Hot, New Release, by best selling author, Rose Blume.

Three x 12 Point Plans to Writing ROMANCE NOVELS

Three Variations of the Hero's Journey for the romance writer. One of the best ever explanations of plotting a successful novel was outlined in A Practical Guide to Joseph Cambell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces"

Here are three variations of this successful and classic plot to suit the romance writer. Compiled by Rose Blume

“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”

The above was stated by Willa Sibert Cather the American author who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, in works such as “O Pioneers!”, “My Ántonia”, and “The Song of the Lark”.

In this eBook, Rose Blume has compiled the basic “Hero’s Journey” then shown how this can be used as a basis for three different types of romance novels. Examples are given of great romance novels that follow these plot lines. Any one of these three romance plots could form a starting point for your short story or novel, and a basis for your initial rough plotting plan.

As you loosen up and begin the first draft allow your characters and imagination to free you from the confines of the plan and be creative. Individuality will develop as you write your first draft. If you find yourself waffling, or running off course then pull back to the plan you have chosen.

No Writers Block.By beginning with a plan and having that known successful plan to fall back on you will never developed writer’s block.

Do you have convict origins?

I recently read the classic Moll Flanders by Daniel DeFoe. It was an eyeopener to how harsh punishment was for theft in previous centuries. Crimes that are these days considered minor were capital offenses back then. To have become a convict, for al its hardships would have been a reprieve from the noose.

Though often portrayed as unskilled and illiterate, convict women brought over 200 trades with them, and had literacy levels very similar to those of English and Irish immigrant women. Occupations included working as dairymaids, weavers, lace-makers, seamstresses, teachers and fishing-net makers. In the area of shoes alone, the trades included bootmaker, bootbinder, boot closer and boot corder.

Here is the web address to search for convict records in Australia.

I bought citrus food while shopping yesterday and I'm just waiting for rain to be predicted and then I'll sprinkle it around the outer edges of the foliage of my citrus trees and water it in.

I obtained a fertilizer with a wetting agent included in the product as it can get hot and dry, here in the northern Goulburn Valley where I live. That is ideal conditions to grow citrus as lone as they have irrigation.

Home growers of fruit have a responsibility to care for them as insect pests allowed to flourish in home gardens might infect a commercial crop and devastate a commercial industry.

Citrus gall wasp is one example. A single wasp can lay up to 100 eggs on a tree. The gall wasp infests in new growth, typically at the start of spring, in all citrus varieties. Five years ago, it was something we hadn't heard of, now on the increase. It is in the river land of South Australia and as yet it has not reached  Tasmania. Like fruit fly, unless it is controlled it will spread throughout the country. 

Remove branches with citrus gall wasp eggs, and then wrap infected branches in plastic bags and leave them the sun to kill the eggs.

The commercial crops are looking good and this year it doesn't
look as if the fruit will be dug in due to imports, at last, we are exporting again.

A fabulous change for our orange growers is happening at the moment with a  huge surge in Australian orange exports to China, which is welcome relief for citrus growers.

A massive revamping blogging weekend. Remaking twenty websites. Painting with images, HTML and words. Loving it.

Watching wheat ripen and roses is my other 'difficult' activity. Life is sweet.

I hope things will be as sweat for the farmers. Wheat currently is selling doe around $305. per tone.

Last year the farmer planted Canola, this year he went half and half wheat and canola which was wise considering there is a global glut in canola that has dropped the price of canola this year.

Global glut hits canola (The Land)

Here is an old newspaper report from the Argus Newspaper of 1929 telling of how the farmers stocked up after April rains then drought came to the districts and the farmers were paying drovers to take the sheep into the roads, along the long paddock to keep them alive because the paddocks had been grazed out.

Living along side farmland gives em a wonderful experience of witnessing the cycles of nature without enduring the financial ups and downs of the seasons.

You can create pillows and cushions from any fabric. DIY pillows are fun to create. All you need is some basic sewing skills. Pillows may be as simple or complex as you would like.  They are an ideal start to learn more involved sewing skills such as quilting. Get creative and browse the ideas here then come up with your own ideas to show off your original flair.

One of the first things I did when I joined eBay and wanted to give myself some decent feedback prior to beginning selling, was to purchase some low cost items I could use for creative arts. I re-discovered doilies.
Antique shops and on-like auctions are a fantastic place to discover old lace and doilies ready for recycling for that chick and not shabby look. Old-fashioned charm is never dated. You can tack on a crocheted or embroidered section from a vintage doily to a plain pillow.

Be bold and draw with fabric pens or embroider a cursive monogram onto a pillow to give it individual character. These monogrammed pillows make excellent gifts and I've given them as re-usable and useful Christmas presents wrapping.

If you love the idea of decorative ribbon are and just don't have the time to make it, hop online and purchase from one of the Asian import stores. I have two of these ribbon roses cushions mingled amongst my tapestry ones and I didn't make any of them, I relaxed with a cup of coffee and shopped eBay way.

Be Masterful with Your Colour Mix

Regardless of whether you patchwork or plain, use a colour harmony guide so you don't get a kitsch look if you want chick. Wonderful colour harmony of cushions, pillows, soft furnishings can  pep up the personality of a neutral decor and it is easy to change to appearance of rooms with the seasons or your mood.

Scour secondhand stores for surprising ideas and if you stick to a pre-designed colour harmony you will be able to make it look expensive.  I am thrilled with my $99. lounge suit I purchased, I covered it with throw rugs and cushions and it looks as good as a $3,000. suite.

The basics would be to cut  two squares of fabric to the desired size (include extra for seam allowances). However. why restrict yourself to that basic model? if you are making the cushions and pillows, be creative—invent.

Sew the two, matching shape, wrong sides together, leaving an opening along one side to allow you to turn the pillow right side out. Fill it with stuffing or a pillow form. You can either stitch or fabric glue to close the opening.

Have you tried marbling onto paper and then transferring this to fabric?

Try it, and then create cushions and pillows from your designs.

This would be a wonderful project to do with the children over the school holidays. Involve then in the marbling creativity.

If you can't transfer the print to fabric yourself, there are online companies who do this for you. .

Because felted textiles don’t fray, they’re perfect for cutout shapes and embellishments. You don't even need to be ale to sew as fabric glue will fdo the trick. 

Mix and match themes and spotlight your collector skill. 

Be inventive. Outdoor pillows can be made from weather resistant fabric and have carry handles and openings so you can fill them with towels or thermal outer clothing to use if required.