Looking Back and Forward, Did I notice Your Book Blogfest

Please welcome my Wednesday Guest, Mary Deal, who is an award-winning author of six thrillers, a short story collection and a writers’ reference. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, Associate and Contributing Editor of a magazine and a newspaper columnist. She is from California’s Sacramento River Delta, has lived abroad and now resides in Hawaii.Her latest book is Down to the Needle, 

a suspensful story of a mother's search for her abducted child and the hope that the child did not grow up to be the woman on death row. It was a good read.

Mary Deal

To commemorate Stacy Juba’s book, 25 Years in the Rear View Mirror, my thoughts go back to about 1987. Then, I decided I had to stop traveling if I was to create anything with lasting value. But let me digress further.

In 1949 I was eight years old and studying geography and history. A light went on in my mind. I wanted to know about the world and knew that I would travel during my lifetime.

In 1959 I moved to my favorite city, San Francisco. After some time living there, I moved to Puerto Rico. By then, traveling was in my blood.

In 1969 it was back to San Francisco. Yet, meeting new people and cultures and having exception experiences was educational. I didn’t know how I’d use all this knowledge but I breathed it in on every breath. I moved to England for a year, then moved to Phoenix. I vacationed in Hawaii.

In 1979, I moved back to San Francisco. Yet, in the ensuing years, I remembered Puerto Rico and island living. I didn’t want to go back there. I wanted to see another part of the world.

So, about twenty-five years ago, judging from my major moves in every year ending in a 9, I wondered where I’d end up next. All the while, I’m telling myself that I have so much knowledge and experience that I should write books. I wanted to stay put and not go gallivanting off to some foreign land. I got my wish but still had to move.

In 1989, I moved in with my brother in Petaluma to help care for our aging, ailing mother. Once she stabilized, I moved back to San Francisco, then on to Sacramento where I found contractual work that paid enough to allow me to begin to pour out all this knowledge and experience into books and stories. I wrote every spare moment, sometimes sleeping only two to three hours per night. I finally found something I loved to do that seemed to overpower my desire to travel . Or so I thought – and I moved yet again!

In 1999, I was already living in Hawaii and, judging from my much traveled past, wondered what big move would spring itself on me since it was already a year ending with a 9. My strongest desire was to settle and write. I got my wish. My boss and I had moved to Kauai to flip houses damaged by Hurricane Iniki.  Although we didn’t move far, we bought a house and moved in as roommates. It was a 9 year. I had still moved.

Now, in 2012, after visiting all of the Hawaii Islands through the years, I feel Honolulu calling to me. I’ll probably move again and live there for a time. The next 9 year, 2019, is seven years away. Maybe I’ll stay here on Kauai till then. I could get much writing done. Plus I’ve started oil painting and photography with online galleries. I’m entrenched in my life here on Kauai. Maybe I won’t move again till 2019.  I’ve found I can write from any place or circumstance I encounter, and everything is fodder for my stories.

Presently, I push 2019 out of my mind. My books and stories have garnered some awards. I want more. I keep writing, no matter where I find myself.

Thank you, Mary, and now the other special for the day: Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and  Ciara Knight. 

What I'm supposed to do is mention a book I recently read or heard about, then promote this on Twitter and Facebook and see how long it takes for the author to find the mention and come over to leave a comment. There are a lot of other bloggers participating, so this could get interesting as we all discover new books to read. Visit Alex's blog or Ciara's for a full list of participating bloggers.

The book I'm mentioning is  The Road to Chigger Flats (Baby Shark) [Kindle Edition] by: Robert Fate. I have this in my Kindle and plan to read it as soon as I can. I love the Baby Shark series, which features a most unusual female PI. Fate is a master at dialogue and creating unusual characters, and his books are good, quick reads. This is a short one, sort of a teaser for Baby Shark's Showdown at Chigger Flats, and is a good introduction to this terrific series that is set in 1960s Texas.   

Monday Morning Musings

Timothy Hallinan, a terrific author whom I discovered when I read and reviewed Breathing Water, has just received some good news about his latest, The Fear Artist. The book was chosen one of the Best Crime Novels of 2012 by Deadly Pleasures Magazine.The Fear Artist continues the Poke Rafferty series that just keeps getting better and better.

Congrats to Tim!

"Governor Goodhair", as some people refer to Texas Governor Rick Perry, is fostering another proposal that doesn't seem to be in the best interests of higher education. He proposes to cut funding for universities that are not graduating their students. That is just as bad as rating teacher's based on the student's test scores. Granted, the teachers and the educational institutions do have a responsibility to make sure that the learning environment is healthy and supportive, the staff committed and qualified. However, to put the full responsibility for outcomes on their shoulders is a huge disservice.

Students make poor choices all the time that affect their success, or lack of success. Parents make choices all the time that either help or hinder the ability of their children to succeed.

To punish the teachers or the schools does not seem like the right thing to do.

I do hope you will come back on Wednesday. I have a special guest, Mary Deal, who shares the pages of 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror with me. She has also written a thriller,  Down to the Needle, about a woman’s search for her abducted child. Could her daughter be that woman on death row?

Wednesday is also the day for the Did I Notice Your Book blogfest hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and  Ciara Knight. There is still time to sign up to participate in the blogfest and you can do that at either blog. Here are some of the specifics:

Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest, October 17, 2012
Post about a book you’ve noticed.

You can choose a book that you’ve read, something you saw on a blog or social media site, Goodreads, or a sales website. Anything that caught your eye because of a great cover, blurb or reviews, but DON’T tell the author that their book has been noticed. Instead, shout out on social media sites, and encourage others to do the same, until the author finds his/her book.

Leave a blog comment at Ninja Captain Alex or Ciara Knight when the author finds their book.

Only two rules:
1) You can’t post about your own book.
2) The book shouldn’t be on the New York Times or USA Today bestseller list. This is your chance to shout out about a book that might not have been noticed by others.

Book Review - Losses by Robert Wexelblatt

LOSSES

By Robert Wexelblatt

ISBN: 978-0615669649

BISAC: Fiction / Literary

Published by Vagabondage Press LLC

Published: September 2012 

82 Pages / 25,000 Words / Language: English

MSRP $8.95 Trade Paperback / $3.99 Digital 

"A single father who is a new IRS agent, his cherished and imaginative little girl, a divorced woman having second thoughts about motherhood, a couple who think two ways about becoming parents, a mysterious and crooked financial wizard — these are the people from whose relationships, enterprises, gains, and losses this story is woven."

That brief description hardly captures the essence of this book, which is at times laugh-out-loud funny and then so deeply poignant one wants to pause and just absorb the message. 

Augusta, Gus, is the child who brightens and lightens the story when she appears, yet also has some of the sage wisdom of an adult. "Being grown up is pretty confusing, Daddy," she said with a droll Socratic grin.

This is the opening of this delightful book:  "One Tuesday afternoon in late March, I came home to find Augusta on the living room rug drawing furiously with marking pens. Like most children, Gus was a first-rate abstract expressionist up 'til the age of three, whereupon she was made into a fifth-rate realist. Now she likes to create what she calls 'designs'."

What an engaging introduction to a character that makes you want to read the rest of the story. I know I could not resist, and the rest of that opening scene sets a tone for the relationship between father and daughter that is close and flavored with humor.

The story is told in first person from the POV of the father, and the emotional ups and downs he experiences due to complications at his job, threats from his ex-wife to take Gus, and the problems his friend and co-worker shares with him are extreme. Nothing is held back when it comes to the emotional responses, and when the book is finished, the reader understands the title choice.

This is not a book to read looking for the commercial happy-ever-after ending. Life deals some harsh blows all around, but somehow is is satisfying just to share this journey with these people.

A truly literary work, I enjoyed the use of language and the carefully crafted narrative. There were many wonderful, unique descriptions, and one of my favorites was: "The sun hung in a basket from a hook driven into a whitewashed sky."

What is your favorite thing about a recent book you've read?

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

Robert Wexelblatt is Professor of Humanities at Boston University’s College of General Studies. An accomplished fiction writer, his essays, stories, and poems have appeared in a wide variety of journals. His most recent book, the novel Zublinka Among Women, was awarded First Grand Prize for Fiction and First Prize for General Fiction/Novel by the Indie New Generation Book Awards. 

Celebrating my Friends

I love it when my friends have good news to share, and earlier this week I received this press release from Slim Randles:

Albuquerque-based writer and former mule packer Slim Randles will receive The Rounders Award at a reception October 16 at Governor Susana Martinez’s residence in Santa Fe. Named for the classic novel by Max Evans, The Rounders Award is given by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to “individuals who have lived, promoted or articulated the Western way of life.”

 Former recipients include artist Grem Lee, novelist Max Evans, musician Michael Martin Murphey and humorist Baxter Black.

 Randles, whose weekly column “Home Country” reaches 2.2 million readers in 44 states, is also the author of nine books, including the national award-winning “A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right.”

  Also receiving the award this year is Santa Fe-based art dealer and raconteur Forrest Fenn.

Slim Randles

Since Slim has been so generous in sharing his columns with us, I thought it only fitting that we celebrate him today. This is quite an honor and so well deserved.

This has nothing to do with celebrating friends, but I laughed out loud when I read the following in Louise Penny's first novel Still Life.  A witness is explaining his aversion to violence to Inspecter Gamache and says, "I'm not a brave man, I'm afraid, but I can't tolerate killing. Killing anything. I have spiders in my home with names."

While I have learned to be more tolerant of spiders since I moved out to the country, I draw the line on naming them. Although our daughter once named a spider that built a home on her porch. Our grandchildren were young at the time, and our daughter used the presence of the spider as a science lesson, letting the kids chronicle the life of the spider as she spent the summer with them, laid eggs, and then went to spider heaven. Yes, that's what she told the kids. (smile)

Have you ever named a spider or any other bug? Do you run in terror from anything that creeps or crawls or flies too close?

Wednesday's Guest - Slim Randles

Some news to share before I let Slim Randles entertain you with his cowboy humor. First off, my friend, Irene Sandell, has a new book out.  Irene is a retired history teacher in North Texas, and she has a wonderful way of blending fact and fiction in her books. Don't you just love the cover?

I have enjoyed her work since I read her first book, In A Fevered Land, a look at the oil fields in West Texas and the people who worked them. I can't wait to read this latest one.

"Irene is first an historian -- specializing in real Texas History, the stuff you won't (always) find in the textbooks. She has captured a genre in her historical fiction that stands alone."  George Arnold, Author

On a personal note, Dan Wright has just written a wonderful review of One Small Victory, giving it 4.5 stars. "It’s brilliantly written and never once ceases with the drama, making you want to carry on reading to find out whether it has a happy ending or not." 

I always blush when someone uses "brilliant" in a sentence about me. Thank you so much, Dan.

Now, here's Slim.....

It was like buzzards circling the body.

The Jones kid, Randy, was out in the Mule Barn parking lot with the hood up on his car. He was staring down into it as a first-time parachutist would look out the airplane door. You never quite knew for sure what lay ahead.

“Looks like Randy’s got problems,” said Steve.

“Let’s have a look,” said Dud.

So coffee was left to get cold and the entire Supreme Court of All Things Mechanical – Steve, Dud, Doc, Herb and Dewey – trooped out to see what was going on.

They formed a powerful semi-circle of wisdom around the youth and his engine with folded arms and facial expressions that said, “It’s okay, Kid. We’re here.”

Dewey spoke first. “Having trouble, Randy?”

“Won’t start.”

Doc, who has the most initials after his name, said, “Give it a try.”

Randy ground the engine, but it wouldn’t kick over.

“Stop! Stop!” Doc yelled. “Don’t want to flood it.”

All Doc knows about flooding is that the animals went on board, two by two.

“Randy, I think it’s the solenoid,” said Steve, looking wise.

“Doesn’t have one, Steve,” Randy said.

“Sure it does. All cars have solenoids.”

“Not the new ones. Haven’t made solenoids in years.”

Steve’s expression said, “Young punks, what do they know?” But his voice said, “Well, what do you know about that?”

“Need a jump?” Dewey asked.

“Got plenty of spark,” Randy said.

Randy looked at the older men and then bent to the engine and smiled. His voice came floating up over the radiator. “Might be the junction fibrillator. Or it could be a malfunction of the Johnson switch. If I rerun the wire from the organ housing to the pump by-pass, that might get it done.”

When Randy looked up, all the men had gone back in for coffee. He smiled and called Triple A on his cell phone.
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Brought to you by Home Country (the book). Read a free sample at www.slimrandles.com

Parents - Stand Back

 I recently read an interesting article by Madeline Levine,  a psychologist, educator, and co-founder of Challenge Success a project birthed at Stanford's School of Education. She wrote about the dangers of overparenting and said that "Fostering autonomy is key to rearing successful kids."

Gosh. I knew that. Some years ago I even tried to market a parenting book that espoused that approach, but I guess people listen to a psychologist or some other professional before they listen to just a mom.

When my kids were young, I fostered lots of autonomy. I remember one day in particular. Our oldest was in first or second grade, and she forgot to take her homework when she left for school. The teacher called and asked me to bring the homework in. She knew I only lived a block away, and it would only take a few minutes to run over with said forgotten homework.

I said, "No."

There was dead silence for a moment, and then she asked why not. Did I not realize what effect not having the homework turned in would have on my daughter's grade. I told her I did realize that, but since I had no plans to follow our daughter to college with forgotten homework, I thought she should learn now to take care of her own responsibilities.

The teacher was stunned. Our daughter was not real thrilled with me for a few days, but they both got over it.

That daughter went on to make her way through some rough times, graduated from college, raised three wonderful children, and runs her own successful educational consulting business. She is one of the strongest women I know, and I'd like to think I helped her get that way.

One of the biggest concerns of parents today seems to be not wanting their child to be unhappy. Madeline says, "If you can't stand to see your child unhappy, you are in the wrong business."

She cautions against rushing in too quickly to shield our children from failure or trying to solve their own problems. That "deprives them of the tools they will need to handle the inevitable difficult, challenging, and sometimes devastating demands of life."

I know a mother's instinct is to protect her child, but sometimes it is better to stand back and let them build strength for themselves.

In Ms. Levine's 25 years of counseling children in Marin County in CA, she has seen an interesting trend. "The happiest, most successful children have parents who do not do for them what they are capable of doing, or almost capable of doing; and their parent do not do things for them that satisfy their own needs rather than the needs of the child."

Our role as parents is to raise children who are then able to step out into the world with confidence and an ability to handle that wide reality out there.

How do you balance helping your children when needed and giving them the freedom to fly? Do you believe in pushing them out of the nest?

Book Review - Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Malice

Fifteen Tales of Murder, Mayhem, And Malice

Paperback: 172 pages

Publisher: Nodin Pr (September 12, 2012)

ISBN-10: 1935666436

ISBN-13: 978-1935666431

 

This anthology is the work of the authors of The Minnesota Crime Wave, a group that includes Carl Brookins, Elizabeth Gunn, Pat Dennis, William Kent Krueger, and Joel Arnold, as well as ten other authors. The stories are all quick, easy reads; some of them have a touch of humor, and others have a touch of horror to them. Joel Arnold's "Blue-Eyed Mary" is one of those that had shades of horror, and the reader will be surprised at what a mother's favorite son will do.

There are bits of humor sprinkled throughout "The Horse He Rode In" by Carl Brookins. The story is told in first person by a short private eye,  Sean NMI Sean, who has a girlfriend, Catherine, who is six feet tall. His quips about being short are self-deprecating, such as when he mentions how people snicker when they see the couple walking the streets of Minneapolis. "I don't know why people in St. Paul don't snicker. Maybe they are more polite that people in Minneapolis."

For the most part the stories are well written and engaging. As with any anthology, there are always stories a reader likes better than others. I was enjoying "Stone Arch Bridge" by Judith Borger until the end. I liked the character of Kate and how she was so willing to help her friend, Anna who was being abused by her husband, but then the story took a turn that did not appeal to me. Other readers may not have a problem with it, though. It wasn't a matter of poor craft, just a plotting decision that I found hard to accept.

I dare anyone to resist reading a story titled "Death by Potato Salad", written by Jess Lourey. In it, Mrs. Bern, a well-known character from Lourey's Murder by Month mystery series attends the All Church retreat and meets Joe, handsome with his wide white moustache and tanned wrinkles. The retreat offers several workshops, and to keep tabs on Joe, Mrs. Bern goes into the Miracles with Mayonnaise workshop as that was obviously his first choice. Mrs. Bern should have been forewarned that mischief was afoot when the workshop leader mentioned that homemade mayonnaise can be deadly if not made properly. When Hiram falls dead in the kitchen, there are suspects aplenty and a bit of surprise at the end.

Fans of short stories will appreciate this super collection and perhaps find a new favorite author or two. I know I did.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Today I am over at Venture Galleries blogging about what it means to be famous, or maybe not so famous. 
 
Last month I read an article about the delay of the Ground Zero Museum in New York. It seems that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NY Governor Andrew Cuomo can't agree on whether the state or the city should pay the operating expenses of the museum. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also has to sign off on the agreement because the World Trade Center is in an area controlled by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Complicated, isn't it, and so disheartening because these entities have been deadlocked for over a year on this issue. This is just another example of how politics can take something meaningful and make a mess of it.

There's a new term I heard recently - Superager. It is used to describe people in their 80s and 90s, and even older, who still have sharp minds and busy lives. They have no signs of dementia and often are very involved in comunity activities. Scientists are studying hte brains of these superagers as part of their research into Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. What is different about these folks and thos who enter into that murky mental state as they age?

One thing that has been discovered is that some parts of a superager's brain - mainly the the left anterior cingulate cortex - are much thicker than thier peers, or even some middle-aged people in the study.

According to Emily Rogalski,  a professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, the anterior cingulate "is important for a lot of cognitive funtions, one of which is attention. It's possible that the superagers have particularly keen attentional abilities and that tose attentional abilities could then support memory."

Some of the superagers that were profiled in the story about this research had some common traits, primarily how they excercised their brains. Working puzzles, teaching classes, giving speeches, were all ways that they used their brains constantly. 

I hope writing and acting and directing work my brain enough. I want to be one of those superagers.

Speaking of acting, we open tonight in "War of the Worlds" a staging of the 1938 radio show starring Orson Welles. Some of you, who are also hoping to be superagers, may remember that drama that had so many people in the United States believing that Martians had landed in New Jersey and were about to take over the world.

Apparently, it was so realistic that people who had not tuned in from the beginning to know that it was the Mercury Theatre on the Air, thought all the news alerts were real. Here is a picture of one of our cast members, Mike Monk as the aviator hoping to save the world.

Photo courtesy of Michael Alford

 It has been so much fun putting this show together, and I get to have my acting fix for the year by playing one of the roles.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Alford

Advice for the Lovelorn

My Wednesday's Guest today is my friend Slim Randles. If it wasn't for him, I would probably have a lot of blank pages on Wednesdays. (smile) Thanks to Slim for being so generous with his work. He doesn't get paid for this. I don't get paid for this. We just do it because we like to share the stories and have a chuckle or two.  And while Slim is making us smile here, I am over at The Blood Red Pencil having a bit of fun. Enjoy....

The car pulled up in front of the sign that said “Fly Tying Love Center.”


Marvin lifted the magnifying lenses above his head and got up from his fly-tying bench and walked to the front room. He looked out the window at the woman staring at his sign.
“Do you know her, Marge?”

“Mrs. Richardson. Ardis’s mom. She might have a first name but I don’t know what it is.”

Mrs. Richardson was admitted and smiled.

“Do love flies work for people my age?” she asked. “Because if they’re just for kids, it won’t do me any good, will it? Well, I was saying to Ardis just this morning, if you think a love fly will help me find a guy, maybe I should go over and see Marvin Pincus, that’s what I told her and she said, ‘Mother, that’s a good idea. I know Marvin and Marjorie and they’re really nice people.’ Now wasn’t that nice of her to say that? Of course it was. Well, Marvin, may I call you Marvin? Good. Well, Marvin, you see, ever since I lost Mr. Richardson … he passed about 10 years ago now. You might have known him, worked down at the water company, and he was one of their best employees, too. Well, ever since he passed, I’ve been kind of lonely, you know? Of course you do. That’s how you can help all these people with the love flies. So will you tie one for me? I was hoping you would. Where do you want me to sit?”

Marvin pointed to the green easy chair in the consulting room/fly tying parlor and excused himself for a minute to retrieve something from the laundry room. Then he came back in and sat at his vise and began tying a larger than usual fly.

“… certainly I have Ardis, but she wants to have her own life, too, you know. You know those young folks, right? So here I am, ready to find someone and get your advice on finding the right man and getting that lucky love fly. I’ve heard you have done really well with other people, and this is really exciting for me. You don’t talk much, do you? Well, that’s not necessarily bad. Mr. Richardson didn’t talk much, either. Sometimes he’d leave me little notes when he left for work, but when he was home he was awfully quiet. Talked with Ardis a lot, though. Never could figure that out. Men are strange, aren’t they?”

Marvin held his hand up for silence, then handed her what look like a large bass bug tied on a wooden clothespin.

“That looks like a wooden clothespin…”

“It is,” Marvin said, holding up his hand for silence again. “My sincere advice to you, Mrs. Richardson, is when you meet a good man, clip this fly to your ear lobe and it’ll remind you to just smile and not say anything.”

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Brought to you by Home Country (the book). Read a free sample at www.slimrandles.com

Lets all Vote

As this campaign season winds down - thank goodness - I'm trying to not let my cynicism over the mess that government and politics are in to deter me from voting. It is so easy to say to hell with it all and stay out of the mess, and plenty of people do, but that is the last thing we should do.

 Even though is seems that nothing is "for the people" or about the people, we need to hang on to this primary right we have to chose our leadership. And perhaps we need to start thinking seriously about a major overhaul of leadership, but that is a topic for another time.

Today, I just want to encourage people to be involved in the process these last few weeks leading up to the election. Don't just listen to the news or pick up on the campaign ads, but spend a little time on the Internet visiting sites that offer factual information that can help you make an informed decision this November.

Politifact.com is a site that separates fact and fiction when it comes to what we can believe from political ads and press reports.

Factcheck.org is another source for ferreting out distortions of fact for political gain.

Both of those sites cover the presidential campaign, as well as various state campaigns and don't show any favoritism to either political party. That is what makes them so valuable.

And if you get messages in your e-mail box that purport to have important information about Obama or Romney, go to Snopes.com to see if the information is accurate or just another urban myth. Some of the messages that have been sent to me with requests to pass them on have been shocking.

I got the idea to write this piece after reading a column by Steve Blow in The Dallas Morning News. In fact, thank you to Steve for giving the links to these three sites. The title of his column was Let the Truth Be Your Voters Guide in November, and he ended by saying "Investigate what you hear in the next few weeks. Don't just accept what sounds good. Regardless of political leanings, our highest loyalty ought to be to the truth."

Amen to that.

Friday Odds and Ends

Texas Gov. Rick Perry either had a recent meltdown, or he truly believes that the doctrine of the separation of church and state is a myth devised by Satan to drive Christians from public life. He also said, "American families are under siege and that Christian Warriors must defend the nation against secular attack."

Separation of chrch and state has often been misinterpreted and misused, depending on who was touting it. Athiests have said that it means there should be no mention of a God, or higher power, or religion in schools, governement offices, courts or any other place where it might offend someone. People of faiths other than Christianity have lobbied so no mention of Jesus or any holiday associated with Jesus can take place in a public venue that might be construed as government sanctioned.

What most people forget is that Thomas Jefferson first invoked the separation of church and state to assure a group of Baptists in Connecticut that the state's Congregationalist majority could not use government to impose its religious views on everybody else.

Think about what that means. It is not that we can't practice our religion. It is not that we can't have prayer in school. It simply means that the government cannot tell us what kind of religion we should practice.

On a professional note, I have recently received two wonderful reviews for my next release, Stalking Season, which is the second book in the Seasons Series that began with Open Season. The first review is from Kirkus: "So deftly plotted and paced that, although it’s certainly possible to grow impatient with the protagonists’ unwarranted impatience toward each other, they’re appealing enough to keep the pages turning."

Publishers Weekly  gave the book a starred review: “ . . . gripping second mystery featuring Dallas, Tex., police detectives Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson. . . . The relationship between the women is just as absorbing as the search for the killer. Few readers will anticipate the closing twist.”

I must say that I am blown away by these reviews. I remember getting so excited when I saw this type for one of my favorite authors and thinking, "how great." It is so hard to get my head around the fact that the reviews are for my book. So I thank the kind folks at Kirkus and PW for giving me such a wonderful gift. 

The book releases November 14th, but is available for pre-order, and you can request your local library to order a copy, or two, or three. (smile)

Now here's a funny from Non Sequitur:

Two men are sitting at a bar and one asks, "Why can't anyone running for office ever be honest about what they really stand for and what they intend to do?"

On the bar television a politician is saying, "I stand firmly on any divisive issue we can't do anything about to keep you distracted from the fortune I rake in from lobbyists for doing nothing."

To that the first man replies, "Geesh, I'd never vote for that guy..."

The second man says, "Which answers your questuon."

Hard Lesson Learned

 Here with another bit of wit and wisdom from The Mule Barn is my friend, Slim Randles. If you enjoy his offerings here, you would like his book, Home Country, which is a collection of these essays. You can order it through Amazon, or get a signed copy by clicking on the link at the end of the story.

It was that magic time of morning for those of us at the Mule Barn; the time when we're so full of coffee we can't walk, and it's time to decide whether to order lunch there or go home. That's when Bert walked in. Kinda limped in, actually. He made his way over and sat down and turned his coffee cup right side up.

"I'm hurting boys," he said. "That's a fact.  'Course Maizie told me it was a fool thing to do, but you know how she is, so I did it anyway."

"What's that, Bert?"

"Grandfathering, that's what. But what the heck, guys, you gotta do it, don't you? I mean, we owe it to the kids to start them on the road ... yes, that straight and narrow road leading to a fulfilling future, filled with..."

"Bert," said Doc, "you get tattooed with a phonograph needle? Just tell us what happened."

"My granddaughter, Gina," he said. "She's eight now, you know, and she's been staying with us for a while. Well, she's the best girl you ever met, but it's hard to get her up on time. Seems like every other day she fools around and misses the school bus, and then we have to drive her to school. I just got tired of that, and figured I'd teach her a lesson.

"Well, she missed the bus again this morning and said, 'Grandpa, you'll have to take me to school.' And I said, 'OK, Honey, get your books.' So she got her little backpack with the books on and I walked her to school."

"All the way to school? How far is it from your farm?"

"Eight miles, boys. Eight very long miles."

He grinned. "Several times people stopped and offered us rides, but I just said no thanks, and explained that it was an object lesson. Gina just mumbled that she hated object lessons, but she kept walking. Walked all the way up the canyon and didn't sit down once."

"How about Grandpa?" Dud asked.

"He didn't sit down, either. Hey, how would it look?"

"No wonder you're tired, Bert."

"Well," he said, grinning. "I don't expect I'll ever need to do this again. I believe the lesson got learned just fine."
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  Brought to you by the personally inscribed new book  Home Country, at www.slimrandles.com

Freedom - At What Cost?

Charles Lane of The Washington Post wrote recently in defense of some cartoons that were published in a French magazine Charlie Hebdo, claiming that freedom of speech trumps everything else like common sense and decency. The cartoons apparently poked fun a the prophet Mohammed, and there were significant concerns that the publication of the cartoons could spur more violent protests and riots in the Middle East.

Perhaps that claim that freedom of speech trumps everything is a good policy when the only thing at stake is someone who has their feelings hurt or otherwise object to what is said or published. However, when the safety of many people are at stake, perhaps the policy doesn't have to uphold a person's right to make fun of another person's religion just because they can.

We in the Western world understand satire and spoofs, but not all mid-east cultures do. They see those cartoons as a direct insult, and their reactions are not even in the same ballpark as ours. They don't have a constitution that supports freedom of speech or an understanding of what that means. What they have is a long legacy of retaliation against anything they see as an insult. 

So maybe we need to be more mindful of that.

Back when Voltaire made his famous remark, "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," he was speaking to people of a like mind. In the Western world at that time, most people acted and reacted with a sense of civility and decency. Direct attacks on religion or culture were not commonly made, and when they were, for the most part, responses were tempored with that same sense of civilty and decency.

That doesn't happen anymore, and I cerainly would not like to see another 9/11 just so someone can make a film or draw a cartoon, or write an article that some radical extremest will take issue with.

On the other side of the issue, Charles Lane says that if we stop publishing the type of cartoons that the Islamist found offensive we are giving in to a "small handful of extremists who want to make everyone afraid, to shut us all in a cave."

I don't think that asking people to stop and consider the consequences of what they say or write takes away from freedom of speech. They can still choose to go ahead, or they can make the decision not to because of the potential grave danger.

What do you think? Should our basic freedoms trump everything else?

Book Review - Just Add Water by Jinx Schwartz

Just Add Water
Jinx Schwartz

Print Length: 341 pages

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Language: English

ASIN: B005S65704

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray: Not Enabled

This delightful book introduces Hetta Coffey in the series that continues with Just Add Salt and several other books that feature a smart and sassy protagonist and her best friend Jan, as they troll for men and adventure. 

In Just Add Water, the duo are rebounding from "detestable others" and hoping to find some interesting men along the San Francisco waterfront. Hetta gets the brilliant idea that they need a boat in order to snag one of these yachtsmen with the tanned faces and bulging muscles. In order to buy a boat, the friends must learn how to sail - a rollicking adventure of its own.

The story has a supporting cast that is unique and funny, including the dog, RJ, that I dare anyone not to fall in love with. When Hetta and Jan are off working or cavorting, RJ is tended to by Dr. Craig, a gay veterinarian who is also a good friend. Hetta calls him Dr. Craigosaurus because of his size. He is a BIG man.

This isn't a book for straight mystery lovers. It is a romp, with mystery elements, and the actual mystery part came later in the story than I would have preferred. There is a prologue that introduces Hudson Williams, a man from Hetta's past, who is eventually connected to the story, but it takes so long, I started wondering when that was going to happen.

Still, I enjoyed the clever, humorous dialogue and the various sub-plots were interesting and well done. There is a enough to keep the pages turning.

Friday's Odds and Ends

In reviewing a play, "I am a Teacher", by Dallas playwright and actor, David Marquis, Dallas Morning News columnist, Steve Blow commented that we no longer just have standardized testing in education today, we have standardized education. "It's a rigid, regulated, one-size fits all approach to teaching. But schools are not factories and kids are not widgets."

I wish every high-level school administrator would recognize that fact. Kids learned more when there were less regulations and oversight and teachers were allowed to teach - not be bureaucrats.

Susan Gubar, a professor of English at Indiana University, the author of Memoir of a Debulked Woman, recently wrote an interesting column about being a cancer survivor. Actually, she said, "don't call me a survivor. Her main point was she thinks the term takes something away from those still fighting,.  She also thinks that the term somehow says something negative about those who do not win the fight against cancer. That somehow they did not try hard enough. "Does it cast those who died from the disease in the role of victims who somehow failed to attain the requisite resiliency to overcome it?"

Non of the cancer survivors I know think that way. They honor and uphold every person who has succumbed. They are also first to say that surviving does not make them heroes. They are just the lucky ones who had several things in their favor, the cancer was found early, the treatments worked and they have been cancer-free for five years or more.

"We urge Indonesian Muslims to calm down, because the majesty and greatness of God and the prophet Muhammad will not be diminished by these insults." Amidan Shaberah of Indonesia, a prominent cleric.

Amen!

 Now for a little fun from The Argyle Sweater: Arnold Schwarzenegger is standing in front of a large to-do list. Number 1, star in movie with DeVito. 2, Get to know housekeeping staff.3,  Become governor of California. 4, Win Oscar. 5, Look great in a speedo after 60. 6, Make movie about baroque composer: "I'll be Bach."

NOTE: I will be offline most of the weekend. Play nice without me.

25 Years in the Rearview Blog Tour

I'd like to welcome Jaleta Clegg, one of my fellow authors from the brand new e-book 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror, 52 Authors Look Back. She is here today with a fun post from one of the characters from her own book as part of the 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror Blog Tour. If you enjoy magazine columns and Chicken Soup for the Soul books, then we're sure you'll enjoy our collection of essays, designed to warm your heart, raise your spirits and compel you to examine your own life. Get a full listing of authors, essay titles and retailers HERE 

And now, let's say hello to, Leon Gravis, a character in Jaleta Clegg's book, Priestess of the Eggstone. Leon was a fun character in the story, and you will understand why I liked him when you read his post. Enjoy.....

Hiya, Sweetheart. How ya doing? Got anything to drink around here? I'm parched. Just spent six hours arguing for an acquittal. I'm bleeding? *dabs forehead* Just a scratch. Bully boys thought they could push me around. But you don't work for a crime syndicate for ten years without picking up a thing or two about intimidation. You thought I was talking about acquittal in court, legal proceedings and all that. Naw, working on some back alley negotiations.

Speaking of negotiations, did I ever tell you about how I got off Viya Station and away from the Targon Syndicate? Yeah, I used to work for them. Stupid, really, but I didn't have much choice. My wife's family is all Targon. Married into it, you might say. But I'm rid of her and her relatives.

So, there I was, sitting in the office of Belliff on Viya Station, wondering what I was gonna do. The Patrol was gearing up for a raid. I could smell the trouble. The management had all disappeared. On a retreat seminar. *hand quotes* They left me to catch the blame from the law. You didn't know Belliff is a front for the Targon Syndicate? Everybody knows that.

I was sitting there, deleting files while my wife's idiot nephew watched his vids, when this woman, Dace, walks in claiming to have a courier delivery for me. She couldn't have had worse timing. Those courier shipments were nothing more than illegal contraband. Brilliant idea for smuggling, if you could find a pilot dumb enough to fall for it. The smart ones would figure out what you were doing and either demand a cut of the pie or steal the shipment outright and sell it to the highest bidder. I'm not saying Dace was stupid, just naïve.

I shifted some papers around looking for a way out. That cargo was going to send me away for a long time. I don't do well with incarceration, makes me break out. Ha! Sorry, bad joke. Anyway, I'm digging through the desk when what do I find but a stunner. My escape plan hit me like a sledgehammer. She was a pilot, she had a ship. She could fly me to Freeport, capital of the Federation. I'd take the cargo and sell it to finance setting up my new home. Yeah, the Federation is kinda small and more than a little backward, but they're a lot looser on the law enforcement than the Empire. But they still got laws. Where you got laws, you got lawyers. Like me. See? Genius plan.

So I hide the stunner and make her take me to her ship. Everything was working according to plan until her copilot decides he wants to be a hero. He jumped me. Things got a bit crazy, especially after Dace convinced Viya Station to undock us. Insane woman flew us through a Patrol firefight with these aliens. We took a direct hit and you know what she did? She kept going. We made the jump to hyperspace with a failing engine.

The woman is completely bonkers, you get what I'm saying? Totally bonkers, but she's the best pilot I've ever seen. *shakes head* I'll even forgive her for tying me up and locking me in the bathroom for most of that trip.

Freeport? Nah, never made it. Dace took us straight to Tebros where the Patrol jumped all over me. I turned myself in, gave them everything I had on Targon. Yeah, Targon hates me now, but I'm legal again. You want the rest of the story? You're going to have to bribe the Patrol for it. I'm pretty sure Dace gave them a full report.

And those rumors that she's some kind of secret agent for the Patrol? *leans forward and whispers* Don't believe it. She hates them almost as much as I do.

Now I've got a question for you. What do you think of my suit? Manny made it. He's a great tailor. *stands up to show off blue and purple plaid with stripes of lime green and little yellow flowers* I like a bit of flash, ya know? Catches them off guard. *winks*

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

Jaleta Clegg loves writing stories about interesting characters. She writes science fiction adventure, silly horror, and dabbles in every genre in between. Find more about her at www.jaletac.com

Her second novel, Priestess of the Eggstone, is now available. www.altairanempire.com

Book Blurb: Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

Genre Favorites Blogfest

This is another blogfest from Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh. Thanks so much for putting this together, Alex. 

For this blogest, we are to list our favorite genre of Music, Movies, and books. Then share a guilty pleasure from any of the three categories.

My favorite music is Country. Not the newest Country Rock, but the old classics like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, Glen Campbell, and Patsy Cline.

Running a close second is folk and Americana. Among my favorite folk singers are Pete Seger, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Simon and Garfunkel. Their song, "The Sound of Silence" was written in 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. (Note: I can sing every Peter Paul and Mary song on their greatest-hits album. Not as well as they do, but I've got heart.)

While on the subject of folk music, I'd like to introduce my readers to a terrific duo who also happen to be good friends of mine, Adler & Hearne. They live in my little corner of the world, when not touring, and they have some terrific songs. One of the songs Lynn wrote, "A Hundred Years From Now" has won several awards and has a terrific social message. (NOTE: I will be taking voice lessons from Lynn Adler. I'll never sing like her, or Mary Travers, but my goal is not to be a professional.)

My favorite movies are dramas that not only tell a great story but make me stop and think about life and social issues: "The Shawshank Redemption" "The Green Mile" "Philadelphia" "Sophie's Choice".  I think I see a pattern here. I really like stories, whether they be movies, songs, or books that say something significant.

I also love the classic black and white films: "Casablanca", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "The Maltese Falcon", "It's a Wonderful Life" "A Farewell to Arms".  (Captain Alex will note there is not a sci-fi movie listed. Sorry guy.)

While I do enjoy books that delve into social issues, my favorite genre to read just for fun is mystery and thriller. I first started reading Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner, then moved on to John D. McDonald, and Ed McBain.  (for a long time I did not know that Ed McBain was a pen name for Evan Hunter.) It was the 87th Precinct series that first stirred my interest in police procedural mysteries and the primary reason that I write them. 

My guilty pleasure is related to police procedural mysteries with continuing ensemble casts, and that is my addiction to the Law & Order series. All of them. I can waste an afternoon watching reruns of the earliest seasons. They don't stir my intellect and my consciousness the way some of my other favorites do, but it is always fun to see justice win out in the end. Well, almost always.

Visit Alex's Blog to see his favorites and get a list of all the bloggers participating in the blog fest.

Book Review - Priestess of the Eggstone by Jaleta Clegg

Priestess of the Eggstone

Jaleta Clegg

·  Paperback: 278 pages

·  Publisher: JournalStone (August 10, 2012)

·  Language: English

·  ISBN-10: 1936564475

·  ISBN-13: 978-1936564477

This sci-fi fantasy is the second book of The Fall of the Altairan Empire series featuring Dace, a space pilot who manages to get into trouble everywhere she goes. She was introduced in  the first book, Nexus Point, as was another recurring character, Tayvis.

Dace is flying for a company that hired her to courier sensitive materials, but she does not know Beliff  is a front for the Targon Crime Syndicate, until she goes to get paid and discovers the Patrol is raiding the company offices.  She manages to evade the Patrol, only to discover another major problem. Jerimon, her copilot, stole a god from the Sessimoniss, and the entire sentient species is chasing him, wreaking havoc throughout space. Now the challenge is to find the Eggstone god and return it before the Sessimoniss declare war; a challenge made more difficult because they also have to avoid getting caught by the Patrol and the Targon Syndicate.

Even though I am not a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, I was pulled into this story and, for the most part, enjoyed the read. Dace is a strong character, and strong female characters appeal to me. We have come a long way from the melodramas where Pauline had to be saved by the hero.

The secondary characters were well done as well. I liked Jayla, Jerimon's sister, who joins the adventure when they need a navigator. Leon, who hijacks Dace's ship, is a fun character, and how Dace and Jerimon deal with him is a clever bit of plotting.

There were some things in the story that didn't work as well for me. First was the incessant fighting between Dace and Jerimon. They are attracted to each other, but use the bickering to keep each other at arm's length. Dace, especially, is not open to any kind of romance because she still has feelings for Tayvis based on something that happened in the first book. The bickering just went on too long and kept repeating the same complaints against each other.

The romantic triangle did not work for me either. I found it hard to believe that Dace could have the same strong feelings for both Jerimon and Tayvis, but maybe that was just me. I also thought the romantic issues interfered with the flow of the rest of the story, which was much more compelling.

This was a good introduction to some fascinating alien species and a believable futuristic world.

Jaleta Clegg will be my guest this coming Wednesday, so I do hope you will come back and meet her and her character, Leon. You can see why I liked him so much.

Also, please stop by tomorrow for the Genre Favorites Blogfest,  hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/  Those of us participating will be sharing about our favorites in books, movies, and music and revealing one guilty pleasure.

I Need a Leash

To understand the title of this blog post, I have to fill you in on my morning. My plan was to finish up some interview questions for Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer, who is going to be a guest at The Blood Red pencil later this month. Yes, you read that right, The Plot Whisperer, like The Horse Whiperer, only for writers. 

Seriously, it is going to be an interesting interview, so I will remind you again closer to the date in case you would like to see what she has to say.

Next on my to-do list was to update my blog. But, lo and behold, when I came to the blog, I saw that I had some comments that I had not responded to. I also saw some new friends, so I had to go visit their blogs. Yesterday I was off line most of the day, so I had not seen the comments.

When I saw Helen Ginger's name, I remembered that she had a good blog yesterday about publicists. I had received a note about that in e-mail, but did not have time to go over yesterday, so I had to go check it out. Business, right?

In between blog-hopping, I remembered I had to do some laundry, so I took a quick break to throw shirts in the washing machine. The thrilling life of a writer.

I came back to my blog and saw Morgan Mandel's comment. That reminded me that she has a new book out, Her Handyman. I haven't read it yet, but it is on my Kindle. It sounds like a fun, light romance, which is always a nice diversion from real life.

Thinking about my writer friends, I remembered that Marian Allen has a book contracted with Hydra Publications, The Fall of Onagros, and she shares how the story came to be on the  Literary Lunes blog. 

Another interruption to take care of an issue at the local art center, then I was hoping to get back to this, when I saw my horse had pulled the rope loose from where I had tied him to munch on some green grass. He helps me not to have to mow so often.

Maybe I should ask Martha to talk to him about staying put?

I ran outside, got him tied again, threw the ball for the dog a few times, then came back inside to another phone call. Just when I thought I was ready to come back to the blog, then get on with the rest of my plan for the day, I heard the washing machine stop. Do I just let the wet clothes stay there and get lots of wrinkles, or do I get up and throw them into the dryer?

Perhaps I should call this post, Friday's Follies.

Courtesty of Classroomclipart.com

 How do you handle days that go awry like this? Do you try to get back to your plan, or just say, to heck with it. I think I'll go read a book?