All Categories - Liz Tyner

Carolina Wren

6/15/2019

   Of all the reasons for writer's block, I've never heard anyone claim she couldn't write because the birds were leaving the nest. Today, I claim that.

   After watching the mother bird build her nest, suspecting that babies were inside, and trying to set up a camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release (and failing), I was able to watch the wrens leave the nest.

   At first glance, I knew the little ones were too small to make it on their own. But, then I discovered that the mother was still feeding them even as they sat and tried to figure out the new world around them.

This is the first day this Carolina Wren has sat in the sunshine, having been born in a nest hidden in a dark recess.

      Now, I'm back to writing, and I'm happy I was able to watch the exodus.

The Beauties and the Beasts

6/8/2019

I wanted to move to the country for a quiet life. I didn't expect a colorful life, and all the activity I would find around me.

Plans get disrupted by nature every year. Most usually, it's a frost that kills the blooms or a drought that kills plants. Or a critter that knows to pick the fruit the night before it gets ripe. But sometimes nature surprises me.

The mulberries were so sweet they didn't need sugar. Besides fruit from the trees overhead, I once was surprised to look up and see pelicans flying over. That's rare.

I admit, it's a bit unsettling to be on a walk and hear something skittering in the leaves at your feet. It's taken me a bit to accept the bad with the good. Sometimes the woods can be dangerous. I would say—the woods can be dangerous all the time. You have to be careful, and accept the risks.

This wild sow would have attacked me in a heartbeat if she'd thought her babies were threatened. I do my best never to have an encounter with a wild pig. I don't know that I would survive. This photo was taken with a trail cam which is safest.

The fruit tree is protected from the animals. And if you look at the deer on the right, she only has three legs.

Another critter I try not to get too near. I took this photo while on a walk. I wasn't expecting to see a bobcat, but we both went our separate ways.

I lived nearby for a long time before I moved to this location and discovered nature. They don't advertise their presence. Even after I first lived here, I had no idea that I had so many four-legged neighbors.

After a path was mowed through the woods, and I began to take daily walks, I learned that the animals like to walk on mowed paths almost as much as humans. Why wouldn't they?

Food: Early 19th Century Style?

6/2/2019

While watching the 1995 version of the movie Pride and Prejudice, I noticed the food on the family table. It didn't look tasty to me. The vegetables were cut into large chunks, and I saw no gravies or sauces.

So I wondered if food—cut in large chunks and mostly thrown together, then cooked—would do more than simply satisfy hunger? Would it taste good?

Larger pieces of food save time in preparation, but take more time in getting the heat correct—although it would have been routine for a cook in the nineteenth century. My version wasn't cooked over coals, but firewood.

The verdict: Yes, it tasted good. The flavor was a little different than what I was used to, but definitely hearty and something a character in my novel would enjoy.

Photos From My World

5/26/2019

The sight of the etchings combine with the reflections of passersby at the Korean War Memorial.

Ruffled Feathers

5/18/2019

I suppose it's easy to get your feathers ruffled when you get a bad review. It's human nature to want only praise and applause.

The triumph is to take it all with a grain of salt. The good with the bad, and the negative with the positive.

When I checked out the comments on a centuries old controversial book, and saw the reviews—the good and the bad and the humorous, I thought it might be best to ignore negative feedback...even on someone else's book.

A day is too short to focus on unpleasantness. Those ruffled feathers can un-ruffle, and life is better with shared happiness.

Lorakeet photos taken at the OKC zoo.

Photos From My World

5/13/2019

Not all butterflies are stunning with vibrant colors, but they each have a place and a perfection of their own.
And, they're so much better than mosquitoes...

Cooking - Antique Style

4/21/2019

This kitchen from the early 1800's appealed to me, although it would be difficult to be a cook when water had to be carried, and without air conditioning.I can remember being in a warm house during canning season.

It seems that as soon as air conditioning arrived on the scene, people stopped canning.

I'm sure the two women who worked in this one would have applauded a more convenient way of preparing food. This kitchen fed many people, and the women were extremely skilled at what they did. After all, working at a job day after day—without a day off—would encourage proficiency. And tiredness.

I have a smaller version of the pot on the left, and once used a pan similar to the one in the middle. The only comment I have about it is—when they're full, they're heavy!I

Bows, Arrows, and Bellona

4/20/2019

Some of my favorite things about the book, spoilers included.

Bellona is a woman who asks to be paid in weapons.
She's terrified on the inside but ready to protect herself with her bow and arrows.
The duke's mother tosses him out of his house, and well, it's his mom so he leaves.
The duke's mother does have melancholia and throws herself down the stairs, gets up, dusts herself off and goes on with life. And in my opinion, puts that bad day, and her grief, behind her.
Bellona getting to the top of the stairs.
A scene in which a knife goes awry, but the duke recovers.
The duke, waiting, in bed, for his hand to stop bleeding.
Bellona's uppity chin.

Look, for a limited time, at Walmart:
Or:
https://tinyurl.com/y2d9ry7m

Bellona's Back!

4/13/2019

Bellona's back!

The story of a Grecian archer who accidentally stabs a duke has been on the Wal-Mart shelves in the US for a few weeks.

It was fun writing the story. I acted out the stabbing scene in an attempt for accuracy. The other participant applied the ketchup for color—without my knowledge, and that gave me a jolt.

My own experience with a bow and arrows has been limited. However, once in the darkness, I did dislodge a bow—with arrows in the quiver—from its resting place. I ended up with a very small slice from the broadhead—which is the tip of the arrow.

Still standing in darkness, I never felt the cut, but suddenly realized my skin was burning.

I was fortunate.

Forbidden to the Duke:
https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335467683_forbidden-to-the-duke.html (limited time)

Or ebook:
https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335467683_forbidden-to-the-duke.html

Accents—Beauties That are a Beast to Alter

3/15/2019

My husband claims I talk to myself when writing. That hardly surprises me as I am more comfortable being alone while I write so my characters may speak freely and aloud.

He also claims I speak in a British accent. A bad British accent.

My London borne character needed to say a word in French, so no wonder it didn't sound quite right..

That any accent I speak doesn't sound authentic shouldn't surprise me as I don't do the Oklahoma accent well either and I've lived in the state all my life.

"Where are you from?" I've been asked. It took me quite some time to realize that occasionally people were trying to place my accent.

We're all as unique as our fingerprints, and in some ways, having an accent can help us bond. It's a part of who we are—a bit of the fabric of our life. When you're meeting someone for the first time, it lets you know that you and the other person may have different histories. It gives you a conversation starter so that you both can compare and contrast your experiences.

Vive la difference.