Monday Morning Musing: War, Sister Boniface, and Winter Doldrums

 Sorry this is late. No internet service.

The Ukraine is on the minds of many people this week. Is this a prelude to more invasions? Who will stop Putin from doing this again with another country?

It seems like all my life there’s been a war somewhere. I was born during World War II. During my childhood, the Korean War raged as did the Cold War. Then Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, and Afghanistan. I probably left out some. Somebody is always fighting someone somewhere. Some bully wants more than he’s entitled to. Laws and boundaries are for other people, not the bullies.

Why can’t we all just get along? I guess I’m naïve to think so.

Last week, I wrote about my husband’s birthday. Thank you all for your good wishes, here and on Facebook. A modest man, he was surprised and overwhelmed by the many birthday wishes.

Have you watched Sister Boniface? It’s a spinoff of Father Brown, the 1950s priest who solves murder mysteries in a small English town. Sister Boniface, a moped-riding, forensic specialist nun, does the same in the 1960s. I’ve been trying to figure out why it isn’t as entertaining as Father Brown. I think it’s the lack of humor. It tries, but Sister Boniface doesn’t have a Mrs. McCarthy or a Lady Felicia for comic relief. Still, I’ll keep watching to see if it improves.

Winter doldrums. We had a lovely break in the weather a week ago. Here in west Michigan, we actually got up into the 50s, a heatwave. 😊 The usual February thaw. We’re back in the deep freeze again with winds strong enough to send the windchill below zero. Another month or less (I can hope) and spring will be here. I can’t wait until I can open the windows and let in the fresh air.

Tomorrow, I’ll be over at Paranormal Romantics for my monthly post. Dr. Seuss’s Birthday.

#WeWriWa ~ The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Crushed Fingers

 

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thanks to everyone who stopped by last week. I really appreciate your support. 

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. This follows immediately after last week's snippet. Police deputy Dawson (aka Deputy Dawg, Alex's nemesis since 2nd grade) interrupted the wedding ceremony by arresting Nick for the murder Mike Amerson, Todd's stepfather.

BTW, since this is a work in progress, suggestions are always welcome.

Snippet:

The limo driver dithered, looking from us to Pop.

“Get back in the car,” I yelled, “and drive to the police station.”

“The what?”

Pop opened the door behind the driver’s seat.

“Po-op, get in front.”

“Oh, just scoot over.” He jumped in next to me.

The two guys squished me. My veil poofed up, fell over my head, and nearly smothered me. 

And a little more:

I shoved back the veil as the driver ran around the vehicle. Once inside, he looked over his shoulder. “Did you say the police station?”

“Yes,” I shouted, nearly buried in satin and tulle.

“Go, go, go,” Pop yelled.

“Are you folks buckled up back there?”

Buckled up? My husband had just been arrested, and this jerk of a driver was worried about us buckling our seatbelts?

“I can’t find mine,” I said. “I think I’m sitting on it. Just go.”

“I am, too,” Todd said.

“Hell’s bells,” Pop shouted. “I can’t find that damn thing. Take off, will ya?”

“I can’t leave unless everyone is buckled up. It’s the law.”

Damn driver. We had to get one who had to obey the traffic laws.

“Pop, get up in front.”

With a huge sigh of reluctance, he did. Todd and I scooted around until we found the seatbelts and buckled up.

“Okay back here,” I said with more than a hint of exasperation. “Now, would you please go.”

After glancing at Pop to make sure he was buckled up, the driver floored the accelerator. “What’s going on? I saw that cop race into the church. And then three guys came out, one in cuffs.”

“Never mind,” I cried. “Just get us to the station.”

Todd clutched my hand so hard, I feared for my fingers. “I don’t know what’s going on.” I tried to be calm for his sake. “I’m sure we’ll find out when we get to the station.”

“My mom.” He twisted in the seat, his back against the door, and gave me an anxious look. “Is she—”

I had no idea and little thought for the woman who abandoned Todd to the fists of a bully. I swallowed my disregard. She just lost her husband. I should have compassion for her. Todd had tried to get her to leave Amerson. She wouldn’t, couldn’t—too afraid of the consequences, maybe.

“I’m sure she’s okay.” I squeezed his hand.

Pop leaned over the front seat, reached for my other hand, and squeezed. “No speculation.”

Geez, I was going to lose both hands with the two of them cutting off circulation.

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and have a great week.

My Favorite: Books on Writing

 Since I've been writing fiction for almost thirty years, I've read a lot of how-to books. Some were drier than dust, some I couldn't get into. But some had such an effect on me that I reread them. As with all my favorites, I can't choose just one favorite book on writing. Each book I've read offers something different. It's wonderful to have so many options. What one person gets (or remembers) from each book depends on their needs. Here are three that I found most helpful.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is the first book I read that made an impression. The title came from advice her father gave to her brother who had procrastinated writing a school assignment on birds, and it was the night before the assignment was due. Her dad said to take it bird by bird. Sounds simple, right?

When you have a big project, like writing an 80,000 word novel, it can be overwhelming. Taking it apart, breaking the project into smaller units can feel doable. I think about this advice whenever I have a task that's overwhelming, and it helps.

I learned about GMC: Goal, Motivation, & Conflict by Debra Dixon when she gave a program at my local RWA chapter's annual retreat. Goal, Motivation, and Conflict are the backbone of a novel. Once you understand the GMC of your main character(s), the story will become easier to write. I've seen this same formula written different ways. Ms. Dixon's take and subsequent examples using popular movies made this concept understandable for me. For each story, I make up a GMC chart for all the main characters, including the villain.

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers by Christopher Vogler uses Joseph Campbell's work on ancient myths. Vogler gives writers instructions using (again) popular movies as examples. Since I'm such a fan of Star Wars, I was thrilled that the first movie he uses is Star Wars IV: A New Hope. Everything clicked into place for me. Now, I make up the step-by-step journey for each of my books.

Since I've told you I make up these charts, you might think I do them before I start writing. I don't. I'm sort of a pantzer. An idea for a story, first scene mainly, pops in my head and I start writing. No idea who these characters are or what they want or what they're going to do. But eventually (here's where I stop being a pantzer) I hit a wall. I have to stop writing and figure things out. Where is my story going? Who are these people? That's when I have to find out more about the character (his/her GMC) and the essence of the story (their journey). This structure makes so much sense to me that I "see" it in movies.

There are many more books for writers that I haven't read. If you have a favorite, please share in the comments.

Monday Morning Musing: My Husband

 

Today is my husband's birthday. A milestone year. We’ve been together for almost 50 years. He’s been my rock throughout all this time. Supportive of anything I’ve wanted to try, especially my writing. He’s cheered me on and commiserated with me over rejections. And he’s celebrated my successes.

As many of you know, we met on a blind date, arranged by two women friends—they both knew me and one’s husband worked with my guy. They thought we would be great together. We were…and still are. We are a generation similar to our parents, yet different in our attitudes, especially toward women’s roles. Before we married, we talked about my role when/if children came along. He said he was okay whatever I chose—to work outside the home or stay home and raise the children. I didn’t realize for a long time what a gift he gave me. The freedom of choice.

He looked on himself as the provider for the family. But his job entailed working much more than a 40-hour week, more like 60 to 80 hour-weeks. When he realized how much he was missing from the kids’ lives, he took a huge risk to change from an assured job to something unknown. It also meant moving several states away from our families. But the new job gave him more time with the children. Time to participate in their activities from Scouts to Odyssey of the Mind.

A quiet man, his love has always been expressed through his actions. He’s a listener, not a judge. Coming from a home where my father’s word was law, I couldn’t believe his understanding and his willingness to listen to other sides, not just with me but with the kids, too. His father was a gentle man, too. They say the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. Very true in this case.

Together, we raised two children who’ve taken the best qualities from each of us and expressed them in their own marriages. They chose spouses who complemented them. Just as he complemented me. We have different talents and skills. He’s math and science; I’m arts and literature. His spatial reasoning puts me to shame. When he says something won’t fit, it usually doesn’t. Woodworking is a talent he put to good use. We have furniture he built, so do our kids. Our grandchildren have Adirondack chairs (their names engraved down one slat) that Papa made. Unfortunately, we have different political views. 😊  In fact, we often cancel each other’s votes.

I’ve often said what a blessing our five grandchildren are. Crawling up on Papa’s lap never gets old. The little ones learn about gentle teasing (never cruel) and tickling. They giggle, race away, then return for more. Pulling on his beard, gently, makes them giggle more.

For almost two years, he wasn’t himself. Strokes, confusion, and what was misdiagnosed as early dementia made him seem distant and vague, as if he couldn’t focus on anything or anyone. It was a scary time for us adults, confusing for the young ones. Worse was the distance because of covid. Thank God, the doctors finally diagnosed him correctly with a proper cure. Our husband, father, grandfather returned.

I’ve been very fortunate to know this man for so long, to work with him as a partner through the good times and difficult ones. My wish for him on this special birthday is that we have many more years together.

 

Happy Birthday, sweetheart.

 

#WeWriWa ~ The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Wait For Me

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thanks to everyone who stopped by last week. I really appreciate your support. 

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. This follows immediately after last week's snippet. Police deputy Dawson (aka Deputy Dawg, Alex's nemesis since 2nd grade) interrupted the wedding ceremony by arresting Nick for the murder Mike Amerson, Todd's stepfather.

Snippet: 

Chief Hoesen grabbed the deputy’s arm. “You idiot. You should’ve made sure the boy heard first.”

“B-But—”

“We will sort this out at the station.” The chief looked at all of us crowded in front of the altar and gave us an apologetic shrug.

As Deputy Dawson led my bridegroom away, in cuffs, Tony and Maria hustled right behind them.

Dottie’s little girl tore away from her grandmother. Sobbing, Emmy dodged legs, shoving me aside, as she tried to get to her mother. The boys, apparently thinking their sister had the right idea, charged the altar.

 

And a little more:  

When the best man moved to take care of his family, Todd stood frozen, his face pale. Poor kid. I grabbed his hand.

“Let’s go," I said. “Pop, take care of things here.”

Clinging to Todd, our sort-of adopted teen, I hitched up my gown and dashed after Nick and the others.

“M-Mike is dead?” The kid appeared stunned. I couldn’t blame him. “Mr. Nick killed him?”

“He couldn’t have. I’m sure there’s some mistake.”

As we bolted down the aisle, I heard Pop talking. “Listen, folks, there has to be an explanation. Why don’t you all head on over to the Grand Hotel for the reception? No need to waste all that food. Jim, Dottie, take over.”

Outside, I spied the limo in the parking lot off to the side of the church. “C’mon, Todd.”

With my skirt hiked up to my knees, I clutched Todd’s hand and raced down the steps. Sure enough, I tripped on the last step. Todd saved me from a face plant. We were halfway to the limo when Pop came running out of the church, heavily panting.

The driver hopped out of the car. “That was fast. This is your groom? Kinda young, isn’t he?”

Todd jerked open the back door of the limo before the driver could come around.

I gathered my skirt and tried to enter the car. I hollered at Todd to help me. After shoving yards of satin—damn train—off the seat, he clambered in beside me.

“Wait for me,” Pop yelled.

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and have a great week.

Guest: Nancy Gideon ~ You've Got a Friend in Me! 99₵ Sale @NancyGideon

I had to laugh when I saw the title of Nancy's post. Last Saturday, the boys (4 yo twins) and I watched the original Toy Story. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed that movie, especially Randy Newman's song, "You've Got a Friend in Me." Nancy Gideon & I are long-time friends. We met when I joined Mid-Michigan RWA back in the early 1990s. We both lived in the Kalamazoo area at the time and often rode together to meetings. Since then, we each moved away, but our friendship has endured, cheering each other's successes, commiserating together, and kicking each other's butt (mainly her kicking me) to keep writing. (BTW, I wrote the above before reading Nancy's post. I'm thrilled at her words.)

You’ve Got A Friend in Me! And I’ve Got a Sale for You!

Thanks, Di, for letting me invade your blog again to shout to all within print reach that I have a book on sale!

For those who don’t know, Diane and I have known each other for decades (we started writing when we were children!). She often credits me with giving her the push to publish. I say she was well on her way but needed a well-meaning shove (her books are TOO good not to get into reader hands!). She’s been with me through the majority of my career, listening to my woes, sharing my highs, and digging me out of my lows. She’s a Writer Friend. Everyone should be so lucky. Writing is hard. Writing is solitary work. Writing makes you doubt yourself, your goals, your talent, and sometimes your sanity. Every writer needs that someone standing outside their circle of Woe Is Me to slap some sense back into them. I’m not saying Di actually smacked me, but she did, I probably deserved it!

When we writers put someone in our Writer Friend Zone, we expect a lot from them. They’re always eager to read our rough drafts (even when they don’t have time and never read in your genre) and will kindly tell you if it stinks. They encourage you when you get rejections. They cheerlead you through that sprint to finish your W-I-P when you think it all looks like dreck and want to quit. They’re hungry to get their hands on your next chapter. They aren’t afraid to tell you when you can do better, reach higher, to stop whining and just write it down. And they say it with a smile.

I remember when she cornered me out in the hallway during a break at one of our Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America meetings to give me the best compliment ever by telling me she’d bought one of my vampire romances even though she’d never read paranormal and really never wanted to. But she bought it because I wrote it and she wanted me to sign it . . . and then she read it, and loved it! No author ever gets tired of hearing that, but the biggest compliment was opening up a whole new realm of reading matter to an avid writer . . . who now writes fantastic Sci-Fi romance!

Words matter. Her compliment made me walk on air. Her assurances fueled my confidence. And when she struggled, I couldn’t wait to reciprocate. Because that’s what Writer Friends do. Others can pat you on the back and pretend to commiserate, but only someone who has crawled through the mucky trenches of self-doubt that they’ll ever finish a book or publish a book or have someone other than family buy their book can really understand this quirky profession we chose. And their faith is manna from Heaven, each and every time.

Writers share openly and eagerly -  of their time, their talent, their contacts, and their heartaches. And that’s what keeps us going, whether we be working on that first attempt or our fiftieth. Someone is counting on us, someone who has walked the walk, someone who believes that the reason we write is because we can’t NOT write. Thank goodness for those someones!!

So when Diane invited me to visit to hype my book being on sale, I was thrilled to grab the chance to say “Hey, buy my book!” And also thrilled to say, “Buy my friend’s books, too!!”

Amazon link: https://amzn.to/36nELUV

Nancy Gideon is the award-winning bestseller of over 70 romances ranging from historical, Regency, and series contemporary suspense to dark paranormal and horror, with a couple of produced screenplays and non-fiction writing books tossed into the mix. 

Newly retired from 20 years as a legal assistant, she feeds a Netflix addiction along with all things fur, fin, and fowl, and dotes on her grandguy. She’s also written under the pseudonyms Dana Ransom, Rosalyn West, and Lauren Giddings.

Nancy Gideon on the Web:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group

Monday Morning Musing: The Super Bowl

 

Football is not my game. When Hubs watches--college football, usually--I read or play computer games. Except when it comes to the Super Bowl. Do I watch the game? Sort of. I watch the commercials. 😊

Am I alone?

Last night, we went to our son's. While he and Hubs watched the game, our daughter-in-law and I critiqued the commercials. Most were meh, some stood out.

The Budweiser commercials usually rate pretty high with us. But we agreed that the wounded Clydesdale, while heartwarming and memorable, was too short. 

Doritos commercials are always worth a good laugh. No exception last night.

So did the Toyota truck commercial with the Joneses. Of course, it helps if you recognize all the drivers. You know you're getting old when you have to ask your son who people are. 

Still, my all-time favorite car commercial is the boy dressed as Darth Vader who tries to use "The Force" to start his dad's car, while Dad, in the kitchen, uses his remote. 

Sometimes, the thought-provoking commercials are the ones to remember. Ty Burrell buying everything he sees until he's broke was the point of the Greenlight commercial.

I googled the commercials to see if I missed any memorable ones, which is kind of contradictory, isn't it? I couldn't believe how many commercials I didn't remember seeing. I mean, we were with family. We talked. I played with the kiddos. But, sheesh, I missed a lot. Obviously, not memorable.

How about you? Game or Commercials? Your favorite/memorable?