Black & white

 

Words on a page. Catching ideas flying around like biker butterflies.

Beautiful, but averse to order. I have what you want. Settle and let me show you how it will be.

A week zips by

 

The face you make when you favorite readers turn up unscathed after being lost all summer.

We had a sleepover with a digital learning day attached. I do not know how one person herds 30 little through these hoops every day. By noon, recess and lunch were my favorite subjects. We took it to the park.

Marketing in the dark

      Once upon a time (after a one-night stand) Paranormal Romance had a baby with Thriller. Being a dog, Thriller ghosted her. Knowing she was unfit for parenthood, PNR gave the child to Magical Realism and her mack daddy, Literary Fiction. In no time, they threw up their hands and gave up trying to contain the wild child genre and still haven't named her. Suggestions welcome. 

~~~signed, an author in a very dark marketing place.

"Take the green pill. Run with your eyes closed. Flap until you fly." DL

  

      Wrote this before coffee and after pondering a marketing webinar presented in so much jargon that I have to re-enroll in the dummies level class to make sense of this one. I just want to sit on a bench and read it aloud to small groups. That being said, I've tentatively arranged a signing/reading at a local bookstore, Phoenix & Dragon. No time for the willies and it's a wonderful place just wallowing in good vibes. As to what I might be reading, that's going to take some study. 

the remains

 

That's the lot of them. Unless I start looking at them again.

Lots of cloth still.

Post offices runs are on Fridays.

Intention and line

 

Playing at creating lives and worlds in a story is heady business. Real life, the wins and losses, keeps my feet on the ground.

The line, or veil, between we in the now, and those who have gone before is a theme that I'm exploring in the next book. 

Structuring it is not a big problem as it's a continuation of the first (three). We think we know the players and their goals, but they will surprise us. 

Keeping the Story on the rails is a course in self discipline for me. I tend to wander. Characters and plot take over and want to have their say. 

This time, I'll acknowledge that growth and likely wind up writing two or three books at once. One of them (mostly completed) reaches back in time before the first. Who doesn't like some juicy back story?  

Intentional lines get us from one point to another.  The trick is to make the trip as entertaining as the destination. 

the switch

 was flipped sometime in the night.

 Yesterday was a rare one. Chill enough for boots and long sleeves in the morning. Warm in the bright sun, a cool breeze tickled in the shade. My gardenias, marigolds and purslane still gallantly flowering. 

I drove with all ports wide and made a hot, catch-me-if-you-can loop down the parkway and back ending at the turtle park. 

It's been over a year since I walked there. One foot in front of the other, I made the very short walk around the pond with only one catch my breath stop, the movement more shaking off the cobwebs in my brain than pushing my body. 

I'd been smug about having book four in the can, or rather, jotted down on a clutch of index cards. A thing I never did before. Not quiet plotting. 

Still, it was big progress. But the walking mode showed me the finale and it was not a happy ending which means it's not the end at all and I have to dive back in. 

The temps dropped overnight and today is a pj's and soup day - cold with rain the whole day. Perfect all on its own. Cats all spread out snoring. For this moment, some stitch and some jazz.

those guys

 I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been thoroughly enjoying the Boys of Summer! Last night I got together with a friend. had good food and fun and watched the Atlanta Braves get us to the World Series for the first time since 1999! It was a nail-biter! 

In a totally different sphere of sport, I have been internet stalking this guy, (Oh, you wouldn't? Liar!)      I somehow stumbled across a picture of him while prospecting for an actor to play the main character in my novel.

A couple of my beta readers agreed, Joel Poland, 2021 Overall World Champion waterskier (of all damned things) is THE GUY. 

Tough luck chica. He's not an actor, but an athlete performing at the peak of his sport. Oh damn well, he's fun to watch, and I love that I was able to watch the finals live while I was away, if only on my phone. Send it, JP! 

Update. Somebody wants to be a movie star.

Wordless

 

.

Time for me to fly!

 

They always know when I'm traveling, even though it's been years. I use a whole roll of tape to get cat hair off this bag and my navy hoody. Took a shower and found cats again roosting on everything. "All haired up for you, mom." 

They will be in good hands.

If FB is good for nothing else, the Memories feature brings sweet surprises. These two pictures were taken six years apart. 

Of course, going home means going to where memories were made.  There is nothing like an old polaroid for time travel. He was teasing me about something and I had clearly taken the bait. I do remember that those overalls were so tight that sitting was an act of masochism. There were no babies yet. I drove home in my underwear not caring if I got pulled over. 

This is happening too. But I won't be shipping anything until after I get back, maybe the 24th, give or take. Flex is good.

My season

Yes, it's even more vivid in person! I use the bare minimum of chlorine during the season and ran out of pills for the plastic Ducks in September so this is just water and some very healthy algae. 

This will be the first year that there are no trees hanging immediately over the water so the natural chemistry is a first. This is the same liner that we bought in '98 so I must be doing something right. Keeping the pool filled keeps the kevlar-based liner from drying out and keeps the frame from flexing inward. Come Spring we are due for replacing the main hoses. All we have to do now is make sure it doesn't get any significant ice. 

I have to float some wood scraps in case a bumbling critter falls in. I have watched deer browsing inside that chain link fence and have been in the water when one hopped up on the deck for a drink. 

The rabid Purslane continues to rout out any pot mates. There's a rather pitiful nasturtium struggling along on the fringes. I'm wondering if I cover this with dirt or straw will it over winter? I hope so. They are hard to find.

 The grape hyacinth finally gave me some blooms. Turns out I overfed the poor thing. Too much nitrogen? You get leaves galore but no flowers or fruit.  I'm going to add another panel or two to the arbor next year. No fertilizer for you! 

 

We had a lovely mid-week get-together because school was closed for some kind of break. He's a thoughtful child open to the world and other creatures. I've read that seven is the age of reason without really understanding what that referred to. I see it as awakening to the fact that one is not the center of the 'Verse and that all beings are connected.