Thursday, October 31, 2024

The Scots and Witches say SAMHAIN

 

It is the Halloween season and my neighbors have decorated their homes. Me? A sign in my yard and a pumpkin on the porch are my additions. 


In other parts of the world, the night of Halloween is called All Hallow's Eve. In the Celtic world, where many of my books are set, Halloween was called Samhain. (Check out these books: My Honorable Highlander, Dragon Bites, and Smoke). 


Samhain originated in ancient Europe as a Celtic holiday, but today, it is an event that is celebrated worldwide. It's a pagan holiday that acknowledges the end of the harvest and honors the changing of the seasons, with cold weather right around the corner.


Another reason I love the fall season are the colors...orange, pumpkin, amber, gold...colors that will decorate the house until we celebrate Thanksgiving Day (November 28th). 

Sorry...I went off-topic. While Halloween does have roots in Samhain, they are not the same thing. Samhain is still celebrated today by various groups including Wiccans and there are many ways in which the festival is celebrated. There are not only group rituals, but single rituals as well.



Whether you celebrate with kids in costumes that roam the neighborhood, or simply enjoy the changing of the leaves or your neighbors' spooky homes, enjoy the change of seasons (and a little bit of chocolate!)


Nancy Lee Badger 🎃





Friday, October 4, 2024

Fall Ran Over Us With a Bang...

 ...but we are okay here in Raleigh, North Carolina. The tornadoes missed us but those living west of us are devastated. I am still waiting to hear from a relative who texted once to say they were without power and water, plus had a dozen trees down in their yard. We had rain, but the nearby creek is small and downhill from our house.

Anyway, the autumn season is here and the evenings are cooler, but the days are still 'shorts' weather. However, the threats of Hurricane Kirk and whatever is following means we need to check our emergency supplies and be ready. 

Are you ready? Here is what I found at FEMA:

At a minimum, you should have these basic supplies: 

  • Water: one gallon per person, per day (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home).
  • Food: non-perishable, easy-to-prepare items (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home).
  • Flashlight.
  • Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible).
  • Extra batteries.
  • First aid kit.
  • Medications (7-day supply) and medical items.
  • Multi-purpose tool, like a Swiss Army knife.
  • Sanitation and personal hygiene items.
  • Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies).
  • Cell phone with charger.
  • Family and emergency contact information.
  • Extra cash (ATMs might be inoperable).
  • Extra fuel for generator and car.

Depending on your family’s requirements, you may need to include: medical-care items, baby supplies, pet supplies and other things, such as extra car and house keys.  

Additional supplies might include towels, plastic sheeting, duct tape, scissors and work gloves.

I always add... BOOKS! Ebooks are great, but if the electricity goes out and you need to save your phone's power, fill your safe place with some real print books such as...


Please stay safe!

Nancy Lee Badger

Friday, September 27, 2024

Scottish Games, Hurricanes, and a New Book

The annual New Hampshire Highland Games are again a memory, but the weather could not have been better. Last year, the Saturday of the 3-Day festival held in Lincoln, NH was CANCELLED due to a passing hurricane! This cost the committee and its visitors tons of money and misery, so this year's overcast days were welcome.


Yesterday, an hour after we returned home to Raleigh, North Carolina, we received a TORNADO WARNING! Hurricane Helene ran by and the rain has made a mess with a rising creek in our backyard and tree limbs down, but no tornado as yet. The rain is welcome to keep away the drought, but the wind has proved deadly, west of us. 


So, we are safe and dry and this gives me the opportunity to mention that my short story 'A Day at the Beach' and my poem 'Feathered Travel Time' has been released in the TAF Omnibus III. This is a book filled with stories and poems by a multitude of writers donating their work to the Triangle Association of Freelancers which is a Raleigh-based writing group and I am a member. 




Check out the newest book and all the links HERE

Nancy Lee Badger


Friday, September 13, 2024

Why I Love when Friday falls on the 13th

 


I am writing this on a special day to me. You see, I was born on a Friday a LONG, LONG TIME AGO. The saying goes that "Friday's child is loving and giving." Is that true? Maybe so, but I consider myself extra special for having also been born on the 13th of a month that landed on a Friday. (We've had 2 black cats, both named Shadow)

The odds of being born on Friday the 13th is 1 in 214. This means that over the long years (since the 13th lands on a Friday only once or twice a year) 1 in 214 people will be born on my special day.

Yes, I will buy a Lottery ticket, but otherwise I will think of every Friday the 13th as an extension of my original birthday...wait a minute... that will make me REALLY OLD! 

Luckily, only a few of my books are 'eerie.' 



Thinking young,                    

Nancy Lee Badger

p.s. the Next 13th to fall on a Friday is December 2024!

Friday, August 30, 2024

Author Donna Steele Has Been Writing up a Storm


Donna Steele stopped by my blog to share that she has reached a major goal in her writing life... Publishing her 50th Book!

We met Lori and Mark, and Barry and Megan, but what about the rest of those sent here? Alien Embraces, sequel to Alien Embrace continues the story of the Vestilans sent to Earth to ensure the demise of their planet doesn’t become ours. 

Meet Ashley, Ross, Connie and Larry and learn their part in the tale because Donna wants yu to!



Blurb Blurb for Alien Embraces–

Julie was only on campus to have brunch with a friend. This summer was to finish up her dissertation, she wasn’t even lecturing. But she didn’t expect to nearly be knocked over by the most gorgeous engineering professor she’d ever seen. Ross was on campus to try to get his bearings—everything was different, new and appealing, especially the grad student he nearly knocked over.

Phillip was ready to walk out on a job if they didn’t get their act together. He’d already visualized the woman he’d be working with, then she walked out. Nope, not what he expected. Ashley had a new assignment she’d gotten only this morning. She was finally getting used to her new and unfamiliar surroundings but a new twist being thrown in had her scrambling, then she saw him 

Excerpt:

Roson opened his eyes slightly wary of moving. He must have arrived. He should be on Terra, or Earth as they called it. His hands shook but he opened his eyes fully and looked around.

He was startled to find himself inside a structure. He shouldn’t have been surprised. He needed to remain hidden and appearing in the middle of a crowded area would have been stupid. His teachers hadn’t been stupid.

The room he stood in was large, larger that his parents’ apartment at first glance. Well, nearly the same size. Had he ever stood in a room this large alone before? No, he was Roson Fourteen Cleman, he’d never seen anything like this place.

He been trained the last two cycles away from his family and everyone else, but the room he’d lived it would fit easily in the corner of this room. It had held his bed, a desk and one chair. This room held a large sofa, three easy chairs, a piece of furniture that had a glass front and held small things he didn’t immediately recognize.

Instead of exploring, he eased himself down on the couch and just sat. He was on a different planet. He was as far away from his family as he could possibly get. That reality was hitting him now. When he’d been recruited, he now realized, he hadn’t fully comprehended that. Excitement at an unheard-of challenge had clouded his thinking, then he’d been studying and hadn’t had the time to contemplate it all. He would never see any of his family again. That was beginning to solidify as real.

Now he was on the planet Earth, trained and ready to help the Terrans protect their planet. It had sounded better in his head when he’d been in that little room. It had been scary then. It was terrifying now.

As far as he knew he was alone. The instructors had hinted that others from Vestila might also be sent, but who and to where? There was no one in his mind. No one. There had been fewer during his studies, due to his isolation, but he’d never been completely alone before.

He’d craved that at one time. He was rethinking it now.

No, he had work to do.

Roson rose from the couch and looked around. This must be a palace of some kind. Did the rulers of Earth have places like this? The colors caught his attention, the couch was a rust color, but pretty and the chairs had that rust as well along with a dark blue. He moved closer to the piece of furniture that had caught his eye. The little things in it were glass, globes, some clear, some with shapes within. As far as he could tell it was completely decorative. There was space here for decorations. Fantastic!

He moved toward the arched opening and saw a table. Six chairs sat around it but it was easily big enough for his whole family, except that the chairs were too large. Another glass fronted piece was in here and it held dishes and trays. Was that silver?

There was another smaller table to the side with a tray on it as well. The next door had no knob, so he pushed, and it swung open. Ross let it swing back toward him and smiled. At home they had no doors, only cloth that separated rooms when privacy was a must, like for his parents’ area of sleep. The rest of them slept together in the other part of their apartment.

Rosson pushed the door again and went through it. The room confused him at first, then it dawned on him. This was for meal preparation. Was there food here? He opened a cabinet but found glasses. Continuing around the room he found dishes in the next cabinet. Why were there dishes in here as well as the other room?

He came to what he realized was a spice cabinet, the aromas stopping him in his tracks for a long moment. His studies had mentioned this, that Terrans changed the taste of their food on occasion for the sheer pleasure of it. He would now have the opportunity to see if that was true.

Another door, smaller was in front of him and he pulled it open. His heart stuttered at the sight. Food. He had thought until this moment that the instructors were exaggerating, if not outright lying. There was food for his family for half a cycle stored in this little room and it wasn’t the calorie cakes. This was food the likes of which he’d only seen on vids or in his studies.

His da and three of his older brothers worked to manufacture the calorie cakes. They would never see bounty such as this. Roson dragged his hand across his face to wipe away the tears. Overwhelmed he shut the door and sank into a chair at a small eating area.

This was so much more than he’d ever imagined. Could he do this? Could he fulfill his mission? The arrogance of his youth had vanished when he’d opened that small door.

He was completely alone for the first time in his life.

Find out where it all started with


Alien Embrace - Book 1

Amazon        B&N       Apple      Kobo       Smashwords

Then, complete the journey with


Alien Embraces - Book 2

Amazon      B&N      Apple      Kobo       Smashwords

...and find out about ALL the other title she has published in her successful journey! 

https://www.steelestories.com/




Friday, August 23, 2024

Can Autumn be Far Behind?


As the days shorten and the heat slowly dissipates, family vacations are being squeezed into the last sunny days of summer. Labor Day in America is Monday September 2nd, this year. This holiday dedicated to America's tireless workers is considered the official end of summer and the beginning of 'the fall.' Nights get cooler even if the days still remain hot, but the promise of being able to open windows and rely less on our A/C units is something to look forward to.

Do not fret! There are plenty of days to take a moment and smell whatever flowers made it through the heat__drought__hurricane (circle whichever makes sense.) Go to the beach, wear sandals, eat ice cream, and READ A BOOK. May I suggest these romance novels?




Remember, you can find all Buy Links

on my Website's Book Page HERE

Friday, August 9, 2024

Enjoying the Dog Days of Summer?


I do not own a dog. Love dogs, don't get me wrong, but we plan to travel a lot in the coming years. I will leave the care and feeding of all pets to the younger folks! Instead, I want to share my love of dragons. Scottish dragons, to be specific. I have written many short stories and full-length books and even a series where a shape-shifting dragon is the star.

A dragon is not quite a dog, but my characters are characters that find romance in the most difficult situations. Romance is what I write and I want to share my writings with you. 

Please check out Dragon Bites


The print book is also available


For all Buy Links HERE

...and be sure to check out my other books that star dragons!