Tag Archives: romance novels

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

On Plotting

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Blair McDowell

“A novel, play, or any type of writing, really is a crisis from beginning to end, growing to its necessary conclusion.” Lajos Egri, The Art of Dramatic Writing, 1946. The playwright Lajos Egri wrote this classic book on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abigail's Christmas, Books of Blair McDowell, Delighting in Your Company, Sonata, 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 →

Posted in Abigail's Christmas, Books of Blair McDowell, Seasonal | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell - Book Trailer

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Blair McDowell

Watch this video to learn more about Blair McDowell’s latest novel, The Memory of Roses, now available for sale on Amazon.com, AllRomance.com and EbookStrand.com. Excerpt from The Memory of Roses: From the distance there was an ominous rumbling. Andreas went … Continue reading →

Posted in Books of Blair McDowell, The Memory of Roses | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Influence of Place on Plot

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Blair McDowell

If you enjoyed Under the Tuscan Sun, and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, you will probably agree with me that the locale was vital to both of these stories. The first could only have been successfully placed in Italy, and the second … Continue reading →

Posted in Books of Blair McDowell, The Craft of Writing Fiction, The Memory of Roses | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

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