Simple Act of Kindness

Chewie is the sweetest dog who has ever lived with me. He just wants to make everyone happy. What a concept!

On Saturday, I was at a low point. Gracie is 16 years old. Whenever she has medical issues, I am rather emotional. I lost four pets in a row, about every 1.5 years, before I adopted her. All of them had cancer, so there were multiple vet visits. I know “that day” is coming for Gracie.

She experienced some issues last week, with the whole thing coming to a head on Saturday. I called the vet; fortunately, they had an available appointment. When I left the house with her, I am sure Chewie picked up on my energy.

Fortunately, all was well with Gracie. Long story short, she is a diva. Her issues seem to be more behavioral than physical. The vet could not find anything physically wrong with her. Good to hear, but it didn’t help with the problems. Oh, well. It is always best to rule out medical issues in these situations.

As I unlocked the door upon our return, I heard a strange squeak on the other side of the door. I opened the door to discover Chewie standing there with a toy. He was so excited to see us.

Later, I went to the basement to put some laundry in the washer. I came back upstairs to find Gracie asleep on the floor. What was beside her? A toy. She no longer plays with toys, so I can guess what happened.

Unhappy? Have a toy. Had a bad day? Bet a nice squeaky toy would help!

Chewie thinks everyone should be happy. Since toys make him happy, well, he gives you a toy.

We are surrounded by negativity on social media, the news, everywhere. Chewie might have the right idea. Is it really difficult to take two seconds and hold the door for someone? Could we smile and say “thank you” whenever someone hands us our fast food order? These small acts might be the very thing that brightens someone’s day. Sure, it is not a squeaky toy, but it is a start.

Deal Alert!

You may have missed my announcement if you don’t follow my Facebook page. Now through tomorrow, grab a free ebook version of my first book, Through the Mist: Restoration. Go to Amazon.com to snag your copy.

Don’t have a Kindle? No problem! You can download the Kindle reading app to any device. Then, you can download my ebook (and many others).

Stay tuned. On Wednesday, I will announce another deal, for Through the Mist: Reunion.

I hope you enjoy the free book and want to keep reading. There are three more books in the series, all very affordably priced.

Remember - reviews are greatly appreciated! Good or bad, I want to hear what you think about the books. I do read the reviews. Your feedback on the first book helped me make some much-needed changes for the second edition and (hopefully) improve my overall writing style.

Thank you!!

Growing Onions

Some people describe good stories as onions. Layer by layer, you discover new insights.

If you follow my Facebook page, you’ll know that I have returned to the fifth book in the Through the Mist series. (And, if you don’t follow it, you totally should. You’re missing some adorable pics of my dogs.)

I had about 75 percent of the story completed before I got stuck. To clear my mind, I produced Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop. As expected, focusing on something completely different unblocked my brain and allowed me to figure out what I wanted to do with the remaining 25 percent of the fifth book.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop, you should. You can find the book on Amazon in both paperback and ebook form. It is a contemporary romance about a second chance at finding love. Set in a rural town based on my own hometown, Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop follows Peg Alexander. Is she too old to find her happily-ever-after? Absolutely not!

Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop will give you something to chew on while I focus on the fifth book in the TTMR series. I am currently adding those aforementioned layers to the existing material. For example, saying that a character walked through snow doesn’t really do anything for you, does it? Was the wind blowing? Was the character cold? Was it day? Was it night? I want you to be able to insert yourself into the scene and feel what the character is feeling. That takes some work.

Oh, I should probably write the ending too. LOL

What a Year + Free Financial Advice

The year certainly didn’t turn out as I anticipated. While quitting the job was always on my mind, I never expected that I would actually take the big leap. I miss the income. I don’t miss the job.

Like quitting my job, adopting another dog is something I have wanted to do for years. I could never find the right match, though. Gracie does not like most dogs. Then, Chewie came into our lives. His former owner wanted to find a place where the pet parent would be home most of the time. Well, an unemployed writer fits that requirement!

Though I never wanted a male Shih-Tzu dog, he turned out to be exactly what we needed. Gracie tolerates him most of the time and might even like him on rare occasions. He calms her whenever I am away from the house. He chills beside me whenever I watch TV. He is a great dog.

None of these things would have been possible, though, without work. I spent almost 30 years at an investment firm. Naturally, I picked up some tips along the way that could be used by the average person. Be sure to follow me, because I will drop little tidbits in future posts.

I have spent the last few months doing something I always wanted to do - write full time. I produced Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop and took several classes and watched several webinars. I read loads of things about self-publishing, writing, marketing, et cetera. It has been great.

Unfortunately, I haven’t received huge windfalls of cash. Hell, I haven’t received any windfalls! How have I survived? You may find yourself in a situation someday where you don’t have an income either. Here are three tips to prepare for that day:

Save, save, save. Most people could not cover an unexpected expense of $500. I was one of those people for a long time. I set up an automatic deduction from my checking account into my savings account. The amount wasn’t much. Still, the balance increased over time, and that’s the whole point. I will talk more about this topic in future posts, because it is a topic that is dear to my heart.

Look for “free” money - part one. My credit cards have “reward” points that I can apply to my balance, use for purchases at Amazon and other places, et cetera. Inflation is out of control. I charge everything to my credit cards and use the points to buy needed essentials. Note - this only works if you are diligent about paying off your credit card(s) every month.

Look for “free” money - part two. Pay attention when you make purchases, particularly on Amazon. Sometimes, vendors will offer incentives if you delay delivery.

Let’s use Amazon as an example. If I defer delivery by several days, they sometimes offer promotional credits. I then use those credits for “free” e-books, movie rentals, or other digital content. Do I really need something the next day or the day after? Usually, the answer is no. Why not take advantage of the credits then? I can use them to get something I want later.

Again, I will talk more in the future about tips to survive the “no income” time of your life. I have discovered a lot.

As I look ahead to 2023, I have a newfound hope. Sure, I have no income, the books aren’t selling, and I will have to get a job. I don’t view those things as negatives as I once would have. I survived 2022. I survived a global pandemic. I can survive - and so can you!

Irony with a Slice of Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake

You need to know a few things before I tell this story. First, my sister has five kids. With that many kids in a household, it is inevitable that someone will be sick. I cannot tell you how many family gatherings have been cancelled because one (or more) of the kids happened to be sick. In fact, Covid has visited the household at least three times.

Second, I am a bit of a germaphobe. If anyone even sneezes, I am outta there.

Third, I don’t typically eat large meals anymore, and I certainly don’t eat the rich dishes typically served at Thanksgiving.

Fourth, if you have read Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop, you know that blueberry lemon icebox cake is served for dessert at one of the meals.

Fifth - and most important - the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Okay - finally - the story. For Thanksgiving this year, I made blueberry lemon icebox cake as one of our desserts. (Yes, one of our desserts - we tend to go overboard.) In my grand plan, I would cut a slice on the big day, take some pictures, and post them either here or my Facebook page.

The big day arrived. I removed the cake from the freezer. It was frozen solid. If I had a chainsaw, I might have been able to cut it. So, I guess I would just take pics at my sister’s house - on to Plan B.

The meal was a feast. I ate way, way too much. When it came time for dessert, we cut into the blueberry lemon icebox cake. It was still frozen in about 75 percent of the dish, but at least we could cut it. Wow - it was delicious. I looked forward to snapping some pics later. The bright lemon and blueberry flavors were refreshing after such a heavy meal. I imagined it truly would have been the perfect dessert on a hot summer day, as it was written in my book.

Well, it wasn’t long after eating the dessert that my stomach was very unsettled. Within minutes, I “expelled” the dessert. It wasn’t how I wanted to end the meal, with my head in the toilet.

So, yeah, I see the irony that the germaphobe is the only person who got sick that day. Everyone else who ate the dessert felt fine.

P.S.

Sorry, no pics of the dessert - I never wanted to see it again!

Love at the Woolly Bookworm Shop Available 11/14/2022

Wahoo! The book is done!!

It is available for pre-order today. Or, you can wait until tomorrow. I created both an e-book and paperback on Amazon.

The new book is a contemporary romance about Peg Alexander. An older divorced lady, she built a cozy life for herself on her family’s farm in rural North Carolina. She was thoroughly content. Then, John Sweeney returned to town and completely upended her life.

The story is built on questions. Does love have an expiration date? Do we only get an opportunity for love when we are in the first blush of our youth? Or, can we hope for a second chance later in life? Can we still feel that flutter in our hearts and shaking in our knees (not related to medical conditions) even when Society tells us we are ‘past our prime’?

Happy reading!

Coming Soon!

With all the books I have written, there comes a time when I get absolutely sick of looking at them and am ready to publish. We are almost there right now!

Over the weekend, I finished up some formatting work for the ebook and paperback versions of my next book. I want to take one last look before publication.

I also want to revamp this website. Since I have expanded the universe beyond the Though the Mist series, it needs a refresh.

Hang in there just a little longer. I hope to announce something really soon! As always, thank you to everyone who is on this journey with me.

The Un-Fun Stuff

Yes, I have been rather quiet on this site for the last little bit. I am working on the un-fun stuff of a new book - designing the cover, formatting the book, et cetera.

It is even more difficult this time. I am trying hard to have a formal plan for the book launch. With previous books, I was usually so tired after work that I didn’t want to devote a lot of time to a book launch. Both the book and the marketing efforts (or lack thereof) suffered. Now that I have the time to “do it right,” I want to make everything much better.

So, hang in there just a little longer. The new book is coming soon. Once it has been released into the wild, I have loads of ideas for several books to follow. I already have plans for at least two more books in the Through the Mist series, a potential spin-off from that series, and another book that imagines the story of an ancestor of mine from the Civil War. Like it or not, you cannot get rid of me!

P.S.

As part of my launch, I plan to redesign the website. Up until now, it focused on the Through the Mist series. Now that I have a book that is not part of that series, it makes sense that I change the site. Have any suggestions? Be sure to leave a comment if you do. Thanks!

What's Shakin', Bacon?

Yes, I have been a bit quiet. Things have been happening so let’s chat.

On the book front. I finished the final draft of the latest book. As I have mentioned numerous times, this book is a huge departure from the usual Scottish time travel books. It is a romance novel based in the South, not Scotland. The story is told from the point of view (POV) of Peg Alexander, a 50-something woman who gave up on love a long time ago.

Last week, I gave the book to the beta readers. After they have a go at it, I will make any needed tweaks. Then, it will be ready for publication.

In the meantime, I am working on the business side of things. I want to create a cover that attracts attention. I also want to investigate some ways to give the novel exposure. I am thrilled that y’all take the time to read my books. I want more people to read them too so what can I do to make that happen?

On the home front. If you have been reading the blog and Facebook posts, you’ll know that I adopted a second dog. He is super sweet. It has been a lot of fun getting to know him and watching him become a part of our household. G likes him - or maybe tolerates him, not entirely sure. This coming Tuesday, he will have been here for a month, a surprising thing. It sometimes feels as if he has been here longer.

Also, I continue to adapt to this new life as a full-time writer. It is a challenge, especially in these times. I am trying to focus more on my goal of getting this book out into the world and making it a success rather than the skyrocketing costs of just about everything.

Thank you for continuing to go on this journey with me. I’ll have more updates soon when the next book will be published.

P.S.

No, I haven’t given up on the Through the Mist series. The next sequel is still sitting on the sidelines. Writing this latest book was meant to help me with the sequel. It has. I believe I have figured out a way to end the book. As soon as I get the new book off the ground, I’ll return to the Through the Mist sequel.

You Get What You Need

Lately, I have been humming the Rolling Stones classic, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” In the chorus, they say “…but if you try sometime you’ll find, you get what you need.” I feel that way about my recent adoption of a second dog.

For years, I searched for a dog who would be compatible with G. I thought a female terrier, about a year old, would be perfect.

What kind of dog did I ultimately adopt? A three-year old male Shih-Tzu who is great with her. He doesn’t mind yielding to a strong alpha female (G, of course). He patiently waits for her whenever she needs to stop during walkies. He is happy to play with toys on his own if she refuses to play with him but never stops bringing her a toy, just in case she changes her mind. His attitude and energy works perfectly with her. A terrier never worked because that’s what I wanted, not what G needed.

There is a lesson here. We have pre-conceived notions about everything. We think we know what we want or need. Sometimes, the thing we want is not the thing we need. We should open our minds to new ideas, new opportunities. What looks like something that wouldn’t be right (in my case, a male Shih-Tzu) may be exactly what we needed all along.

Changes

I have another dog.

For years, I have searched for the right match with G. She is dog selective. That’s a nice way of saying “she hates most dogs.”

Lately, she has been slowing down A LOT. It is really bad. Adding a second dog can sometimes enliven an old dog. It can also make them even more miserable, so the decision must be made with great care. After all these years, I had basically given up. G simply did not like the dogs I put before her as potential adoption candidates.

Then, my sister found a listing for a dog who someone wanted to rehome. Since G loves my neighbor’s Shih Tzu-mix, I thought I would give it a try. So far, it is a good fit. Even though I didn’t necessarily want a male dog and certainly not a Shih-Tzu, he has turned out to be a great fit for our household. If G needs to rest on walkies, he relaxes. He walks at her pace. He lets her be the alpha dog. He plays with toys on his own after she rejected his attempts at play. He is just a good, all-around dog.

G is declining quickly. I see it now that I have a younger dog bouncing beside her. I am not sure how much longer we will have together, but I intend to give her a top quality life for as long as we do have. (Enough thinking about that - eyes have liquid spouting from them - WTH?)

Change happens. I don’t want G to get old, and I never thought a little Shih-Tzu boy would come into our lives. Of course, I also didn’t think that my former marriage would end in divorce, that I would one day build a house on my own, or that I would have the courage to quit a job I truly hated. When change inevitably happens, try to embrace it. Yes, it is scary. Deep breath - it will be okay.

P.S. Yes, I am saying that every time I look at G.