Easy Answers

 My blog tour is over.  There were some nice reviews along with the posts that I wrote.  But now it's back to finishing going over DANGER LOOMS. It has been slow going because I am rewriting more than I anticipated.  

But at the same time, the next Molly book is lingering in the back of my mind.  I started doing some research that goes with a new character that Molly encounters where she's working on an investigation for Mason.  She is in dire straits because her money is tied up in some senior housing that is going bankrupt.  I get mail from those kind of places with offers of free lunches to hear details of the places.  That's what they call it, but I know they are sales presentations.  I almost considered going to one because of this character, but I found everything I needed online.  

It is amazing the information you can get.  I read an AARP article with warnings about this type of housing set up and then I read how the place presented what they offered.  Mixing the two together, I saw how it was all too possible that the circumstances I put my character in could actually happen.

It was easy to go off on a tangent and start typing in other questions about totally unrelated things.  I started thinking about the time before smart phones and Google searches.  In those days, it just wasn't an option to get an easy answer to something like what year a song came out or the cast of a long cancelled TV show. How things have changed.

I am amazed how just from remembering part of a lyric and the singer's name, I was able to find a music video I loved in the 80s.  But I hit a wall  when I was curious about the brand name of a shampoo I used in the past.  I remembered the green color and how I liked the smell and even that I stopped buying it when the formula changed.  I finally remembered that the brand was some hair stylist's name. I did all kinds of searches (and wasted a lot of time) and got nowhere.  I finally gave up and figured it was going to be an unsolved mystery.  And then I happened to read about some well known people connected to the Epstein files and when I saw the name of  a used to be well known hair stylist, I got the answer about the shampoo.  In case you're curious, the brand of the shampoo was Fredrick Fekkai.

I remember hearing a long time ago something about not having to know or remember everything being as important as knowing where to find the information.  My phone feels like the magic carpet or maybe it's more like a Geni that  as long as I ask the right question gets me what I want to know. 

 

 

Will I Ever Be On Time Again?

I’m late yet again. Sorry! But this time I sort of have excuses. I’ve had some physical issues—nothing too bad—but they even prevented me from getting on my computer yesterday. 

Well, I’m here again now. And hopefully I’ll be able to stay on my computer for a while and even get some writing and editing done. 

I hope all of you reading this are doing well. I’m improving, at least.

 And once again I hope to be on time… next week.

Summer!

 June is here and already rolling by.  I starting making notes of what happens in a calendar book.  It's all about remembering what happened when.  I mark things like unusual weather, news items, and personal important items.  It is always interesting to look back over a month and see how quickly things get forgotten as time moves on. I keep my old calendar books as they have sort of personal history of big moments, surprise rain storms and books coming out.

This past week,  I had marked the June gloom mornings, SCONED TO DEATH'S release, and upcoming things like Jakey's last day of school.  I remember those  from when I was a kid.  The half day of school, getting our report cards and meeting our new teacher.  And then we were released for what seemed like and endless vacation. 

 I got DANGER LOOMS  back from my editor and while his suggestions were minor, I am going through the whole manuscript and tweaking.  Since it's been a while since I've seen it, I have a better perspective.  We're working on the cover and I saw the first rendition yesterday.  I made suggestions for changes and am anxious to see what the next rendition looks like. I had sent photos of the potholder loom with a half made potholder on it.  It reminded me how much I liked making them.

But in the back of my mind, stuff for the next Molly book keeps showing up, along with what's going to go on in the next Crochet and Crumpet book.  I am trying to put the ideas into my computer instead of on the scraps of paper and junk mail envelopes.  I am so glad that I can juggle  all this along with the books I'm reading.  I'm in the midst of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen.  So far I'm loving it.

Jakey's vacation will change things around here.  For one thing, his appetite has surged and he's always hungry.  He's grown out of most of the playgrounds so no more easy fix of going to a nearby one.  We've got some trips planned to Yosemite and Catalina.  I get to enjoy the trip and enjoy him enjoying it.

 My summer vacations were so different.  When I was Jakey's age I was mostly left on my own to figure out what to do with my time.   That might have been a gift because even now I'm never bored.

Okay, I'm Late Again

 But I’m here now. I apologize…again. Feel free to scold me.

 One of the milestones I mentioned last week actually occurred this week. I therefore had a fun evening this weekend as we celebrated a milestone birthday for my husband.

Do I have a better excuse, though? Not really. At least my dogs are sympathetic. And adorable as always. They’re happy to snuggle with me to help me ease my conscience. 

So…Yes, I again apologize. Will I be on time next week? I hope so, and also hope I’ve something else to say besides I’m sorry! But meantime, I do need to get back to my editing.