Month: August 2020

To Smirk or Not to Smirk

What does the word “smirk” convey to you? If a character in a book smirks at something said by another character how do you feel about the smirker?

Am I wrong to feel that “smirk” has a negative connotation? And what would be a more pleasant word to use when one character is mildly put off or even amused by another character’s words?

I need help here, because I don’t want to use the word “smirk,” yet all of its synonyms are even more off putting: simper, snigger, leer. Ugh!

How about a smirking smurf?

Surely “said” is a better choice. Right?

Peace, people.

No Group for You!

I’ve been posting a lot of music-centric stuff lately-either because I’ve been garnering inspiration from certain tunes or just because it makes me happy. Regardless of how downright gritty or lonely our lives might be right now, music always has the power to lift us up and take us away for awhile.

When I post something about a group or performer, inevitably I’ll get a comment from someone who was fortunate enough to see that act in person. I’m always so jealous.

Growing up in the Texas panhandle without much money, I didn’t always have opportunities to see artists perform live. I’m grateful for the ones I did see: Huey Lewis and the News, Three Dog Night, the Cowsills, Foghat, Marshall Tucker Band, Garth Brooks, and The Chicks among others, but I’ll always wish I could’ve seen The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Chicago, and Justin Bieber. (Okay, I threw Justin in just to see if you were paying attention. I have no interest in seeing him; although, having once been a teen-aged girl, I get it his appeal.)

What group or artist have you dreamed of seeing live but never had the opportunity or the means to do so? What’s the best act you ever saw perform live? Did you ever do anything crazy to get tickets? I mowed lawns for two months to save up for Huey Lewis—and I was a grown woman.

Most importantly, do you think we’ll ever get to go to concerts again?

Peace, people.

Wednesday Morning Eagles

It’s 7:17 a.m., and I’m still in bed. Alexa is playing an Eagles’ playlist just for me, and I’m singing along. The cat has taken refuge in the hallway, watching me with a wary eye, while my bed has become my own private time machine.

I remember singing along to “Take it Easy” from the backseat of our family’s car when I was 16 or so, and begging my parents to not change the station to a country channel. And when “Witchy Woman” played, everyone had to be quiet so I could try to understand the lyrics. What was that woman up to? No good, that’s what.

A favorite Eagles’ song? I can’t name just one. That would be like saying I have a favorite child or grandchild, or even a favorite husband. But, I do know the songs I enjoy singing along with the most.

“I Can’t Tell You Why”—my voice blends beautifully into this one. At least in my mind. Reality is a different matter.

https://youtu.be/mseS0C421cU

“Witchy Woman”—howling along.

https://youtu.be/nc0988XxoXI

And “Peaceful Easy Feeling”—nobody sings this as well as I do. That’s a blatant lie, but a relatively harmless one as lies go.

https://youtu.be/n-0lRkuNyj0

Young and innocent. Ha.

What a great way to start my day, right? Now, back to writing and editing and cursing a lot. Here’s hoping your Wednesday is good, though.

Peace, people.

Seven Bridges Road

Surely someone besides me needs this song today. It never fails to make me smile, and this is a great version, recorded live at the Grand Ole Opry.

https://www.facebook.com/grandoleopry/videos/535862247174975/?vh=e&d=n

Closer

You might be my type

Tall and funny, smart and sweet

Too good to be true

Come closer, hold me

Like you did when we were young

So eager, so strong

Let this time suffice

If we never loved again

Leave me memories

My Writing Playlist

On a writing day I get the music started early and crank it up loud. I’ll bet my neighbors are glad our homes aren’t all that close together.

Here are my go-to songs for the romance I’m writing. I’m not sure there’s a theme here, but these songs speak to my characters.

“Lay, Lady, Lay,” by Bob Dylan

“Tomorrow,” by Chris Young (link below)

https://youtu.be/ETVjll5eR88

“Give Me One Reason,” by Tracy Chapman (link below)

https://youtu.be/V6hQ9HSKlIE

“Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,” by the Hollies

“Shameless,“ the Garth Brooks version; although, I really like Billy Joel’s, as well. He did write it after all.

“Cross My Heart,” by George Strait

“Girl Crush,” by Little Big Town

“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” by Aerosmith

“I’ll Make Love to You,” by Boyz II Men (link below)

https://youtu.be/fV8vB1BB2qc

“As She’s Walking Away,” by Zac Brown Band

“Cowboy Take Me Away,” by The Chicks

Peace, people.

A Journey

In the first sentence our boat leaves the dock, into an ocean of words.

As captain and navigator I decide: East or west? North or south?

Who will dine with me at the captain’s table this night? Who will tumble over the rail?

Will there be secrets and intrigue, murder and mayhem? Or an affair to remember?

How turbulent will the seas grow? How contrary the winds?

I’ll brook no mutiny; my crew fears, no, respects me even as they mutter behind my back:

She has no idea how to bring this boat into port. We’re doomed to wander through eternity.

I fear they’re right, but still I hold the course and dance when the band starts to play.

Today Songs

Sit in the right here

A place that’s never been and

Will never again

Long for tomorrow

Recall fondly yesterday

Be still for today

The world unfolds yet

Time constraints define these lives

These beautiful lives

Feeling Hopeful

For the first time since November 2016, I feel like we might overcome Trump’s toxicity.

Vote Blue!

Rocking Country

I’m always behind the times when it comes to music. By the time I get turned on to a song it’s likely been on the charts for months and on its way into the archives.

In the case of Zac Brown Band’s “Heavy is the Head,” featuring the late rocker, the incredibly talented, Chris Cornell, I’m at least five years too late. I found the song while listening to country music on my Amazon Echo as research/mood enhancement for a romance novel I’ve been working on. “Heavy is the Head,” though, is definitely not a country tune, and it immediately got my attention, albeit half a decade after the fact.

Damn, Chris Cornell was something special. And Zac Brown Band has become one of my favorite country groups these last few weeks. What else am I missing?

Chris Cornell

Peace, people!