 It’s that time again! Let’s delve into the quaint expressions found throughout Clingstone. What if we still used these quirky sayings in everyday conversation? Any chance these will ever catch on again? Enjoy these examples from my book along with examples of their usage in modern-day situations.
Between you and me and the lamppost-gossip shared in the strictest confidence EXAMPLE: “Betwixt you, me, and the lamppost, Loretta’s cooking gives me terrible inflammation of the belly—” EXAMPLE: “My dog has inexplicably developed a fear of shiny floors. Between you and me and the lamppost, I think she’s finally lost her little doggie mind.” To cudgel one’s brains-think hard about something EXAMPLE: “You just now thought of that?” Lucinda asked, tone dry. “Don’t cudgel your brains thinkin’ too hard on matters, Pru.” EXAMPLE: “No matter how hard I cudgel my brains, I can’t fathom how my beloved Outlander on Starz didn’t get nominated for more than two measly Emmys.” To laugh up one’s sleeve- to be secretly entertained; to laugh behind someone’s back EXAMPLE: “So you said. And apparently I had nothin’ better to do than hide from you. Did you think I was tiptoeing behind a bush, laughin’ up my sleeve? Let’s be fair and square about this. You were the one who ran off and left me, remember?” EXAMPLE: “Pokémon Go is quickly spiraling out of control. The latest gaffe includes players trespassing at Area 51. The aliens must be laughing up their sleeves."
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Award-winning author Regan Walker has just posted a review of Clingstone! Click here to read the full review at Regan's historical romance blog! "CREIGHTON IS A COMPLEX, NOBLE HERO; MAE IS A FEISTY HEROINE WITH AN INDOMITABLE SPIRIT...JUST WHAT CREIGHTON AND HIS NEPHEW NEED. THEIR ADVENTURES ON THE WAY TO LOVE WILL KEEP YOU TURNING PAGES." "Creighton was a gift to be unwrapped. I absolutely fell in love with that man. i'm a fan of historical romances, and clingstone is great historical romance." -Christina Oswald, once upon an alpha  Sometimes the universe sends us a wink. Maybe it isn’t a wink at all, but merely coincidence, but even that explanation is fine by me. It’s still entertaining when it happens. Do we find meaning in random events? Is it merely statistics that dictate we’ll eventually encounter something that has personal meaning to us? Probably. But we can still enjoy the moment and run with it. Let me back up a bit. Originally, I was going to use imagery related to history and romance for my website pages: vintage stereographs of brides and grooms, old-fashioned lace gloves, pretty candles affixed in puddles of wax, and a beautiful stone pot that I reimagined as an ink pot for a writing quill. I went to an antique mall and bought several items that fit the bill. I took numerous photographs but, as is often the case with art, the concept and the results didn’t quite mesh. After several failed conceptualizations, I nixed the idea entirely and settled on outdoor photographs from my past vacations and day trips instead. I kept the beautiful stone pot, though. Someone had taken the time to mold it and fire it, only for it to end up on a shelf in an antique mall among hundreds of jars and crocks and bottles. I wondered about the artist who had sculpted it. I wanted to position it someplace where it could be admired, and so I placed it on my kitchen windowsill. I never thought to turn the pot over and look at the bottom. Last week, I filled its tiny reservoir with water and placed a sprig of catmint in it. When the purple flowers began to fade and it came time to dump out its stagnant contents, I blinked in astonishment at the letters engraved on the bottom of the pot: Mae. My heroine’s name was on the bottom of the pot. I laughed aloud and placed the small clay pot back on my kitchen windowsill. Who cares if it’s only hubris that makes us think the universe stops to send a wink our way? It’s comforting, even if it’s only our imagination at play. Now, if I somehow get my hands on a bowl with “Creighton” engraved on the bottom, I’ll sense a conspiracy is underway…   It’s been nearly five months since I published my book on Amazon, and this blog post is my official announcement that I’ve completed the first phase of my campaign to promote Clingstone. Aside from soliciting Amazon’s top 10,000 reviewers, I queried several bloggers registered with the Indie Reviewers List and the Book Bloggers Yellow Pages. I had decent results with the latter sources and would highly recommend their perusal to any authors intent on self-publishing. I received several positive responses despite the much smaller pool of bloggers; additionally, a few were willing to give me a promotional spot on their blog even though they couldn’t commit to a book review. I feel like I’ve tapped enough sources now to move on to the second phase of my promotional campaign.
And what is the second phase, you ask? It’s much less time-consuming than the first, and that is simply to continue maintaining my blog, updating the reviews when they come in, and continuing the monthly book giveaways here on my website. I realize this is all a giant literary snowball that needs to keep gaining girth and momentum as it rolls down the hill, and that will take considerable time. Instant success is a myth; success is wrung from months, years even, of persistent effort. And so the hard slog will carry on. I didn’t really know what to expect from this experience when I started, but I’ve really enjoyed myself. It feels good to try new things. This will also be a transitional time for me as I devote more of my time and energy into writing the first draft of my new book. It’s still in its infancy stage, but I’ll post some updates from time to time in the months ahead. Until then, I look forward to Clingstone’s pending reviews and sharing them with all of you. The winners of the June e-book giveaway are Andrea Getz and Mindy Iwanski! Congratulations, Andrea and Mindy!
This month’s contest is for a free e-book copy of Clingstone (provided as an Amazon gift). Two winners will be selected, each to receive 1 e-book copy. The contest runs throughout the entire month of July and is open to all participants. Simply submit the contact form on this website. The winners will be announced in my blog post on August 1. Good luck! * Names and emails are for contest purposes only. All contact information will be deleted after the contest ends. The winners' contact information will be deleted once I receive confirmation from Amazon that the e-book gifts were collected. |
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