Tag: humor

Three Generations

From left, our son Jason, my husband, Studly Doright, and our grandson, Jackson.

Studly Doright and I were in the Texas panhandle this past week. On our way to his mom’s place in Hereford, Texas, we stopped for the night in Wichita Falls where we picked up our son and his son, and loaded up their motorcycles.

The three of them, along with a carefully selected group of friends and family members, embarked on two days of motorcycling along the Canadian River just north of Amarillo.

It was our grandson, Jackson’s, first real riding experience. Outside of riding a little motorcycle around our yard at Doright Manor, Jackson had never really gotten to experience what motorcycling is all about—the hills and gullies, deep sand and water crossings. This week he encountered all of the above while learning to use a clutch and shift gears. By all accounts he acquitted himself admirably.

His Poppa, aka Studly Doright, had a blast riding with him and with our son, Jason. They’re already saying, “Next year….”

Peace, people!

Taking a Day or Two Off

I’ve strayed from my usual routine, and haven’t had a chance to write anything the past few days. You’ll just have to use your imaginations.

Irrelevant photo of E.T.

Act Naturally

Those of you who’ve read my first novel, Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, will get a huge kick out of this gift my son designed for me.

Natural Jugglers of America. I don’t THINK the organization actually exists, but it’d be cool if it did.

I squealed when he gave me the shirt. I’m going to wear it the next time I drink from the Scout’s Honor logo mug my daughter commissioned to celebrate the publishing company name we coined for the book.

My cat, Scout, was the inspiration for the design.

Do I have the coolest kids, or what?

Peace, people.

Adventures in Amazon

Somehow, and I’m still not sure what happened, I accidentally switched my Amazon account from the U.S. site to the Indian one.

I looked through everything I could think of to reverse my mistake, but none of the drop down menus offered a way to change one’s country of preference. Finally I clicked on HELP and a nice young person named Munjoo came to my assistance.

Munjoo and I chatted for awhile via text. He wished me good morning and I told him it was nighttime where I was. He (I’m guessing Munjoo was male) was interested in Florida. I had questions about India. It was a good talk,

When we finally got down to brass tacks, and I told him what I’d done, he texted that all I needed to do was to log out of my Amazon account and sign back in. Voila! It worked like a charm, but I must say, the Indian customer service was exemplary.

Maybe I need a saree?!

Peace, people!

Spring is in the Air

Is it spring or is it just pollen? I’m confused, and sneezing. At any rate, here’s a pretty tree in our yard.

Peace, people!

The Hustler

I sold a copy of my book to a telemarketer yesterday. Usually, I ignore numbers that I’m fairly certain are spam, but this one originated from Washington D.C. and I thought, Hey, it might be President Biden, so I accepted the call.

Turns out, it wasn’t Potus, but it wasn’t exactly a telemarketer either. Instead, the caller was from a charitable organization that I support. I politely listened to the caller’s spiel and then replied, “I’m sorry, but I can’t make a recurring monthly donation at this time. I’m a self-published author and I’m never sure what my royalties will amount to.”

“Oh?” She said. “What do you write?”

I grinned to myself. “I have a novel that was published in December. Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort.”

“She laughed and said, “What?”

I repeated the title.

“Oh my,” she said. “I’m buying that right now!”

We talked a few minutes more then said our goodbyes.

At the top of the hour I checked my sales on Kindle Direct Publishing. Now, I have no way of knowing if the kind caller was the purchaser of my book, but I did make a sale for an ebook that hour. And that’s why they call me, The Hustler. (Note: I think I’m the only one to use that nickname, but maybe I’ll start a trend.)

Peace, people!

Maybe next time….

Peace, people!

What Next?

Studly Doright and I finished watching The Wire last night. Wow, what a great series! For some reason, though, we both thought the show ran for eight seasons, so we were totally shocked when it ended after season five.

Now we have to search for a new series. That’s always tough, especially when the one we’ve just finished watching was outstanding in every way.

So now what? I’ve suggested the sci-fi series, The Expanse. I’ve read all the books by James S. A. Corey, and they are excellent. Studly isn’t as into sci-fi as I am, so I’m going to have to campaign extra hard for that one.

And then there’s Big Sky based on the novel The Highway by C. J. Box. The book was so good, but I haven’t heard much yet about the series other than a few grumbles about casting choices from other readers of the book.

We’ve watched and enjoyed Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, Shameless, Godless, Hell on Wheels, Schitt’s Creek, Ozark, Better Call Saul, The Queen’s Gambit, Band of Brothers, Lost in Space, The Mandalorian, and probably a few more I can’t recall.

And we tried watching Longmire, Yellowstone, and The Good Place, but couldn’t get into those. Studly wouldn’t enjoy Downton Abbey, or The Crown, and I doubt I could coax him into watching Bridgerton; although, that one intrigues me.

So, what’s next? Is there a gem out there that we’ve overlooked? If we don’t find something else soon, I’ll be forced to watch motorcycle videos on YouTube. Help.

Peace, people!

Hindsight is Twenty Something

A few days ago I had what I thought was a brilliant idea. Sales for Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort have been good, but reviews were a little light. The reviews the book received were outstanding; there just weren’t that many of them.

So, I thought, why not have a drawing on my Facebook author page? When the number of reviews reached 40, I’d draw a reviewer’s name at random and give away either a Scout’s Honor coffee mug or a signed copy of Mayhem. Cool, huh?

Except I didn’t take into account that many reviewers on Amazon use nicknames or initials instead of their actual names, so for the last couple of days I’ve been trying to figure out who “Keek” is, and who among my readers might be “Amazon Customer.”

Also, and this is both a wonderful thing and an almost impossible impediment, I don’t personally know at least five of the reviewers! How would I contact them if they won?

Sometime this weekend the number of reviews not only reached, but exceeded the 40 mark. I was able to track down all but two reviewers through connections on Facebook and friends of friends, but those two were untraceable. I felt awful, but went ahead with the drawing as promised, and notified the winner.

So, any suggestions for future giveaways are welcome. I believe this was good for book sales and review numbers, but as Mayhem wanders away from my core group of friends and followers, it might be impossible to track down a winner. This one has given me a massive headache. But I’m also smiling!

Peace, people!

Half a Cat: A Furry Tail

Gracie is upset that I won’t allow her to go outside on the screened-in porch this afternoon. It’s an 80° day and the sun is shining, but there’s a breeze blowing the pollen around, and my allergies just can handle it.

So Gracie is making do with the next best thing.

That tail starts flicking about now and again leading me to believe there might be a lizard teasing the cat from outside the window. This cat leads a really tough life.

Peace, people!

An Inside Joke

If you’ve read my book, Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort, you’ll find this cartoon even funnier than it already is. If you haven’t read my book, you really should. You know, to be in on the joke. I knew there was a reason I loved The Far Side so much.

Peace, people!