cooking time is more difficult to gauge. When the eggs are a soft hard-boiled state, place in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking process.

(If you have veggies in the fridge looking a little past their prime, chop them up and adjust the cooking time.)

If I’m dining alone, I arrange the butter lettuce on a single dinner plate; dining with others, a decorative platter makes a colorful and appetizing display.

Top with: roasted veggies, heirloom tomatoes, olives, smoked or canned (wild-caught) salmon or tuna.  I prepare a mustard/mayo/champagne vinegar dressing and drizzle on top.  (you’ll notice I took the photo before adding the olives.)

Remember Romance Gems still has our March Contest if full swing!)

Need a touch of Gothic Romance, this Friday the 13th?  Download my novella,
“Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”.  It's 1/2 price at Smashwords all month, too!

smashwords         bookswelove.net bookstore     books2read     

  

Or at your favorite ebook site!

The Scents and Memories of the Holidays by Connie Vines

In an earlier blog post I touched on the impact of scents on memory and emotions. 

Mini Science Lesson: Scents bypass the thalamus and go straight to the brain's smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, which might explain why the smell of something can so immediately trigger a detailed memory or even intense emotion.

Now to the good stuff:  You might have noticed that the smell of grass and rubber cleats can bring back the memory of childhood soccer games in starker detail than watching a home movie of one of those games.  Or the scent of fog on alfalfa triggers a memory of horses trotting over, hooves pawing the ground in excitement, or a gentle nudge against your shoulder to let you know it’s past sunrise. Smells have a stronger link to memory and emotion than any of the other senses, and neuroscience may know the reason why.

When you see, hear, touch, or taste something, that sensory information first heads to the thalamus, which acts as your brain's relay station. The thalamus then sends that information to the relevant brain areas, including the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory, and the amygdala, which does the emotional processing.

This is why certain scents seem to transport you back in time.

My sons are married with families of their own but I still like to fill my home with fragrances of the past, the future, or holiday warmth.

I thought I’d share my simple ways to create ‘holiday scents and rekindle holiday memories’.
I use simmering potpourri for the house. 

While some simmer a mixture of spices on the stove.  I prefer mini crock-pots.

I find that I usually have my ingredients in my kitchen cupboards or refrigerator bin to create my holiday scent.

(onegoodthingbyJillee -photo credit)

Simmering Holiday Potpourri

1/2 orange, sliced
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1/2 cup of fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon cloves, whole or ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Add all the ingredients to a small crock-pot. The one I use is a dip crock-pot that came with my regular-size slow cooker. Fill the crock-pot with water about one inch below the rim.
For a regular-sized crock-pot you can triple the recipe; or double the recipe to to simmer on the stove in a medium sauce pan.

Soon your house will smell like holiday happiness!

Holiday Outdoor Potpourri
lemon, sliced

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon vanilla
(follow simmering instructions as listed above.)

Simmering Holiday Potpourri II

1/2 orange, sliced
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1/2 cup of fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon cloves, whole or ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg

What does your home smell like during the holidays?

I, like my mysterious heroine in “Brede”, Rodeo Romance Book 2, like the scent of gingerbread cookies.  This will be simmering in my mini-crock-pot this weekend.

Favorite scents?  Please share in the comments section.

Remember it’s our Candy Kisses contest and giveaways this month.

May your Holidays be filled with Warm Wishes and Candy Cane Kisses,

Connie 

Word Counts. Are They Carved in Stone? by Connie Vines

The ‘how long?’ question has to be one of the most commonly asked by new authors – perhaps even experienced ones, too. It was certainly one of the first to pass my lips when I began to cross genres.

“What’s the age range?” I asked a multi-published at my local OCC/RWA Chapter monthly meeting.
“I’m thinking of aiming for older children,” I told her.
“That would be ages eight to twelve, then. In that case, it should be between 30,000 and 50,000 words.”

The precision of her answer was satisfying, but it also piqued my curiosity.
“Why that particular length?”

“It’s just considered to be the ‘right’ length at the moment for that age range,” she explained. “Not too long, not too short.”

This ‘Goldilocks’ principle is good general advice to keep in mind, but there are also more specific factors to consider that will help you nail the ‘right’ length for whatever genre book you’re writing. While you should work to your natural style, it’s advisable to be aware of and (as much as possible) write to the length that publisher and readers expect (logon to a publisher’s website for ‘publisher-specific’ guidelines.)

Type of book and target audience

You can hone in on an idea of ‘how long’ simply by categorizing what kind of book you’re writing and its target audience. Clearly, any six-year-olds without the miraculous intellect of Roald Dahl’s Matilda aren’t going to want to read something the length of A Tale of Two Cities. Similarly, most adults won’t be very interested in a 40-page picture book.

Most of the data I’ll be using throughout this article was sourced from Writer’s Digest and personal experience.

Children’s picture book: 500–600 words over 32–48 pages.

Children’s chapter book: 1,000–10,000 words.

Middle grade: 20,000–50,000 words.

Young Adult (YA): 40,000–70,000 words.

Flash fiction: 500 words or less.

Short Story: 5,000–10,000 words.

Novella: 10,000–40,000 words.

Novel: Anything over 40,000 words. Anything over 110,000 words is an ‘epic’.
Adult literary and commercial fiction: 80,000–100,000 words is considered to be the ‘Goldilocks’ zone, though you could get away with 70,000 words minimum and 109,000 words max.

Genre

Again, when considering the authority of agents and publishers, “adhering to the expected word count demonstrates that you understand your market.” The ‘right’ answer to ‘how long should my book be?’ is dictated by the audience’s expectations.

Genre has more influence on book length than you might think...

Here’s a guide to the recommended lengths for genre books.

Sci-fi/Fantasy: 90,000–120,000, anything over 150,000 words might be testing for your readers. As I just touched on above, books in these genres are allowed and expected to run longer than others. This is due to the amount of world building required to introduce a reader to a fictional setting, but be careful not to let this expectation manipulate your natural style.

Historical: As above.

Romance: 50,000–100,000 words. The wide range for this genre is because of the number of sub-genres that it can divide into: supernatural, erotica, historical, ‘chick-lit’, etc.  It’s also worth bearing in mind that longer romance novels seem to be the trend du jour, with bestsellers Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey both comfortably over 100,000 words.

Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Horror: 70,000–90,000 words.  Suspense is key to all of these genres. Pacing is vital in creating suspense, which means it couldn’t be any more important to nail the word count.

Personal style

While you should certainly keep the data I’ve provided in mind, being too prescriptive about sticking to word counts will only impede your personal writing style. If you end up way under the standard word count, you know that you either need to slow the pace a little or flesh out some underdeveloped areas.

How are your word counts?  What word count is your 'comfort zone'?

I am happiest between 50,000 - 60,000 words.  However, I am more comfortable deleting words, rather than increasing my word count.

Where do you fall in the 'word-count' comfort zone?

Readers. what length of novel is your favorite?

Bonus: 

Since it is Friday the 13th, I thought I'd add a little bit of history concerning the 'unlucky day'.

Just like walking under a ladder, crossing paths with a black cat or breaking a mirror, many people hold fast to the belief that Friday the 13th brings bad luck.

While Western cultures have historically associated the number 12 with completeness (there are 12 days of Christmas, 12 months and zodiac signs, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 gods of Olympus and 12 tribes of Israel, just to name a few examples), its successor 13 has a long history as a sign of bad luck.

Fear of the number 13 has even earned a psychological term: triskaidekaphobia.

What bad things happened on Friday 13th?

On Friday, October 13, 1307, officers of King Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar, a powerful religious and military order formed in the 12th century for the defense of the Holy Land.

Imprisoned on charges of various illegal behaviors (but really because the king wanted access to their financial resources), many Templars were later executed. Some cite the link with the Templars as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition, but like many legends involving the Templars and their history, the truth remains murky.

How do you feel about Friday the 13th?  Are you apprehensive?  Do you stay indoors?

Or are you like me?  I go about my business and count the days remaining until I can decorate, and plan my 'spooktacular'  Halloween fun day, for my grandchildren.

Happy Reading & Writing!

Connie

BookBub

www.novelsbyconnievines.com

https://books2read.com/Lynx

The Key to Your Heroine—Is Hidden Your Closet? by Connie Vines @connievines #RomanceGems

Research is my middle name.

I plan family vacations to include possible ‘future book settings’, ‘historical events’, ‘regional foods’—well, you know where I’m going with this.

Research often required hours spent at the public library using the card catalog.  Oh, how the Internet has simplified my life.

However, breathing life into your heroine, and bringing your story to life, are all elements that writers spend hours and hours perfecting.

Sensory details, setting, motivation, and that ‘something’ which is the spark of each and every story is often elusive.  Sometimes, just sometimes, the pieces of your fictional universe fall neatly, and unexpectedly, into place.

Today this is what happened to me.

While sorting through my closet, I discovered a treasure of carefully-packed-away-items.  Being the eldest daughter, I’ve acquired the family photos, was blessed with the oral histories of grandparents and great-grandmother, and other relatives.  I carefully placed the items on my bed.  I was fingering a silk scarf of my maternal grandmother’s, noticing blending of colors, threads of silver catching the light when I realized I was holding a moment of her life.  A snap-shot of who she was, who she wanted to be—a time before she was my grandmother.

Had she gone shopping with her sister or her mother to purchase this scarf?  Or had she ridden the EL, after work to a department store in Chicago?  Was she going to a dance? To the theater?
Her parents immigrated from the region of Bohemia in Czechoslovakia (before it became the Czech Republic) and she was the youngest of six children. 

I located pieces of her jewelry, the scarf still smelled faintly of her perfume (or was it simply my memory of her fragrance?).  I found her beaded evening bag.  I recalled a photo taken when she and her sister worked as extras in the motion pictures of the 1920 and 1930s.  They stayed with their older brother (musician, Tony Lada of the Louisiana Five) in San Monica, California.  I was certain I had it in a box, perhaps already scanned to my computer.

  YouTube Louisiana Five

This is how I discover my heroine and my hero.  My characters become living, breathing people—step by step; their stories are revealed to me piece by piece.

I may have the start of a synopsis for my next novel in the works.  What do you think?

Rudolph Valentino? (Catch his silent movies on YouTube—he was a hottie!)

I also have my great-great-grandmother’s butter churn from the 1800s—but that’s another story.

So, what treasure do you have hiding in your closet?

I'd love to hear your family history story :-).  What treasure did you find?

Happy Reading,

Connie Vines

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