Pre-Thursday This n That

Since Thursday this week is a holiday, I thought I'd do this a day early.

Yesterday, as I was coming home from errands, I came over a rise in the road to discover a car parked right in my lane.  No flashers.  No turn signal.  Just at a dead stop.  I hit the brakes and stopped in time to not hit her.  Then she moved forward a little and I thought okay, off we go.  But no.  She putted along, so as a snail, until she reached a driveway and put on her turn signal.  I thought she was lost and had finally found where she was going.  But no.  She didn't turn into the driveway, she just moved over a little and stopped again.  Now only half of her car was in my lane.  Unfortunately, this new place she'd chosen to stop was before a downhill with a curve, and I couldn't see shit coming from the other direction in the lane I would have to share in order to pass her.  I swore loudly and said some very unkind things as I eased past her.  Thankfully no cars were coming.  The driver?  A chick about my age who looked like a spinster from Little House on the Prairie.  And no, I don't think she was having car trouble.  I think she was lost and brainless.

Anyway, I went to the store yesterday because I forgot to buy whipped cream for the cheesecake I'll be making today.  Pumpkin cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream is to die for.  Well, almost... LOL

I also stopped at the thrift store.  And happy coincidence, they were having a sale on books.  Paperbacks for 10c and hardcovers for a quarter.  I got 7 books for $1.30.  Woot.  And one of them was an autographed copy of a Robert Parker Spenser for Hire hardcover.  Double woot.  I haven't actually read any of those, so now might be a good time to start, eh?

Unfortunately, they didn't really have a whole lot of books I loved.  I picked up stuff that looked interesting, but nothing for my collections.  :sigh:  I can usually count on that store to have at least one or two Christies or hard-boiled crime paperbacks.  (I prefer to read old crime novels in paperback.  It's a quirk.)

I did my first order with Tractor Supply.  I'm getting a deer-dragging sled and a snow shovel.  The sled's for dragging logs.  I joked on FB about the shovel is for killing deer.  I'm so funny.  LOL

Does placing an order with Tractor Supply mean I've finally gone full redneck?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Hubs will be making the turkey, as usual.  All I have to do is make the cheesecake.  Yay.  I also have to figure out what to do for dinner tonight.  Pizza?  Burgers?  What do you have the day before the big eating day?

And that's enough out of me.  Have a great day and an awesome holiday.  :hugs:

Marketing Monday - Song of Storm and Shroud

 I did it!  I remembered to set a book for free AND I remembered that I remembered.  Banner day for this sometimes brainfried author.  Yay!  Anyway...

Starting today, SONG OF STORM AND SHROUD is absolutely free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Get your copy of this coming-of-age, YA fantasy today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W745M6P

Funny story... Yesterday, I received an email from a scammer, wanting to help me promote my book.  Except it wasn't a book of mine.  It was, in fact, the Spanish language version of a book by a bestselling author with the same last name.  :cough:Brandon:cough:  He and I are no relation.  Not even in-law relation as far as I can tell from doing Hubs' genealogy.  I've never met the guy, don't know the guy, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the guy.  (Not that I would mind knowing him. I just don't.)

Years ago, after the release of Wish in One Hand and it's crappy original cover, I was accused to trying to make bank on his name.  I can't help it if we have the same last name.  Actually, I share a last name with at least two other authors besides Brandon.  I'm not related to them either.  Sorry famous writer dude and I also share the same first initial.  Blame Mom.  She named me.

Anyway, this is my fantasy novel, not to be confused with his fantasy novels.  (He's got better cover art.)  Pick up a copy.  It's a fun book to read.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 47

The internet says it'll be week 48 this week, so last week had to be week 47.  It's gotta be right, right?  I went and counted the weeks left in the year and it's 6 weeks, unless you don't count the half week at the end there.  :shrug:  I guess you don't count it.  Oh, well.  Anyhooway...

I wrote this week!  5 out of 7 days worth.  Woot.  I ended up with 5505 new words.  Yay.  And DN3 is up to 34056 words.  Also woot.  I think I have the basics of the who did what, now it's up to Duke to catch the culprit(s).  Of course, plot holes abound.  I'll spackle those after I'm finished.

I also did some marketing this week.  After my mental snafu, of course.  I ended up moving 29 free copies of SU and one person read the book all the way through in KU, so I have that going for me.  Not sure what this week will bring.  Hopefully, not the same as last week where I forgot that I remembered to set a book to free.

As for reading, I'm still working my way through The Martian.  It's good. I just don't have the same reading stamina I used to.  For instance, I read for about an hour a couple days ago, and the next day, I could feel it in my neck and shoulders.  Derp.  Getting old blows.

Speaking of getting old, laying around like a lump of oatmeal doesn't do a body any good.  My activity level sucks.  I need to rectify that effectively immediately.  It's not that I did nothing last week.  I did some vacuuming and some gutter cleaning.  I also swept the deck (because I made an unholy mess of it cleaning that section of gutter).  All told, though, it wasn't enough to balance the amount of food I shoved in my face.  I stepped on the scale on Thursday and had gained 2 pounds from the last time I weighed myself.  :sad trombone:  Weight: 176.2

Speaking of shoving food in my face, I made brownies last week.  Mmm... brownies.  Warm brownies... with ice cream... :drools:  

Other than that, I didn't do much of note.  Watched TV.  Saw a couple of neat movies.  Not really anything major.  

This coming week, I need to get outside and do stuff.  Today, I'll rake with Hubs.  Once that's done, I'll get to work on the trail we've got planned to make an easy access to the fallen trees.  I'll be buying a sled-thingie for moving logs up the hill, so that trail is a necessity.  There's already a type of natural trail there.  It just needs cleaning up.  So, I'll be working on that.  And I'll write words.  More words.  Woot.  And it's Thanksgiving week, which doesn't actually mean a whole lot here.  Hubs will cook a turkey, I'll make pumpkin cheesecake.  We'll eat like pigs.  

Oh, and the family thing?  It's pretty much addressed as much as we can address it.  For now.  We're not sure it's over, though, so there's that hanging over our heads like a rotted limb that could fall at any time.  :shrug:  

And that's about it for me.  How was your last week?

2025 Books Read

Here we are with my 2025 Books Read post.  I started it a little later than usual this year because it took me a while to finish that first book.  

If you haven't been following along all these years, here's how this post goes.  The books I read are in reverse order - newest first.  * means ebook.  # means 'new to me and underappreciated'.  If there's a number at the end, it's where the book's at in a series.  The links go to Goodreads where I may or may not have written a review.  (Check back on Saturdays for my weekly Reading Wrap-up to see reviews.)

I set my goal for this year's reading at 70.  We'll see how that goes.  (Updated: On 11/27/25, I changed my goal to 40 books.  I'm not sure if I'll eve hit that, but it's a goal.)

Okay, with that out of the way, let's begin...

34) The Martian by Andy Weir (11/25/25) - SF

33) Dream of Orchids by Phyllis A. Whitney (10/9/25) - romantic suspense

32) Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (9/18/25) - mystery

31) Tales from the 'White Hart' by Arthur C. Clarke (9/11/25) - SF

30) Primordial Threat by MA Rothman (8/28/25) - SF*

29) Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels (8/18/25) - mystery

28) The Devil's Angel by Margaret Bernard (7/26/25) - UF*#

27) Space Academy Dropouts by Phipps & Suttkus (7/6/25) - SF humor*#

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*#

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller

0) Novella by Name Withheld (6/9/25) - SF*

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*#

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian

22) You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (5/29/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

21) On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (5/24/25) - action/hard-boiled crime

20) The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney (5/17/25) - romantic suspense

19) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (5/15/25) - mystery

18) Bill and the Last Cup of Coffee by Lance Lassen (5/8/25) - dystopian action/humor* (I read the ebook, but this is the link to the paperback. In the time between now and when I downloaded the book, the ebook page has been removed and the paperback was set to 'out of print'. :sadface:)

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime*

15) Dr. No by Ian Fleming (4/26/25) - action/hard boiled crime

14) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (4/20/25) - dystopian

13) Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming (4/16/25) - action/hard boiled crime

12) Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke (4/11/25) -  science fiction

11) Murder by the Script by Lisa Pevey (4/8/25) - cozy mystery*

10) Festive Fonts and Fowl Murder by Lisa Pevey (4/7/25) - cozy mystery*

9) The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett (4/6/25) - suspense

8) A Murder in Cursive by Lisa Pevey (4/3/25) - cozy mystery*

7) The Ebony Swan by Phyllis Whitney (4/1/25) - romantic suspense

6) The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip (3/29/25) - fantasy

5) Murder by the Letter by Lisa Pevey (3/27/25) - cozy mystery*

4) Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (3/26/25) - noir crime

3) Moonstruck: Retribution by Silver James (3/20/25) - paranormal romantic suspense*

2) President Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (3/14/25) - noir crime

1) Child Star by Shirley Temple Black (1/8/25) - autobiography

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy this reading journey with me.

Thursday This n That

I'm still in brainfart land, but it's getting better.  We'll see how the rest of this week goes.

It's pouring rain here.  Deluge-esque stuff.  So much for grocery shopping today.  I don't mind driving in the rain, but I hate wet groceries.

They built a new Tractor Supply near the Walmart I use.  I am inordinately happy about this.  Not sure why, since I haven't been in there yet.  :shrug:  I do have an order I'm working on for TS, but it'll be for delivery and not pick-up, so I still won't have gone in there.  Yeah, I'm weird.

The order?  A sled for dragging deer (that we will use to drag wood) and a new snow shovel.  I'm also looking at pickaxes for breaking up the ground where I plan on planting trees.  Our ground is hard enough, it'll probably take small explosive charges to break that shit up, but we'll try a pickaxe first.  ;o)

Raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, and pretzel pieces make a yummy snack.

Speaking of snacks, the other day I made popcorn and Hubs got once of those evil kernel caps stuck in his throat.  He's fine, but for a while there, it was pretty gross.  I told Mom this story and she remembers a time when she got one stuck on a tonsil.  It was so bad, she remembers it 70-ish years later, and it's the reason she never eats popcorn to this day.  Not sure if Hubs is off popcorn.  I'll give it a few more days before I suggest it again.

Damn fruit flies.  It's frickin' November.  You should all be dead or dormant, ya little buggers.

Dang, this morning's coffee is good.

Okay, enough out of me today.  Besides, it's time to call Mom.  Have you got any this-n-that nuggets for me?

Umm, Yah

Well... It seems I screwed up.  And me, never being one to hide a screw up, am here to tell you about it.  

Remember yesterday's post?  The one where I lamented being so distracted by life that I forgot to set up a freebie for Monday Marketing?  Umm, yah.  About that.  It turns out I did set up a freebie and THAT was what I forgot about.  I learned yesterday afternoon when I saw I'd gotten orders but no monies, and discovered that SLEEPING UGLY is in fact free through Friday.  

First, yay for moving books with no marketing whatsoever.  Second, I can only blame my messed up brain and stress overload.  I do have failsafes against this.  Usually, I set a book for free, then write it in my date book, then I note it on my big 'sales spreadsheet'.  I didn't do the last two things.  Derp.  Hell, I haven't looked at my date book in weeks, so there's that.  Total fall down on my face thing.  

I guess the point here is... Don't be me.  

There are a lot of balls in the air when you're a self-pub, and I dropped one.  I'm not really kicking myself too hard.  Shit happens.  Still, after yesterday's post, I do feel a bit of a fool.  

And now, before I forget again...

Now through Friday, SLEEPING UGLY is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get your copy of this snarky, NSFW, paranormal mystery today!  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GM24Q48

When a curse strikes a supermodel, all hell is gonna break loose.

When Life Intrudes

Derp.  Okay, so when last we met, I was all set to do marketing starting today.  But I didn't know which book was going out.  Right?  Well...

I would've been fine, if I'd gone right over to Amazon and set a book for free.  Hell, I would've been fine if I'd done that at any point before yesterday afternoon.  That was when the animal waste hit the spinning blades.  The phone rang and we were splattered.  

Extended family stuff we couldn't ignore.  Nothing tragic, but something necessary to think about and plan for, and it took all the mental energy either of us had right at that time.  

Leftovers for dinner.  Mindless TV.  I remember turning off my computer and telling myself everything was ready for marketing in the morning.  I had already printed out a sheet that I use to keep track of my marketing posts and everything.  Then into bed where neither of us slept well.  

I woke up this morning ready to market.  And as I was sitting out in the smoking room, sipping coffee and listening to the plan Hubs came up with at 2 o'clock in the morning, it hit me.  I never set a book to start its freebie journey today.  

So, no... there will be no marketing today.  I'm not sure if I'll even do marketing this week, because of the aforementioned defecate in the fan blades.  Life has intruded.  There are calls to be made and plans to be put into place.  My brain is full of that stuff right now.

Wanna know something really ironic?  Yesterday, I gave myself a good talking-to, and I made a plan to start writing again.  Before the phone rang, I actually wrote about 800-900 words, and had every intention of going back to work on the story last night.  Double derp.

This, too, shall pass.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 46

Six more weeks left of 2025 and I'm okay with that.  This year has pretty much been a wash anyway.  

Still no writing.  Every morning, I tell myself that I am going to write today and then I go to bed that night without having written.  I did some marketing, though.  Huzzah, I guess.  I'm still marketing today.  For instance, UNEQUAL is free through the rest of today.  I'm not sure which book will be marketed tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Very little reading was done.  Loads of TV watching, though.  Maybe I should do the 'hey, I watched this' instead of the 'hey, I read this' thing.  :shrug:  Anyway, if you're in the mood for a quirky family movie, try Papadopoulos and Sons.

Last Sunday, I made chocolate banana bread, which was a yummy quick bread.  Thursday, I made chocolate bread - a pretty good, if not chocolatey, yeasty bread.  I'm thinking about trying to make Irish soda bread this week. We'll see.

As for activity, I managed some work in the woods and some sweeping, plus a minor amount of gardening.  And I went grocery shopping.  Not really anything major or calorie burning, I guess. Weight: I don't want to know.  I feel fat.

The gardening for the week was taking the last of the tomato garden apart.  I snipped off the remainder of the above-ground parts and dumped the soil + roots into big pots so they can decompose over the winter and be ready for planting come spring.  Or soon, if I decide to overwinter potatoes.  I was reading up on that yesterday and it seems like a possibility.  We'll see.  I also read somewhere that you can overwinter carrots, but I'm not sure where I would get carrot seeds this time of year.  Potatoes can be gotten anywhere.  You just use a grocery store potato.  There's more to it than that, but I don't have all the ins and outs yet.  We'll see.

:pause for cat coughing:  Ugh, I hate that.  No barfing this time.  Sawyer must've just gotten a tickle (or a piece of fuzz) in his throat.  Ah, the joys of cat ownership.  Anyway...

Regular firearms deer hunting season started here yesterday.  I can hear shots this morning.  Keep your fingers crossed Sonny makes it through.  I have no problem with legal hunting, but I'd hate to see Sonny get killed.  He's such a nice buck and the herd needs his genes.

Okay, well, I'd better go locate some gumption and get something productive done.  At this point, I'll settle for anything.  Too bad it's too warm to go into the woods.  I need to throw logs.  

Have a great day!  And leave a comment so I know there are other human beings in the world.  ;o)

Saturday Reading Wrap-up 11/15/25 + Marketing

I don't really have anything exciting to report on the Reading Wrap-up.  I'm still working on reading The Martian by Andy Weir.  But there's an issue...  I made the mistake of reading the quotes on the back, wherein people, at some point, talked up the book.  All in all, not a bad thing, but there's one that says the book is like a cross between Castaway and Apollo 13.  Not that it's not an accurate representation.  Actually it is, but it's killing my reading enjoyment.

At first, I was like 'hey, yeah... it's Castaway on Mars... cool'.  Now I can't stop thinking about those two things in relation to the story I'm trying to read and making comparisons instead of enjoying the story. 

For starters, I loved both Castaway and Apollo 13 once upon a time.  Then Hanks went leftist and now I can't even watch the dude.  (I have a tough time enjoying entertainment once I learn the entertainer's politics are antithetical to my own.  It's definitely me.  Don't get me started on Bette Midler.)

Then I get to wondering... Is Watney supposed to be Tom Hanks?  He was played by Matt Damon in the movie.  First, I picture the character as Tom then I picture him as Matt... It's confusing.  

When Watney gets home is he going to learn his girlfriend married someone else?  

Anyway, we'll see if I actually finish this book.  I think I need to take a few days off from it and see if I can't get over it.

Now, onto the marketing portion.  This weekend only, get UNEQUAL absolutely free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Pick up your copy of this dystopian suspense today. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LDVFWBS

This is probably it for the weekend marketing experiment.  I didn't move that many copies of Blink last week, and I'm not seeing much hope for moving books this weekend.  The energy output is not equaling the return, so make it stop.  

Facing Facts

This morning, I'm facing facts...

I will never be rich and famous.

I will never be a best-selling author.

I will never be comfortably well-off

I will never make enough money to support myself.

I will never even make enough to pay for the expenses of being a self-published author.

When I started out on this publishing journey, I didn't think I would ever be rich or famous, or even a best-selling author.  I would've liked to make enough to be comfortably well off.  I had hoped to make enough money to support myself.  I had a goal to just make enough for the writing to pay for itself.  But I'm doubting even that these days.  

Then I was reduced to just getting happy when someone bought a book.  Today, not even that gives me a thrill.  If I sell two books in one day, maybe I get excited.  Depends on the day.

I used to write for the sake of writing.  Just sit down and let the ideas flow.  That was a long time ago.  I finished a book and then got the idea that it should be published.  Unfortunately, I was the only one who thought that.  (Other than Hubs.  He's always been supportive.)  Agents and publishers didn't think that.  So I made the decision to published my books my own damn self.  I spent a lot of money on covers and editing and marketing.  I sold some books, but still not enough to catch up to any of my hopes and goals.

It's been a struggle ever since.  Just me jumping hurdle after hurdle in a race I can't win because there's never a finish line.  :shrug:

I'll keep writing.  I'm not in that place yet.  Okay, so I am in a place where I haven't been writing, but I've been here before, so I don't expect it to last forever.  I'm just trying to be realistic with myself.  I write, I publish, I market... and sales drip in.  Occasionally, one of the people who bought a book leave a review to let me know they liked it.  (Or hated it as the case may be.)  Once a month, I get money deposited into my bank account.  Sometimes it's enough to buy a cup of coffee.  Sometimes it's almost enough to buy a steak.  (What with the price of beef these days, I can't quite get enough for the whole steak.)

It is what it is, I guess.  

Thursday This n That

The other morning, just before sunrise, the crows were kicking up an unholy riot out there in the woods.  I tried to see what they were freaking out about and they were pretty focused on one tree.  Just then, I saw something large fly out of the tree, surrounded by crows.  It landed on a leafless branch. Silhouetted by the sunrise, it's species was clear. It was a great horned owl.  Awesome.  It didn't stay long because the crows were divebombing it, but there it was.  Yay.

That's one awesome thing about Fall - leafless trees.  We can see all sorts of stuff in the fall and winter that we can't see all summer.  We're seeing stars again, and birds of all kinds, and planes.  Woot.

Another awesome thing about Fall is the cooler temps.  Well, cooler than Summer anyway.  Yesterday, it got up to 75F.  Blerg.  Pardon me while I whine... I want to go in the woods and play!

I was playing rough with Sawyer and now my hand is scratched up.  He likes to lay between my legs and attack my hand.  I usually cover it with a shirt or something, so it's not too bloody a game, but he got past the cloth.  :shrug:  Oh, the things I do to please my babies.  For some reason, after we play rough for a little while, he settles down and goes for a nap, instead of constantly circling like a shark.  The boy needs active play.  Sure, he's got Finn, but Finn's a lover more than a fighter.

French toast sounds good today.  I probably won't make it, but it sounds good.

The sapsuckers have returned to my woods.  Yay!

I don't think there's enough coffee on the planet to keep my awake today.  Not sure why.  I mean, we stayed up like 15 minutes past our bedtime, and I think I got to sleep okay, but I am pooped.  Derp.

In the spare room, there's a container of green tomatoes.  They're ripening one by one, which is okay.  There's just enough of each tomato to make slices for hamburgers.  Next year, I'm planting potatoes and carrots, too.  Fingers crossed it all works.

Okay, that's enough out of me.  Have a great day wherever you are, and feel free to leave a comment to tell me about your thisses and thats.

Chocolate Banana Bread

 I know I've been hinting at making chocolate bread, and that's still a possibility, but this isn't that.  That's a yeasted bread, this is a quick bread.  Anyway, I had some bananas going too ripe, and I didn't want to do the same old banana cake or muffins or bread that I usually do.  I hunted around for a recipe for chocolate banana bread and Voila!  This isn't exactly that recipe - I tweak everything.  It's super yummy.  

Chocolate Banana Bread

2 large ripe bananas
2 eggs 
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup baker's cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas. (Not too mashed.  Banana chunks are yummy.) Beat the eggs and add to the bananas along with oil and sugar.  Stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt until well combined and lump-free.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once and fold until just combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.  Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto your preferred surface for cooling.  I took a couple slices out of mine while it was still warm and the chips were gooey and sliced the rest when it was completely cool.  Store in a relatively cool area or the fridge.

Enjoy!

Marketing Monday - Accidental Death

It's actually Marketing Monday today, as opposed to last week's No Marketing Monday.  Today, I'm offering Accidental Death.

Starting today, ACCIDENTAL DEATH is free through Friday. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Pick up your copy of this crime noir novel today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XM6VJ9U

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 45

Well, here we are again at another week.  I looked up what the week # was this time, so yeah, it's right.  7 weeks left of the year.  Let's see if we can make it a good 7 weeks, eh?

No writing this week.  No editing either.  And almost no marketing, except I got a wild hair yesterday and set a bunch of stuff up to be free.  If you missed yesterday's post, Blink of an I is free right now.  Starting tomorrow, Accidental Death will be free for 5 days and then UNEQUAL will be free for the weekend.  For the record, I moved 2 copies of BOAI yesterday.  Weekends really do suck for moving books.  :shrug:  Then again, it could be the book.  People aren't as excited for dystopian novels as they could be.  Oh, well.  

I'm still reading The Martian by Andy Weir.  It's pretty good.  I'm just not not reading as often as I should these days.

In baking news, I made oatmeal raisin bread.  The recipe was posted this past Wednesday.  I meant to make chocolate bread yesterday, but then I got busy cleaning and by the time I was done, I was too arm-tired to make bread.  I did do a batch of Salsa Chicken, though.  Yum.  I might make banana bread today.  We'll see.

On the activity front, I did some work in the woods on Sunday, but then it got too hot to go into the woods.  I tried walking one day, but after about an eighth of a mile, I got a hitch in my giddy-up (i.e. my hip was sticking), so I turned around and came home.  I also did some tree repotting, I swept the leaves off the deck, and I cleaned both bathroom sinks.  Weight: Unchanged at 174.2

As for the gardening, I picked most of my green tomatoes earlier in the week because it was supposed to get cold.  And it did get cold, but when I went out on the deck yesterday, the tomatoes I left are getting bigger and the plants still have flowers.  Derp.  Also, I had moved a couple of the largest green pepper plants into the garage and they each have one tiny ball which may or may not grow into an actual edible pepper.  Mostly what I worked on, though, was repotting some of the trees to overwinter in the garage.  (All the trees are inside now.)  I got a great deal on some tall pots at the thrift store ($2 each), so I put a dogwood in one and a redbud in the other.  Fingers crossed they thrive and I see growth come spring.  Right now, I have 3 dogwoods, 5 redbuds, 4 cedars, 2 hickories, 1 oak, and 2 unknown that may or may not be shrubs.  It's possible one of them is a black cherry because its leaves are turning color and the color is a pale peachy-pink like the cherries do.  We'll see.  The other one might be a buckthorn.  I can't wait for Spring.

Since it's not Spring and it's getting colder instead of warmer, fun in the woods is right around the corner.  Which is good because we've got a lot of work to do on the new property, as well as plenty to do on the old property.  Loads of deadfall to clean up.  We're looking at chainsaws and woodstoves again.  

The deer are in rut.  Which means we're seeing bucks in the yard again.  We have 4 identifiably different ones.  They're chasing the girls all over the place, trying to get some bow-chicka-bowbow action.  

Oh, and like I said, I went to the thrift store.  The big item there, in addition to the pots and some used garden fencing, was an awesome wooden trunk.  It looks great in my living room and the cats have claimed it as a new bed.  Only $35.  Woot.

And I think that's it for me today.  Loads going on in life.  I just wish there was more writing news to relay.  Maybe next weekend, I'll have something to report.  Anyway, have a great day and a productive week, wherever you are!

Peace out.

Trying Something Different... Again.

 I don't usually market on the weekends, but I'm trying something again.  I mean, after the last week of not-marketing, I'm sadly at 3c earned for the month and 0 orders.  The beginning of the month always looks sad on my KDP Dashboard, but that usually changes pretty quick.  I thought 0 0 0 was bad.  Looking at .03 0 8 is worse. So...

This weekend only, BLINK OF AN I is absolutely free. (Always free with KU.) Pick up your copy of this fast-paced dystopian novel today. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079X142G2

Monday, Accidental Death will be free. Next weekend, UNEQUAL will be free. The following week Sleeping Ugly will be free.  I haven't decided beyond that.  We'll see.  

Since I'm ahead of the game for a change, I might try paying for an ad somewhere.  We'll see about that, too.  I mean, good lord, I've gotta do something to change this or nothing will change and I'll slip back into obscurity.  (Okay, so maybe I never slipped out of it, but at least I'm moving some books.)

Thursday This n That

Well, there goes New York.  And Virginia.  =o(

I expect NYC will turn into the ghost town that Detroit has become, except the refugees won't be fleeing for better suburbs.  They'll be leaving for other states.  I've seen people wondering why people from shithole places move to nice places and want to change them.  That's WHY they're moving into the nice places... to change them into the shithole places they love.  

Here, there was one thing on the ballot - raise the property taxes in a nearby city so they can give it to the fire department.  It passed.  A little while back, they had the same kind of ballot item for my rural FD and it passed, too.  My FD used the money to erect a brand new, beautiful building... right next to the old building, which they then tore down.  There wasn't anything really wrong with the old building, it was just not new.  Whatever may have been wrong with it could've been fixed at a way lower cost and a dormitory could've been added on, again at a way lower cost.  But they didn't have to do that because they can just add to our property taxes instead of finding a way to be fiscally responsible.  That's the way government works these days, I guess.  Well, most people these days, I guess.  

I can't seem to muster the will to do anything these days.  Except maybe vegging out in front of the TV.  I think Bradbury warned about that.  Probably others, too.

I've made 3c so far this month.  Woot.

Finn's wandering around the house meowing.  I feel ya, little dude.

Yesterday, I did Wallyworld.  Everything is so damn expensive.  Freakin' half-dozen donuts is about $4.50.  Yeah, I bought 'em.  Cuz I needed donuts.  Custard filled with chocolate frosting.  Mmm.  I bought 'em with my own damn money, so yeah.

Yes, I am cranky, why do you ask?  I have active bitch fingers to go with my resting bitch face.

On a happier note, we're seeing bucks.  They're chasing the does and sometimes the fawns.  The other day, I happened to look out the window to see a doe run across the neighbor's yard.  Shortly after a fawn went by, trying to catch up.  Then a buck went by.  A few minutes later, another doe, then fawn, then... wait that's the same buck!  A few minutes later, the three of them went by in succession again.  They must've been running in a circle around the neighbor's house.  I got up to tell Hubs about it, so I don't know how long they continued the race.

Okay, it's time to call the mama.  Have as great a day as you can manage out there.  I'll do the same.  B'bye.

Oatmeal Raisin Bread

I made oatmeal raisin bread again.  This time I skipped the swirl and just did the bread.  It turned out awesome, which is surprising since I haven't made bread more than a half-dozen times in my life.  Anyway, here's the recipe:

Oatmeal Raisin Bread

1 cup oats 
1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)

2 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup raisins

To begin, put the oats in a heat resistant bowl.  Add boiling water. Stir until just incorporated.  Set aside to cool.  Once the oats are cool, put the yeast into small bowl and add the warm water. Stir until incorporated.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, and salt.  Cut the butter into 4-6 chunks, add those to the flour mixture, and using your hands, rub the butter into the mixture until you can't find any chunks of butter.  Still using your hands, squish in the oatmeal until it's entirely incorporated.  Stir in the yeast mixture.  Once you've got it all mixed together, it's time for kneading.  I knead in the bowl, dusting with flour from time to time to get the goo off my hands and into the dough.  Otherwise, turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for 5 minutes.  It will be a wet, sticky dough but it gets better as you close in on 5 minutes.  Knead in the raisins.  Butter a clean, large bowl and drop the dough ball into it, turning the ball so it gets coated all over with the butter.  Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and push into a square (roughly a half inch thick) to get all the air bubbles out.  Fold the left and right sides of the square in so you have a rectangle that's about as wide as a 8x4" bread pan.  Fold or roll the rectangle into you've got something that looks like a loaf.  Butter the bread pan.  Set the loaf in the bread pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and let rise for another hour.  While you're waiting for it to rise, preheat the oven to 375F.  When it's risen above the edge of the pan by about an inch, put it into the preheated oven.  Right now, turn the oven down to 350F.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and firm.  (The original recipe says the internal temp should be 210F, but I go by feel.)  Remove from oven and turn out onto a rack to cool.  Slice and serve.  I've been either nuking it or toasting it, and slathering it with butter.  

Making this takes me most of the day, by the way.  I start in the morning making and cooling the oatmeal, which takes a couple hours, then there's the mixing, the kneading, the rising, etc.  If you have the time, though, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Next bread I'll make is a chocolate bread recipe that sounds yummy.  Wish me luck.

No Marketing Monday

As I was sitting here yesterday evening, thinking about which book to send forth into the freebieness, my willingness to get battered for my trouble dropped to zero.  Thus, there will be no entering of the freebieness this week.  Check back next week.  There might not be anything free then either.  It depends on whether I can actually find my big girl panties to pull up.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week Dunno

Well, here we are at the Sunday morning after the fall time change.  I have no clue what time it is, so don't ask me what week it is.  It's a week.

I did some small amount of writing this week.  Just over a thousand words over two days.  Frankly, I was at a point where I had painted myself into a corner and couldn't find a window to crawl out of.  Then I had an idea while sitting on the toilet before bed.  I wrote the idea down when I was finished and then went back to brush my teeth.  Then I laid in bed thinking about how to write the idea.  I really should've gotten up and just written the scene because it was way harder to write the next day, lemme tell ya.  Ya gotta strike while the iron is hot, even if you're sleepy.  Anyway, I think I have it, but we'll see what happens tonight.

Marketing... Well, I did WIOH and very little came of it.  Which is weird because WIOH is one of my best movers when it comes to freebie week.  And it usually results in page reads, too.  :shrug:  Poor returns on marketing make it really hard to get the motor going for writing more books.  Like I need another reason to not write.  Blerg.

I'm in the middle of reading The Martian by Andy Weir.  It's pretty good so far.

In baking news... there isn't any.  I thought about baking bread, but it never happened.

On the activity front, it was cool enough for me to go into the woods, so there was a lot of that.  The active part was mostly cutting vines and dead limbs, and piling those things up, plus moving deadfall.  We also did some wandering in the woods, to survey what needs to be done.  Man, there are a lot of fallen limbs and trees since the last time I was down in there.  I did walk the road once, too.  Weight: 174.2

It got down to freezing last night, so yesterday afternoon, I moved all my baby trees into the garage.  And I picked all the big tomatoes.  They're still mostly green, but they should ripen.  I've got them in a container in the spare room, where they can still get some sun.  Fingers crossed.  The little tomatoes are still out there on the plants.  We'll see what last night's temps did to them.  This coming week, I'll trash the plants and reuse the pots for some of my trees who need bigger pots to thrive.  Hubs and I are in talks about where in the yard to place new trees.  I really need to pick up some fencing before I plant, so they have at least a small chance of surviving the deer.

I think that's it for me this morning.  If I missed anything, sorry.  What went on in your lives?

Thursday This n That

 I woke up tired.  I hate when that happens.

Mom has lived in her apartment since 2000 and they just now replaced the carpet that wasn't new when she moved in there.  

Sawyer's being a turd today.  He goes through cycles where he's just a naughty kitty.  Luckily, his naughty-kitty times are getting shorter and farther between.  But when they arrive, I'm tearing my hair out.  Ugh.  Finn, on the other hand, is pretty good all the time.  It's all about balance.

The rut is here.  We're seeing bucks chasing tail - literally.  There are three identifiably different bucks.  One of them is Sonny, who we've watched since he was a little-bitty fawn.  The other is slightly younger.  The other is slightly older.  

I love the Canadian sit-com Corner Gas.  It's a total hoot.

I'm terminally lazy right now.  Today, I really should vacuum and dust.  We'll see if that happens.  Yesterday, I said I was going to make bread and that didn't happen.  Make of that what you will.

We're starting to hear geese as they migrate through.  I love Fall.

It's cold enough this morning that I can actually go in the woods.  That may jump the queue of to-dos... because it's more fun than cleaning.

If a rooster lays an egg on the peak of a roof, which side does it roll down?*  (An old riddle that I was recently reminded of by an episode of Corner Gas.  I think Dad pulled this one on me when I was a  kid.)  

And on that note, I'll let you go.  Have a great day.  And I hope all your this-n-thats are fun.

*Riddle answer:  Roosters don't lay eggs. ;o)

Marketing Monday - Wish in One Hand

 Welcome to Marketing Monday - Halloween Edition.  It's like regular MM but Halloween is Friday.  

As Halloween approaches, remember to be careful what you wish for.  Starting today and running through Friday, WISH IN ONE HAND is totally free.  (It's always free with KU. This is for everyone else.)  Pick up your copy of this snarky and fun paranormal mystery today!  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013RVEF0Y

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 43

Eleven weeks left of 2025 and, ya know, this is the first year in a long time where I'm not actively looking forward to the year ending.  Anyway...

I got some writing done.  Not a lot and not every day, but writing was accomplished.  2615 words, to be exact.  Not great, but better than the week before.  Unfortunately, I kind of stalled after the last scene, so I'll need to figure out where I'm going next and all that.  Wish me luck.

I did marketing.  It was all :sad trombone: and I only moved 19 copies of RHI.  Oh well.  This coming week, Wish in One Hand is up on the freebie parade.  It's kind of a Happy Halloween thing.  I mean, what's better to read on Halloween than a paranormal suspense with genies and efreet, filled with snark?  Jus' sayin'.

As for reading, I did read, but I ended up DNF'ing the book.  I got maybe 2-3 chapters in and realized I'd already read it.  And while I did like it the first time, I wasn't inclined to read it again.  No clue what I'll pick up next.  

In baking news, I did cinnamon rolls.  I forgot to allow for cooler temps and didn't let them rise enough, though.  Cinnamon roll fail.  They taste okay, but they're not light and fluffy.  Hubs has been eating them because he doesn't really care.

On the activity front, I went into the woods twice last week.  Once, I did some sawing and log throwing.  The other time, I just wandered around.  I also finished the sunroom window-washing project.  Not a huge calorie burn, but better than nothing.  I haven't checked my weight this week, so who knows?

Speaking of being in the woods... Man, there's a lot of downed trees we need to take care of in there.  We already had the downed sycamore and the black cherry.  Now we have what looks like an elm.  In addition to those whole trees, there are numerous limbs down.  Ugh.  On the upside, I'll get a lot of exercise once the weather turns cold.

Right now, the cats are tussling.  It's sounds like two alleycats going at it.  ... Okay, I broke it up.  Silly boyz.

In weather news, it's been raining cats and dogs, which makes me just want to sit in front of the TV.  I need to get over it.

Okay, I think that's it.  My life is pretty boring.  Sorry about that.  

Have a  great day wherever you are!

Thursday This n That

I was getting ready to head off on my errands when I heard something outside that made me turn and look out the window.  There were vultures on top of my car.  I called out to Hubs.  By the time he walked from the office to the front, even more vultures had landed on my car.  There had to be a dozen on it and several more on the ground around it.  He opened the door and they didn't fly away.  We actually had to go out and chase them off.  I was thinking some critter had died either under or in the engine compartment of my car.  (Flashback to years ago when I had a packrat making a home in there.)  We opened up everything.  I expected the smell of dead rodent to hit me.  Nope.  No smell.  No body.  Nothing.  Meanwhile, our trees are full of vultures and they aren't inclined to leave.  I'm not into omens, but the whole drive to Wallyworld, I was wondering if my car would die.  I made it home in one piece, the car did fine, and when I got home Hubs was fine, too.  No clue what the hell that was all about.

Also, yesterday morning, the coyotes were going crazy out there. Their yips and yodels and shrieks kept getting closer until suddenly, the sound stopped.  A few seconds later, a single coyote howled like a wolf would howl.  Then it did it again.  Then a third time.  I figure they caught what they were chasing and the one 'yote was calling the others to breakfast.

And then yesterday afternoon, the squirrels were freaking out.  The gray squirrels here do a sort of 'cough cough, squeeeal kind of call.  Several of them were doing it at the same time off the back of our yard.  It was weird day for animals, lemme tell ya.

No, it's not a full moon.  It is, in fact, a new moon.  Not sure what that means, in reference to all of the above.  Right now, everything is quiet, but it's early yet.

Yes, Halloween is approaching.  Yes, everything above really happened.

In other news, we watched an awesome movie yesterday - The Whole Truth.  It stars Keanu Reeves as a defense attorney tasked with trying to get a teenager acquitted of the charge of murdering his father (a vile and nasty man played by Jim Belushi of all people).  It was tense and twisty and twisted, with an ending we certainly didn't see coming.  Wow.  (And holy shit, when I was getting the link for the movie, I found out the mom was played by Renee Zellweger.  I thought she looked familiar, but she barely looks like the gal in Jerry Maguire.  :shocked face:)

Okay, I think that's it.  Got anything for me?

Marketing Monday - Rumor Has It

This week's free offering is RUMOR HAS IT - Book 1 in the Duke Noble, P.I. series.  I'm working on the third book now.  (Its title is eluding me.)  Anyway...

Starting today, RUMOR HAS IT is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Pick up your copy of this hard-boiled noir crime novel today.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZNXQKPC

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 42

Well, another week has passed and I'm having a hard time getting revved up to do anything this morning, which is why this post is later than I usually post one of these.  

Writing was accomplished. It took me two more days to finish the read-through of DN3, and then I added new words for two days.  1781 words to be exact.  Not a huge amount, but it's something, eh?  DN3 is now up to 24920 words/87 pages.  Woot.  I would like to have this in your hands by the end of the year. We'll see how that works out.

I did marketing.  I moved 59 free copies of Dying Embers.  I also sold one after the sale was over.  No page reads yet, which is :sadtrombone:, but it's early yet.  Tomorrow, Rumor Has It goes on freebie.

Reading was slow.  I did DNF that Victoria Holt yesterday, but I haven't started anything else.

In baking news, I made a pizza yesterday - pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, black olives, and red bell pepper.  Yum.

On the activity front, I walked two days and spent three other days working on washing windows in the smoking porch.  I'm up to 64.25 miles on the walking.  The window washing?  Yuck.  But I'll finish that project today.  I just have to finish the doors.  Then I'll start the project of washing the other windows in the house.  (We have a lot of windows, so I have to break it up a little.)  Weight: 174.0 - I guess washing windows isn't really the calorie-burning event I wish it would be.  

As for gardening, I have 10 tomatoes out there ripening.  Well, I had 10 yesterday.  We had storms overnight, so we'll see what's left.  I have a ripe tomato in the fridge and I had to throw one out because it was funked up.  :shrug:  Not the Master Gardener of all time, but it's better than last time I tried this.  Next year will be even better.  I hope.  Maybe.

Yesterday, Hubs and I watched a good movie - Hostage starring Bruce Willis.  Not the most well-written thing, but certainly thrilling.  It was very intense.  But good guys win and bad guys die, so I'm satisfied.

As usual, life is pretty boring here.  Sorry about that.  How are things in your life?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 10/18/25

 I confess I didn't read much this week.  I think part of the problem is that I'm just not that into the book I'm reading.  I really need to DNF it and move on.  Except it's a Victoria Holt and I usually love her books.  :shrug:  I don't know.  Anyway...

No new books.

No Books Read.

No DNFs... yet.

Currently reading... The House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt.  Like I said, it's not thrilling me.  So far, it's more like a soap opera than a gothic romantic suspense, like the others of hers I've read.  I'll probably DNF it, but I might give it one more chance.  We'll see.

What have you been reading lately?

What's Sincere and What's Scam?

I've gotten a few emails this week in regard to DYING EMBERS (which is still free through the end of today).  Most of them have been obvious - people trying to get me to pay them to market my book.  One of them, on the other hand, was someone wanting to use my book in their book club.  I've been on the fence with that one re: sincere or scam.

I mean, he seemed sincere enough.  He talked about my book like he'd actually read it.  He said intelligent things.  Unfortunately, so did several of the scammers.  (In all fairness, the marketers may not have been scammers, but for brevity, and because it's so hard to tell the difference, I'll call them that.)

It's a minefield out there.  How does one tell the difference between someone who is sincerely interested in a book and someone who's trying to part you from your well-earned and miniscule profits?  (I'm averaging about $18 a month here.)  

The idea that I may be ignoring someone who is sincerely interested in my work wrecks me.  I lay awake at night thinking about it.  I'd be willing to interact with them.  (I almost said like or love, but the idea of interacting with strangers makes me nauseous.  Hell, most days, I don't want to interact with anyone but Hubs, but that's on me.  The older I get, the more hermit-like I become.)

On the other hand, interacting with scammers - even just a little - is bad.  You even bother to tell them 'no thanks' and suddenly you're inundated with crap.  Who needs that?

So, I sit here, torn between knowing I need to interact with fans/readers and wanting to stay as far away from scammers as possible.  It's a slippery slope to hell either way.

What do you think?

(For the record, I deleted the 'book club' email, but didn't send it to spam like I do with all the others.  If he emails again, I'll think about this some more.)

Thursday This n That

I located my gumption.  It was hiding behind the TV.

Okay, so we all were taught there are three states of matter - solid, liquid, gas.  Years ago, I read something about there being a fourth state - plasma.  It's like fire.  Fire exists but previously had no assigned state of matter, so Voila! plasma.  I thought it was cool and seemed logical, so I taught that to my daughter.  Of course, she mentioned it to a teacher, who immediately told her she was wrong.  I had to talk to the teacher and explain where Owl came up with that and I provided sources.  Derp.  Which reminds me about my 6th grade science teacher who marked me wrong during our lesson on blood types.  We pricked our fingers, applied it to the paper with some solution, and watched for the reaction.  I already knew my blood type and the types of my parents, so it was easy enough.  Once the thing dried, though, the teacher said I didn't have what I had and said I had a blood type neither of my parents had.  I backed her down by pointing out that she was basically saying my dad wasn't my dad, and she changed my grade back to an A.  Silly git.

For the record, there's no way I could be adopted.  Sometimes, when I was a kid, I wished I was.  Sometimes, I felt like I was.  Mom explained it to me the easy way - we already had four kids, why would we adopt another one?  Harsh, but true.

I watch a lot of Long Last Family (the UK edition).  It's like a mystery show, and y'all know how I do love mysteries.  But it's real.  People finding kids they gave up for adoption, or adopted people looking for their birth parents, or siblings searching for each other.  Usually there are happy endings, and I love those, too.  

Is it just me or does Venus look brighter these days?

This morning, a barred owl was hooting out there in the woods.  They make a sound people liken to 'who cooks for you'.  The last time I heard it, it was just one big HOOT.  I tried to make squeaking noises to draw it closer, but nope.  Aw, well.

Which reminds me of this exchange I saw about people incorrectly correcting other people.  Someone had posted about a barred owl and another person corrected them by saying they meant BARN owl, not BARD.  ROFL

Okay, that's enough out of me.  Got any this-n-thats for me today?  What thoughts do you have on mine?

Marketing Monday - Dying Embers

 It's that time again.  Marketing Monday.  AND it's time for DYING EMBERS to hit the free lists at Amazon again.  

Starting today, DYING EMBERS is free.  (It's always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get this fast-paced, fiery suspense novel today!  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TEQK7OU

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 41

Hey Everyone.  It's Sunday again and it was a pretty boring week, but I'm a pretty boring person, so thanks for being here anyway. ;o)

No writing again this week.  I'm falling farther and farther down the hole, and I'm not sure how to climb out.  No editing either.  I did do some marketing, so I've got that going for me.  I moved 27 copies of Project Hermes, which ain't great, but it's better than nothing.  I also sold a copy of Dying Embers and had someone read DE, too.  Unfortunately, I'm only averaging about $18 a month.  Not exactly a living wage, eh?  

I did do some reading.  I finished one book and made it partway through another.  Woot.

On the baking trail, I made banana muffins.  Yummers.

In the activity realm, I walked three times for a total of 2.75 miles.  I'm up to 62.4 miles for the year, which ain't bad.  I still would like to reach 100 miles for 2025, and it's possible, but not likely.  I'd have to up my game, hope for good weather for the remainder of the year, and find some actual gumption.  Gumption supplies are at an all time low right now, unfortunately.  Weight?  I would rather not say.

We watched a rather pointless movie yesterday.  Literally, it had no point.  And no plot.  It kept throwing hints and promises that there would be a plot, and then the movie was over.  It was called Northern Borders and it had Bruce Dern and Geneviève Bujold in it.  It was pretty new, so they were old.  I kept joking with Hubs that the reason Bruce Dern's character was so mean was because he spent his youth getting his ass kicked my John Wayne.  (We both laughed, but we're weird that way.)

The fawns have no spots, so other than being small deer, it's hard to tell they ARE fawns.  I haven't seen Lumpy lately.  I hope she found a lovely spot and passed away in her sleep.  Nature's a bitch.  So's getting old.  

I think that's it for me today.  Look for a marketing thing tomorrow.  Other than that, I'm not sure what I'll be doing this week. (Update: Dying Embers will be free this coming week and Rumor Has It will be free the week after.)  I'm over the jetlag, so it's not that dragging me down.  :shrug:

Have a great week, wherever you are.  :hugs:

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 10/11/25

 Hello!  I know I'm not doing these as regularly as I used to, and thanks for stopping by anyway.  I didn't do much again this week.  It's been a slow reading year.  Things like this happen.  I'm woefully behind on my reading goal, of course.  It is what it is. 

No new books this week.  I did stop at a thrift store, but all I got was a bookshelf.  This particular store has jacked the prices up on all their used books and they're being such snots, I don't buy books from them anymore.  And after the experience buying the bookshelf, I won't be buying anything there anymore.  So sad, but them's the breaks.  The new-to-me shelf is only a two-shelfer, but it's holding my omnibuses, my Phyllis A. Whitney collection, and my Victoria Holts.  (This will mean more as you read below... I have a lot of both. LOL)

Books Read:

33) Dream of Orchids by Phyllis A. Whitney (10/9/25) - romantic suspense - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Picked up from a thrift store for 50c.
Review: "I read it again, but only realized partway though that I had. Still just as awesome the second time around."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... a Victoria Holt I picked up from the thrift store.  I only just started it, but so far, so good.

What have you been reading lately?

Cold Case in the Country

If you know me, you know that I am interested in true crime stories.  (Natch, since I write fictional crime stories and true crime is a great resource for ideas.)  What you may not know is that I am especially interested in cold cases.  I'm a 'justice for all' kind of gal, and the fact that crimes like these have gone unsolved for years... decades even... just pisses me off.

Recently, I came across this story from a rural newspaper (https://www.cassville-democrat.com/2025/10/09/murder-on-the-tracks-who-killed-justin-hocutt/*) of a 14-year-old boy who was murdered and left on the train tracks - either to hide evidence or to hide the nature of the death.  I expect the killer(s) wanted the death to look like a suicide.  

From parsing through the article above, it looks like this murder involved a troubled kid with troubled parents in a troubled area, investigated by a police force that didn't have the skills or the resources necessary to solve a crime of this nature, presented to a prosecutor who wasn't really interested in anything but a slam-dunk.  

It sounds like they have some good evidence to go on, and several worthy suspects.  They just need a shove to bring it all together.  

Personally, I'd love to see Kelly Siegler from Cold Justice take this one on.  I think all the pieces are there - they just need to be put together by a competent person to make a cogent picture.  She's good at that.

Hubs was joking just now that 'writer B.E. Sanderson breaks the case wide open... solves 26-year old cold case'.  Wouldn't that be something?  But I'm just a writer.  What this needs is a seasoned team of investigators and prosecutors.  

The only thing I could do is write a book about it.  Hmm...

*It's hard to read... not because of the gruesome nature of the crime, but because it isn't as well-written as one would hope.

Thursday This n That

Bears keep attacking people in NW Arkansas.  Not sure what's up with that.  The attacks aren't super close to here and we haven't had any bear sightings inside of five miles from here, but yeah, I don't need freakin' bear attacks on my 2025 bingo card.  K?

Sawyer's new game is to bite my feet while I'm sitting here at my desk.  It's unpleasant.

I saw a coyote the other morning.  I was almost home from a walk and it trotted across the road about 10-12 feet in front of me.  

The last time I was in Walmart, I saw a woman wearing a Soo Locks t-shirt.  It just so happened that I was wearing my Michigan Born and Bred t-shirt that day, so I pointed to her shirt and then to mine, and we both laughed.  Stuff like that has happened more often that I would've imagined down here.  Like the day I was wearing my U of M sweatshirt and crossed paths with a dude wearing his OSU (the bad one) sweatshirt.  He seemed annoyed that he was all the way into Arkansas and ran into a fan of his team's rival.  :shrug:  Hell, when we first moved here a chick across the street and down the way was from Kalamazoo. We're everywhere, man.

I made deconstructed stuffed peppers a couple days ago.  This time, I used red bell peppers instead of green.  It was pretty tasty, but I missed the color contrast. They do say you eat first with your eyes.  :shrug:  

Today, I have to do an Amazon order.  Stupid Walmart stopped carrying the ink for the printer they sold me not that long ago.  Bastards.  Freakin' ink is probably almost as much as I paid for the damn printer in the first place.  :steams:

On a happier note, Amazon is really awesome about taking my returns.  I bought some clothes for my trip to Michigan, but I didn't wear any of them.  (I was expecting MI to be cooler than it was.  Derp.)  I'd left the tags on for just this result, and returned them as soon as I could after I got home.  Huzzah, my refund is in my account.  Yay.

Okay, I should probably get on with my life and let you get on with yours.  Have a great day!

AITA

I've been getting these AITA posts in my FB feed.  (For the record, AITA stands for 'am I the asshole?')  And since I stopped and read one, they're showing up with startling frequency.  Anyway, the whole premise of these things is to lay out a story about something you've done and then ask the world at large whether you're the asshole in the situation.

Okay, I'll admit it... these things are kind of addictive.  Unfortunately, in order to see the whole story on any of them, you have to click a link or something, so I'm only going off the parts I can see without clicking.  Still, for the most part, I think the person telling the story is not the asshole.  (Occasionally, the person is definitely the asshole.)

For instance, I read one this morning about a dad who had sole custody of his teenage daughter, and it seemed like every time he got after her about anything, she's play the 'I want to go live with mom' card.  Finally, after she was particularly rotten, he gave her what she wanted.  He packed her bags and dropped her off at her mom's to live.  Within a day, she was asking to come home.  He left her there for four days and then let her come home.  Like I said, I didn't read how it all turned out, but it seemed pretty reasonable to me.  

Thinking about it all now, I feel sad for people who think they need to ask whether they're the asshole in any given situation.  If you thought what you were doing was right when you did it, what exactly is making you think otherwise now?  Explore that before you go looking for validation online.  You can probably tell for yourself whether or not you were the asshole, hindsight being 20/20 and all that.  

I expect those things are probably not all true.  Clickbait, doncha know.  Except I never click because, while the story was interesting to read, I don't really care what the outcome was.  Does that make me the asshole?  ;o)

Marketing Monday - Project Hermes

 It's Monday again and that means Marketing.  This week, I'm offering PROJECT HERMES up to the sales gods.

Starting today, PROJECT HERMES is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get your copy of this medical/political thriller today.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017Y6G0EW

It's the little things that kill.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 40?

 I think it's week 40, but these days, who knows?  :shrug:

Earlier in the week, I was doing pretty good at doing something writerly every day.  It lasted 3 days.  I'll try to start that up again today.  START TODAY*.  Okay, so those three days, I added words to the end of DN3 and then I got stuck because I haven't touched the damn book in weeks, so I went back to the beginning and I'm reading through it all to get back into the story.  I'm up to page 49 and hit a spot where I either have to write a new scene or go back and delete the paragraph where I hint about the maid needing to talk to Duke privately.  We'll see what happens.

I did some marketing this week.  Ugly and the Beast was free and I moved 64 copies of that, and one copy of Sleeping Ugly.  (I also sold a copy of Dying Embers (print copy... woot).)  Starting tomorrow, Project Hermes will be free for five days.

I didn't do a Reading Wrap-up this week because I didn't finish anything.  I am in the middle of reading a Phyllis Whitney that I suspect I may have read before.  :shrug"

In baking news, I make a chocolate oil cake with strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream.  It's yummy.  Friday, I made chili and to go with it, cornbread.  Yay.  

On the activity front, I didn't do a lot of very active things, but I did things.  One day I walked.  I did some limb cutting and I cut down a nuisance tree.  I vacuumed and brushed the kitchen rug, which yielded me enough cat hair to build a third cat, if I wanted.  And I did Wallyworld, which is always a workout.  Let's not talk about weight, eh?  I'm going to call what I just saw on the scale an anomaly.  Derp.

The deck garden is still producing tomatoes, so yay.  I get one ripe one at a time, which is perfect for burgers or sandwiches.  As long as the warm holds out, I should still be getting 'maters.  Of course, as long as the warm holds out, it delays my ability to plant trees, so there's that.  (Heat, bugs, etc.)

I'm finally getting over the jetlag from my trip.  Funny how the change of just an hour can really mess a body up.  And I get to do it again next month... change times not travel.  Stupid timechanges.  Blerg.

Nothing else really going on around here.  Hubs and I have some projects we're talking about doing, but we haven't firmed anything up yet, so they don't bear talking about at this time.  

Anyway... see ya next time.  Have a great day!  And if you're so inclined, leave a comment.  I enjoy comments.

*'Start today' was supposed to be my mantra for the year.  We all know how that has gone so far.

Thursday This n That

I keep forgetting to make blog posts.  This is not helping with my new goal to be more present in my writing career.

What is with the phrase 'being present in x-thing'?  Where else can you be?

I heard something this morning about people being accused of taking money to support Israel.  Someone is out there paying people to do this?  I've supported Israel for decades, so where's my money?  Feh.  

Somedays, I'm full of shit and I know it. Other days, I don't know it.

I don't know about you, but I'm laughing my ass off over some of the things the dems are doing.  I'm also laughing my ass off over how Trump is responding.  A sombrero and mustache on Dollar Store Obama?  ROFL

Yesterday, Hubs and I sat down to watch a new-to-us crime drama from the early '00s.  It started out pretty good and then just got nasty.  VETO from both of us.  We don't need that shit floating around in our heads.  Gah, the little bit I did see is stuck in there now.

Ages ago, I tried to warn the Owl about being careful about what she reads and watches, because once something gets inside your head, you can never get it out.  I used the movie SYBIL as a reference point.  I watched it in college and I still think about it from time to time even now.  :shudder:

I have scads of tomatoes in varying levels of ripeness - from teeny-tiny ones not much bigger than a pea to bigger ones starting to turn red.  As long as the weather holds, and I can keep the hornworms off, I should have tomatoes through the month.  Hell, some of the plants are still blooming.  I could have 'maters through to Thanksgiving.  Lemme tell ya, after months of fearing I wouldn't get any fruits off these dang things, I am happy to know my efforts weren't in vain.

And now, I'm off to Dollar General, I think.  We're almost out of ice cream and there's almost a whole cake to eat.  Yep, definitely a tragedy to be averted there.  See ya.

Monday Marketing - Ugly and the Beast

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since I did one of these, but here we are.  And I'm still hungover from the trip, so bear with me.  

Starting today, UGLY AND THE BEAST is free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) It's a snarky and fun paranormal mystery about a cursed model who's just trying to get her life back, and now there's a surprise beast or two in the mix. No sex, but a lot of swearing, so not for the kiddies. Pick up your copy today.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087ZRD6XM

Sunday Update - Week ?

As I said to Hubs, "Oh, wait, it's Sunday, isn't it?"  I'm all messed up on dates, days of the week, and time.  I've been on Eastern time for a week, doncha know, and dragging myself back to Central is proving to be a bear.  Jet lag sucks.

Anyway...

Obviously, no writing, editing, or marketing while I was away.  I did sell some stuff while I was gone, so yay.  Starting tomorrow, Ugly and the Beast will be free for 5 days - ending this month and starting next month with a bang.  (I hope.)  I do have plans to get back to writing.  Maybe do a Halloween WriMo or something.  We'll see.  I haven't been very good at setting writing goals and achieving them this year.

I didn't do a whole lot of reading while I was gone either.  I did finish one book on the plane on the way there.  Woot.  Sadly, I'm way behind on my goal for the year.  :shrug:  

No baking.  I meant to make a cake for Mom, but cake was purchased.  I thought about doing a homemade pizza for her, but pizza was also purchased.  :also shrug:

I did get in quite a bit of activity.  I started out by lugging luggage and walking airports.  Took a few walks at Mom's place.  Ended with more lugging luggage and walking airports.  I figured out I walked about 3 miles, altogether, which puts me at 58.55 miles for the year.  I didn't feel like I ate that much while I was gone, but I gained weight, even after the walking.  Blerg.  Weight: 173.0

While I was gone, Hubs watered my garden.  I have a bunch of tomatoes in various stages of ripening.  I also have tomato hornworms.  Rat bastards are getting fat munching on my plants.  On the upside, I also have Braconid Wasps - which prey on hornworms.  So the fat bastard caterpillars are covered in white eggs that will hatch into their bodies and eat them from the inside out - a fact both fascinating and grotesque.  The trees mostly did fine in my absence, so yay.

Okay, I think that's it for me.  What have you been up to lately?

I'm Back

I know, I know... I didn't tell you I was leaving.  I'm a staunch believer in the 'don't share with the internet that you won't be home' thing.  I mean, Hubs was still here, but I wasn't, so there ya go.  Anyway...

In the wee hours of the 18th, we made the drive to the airport, where Hubs dropped me off in the parking lot (he would've walked me in but, much to our dismay, the airport and its parking lot are under construction), and off I went to Michigan.  I spent 7 days hanging out with Mom, my middle sis, and sis's dog.  Oh, and other Michigan fam showed up on Saturday for a surprise birthday thing for Mom, who turned 85 while I was there.

It was a nice and mostly relaxing week.  Mom and I ate stuff we don't normally eat and we watched a lot of TV.  I took some walks, so it wasn't all lazing about.  I also rented a car, which gave me the ability to drive out to the old homeplace.  The place was barely recognizable.  (Who paints an old farmhouse candy-apple red?? Derp. And they cut down all the maple trees.  Turds.)  

I got back last night.  I haven't downloaded the photos I took yet.  I unpacked (mostly) and then flopped into a chair to watch an episode of Doc Martin before crashing into bed. 

The cats were not pleased with me coming home smelling like dog.  They're over it this morning for the most part.  Finn is still displeased with me.  Sawyer was up in my lap this morning like I never left.  

Anyway, I'm spending today decompressing and nursing my aches from carting my carry-on luggage through O'Hare and from the horribly uncomfortable seats on the airplanes.  (Never sit in the last row. The seats don't have any give in the back and the lavatories are problematic... i.e. they stink and the flushing device is LOUD.)

So, I'm home again with Hubs.  Sleeping in my bed, driving my car (rental cars... blerg), eating my food, and playing with my cats.  I still need to evaluate my writing, so I didn't accomplish that, but I did spend the week not angsting over it all, which was nice.

How are things in your world?

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 37

 Well, it's Sunday.  It was a hell of a week.  No, not personally, but I guess it all does have personal ramifications.  I've been blocking people like mad this week.  Blocking saves my sanity - what little is left - and keeps my blood pressure down.  Anyway...

No writing this week.  I'm not blocked, per se, but have you ever had so much to do that you're frozen?  Like you look at all the stuff and can't do any of it?  Well, that's part of the problem.  Not all.  Hell, I don't even know what the whole problem is.  I'm going to ponder it all over the coming weeks and see if I can come up with an answer.  Maybe October will be better.

I did manage to market.  Not effectively, but better than nothing.  To that end, I moved 29 free copies of IDW and 1 purchased copy after the freebie was over.  I won't be doing any marketing this week, I think.  

Reading was okay.  I finished one book and started another.  I'm going to try to read more this week.  I'll never make my goal, but I'll live.

There wasn't much activity this week.  I wandered around the yard one day.  I did a hard-target walk another day.  I did some negligible stuff otherwise.  Miles walked: 54.9 / Weight: 171.0

Nothing baked.  I think I'll do cinnamon rolls today.  If I muster the will.

What I really need to do is some deep-dish evaluating of my work and my life and what the hell I'm actually doing with any of it.  Is it all just Hubs, and cats, and Roku from here on out, or am I actually going to stop being a viscous pool of warm pudding?  Tune in next time to find out...  Which reminds me... I have some personal stuff coming up, so I might not get a chance to do a Sunday Update next week.

Catch ya on the flip side of all this.

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 9/13/25

It's Saturday the 13th. Which isn't unlucky or anything, but I'm weirdly pointing it out.  Anyways...

Not a lot to report this week.  I didn't pick up any new books since the last update.

Books Read: 

31) Tales from the 'White Hart' by Arthur C. Clarke (9/11/25) - SF - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Picked this up for 25c from a thrift store.
No review.  

No DNFs.

Currently reading... the one new-to-me Agatha Christie I bought the other day.  I wasn't sure I was going to read it right away or save it, but I needed it, so I started it.  Sometimes a gal just need a little Agatha to make things seem better, ya know?

What have you been up to reading-wise?

 

Heartsick

I don't have the heart to do a 'this n that' today.  Frankly, I'm sick to my stomach over the assassination of Charlie Kirk.  There is no other word for it.  He was assassinated.  You can call it a horror or a tragedy - it's certainly those, too - but that doesn't change the fact that he was assassinated.  

From all I knew of Charlie, he was a good man.  He advocated for discussion over violence, and they killed him for it.  He was trying to get people to talk about issues and to think for themselves.  Well, we can't have any of that now, can we?  Feh.

There's a lot of crap out there this morning with people saying vile things.  Those people can wither up and die for all I care.  If you're one of them, please go far, far away from me.  

I'm not sure what this will mean for our country.  Hopefully, it'll be a watershed moment and those following the advocates of violence wake up and see that theirs is not the side to be on.  Hopefully, freedom will win this battle.  

Right now, though, I'm heartsick.  And yes, it's the anniversary of 9/11 - don't think I haven't considered whether Charlie's assassination wasn't planned to coincide with this.  It probably was.  

'Never forget' turned into 'only remember on 9/11' and then ignore the causes altogether.  

I'm gonna go watch TV.  Something totally not involved in any of this until I can stomach being online again.  

Peace.  Out.

Marketing Monday - Natural Causes

Well, it's another Monday and I'm marketing.  I decided to let loose with Natural Causes because it's been like 6 months since I marketed it.  Thus, it's free starting today.  Have at it.

Starting today, NATURAL CAUSES is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Pick up your copy of this hard-boiled crime novel today.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y44BXTM

Personally, I think this book is really underappreciated.  But I'm the author, so what do I know?

Anyway, it's free right now, so if you enjoyed ACCIDENTAL DEATH and haven't read this yet, you're missing out.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 36

Welcome to the Sunday Update.  I think it's Week 36.  These days, who knows? LOL  Anyway, sorry last week was a dud, but let's see what I can do to amuse you today.

I did some writing this week.  Not nearly enough, but something anyway.  I managed 1709 out of two days.  :sad trombone:  This week ain't lookin' great either, but we'll see.  

Marketing was accomplished.  Unfortunately, still being hamstrung by FB, I moved only 29 copies of IDW.  I did sell a copy each of the other books in the series, though, so I've got that going for me.

Nothing got finished on the reading front, so no post yesterday.  I'm in the middle of reading a collection of inter-related short stories by Arthur C. Clarke.  They're okay.  Nothing really exciting, but fun.

In baking news, I made oatmeal raisin bread with a cinnamon swirl.  What can I say... I was inspired by watching The Great British Baking Show.  Plus, I got a new to me cookbook with this recipe in it.  It's pretty yummy, but the swirl part was a bust.  It's falling apart at the swirl line.  :shrug:  Better luck next time, I guess.  Except it took all day to make, so there might not be a next time.  We'll see.

On the activity front, I was more active this week.  Yay for cooler weather, eh?  I did two walks, two days of cleaning/yard work, and a big grocery trip.  I'm up to 53.7 miles walked for the year.  Weight: 171.4

Thanks also to the cooler weather, I guess, my tomatoes are bearing more fruits and more flowers, too.  I have like 5 more tomatoes.  Yay.  I also found this show on gardening.  It's out of Ireland, but plants are plants and dirt is dirt.  I just need to adjust their advice to Missouri climate.  The episode on growing tomatoes was very informative.  I found out I'm not feeding nearly often enough and that I should've pinched off the excessive shoots.  :shrug:  Next year's garden should be way better. Live and learn.

This morning, I heard a strange sound coming out of the woods.  When I did some research, I discovered it was the sound of an Eastern Screech Owl.  Yay.  In other nature news, the fawns are getting big and their spots are fading fast.  We named Sissy's fawn Scout and it's a big fawn.  It's probably a buck fawn, but I haven't seen any antler nubs yet, so the jury's still out.

Yesterday, I wandered the yard with stakes, plotting out where we're going to be transplanting some of the deck trees.  Hubs checked out my placement and agrees, so we'll proceed with that in a month or so.  I'm trying to put them in the ground when they have a better chance of surviving the deer (i.e. when the trees are leafless and less likely to attract attention.)  I hope it works.  Otherwise, there's always next year.  

Okay, I think that's probably enough out of me.  Have a great day and a lovely week.  

Friday This n That

I keep forgetting to post on Thursday.  Derp.  I also keep forgetting to visit other people's blogs.  Double derp.

Deer have nannies.  About this time of year, the mom deers are busy getting ready for being pregnant in a few months and they don't have time for their fawns, so one doe will take over the mom duties for several other does.  Yesterday, the nanny deer brought her four charges down for a drink at the water pan.  It looked like two sets of twins.  They drank their fills and off they all went.  

My tomato plants are producing more fruits now that the weather is cooler.  I have like 4 more tomatoes out there than before.  Woot.  I also saw a hummingbird visiting one of the plants that has flowers and pollinating as it sipped, so fingers crossed for even more tomatoes.  Woot.

We've been watching a lot of British shows lately.  :shrug:  It's stuff we haven't seen, so yay.  But they have a much more casual take on nudity over there.  It's unexpected.  We'll be watching a mystery thing and SURPRISE... boobs.  Or buns.  Or the occasional humping scene.  I don't think it's for shock value like it would be here, but we're just not prepared for it.  

Also, watching a lot of British shows has given me new phrases to say.  Like 'fiddly bits', which is when you're working with something small.  (Small screws, tiny parts, etc.) 

Sawyer's being obnoxious this morning.  He's had three time outs in the bathroom in the last couple hours.  Silly cat.  On the up side, he didn't wake us up last night.  Whew.  Two night in a row.  If he goes one more night, it'll be a record.

Okay, that's all I've got this morning.  What this-n-that things do you have today?