Here's An Idea . . .

The irritating question they ask us -- us being writers -- is: "Where do you get your ideas?" And the answer is: Confluence. Things come together. The right ingredients and suddenly: Abracadabra!
― Neil Gaiman, Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions

I always had plenty of ideas. I didn’t exactly have them. They grew—little by little, a half an idea at a time. First, part of a phrase and then a person to go with it. After a person, then a little corner of a place for the person to be in.
― Carol Emshwiller

I know it’s early yet, but with the weather starting to cool off my thoughts have been drifting towards November and NaNoWriMo. Normally I wait until closer to the start before I begin to waffle – should I/shouldn’t I – but I decided to skip that part this year. We all know I’m going to do it, if only because I don’t want to break my winning streak.

So . . . wanting to be prepared I started considering what to work on. Only the idea well seems to have run dry. I don’t really want to do a sequel to one of the books I’ve already done (or started and didn’t finish), but when I started thinking about something new my mind was a dust bowl. We’re talking complete with tumbleweeds.

I briefly considered doing a 1667 word flash a day thing, but I’m not sure I could keep up the momentum. Then I considered the idea I had a couple of years ago for a themed anthology, there’s enough time to do the research that put me off before, but again, I’d need to do a story a day to complete it.

Then I started kicking around a themed anthology idea revolving around flowers . . . That might be doable. I could get my research done ahead of time, maybe even jot down an idea or two about each story. The stories could be as long or as short as I like. Hmm. That might be doable.

Or I might just write the beginning story of Kiranthus (from The Moonstone Chronicles). Lord knows I have enough notes about him. And I know the story pretty well. When I first conceived the idea for the Chronicles, there were going to be 9 books in total – three about Kiranthus, three about Jessica, and the final three about what came after. I don’t think Kiranthus needs three whole books, and I’m wrapping this up nicely in Blood Ties so there’s not going to be much to add afterwards. So a book about Kiranthus just might fly.

It’s nice to know there's still a trickle of water at the bottom of the well. :-)

Unfortunately, I’m still not getting much writing done, other than my blog posts. I didn’t even dabble in poetry last week, although I did make a few entries in my writing journal. But I did make myself a handy dandy chart to keep track of my weekly words. You know, when I actually have some.

I didn’t get much editing on Blood Ties either. I don’t really know where my week went – it’s not like I had anything special going on. I did start doing a free course on “show, don’t tell” that I found on-line to try and encourage me to do other writing but so far although I’m learning stuff, I don’t feel any more motivated to getting back at the writing.

Reading wise I’m still reading The Coyote Road, by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve been alternating it with a couple of writing books, again, to encourage me to actually write. So far I’m still resisting.

The Week Ahead . . .

While last week’s episode of my non-fiction series wasn’t any easier to write, it wasn’t as stressful because I started it earlier. I need to keep doing that.

I really need to quite dicking around and get back to the edits on Blood Ties. Which I’m renaming again – Blood Ties is now going to be Magical Mayhem. It makes better sense and it ties in with the first book in the series.

I’m also determined to start writing every day – a one word prompt, a flash prompt, the scene I need to finish the book I’m taking with me to the retreat, it doesn’t matter as long as I write something.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Jungle of the Seven Realms

A couple of weeks ago I shared the prologue to my Seven Realms trilogy. When I actually get down to brass tacks with this series, I will be running the prologue in each of the first three books, rewriting it slightly to focus on the main character’s viewpoint. For the rest of the series (seven realms, seven stories) I’ll have to come up with something else, just to keep the continuity.

In any case, this scene takes place right after the prologue from a couple of weeks ago.

Evangeline Covington couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a wicked hangover. She groaned, but didn't feel up to opening her eyes yet. It wasn't like they'd had that much to drink last night, two bottles of wine between the three of them - she must be getting old.

She felt damp. There was something digging into her back and the distinct smell of greenery in the air. She had a sneaking suspicion of where she was. Cracking her eyes open slightly, she slammed them tightly shut again, her suspicions confirmed. They hadn't made it back to the cabin last night - she'd slept outside.

"Fi? Taylor? You guys awake?" Even the sound of her own voice made her wince.

There was no answer. With another groan she rolled to her side so the sun wasn't in her face and tried opening her eyes again.

Frowning, she stared at the bright red flower in front of her nose. She didn't remember there being flowers blooming in the woods, especially not such exotic looking ones. Feeling a slight chill, she levered herself into a sitting position and took a good look around.

"What the hell?"

Hangover forgotten, Eva got to her feet and stared around in disbelief. This was not the woods full of pine trees surrounding the cabin on the lake. In fact, this wasn't a forest at all, it was more like a jungle.

Several different varieties of palm and other exotic trees towered upwards, hung with trailing vines. The undergrowth seemed to be filled with broad-leafed shrubs and ferns. An endless variety of colorful blossoms rioted around her.

Eva staggered, reaching out to steady herself by holding on to the trunk of a palm.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

More importantly, how did she get here? The last thing she remembered was sitting around the camp fire with Fiona and Taylor. They were drinking wine and made a toast to friendship. Then she'd spotted the evening star and . . .

"Esmeralda!"

She remembered hearing the old woman's voice, something about making a wish. They'd treated it like a joke and decided to wish for their perfect mate.

All her life Eva had loved adventure stories, especially ones set in exotic locations. Her favorites were by the old romantic fantasy writers - H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. A. Merritt - with their tales of lost cities set in the jungles of the world. In her deepest fantasies, ones she'd never shared with even Fiona or Taylor, she'd dreamed of being swept away by her very own jungle lord.

"This is crazy!" she said firmly. "Hello? Anyone?"

People didn't just wish for something like that and have it happen. Someone was playing a joke on her. A very bad, practical joke. There must have been something in the wine that knocked her out so someone, or a couple of someones, could transport her to the nearest zoo and leave her in the middle of the African exhibit.

Eva leaned against the palm tree for support. Which was just as likely as being transported to an actual jungle. What else had Esmeralda told them?

"I'm a fairy godmother, but no one believes in magic anymore, more's the pity."

"Magic," Eva repeated, trying the word on for size. Esmeralda was right. People didn't believe in magic any more. Maybe if they did she wouldn't have such a hard time believing in it now.

A cool breeze swept through the jungle and she shivered, her damp clothing amplifying the chill. The tops of the trees were starting to wave and when she looked up she caught a glimpse of dark clouds building.

"This is so not fair!"

She needed shelter from the oncoming storm and fast, judging by the smell of rain in the air. With any luck she could curl up and go to sleep, awakening to find this was nothing more than an alcohol induced, very vivid, dream.

"Focus Eva, shelter first and then worry about everything else."

But shelter where? She looked around once more but nothing seemed promising. If this were a story she'd be able to just shimmy up one of the trees to see if there were a house or town nearby. Heck, at this point she'd even take a thatched native hut, shelter was shelter. But this wasn't a story. There was no way she'd be able to climb one of those smooth barked trees and in any case, the sun that had awoken her was being devoured by fast moving dark clouds.

There was a path in front of her - it must lead to somewhere - and she began to jog along it. The storm was coming parallel to it; she didn't even know whether the path was north/south or east/west. She just prayed it would lead to shelter.

Eva felt very tiny as tried to keep the path in sight - everything was so big here! The trees, the ferns, the flowers, she had no idea things grew so big in the jungle. Or maybe this was a rainforest. To her chagrin, she really didn't know what the difference was.

The palm trees thinned out a bit, giving way to a wider assortment of trees, most hung with vines. They were bigger than anything she'd ever seen before and even bigger were some kind of rough barked trees with enormous roots that humped out of the ground around them.

The wind was whipping the brush around her into a frenzy and it grew darker still. Eva could barely see where she was going, unaware that she'd left the meagre trail. Stumbling over one of the massive roots, she lay where she'd fallen, trying to catch her breath, and then crawled forward into the darker patch of blackness near the trunk.

She found herself in a hollow in the tree, large enough that she could curl up in it easily just as the first fat drops of rain began pelting down. There was a carpet of dead leaves beneath her, and debris that she was just as happy she couldn't make out in the dark. Obviously some kind of animal had used this hidey hole in the past - she counted herself lucky that she hadn't run into whatever it was.

The rain poured down steadily, but without any accompanying thunder and lightning. She was safe and dry inside the hollow tree, though a trifle chilled. The sweater she'd brought down to the campfire was presumably still draped on the back of her chair and though her jeans were adequate protection for her lower half, the sleeveless silk blouse, while a beautiful shade of red did very little to keep her upper half warm.

Eva wrapped her hands around her knees, shivering in the dark. Reality settled in like a heavy weight around her shoulders. She'd been left in the middle of nowhere with no food, no water, and no idea which way civilization was. This wasn't an adventure, it was a nightmare.

Soothed by the sound of the rain, mentally and emotionally exhausted, Eva slept.

Spice of Life Part II Cinnamon

Description:
This delicately fragrant, brown spice has a warm, sweet flavour. Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka, Burma, and the Malabar Coast of India, and is also grown in South America and the West Indies. It comes from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree. The outer bark of the tree is peeled away from the branches and the inner bark is rolled into quills, about one inch in diameter.

It comes to us dried, either rolled into sticks or ground into powder and is best kept in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. In Europe it’s mainly used in sweets, and in the Middle East it’s used in meat stews, especially those made with lamb.

It’s used in cakes, puddings, cookies, and bread, and can also added to meat and game stews, vegetables, stewed fruit, and curries. It can be sprinkled in coffee or tea and is delicious in hot chocolate.

History:
Cinnamon is one of the oldest known spices, dating back as far as Ancient Egypt where it was used in embalming and religious ceremonies. It was brought to Europe by Arab traders who kept their source a secret in order to protect their control over it. Because cinnamon was transported via land routes that were difficult to traverse, it was very expensive. Its high cost made it into a status symbol in Europe. Along with being a sign of wealth, cinnamon was also popular because of its ability to preserve meat in the winter.

It was the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company trade, so much so that in the 17th century they seized the island of Ceylon from the Portuguese and then arranged to have the cinnamon sources along the coast of India destroyed so they could keep a monopoly on it. The French later seized Ceylon from the Dutch, then England seized it from the French. At that point other countries found it could be easily grown in other tropical climates, thus breaking the monopoly.

Medicinal Uses:
Medieval physicians used cinnamon in medicines to treat coughing, hoarseness, and sore throats.

Cinnamon is rich in antioxidants, which have anti-inflammatory properties that help protect against disease. Its pre-biotic properties promote gut health and help fight bacterial and fungal infections. There is some evidence that suggests it can help lower blood pressure, and it has proven effective in lowering blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes.

Recipes:

Mexican Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (plus more for garnish)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
3 cups milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, whisk together cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne. Whisking constantly, add milk in a thin stream until combined. Whisk in honey and orange zest.
Heat over medium, whisking occasionally, until mixture is steaming and bubbles start to appear on the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and whisk in vanilla.
In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat cream and on medium speed until cream is softly whipped.
To serve, divide cocoa between 4 mugs, top each with 1 tablespoon whipped cream, and sprinkle with cinnamon.


Cinnamon Chicken

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dry sherry
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 frying chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
First make marinade.
In a medium size bowl, mix the dry sherry, cinnamon, honey, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to a evenly coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.

To cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the chicken, shaking off excess marinade. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until it begins to thicken and about 1 cup remains, 5 to 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Sear the chicken until golden on both sides. Pour the reduced marinade over the chicken and place in the oven.
Bake about 20 minutes and serve.

Readin’ and Writin’

I have advice for people who want to write. I don't care whether they're 5 or 500. There are three things that are important: First, if you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair. And second, you need to read. You can't be a writer if you're not a reader. It's the great writers who teach us how to write. The third thing is to write. Just write a little bit every day. Even if it's for only half an hour — write, write, write.
― Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine’s advice seems simple enough. I do keep a journal, in fact I keep two of them. One of them is for everyday stuff, mainly used as a letter writing source. The other one is my writing journal which I use to jot down interesting quotes, ideas, poems, rants, and honest accounts of how the writing’s going (or not going).

Reading – well, we all know that’s not a problem for me.

Which brings us to writing a little bit every day. *sigh*

Well . . . I’m getting better, but I’m not at the “every day” part yet. I’m still struggling a bit with my focus – I get distracted easily and this week was full of distractions.

I had a visit from my niece and great-niece, stopping here for lunch as they drove from Hamilton to Ottawa where the great-niece is going to be starting a writing course at Algonquin College. I have to admit, I’m pretty envious. Not only of the course (which I looked up online) but the fact the great-niece gets to live in one of the most beautiful cities in Canada.

But the visit did have the positive effect of making me want to do more than sit around reading Nora Roberts books all day. Until . . .

My new lap top was delivered later that same day. It’s small, it’s light, and totally intimidating. I waited until the following day until unpacking it, and then waited some more before hooking it up and turning it on. Then I spent a couple of frustrating hours jumping through Microsoft hoops to get just the basics set up.

Yes, I know I would have had to go through the same thing no matter what lap top I got, but that doesn’t make it less frustrating. I never did get the fingerprint scanner to set up, so I still have that battle to fight. And I sprang for the Microsoft Home and Office 2019 (I’ve been using Office 2007) which I realize was a mistake. I paid for the full version, which I’m assuming came pre-loaded, but without the access key I won’t be able to install it on any other computer. And yes, it’s totally different from Office 2007 so there’s another distraction – learning to use my new software.

Other distractions this week included a morning at Jungle Cat World with the daughter and granddaughter, followed by an afternoon of back-to-school shopping (always a good time) followed by a visit the next day by a bunch of the hubby’s family from Ottawa. Any excuse to have a sausage barbeque is a good one. :-)

Still and all, I did get my blog posts done this week, including the first post in my new non-fiction series. I worked for a week on that post, and then the night before I was to post it I realized I was writing about an herb, not a spice. So it was back to my big book of herbs and spices to pick a new one.

The first post in a series is always the hardest because you have to work out a format that the rest of your posts will follow. But the nice part is, I know what the next series will be about. LOL

No editing done on Blood Ties last week – too many distractions I guess. But I am kicking around the idea for a new, better title. It started out as Wandering Wizards, which made it sound like my characters were wandering around without a purpose, which they weren’t. Blood Ties doesn’t really cut it for me either, so I’m going to think about the new title I’ve come up with before announcing it.

Reading wise I zipped through those Nora Roberts books I found (they were some of her early works which were much shorter) and now I’m reading The Coyote Road, which is an anthology of trickster tales gathered by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. I have another in this series The Faery Reel, but I haven’t been able to find a copy of the third in the series, The Green Man.

The Week Ahead . . .

My new non-fiction series is off to a great start and I want to keep up the momentum. So this week’s goal is to get my post done earlier.

Since I got no editing done on Blood Ties last week, I really need to buckle down this week. And I’ll probably be doing it on my old computer until I get used to the new version of Word on the new computer.

If I get tired of editing, I still need to get that last scene written for the book I’m taking with me to the retreat, which is coming up fast. And if I’m going to follow Madeleine’s advice and write every day, there are many prompts out there just begging for stories.

So . . . what’s will you be doing this week?

Inspiration

You never know where inspiration might strike you. Each month my poetry group is given an optional, usually inspiring, “poemwork” assignment. For August the assignment was to write a mandala poem. Naturally, the first thing I did was some research on mandalas. Holy smokes was there ever a lot of it!

The accumulation of this research was followed by a day when the humidity let up enough for it to be comfortable sitting out on the deck. And as I was sitting there trying to absorb all this information, I watched the birds at the feeder and a whole other poem came to me:


Bird Watching

The grackles emptied my feeder again
but the others still come.
First is a pair of sparrows –
so small, so sweet, so loud!
A female cardinal sits on the fence, chirping
working up the courage to check out what’s left.
She flies away again, unimpressed.
A young mourning dove lights on the fence
trying to look inconspicuous.
He’s joined by a jay,
who boldly announces his presence
but stays in the shelter of the brush.
Two larger mourning doves land on the patio
and get to work amongst the detritus left behind.
Incensed, the young one swoops down
to chase the larger of the two off.
Unconcerned, the second one keeps pecking away.
It’s slim pickings
the grackles are nothing if not thorough.
The remaining mourning dove finally gives up
and flies away.
I wish I could fly with them.


A unique idea came to me for my mandala poem – I’d use all this information I gathered and do a black out poem. A black out poem is when a poet takes a black marker to a page of text (usually non-fiction) and starts covering over everything but the few key words/phrases that make their poem. The scan of my poem is below (you can click on it to make it bigger), and because I did such a poor job of blacking out the surrounding text, I’ve included the straight text version below that.

adherence to the cycle of rebirth and death
encouraged true knowledge.
understanding came up through the present
to elevate the mind.
a spiritual shift encouraged the Hindu vision.
people could not understand objections to this practice.
those who rejected the mandala insisted on establishing
the materialistic truth of one’s own pleasure.
enlightened souls freed themselves;
people suffered in a world of constant change.
shedding one’s ignorance, the soul suffers.
Mandalas journey from illusion to enlightenment.
toward the end
I gradually began to emerge from the darkness.

Spice of Life Part ITurmeric

Description:
This brilliant golden yellow spice, also known as Indian Saffron, is available in fresh, dried, or powdered form.

It adds a mild aroma and distinctive yellow colour to foods. It has a warm, slightly bitter taste like black pepper and is most often used to flavour or colour mustards, butters, and cheeses. A member of the ginger family, turmeric comes from the underground rhizome of the plant and is essential to curry powder.

Turmeric can be used to enhance many foods such as pilafs, poultry, fish, pickles, chutneys, deviled eggs, bean and lentil dishes, and vegetable dishes, especially cauliflower and potatoes. It also makes a flavourful tea or latte.

History:
It was first used in Southeast Asia as a dye to colour the robes of monks and priests yellow. The use of turmeric as a culinary spice dates back almost 4,000 years to India, where it also had some religious significance. It spread to China, Africa, and Jamaica, and Marco Polo described it as exhibiting qualities similar to saffron. It has a long history of medicinal use in South Asia, and is believed to be one of the ancient Persian yellow spices associated with sun worship.

Medicinal Uses:
In the last few years turmeric, or more precisely its main component curcumin, has been gaining popularity for its medicinal benefits.

Curcumin is known for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties and is often used to relieve osteoarthritis. It’s also an effective aid in the treatment of depression, type 2 diabetes, lowering cholesterol, and relieving PMS symptoms. It has been used in headache treatment, especially for migraines, and one study has shown it can help ward off heart attacks in those who’ve had bypass surgery. Turmeric tea can also help ward off a variety of viruses, including the flu and COVID-19

Recipes:

Golden Milk Turmeric Tea
(for health benefits)

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, preferably coconut milk beverage or almond milk
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 (1-inch) piece turmeric, unpeeled, thinly sliced, or 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric
1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, unpeeled, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Ground cinnamon (for serving)

Directions:
Whisk coconut milk, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, honey, coconut oil, peppercorns, and 1 cup water in a small saucepan; bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer until flavours have melded, about 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into mugs and top with a dash of cinnamon.

Golden milk can be made 5 days ahead. Store in an airtight container and chill. Warm before serving.


Spiced Jasmine Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
½ small fennel bulb, finely chopped
¼ cup coarsely chopped fennel fronds
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1½ cups low-sodium chicken stock
¼ cup chopped unsalted, roasted almonds, divided
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add onion, fennel, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until onion is softened and translucent, 5–8 minutes. Add coriander and tumeric and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until some grains are translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover saucepan, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 12–15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and fluff rice with a fork. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, then lid. Let sit 10 minutes.

Stir in fennel fronds and half of almonds. Top with cilantro and remaining almonds.

Serves 4

It’s All In Your Head

A headache, I get the kind of headache God would smote you with in the Old Testament.
― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

“I don't want to die now!" he yelled. "I've still got a headache! I don't want to go to heaven with a headache, I'd be all cross and wouldn't enjoy it!”
― Douglas Adams

The word for the week is headache. It’s been so hot that we’ve had to have the air conditioner on upstairs at night and it’s loud enough that I’m not getting a good night’s sleep. I wake up super tired and headachy. Also, we’re coming into allergy season, and not only do I get sinus headaches, the pressure from my sinuses gives me earaches. *sigh*

Still . . . I feel like I’m moving closer to being able to use my old format here; you know, the one that included actual word counts and progress reports.

One of the reasons for this is that I moved my desk. Not a lot, but instead of it being angled with my back to a corner, I have it perpendicular to the window so my back is to the wall. Surprisingly, I have a lot more room with the desk this way. And the big thing is, it’s brighter. The way it was angled before, it didn’t matter how bright it was outside, the low hutch that contains the roll top threw a shadow on the desk top. I had to have a light on top of the bookcase beside me because the overhead light is kind of dim.

And one of the interesting things I discovered, originally I had the desk parallel to the window with my back to the wall so I was looking out the window. I couldn’t have had it that way for long because I don’t even remember that, but I have the pictures to prove it.

In any case, I like the desk perpendicular to the window. I can still access the bookcase right under the window, and the one against the opposite wall, as well as the filing cabinet the printer sits on. And I feel like I have more room – I don’t have to shimmy to get behind my desk. LOL

The other reason I got more writing done last week is because the Solitaire Garden website still isn’t working. *sigh* The other games just aren’t as much fun, not even the hidden object games. I am valiantly resisting the urge to look for new games.

After more endless back and forthing – filling my shopping cart, deleting my shopping cart – I finally settled on a Lenovo ThinkPad Gen 15. I’m trying not to dwell on why I didn’t just go for a different IdeaPad with its superior battery life. I’m sure I had my reasons – it was probably some bad reviews that scared me off. Anyway, the ThinkPad is on its way.

I finished my mandala poem. The amount of information I’d gathered about mandalas was so overwhelming I decided to put it to good use and do a black out poem. Friday being the first Friday of September, I figure I’ll post it then.

I finished The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable – I really enjoyed the way it went back and forth between the past and present. It was really two stories in one, and I can’t decide which one I enjoyed more. But unfortunately after that I started sliding back into the Nora Roberts black reading hole again. Blame the hot, yet overcast weather for that. But at least I’m down to her early stuff, which is much shorter. :-)

The Week Ahead . . .

I almost started a brand new series on Wednesday, but it was so late Tuesday night when I started it, I didn’t get very far. But be on the look-out for The Spice of Life, starting this Wednesday. As you may surmise, it’s about spices and their uses. I’m not going to put them in alphabetical order (boring!) and it’ll run until I get tired of it. LOL

Work is proceeding on the edits for Blood Ties. The beginning is totally changing and there will be at least a couple of parts of the rest of it that’ll have to change too. But I’m confident it’ll be a better book for it.

I picked out the novel I’m taking to the retreat in October. And the winner is . . . The Perfect Match, formerly known as The Eros Portal (NaNo 2016). It’s a science fiction romance about a scientist who creates a machine that’s meant to find a person’s perfect romantic match, but things go a little awry when the wrong DNA is used. Not only do I really like this story, it’s really close to being done. I only have one scene (I think) to add to complete it.

I think I’d like start working with some prompts again, just something quick and easy to start my writing day. Maybe even start doing a weekly flash story to post on Fridays . . .

So . . . what’s your week looking like?