Belated Update

Last time I posted my goals, I mentioned that they had completely fallen apart. And here I am – three days past the deadline I had given myself for said goals. I did okay on them, except for being three days late on telling you that.

Here are the goals I made for myself on April 22 to have been achieved by May 26:

Writing:

1)     Publish my Covid Chronicles. I published it as an e-book, but I am still waiting for the print copy to proof. Do any other self-publishers do this? Make sure the print copy is absolutely perfect in every way, but kind of let some things slide on the electronic version? I have fallen into that habit. I do most of my reading on my Kindle and find a fair number of errors, some of which seem to be more formatting than grammatical.

2)     Get back to work on my next novel, working title of “New, Old Spies. Nope, haven’t started.

3)     BONUS GOAL. I finished writing the memoir of my sister Pat and hope to publish that by the end of this week. 

Reaching:

1)     Promote that latest novel, “Prior to Now” on social media once a week. Mostly.  

2)     Attend vendor sale for my books April 29. Yes.

3)     Research other vendor sales. Sign up for one. Yes, I signed up for one here in town on July 3.

4)     Sew five more book bags. Oops, nope, haven’t sewn a one.  

Reading:

1)     Read two books. I read two and actually started two but couldn’t finish them because I just didn’t like them.

2)     Read and study five chapters in the Book of Acts for my Thursday Bible study group. I think I have.  

Retiring (yeah, the new subtitle and most exciting one):

1)     Take the camper out of storage on May 2. Took it out of storage but have not cleaned it.  

2)     Research our trip to Seattle this summer. Did a lot of research and then had to cancel the trip.

3)     Research my trip to Cambodia in the fall. I did some.

4)     Figure out what I’m going to do for insurance once I quit work. Yes, I have, and unfortunately, I am going with the most expensive option for now (see below).  

Ranching (okay, you know I don’t have a ranch, right? But I wanted to stick with the “R” theme and ranch was all I came up with for the house and yard):

1)     Start cleaning closets in the house. Nope.  

2)     Start prepping the garden and getting some flowers planted. Nope.  

My back went out on April 1 and continued to deteriorate after that. It still isn’t back to normal. Finally starting to get there, but I think it’s going to take some time. Hence, no work done around the house. And that’s also why I have to go with the expensive health insurance, coz there is no guarantee this latest treatment on my back is going to cure it. The back is also why we cancelled our trip to Seattle and why I haven’t gotten the camper cleaned. Sounds like one big sorry excuse, doesn’t it?

So let’s move on and see if the month of June will pan out better.

Writing:

1)     Publish my Covid Chronicles in paperback form.

2)      Publish “Holding All the Aces”, the memoir about my sister.

            3)   Get back to work on my next novel, working title of “New, Old Spies.”

Reaching:

1)     Promote all three of my latest works, “Prior to Now”, “Chris Coping with the Covid-19Crisis” and “Holding All the Aces” twice a week.  

2)     Prep for and promote the vendor sale on July 3.

3)     Research other vendor sales.

4)     Sew eight book bags to sell at my book sales.  

Reading:

1)     Read two books.

2)     Read and study four chapters in the Book of Acts for my Thursday Bible study group.

Retiring:

1)     Clean the camper and get it ready for camping.  

2)     Research my trip to Cambodia in the fall.

3)     Sign up for that expensive insurance.  

Ranching:

1)     Thoroughly clean one room in the house.

2)     Plant some flowers in the yard. Thanks to my back, I gave up on the vegetable garden.   

Well, there it is, what I’m going to shoot for the month of June. My first month of not having to go into work at all!

Wish my luck, Chris  

(Flowers above are from my co-workers for my last day. Aww!) 

Two Books, One Dance

         When I used to go camping with my sister Pat, we would both become constipated. We’d stay active all day, hiking, tossing the Frisbee, or sometimes swimming. We included as many fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet as our cooler would accommodate. We drank plenty of water. Yet each vacation in our tent in the woods, we would moan and groan as our bowels came to a screeching halt. On one such camping trip, after Pat had had success, she came out of the outhouse dancing.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I am doing the happy dance, because I went poo,” she sang out, still skipping and hopping with glee. The happy dance became the most important reportable event during any of our travels.

Many years and many happy dances later, I took it to Africa. My daughter instantly knew one morning what had happened when I came back from the choo with a spring in my step and a wiggle in my hips. She had to share it with one of the other girls on the spot. Soon all the girls were wondering if they would be the next one to do the “dance.”

Against my best judgment, I explained it to the rest of the team. Soon everyone was hoping to do the happy dance, rather a challenge when squatting over a hole within a crude, canvas structure without a door and open to the blue sky above.

I’ve started sharing excerpts and thoughts from some of my earlier works. “A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven” was the first book I wrote and published. I think, or at least I hope, that my writing skills have improved since 2012.

Though it could be seen as being in poor taste by some, this particular passage came to mind today as I have been working on my newest memoir. Titled “Holding All the Aces”, it is a tribute to my amazing sister Pat, the one who initiated the Happy Dance over forty years ago.

One other really memorable thing came out of the first trip with the new popup camper back in 1997. The now world-famous Happy Dance. 

 

Who knew something so stupid from my early years would be carried with me from a campground in northern Wisconsin to Kenya, Africa?

If you haven’t read “A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven” it is still available on Amazon.com. And watch for more information on “Holding All the Aces” over the next few months. Chris   

Flashback to old books I've written

      Inside the hotel lobby, a TV hanging on the wall broadcasted a news flash. The desk clerk seemed engrossed by it.

      "Excuse me," Dee interrupted. "I'm checking in."

      "Oh, I'm sorry." The girl was barely in her twenties. "I didn't hear you come in. Did you hear the news?" She pointed to the TV screen. "The president is making a statement soon."

      Dee watched the screen for a moment. She believed that watching the nightly news would help develop her writing skills, give her ideas, and aid in research, but she could never stomach the stories of corruption and violence.

      "His daughter has gone missing. They think she's been kidnapped."

      "Who's that?" Dee berated herself, feeling she had to catch up on current events.

      "Mikayla Andrews, the president's daughter. She's only 27. She was in – shhh." The clerk turned back to the TV and turned up the volume.

      "White House sources say that Mikayla Andrews has not been seen or heard from since arriving in Whitefish Bay, a suburb of Milwaukee, earlier this morning. Two Secret Service agents who were traveling with her reported that they last saw her in her suite at the Marriott hotel. She had been in the room alone, laying down for a nap before dinner. When they returned an hour later, she was no longer in the room."

      "Excuse me." Dee would have found the story not in the least bit interesting other than that Whitefish Bay was less than an hour's drive to the south. "Can I check in?"

      "Oh, I'm sorry, of course." The young woman continued to be mesmerized by the TV.

      "Foul play is not suspected but can still not be ruled out. Sources believe that the disappearance is merely some sort of misunderstanding."

      "Is there someone else who could help me?" Dee tried again to drag the clerk back to her desk.

      "I am so sorry." She finally tore herself away from the TV, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she processed Dee's request.

This isn’t Flashback Friday in the normal sense. Normally, I’d tell you a story from my past, my childhood, but today, and for the next couple of Fridays, I thought I’d flashback to previous books I’d written.

        Today’s excerpt is from a novella, “To Find Justice”, which I published as an E-book only, because it was too short for a paperback. It was the first thing I’d totally self-published on my own to Amazon, and I wanted to practice before turning a full-length novel over to that format.

        I also had thoughts at the time to write two or three more novellas and then publish them all together on paper, but that never happened. Some day yet, maybe.

        The premise is:

Dee Richards, a devoted wife and mother, dreams of writing a mystery novel. When friends loan her the use of their condo for a week, she seizes the opportunity to make her dream a reality. A secretive couple who is also staying at the resort captures her imagination. Will she finish writing her book or will the mystery right next-door change Dee’s life forever? 

I haven’t thought much about it or even looked at it since I released it in March 2020. I just started reading, though, and maybe it’s not half-bad. Maybe you’ll enjoy it as a quick summer read.

Let me know. Have a good weekend, Chris