Without mentioning politics do you vote? Why or why not?
I have voted in every federal and state election since I was eighteen.
Why? Because I am damned lucky to live in a country where I can vote. Australia is a parliamentary democracy, meaning the people choose representatives at regular elections.
It is also compulsory. All Australian citizens over the age of 18 (except those of unsound mind or convicted of serious crimes) must be registered to vote and show up at the poll on election day.
The main reason for compulsory voting was our laid back ‘she’ll be right, mate’ attitudes. After Federation in 1901, the forging of the new Commonwealth was ‘a bit troubled’. The 5 million people spread around this large continent weren’t interested in voting. The new parliament was concerned and the impetus from both major parties to introduce compulsory voting was the stark decline in voter turnout. From 71% of registered voters attending the polls in 1919 to just 59% in 1922. The worried politicians agreed something had to be done before they were out of a job!
In 1924 compulsory voting became law and the impact was immediate. 
Voter numbers at the 1925 election rose to 91%. I bet there were sighs of relief within the hallowed halls of government.
Elections are held on Saturdays. Absent voters can vote in any state polling place or apply for a postal vote. Mobile polling facilities are set up in some hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and remote areas.
Of course, there are arguments for and against.
The For team –
It’s a civic duty comparable to jury duty, taxation, compulsory education. Parliament reflects more accurately the will of the people. The voter is only compelled to show up at a polling place, the actual voting is by secret ballot.
The Against team –
Infringement of liberty. The politically ignorant’ and those with little interest in the polls forced to attend. It may increase the number of ‘donkey votes.’
I personally feel giving up half an hour of my time once every three years is a small price to pay for a democratically elected government.
And, if you don’t want to vote, don’t complain later.
What do you think?
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
The Woman Behind the Mirror
The Proposition
Lies of Gold—Silver Historical for 2019: Coffee Pot Book Club
My first trip outside the U.S. was when Jack and I were traveling. We went into Canada a fair amount. We didn’t have much time to sightsee or have fun except once, when we rented a car and drove from Calgary to Banff and up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper. What a great time! Besides the scenery, the park at Jasper had opened a little early. We were just about the only guests in the restaurant—where Jack had trout they’d caught in the river practically outside the door. The cabins where we stayed were close enough to hear the rushing water as the spring snowmelt headed downstream. The trip was only for a weekend but it was so special that I remember it as though it were yesterday.
times. Each has been an enlightening experience. I love Scotland! The people are so friendly and the country feels like home to me. Maybe in another time and another life…? England proper is also wonderful. What a great city York is! So walkable, so historical. I loved my time there. The same for Oxford, where I attended the OxBridge program for teachers one summer. However, I wished Oxford had a few more benches around!
My sister-in-law talked me into going to Italy several years ago. To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that excited to see Italy, but she wanted someone to go with her and Jack encouraged me, so I went. She promised that once I saw Italy I’d want to go back again. The woman spoke truth! We spent time in Venice, Florence, and Rome, Each city was so different, and yet so the same. So much history, so much art. Too much to take in, in any one visit—or two or ten.
It used to be a tradition in Jack’s family to give 
though, that someone has matched personalities to chocolate, and I was right. I found two sites that explain how which chocolate we pick from the box shows something about us. For me, I’m an introvert (I pick the squares and rectangles), and I’m happy (caramel). Since it doesn’t matter whether the chocolate is dark or milk—as long as there’s caramel inside—I can be either a hard charger up for a challenge (dark) or relaxed and romantic (milk). It depends on the day, I suppose.
Valentine’s Day. A thank you. A peace offering, often accompanied with flowers. What better housewarming gift than a chocolate and wine hamper? Heck, any excuse will do.
Jack and I have only bought two new cars in our nearly 50 years together. But whether we buy new or used, we aren’t “brand” buyers. I know people who would only buy a Ford or Chevy, but we’re equal opportunity buyers. If the car is right and the price is right, we’ll bite. Frankly, I don’t care who built the car I buy. I want it to go from point A to point B with the minimum of trouble and discomfort. If it does that, I’m happy.
dealership in Richmond. When we returned to KC it was with a brand new Jeep Eagle. They didn’t make many of them or for very long, more’s the pity. We loved our Eagle, and only gave it up when we moved to San Francisco and having a car—any car—was so very impractical.
I love (love, LOVE!) reading. Some books haven’t been really great, but a lot have been. So many stories have occupied my mind long after reading them, for the characters or the lyrical writing or something I can’t quite put my finger on. But it’s not very often I go back and re-read them. In fact, off the top of my head, I can only think of two books I’ve re-read. Well, four I guess, but three are of the same series.
writing style, but then she wove a tight, exciting sci fi/fantasy adventure romance that kept me glued to the book from start to finish. In fact…I kinda want to read it again now.
I can’t think of any job in the world more important but harder to do well than parenting. When you think of the million of things a parent can do wrong, it boggles the mind. And even if you do most everything right, the kid can decide to screw it all up and leave parents wondering where they went wrong. The good news is, no one does it perfectly, and most kids turn out okay and grow up to have their own kids so they can worry about doing things wrong. It’s a beautiful circle.
example. If parents show love for each other as well as for their children, they demonstrate what a good relationship is. It builds a web of love that can’t help but extend to outside the family structure.
I don’t think I’ve consciously given a thought as to why I normally create my heroines as slim or slender. I don’t think I purposely avoid the full-figured heroine, but maybe in some way I do. It’s definitely something I will consider in the future. The fact is, full-figured women are as beautiful as slim women.
Curvy is great. Curvy is good. Know why? Because beauty comes from within, not at the makeup table or on the scale. It comes from loving yourself and being happy with who you are.
What about you? Does it bother you to write (or read) about a woman who isn’t a size 6?
In my first book, 
hourglass figure are her assets, and she’s very aware of that when eloping to the American colonies. When everything she trusts deserts her, Sarah must sell those assets to survive – and in that mirror, every day, she sees a loathsome harlot in a gambling club. It’s not until Neil McAllister, who by the way has a damn good body, investigates her for possible bank fraud, that she has the courage to see herself as she once was.
I used to think that creating a character for a book would be easy. After all, we all know a bunch of people. Just make a character like one of them. But the people we know are already true, full people (though I have to admit, I know a lot of people who could use a little more work). To take a concept, a thought of a person you want to play a part in your story involves developing every single facet of personality, appearance, habits, quirks. It can be daunting! Consider the difference between buying a house that needs to have the walls painted to starting from ground zero and building the whole house from scratch.
be a little short of what it takes to make a character real. Kayelle Allen provides character interviews for authors who post on the