We're Thinking SPRING & Daylight Savings!

Hello my lovelies who follow Smart Girls Read Romance. Welcome!

Today is Daylight Savings and with that, we're all thinking spring.

Did you know....

Spring

September 22 marked the autumnal equinox and the first day of fall, which got us wondering: Why do we call the seasons Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter?

Before Spring was called Spring, it was called Lent in Old English. Starting in the 14th century, that time of year was called “springing time”—a reference to plants “springing” from the ground. In the 15th century this got shortened to “spring-time,” and then further shortened in the 16th century to just “spring.”


What About Daylight Savings?

The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin (portrait at right) during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, in an essay, "An Economical Project." Read more about Franklin's essay.

Some of Franklin's friends, inventors of a new kind of oil lamp, were so taken by the scheme that they continued corresponding with Franklin even after he returned to America.

The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called "Summer Time" in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Countries have different change dates.

Some say the primary reason that Daylight Saving Time is a part of many societies is simply because people like to enjoy long summer evenings, and that reasons such as energy conservation are merely rationalizations.

Personally, I'm going with enjoying longer evening activities rather saving energy.

"Everyone appreciates the long, light evenings. Everyone laments their shortage as Autumn approaches; and everyone has given utterance to regret that the clear, bright light of an early morning during Spring and Summer months is so seldom seen or used."

From London builder William Willett (1857-1915)
in the pamphlet, "Waste of Daylight" (1907)

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead today (technically last night at midnight). I hope you all have a wonderful spring and are able to spend time outside reading some wonderful novels!

Here's one of my #ghost novels you might enjoy!

Read the new Review snippet!

 A GHOST TO DIE FOR

Contemporary Romance/Paranormal

Do you believe in ghosts? Rooney Fontaine doesn't—or didn't until one named Stuart Granger shows up in her hotel room. Now the humorous, yet desperate, apparition is begging her to find the men who murdered him before his brother becomes their next victim.

After serving three tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, Stephan Granger is no -stranger to risk and peril. When a woman shows up at his house rambling about ghosts, murder and assassins, his first inclination is to deem her wrong in the head and send her packing. But how does she know things that happened to him and his dear departed brother in their childhoods, secrets they never shared with anyone?

Soon after he invites her in to hear more about what really happened to Stuart, gunfire splits the air and shatters all the windows in the house. Someone is trying to kill them. Now they're on the run from assassins while trying to find out who killed his brother and why they want him dead too.

Even amid murder and mayhem, sometimes you find love.

Recent Review Snippet

★★★★★


"Diablo has written a fully-rounded story, with a strong and exciting plot, and characters to die for! Even with the paranormal, ghostly twist, the issues and emotions these characters were forced to cope with felt very real. They had me rooting for them all the way through to the very last page. An entertaining, heartfelt story, packed with action, nail-biting suspense, and romance!"

99 Cents On all Venues