Monday, August 20, 2012

Judith Laik Takes a Sentimental Journey on a Blue Moon

Thanks to Judith Laik (pronounced "Like") for visiting today. Judith has been published by Kensington and small press, writes Regency historical romance, young adult novels, and children's stories. She also co-authored a book of quotes, Around the Circle Gently, with Lynn Moen. Judith lives in the Seattle area on a cozy little farm with a bunch of dogs, sundry other animals, her husband (not an animal, usually), and her daughter.

Blue Moon
by Judith Laik
Copyright © 2012 Judith Laik

A blue moon, according one interpretation, is the occurrence of a second full moon in any month. A second definition is the third of four full months in a season (winter, spring, etc.). Normally each season has three full moons. When it has four, the third one is called a blue moon.

Because the lunar cycle is shorter than most months, the dates of the various phases change throughout a year. There can only be a second full moon when the first one falls on the 1st, 2nd, or, for 31-day months, 3rd. Thus, a blue moon happens only – once in a blue moon!

Perhaps because of their relative rarity, legends grew up about the specialness of a blue moon. One of these legends is that there is special power in wishing on a blue moon.


Judith Laik, author

When my friend Jacquie told me she was asked to contribute a story to an anthology built around this bit of folklore, I thought that was a pretty cool idea. I didn’t give it another thought. I don’t write short stories. At least I didn’t think so.

But the concept kept working on my under my conscious thought level. I frequently have a “sound track” playing in my head. It’s entirely random. Could be a song I’ve heard on the radio, even sometimes a stupid jingle from a commercial. But sometimes out of that amorphous mass of buried memories, a song will suddenly pop up that I haven’t heard for years.

In this case, though, I’m sure it arose from Jacquie’s anthology story. The lovely song “Blue Moon” started playing in my head. Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1935, it’s been sung over the years by many of the greats. When the line “And then there suddenly appeared before me the only one my arms will ever hold,” I got a clear image of the sudden appearance of a man in front of a woman, and I knew I had the germ of a story. From there, it practically wrote itself.

And now, my story, Sentimental Journey, is on Amazon.

Oh, yes. On blue moons. There’s one this month, on August 31. Be prepared to make a wish and have it come true!

More info on blue moons:
Infoplease®
Wikipedia
Sky and Telescope
Moon Connection
RedBubble (Discusses various folkloric stories about the power of the blue moon.)
RedBubble (song lyrics)

Contact Judith: Website, Facebook, Twitter
Please "like" Sentimental Journey on Amazon!

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One lucky commenter will win a Kindle copy of Sentimental Journey!  Please include your email address or we won't be able to contact you and we'll have to draw another winner.  Drawing will be held August 25 at 9pm Pacific Time.

9 comments:

P.L. Parker said...

I am definitely going to look for the Blue Moon. I use that phrase quite frequently myself and now I know what I'm talking about. LOL. Good post, love the cover.

Judith said...

Thank you, P.L. Parker! Enjoy the Blue Moon. I love any full moon, but the Blue ones especially!

Gina Robinson said...

I knew a blue moon was the second full moon in a month. But I didn't know about it also being the 4th moon in a season. Very interesting.

Jacquie Rogers said...

Thanks again for contributing this article, Judith. Sentimental Journey is an excellent story and just the ticket for a quick HEA for romance-lovers on the go. I wish you the best of luck, and we even have a Blue Moon for me to pin that on. :)

Judith said...

Thanks, Gina. Glad you enjoyed the article. I learned about the 4 full moons in a season when I started researching for this article. Before, I only knew about the 2nd full moon in a month.

Judith said...

Thanks for the nice words about my story, Jacquie!

News From the Holmestead said...

Great article, Judy! Thanks for the info about a blue moon. I've always wondered what exactly a blue moon is!

And of course I read "Sentimental Journey" when it first came out and I loved it then, love it now! Good job!

Sherrie Holmes

Judith said...

Thank you, Sherrie! When are you going to get Kissing Lessons up on Amazon? I love that story!

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