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Author: Rachel

August 24, 2018

Fountain Pen 201: Ink Swab Catalog

Posted in Ink

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! I’ve had multiple requests over the past few months to give lessons or write a post about how I created and maintain my ink swab notebook. So this week, I’ll be covering my ink swabbing methods.

A little history before I dive into the meat of my post. I used to use the Col-O-Ring system. But once you fill your first ring, it starts getting bulky. So I looked for a different method. I figured a notebook would be suitably contained and portable. Because I love the Maruman Mnemosyne paper, I decided to try the Hardcover Executive Notebook (N195A) for my new ink swab adventure. It did not disappoint.

August 23, 2018

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Review – The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

Posted in Book Blogger

The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

by Virginia Heath

Series: The King’s Elite, Book 1
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency, Espionage, Thriller
Release Date: September 1, 2018
Pages: 288
Purchase from: Amazon | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Life as a duchess…
Or something much more dangerous…?

Part of The King’s Elite. Constantly told her beauty and charm is all she has to offer, Lady Clarissa is intent on marrying a duke. And intriguing spy Sebastian Leatham will help her! Only first she’ll assist him with his new assignment—playing the part of confident aristocrat Lord Millcroft. Sebastian awakens a burning desire within Clarissa which leaves her questioning whether becoming a duchess is what she truly longs for…

August 22, 2018

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Franklin-Christoph Firma Flex Notebook

Posted in Paper

I’ve been searching for my “perfect notebook” almost since I started using fountain pens. Every notebook I tried had at least one problem (in my opinion, I’m sure people would disagree with me). I’d just about given up hope of finding my “perfect notebook” when I stumbled across the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex Journal Notebooks.

The Search

When I started using fountain pens, I realized I could no longer just pick up any notebook I wanted to. So began my notebook search. And, of course, the elements that make up my “perfect notebook” have changed over the course of my search.

August 21, 2018

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Review – The Good Sister

Posted in Book Blogger

The Good Sister

by Rachael Stewart

Genres: Erotica, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Pages: 205
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

HE WASN’T HERS TO LOVE … BUT HER HEART DOESN’T CARE…

When Isla Evans agrees to switch lives with her rising star of a twin for three weeks, she has no idea the move will thrust her into the same bed as her teenage celebrity heartthrob, Bradley King. Trapped there at her sister’s request, she gives her desire free reign and finds herself falling hard and fast.

And she’s not alone.

Bradley wants a wife to tick all the boxes, save for one: love. It’s not part of the deal, never was, never will be. But when he returns home early to find his hopeful-fiancée behaving all sorts of different, he likes it. A lot. Suddenly, he wants a real marriage, with all the trimmings, and he will stop at nothing until he gets it.

But this Hollywood HEA faces one big hurdle—she’s not who he thinks she is…

August 18, 2018

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Cover Reveal – Crossroads in the Dark IV: Ghosts

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Crossroads in the Dark IV: Ghosts

Series: Crossroads in the Dark Anthology, Volume 4
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Suspense
Release Date: December 1, 2018
Cover Design: Bachman Designs
Publisher: Burning Willow Press
Pre-Order: Pre-orders will be available soon, sign up to be notified.

You attend a funeral of a friend, one who decided that living was no longer an option. That night, you feel a slight tickle on the back of your neck. Shrugging it off as an overactive imagination, you try to ignore it, yet it persists. You turn to look for the menacing thing bothering you, and nothing is there. Not even a shadow. In the far reaches of your sight, you start to make out a familiar figure ascending from the darkest corner of your room. You reach for the lamp beside you, but hit it, knocking it to the floor. Your fear begins to rise, as do the hair on your neck. A familiar voice pleads with you… “Why didn’t you hear me…?

Welcome back to the Crossroads.

Crossroads in the Dark IV: GHOSTS is a collection of short stories developed in hopes of bringing awareness to suicide prevention around the world. While the stories do not tell of suicide, they do speak of GHOSTS. Who are the ghosts that haunt us daily? What are the remains of an otherwise perfect life ended far too soon? Which are the people who we find hardest to move forward from when we lose them? The easy answer is, the ones we failed to save.

August 17, 2018

Fountain Pen 201: Inventories

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Ink

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! This week, I’ll be covering the benefits of keeping an inventory of your pen and ink collection.

When you have a small pen and ink collection, keeping an inventory probably isn’t at the forefront of your mind. However, as your collection grows, it will become harder and more time consuming to start an inventory, so it’s a good practice to start early. By why should you start one at all?

On the more positive side of things, an ink inventory can help keep you from buying duplicate inks, provide you with a reminder of what inks you do and don’t like, and make ink trading easier, to name a few.

On the other hand, an inventory of your collection can also help with insurance needs and claims.

August 15, 2018

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Review – Harleigh

Posted in Book Blogger

Harleigh

by Nikki Landis

Series: Volatile Vixens, book 1
Genres: Supernatural, Paranormal Romance, Adult
Release Date: June 14, 2018
Pages: 183
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

Harleigh is obsessed with Harley Quinn.

She’s a little too much like her idol – sexy, dangerous, edgy, bitchy, and a femme fatale – and maybe a little crazy too. Leigh’s got a dark past and plenty of skeletons in her closet which she’d rather keep buried. When her secrets come back to haunt her, she’s forced to confront the darkness she fought so hard to leave behind. With her life hanging in the balance, will Leigh become the villain, the hero . . . or the Volatile Vixen lurking inside?

August 14, 2018

The Montegrappa Fortuna Saga

Posted in Fountain Pens

With one exception, my experiences with fountain pens have been fantastic. Today I’m going to tell you about that exception. Before I do, however, I want you to keep something in mind. I vacillated for weeks between sharing this story and keeping it to myself. I don’t want it to read as a smear on Motegrappa. What I want you to take away from this story is the amazing customer service offered by Cary Yeager of Kenro Industries.

I bought my Montegrappa Fortuna Heartwood Pear (FHP) on November 11 at Bertram’s Inkwell‘s yearly trunk show. I’d been eyeing the pen for a while. It’s beautiful. Cary had one at his table with the nib size I wanted, so I bought it. And so began the FHP saga.

August 10, 2018

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Fountain Pen 201: Nib Customization

Posted in Fountain Pens

Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201 and happy Fountain Pen Friday. This week I’ll be covering nib customization including nib tuning and nib grinds.

Nib customization can vary from a simple smoothing or increasing/decreasing flow, to a complete reshaping. Ultimately, though, the reason behind the work is the same: to tailor it to your personal preferences and writing style.

Nib customization makes your pen perfect for you. It’s akin to altering a suit: certainly not a requirement, but worth it if you get it done by someone who knows what they’re doing.

2018 DC Pen Show

Posted in Pen Shows

This past weekend I was back at the Washington D.C. Collectible Fountain Pen Supershow (a.k.a the DC Pen Show). I spent two and a half days at the show this time, as opposed to the 2/3 of a day I spent last year, so rather than a set of in-depth posts, I’m giving you an overview of my experience with some detailed stories of the best parts of the show.

Friday

We weren’t able to take time off from work to attend the show on Friday, but we went straight from dinner to the hotel. From the moment we arrived at the Marriott Fairview Place on Friday night, it couldn’t have been more different than last year. By sheer coincidence, we arrived as a group of our pen friends were heading out to dinner. We exchanged “hello”s and “see you later”s with everyone, and hugs with a few people. Ralph, the contagious ink boy, inked Jim with a hug, which was rather funny.

We relaxed at the bar for a while, catching up with our friend TeAntae and her mother, Louise. Once people started returning from dinner, we spent the evening at the hotel bar, chatting, testing paper and nibs, and generally having a great time.

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Review – Stir Until Petrified

Posted in Book Blogger

Stir Until Petrified

by Theda Vallee

Series: Violetta Massoni Adventures, Book 1
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Witches
Release Date: May 13, 2018
Pages: ~435
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Welcome to beautiful Palermo Bay, where the witches are fierce

…and the biscotti is to die for.

Violetta “Etta” Massoni is an Italian witch living and working with her overbearing family in the sleepy seaside town of Palermo Bay. Healing from tragedy, she wants nothing to do with the magic she was born with.

Etta soon finds herself forced into the world of magic that she had resisted for so long. The peaceful calm of her community is shattered by a string of attacks that leaves fifteen people trapped in their dreams. An ominous magic task force is sent to investigate, with Etta as their number one suspect.

Her family has never been able to mind their own business, and they aren’t about to start now! Dragging her grandmother from crime scenes will be the least of her worries. Join Etta and the whole Massoni girl gang on a perilous, hilarious adventure filled with magic, myth, and minestrone!

Fountain Pen 201: Indie Pen Makers

Posted in Fountain Pens

Happy Fountain Pen Friday, and welcome to another issue of Fountain Pen 201. This week, I’ll be discussing indie pen makers.

When I discovered indie/small business pen makers, I was amazed by the options opened up to me. For the most part, it’s ruined me for large manufacturer pens. Right now, 8 of my 20 pens are from indie makers, and I’m expecting 3 more.

My Pen Collection — Starred pens are from indie makers.

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Review – Madam Love, Actually

Posted in Book Blogger

Madam Love, Actually

by Rich Amooi

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Humor
Release Date: March 29, 2018
Pages: 246
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Lance Parker is an arrogant know-it-all. As author of the bestselling book Your Soulmate Doesn’t Exist, he says love is for losers. Madam Love is a fortune teller and matchmaker who has brought hundreds of couples together.

When the two clash during a radio interview, she admits even someone as irritating and impossible as Lance has a soulmate. He says she’s delirious and a fraud. Then the gauntlet is laid down: Madam Love has two weeks to prove Lance wrong and find him a soulmate.

When Lance meets wonderful Emma by chance, he doesn’t know what to think anymore. But Emma has a secret. She’s Madam Love, actually. And it’s going to take a whole lot more than a crystal ball to get her out of this mess.

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How I Got My Grail Pen

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Stores

Nearly a year ago, I wrote about the DC Pen Show and shared my favorite fountain pen story: how I got pen #19 of 88 of the Stipula Etruria Prisma 88 limited edition. It’s been my favorite pen story every since, but it has now been dethroned by the story I’m sharing with you today. Allow me to tell you the full story behind my acquisition of my grail pen.

Stipula Leonardo da Vinci olive wood — Stipula Leonardo da Vinci olive wood limited edition (photo from Rakuten). Photo modified to be more true to life.

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Fountain Pen 201: Pen Shows

Posted in Pen Shows

Welcome to Fountain Pen 201! You’ve bought a few pens, some bottles of ink; basically, you’ve jumped head first into the fountain pen rabbit hole. So what’s next? I expect Fountain Pen 201 to be roughly the same length as Fountain Pen 101, so if you enjoyed that, make sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss an issue of 201.

For this inaugural issue of Fountain Pen 201, I’d like to discuss pen shows. I’ve been to two so far, the Washington D.C. Collectible Fountain Pen Supershow in August of last year, and the Baltimore-Washington International Pen Show this past March. I’ll be at the DC pen show again next week, and am very much looking forward it.

For those completely new to pen shows, they’re basically pen conventions. You’ll find a huge selection of fountain pens, paper, inks, etc. If you have an opportunity to go to one, I highly suggest you do so. Check out the schedule of pen shows at the end of the article.

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Review – Unshackled

Posted in Book Blogger

Unshackled

by Rachael Stewart

Genres: Erotica, Suspense, Thriller
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Pages: 190
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords
My Rating: ★★★★★

A rich girl sick of doing her stepdad’s bidding. A young woman submitting to the same man for financial security. Can they escape his sadistic clutches and finally find true love?

22-year-old Abi Taylor is sick of being used as a puppet by her overbearing, money-hungry stepfather. Wealthy life or not, she wants out—the only question is how? But then her stepfather’s latest fiancée Emma shows up and Abi’s life is turned on its head.

She is inexplicably drawn to Emma. Their fierce attraction leaves her confused and vulnerable, but she soon realizes it’s the least of her problems as she is pulled into her stepfather’s corrupt and sadistic world where betrayal is rife, family means nothing, and sex is everything. Abi knows she needs to escape the man who controls her every move, but can she break free and keep it all—the money, her freedom and the girl?

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People With Pens: Cameron Yorke

Posted in Fountain Pens

Fountain Pens – My lifelong love affair

Fountain pens, to me, are the epitome of style and class. A page of written prose looks so much more elegant when written with a nib, no matter what width, style, type or colour.

My first experience goes back to the age of eight when I received my first fountain pen at primary school, with which, back then, it was compulsory to learn to write. My first attempts at mastering handwriting with a fountain pen were dismal to say the least, and I still have memories of huge ink blots all over my initial exercise book pages, of which no amount of blotting paper could clean up.

Being left-handed it was doubly difficult for me as my hand would rub across the page, following the written word, meaning I would invariably end the day with smudged words and an inky left palm. I very quickly learnt to angle my book, positioning my hand above my work so as to at least leave something legible at the end of the day.

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Review – Knights Who Broke My Heart

Posted in Book Blogger

Knights Who Broke My Heart

by Sonya Jesus

Series: Knights, Book 3
Genres: Romance, Suspense
Release Date: July 19, 2018
Pages: 320
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

They were out to break my heart…

Amelia finally figures out exactly who her heart wants, and she is determined to go for it. She is willing to give the knight who stole her heart everything. She owns up to her mistakes and truly attempts to change, but just because her mind is made up, doesn’t mean her love is reciprocated. Will she choose the best-friend who learned her by heart, or the soccer god who ignored her for the longest time? One of them will win her heart, the other will break it… But neither of them are safe from the guy who will stop at nothing to protect her.

Murder isn’t something Hawk shies away from. Actually, he prefers to use it as a last recourse, but he’s unraveling. The closer Amelia gets to achieving happiness, the more his control disintegrates. And when one of his carefully laid plans turns on him, he loses it. Realizing he’s the reason behind Amelia’s attack, plagues him with guilt. In all his attempts to protect her, he was the one who put her in danger- a failure he isn’t willing to have looming over him… But what happens when his Queen fails him in ways she can never take back?

Review – When Life Gives You Demons

Posted in Book Blogger

When Life Gives You Demons

by Jennifer Honeybourn

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Demons
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Pages: 272
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Some people have school spirit.

Shelby Black has real ones.

Shelby Black has spent the past six months training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy―a Catholic priest―has put her through exorcist boot camp hell, hoping to develop her talent, but ohmygod, he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own.

High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity to herself. The last thing she wants is for her crush, Spencer, to find out what she does in her off time.

But Shelby knows how to keep a secret―even a big one. Like the fact that her mom left under mysterious circumstances and it’s all her fault. Shelby is hellbent on finding her mom, no matter what it costs her―even if what it ends up costing her is her soul AND a relationship with Spencer.

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People with Pens: Wendy Van Camp

Posted in Fountain Pens

Fountain Pens in the Creative Process

I love fountain pens. Sometimes I think I’m the ambassador for using these pens in life. I’ve introduced them to my friends, to my husband, and to many of the writers in my circle. Making converts everywhere I go. What is so great about them? Well, for me, they not only make the writing I do easier, but they help me when planning my short stories and novels.

I discovered the fountain pen back in 2013. At that time, fountain pens were not cool. To use one invited stares and derisive comments. The pens drew me because my cursive writing had fallen into disuse and was unreadable. I took up journaling to counteract this, reasoning that if I wrote one entry a day in cursive, my penmanship would improve. The more I wrote with the ballpoints, the more my hand cramped. I googled about writing and learned that fountain pens need not press onto the page as you write. You hold them at an angle that is more comfortable for the hand. You could write more words and for a longer time with a fountain pen than with a ballpoint. I had to try it.

The inexpensive Chinese model I bought to find out if I would like writing with a fountain pen was easy to write with. I loved the feel of the pen in my hand, the myriad of ink colors to choose from, and that I could select different nibs to change the way my words looked on the page. I went from using a standard medium nib to a fine nib and to an italic nib, which is a smoother version of a calligraphy stub nib. It was fun! I became hooked on the pens as a hobby.