All you need to know about sex ...continued

Canoes are a Canadian thing. Making love in a canoe is not for the faint-hearted nor anyone with a weak back. American readers may not be familiar with Canadian geography, specifically, Newfoundland and its people. Check it out on a map. My father was born in British Harbour, Newfoundland and I have many relatives in St. John's. It's a wonderful place to visit and the people are welcoming. *

Just so you'll know. A dory is a small flat bottomed skiff used by fisherman.

Newfoundlandlers have a highly developed sense of humour. When the discussion arose about who is a "real Canadian," the following story appeared in the Letters column in one of our national newspapers. It is allegedly true.

A Newfoundland politician was visiting his constituents and dropped in at a senior's care home. After chatting with various old folks, he turned to the oldest resident, a bright eyed lady.

"You are in remarkable health," he said. "Have you ever been bed ridden?"

"Oh, thousands of times, " she said, "and twice in a dory."

So ends the discussion about who is and who is not a real Canadian.

*When the trade centre towers in New York were attacked on September 2001, all civilian aircraft were diverted to Canadian airports and many landed in Gander Airport, Newfoundland. In the space of hours, the local people opened their homes to the stranded travellers where they could rest and be fed. It was a bit like "the loaves and the fishes" parable in the Bible. A small community rallied to care for thousands of strangers. That is real Newfoundland hospitality.

Visit this ruggedly beautiful island and enjoy meeting its people.

Anita Birt

Visit my web site to read excerpts of my five books published by Cerridwen Press. View the trailer for my historical romance, A Very Difficult Man. It's also on YouTube and my Facebook page.
www.anitabirt.com

Meeting and Greeting

A little something different on my blog to-day. I have a guest. Please greet Delilah Marvelle. I am impressed by her dedication to her career as an author. Read on to learn how she plans her writing hours and where she gets her inspirations.

I'm asking the Questions.


Q. How long have you been writing fiction? Did you write stories when you were a child?

I have been writing stories ever since I was about nine. They started off as snippets of fairy tales I created and snowballed into bigger and bigger stories as I experienced the good and bad in life and read more.

Q. Do you write with music playing in the background or in a quiet room?

I would say my writing habits are very odd. I not only have to have quiet, I can't have ANYONE in the house. I feel like their energy and their vibes are interfering with the world I'm trying to create, that, and the fact that when I write, I actually verbalize what I write. So if anyone was around, they would hear me interacting with my characters in a fake British accent (since my stories take place in London, England 1830)

Q. Who is your writing day like?

Summers are different from the rest of the year because my children have the summer off. So during the summer, I get up early (about 4-5 a.m.) and write until they kids get up, which is about 8-9 a.m. I don't feel the same about my writing during the summer as I do during the fall, winter and spring. Mostly because there are people around me and so I feel as if I'm not really entering the world I need to enter into. During the rest of the year I write from 4-6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and sometimes in the evening. I don't answer phones, or do e-mail or anything that interrupts my writing. I don't even eat or go to the bathroom, LOL. I just write. It always takes an hour or two before I get warmed up at the computer, which is another reason why I don't let anything interrupt me. My writing time is short.

Q. Where do you get your story ideas? An overheard fragment of conversation? A scene on the street? A memory?

Because I write historical romance, most of my ideas are based from history itself. I own a lot of research books, out of print and first edition books that I read whenever I can and that inspire me to find glimmers of inspiration.

Q. Do you plot your books or do you get an idea and start writing to see where the story takes you?

I am definitely a panster. Meaning, I write by the seat of my pants. If I plot the story out too much, then I get bored of it and feel like there's no point in writing a story I already know everything about. I like to be surprised by my own characters, and therefore can predict how my own readers will react. I always start with a premise and the hero and heroine, then let everything fall into place. To me, they're like people. You can't get to know them until you spend a lot of time with them. And not time plotting, but writing.

Q. How do you feel when you finish a book and have to say good-bye to your characters?

Finishing a book is divine. Saying good-bye to my characters not so divine. I think that's why I love writing series. Because I don't have to say good-bye to those characters. I can visit with them whenever I want to. And it really adds depth to the other books because I know the characters so well.

Q. What can you tell me about your book to be released in August?

LORD OF PLEASURE is book 2 in the School of Gallantry Series. The School of Gallantry is a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction. The headmistress is an elderly retired courtesan who uses her experience to educate men on what she feels they lack. It's very funny and VERY hot. Almost bordering on erotic. Because you can't very well touch on a subject about teaching men and love and seduction without fully opening the doors.
What I love most about this series is because they all take place at the same exact time, you can read them in any order and not feel confused or lost. Which was always my frustration when reading series. Feeling like I was missing out because I picked up the wrong book. LORD OF PLEASURE is about Lord Hawksford. He was brought up in a very usual household in which his parents were prim and proper before the ton during the day and played Adam and Eve at night. His upbringing makes him very playful and sexually aware, but when his father dies, leaving him with five overzealous sisters and a not so proper mother, he finds himself torn between what society expects him to be and what he wants to be. How does Lord Hawksford, being so experienced and all, get involved in the School of Gallantry? Read the book and find out. Wink.

Lord of Pleasure will be released in early August 2009
Delilah is published by Kensington Publishing. To find out more about Delilah, go to her web site: www.DelilahMarvelle.com

Thanks for taking time to answer my questions, Delilah. I enjoyed meeting you and your heroes in The School of Gallantry.

Anita Birt
www.anitabirt.com

All you need to know about sex and . . .

Have I got your attention? Good. There has been much discussion in the past few weeks about what it means to be a "real" Canadian. I was born and raised in Canada and feel very real. However, one of Canada's famous historical writers (now deceased) Pierre Berton, commented that a real Canadian should be able to make love in a canoe.

I have paddled canoes. Portaged canoes. Tipped out of canoes and never, ever thought of making love in a canoe. Canoes are remarkably unstable even in calm water. If you shift position too quickly you will end up in the water.

Make love in a canoe. First of all, lay a couple of sleeping bags on the bottom to cover the ribs. If you have a rib-less canoe, all the better. You, the male, are the stern paddler because you know how to do the J stroke. The J stroke is not for sex! It's to keep the canoe on course!

Let's assume the woman is already naked and lying on the sleeping bags. If you're going to make love in a canoe, it's best to be naked to start with. Undressing in a canoe is fraught with danger, you may tip the canoe as you wriggle out of your clothes and end up in the water.

So, let's call them Jake and Jill. Jake is ready. Jill is willing. Jake has to slide the paddle into the canoe. In doing so the canoe wobbles then rights itself. Jake gets on his knees and inches towards Jill. Oh, this is wonderful. He reaches her, inches between her legs and ...

Their lovemaking is vigorous and their orgasms are wild. Unrepeatable unfortunately because the canoe tips them into the water. They come up laughing but not for long. They are way out in the middle of the lake, it's late at night, and the canoe is drifting away.

Does Jake know how to right a canoe? Is he a REAL Canadian? Is Jill? Jake and Jill hang on to the canoe and eventually get it upright. Climb into a canoe? I shall leave the lovers to figure that out. It ain't easy.

Real Canadians carry Canadian passports! That's real enough for me.

Have a look at my web site, www.anitabirt.com and read excerpts of my books.

Anita

What's it all about Alfie?

Remember the film? Alfie was such a rogue, breaking hearts and walking away as if a broken heart was of no account. The film, as I recall, was about the meaning of life - not the Monty Python version.

My husband, born and raised in Wales, was fond of quoting a poem written by William Henry Davies, a Welsh poet. The words speak to me of life and living and as a writer I sometimes forget to remember the richness of life.

"What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows;

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass;

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance;

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Do you have a poem or a piece of writing that speaks to you in a particular way? I am going to walk along the path by the sea this afternoon to view the scene, smell the sea and sit on a bench in the sun and reflect on my life.

anita
www.anitabirt.com

Newspapers

I am asking all Goddesses and readers of this blog if you have a daily newspaper delivered to your home? I am deeply concerned at the numbers of important newspapers crashing in the United States. Seattle has lost its daily paper. To me, it will be a sad day to see the demise of newspapers.

I am a newspaper junkie! I get three daily news papers every day except Sunday when I only get one. Without a newspaper I don't know how anyone follows world events in depth. The snappy little clips on television only skip the stories.

I enjoy reading the columnists. The editorial content is slightly different in Canada's two national newspaper. The Globe and Mail tends to be liberal in its focus. The National Post is slightly more right wing. During Federal elections they have reporters travelling with the parties and candidates, makes for interesting reading. The third paper I receive is The Times Colonist, published in Victoria. It reflects the happenings on Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia.

Yes, I find time to write. Without my daily newspaper fix I'd feel lost. Even when Bill and I travelled abroad, I picked up English language papers. Never any news about Canada except for the hockey scores during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Have you seen the trailer for my book? It's on YouTube and my Facebook page.

I hope you have time to comment about news papers. I fear for our democratic way of life if we lose these important bearers of information.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com