tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6546189543206548112024-03-04T20:22:58.841-08:00A Writer In ViennaLynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-58208622084108858322015-04-18T00:01:00.000-07:002015-04-18T02:39:45.294-07:00All About The Hook ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobin0418 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqfz-x110XwJs2CSez6Jur6FCWzoC2RGhCaIQAHjwm3ULK46XkUBta78QhffSbWQGJC7MpVL6UXPn7-SAm8QhifL1b8uVlteqyIFc71ff_vQMduo054q3wLnkTazT1V8SKVipMdbl2zxi/s1600/canstockphoto22417264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqfz-x110XwJs2CSez6Jur6FCWzoC2RGhCaIQAHjwm3ULK46XkUBta78QhffSbWQGJC7MpVL6UXPn7-SAm8QhifL1b8uVlteqyIFc71ff_vQMduo054q3wLnkTazT1V8SKVipMdbl2zxi/s1600/canstockphoto22417264.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And welcome to A Writer In Vienna. If you’ve
never been here before, pull up a chair and look around. I’ve lived in Vienna,
Austria four years and am trying to share that experience with others. Drop by
my other blog </span><span style="background: white; color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://www.lynncrain.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.lynncrain.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> for Monday’s Scoop where I talk even more about the experience. While
there, don’t forget to comment and be entered into my monthly contest for a $25
GC of your choice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today’s topic is all about what glues you to a
story, start to finish. This also includes how we as authors hook our readers. These
are age old topics for writers and aren’t to be taken lightly. If you can’t
interest a reader immediately in today’s publishing world, you don’t have a
chance. If you don’t live up to your hook, you don’t have a chance of being
picked up again by that reader.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So…what’s an author to do? Write a great first
line, of course!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To me, some of the things a first line,
commonly called your hook line, should do, but not necessarily all of them,
are:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> State
something unusual. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Show
someone under stress. For example, if your main character is a time traveler,
how they handle what they see and experience will decide the course of the
story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The
first must be appropriate to the story. You don’t show a nun, who is having a
crisis of faith, in the middle of a barrage of gunfire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> It
should describe the moment when the rest of the novel becomes inevitable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The
first line should sum up the whole story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> They
must make the reader want to read line two.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Overall, a first line or hook, should be
clever, thought-provoking, draw the reader into an unfamiliar world, bring a
smile to the readers face, be poignant, setup a mystery, use words in such a wonderful
way that the reader wants more, introduce a characters and so much more. Those
are just a few of the things I feel a first line should do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just think of some of the best first lines you’ve
read. Here a few of mine:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">It is a truth
universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune
must be in want of a wife. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #385723; font-size: 13pt;">(Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813)</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Harry Potter was a very unusual boy in many
ways.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13pt;">(Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling, 1999)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">He was running for his life. </span><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13pt;">(Hot Ice, Nora Roberts, 1987)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And here’s a few from my own stories:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Damn, I’m
going to lose another one, </span></i><span style="color: #003399; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">MacKenzie thought as she beat the steering wheel
with her fist. </span><span style="color: #385723; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">(Midnight Run, Lynn
Crain, 2010 unpublished)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">He had always been in this cage in one way or
another. </span><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13pt;">(Night of the Blue
Moon, Lynn Crain, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">What the hell was I doing on this off-planet
hell hole? </span><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13pt;">(Private Dancer,
Lynn Crain, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first line
sets the tone for of the rest of the novel, everything else of the story will
follow from it. If the first line isn’t something an author can feel in their
gut, it’s probably wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now once you’ve
written that great first line, you need to keep the pace going so that every
page is integral to the overall story arc of the characters. Again, think of
all the books you couldn’t put down. The books I listed above were finished in
a day or no more than a few days because every page was a turner.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a writer, it’s
hard to make every page something great. The idea is to first get the story
down as if it never gets out of one’s head and on the page, it doesn’t matter.
Once there, an author can tweak it, read it again, send it to betas, tweak it
some more, have an editor look at it and finally get it published because it
shines like a new copper penny.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some writers
think there is a secret to making great page turners. There isn’t. A writer’s
greatest tool is the ability to change and adapt, to make their product better
as their career moves on. What and how I write today isn’t the same as how I
wrote in my late twenties. I’m better and I know it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And as a
writer, I will learn and grow until I can’t any more. Even today, I take
classes. Currently, I’m in two marketing classes, a flash-fiction class and a
class on how to create a language. I feel it will all make me a better writer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Overall, I try to write stories I like to read.
I love things to be thrilling and constantly changing. Some of my
works-in-progress reflect that as I’m working on a series of short stories
about a paranormal matchmaking service, a series of shorts about a group of
women who were genetically engineered to be soldiers, and a series about a
young girl thrust into the world of paranormal investigation. Each and every
story is unique. Hopefully, they have a great hook, an incredible middle and a
kick-ass ending.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look into writing
great hooks and page turners. Thank you for being supportive of us during our
round robins. We love when you visit us and tell us what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t forget to go to each of the authors in
the list below. Again, thanks for joining us…see you next time. </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 48.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lynn </span><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 48.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beverley Bateman at </span></span><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Diane Bator<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://dbator.blogspot.ca/q" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca/q</span></a></span></span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="im"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ginger Simpson</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="im"><span lang="DE" style="color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://mizging.blogspot.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #385723; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://mizging.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></span></span><span class="im"><span lang="DE" style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="im"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Skye Taylor </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="im"><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://www.skye-writer.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.skye-writer.com/</span></a></span></span></span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Marci Baun at </span></span><a href="http://www.marcibaun.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Margaret Fieland at </span><a href="http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helena Fairfax at </span></span><a href="http://helenafairfax.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://helenafairfax.com/</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anne Stenhouse at </span></span><a href="http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fiona McGier at </span></span><a href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.fionamcgier.com/</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Connie Vines at </span></span><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">http://connievines.blogspot.com/</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Rachael
Kosnski</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt; text-decoration: none;">http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/</span></a></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="im"><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Victoria Chatham</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 13pt;"> </span></span><span class="im"><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://victoriachatham.webs.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385723; text-decoration: none;">http://victoriachatham.webs</span><span style="color: #385723; text-decoration: none;">.</span><wbr></wbr><span style="color: #385723; text-decoration: none;">com/</span></a></span></span></span>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-89032572465140363932015-03-21T00:01:00.000-07:002015-03-22T02:00:35.886-07:00A Matter of Research ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobin0321 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wBYbpFH9IwliiG9Vt871l2S4pgvDC7aijFwyP-uRhkNBuwOCYI3NDsBGWG4JF48c19TGfLI8neZcv2XqDYKRtyc5K5wbfrrlOaxCBffZyfIAFdBMqFs3ne9SGzRKzjxtKLqm5upD0laJ/s1600/My+Flat+Library+March+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wBYbpFH9IwliiG9Vt871l2S4pgvDC7aijFwyP-uRhkNBuwOCYI3NDsBGWG4JF48c19TGfLI8neZcv2XqDYKRtyc5K5wbfrrlOaxCBffZyfIAFdBMqFs3ne9SGzRKzjxtKLqm5upD0laJ/s1600/My+Flat+Library+March+2015.JPG" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And welcome to A Writer In Vienna. If you’ve
never been here before, pull up a chair and look around. I’ve lived in Vienna,
Austria four years and am trying to share that experience with others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Today’s topic is all about research. Every
story, no matter what genre deals with research. I was asked the following
questions: What type of research have you had to do? Does it bother you when
you read something happening in a story that is inaccurate historically,
socially, scientifically, etc.?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Here’s my answer: All story genres take some research
for establishing details in the setting. It really doesn’t matter what genre
one writes in, everyone needs to do some research. When I was writing my
award-winning story, </span><span style="background: white; color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://www.extasybooks.com/lynn-crain/the-haunting-of-maggie-grey/"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Haunting of Maggie Grey</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, I had to figure out just how a woman doctor would survive in Scotland
on the Isle of Skye. Even before that, I had to figure out if there were even
women doctors available to that area during the 1880s-1890s since I wasn’t
sure. Happily, I found there was a plethora of women who went into the
profession and offered their services to the underprivileged of the time. I
even had to do research of veterinary medicine as the hero was a vet and again,
I didn’t know if that was even possible. Apparently, I got it right as that
story has won some ebook awards in its time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, if I wasn’t doing a historic setting,
I’d still have to do the research. In my completed book called Loving the
Scotsman, I’m again back in Scotland. In that book, I draw on my time visiting
there as the setting is contemporary. I look at the places I’d been and even
made up some fictional ones to fit the mood and event. I knew enough from being
there, my current time research and even emailing people I knew there to make
sure everything was accurate or plausible. This story is currently with an
agent and I’m hopeful that it will go the rounds at NYC very soon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I even take Scotland one step further. In my
WIP, I again go back to Skye with A Wizard in Skye. This is a story about a
futuristic female cop who is pulled into a wizard’s prison by some evil magic.
She doesn’t believe in magic. Here I use my husband’s family clan as the
backdrop, The MacLeods, and their legend of The Fairy Flag. There are many
things written about that little piece of cloth and if I get one wrong, it will
be a sad day. So weaving legend with the future has been a fun thing to do. The
research here is quite different because I have to keep the Fairy Flag legend
intact, layer some of my own interpretation and then draw in a futuristic world
of my own making. It all has to be seamless and plausible at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As far as how I do research, sometimes it just
takes me reading a few articles, taking a few notes then making my own
decisions on what I’ll use and how I use it. Other times, like one of my
current bigger projects, every story will need some major research into the
science, the legends and just how it will all mesh together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frankly, if I run across stories where the
research is poorly done, I will not pick up that author again unless I feel
there were reasons for the inaccuracies. For instance, if a story is all about
an alternative timeline to our own history, of course, things will be different…may
be slightly…may be a lot. It would all depend upon the author’s vision.
However, if it is a historic event and they are presenting it as such, I just
might write that author and point it out, it would all depend. However, I tend
to be a little more lenient about social and scientific things because those
can be an interpretation versus an actual fact difference. Most of the items
that writers skew to fit their stories are social or scientific. Basically, I
know how I see something isn’t the way another does. Yet, if someone tries to
disprove a science tenant such as the law of physics, I’d be hard pressed to
take them seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look into my
research methods. Thanks for being supportive of us during our round robins. We
love when you visit us and tell us what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t forget to go to each of the authors in
the list below. Each of them is a very different look into how they do research
and what they think. Again, thanks for joining us…see you next time. </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 48.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lynn </span><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 48.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Margaret Fieland at
</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Beverley Bateman at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Skye Taylor at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.skye-writer.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.skye-writer.com/</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rachael Kosnski</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Heidi M. Thomas</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Marci Baun at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.marcibaun.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Anne Stenhouse at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Helena Fairfax at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://helenafairfax.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://helenafairfax.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Connie Vines at </span><span style="color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://connievines.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Kay Sisk at </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://kaysisk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://kaysisk.blogspot.com</span></a></span><br />
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<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Fiona McGier at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.fionamcgier.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A.J. Maguire at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Judith Copek </span><span style="background: white; color: #385723; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><a href="http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #385723; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rhobin Courtright at </span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-24814564226185805712014-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:002015-01-10T04:30:04.850-08:00A Gift for Readers ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobin1220 #LynnCrain<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span id="goog_222002111"></span><span id="goog_222002112"></span></span></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to another Round Robin event. This
month we’ve taken on a little bit different type of post. This month, it’s all
about you the reader. Each one in the blog list will be giving away something
to their readers. And since this is the Christmas season, I’ve decided to give
a few things away. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love Christmas and it’s my favorite season in
Vienna. There are Christkindlmarkts and tons of fun things to do. This year is
a little different as the weather is not normal. Normally, it’s cold with a
promise of snow. Of course, that’s if it hasn’t already happened. This year, it’s
sunny and warm and so unlike the Christmas season. So, in light of that, I
wanted to bring a little bit more of the season into my place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m doing a Christmas giveaway for five awesome
prizes. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cEcLWehFTahUS_CAIILEB1LqEZnWjVaEEXCm0gZ1aLFBjHh2kbJyM48sAl6OfT0q9Njlbkc4G93scp1xTZOKoj7k72IxzcFQysCOAhfCLnQqeMVpJt82Gab0Fr54FK3aunLPMDrkFzED/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-All.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cEcLWehFTahUS_CAIILEB1LqEZnWjVaEEXCm0gZ1aLFBjHh2kbJyM48sAl6OfT0q9Njlbkc4G93scp1xTZOKoj7k72IxzcFQysCOAhfCLnQqeMVpJt82Gab0Fr54FK3aunLPMDrkFzED/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-All.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">The first prize is an Italian leather wallet in
the shape of a heart. For those of you who don’t know me, I love hearts. And I
try to give as many out as I can. After all, I do write romance and even if
some is odd or weird, there’s still a relationship at the center. And it all begins
with the heart.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFykcTw8Det8pLm662x8X2jJOA_cg36ixTBpORdQPT3WZAV9k9VjUrKzX5dePtY2ObyEJS9secy4f7pN_jCNz597vv3PTpvviARUbZJ8vCTYiI1HqP8toQvu9BoL8LQwXHMLilLEctYP3a/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-Wallet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFykcTw8Det8pLm662x8X2jJOA_cg36ixTBpORdQPT3WZAV9k9VjUrKzX5dePtY2ObyEJS9secy4f7pN_jCNz597vv3PTpvviARUbZJ8vCTYiI1HqP8toQvu9BoL8LQwXHMLilLEctYP3a/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-Wallet.jpg" height="264" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Next we have this wonderful Murano glass
necklace and earrings. Yes, they are from Italy, specifically Venice, which I
visited this year.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0fqUhr0U_U-b1spLbRsQBjz4-cXSI_nyURLZUD6JrgQmWVzdjBQeAEDikz2Or6EHP3GjQiSebXRGeVIOjK7SLbHmU1RrRnOJ2DlAD_sy4ppC4XFDy_6FW5-7-XVi_t3X1cQ_V7MCSFq6/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-Necklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0fqUhr0U_U-b1spLbRsQBjz4-cXSI_nyURLZUD6JrgQmWVzdjBQeAEDikz2Or6EHP3GjQiSebXRGeVIOjK7SLbHmU1RrRnOJ2DlAD_sy4ppC4XFDy_6FW5-7-XVi_t3X1cQ_V7MCSFq6/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-Necklace.jpg" height="315" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5JFGp4WRUcVvhL554oZWJ9ar0MdPfFn3_bjvTeJyeh2W88gg-XfosXnDX541EgXhO6B4NY_em-t72tPOi1A3tSabqKhAm4RE8glDUGJztHRXiUzUP5KkAktnTiYXb-fxIWIobde_x9P4/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5JFGp4WRUcVvhL554oZWJ9ar0MdPfFn3_bjvTeJyeh2W88gg-XfosXnDX541EgXhO6B4NY_em-t72tPOi1A3tSabqKhAm4RE8glDUGJztHRXiUzUP5KkAktnTiYXb-fxIWIobde_x9P4/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%235.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #003399; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Then we have some awesome Christmas ornaments
from right here in Vienna. All are made of wood and laser carved locally. I
love looking for these because so many are made elsewhere.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQKHrxJu4gOJmVlTLCoiwH8zbVGR2WC6xZFxOJoVyA0u2-9XRQgavq6A7arBAFlg0lXnfvv9NpqW9Di7nzJgWiwtBMGJ4hUBn9OgiWwos8K3ny9SCoJ9bT09nmQCG57uJhOkc9tb6f5qH/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQKHrxJu4gOJmVlTLCoiwH8zbVGR2WC6xZFxOJoVyA0u2-9XRQgavq6A7arBAFlg0lXnfvv9NpqW9Di7nzJgWiwtBMGJ4hUBn9OgiWwos8K3ny9SCoJ9bT09nmQCG57uJhOkc9tb6f5qH/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%231.jpg" height="285" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9EI1rIcEn7WmEWQtDcX0WTM5G1L0D_gK7bur81_WVX60DnMlXQHru5A_pYjLrThrBUqpZaL3tyJ6QHYdIAFkjdxgXVS8C8uVpE8o2Go3IculAGk7PSVjxp5NqzWhmKF34UPdL3ys363C/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9EI1rIcEn7WmEWQtDcX0WTM5G1L0D_gK7bur81_WVX60DnMlXQHru5A_pYjLrThrBUqpZaL3tyJ6QHYdIAFkjdxgXVS8C8uVpE8o2Go3IculAGk7PSVjxp5NqzWhmKF34UPdL3ys363C/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%232.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObqEYu3_p65cm4PKpw4MMnAIzne6AuOQc1b7J47fIKRHM4gTe3gDsepnh92DaKp4ps3Nu1tZV3gQc9B0u4nZY9sFfSwaYxtj7_StIud6v71ZHHlbEAwc3tP8KL6Zd8v1ScCVjLxQewVYa/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObqEYu3_p65cm4PKpw4MMnAIzne6AuOQc1b7J47fIKRHM4gTe3gDsepnh92DaKp4ps3Nu1tZV3gQc9B0u4nZY9sFfSwaYxtj7_StIud6v71ZHHlbEAwc3tP8KL6Zd8v1ScCVjLxQewVYa/s1600/Christmas-Giveaway-%233.jpg" height="302" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So what do you have to do to win these awesome
prizes? It’s really simple and you have a variety of ways that you can enter. First,
do one of these </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">five</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> things:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 ~ Follow me here via email or subscribe to
this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 ~ Like my author page on Facebook at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/LynnCrainAuthor"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.facebook.com/LynnCrainAuthor</span></a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 ~ Subscribe to my mailing list on my author
blog <a href="http://www.lynncrain.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.lynncrain.blogspot.com</span></a>.
This will enable you to keep up with my latest news, books and more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 ~ Tell me what book is highlighted at my
author blog <a href="http://www.lynncrain.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.lynncrain.blogspot.com</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5 ~ Follow me on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/oddlynn3"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.twitter.com/oddlynn3</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6<b> ~BONUS
ENTRY</b>: Follow my author blog <a href="http://www.lynncrain.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.lynncrain.blogspot.com</span></a>.
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once you’ve done one of those, let me know in
the comments section here and tell me what one you’ve done. You can get one
entry for each item you do, for a total of six entries. If you already do any
or all of these, let me know as well and you’ll still get an entry for that
item. <b>REMEMBER</b> to leave me your
email address so that I can contact you privately should you be a winner. If you don't want to leave your email in a comment, email me privately at oddlynn3@gmail.com with your entry. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #00007f; font-size: 13pt;"><b>This
giveaway will run through January 11th, 2015 when winners will be drawn at
random and posted. </b></span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for being supportive of me during the
year. Each of you hold a special place in my heart and it’s only right that I
try to give back to you, my awesome readers, at least once a year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t forget to go to each of the authors in
the list below. Each of them is offering something very special this holiday
season for their readers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here’s wishing each of you a very, very happy
holiday season from here in sunny Vienna, Austria.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 48.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lynn</span><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 48.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ginger Simpson at</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://mizging.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://mizging.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Beverley Bateman at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Fiona McGier at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.fionamcgier.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Diane Bator at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://dbator.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rachael Kosnski at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Margaret Fieland at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/</span></a><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Helena Fairfax at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://helenafairfax.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://helenafairfax.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Anne Stenhouse at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Marci Baun at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.marcibaun.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A.J. Maguire at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Victoria Chatham at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://victoriachatham.webs.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://victoriachatham.webs.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Kay Sisk at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://kaysisk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://kaysisk.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Skye Taylor at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.skye-writer.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.skye-writer.com/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">T</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Connie Vines at </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">connievines.blogspot.com</a></span></span></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-2111359925598973642014-09-01T00:01:00.000-07:002014-09-01T09:28:22.899-07:00Only in Vienna Mondays ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #OnlyInVienna<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Hi everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"> I have decided to start a new column
here on A Writer in Vienna. Austria is an extremely interesting place and I
have noticed things that I’ve not seen elsewhere in the world. Now, that doesn’t
mean it doesn’t exist elsewhere, it just means if I see it here and make note
of it then it’s different or unusual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"> Most of the time, it will just be a
picture with a caption. Or it might be a picture with a question…you never know
just what I’ll be thinking that day…LOL! Yes, there are many days where I ask
myself ‘huh’ or ‘what is that’ or ‘what the hell is that’ because it’s very odd
and definitely something I’ve not seen in the world that I’m used to seeing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"> So, sit back and enjoy yourself
through the very different and odd things found in Vienna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"> Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 42.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lynn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;">This weeks
entry is easy and fun. We’re walking to the pet store to get Pup Harry his
special dry dog food when I look across the street. Huzzah! Won’t the friends
back in the US be so, so jealous. They don’t have one of these there!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-1399729638920305262014-06-28T00:01:00.000-07:002014-06-29T16:22:17.006-07:00Emotionally Explosive Scenes ~ @oddlynn #rndrobin0628 #LynnCrain<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to another Round Robin event. This
month we’re talking about our best explosive scene, literally or figuratively,
physically or emotionally. Basically, the fireworks of your story. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It took me a while to decide just what I wanted
to do since normally this blog only does things about Vienna. My one story set
here does have emotional scenes but none has the impact of the scene I decided
to use</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"> and
had mentioned last time I did this Round Robin.</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Also, in the genres I write there are the occasional fight scenes as
well. Sometimes the scene is huge in that it takes place in space with large
ships and lots of big guns. But for me, I decided that the scene needed to be
something really emotional. Gut wrenching even. So, here’s a scene from my book
</span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.extasybooks.com/lynn-crain/the-thing-about-elves/"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Thing About
Elves</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. In it the hero realizes he can’t do any more
for the heroine and has to leave her fate to the gods. And in a way, it is
about Vienna since I am penning the final book in this series and it will be
done later this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuQhItlZSc-7EWHEtNiQ_BKX3ZKh1IKwnc1iNKpIAquXhsRJMqcM8bMD9sHqRBurTYIWV20r8d29CRAgzP-XEHuk5XRb3B3JlBzX8nb6ngfErcEcs92ZZ9gZfuLyPMKfV-LAqm0glXBn8/s1600/The+Thing+About+Elves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuQhItlZSc-7EWHEtNiQ_BKX3ZKh1IKwnc1iNKpIAquXhsRJMqcM8bMD9sHqRBurTYIWV20r8d29CRAgzP-XEHuk5XRb3B3JlBzX8nb6ngfErcEcs92ZZ9gZfuLyPMKfV-LAqm0glXBn8/s1600/The+Thing+About+Elves.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s been two
years since Angie’s friend, Tessa, got married to Jedrick and introduced her to
his brother, Ardan. From the moment, she
saw him she knew he was the man for her.
There’s only one problem…he’s elf…an elf who swears human and elves
don’t mix. But Angie has other plans in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ardan sat by Angie’s bed. There was nothing more
that he could do. It had been almost twenty-four hours and she hadn’t stirred
at all. He had failed. For the first time in his life he had failed himself and
the people he loved. But most of all he had failed Angie Hudson. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Taking
her hand in his, he looked at the small hand. In all the time he had her, he
never really looked at her hands. They were tiny, like the rest of her. The
nails were trimmed neat. And within those hands were a power he never thought
possible. Those hands could heal with just one touch. Why hadn’t he realized
how powerful they were from the start?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He
didn’t want to in the beginning, he knew. He tried to deny the hold that she
had over him but he couldn’t. And now he would never get the chance to explain
to her just how wrong he had been. Caressing her hand gently, he knew that the
last sense to leave the body was one’s hearing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I
am so sorry for everything, <i>muileach</i>,” he whispered. “<i>Tha mi duilach</i>. I understand that you
are probably in a far better place. I just wish now that I had realized what a
jewel I had in my grasp. I was so wrong for pushing you away, for not allowing
you in. I don’t know the consequence of us just starting <i>Nor’ahkeem</i>. I
just know that I will love you forever. You are my <i>cridhe</i>. <i>Tha gaol
agam ort.</i> I beseech <i>Scathach </i>for your very soul.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He
gulped hard. “Maybe if I tell you about how I envision our life you’ll come
back to me. We both love helping people and will continue to do so until we
die. And that should be a very long time from now. I kinda thought that we
could do some of the Doctors without Borders thing you seem to like so much.
Plus, we don’t have to stay here all the time. I know that there are some
ancient elven lands in Scotland and other European places for us to visit. I
know that you would love to see some of those places.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Clutching
her hand, he tried hard to keep it together. “And I want children. Lots of
children. I want children with you and now…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ardan
leaned his head on the bed, clutching her hand and began to sob heartwrenching,
deep sobs. They came from the very depths of his soul. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This scene was powerful to write and read. I
cried when I wrote it and many times today, I cry when I read it. Hope you
enjoyed it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Thing About Elves is the second book in my
Santa’s Elves series and you can find it at eXtasy Books </span><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.extasybooks.com/lynn-crain/the-thing-about-elves/"><span style="color: #385623; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">here</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 42.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lynn</span><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 2.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">* </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Margaret Fieland at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">* <span style="color: #003399;">Heidi M. at
</span></span><a href="http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://heidiwriter.Wordpress.com</span></a><b><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Hand Of Sean";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13pt;">* </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Beverley Bateman at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/</span></a><br />
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<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Kay Sisk at </span><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://kaysisk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://kaysisk.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">* <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Anne Stenhouse at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;">http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">* </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Connie Vines at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;">http://connievines.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">* </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Ginger Simpson at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://mizging.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;">http://mizging.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">* </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Geeta Kakade at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;">http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">* </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Fiona McGier at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;">http://www.fionamcgier.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">* </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #003399; font-size: 13pt;">Rhobin Courtright at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://rhobinleecourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #385623; font-size: 13pt;">http://rhobinleecourtright.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-73220932968422288592014-05-24T00:01:00.000-07:002014-06-29T01:27:27.219-07:00It's All About Setting ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobin0524 #LynnCrain<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good morning everyone! Hope you all are ready
for a wonderful Round Robin fest today. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But first, I must apologize for not
participating the last couple of months. In early March, I was called away to
the States for an emergency concerning my father. Unfortunately, late that
month he passed away. It took me almost another month to tie up some loose ends
and to get back to my European home. While it’s taken me almost another month
to get some of my writing mojo back, I’ve been told it can take a while…and so
it shall. So, let’s get to the topic of this month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is the most inspiring, romantic, or
dangerous setting you ever read or written?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wow…this topic covers a lot of ground…and I’ve
read and written some pretty interesting things. One of the scenes I remember
most from Romancing The Stone is when the heroine, Joan Wilder played by Kathleen
Turner, is completing her novel and she starts crying at the end. That scene
has stayed stuck in my over my years as a novelist as I felt I had to have at
least one scene that left me crying. And I did.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In the second book of my Santa’s Elves series,
The Thing About Elves, I had a gut wrenching scene at the end that when I read
it today, still makes me cry. The hero, Ardan, realizes as a doctor there is
nothing more he can do for the woman he loves, Angie. He has to let her go and
see what the gods have in mind. It breaks him to realize with all his elven
magic and medical knowledge he can’t save her. It was one of the most intense
scenes I have ever written and also one of the most inspiring. Check out the
book at </span><span style="color: #003399;"><a href="http://www.extasybooks.com/lynn-crain/the-thing-about-elves/"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.extasybooks.com/lynn-crain/the-thing-about-elves/</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> to see how the story ends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As far as romantic settings, I would say that
there is at least once in every book where the setting spells romance. In my
Santa’s Elves series I use the North Pole and Scotland with a dash of Boston
included. In my A Taste of Vienna series, I use the city and the transportation
system for some pretty steamy scenes. I do have to say that my all time
romantic setting is Scotland. As I am mentally going through all my books, I
realize I have used that country for more books than any other. And why not?
Scotland is in our psyche as one of the most romantic places in the world.
Having been there twice I can hardily concur.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For dangerous settings, well one can make any
place dangerous. Think of all the times you’ve seen Las Vegas used as a
dangerous place. I have to admit there are some shady areas but since it’s just
over the hill from my backyard, I have to think positively. Yet, I too have
used it as somewhere to fear. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a writer, I can make any place romantic, I
can make it inspiring or even dangerous. That is the joy of the job. I’m just
thankful that I am not Joan Wilder, truly living the dream…then again…maybe I
am because I do live in one of the most romantic cities in the world…Vienna.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See you all next time. Don’t forget to visit
the rest of the lovely writers, listed below, in this month’s round robin.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">* </span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Anne Stenhouse</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Diane Bator </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://dbator.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Geeta Kakade </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Connie Vines </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://connievines.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Marci Baun <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.marcibaun.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Beverley Bateman </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ginger Simpson </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://mizging.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://mizging.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Margaret Fieland </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">* </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rhobin Courtright </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://rhobinleecourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #385623; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">http://rhobinleecourtright.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-35242665078334188452014-02-22T00:01:00.000-08:002014-06-29T01:23:29.949-07:00There's Something About Heroes ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobin022 #LynnCrain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-mvW_rMEWX_BWr79Pt4YPNMOgV7SaTBWdyQp7MXZDa8xM7oc_jgzwtHKVPH-Pvkjab0Wn-21f11hyphenhyphenoNAPPO5HMWkxOHmelim8F3gjpCm6vuFPMZJ7rp6cYAyqRIh8vCpEiHbD9knodBM/s1600/iStock_000001420709Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-mvW_rMEWX_BWr79Pt4YPNMOgV7SaTBWdyQp7MXZDa8xM7oc_jgzwtHKVPH-Pvkjab0Wn-21f11hyphenhyphenoNAPPO5HMWkxOHmelim8F3gjpCm6vuFPMZJ7rp6cYAyqRIh8vCpEiHbD9knodBM/s1600/iStock_000001420709Medium.jpg" height="320" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome back this month’s round-robin and A
Writer in Vienna. Each month we have a new and exciting theme. I’m still
writing away on some Viennese stories but the theme is the antithesis to last
month. This month, it’s all about the Heroes…again, what we like to read, what
we like to write…and of course, no article would be complete without our
favorites.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hmmm…this one is hard for me…why some might
ask. Well, I’d have to say it’s because I’m a hero whore. Yeah, I can’t get
enough of those men. Now, the first hero that I was aware of would have to be
Rhett Butler, Margaret Mitchell’s redeemable bad boy. He was sexy and knew just
how to keep Scarlett in place. Too bad he realized that she was high maintenance
because they could definitely had some hot sexy. LOL!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next one that I really remember anything about
would be Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy. Oh heavens…that man could cause many a woman’s
heart to flutter…as least in my version he could. Yes, my mental movie was
definitely a more sexed up version than what we see or read from the historic
text. But let’s move on because there are plenty.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As far as current books, I have read many and
fallen in love just as many times recently. The main one that comes to mind are
the sexy heroes of my friend, Gini Koch’s books, The Alien Series. There are so
many there that they get a girl’s heart fluttering faster than an FTL drive.
They are all good looking and they all wear Armani. Who could ask for more?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ones mentioned above are my long time
favorites but personally, I haven’t meet a hero I didn’t like. Sure some of
them were Alpha men that made me want to scream but that didn’t mean I didn’t
see a redeeming quality about them. Otherwise, they’d been out the door in a
flash. Even those alphas need to have something that draws you in, something
that needs fixed or refined or whatever. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But without a doubt the ones that I write the
most about are those Scottish men. The ones in the kilts with the sexy accents.
See, I married a Scot and when he gets the brogue on, there is nothing finer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, what about all of you? What do you like to
see in a hero? Is he handsome or just the average Joe? Is he rich or normal? Is
he an Alpha that blows you out of your shoes or just the boy next door? Tell me
your answers and there will be a $10 Amazon gift certificate for one lucky commenter.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now don’t forget to drop in to the rest of the
round robin group as listed below. Tell me just who you’ve visited and you’ll
get another entry for every other blog you dropped in on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See you all next time!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b5800; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 42.0pt;">Lynn</span><span style="color: #3b5800; font-size: 2.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Diane Bator at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Marci Baun </span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span><span lang="DE" style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Lynn Crain at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://lynncrain.blogspot.co.at/</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Beverley Bateman at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ginger Simpson at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://mizging.blogspot.com</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Connie Vines at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://connievines.blogspot.com/</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A.J. Maguire at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #003399; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Rhobin Courtright at </span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><a href="http://rhobinleecourtright.com/"><span style="color: #3b5800;">http://rhobinleecourtright.com/</span></a></span></div>
Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-75387074048408966102014-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:002014-01-25T03:02:10.948-08:00All About Heroines ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobin0125 #LynnCrain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDnD3RJcGZW7wyYOy9of9SdpLFhQN8Iz2L7GuZU5hcpnnoffB9Na4OMgPELJ39Lb-XgPkRiQ6M5jTwPI1BthXWzTp1FjHJicd-KfKVadeIRRt4F4zhuFnMbEh2NXd51uyCxexkZC09BCu/s1600/bigstockphoto_Revenge_Is_A_Dish_Best_Served__624946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDnD3RJcGZW7wyYOy9of9SdpLFhQN8Iz2L7GuZU5hcpnnoffB9Na4OMgPELJ39Lb-XgPkRiQ6M5jTwPI1BthXWzTp1FjHJicd-KfKVadeIRRt4F4zhuFnMbEh2NXd51uyCxexkZC09BCu/s1600/bigstockphoto_Revenge_Is_A_Dish_Best_Served__624946.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost every month, I do a round-robin
blog with a great group of women. Each time we have a different and exciting
theme…this month is no different. Our theme this month is all about heroines:
what type, traits, personality etc. draws me into a story? Has that changed
with time? And do I write this type of heroine?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, I just love this topic. I love
heroines. From the prime and proper to the tough and ready, I love heroines.
And I’ll be honest, I’ve written all of those and more. However, I have a
favorite. A favorite I will write about again and again. And that’s the
kick-ass variety. You know the type: think Underworld, Alien or Aliens if you
prefer, and who could ever forget Gone With The Wind. Now, wait a minute…I’m sure
you’re saying this to yourself…why Gone With The Wind? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To be honest, Scarlett O’Hara is the
first kick-ass heroine I fell in love with. She had a horrible situation, in a
world ruled by men and somehow, each and every time she came out on top. I
don’t think I have to explain just why Selene is a kick-ass heroine. She can
definitely hold off the bad guys when she needs too…and yet…some would consider
her a bad one as well considering she’s a vampire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My all-time favorite, kick-ass heroine
has to be Ellen Ripley or just Ripley to all her fans. That woman is everything
I want in my heroines. She’s funny, serious, not afraid to show she’s afraid,
yet always has her wits about her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, like I said, it runs the gamut from
historical to urban fantasy to horror. Just suffice it to say that these are
the type of women I like and the type I normally write about. In A Viennese
Christmas, my heroine leaves everything she knows to move to a new home for a
wonderful job. In The Harvester, my heroine leaves her home as she doesn’t want
to become queen because doing that means she has to kill her mother. And the
list goes on and on. You can check out my books here on Amazon: </span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Crain/e/B002DMMD2G"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Crain/e/B002DMMD2G</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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time…I don’t think it has. I’ve always liked women who took hold of their own
destiny. That doesn’t mean I want to see them without a romance though. I love
romance and feel that every woman, good or bad, deserves to have a soul mate. I
can say that how I write those heroines has changed over time. In the
beginning, I wrote to what the publisher wanted, now I write to what I want and
that’s made a world of difference.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t forget to check in with all the
other authors in this round robin. They’ll each be telling you about their
heroines. So, click on of the authors below and be taken to their world of the
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marci Baun at </span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://www.marcibaun.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Kay Sisk at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://www.kaysisk.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.kaysisk.com/</span></a></span><span style="color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ginger Simpson at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="mailto:mizgjng@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">mizgjng@gmail.com</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Connie Vines at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://connievines.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Geeta Kakade at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A.J. Maguire at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/</span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #517a00; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Beverley Bateman at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Diane Bator at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://dbator.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Fiona McGier at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.fionamcgier.com</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #003399; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rhobin Courtright at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #3b5800;"><a href="http://rhobinleecourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://rhobinleecourtright.com</span></a></span><span style="color: #3b5800; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #003399;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks and see you all next
time!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b5800; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 42.0pt;">Lynn</span><span style="color: #3b5800; font-size: 2.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-70788316988729631372013-10-26T00:01:00.000-07:002013-10-26T05:11:08.763-07:00Do You Believe in the Paranormal ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobn1026 #LynnCrain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAvEVGLCh7XvCpzq42DesBKybp2zMnt2wKx1E-QrqvW3KoQF3fHjgncN4IeFAA4GOsF7tzHRhaImvkEOnrAPIT9-gs7JR_ex8K4rBV2xvIM1TWHA3Yb1_RxQWsgApnLFzjyOKe_AMjw_n/s1600/2011-11-01+09.04.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAvEVGLCh7XvCpzq42DesBKybp2zMnt2wKx1E-QrqvW3KoQF3fHjgncN4IeFAA4GOsF7tzHRhaImvkEOnrAPIT9-gs7JR_ex8K4rBV2xvIM1TWHA3Yb1_RxQWsgApnLFzjyOKe_AMjw_n/s320/2011-11-01+09.04.13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to this month’s round robin with a great group of
writers. It’s October and time for all things paranormal. The weather has
changed here in Vienna and out my office window I can see the fall colors in
abundance. I just got home yesterday from the States and I do apologize for
being late because I’m still a little jet-lagged...make that very...so I apologize in advance if something doesn't make sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But back to the topic of the month and that’s all things
paranormal. I got a great beginning to the subject when we landed yesterday in
a fog bank. Yes, it was like the legendary London fog and total pea soup. I was
thankful that by the time we got in the taxi that you could at least see a hundred
feet in front of the car as there was zero visibility from the plane window.
The pilot gave us a little warning but my husband said that he didn’t explain
it well because the German version was a little disconcerting. Still, I think
it is an appropriate beginning to this month’s column.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The question is have I or anyone I know ever had a
paranormal experience? I can say that with an absolute yes. I live in a very
old building here in Vienna. People have been coming and going, dead or alive,
since it was built in 1867. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We haven’t figured out yet just how the original apartments
were configured. We believe that many of the floors on our side of the building
were single apartments or at the very most, two apartments. We’ve seen a few of
the larger apartments when they’ve been updating them and they could hold at
least a couple of families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my particular apartment on the fifth floor, although they
say it’s the 3<sup>rd</sup> floor because the garden level doesn’t count and
ground level is considered the earth level, we are not alone. I became first
aware of this by noticing the French doors keep coming unlocked. What I mean by
this is that we can stop one of the doors from moving by pushing the lock down
into place in a hole in the floor. It makes it so the door doesn’t swing and we
do it because once the dog discovered the door moved, he wanted to play with
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are many days where the lock has been activated yet
when I return the doors are open and able to swing. At first, I thought that
the dog found out a way to unlock it but soon realized that if he had, it would
involve a lot of jumping on the door which would make a lot of noise. I chocked
this up to any number of things in the beginning: the floor was warped, I hit
the door accidentally thus loosening the lock and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now some people would say this isn’t an event but it
happened even before we got the dog and I again thought it was something I did.
But another event convinced me otherwise. It was not long after we got our
puppy and in the beginning, he would sleep in his little crate right next to my
side of the bed. Once in the middle of the night, he started growling as if
something were in the room with us. Again, we explained it away because we had
the light on for him and there is a lot of shadow play in our room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Matter of fact, if the small light on my side of the bed is
on, the room can be absolutely eerie. Yet, that wasn’t the last time our young
pup would do this. There have been at least 3 other incidents and none of them
involved light of any kind. He would start growling and we’d wake up, let him
out of the crate and he’d bury himself under the covers peering out to see if
it were safe to come outside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the times, he woke me up from a dead sleep and I just
lay there, assessing the situation. I felt I wasn’t alone in the room but when
I looked nothing was there of course. The presence wasn’t malevolent but it was
there and it made the hair stand up on my arms. From that moment on, I had to
acknowledge that we had someone else in the house with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I take a different stance on things like this and many
people have thought me odd. I talk to my ghost. I don’t know its specific
gender but I do know it means no harm. So when odd things happen in my flat, I’ll
ask if it did them and what’s wrong. It’s my feeling when ghosts act up, they
are like a child where something has gone awry and they want what everyone
wants, comfort and acknowledgement. I’ll talk to it when the doors come
unlocked, when it wakes me at night or when I feel its presence anytime of the
day or night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, I know this is odd but I truly feel ghosts are real and
are but just one of the many paranormal phenomena that inhabit this world with
us. As they say, I am a true believer and have had many experiences in my life
in regards to the paranormal. And it might have to do with an experience I had
as a young girl with angels. You heard me right, angels and while that’s a
story for another time, just know that without a doubt I believe they exist as
well. Matter of fact, the television show Supernatural is one of my all-time
favorites as the subject matter delves into the paranormal world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, now it’s your turn…have you ever had a paranormal
experience in your life? Leave me a comment and I’ll give one lucky person a
copy of my ghost story on October 31 or Halloween. Have a great week and see
you next month with another round robin. Also, look for some changes to this
blog as I am going to start Weird Wednesdays where I tell the world about odd
things I find here in Vienna. And I’ll also be starting to post with the
Weekend Writing Warriors on this blog my next book in the A Taste of Vienna
series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for stopping by. Don’t forget to drop by the other
great writers in this round robin. First go to Rhobin Lee Courtright’s blog as
she’s the one after me. You can find her here <a href="http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.<wbr></wbr>rhobinleecourtright.com</span></a>.
Here’s the complete list of all the participants for this month. Please visit
each and every one of them as we all tell you about our paranormal experiences.
I’ve only included myself so you all can see the order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Beverley Bateman<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://beverleybateman.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Marci
Baun <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.marcibaun.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.marcibaun.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Diane
Bator<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://dbator.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Connie
Vines<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://connievines.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Fiona
McGeir<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.fionamcgier.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Lynn
Crain<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.awriterinvienna.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Rhobin
Lee Courtright<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.<wbr></wbr>rhobinleecourtright.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See you all next month!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #385623; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 46.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lynn</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-54022161422394395862013-09-21T00:01:00.000-07:002013-09-22T03:31:23.120-07:00Let’s Start At The Very Beginning ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobn0921<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Welcome to our monthly Round Robin with the Night Writers
gang. Follow the trail this month and you’ll see us all talking about new
beginnings. Sometimes they’re fantastic, sometimes they’re so-so and sometimes
they are downright disastrous. Follow the link at the bottom to go to the next author and see their take on new beginnings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Sound of Music has always been one of my favorite movies
of all times and the Do-Ra-Mi songs the best ever. See when I was in 3<sup>rd</sup>
grade I was So, a needle pulling thread. I can remember the day, my favorite
dress and the song I loved so much. I don’t remember much about the performance
but I do remember I was happy it was all over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So moving to Austria in May 2011 was a new beginning to an
old song. True, I live in Vienna, which is a long way from Salzburg but I was in
the same country where one of my favorite movies actually took place. Now I
didn’t know when I would be able to see any of these things but imagine my
surprise when my in-laws came to town and wanted to do a tour of the country
including Salzburg. What was even more exciting for me, I got to walk the steps
where the song actually was filmed, Mirabella Gardens. I really wanted to do
the Sound of Music tour but they wouldn’t’ let us take pup Harry, so that’s
left for another time. Here are a couple of things that we saw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The story of Sound of Music is all about new beginnings for
a family who didn’t believe in their country's decisions any more. Now that wasn’t my case.
I do believe in the US and all it stands for but I also know that goodwill
needs to be spread across the globe. So when my husband got the choice to move
here, in many ways it was a no-brainer. While
here, I’ve interfaced with people from many nations. I live in a building with
three embassies, Albania, Dominican Republic and Paraguay. Also in the same building are the
OSCE residences of Finland, Ireland and Spain.
Up the street is the Turkish embassy and down the street is the huge embassy of
France. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sure, I didn’t, and still don’t, like the fact that I’m far
away from my family but this time has provided many new beginnings in the form
of my writing. Since my time here, I’ve been able to consolidate my social
media and get totally on track with it. I’ve also started a whopping 13 books,
finished 3, reworked some older ones and have been with a new critique group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New beginnings can come in many forms and none have to be as
drastic as what the von Trapps and I’ve done. One doesn’t have to move far away
to get a new beginning. Every time we read a book, it has to start at the
beginning. Every time we, as writers, write a book, it has to start at the
beginning. And every time we start a new character that character has got to
start somewhere be it a murder scene, something totally unexpected or just a
normal but different day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beginnings abound every day. We as writers just need to
embrace those new beginnings and use them to our best advantage. What about you?
How do you embrace new beginnings? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now let’s keep this round robin going. Please go to Connie
Vines <a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/">blog</a> and see what she has
to say about the subject of new beginnings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks and see you all next time!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-69794966699896195342013-08-24T00:01:00.000-07:002013-08-24T00:01:00.051-07:00Meeting A Real Life Character ~ @oddlynn3 #rndrobn0824 <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome to another Round Robin with a fantastic set of
authors I met while being a part of the Night Writers blog. Just follow the
trail for some interesting tidbits on the subject of meeting real-life
characters, how they are or aren’t different from preconceived notions, and how
they might be bigger than life. Would you put them in your books?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Living in Vienna, I am surrounded by real life characters.
Everywhere I walk or look, there is a character staring back at me. From the
statue of Strauss to the Russian memorial, there is or has been someone very
important walking the steps I’m taking on a daily basis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll be honest, I had some preconceived notions of the
historical people and places that are in Europe. I have to say some of those
notions are true and some are far from it. Take the last Empress of Austria,
Elisabeth commonly called Sisi. She’s known as the reluctant Empress because
she loathed the decorum and the pomp of being a royal. I found this completely
fascinating as most royals who lived during her time loved the lavish lifestyle
and found it suited them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not so with Elisabeth. She detested the situation as she
felt she was sold into slavery by her arranged marriage. Another fascinating
part of this woman was the fact she was assassinated in 1898 by a man who was
looking for the fame of doing something important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This woman shattered all my notions about royalty in an era
of indulgence. While she did keep a low profile, she also seemed acutely aware
of those beneath her in station and abhorred the class situation as a whole.
Many of her views were not unlike most royals today who feel that their lives
are in service to and for their subjects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While in the states, I have met my share of famous people
who were real life characters in themselves. Some were so eccentric that it
made me wonder just what was wrong with Hollywood or other venues that support
this type of weirdness. Sorry, folks, while I do believe to each their own, I also
believe some things are downright strange and never should see the light of day.
Lifestyles are extravagant and some are just downright eccentric. I’ve been
disappointed many times by thinking they were one way only to find them not
even like what I’d thought. Some changed my views on fame so totally, it made
me wonder if pursuing the bestseller list was even a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet, with all these people I’ve seen, met or just
researched, I know I would use them in my own books or base someone else on
them. Currently, I have started two separate series. My series, A Taste of
Vienna, is all about being here in this interesting and some days fabulous
city. The first book in this series, A Viennese Christmas, is available now at <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/282513">Smashwords</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BBFDLOK">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-viennese-christmas-lynn-crain/1114313180?ean=2940016221441">Nook</a>,
<a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-aviennesechristmas-1031953-149.html">All
Romance eBooks</a> and more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another series I’ve started is Hollywood hunks based upon
what happens when a small town boy hits the A list in Hollywood. You can look
for this one is the near future at one of my traditional publishers. I’ll keep
you posted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now let’s keep this round robin going. Please go to Connie
Vines <a href="http://connievines.blogspot.com/">blog</a> and see what she has
to say about the subject of meeting a real life character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks and see you all next time!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-89737225084858111892013-07-20T00:01:00.000-07:002013-07-20T01:21:49.491-07:00Vienna and Things I Do To Relax ~ #rndrobn0713<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, it is already morning for me here in Vienna, Austria.
The sun is streaming through my window and it looks as if it is going to be a
mighty fine day though a bit warm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, let me apologize for my dust. I’m in the middle of a
renovation on this blog so the header’s kinda ugly and the colors are an
experiment to see what I really want while making it a pleasant experience for you. But one thing that will definitely happen
is that the background image will change monthly to a new picture of Vienna I’ve
taken over the past couple years. The plan is to keep the colors the same. We’ll
just have to experiment with how that works. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also plan to post on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
here from todayon. I realize I’ve been lax and do have so much to share on what’s going on
in Austria. I tweet most days at least one thought about being here. Hopefully,
your Viennese fix will be fulfilled with all these new additions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today, I’m doing a round robin with a group of talented
writers that I met when I was with Night Writers. We’ve decided to do this
since the blog is no more because we love that we can still connect and help
one another out. So...please click through all of us and enjoy the posts...I’ll
be giving you the link for A.J. Maquire at the end of this post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’d like to talk about how I relax and rejuvenate here in Vienna.
There are many ways one can do that. In the spring, summer and fall, there are
a variety of festivals one can go to throughout the city. Here’s a picture of a
concert we went to at Schonbrunn Palace in June. It was put on by the Vienna
Orchestra and it was wonderful. Just lots of people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the spring, right before Easter, I love going to the many
Easter egg pavilions and seeing the wares there. The eggs are so elaborate and
beautiful and expensive. But I have a few I sent home and a few here with me so
I can remember this wonderful time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAqWohR9bZlHwPLo9SEyTLAu9kE1MZFhunJ-1hyphenhyphenGwl2uPIJMsjuA2vOUJYq7ecl52onWxnnEolDUBaWg-cqex6hjxdQBbMAUo9LoYzOqD-OZNCnw5D0V2_9Q8UYXHsNOiCFm0Hnw-HoAB/s1600/2012-04-01+16.56.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAqWohR9bZlHwPLo9SEyTLAu9kE1MZFhunJ-1hyphenhyphenGwl2uPIJMsjuA2vOUJYq7ecl52onWxnnEolDUBaWg-cqex6hjxdQBbMAUo9LoYzOqD-OZNCnw5D0V2_9Q8UYXHsNOiCFm0Hnw-HoAB/s320/2012-04-01+16.56.51.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, in the spring there are more flowers in this city than
I’d ever seen anywhere. They are in every park and people have them in flower
boxes out the windows. It even grows down the walls from some apartments. It’s
an amazing sight to see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some weekends, we’ll go outside of the city to see the
various different areas close to home. One of my favorites is a place I’ve
talked about before...Carnuntum...it’s a Roman ruin that I just can’t get
enough of and I visit as often as I can. It’s fantastic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another way that I relax is I do a spa day. There are tons
of local spas and one has their pick of many. Normally, I’ll go have a facial,
a manicure/pedicure and a massage. Nothing beats a good girl day even if I have
to do it alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fall is another time I really enjoy here. The trees out my
office window are wonderful and I so enjoy walking in Prater park. The weather
is cooler and the whole vibe of the city has changed from summer to the slowing
down the season brings.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzZzHlw-qIqRsKPYCMwfKw9HjwN2qCmw9W2JfidbmSJhxn7OLVL-uil1GzkfCm3iwjqjx-6iV9DmqhpLor0JrBlHCsVybqx2wcV7yQ3FjNfm4VxEWdAiMFhTp55sCb9fkiJHnYTmrgw7f/s1600/2011-10-30+13.26.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzZzHlw-qIqRsKPYCMwfKw9HjwN2qCmw9W2JfidbmSJhxn7OLVL-uil1GzkfCm3iwjqjx-6iV9DmqhpLor0JrBlHCsVybqx2wcV7yQ3FjNfm4VxEWdAiMFhTp55sCb9fkiJHnYTmrgw7f/s320/2011-10-30+13.26.29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, one of the best times I have is in the winter. We have
the various Christkindlemarkts that are absolutely fantastic. I love the snow
and the season. I love taking walks even when it is cold though I might
complain about the temperature occasionally. The first snow is beautiful and I
love watching Pup Harry as he has great fun.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkEA5Gld8j5CJA9iKtqCcu_twCfKJ-V7x4YG8wecY8cW42a4uDn4hwML42WMBg9gQew4DDYh4L7zJ_8_ajVIrHk4QVZ6XhsT19lS2ScND-TEid3WKxSq6XNU9guSFAzy5Tyx-LhXbndaw/s1600/2012-01-17+12.25.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkEA5Gld8j5CJA9iKtqCcu_twCfKJ-V7x4YG8wecY8cW42a4uDn4hwML42WMBg9gQew4DDYh4L7zJ_8_ajVIrHk4QVZ6XhsT19lS2ScND-TEid3WKxSq6XNU9guSFAzy5Tyx-LhXbndaw/s320/2012-01-17+12.25.21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As indicated, we mainly walk everywhere or take trains to
nearly all destinations. It seems no matter where we go, walking has become the
great relaxer and that’s good since we don’t have a car. This was a personal
choice as we could have brought one but decided to see the wonders of Vienna
without one. This choice has been a blessing in surprise as both of the husband
and myself have gained many health benefits from all the walking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By this moment, I’m sure you’re wondering what all this has
to do with writing. Well...suffice it to say...everything. It has great impact
with my A Taste of Vienna series as it all takes place in or near the city. How
I relax here, how I travel here or how I live life can be great inspirations on
what to put into the novels. The first one, A Viennese Christmas, is talked
about in the post immediately before this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The most important thing I’ve discovered is that I love
writing about Vienna in either a fiction or a nonfiction way. There is always
something going on here as well as new additions every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don’t forget to go to the next great author in this round
robin. A.J. Maguire can be found here and her post will be just as wonderful as
learning about Vienna. <a href="http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks and we’ll see you all on Tuesday...have a great
weekend!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0066; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 52.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Lynn</span></b><b><span style="color: #cc0066; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 42.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
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<!--[endif]--></span></b>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-71756035166886040102012-11-29T00:01:00.000-08:002012-11-29T00:01:01.360-08:00The Next Big Thing<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently, I participated in something called The Next Big Thing on one of my other blogs, Lynn Crain's XtraOrdinary Romance. It is a blog hop where bloggers talk about a work-in-progress or WIP as it's commonly known. This time, I talked about my Christmas book called A Viennese Christmas and the first in the series A Taste of Vienna. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the post that I did there, along with a cover reveal...I hope you all enjoy this different perspective of Vienna...through my writer's eye.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks! And talk to you all soon!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you all had a
wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family and friends, happiness and joy. I was
invited this week to take part in a blog hop called The Next Big Thing by Jill
Hughey. Her post is at http://jillhughey.blogspot.com and she talks all about
her current work in progress.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When she first asked for
volunteers, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it...then...I thought to myself, who
doesn’t want to be the next big thing. It’s every author’s dream to hit it big
no matter what the venue. The whole point of this hop is to share authors with
new readers. At the end of this blog, there is a list of authors who are new to
many of you...but more on that later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are the answers to the
interview questions for The Next Big Thing:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is your working title of
your book? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My current work
in progress is titled A Viennese Christmas and it’s the first in my A Taste of
Vienna series.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Where did the idea come from
for the book?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was trying to
find a way to learn more about the city I now find myself living in, Vienna,
Austria. All my friends told me I should be having a blast and I wasn’t. So, I
decided to start this series and I can say I certainly have a different eye for
the city now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What genre does your book
fall under?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s going to
be a sensual romance, which is a departure from my normal erotic romance. The
characters told me they wanted things to be more private. I always listen to my
characters. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which actors would you choose
to play your characters in a movie rendition?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this is
hard. The heroine would need to have an aire of sweetness around her while the
hero would need a great smile. I think I’d pick Ginnifer Goodwin for the
heroine and Eion Bailey both of who are from the show, Once Upon A Time, my new
favorite.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is the one-sentence
synopsis of your book?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Amanda Kranz,
alone in Vienna, Austria at Christmas, meets sexy, historian Henry Wakeman, who
convinces her true love is real and within her grasp.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Will your book be
self-published or represented by an agency?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This one will
be self-published by my Shooting Star Books imprint.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How long did it take you to
write the first draft of your manuscript?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A couple of
weeks. It’s short...less than 20K...and I can do those fast.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What other books would you
compare this story to within your genre?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That would be a
hard one as I don’t compare myself to other writers much. I think each of us
have a unique style.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who or what inspired you to
write this book?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’d have to say
Vienna itself as I’m finding out thing I never knew and at one point, I
probably wouldn’t have tried to find out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What else about your book
might pique the reader’s interest?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0066; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This book is as
accurate as I can make it and it’s told totally from an American point of view
by someone who is living there. It’s a nice little romance that fulfills the
hope each of us have for Christmas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I have a special treat
for each of you...this is a squeee moment for me...here’s the cover!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5JQsUU3Kd-BvDRs0HcLsYD2-ZvMC88TC3VWIt1akL3i-exh609ngToT6KydgyffeNTDn2_ELodM3Kz2veR-s-kTF0cdTFUQ9JAqraGONIFijC4Pkc_dHhkRSaUQrpR9ATswDDaBOvIDI/s1600/CoverFinalLG-AVienneseChristmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5JQsUU3Kd-BvDRs0HcLsYD2-ZvMC88TC3VWIt1akL3i-exh609ngToT6KydgyffeNTDn2_ELodM3Kz2veR-s-kTF0cdTFUQ9JAqraGONIFijC4Pkc_dHhkRSaUQrpR9ATswDDaBOvIDI/s400/CoverFinalLG-AVienneseChristmas.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Isn’t that just the coolest
thing you’ve ever seen? My cover artist, Su Kopil from Earthly Charms, is the
most amazing person. She got this one done much sooner than I ever thought. The
building in the background is called the Rathouse and it’s the house of
Vienna’s local government and it looks that amazing all lit up for the holiday
season.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, it’s time to pass the
torch to the authors next in line for The Next Big Thing. Please drop by and
see each of them the week of November 26th as they give you their information
for their works-in-progress. Here’s there links to their blogs. Drop by next
week and see them when you can...I’ll be tweeting and posting them on Facebook
when they come out...thanks everyone! Help us all become The Next Big Thing!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tyffany Clark<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.moviestareyes.blogspot.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.moviestareyes.blogspot.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Adriana Kraft<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://adrianakraft.com/excerpts/the-next-bit-thing"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://adrianakraft.com/excerpts/the-next-bit-thing</span></a>
(Posting November 30th)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helena Fairfax<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://helenafairfax.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://helenafairfax.com/</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Margay Leah Justice<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com/</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frances Pauli<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://francespauli.blogspot.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://francespauli.blogspot.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks everyone for stopping
by! Next month I will have Christmas guest, a reveal on a couple more new
covers as well as a couple of Christmas surprises. Please drop by and see
me...I think you’ll enjoy it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0066; font-family: "Honey Script"; font-size: 48.0pt;">Lynn<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-47313424992415822472012-06-14T10:17:00.003-07:002012-06-14T10:17:53.165-07:00The Octopus, Sputnik and Me<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’m sure that all of you have heard by now that I was very ill during the months of April and May. So ill that I ended up with a hospital stay of two weeks. Now those two weeks were some of the most traumatic I’ve spent anywhere in the world. It was made especially so here as I couldn’t speak the language and the whole experience made me very, very nervous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Austrian medicine isn’t like US medicine. In the US, we’re taught to get in, get a diagnosis, learn to take care of ourselves and get out as quick as we can. There are medical costs that we as US citizens can’t avoid. Austria is different and like the DH says, they seem to have the luxury of time. They want to keep you there as long as they can, cure you or make you the best they can, then release you with lots and lots of instructions. It seemed like it was more than normal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was admitted on a Friday evening and that was very unfortunate. All they did was observe me and I got sicker. During the whole time, they only gave me one med that made me feel marginally better. When one of the young doctors was going to give it to me again, an older colleague waved her off and there I sat, miserable and wondering just what the heck I was doing there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The following Monday, they started dialysis and that whole experience was very, very different as their idea of anesthetic doesn’t seem to be the same as in the US. I told the DH that the cut-down procedure hurt a lot and I’d never have it done again. Between that and the kidney biopsy they did, I knew I had experienced pain greater than when I had children...I kid you not! LOL! Here’s a picture that Monday. We fondly called my apparatus ‘The Octopus’ as that’s what it looked like to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A couple of days later, they decided to do a kidney biopsy and that again was done without any real anesthetic. Basically, over here, they want you to buck up and take the pain. Really? Are these people kidding? They ended up poking me three times and the last time, I wasn’t nice about it. Then they ended up NOT getting all the cells they wanted. Told them too bad, they were done. If they wanted to do it again, they had to make it painless. I had some very grumpy doctors that day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>By this time, I’m starting to feel better because they have started to give me meds to get rid of my ailment. Oh – yeah – my ailment...I ended up poisoning myself with ibuprofen because I was trying to get rid of a fever I’d had in late March, early April. I took only ten pills a day for about 3 days, then less for the next few. What I ended up doing is giving my kidneys an issue where they shut down and decided not to work. This is very bad...so take a word of caution...over the counter meds can be harmful to your health. Please make sure you know what you’re doing. And I did. Sigh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So here I am, in a teaching hospital, where at least five doctors come in to talk to me every day and check on my condition. And nothing is happening. They have a wait and see attitude. During that wait and period, I did make a wonderful friend. My roommate, and I had two, really clicked and enjoyed being with each other. She taught me some German, helped me with procedures and the like. She was a kidney transplant patient who’s new kidney had failed after fifteen years. She was hoping to get a new one and was in for all the pre-op as well as seeing if she’d accept the new donor kidney. But alas, it wasn’t to be and she went home the day before I did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I had dialysis twice and the second time just proved to me just how different the medical systems are. I didn’t realize I was the only patient in the dialysis unit and was listening to my music. I was bopping around in my bed, moving my feet, kinda dancing...then I looked up...and realized everyone was watching me. Apparently, there aren’t happy people in dialysis. People here in Austria are way too stoic for my taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A couple of days before I left, they realized that I was allergic to the tape holding my octopus in place. I was red and they didn’t want to take it out even though they knew I’d not need another dialysis session. They wanted to leave it in just in case. When the nurses understood what was happening they were a little frantic as the area was very, very bad. They had to leave it in the open air for about an hour and then totally reposition it. When the main doctor came in, he started laughing and asked me if I liked my Sputnik. Yeah, it now looked like a satellite circling around my head. Check it out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was released two weeks to the day and was very happy to get home. It hasn’t been easy and the meds they have me on make me crazy. But I’m home and I’ve survived an experience I’d hoped never to have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have a new release on June 14 and hope to drop by my other blog to see the write up. And I promise to post here more often. Vienna is a lovely place and many of you might see something you can use in your own writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>See you all next time! </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #d60093; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #d60093; font-family: "Marketing Script"; font-size: 36pt;">Lynn</span></i></b></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-12153694565497065442011-12-17T00:01:00.000-08:002011-12-17T01:41:23.941-08:00Living The Fairy Tale<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I was a young girl, I wanted to live in a castle in some far away land. Now that I’m older I find myself living across the street from a castle in a one-hundred and fifty year old building complete with ghosts and so very, very far away from home. To be honest, I never thought I’d say I miss the desert but I do: I miss my children even if they are dependent upon me far past the time they should be, I miss my animals who couldn’t come to live with us in our far away adventure, and I miss seeing my grandchildren grow up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In May of this year as you all know, we said goodbye to our house and family and everything I have ever known to run away from home, moving to Vienna, Austria. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about what was happening but I understood it. I understood that it was a fantastic opportunity to live somewhere and visit all those places I only thought about when I was a kid. I knew it would be great for my husband’s career. But knowing and understanding didn’t matter to my heart in the beginning and now with my first Christmas in my new foreign home fast approaching I can say this is still the case.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>First I would say to those who envy me, be careful what you wish for but that would be a lie because it’s all a matter of perspective. When we are young, everything looks cool because it’s different than what we have or where we are. When we’re older, we look at things differently like what’s the economic impact it might have on our lives. My thought process was ‘how can this make my writing better’ and a million other things concerned with writing. Then as in now, I am trying to focus on the positive though some days it is very, very hard. So let’s look at some of the basic reasons a move like this could make a writer better:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1) A look at different cultures – Living in a place that isn’t where you grew up may be uncomfortable at first but it will also make you realize that the world is a big, big place. Here people watching takes on a whole new meaning as one can see things here they will never see at home...like a big bike race on the main street with over three hundred bikes...or a political rally on the very street you live on. In any given day, I will see people from Indian, the US, Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic to name a few...those are just the ones who live in the same building as I do...imagine what’s outside those doors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2) Broaden one’s horizons – Living in a foreign country means I have to learn a different language to communicate to those around me. It means I have to understand a socialist system because that’s where I’m at right now. I also have to realize the way things are done where I come from aren’t the way things are done here. I also have to learn a public transit system, why Vienna is divided into districts and why people here don’t seem to change very much. This can be translated into some very interesting things for my stories.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>3) Teach my native language – I have been asked by several people if I would be interested in teaching English to upper level students. Boy, if this won’t make you hone your skills in writing, I don’t know what will. I really find it interesting that they want me to teach American slang as opposed to learning the Queen’s English. In order to teach here, I need to get permission to work and that will be a whole other adventure to address on another day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>4) Make new friends – Now this has been the most difficult for me as writers are pretty reclusive and I tend to be that way myself. Matter of fact, as you all know I was so lonely I got me a puppy and in the process gained a whole new group of friends who own the same type of dog. People over here can relate to those with dogs better than those without or even those with kids. This is making me put myself out there and in some ways I cringe and in others I excel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>5) The place oozes history – This place has an incredible history. Like I’ve said many times before, I live across the street from the Palace Belvedere and the Palace Schwartenberg. Belevedere was once a summer home for the Habsburgs and in particular Prince Eugene. I’m still trying to understand where Palace Schwartzenberg figures into all of this but I do know there’s a house on the grounds for rent. We’re actually thinking about checking it out. Now the street I live on is named after after Prince Eugene and called Prince Eugen Strasse. That’s just the start of everything: there’s the Hofburg, Schonnbrunn, Carnuntum which is a Roman ruin, Stephensplatz, Karlsplatz and churches like you wouldn’t believe. Early man lived here as did the Celts. Just reading Wikipedia to get the overview can be overwhelming...but...think of the opportunity for historicals, for contemporaries or for anything a writer can think up. Here’s a few more pictures to show you what I mean.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While this is the view out my office window, I should make note that not only do <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see the guard quarters for Belvedere as well as part of the grounds, but history. If I look a little harder, I’m sure I can see the Emperors and Empresses of a day gone by, of kings and queens and their children.</span></div> <br />
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</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here’s some pictures of Carnuntum, the Roman ruins.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And finally, one of my favorite places to see, Schonnbrunn.</span></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHJeNN-E8v9pnAgIvtYxkTVGZzNojiTFXFVqqie-ApIc7dJ1LRHDB4_NDbxCn7VxvGyZX-nUpo3hWj5tKu5cJX7EsaSIFfhkJXWYV9INX9FABW88C3kAVpVb__wneEjdQVCRq1OM089mS/s1600/100_1766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHJeNN-E8v9pnAgIvtYxkTVGZzNojiTFXFVqqie-ApIc7dJ1LRHDB4_NDbxCn7VxvGyZX-nUpo3hWj5tKu5cJX7EsaSIFfhkJXWYV9INX9FABW88C3kAVpVb__wneEjdQVCRq1OM089mS/s320/100_1766.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There’s the museums.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyD-wr0SXDDUSVdPr6D876tBMo3RvfUkFHxgB18xv-iRaUV9-8KT90NFJOIDLZRYuUABH_3O6jw6MCinaqy5hrvEOl0Mmcn1fQRQrI1r9iB6v7v4qOTHXfSzUBZqAyQPPHcAvs4UK9D68/s1600/100_1385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyD-wr0SXDDUSVdPr6D876tBMo3RvfUkFHxgB18xv-iRaUV9-8KT90NFJOIDLZRYuUABH_3O6jw6MCinaqy5hrvEOl0Mmcn1fQRQrI1r9iB6v7v4qOTHXfSzUBZqAyQPPHcAvs4UK9D68/s320/100_1385.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These pictures don’t even begin to do the place justice. I’m going to be putting in things from my travels to other places as well. Like Italy. If we can get it all together, we’ll be trying to go to Italy between Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve already visited Bad Ischl and Salzburg, some of which you’ve already seen in the birthday weekend post. And I promise to bring you more and more of the historical perspective on living in Vienna, Austria.</span> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes, this place has plenty for a writer to learn, plenty for me to figure out and understand. Even though the perspective has changed a lot from when I was younger, living the fairy tale can and does have its own perks. </span></div><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>See you all next time! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #d60093; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 22pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> <span style="color: #d60093; font-family: "Marketing Script"; font-size: 36pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Lynn</span></span></span></i></b></div><br />
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</span>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-14642251938437035062011-11-04T00:01:00.000-07:002011-11-04T00:01:03.658-07:00The Colors of Fall<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Just last week, I noticed the color around here was bursting at the seams. Coming from Nevada, we’re lucky to get any fall color as one day the leaves are on the trees and the next they are just gone. So I’ve been pleasantly surprised with each sojourn outside the amount of color I’ve seen. From greens to yellows to reds, the colors are fantastic and brilliant. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the pictures from the weekly walk in Hauptallee that I had managed to capture some of those wonderful colors. Another thing captured in the photos were the diversity of leaves and how they all color differently. Again, being from a desert and even though I live in an Arbor community, I am really not used to this type of diversity.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I knew there were days in early fall, when all the leaves were still green, that I would just gaze out the window at the greenery across the street from our apartment. I’d not lived anywhere with seasons in so long, I find the whole process completely fascinating and new. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I know many of you are saying that you think I’m crazy for wanting all the seasons but I’ve always loved the changes and the snow. There is just something beautiful about the glistening white substance that can never be replaced. We’ll see if I’m singing this song when it actually happens. LOL! But right now, it’s wonderful to fantasize about how it might be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today, I have a series of pictures taken the last weekend showing the colors of fall. Many trees have already lost their leaves, so their bounty was spread on the ground everywhere. Pup Harry decided it was time to play in the leaves, tossing them up in the air he raced round and round, playing with them as we watched. It was a wonderful sight to see that he was taking so much joy from such a simple thing. I sincerely hope you agree.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWg2sd09UXGaWww3fQBANzwb41D8OKtUcLlwbFPIZy-0RHj4gk8UU-TUdbcm8_IoegYT01fXwRB-q63yxcs0ipUUGMTnEOamRG77GHGbrWALL52MxjGQWR7Bk0TzMA65hwz8tXL_R95r82/s1600/2011-10-30+13.26.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWg2sd09UXGaWww3fQBANzwb41D8OKtUcLlwbFPIZy-0RHj4gk8UU-TUdbcm8_IoegYT01fXwRB-q63yxcs0ipUUGMTnEOamRG77GHGbrWALL52MxjGQWR7Bk0TzMA65hwz8tXL_R95r82/s320/2011-10-30+13.26.29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>See you next time!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lynn</span></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-78188815768525670772011-11-02T00:01:00.000-07:002011-11-02T03:18:37.552-07:00The Sunday Stroll<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Life has changed a bit since we got our puppy but those changes are fantastic overall. One of the benefits that I have noticed is the fact that we’re more active on the weekends. Previous to puppydom, we’d stick pretty close to home or go shopping or do pretty much nothing. We’d read, we’d rest, we’d slounge. Since Harry, we are out and about more on the weekends.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the past few Sundays, and probably at least until it gets really cold, we’ve started to go on Sunday walks. Make that Sunday strolls. It seems that everyone in Vienna is out doing the same thing. We even found that when there are holidays, like National Day which was mid-week, the strolling attitude still applies. People are out in droves and it’s a very interesting time to be had.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So far, our favorite stroll site is a place called Hauptallee in Wiener Prater. This place reminds me of grand European style and I can’t walk it without things about all the ladies and men moving about with parasols, long dresses and suits of the day. I can picture myself back in time and it has my creative juices flowing to say the least. The place is beautiful and seems never ending as we start on the end where we get off the train and walk to a little bit more than half way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is made especially more real when you hear the clip-clop of a horse’s shoe on the pavement. Turning, I find myself surprised as I see a horse-drawn carriage just feet from us. I can imagine many such hackneys, delivering the rich and famous or even the not-so-much-but-want-to-be-seen people of a bygone era. Here I can actually feel the pull of the city whereas in other places it seems no different to me than any crowded cityscape. Here I can feel the time of the Kaisers of the Hapsburg family, the wealth of a nation and the gentleness of the people.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The land was originally purchased by Emperor Maximillian II to be a hunting ground. There was the problem of poaching on royal land and Emperor Rudolf II forbade entry to the Prater. In April of 1766, Emperor Joseph II declared that the Prater was free of royal constraints and therefore for public enjoyment, allowing for the establishment of coffee-houses and cafes. Hunting didn’t cease in the park until 1920.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5o9p62gOaEo9QwTp3YV1as0Y3MJiufIqPTIFhrse77XplbzKAilnUZSX8MzelqO5LeECIq_md0n-tVQy8CRRFtbtimQ_WAEBuwOgIZDm4x5kK_bOPogJVnvMNiGsCvAzZATX0wXziE6wj/s1600/2011-10-23+17.00.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5o9p62gOaEo9QwTp3YV1as0Y3MJiufIqPTIFhrse77XplbzKAilnUZSX8MzelqO5LeECIq_md0n-tVQy8CRRFtbtimQ_WAEBuwOgIZDm4x5kK_bOPogJVnvMNiGsCvAzZATX0wXziE6wj/s320/2011-10-23+17.00.53.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SYPonMfbDtcr6Ah08Opcm8m95mGQsnqK3TIAD-VU5SqMZJzCfVWJcNYqZgaJ4gHSbxmv4Edjb_PAcuH8KwX15hC6tU11w2_rafNtta5rikDE7wdun4DbYBzn5nMftphoFJChsOC90BbT/s1600/2011-10-23+17.01.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SYPonMfbDtcr6Ah08Opcm8m95mGQsnqK3TIAD-VU5SqMZJzCfVWJcNYqZgaJ4gHSbxmv4Edjb_PAcuH8KwX15hC6tU11w2_rafNtta5rikDE7wdun4DbYBzn5nMftphoFJChsOC90BbT/s320/2011-10-23+17.01.24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The previous mentioned Hauptalle is the main avenue of the park and is lined with horse chestnut trees that are just beautiful. It is closed to motorists and people can ride their bikes, take casuals strolls, jog or any number of things to propel one’s self through the pleasant scenery. It is home to the Liliputhahn, a narrow gauge railway now used for the entertainment of children. The main park has roller coasters and a variety of adult rides. Also there is a planetarium and the Prater Museum. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The most interesting thing that I saw was Republic of Kugelmugel, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a spherical micronation started by artist Edward Lipburger in a dispute over building permits with the Austrian government. It’s become a tourist attraction and sits behind a barb-wired fence. I found it utterly fascinating that it supposedly has 389 citizens. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Personally, I don’t care about the particulars of a lot of the history but it does certainly contributes to the overall vibe of the place. As long as I can stroll here on any given afternoon of my choosing, I’ll certainly be happy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-61724757786898162882011-11-01T02:55:00.000-07:002011-11-02T03:14:08.891-07:00The Foggy Morning<span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog and I must apologize. It’s not that nothing has happened here...it has...I’ve just been working on other things. Like writing and editing, after all, it is what I’m supposed to be doing with all my free time. <Snort> If you believe that...then I have a bridge for you...LOL!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">First, puppy Harry has been occupying a lot of my time. By a lot I’m talking about daily walks on the order of one to three a day. The dear husband gets morning duty because he can jog him and tire him out. This is very, very good. The pup is just like a kid or the energizer bunny, he goes and goes and keeps on going until he drops. Naps can be anywhere from one to three hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">There are many benefits to this. One, I feel energized myself and the walks are getting easier and easier. Two, I am losing weight slow but steady on average of about one pound per week. This was happening before we got the puppy but is now on the fast track it seems as I’ve lost one to three pounds each week, depending upon the week, the walks and the food. I see this as a win-win situation for me. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">Today, though, when the DH woke up I hear an ‘oh dear’ from the bedroom. I’m thinking something is wrong and get up. By the time I get to the living room he’s already in the bathroom with Harry in tow, so I’m left to figure out just what was wrong. It didn’t take long as I turned to look out the window. The world is blanketed in fog and I can’t even see across the park as is the normal thing. The only things I can see are the building immediately in front, the wall next to that and the few trees behind it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1FaW0EFBps6rXdYsBtdhQJaB-FndmDuuQnJ3mrbYwJs_lbKHdLqa9vWAY5go75Jjp331Zqxu3dMD6198PuKEjMcE-osy6XaeQsmauO70hOoYmSg0yfEJ7iz-gJt3RsKsPf9LfsSlqLYy/s1600/2011-11-01+06.30.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1FaW0EFBps6rXdYsBtdhQJaB-FndmDuuQnJ3mrbYwJs_lbKHdLqa9vWAY5go75Jjp331Zqxu3dMD6198PuKEjMcE-osy6XaeQsmauO70hOoYmSg0yfEJ7iz-gJt3RsKsPf9LfsSlqLYy/s320/2011-11-01+06.30.26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">DH comes back and we compare how this is so much like San Francisco and or the central valley of California. Now, I’ve seen gray days here and was told that it’s not really gray but a fog hanging high in the sky. Right. It looked like clouds to me and I begin to wonder just how many days like this we will be having.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">Add on to the weirdness of the day, but there is no traffic. You know you’re in a religious country when All Saints Day is a national holiday. People are in slow mode as they enjoy their time off. However, the DH does not have the day off and we don’t get to enjoy this quite day together. The holiday schedule is so odd here that we’re not sure just what he’ll have off until it happens. I’ve been making note of them as some are national holidays, international holidays and religious days. We won’t be having any US holidays off, that’s for sure. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">I wait a couple of hours to see if any of this is going to change. The outside is getting better and the traffic is finally flowing. Still, it’s strange to have moments of silence in a town where I haven’t noticed much silence at all. It’s even more strange to not be able to see across the park and watch the people coming to see the sights. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfB_aiVVts5wON1_87Y8B3opQrC87NWN2ciGwU-pVvSPMa_MNTMuNVQOfPDCTmg9V8hXQNuHPJE9lDrH0RmpddqJKPAIDltsLrsdXXdQN7YAoc90iYAocr_XrfKTtmOAkBHu2r3Mv_JDQ/s1600/2011-11-01+09.04.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfB_aiVVts5wON1_87Y8B3opQrC87NWN2ciGwU-pVvSPMa_MNTMuNVQOfPDCTmg9V8hXQNuHPJE9lDrH0RmpddqJKPAIDltsLrsdXXdQN7YAoc90iYAocr_XrfKTtmOAkBHu2r3Mv_JDQ/s320/2011-11-01+09.04.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">Until next time!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><span style="color: magenta;">Lynn</span></em></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-17878356142906681012011-10-14T05:50:00.000-07:002011-10-14T05:50:14.884-07:00The New Addition<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">Yeah, there are a few more blogs to post from the old ones but I wanted to get this one up so you’d understand just why I haven’t posted for a whole week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">A few weeks ago, my dear husband had made a comment that he would be traveling off and on for his job in the upcoming months. The days without him stretched ahead of me and he wasn’t even gone! Getting into the society here is not easy because most of the people I met have nothing in common with me nor do many of us live in the same district, so visiting can be hard.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">While we were coming home on the tram one day, I happened to see lots of people staring in the direction of a young woman. On her lap, she had the sweetest little puppy I had ever seen. I knew it was some sort of Jack Russell Terrier. I made the comment to Gordon on how cute the dog was and that I missed mine. Our dog, Jasper, can’t be crate trained as it terrifies him and according to the vet, it probably will be detrimental to his health therefore he won’t be joining us as planned. This left me in a quandary as I was planning on him being my companion when my DH was gone. So seeing the puppy had really, really tugged on my heartstrings.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">When we go home, I started to do some research to see what type of small dogs I might like to get because I didn’t want to get a dog so large that I couldn’t have it as carryon luggage. This caused quite a few days of me and the DH going back and forth because he felt a dog would limit us. Then I wondered why he even agreed to bring the dog in the first place. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got as he’d told me when I first discovered we were truly going to move, he wanted to bring all the animals. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">But I did what I always do when he’s being unreasonable: I ignored him and continued my research. After many days, I found a group in Vienna that not only told me about Jack Russell Terriers but another breed called Parson Russell Terriers. The dogs were fairly small and could actually be carried on a plane. This made me leap for joy and I went to my husband with my findings. It took me a couple of days to convince him just how lonely I was here without family and friends. He finally came to grips with the fact that the people he knows here, he’s known for almost fifteen years or at least some of him he has. He’s got a good support base here for himself but because I had never come here with him, I am far, far behind the curve.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">Now that doesn’t mean I won’t catch up, I probably will but until then I’ll be a pretty miserable person and alone every time he travels. It finally dawned on him just what I was talking about and he got it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">Last Sunday, we went to a town near Salzburg to look at a puppy. Not just any puppy but one named Harry Potter. After spending an hour with the pup, my husband was as enthralled as I was. Yes, this is a puppy and it will take six months to a year to get him to be everything we want but I’m betting it will be much sooner than that. The pup is box trained, similar to a cat but not quite, which makes it very nice on rainy days and the fact we’re in a flat. No mad dash to the grass for us while he’s little. Just point him in the direction of my office and the majority of the time, he’s perfect. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn7DOSn7-vYDS7TLnpDo3RaTxdQImRtbuHU5Zdh41Lio3VTbEEhbU3LFnOH7nzEarHj2efqbC9ckCuSaSh6kF8a2iiR8t2Wco2ZCEQU3O3rC1XMdvx4jfWdCiNBzH9hDmMIMDMnknw_ZL/s1600/2011-10-09+15.08.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn7DOSn7-vYDS7TLnpDo3RaTxdQImRtbuHU5Zdh41Lio3VTbEEhbU3LFnOH7nzEarHj2efqbC9ckCuSaSh6kF8a2iiR8t2Wco2ZCEQU3O3rC1XMdvx4jfWdCiNBzH9hDmMIMDMnknw_ZL/s320/2011-10-09+15.08.10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";">But the best thing about this little dog is the fact that he brightens our day and makes it a little easier to be so far away from home and everyone and everything I love. I’d like to present you all with the newest family member, Harry Potter. You’ll be hearing lots about him in the coming months as he’ll be teaching me all about Vienna and how they handle hounds. To give you a little overview of how things are first, dogs are allowed on all forms of public transportation though a muzzle is required. They are allowed in all restaurants, most parks and hotels. We don’t know about the licensing yet but have already found a vet. Another cool thing is that I’ve made more new friends in the last few weeks than I’ve made in all the time I’ve been here. This is one special dog!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PkjAEEfJ1go60USFLedfb3UcDPiZButvbW12eMJllQsiqVSUCoGKn4ERdP_wbPWBAaX7rr2vMyO5ihLgpv9UthTSwXPKUiHYW7jdcBiwLWbyhDgkjahTlug9MiglTk2Qzd72oh4oyMD5/s1600/2011-10-10+12.28.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PkjAEEfJ1go60USFLedfb3UcDPiZButvbW12eMJllQsiqVSUCoGKn4ERdP_wbPWBAaX7rr2vMyO5ihLgpv9UthTSwXPKUiHYW7jdcBiwLWbyhDgkjahTlug9MiglTk2Qzd72oh4oyMD5/s320/2011-10-10+12.28.45.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVl0KOWYL6oMMV71dEXCcBYkpIojJU0BFcyxY-bMH9f2ObH5ZnodyhIgwSfr-oSvShPXZU6aFdWKFoTLscz4sxvqz60sxNQVl3bct-KuRJJcnGiOZqmXsQOI_XkGi7oqDnJMATYo4giXbX/s1600/2011-10-11+10.52.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVl0KOWYL6oMMV71dEXCcBYkpIojJU0BFcyxY-bMH9f2ObH5ZnodyhIgwSfr-oSvShPXZU6aFdWKFoTLscz4sxvqz60sxNQVl3bct-KuRJJcnGiOZqmXsQOI_XkGi7oqDnJMATYo4giXbX/s320/2011-10-11+10.52.55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span><br />
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</div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-49006980104404164032011-10-07T05:39:00.000-07:002011-10-07T05:39:15.809-07:00The Wild Ride<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">First, let me apologize for the quality of the pictures. They were taken from the car window during our ride. I’m only sorry I didn’t get any when we were on the freeway. Second, last weekend was fabulous and I think I’ve recovered. LOL! But the weather has changed here in Vienna and winter is definitely on the way. I’m only happy that we got to see fall in the countryside.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Written September 26, 2011</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The DH and I decided to rent a car this past weekend so that we could purchase some book cases from IKEA. I don’t know if any of you are familiar with IKEA but overall they have good furniture that you put together yourself. We had purchased our new beds from there and were very pleased with the quality but not with the cost of delivery. At $89 euros the delivery fee weighs in at over $125 US and the DH wasn’t please with the service nor the cost. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, to appease the Scotsman, we rented a car. Now this isn’t a bad thing. Quite the opposite as it will let us know if we’re suited to driving in this city. This time we were prepared as last we had a credit card snafu the first time we tried the weekend before. The whole thing went very smooth until the moment we started driving. Or rather I should say, the DH started driving. Need I say more? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Those of you who know me understand I have control issues and love to drive. Here, there’s not a chance in hell I’ll do it first. This means I have to relinquish all control to the man who has let me drive for years. That combined with the fact the car’s a stick and I’ll let him have it as long as I’m the navigator. But a navigator must have their bearings and needless to say, he got me off on the wrong foot from the moment he pulled out on the street. He went a different way than what we’d planned, so I was immediately off kilter. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">He got very upset when I made him pull to the side of the road so I could get my bearings. Yet I patiently explained to him why I was feeling that way. Soon, he understood my dilemma and we were back on the road very quickly. It seemed as if the cars here in Vienna were just whooshing by but in reality, they were probably going at slower speeds than what is normally seen in the states. While it’s true that they have things like the autobahn in Europe, people overall tend to drive at a much slower pace. It’s almost like each of them is a Sunday driver or something. Matter of fact, in all the time I’ve been here I’ve only seen the police stop cars for speeding only once and that was in a speed trap they set right in front of my own home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Eventually, we ended up on the right road and had a laugh as IKEA had signs everywhere on how to get to their store once we found the freeway in its direction. Off ramps were the same but getting into the parking lot was a convoluted series of turns. We were thankful that we had known about the entrance as the first time we’d come here by bus, we ended up walking totally the wrong way then having to back track. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Finally, we’re in the parking lot and my DH is practically tittering with excitement. No, IKEA didn’t do that for him but the store next door did. It’s called OBI and it is equivalent to a Home Depot in the States. I’ve never seen the man so beside himself as he does woodwork at home to relax. Now he couldn’t bring any of that with him to Europe but he certainly could purchase an electric screwdriver...but first...the reason we’d come, bookshelves at IKEA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We wander through the store for a few more items that we discovered we needed and find the bookshelves we want. We go searching through the warehouse portion of the store for them only to discover that it won’t matter that we have a car as we needed a van! LOL! The boxes are too long and too heavy. The DH decides that maybe delivery is worth the charge because we can’t fit them into our small station wagon nor does he want me to lift them either. I am grateful that he’s worried about my back but I’m just as worried about his as we don’t have a chiropractor here to adjust us when needed. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Soon, we were in the OBI store and the man was oh-ing and ah-ing about all the power tools. What is it with guys? Sigh. I told him to get whatever he wanted as he can afford it. After an hour or so of deliberating, I informed him is wasn’t rocket science and went to see if I could find anything I needed. After another thirty minutes, he finally came to find me, proudly bearing a new power tool. Needless to say, he’s used it quite a few times since he brought it home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, it’s time for the ride home. Oh, boy, I’m not sure if I’m ready for this as he wants to go out a different exit. Frankly, I should have deferred it all to him as he seems to have the system down just by driving here. The exit from the parking lot goes directly to the onramp of the freeway. As he goes whizzing out of the parking lot, the discussion immediately begins about where to get off. We tussle a little bit because again, I’ve lost my bearings but the DH seems to have found his and knows where he needs to go. I decide I’m just along for the ride and close my eyes when someone gets too close or they think he’s an idiot. Not that he got too many honks or anything, but drivers seem to get more irate here on occasion. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The exit he picks is fantastic as it is only two blocks from our flat. We manage to get through the construction and go to the grocery store around the corner. Finally, we’re parking in front of our flat and our adventure of the wild ride has ended. I’m sure there will be another one around the corner, sooner than I can imagine!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-27434909775075802572011-10-02T00:01:00.000-07:002011-10-02T00:01:01.226-07:00The Birthday Weekend<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yes, this one is written today but I’ve still got a few more to catch up. And this might be the last for a few days as it is the husband’s birthday weekend and we’ve already started celebrating. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ll be post more on the whole trip later but wanted to leave these impression for you. First, we decided to go to Salzburg on Saturday, October 1 as we’d not taken a train trip nor been away from the city. So, off we go. When we get there, we realize the error of our ways as it is in no way like Vienna. There isn’t a hop-on-hop-off version of a tour bus, so we felt out of place immediately.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What we ended up doing was our own walking tour. Here you’ll see a few of our photos that we took and believe me there are a lot more. You’ll see the castle high on the hill, the inside of a church and a<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">monastery</span> </span> that is built right into the hill. I’ll give all the details later when I do the research but right now, I’m off to catch another train to a place called Bad Ischl. Bad means bath and this is somewhere the Romans were.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is going to be fun! Hope everyone had a great weekend like I did!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-76606787956500580512011-10-01T00:01:00.000-07:002011-10-01T00:01:02.687-07:00The British Bookstore<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Originally started July 7, 2011 with a September 4, 2011 update.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Since my first visit in February 2011, I have passed this store. Every time I noticed that it had a going moving sale where everything was 10-50% off. I felt sad because I just knew this store would be closed when I returned to live here as we never seemed to be near it during the hours it was open.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Imagine my surprise when upon my return that the store sat in the same place with the same sale. I didn’t know if it were a ruse or not but this time I had a legitimate reason for going in as I needed a German/English dictionary. I thought while I was there I’d check out the other books as well. Geez, I should have known that it doesn’t matter what country but a bookstore is dangerous for me. I walked out ninety-four euros lighter than when I went in but I found some very valuable resources.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The item I went in for actually turned into two as I found a picture book that was about three inches thick. It had almost every word one could think of in both German and English right along side the picture. What could be more easier than that? Now at least I knew what things were but it really won’t teach me how to speak the language any quicker. That will be a whole new learning experience. The other German/English dictionary was another easy find.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now it was time to just peruse the store. One of the items I went in for was a Gaelic dictionary just like I had at home. I didn’t find one there but I did find a couple of new resource books on Scotland I’d never seen. Of course those went into the basket as well. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I also needed a new reading book and I was happy for find a huge fantasy section as well as a romance section. Both appeared to be fairly up to date as my son pointed out, so I spent a few moments looking at all the selections before picking out<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a new-to-me author, Daniel Abraham , and a book called The Dragon’s Path. More important to me was the fact that I had wanted to check out Orbit Books for a long time and this was my chance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The last item I found was something I knew immediately I had needed before I got here. It was a series of books called Living in Vienna series of books. It consisted of a boxed set of three books, Living in Vienna, Exploring Vienna and Exploring Austria. It is compiled and edited by the American Women’s Association of Vienna for people like me. It tells one everything they should do before a move and once they’re here. The second item under the ‘Essentials’ section is that a laptop and a wireless card is necessary as it will take weeks to get internet up and running. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These books would have been vital for us to have prior and I’ve recommended to the UN that they tell every American family coming here to get them. They tell you how to get your electricity, gas and water transferred to your name. They tell you how to search for a home, get your work permits, your residence permits and on and on. Things would have run a lot smoother if this resource had been available to me in the States. When I searched online, I got some websites but no books. Now that I know about them, you can bet I’ll be telling anyone coming here to get them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The visit to the British Bookstore was very productive but the main thing I noticed, not one person there was actually British. It gave me a laugh as I put my purchases in my backpack, heavy as they were, and trudged my way back to my apartment. I couldn’t wait for my next visit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">September 4th Update – Alas, there will be no more visits to this fantastic bookstore as while I was in the States, they closed their doors. There is a sign that does say where they did go but it is all in German and the dear husband can’t quite translate it. I can’t wait to find it though as they were the only store I’d found here that has all English books. It was a great addition to my living experience here and I miss it already.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-70428048299215486192011-09-30T00:01:00.000-07:002011-09-30T00:01:03.845-07:00The Surprise Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Written July 3, 2011</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One Sunday afternoon, while our youngest was still with us in Austria, we decided to go to one of the many museums around the city. I’ve been to a few but am always up for more and since the one he wanted to go to was the Natural History Museum, I was all for it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As our usual Sunday morning style, it is mid-morning when we all get up and start preparing for our foray into the place we now call home. After a huge breakfast, we all fight over who’s going to watch the movie, The Return of the King, and actually get showered, dressed and be ready to leave. My husband went first as he always does then because we were so into the movie, he decided to clean the bathroom with some cleaner that made it so I would be last as I tend to have an allergy attack when around the smells for long.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Soon, I paused the movie and got into the shower then quickly dressed so we could be on our way. I thought it was great it only took us four hours for breakfast, showers and getting it together. We’d got up late, lounged around and watched a movie...what could be better? They weren’t amused with the whole thing as they had wanted to be out of the house at least by one. So, we were an hour off schedule according to them. But then again, I knew the museum would be open till six-thirty while they thought we’d be kicked out by five.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Finally, we’re at the train stop, waiting for our ride. It seems as if the wait is becoming longer and longer the more I stay here. Today, it’s about fifteen minutes and while it’s summer now during winter, I know I’ll want it better timed. We talk as we wait about going to Harry Potter, how it would have been a great day to start heading for home and a variety of other things.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The train arrives and we hop on, surprised we’re the only ones in the car when my husband comments that it’s only going to Swartzenberg Platz. This is much less than half our journey and I’m concerned as just the wait has made me overheated due to the high humidity. I tell him we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sure enough, the police tell us we all have to get off here and it’s then that we notice the road called the Ring Road is bare of all traffic. This includes walking as well. Surprised, we decide to wander down to the next station and pick up an underground train for the Museum Quarter. Our walk will consist of a long city block and I’ll stay in the shade as much as I can to keep my heat factor down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">About half way there, we hear the police coming and decide to look at what’s coming down the road. Proceeded by no less than five motorcycle police and half a dozen patrol cars, we notice three lone bikers coming our way. It’s then we realize that there must be a city bike race of some sort. Most of the time, there are notifications at every train stop but we either missed it or this time, they didn’t post one.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thinking we’d seen what there was, we turn to our youngest who has asked why we’ve stopped. At that moment, we hear something we’ve never experienced before and all turn to see a pack of nearly two hundred bicyclists coming our way. The noise was incredible as all those wheels are turning in sync and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. We face them the whole time, our bodies turning with their route.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All too quickly, they are by us and I start laughing, stating we weren’t likely to see that where we lived in the States. Suddenly, we’re all abuzz with what we’ve seen and heard, each of our tales slightly different. We talk about other races and wonder how many times around the ring this one will go. Soon we’re at our next stop and as we head underground, I realize that here I will be experiencing things I’d never ever thought I would.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Next time, maybe I’ll be a little more prepared with a camera in hand to snap pictures. Yet, I’m sure this won’t be the last race I see while living in Vienna. The picture is what I would have taken if my camera were ready. It all looked like a blur.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hope you enjoyed this look into my Vienna life!</span></div><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-59019080828254951622011-09-29T00:01:00.000-07:002011-09-29T00:01:02.190-07:00For The Love of Mickey D<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Written June 29, 2011</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have been in Vienna for almost six weeks now and almost every single day I’ve been to McDonald’s. Is it because the Viennese version of the Big Mac is better than home? No, that doesn’t even come close. You can believe me when I say that myself and hundreds of other Vienna citizens have this same love affair going.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The two main reasons I come, one out of necessity, the other out of like, have become a mainstay for me. Here in Vienna, it is difficult to get a good ole American cup of coffee. Every cup they make is a form of expresso, which I’m not so in love with at all. Mainly because it’s way too strong for me but I will admit, the flavor is good. The McCafe gives that too me as well as a free internet hotspot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There is a phenomena that I have seen here I hadn’t noticed in the States. McCafe’s are on almost every corner it seems here in Vienna. I know that’s an exaggeration but it seems so. In one place in the Graben, the major shopping area in downtown, there is one particular spot you can see two McCafe’s and one McDonald’s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">From what I can tell, the McCafe’s are trying to compete with all the other cafes here. Places like Café Central, where every mainstream writer of the 1800s was likely to be spotted, or Café Swartzenberg, who is known for their desserts. These places are old and have some great architecture while the McCafe is a wonderful combination of new yet trying to build in some old world charm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have been amazed at the people I’ve seen there: school kids, college kids, dads bringing their children, teachers bringing their classes, friends, people like me who need the internet services and so many more I can’t begin to describe them all. And they all have a story to tell. One day, we stayed almost three hours and I have tons of notes with possible story lines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The possibilities are endless here and again, I’ve just scratched the surface. You can bet that a McCafe will be in my future as there I’ve found some of the best people watching ever.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqfyF01Tn9QJF6gFL6In8mM4z5HzcbKe4y04FsQX_tACVm2lIQeIZ9Eksc3_eMb6pLJKlPKy2l1g6nnVQ5tvZ3zIY87OmUZOxnb8Ou7ce8MDrHGhRH15VzvMFzrnyGiEwuQvWZ_HXezYa/s1600/Wien-20110928-00063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqfyF01Tn9QJF6gFL6In8mM4z5HzcbKe4y04FsQX_tACVm2lIQeIZ9Eksc3_eMb6pLJKlPKy2l1g6nnVQ5tvZ3zIY87OmUZOxnb8Ou7ce8MDrHGhRH15VzvMFzrnyGiEwuQvWZ_HXezYa/s320/Wien-20110928-00063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654618954320654811.post-65372166986761823072011-09-28T00:01:00.000-07:002011-09-28T00:01:00.701-07:00A Queen's Home<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Written June 27, 2011</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One of the things I haven’t done much of so far since moving here to Vienna is visit museums or palaces. Not that I don’t want to, I really do, it’s just that I’m living still in a totally male dominated world that wants to do whatever they want. Sigh. I want to have my fair share and was surprised when they agreed to go to Schonnbrun Palace.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This place is huge with a zoo, a labyrinth and a variety of other things normal people can only dream about. The palace was built by Empress Maria Theresa in the late 1700s as a home for her family. She had eight or so kids and wanted a more roomier place. Never mind that she had Belevdere as one of her country estates, she wanted something more grand to accommodate her brood and to provide for their every need. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And grand it is. This is one of those places it is better shown than told. When you arrive you enter through the front gate and go directly into the courtyard which is immense with a circular stair leading up to the main entrance. Here is one of the two fountains located there. The low buildings are where all the guards were quartered as well as some of the servants.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This courtyard is huge and could easily provide parking for hundreds of carriages in its day. Now, the palace itself is huge and really made me wonder just how would anyone use all one-hundred-eighty rooms of the place. True, some were used as personal quarters, some were used for balls and other entertainment, and there were those places used strictly for affairs of the state. Still, there were more rooms than anyone had a right to have much less use. Here’s a picture of it from the back, so you can see the immensity of the place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12c4ODXJU25iCHk6I4x4d2cItxTtV4kJOSX-wkgARqx5DEWUB43BVNCn3k1x3Esxbmt_zfry_uvZgFsZTAxpLGXQpN1HNQM_RpyTXDq2GGDSUgQJM_73YnzsyLZWPhxRIHvEVhtyeEkIs/s1600/100_1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12c4ODXJU25iCHk6I4x4d2cItxTtV4kJOSX-wkgARqx5DEWUB43BVNCn3k1x3Esxbmt_zfry_uvZgFsZTAxpLGXQpN1HNQM_RpyTXDq2GGDSUgQJM_73YnzsyLZWPhxRIHvEVhtyeEkIs/s320/100_1755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One thing to remember is that this was in the country when the palace was built. As far as the eye could see was green, whether forest or meadow, I don’t know but I do know there were no buildings whatsoever except for maybe the church. Since this place has been here since the late 1700s, the church might be that old as well even though does have some sort of chapel inside as do all the palaces. As each ruler thought they were ruling by divine right, they made sure they kept God close at hand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While it’s impressive, it’s in no way, the best the place has to offer. One of my favorite places is the fountain that was built in the back of the gardens. In the picture above, it would be just before the trees closet as the path up is a long, winding, sometimes steep path. I walked it very, very slow and will show you in another picture. Now, we’ll look at the fountain.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFoUFk6s9WnEkanOr2fV8n8q7iHST3f1wHHuOFQaNSnVn3Rb-gBgqau2MDU-MgJWbVErRto8rFEs2Lw97o0rxBiKtqgHeTdt4MdyhzDuJSJvpp7nwdjeo92mG75NGQtHve0pkA0nMFxDS/s1600/100_1749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFoUFk6s9WnEkanOr2fV8n8q7iHST3f1wHHuOFQaNSnVn3Rb-gBgqau2MDU-MgJWbVErRto8rFEs2Lw97o0rxBiKtqgHeTdt4MdyhzDuJSJvpp7nwdjeo92mG75NGQtHve0pkA0nMFxDS/s320/100_1749.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">See...isn’t that impressive? The first time I ever saw it, it was iced over and the water wasn’t running. My husband assured me it was beautiful when the water was on and he’s correct. It is a lovely fountain and I’m sure happy that more than just royalty can enjoy it now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Lynn</em></span></div>Lynn Crainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17563978872099232823noreply@blogger.com0