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How far would you go to get thin? by Jina Bacarr

January 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as books, dance., fantasy, gown, prom, teen paranormal, young adult

The holidays just ended and already I’m getting emails from a major department store telling me it’s not too early to prep for prom.

Seriously?

I took a look at the dresses offered and I have to admit, $445.00 is pretty pricey for a dress you may only wear once. Or twice.

If you’re lucky, you get to wear your prom dress to a college dance, but by then it will be so “yesterday.” Not to mention it won’t fit if you fall victim to the Freshman Fifteen.

But what if you’re not going to the prom because . . . well, you hate yourself because you’re not thin. Who’s gonna ask you?

It gets worse.

When your arch enemy, the Duchess, bullies you about your weight, you lose it. Announce to the universe you’re going to

run against her for prom queen and you’ll anything to get thin. Anything. Even sell your soul.

Uh-oh.

Guess who shows up…and is Luke the hottest, sexiest devil you’ve ever seen. He promises you that you’ll get thin if you do what he says…

Find what that is in CRYSTAL GIRL when Kaylee makes a deal with the devil to get thin and win Prom Queen.

Available in Kindle and Kindle UnLimited

With all the talk about how women are viewed in the workplace, let’s not forget appearance is also a key factor. Actresses have been “ordered” to lose weight to get a part. Models, it seems, live on lettuce. And the rest of us, well, we see these gorgeous ladies looking like celery stalks and get on ourselves because we don’t look like that.

Thank goodness people are talking about how much women are paid in the workforce compared to men, and how they have to struggle against unwanted advances from men in power.

But we’re also victims of ourselves. The obsession to be thin. It’s not a new problem. I’m doing research now for a story set in the Victorian era and I came across an “X-ray” drawing of a woman’s ribs from using a corset. Pushed, squeezed into an unnatural, skeleton structure. No wonder women turned green. Literally. It was called chlorosis.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t keep a healthy weight. Healthy is the keyword here.

So if you’ve ever uttered those words, “I’ll do anything to be thin,” check out Crystal Girl and find out the price Kaylee paid before she found her way back.

CRYSTAL GIRL is based on a play I wrote that was produced at the Malibu Stage Company Theatre. It was very exciting to see my characters come alive on stage!!

Thanks for listening,

Jina

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Food: Adding Flavor to Stories

January 10, 2018 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Writing tagged as Charmed Writer, cookbooks, decription, food, rain, research, Tari Lynn Jewett, writing

Rain has been pouring off and on for two days. My driveway is a small pond, the backyard is more than saturated, all of our plants look perky and happy, and so am I. As long as I know that my guys are all safe, and I don’t have to go anywhere, I love a rainy day. When I was a little girl, cold rainy days meant that my mother probably had a simmering pot of soup on the stove, meatball, chicken noodle or navy bean…meatball was my favorite… and more importantly, there would be warm cookies waiting when I got off the bus from school. My boys could count on much the same when they were growing up.

It’s funny how a rainy day makes me think of my mother’s cookies, or my own little boys walking in the door inhaling deeply hoping for the aroma of their favorite chocolate chip, peanut butter or snickerdoodle cookies.

I just finished a Valentine’s novella, that will be releasing next month, and I’m working on my 1920’s historical women’s fiction novel, and even while I’m writing, food comes up. Some of my characters love to cook, others eat in fine restaurants, others eat absentmindedly at their desks while they work.

As a former food writer, it’s not surprising that I love to write about the dishes my characters enjoy…or not. Some of my favorite research is looking for recipes in antique cookbooks, new cookbooks, online or perusing restaurant menus. Old restaurant menus can give you a real taste of the times, great descriptions and even prices. And antique recipe cards or cookbooks can tell you how differently we cook today. The ingredients, cooking tools, and terminology all can be clues to the era or region of a story.

Since I love both books and cooking, I have a ridiculous number of cookbooks. I have culled the number after a couple of recent moves, but I look for them whenever I’m in used bookstores, and people often give them to me for gifts. One of my favorites is The One Maid Cookery Book, printed in London in 1913. I found this in an antique store. The minute I saw the title I knew I had to have the book. One maid, I have no maid! Oh, wait, I might be the maid!

Another is The American Woman’s Cook Book edited by Ruth Berolzheimer, and published by Garden City Publishing Company in New York, 1943. This book was left behind in a house my husband and I rented years ago. It’s filled with information on table setting, entertaining, menu planning for every day, holidays, or a limited budget. The pictures are wonderful and set a real flavor for the time.

The rain seems to have slowed outside, and my husband and youngest son will be home soon. I think I’ll go get something warm in the oven. Today I think I’ll go with the chocolate brownies that are loved by Lucy, the main character in my Valentine’s romance #PleaseSayYes.

What are your favorite food memories? Do you use food to set the scene or add to the story when you write? When you read do you skip the food descriptions or do they speak to you? Can you be found sitting in the bathtub reading a cookbook like a novel? Or maybe that’s just me…

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Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of the Unexplained

January 8, 2018 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Writing Contest tagged as Bethlethlem Writers Group, BWG, Writing contests

Short Story Award | Bethlehem Writers Group | A Slice of Orange

Announcing the

2018 Short Story Award

Opening on January 1, 2018

Bethlehem Writers Roundtable is looking for unpublished stories of 2000 words or fewer on the theme of Tales of the Unexplained

Send us your sweet, funny, or strange stories about wizards, clairvoyants, other-worldly creatures, vampires, werewolves, telekenetics, ghosts, goblins, witches, mediums, poltergeists, the supernatural, and other unexplainable experiences.

Contest closes March 31, 2018

For more information: https://sites.google.com/site/bethlehemwritersroundtable/short-story-contest

Winning stories from the Bethlehem Writers Round Table Short Story Award have been featured in the following anthologies: