This week’s word is FIXITY.
Fixity means permanent or unchanging. It’s a tough one to use in a sentence, isn’t it? It dates from the 1670s and perhaps should stay there. It’s derived from the Latin of fixitas.
I think I’ll stick to the synonym of fixity and use stability.
I’ve long been a fan of doors. Wherever I go, I find doors that intrigue me. Red doors on churches signified sanctuary in medieval times and I have lots of photos of red doors. Old doors with peeling paint are inspiring and beautiful to me. I love to see a door with character. Here are a few from my recent travels. Enjoy!
I thought I might try a new thing here so I can get this blog more active so I’m going to try to do a word definition every week. Here’s the first one which is one that should be important to every blogger,right?
DEMOGRAPHIC: A demographic is the characteristics of a certain population such as age, income, education, and interests.
We all hope as bloggers that we are reaching the group we want to reach, aren’t we? Otherwise, aren’t we spinning our wheels and merely amusing ourselves with a hobby?
I’m reading a book about and by a former undercover ATF agent called Assassin Hunter. It’s an amazing story of bravery and I’m in awe of the man who wrote it. I met him this past weekend and he’s an intriguing and interesting man. Reading this book about his experiences in the undercover world is making me admire him even more. The experiences he describes are pretty harrowing. This real life story reads like a novel but it gives me chills as I realize how easily it could have turned out tragically for this man.
To meet him, the first impression you would have is that he’s mild-mannered and polite but man! under that exterior must beat a heart of steel. He’s gutsy as hell. My admiration for this man and all he did is growing more as I continue to read. I’m not even finished with it and I highly recommend this one. Run and grab your copy now! Here’s a link to make it easy.
Michael Crawford has an absolutely beautiful voice and I love his Christmas album- here’s one of my favorite songs.
Hildie McQueen is hosting a flash fiction month on her blog and Jillian is there today with her 498 word story called “Holly” – the rules were romance and under 500 words and use the word Holly. Go see how she did, here.
Jillian Chantal has a free read available today from Desert Breeze Publishing- there are quite a few over there and I encourage you all to head over and download them- it will give you a chance to check out the writers’ styles and see if you like their work. I love that DBP gives their authors the option to do this each year (the free reads from prior years are available, too). This was Jillian’s first year to do it and I love this little story – it’s called Christmas on St. Charles Avenue and takes place in New Orleans- Here’s the blurb and cover: Isn’t the cover wonderful? The present means it’s a present to you- FREE! Merry Christmas from the Gambler and his family as well as the author.
BLURB: New Orleans, Christmas Eve, 1947: Brothers, Dirk and Beaumont McSwain are both about to become fathers. Dirk’s wife has had a number of miscarriages and at thirty-six years old, is afraid this is her last chance for a healthy baby. Bo’s wife is pregnant for the first time. Both are due to give birth soon. The brothers arrange a surprise ride for their women in Papa Noel’s sleigh which is actually a horse drawn carriage with fake reindeer. The evening starts out merry and bright but before the night is over, they will need a Christmas miracle. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-394/The-Gambler%27s-Inheritance-cln–Christmas/Detail.bok
Free Read
I know, I know, we all have huge TBR piles but I’m going to highly recommend this anyway. It’s a lovely story about a dance hall girl who lived over 100 years prior to the present day. She came to a tragic end. Her story is told partially through the diary of a policeman who rented out rooms to her and her family. The story switches from modern day to the past times seamlessly.
The protagonist in the present day, Annie, finds the perfect house to move into when her husband’s job brings him to London. They move in with their daughter. Annie feels an affinity with the house but her husband grows distant. She starts to research the prior inhabitants of the home and finds out about Lily Painter and her tragedy.
It’s such a beautiful story, it stayed with me for quite a few days after I finished it. I have a habit of giving away books now after I read them since I don’t have room to keep them all – this one stays. It’s haunting and so well written, I have to say that if you get a chance to read it, you definitely should. I really can’t emphasize this enough, you need to read this book.
It’s release day for The Gambler’s Brother from Desert Breeze Publishing. This is a historical novel from 1946. It’s a war bride murder mystery novel. It’s book two of a series but it’s not necessary to have read the first novel since the plot is totally separate from the first book. The protagonists from the first book make appearances but there’s no confusion about who they are.
Being a huge Alan Rickman fan, I’ve always wanted the Die Hard franchise to bring him back as his brother. Alas, that’s not to be but at least this Christmas season, they’re bringing in his son. I also love that they are using one of my favorite bands’ music in the film. At about 1:40 mins into this trailer is the music of TSO- Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Now, if they could only resurrect Hans, it’d be perfection.
Ramblings of a Writer 