I Heart My Job

On the other hand, I love what I do.

Yep, I love my job.  I don’t think of “job” as a bad word.  It is just a word I use to emphasize that my work is worth the pain, suffering, toil, trudge and, well…work.  It is my avocation.  It’s the right job for me; the write job.  It’s fun and it’s frustrating.  But what work/job/business isn’t at times?

So, I do what I love.

P.S.  The new baby is due tomorrow.  Lone Star Legacy: The Texas Rangers Then and Now, hasn’t come yet but very few newborns arrive on time. 🙂

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Hi-ho, Hi-ho. It’s Off to Vote We Go

No need to be worried if this person or that person gets a leg up or not on this “Super Tuesday.”  Voting is our right, our inherent freedom, our exercise of liberty.  Make your choice.  Vote!

But whoever gets the most votes, don’t fret and don’t put your total trust in that person.  The fate of our nation is in the omnipotent hands of the Lord and the faithfulness of the Christians who follow His Word; not that candidate.  The faithful provide a blessing to the country but they are not the power to overcome.  Even if everything goes to hell in a hen basket, He’s still there to catch the nation, the people, and everything else.

We can even whistle when we go to cast our vote, relaxed.  That’s because we know, He knows what will happen and has provided the solution already.  No matter what, no human will solve all the problems and no human can keep all those promises.  God can.

Eat Your Veggies

My favorite thing about Thursdays, besides Big Bang Theory and Elementary, is that it is a day I set aside for marketing and promotion.  What I mean is…I do my marketing and promotion but I don’t do it everyday.  It’s like eating spinach or fish–I like it but it’s not always my favorite.  I do these things for the benefit.

So, today was my beneficial day and tomorrow (and other days) I can write, write, write to my little heart’s content.

Yum

mc

P.S.  The new book, Lone Star Legacy: The Texas Rangers Then and Now, is off to the printer.  Next stop, a book is born.  Can you see me smiling from here?  Do I have anything in my teeth?

GTT

Looks like another beautiful day in Texas.  If you ever want to get great writing ideas for hope, joy, nature or adventure, come to Texas.  If you are already here–soak it in.

The Lord gives His grace in many forms.  Texas is one.

Like the early settlers from Tennessee and other states proclaimed, GTT (“Gone To Texas”).  They painted these letters on doors of homes they left behind.  Some carved them into trees they passed on the way.  These people had confident expectations ahead and they let others know.

You don’t have to tag stuff but if you are not in the Lone Star State, come.  Then judge for yourself.

Happy Writing

mc

Sound Advise

Kinda interesting,

When I am writing a fiction story I really get into it if I have music  playing.  If I’m writing a quest story and there are ships or seas or pirates or just waves–well I turn on Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean or the soundtrack from Master and Commander.  It really gets me into the story.

If I’m writing about New England in the 18th or 19th Century, well, it has to be the soundtrack from Last of the Mohicans.  Love it!  And I guess soundtracks play a part.

But I also have Sci-Fi, and World War I music. I have some for western stories, one with a touch of Scotland, the Middle East and even another for adventures (somewhere or somehow) in the clouds.

It really helps me.

mc

String of Planets

Just the thing .  The temperature is 68 with a breeze, the sky has a few cotton candy clouds and the birds are tweeting.  (They do more than me, tweet that is.)

And the best…well, if you have a clear night, tonight, and you are not hindered by a million city lights, you can look up  and see a very cool thing.  As far as the Earth is concerned, the planets are aligned.

Okay, it is just our view but, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus are in almost a straight line.  (There’s a book in here, somewhere.)  Now the order tonight and until mid February, has Saturn before Mars, but that is because we are looking at it from the Earth.  Also, unless you have a super clear sky and super great eyes, you won’t be able to actually see Uranus.  (Take a breath and don’t giggle too much.  Here’s another.)  You can be assured, it is there.

So on the next clear night look for this string of planets in the south-southeast sky; I saw it last night at about 7:45pm CST just above the roof of the house across the street.  One of the planets (I think, Saturn) was wonderfully bright.

Eyes up

mc

 

First Things First

I know that today is my marketing/records/office up-keep day but hey–I need to go to the grocery store!

First things first; must get supplies (and a Starbucks, too).  Marketing and office organizing (tax time, you know) will have to wait.  “Oh my.  What a shame,” she said, with a smirk on her face.

Hope you are having a first things first day.

mc

Read-so-lution

Hope, hope, hope.

The tradition of a New Year’s Resolution is a hope to do better at what we already know we should do.  But instead of a resolution I’m declaring my “read-so-lution”.  That’s past tense there.

I’ve prepared my book list I want to have read by the end of 2016.

Now I read books for research, format, history, fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, fun, humor, cooking, car maintenance, income tax and financial info, gardening, Bible doctrine, DIY stuff and more.  But this is a list as if I was in a book club.  It’s my own book-a-month self-club.  I’ve put 12 books on the list.  They are a bunch of new, some I have wanted for a while, one I’ve never heard of, one my granddaughter recommended and one re-read.  That last one, well, I needed a refresher and everyone can enjoy re-reading a book; like going to see Star Wars again.  😀

Here’s my list:

John Adams, by David McCullough
Mustard Seeds, by Lynn Coulter
Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier
Sphere, by Michael Crichton
Taran the Wanderer, by Lloyd Alexander
Fearless, by Eric Blehm
Heavy Weather, by P.G. Wodehouse
Texas, by James A. Michener
Refined by Fire, by Brian Birdwell
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
Heat Wave, by Richard Castle
Star Wars The Force Awakens: Before the Awakening, by Greg Rucka

What’s Your Read-so-lution?

 

See-saw; Read-Write

Guess we’re almost into 2016.  Three more days and it’s time to write a new ending to our dates.  2016, 2016, 2016. Oh yah, 2016.

I hope the new year brings more literacy enlightenment.  I go to schools and conferences and hear expounding pleas and mandates to get everyone reading.  That’s great.  But where’s the other side of literacy.  You know, writing.

Merriam-Webster’s definition is:

noun lit·er·a·cy \ˈli-t(ə-)rə-sē\
the ability to read and write; knowledge that relates to a specified subject

use in a sentence-  His literacy on the Civil War came from reading the text book and was proved when he gave his report.

Reading and writing should be a balanced see-saw.  One part can go up or down, at times, but they are for the same goal.  It doesn’t work if one is always up or always down.

I am for more writing, of course.  I am a writer.  But I wouldn’t be, couldn’t be, without reading.  Reading gives a templet for writing.  When you learn and practice writing you can read better–identifying new words and usages.  I hope educators will not leave this out.  It would be great to have literacy spokespersons speak of both instead of skipping over one of the halves.

Reading and writing go together like ice cream and chocolate–great separate but even better together.  Literally.

 

Happy Third Day of Christmas

For anyone who has lost track…this is “Three French Hens” day.  Yep, lot’s of cluck.

I’m loving the holiday time, now.  The tree–done.  The outside decorations–done.  Inside, well…yah, we can say done.  And now onto the cards.

If you are keeping track, it’s French Hens day and the post office says I need to have mailed my cards and packages by today.  Deadline, shmedline.

It doesn’t bother to me.  I’m enjoying the card thing (I love it) and I figure the cards will get there when they get there.  Like we say, it’s the thought that counts.  If you are on my list and don’t get your card by Christmas, Happy New Year.

Have a great “Four Calling Birds” day tomorrow.

mc