Pass The Salt

Slim Randles and the gang down at the Mule Barn Think Tank are today's Wednesday Guests. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of java and have a little fun. This is another of the delightful columns that are syndicated in hundreds of newspapers across the country and compiled into the book Home Country. Enjoy...

It was a bright morning, and we had finished off the coffee and conversation at the Mule Barn truck stop, and we couldn’t think of anything much to do because we were still full from breakfast and it was too early for lunch, and the political problems and Hollywood gossip tanks had been thoroughly topped off. So we went over to Doc’s house to look at his mare in the back yard. She had, he said, a quarter crack in a front hoof.

 So there we were, in a half circle around the little mare, staring at that slight crack as though focusing would bring a welded solution to the problem, but we all knew we just needed to drink Doc’s coffee and change the scene.

“I see you have a block of salt,” Bert said.

Doc nodded. Bert said, “Speaking of salt …”

We really hadn’t been, but smooth transitions aren’t always easy.

“…. puts me in mind of the time I stopped in that little store,” Bert said. “Few years back now, I guess.

Well, it was about the last time Milly had pups, because I think I’d left her home to have them. Of course, she waited until I got home ….”

Doc and Steve stared at him encouragingly. “And?”

“Oh … well, there’s this little store up north … out in the middle of about flat nothing … and it was hot and I was thinking of a nice cold cola right about then, so I stopped.”

Bert looked around. “Dang store was about full of salt.”

“Salt?”

“Everywhere. This guy had ice cream salt. Bags of it. Salt blocks for horses, sheep, cows, rabbits and even danged guinea pigs. He had regular salt. He had huge bags of bulk salt for putting on the ice.

Salt block for livestock. No, that is not a cat underneath.

 “So I went to pay for my drink and I says to the guy, ‘You must sell a lot of salt.’ And he says to me, ‘No, but that salesman who calls on me sure does.’”

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Slim always has a sponsor for his columns and today's sponsor is BELTONE , a leading company that provides hearing aids. Do you miss hearing rain on the roof? Is it time for a free hearing test? Call 1-866-867-8700.

Monday Morning Musings - Art and Creativity

The weekend was really busy with an art fair on Saturday and a writers club meeting on Sunday. It has been a long time since I have been in a writers group that met face-to-face, and I had forgotten how good it was to be able to do that.

Online groups are terrific. I have met so many wonderful writers who freely share their talent and expertise, and that has helped me over the past ten years to improve my writing and my business skills. Still, there is something special about sitting in the same room and feeling that creative energy surround you. It is also great to be able to have discussions and critiques that happen right now, so you can immediately clarify a point or a comment.

The writers who have come together to form The Hacks of Winnsboro, are a varied lot. Some of us are published, others are not. There are a few visual artists who are blending that form of art with writing, as they develop books to encourage people to do creative journaling. I like that idea, as my mother and I have done a form of that in our letter writing through the years. All of our letters end with some kind of drawing - often reflecting the time of the year or a holiday. Christmas and Easter are always fun, as is autumn when there are pumpkins and colorful leaves.

These are pictures she sent last fall as the leaves were falling in my sister's yard.

There was a great deal of creative energy in the room on Saturday, too. The artists that participated were all gifted in their particular form of artistic expression, working in all kinds of mediums and materials from paints, to stained glass, to wood, to jewelry, and lots of clever hand-crafted items. It as a good thing I sold a number of books so I had money to do some shopping.

My daughter, who frequently goes with me to these art events, also did some shopping. She contacted her siblings and arranged to get a piece of stained glass for me.

This lovely owl was done by Rose Burgin, an artist I met about four years ago when she was only a year or two into doing stained glass. She has emerged from being a hobbyist and has become a true artist. I am so thrilled to have a piece by her. Now she just needs a website to showcase her work online.

A truly gifted photographer could have captured this image and done it justice, but I was just taking a picture to send to the kids to show them where I might hang the glass in one of my office windows. Since I spend so much of my time here, I thought this would be a good place to have the owl. Now I just have to get it hung. Since I didn't want to tempt fate by keeping it perched on the window sill, it is packed between two boxes on the floor so the cats cannot knock it over and break it.

How was your weekend? Did you do things just for fun and get energized for the work week ahead?

Book Review - The Edwin Drood Murders by Christopher Lord

The Edwin Drood Murders
Christopher Lord

Print Length: 199 pages

Publisher: Harrison Thurman Books (September 22, 2013)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Language: English

ASIN: B00FE1TLUU

Available in paperback and as an e-book, this is a story filled with over-the-top characters, except for Simon Alistair, bookstore owner and main supporter of Dickens Junction, where people come to celebrate the life and times of Charles Dickens. Simon is cultured, diplomatic and certainly more reserved than people such as Daniel "Quilpy" Quill, a popular blogger who made his entrance into the convention wearing baggie jeans that let a bit of elastic from his underwear show and a hooded gray sweatshirt. Quite a contrast to the impeccable suits and ties most of the male guests wore.

Most of the women are dressed conservatively as well, except for Osma Dilber, who has a penchant to wrap her petite frame in outlandish muumuus of wild and bold colors. She is also the proud owner of a large ring, which would be garish had it not been worth thousands of dollars.

Those and other colorful characters gather at this convention to celebrate Dickens unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and then the real mystery begins. When that priceless ring and a rare artifact go missing, Simon and his partner Zach Benjamin learn that someone will do anything–including murder–to get what they want.
 

The writing is reminiscent of Dickens himself, a bit wordy with detailed descriptions of people as they enter the story, as well as the place in which they enter the story. It's been a while since I've read Dickens, but I do recall that he liked to introduce the main players in his stories at a leisurely pace. Once the set-up is complete, however, the pacing does pick up, and overall the writing is entertaining with bits of wry humor and clever plotting.

The Edwin Drood Murders is the second volume in the Dickens Junction mystery series that began with The Christmas Carol Murders, a book bestselling thriller writer Chelsea Cain called “a love letter to both Dickens and to the small town amateur detectives who’ve kept the peace in hamlets from River Heights to Cabot Cove.”

One does not have to be a Dickens fan to enjoy this mystery.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Another week has flown by, and I keep wondering where the time went. I remember when my grandmother told me how the days and weeks and months seem to shrink as you get older, I didn't believe her. But then, I was just a 12-year-old girl. Days were endless to me then, and I was sure they would always be.

Now I have to often remind myself to stop. Enjoy this moment. Make this moment count. This morning there was another spectacular sunrise. As I was walking with my dog, I stopped and admired the cloud formations, some looking like wisps of cotton pulled so thin the color of the sky could be seen through the threads. Colors that ranged from a deep orange to a light yellow, blending into a pale blue.

Beautiful.

Of course, I did not have my camera. But I do have a picture I took last year that I can share. We do have beautiful sunrises and sunsets here in Texas.

How many of you cheered when news of the settlement between Congress and President Obama was announced? I didn't cheer. I just said, "It's about damn time." Throughout this prolonged mess, all I could think of was two junkyard dogs facing off to protect their part of the domain.

Sad, and enough said.

On Monday I said I would report today on how the book promotion went, offering Boxes For Beds free for a few days. I'm going to put that off until next Friday so I can include some information from a couple of other authors on how their promotional events have worked. I found out that Stacy Juba had a special this past week also, and she has agreed to share some of her results with us.  I first met Stacy when she invited me to write an essay for her book, 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror, a collection of stories from a number of authors looking back to 1985. Stacy is a terrific writer and a great supporter of other authors, and I am looking forward to hearing how her promotional efforts went. She is so good at marketing, too.

 It's been a while since I shared a Literary Lesson, and I thought this one appropriate considering the mess our government is in. This is the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town" speaking. The play was written in 1938, but not much has changed.

"Whenever you come near the human race, there's layers and layers of nonsense."

And lets finish with a joke. Can't end on a downer:

What did the math book say to the other math book? 
Boy do I have problems.

A Few Thoughts On Picking What Story To Tell

Please welcome David Grace as today's Wednesday's Guest. His approach to choosing what to write about sort of fits mine. In this era of "branding" it is recommended that a writer stick to one genre and one market, but I find that difficult. Story ideas just come to me, and it is hard to ignore them even if they don't fit in the genre as my last book. Do you write for the marketplace or do you listen to your muse? 

Before we go on, just a reminder that my mystery, Boxes for Beds, is free through midnight tonight for Kindle and Kindle apps.

A friend of mine who has both a Ph.D. and a law degree loves a certain popular novelist’s books. It used to drive me crazy. I think this particular author is a bad writer whose books are trite, whose characters are two-dimensional and whose plots go beyond unbelievable and into the ridiculous. I used to mutter, “Mike, you’re such a smart, educated, sophisticated guy. How can you like this junk? I’d have a hard time reading this stupid book if you paid me.” But what could he say? He just liked it.

I don’t ask that question any more because I realize that people’s pleasures are generally unrelated to their intellect. If they weren’t only morons would laugh at "The Three Stooges".

What’s my point? Every writer starts with a blank page and has to decide what story to tell. I think success as a writer and, more importantly, gaining enjoyment from writing, requires that the author pick the right kind of stories for him/her. I have learned this the hard way.

At one time it seemed that serial killer books were popular so I decided to write a serial killer novel. This was logical and it was wrong. I picked a novel type based not on a story I wanted to tell but instead based on what I thought would be popular. The book turned out OK but today I would describe it as thoroughly mediocre.

A couple of times I’ve become intrigued with the idea of writing a thriller. The books were, again, OK but, I think, just OK. Whenever someone asks which of my novels they should read, I never recommend either of them.

Now I just write stories that I find emotional and exciting. I begin every book with the hope that at some point the story will bring some of my readers to tears. I want to tell stories that I find exciting and emotional and that say something about people’s humanity and inhumanity.

I don’t know how to put that into a searchable key word. I can’t categorize or demographically predict who will like my books. I do know that I plan to never again pick a story based on what seems to be popular. Now I just try to figure out a story that I find emotional and exciting and hope that a few other people stumble across it who feel the same way.

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Visit David Grace at his author page on Amazon and his website.

Email: DavidGraceAuthor@gmail.com

His latest book is  Death Never Sleeps  –  A Police Procedural/Crime Novel

  Death Never Sleeps blurb:

                                               

            Veteran Homicide Detective James "Big Jim" Donegan and his partner, Chris Hunter, have been called to the scene of their latest case, a strangled call girl who has been put halfway through a wood chipper that was left unattended in one of the city's parks.

            Since he was eight years old Chris Hunter has looked up to Big Jim as a father-figure and a mentor. Today Big Jim intends to use this case, like every other crime that they have worked together, as an opportunity to teach the technically brilliant but socially awkward Hunter how to be a great cop. The training, like the work, is endless. Big Jim and Chris know that they have chosen a career that is never finished, that never stops, that death never sleeps.

            Hunter is doing his best to understand how people work and how to succeed on the Murder Police but the work gets harder when two more murders, one new and one old, are added to his caseload. Of course, Chris Hunter wants to solve these crimes to bring the criminals to justice but even more than that he wants to solve them to make Big Jim proud.

David Grace is the author of 14 novels; five collections of science fiction short stories; two collections of crime short stories. His short fiction has been published in Analog Magazine and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. He has also penned eleven screenplays and shared story credit for the "Outer Limits’ Joyride" episode. An attorney, David is licensed to practice law in courts in the State of California and before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Do Free Loss-Leaders Help Book Sales?

That is a question that has been debated a lot in recent months. With literally millions of books in the KDP Select program that may be offered free at any given time, the competition is stiff to get your book noticed and get strong results.

The first time I offered a book, One Small Victory, free via the KDP program, I had 30,000 downloads and the following 3 months I sold an average of 1,000 books a month. I was thrilled. I thought I was on the way to riches and fame.

That was in March of 2010, and within a few months, sales dropped, although they did hold steady at a few hundred a month, until this year. Since January, sales have dwindled to just a handful of sales a month. If I reach 30, I'm thrilled. I thought perhaps it was just because One Small Victory has been out so long and perhaps it had run its course. However, other authors on some loops I belong to started reporting dwindling sales, too.

Are there just too many books out there?

Is it time to move away from offering a book free for a short period of time?

Responses to those questions vary, and it is still up to each author to decide for herself or himself whether it is worth it to offer the free book as a promotion.

Because of the increased numbers of books published and books being offered for free as compared to 2010, promoting your free days is the most important thing to do. Several authors that I know have used BookBub for promoting. A listing with them is costly, but reported results were good.

On his blog, Nick Stephenson reported about a free event he held earlier this year that he listed with BookBub and said that the BookBub listing had great results. He had 60,000 downloads, or "shifts" as he terms it, of his thriller Panic. In his follow up report a few months later, he had this to say:

While I’ve had some solid numbers, the results are hardly “blow me away” spectacular. This is hardly surprising, considering the sheer volume of free books out there, but it does mean one thing for authors – if you’re going to use free books to help you gain exposure, you’re going to need to shift A LOT of copies. I mean, you’re going to have to hit the top 20 in the overall charts if you hope to have any chance of a noticeable boost in sales afterwards. I know this because I also ran a free campaign for Departed last month, and only shifted around 6,000 copies – netting me around 10 extra sales the following week. That’s right: 10.

The whole point of even trying the free promo is to get your book noticed. Once people do begin downloading your book the Amazon, search engine algorithms and ranking system will respond and the title will move higher in the ranking. After the promo event, if the book manages to stay in the top 1,000 books on Amazon, that will lead to more sales. And of course, getting more reviews is always an added bonus.

In March of this year I released my mystery, Boxes For Beds, and offered it free for several days to build some buzz. I did some promoting via my online contacts and a few small paid ads, but I didn't spring for the BookBub listing. My results were okay, but still not numbers that kept the book high in the ranking for very long. So I am trying it again.

Boxes for Beds is currently free through Wednesday. The sale started Saturday, and I did some promoting that got it off to a good start of over 500 downloads. Then Sunday I did very little promoting, and the downloads for that day were just under 500. Still it was ranked number two in historical mystery, number 16 in suspense, and 564 overall. Not bad numbers at all.

I also paid for a listing in BookBub that went live today. It will take a while for any results of that to show up, so I will report back on Friday on whether that was a good investment.

In the meantime, I hope you will download a copy of the book, if you have not already. And when you read it I would love for you to leave a short review on Amazon. The numbers of reviews a book has does help other readers decide whether the story is something they wand to read.

Do you like to read e-books? Do you take advantage of the free offers?

Book Review - Death Never Sleeps by David Grace

Death Never Sleeps
David Grace
File Size: 609 KB
Print Length: 312 pages
Publisher: Wildside Press (June 20, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00DJ7JH6O


This book opens with a real shocking scene when Homicide Detective James "Big Jim" Donegan and his partner, Chris Hunter, are called to a park where a body was found in a wood chipper. Chris can barely look at the woman, and I couldn't blame him. This was one crime scene I was not eager to visualize.

The dead woman turns out to be a prostitute who was strangled, and this discovery sends the detectives on a quest to find the killer. When a high school principal is found strangled and hanging from the school's flagpole a few weeks later, at first there seems to be no connection between the two murders. However, the investigation proves otherwise, and adds yet another murder to the mix, this one a cold case.

The two central characters in the story have all the grit it takes to be a cop, but they also have softer sides that make them almost like heroic knights who slay dragons and save damsels in distress.  Big Jim has been a mentor to Chris for many years, and continues to help the younger man learn how to be a better cop and a better man.

I enjoy reading police procedural mysteries, and on many levels this was a satisfying read. The cop behaviors and jargon was spot on, and the convoluted mystery was well done, with enough twists to keep me guessing.

The sub-plot, dealing with the relationship between the two men outside of the job, was also well done, and there was a particularly nice wrap up to that at the end of the story. I really can't say what that was without a major spoiler, so I will leave it to you, kind reader, to find out for yourself, should you get the book.

There were a few places where the main story, the focus on the investigation, got bogged down in back story. That was especially true when the reader was given a lot of detail about other detectives- even full scenes that were only barely connected to the main story. What the reader needed to know about these detectives and the cold case could have been summed up in a few paragraphs.

However, that was not enough of a problem to spoil the read. This was an entertaining story with some memorable characters.

David will be my guest this next Wednesday, so I hope you can come back and see what he has to say about how he picks the stories he writes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    

David Grace is the author of 14 novels, five collections of science fiction short stories, and two collections of crime short stories. He has had short fiction published in Analog Magazine and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. As a screenwriter, he has written eleven screenplays and shared story credit for the "Outer Limits’ Joyride" episode. An attorney, he is licensed to practice law in the State of California and before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Book Review - The Dr Pepper Prophecies by Jennifer Gilby Roberts

I know, it isn't Sunday, it's Friday, so I shouldn't be posting a book review. However, my normal blogging routine has been shot to heck for a while, so why not keep the broken routine going? Plus, I feel all daring and unconventional after reading the Dr Pepper Prophecies by Jennifer Gilby Roberts. The central character in this story, Melanie Parker is as unconventional as they get, and I enjoyed the romp with her as she tried to get a a new job, a new relationship with her family, a new boyfriend, and a new life.

We meet her at that start of her story when she declares that she doesn't get the storyline of "When Harry Met Sally." After all, "How can two people be good friends for that long and not realise that they're meant for each other? How?"

That is actually the premise of Melanie's story, too, as she tries to figure out if the reason she can't find someone to love is because of her best friend, Will. Of course, with that set up, we pretty much know where the story is going. This is a chick-flick on paper after all. Well, not actually paper because it is a digital book, but you know what I mean.

This funny story is just what I needed right now, and even though Melanie is a bit trying at times, I really enjoyed the read. It is written in a smart, clever style, and I wanted to highlight the many funny moments and cute phrasing that made me smile. Had I done so, I would have highlighted half of the book. Here is just one:

I've slipped into denial now. I've always liked denial. The sky is always blue and there's never a queue at the post office.

The supporting characters, Will, Beth, Matt, Julie, and Cynthia are well-defined and quirky in their own right. The way their lives intertwine and get tangled up is so very real in some places and so utterly absurd in others, I couldn't help but laugh with them.

Even though there were a few minor editing problems, that was not enough to detract from the story, and I would highly recommend this book if you want a quick, fun read. I've already gotten one of her other books and look forward to the next.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jennifer Gilby Roberts loves writing contemporary romantic comedy (chick lit) and was inspired to write The Dr Pepper Prophecies after laughing herself silly at Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. Roberts has written two novels, four novellas and a variety of short stories.

She has a degree in physics and a postgraduate certificate in computing, so writing fiction was inevitable really. She was born and grew up in Surrey/Greater London, but now lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire with her husband, small daughter, two middle-aged cats and a lot of dust bunnies.

Her job right now is taking care of her younger daughter, but previously she worked many thrilling jobs in administration, including one in an insurance claims office (wholly unrelated to the one in The Dr Pepper Prophecies)

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FTC Disclaimer: The author sent me the book with a request for a review to which I responded with my own disclaimer that I would read the book with no promise of a review. So there were no expectations on either side of this arrangement. The only quibble I had with the author was why the title? Nobody in the story even drinks a Dr Pepper. I'm not even sure they have that brand of soft drink in England. The author does explain at the very end of the note at the very end of the book, so if you want to know the "why" you will have to read every single word of the afterward.

The Club That Never Was

Slim Randles is back with some fun from his syndicated column, Home Country, which is now also a book. If you like what he shares here, you would enjoy his books. Check out his author page on Amazon if you have a moment. His books are a delight. 

The Club didn’t last long.

It wasn’t the dues, which were nothing. It wasn’t being worried about being elected recording secretary or something if you missed a meeting. There were no officers, no directors and no meetings.

It was born of an idea that occurred to Doc one day. He said the members of the Mule Barn truck stop’s philosophy counter and world dilemma think tank should organize.

After his third cup, Doc turned to the others and said sitting there having coffee day after day without any real purpose just didn’t seem right.

Doc said, “There are so many things a real organization can do.”

“What would those things be, Doc?” Steve asked.

“Giving shoes to orphans,” Doc said. “Or curing hunger in third world countries. Or we could watch TV and file complaints.”
 
Then Dud piped up. “Would we have to wear funny hats and have a secret handshake and a password?”

“Absolutely,” Doc said. “Otherwise, how would you know who was one of your brother club members and who wasn’t?”

Mavis said, “What’s your secret password? Regular or decaf?”

“I don’t think we should let women join,” said Bert.

Nobody nodded until after Mavis had topped off the cups, and had gone into the bowels of the kitchen.

“Okay,” Steve said. “Let’s get this straight. No meetings. No name for The Club, right? No officers. No dues to pay. All we have to do is give our shoes to some orphans, right?”

 “And feed kids in third world countries.”

“I don’t know any kids in third world countries. Could we feed one or two around here, just to kinda e-e-e-ease into it?”

“I don’t think so,” said Doc. “We gotta come up with a third world country and then find out who’s in charge of feeding kids. Then we can send them something.”

“I move we adjourn this meeting,” said Steve.

“There are no meetings,” said Doc.

Since no one could name a third world country without a map or listening to National Public Radio, The Club died a quiet death.
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Preview the Home Country Minute television spot at http://youtu.be/yWSo9PpG3Cc. Then have your local station email shaunriley1961@hotmail.com for details.

Book Reviews - Sensitive Subject

Yesterday's post on book reviews had an interesting response from D.G. Hudson, a writer who has very nice reviews on her blog Rainforest Writing.  Here is what she had to say:

There is an ongoing discussion on what comprises a book review, on many blogs. Is it a review of the book itself, the story, or is it a critique of the author's writing or subject matter?

I want reviews of the book/storyline, not the critic's point of view.

I review books on my blog that I've read. My style is to tell a bit about the book, the time or era it's written, and some background on the author if relevant. It's easy to criticize, harder to create.

D.G. does an excellent job with her reviews, and it is always interesting to read all the information she presents about the book, the author, and other relevant facts. You get a bit of a history lesson whenever you read one of her reviews, and she does tell you what she liked about the story and the characters. She reviews one book a month on average, and her tastes vary, leaning more toward mainstream fiction and literary.

I am aware of the debate she mentioned as to what comprises a review. It is certainly not some of the stuff that is posted on Amazon and other online sites. I have seen some thoughtful reviews there, but I have also seen ranting and even some vulgar postings that have nothing to do with the book supposedly being reviewed. Then there are the ones that simply gush, and often break every grammar and punctuation rule in the book.

Need I say more?

Probably not. I gave my opinion yesterday, so it is better to just move on.

Another good review site is Dru's Book Musings. She has a regular feature that is written from the POV of a character - A Day in The Life - and it is always fun to get an inside look at the character of a story.

I also always enjoy the reviews done by Helen Ginger over at Straight From Hel. Her blog has a mix of articles about writing or editing, as well as a review now and then, and it is always a good read, especially her FTC disclaimers.  Sometimes those are the most fun.

I wish I could list all the sites that I enjoy, but time time and space limitations prevail. I do, however, want to mention one more, Dear Author. There a reader will find reviews as well as the latest industry news. This is definitely a good site for readers looking for a new book to read and authors who are trying to keep up with all that is happening in this ever-changing industry.

Book Review - Sort Of

Since I have no review ready and my friend Carl Brookins has not sent a review recently, I decided I would connect you to a few book review sites.

I have always enjoyed the reviews in newspapers and was even known to write a few for a couple of Dallas newspapers. Of course, that was back in the day when reviews were really reviews with a bit of critical analysis. Not what some people call a review on online book retail sites. I don't want someone to just tell me "This book was wonderful and you should read it." I want to know why he or she thought it was wonderful. What was compelling about the writing, the characters, and the plot?

Those were the questions that reviewers answered in the newspaper reviews. Unfortunately many of the newspapers have cut back on reviews, and even more unfortunately many of the newspapers have ceased publication. However, the The New York Times is still in business and every author I know would love to be reviewed there. A few have made it, but among my circle of close writing friends most of us are still waiting.

Trade magazines such as Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal  also evaluate the writing and are well-respected in the industry. The websites for both publications carry some of the same reviews that are in the magazines, so that is a good source for finding new books to read.

As an author, getting your book reviewed there carries some bragging rights, so let me take a moment to do some humble bragging - is that an oxymoron? I do believe it is. Anyway, I am thrilled that both publications have given the first two books in my Seasons Mystery Series, Open Season and Stalking Season,  strong reviews. I also want to brag on one of my sons who has written reviews for Library Journal. No, he did not review my books. He only reviews history books and biographies. Just want to make sure you know there was no nepotism involved. (smile)

 Another place that authors would love to be featured is National Public Radio (NPR). On air there are reviews, author interviews, and interesting commentaries about the latest fiction and nonfiction books. I always enjoy listening to the shows when I can tune in to them. (NPR reception is spotty out here in the boonies) But I recently discovered the online presence for them. There you can find lists of the best-selling books in hardback, paperback, and electronic, as well as the interviews and commentary.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Which won't be much this morning as there is nothing in the news that I care to talk about. The mess in Washington is just that, and nothing I can say will make those folks behave.

So let's just have some fun with some comic strips and forget about the news.

This first one is from One Big Happy, and I'm sure moms around the world can relate.

Ruthie runs up to her mother with a note. "Mom, I forgot to give this to you."

Mom reads the note. "A class play? Fun with Food Groups? On Wednesday?!"

Ruthie: "And I'm the zucchini."

Mom: "So I only have three days to make a zucchini costume?! Ruthie, I have a million things to do this week. (waving the paper in the air) How do they expect working parents to take the time to construct elaborate costumes on such short notice? I'm going to call the principal of yours and let her have it."

Ruthie: "But, Mom, they're using the same costumes from last year's play!"

Mom: "Oh.... You're in the class play? What fun!"

Next up is Baby Blues.

Wanda and Darryl are in the grocery store and the butcher hands Wanda a package of meat, saying, "You'll need to trim off the excess fat, Ma'am."

The next five panels show Wanda and Darryl finishing the shopping, driving home, preparing a meal, eating, clearing the table and doing the dishes. That's when Wanda asks THE question. "He was talking about the roast, right?"

Darryl: "For his sake, I hope so."

Finally in the spirit of snark here is one from Mallard Fillmore. I do love the way Bruce Tinsley nails issues.

Two dinosaurs are walking along and one is saying, "Sometimes I think that if the man-made meteors, the man-made volcanoes, or the man-made Ice Age doesn't get us, the man-made mammals will...."

Tough Choices

Please welcome my friend, Slim Randles, as Wednesday's Guest today. Enjoy his wit and wisdom from his popular Home Country syndicated column.

Sure was good to see Jimmy back from the Middle East last week. He looks good in that uniform, too. He was running all over the place for a few days, visiting everyone he knows, but he finally came in to the Mule Barn and sat at the philosophy counter, headquarters of the world dilemma think tank, to be with us.

"Must be good to be home," Doc said.

"You bet," Jimmy said. "But it isn't the same as it was."

We thought about that. Thought back over the year he'd been gone. A few new babies born, a few old-timers gone to rest. Oh yes, they finally filled that pothole in front of the drugstore. But that was about it.

"What do you mean it isn't the same, Jimmy?"

"This is going to sound funny to you guys," he said, "but all that time over there, I kept thinking about how nice it was going to be to get out in the woods at night again with Ed Lakey and the dogs and go coon hunting, you know? It was so hot over there, I tried to remember what it felt like to wear Carhartt coveralls and feel that cold night air and hear those hounds bawling and running down along the river. Oh man, that was one of the things that kept me going."

 He looked at us and his mind came back home there for a minute. "Of course, I missed you guys, too. Thought about you a lot."

"Well, sure you did," Doc said.

"Anyway," Jimmy said, "I got home and the first thing I did ... well, almost the first thing I did... was call Ed and tell him I needed to get in the woods, and how about he throws those dogs in the truck, you know, and we'll go hunting? He told me he was sorry, but he didn't have a single hound any more. Had to quit coon hunting for good.

"Well, you know Ed. He lives to go hunting with those dogs, so I asked him what happened. He said his wife was upset at him for spending so much time with those dogs and not with her. She said he loved those dogs more than he loved her and she told him either the dogs would have to go or she would.

"So Ed said, 'Doggonit, Jimmy. I flipped a coin and the dogs lost.'"

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Brought to you by “Home Country Minute” with Slim Randles. Ask your local television stations for time and date.  And here is a taste of what you will get.

How I Love the Government

Every year for the past few years we have come to the end of September with the two parties struggling to get a federal budget approved before there is a threat to shut down the government. The last time the threat was real was 17 years ago, but it doesn't look promising that we will avoid it this year. All this because the people in Washington cannot act like responsible adults.

Here is one of the latest reports from USA Today on the squabbling and impasses that are mucking up the process. In all of the rhetoric, there is little that is about the welfare of the country and the common man, it is all a power struggle between the two leading parties.

I was curious as to what will happen if the powers that be fail to come to agreement,  and I found this on CBS News online:

If the government shuts down, programs deemed "essential" -- traffic control, airport security, Medicare and food inspections, for example -- will continue to run. But as many as 800,000 federal employees considered "non-essential," including about half of the Defense Department's civilian employees, will be furloughed, with no guarantee of back-pay.

About 20 of the 1,600 national Head Start programs would feel the impact instantly: Grants expiring Oct. 1 would not be renewed, and over time, more programs could be affected. And the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides food and health care referrals to pregnant women and mothers, could be shut down.

Social Security checks and veterans' benefits would likely be held up, since there would be fewer workers to process them. Passport and visa applications could be put on hold, as well as small business and home mortgage lending programs. National parks around the country and Smithsonian museums would be closed.

While monuments in Washington, D.C., would also be closed, the U.S. Capitol building would remain open. Congress is exempted from the furloughs, though some lawmakers have threatened to protest that rule.

 Emphasis mine, as I think it is deplorable that the people who got us into this mess will continue to get paid.

Nothing New Today

Obviously did not get a book review up today. Other things kept interfering. One of the not-so-fun-things was trying to understand a customer service rep who did not speak clearly.

Then I had to listen to the most horrid music while on hold. Seemed like it was forever while I waited. I'm sure it was only a few minutes, but audio assault feels like an eternity.

That said, I wanted to move on from what I posted Friday. Moving on is part of the process. As soon as I finish some online business, I'm going to go watch a movie.

 

This picture has nothing to do with anything in particular. It was just a pretty mushroom I saw this morning in my yard. We had a good rain yesterday and a number of mushrooms have popped up.

A Tribute

Earlier this month I posted that there was a death in my family and that is why I would not be blogging very much. I was a bit circumspect - as that is my way - and I was not sure I would actually publicly say who died. Many of my cyber friends do know as I did share privately, but I have always had a reserve about what I share publicly on social media.

Today, however, I do want to share publicly because a dear friend did a wonderful tribute to my husband, Carl. He died September 5th while volunteering at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts where I have been so active in theatre. My husband fully supported my thespian activities, and was even known to take a small role now and then.

Lynn Adler, one-half of the singing duo Adler and Hearne, Lynn Adler and Lindy Hearne, did this musical tribute to Carl at a recent concert at the Art Center, and I just wanted to share the video here. Lynn and Lindy also sang at Carl's funeral, along with another talented friend, Shannon Monk, and their gift of music was such a comfort. Lindy did one of his original songs that he wrote with Lisa Aschmann, "Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly With Your God" and that truly summed up a good part of who Carl was.

Here is the video, which was made by Jim Willis, another dear friend.



This next video is Lindy and Lynn doing "Do Justice, Love, Mercy, Walk Humbly With Your God."

Gone Fishing

This is from a blog I did a number of years ago when I wanted to share some of my experiences as a hospital chaplain. The blog is called The Many Faces of Grief, and I have been reading some of those older posts as I walk this path of grief. One thing I have discovered is that it is much easier to deal with grief professionally than it is personally.

Anyway, I found this piece about a wonderful experience I had during the years I worked at a hospital, and I thought I would share it.

Sometimes ministry takes strange turns. One wouldn’t necessarily consider fishing a ministry, but in the case of Mr. Charles it was.

Mr. Charles, a retired Presbyterian minister, was our neighbor in Omaha and about a year after his wife died, he was diagnosed with leukemia. It was not the virulent leukemia that kills so many young people, He had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, which is a slow-progressing form of the blood cancer and is very treatable for several years.

I first met Mr. Charles when I was out walking my dogs, and we would pass by his yard. He was one of the few neighbors who would be outside no matter what the weather was like, and we would often chat for a few minutes. He was thrilled to find out that my husband was a minister and that I am a chaplain, finding a common bond in shared ministry.

When I would stop to visit, some of our other conversations revolved around fishing and the great walleyes that could be found in lakes north of us, although Mr. Charles preferred the trout at a lake much closer. One day he told me how much he missed fishing, and I was surprised to find out he was no longer going out. He explained that his children, both of whom lived some distance away, were afraid for him to go out alone now that he was sick, and the friend he used to fish with was no longer able to.

He talked about this a couple more times when I stopped on my daily walk, and finally it hit me that maybe he was really grieving for this loss in his life. I asked if he would like to go fishing with me sometime.

“Oh, I thought you would never ask,” he said.

“But why didn’t you just ask me?”

“Because a black man cannot invite a white woman to go fishing,” he said. “That is the way I was raised. I could never be that forward. But there is nothing in that code of conduct that says I cannot accept your invitation.”

So, for the next year, Mr. Charles and I went fishing about once a week in prime fishing times, stopping only when winter snowed us in.

Sometimes we would talk about the beauty and bounty of God, and other times we would talk about social issues, or books, or whatever topic struck our fancy. That would always be on the drive to and from the lake, however. The time at the lake was spent in quiet contemplation of the warmth of the sun, the gentle splash of water against the dock, the screech of a gull, or the drone of a curious bee circling our can of soda.

Actually catching a fish was never a criterion for measuring the success of a fishing trip.

Book Review- Secrets by Frederick Ramsay

Thank you, Carl, for so graciously sharing another review here. I would be so lost without my friends who are so willing to share blog material, especially now.

Secrets                 

By Frederick Ramsay

ISBN: 1590581881

Poisoned Pen Press, August 2005

290 pgs

Small town, male sheriff protagonist, religious murder with larger implications

The sheriff, Ike Schwartz, has retired from the world stage of law enforcement. He likes this small town of Picketsville where most of his time is spent smoozing with the citizens and dealing with the administration of his small department.

The characters in his department are close to being clichés. And we have a classic town vs. gown dance. But every time the novel starts to drift into the ho-hum, a couple of things make a big difference. First, there is Samantha Ryder, a slick, leggy and very bright computer wizard who not only towers over the sheriff in height, but her understanding of the use of computers in law enforcement even in this small municipality, is becoming legendary. That’s particularly true with the sheriff who sometimes can’t find the power switch on the things.

Then there’s the local college president. There’s no denying the attraction between the highly educated, sophisticated president of Callend College and the sheriff, even if an observer might be hard pressed to figure out why. But they don’t really care, except that Sheriff Ike seems to have a predilection for tossing barbed comments at her faculty on frequent occasions. It keeps the relationship fresh.

Then Waldo gets murdered. Now here’s a quiet inoffensive not-very-talented church organist. Who’d want to kill him? And in the very place he works of a Sunday, the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Episcopalian Church. And why did some people think he was a little creepy? Not only that it’s a double tap. That is, twice shot, once dead.

The solutions will amaze and satisfy you in this crisply written novel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com  BLOG:  http://agora2.blogspot.com  -BOOKS:  Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion, Red Sky

Home-Town Service

My good friend, Slim Randles, may be the Wednesday Guest for the next few weeks, but I didn't think anyone would mind. He always has something fun to read, and the other authors who were scheduled to guest this month understand that I rescheduled their appearances. The graciousness and kindness of so many people has been very comforting. Enjoy....

A building project (for those of us who are carpenterially challenged) can be a confusing nightmare of little whatchits we never learned the name of and have no idea how to use.

Oh, if we need a two by four that's eight feet long, we're on pretty safe ground and can head on over to MundoSlab, the building center that dedicates about half an acre to just tar paper. It's fun going over there just to see what the new foreign doo-dads are for construction this month, and you never know when you'll find something you can't live without. You can buy all the stuff in there from either the kid who mowed your lawn up until a month ago, or from that nice girl your boy used to take to the movies.

But when the real tough parts of a project come along, you know, things that involve plumbing or wiring, there's only one place to go ... the surviving old-fashioned hardware store. MundoSlab coming in sure cut down on the number of old-fashioned hardware stores, but there's always one in every town that survives, and for a good reason.

They have gray-haired guys standing just inside the door to help you find just what you need, even if you don't know what it's called and have no clue how to install it, or even if anyone's invented something to fix this particular problem.

I walked in the hardware store the other day, and a guy with plenty of gray came over and asked if he could help.

"Well," I said. "I have a float thingie on the horse trough that broke. It's that little doo-trammy that's kinda copper-colored and fits on top of the whiz-gidget."

Without breaking stride, he looked at me and said, "Right-hand threads, or will you need an adaptor?"

Let's see MundoSlab top that.

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Brought to you by Henry Repeating Arms, continuing the tradition of top-quality rifles made completely in America. www.henryrepeating.com

If you liked this, you will enjoy Slim's book, Home Country, which is a compilation of essays similar to this.

I'm still not feeling very social. This grief work is hard.  Next week I will post some reviews and guest blogs that were scheduled for earlier this month, and hopefully I will slowly get back to a regular routine here.

One thing I learned when I was facilitating grief support groups is that there is no timeline or no right or wrong when it comes to grief issues. It was, however, much easier on the other side.

Sale on E-Books

 All Untreed Reads And Distribution Titles On Sale 50% Off This Month At Kobo!

 

The folks at Untreed Reads just let me know that Kobo is running a special sale for the rest of this month. There is a coupon code that will give readers 50% off their purchase. Every title by Untreed Reads and all of its distribution clients can be purchased at 50% off with the code, and there is no limit.   Nearly one million titles are part of the sale, and the coupon can be reused!

  All books purchased through Kobo are EPUBs, meaning they can be read on every single device or computer in the world except for a Kindle or the Kindle app.

  Kobo has its own free app for all reading devices and computers. The person who notified me said he has it installed on a Mac, an iPad, a Galaxy S3 and a Barnes and Noble Nook.

  Readers from around the world can buy from Kobo, and the markets included in this sale are US, Canada and the UK.

  Kobo has a program that supports your local bookstores and enables your local brick-and-mortar to sell ebooks and stay open.

To take advantage of this promo, simply head over to Kobo. Add as many titles as you'd like to your cart and enter coupon code Sept50 during checkout. This includes all of my books that are distributed through Untreed Reads.

I'll be Away For A While

There has been a death in my family, so that is why I have not put up a new post since Wednesday. I will probably be offline for the next few weeks as I adjust to a new way of life.

Remember to hug the people you love every day and tell them how much they mean to you. You never know when they will be gone.

Be My Guest - Jeremy Hawkins - Silly Things

Welcome to the It's Time blog tour with Jeremy Hawkins as my Wednesday's Guest. Jeremy has been on tour for over a week already, and he has been scrambling his brain on this blog tour. So, instead of offering something of great seriousness, he thought he would change it up a little and share some really silly things and give you a short list of dumb warnings and stupid laws. Now here's Johnny.... no hereeeesssss Jeremy.

I want to thank you all and Maryann for letting me stop over and do a guest post. As she said, I decided to let seriousness go for a day, so here we go with a few things that may make you scratch your head and a few that may even make you laugh. These are some great scattered warnings I've run across from time to time:

• Keyboard not detected. Press F1 to continue
• This camera will only work when film is inside.
• Caution: Avoid dropping air conditioners out of windows.
• Warning: Do not use while sleeping.
• Warning: Never iron clothes on the body.
• This is NOT a life saving device!!!
• Street closed to traffic when flooded.
• State Prison: Do Not Stop for Hitchhikers.
• Do not make grilled cheese in the waffle makers.
• Warning: Not for Human Consumption.
• Warning: Do not ignite in face.
• Warning: For indoor or outdoor use only.
• WARNING: This bag is not a toy.
• Some assembly required.
• Warning: do not use as a floatation devise. Do not ingest.

Did you have a great “Duh” moment, or as Homer would say “Doh”, its funny? Though my favorite is always going to be  coffee  contents might be “Hot”.

 Now, here is a small group of some silly state laws. You know you are in trouble when:

• Illinois - You may be arrested for vagrancy if you do not have at least one dollar bill on your person.
• California - It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.
• Washington - When two trains come to a crossing, neither shall go until the other has passed.
• Wisconsin - State Law made it illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without cheese.
• Indiana - One man may not back into a parking spot because it prevents police officers from seeing the license plate.
• Hawaii - You may only have one alcoholic drink in front of you at a time
• Kansas - Rabbits may not be shot from motorboats.
• Alabama - It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.
• Alaska - While it is legal to shoot bears, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is prohibited.
• Texas - A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed.

Thank you again, if you are interested in entering the giveaway just stop on over my site at the link below.  For those following the tour, next time I give you the Captain!

The above cover is book two of a four book series, each 40 pages long. The books contain artwork of things I have designed over the years. It's a mish-mash of images that I saw in my head... and some are future designs that will become shirts. The books include places I wanted to go artistically, traveling from where I was to where I am now. Is has been a great journey! Titles came from time "12:34, 35, 36 and 37”as it seems that is when my best ideas came to me... day or night. It's funny I never considered myself a "writer" just a man who likes to paint a canvas, whether the paint be words or images. 

As part of the tour there are some great prizes being given away; books, artwork and more. Please stop over at my main page “BEING RETRO” and look just below the header for the “It’s Time” Tour Giveaway link and enter today.

Thank you to all who took the “time” to read this… you are all the best.

Jeremy Hawkins

Being Retro

beingretro.com

Buy the books at Amazon

Happy Labor Day

Just a short note this morning to wish all my U.S. readers a happy holiday. For many people this is a special holiday to wrap up the summer and start looking ahead to fall. Families gather for picnics and cookouts, and when I was growing up, this holiday was almost as big as the Fourth of July.

And I fully intend to as soon as I finish this post. LOL

After I married, I was inducted into the Miller family tradition which was to picnic at a local park with the whole Miller clan. The primary celebration was for Mom Miller's birthday, which was September 5th, but it was also a challenge for the kids to cram all the last of the summer fun they could into one day. They played hard until we ran out of daylight, and slept through their baths. Moms and dads were tempted to just fall into bed fully clothed.

The holiday was started to honor the American workers, and I always think of the song, "40-Hour Week" by Alabama. My roots run deep in blue collar America, so this song speaks to me and my family. Enjoy!

No Book Review Today

Since I thoroughly messed up my blogging schedule by posting a review on Friday, I thought I would just skip it for today. Remember, I said "sometimes a review on Sunday." (smile)

Instead, I want to let you know that this coming Wednesday I have a guest coming, the "Retro" guy, Jeremy Hawkins, who is on the "It's Time" tour to introduce his new books and his new site "Being Retro" where he shares all things retro, and may include a zombie now and then. He is a terrific writer, musician, and artist and has promotional materials available for folks who are trying to spread the word about their business, book, film, music, or whatever. Plus he's just a heck of a nice guy.

I first met Jeremy via the annual Blogging From A to Z Challenge, and even though I don't care for zombies, he let me be on his Minion Team last April. It was fun working with him, and I am so excited for his new venture. Plus I like his website better with fewer zombies on it. (smile)

He sent me some pictures from his books, and they are terrific. Not all are my style, but he already knows my taste in art, music and books is more traditional. However, I can appreciate his talent, and he does have some lovely pictures that satisfy this traditional soul. I do love the covers of the first two books. Here is book one, and you can see book two cover on Wednesday. And the book titles, as well as the name of this tour will all make perfect sense. I'll admit I wondered about the titles.

Please do come back on Wednesday to see what he has ready to share with us. In the meantime, you can catch up with his tour schedule on his Being Retro site.

I also wanted to mention a terrific Labor Day sale going on at Untreed Reads. Many of the books and short stories there, including some of mine, are discounted 40% through Monday. No special codes needed. Just go pick out the book of your choice and get it for the lower price. You can get any of my short stories, including the popular retelling of the Goldilocks story, The Visitor.