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Christmas during the Civil War in 1862 from “Love Me Forever”

December 11, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Christmas during the Civil War in 1862 from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Christmas is the time of year when we put aside our differences and celebrate the joys of the season.

Even during the Civil War.

No better place to do that than Rosebriar Plantation on Christmas Eve 1862.

The beautiful antebellum house in Virginia has been turned into a battlefield hospital after the Battle of Fredericksburg with Union Army surgeon, Major Flynt Stephens at the helm. There they treat the wounded from both the North and the South.

There’s also a mystery afoot in the major’s eyes. He swears there are two women playing the role of his fiancée and the mistress of Rosebriar.

Identical twins.

But which is which?

Liberty (his lady in gray and a time traveler).

Or:

Pauletta Sue (belle and spy).

I hope you enjoy this excerpt from LOVE ME FOREVER, my Kindle Scout winner.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

~Jina

==============

December 24, 1862

Christmas Eve
Later that evening . . .

Flynt placed the metal star at the top of the Christmas tree.
Behind him, he could feel the stares boring into his back. Men from both sides lay huddled together in the great hall of Rosebriar, each one believing it was his tree with his Christmas star.
North or South.
He smiled. Wasn’t it Dickens who said every man should keep Christmas in his own way?
That was as it should be, he thought, stepping down from the ladder and standing back to admire the fifteen-foot-tall pine tree the soldiers had erected in the main receiving room. Peace on earth. For now. The yellow flag Flynt hung outside the grand house ensured every soldier knew it was a hospital and both Union and Confederate wounded lay inside. The fresh red,   white, and blue candles glowed brightly and the small net bundles filled with nuts and golden apples hung on the boughs of the tree. Someone had made a strand of beans and strung it around the bottom. Glass ornaments, round and blue and silver, hung on the top branches.
New-fashioned ornaments he’d bought on a whim back in medical school before the war. Who could have predicted this horrible conflict? And its casualties. Outside, a heap of amputated feet, legs, arms, and hands lay at the foot of an oak tree a few yards from the main house, waiting to be taken away.
Light, melting snow covered the pile.
But the weather was turning clear and mild.
He prayed that was a good sign and next Christmas would be different, though talk was the country was discouraged after the devastating Union loss two weeks ago at Fredericksburg. The people didn’t want to continue the war. If Burnside and the other generals couldn’t pull off a victory soon, he doubted if the government would get the support it needed to go on with the war.
That meant supplies.
Field hospitals were in want of fresh food, especially fruits and vegetables, causing cases of scurvy to break out. Rosebriar, on the other hand, had more than enough stored food and wood and, thanks to Pauletta Sue, the wounded benefited. They had fewer deaths and less cases of typhoid. It amazed him how a few changes in procedure saved so many lives.
Flynt let his gaze wander over the soldiers brought into the hall, most reclining on straw mattresses. Some had spent days in tent hospitals, lying on the frozen ground with only pine or twigs underneath their blankets. Every man able to sit up or raise his head was brought in to enjoy the Christmas celebration.
He’d never forget the look on the men’s faces when Pauletta Sue went around to each wounded soldier and gave him a small glass filled with brandy, insisting on using as many clean glasses as possible. Aunt Fairinda raised a ruckus in the kitchen, but she calmed down when she saw the men smile. He could still hear the hushed voices of his cook and the other servants oohing and aahing over the tree, saying it was just like the old days before the war started. Even Old Dan shed a tear. Surprised Virginia folk knew how to do up Christmas right, he’d said, like Tennessee folk.
And the singing.
Flynt’s heart warmed to the voices of the wounded men lifted up in the chorus of a popular holiday carol. Pauletta Sue’s light soprano rang out loud and clear. She sat at the pianoforte, her fingers skipping over the keys, turning her head and flirting with every man who caught her eye. He stood in the corner, watching her. Wanting her. His glance moving up and down her body, taking in her deep green silk dress covered with black velvet trim spread out around her, setting off her ivory-skinned beauty like emeralds surrounding a precious pearl.
The perfect mistress of Rosebriar.
Every man in the room envied him.
The real question on his mind was, was this Pauletta Sue from Tennessee?
Or his lady in gray?
It didn’t take him long to find out. Somehow, when he wasn’t looking, he swore they’d switched places. The two women were playing games with him. The lady in gray tended to the soldiers earlier, then the real Pauletta Sue took her place to entertain the officers.

 
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Creating the Perfect Environment for Your Writing by Connie Vines

November 13, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you know what you need from your environment in order to write?

If not, it is time to find out.

Our physical surroundings are immensely important to our writing process.
Far more important than most people think.

We cannot work if we are distracted, annoyed, or constantly interrupted.  We need to feel inspired and comfortable in our surroundings in order to be creative.

If your home office is cluttered with papers, laundry, and stacks of research materials, it is not the right place to write.

The mess might distract you and make you miserable, because it sends a signal about the kind of work environment you think you deserve.

It is just as bad if your office is empty. Writers work best in a creative atmosphere.
If inspiration disappears when you sit down to write you must reassess your surroundings.
Sometimes removing the clutter and reorganization of your work area will do the trick.  Other times, you need a more drastic approach.

Create a Place to Thrive.

I need privacy to work on big projects like a novel.  My Pandora app on my iPhone and my BOSE speaker create the perfect blend of music that centers me in my storyline. New Orleans Jazz now, but it was country and western when I was writing my rodeo romance. As a rule, I type or dictate to my computer while writing, but I keep a pen and composition book close by to make notes.

Do You Feel Inspired in Your Writing Place?

If not, what do you need to do to make your workspace inspirational?
Perhaps you are a writer who must have activity all around, all the time– 24/7.  Since my day job is at a middle school, I am unable to relate to such a need.  However, the library café, coffee shop, or park picnic table may be your perfect writing place.

Ditch the Distractions.

Television blasting, cell phone ‘pings’, Facebook alert messages, the must ‘do list’ at the corner of your desk, all must be out of sight.  I must have all other work in progress or notes on future projects in my filing cabinet.  If I have my notes visible, I am excessively tempted to work on this project too.

Make Your Writing Workspace Beautiful.  

Sit on a quality chair, fresh flowers (or display your roses from OCC), candles, a window, favorite mug, favorite pen.  Any item that makes you spend more time in your writing space.  What makes you happy?

Of course, a tailor-built writing space, or even a room dedicated as your office, is not always possible.  Be creative.  Find your personal writing space.

Remember the quickest way to writing success is sitting down and making it happen.

Happy Writing!

Connie Vines

Coming Soon
from BWL

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Cinderella’s Holiday Deal: My Kindle Scout Experience Part 6

November 11, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

And the Kindle Scout benefits just keep on coming…

Cinderella is a smart shopper and she loves a deal.

Especially from Amazon.

Amazon loves to promote their Kindle Scout winners (officially Kindle Press or KP Authors). I’ve seen my fellow authors show up on Kindle Daily Deals, as the lead book in emails, and earning that coveted “#1 Best Seller” Orange Banner.

Wow.

This month until November 30th, my Kindle Scout book, LOVE ME FOREVER is an Amazon Holiday Deal! The discounted price is $1.99. Check out my video below:


Love Me Forever is on sale for $1.99 — A Civil War time travel romance from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

KS_cook_books_Oct12

Another benefit is the wonderful support you receive from the other authors.

I’m so proud to be a Kindle Scout Winner and Kindle Press Author — a big bonus for me was meeting and hanging out with the other winners.

Such a talented, witty group — and good cooks, too!

So a bunch of us decided to cook our books. We’ve just released a FREE anthology of recipes: 

KP Authors (Kindle Press Authors) Cook Their Books. 

I hope you enjoy our recipes. Mine are from LOVE ME FOREVER. 

You can read an excerpt from my book along with a fun chat with my heroines, Liberty and Pauletta Sue.

~Jina
=============

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
  ================
 
https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
https://instagram.com/jinabacarr/ 
https://vimeo.com/user216350

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Cinderella’s Holiday Deal: My Kindle Scout Experience Part 6

November 11, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

And the Kindle Scout benefits just keep on coming…

Cinderella is a smart shopper and she loves a deal.

Especially from Amazon.

Amazon loves to promote their Kindle Scout winners (officially Kindle Press or KP Authors). I’ve seen my fellow authors show up on Kindle Daily Deals, as the lead book in emails, and earning that coveted “#1 Best Seller” Orange Banner.

Wow.

This month until November 30th, my Kindle Scout book, LOVE ME FOREVER is an Amazon Holiday Deal! The discounted price is $1.99. Check out my video below:


Love Me Forever is on sale for $1.99 — A Civil War time travel romance from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

KS_cook_books_Oct12

Another benefit is the wonderful support you receive from the other authors.

I’m so proud to be a Kindle Scout Winner and Kindle Press Author — a big bonus for me was meeting and hanging out with the other winners.

Such a talented, witty group — and good cooks, too!

So a bunch of us decided to cook our books. We’ve just released a FREE anthology of recipes: 

KP Authors (Kindle Press Authors) Cook Their Books. 

I hope you enjoy our recipes. Mine are from LOVE ME FOREVER. 

You can read an excerpt from my book along with a fun chat with my heroines, Liberty and Pauletta Sue.

~Jina
=============

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
  ================
 
https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
https://instagram.com/jinabacarr/ 
https://vimeo.com/user216350

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Cinderella’s got new glass slippers: My Kindle Scout Experience Part 4 by Jina Bacarr

August 11, 2015 by in category Writing tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3.)
 
Glass slippers don’t last forever…

But Kindle e-Books do.

So when Cindy discovered her treasured glass slippers had a crack in them…ow! It was time to get a new pair.

And that’s what’s been happening in publishing. It’s time to embrace new and different ways of getting our books to readers. That’s where the Kindle Scout program fills the gap. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, it’s been an amazing journey for me since I started my campaign with LOVE ME FOREVER, my Civil War time travel romance.

Last week I danced in my slippers when LOVE ME FOREVER went on sale.

Amazon sent me an email with the screenshots, showing LOVE ME FOREVER PR. My book was in the first slot on page one.

I’ve been blogging, too. Check out my posts on www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com  

Facebook Launch Party

 The Kindle Scout Authors did a 3-hour Facebook party. It was amazing…you can read all the comments and see what happened here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1755873821306210 

Time travel is my favorite genre, so I was thrilled to hit the Kindle e–Books>Romance>Time Travel Top 100 list several times. Here’s a graphic I made:

But most gratifying to me are the reviews:

“This is one of the best time travel historical novels I have ever read. I was hooked from page one. The descriptive scenes of the Civil War battles are so realistic that you find yourself imagining you are actually on the battlefield. I highly recommend this book.”

“Gripped me from the first page and wouldn’t let go until I finished the book HOURS later.”

“Rich in history and social issues, Love Me Forever is both deep and emotionally compelling. Another fine read from a Kindle Scout winner.”

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What’s next for me? I’m writing the sequel to LOVE ME FOREVER, “Love Me Always,”  where we meet up with the offspring of the one of the heroines and send her off on her own time traveling adventure!

Thanks for coming along with me on my journey.

~Jina

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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