Thursday This n That

 Alligator Alcatraz...  First off, I just saw some liberal chick whining quite incorrectly that it was a wildlife sanctuary and how dare we all celebrate it because it's cruel.  I also saw a cute cartoon of some alligators talking and one says 'did you hear we get to eat them if they escape?'  Which reminded me of this prison just outside Marquette, Michigan.  It's across the street from Lake Superior and it butts up to some of the nastiest, craggy woodlands you'd ever want to see.  Back when I was in college, it had the highest walkaway rate of any prison in Michigan.  But the escapees were rarely ever seen again.  You see, it was filled with criminals from places like Detroit and Flint.  City boys who probably had never taken a survival course in their lives.  The way I figure it, the missing criminals either went into the water and drown, or they went into the woods and died.  Win win, in my book.

Soon, I will be able to kick Brightspeed to the curb.  The VoiP is in place and working smashingly.  I called Mom on it yesterday.  Unfortunately, the Starlink router only has 2 ports, and we have 2 computers to plug in, so I needed a splitter.  It came and after some massaging, it's working, too.  The true test will be calling Mom through the splitter this morning.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I have a temp phone # until my regular # transfers over to the new service, so don't try to call me at this time.

Better internet... check.  Better phone... check.  Next up, replacing the satellite TV with something like Roku.  Woot.

Man, Wallyworld was a zoo yesterday.  Totally spasticness.  

What's with this new crap here on Blogger?  This morning it has a notice at the top - some crap about upgrading something - and it just offered to insert links into my post for me.  Why the hell would I want links inserted into my post?  Wouldn't a link take people away from READING my post?  Derp.  Makes no sense.

My tomatoes might almost be trying to make flowers.  Fingers crossed.

My black walnut tree got root rot and died.  I guess they aren't meant for growing in a pot.  Next time I have to transplant a volunteer walnut, I'll find a place in the woods for it.  =o(

I almost put in -o(... That would be a cyclops, I guess. Rawr.

Okay, that's about all I've got today.  Feel free to drop some this-n-that yourself before you wander off.  Have a great day!

Marketing Monday, or Lack Thereof

 There won't be any marketing today.  I haven't been sleeping well and I just didn't have the drive to create a sale.  And I knew I wouldn't be in any shape to do morning marketing today.  (We finally slept last night, which was good.)

The problem with not marketing is with no marketing comes no sales.  I mean, I'm still getting some page reads, but nothing to shout about.  :shrug:

Unfortunately, even with the marketing, I'm only averaging about $20 a month.  I keep hoping something will take off and fly, but so far, nothing has.  When I look at the amount of effort versus the return, it really makes me not want to market.  

This, of course, is all free marketing.  As in, no money is going to to accomplish it.  On the other hand, I'm spending a lot of time.  We won't go into how many hours I spend to make $20 a month, okay?  That's just depressing.  I get paid more than that for working on a single spreadsheet for an hour.  

Anyway, I know that if I paid someone else for marketing, I'd trade cash for time.  The problem with that is the last time I paid for ads, I made an 11.06% profit.  In 2019, I paid $355.31 and cleared $39.31.  Not sure if 11% profit is awesome or pathetic, but there it is.

With FB being a turd about how much I can market, I'm definitely going to need to start delving back into other sources.  I've started that, kinda.  At least, I've gone through and determined which newsletters are defunct, so I have a good list to use when I start back up again.  Bleh.

Tomorrow's post will be of a personally relevant nature, as opposed to a writerly nature.  Maybe I'll talk more about this marketing thing on Wednesday.  For now, though, it's time to get to my morning routine.  Have a great day, wherever you are.

Screwed by the Liberals Again

In case you missed it, the liberal government passed some new health insurance laws again last year that went into effect this year.  (https://help.ihealthagents.com/hc/en-us/articles/20207003806871-New-Short-Term-Health-Insurance-Law-Rules-for-2025) 

Let me set you the stage for how this effects me (and possibly you)...

For the last several years, I've been using short term health insurance.  It bypasses the Obamacare mandate, which makes it way cheaper.  I can't afford health insurance any other way, so there I am.  It's not great, but it's better than nothing.  Every 6 months, I would have to sign up for a new policy.  When I got the email saying my insurance was expiring, it seemed like it was the wrong month to renew, but I shrugged and got on with signing up.  That's when I noticed that all the new policies were 3 month with a 1 month extension.  I guess when I signed up in March for my new policy, I missed that fact.  Okay, fine, whatever.

I went into the site, did my thing, found my policy, and went through the process of getting my new policy.  5 days went by while I waited for my acceptance.  Instead, I got an email saying my application for new insurance had been 'withdrawn'.  Unfortunately, I got the email right before I went to bed, so there wasn't anything I could do about it (which didn't stop me from obsessing over it all night).  And time was ticking because my current policy would run out on the 30th.  

The next day, I contacted the company that manages this crap - ehealth, I think it's called - via chat message on their site.  The gal told me she couldn't help me and I would have to call.  So, I called.  I got a really nice lady who calmly explained to me that the law had changed last September and, in addition to the policies only being for 4 months each, they cannot be from the same provider twice in the same year.  They withdrew my application from United Health because I can't have them again this year. 

The only other companies offering short term insurance in my state... because, ya know, Obama fixed it so we can only have certain companies offering insurance in our states... are unheard of to me.  And either of them only offer indemnity policies instead of regular policies (PPO or EPO).  

I picked one and submitted a new application, because what choice do I have?  Even if I could afford to get a regular policy, you can't sign up for one of those outside the month of November.  (Obama again... although in all fairness, it's not just him. It's him and his cronies.  And Biden and his handlers.)  

So, as long as my application got accepted, I would have insurance.  Until 10/31.  (It was accepted, btw. So yay, I guess.) Then I'll have to go with the other unknown indemnity company for 4 months before I can go back to UH.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  On the upside, the new policy is cheaper with better coverage... except for the indemnity thing where we'll have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed by the insurance afterward.  

While I was doing this, I accidentally ended up in the section for regular insurance quotes, and discovered that the cheapest of those was $750-ish a month.  Almost twice what I was paying UH and more than 3 times what I'll be paying the new company.  That's like half our monthly income.  

Yes, I know some of this is my own damn fault, right?  I could crawl to Obamacare and beg for alms, but my hypocrisy only goes so far.  Come November, I might have to debase myself and do that or choose to go insurance-less.  

I'm a healthy gal.  I can go without insurance, right?  (Don't worry, I'm not that stupid.  Bad things have a way of happening, especially when you temp fate by going without insurance.)

Sunday Update - Week 26

I almost typed Sunday Ypdate.  Yip.  LOL. Yeah, this is what comes of too little sleep and then waking up late.  

Anyway...

I wrote words!  5269 of them.  I gave myself a good talking to mentally and Monday night, I just started adding words to DN3.  I took Friday off because it was a mentally draining day and I just wasn't in a place where words would come out.  Then yesterday I wrote over 1800 words, which kinda made up for the day off.  The point is, I'm averaging over 1000 words a day, which is good.

And I even did some editing.  I stopped writing one night and as I lay in bed, I realized that something needed to happen between where Duke was and where Duke had been before, so I went back... a thing I almost never do while I'm dirty drafting... and fixed it.  The writing really started flowing after that.  Woot.

No Marketing this week.  I'll see what I can come up with this week for a new offering.  It's hard to muster the urge when I have to fight FB every step of the way, but if I don't market, I don't sell.  And I like selling books.

The reading... well, you can see that in yesterday's posts.  I'm not blazing any trails here, unless it's the trail to DNF.

Yesterday morning, I made a half-batch of cinnamon rolls.  They turned out pretty good, even if halving the recipe took some mathing.  

On the activity front, I did something active 6 out of 7 days, so woot.  I only walked three of those days, so 3.5 miles (37.4 total).  I meant to walk 4 days, but I was wandering in the yard before setting out and I got stung by some kind of baby, bastard hornet.  Hurt like a bugger and put the kibosh on that day's walk.  (It's all better thanks to Benadryl gel.)  Now that it's hot, I decided to start dancing in the living room again.  So I did that one day.  And I went grocery shopping.  Weight: 172.0

Look for more information on Friday's drama this Tuesday.  (The post's already written, I just need to schedule it.)

On a gardening note, my tomato plants are huge and they all look like they're getting the beginnings of flowers, so that's something.  My green pepper plants are still tiny, but they're making progress.  Some of my trees are looking pooky, though. I think they need replanting in bigger pots or in the ground.  Ack.  I have no more bigger pots and they're not ready to combat the deer yet.  We'll see how that goes.  I may go pick up pots today.  Also, the blackberry patch I've been watching down the road is getting close to being ripe enough to pick.  Cross your fingers I make it there before the birds do.

Okay, so that's about all I have for you today.  How was your week?  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/28/25

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by my Saturday Reading Wrap-up!  I hope you find something fun or at least interesting while you're here.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a banner week for finishing books.  

I picked up 8 ebooks this week - all free, of course.  In there are 2 SF, 3 UF, 2 thrillers, and a YA action/adventure.  Should be some fun reading in there somewhere... I hope.  No new hardcopies. 

Books Read:

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*# - 4 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Found this for free off the Kindle Freebies I found Today Facebook group.
Review: "This was a fun story. I loved the premise and, being a former band nerd, the heroine's problem raising money for the music program. But I wasn't 100% keen on the hero's dilemma. I mean, he took care of it, but I think he needed to be more forceful with his father. Be the hero his lady needed him to be. Right then and there. :shrug: It's probably just me."
Additional note: This was a 'magical romance', but there was very little magic or mention of magic in it.

DNFs:

6/25/25 - post apocalyptic - free.  It jumped from 2055 with one MC to 2075 with another MC with no clear connection and then to yet another MC.  Too much in too short a time made it really confusing.  Like I need more confusion in my life. LOL

6/24/25 - suspense - free.  I really wanted to like this.  I'd read several things by this author before and I was thrilled to see this one offered for free on his Facebook page.  Sadly, it read like he either didn't bother to edit it or he ignored his editor's suggestions this time.  I tried, but after a while, I couldn't take it anymore.

6/23/25 - suspense - free.  A suspense is supposed to be quick and... well... suspenseful.  This?  It seemed like the author put every sentence through the 'quotable sentence' generator.  For good story telling, snappy sentences should be sprinkled throughout, not poured on like hot fudge.  (I like hot fudge, so it's over EVERYTHING.)  I gave up after a few pages of slogging through that.

Currently reading... I'm in the middle of Murder on the Orient Express in that Poirot Omnibus I'm reading.  When I finish it, I'll hit the ebooks again.

What was on your reading plate this week?  Yummy things or brussels sprouts?  ;o)

Thursday This n That

Now that I have a phone substitute on its way here, the landline is working.  Like 5 days in a row now, which hasn't happened since like March.  Turds.  I'm waiting until I make sure the new device arrives and works before I cancel the old stuff.

I stopped by the old office yesterday.  They're in the same building as a company that provides us a service, so I stop to pay that bill.  Anyway, I saw one of the guys, which was awesome.  The other guy I wanted to see had the day off.  Bummer.  I spent some time talking to the gal who basically replaced my supervisor.  Nice gal.  I gave her a tip on how to keep the Epson working... it's temperamental and a brat, but it was my baby... and she's going to try that. I also chided her on using after market ink.  That stuff is horrible and can really f-up your printer.  But it wasn't my place to say that.  Not anymore.  Hell, it wasn't my place then.  :shrug:  I have a tendency to take over like the bull I am.  (Taurus, doncha know.)  I spent two years reining the bull in, and now that I don't work there anymore, the bull wants to run through that china shop.  LOL

The roadside blackberries are almost ready.  When I drove by them yesterday, they looked pretty red.  Once they turn black, I can have at them.  As long as no one else gets there first, and the birds leave them alone, and the deer don't find them.  Also, the elderberry plants are about done flowering and they're starting to grow berries.  I'm not sure if I can reach those over the barbed wire fence, but I'm going to try.

Speaking of roadside berries, I belong to a FB page about Missouri backroads and some gal on there was talking about picking roadside blackberries where she lives.  So, see?  I'm not the only weirdo who does that.  ROFL

I did the Wallyworld thing yesterday.  Man, it's hot here and I was all sweaty spaghetti by the time I got home.  But I got everything we needed and some things we didn't need.  My Wallyworld is carrying frozen yogurt, so I picked up one 'half-gallon' of vanilla and one of chocolate.  Yum.  All the yumminess of ice cream with less fat.

Speaking of half-gallons of ice cream... The damn things aren't actually half-gallons anymore and haven't been for a while now, but it still pisses me off when I think about it.  I think Blue Bell still does a full half-gallon, but who can afford that?  Last time I bought Blue Bell, it was like $8 for a half gallon.  Yeowch.  Don't get me started on all the other things that are smaller now but cost more.  Grrrr.

Anyway, it's creeping up on time to call Ma, so I'll leave you with that last thought.  What kinds of thoughts are you having today?

What I Did

Despite the risk of jinxing this, I'm going to tell y'all what I did yesterday.

I wrote words.  1558 of them to be exact.  Which puts Duke Noble #3 at just over 3000 words.  It's a start.  No promises.  No judging.  Just write the words.  Every day.

I also exercised.  Not walked... exercised.  5 minutes dancing (which freaked the cats out... like 'eek! hide! mama's having a spastic fit' or something), 4 minutes doing regular exercises, 4 minutes more dancing and then walking around the house to get my heart rate back to normal*.

I told you all I just needed to give myself a good talking to.

Now, I just have to keep it up.  I'm shooting for 1500 words a day but any words will do.  And I'm aiming at ramping up the exercising until I'm back to my old stamina - walk = 1.6 miles 3 or 4 times a week, exercise = 20/10/20 on the days I'm not walking.

No excuses.  I need this for both my mental and my physical health.  Lord knows, I'm not getting any younger.  If I don't want to end up as an old lady sitting in a chair watching the world go by, or drooling on myself in a corner, I have to do something to make that not happen.  This is it.  

Join me, if you're able.  

*Safer than just stopping on the exercise.  You've got to ease your heart up and then ease it back down again.  

No Marketing Monday

As you can guess from the subject of this post, there's no marketing today.  I need to regroup, reassess, and reanimate.  I'll try to take this week to walk through everything in my head, pull myself out of the quicksand, and get on more solid ground.  We'll see what July brings and what I can make happen.  

That's all for now.  Go on about your day and make it a good one, if you can.  :hugs:

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 25

I'm not exactly sure it is Week 25, but it follows last week, and I'm not inclined to go check, so there you are.  

I thought about writing this week.  I really wanted to be able to say that I wrote something when I did my update, but alas, I can't.  I also thought about giving up on writing this week, cuz it's not like I'm actually doing it and haven't done it for a long time.  But I'm a mule, so I guess we'll all just sit here and wait for me to write some stuff.  Or I'll sit here while what few followers I have left wander away.  I need to take a walk and give myself a good talking to all the way around.

Marketing was done.  I'm still hampered in my efforts, which isn't helping with the whole malaise, but I moved 83 books.  And someone somewhere is reading WIOH, so that's $$.  Not sure what this week will bring for sales or marketing.  Stay tunes.

Reading went slow this week.  I finished one book and then started on an omnibus of Hercule Poirot stories.  Not sure why I started this behemoth, but there it is.  I'll probably pause between stories to read something else.

On the activity front, I did stuff 4 out of 7 days - 3 walks for 3.35 miles, cleaning, and weeding.  Then it got hot and I retreated into my shadowy lair.  We won't talk about weight this week.  The heat is making me fluffy.  Yeah, yeah... that's the ticket.

Speaking of hot, no baking this week.  I meant to make cookies or cake or something, but meh.

Big news this week.  After eons of trouble with Brightspeed, I finally took the first steps to kick those assholes to the curb.  I'm going with a VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol - service.  VoIP uses a widget that connects to our Starlink via wifi so we can use our regular phone over the internet to make calls like anyone else.  I researched it and found a company out of Edmund, OK that seems stable.  The device will be shipping to us and once I have it, I'll start the process to port our phone number from BS to our new provider.  Once that's done, I'll call BS and tell them to pound sand.  Woot. Steppin' into the 21st century like a boss.  

Okay, I think I've about updated myself out.  Have a great day wherever you are.  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/21/25

Well, hello there.  It's that time again.  Let's see if I have anything interest to impart today.

I picked up one new ebook this week.  It's a magical romance of some sort that I saw on one of the FB groups I post to.  We'll see how it goes.

Books Read:

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I picked this one up at a thrift store for a quarter.
Review: "Wow. This is an excellent read. Everything I love about Dick Francis with a twist of the likes of Fleming's or McLean's knack for international intrigue thrown in. Definitely more thriller than mystery. And totally awesome as a result."

No DNFs this week.

Currently reading... I started an omnibus of Hercule Poirot stories.  I might read one and then read something else, so a bit of back and forth until it's finished.  Which reminds me... I still haven't finished that HG Wells anthology.  :shrug:  Sometimes life is that way.  I'm currently 7 books behind on my reading goal, so I better get some stuff finished, I guess.

What was on your reading list this week?

Friday This n That

 Yeah, I've been brainfart central all week.  No reasons. No excuses. Just brainfart.  Or slug.  The result is the same.  I lay around doing not much of anything, babbling and drooling.  (Okay, the drooling is perhaps a mite dramatic.  It's figurative. Or something.)

The family drama is like 90% done.  We're mostly out of it, aside from the worrying - which we shouldn't do because there's nothing we can do about it, but we're not the kind of people who just stop worrying, so there ya are.

I have things coming up in my flat where I planted pepper seeds.  One pepper seed per dirt cup.  The problem is that I have more than one thing growing in several of the cups.  I did leave the flat thing out on the deck for a while, so who knows what might taken root.  And I had originally planted redbud seeds in those, so maybe something made the freakin' redbud seeds wake up and grow.  :shrug:  We'll see when the seedlings get a bit bigger.  

My tomato plants are HUGE.  They're monstrosities.  And they're only now starting to get the beginnings of flowers.  Turds.  I want tomatoes, damn it.

Finn is Camo-Kitty.  Sometimes, I can be looking right at him and not see him because he blends in.  But he's just a tiger-stripe, so I'm not sure how his camo works.  Maybe he's like the Predator and bends light around himself to hide more efficiently.

I just paused doing this to reload my freakin' phone and then renew my freakin' health insurance, which jacked up again.  :headdesk on repeat:

I have nothing else to add.  I'm gonna go for a walk and talk myself down from wanting to go screamin' chicken on the whole insurance industry.

*for the uninitiated, 'screamin' chicken' is when you fly into somewhere flapping your arms and squawking up a storm. My oldest sister coined the term decades ago and it stuck with me.

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.

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

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.

Marketing Monday

 Today, I'm on the ball and have scheduled a freebie for FERTILE GROUND.  Yay!  Get it while it's hot.

Yes, it's about the hunt for a serial rapist.  No, it's not graphic.  And it has a really satisfying end.  Nothing to fear here.

Anyway...

Blogger's being a turd and won't let me upload pictures to this damn thing again.  So here's the verbiage...

Now through Friday, FERTILE GROUND is free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Get your copy of this spine-tingling suspense today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FOPNE9Y

And there'll be a pretty graphic I made to post along with the verbiage and the link, with text and a picture and junk.

I swear, between Blogger being a booger and FB being a turd, I'm lucky if I sell anything.  I really need to suck it up and pay for advertising.  

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 24

 Hello.  It's Sunday and I woke up late.  Bear with me.

Nothing on the writing or editing front.  I did some marketing, but I'm still hamstrung, so I can't do as much as I hope.  I only moved 59 copies of WHTF.  On the upside, I sold a copy each of the other OUAD novels.  Yay.

I did some reading.  I'm really into this Dick Francis I picked up.  I should finish that today.  I'll tell you about it next Saturday.

Monday, I made pizza, but that's it for the baking update.  I almost made cake yesterday, but I don't need cake.

On the activity side, I did something 4 out of 7 days.  Three days were walking and I added about 3 miles to the total, which is now over 30 miles for the year.  The other day, I did garden/yard stuff.  Weight: 171.6

In gardening news, some of my tomato plants appear to have the beginnings of buds. I've been begging them to flower so they can make fruit, so I can have something to show for all this work.  Also, of the 18 green pepper seeds I planted, I have 17 seedlings. Yay?  We'll see if they all make it to adulthood and give me fruits.  When I did my yard/garden stuff last week, I found a bunch more volunteer trees and have most of those in pots now.  I had to ditch a couple cedars to pot them, but that's okay.  (Because I ran out of dirt.)  There are 2-3 that I don't actually know for certain what they are, but I'm okay with that, too.  I need to buy more dirt for when the peppers are ready to transplant.  Maybe I'll do that today.  

As you can probably guess, I'm not my perky self today.  Blame it on the gray day.  Blame it on the lack of constructive anything regarding my writing.  All I want to do lately is sit and read or watch tv or play poker or maybe putter in my garden.  I'll go for a walk shortly and hope not to get rained on.  Maybe that'll shake me out of my funk.  No worries, though.  I have these funks and I always manage to shake out of them one way or another.  

Have a great day wherever you are out there.

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/14/25

Hello again.  Not the most exciting of reading weeks, but reading was accomplished and DNFs happened, so here we are.

No new books this week.

Books Read:

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*# - 5 stars. New to me and underappreciated.  Snagged this one for free off Amazon's top 100 free Murder list.
Review: "A fun combination of gritty suspense and cozy mystery! I really enjoyed reading it."

DNFs:

6/11/25 - 25c mystery.  I just couldn't get into it.  Of course, it didn't help that the cover fell off when I started, but that's the risk you take when you buy used books.  I'll repair it and then take it back to a thrift store.

6/10/25 - 25c SF.  It wasn't bad, per se, but I just wasn't in the mood for a story with thinly veiled leftist politics.  Eh, I'm never really in the mood for that.  Back to the thrift store this one goes.

Currently reading... a Dick Francis paperback.  It's different from the other Dick Francis novels I've read, but it's still pretty awesome.  (Yes, it still has a tie-in to horse racing.)  

What have you been reading lately?

Wandering the Countryside, Eating Nature's Bounty

When I was a kid, I spent countless hours roaming the surrounding countryside.  One of my favorite pastimes was searching for edible stuff.  I knew where the one currant bush was and the patch of wild asparagus.  I cultivated the back hill's plethora of wild strawberries.  I tended the roadside bramble of boysenberries.  I snatched grapes from the wild vines and was brave enough to actually eat them.  (Wild grapes are SOUR, btw.)  

Some of my fondest childhood memories, of which I have woefully few, are of those summer days wandering with my dog, eating what I found.  Or searching for things that were rumored to be out there somewhere.  

One summer, my brother heard there was a gooseberry bush in the fallow cow field across the road, so off we went in search of it.  We never found it, but the hunt sticks in my memory.  Another time, the same brother was sure there was a butternut tree in the woods on the other side of the landfill.  (Yes, I grew up near a garbage dump.  Don't knock it.  It was a magical, if stinky, place for a kid.)  Off we tromped for that tree.  I don't remember if we ever found that one.  Part of me thinks we did and another part suspects it was another wild goose chase.  

I was heartbroken the day I got home from school to find they'd bulldozed the back hill.  I guess they were trying to make it smoother or something, but in one day, they eradicated my strawberry patch.  I'd spent hours and hours on that hill, pulling weeds and tending plants.  Every spring/summer for several years beforehand.  I'm pretty sure I cried.  I know I called Mom at work to rat them out, only to find out she okayed it.  I'm sure I never felt so betrayed.  (I was a kid, though, so I'm sure much worse betrayals came about since.)  I talked to Mom about it the other day and she doesn't remember it.  She said I never told her I was tending those strawberries, which is probably true.  They were my secret garden and my summer feast that I never had to share.

Recently, on a walk, I discovered a patch of blackberries, growing along the barbed wire fence beside the road.  I picked the ripe ones and brought them home.  There's another patch farther along that isn't ripe yet, but is loaded with berries.  I just hope the property owner doesn't come along and cut them down, or mow, or spray for weeds to kill everything on the fence - all of which they've done over the course of the past 12 years.  There's also a stand of elderberries that came back after the last cutting and they look like they might fruit this year.  Right now they're covered in flowers, so yay.

After we moved here, I was so happy to see what I thought were wild strawberries all over the southwest part of the yard.  Except the flowers were yellow.  (Strawberries have white blooms.)  They're not strawberries.  They're mock strawberries.  Same leaves, similar but yellow flowers, similar looking fruit - except the fruit isn't tasty.  It's pithy and watery.  They're so flavorless, even the critters don't eat them.  Bleh.  (I tried it, trust me.)  It was a disappointment, let me tell you.  

We also have black cherry trees.  Edible, but SOUR and very medicinal tasting - not surprising since they're used to make cough medicine.  The critters love those.  

I really do wish I had the cornucopia of edible things around this house that I had access to as a kid, even if it's just for the nostalgia of it.  Wandering the countryside eating nature's bounty... :happy sigh:

Thursday This n That

 Sawyer is being needy-kitty this morning and is now locked out of the office.  So he's outside the door meowing.

Life would be easier if it wasn't so hard.  Deep thought, eh?

If every tomato and pepper plant I have now actually fruited like it was supposed to, I'll be up to my armpits in tomatoes and green peppers.  Not a horrible situation, but what am I going to do with all that food?  Freeze it, of course.  Maybe I could sell them by the roadside or get a table at the farmer's market.  We'll see.  First things first, of course...  They need to grow and bloom and produce fruit.  :fingers crossed:

I have a tough enough time convincing myself to do marketing without getting things thrown in my way.  The urge to market against a sea of troubles is woefully low.

One of my sisters gave Mom something called a waterfall begonia for Mother's Day.  It sounds really pretty.  I got her mixed nuts and a tin of Walker Shortbread cookies shaped like Scottie dogs.  The begonia will last longer and not go to Mom's hips, but I hate buying plants for other people.  I never know what it'll look like when it gets there and whether it'll live.  

I got nothing for Mother's Day.  Yeah, I'm whining.  Wanna make somethin' of it?

Last I heard about the novella I read for that son of that dude was that the son went ahead and uploaded it for pub without listening to his writer dad or apparently waiting for input from me.  :shrug:  You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes all it does is eat the weeds and wander away. 

I'm not writing, so what do I know?  Like I have the right to tell anyone anything about this business.  Feh.

And that's more than enough out of me.  What's going on our your way?

Marketing Monday

I'm dragging a little bit today, so my marketing is suffering.  Still, it is the first day of this freebie cycle for WISH HITS THE FAN.  

Now through Friday, WISH HITS THE FAN is absolutely free.  (Always free with KU.)  Get your copy of this snarky paranormal mystery today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075C7FCXG

It’s up to Jo to gather the genies and save the world. But who’s going to save her?

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 23

The first week of June went by... whoosh.  And today is already whoosh.  Of course, I got up late, so part of that can be excused.  The rest?  No Excuses.  I'm not really sure how much reading the minutiae of my life interests anyone else, but these posts help me, so there you are.

Anyway, there hasn't been much in the way of writing or editing lately.  Sorry about that, too.  As for marketing... Well... FB, in its infinite wisdom, decided to limit the amount of posts I can do in a row.  I can get 5 out before it tells me that in order to avoid 'spam', it won't let me post anymore for a while.  Not clue as to what amount of time that is.  An hour later, I might be able to get another post or two out, but not always.  The next day I can rinse and repeat with the same or worse outcomes.  Still, I managed to get posts to most of the groups I belong to and Friday, Project Hermes took off - moving 121 that day alone.  Still, with the other drab days added in, I gave away 161 books.  I'll try again tomorrow with Wish Hits the Fan.

Reading went okay, I guess.  I DNF'd more that I would've liked.  See yesterday, but also stay tuned for next Saturday's Wrap Up.

I made oatmeal raisin cookies this week.  Woot.  They turned out a little dry this time around, which sucks and is weird because it's the same damn recipe I've been using since I was a kid.  I also did a round of pulled pork.  Yummers.  I might make pizza today.  Or Cuban sandwiches.

On the activity front, I did three walks for a total of 2.7 miles (27.6 miles for the year so far).  I also moved some plastic tubs around and went grocery shopping.  (And if you don't think shopping is exercise, you're not doing it right.  Or I'm doing it wrong.)  Weight: 173.8

The deer are all getting un-pregnant, although we've only seen babies with Sissy and Lumpy so far.  They'll come around eventually.

I think a couple of my tomato plants might have buds.  Other than that, they're growing big.  Nice plants, but make with the fruiting already. Sheesh.  One of the pepper seeds I planted has germinated and is about an inch tall.  I think it has a friend that is trying to peek through.  Two plants producing green peppers would work for me.  The trees are doing well.  I lost one dogwood to what I assume was a squirrel digging in my pots on the deck.  It also got a cedar tree.  It dug in my walnut and my hickory, but those are fine.  Stupid squirrel.  I have weeding I need to get to this week, which I should've started doing last week.  I'm blaming the rain.

Speaking of rain, we've gotten about 2.5 inches in the past 7 days, with more on the way this week.  Enough already.  Sheesh.

And that's about it for me for now.  I'm sure there's more, but I'm about done sitting at the computer for this morning.  Time to start the day whether I want to or not.  Have a great day!  And feel free to tell me all the minutiae of your week.  =o)

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/7/25

It wasn't the busiest of reading weeks, since I only finished one book, but I did spend some time on a couple books I ended up DNF'ing.  

I picked up one new ebook this week - a suspense novel by an author I'd read before, but it was free, so yay.

Books Read:

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian - 5 stars. New to me but not underappreciated.  I picked this up at regular price from Amazon, so $7.48 for the paperback. (I needed to round out an order to get free shipping and this was it.)
No Review.  What could I say about this book that hasn't already been said?

DNFs:

6/5/25 - free - noir mystery - The beginning of this was written three different ways and they were ALL in the book I downloaded.  Like first draft, then second draft, then final draft.  By the time I got to the third iteration, I was confused and tired of it.  Too much work for what might've been an interesting story.

5/31/25 - free dystopian/SF - I made it over halfway through this and then it got weird, and not in a good way.  Which is too bad because I was really enjoying where it had been heading before it shot off down a murky, ill-advised path.  :shrug:  I paused this to read something else and then decided to just DNF it.  Life's too short.

Currently reading... A little underappreciated cozy mystery.  I'm not sure yet if I'll finish it.  The beginning has the same problem as that noir mystery I DNF'd this week - repeating info, which is annoying but not as bad as here as with the noir.  We'll see if it gets better.

What have you been reading lately?

Thursday This n That

Oh, joy... I'll be in the jury pool here from July - November.  That's how it works in MO... you get notified that you'll be in the pool for a certain time and then, if they pick you, you'll get another notice that you have to serve.  THEN you have to call the night before to see if they're actually going to have court or if it was cancelled.  I've been in the pool a lot in the past 12 years, and I've been picked several times, but it's always been cancelled the night before.  Whew.  Especially the last time because I went to Michigan while I was still in the pool and it would've sucked if I'd been called up while I was away.

FB is still screwing me hard on the marketing thing.  Turds.

I saw something this morning about how like 54% of Americans can't read above a 6th grade level.  And like 1 in 5 is functionally illiterate.  And how like 1 in 3 is like math-illiterate.  Which all sucks.  On a happier note, I saw how 2nd Lady Vance has a reading initiative this summer that kids can sign up for and win prizes and maybe win a trip to the White House.  I don't care what your politics are... that's a good thing and everyone should be all for it.  Anything that gets people reading more is awesome.

And if you're actively against Mrs. Vance's summer reading program, what the hell is wrong with you?  Illiteracy is everyone's problem.

Lumpy's baby is super cute!  A couple days ago, it walked right under the window where we were watching.  So tiny!  Awwww.

I'm really feeling that last walk.  I did the loop, which is only 1.1 miles, but it's very hilly and my calves are mooing this morning.  

Last night was not a good night for sleeping.  I was too hot and then the cats decided it would be an awesome night to run around the house playing with their jingly ball and then they found something interesting in the corner of the bedroom that HAD TO BE investigated right then.  They were being good boys, but their goodness was certainly noisy and I was not in the frame of mind to ignore them.  Oh well.  Naptime later and for now, lots of coffee!

Right now, though, I think I'm going to go finish my book.  Maybe snag some breffest.  Have a great day and feel free to leave whatever this or that your mind spits out.  

Scams Abound

I hate that we have to be constantly vigilant so we don't get ripped off, but we do, so here are a few tips that might help...

In Facebook groups: 

If you see someone with a new account complaining about all the scammers... they're probably a scammer.

If you see someone boohooing about not getting any sales for their new/first/unloved books... they're probably a scammer.

If they comment on your marketing posts telling you how awesome your book is and asking you questions that they could answer on their own if they read the post or followed the link (like what genre it is)... they're a scammer.

If you can't pronounce their name (usually African, but sometimes middle eastern), but they have all sorts of awesome ways to market your book... they're a scammer.  (Like the Nigerian prince emails of yore.)

If they have some other sob story about anything... cats, kids, health... their probably a scammer.  Take it all with a grain of salt.

On the phone:

If they say they're calling from any one of several government agencies - the IRS, the local police, the prosecutor's office... they're a scammer.  Those agencies don't call you.

If they say they're from any one of several computer companies - Microsoft comes to mind, but also Amazon - they're a scammer.  Those companies don't call you.

If they say they're from your credit card company or your bank, they are most likely a scammer.  Hang up and call your bank or your card company using a number you already have.  Do not call any number they give you.

If you get a call telling you a family member is in jail, either here or overseas... they are a scammer.  If you are worried, though, call the family member in question before you do anything.  If you can't reach them, call someone else who would know whether they could possibly be where they're supposedly in jail.  Do not send money without verifying.

If you get any kind of call where someone wants you to send them a gift card to pay off a 'debt' or a 'bill'... definitely a scammer.  

You can also get a variety of these same types of scams via regular mail or email, chat message, text messages, etc.  Verify everything before you hand over any personal information or financial data.  Hell, I don't even use the word 'yes' when talking on the phone with a potential scammer.  "Is this B.E. Sanderson?" "This is.  What do you want?"  I'm not sure if it's an urban myth that these scammers use your spoken word yes to bypass actual authorization and take your money, but I'm not taking any chances.

Being paranoid helps keep you safe.  Hang in there out there and remember... Scams abound.

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

Okay, so FB hammered me yesterday for posting too much.  I did five marketing posts over about 5 minutes and they wouldn't let me post anything else.  They didn't tell me for how long.  They didn't tell me what the limits are.  They just blocked me from posting to any groups and to 'try again later'.  So, I did.  I tried at 15 minutes... nope.  I tried at 30 minutes... nope.  I tried at an hour... huzzah!  And got 3 posts out before I got blocked again.  Then, I gave up.  

Yesterday afternoon, I came up with a new plan.  I would try again this morning, but only post to one group every 5 minutes.  So far, it seems to be working.  I've gotten 4 posts out.  It's almost time for #5... and #5 went up.  Yay.  

In the interest of data, yesterday, I posted to FB and X asking for anyone who saw my post to wave, so I could see who is actually still seeing my posts.  I have like 270 followers on FB and 600-something on X.  So far, like 20 people have 'waved' on FB and one on X.  And I'm paying for X.  Either way, that's disheartening.  Which is why these posts in marketing groups is so important.  It's the only way I'm reaching readers.

Sure, a lot of the people who are downloading my free books aren't actually doing anything with them.  I'm not exactly burning up the world with reviews for any of my books.  People aren't talking about them as far as I can tell.  But I am seeing residual sales here and there.  It's worth the time and irritation.

Five minutes went by and #6 is up!  Yay!

Anyway, as I was saying, it's worth the time and irritation.  This new wrinkle takes more time and is more irritating, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.  

I was actually pretty gung-ho to get to marketing yesterday.  I'd even joined about a half-dozen new groups to market to.  Fresh eyes!  Yay!  And then the FB retardage happened.  I went from gung-ho to ;sad trombone noise: in an instant.  Life is hard enough without added pitfalls, doncha know.  But I'm trying to remember and hold to the Marine motto: Improvise, adapt, overcome.  (I need to buy that t-shirt.)

This other one is good, too... ONWARD AND UPWARD.  Let's do this.

Oh, and if you're reading this, drop me a 'wave' so I know you're there.  Just for data purposes.  

:WAVES:

Added: I just tried to do #7 and got this message again - "We limit how often you can post, comment or do other things in a given amount of time in order to help protect the community from spam. You can try again later. Learn More.  

If you think this doesn't go against our Community Standards let us know. Give feedback."

Turds.

Marketing Monday - Project Hermes

Hey, Folks.  It's that time again... Marketing Monday!  Woot.  :throws confetti:  

From now until Friday, PROJECT HERMES - my medical/political thriller - is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get your copy today.  And remember, it's the little things that kill.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017Y6G0EW

(Full credit to my BFF, Silver, for today's graphic.  She rocks.)

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 22

What a week I had.  Let's see if I can reconstruct it...

Okay, so I didn't do anything writerly.  I took the week off from marketing, too.  I didn't even get my spreadsheets ready for June - which is something I have to do today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

There was reading... see yesterday's post.

I made banana bread and pizza this week.  Woot.  And yum.  The pizza was yesterday, so I'll have pizza for breakfast today.  Yay!

The big update is activity, because I was busy busy this week.  I got in 4.8 miles worth of walks on 4 separate days.  Plus, I did a bunch of errand running, plus groceries.  Unfortunately, it didn't equal weight loss, so... Weight 173.8.  :shrug:  

So, you're saying to yourself, what made you so damn busy?  I guess in the scheme of other peoples' busyness, I wasn't really.  But for me, this was a busy week.  Tuesday, I did groceries.  Wednesday, I went northwest to get my car inspected and then over to the DMV to get my plates and my license renewed. (and pick up Chinese food for lunch.)  Friday, I went northeast to get Hubs' prescriptions and run errands up there - bank, supply store, grocery store, thrift store.  Since I stopped working, I don't get around much anymore.  Anyway, all that made me tired, so here I am.  And yes, I would like some cheese with that whine.

Gardening update... Everything is growing, except the green pepper seeds I planted a week ago yesterday.  I wasn't really expecting anything there, but I wanted to be happily surprised.  :shrug:  The tomatoes are getting tall, but not really spreading out much and no flowers yet, so no fruit on the way.  The little trees are all doing their things.  Yeah, not exciting news.

This week, I really need to weed the beds again, and continue to work on weeding the front rock path.  I also need to vacuum.  The dustbunnies are starting to gain sentience.

What's on your list for last week?  What's on the menu for this week?  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/31/25

Whoa... last day of May.  Where's the time going this year?  

Last week, I stopped at the thrift store and picked up 4 books for a dollar - mystery, suspense, fantasy, and NF.  The NF was Trees of Missouri, and it's awesome.  It didn't even look like it had been opened, but the spine is light like it's been sitting in the sun.  Hubs was very impressed that it was only a quarter.  No new ebooks this week.

Books Read: 

22) You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (5/29/25) - action/hard-boiled crime - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Got this for a quarter at a thrift store.
No Review.
Extra note: This is the last of the Bond paperbacks I picked up.  I probably won't be reading more of these unless I happen across some at a thrift store.

21) On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (5/24/25) - action/hard-boiled crime - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Got this for a quarter at a thrift store.
Review: "I really should take a star away for what Fleming did at the end of the book, but I can't. This is an awesome story, so well written and thrilling. Lucky for me, I have #12 sitting right here to start, so I can find out if James really does exact some justice."

No DNFs.

Currently reading... a SF/dystopian ebook.  So far, it's pretty interesting.  As long as it stays that way, I'll finish it.  If not, into the DNF bin it goes.

What's been on your reading list this week?

Thursday This n That

Obviously, I have no idea what day it is.

Gah, busy week.  I'm not used to it being busy anymore.  

I went to town this week to get my plates and driver's license renewed.  Of course, I left it to almost the last minute and made it even more fun.  The people waiting to use the license office were cluttered in the hall of the court building.  (It's a really small office in a corner of the court building.  Three places to help people and only one of them can do driver's licenses, so we happy few had to wait longer.)  It wasn't really that bad... except for the lady who wanted to tell her life story to all of her trapped listeners.  And for the really hard benches we had to wait on.  And the fact they were painting the inside of the building... with a sprayer that sounded like rayguns from an old SF movie.  I laughed to myself through most of it.  I got it done and then went for Chinese takeout.  Yay.

My new license photo makes me look really old.  I mean, I'm old, but that thing makes me look REALLY old.  I blame the fluorescent lights.  Those thing highlight every gray hair.  Blech.

Lumpy's baby is really tiny.  We saw it again yesterday.  So cute!  It looks healthy, though.  It's just tiny.  I think it's less than a week old.  I want to snuggle it up so bad.  Of course, Lumpy would kick my ass if I tried, so I won't.

Today, I get to go pick up Hubs' prescriptions.  Yay.  No seriously.  My best thrift store is across the street from the pharmacy.  I'll get the scripts and then get to some thrifting.  I hope they have some more old crime novels, like last time.  Then I'll hit the grocery store and snag some ice cream (because I forgot it when I went to Wallyworld and I'm almost out.)  Oh, and I have to hit the building supply place because they carry suet and those birds are gorging themselves lately on suet.  They went through a brick in just over a day.  Greedy buggers.  They must have a lot of babies out there somewhere.  

Anyway, life is good.  How are things for you?

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is for remembering and honoring military members who died in the line of duty.  I used to think it was for any military members who were gone.  Nope.  Line of duty only.  Okay, so I don't really know any of those personally.  

I've had a lot of my family that were in the service in one branch or another.  Many of them are gone.  Dad... Great Uncle Ray... Uncle Barney... Great Uncle Franny.  None of those died in the service.  (Although Mom says one cousin died shortly after he came home from Vietnam due to his exposure to Agent Orange, which ought to count, imo.)  

Then I remembered Orville*.  Orville was the nephew of one of my great grandfathers.  

He was missing in action/lost at sea in the Pacific Theatre in July of 1945.  His bomber group was flying missions out of Alaska and it seems like he might've been lost during a bombing run over some islands where the planes somehow ended up in the USSR.  That's about all I can find out about him this morning, other than he's got a grave marker in Arlington and his name's on the site for MIA military in Honolulu.  

Anyway, this is a day for remembering those who gave up their lives to defend our country.  Like they say 'we don't know them all, but we owe them all'.  We Americans owe them, and so do a lot of people in a lot of other countries that we defended over the years.  

So, as you're out there today, having a barbeque or doing whatever it is people do on this holiday, take a moment and think about those men and women who made it possible for you to do what you're doing.  No guilt attached.  Really.  I don't think they would want that.  Enjoy your lives, but remember.  And remember to do everything in your power to make sure it never happens again.

*his last name is blurred out for reasons and account of because.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 21

 I missed last week, which messed me all up, but I'm pretty sure last week was week 21.  Anyway, here goes...

I did some writing.  Not much, so don't get yourself too excited.  Still, it was better than nothing.  I also did some marketing.  Woot.  

Loads of reading, but not many books finished to show for it.  Hey, I did remember to do a Reading Wrap-up yesterday, so go look at that.  I finished a book yesterday, but that'll be on this week's wrap-up.

Last Sunday, I made pizza.  Yesterday, I made pulled BBQ pork.  Woot.  Other than that, nothing exciting to speak of in the baking/cooking category.  I really need to get off my butt and make cookies for Hubs.  He's earned them.

On the activity front, I walked three times for 3.2 miles worth (20.10 YTD), I gardened some, and did a bit of cleaning.  Weight: 172.4, down 1.2 from last week, so whatever I'm doing is working.  Increase activity, decrease food intake.

Gardening... Well, I've been working on cleaning up the rock path in front of the front flower bed.  That's slow going.  Lots of shoveling to turn the rocks over and then bending to pick out the weeds, then smoothing it down and tamping it down.  Patch by patch, so it's still walkable between exertions.  (I can't do the whole path at once anymore.)  Week before last, I repotted a bunch of the little trees into bigger pots.  They seem happy.  My tomatoes are getting big.  I'm seeing some new growth on most of the little trees.  And yesterday, I planted green peppers seeds from the green peppers I used to make deconstructed stuff peppers.  If they grow, they grow.  If not, not much time or money wasted.  

Yesterday, we saw our first fawn of the year.  It was Lumpy's!  Yay!  Then later, when I went for my evening walk, I heard a fawn beeping and looked for it, and there it was with what had to be Sissy.  (She's so tame, it had to be her.)  Double yay.  They had to have been born within the last couple of days.  Aww.  Unfortunately, it's been raining.  And raining.  And raining.  I'm a little worried about those little babies.  They're so tiny. 

Also, we had a HUGE raccoon on our porch the other night.  That hasn't happened in a while.  And we had bobcats tussling in the backyard one night.  Spooky, but cool. 

Okay, I think that's it for me.  I'm sure other stuff happened.  (Like I turned 55 in there somewhere and we had an anniversary.  Oh, and I got TTW's print version approved and up for sale.)  I'll try to be better about posting this week.  I hope you have a happy rest of the weekend and a nice Memorial Day.  :hugs:

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/24/25

Sorry I missed last week, but here we are today.  Unfortunately, it's not going to be the most exciting of wrap-ups, even given that it's two weeks worth.

I got a new book in the mail yesterday - Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Phillip K Dick.  I hope it's the actual Dick story and not a rewrite based off the movie.  We'll see.  I also snagged a bunch of free ebooks (4 to be exact) - All in the crime genres.  And I bought a copy of my new release - in ebook and in paperback.  I'm up to 37 books acquired this year and $40.53 spent.  Woot.

Books Read:

20) The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney (5/17/25) - romantic suspense - 4 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  Picked this one up at the thrift store for $2.
Review: "The writing and the story were pretty good. I enjoyed the characters and most of the premise. She got a little 'woo-woo' in this one with the spiritual stuff for my liking, though."

19) Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (5/15/25) - mystery - 5 stars.  Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I got this one from the thrift store for $1.
Review: "I bought this not realizing I'd read it before (and already had the exact same copy). I didn't catch the mistake until I was about a third of the way through. It was even better the second time around, even if I did know who did it."

No DNFs.

Currently Reading... On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming.  I'd hoped to have it finished last night, but sleep called.

What have you been reading lately?

Wow, Where Did the Week Go?

I didn't notice until just now that I haven't posted since Monday.  Wow, where did the week go?  I wasn't doing anything important.  Hell, I wasn't doing much of anything at all.  :shrug:  I guess what I'm saying is don't expect an exciting Sunday Update this week.

Things are happening in the world, of course.  Some good, some bad, some exceptionally bad.  I don't want to talk about that.  For every happy YAY spot, there are a dozen depressing BOO spots.  

We had a murder not too far from here, near one of the places I used to fish (but stopped because I wasn't catching anything there and I'd heard it's a popular spot for the junkies... needles laying around and stuff.)  That's only the second murder in close proximity since we moved here.  A little farther afield and you can add maybe a half dozen more.  Still, a pretty safe place to be, especially considering elsewhere in the country and the world.  No clue why this recent dude was murdered.  They caught the guy.  There were holes from a shotgun blast on the outside of his truck and the deceased was killed with a shotgun.  My theory is the dead guy tried to make off with the shooter's truck, so the shooter blasted at him.  Deceased jumped out and tried to run away, and got blasted.  Or he was hit inside the truck and the shooter dragged him out and left him beside the road, where his body was found.  Ah, life in the Ozarks.

We also had a drowning.  Some 14 year old kid graduated from 8th grade and ended up in water that was either too deep or too fast for him, or both.  Sad.  They're having a big gathering for him up in town tonight.  (Or last night.  I wasn't paying that close of attention.)

Personally, I've been laying low. I'm supposed to go up and get my driver's license renewed and new tags for my car sometime before the end of the month.  tick tick tick.  But I need to get the car inspected and the inspection place I used to use stopped doing that, so I have to find a new place.  Unfortunately, it's Memorial Day weekend and this is the Ozarks, so answering phones and returning calls is a low priority around here.  I'll try harder next week.  (I have to because it's all I have left of the month.)

Anyway... Sorry I was so absent this week.  Just one of those things, I guess.  I hope you all had a great week and that you have a wonderful weekend.  :hugs:

Monday Update (Week 20) and Marketing Monday

 Sorry I went dark over the weekend.  I didn't really do anything special, as you will see from the update...

No writing, no editing.  Well, I did get TTW into print form and finished other necessary tasks associated with that, so that's done. Woot.  I marketed RHI to try and whip up some interest.  It went okay and I did sell a couple copies of TTW, so yay.  I'm supposed to be marketing Early Grave even as I type. I even got myself out of bed to do exactly that, but I am unmotivated.  

I read some stuff.  Not a lot of stuff, though, so I decided to save it for this Saturday.

Yesterday, I made pizza.  It turned out really good.  I think I've made enough pizzas now that it's rote. 2 tsps of yeast into 1/4 c of warm water, stir and set aside.  2 1/4 c AP flour into a large bowl, add in a tsp of salt and a Tbsp of sugar. Stir to combine.  Make a well in the center.  Add yeasty water, 1/2 c more of warm water, 2 Tbsp of EVOO.  Stir from the center out with your fingers until it all comes together.  Knead for 7 minutes.  (Use more flour, a little at a time, to keep it from sticking to your hands and everything else.)  Lightly coat the bowl and the ball of dough with more olive oil.  Cover and set somewhere warm to rise for an hour.  Punch it to deflate, set it in the middle of a pizza pan coated with cooking spray, coax out toward the edges in circles until you have the size you want or you reach the edges of your pan.  Top with sauce, cheese, and yummies.  Bake at 475F for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  (I just typed that all from memory, so there ya go.)

It was a semi-active week.  I walked three times for a total of 2.55 miles.  And I got some gardening done.  Then the weather turned crappy.  :sad trombone noise:  Weight: 173.6

Ah, gardening... I planted more volunteer trees into pots.  I now have 6 redbuds, 6 cedars, 5 dogwoods, an oak, a black walnut, and a hickory.  Plus my 6 tomato plants.  Finger crossed they all thrive.  I'm not sure that 5th dogwood will make it.  It was the last of my seeds that sprouted in the fridge and it kinda spent way too much time in the fridge.  It's in a pot in the garage right now, acclimating to not being cold.  :shrug:

I'm sure other stuff went on last week, but I can't think of any of it right now.  Yeah, the annibirthiversary occurred, but it was all quiet and nice and after all the years, there's no need for fireworks for either one.  

Okay, time to get motivated and do marketing stuff, even if I'm starting later than I planned.  To that end...

Starting today, EARLY GRAVE is free until Friday.  (Always free with KU.)  Get your copy of this taut hunt for a serial killer today.  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CGYBSST

You're never too old to die.

Thursday This n That

 Rumor Has It is at #5 in free Noir crime.

I get so many spammy comments on my marketing posts, if I ever got a sincere one I wouldn't know it.

I need to replant some of my little trees into larger pots.  Yay.

This weekend is my annibirthiversary.  Say that three times fast.

No, we aren't doing anything special.  I might make pizza, but that's not anything special.

We had a big, fat bunny in the yard a couple days ago.  

It's getting hot here.  May in the Ozarks.  Woot.

That was a sarcastic woot.

The summer tanagers are back.  I call them all either Teddy or Gloria, depending on gender. (Long story that I don't even remember most of anymore.)  And yes, Gloria is usually said in the tone of Edith Bunker from All in the Family.

It's almost time to call Mom.  Which is fine because I've run out of things to say.  

Have a great day!

What a Chore

It's been so long since I release a book, I'd almost forgotten what a chore it all is.  Oof.  The writing really is the easiest part for me, even if it takes a while.  Editing seems to take forever.  Then there's the formatting.  And all the little things - like adding it to the blogs and posting announcements, etc.  :falls over:

Editing... Thicker Than Water went through 6 drafts, 7 if you count the final one. 8 if you count the other final one for print publication.  Which I guess you should.  I mean, you did the work, count it, right?

So, you get the book out into the world and you job is done... umm... If you think that, you're missing something.  What is it?  Oh, yeah, marketing.  That's a job that's never done.  Not unless you want to never sell your books.  And if you're not interested is selling books, what did you publish it for?  Jus' sayin'.

So yeah, I've been busy.  This morning, I've already posted scads of marketing things to get RHI seen by thousands, so I can sell maybe a few copies of TTW.  Yesterday, I did the marketing things, plus I formatted TTW for print and went through that process with Amazon.  It looks pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself, but the real proof will come when I get the... umm... proof.  Which should be in a week or so.  

One thing I realized while I was doing the print formatting and uploading thing was that I had missed fixing the scene breaks in both the epub and the print versions.  If you bought a copy of TTW and already downloaded it to your Kindle, the scene breaks are *** and they should be --∞----∞----∞--.  It's fixed and uploaded now, but like I said, early copies have the old placemarkers.  

So many little things to check and change and fix, I may be a little nuts this week.  Good thing Hubs is used to me and I don't associate with anyone else.  I keep my nuts at home.  :gigglesnort:

Anyway, I do have plans to get back to writing this week.  We'll see if that happens.  It should.  I'm ready to resume being a writer again.  Woot.

Marketing Monday - Rumor Has It

Hello!  Welcome to another installment of Marketing Monday.  Today, I'm pretty excited because not only do I have a free book to offer you, but for the first time in three years, I have a new release!!  

First, the free book...

To celebrate the release of its sequel, RUMOR HAS IT (Duke Noble, P.I. #1) is free today through Friday. (Always free with KU.) Pick up your copy today!

Hearken back to the gritty, 1950s crime novel with Duke Noble. Duke's a guy ready to tackle anything the world throws at him, but this time, he's facing something much harder to dodge than bullets and fists… His past.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZNXQKPC

Then, if you hadn't already heard, THICKER THAN WATER hit the Amazon 'shelves' on Saturday.  WOOT!  It's $3.99 and available wherever Amazon sells ebooks, plus through Kindle Unlimited.  

So basically, you'll get both books for the price of one this week!  Double woot.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 19

First off, Happy Mother's Day.  

Next, I didn't get any writing done this week, but I did get a boatload of editing done.  And a cover made.  Then formatting, etc.  Thus, as of last night, THICKER THAN WATER is live on Amazon.  Here it is in all its glory:

Family ties and blood… Duke Noble’s had more than enough of both.  When he receives a frantic call from his mother, Duke’s not the kind of man who can simply ignore her pleas.  But discovering a body in his brother’s apartment wasn’t at all what he expected.  Wondering whether the body belongs to Harry means there’s no turning back.   He’ll have to work his way through both secrets and lies to get to the facts.  Even if it means digging up truths better left in the dirt.

Which brings me around to marketing...

Starting tomorrow Rumor Has It will be free for 5 days.  I'll be marketing that.  Last week, I marketed Song of Storm and Shroud.  Here's hoping RHI does better than that did.  I could use some sales this month.

Today, I'll be formatting TTW for print and getting that process underway.  This week, I'll get back to working on Duke Noble #3.

Now back to my regularly scheduled updatey stuff...

Reading - check out yesterday afternoon's post.  It was a good week for reading, and I'm now only 6 books behind on my reading goal.  Woot.  

No baking this week.  I'm trying to cut back on the breaded products for a while.  Not sure how long that will last.  I do love me my baked goods.  Not baked, but I did make a lovely beefy-rice dish that I'm jokingly referring to as Beef Risotto.  I also made a vat of turkey/chicken noodle soup that was quite yummy.  And a pulled pork that was so good, I was walking around going 'mmm...meat candy'.  

On the activity front, I was an animal.  There was only 1 day that I didn't do anything active.  I walked, I gardened, I did yard work, I moved some furniture around.  I walked 3.8 miles last week. Whoa.  Weight: 173.2 - you'd think it would be lower, but meh.

Gardening... my little trees are doing well.  The baby redbuds are about 4-5 inches tall and have several leaves now.  The dogwoods are about 3 inches and have about 4 leaves each.  The oak is looking good, but only 2 leaves so far.  The cedars are thriving, of course.  The tree seeds I planted last week aren't doing anything yet.  Yesterday, on the way home from Wallyworld, I stopped at the feed store and bought a flat of Roma tomatoes.  Those went in pots when I got home, so hopefully one or two of the six will flower and fruit, giving me yummy treats.

Well, I think there's probably more to update you on, but that's probably enough out of me for now.  Look for a marketing post tomorrow.  Have a great rest of your day and if you're a mom, I hope you get to spend time with the kids today.  :hugs:

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/10/25

 Hey, I know it's late, but I have an excuse.... well, several of them really... and it IS still Saturday.  

This week, I didn't get any new books, unless you count the fact that I just ordered a copy of my brand-new, never before seen or published book THICKER THAN WATER.  Yep, that's one of my excuses.  I've been working on getting the book published.  Another excuse was groceries.  A third excuse was planting my new tomatoes... but that's neither here nor there.  Let's just get on with it...

Books Read: 

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:) - 5 stars.  New to me and so underappreciated it's not even available anymore.  I got this for free off of one of Amazon's top 100 lists.
Review: "I read this book in the e-version and it had a different cover, but I can't find it on Amazon anymore, so I'm leaving a review here. Not sure what happened there. I hope the author puts it back up because this is an amazing book.

I found it on one of Amazon's 'top 100 free' lists and gave it a try. I'm so glad I did. It's an amazing story. Sure, the humor doesn't stay amped up throughout the book, but that's probably a good thing because sustained giggling can be bad for your complexion. Anyway, this is so much more poignant. I loved the characters, I loved the premise, and I loved the ending. The plot was unique, the pacing was spot-on, and the writing was solid. I inhaled this, ignoring my husband and both cats, and stayed up late to finish. (Which was a bad idea because even after I closed the book, I couldn't stop thinking about it.)

Please, Mr. Lassen, if you're seeing this, bring the book back into print. And thank you for letting me read it."

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I got this from a thrift store for 25c.
Review: "All the twisty-turny action you can expect from a James Bond novel. I loved it."

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime* - 5 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  I got this for free off my Amazon wishlist - placed there after a friend recommended it on FB.
Review: "This is a most excellent and brilliant story with an interesting little treat at the end. A well-written novel with awesome characters and an intelligent plot. I inhaled it. I only wish I'd read it when it was first recommended to me and I put it on my wish list. Better late than never, I guess. It's definitely worthy of 5 stars and every glowing recommendation I can give it to anyone who'll listen."

DNFs:

5/5/25 - free SF - this was supposed to be a hard-boiled crime in outer space, so I was super jazzed to read it.  Unfortunately, the formatting was SOOOO bad, I couldn't get past the first chapter.  I'm not sure what the author was thinking, but every page (assume Word pages) had 'Chapter 1 Continued' and then the chapter's title.  I'd read like 4-5 paragraphs and BLAMMO I'd get hit with that again.  Plus, the author left extra spaces between every paragraph.  It was most disconcerting.  I hope he gets it fixed for future readers, but I never go back to check once I DNF an ebook. =o(

Currently reading... an Agatha Christie I picked up at the thrift store.  So much yummy Poirot goodness.  Squee.

What was on your reading list this week?

Not a Banner Night

Last night was not a banner night for sleeping.  First, I made the mistake of staying up a little late to finish a book.  It was a really good book.  Of course, once I went to bed, I couldn't stop thinking about it, so there was that keeping me up.  And I couldn't get comfortable.  And I was too hot.  And I was also thinking about TTW's impending publication and all the things that need doing before I can push it out into the world...

Like I said, not a banner night for sleeping.  At one point, I gave up and got up.  Turned the computer back on and worked on my blurb.  Whether it's any good remains to be seen.  I haven't opened the file and looked at it since I woke up.  I finally went back to bed and fell asleep around 1 a.m., and woke at 7.  A solid 6 hours of sleep isn't bad, I guess, but I think my gumption is still comatose.

At least it wasn't the cats keeping me up this time.  Nope, they were being good boys.  Figures.

Today, I'm supposed to go grocery shopping.  This may or may not happen.  There's always tomorrow.  I've also got to start working on formatting this novel into ebook and print formats.  I had played with the idea of setting this to pre-order, but that never seems to work out for me, so I'll probably just push it into the world.  We'll see.

Anyway... look for my review of the 'really good book' tomorrow.  And look for THICKER THAN WATER to come out sometime before the 20th.  I should get a post out with the cover and blurb sometime this coming week.  Stay tuned.  

As for me... :wanders off in search of more coffee:

Thursday This n That

I'm about halfway through the edit suggestions for Thicker Than Water now.  And the cover has been created.  (Looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.)  I'll post it when I get the blurb done, which will probably be this weekend, so look for it Monday or Tuesday.

Speaking of covers, I took what feels like a gazillion pictures.  First, I did the set up in my bedroom - where I did the cover for Rumor Has It.  Those pics were okay, but not quite it, if you know what I mean.  Then I got an idea and ran with it.  I set everything up in the sunroom and started snapping pics.  The first ones were okay.  I re-set some things and snapped more pics.  Those were pretty good, but I realized I forgot to set up the drink.  Hasten to the kitchen, get the glass I bought for just this occasion, drop in some ice cubes, and pour in the 'whiskey'.  I don't drink, so I had to be creative.  It's actually apple juice with soy sauce mixed in until it got the right color.  I think I nailed it.  (Yes, it got dumped down the drain afterward, and no, I didn't taste it.  Eww.)

Here's one of the pics I took in the bedroom.  All rights reserved and all that jazz.  (Don't steal my work. I'm too pathetic to steal from.)  It's too bright, if you ask me, and the lamp is turned wrong, and the cig has the wrong end lit, but you get the gist.  I did much better with the second set in the sunroom.  

Here's the cover for Rumor Has It for comparison:

Anyway, I'm pretty excited.  I'm going to try to have the book out by the 20th.  We'll see how that goes.

And I think that's it for me this morning.  Not much of a This n That, but that's how it goes sometimes.  Have a great day!

The Sixth of May

Every year on the sixth of May, at some point I remember and it hits me all over again...

My father died on the 6th of May.  Years later, Hubs' best friend's funeral was on the 6th of May.  Needless to say, it's not a good day for me.  

Dad's been gone for 20+ years now.  It wasn't a shock.  We knew he was going.  He chose to go, in his own way, and he let us know his decision ahead of time, so we were prepared.  He didn't kill himself.  He simply chose to refuse dialysis after over a decade of dialyzing.  We understood and supported his decision.  He was tired and he had earned a rest.  He missed one dialysis and he was gone that night.  

Cancer got Phil.  It wasn't expected, but it wasn't a shock either.  We'd hoped he would beat it.  He didn't. Damn him. He was the best friend Hubs had and a good friend of mine, too. When things got bad for Hubs at work, I'd drop into Phil's office and talk it out with him - something I couldn't do with anyone else.  Phil understood.  Phil would be just as pissed as I was and we'd commiserate.  Then he was gone.  I don't remember the exact date he died, but I remember the date of his funeral because it was the anniversary of Dad's death.  I swear Phil did that on purpose so I would cry at his funeral.  He was that kind of guy.  A real troublemaker and a hoot to be around.  He was such a card.  

Anyway, the pain of their passing has boiled down so it only really hurts when I poke at it.  Like now.  

I expect Dad and Phil are somewhere today, drowning worms and drinking beer, and spinning yarns.  They'd both tell me to get over myself and get on with life.

So that's what I'm going to do.

Marketing Monday - Song of Storm and Shroud

This week, SONG OF STORM AND SHROUD is free.  It's a YA epic fantasy and I'm pretty pleased with it.  There is an intention to write sequels to this, but they aren't here yet.  Sorry about that.  Still, it stands by itself.  No cliffhangers to speak of.  Just a few threads that can be woven into other stories.

Anyway, pick up your copy today and enjoy all the magical, dragony, thrilling fun of SSS.

Starting today, SONG OF STORM AND SHROUD is absolutely free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get your copy now!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W745M6P

Our only hope lies with the mages.