Barbara V Evers

The fourth week of the month means time for storytelling, and I'm excited to share one of my scary Halloween stories with you today.  Also, make sure you scroll down to find out how you can enter to win a book launch prize pack from me. Keep in mind as you watch the video (approx. 10 minutes) that I record these in my office, so it won't be perfect. I hope you enjoy it! Also, I've got big news to share on my book! The Watchers of Moniah will be available on  December 18, 2020!!! Just in time for last minute gifts.  If you want to learn more AND be entered for a chance to win the Book Launch Prize , please sign up for my newsletter. You get all these goodies and more! A Watchers of Moniah canvas tote bag A giraffe bracelet in a cute giraffe-themed box A signed copy of The Watchers of Moniah A 45-minute virtual visit with me and a group of your friends A My Heart Beats for Giraffe sticker for your car or your laptop A giraffe luggage tag A few more surprises (I've got lot...

John Migacz Occasionally, I invite authors and poets to share on my blog. This week, I scheduled a poet who is now branching out into books.  Before I share his post, I wanted to take a moment to remember a good friend of mine and member of my writing critique group, John Migacz.  John passed away last week, and the members of my writing chapter are reeling under the loss. John and his wife, Marcia, have been a part of our chapter for over fifteen years, and when I first joined, John was the chapter leader. I eventually filled that role, and John always made a point of thanking me for doing it. He did his time "herding the cats" as he would say, and he enjoyed someone else handling it for awhile. His wife, Marcia, has been influential in our chapter as a fantastic copy editor and, since the pandemic, my IT support person for any chapter member struggling with access to our Zoom meetings. I couldn't successfully run the meetings without her assistance. One of the things wr...

It's the second week of the month, so that means Animal Videos! Today, I'm sharing another clip from one of my trips to San Diego Safari Park. In this one, my husband and I are feeding Maleeki. He's very interested in the leaves, as you'll see. There's lots of great info and close ups of this beautiful giraffe. FYI, the person taking the video turned our camera on it's side for about 20 seconds. Even sideways, this giraffe is beautiful. I hope you enjoy! Want to more about giraffes or my upcoming fantasy trilogy which includes giraffes?  You can subscribe to my newsletter and not miss a thing. The link is in the navigation bar on the left. Also, if you've fed an animal or had an up close and personal experience with one, please tell me about it in the comments.

When you write about character's of different races, how do you describe their skin tone? If you've never thought about this, then consider this question: How do the authors you read described persons of color? A few months ago, I attended a webinar about writing diverse characters. The guest was Eliana West of Writers for Diversity . The information she shared felt fresh and valuable, especially related to describing a character's skin tone. I get really tired of seeing African-descended characters described in terms of the goods that drove, and still drive the slave trade--coffee, chocolate, brown sugar. There's some weird psychosocial baggage attached to that.    -- N. K. Jemisin As this quote from author, N. K . Jemisin , indicates, historically, writers have described people of color using food-related descriptors. Many people of color find this offensive. This surprised me, at first, but she has a point, especially when you view it through the quote above. My fir...