Friday's Odds and Ends - Pretty Presents and More

One of my publishers, Untreed Reads,  just let me know that all the books at the online bookstore, Kobo, will be 50% off through December 31st, so readers can load books into their new electronic reading devices at a huge savings. The code can be used over and over through the end of this month. How cool is that. I may have to go check out some books for myself. Some of my favorite authors have some books there, so this is a great time to pick up some new ones.

If you are interested, here is the code to use - 50DEC - and here is the link to the Kobo site. I am pleased to have several of my titles available at Kobo: One Small Victory and Play it Again, Sam,  and the short stories: Making it Home, SAHM, I Am, The Visitor, and The Last Dollar. With the discount the short stories are under a dollar, and the two novels are well below $5.

Christmas was bittersweet this year, considering the big empty spot in our family, but we did manage to do some of the normal Miller traditions: Christmas Eve lasagna and White Elephant gift exchange, then dinner on Christmas Day followed by a movie.

In addition to the fun gift exchange, we do exchange other gifts, and my main gift from my kids was this beautiful stained glass artwork. I actually got it back in October, as my youngest daughter, Dany, saw it at an art fair where I was offering my books. She went around visiting all the other artists there - yes, writers are artists - and she saw this piece. She contacted her siblings to see if they wanted to chip in, and the vote was unanimous. 

This was taken with the picture leaning against the window where it will eventually hang.

This picture was taken with the glass leaning against the drawers in my desk. I thought the changes to the colors was interesting.

I also got another lovely piece of glass art from my oldest grandchildren. Owls and horses adorn many of my walls and shelves. Not literally, of course, but you know what I mean. (smile) I've heard that owls are a sign of good luck in many Asian cultures. I think horses are just a source of joy. 

This is a serving tray that I may just leave on my table for a while so I can enjoy it.

Finally, let's end on a fun note with a joke from Pearls Before Swine: 

Pig is sitting behind a desk and he says, "Hey, Rat. What you doing here?"

Rat replies, "Goat said you got an office job. I told him I had to see it for myself."

Pig says, "It's true. I go to meetings, read reports, write memos."

Rat says, "What? You don't know how to do any of that stuff."

Pig says, "No but I can learn."

Rat says. "Learn? These corporate types will eat you alive. What are you going to do the first time some boss comes in here to chew your head off about some stupid memo?"

"I've got a Time-to-Duck hole."

Rat says, "You're gonna duck?"

The Guard Duck pops up out of a hole on the desk, aiming a missile and says, "We're gonna tell him to write his own blankety-blank memo."

Pig says, "Everyone needs a Time-to-Duck hole," and from inside the hole the Guard Duck says, "Can someone bring me a doughnut?"

Special Sale for the Fourth of July

If you stopped by to meet Wednesday's Guest, you might want to check yesterday's post for a guest who could not make it today and get to know Ellen Harger. I am over at the Blood Red Pencil today where we are discussing authors writing book reviews. It is a discussion that started on Kristen Lamb's blog a week or so ago, and there are lots of pros and cons being tossed around. You might want to toss an opinion into the mix.

On another note, Untreed Reads is having a special sale to celebrate Independence Day! 

Now through July 4th, you can pick any four short stories (priced at $0.99 or less) and add them to your cart. During checkout, enter coupon code FIREWORKS and you'll get those four stories for only a dollar!

Even better news! You can use this coupon over and over, so come back and pick any other four short stories and get those for only $1.00 as well. We've even improved The Untreed Reads Store so that for many titles you can send the EPUB version directly to your Nook from your bookshelf, or send the MOBI version straight to your Kindle.

Click HERE for mystery short stories.
Click HERE for horror short stories.
Click HERE for romance short stories.
Click HERE for science fiction and fantasy short stories.
Click HERE for literary short stories.
Click HERE for experimental fiction short stories.

So many books - How can I choose?

I have four short stories with Untreed Reads - Making it Home - The Last Dollar - The Visitor - SAHM I Am . They are all included in the sale, so this is a great time to sample them. I have also decided to offer them as a special gift on July Fourth. Since that is my birthday, I thought I would give gifts as well as receive them. So I will give the short stories to one of my visitors who comment on any blog post starting with today's and continuing through the Fourth. Names will be put in a hat and one of my cats will use a very sharp claw to draw one out.

Don't forget to leave an e-mail so I can contact you.

School Shootings

It's hard to let the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday pass without a comment. I know there are no words that can take away the awful pain of loss so many are experiencing, so all I can offer is my support and prayers that the families and friends of those who lost their lives will have the strength to weather the storms of grief.

Let the Memories Burn Bright

I thought President Obama did a fine job in his speech last night at the memorial, and I am glad that he let the people know that the nation is mourning with them. I did cringe just a little bit, however, when he said that we as a government will do all we can to ensure that this does not happen again.

Those are nice words, but hardly ones we can live up to. The government has no control over whatever it is that motivates someone to pick up a gun and go on a shooting spree.

It is true that we need better care for those with mental health issues. Most of the time we find out, after the fact, that a person who commits such atrocities does suffer from mental and/or emotional health problems. But that certainly does not mean that every person who has a cognitive disease is prone to this kind of violence.

Then there's the issue of gun control. Already there are groups of people calling for stricter gun laws, and with enough emotion pushing that cause, the right to own a gun might be seriously curtailed. Will that help? Probably not. If someone is intent on using a gun to kill people, he or she will be able to get a gun, whether legal or not, and if a gun is not available, other weapons will be used. There have been attacks on elementary school children in China by men wielding swords and large knives. The most recent on the same day as the Sandy Hook school shooting.

When I did the research for my book on gun violence in schools, I found that the factors that contribute to violent behaviors are many, so there isn't going to be one simple solution to make students safe. One thing that we can do as a society, however, is to take a stand against media and entertainment that glorifies violence and makes it appear harmless.

It is anything but harmless. A professor of criminology that I interviewed for my book twenty years ago said, "How many times can we watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre without it giving us a subconscious message that killing and maiming people is okay?"

He also said that once we as a society had no lines that we would not cross, we would be a society out of control.

Think about it. Where are the boundaries today?

On Another Note: I want to remind you to come back on Wednesday to welcome Nell Carson. Do you know how hard it is to get a building designated as historically significant? She will share what she learned in her research for her book, The Gingerbread House

And Yet One More Note: Today is the last day to get your Holiday gift, The Last Dollar,  which celebrates the magic of giving. Thanks to all who have already downloaded the book, it is now #24 on the short story best-seller list.

A Holiday Gift

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

As we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of preparing for the holidays, it is easy to forget what the season is all about.

After my husband and I moved to Texas from Michigan, we rarely made it back to our home state for holidays, and my mother always sent handmade gifts for Christmas. The necessity of counting pennies has ruled her entire life, and we became accustomed to not expecting gifts of any great monetary value. Even so, the arrival of her annual box always sparked an eagerness in me that I never fully understood. The gifts were either hand made or just a small trinket, and sometimes there were even gifts for ‘we-don’t-know-who’.  There were also times we didn’t even know what the gift was or what it was for; usually something she knitted or crocheted that could be a small afghan or a large lap blanket.

When the kids were young, they never understood my excitement over mother’s box, either, but I couldn’t fault them for that. It's easy for a simple gift to be diminished when stacked up next to one larger and more expensive, and like the kids, I often saw my mother's efforts as a mere gesture.
But the year that necessity forced me to make gifts, was the year that I finally understood what a gift really is, whether handmade or purchased.

A gift is not just a thing. It's a connection between the person giving and the person receiving that says something special about the relationship between the two. And a gift should never be rushed. The longer you think about it, plan it, and work on it, the stronger the connection.

That's the special, intangible ingredient my mother wrapped up and sent to us for all those years.


So that is the intangible ingredient I wrapped up in this short story that is my gift to you this Christmas. It was written a number of years ago with a dear friend, and every year since when I read it again at Christmas, I can't help but think of the magic of this season.

The story will be free through December 17th, so you can get a copy for KINDLE or read it on my WEBSITE     ENJOY!