Excited for the Book Event, and Pears.

 

     My book event is ten days away, and I'm beyond excited. Just to remind you, it's at Bailey's Books in St. Albert. That's 29-B Rowland Crescent in St. Albert. It's in an odd placement, but worth the trip. That is easily the coolest bookstore I've ever experienced, and I'm thrilled they asked me to be there. 

     I've rolled over so many ideas in my mind, but I can tell you what I'm planning. 

     As I mentioned, there will be a Door Prize, but I'm not telling you what's in it. That's an 'after ' blog. As I mentioned before, I'm bringing a copy of  "Elaina's Fate" for guests to sign. Not my idea, but I think it's a good one. I've also decided that for mementos sake, I'm going to highlight the part I'm going to read, so I can also remember what I read to guests. Why not? I think it would be a cool thing to remember, especially if I do this again. 

     Here's a little treat...I'm bringing my pear loaf to share. Why not? I have tons of the stuff! I'm not even finished yet, and my freezer is full. 

     For those of you who don't know me well, I live next door to a pear tree. It actually belongs to my friend Ashley, but neither she or her renters have the time or energy to deal with it. She basically let me have it. 

     Over the years, I have experimented with all kinds of recipes and a few canning methods and just anything and everything to do with pears. Here's a funny fact: I hate pears. 

     But I don't hate these pears. Ashley believes them to be a hybrid of apples and pears, so maybe that's why they taste better. I sometimes think I like them because pretty much anything you grow yourself tastes better than anything you buy. 

     I have two go-to favorites: The Pear Loaf and a Pear Custard Pie. This year, I experimented with Pear Cookies, Pear Cobbler, and two different kinds of Pear Muffins. All of these recipes are available on Pinterest, on my 'Successful Board'. That's where I keep all my recipes that worked out well. 

     My favorite is still the pear loaf. I have that one down to almost a one-woman assembly line and can pump out at least six loaves a day, plus my experiments. 

     I have tried to share them on my Facebook page, but it didn't work for some reason. I suspect that I can't because they're not mine. So if you're interested, please check them out on my Successful Board on Pinterest.

     Oh, and I'm playing with the idea of bringing a couple of excepts from unpublished work, like Bad Clown, for example. Is that a thing? 

My Book Event

 

I haven't blogged in such a long time! I find that if I have nothing new to say, there is no point. It's been SO long since I've blogged, I can't find my photos! 

But I have an author event coming up, and I'm so excited! I can give you more information. 

It's at Bailey's Books in St. Albert, Alberta. It's on October 19th, between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM Mountain time.  The address is: 29-B Rowland Crescent, St. Albert in Alberta, Canada. 

I'm sure what to do...Sort of.  I know I will have a door prize and will be reading an excerpt or two for something I've written. Something I've never published before, on social media or anywhere else. I'm borrowing an idea I saw on another author's page ( Sorry...that author borrowed the idea from someone else so I don't know who to credit it to.) and will request guests to sign my own copy so I can have a keepsake. I'm open to suggestions, actually. What else could I do? 

Thankfully, my bestie will be there, and Lisa herself. Did I mention her Dad is cool? If we're lucky, Parsley the chihuahua will be there as well. I believe it will be held in that lovely, cozy loft they have with the sweet antique desk. 

Anyway, you should all come just to check the place out. It's everything you want in a bookstore, beautiful to behold and packed with literary gems. 

I keep saying this is my first author event, but I think I mentally blocked out the first one. Technically, it was a Book Club. 

I know a lovely woman named Lynda, who has always been hugely supportive of me as a person and as a writer. She arranged for her Book Club to read my book and I was supposed to visit them and talk about it. She also arranged for me to go to my old school and talk to kids about writing. 

I left Edmonton that morning for Fox Creek, and it had just begun to snow. I had a BAD feeling about it, and told my husband I didn't really want to go. I should have cancelled, but Lynda had done so much for me, I didn't want to let her, or anyone else, down. 

As you may have guessed, I had an accident right outside of Mayerthorpe. I pulled off a bit to the shoulder to let a Sierra pick up truck pass, ( He looked pretty damned big and I was afraid there wasn't enough room for him to pass.) and I hit icy slush. Wrecked my car, but no injuries. I actually had a voice in my head that told me to stay present because the situation might be useful for writing later. I did actually use parts of it in 'Chasing Monsters'. Mostly the impacting crunchy parts. 

Lynda's husband came to get me, so obviously I was late for the Book Club. About an hour late. 

The Book Club had waited for an hour and they were NOT happy to see me. The book they'd read was 'Thoeba' my first novel, and I don't think they liked it much. They all looked irritated as Hell and didn't engage much. 

I met a Mennonite woman there named Rachel. I had to tell her the concept of Thoeba was a dream I had and I was not L. Ron Hubbard. I had no intention of starting a religious movement of any kind. 

The next day, I went to my old school. Lynda had done her best, but the principal hadn't told anyone I was coming. No kids to speak to. A couple of old friends showed up and bought books. The librarian offered to pay for a copy, but I told her it was a donation. I loved that library muchly, and had spent hours there for extra credit and just hanging out. 

It wasn't a terrible experience, but now I have a fear of highway driving I haven't been able to shake off. 

I just bought a Santa Fe and it's funny how having confidence in your vehicle changes how you drive. Maybe soon I'll try highways again. I'll be driving it to Bailey's Books and I can't wait. I hope to see some of you there. 

 

Gratitude

Just thoughts about what I am doing right now. I'm taking free online computer courses named Alison. I hate them. They are interesting and useful, but I can't seem to hang on to the knowledge, even the cool new stuff I'm learning. 

My uncle Arnie warned me about this. He just turned eighty in May. He told me the older you get, the harder it is to learn new things. I'm in my early fifties, and I'm already having difficulty retaining whatever I learn. I can't remember anything!

I learned how to insert tables and planned to use them to update my resume, but I can't figue out how to do them again. Fffffuuuuu....

When I was in high school, computer classes were still relatively new. We worked on Macintosh computers like the Lisa II. I remember being impressed that a small town like ours had enough computers for everyone. Whoooooo! We learned basics like DOS. I had an A+ average., like 95% on my report card. 

My family had a Texas Instrument ( Yeah, I'm old.) computer at home and I remember fixing a program of my father's when I noticed it was missing a single bracket. The program was a bouncing ball that you could change the colors of the ball and the background. ( I feel ancient telling you this.) 

I spent much of the early nineties without a computer, and when my boyfriend (Now husband) finally got one, all I had learned was obsolete. When I tell my younger friends, they shrug it off, but for me the loss was profound. 

Shortly after that, I met my critique partners. Dawn comes very much into the picture here. This blog exists solely because of her. She literally talked me through the set up, step by step,  and taught me whatever I needed to know. I had Microsoft Word, and she taught me how to use that too. 

Thanks Dawn. It must have been like teaching a belligerent five year old. I am incredibly grateful. No joke. 

Years later, my computer died, and I bought a new one that did NOT  come with  Microsoft Word. What do I DO?

Hello, Brad! Bradley Trautman is my computer guy. He's the one who introduced me to LibreOffice. I had told him I JUST wanted a word processor. All I wanted to do, was write books. I don't need the bells and whistles and whatever else. Just gimme something to write with that doesn't cost me hundreds of dollars! 

LibreOffice asks for donations, and it does most of the things that Microsoft does, but I've learned that Microsoft is superior in several ways. BUT I asked for a simple word processor, didn't I? Thanks Brad. Because of you, I could complete 'Elaina's Fate', and there is more to come. Seriously, thanks man.

So I decided it was time to get me some education and actually learn more about the computers that dominate our lives so that perhaps I can get better employment. I am of two opinions. Half of me screams, "Change is inevitable! Get with the times!" The other half grumbles, "It isn't broken. Why fix it?" Guess who is being left behind? 

I guess what I'm saying is LEARN everything you can while you're still young. Absorb everything. I think the 'Karen' and 'Kyle' mentality comes from the fear you feel when the world keeps changing and you can't keep up. It's not a good excuse to be rude, but rude people are fearful people. 

Ever see Grand Budapest Hotel? Ralph Fiennes character lectures that rudeness stems from the idea that the person fears they won't get what they want. Fantastic movie, by the way, and that idea stuck with me. It's just fear. Use your words and tell them what is bugging you and why. No need to get nasty. 

I am living my life in gratitude. My current problems are small and First World Issues. I just wanted to say thank you to Dawn and Brad for teaching me the basics I really needed to just write books. I'm working to advance my knowledge, because change is inevitable. 

Seriously, thank you. 

Earth to Thoeba: Bailey's Books and Cool news

Earth to Thoeba: Bailey's Books and Cool news:  I recently wrote a blog about what's new in my my life. I managed to forget an extremely important element. I don't know why. Maybe...

Bailey's Books and Cool news

 I recently wrote a blog about what's new in my my life. I managed to forget an extremely important element. I don't know why. Maybe I got so wound up my memory burst. 

I met Lisa Bailey at Sherlock Holmes, a pub in West Edmonton Mall. I was a prep cook/ dishwasher and she was a server. We got along well, and bonded over our love for our cats and books. She's a smart, beautiful, and genuine person with many talents.

Years passed, and Sherlock Holmes is no longer. Lisa now owns a bookstore in St. Albert, Alberta, (29b Rowland crescent) and she approached me on Facebook. She remembered that I was a writer and she would love to support me and my work. She wants to support local authors such as myself. 

Of course I'm grateful and delighted. But life was crazy and it didn't happen right away. My fault. I required a navigator, even just to get to the store. Lucky me, my bestie used to live in St. Albert. 

If you've never been to Bailey's Books, it's a delight. It's a book lover's dream. It is exactly the kind of bookstore you imagine in other books! 

It's wall to wall titles as you can well imagine. Tomes of age and importance, antiques, rarities and books you just want to own...comfy chairs and an impressive variety of bookends to purchase, everything. There's also a precious chihuahua named Parsley to visit there. She's a sweetheart! 

 If you LOVE books, you owe it to yourself to visit. You'll be back. 

Currently, 'Chasing Monsters' and 'Elaina's Fate' are available, with more titles soon to come. I've signed each copy as well with my uniquely atrocious handwriting and signature. 

Here's the best part--There's a loft with plenty of space and chairs for an event in the Fall! I'm going to get my first Author event! 

There are few details at this time, but Lisa and her father (He's awesome.) are willing to host and I think my bestie Melaida is even more excited about it than I am. I'm happy and scared. What do I do? Auughhh! I have to order more books! 

I don't know exactly when it's going to happen, but it will. I'm looking forward to meeting people and talking shop. Don't worry, I WILL post the details when I get them. 

In the meantime, I'll keep working and writing. I should mention that 'Bad Clown', my supposed 'short story' is about 35,000 words. I love it so much and I truly feel it will be the jewel of my short story collection. Wish me luck! 

In the meantime, check out Bailey's Books. I promise you'll love it. 

Update and Excerpt

     

     Hi! Long time no see! Don't worry no one died.  This won't be another death blog. 

     Now that things are leveling out, I thought I'd let my readers know I'm still here and I'm still working on my writing. 

     A lot changed after Mom passed. We moved my sister Jody here to the house, and it went well. She's getting her entire damage deposit back. How often does that happen? I'm also pretty pleased with UHaul for making the rental process easy and affordable. 

How's it working out? Quite well, actually. Jody is an excellent roommate. She's quiet and considerate. She's vegan and she doesn't drink or smoke. Therefore, she doesn't eat our food, drink our booze or bum smokes. Grendel has taken a shine to her and sleeps on her bed a lot. 

     Shout out to my husband Dan for driving the truck and all his help. Shout out to my bestie Melaida for helping us move. Since we managed to give away so much of Jody's furniture beforehand, almost everything fit and the rest of the boxes were deliverable in the Mazda in a few short trips. I'm so glad it's over. 

     We got Amir fixed finally. That went reasonably well also. Shout out to Mayfield Animal Hospital and Dr. Rebecca Alexander. Now Amir is a homebody that actually prefers to stay indoors, much to my immense relief. He's an absolute sweetie who stays close to Mommy and I love it. 

     NOW, I can concentrate on work and writing. More accurately, editing. I'm working on my final edit for 'Her True Name: Volume Three' and a short story named  'Bad Clown'. 

     The problem with HTN3 is that I got to Chapter Twelve when I realized that Druhi is younger than I made her out to be, and her backstory is more severe than it should be. I need to go back to the beginning and change a few things. No worries. While I'm there, I will make sure Eshma's story flows and see if her character needs more filling out. Eshma is a goat by the way. Her character arc filled out better than I hoped and the previous chapters need to reflect that.

     Bad Clown is half way done. The first half is great, but the second half needs more. I introduced two characters in the first half, but lost them in the second. Fixing that problem actually made it worse and I can see how I simply added superfluous lines that didn't work out. Bad Clown himself needs fine tuning. I think he's scary now, but is he scary enough? Details, details. 

But like I said, I'm pleased with how Bad Clown starts off, so I thought I'd give you a little taste. I hope you are intrigued.


BAD CLOWN

We were asleep when they banged on our door. Must have been two in the morning. Sleep had been hard to come by with the unseasonable heat, and I was pissed.
“Open up!” What the Hell? Why are they bothering us? We didn’t do anything.
Duncan throws his housecoat on, snarling about the intrusion, while I check the windows. Orange lights illuminate the neighborhood from seven black vans. Aren’t police vans black and white? Aren’t they marked with the word POLICE? Who are these assholes? Why are their lights orange? These aren’t cops.
My husband fights at the door, but three men in gray uniforms wrestle him into submission.
“Wait! Where are you taking him? What has he done? Dammit, Grendel! Freya, come back!!” Both cats run out the door in a black and white blur. “What’s going on? Where the Hell are you taking him?” I reach for Duncan, but more officers yank my arms and pin them behind me.
“What is this? What’s going on?” No one answers me.
I need a lawyer. I need my cell phone. I’m wearing nothing but a nightshirt. My phone is charging on my desk. They left my door wide open.
Abigail! My next door neighbor must be seeing this. She’ll take care of the house and the cats. Maybe she can help.
New screams hit my ears. They’re dumping Abigail into another van.
“What have you done with Duncan and Abigail? Where are you taking us?” I stomp on toes and struggle hard.
“Put the bitch out.” There’s a pinch in my neck before I lose consciousness.

Christmas Blog about Mom

 

This blog is about my favorite Christmas memory about my Mom. (and Jody too) Actually, this is my ABSOLUTE  FAVORITE Christmas memory, period.

This story starts with the Sears catalog. That massive tome showed up every winter to almost every household in the late season in the eighties.  As many children did, my sister and I marked off what we wanted...whether we thought we might get them or not. 

I was ten years old, and I can't tell you what I wanted the most, because that would give it away. I CAN tell you my little sister was in on it.

My Mother shops much as I do, finding giftable treasures during the year and only presenting them at Christmas. Mom also had a habit of wrapping gifts for Christmas early. She always started after my sister's birthday, on the 21st. of November. After that, no holds barred. 

My mother put the wrapped gifts in the spare room. Jody was clearly getting Lego that year. Not that I checked or anything...I was glad my gifts weren't that obvious because I enjoy surprises. 

One showed up for me. Mom had obviously used the box from Christmas cards to house it, but that was not a real clue. Mom gave me permission to shake it. 

Actually, she said, "You can shake that box all you want--You'll never figure it out." Moo-Hoo-Ha-Ha. 

I shook the Hell out of that thing every single day. Several times a day.  There was no discernable rattle or shimmy I recognized. Something was definitely in there. It sounded like a singular thunking that only moved with me and however  vigorously I shook it. It was one piece. I have no other way to describe it, even to this day. She was right....I never would have figured it out. 

Bear in mind, this is late November when she put that brain teaser out. So I endured an entire month of torture, trying to figure out what was in the box. I shook it endlessly, hoping for some clue, yet taking  delight when none came. It was delicious. It Drove. Me. BATSHIT.

So delicious, in fact, that I wanted to open it last. Mom said no. "If you don't open it first, your sister's gift won't make any sense." So I opened that box first, with the family watching. 

It was a piece of cardboard, and I was confused until I turned it over and discovered poinsettias painted in the corners. In my mother's printing were these words: (I am paraphrasing.) 

"This entitles the bearer, Donna (redacted) permission to have her ears pierced, to be paid for, by her parents, as soon as she is ready."

BEST GIFT EVER!!  

Jody's gift was six pairs of stud earrings I coveted from the first few pages of the Sears catalog. Also the best gift ever.  I can't remember every pair, but there were red roses, gold globes, gold seagulls, and my favorites, white porcelain ovals with yellow roses on them. I think there were a set of pearl-like earrings too. What am I missing? 

Oh, what a great Christmas for a ten year old! There was NOTHING I wanted more that year than to get my ears pierced and to own those earrings. The original plan was that I wait until I was eighteen to pierce my ears, but not anymore! I adored those earrings and I kept that homemade certificate for years. I'll never forget it. That one-two punch is my favorite Christmas memory to this day. Thanks Mom and thank YOU Jody for talking her into it. 

I still get a tingle of joy when I think of it.