Since it’s still International Women’s Month I thought I’d focus on a Canadian woman, Viola Desmond.                                                                                                             Viola Desmond is the first woman on a Canadian dollar bill. She’s on our ten-dollar bill.

Viola Desmond was born Viola Davis, July 16, 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was a civil rights activist and businesswoman and beautician of Black Nova Scotian descent. She married Jack Desmond. In 1946 , she challenged racial segregation  at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia  by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the   Roseland Theatre . For this, she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat that she had paid for and the seat that she used, which was more expensive. Desmond’s case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination  in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada. She died on February 7, 1965.

In 2010, Desmond was granted a posthumous pardon , the first to be granted in Canada. In 2016, the Bank of Canada  inaccurately announced that Desmond would be the first Canadian woman to be featured on the front of a Canadian banknote, but that honour went to Agnes Macphail , who appeared along with three men on a small print run commemorative note issued in 2017 to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

In late 2018, Desmond became the first Canadian woman to appear alone on a Canadian banknote — a $10 bill  which was unveiled by the Finance Minister  on March 8, 2018. Desmond was also named a National Historic Person  in 2018.

Sierra Brave is a multi-published author of heart-pounding, blush-inducing romance with put-you-in-the-moment love scenes. She enjoys writing about a variety of gorgeous alpha males who can’t resist head-strong heroines. Curvy girls have a special place in her heart and often grace the pages of her books. Tales of shifters, cowboys, twisted fairy tales, space pirates, Amazon warriors, and vampires capture her imagination as do tempting spanking and ménage scenarios, but she also engages in more down-to-earth themes such as office romance. You’ll find lots of unique characters and humor in all of her stories.

Blurb for Scarlett and the Big Bad

Promised power and position, Scarlett Capuche left her tiny village to join the prestigious Order of the Phoenix.

Monty Blackwolf never wanted a mate, especially not a human raised on a hidden farm for blood-ritual sacrifice. But his werewolf’s heightened sense of smell drew him to Scarlett’s sweet fragrance from miles away.

Duty-bound to protect her, he will break her of her religious devotion to the magical terrorist group responsible for the murders of his parents and older brother, even if he has to put her over his knee and turn her bottom as red as her hair.

She belongs to him now, and he will claim all of her despite his affliction with a unique, third shifter-form he doesn’t fully understand and isn’t able to control.

Will Monty save Scarlett, or will he prove more dangerous to her than anyone else?

Author’s Note: If you’re offended by steamy fairytale retellings with graphic language, explicit put-you-in-the-moment love scenes, elements of power exchange, and domestic discipline, you might want to look for a different book.

Excerpt from Scarlett and the Big Bad

“Elosha warned me. She said there would be people who would try to turn me against The Order, predominantly men because they can’t stand a matriarchal society with the dominant power. She said that’s why men only want to marry virgins because they’re too selfish to raise a baby that isn’t their blood.” Without waiting for his rebuttal, she ran for the exit, but as she opened the passage a couple of inches, he slapped his huge hand against the wood and forced her escape-access shut.

He pinned her against the door. “You are mine, and you aren’t going anywhere unless I say you can.”

“Talk about proving my point.” She yanked at the knob.

His breath clung to her nape as his strapping body crushed her. She closed her eyes, unable to move beneath his weight. He held each of her wrists, his palms surrounding them, and applying enough pressure she knew he could break her bones if he desired. His cock pressed against her ass, hardening as she squirmed. He brushed his cheek against the side of her forehead, prickling her skin with his beard.

“I’m sorry, Scarlett. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but you have to understand who’s in charge. You will obey me.”

Scarlett’s heart thumped as sweat trickled down from her hairline. She had no idea what to expect from this man who ran hot and cold in the blink of an eye.

Buy Links for Scarlett and the Big Bad:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VS2SS2N

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08VS2SS2N/

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/mKyePP

Social Media Links

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/7332d9f55a11/blushing-press-sign-up-page

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sierra-Brave-Author-1422713414692067

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sierrabraveauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BraveSierra

BookSprout: https://booksprout.co/author/2937/sierra-brave

Blog: https://sierrabrave.rocks/news-and-musings/

Website: https://sierrabrave.rocks/

The 2021 UN theme for International Women’s Day is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”, highlighting the impact that girls and women worldwide had as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, and community organizers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Its associated Hashtag will be #IWD2021 and #InternationalWomensDay.

International Women’s Day is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence against women.

IWD originated from labor movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century. The earliest version was purportedly a “Women’s Day” organized by the  Socialist Party of America  in New York City, February 28, 1909. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia  in 1917, IWD was made a national holiday on March 8. The holiday was associated with far-left movements and governments until its adoption by the global feminist movement in the late 1960s. IWD became a mainstream global holiday following its adoption by the United Nations in 1977.

It is a public holiday in several countries. The UN observes the holiday in connection with a particular issue, campaign, or theme in women’s rights. In some parts of the world, IWD still reflects its political origins, being marked by protests and calls for radical change; in other areas, particularly in the West, it is largely sociocultural and centered on a celebration of womanhood.

IWD initially had no set date, though it was generally celebrated in late February or early March. Americans continued to observe “National Women’s Day” on the last Sunday in February, while Russia observed International Women’s Day for the first time in 1913, on the last Saturday in February (albeit based on the Julian calendar, as in the Gregorian calendar, the date was March 8). In 1914, International Women’s Day was held on March 8 for the first time in Germany. As elsewhere, Germany’s observance was dedicated to women’s right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918. Concurrently, there was a march in London in support of women’s suffrage.

IWD remained predominantly a communist holiday until roughly 1967 when it was taken up by second-wave feminists. The day re-emerged as a day of activism and is sometimes known in Europe as the “Women’s International Day of Struggle”. In the 1970s and 1980s, women’s groups were joined by leftists and labor organizations in calling for equal pay, equal economic opportunity, equal legal rights, reproductive rights, subsidized child care, and the prevention of violence against women.

The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975, which had been proclaimed the International Women’s Year. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as an official UN holiday for women’s rights and world peace. 

By the twenty-fi rst century, IWD has been criticized as heavily diluted and commercialized, particularly in the West, where it is sponsored by major corporations and used to promote general and vague notions of equality, rather than radical social reforms. In 2009, the British marketing firm Aurora Ventures set up an “International Women’s Day” website with corporate sponsorship. The website began to promote hashtags as themes for the day, which became used internationally.  

Thank you, Wikipedia for most of this information.

It’s Women’s History Month.

Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with  International Women’s Day   on March 8, and during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of   Pers ons Day  o n October 18.

In the United States, Women’s History Month traces its beginnings back to the first   International Women’s D ay  in 1911. In 1978, the   school district   of  Sonoma, California  participated in  Women’s History Week , an event designed around the week of March 8 (International Women’s Day). In 1979 a fifteen-day conference about women’s history was held at   Sarah Lawrence Col lege   from July 13 until July 29, chaired by historian  Gerda Lerner . It was co-sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College, the   Women’s Action All iance , and the Smithsonian Institution. When its participants learned about the success of the Sonoma County’s Women’s History Week celebration, they decided to initiate similar celebrations within their own organizations, communities, and school districts. They also agreed to support an effort to secure a National Women’s History Week

In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. The proclamation stated, “From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well. As Dr.   Gerda Lerner   has noted, ‘Women’s History is Women’s Right.’ It is an essential and indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision. I ask my fellow Americans to recognize this heritage with appropriate activities during National Women’s History Week, March 2–8, 1980. I urge libraries, schools, and community organizations to focus their observances on the leaders who struggled for equality – Susan B. Anthony ,  Sojourner Truth ,   Lucy Stone ,  Lucretia Mott ,  Eliza beth     Cady Stanton ,   Harriet  Tubman and  Alice Paul .   Understanding the true his tory of our country will help us to comprehend the need for full equality under the law for all our people. This goal can be achieved by ratifying the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that ‘Equality of Rights under the   Law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Carter was referring to the   Equal Rights Amendment , which was never ratified, not to the amendment which did become the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution after his presidency.

In 1981, responding to the growing popularity of Women’s History Week, Sen.  Orrin Hatch  (R- Utah ) and Rep   Barbara Mikulsk i   (D- Maryland ) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a Women’s History Week. Congress passed their resolution, which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next several years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as Women’s History Week. Schools across the  country also began to have their own local celebrations of Women’s History Week and even Women’s History Month. By 1986, fourteen states had declared March as Women’s History Month. (This is thanks to Wikipedia)

The following year, Congress declared  March  1987 as the first official Women’s History Month.  

Women’s History Month is a time when we can educate ourselves on historic moments women fought for and our progress thus far, along with celebrating women as a whole. And what better way to do that than reading a bunch of books about women by women?

If you are looking for recommendations on biographies that will educate you, comedies that will make your belly ache or stories that encapsulate the unique challenges women face every day, read on. Here’s a website that lists more books to read during Women’s History Month.      https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/01/cnn-underscored/womens-history-month-books

Want to educate yourself in another way as well? Some interesting podcasts to listen to during this month include “The History Chicks ” by Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider, “Stuff Mom Never Told You ” by iHeartRadio and “The Other Half: The History of Women Through the Ages ” by James Boulton.

Portraits of women trailblazers Esther Marjorie Hill, Gisèle Lamoureux, Joy Kogawa, Nellie Cournoyea and Portia White .

It’s time for a monthly group blog. Thanks, Rhobin for pulling this together every month. This one looks like a fun one. Where do you get your ideas for stories? It’s also a little difficult. I write romantic suspense and ideas come from all over. I may hear about a mystery or crime. Or a character comes to me with a history.

For example, cloning was big at one time and there was a lot of discussion on allowing it pro and against. That got me thinking about possibilities and I did some research and By Design became a book.

I attended a conference in Reno, and we visited the Sheriff’s department. One of the female officers worked the Cyber Crimes Against Children Unit in internet chat rooms. She tracked down and caught pedophiles trying to lure young people into sexual situations. Don’t Go became a book.

I was at another conference. This one was held in the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. There’s a balcony overlooking the grand lobby and registration area. I was looking down on it and I imagined a cowboy, with spurs, striding across the marble floor in the lobby. A total contrast. He became the hero, and I wrote the book Hunted . It was the first in the series and the next books build on it.

After visiting New Orleans, and seeing a ghost (but that’s another story), I decided It was a perfect spot for a murder and a mystery with a touch of voodoo and paranormal. So I wrote Death Southern Style. 

I believe women are equal to me (if not superior). I feel women should be valued and not exposed to physical, mental, or emotional abuse or treated as second class citizens. I think I read about a woman being put to death, maybe in Saudi Arabia for adultery. The man went free. I wanted to write about women who were saved by other women. I developed a team of trained, funded, women who could save other women. That book is The Foundation, Sara’s Story, The Fourth Victim . It’s the first in a series.

So. where do I get my ideas? They can develop from so many different ways. I think you have to stay open to what you see, hear and feel and take that kernel of an idea and write it from your perspective and with the help of your muse. In my case, I also add a romance and a Happy Ever After ending.

 

I’m looking forward to seeing where all these other authors get their ideas.

Skye Taylo r  http:// www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Anne Stenhouse   http: //annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

Connie Vines  http://mizging.blogspot.com /

Diane Bator   http: //dbator.blogspot.ca/

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2eA

Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/

Helena Fairfax  http ://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

Victoria Chatham  http: //www.victoriachatham.com

Judith Cope k  ht tp://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/

Rhobin L Courtright   http: //www.rhobincourtright.com

 

Brenda Whiteside is the author of suspenseful, action-adventure stories with a touch of romance. Mostly. She and her husband are gypsies at heart having lived in six states and two countries. For now they’ve settled in Central Arizona, but won’t discount the possibility of another move in their future. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW is fishing, Brenda writes.

2020 Character Interview

Beverley: What’s your name?

Magpie: Magpie Muse MacKenzie

Beverley: Where did you grow up?

Magpie: I was born and raised in Joshua, Arizona, a mining town of the late 1880s and early 1900s. When mining died, Joshua turned into a ghost town then a hippie haven, and now a tourist town hanging on the side of Spirit Mountain.

Beverley: During what time period does your story take place?

Magpie: The story takes place in modern day Joshua, but there is a 1960s story within the story that helps to solve the mystery.

Beverley: What’s your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about you?

Magpie: My parents came to Joshua with the first wave of hippie and artist settlers. My mother was well-known for her mystic talents. She died when I was twelve. My father mourned deeply, wallowing in alcohol. When I was fifteen, his relationship with a woman ended with her murder. My seventeen-year-old boyfriend disappeared the same day. No one was ever charged. A doppelganger for my missing boyfriend walks into my mercantile the same day skeleton remains are found in the ruins. The universe sent me a message…solve the decades old mystery or become the next victim.

Beverley: What’s your goal in this story?

Magpie: My father is suspected of the murder of his girlfriend and complicit in the disappearance of my boyfriend decades earlier. I have to clear him.

Beverley: What conflicts are you facing?

Magpie: Is it possible my father is guilty? I’ve become attached to Zac, the look-alike for my missing boyfriend. He’s younger than I am, and, well, he looks like Mark. The vibrations and déjà vu moments he’s experiencing are leading us down a dangerous path to discover the truth.

Beverley: Do you have a plan for resolving them?

Magpie: Zac and I have come up with a sting operation to draw out the murderer. Hopefully, we can have each other’s backs and not fall victims.

Beverley: I s there anything else you’d like us to know about you?

Magpie: I have an older brother and a younger sister who want their stories told. Although I didn’t inherit my mother’s gift, both of my siblings are mystics to some degree. Harlan and I have not gotten along since our mother died. He’s the older sibling, but I was left with the responsibility of keeping our family together. Elidor hasn’t lived in Joshua for many years, but she’s coming home.

Blurb for Secrets of the Ravine:

When a ringer for her long-dead love walks into her life the same day skeletal remains are found at the edge of town, Magpie MacKenzie can’t ignore what the universe is telling her…solve the mystery, or become the next victim.

Lawyer Zack Peartree’s life is orderly and entanglement-free until he visits purportedly haunted Joshua, Arizona, and meets free-wheeling shopkeeper Magpie. Despite experiencing troubling visions and odd moments of déjà vu, Zack’s instantly drawn to Magpie and to the unsolved murder which troubles her so.

Using clues from her father’s past and Zack’s déjà vu moments, Magpie and Zack race to solve the mystery, avoid a murderous fate, and to discover their future…together.

Excerpt from Secrets of the Ravine:

Zac picked up the sack with the music box. “Are you the owner of this great store?”

“I am.” She returned his smile. “Magpie MacKenzie. And you are?”

“Zac Peartree. Is that your real name?”

Accustomed to his reaction, she gave her standard reply. “It’s a long story.”

“One I’m sure I’d enjoy hearing. Will you be working at your mercantile all weekend?”

She swallowed down the recurring flutter. “Mostly.”

“You all should have a drink at the Apparition Room tonight, the bar below the Copper Mountain Hotel down the block.” Phaedra finished stuffing paper around the sculpture for protection and then handed the box to the man with the redhead. “Our very own Magpie MacKenzie will be singing.”

Magpie scuffed a boot against her friend’s foot to quiet her.

“She’s on at eight.”

The blonde clapped her hands. “Great. Sounds fun.”

“I guess that means we’ll see you later, Magpie.” Zac followed his friends but peered over his shoulder with an unreadable expression before he disappeared out the door and into the chilly wind.

Slightly lightheaded, Magpie braced herself on the counter. “Honestly, Phaedra, I could—”

“Now, Mags, you haven’t been this tongue-tied over a guy in years.” She retrieved her purse from behind the counter where she’d set it when she came in. “I need to get going, and you need to enjoy the quivers that guy is giving you. I’d guess he’s only thirty or close to it, but what the hell, he’s hot. Every man should fill his jeans like that, not to mention his shoulders.” She stopped by the door. “You two looked at each other as if—”

“As if we know each other?”

“Know each other? I agree he bore a resemblance to Mark, but that’s all.”

“Really? Sacrebleu , Phaedra. When I stared into that face, I saw Mark…a soul…from twenty-eight years ago.” The soul of someone she’d loved.

Who might have been a murderer…or worse, murdered by my father .

Buy Links for Secrets of the Ravine:

Social Media Links

https://www.brendawhiteside.com

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor

Twitter: https ://twitter.com/brendawhitesid2

Blog: https://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003V15WF8

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3972045.Brenda_Whiteside

BookBub:h ttps ://www.bookbub.com/authors/brenda-whiteside

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendawhitesideauthor/