I’m at that stage in life where comfort overrides style every single time. Having said that, I do have a pair of shoes that make a statement, and I wear them almost daily.
The green tile beneath these classy shoes is slippery as ice when wet, and cool even during summer months. So I wanted something with a little grip and lots of warmth to wear around Doright Manor. Of course I bought them from Walmart. They only cost $4.99, and after a couple of wearings the right foot had a blowout. And I love it!
Is it a pimple popping out? A tongue? I’m not certain, but I’m positive you won’t find another pair exactly like them. And that’s how haute couture works.
Studly Doright bought me the prettiest roses for Valentine’s Day. We had a wonderfully laid back day. His golf game was cancelled due to rain, so we worked on his dirt bike most of the morning then snuggled and watched the gripping cop show, “The Wire” on Netflix all afternoon.
Nothing says true love like a dozen roses, grease under one’s fingernails, and gang wars in Baltimore.
Every now and again I read a novel that stays with me long past the time I finish reading it. TJ Fox’s debut novel, An Unexpected Turn, is one such book.
I discovered TJ through her blog on WordPress. She’s one of these incredibly talented Renaissance-type women who seems to be capable of doing just about anything she sets her mind to, whether it be writing, photography, decorating, or any number of other endeavors. And she does them all beautifully. Check out her blog at http://tjfox.net.
Recently I recommended TJ’s book to a friend and I started thinking about the incredible way it came to pass. Having spent nearly ten years writing my first novel, (eight of those years it spent on a shelf, nearly forgotten), I was amazed, impressed, and flabbergasted to learn that TJ wrote the first draft for An Unexpected Turn in one week! Yes. Read that and weep, fellow authors.
I asked TJ how she came up with the idea for her novel:
TJ: I had a literal dream I couldn’t get out of my head after waking from it because of how improbable and ridiculous my rational mind thought the dream was. My brain wouldn’t let go of the questions and the “what ifs” that dream dredged up. I had to start writing all those thoughts down to get my brain to process it and it became a book, something that I never dreamed I would ever do. In a way, it feels kind of like I accidentally wrote a book.
Me: But you wrote it in a single week?
TJ: My brain was so obsessed with trying to answer those “what ifs” and trying to take a situation that seemed so over the top and impossible and figure what kind of circumstances would create an environment to make it be possible, that I sat down and wrote the entire first draft in a week. I would sit down in the mornings and write until I hit a problem I wasn’t sure how to get beyond. I’d then go to sleep and by morning, I’d have a solution and I’d start up again.
Of course, I spent so much more time on edits than I did on writing that first draft making the entire process so much longer, but a vast majority of the story was set in stone in that one week. It was one of those rare creative moments where it feels like the creation took on a life of its own and created itself while the creator was just a tool in the process.
As an artist, I’ve experienced similar creative moments here and there, but never on this scale or this completely. Even now, at three and a half years later (sheesh, I can’t believe it’s been that long already), I still struggle to believe it happened.
Me: Incredible and mind-boggling, but I’m glad it happened that way. Now, I’m a lousy interviewer, so I’m going to ask a “catch all” question. What is it you’d like future readers to know about An Unexpected Turn?
TJ: This one is always hard for me. To me, with the story evoking all kinds of emotions as the events unfold, it feels like if I talk about any of those events, even in very broad strokes, that I’ll take away from the emotional impact of the story for any future reader. And it IS a story that is all about the emotions, a lot of really sad emotions, but still laced with the feel-good kinds of emotions that make such hard events bearable. It isn’t like a major suspense kind of story that I’m going to be spoiling the big “who done it” reveal, but I’m never really sure how to talk about my book without feeling like I might cheat a reader from the experience if I were to say the wrong thing. The best I have been able to come up with in trying to describe it is that it is a story about a woman’s emotional journey to finding and creating family in unimaginable circumstances.
Me: That’s a really good description. I think I used a whole box of tissues while reading your book. I remember being shocked by your protagonist’s situation. I felt everything she was going through and became totally lost in the story.
Could we have a sample???
TJ: Again, because I struggle so much with knowing which pieces to share that won’t change the impact of the story, I’m just going to give you what I have as part of my blurb.
“When I take a good look at my reflection, I’m a bit surprised by the fact that the face looking back at me in the mirror doesn’t look any different than the one I’ve seen staring back at me for the last 27 years. I feel like I should look different. That my face should show the upheaval and the weight of the last several hours, that it should somehow show how much the course of my life has changed, but other than the mess from crying, everything is still the same. That seems wrong somehow.”
Me: Okay, now I’m crying again. Thanks, TJ!
You can find An Unexpected Turn on Amazon. It’s available in paperback and as an ebook on Kindle. It’d make a great gift, too.
In my blog I occasionally reference the Texas panhandle as the land of my birth. I throw the word panhandle around assuming everyone knows exactly what I mean. But more than once I’ve had a commenter ask, “What’s the panhandle?” Allow me to illustrate.
Actually, someone already illustrated and labeled it for me. You see, the tan area? That’s the panhandle. At some point somebody thought it looked like the shape of a pan’s handle and named it accordingly. To me it seems too chunky.
Nowadays, I live in the Florida panhandle.
I drew a line around it for you. To me, Florida looks like a gun with the panhandle being the barrel and the peninsula the gun’s handle. I guess the term “Florida gunhandle” didn’t occur to those who had naming rights.
Other U.S. states have panhandles, but I’m tired and don’t want to bore you more than I have already.
This is my backyard here at Doright Manor. Today the temps were in the mid-70’s, and while rain is in the forecast through next Tuesday, we’re enjoying the gift of pleasant weather today. I know we’re very lucky right now.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re warm and dry. Maybe you’ll have a cup of hot chocolate, or a bowl of stew. At bedtime you might enjoy a hot toddy. Heck, now I’m almost in the mood for winter weather. Almost.
I almost died yesterday. I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic either. Driving home to Doright Manor from Tallahassee I remembered that we were out of the Gardein “chicken” noodle soup I love so much. It’s vegan, but you’d never know it.
I’d just passed a grocery store, so I found a place to turn around and after assessing oncoming traffic, began my turn. A small hill hid an oncoming car, and as I applied the brakes, my foot slipped off the pedal. Somehow I managed to react just quickly enough to avoid being broadsided. The guy might’ve been speeding a little, but if I’d been hit it would’ve been my fault.
When I finally made it to the store’s parking lot I sat for a moment, shaking like a leaf. And the thing is, I’d had a wonderful driving day before this. I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but it was one of those days when my timing was impeccable—until it wasn’t, and my guardian angel had to intervene.
So here I am being granted another day. I hope I’m worthy.
Folks, I promise I’ll try to keep my sales pitches to a minimum, but as many self-published authors have discovered, we really are our own best cheerleaders. And who knows? I get new followers on WordPress almost daily and perhaps they have yet to hear about my book. Honestly, it’s a public service I’m performing here.
You see my debut novel, Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, is my baby, and I’m proud of her. Oh, I’m well aware that she has a few flaws, but those just make her more adorable. And everyone knows that only grandchildren can attain perfection.
If you have a moment today, I’d love for you to visit Amazon, look up Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort and take a moment to read the reviews. Yes, some of them were written by personal friends, but most are from innocent bystanders. Innocent. Bystanders. Who genuinely seem to have liked my story and my characters.
I know eventually there’ll be less than stellar reviews. I’m trying to prepare myself mentally for those. An author in one of my groups said her favorite bad review was along the lines of, “This story seems to have been written by a constipated rock. Just let it GO!”
Oh, if you have read Mayhem, THANK YOU! Please leave a review. A few words mean so much and reviews are the key to keeping one’s book in the spotlight on Amazon.
End of sales pitch. Carry on (to Amazon). And peace, people.
The resulting comments from friends on WordPress and social media led me to purchase a copy of the book, and thanks to Amazon, I’ll soon be comparing the book to the film. Seldom do I do the reverse order thing. Usually I’ve read the book first and then often find the film disappointing.
As a newly self-published author I can’t help but imagine what the screen version of my book might look like. Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Express would work well as a movie, but I’m afraid one scene would need to be cut or altered and that would be a shame. Since Hollywood isn’t going to come knocking on my door anytime soon, I guess that’s a senseless waste of a good worry.
A couple of years ago I got to hear author Louise Penny speak when she launched one of her Detective Gamache books here in Tallahassee. Someone asked what she’d thought about the screen adaptation of her first novel. I can’t provide a direct quote, but Ms. Penny said she’d not been happy with the way the book was transformed for the film and that she’d felt as if she had let her characters down.
I totally understand that. My characters, Paula and Cassie, the 3M’s, and Dr. Hunky, are all important to me. They’re like family. I find myself wondering, WWPD (What Would Paula Do) in certain situations. As I write the sequel to Mayhem I ask myself that question multiple times a day. So if I allowed someone to take my characters and change them in ways that weren’t true to my images of them, I’d feel awful. Again, a baseless worry, but hey, that’s how my mind works.
So buy the book. Support those characters, so you too can think of them as family.
Have you ever awakened from a nap only to think, “Just shoot me now?” After lunch, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I plopped down on the couch and went to sleep for a little less than an hour. Now I feel as though I’ve been tackled by a 6’5”, 320 pound linebacker and left to nurse my bruises on an unforgiving astroturf field. Ugh.
To make things worse, I startled the cat when I raised my head from the pillow, and she left an inch-long scratch on my left shin in her mad dash to escape. Now, it’s throbbing to some weird staccato beat: Thrump, thrump, thrumpety-thrump, thrump, and my head has joined in on the refrain.
The cat has recovered nicely and is out on the screened-in porch enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Meanwhile I’m trying to cure a headache with a cup of hot tea while my leg continues throbbing. Things will get better soon. Right?
Super Bowl Sunday is my favorite day of the year. Even if I’m not emotionally invested in either of the teams that have earned a spot in the NFL’s championship I look forward to the big game day, and this year I have warm and fuzzy feelings for both teams.
Studly Doright and I live in Florida—home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so it’d be nice to have fans of the home team sporting championship t-shirts for the next year. In fact, if they win I know what I’m getting Studly Doright for Valentine’s Day.
But, Patrick Mahomes is the star quarterback for Kansas City. He’s a Texas Tech alum, and my loyalties were given to Texas Tech before I even left the womb. It doesn’t hurt that Patrick’s adorable either.
The Chiefs have their work cut out for them today. They’ll play in Tampa Bay giving the Buccaneers home field advantage. And then there’s the Bucs QB, Tom Brady, who even if you hate him is indisputably the greatest quarterback of all time.
That’s Brady, on the left, when he still played for the New England Patriots and #15 Pat Mahomes, on the right.
I refuse to make a prediction for the game since my guesses always seem to jinx the team I’m rooting for, but may the cutest quarterback win.
Praying for Eyebrowz 