I have been to Saint Jonh’s, Newfoundland several times in the last decade. While sites like Signal Hill are iconic, I had seen them before and wanted to venture out beyond the periphery of the city. So, I rented a car and ventured out in areas that would be harder to reach on foot when time is limited.
I took a series of shots that I feel provide a certain amount of inspiration. Since it’s currently Iceberg season, I also took a shot of a few notable specimens that I came across. For those curious, yes there is still snow and it’s nearly May!
The story itself centres on the staff at My World, a restaurant and bar in Manhattan. Bartender Wanted revolves around Rose Leary, a recently divorced author and former restaurant owner who now tends the bar to make ends meet in between novels. A series of murders ensues and she finds herself in the middle of mystery, bringing her into contact with some of the bar’s patrons, employees and the owners.
Overall, I found this novel to be a quick and pleasant read, although I do not see myself picking up any other books from the series. Maureen Anne Jennings is very careful to work within the limited technology of the day, and brings into focus certain sociopolitical elements that the reader may not have been aware of. The author also does an excellent job of speaking for the protagonist and you get a taste of her thoughts and motivations.
However, I found her interactions with some of the characters to be less than believable. The one exception was her interactions with Jimmy, one of the waiters, although that aspect seems to fizzle out towards the end of the book. This novel also left me with few surprises, there were no cliff hangers or mystery in it for me. I was simply left wondering when Rose would figure it out and how all the loose ends would be tied up.
Overall the story failed to captivate me or keep me hooked until the end. This was not an adrenaline pumped roller coaster ride, instead it was more of a pleasant drive through the country. There was plenty of room for one’s imagination to grow, but little opportunity to get the pulse racing. A shame really, since the ratings on Goodreads really got me thinking I’d be consuming the whole series!
I had the opportunity to take a stroll through Newport, Rhode Island. It reminds me of similar maritime locales such as Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. This place features old and beautiful houses, estates, a historic city center and a multitude of shops. On the periphery you can find Naval Station Newport and Fort Adams, the later which I visited.
Here are some shots I took from my little jaunt, which I felt may inspire the imagination of others. While there are several from Fort Adams, the rest can be found in or around the city itself. I only wish I had been here during tourist season!
The general perception about pirating is done by younger people. The idea being is that they do not have the means to afford the content. This population group tends to be more attuned to technology and has more time to go through the trouble of pirating it.
A recent study with results shown on torrentfreak.com seems to break that wide open:
47% of those who pirate eBooks are within the 30-44 year old bracket;
70% have post secondary; and
65% make over 60,000$ a year.
In other words, people who are most likely capable of paying for an eBook are those who pirate it.
Now they also state that roughly 25% of pirating is essentially swapping books with friends. This could be a carry over from the print world, were friends/family would often swap books instead of each buying their own copy.
While this article does not talk about, the age bracket may have something to do with people getting older. In the 2000s a lot of people were pirating games, music and other content because they could not afford it. Now they are older and have enough money to afford buying the content, however the habit is ingrained. Its seen as a norm with no ethical or moral ramifications attached to it.
A reader proposed that I use an actual hotel to create the cover. This idea has merit since the Grand features separate stories that have a common era, theme and location. The Grand is the focal points for all the stories, so it makes sense to pursue that idea.
Today I had the opportunity to visit to Boston, Massachusetts. I have been here a couple of times before, but this time I wanted to take the opportunity to revisit the Museum of Fine Arts. This allowed me to take better pictures of Susan Apthorp, the picture used for the cover for the Portrait.
I also took the time to visit the Christmas tree we give the city for their support during the Halifax Explosion. Interesting point of note, there is no sign or advertising as to why the huge tree is there.
Here are some of the shots taken from within the museum and during my jaunt. I hope they serve as a bit of inspiration!
I had a chance to visit New York City today. Mostly I wandered around the city and took pictures of what caught my eye. The city is well-known for its skyscrapers and Art Deco.
Given my interest in the 1920s and 1930s I made it a point to visit the Rockefeller Centre. The vast complex of buildings exemplifies architecture of the Art Deco movement and certainly provides a beautiful view of the city once you made it to the top.
There are tons of articles on the Internet which talk about getting rid of writer’s block. Some offer a series of steps to follow, others provide a quick and easy trick and some even guarantee results.
I tend to avoid any article which covers this topic since there are no one-size-fits-all solutions in life. However, this an article by Robert Fulford of the National Post covers various opinions and solutions throughout literary history. This twist to the age old topic struck me as interesting.
It does mention some solutions authors and journalists found. However like anything, what works for them may not work for someone else.
La Ville de Québec is one oldest European settlements in North America. This city was a part of la Nouvelle France and features a fortified wall that surrounds the old city. It is interesting to walk down the streets of the lower city and make your way up cliff as architecture changes.
I had the chance to visit Toronto, Ontario, Canada recently as part of a business trip. Toronto is Canada‘s largest city and features a mixture of old and new architecture. The most iconic structure is of course the CN Tower.
However, I wanted to find shots which might inspire but also showcase things that people may overlook or pass by without a second glance. All of these pictures were taken downtown, including from within the CN Tower, Fort York, Royal Ontario Museum and Sugar Beach.