7/28/25 It's An Author's Life

I know I teased about frying an egg on the sidewalk, and I was really looking forward to seeing if it would actually work; however, it didn’t get hot enough over the weekend for me to try it. Only one day hit 100+, and the rest of the days were in the high 90s. So, I’m sorry that I won’t be putting that theory to work—or not. 

If you are in the area of the heat wave, remember to hydrate and stay cool. I’ve been in my home cave for over a week, mostly only going out in the morning to run errands. My yard is still greenish, but my mulberry tree is dropping its yellow leaves in the front.     

If you are a person who prays, please pray for my 91-year-old mom as she’s been in the hospital since Saturday night. She’s not happy about it, but knows she needs to recover from what could be pneumonia. She’s on antibiotics, and all other tests and scans were normal. Thank you in advance for your prayers. 

Okay, so other than those couple of things, life has been pretty quiet lately. Just sitting in a dark house to keep the heat out, which, like I’ve said before, is hard for me because I’m one who loves to let the light in. I’m looking forward to fall when I can keep the blinds and windows open. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. And remember to hydrate before spending time in the heat. 

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 people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

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

Maxine

7/21/25 It's An Author's Life

You know that saying about the heat, an egg, and a sidewalk? Let me just say...although it was in the 90s and felt like you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, I don’t think it was. This weekend we are looking at 100, so maybe then it might be. We’ll see. 😉 

I love the murder of CROWS I belong to! CROW stands for Central Region Oklahoma Writers, a subgroup of Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc. We meet once a month for lunch, followed by a program/workshop and business meeting. This month we had lunch at Parlor (a warehouse turned into a two-story food court) near Automobile Alley in Oklahoma City. 

I really felt the heat on Saturday, with being surrounded by buildings, and it was crazy busy downtown OKC. Let me start with my lunch, which I had high hopes for. I ordered Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice. The portion was big enough for at least two people, and it seemed I would never get to the bottom of the paper boat serving container. And I never did. I ended up tossing, I would say 75% of it, away after I ate all the chicken and pineapple. It wasn’t bad or anything, just not for me. I’ll try either the pizza or hamburger place next time. 

The meeting was awesome – except for the fact that it was crazy busy downtown because of the Farmer’s Market. Poor Anna drove around the block, I don’t know how many times, looking for a parking spot. She finally gave up, letting me out at the library, and finally found a parking lot that was free on the weekend. But let’s get to the workshop at the OKC Library. 

Kit McKenna and Brooke Taylor presented “Crafting the Modern Female Archetype,” and it was awesome! We were a small group this month, but it’s always great to see everyone and get together. I’ll have to delve into the handouts a bit more to really grasp the presentation. Sometimes an hour just isn’t long enough because there’s so much information given and not enough time to really dig deeper into the subject. Next month will be with an OKCPD homicide investigator and should prove to be yet another interesting presentation. I’ll let you know. 

For those of you who have KU, five of my American historical eBooks are now available: Elizabeth and Vera (books 1 and 2 of Widows of Blessings Valley), and The Cattleman’s Bride, Red River Crossing, and Winds of Change (book 3 of Brides Along the Chisholm Trail and books 1 and 2 of Men of the Double K, respectively). 

Also, blow the trumpets!!! After not writing for over a week, I got "words on paper," so to speak, as I “wrote” on the laptop Sunday night!! This means I can move forward on my next release, which I hope will be before Christmas. 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week. 

Have a great week! Live, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. And remember to hydrate before spending time in the heat over the next week or so. 

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, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

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

Maxine 

7/14/25 It's An Author's Life

Old lady syndrome hit me Saturday (for the record, I am in my 7th decade of life). Yikes!!! I went to Walmart to get several items I needed, put the bags in the cart, loaded them up in the car, hit a drive-thru, and got home just as the storm hit. I grabbed the two bags containing cold stuff, went into the house to put them in the fridge, then ate my Braum's #10. 

After it poured down rain off and on for an hour or so, I called my mom (I talk to her every day, she’s 91) and took a shower as I had a girls’ night out date to get ready for. Well, after my shower, I wondered where the bag with my vitamins and other stuff was. After searching the house in the customary places these items would go, and the car a few more times, I concluded, with a bit of panic, that I had forgotten that bag at the store. Made a call to Walmart, told them what happened, and asked if I could come in the morning. Of course, they said yes. 

I couldn’t go back to get the items as I was getting ready for Carlotta and Amy to pick me and my neighbor Catherine up at 7pm to go to the local community theater. It was the second night of Little Shop of Horrors, and we had a blast! The cast was wonderful, the music great, and we all laughed and laughed. We even got “eaten” by Audrey II! 

By the time I got home, my arthritis was rearing its ugly head thanks to the rain and climbing up on the stage. Thankfully, a couple of the stagehands helped me (and my cane) get up that last step and down on the other side of the stage as well. Anyway, I got home, took two aspirin, and went off to bed. 

Come Sunday morning, I was waiting for the Walmart Customer Care center to open up so I could get my items. It was 6:45 am, and I had to stand there with a cart waiting for them to open at 7. The woman who was working behind the counter this morning had me come up a few minutes before she actually opened, which I greatly appreciated. Long story short, well, I guess it’s not so short after all, she checked my receipt and "the book." She told me to get the missing items and come back, which I did. By the time I left the care center, we had concluded that since I used self-checkout, which I normally use, the forgotten bag was probably picked up by a customer since they weren’t in “the book.” By the time I got done walking around Walmart from one side of the store to the other and then home after stopping at McD's drive-thru, my arthritic knees were not happy. 

So, I took two aspirin and went back to bed, after letting someone know why I wasn’t at church because “they worry” when I’m not there. It was around 12:30 pm when I woke up. 

Old Lady Syndrome – LOL 

Other than those 24 hours over the weekend, the rest of the week was rather uneventful, including not one single word written. There’s always this week to change that. LOL 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. 

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, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

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

Maxine 

7/7/25 It's An Author's Life

As I sat writing and wondering which one of Simon’s hiding places he was in, I was thankful that I was safe from the chaos that took place during the fireworks on Friday night. The pain of getting to your care afterwards. The crowds of people who have celebrated a bit too much all day. Trying to maneuver your way to the bathrooms, or to a food truck, or even to just stretch your legs.

Staying home didn’t keep the celebration from disturbing my peace of mind. It sounded like my neighborhood had turned into an artillery field once it started getting dark and continued until around 11:00 pm. There were at least two organized fireworks displays in town Friday night. Combine that with the neighborhood ones, and you’ve got what sounds like cannons being fired. Simon stayed hidden until around 2:00 am when I got up to go to the bathroom. I’m pretty sure I got a good night’s sleep after things quieted down.

Don’t get me wrong. I love that we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and declaring freedom from the King of England (even though my ancestry has royalty in it). In my younger days, I attended them as well with family and friends. I only ask that my 1950s house not shake and rattle at all hours of the night. 

I have at least 99% of the rest of my WIP, Deceitful Promises, mapped out Saturday night! A phone call with an old friend, Debi Sullivan, was what I needed, even though we didn't talk about this book. Instead, we chatted about the flooding (she lives in the high country of San Antonio) and laughed about her cats and my cat. It's always good chatting with her. Thanks, Debi, for the distraction! 

Two of the guilty pleasures have been broadcasting their new seasons. The Gilded Age’s third season has had a few apple carts upset in just three episodes. I’m not taking any bets on who wins control of the van Rhijn household between Ada and Agnes. Or whether Marian and Larry will make an official announcement. And poor Gladys! Is she really stuck marrying the Duke of Buckingham, whom she doesn’t love? And will Jack’s partnership with Larry move him up the social ladder with his clock patent? 

And Just Like That, Carrie is walking around her home in bare feet so as not to disturb the intriguing British author who lives in the apartment downstairs, while poor Aidan is finding that being there for his youngest son and spending time with Carrie isn’t working out so well. Not to mention the new love interests for both Seema and Miranda, as Charlotte learns to deal with Harry’s cancer. 

Now, if only Bridgerton and Outlander would release their new seasons, everything in the streaming world would be perfect. Until then, starting in August, Blood of My Blood will have to tie me over while getting me hooked on yet another historical series. 

I submitted another one of my books that has been out of print for several years to a publisher last week. It’s an erotic time-travel. So now it’s a game of wait and see. 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. 

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, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

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

Maxine