Adventures in AI
December 28, 2025 by Alina K. Field in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field tagged as AI, Alina K. Field, historical romance, Marketing, Regency romance, writingHappy holidays, and Happy New Year! I’m back for another Quarter Days post.
A Controversial Subject
First things first: I know that the use of AI is a controversial topic among authors and other creators. I’m not one of the folks who use it to plot, write, edit, or create book covers or audiobooks.
For one thing, the slick, smarmy AI generated prose from scammers that arrives in my inbox is a deterrent–easily identified as machine-made. Here’s one message from November 17th regarding my recent release, Her Impeccable Scoundrel:
As we enter the most uplifting time of the year, I hope this season brings you joy, renewed inspiration, and continued success as you craft elegant, emotionally rich historical romances that captivate devoted readers. After reviewing Her Impeccable Scoundrel, [emphasis mine] I was struck by its refined tension, nuanced character development, and the deeply human struggle between duty, trust, and long-buried emotion. Blythe’s fight to reclaim her reputation and protect her inheritance combined with Graeme’s complex return, carrying both guilt and longing creates an irresistible Regency narrative filled with redemption, vulnerability, and slow-burning romance. It is exactly the kind of elegant, emotionally resonant story our seasonal campaign aims to highlight.
(Note that there is a seasonal campaign coming up, for which payment by author will likely be required.)
Release day for Her Impeccable Scoundrel was November 18th. Hmm, how did the AI bot read it before sending this message?
No doubt you authors reading here have received messages like this from book clubs, famous authors, marketers and unsolicited reviewers. If you haven’t heard of this new scam, Writer Beware has several posts on the topic.
This Quarter’s New Releases
It’s been a busy few months with new releases, two fun projects with the Bluestocking Belles, plus a full length novel in the Wicked Widows League multi-author series.
Love’s Perilous Road, a Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
Release Day, October 31, 2025
Travel, houseparties, smugglers, spies, a ghost–and a mysterious highwayman. Who is the infamous Captain Moonlight? And how many lives will he change–for good or for ill?
It’s the autumn of 1817 and Sir Peter Somerville and his lady are hosting a house party at their estate near Brighton, while a pesky highwayman plagues the surrounding byways.
Includes my novella, Sir Westcott Steals a Heart.
Purchase link: https://books2read.com/u/mqx0W6
Her Impeccable Scoundrel
Release Day, November 18, 2025
A widowed countess emerges from her year of mourning battling the dark legacy of her husband and dreading the arrival of the straitlaced scoundrel whose interference years earlier led to her unhappy marriage, a young man who was once her friend: her late husband’s heir.
Called back to England to take up his late cousin’s title, diplomat Graeme Blatchfield is eager to see his cousin’s widow and learn for himself whether the rumors about the woman he once held a childish infatuation for are true. Forced by matters of the estate to spend time together, he soon discovers the vulnerable and lonely woman underneath the society mask. Can he get her to forgive him—and more?
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/HerImpeccableScoundrel
Merry Belles, a Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
Release Day December 20, 2025
Just in time for the holidays, seven charming stories of romance from award-winning and best-selling authors:
- A murder brings a lady and her lost love together, just close enough to heal old wounds.
- A young lady must foil a friend’s betrayal to have her Yuletide wish for love come true.
- A widowed lord’s new housekeeper tames his rowdy boys and pierces his lonely heart.
- A lady determined to find her wayward young son finds herself stranded with the persistent earl trying to woo her out of widowhood.
- Will restoring a family manor together help two people acknowledge a secret attraction and claim a future together?
- A soldier’s wife is determined to find her missing husband, even if she must walk the length and breadth of England with her children in a wheelbarrow.
- Home from the wars, a soldier is shocked to learn that his fiancée plans to wed someone else. Can he reach her in time to prevent the nuptials?
Includes my novella, Lady Loughton’s Last Wager
Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/mvRGPj
Hope your holidays are going well! Wishing you many blessings for the New Year, and I’ll see you at my next Quarter Day post.
Reverie by Neetu
December 26, 2025 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as colors, day, joy, Neetu, sun, sunset
Reverie
Shall we dip our brush
in the deep blue dusk
so we may paint joy
we stole from
the passing day
before it grows dark?
No, I think I would rather
wait for the red sun
to draw bright rays
across our canvas
and let them dry
into permanence.
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
A New December by Veronica Jorge
December 22, 2025 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as December, Pennies from Heaven, Veronica Jorge
The last of the leaves have fallen from the trees and covered the ground in colors of orange, yellow, red and green. Some remain to blanket the base of trees. Others are gathered by children and will spend their new lives warm indoors as works of art.
The last of the pinecones have dropped to the ground one by one. They may be transformed into decorations that will last for years to come in a cozy home, and perhaps be passed down through the generations, having a home forever.
As I consider the leaves and pinecones, I imagine a December where falling pinecones transform into food to feed the hungry, and leaves into fabric to clothe those in need.
I think of the song, Pennies from Heaven, and pray that from heaven may fall help, provision, mercy, and blessings upon all.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on January 22nd!
Books Reviewed by Veronica
Full of Scorpions Is My Mind by Dianna Sinovic
December 13, 2025 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Bethlehem Writers Group LLC, Dianna Sinovic, Macbeth, Something wicked this way comes, weird sisters
My long relationship with “the Scottish Play” dates back to grade school, when I was assigned the role of one of the Weird Sisters (was the teacher trying to tell me something?). Two other girls and I paraded around a faux cauldron to intone those famous lines:
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
I’m pretty sure my class did not stage the entire five acts of Macbeth, which seems too macabre for that age group. But I suppose that early exposure to the witches/weyward ones led me to my writing path of paranormal and horror.
Seeing the play again recently reminded me how powerful it is, and how it still speaks to the human condition and the ability of power to corrupt. It is, according to Meghan Winch writing in the Lantern Theater’s program, “about an unfit and unaccountable ruler seizing power from the rightful sovereign” and illustrates that “the people below suffer most when there is instability at the top.” Stuff right out of today’s news feeds.
The play is also full of evocative phrases that live on even today, more than 400 years later: “when the battle’s lost and won”; “what’s done cannot be undone”; “I bear a charméd life,” and “the milk of human kindness,” among others. One particular phrase, in a line delivered by Macbeth, had special relevance to me as a mystery writer: malice domestic. These days it’s the name of an annual crime fiction fan convention.
The Lantern Theater in Philadelphia is an intimate space, a theater in the round; the onstage sparring with spears and swords took place only a few feet from the theatergoers. The aisle one seat to my right was a key passageway during the production: Macbeth and his Lady ran up that aisle, to murder Duncan, the king, and Macduff used it to discover the dead body. Settled in a front-row corner, I was so close to the action that I was probably the only audience member who could see the apparitions in Act IV, as they stood “hidden” behind a scrim to speak their lines.
And speaking of lines, a play (Shakespearean or not) embodies the oft-repeated “rule” in writing fiction: show, don’t tell. On the stage, dialogue and action are everything; there is no room for exposition. We understand the story via the words the characters speak and how others on stage react.
Regarding those infamous weird sisters, they seem to be more than mere witches. The lines they speak weave an incantation via the rhyme, the alliteration, and the strangeness of the words themselves. “Weird” from Shakespeare’s time did not mean “strange.” It stemmed from “wayward,” which referred to “destiny” or “fate.” As such, did the sisters make Macbeth commit the murderous crime? Or did that tendency lie within him all along?
That’s for you to decide.
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Dianna’s Books
BWG’s Books
Ending The Year with Flourish
December 12, 2025 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the year, Writing GoalsI love this time of year. Not just because it’s the holidays and the decorations and the festiveness of the season. But because it’s a time to reflect on all that’s happened this year. A time to review what took place. A time to plan for the next year. That’s why I titled this post ending the year with flourish.
I usually write a summary for our Christmas card on all the family has been doing this year. In my writing world, I like to fill out a summary of all that I accomplished and learned, both good and not so great. Usually the list is better than I realize, so it’s a good exercise. (I’m just starting with it as I write this blog post, so thank you, A Slice of Orange, for giving me a deadline).
I also assess my word of the year. For 2025 it has been Flourish. I have a word journal and I did not write in it very much this year. Not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I was busy flourishing and didn’t have as much time as I have had in past years.
Why Flourish?
First, let’s dive into what the word was about for me. If you look at synonyms for flourish, you get a feel for what I was focusing on this year.
Bloom. Thrive. Blossom. Brandish. Wave. Curlycue. Grow.
I wanted to flourish in my walk with God, my relationships, my writing, my work, and my health. I also wanted to help others flourish.
My previous years were Grow (2024), and Change (2023) and this built on that. I was ready to flourish. And I feel like I did just that.
How did I flourish?
In my personal life, I’ve added strength training into my workout regimen. I’ve stabelized some health issues I had been dealing with. My contract day job went permanent. My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary and took a three week trip to Europe together. We’ve been able to get together with many friends and family. In fact, tonight we are celebrating my father-in-law’s 90th birthday and earlier this year we celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. We’ve hosted a lot of family get togethers this year.
Writing specific end of year flourish
Since this is a writer’s blog, I won’t share more personal things, but dive into my writing list. Here’s a few things I would add under flourish for 2025:
- I released two books in 2025 – A Slight Change of Plans and No Plan at All
- My debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, was announced as a Carol Award Finalist
- I wrote the fourth book (for a 2026 release)
- I ran my first GoodReads giveaway
- I participated in 11 bookfunnel promotions
- I participated in a book club with eleven other new-to-me authors
- I participated in a round robin email exchange and gained more subscribers (crossing the 500 threshold)
- I sent out one newsletter a month
- I attended two writing conferences
- I’ve reviewed countless entries from my critique group
- I judged entries for two different contests
- I posted all 12 months on Slice of Orange Blog (here’s my archive link to my own posts – you can actually see where I flourished as things were happening)
- I posted 6 blog posts on my own website
- I’m currently writing a reader magnet
- I put together a proposal for 3 more books and am starting to write the first chapters to submit to my publisher
- I stretched myself to make reels on social media, more graphics
Well, wow. I hadn’t written all these out until now (and I keep thinking of ideas to capture – sorry the list got so long). That’s a pretty cool list. I think I did a lot of things that would fit in the flourish category.
How about you? What all happened in your life this year? Did you write new words? Complete a story? Pitch a story? Attend a workshop? Serve on a committee?
What comes next?
When I write out the rest of my 2025 review, I will include things that didn’t work as well. Tracking that is important too. It helps you know what not to focus on. Our time is limited and the choices we make with how we spend it matters.
To wrap things up, it’s been a great year. I’m very thankful for all of it. And have tried to enjoy every minute the best I can. Sometimes I was a little overwhelmed (okay, maybe a lot working a fulltime job, writing, and juggling family commitments).
Based on all of those things, I’m learning toward a word for 2026 that might help me in other areas of my life. We shall see. I’m still figuring out what that word will be. Stay tuned for my January post or watch for it on instagram or facebook once we head into the new year.
Other flourishing things
For now, I’ll leave you with a few Bible verses I had chosen for the word Flourish.
“In his days may the righteous flourish and peace abound, till the moon is no more.” Psalm 72:7
“As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes” Psalm 103:15
“May the LORD cause you to flourish, both you and your children” Psalms 115:14
And a few other quotes I found with the word Flourish in them
‘Who do you think you are?’ That’s the big one, isn’t it? A flourishing life depends on how you answer that. Robert Fulghum
When we tend to the areas of life that are important to us, when we make those things a priority, that’s when we will flourish in those areas. Victoria Osteen
There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish. Warren Bennis
To have produced a product where I had total creative control and see it flourish is like watching a baby grow. Karrueche Tran
May your December be full of flourishing. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
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