Where'd Monday go? Discombobulation abounds. No photos/videos: Bad Kat

Morning y'all. I'm late with my Monday post - I have been out of town to South Louisiana to visit family and friends. It was a quick trip, but here it is Tuesday morning and I don't have my photos/images/videos! *Bad Kat* I even woke up in my iron bed in the little log house in the cove at Killian Knob thinking this was Monday. Lawd.

So pardon my lateness and zippity do dah diggity didn't do-it-ness as I unpack and unwind and decompress. I will see you on Wednesday with my regular blog post!

By the way, SWEETIE is inching up the "Amazon Kindle Best Seller List" - she's at this moment no 29 in literary fiction. I'd love to see her head up to No 1 of course *haw!* but even the top 50 is very nice. THANK YOU for your support. She'll, Sweetie that is, will be on this "Amazon Weekly Deals" for a mere .99cents until Friday and then it's over and she's the regular price. (Firefly Dance is on that same deal.) Appreciate all of you.

See you Wednesday!

Linky Love - Blogger Community

Time for links, y'all! And today's links are from the blogger community.

And a big Thank You to blogspot Blogger for making it easy to open links to a new page - at last! yay!

Jessica Nelson BookingIt. Whenever I see her profile photo, it makes me smile. There is a sweetness about Jessica and it comes out in her blog and in her comments she leaves.

Diane Estrella "That's what I'm here for" has a fun Christmas quiz going on. She also reviews books and products, and her energy bounds off her blog page.

I have a new Blogger friend whose blog I am exploring - From Sarah, With Joy. And "joy" does describe what I've experienced stopping by her place.

Hilary Melton-Butcher has such an interesting blog "Positive Letters . . . Inspirational Stories," chock full of information on things you don't realize you longed to know until you get there, and Voila! She's told you all about something so interesting, you leave feeling smarter and more wordly.

I laughed when I watched Carolyn V's "Checkboard Squares" video on Zombie Love - and I HATE zombies . . .  ungh - but danged if I couldn't get that song out of my mind.

Reader Unboxed - it's all about books and reading and it's the sister site of Writer Unboxed. I love both of these blogs, and am a member of Writer Unboxed, for which I've linked to before.

Folks, if you haven't stopped by John Bord's Ink Spots, then slip on over there. His writings are starkly beautiful, and he's just a nice guy to boot. Sometimes he writes of social issues and whether I agree or do not, I always leave his blog thinking.

Colby Marshall Spittin' out words like a llama is quirky and fun, and, ohhh!, I do believe she has a form of synesthesia, so that makes her my new "writing interest" - I want to study her, for I have a character who will probably be in my next book who has synesthesia.

Click on over to Eryl at The Kitchen Bitch Ponders . . . because she's just cool and I like her and I love that title, too.

And finally, last one for this Friday's Linky Love is Titus the Dog - I have two of her poetry collections and have ordered the latest. The words are gorgeous and profound, yes, but, the covers are exceptional as well.

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As an aside - I am writing this on Wednesday because I have to unplug all of Thursday and perhaps into Friday. However, from what I understand, beginning on Saturday the 17th is the Amazon Kindle Promo for Sweetie (and as well for the anthology The Firefly Dance). Sweetie, and Firefly, will be priced by Amazon for $.99 for one week only - through the 23rd. After that, it goes back to regular price. So, there you go, a Christmas Kindle Book Promo. Thank you for your support - without my readers, my writing is lonely and unloved :-D .

Just found out this, apparently Amazon has Sweetie and FD at .99cents instead of what I thought! lawd! wow. Far as I know, just for the week still. Firefly is priced the same.

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See y'all on Monday!

Finding the Rest of Your (life) Story - Don't Give Up

As my brother and I left Blanchard Caverns on our Odyssey trip, one of the tour guides called out, “Watch out for deer. They come out this time of the evening.”

It wasn’t ten minutes later, as we carefully drove along an unfamiliar road in the soon-to-be-coming dusky dark, that I saw a deer by the side of the road and said, “There’s one; be careful.” We passed the deer without incident, both laughing at how we were just warned and then there a deer was.

 A few miles more, and I saw her. She darted out quickly and in the time it took me to open my mouth and yell, “Watch out!” she’d already ran right into Tommy’s truck. The sickening sound of WHAM! against metal, and our cries of “Oh no!”

Tommy said, “I can’t go back. I just can’t.” The stricken look that formed his features into grief must have mirrored my own.

 I said, “I know, Tommy. I understand.”

Yet, despite our words, he’d already slowed to pull to the side of the road. We both knew we couldn’t leave a suffering animal. We’d just lost our father and the thought of dealing with death of any kind caused our faces to fall into folds of worry and sick and sad. And if she was suffering, what could we do? How to help her? The Odyssey had barely begun and already we were ready to call it Done. It was all too much. Too much. Too much.

 Tommy looked into his rearview and said, “Hey wait! She’s up! She’s running into the woods.”

“That means she’s probably okay. Oh I hope so. And Tommy,” I said, “even if she’s not, we can’t go searching for her in unfamiliar woods, especially with dark coming soon.”

 “Yeah, I know,” he said. And we went on our way down that lonely darkening road. The night tainted, unfamiliar. Grieved. It felt as if Tommy and I were the only humans left in the world. Visions of the beautiful animal hurt in the woods pummeled my thoughts. I know Tommy was feeling that too.

We drove in a silent dark that became a deeper dark, nothing around except for a smattering of farm houses here and there far back from the road. Then, at last! There! Lights in the distance. We soon came to a gas-station and stopped to fill up. As Tommy went inside, I looked around, trying to gauge my bearings, feeling disoriented and exhausted. There were a few men standing around but they didn’t look approachable. Another woman filled her car, but she had an angry expression. I felt uncomfortable there, as if I were an interloper upon their space and place and time.

A young woman pulled up to fill her tank. Her friendly face calmed me, so I made my decision and walked up to her, “Excuse me,” I said, “But where are we?”

She laughed, and told me.

“Is there a hotel nearby?”

She laughed again, then said, “Not one you’d want to stay in, that’s for sure.”

 At my stricken look her face softened. “Hey, look. You can go to Hardy. It’s a little town but it has a couple of decent hotels. And!” She smiled and said with mock excitement, “it has a Wal-mart and a McDonalds!”

 “Sold!” I grinned at her, then said, “Thank you so very much.”

 “No problem. Drive safely. There’s some construction on the way.”

We followed the woman's directions and soon Tommy and I were checked-in to a hotel. We set out to the McDonalds for salads and to Wal-mart for a few supplies. Our moods were lighter, our faces lit in relief. I told Tommy I wished I'd have thought to ask her name, for she didn't know what her kindness meant to me, and to my brother.

The next morning was bright and beautiful. Tommy and I prepared again for our Odyssey, our faces as bright and beautiful as the morning. “Off we go!, I cried, “into the wild blue yonder!” We laughed, speeding off to the next adventure.

 I often think what if we’d have given up because of that evening we were so tired and sad and distraught? I think, what if we’d have consulted technology and sped our way to an interstate where everything is The Same, given up the discovery we had been so excited about—the old back roads using only our sense of direction and a paper map. I think what if we’d have said the trip was too hard, and we were too tired and disoriented and defeated. We’d have missed the Rest of the Story. We’d have never known the days ahead of that evening. We’d have slapped the face of the evenings before The Deer & Lost in the Dark incident, when everything was about that discovery.

 Everything doesn’t have to be easy. Everything doesn’t always go our way, or the right way. Everything we do has ups and downs, has disappointments and successes. It’s when we decide to keep going, to let the dark times teach us to reach out to someone, and to find The Rest of The Story, that we live the life we were meant to live—one well-lived.

 Will you give up? Or will you drive through the scary dark to a friendly face, right into the bright and beautiful to find The Rest of Your Story?

Time for Video/Photos No/Few Words: Jingle Dogs Reunion & Secret Places & etc

Morning Y'all! Time for video/photos no/few words! Now this is just silly but it still made me laugh:-D

My Secret Place - this made it into the SWEETIE novel *shhh* very secret

What I can see on way to Secret Place and where Sweetie and Melissa sometimes ran to hide

close up

ice crystals in the grass

mushrooms on a log

wasp nest in our Christmas tree - we have "nature things" and regular ornaments - our tree is on the porch

"Not Quite Fat Dog" Jake helped decorate by looking cute

the christmas decorations made shadows which kept the frost in same pattern -at Lake Junaluska

Friday Linky Love in this wonderful Community of Bloggers we are!

bffs are wunnerful - in blogland too!

Yes, folks - I am back to three days a week posting, after months  of wailing and gnashing my teeth over my deadline I thought I'd never make (of course I will and the final in the Graces Trilogy will be out in a few months!), and after my father's illness and passing - oh how wonderful you all are and were for supporting me, and for your understanding I am appreciative.

Which takes me to how much of a community Blogger Land is, and why I have missed my thrice-weekly posting, and my visiting your  blogs. What a wonderful community of people there are out there in Blogger Land!

Friday is Linky Love day, so here are a few offerings. As always, I invite you to tell me about any gooey noughty goodness you find out there so I can share it - yes, even if it is your own site.

What brought me back to excitement over my blog? Why Kristen Lamb's blog and her book "Are you there blog, it's me, Writer." I've mentioned Kristen before, but she bears mentioning again if this whole Social Networking thang has you beating your head against the wall (as the bruises on said pea-head of mine will attest).

I was curious what would happen if I clicked on "Next Blog" - something I never think to do, and it brought me to The Simple Woman's Day Book blog - where "thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the everyday moments." Looks interesting, so I think I'll check it out further.

Jan O'Hara is one of the blogs I miss visiting regularly - she makes me laugh and think and giggle and go "hmmmmm." Miz Tart at Tartitude is wunnerful.

I have also missed the Amazing Voyages of the Turtle, Sandra Leigh's blog about her travels here there and yonder. She is amazing.

Author Jody Hedlund always has interesting and informative posts for writers. I learn a lot about myself as it pertains to my writing life from these posts and sometimes find I am writing much too long comments! lawd!

Hungry? Like to "pass a good time" with music and food and a really nice person down in the Louisiana Swampland? Then visit Marguerite at Cajun Delights. I lived in South Louisiana many years and her blog reminds me of the food and fun and people there.

Deb Shucka's blog "Catbird Scout" is another for whom I have missed reading regularly - her intimate, poignant, and beatifully-written blog never ceases to amaze me with just how lovely a person, and a writer, Deb is. She's also an editor at our Rose & Thorn journal.

Anita from Life with a Cherry on Top is one of those quiet blogs that doesn't announce itself and make a lot of noise, just as Anita herself is! But I adore Anita and her blog. Visiting her makes me feel calmed and warm and toasty.

Another of our Rose & Thorn editors is Janna Qualman over at Something She Wrote. We both stumbled upon Rod McKeun's poetry books and that makes me smile. She is also one of those quiet writers who doesn't shout out, but she should!

Terri Tiffani's blog is titled "Inspirational Writer" and that is just what she is, which is why she has such a loyal following, and I've missed reading her blog.

And there are many more - and I will be linking to those in the coming Fridays.

Ah, feels good to be back, y'all!

You all have a wonderful weekend!

The Sheldon Cooper in Me

sheldon cooper & me -okay, not me *laughing*

Sometimes when I'm watching The Big Bang Theory, I have this semi-uncomfortable feeling that I am oft-times too much like Sheldon Cooper. That I understand too much of what he says and does and it makes perfect sense to me, so that while I, and the studio audience, are laughing, I am also going, "Um . . . wait . . . we are laughing because this is a bit of the ridiculous . . . and so I am a bit of the ridiculous.” Teehee.


I know I have tics and weirdness and "ways I must do things." I know when I go into a hotel room, I first put down my luggage on a wooden surface and not on the floor in the case there are critters there hiding just so they can crawl into my luggage and snuggle in for the trip home. And then I immediately walk to the bed, lift the covers, and check out the sheets and the mattress. If I am in a Hampton Inn, which is where I try to stay because they sanitize their comforters and they are white--which shows everything!--I mostly feel I don’t have to remove the bedspread, but if I have to stay where there is one of those colorful bedspread, off it comes! Colorful bedspreads are made that way to hide stains and other icky nasty. The sheets best be white without any stains—stains will send me into apoplectic fits of EWWWWWWW. The mattress check is for signs of critters. And, to make things more weirdly embarrassing: during the middle of the night, at around 2 a.m., since that’s when an article said certain critters come out, I have to shine a light under the covers to make sure no critters have sneaked up on me and are feasting on my wittle legs. Well, so far, so good, I’ve not had to go screeching into the hotel hallway as if my hair’s on fire.

My place is at the left end of the couch. When company comes, I hurry to sit on that end, because it is My End; however, if someone beats me to it, unknowing that this is My End, then I will toss and turn upon the other end of the couch; I am displaced! I am uncomfortable –ungh! Ungh! I would never say anything to the displacer but as soon as they go home, I pounce upon My End of the couch and nestle it back to its former Me-ness. I have a few moments of, “It feels weird because someone else has been here,” which I must quickly overcome so I can enjoy My End again. Huhn.

I have rules about food. I’m not much of a meat eater, but when there is Meat Food prepared, it must be eaten within a certain amount of time. Usually about two days, preferably one. Yes, this is so. GMR will eat meat or meat-dishes a million days after it has been prepared, but not so I! I imagine it is spoiling almost immediately, growing nasty crawling critters, and souring, and I just will not eat it. Meatless food items may stay a little longer in my “I will eat this” category, but there are more Food Rules—I will not get into this right now, but they all make sense to me. erk.

When I shake a stranger’s hand, my hand tingles afterward. Because I begin to think, “I wonder where that hand’s been?” And the thought grows and grows until my hand tingles and I am just so AWARE of my hand! Sometimes this happens even if it is not a stranger and for this I can only ask for forgiveness. No one will ever know, because it is only me who can feel the critters crawling all over my hand. Ungh. Ungh. Sometimes this may be my “People Radar” going off—the radar that tells me something ain’t right about a person and I am taken aback by the force of those feelings, and sometimes it’s because I am just Weird.

Sometimes when I’m walking, I will step on a root or bump or something elevated in my path. Say I step on it with my right foot. Well, then the left foot begins to feel cheated. It wants to step on something elevated. I try to ignore it, but eventually, I give in and make sure I step on something elevated with the left foot. Sometimes, just to be mean to my left foot, I will step on something elevated numerous times with my right foot and say, “HA! THERE! Try to control ME will you! hahaha!”

Shall I go on? Well, I shall not because I’m of the belief that you must leak out your crazy a teeny bit at a time. Let people become used to it. Lull them into a sense of how they think you are quirky and slightly sweet and loveable, and then they accept all the crazy-arse stuff you throw at them without blinking an incredulous eye hardly one bit, hardly.

 What about you? Have any quirks you want to share?

PS - As an aside - whenever I find out there is going to be a "Special Promotion" for my books, I always want to let y'all know they are coming. From around December 17th until 23rd, The Firefly Dance and Sweetie will be on a special Amazon Kindle promo. I believe they are pricing them for $1.99 for just that time. A head's up - in case you are interested. You all know I get all irkity talking about my books because I want this to be a "car salesman free zone" :-D haw! But, dang, this is a deal! Later y'all.

Images, few words - You Go Girl Accomplishments I should be "proud" of instead of whining about what I haven't done. Huhn!

more about Tender Graces

More about Secret Graces

More about Sweetie

more about the Firefly Dance

Well, you all know I rarely put stuff up here on my blog, or anywhere else, about my books - but over the last weeks I've been all whiny - thinking about what I have NOT accomplished. Then, this morning, I slapped myself upside my head and thought, "Hon; dear; look at what you HAVE accomplished." And among those things are these. I'm taking today to give myself a "you go girl."

Along with those novels, a novella, and a novel to be released in March, I've written and had published poetry and essays and stories and photographs - have I stopped to think, "Hey . . . cool!" or have I thought, "Yeah but . . ." or "Don't talk about your stuff because it sounds like bragging and that's UGH and unseemly" . . .

Those Yeah Buts and other admonishments are sneaky lil stinkers, aren't they? Huhn.

What about you? What's your "you go girl/guy" moment(s)?

see you Wednesday!
------ -- sometime later in the Magendie Little Log House in the cove at Killian Knob------

 PS! - y'all - I'm laughing because ever since I posted this I've wanted to take it down. I really do not do well with talkin' bout my stuff . . . ungh ungh! . . . haw! Dang . . . *kat looks at the delete key - considerrrrrs -- connnnnssssiiiderrrrrs -- * :-D