Going Golfing

 I decided to get actual experience  for the next Crochet and Crumpet Mystery and play around of miniature golf.  I wanted to see what the holes looked like in person rather than relying on memory and photographs.

All I had to do was mention that I wanted to play and Jakey and my son were at the door, ready to go.  It was a Friday night around nine o'clock, so the crowd was mostly people on dates.  I wondered if the women knew where they were going since the ones I saw were wearing things like short pencil skirts and shoes that weren't flat.

Lucky for us, we were dressed to play.  Jakey was thrilled to get a hole in one.  I was thrilled not to trip over anything.  It was interesting to see the setup in person.  The holes were less elaborate than I had expected.  Somehow, I had imagined more decorations that provided obstacles for the shots.  There were no sand traps or moats.  We made it through the 18 holes with lots of laughs.  We all had fun and  I got a better idea of how the holes were laid out.

We ended the evening at Jakey's favorite  fast food fried chicken place that's open late. This is the way things are now--Jakey got a giant drink and I got the kids' size one that came with his chicken.  I was more interested in the crowd than the food anyway which was lucky because I'm a vegetarian and had cole slaw and bread.  There was a group celebrating a birthday, a bunch of hungry teenage boys and some families with sleepy kids.

My favorite way to do research.   

More Writing, More Plotting

 Every time I do something special or different or both, I always start plotting in my mind—as I am currently. Last weekend I went to the Fun Day for the local Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, and am considering what I can use from that experience in a new story or series. For one thing, I met a really nice lady who works in law enforcement who’s being stalked by some guy. Oh, she’s written about it, so I’m not going to attempt to tell her story. But it’s edging on my mind. And of course so are Cavaliers! That day was our Cari’s 10^th birthday, so a lot of what we did there was to celebrate her.

And otherwise? Yes, I’m still working on the third book in my current Harlequin Romantic Suspense series, K-9 Crime Solvers. It’s fun to see the first now in print form, though not available yet, plus I received copies of a print version that also has another author’s story in it, one of the Harlequin Romantic Suspense Colton books.

Weather or Not

 After days of 100 plus days, the weather did a huge change.  The temperature suddenly dropped.  I went from waking up to it being 77 in the house to it being 68,  The T-shirts I was wearing were not enough and I put long sleeve shirts on over them.  Well, for a day.  Another big change as all that unusual humidity we were getting blew away and the air became light and dry as a Santa Ana blew in.  The temperature is going back up to the 90s.

All the abrupt changes are disquieting, but the winds add something more.  There has already been a warning text from the city about fire danger.  The winds themselves feel eerie and put people on edge.  I'm certainly on edge.  It's a good time for some crochet therapy while trying to let it all go.

I watched a new show called CUPERTINO.  I loved that the female lead crocheted to calm herself.  I wonder if the writers will keep her doing that in future shows.  

Meanwhile I am trying to shut out all the local weather and think Midwest fall as I work on the third Crochet and Crumpet mystery.  Instead of seeing green leaves on the lime tree outside my window, I am trying to picture red leaves fluttering down from as trees become skeletons.  It is fun seeing it through the eyes of the two California girls.   

Hey, I think I’m on time today!

 

Right now, I’m still hanging out at home, mostly working on the third book in my current Harlequin Romantic Suspense series, K-9 Crime Solvers.

I also wrote a post for the other site where I blog every few weeks, Writers in Residence, one to be published this week. The topic? Writers who use themes in their stories. And of course I had to mention how much I love to write stories that involve dogs, which I’ve been doing forever. Unfortunately, that post will be one of my last for WinR, since the decision has been made that, after many years, that blog will be ending.

But so far, at least, I’m staying here! And for now, at least, I’m also remaining active at Writerspace.