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Monday, March 28, 2016

Bookmarks

Back in the day (I've always wanted to say that), we had two choices when marking our spot in a book we were reading. We could bend the corner of the page (oh, the horror!).


We could use a bookmark. Now there are bookmarks and there are BOOKmarks. I often used whatever was at hand. A torn envelope, a receipt found in the bottom of my purse, even a paper napkin.

Of course there were commercial bookmarks. I still have a few even though I rarely read a traditional book (hard or paperback). And if you were lucky to have a hardback with a paper cover, it was easy to fold in the flap as a bookmark.


I admit it, I was a bookmark collector. Souvenir stands, book stores, office supply shops - wherever there were bookmarks sold, I bought. (Yes, I still have a few favorites. Mostly souvenir and ones made by my daughter for me.) No bookmark was safe!

Then Post-it notes arrived on the scene and a new breed of bookmarks was created.


This wasn't the end of bookmarks, oh no. Ebooks did that. Well, not completely. I still drool over bookmarks when I see them but I now resist because I have no real use for them. Students still need them for text books. And there are library books, best to not turn the corners down in those books. LOL!


Got a favorite bookmark memory? What was your favorite bookmark? I have three. One is hand drawn and laminated by my daughter, one is a beautiful mountain landscape photograph of Montana and the last is a small hand-painted wooden one from Cartagena, Columbia (bought on our first cruise together).

Monday, March 21, 2016

What am I writing?

I have two weeks before I start Camp NaNoWriMo where/when I plan to write most of the first draft of my next Klondike Mystery, "Almost a Touch". What to do with these two weeks? Two weeks without a husband in the house (he's off on a motorcycle trip to Maryland to see family).

No problem. Last year I was invited by one of my favorite authors, Toby Neal, to write a book for her then new Lei Crime Kindle World. I was still living in Ecuador, knee deep in several projects and had to decline but took a raincheck on the offer.

What is a Kindle World? This explains it the best... "a digital publishing platform where writers can publish fan fiction under official licenses." And the Lei Crime Kindle World is an exciting one.
"Hawaii is palm trees, black sand and blue water—but for policewoman Lei Texeira, there’s a dark side to paradise. Lei has overcome a scarred past to make a life for herself as a cop, but often the cases she works activate wounds and complications from her tangled family history. Lei is affected deeply by her cases even as she solves them with persistence, obsession, and intuition. She falls in love with Michael Stevens, the charismatic detective she works with, and they make a life solving crime in contemporary Hawaii with all its beauty and deadliness. Many crime solving stories remain to be written."
Fast forward to early this year, I was approached again by Toby and the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I didn't have to write a full novel. It could be a short story or a novella. Late one night, my brain ran rampant. I woke with the basis for what I hope will be a trilogy of novellas for this Kindle World. All three will involve some area of popular tourism in Hawaii; the first will involve scuba diving, the second will involve cruise ships and the third the ever popular luau.

The titles currently are planned to be:

  • "Whispers in Paradise"
  • "Sparks in Paradise"
  • "Touched in Paradise"
Anyone notice a familiar trend here? LOL!

If you haven't read any of Toby's Lei Crime series, try out the first book. I was hooked immediately.

So I have been busy the last couple of days, doing a lot of research about Hawaii in order to determine the book's setting as well as a lot of research about a lot of other 'things' Hawaiian. So far I have over 5000 words written and I will be working feverously to get the first draft done before the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Monday, March 14, 2016

Done and Over With!

[cue cheering audience]

It's true, I finally finished the first draft of my 8-12 year old fantasy short stories in my "7 of Seven" series. A few quick edits and they should be uploaded to Amazon in the next couple of weeks.

And that means [cue dramatic drum roll] that I will be working on book three in my Klondike Mystery series, "Almost a Touch". I know my readers have been waiting way too long for this and I am looking forward to telling the story of how the police chief dies.

Book three takes place in Kalispell, MT but I will keep you updated on what is happening back in Klondike as well. Expect a few surprises, some new characters, more "whodunit" and hopefully a dash of humor.

Be sure to sign up for my free newsletter to stay informed of updates, new releases, sales and so forth. I promise to never spam you and will never share your email address with third parties.

Monday, March 7, 2016

April A to Z Challenge


I have done several April A to Z Blog Challenges in the past few years. Last year I signed up at the very last minute (CRAZY). This year, I won't be participating. Why? I plan to have the first draft of book three in my Klondike Mystery series, "Almost a Touch", written by the end of April (hopefully before). That leaves no spare time for the challenge.

But I will follow a few blogging friends who participate annually. It's always fun! I know some folks who only blog for this event!

You don't have to be a professional writer or photographer or cartoonist or artist or anything else to participate. You can post on a theme or you can post randomly. The key is to post every day. Many do it daily, others, like me, write in advance and schedule their posts (that leaves more time to read other blogs).

I encourage everyone to give it a try...

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

#IWSG for March 2016: Too Much


March already and it's time for my monthly IWSG post. The first quarter of 2016 is closing soon, I'm not sure where the time went.


The theme for this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group is TOO MUCH.

Since coming back from Ecuador I've indulged in TOO MUCH. Too much snacking (comfort foods), too much TV time (favorite series I missed), too much shopping (mostly online from Amazon), too much procrastination (again), simply too much of all the things I should be doing in moderation.

So March is the month to break the TOO MUCH cycle. Getting back on track with diet and exercise as well as following the WIBBOW phrase (Would I Be Better Off Writing).

Do you ever have trouble with TOO MUCH of the wrong things?