Liz Tyner - Liz's Latest

A Boat on the Plains

6/29/2020

This boat, sadly shipwrecked on a tiny pond, gave me a huge smile. I didn't even notice the pirate flag at first.

I enjoy seeing evidence of people who express their creativity in humorous ways, and I hope my books have spots in them that give people a chuckle.

In Saying I Do to the Scoundrel, the book has lighthearted moments...even with the woman who hires her own kidnapper in hopes of getting a ransom from the stepfather who married her mother for money.

In The Notorious Countess, the very last line of the book is a punch line for the character who has a rational fear caused by an irrational woman.

Life isn't easy. I hope to sneak a smile for the reader between the pages of my books to give a bit more lightheartedness in the world.

Expectations: Oz verses Ahs…..

6/5/2020

   If you plan something for awhile, your expectations can rise. Then, when the planning comes to pass, you can be overwhelmed or underwhelmed.
    I remember reading the story of Dorothy's slippers in the Wizard of Oz. They had reportedly sold at action for around half a million dollars.
   Little size 5 shoes with red sequins...the color choice made because red shows up better on film.
The tale of the shoes spiked my imagination.
I viewed a pair of the slippers, although they were supposedly not a matched set.
   So these shoes were reportedly worth half a million dollars.
   I tried to see the magic.
   Sadly, it was like taking a peek behind Oz's curtain.
   Just shoes with sequins.
But it's no wonder I wasn't impressed. The movie didn't do a lot for me either.
It starts soon after a tornado hits a little house. It's hard for me to fall in love with a movie that sweeps a little girl away with a tornado, and drops her into a land with a mean witch.
   When I was a little girl, one bad weather day, I heard a roaring noise while I was outside. I wasn't concerned. Okay, maybe I was a little. The next day I discovered that a community member's home had been hit by a tornado, and that a tornado has a roaring noise.
   I hadn't taken cover or been scared. I'd just been curious about the noise.
   No, I don't like stories about little girls and tornados.

Pawnee Code Talkers

5/25/2020

I'd heard about Navaho Code Talkers but didn't know about the Pawnee Nation's own Code Talkers who'd probably lived not far from my house.

These bilingual troops could transmit tactical messages to each other in their native language. Six of the Code Talkers were wounded. Sergeant Echohawk was wounded three times, and one local Code Talker didn't survive combat.

Because there was no written language, it made it extremely difficult for anyone who'd not grown up speaking the language to be able to translate it.

Now I realize how confusing for an opposing side intercepting the messages to try to translate several unknown languages.

The Code Talkers were awarded a Congressional Gold Metal almost 50 years after the event.

I'm fortunate the memorial at Pawnee, OK, included mention of them because otherwise I would have missed this bit of local history.

Green and Vibrant

5/22/2020

The trees were my view the last time I set out on my exercise walk.

Then I get to a small field. The part of the tree that grows to the right is probably tall enough that I could easily walk under it. But, I would be risking meeting poison ivy up close, or stepping on something slithery. Another reason I tend to walk on mowed paths.

Then, there's a winding trail that twists and turns through true woods, and I return back to my yard on a different way because it makes it seem like I've traveled a greater distance. All three of the pictures, the tree and both paths, surround the small field that sometimes it grows up in the summer, with only an area mowed for a walking path.

After I've returned home, this is the view if I turn and look back into the field. You might notice a strap around the tree on the right. That's the back of the trail camera. Quite a few deer travel this path as well.

It seems unusual for someone in this area to have a house with an acreage if she doesn't plan to raise animals.

Most people in the area with an acreage have either a few head of cattle or some horses. Maybe goats and chickens closer to the house. These critters help out with the land, but also require even more work.

It's rare to want to care for an area without financial gain. Cows and pigs can be sold. Horses can be ridden. Goats trim the grass.

You either need critters to graze the pasture, or you mow it, or it will become a forest again.

Frankly, it is work. Either in caring for the animals on the property, or caring for the land itself. A lot of the land has been left to return to nature during my time on the place. But during the quarantine, I've enjoyed having the space to roam even more than usual.

With the world in a troubled mode, the walk helps. Nature is going along as usual which I can see as I stroll. I imagine the land little different than hundreds of years ago when Native American children played in the area. Imagining children at play and at peace with the world seems to briefly solve all my problems.

Photos In My World

5/15/2020

If it's in nature, and doesn't run from me, I'll take a photo of it. And the critters in the area would say, "If it doesn't run fast enough, she'll take a photo." They know me pretty well. I would have missed the mushrooms, though, if someone else hadn't pointed them out.

I think you can buy similar flowers at a nearby nursery, but these were growing freely.

The picture of the fruit tree blooms was taken earlier in the year. I think it's apple but that doesn't mean I expect to have fruit. It seems something else always has first, second and third pick of the apples, peaches and pears. I'm pleased if they leave the tree behind. (The deer do not always leave a healthy tree behind.)

Even the most unattractive weeds are often beautiful if you catch them at just the right moment.

I'm thankful the moderate weather has let me enjoy spring because when the mercury rises in the thermometer, I tend to forget nature and think about the beauty of air conditioning.

The Birds In My World

5/8/2020

Dealing with social distancing hasn't been as hard for me as it has been for many others. I've been fortunate to have photo opportunities in the yard.

If you have the opportunity to sit outside where there are lots of critters, grab a bag of popcorn and watch the show! However, you may be a part of the entertainment for them.

Native American Headdress

4/24/2020

I've only lived in one USA state, Oklahoma. Because the state is rich in Native American history, I'm fortunate to be close to that heritage. Some of my family members belong to the Cherokee Nation.

The Oklahoma state flag is a depiction of an Osage warrior shield. With over 30 Native American tribes having ties to Oklahoma, we sometimes have tribal celebrations near my home.

I was fortunate to attend a pow wow, and enjoyed watching the others dance. My friend, who is Native American, had authentic clothing made so one of the men in her family could take part in their heritage festivities. The cost of the outfit was comparable to the cost of a handmade wedding dress.

This headdress was photographed at a Woolaroc Museum, Bartlesville, OK

Cherry Blossoms

4/11/2020

Last year, I went to Washington DC on the first of April. The cherry blossoms were as vibrant as I expected, and this is my favorite photo of them. I took it on the last day of my visit. Later I read that the Washington Monument was, at one time, one of the tallest structures in the world. I feel that I should fact check that, but I didn't.

The tour guide told us that after the trees were planted, at some point the caretakers had trouble with the cherry trees being damaged at night. Later they discovered that beavers were the culprits. I could believe that as beavers have been destructive on my property.

Compromised into Marriage Favs

4/4/2020

Some writers know exactly which direction their story will go, and I envy them. But not always. Some of my favorite scenes in a book are often surprises that I didn't see happening when I started.
For instance in Compromised into Marriage.

When the bad girl stops the carriage with a bang.
The companion's non-role in the scene.
The hat that fell out of the vehicle, and how something so simple gave the heroine an option.

The First Kiss

4/1/2020

Imagine if you were young, beautiful, ill, sheltered, not expected to live, and you'd never been kissed. That could feel tragic to a young woman.

If a herbalist said she could save you, and all you had to do was promise to marry some rich, eligible bachelor, it would be a no-brainer. Sign me up, a young heroine might say.

So, Vivian Darius promises to marry Lord Everleigh. Not a problem, she thinks, because she isn't expected to live.

But then she gets well. As her health improves, it's time for her to make good on the promise, except he didn't agree to anything, except a kiss...

Writing these characters is what makes writing enjoyable, and seeing the twists and turns as the story arrives on the page. When you begin writing, you've made a promise to the character to make sure she gets her happy ending. Then, on publication day, it's official.