There’s Always Someone….

Many (many, many) years ago, as a bride, it began to slowly dawn on me that my life as an Air Force wife was going to be significantly different from my former life as a college student in North Dakota.

We were new to the service, living in Japan in a village just outside of Tokyo. My husband had his dream job–flying a C-130 into lands we had only heard of as kids. Our life became fairly routine, as he flew off to Bangkok or Hong Kong and I stayed behind with the other wives exploring the more exotic environment of Tachikawa village and learning the fine art of Japanese flower arranging.

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What’s Your Phase of Reading?

Different phases of life affect literary choices. As a young girl I could not get enough of Nancy Drew, The Happy Hollisters and gothic romance. Then came the phase of romance. It lasted the through child bearing, because let’s face it, what is romantic about the ages from potty training and beyond drivers training?  In recent past, through the present, I prefer Suspense or Suspense Thrillers. I like the challenge and the surprises they can bring. When my writer persona puts on her big girl pants I want her to write amazing suspense.

NaNoWriMo-National Novel Writing Month: Tips n Tricks

National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short is just around the corner. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Didn’t think you had time or energy? Or have you participated and won?

Words! Words! Words!

My growing up years in North Dakota were idyllic in the sense that our parents more or less left my sister and me on our own. It was the time in history when kids played outside from dawn to dusk without interference from adults. A quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich at noon and we were good to go for the rest of the day. We were sent into the world with certain instructions however. “Wear shoes!” “Stay away from the river.” “Don’t chase strange dogs.” “Leave your sister alone.” “Be home by dark.”

Why Does Marketing Have to Be So Hard?

Hello There,

It’s been a crazy and fast summer so far for me. Summer reading programs, writing stints at the library or St. Louis Bread Co, book signings, taking kids to this or that.

Summer Reading

Can you identify with this? Something happens and you think it is a terrible sign of the coming Armageddon and it turns out to be something great instead. That’s what happened the summer our television was diagnosed with a fatal disease and with no money for repair, we thought it a tragedy. It got too hot to play outside and with no one to go swimming with, I looked around for something else to do. My mother amassed an impressive library, most of which came to our mailbox because she forgot to decline the monthly Doubleday book selections or could not resist the new releases. I read through the entire Nancy Drew collection, Hardy Boys and went on to adult fiction. Some of the reading was hard to understand but I could usually follow the plot. I don’t remember many of the titles or authors but Katherine Marshall’s Christy and Pear S. Buck The Good Earth,  Lloyd C. Douglas, The Robe, Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls, I do recall.

From Beagles to Books

About ten years ago, two months after our beloved beagle, Annie, went to that big dog bone market in the sky, I decided I could no longer bear living in a house without a dog. My daughter, married and and mom to my two perfect grandsons, concurred and began “shopping” via the internet at  local Pet Shelters.

“Mom,” she would say. “You should see Precious. What a doll—I think she’s perfect for you.” I’d check Precious out on-line and say something like “nah uh—no Great Danes.”

Goodreads Giveaway! Cookie Encounter!

Hello There,

I thought I’d let you know that until March 15, I am running a giveaway on Goodreads for Cookie Encounter! Enter to win one of two signed copies.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/172931-cookie-encounter-a-chance-encounter-inspirational-romance

Good luck!

~~Michelle

Stinky Books

Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful source for reading a large volume of books. Sadly, there are enough stinky books to make a search for reading material like a trip to the dump searching for treasure. I have learned to get samples of questionable books to weed out the most odoriferous in the hundreds of thousands. What makes a stinky book? Check out this list:

Seeing It All…Maybe

As of today, the 23^rd of December, 2015, I have officially seen it all.

I drove into a perfect parking place at the local St. Louis Bread Company, and decided to finish listening to a wonderful Christmas carol playing on JOY FM. We were in the midst of what we used to call a “gully washer” in my home state, and I hoped that by staying in the car a few minutes more maybe the rain would slow down a bit and I wouldn’t have to regret the fact that I forgot my umbrella at home.