Free for a limited time

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Linda Andrews

Extinction Level Event

Six months after an Influenza Pandemic swept across the globe, the world is starting to emerge from quarantine. But Pestilence Free Day is short-lived. For an unseen enemy has just been unleashed.

Redaction-WEb.jpgRedaction-WEbFive people. Seven days.

A brilliant scientist with an apocalyptic forecast

A soldier that needs an enemy to fight

A college student venturing into a changed world

An insurance salesman who exploits every opportunity

A juvenile delinquent desperate to leave his past behind

Redaction: Humanity is about to be erased from the Book of Life

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Green Gravel

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Linda Andrews

It is a well established fact of life, that when it rains, weeds grow.

Every weekend, I work for an hour picking the weeds out of the gravel. It seems to be a bit of a coincidence that as soon as one of the neighbors sees me plucking weeds, they start to work on their own yards.

And usually finish long before I do.

One hires someone. Another just whacks the weeds and rakes up the bits, leaving the nubs to grow again.

I sit on a folded yoga mat and pluck the weeds, one by one by one.

I’ve filled half the garbage can full of weeds and last year’s leaves and still I haven’t managed to pick the weeds from over 20% of the front yard.

Ah well, the work is slow but it allows me time to plan world domination, or maybe just my book.

Until next time.

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The Best Laid Plans

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Linda Andrews

are often the ones the universe pokes off the rails.

I was quite proud of my accomplishment to keep my writing on track. Apparently, that was enough for the universe to say, oh, really? How about this.

And so, here we are day 7 in a new month and I haven’t written in 5 days. That makes me sad.

But determined.

I plan to return to my writing schedule this evening and maybe even make up some of those missing pages.

As most of you know, it isn’t the number of times you get knocked down that matters—only the number of times you keep getting up.

Until next time.

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One Month In

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Linda Andrews

I wanted to make some changes, so I started in January. Like most things, I won some and I lost some.

I did manage to make 10 new recipes, rediscovering the joy of cooking just after we finished our kitchen. It helped that the hubbinator gave me a few cookbooks for Christmas, but I have been using others that have been stashed away.

I also managed to reduce the amount of food I’ve thrown away by using the leftovers in creative ways, mostly so the others don’t know they’re leftovers.

I checked a few books out of the library to read, and didn’t really like any of them. This is always the way, but it was more to reduce my book spending. So that was a win.

Unfortunately, I didn’t quite make my 9K steps a day. Most days, I came close.

I also didn’t manage to start crafting again. I will need to start soon as I am getting twitchy.

The biggest win of the month was the writing goals. I began on page 150 and ended on page 264. Not bad.

How are you doing on your goals?

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What are you reading?

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Linda Andrews

I’m mixing it up this month, and for several months to come.

I’ve started Parting the Waters, volume 1 of the  Martin Luther King biography. It is over 900 pages long.

And, instead of my usual cozy mysteries, I’ve started a steampunk series:

What are you reading this month?

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Doing Better

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Linda Andrews

I started last year with high hopes that I would read through these magazines that have been collecting on a shelf in my livingroom since 2013.

I made it about halfway there.

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And now have 31 magazines to go.

Not too bad, but I definitely have to step up my game and read them a little faster. I’m out of shelves and the magazines keep coming.

Rushing and skimming through won’t work. Think of all the book ideas I might find.

Until next time.

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Shuffling about

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Linda Andrews

We spent the last weekend moving. Not out of our house. Let’s not get crazy.

No, we put the dining room back in the dining room and moved the living room back into the family room, leaving the living room mostly empty.

Then there was the trip to the curb where the old dining room table and chairs were picked up by some deserving soul within 30 minutes (we watched as we had a bet, hubbinator won).

There was also a trip to the dump with the last of the cabinets, some shelves and the remains of a fiberglass tub. We still have one more to go.

And a trip to the Big Brothers, Big Sisters store to drop off some items.

And a trip to the Habitat for Humanity Reuse store to drop off more items.

And there is the hall closet, who finally has the door up but needs to be stuffed full of linens and things.

And… And… And… Homeownership is a never-ending list of ands.

But I love my home, and so we keep pushing on.

Until next time.

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off course

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Linda Andrews

I know other authors who plot out their book chapter by chapter in a 26 page document before they even begin to write Chapter 1.

I start with an opening scene and the end. Then on occasion, I write out the 4 major turning points, with the two pinch points.

And then I write, freehand, the ideas of the first chapter before I write the chapter. And so on and so on.

But then, things change and I veer away from what I had intended. This last weekend, I spent my days trying to figure out where I go from here. The four major turning points remain, but the subplot had changed and so had the pinch point.

Thankfully, I am still moving forward, still writing. I’m 50K in and just about have the halfway point. It’ll be a long book, but I just might finish by April.

Until next time.

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Sorry but

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Linda Andrews

Beards. Some people love them. Unless they are close-clipped and well-groomed or Santa Clause, I hate them.

I have 2 references for beards. Two.

You’re either a scraggly beard dude looking for membership in the Taliban.

Or, you’re one of these Pun’kinheads.

Yep, don’t dis Bugs. He had a profound influence on my childhood and is the reason I think men are easily fooled by lipstick and ribbons.

The hubbinator and I still laugh at the cartoons.

Until next time!

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It’s the emotion baby

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Linda Andrews

My daughter wrote lyrics to help her process some of her recent experiences. She asked me to look at what she wrote.

She did a fabulous job as I heard the rap and music as I read, but when it came to editing and refining the lyrics I had to know what emotion she wanted to convey. You see, my preference is for angry chick music and I didn’t want to graft that onto her song.

She laughed and said, that would work for her lyrics. Then asked who provided angry chick music for me. Aside from P!nk and Taylor Swift, I grew up listening to some of these ladies:

 

 

 

Among so many others.

Inspiration is all around.

Until next time.

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