Liz Tyner
Visit:
  • Liz's Latest
  • It's Marriage or Ruin
  • To Win A Wallflower
  • Novel Views
  • The Wallflower Duchess
  • English Rogues
  • The Notorious Countess
  • Point and Click Pics
  • Roguish Rake Excerpt
  • The Runaway Governess
  • Bio Bit

Bison...At Home on the Range

7/17/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Bison are fairly common here. But they’re usually, willingly, in pens. I’ve heard that if a 1000 pound bison doesn’t really want to be enclosed…it’s difficult to argue.

Surprisingly, though, I’d never realized the difference between seeing a few of them in a pen, and seeing a herd of them in the wild. Besides the lack of fencing, the ground wasn’t littered with troughs—or barren because of over-grazing, They looked more peaceful, and unspoiled.

I imagine myself seeing a sight viewed centuries in the past.

Picture
Even the babies seemed more contented in the habitat.
Picture
But no matter how peaceful and serene everything appears...this is their home, and I'm a visitor. I wasn't invited by them, and I'm to take care. Or, as the sign says:
Picture
One spring, in a contained pasture, I did wake one up accidentally as I drove slowly along the road. It's best to let them sleep.

Photos taken near Pawhuska, OK at the Tallgrass Prairie Wildlife Preserve.

0 Comments

A Cinderella for the Viscount: Research

6/28/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
A Cinderella for the Viscount started with an image of a man and woman dancing a waltz, and him being extremely bored with the event, and yet fascinated by the woman he held. But, I wanted a combustible beginning. I wrote the first scenes, and then considered them again.

I worried that my dear heroine would go up in flames if her lightweight silk dress caught on fire.

So, I did a little research*, and found some  candles—not wanting to chance it with glassware and flammable liquids.

From unneeded fabric already in my home, I stitched together a fake dress, but wasn’t about to use silk…

The results changed the beginning of the story. I wanted to be certain that Rachael had plenty of time to be rescued, even though my research suggested that a woman in a heavier denim-type dress, with a candle falling against her, on a humid Oklahoma day, could have rescued herself.
 
*Don’t try this at home. This research was conducted by a professional and still had unsuccessful results.

0 Comments

Scamp and A Cinderella for the Viscount

6/25/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
I didn't know the character of Scamp would be in A Cinderella for the Viscount, but the hero, Devlin is attempting to prove his reliability and gets a dog.

"Does he do any tricks?" Rachael asked.

"Just walking and barking." He looked at her. "And those are not always easy for him, but you cannot discount barking. It's better than whining."

"You've taken on a commitment to him. And you chose an animal that is in advanced years and you have added staff to care for him."

"I thought you'd be pleased." He scratched Scamp under his chins and the dog grumbled again. "That's his most pleasant noise."

"You have a companion that hardly demands anything of you at all. Just staff."


Previously, I wasn't sure about adding pets for my characters. But sometimes it seems to just happen. The same way you might step out a door and find a stray animal with no home—or, as I once did, two miniature burros who've wandered from their owner. 

The two horses who meandered into my field had to be returned, too...in the snowstorm. And the five cows that visited...well...

And the beautiful dog, Maple, who showed up for a visit, was so endearing I had to force myself not to become attached, but she had to go back to her rightful owner, much like Scamp did.

Just as Rachael and Devlin found their happily-ever-after in A Cinderella for the Viscount, so did Maple, Meriwether and Lewis (the burros) and the horses, whose names I didn't get. The cows may not have had such a happily-ever-after, as they had a run-in with law enforcement. They escaped in a wooded area, and were not seen by me again—although soon after, another neighbor did visit and ask if we were missing a cow as he had found one.

Picture
0 Comments

Fathers With Wings

6/18/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
From Christmas time until Memorial Day, I tried to visit the nearby eagle area once a week, not expecting that the end results would give me appreciation for how some fathers in nature take care of their young..

Picture
With the male eagle, I didn’t realize, at first, how closely he was watching over the nest. When it came time for the young ones to fly, he encouraged them by flying to the next tree, and then he returned, landing in limbs on the other side of the tree from the nest.

The young one hopped along the branches to be closer to his father, but as time passed, he began to take flight.

Picture
Seeing the parenting was unexpected, but rewarding.
Picture
Often the father would be nearby when I visited—and for all I knew, he could have been there every time. When he was motionless, it could be hard to notice him.

He usually didn't appear to hunt for food for the babies, yet I was told he would. 

But in the end, perhaps the most rewarding part for me was to see how  devoted he appeared to be to the eaglets.

A father's compassion for his children was a secondary theme in the first book I had published, Safe in the Earl's Arms. I didn't notice it until completing the last pages...

The heroine, Melina was mostly abandoned by her father, and Warrington is trying to find parents for a little girl who is his ward. Warrington feels he's found the perfect home in a devoted couple, but Melina also has a family unit planned for the little one. In the end, Melina enlists her collected family to show Warrington she would be a good mother, and he would be the best father.

Writing the resolution was uplifting for me. I wrote the romance planning for the underlying theme to be about the search for the statue of the Venus de Milo's arms, but for me, it turned out to be about parental love.

Seeing good parenting in nature made all the trips to watch the eagle nest even more worthwhile.

The male eagle's actions to his offspring were positive, and hopefully, next year, I'll be able to see the supportive parents return to the nest and have more young to raise. 

0 Comments

Extinct...But Not Forgotten

6/13/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
During a visit to an exhibit at my local zoo, I had a chance to walk among replicas of some of the beings of the past. At some point, I decided the creators of the cartoon Ice Age had done more research than I ever realized. 

I think of the word dinosaur as being in use since the creatures first walked the earth. But it's a relatively new term, only coined in the mid-1800's, and taken from the Greek word for a terrible lizard. 

Since the Greeks did have a word for terrible lizard maybe they had an inkling that different beings once lived on the planet. Finding one fossil could have led to mythological tales. 

​I doubt I would have been able to survive long in such a fierce time. I just hope that some of the animals who went extinct were poisonous snakes. And I don't think I'll ever miss the T-Rex again.
Picture
0 Comments

Warning: Cactus May Be Painful To Touch

4/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
When I was walking in the arid section of a nature preserve, someone warned me to avoid the cacti that were thick on the ground.

It reminded me of the time I was carefully treading across a fallen tree which made a path over a ditch and the guide told me the mud underneath wasn't a soft as it looked. It didn't look at all soft.

I didn't really need the warning about the cactus.

I'd discovered, as a teen, in an area that had few cacti, that just one can be unpleasant. I didn't think I was sitting near it, but I learned that a safe distance from a cactus is a little farther away than I expected.
0 Comments

Fine: $225 to Feed the Prairie Dogs

4/3/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
The sign told me that it is a $225 fine to feed the prairie dogs. And by comparing the activities of this village to a similar one, I'd say that people haven't been feeding them. But it's not the threat of the $225 fine that keeps the critters from being treated. It's the note that says people food isn't healthy for them. This helps keep visitors from being tempted to treat the little ones when no one is watching.

These animals do seem happier than the ones in the other village where I saw the scraps of carrots. More relaxed, and not watching for a treat. 
Picture
It's unusual for me to find critters that will pose as long as I wish. 
Picture
The sign also said the prairie dogs liked having their photos taken, so I have to believe that whoever made the sign knew about wildlife..

0 Comments

Modern Art Style

2/19/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
 I think I first saw a picture of the car before I was old enough to drive, and was fascinated but not impressed with the sight as modern art.

After forgetting about it, I discovered the actual car in front of one of the Smithsonian art museums.

Again, I spent some time perusing it.

Later, I showed the picture to someone else and he took a moment to look at it. To study it. 

Now it sticks in my memory.

That's the secret, I believe, that artists are striving for. To create something that another person will take an extra moment with. ​That will linger in their mind. 

Art is subjective. People can disagree about it. And it's even subjective within me. What I don't think is art on one day, may speak to me on another day.

0 Comments

Valentine's Day Flowers

2/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Roses are considered the traditional Valentine's Day flower, but these wildflowers called cinquefoil are from the rose family give me the Valentine's spirit when I see them in the woods near my house.

In fact the woods seem filled with flowers I'll spot during spring and summer if I slow down for a moment and look for them. 
A passion flower, trumpet vine and partridge pea growing wild in nature.

But the odd thing is that I don't remember any wildflowers from the place I used to live. I'm sure it had some but it had mostly been tilled for farming. I'm thankful for the food it produced, but the opportunity to explore woods left in their natural state—but with a well-tending walking path—have given me a much better appreciation for nature.

Sadly, I know, that without that walking path for ease of access, I wouldn't have discovered the wildflowers.​ They would have been forever hidden from me and I wouldn't have even suspected their presence.
0 Comments

How Much Does An Author Read?

2/5/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Reading….

Sadly, as a writer, I’ve been keeping the deep secret that I don’t read much anymore. The time, you know. As soon as I finish writing one book, I’m anxious to start another one.

So as I sit here—now a non-reader—and I look around my room.

I see the 900 page reference book I purchased a few months ago. One of the new romance novels I bought. Plus, on my nightstand, there’s an out-of- print book on writing that I was lucky to find online. And I just finished Dean Koontz’s book, Trixie, A Big Little Life, a non-fiction audio book...but I stopped reading at Chapter 20, right before the end because it’s mainly a biography about a dog, and we know what happens at the end if the book was written after the main character’s death. So, it ended happily for me as Trixie will live on.

As for e-books, I downloaded The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and am planning to read it at night. Some of the other books on my e-reader have been read recently. I started one a second time.

It dawned on me that a writer who says they don’t read much may be comparing themselves to the person they used to be who would leave the library with a big bundle of books every two weeks. Or every week.

It’s kinda like thinking you didn’t have that many calories on a day until you walk by the trash and see the candy wrappers. By the evidence around me, I read a lot more than I realized. 

0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>
    Picture
    US Purchase
    Picture
    US Purchase
    Picture
    Buy
    Picture
    Buy
    Picture
    USA
    UK
    ​
    Picture
    It's Marriage or Ruin
    Picture
    To Win A Wallflower
    Picture
    I Do
    Picture
    Roguish Rake
    Picture
    The Wallflower Duchess
    Picture
    The Runaway Governess
    Picture
    The Notorious Countess
    Picture
    Picture
       Click below to post a review.
    Harlequin ®   books
    Picture
    Picture
    Harlequin ®   books
    Picture
    Harlequin ®   books

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    A Captain And A Rogue
    Accent
    A Cinderella For The Viscount
    Acreage
    Alicia Dean
    Allergy
    Animals
    Anna Kittrell
    Archery
    Arrowhead
    Art
    Assassin Fly
    Audio Books
    Autumn
    Beatrice
    Beau Brummell
    Bee
    Bee Balm
    Bellona
    Ben Johnson Museum
    Berries
    Beverly Sills
    Biographies
    Bird
    Bison
    Blooms
    Boat
    Book Look
    Books
    Boots
    Bride
    Bud
    Buffalo
    Bunner
    Bunny
    Butterfly
    Carol Burnett
    Carolina Wren
    Carriage
    Cat
    Character
    Cherokee
    Cherry Blossoms
    Chickasaw
    Christmas
    Christmas Gifts
    Clothes
    Code Talkers
    Compromised Into Marriage
    Conference
    Cooking
    Creativity
    Creek
    Deborah Butterfield
    Deer
    Denver
    Diary
    Dickens
    Dinosaurs
    Doe
    Eagles
    Ella Etta
    Emotion
    Extrovert
    Fawn
    Flower
    Flowers
    Food
    Forbidden To The Duke
    Fossil
    Fox
    Friendship
    Gate
    Gentleman
    George Washington
    Ginerva
    Glencoe
    Governesses Guide To Marriage
    Grandmother
    Greenleaf
    Historical
    Home
    Horse
    Humor
    Impressionist
    Inspiration
    Introvert
    Italy
    Its-marriage-or-ruin
    Kidnapping
    Kitchen
    Lavinia-fontana
    Leonardo-da-vinci
    Life-in-wellingtons-army
    Limestone
    Longhorns
    Lorakeet
    Loss
    Mandolin
    Marriage
    Melos
    Michael Caine
    Modern Art
    Moses
    Museum
    Name
    National Cowboy And Western Heritage Museum
    Native-americans
    Nature
    New-years-resolutions
    Night
    Novel
    Office
    Oklahoma
    Oklahoma City Zoo
    Omelette
    Outlaws
    Packsaddle
    Painting
    Parenting
    Pawhuska
    Pawnee
    Pawnee Bill's
    Personality
    Pet
    Photo
    Photography
    Photos
    Picnic
    Plot Twist
    Pollen
    Portrait
    Prairie Dog
    Quote
    Rabbit
    Raccoon
    Reading
    Redeeming The Roguish Rake
    Regency
    Research
    Reviews
    Roadrunner
    Rock
    Romance
    Rope
    Roping
    Rotunda
    Safe In The Earl's Arms
    Sammy Hagar
    Samuel Pepys
    Santa
    Saying I Do To The Scoundrel
    Scene Favorites
    School
    Secondary Characters
    Ship
    Shipwreck
    Signs
    Sistine Chapel
    Slippers
    Smithsonian
    Snakes
    Socks
    Spider
    Squirrel
    Stakes
    Stubby
    Sulphur
    Summer
    Surgery
    Tempting A Reformed Rake
    Tenkiller
    The Governess's Guide To Marriage
    The Notorious Countess
    Thistle
    Threshold
    Title
    Tornado
    To Win A Wallflower
    Tractor
    Trail
    Trail Camera
    Trap
    Trash
    T-Rex
    Turkey
    Two-years-before-the-mast
    Valentine's Day
    Video
    Villains
    Violin
    Washington
    Watch
    Wedding
    Wellington
    Westerns
    Wichita Wildlife Refuge
    Wildflowers
    Wildlife
    Winona Cross
    Woolaroc
    Worldly Goods
    Writer's Block
    Writing
    Zane Grey
    Zombie
    Zoo

    Picture
© 2022 Liz Tyner
​