Month: July 2017

Taking Over the Island

~ Jenny ~ 10 Comments

First, thank you all very much, you gave me a LOT to think about.

One of the best ways to focus an idea is to argue with somebody about it.  I’d read through your comments and think, “No, not that,” and then think, “Wait, why not that?”  Some of the time there was a good reason, but just as often I had to stretch my plot to discover that there was a good reason to include that.  My background plots suddenly got a lot deeper not just because you all had good ideas, but because I had to think about them all.  All of which is to say, thank you very much.:

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Businesses on Devil’s Island: More Names, Please

~ Jenny ~ 74 Comments

First, I forgive John McCain for Sarah Palin.

So I’m doing some world-building in service of the plot, and I need some more business names.  In particular, I need motel and B&B names.  Inn Fernal and Motel Styx (again, thanks to Lorna) now play a big part, and I added luxury hotels The Deville and The Elysian, but I need a couple more motel names and a couple more B&B names would be good, too.   Continue reading →

Double Messages and Updating Argh

~ Jenny ~ 39 Comments


Nicole and Micki are getting double notifications from this blog.  Is anybody else?  If so, could you explain in the comments so Mollie can fix it?  I’m assuming this is part of the transfer of the blog from one to server to another–and we were so sneaky about it, too–so it should be fixable.  

And while you’re at it, you might mention anything you think might be improved or added here–that got you “Like” buttons and Good Book Thursdays last time–and we’ll talk about it. Continue reading →

Cherry Saturday 7-22-2017

~ Jenny ~ 30 Comments

Did you know that the Dog Days of Summer* run from July 3 to August 11?  
And that July 22 is exactly midway between those two dates?  
Which makes today the Hump Day of the Dog Days of Summer.

Just something to think about.

*”The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.”  (From Wikipedia, of course.)

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What Makes a Story Unputdownable?

~ Jenny ~ 81 Comments

If you’re reading this thinking there’ll be an answer in this post, turn back now.  I’m just cogitating out loud and, as always, inviting Argh Nation to co-cogitate.

I’ve been reading a lot lately thanks to Good Book Thursdays (and thanks to the Argh people who asked for them) and I just read two books that I shouldn’t have liked but read straight through, and I’m now reading one book that I’m having a hell of a time finishing.  The first two are by a new-to-me author and the other is by one of my all-time faves.  I’m trying to figure out why I read the first two at light speed, and why I keep putting down the other. Continue reading →