Tag Archives: Romance and mystery novels

Hoppy Easter BlogHopSpot Event! Win New Paranormal Romance

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Blair McDowell

Delighting in Your Company by Blair McDowell Win a copy of Blair’s latest book, a paranormal romance set on an exotic Caribbean island, featuring a handsome ghost and an adventurous heroine who travels back in time to solve a mystery! To … Continue reading →

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My Love Affair With an Older Man

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Blair McDowell

I suppose all writers have favorites among their characters. It’s only natural that some of our inventions should resonate more in our minds and emotions than others. So it is that I fell in love with an older man. Ian … Continue reading →

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Valentines Blog Hop - Win The Memory of Roses; Coming Soon - Delighting in Your Company

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Blair McDowell

My name is Blair McDowell , and my books are set in places I know and love and are peopled with characters drawn from my experiences of those places. The Memory of Roses takes readers to the Greek Island of Corfu, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Hops, Books of Blair McDowell, Delighting in Your Company, The Memory of Roses | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Show Don’t Tell

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Blair McDowell

Who among us has not seen those dreaded words in the margin of a manuscript? It sounds so easy. “Show, don’t tell. ” Those of us who are, shall we say, of more mature years, are programmed to tell. Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Abigail's Christmas, Books of Blair McDowell, Delighting in Your Company, The Craft of Writing Fiction, The Memory of Roses | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas Away From Home

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Blair McDowell

There is no lonelier time of the year than Christmas for someone away from home and alone. It seems that the rest of the world is composed of couples or family groups. Restaurants are filled with party revelers, shoppers in … Continue reading →

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Sirmione, Lake Garda, Italy

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Blair McDowell

  The sun is an orange ball suspended low in the sky, its color reflected across the ripples of the water as I sit on my balcony overhanging Italy’s Lake Garda. It is warm now, with just the hint of … Continue reading →

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And So To Bed

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Blair McDowell

Last night I fell out of bed. Being of mature years and — shall we say -generous proportions, nothing much was hurt except my pride, but the experience got me to thinking about Italian beds. They are 30 inches wide. … Continue reading →

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The “O” Word and Character Portrayal

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Blair McDowell

Two recent experiences have made me consider yet again the subject of character development and portrayal. I’ve been reading a series of books by the late Michael Dibdin in which the central character is a detective named Aureleo Zen. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Books of Blair McDowell, The Craft of Writing Fiction, The Memory of Roses | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Which comes first, setting, characters or plot?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Blair McDowell

Without question, for me it is setting. When I find myself in an intriguing or particularly beautiful or historic place, somehow characters suggest themselves. And once they have, the story unfolds, often very completely, in my mind. In a sense, the … Continue reading →

Posted in The Craft of Writing Fiction | Tagged , , | 7 Comments