Month: May 2022

Reunited and it Feels so Good

All systems are go for a great reunion!

I woke up to great news this morning! My third book in the Happy Valley series went live on Amazon in kindle format. I wanted to hurry online and let everyone know the good news, but the paperback wasn’t yet available.

Now, I’m not a woman of great patience. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to wait. So I got out of the house and drove to the nearest Panera and waited while having a half sandwich and a salad. Food always makes waiting easier—that’s likely why I’m sporting six extra pounds right now.

As I took bite three of my sandwich, the news came through: All systems are green for go.

Okay, it didn’t actually say that, but that’s the message I took away from the email.

So here I am, with a link to my newest book, and hoping my readers won’t make me wait too long before they head to Amazon to purchase it. Seriously, this waiting is taking an awful toll on my waistline.

http://Reunion at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2HMLBB4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6JS4AX3N9C4FSCQ2ESAX

Peace, people!

Description 

Paula Arnett is ready to embark on a new adventure. To that end, she’s made some bold choices, and in the process, surprised some of her dearest friends–all in time for her high school class reunion at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort. While Paula hopes to reconnect and reminisce with her classmates, not everyone on the invitation list has come to party. And when one classmate goes missing, Paula can’t ignore the possibility that something terribly wrong has happened. Even worse, she suspects that someone from her class might be responsible. Add in her burgeoning desire for a reunion with a certain doctor, and the stage is set for mystery and maybe a little romance.

You’re Invited to a Reunion

In a very few days, my newest novel, Reunion at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, will be available on Amazon in both paperback and in kindle and kindle unlimited formats. We’re hoping the book will go live on Monday, but the long weekend might slow things down. I’ll keep you posted. I’ll squeal first, then I’ll write about it.

Reunion is the third book in the Happy Valley series. It’s set fifteen months after the first book, Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, and the main character, Paula Arnett, is ready to make some big changes in her life, but she’ll need to survive her high school reunion in order to move forward.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Front cover
Back cover

Peace, people!

Not Funny

Studly Doright and I don’t go out much other than to dinner on the weekend. Occasionally his golf course offers some entertainment on Friday or Saturday night and if he isn’t too worn out from his work week we’ll head out there for a good time because he knows I crave live music. I only suggest stuff that I think we both will enjoy.

So, when I saw that comedian Rob Schneider was coming to Tallahassee for a one-night comedy show, I thought that could be fun. Studly agreed and I purchased tickets for Saturday night’s show.

Now I have seen Schneider in the Duece Bigelow movies, and Adam Sandler often has a role for Rob. He’s funny in those parts—and while no one’s ever going to consider him for an Oscar, he makes Studly laugh. And Studly’s laugh is THE best. I was really looking forward to hearing that laugh.

Unfortunately, Mr. Schneider used the stage as a pulpit to rage against liberals. I’m a big girl. I can laugh at good-natured ribbing about politics. I know the Democrats aren’t perfect and there’s a lot of humor to be had making fun of us. But Schneider just never let up. Or maybe he finally did—we left about 45 minutes in.

He’s an anti-vaxxer. He has a problem with masks. Okay, so did a lot of people. I get it. He voted for Trump because, something to the effect of, I know the guy, oh and his opponent was a murderer…

It was at that point Studly asked if I wanted to leave. “Not yet,” I said. “I paid good money for these seats.”

So we stayed, watching as others began “going to the restroom and never returning.” When Schneider announced that we can’t say “woman” in America anymore and the WOMAN beside me clapped and cheered and said something nasty about liberals, I turned to Studly and said, “Now we can go.”

Schneider’s running joke for the evening was “I don’t want to get “Chris Rocked” or “Dave Chappelled” tonight. My thoughts as I was strolling out the door: “Honey, you’re not in their league, and I’m not spending a night in jail over the likes of you.”

The worst part is, I didn’t get to hear Studly’s laugh. Sure wish I’d done my research on Mr. Schneider.

Peace, people.

Read My Lips

TikTok is the newish marketing tool for authors. I’m a little late to the game. And maybe a little too old for it, but it amuses me.

This morning I decided to recycle my first TikTok video, adding captions to a post in which I read a scene from Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort aloud.

Adding captions is as easy as clicking on a button that says captions. But there’s a catch—if you don’t spend a little time editing the captions you might give your readers/viewers an unexpected giggle.

Unexpected pickles are all the rage these days. I believe “giggle” was the correct word, though.
I had to grab the book to figure out this sentence, but maybe I should’ve left this at it is…

So I’ve found a new way to amuse myself. This could be dangerous.

Peace, people!

Rules to Live By

The title is a bit lofty, isn’t it? It should read, “Rules I must abide by 90% of the time just for the hell of it.” But that’s just too long.

You see, since I discovered Wordle I have made it a habit to solve it first thing in the morning—before I get out of bed. And then I learned about quordle. It’s four wordle puzzles in one. A little harder, but usually solvable—again before rising.

But, then Octordle came along. It’s like wordle on steroids—eight wordle puzzles. Lots of fun! But I must solve it first thing in the morning, as well.

The same goes for Wordle 2, a six-letter version of the original Wordle game. It’s my favorite of the bunch.

Now this may sound daunting, but usually I can solve all the puzzles within a 20-minute time span.

And then I play Framed. It’s not about words at all.

Would you believe me if I said all these puzzles help with the writing process? No, I’m not buying it either.

Peace, people!

Sweet Review

I received the sweetest review for my Happy Valley series on Amazon today:

Hope. That’s what it’s all about, right?.

http://Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort (The Happy Valley Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P76RBRD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EVSJZR95Y0R5KRHCFMKD

http://Wedding at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort (The Happy Valley Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M544HFH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XD459WA2H9P977VHK9XX

Restructuring

Reunion at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort is in the hands of my editor. Well, to be more precise, it’s bouncing back and forth between my editor and me.

Edits for the first two thirds of the book went fairly smoothly, and then we hit a snag. I’m the snag. Now I’m involved in the delicate act of restructuring. Also known as “fixing all the stuff I did wrong.”

I did a LOT of stuff wrong. All I can say is, thank goodness for word processing programs.

Oh, if you haven’t read the first two books in the Happy Valley series, now would be a great time to do that. I’m hoping Reunion will be ready to publish by the first of June.

Peace, people!

http://Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort (The Happy Valley Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P76RBRD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TYKFSJZ3B6S7QEJXPSAH

http://Wedding at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort (The Happy Valley Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M544HFH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_24J10JVS86N13Z8HRP46

Back in the Olden Days

There was a time, children, when phones did not come equipped with cameras. I should know; I lived through those dark days, and even for me it’s now a concept that is difficult to grasp.

Back in the olden days if someone, a man for example, wanted to take a photograph of his daughter holding his first born grandchild, he would likely have to wrestle a roll of film into a boxy camera, maybe a Brownie, carefully aligning the slots of the undeveloped film onto a cylinder-shaped sprocket-type mechanism. He’d have to shut the case and advance the film until some vague sign from the gods told him to stop.

There might have been much fumbling and cursing as he went about this task. I wouldn’t know—I was only two and a half months old.

The man would then carefully consider the lighting and the background. He would try his best to capture a moment worth saving. You see, there were no editing options on the side of the camera. No cropping capabilities without actual scissors. Oh, and weeks might elapse between the day the image was snapped and the day it could be fetched from the drugstore, and even then one might receive only unfocused double exposures or even pictures of nothingness.

For the man, photography wasn’t a hobby. He just needed a visual reminder of how his daughter looked as she held her own daughter on an ordinary day. A moment in time that would pass and never come again in exactly the same way. A memory that his granddaughter would one day, 65 some odd years later, take a picture of with her cellphone to post on Mothers Day.

He succeeded, and I am grateful.

Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful mother. I miss you every day.

Freida Jarrett Hall and little me.

Clearly, I Have Unresolved Issues

A dream:

I stood in a field

Surrounded by children.

One asked,

Will you mentor me?

I hemmed and hawed

Scratched my head,

Then, yes.

But know I don’t take this lightly.

We drove to a school

Children in plaid skirts and narrow ties

Crowded near.

This is my mentor,

The child said.

She took my hand and we walked

Through archways,

Across sports fields.

We sat at narrow desks.

I thought to ask her name.

Didn’t you know already?

It’s your name, too.

A cat wound our way

Demanded a petting.

The girl smiled.

I’ve named her after us.

%d bloggers like this: