Thursday, March 31, 2022

The Difference Between "Fun" and "Meaning"

So on Tuesday, I replied to this Tweet someone I follow on Twitter had posted: "The difference between fun and meaning."

Here is why response:

"Fun" is enjoyable but often fleeting. "Meaning" is significant and impactful, with long-lasting, perhaps permanent, effects. Meaningful activities are fun - or not. Fun's glow is short and dependent on the person experiencing it. Meaning is universal and stretches into eternity.

Twelve hours later, I was livng those words.

The experience wasn't fun. But it was impactful with long-lasting, perhaps permanent effects. The experience was also universal and one that will stretch into eternity, although not immediately.

Fun is fine. Meaning is more.

But both are important. 






Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Are You Hungry Yet? An Explanation of all the Food References in the BryonySeries

A few weeks ago I read the unpolished version of a short ghost story I wrote in 2007 for Timothy's seventeenth birthday at a WriteOn Joliet meeting.

The untitled piece was also, at the time, a practice piece for me. I was considering finally writing the vampire story that had simmered inside me for decades. But although I had written features professionally for many years, I had not written any fiction since the eighth grade.

As I worked on the piece, I only had one element to show that the story, set in present day, was steeped in too many elements of the past. And that element was the food.

One writer in the group, who's read the first book in the BryonySeries "drop of blood" trilogy, pointed out what she considered an excessive amount of food references in the story.

But my use of food in that piece, and later in the BryonySeries, stemmed from two different places in my mind. I just mentioned why I used food in the short story. Why so in the trilogy?

Because as I stepped into the shoes of my main character, a 1970s teen who hangs out in the late 19th century with a vampire, I tried to see the past through her eyes and contrast her new experiences with those of her everday life.

Laundry and transporation were different. Her home was different. The types of people she met were different. Mostly, the clothes and the food were different. And I elaborated on those the most.

Especially the food.

For Melissa, the protagonist, encountered, and shunned, many strange items on her plate, while ignoring her place on the food chain: a vampire's meal.

"Go on," Henry said, suddenly beside her. "Read it. She's dead, you know."

"She can't be," Melissa said, glancing at her long skirts, suddenly confused. "I'm Bryony."

Henry's face was expressionless. "You're food."

Melissa covered her ears and angrily stomped her foot. "I'm not! Those are the others! I'm special! John needs my blood. He won't hurt me!"

“A trussed-up turkey nicely adorned with apples and berries on a platter is a splendid sight to behold, but it's still dead," Henry said. "And it's still dinner."

That theme twisted its way through the other two books in the original trilogy, and it plays a major role in the new Limbo trilogy, for all of the above reasons and one more: one of the protagonists spends her entire life preparing food for others.

In "The Phoenix," the first book in the Limbo trilogy, the ability to sort of eat real food was necessary for the "larvae" vampires in if they wanted to move about the world as humans. 

Henry headed to the ice box where he had fished out that lunch he’d shared with Anna and opened the door. The water had long since evaporated but a delicious aroma and interesting colors and textures greeted him. The milk had curdled into a solid yellow lump except for its black-speckled amber layer of cream. The chickens’ wrinkled skin hung over their bones like a maize overcoat. The orange cheeses now sported coats of many colors, reminiscent of the Old Testament Joseph. The salted codfish had shrunk to powdery marbles, and the pink leathery ham was topped with gelatinous shine. One mutton roast had melted to jelly; a side of beef had partly dissolved.

Most of that didn’t matter since spoilage had no effect on vampires. Still he couldn’t use anything in a liquified state, at least not where solids were needed.

He pawed through some drawers, and found not one, but two cookbooks: A New System of Domestic Cookery by Mrs. Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell and Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book: Designed as a Supplement to Her Treatise on Domestic Economy.

He also found a stack of hardish squash in the corner, hardish because the skin had collapsed where the flesh evaporated, like the cheeks of an old granny with her teeth out. He assessed the rest of the stores and discovered a sack of enchanted cornmeal, or so it seemed when Henry peered inside, for the sour, musty grains crawled as if bewitched. Upon closer inspection, Henry noticed an infestation of weevils; the same was true about the beans and the flour. So – all usable.

In the five-book "Before The Blood" novel, food plays a similar role. But food also denotes social class, location, medicine, economy, intrigue, scandal, philosophy, lifestyle, and keeps the reader rooted in a particular era. 

And in the standalone werewolf novel "Lycanthropic Summer," food twines back into fairy tales and cannibalism.

When I was a little girl, I had a grandmother who lived in the woods. She wasn’t really my grandmother, but she was old and weird and lived alone in the middle of a field, and she grew herbs that my mother took to Rosie to sell and then brought the money back to Grandmother’s house.

The house always reminded me of a gingerbread house. It was painted cookie crumb brown with a roof as sweet as sugar cakes, and sugar plum shutters and trim. My mother and I always visited on Monday to give Grandmother her money and to gather more herbs for Rosie.

I remember Grandmother never ate vegetables or fruit or grain. She only ate meat, and she wasn’t tidy about it, either. Her floors and grass were littered with bones. And she always wore black.

But Grandmother was especially kind to children. She liked to leave out sweet treats for them to eat as they passed by her house. This wasn’t just a single plate of Toll House Inn cookies, although she left those, too, and they never melted, no matter how high the sun rose in the sky or how scorching it sent down its rays.

No, she laid out rich slices of layered chiffon cake drizzled with chocolate, wedges of rhubarb pie and banana cream pie, cubes of colored gelatin, ice cream snowballs with strawberry sauce, pudding topped with maraschino cherries, pineapple upside down cake, squares of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and lots of cookies: peanut butter, sugar, shortbread, oatmeal, and fruit bars.

Writers don't always understand that setting is a type of character. Food can also be a character. As can wine

Food also shows characterization. What would supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer be without his orange drinks, potato chips, and "persuading" his clients into preparing his food and washing his laundry?

Cornell caught three words: “old as bone.”

The teachers smiled at him and said their names. Cornell could not remember all their names. He didn’t care.

            When one is a great supernatural super sleuth, one doesn’t bother with names. A brain will only hold so much information, Cornell’s brain was full of supernatural clues and where to buy a giant hamburger with pickles.

Unconvinced? I didn't make any of this up.

An essay called "The Symbolic Nature of Food in Literature: Reflecting Upon Personal Experience" says that, "food presents a contrast between order and chaos; etiquette and taboo behavior; and social classes."

Crystal King in an article "Why We Hunger for Novels About Food" wrote, "Food is love. Food is conviviality. Food is politics. Food is religion. Food is history. Food is consolation. Food is fuel. Food identifies us and who we are. It can even help us make sense of our world."

Michael Sears in an article called "The Importance of Food in Fiction" wrote that food can even be a murder weapon in crime fiction. It can also denote character and place and it can use all of the senses.

And in the case of the BryonySeries, food can also help youth mentoring.

Food, then and now, is often the center of any celebration. What is a birthday without cake? A picnic without potato salad? A backyard party without a cookout? Thanksgiving without turkey? Christmas without all those dishes Grandma makes every year? Valentine's Day without chocolate? Easter without lamb? Halloween without candy?

Finally, for all of us, food can assess our mental/emotional/spiritual health: "The cheerful heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15

I rest my fork and knife.




Monday, March 28, 2022

Good Shoes

In the current K-drama Rebekah and I are finishing up (She Was Pretty), one character gifts another with a pair of shoes that are both an upgrade and permission to move on with her life.

More than a few years ago, when I was figuring out Twitter, I read a blog an author had written about her mother. Years ago, the mother had won a magazine contest about women who do their own makeup.

The author's mother was Asian, a single mom, and took her time in front of the mirror each morning, looking at herself while she carefully put on her makeup. The author said it was a time of meditation for her mother, a centering, a time for herself, before venturing into the world to be her best self. And her mother became quite adept with makeup.

The world "mindfulness" is used a lot these days. But what a beautiful concept, to spend a few quiet moments each day carefully examining ourselves, carefully choosing what we will wear, and deciding how we will present ourselves to the world, so that we always present our very best selves.

A popular quote says, "Good shoes will take you to good places." But what shoes? And what places?

Perhaps it's a call to us step a little further outside of the familiar, to stretch ourselves a little further, so that we can continue becoming our very best selves.

Here is the full quote from She Was Pretty, along with a photo of my granddaughter Riley showing off her new shoes on National Pancake Day 2020, where we had a family pancake dinner at IHOP in Morris, a couple weeks before COVID shut everything down.

May you never put on a pair of shoes again without thinking about where they will take you.

"If you wear good shoes, they will take you to good places.Wear these shoes and go to good places. Don't think about other things, and don't worry aout anything. Go wherever you want to go, wherever you want to go. It's going to be uncomfortable at first. You pay a lot of attention when you walk. But they will be comfortable soon. They will, for sure, be comfortable enough that you won't notice them."



Friday, March 25, 2022

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, March 20 to March 25

Good morning!

I have twenty-four feature stories to share with you today and about half a dozen or so not yet posted. So do check back on The Herald-News site: shawlocal.com/the-herald-news.

I also have abour a dozen long-ish pieces I'm writing and editing for a special section in The Herald-News for early May along with a quarterly enterprise story. I'm working the weekend shift on the local side, but I'm hoping for a quiet weekend so I can concentrate on these projects.

Oh, and my oldest daughter arrived in town late last night and leaves Monday night. I haven't seen her since 2019. So I'm taking Monday off to spend some time with her and hoping to squeeze in a little extra time in the evenings.

But it will definitely be an extra coffee type of day. I was up before four o'clock this morning to catch the #5amwritersclub meeting (which meets 5 a.m. EST every three weeks) and listen to a program by editors Julia F. Green (juliafgreen.com) and D.J. McPhee (wordswithcharacter.com).

On the fiction front, I'm still making nice progress on Call of the Siren. I have all but two chapters edited. I may fiddle with the novel a bit this weekend in odd pieces of time. But it's unlikely I'll tackle anything too deep until next weekend.

Call of the Siren is the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy. I'm anticipating a late spring publication date, with gorgeous cover art by Nancy Calkins.

We plan to release Cornell Dyer and the Calcium Deficient Bones and Cornell Dyer and the "Mistical" Being very soon. Both Rebekah and our artist Sue Midlock have gone through health issues this past year, which has caused publication delays. But I'd rather have delays and healthy collaborators. Please send up good thoughts for them both.

Next up in the series: a Sherlock Holmes parody (the main character is Sherman Homes). Timothy is ready for a Cornell breakfast to share his ideas. He and I just need our time off schedules to sync.

Jennifer Wainright (frontispiece artist for Lycanthropic Summer) has completed two portraits for  "Girls of the BryonySeries" series for tween girls and is currently working on a third. The portraits are beautiful and it shows that artist Jennifer Wainright can draw anything from werewolves to portraits! 

Rebekah Baran has completed cover art for two of "Girls of the BryonySeries" books. They are beautiful! One book in this series of eight books is completely written, a second is halfway written, and the rest are outlined. 

Now back to the twenty-four stories. Simply click on the link of the story that looks interesting to you. Happy scrolling!

But before the stories, I have a list of additional resources and information. Please check them out, too -

Finally, if you'd like to find more kindness in your life, consider this book.

And have a great Friday!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Sue's Diner is a fictional restaurant in the fictional Munsonville that only exists in the BryonySeries.

Each Sunday, we post a new recipe. The recipe is either featured in one of our cookbooks or will be featured in an upcoming cookbook.

Check out the recipe here.

WRITERS

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to join WriteOn Joliet's Facebook pageWe're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

If you'd like to officially join WriteOn Joliet, we have two tiers of dues. We also have a marketing arm that's getting longer every year, well, except this year. Check us out at writeonjoliet.com.

I also suggest this book: Little Book of Revision: A Checklist for Fiction Writers. It's exactly as it says. Each page some with one suggestion for revision. The rest of the page is blank, so you can add your own notes. All proceeds benefit WriteOn Joliet.

If you need support in your writing, I highly recommend this Twitter group: #5amwritersclub. I  joined it last year. Writers support each other on Twitter and meet every three weeks at 5 a.m. (4 a.m. CST - needless to say, I am often late!) on Zoom.

If you need editing or help with self-publishing, check out dmbaranunland.com.

ARTISTS

If you need an artist for a project, I offer these recommendations.

NEWSLETTERS

Sign up for the Will County Go Guide and Sign up for the LocalLit Short Story and Book Review Newsletter at https://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/

Sign up for The Munsonville Times by emailing us at bryonyseries@gmail.com. The newsletter still isn't official yet, so we don't have an actual link on the website - but we are working on it! 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Daily updates: I do post the briefs on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at facebook.com/BryonySeries.

And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

BRYONYSERIES BOOKS

For books and more information about the series, visit bryonyseries.com.

BRYONYSERIES EVENTS

A full month of virtual events can be found at bryonyseries.com/calendar-of-events.

QUESTIONS

Email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.

FEATURES

Edward Foundation awards $26,000 in nursing scholarships: Local scholarship winners are from Crest Hill, Plainfield and Romeoville. 

47 Joliet Central students were inducted into honors society on March 16: The students were inducted into the National French Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. 

Superintendent at D-86 in Joliet receives award at 2022 ILMEA conference: Theresa Rouse is committed to giving students a quality music experience

Plainfield Police Station displays 3-panel paintings by D. 202 art teacher: Lindsey Brown’s artwork replaces a mural by PHSCC Dean Tod Schnowske 

New principal named for Timber Ridge M.S. in Plainfield for upcoming school year: District 202′s board of education approved Catie Peterson’s appointment at its regular meeting on March 21 

Joliet woman with Lynch syndrome is still fighting for more colon cancer screening: Wenora Johnson’s colon cancer was found before she was old enough for the recommended screening

Trinity Services to host forum on resources for people with developmental disabilities: The event will be held March 30. Registration is required.

Pets of the Week March 21: Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption.

Channahon man uses social media to support other amputees: Tom Carlson: ‘A lot of people don’t talk to others about their amputation’ 

Project Acclaim, Village of New Lenox honor Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox: Hospital recognized for COVID-19 efforts, 125 years of service, 10-year contributions to New Lenox community 

Special Mass Friday at Joliet cathedral is part of consecration of Russia and Ukraine: The Mass will be held at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet

9 students from D-86 in Joliet qualify for regional science fair: All 9 students received gold medals at D-86′s STEM Extravaganza. 

5 Things to Do in Will County: ChoralWinds, Beatles tribute, Christian comedy, concert: Plus, take a walk in the woods and try to glimpse a woodcock.

Board at D. 202 in Plainfield approves the hiring of 4 new district administrators: Administrators will replace peers who are retiring and help fill top-level district administrative team 

Scholarships available for Romeoville residents: Students applying for these Romeoville-based scholarships must be high school seniors

D-86 in Joliet announces its students of the month for February: Students at 13 buildings were recognized 

9 students at D-202 in Plainfield named 2022 National Merit Finalists: Awards will be announced this spring. 

Students artists from Plainfield and Joliet win Scholastic awards: The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were founded in 1923 to recognize creative teens throughout the U.S. 

Forest Preserve District of Will County celebrating 95th anniversary with long-distance trail challenge: Be sure to keep track of your miles.

2 Joliet Central H.S. students qualify for state drafting competition: Joliet Central placed 1st and 3rd in regional drafting contest

D-202 in Plainfield seeks nominees for 2 annual awards: Nominations for both awards are due March 21. 

Morris Hospital Radiation Therapy Center creates Tree of Hope for patients: Sherah Stice: ‘The butterflies represent hope and change’

PSHS earns 3rd place at SW Prairie Art Conference: 25 students at D. 202 in Plainfield earn top honors 

An Extraordinary Life: Mokena woman put her faith into action: ‘God was the biggest part of her life every day’ 



Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"




Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Siwon and Character Development

I have a fun link to share with you today. But first, I'd like to give the link some context.

I've been watching Chinese and Korean dramas with Rebekah for the last few years, and I'm really glad she introduced me to this form of entertainment she's enjoyed for a decade and a half.

We watch one at a time, and it can take us a couple of nights to get through an episode. She's the curator of the selections, although I have suggested two dramas, and only one of my picks was good. So I'm happy to let her decide.

Now Rebekah's going through some challenges right now, so she's veered to the lighthearted. Still, if you've ever watched any of these rom-coms, K-drama-style, you'll know they're not all rom and com. 

The subplots also address trauma and other complex issues. I've not seen one yet that's two dimensional, although I'm certain they exist. 

Our current drama is called She Was Pretty and the internet said it's based on a true story. What true story, I don't know. I can't find any more information on it.

The setting is a fashion magazine (Most) that might get canceled as staff are planning for its twentieth anniversary special edition and celebration. The staff doesn't know the publication is under the guillotine; only the top editors do, so the staff don't understand why the leaders are short-tempered and pushing them extra hard.

Here's quick synopsis of She Was Pretty so the clip makes sense.

Two lifelong female friends in their thirties live together. They are so close that they have each other in their phones as "the husband" and "wifey."

Both are hardworking. One is pretty, comes from a rich family, and dates a lot of shady men. The other "used to be pretty" and isn't anymore. She has a younger sister in high school who is pretty and is afraid she will not be pretty later in life.

"Used to be pretty" had a male best friend growing up. He was overweight and bullied and had panic attacks on the school bus when it rains because he was with his mother when she was killed in a car crash in the rain. 

He likes Renoir and gives "used to be pretty" the missing piece of his favorite puzzle, a reproduction of Dance in the Country and kisses her goodbye when his family moves to the U.S.

Well, now the kid is all grown up and can't forget his first love. He's visiting Korea and wants to reconnect. So when "used to be pretty" arrives at the meeting place, he's gorgeous, doesn't recognize her, and walks right past her.

So "used to be pretty" asks her friend to stand in for her, which she does. The friend makes an excuse while she can't see him again: she's moving abroad. He sad but accepts it.

Except he's staying in Korea as editor-in-chief of Most. Except the friend is a hotelier and he runs into her again. So "pretty" keeps seeing him while pretending be his former love and (I'm sure you know where this is going) winds up falling for him.

In the meantime, "not so pretty" gets a job in support services at Most. She gets transferred to the editing department and her new boss is her old friend. And he can't stand her. So "used to be pretty" spends her time trying to avoid him and being heartbroken at the new them. \

In the meantime, she carries around the puzzle piece and loses it.

Now what's making this drama super fun for me is the magazine's features editor. The actor's name is Choi Si-won, also known as Siwon. He's a model, singer-songwriter, and part of the Korean boy band Super Junior, which Rebekah has loved for years. 

In fact the first K-song she ever played for me more than ten years ago was from Super Junior. Siwon is an evangelisic Christian, a regional ambassador of Unicef, and would like to become a mssionary. 

Siwon is also recording himself reading the Bible on YouTube, a new iniative that Rebekah showed me last night.

Apparently Siwon typically plays very suave roles when he does act. And the clip I'm sharing today starts with one of those roles - and then does a rewind into his role in She Was Pretty. Siwon's character is off the charts bizarre and makes its mission to annoy "she was pretty" (as in dipping little girls pigtails in inkwells-style of annoy) as often at work as he can.

So why am I sharing this?

Because now that you have the background, the clip is super entertaining. Enjoy!

And for those of us who craft characters, whether visually (on stage or in file) or on the page, I'm in awe of the mastery here. To create somebody who is absolutely not you and make someone else believe that person exists somewhere because that person is SO real is the dream of many who take their crafting seriously.

Furthermore, in this character's case, I'm pretty sure the actor is playing a character who is also acting. That's my theory. But we still have a few more episodes to go.

Either way, I hope this clip makes you laugh. Or, at the every least, smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq50Vo0rJHI






Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Sue's Diner: Fruit Fritters

This week's recipe, fruit fritters, is authentically Victorian complete with a hint of vagueness in its preparation.

This fruit fritters recipe is featured in the BryonySeries cookbook: Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony," which is a permament fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties.

It's also adapted from Miss Beecher’s domestic receiptbook: designed as a supplement to her Treatise on domestic economy.

This recipe is referenced in the BryonySeries novel BryonyHere is the explanation from the cookbook:

The Munsonville Times was so impressed by the spread John Simons served for his wedding to Miss Bryony Marseilles that the newspaper listed each item. 

You can try the fruit fritters recipe on the Sue's Diner page on the BryonySeries website

But try the recipe this week. It will be gone some time next week. A new recipe will take it's place.


By the way, Sue's Diner is only real in the BryonySeries world. But didn't Timothy do a great job making the page look like a real menu at a vintage diner?

Here is the full diner page: bryonyseries.com/sue-s-diner. You can't really order, of course (wouldn't it be great if you could?).

For more BryonySeries recipes, check out our three cookbooks at our BryonySeries bryonyseries.com/general-store.

Monday, March 21, 2022

Two Chapters Left: "Call of the Siren"

Two chapters.

That's all I have left in a novel that's given me a great deal of trouble.since I began it in earnest a year ago.

In fact, my muse never really sprang into action around the Christmas holidays. And even then, I've struggled, although the struggle was less, and the progress was real.

This novel isalled Call of the Siren and it's the second book in the Limbo trilogy. (The first is The Phoenix, and you can find a copy of it here).

Everything in bold at the bottom of this blog is nearly ready to go, self-editing-wise.

Everything in italics shows where work is still required.

But when the editing is done, I have a couple more passes over the text to make.

One is a granular pass to ensure the new characters are properly developed.

And then I need to make a "feng shui" pass over the entire book, which is a new type of editing for me. In fact, I might have invented this type of editing. Maybe it's worth its own post.

My original goal is to have the book ready for formatting by early April. That's an unrealistic goal at this point. But late May or early June feels very possible.

Cover art is by Nancy Calkins, wife of Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara.

I'm certain this novel has close to zero value, commercial-wise.

But it's the novel I intended to write. And it's a satisfying feeling, for me, to have a vision of a story I want to write, and then write the story in my mind.

Stories can be elusive beings, clear in our imagination but defiant of precise words. But that isn't so strange when you consider all the many strands that make a story: the characters, the plots, the arcs, the settings, the moods, and so forth - and then when you consider all the strangs that make each character, each plot, each arc, each setting, each mood, and so forth some more.

It's nothing short of amazing that writers can take these threads and weave them into something coherent, much less magical.

Amazing, indeed.

CALL OF THE SIREN

Sue Bass is haunted by dreams of her father, who died in a boating accident before she was born, alluring dreams of water and song. But then a soft-spoken outside man with an inside plan comes to town, and Sue's sleepwalking stops, only to resurface with greater magnetism when he leaves.

Two voices beckon. Which one will she heed?

Prologue:

PART ONE: WATER

Chapter 1: Lullaby

Chapter 2: Music or Madness

Chapter 3: Town Mouse

Chapter 4: Country Mouse, Monday Sept. 13, afternoon (spot places to fill in)

Chapter 5: Water, Butter, and Wine

Chapter 6: Little Girl Lost

Chapter 7: The Lure of Their Eyes

PART TWO: FIRE

Chapter 8: Flames and Frost

Chapter 9: Even The Sparrow 

Chapter 10: Bewitched By Her Sweetness

Chapter 11: House Calls, Saturday 

Chapter 12: Coin for the Passage

Chapter 13: Plaintive Cries 

Chapter 14: As Sharp as Spears

Chapter 15: The Meadow of Skeletons

PART THREE: AIR

Chapter 16: Gates of Horn and Ivory

Chapter 17 Ask, and It Shall be Given You

Chapter 18: Seek, and Ye Shall Find

Chapter 19: Knock, and it Shall Be Opened Unto You (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 20: The Stain No Storm Could Wash Away (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 21: A Stone and a Serpent 

Chapter 22: Treading Water 

Chapter 23: Last Dream of my Soul 

PART FOUR: EARTH

Chapter 24: On Solid Ground 

Chapter 25: Ideal – and Worthy of Envy  

Chapter 26: Sue’s Diner (edited)

Chapter 27: In Dark Depths Lurking (edited)

Chapter 28: The Abyss Beckons (edited)

Chapter 29: : No Breath of Wind, No Ripple of Water (edited)

Chapter 30: Ferry and Scythe

Epilogue 



Friday, March 18, 2022

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, March 12 to March 19

Good morning!

I have seventeen feature stories to share with you today and about a dozen not posted yet. So do check back on The Herald-News site: shawlocal.com/the-herald-news.

On the fiction front, I'm still making nice progress on Call of the Siren. I have all but four chapters edited, and I hope to have at least one more in good shape by the end of the weekend.

Call of the Siren is the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy). I'm anticipating a late spring publication date, with gorgeous cover art by Nancy Calkins.

We plan to release Cornell Dyer and the Calcium Deficient Bones and Cornell Dyer and the "Mistical" Being very soon. Both Rebekah and our artist Sue Midlock have gone through health issues this past year, which has caused publication delays. But I'd rather have delays and healthy collaborators. Please send up good thoughts for them both.

Next up in the series: a Sherlock Holmes parody (the main character is Sherman Homes). Timothy is ready for a Cornell breakfast to share his ideas. He and I just need our time off schedules to sync.

Jennifer Wainright (frontispiece artist for Lycanthropic Summer) has completed two portraits for  "Girls of the BryonySeries" series for tween girls and is currently working on a third. The portraits are beautiful and it shows that artist Jennifer Wainright can draw anything from werewolves to portraits! 

Rebekah Baran has completed cover art for two of "Girls of the BryonySeries" books. They are beautiful! One book in this series of eight books is completely written, a second is halfway written, and the rest are outlined. 

Now back to the seventeen stories. Simply click on the link of the story that looks interesting to you. Happy scrolling!

But before the stories, I have a list of additional resources and information. Please check them out, too -

Finally, if you'd like to find more kindness in your life, consider this book.

And have a great Friday!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Sue's Diner is a fictional restaurant in the fictional Munsonville that only exists in the BryonySeries.

Each Sunday, we post a new recipe. The recipe is either featured in one of our cookbooks or will be featured in an upcoming cookbook.

Check out the recipe here.

WRITERS

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to join WriteOn Joliet's Facebook pageWe're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

If you'd like to officially join WriteOn Joliet, we have two tiers of dues. We also have a marketing arm that's getting longer every year, well, except this year. Check us out at writeonjoliet.com.

I also suggest this book: Little Book of Revision: A Checklist for Fiction Writers. It's exactly as it says. Each page some with one suggestion for revision. The rest of the page is blank, so you can add your own notes. All proceeds benefit WriteOn Joliet.

If you need support in your writing, I highly recommend this Twitter group: #5amwritersclub. I  joined it last year. Writers support each other on Twitter and meet every three weeks at 5 a.m. (4 a.m. CST - needless to say, I am often late!) on Zoom.

If you need editing or help with self-publishing, check out dmbaranunland.com.

ARTISTS

If you need an artist for a project, I offer these recommendations.

NEWSLETTERS

Sign up for the Will County Go Guide and Sign up for the LocalLit Short Story and Book Review Newsletter at https://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/

Sign up for The Munsonville Times by emailing us at bryonyseries@gmail.com. The newsletter still isn't official yet, so we don't have an actual link on the website - but we are working on it! 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Daily updates: I do post the briefs on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at facebook.com/BryonySeries.

And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

BRYONYSERIES BOOKS

For books and more information about the series, visit bryonyseries.com.

BRYONYSERIES EVENTS

A full month of virtual events can be found at bryonyseries.com/calendar-of-events.

QUESTIONS

Email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.

FEATURES

Celebrate the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines with Mass on March 12: Bishop Ron Hicks will celebrate the anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet.

32-page illustrated booklet lists bird species reported at Midewin: Booklet will help the Midewin staff manage and protect the grassland bird area

Morris Hospital honors Randy Kiefling as its Fire Starter of the Month for February: Randy Kiefling is known as the ‘go-to-guy’ at Morris Hospital

Register by March 14 for youth poetry slam at Joliet Historical Museum: Youth may win 1 of 2 $500 prizes at the poetry slam April 10 in Joliet.

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington invites community to virtual listening session: Midewin wants public input on the future of recreation at the prairie.  

CITGO Lemont Refinery donates $7,500 Greater Joliet Area YMCA: The donation will help support the YMCA’s Mission Strong Fund.

5 Things to do in Will County: Musical events, full moon hike, craft fair: Plus, Lewis University in Romeoville hosting 3rd generation printmaker Benjamin Calvert. 

Mystery Diner in Joliet: Great American Bagel goes green for St. Patrick’s: Specialty green bagel with Irish cheddar cheese served through March 17

Will County Humane Society to host annual Fur Ball on May 20: Individual, double seating and table pricing for the event at Harrah’s Joliet.

Pets of the Week: March 14: Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption. 

An Extraordinary Life: Joliet man served 2 branches of military, raised 3 families: Merle Widner taught ‘morals and values’ and ‘how to have an open mind’

The Zonta Club of the Joliet Area will host a traveling film festival on March 29: Women wrote, directed and produced the 8 films in LUNAFEST. 

Channahon resident using his EMT training 3 feet from Ukraine border: Ryan Chocholek: ‘I quit my job to come here because this is where people needed help.’

Troy Township to host ‘Avoiding Home Repair Scams’ on April 21: Learn tips for making informed choices when hiring contractors 

New outpatient treatment center in Mokena offers traditional, alternative therapies: Mindset Transformations is licensed by the state of Illinois to offer outpatient substance abuse treatment.

Troy Township offering Mobile Driver Services Unit and I-Cash on April 12: Registration for the Rules of the Road Review course is required.

‘Luck of the Irish’ won’t save drunk drivers from DUIs: The Illinois State Police and local law enforcement are conducting roadside safety checks through March 18.








Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"





Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Spring Fever

The "spring forward" time change can be rough for a couple of days, but I'm loving the warmer temperatures for walking and the signs of spring I see around me.

The first two photos are from an early morning walk with Rebekah yesterday.

The rest are from Sunday's afternoon walk with Timothy.

The photos are bare of flower buds and other signs of new life - and yet, you can see how the earth is ready to "spring forward," too.

What signs of spring are you noticing?



























Monday, March 14, 2022

Sue's Diner: Pizza

Few foods beat a homemade pizza, and we have a good recipe for you to try this week.

This pizza recipe is featured in the BryonySeries cookbook: Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony," which is a permament fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties.

This recipe is referenced in the BryonySeries novel BryonyHere is the explanation from the cookbook:

Before Melissa moved to Munsonville, her friends treated her to dinner at Pizza Express. Ogling cute bus boy Jason Frye was more fun than eating pizza, but we included the house’s signature recipe, anyway.

Note from Jim Brodnicki, who submitted the recipe for the cookbook: “ I added the option for the whole wheat flour given today's health awareness that we have. I remember one time my mom, Lillian, bought a package of dough mix from the store and it was really bad. That was when she just started doing it this way. The dough is what my mom use to use. The sauce recipe is my own.”

You can try the pizza recipe on the Sue's Diner page on the BryonySeries website

But try the recipe this week. It will be gone some time next week. A new recipe will take it's place.


By the way, Sue's Diner is only real in the BryonySeries world. But didn't Timothy do a great job making the page look like a real menu at a vintage diner?

Here is the full diner page: bryonyseries.com/sue-s-diner. You can't really order, of course (wouldn't it be great if you could?).

For more BryonySeries recipes, check out our three cookbooks at our BryonySeries bryonyseries.com/general-store.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

So Our Calkins Day 2022 Giveaway "Went Viral-ish." Here's What Happened.

Several years ago, when Timothy was updating the BryonySeries website design, he also updated the calendar of events page to resemble an advent calendar.

Because he thought every day of every month should offer a BryonySeries related event, activity, craft... something. 

Now Timothy's updated that calendar a few times since he's created it. Each design has become more user-friendly (I'm terrible at technology).

But every month, I post an entirely new collection of events, etc.

About a year (or two) ago, I began adding a giveaway of a free book on one (or more) dates on the calendar - you know, just to see if people were clicking through. 

That's because analytics showed some activity on some of the dates. But many of the dates had zero activity. And the dates for free books never showed any activity.

So for last month, in honor of Calkins Day, I added an offer for free books on at least half a dozen of the dates, hoping a couple of people might request a book. 

Side note: the offer for a free book expires with at the end of the month, and we do have a notice at the top of the calendar that says just that.

Still, we made it halfway through the month and received no requests for free books.

Here's where it gets fun.

One night in mid-February, as I was shutting my phone at bedtime, a request for Denise M. Baran-Unland's Irish Genealogy came through the bryonyseries email. 

This book is a collection of humorous essays Ed wrote a dozen years ago for this blog that I published into a book for Calkins Day 2018. So, naturally, it was one of the books I offered for free.

Anyway, that first request was quickly followed by a second request.

I was super excited!!!

So I dashed into Rebekah's room to share the good news, even though she was nearly asleep.

Four more requests came in after that.

And I had more in the morning.

I panicked.

What was going on? Was I being spammed? But the emails didn't appear to be spam.

They appeared to be real people requesting the book and sharing their home addresses. The requests came (mostly) from all over the U.S.

And the requests kept coming - sixty in all by the time the requests trickled down. 

So not "viral" in the standard term of the word. But definitely "viral-ish" by our definition because in all the years since BryonySeries went live more than a decade ago, we'd never experienced such widespread sharing of our information.

A little internet detective work provided the answers.

Someone (or a few someones) had shared the giveaway post on sites that offer items for free.

Since the offer is good for the entire month, well, I was certainly glad February only had twenty-eight days.

My kids were excited. I worried we'd get so many requests, we couldn't pay bills. That didn't happen, of course. Everything is paid.

However, we were very glad we had the rush on a book with fifty-three pages. We were very glad I hadn't foolishly offered free copies of Before the Blood, which has one thousand two hundred and fifty-one pages. (emphasis mine, in case you missed that).

Rebekah spent an hour every night after work for more than a week fulfilling requests.

We also received some really sweet notes from quite a few of the requesters, saying how excited they were to get the book and that they were eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Naturally, I responded to every email, letting requesters know the approximate delivery date and wishing them a Happy Calkins Day.

Two sent back notes once they had received the book and read it, saying how much they enjoyed it and thanking me for the gift.

For future giveaways, we'll clearly state how many books exactly we will give away (Timothy's idea. I wasn't smart enough to put a cap on it).

But.- still...

Who'd have thought???



Friday, March 11, 2022

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, March 4 to March 11

 Good morning!

I have just ten feature stories to share with you today, at least as many more not posted yet. So do check back on The Herald-News site: shawlocal.com/the-herald-news.

On the fiction front, I'm still making nice progress on Call of the Siren. I have all but five (and part of a sixth) chapter edited, and I hope to have at least one more in good shape by the end of the weekend.

Call of the Siren is the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy). I'm anticipating a late spring publication date, with gorgeous cover art by Nancy Calkins.

We plan to release Cornell Dyer and the Calcium Deficient Bones and Cornell Dyer and the "Mistical" Being very soon.

Rebekah simply needs to incorporate the edits in "'Mistical' Being" (we've gone through the proof) and she needs to format "Calcium Bones." 

Timothy has also completed the outline for the next book in the series, a Sherlock Holmes parody (the main character is Sherman Homes). We were hoping to make some time for a "Cornell Breakfast" over the holidays, but that didn't happen - maybe next weekend? However, he did finish the bulk of his overhaul of the BryonySeries website. You can read more about that here.

Sarah also had a crazy dream that sounded perfect for An Adventure of Cornell Dyer mystery. But she wants time to draw some sketches, a map, and write the "rules." It's called Cornell Dyer and the House of Broken Portals.

Bertrand the Mouse has "returned," and you can read about it herehere, and here

Jennifer Wainright (frontispiece artist for Lycanthropic Summer) has completed two portraits for  "Girls of the BryonySeries" series for tween girls and is currently working on a third. The portraits are beautiful and it shows that artist Jennifer Wainright can draw anything from werewolves to portraits! 

Rebekah Baran has completed cover art for two of "Girls of the BryonySeries" books. They are beautiful! One book in this series of eight books is completely written, a second is halfway written, and the rest are outlined. 

Jennifer and I texted back and forth yesterday, and she is making good progress on the third cover art. I will start releasing this series when I have three completed books. 

Now back to the ten stories. Simply click on the link of the story that looks interesting to you. Happy scrolling!

But before the stories, I have a list of additional resources and information. Please check them out, too -

Finally, if you'd like to find more kindness in your life, consider this book.

And have a great Friday!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Sue's Diner is a fictional restaurant in the fictional Munsonville that only exists in the BryonySeries.

Each Sunday, we post a new recipe. The recipe is either featured in one of our cookbooks or will be featured in an upcoming cookbook.

Check out the recipe here.

WRITERS

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to join WriteOn Joliet's Facebook pageWe're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

If you'd like to officially join WriteOn Joliet, we have two tiers of dues. We also have a marketing arm that's getting longer every year, well, except this year. Check us out at writeonjoliet.com.

I also suggest this book: Little Book of Revision: A Checklist for Fiction Writers. It's exactly as it says. Each page some with one suggestion for revision. The rest of the page is blank, so you can add your own notes. All proceeds benefit WriteOn Joliet.

If you need support in your writing, I highly recommend this Twitter group: #5amwritersclub. I  joined it last year. Writers support each other on Twitter and meet every three weeks at 5 a.m. (4 a.m. CST - needless to say, I am often late!) on Zoom.

If you need editing or help with self-publishing, check out dmbaranunland.com.

ARTISTS

If you need an artist for a project, I offer these recommendations.

NEWSLETTERS

Sign up for the Will County Go Guide and Sign up for the LocalLit Short Story and Book Review Newsletter at https://www.theherald-news.com/newsletter/

Sign up for The Munsonville Times by emailing us at bryonyseries@gmail.com. The newsletter still isn't official yet, so we don't have an actual link on the website - but we are working on it! 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Daily updates: I do post the briefs on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at facebook.com/BryonySeries.

And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

BRYONYSERIES BOOKS

For books and more information about the series, visit bryonyseries.com.

BRYONYSERIES EVENTS

A full month of virtual events can be found at bryonyseries.com/calendar-of-events.

QUESTIONS

Email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.

FEATURES

3 Canada geese found in Will County test positive for Avian flu: But you can take steps to protect yourself and your birds.

5 Things to do in Will County: Nature walks, Irish parade, Route 66 band: Plus the Fish & Hook Sport Show is coming to Lockport VFW Post 5788.

Illinois historical societies seeking relatives of Joliet iron worker ‘Big Steve’ Sutton: Illinois State Historical Society will honor union workers ambushed on July 19, 1932. 

Union nurses at St. Joe’s in Joliet still struggling to sort out payroll discrepancies: Donna Gholson: ‘To me, this doesn’t seem to be that hard of a thing to be fixed’

Silver Cross’ new platform makes scheduling medical appointments easier: Schedule through the New Lenox hospital’s SCHedule NOW platform.

Winter weather didn’t stop Lockport HS from honoring veterans: Three World War II #veterans received special acknowledgment

Pets of the Week: March 7: Will County Rescues have dogs and cats for adoption.

An Extraordinary Life: Joliet Slammers fan was ‘ultimate mentor to so many kids’: Richard Jaworowksi’s daughter hosting event at stadium in July to benefit local charities and honor his legacy 

New Lenox resident, English teacher in Ukraine️ left the country just in time: But Greg Aimaro is worried about his friends and hopes to return soon.

Agape Missions, NFP hosting vaccine clinic on March 12 in Joliet: The vaccine is free. Walk-ins are welcome.



Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"