A Day Off

The last day of July!  August barely counts as summer anymore since school starts here on the 12th.  Meanwhile I am working on the next Molly book. Thankfully no computer problems.  It's a relief to have a screen that doesn't have dark corners and doesn't keep going off and  back on at its whim.

It's just me trying to find the right words.

I;m taking the day off from everything and we're going  to Laguna Beach.  It's close enough for a day trip, but far enough away to feel like a change.  Seeing the ocean is always a good thing.  The rhythm of the waves is soothing and just looking at all that water is relaxing.  The town is charming and we'll look around and probably stop at the Urth Cafe

The destination is only part of it. I like the ride there.  Jakey may have his nose buried  in some electronic thing, but I'm all about looking out the window.  There's so much to take in.  Even the traffic.  I'm always curious about the trucks on the road.  The ones that carry all the cars fascinate me and seeing how they jiggle always makes me a little nervous.

There are landmarks I notice.  The Goodyear Blimp.  The mysterious water way along the 405 freeway in the South Bay area that I found out is the Dominguez Channel.  It's a flood control thing now, but was originally a fresh water march called Dominguez Slough. 

I'm up for any stops along the way.  Starbucks for a party drink or  IKEA in Costa Mesa  for lunch.  It will be dark on the way back and a whole different experience. like seeing all the plane headlights as they close in on landing at LAX.  And maybe even having a plane go right over us just before it lands.  Lights everywhere without being able to tell what they belong to.  And  then we'll be back to sleep in our own beds. 

All of it gives my mind a much needed reboot. 

Writing Forever!

Yes, writing can continue for a good long time, maybe forever. Or at least our books can.

Why am I mentioning that? Well, this week I was put in touch with a company that can potentially take some of my older novels, make them more available again today, and promote them. And I certainly like that idea! 

Meanwhile, I’m still editing, and plotting, and enjoying my current writing—nothing different there. And the possibility that what I may be writing today will stay out in the world for a good, long time? Oh, yeah!

The Crochet Cure

 It's always something.  The pixels in my computer screen were dying.  Already one corner was dark and another corner flickered on and off.  I was assured getting a new screen was an easy fix.  Except it isn't.

The whole screen is lit up now, but there is a box with a 60 in it sitting in the top left corner that covers things I need to access.  The cursor has no effect on the box. I can't work on my manuscript with the box there because it covers functions I need.

My screensaver is much nicer on the new screen, but the type ia Word document is not.  It seems fainter and harder to see. So now I'm waiting for help from my son who installed the screen.

I had already gone through dealing with signing into a Zoom meeting.  I decided to use my phone which proved to be a nightmare.  I was required to type in my address before I could sign into the meeting.  But every time I tried, the box disappeared.  I gave up and tried using a Mac laptop.  The touch pad or whatever it's called is a real pain.  I was finally able to do the address thing, but when I  clicked on submit, it offered me the definition of submit.  I finally figured out if I clicked near but not on the wrod submit, it did submit the address.

But back to the new screen for my PC desktop.  I can only type my blog entry because I don't need whatever is behind the box with the 60 in it.

As soon as I finish this, I'm going directly to what I call therapeutic crochet.  It is going to be part of the Molly book I'm working on.  It is meant as a relief from stress, so easy pattern with lots of markers to keep track of stitches.  Yarn that is easy to see the stitches.  No challenges like counting stitches or fighting with trying to attach safety eyes to an amigurumi  animal. Just row after row of soothing simple stitches.  I really need that now.

Secrets, Sort Of

I was out of town during the timing of my last two posts here. Could you tell? I thought of them in advance and scheduled them to appear, so hopefully not. 

I’m home now, and back to working harder on my latest series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, my K-9 Crime Solvers series. I’m still editing the second in the series but it’s coming along well. And number three is circling my mind.

 And where was I? On a family trip to Alaska. Did it give me ideas for more stories to tell? Of course! I’ve had series set in Alaska before but it’s a very inspirational place—although I didn’t see as much wildlife this time as I’d hoped for. Even so… yes, my mind is percolating.