Of Spies and Slaves

Become acquainted with the brave heroine from Jane Singer’s novel, Alias Dragonfly!

When teenage Pinkerton spy, Maddie Bradford, lands in the seething, pestiferous broth that is Washington, D.C. during the Civil War, slavery is legal and will be until April 16, 1862.

Her boss, Alan Pinkerton, a known abolitionist who aids escaping slaves, as well as using them as invaluable helpers and spies, exposes Maddie to a network of black operatives working out of her aunt’s boardinghouse. She forms an especially strong bond with her aunt’s cook, Nellie, and her son Isaac, a young man who hides escaping slaves in the cellar.

The grim doings of slave catchers become all too real for Maddie. Death and the specter of death haunt this heroine as she must find a way to help her friends while risking her own life. She is still a spy in training and must prove her worth.

Alias Dragonfly by Jane Singer is on sale for $0.99 until February 15th!
   

Give cats a little Christmas cheer!

By Corwyn Alvarez

Dear readers, I would like to begin by thanking everyone who has purchased my book, The Dog Walker.  I sincerely appreciate your patronage.  I would also like to thank Bell Bridge for the opportunity to contribute to their blog.  In keeping with my themes which tend to revolve around the needs of homeless animals, I would like to mention that we are fast approaching winter and with this season some homeless animals struggle merely to survive.  I am drawing particular attention here to the needs of feral cats.  Interestingly, I was not a cat lover until several years ago when my friend told me the story of a feral cat in her neighborhood whom she had named Papi kitty or Pop for short.  It seems that her feral cat – that is now around twelve years old – at one time had a wife and two kids.  Over the years his entire family died, either they froze to death or were run over or got sick.  The only one who survived was Pop.

When I heard his story I immediately went into action and began feeding him in the sewer where he lives (when he is done eating I retrieve the empties so it doesn’t clog the sewer).  I have been doing this now for about three years.  When it snows I make sure that I shovel out the sewer opening facing the road so it is clear for him to go in and out.  Needless to say, Pop has won my heart and we have established an understanding with each other and he knows I’m his friend.  I love all cats now as never before, in large part because of Pop.  So if this winter you see any feral cats in your neighborhood I would ask that you please show them some kindness and help them out if you are able.  They are beautiful animals and it breaks my heart to see them roaming the streets, especially when it is cold and the weather is harsh.  Anything that you can do for them, whether as elaborate as having them spayed and neutered, or providing them a warm shelter, or providing them with some dry or wet food would be a great blessing for them.  They depend on our kind actions to survive, no matter how great or how small.  I have attached a photograph of Pop for those of you who might be interested.  A photo of Pop is also posted on my Amazon page.  I wish each and every one of you and everyone at Bell Bridge a safe and joyful holiday season.

The Dog Walker by Corwyn Alvarez is on sale the entire month of December for just $1.99! Click the cover above to purchase! 

Writing About Friendship

by Melissa Ford

Writers are supposed to write about what they know, right?  And what do we know better than our friendships?  There were the friendships our parents set up for us; the children of their friends that we were expected to share our toys with simply because our parents wanted to hang out.  (Yes, I am guilty of passing along this fine tradition to my own children.)

There were the first friendships we formed on our own on the playground.  The friends that broke our heart or didn’t return our affection or were too clingy.  The ones that dumped us.  The ones we drifted away from.  The ones that saved our lives.  The ones that we whispered our secrets to in the dark during a sleepover.

There are the old friends that we’ve been together with for more years than we haven’t been friends, and the new friends that we’ve intensely connected with in the last year or two.

See?  As a subject, it’s pretty ripe for the write-what-you-know rule.

But being close to the subject is tricky.  No one wants to see themselves show up on the page, and it’s bad form to dissect your friendships in front of an audience.  Sometimes we can’t really explain why we’re friends with someone, or why we’re not.  We may not know what we did right or what went wrong.

Sometimes friendships defy words, though I never stop trying to write about the topic.

Life from Scratch is about a woman named Rachel finding herself after the dissolution of a marriage.  She finds her voice through the act of writing but also seeing what she wants reflected in her relationship with her best friend, Arianna.  Where do we first learn how we want to be loved? Our friendships.  And it’s where we constantly return to measure our relationships.

LIFE FROM SCRATCH is Amazon’s monthly deal for March for only $1.99.  Read it with a friend and discuss it over coffee.  Don’t forget to tell your friend how you could never get by without her.