2/11/2025 It's An Author's Life

Even though I’m pretty much over the last sickness my family shared with me, that annoying cough in the morning and at night is hanging on. I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy.

Now, I know I’m a day late but here’s why. First of all, the posting totally skipped my mind until last night. Secondly, my son flew to Arizona yesterday for work and I was on pins and needles until I knew his plane landed safely. I’ll be the same when he returns tomorrow (Wednesday) night as Oklahoma is expecting some nasty weather overnight in the form of snow and ice. Thirdly my granddaughter is staying with me while her dad is on his business trip so there’s making dinner for two, getting her settled for the night (which she does on her own, she is 17 after all 😂), and me being a grandma.

So, I told you I did a thing and signed up to do a Friday the 13^th story this year. Well, I have a story idea and have started writing it!!! Think “Mary Worth” or “Bloody Mary” and you’ll get an idea of it. These stories all have the number 13 in common: 13 chapters, 13,000 words, broken mirror, released on Friday the 13^th, the victim’s name has 13 letters in it, and there are 13 authors. See where this is going?

That’s it for this installment of my not-so-exciting world.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other’s lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

2/3/25 It's An Author's Life

This week, it feels like I’m writing the same thing over and over again. But this time, I am probably 95% back from the last illness my family shared with me, which may or may not have been the flu but just an old-fashioned cold. Let me just say that going old school and using Vicks (or a generic version) works wonders. Using an expectorant, which managed the coughing, along with lots of rest, helped as well. BTW, peppermint bark tea is the bomb!

I made it to church yesterday and got to witness the baptism of Jordan! The event brought tears to his proud papa’s eyes.

Not much writing was done this past week as my medicine induced brain wasn’t functioning on all cyclinders. But, I think I do have a title and an idea for my Friday the 13^th story, I just have to flesh it out a bit.

I think that’s all I have and I’m off to take some medicine.

I pray you and your family are healthy and have dodged the illness that is affecting so many. Schools are suffering with so many teachers out as well as students.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other’s lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

1-27-25 It's An Author's Life

Here it is Monday, and my son and youngest granddaughter have felt it only fair that they share their cold/flu with me. When I went to bed last night I started coughing, now I have chills, am sleepy, and have a slight headache. So off to the store I went to replenish my OTC meds because I gave what I had to them. I’ll be missing my monthly book club, Chapter Chat, tonight and possibly the CAAC meeting tomorrow depending on how I feel. Now on to more cheerful things!

I actually made it to church yesterday. I love my little church and lately there seems to be more and more people filling the pews. This warms my heart as the church has gained two families this year so far. One of them (middle school age) is going to be baptized next week. So excited for Jordan!

Not much writing was done this past week due to the fact that Jackie and Shadow (the Bald Eagles living in Big Bear Valley) were getting ready to start their family this year. Jackie laid egg #1 on the 22nd around 7pm (central) and then #2 on the 25^th around the same time. The FOBBV organization has two live cameras on YouTube: one on the nest, and one of the trees where this pair are known to mate. Watching the nest this time of year is my Zen.

So, I did a thing! I’ve stepped outside my comfort writing box and signed up to do a Friday the 13^th story with a group of 12 other authors. The repeated theme for each story on every Friday the 13^th is the following: must have a murder or dead body found on Friday the 13^th, villain or victim must have 13 letters in their name, story must have 13 chapters and a total of 13,000 words, a broken mirror must be somewhere in the story, and the story has to be creepy. Now, the reason this is outside my box is because NONE of my published books have just 13 chapters; there are at least 14 chapters not counting a prologue or epilogue. And also, that this is a horror/creepy type of story, which I normally don’t write on purpose. So, a few ideas have popped into my head and will see how they progress. Mark your calendar for June 13 and the release of this year’s one and only Friday the 13^th collection of stories.

I think that’s all I have and I’m off to take some medicine.

I pray you and your family are healthy and have dodged the illness that is affecting so many. Schools are suffering with so many teachers out as well as students.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other’s lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

1/20/25 It's An Author's Life

 Seems as if most, if not all, of us are in the deep freeze once again. Here in Oklahoma, it was in the 60s on Friday only to fall into the 40s on Saturday and the temps kept falling. At the time of this writing, it is 19˚F with a wind chill of 8˚F. The faucets in my home have been dripping/streaming since late Saturday afternoon, there is warmth coming in a few days as temps will be on the rise starting Wednesday.

If you are in the US, today is our country’s inauguration day. That’s all I’ll say about that subject, except that I hope all goes well for the next four years.

Both my youngest granddaughter, Makenna, and I have recovered from the stomach bug. It took a few days to get my taste buds back to normal, and no it wasn’t COVID. Just being sick makes your body out of kilter.

Since I was feeling better, I got caught up on my weekly writing schedule. Every author writes differently. Some do X number of words a day or week, but I give myself a minimum of a chapter a week. That way, I’m not stressed when life throws curve balls like being sick.

Speaking of writing, I thought I’d give you a peek into Simply to Die For which is currently available for pre-order here with a March release:

I turned and surveyed the room. It had been easier than I first imagined. None of them put up a fuss. Well, except the one I’ve left in a dark corner of the room that is, and he’s not a threat. Even his crying and whimpering have ceased. I only hope he’ll live long enough to give them my message. If not, well, I’ll think of another way to get her back and get that damn list of hers. Her royal highness, Kandi Kyses. What made her think she could quit the business and go into hiding? No one gets away with crossing me, as she’ll soon discover. Did she think for one minute that she wouldn’t be found no matter how far away she was? I have to give it to her though, these damn chocolates of hers are divine. I placed the pink and white striped candy box in position carefully with my gloved fingers and chuckled.

Her handmade candies were… Simply to die for.

S2D4 has been getting some good vibes on Bluesky and TikTok, and I am looking forward to its release to everyone.

I will leave you here as I consider whether to venture outside today.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other’s lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

1/14/25 It's An Author's LIfe

I’m a day late, but I have good reason. I ended up with that nasty stomach bug Sunday night and have spent the last 36 hours pretty much in bed. Shoot, I even forgot to feed Simon until around 11:00 Monday night. Now that I’m feeling better judging by the fact that I did a load of laundry and dishes, I’m glad to be back to being more myself again.

Now on to some more pleasant things that happened over the past week.

Saturday was the CROW (Central Region Oklahoma Writers) Christmas party. It was so much fun, and the hostess's house is a beautiful historical home! We played Dirty Santa and all the gifts were writing-related items such as blankets, socks, candles, coffee cups, pens, notebooks, etc. I always look forward to our informal gatherings. Thank you to Anna for taking the photo and Tina for opening your home to us.

My youngest granddaughter didn’t have school for two days last week due to the 4” of snow that fell Wednesday night and the icy roads that occurred when the slush refroze overnight Thursday. But she did have virtual learning both days, so those days are not lost or have to be made up on pre-scheduled snow days.

So that’s the excitement for this past week. I hope that you and your family are healthy and haven’t been hit with this bug.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other’s lives are never as glamorous as we may think they are.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

01-06-25 It's An Author's Life

Happy New Year and Welcome 2025!

I totally missed posting last Monday, so here’s a quick recap since Christmas:

On the 27^th, I got a call from my local animal shelter to do an emergency foster for a 4-month-old puppy. “Whisper” is the cutest guy with front paws as big as the palm of my hand. Luckily, the shelter found a rescue for him, and he left on Thursday to find a family with kids who will love him as much as my granddaughter and I do.

Christmas was quiet so not much to report there. My son and his youngest were over and we watched football most of the day. It was the first since his wife’s passing in July, so there was an empty chair at my table. Everything was yummy and there were hardly any leftovers for them to take home.

I stayed in on New Year’s Eve and had a glass or two of wine. I almost never go out to celebrate anymore as I have no patience for people my age acting like totally idiots LOL … yes, this former party animal and social butterfly is anything but these days. I hope you had a safe New Year's Eve.

Winter has finally hit Oklahoma as an Arctic Blast overnight on Saturday. It went from 63 at around 3am to in the 30s around 8am in just a matter of hours Sunday morning. Luckily, I had already started to drip/stream all the faucets in the house and the doors under the sinks were propped open. It was a bit chilly going to church this morning, but nothing compared to the wind chill of 2 at 8:10pm. It should be in the 40s by the end of the week.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore because I rarely keep them, even with good intentions. So, for 2025, I wish you all love, success, happiness, and joy.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other’s lives are never as glamorous as we may think they are.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine