TALE OF THE UNCOOPERATIVE BALLOT

 By Caroline Clemmons

Dear Readers, 

Because my husband, Hero, was scheduled for surgery on October 30th, we thought it advisable to vote early. So, on the 29th, we went to the sub-courthouse nearest us to cast our votes. A lot of others had the same idea and the polling place had a steady stream of people.

by Norman Rockwell

I checked in, showed my ID, and received a ballot. I chose one of the many voting machines and our youngest daughter chose the one beside me. I have "low vision" and was probably the slowest voter ever. When my daughter tried to help me, an election judge came immediately to investigate. After she'd observed that our daughter was not trying to usurp my rights, the judge observed a few moments and went her way to help someone else. 

Once I'd finished voting and my ballot printed my selections, I went to the machines which accept the ballots. Except, it wouldn't accept mine. A lovely woman behind the table leaned over to instruct me. Still didn't work. She came around the table wearing a smile, but her eyes said "You idiot." The ballot wouldn't go into the machine for her either. She tried a second time then confessed she didn't know what to do. She went to ask for help.

A couple of nights before, we had watched the cute comedy movie "Swing Vote." Our daughter and I looked at one another, said swing vote, and giggled. We amuse ourselves (but not many other people). 

The lovely lady returned with the woman in charge. She had a new ballot and a new ID number for me to use with the voting machine. After giving them to me, she asked me to use the same machine and vote again. She cautioned me to vote for the same candidates as I had the first time--as if I'd suddenly change my mind. Of course I voted for the same candidates, and went much faster this time. With trepidation, I approached the final step, submitting the ballot into the machine that records the vote. This time I was successful. Relieved, I took my "I voted" sticker and left.

Voting is important in any election, but we feel our vote is especially important in a national election. Since Hero is still in the hospital, I'm glad he was able to vote early. His pacemaker surgery went well, but he was so weak before the surgery that he is simply not strong enough to come home. He will probably have to go to rehab for a few days. We are on tenterhooks awaiting a definite decision and release date. Of course, Hero wants to come home now. He says he can't get any sleep in the hospital because someone is always poking him or checking on him.  I think that's a good thing, don't you? That's their job, but I know whenever a person is sick he wants to sleep at home in his own bed.

I hope if you haven't already voted early, that you will vote on November 5th, especially if you're voting for my candidates. <g> 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Halloween Spirit by Laura Hunsaker

With Halloween fast approaching I was thinking of reading a couple of Paranormal Romances to get in the Halloween spirit (not to be confused with Spirit Halloween lol). 

My favorite Paranormal Romances usually have a lot of action, or even a Romantic Suspense plot. So while I was scrolling my library, then Amazon, because my TBR is never ending, it got me thinking that I do have a preference in the sense that I don't really want bunny shifters, or hummingbird shifters. I don't know why I don't like that, but it's not my jam. I want vampires, werewolves, and depending on the world, other large predators. (And all of this is of course just my faves, not saying it's right or wrong or the only way. In fact I love both the Kate Daniels series and the Pride series by Shelly Laurentston which does have bunny shifters. I'm just generalizing). 

So when I came across this meme:

All I could think of was, um yes. Accurate. LOL I think this is why I want a monster romance. 

In my books. I want a monster hero in my books. In real life? Ehhhh...yeah I don't know if I could do that. I mean, thinking of the cryptids that are out there: Bigfoot? Skunk ape? Yeti? Chupacabra? Loch Ness Monster? I don't know.

But if werewolves and vampires were real, if well, Nessie and Bigfoot were real? I guess it would depend on the circumstances? Maybe? I'm not saying yes, but I'm not saying no... I mean, the Mummy? The one with Brendan Fraser? just saying, every single one of the those characters was beautiful, and that Mummy Imhotep was in love. His love transcended death. I mean, I'm not mad at that. 

So how about you? Are you a Paranormal Romance fan? Are you open to all? Or do you prefer the originals, vampires, witches, werewolves, etc?

And since I mentioned Spirit Halloween, I wanted to share this funny (fake-I snagged it from Instagram) costume that I feel we all can appreciate:

And if you want one of my Paranormal Romances, my vampires are $.99 right now ;)

Highlander Reborn (Amazon affil link)

The Broken Highlander (Amazon affil link)

Gifts of October by Liz Flaherty

My day to blog sneaked up on me without so much as a "pssst..." of warning, so I hope you'll forgive one from somewhere else in another year. The book it features is still a favorite and still available!

October is my favorite month of the year, except for when it's May. (I keep throwing that disclaimer in everywhere, because I'm fairly certain I'll be chirping about May in six or seven months.) I love the deepness of October's colors and the range of its sounds. Its scents and textures lend comfort to virtually every circumstance in which I may find myself. I embrace the fact that it's a forever parallel for living life (and writing books) in layers. Therefore creating textures. And depth. And range.

Speaking of depth...and range, I just read a blog post about mature love versus infatuation by Jenny Crusie. In the middle of it was this quote: "...they both know that their love can be beaten to airy thinness and will not break, it’ll become the air they breathe, always bringing them back to each other."

I read the quote and read it again and realized that was my gift for today. It touches and wraps gauze around long relationships, exposing not only their longevity but their frailty, too.

That's another thing I love about October, the fact that it showers us with such gifts. If you're a farmer, as many are where I live, you will spend days on end in fields, reaping the rewards of seeds sown in spring. The weariness will find its way to your very bones, and you'll spend the month with droopy eyes, but you will find satisfaction in the gifts of harvest. You'll be reminded of why you do what you do. At church this Sunday, as we exchanged joys and concerns, one of the farmers said, "The beans are in," and we all felt the depth of his joy. The range. 

It is salad time for me, not only because I know the holidays--and the obligatory annual five pounds--are coming soon, but because of all the tastes and smells that are around every sensory corner at this time of year. It's when my heart goes back to Keep Cold Orchard, in Nice to Come Home To, and I am reminded that setting is one of the most important characters in a book.

October seems to do that for me. It establishes my setting and gives me a kind of peace I don't always have. It leads me into November, the month of gratitude, and sets the table of blessings for the rest of the year.

This post is even more scattered than usual. Just pretend it's a jigsaw puzzle that will be something beautiful when it's put together. Another gift of October.

Buried Under Book Covers by Joan Reeves

Image created with AI by Joan Reeves

I do apologize for missing my blogging date yesterday. I blame Artificial Intelligence for that.

Actually, I must take some blame too. It all started last week when I completed all of the  Facebook Ads training tutorials. I was pumped and ready to get going.

There was one thing holding me back. My book covers. I learned that the most successful book ads had cover art featuring men. 

Having a woman on the cover art gets men clicking but not to buy the book.

I wrestled with that intel until Monday when I decided to "just do it" and change out the book covers in question.

OMG! DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

After more than a week of trying to come up with cover art featuring an attractive male that organically represented the theme, story, etc. I'm ready to throw in the towel. Agh! So I waved the white flag of surrender and called my daughter the graphic artist for help. We meet tomorrow.

UNEXPECTED BENEFIT OF LOST TIME

One positive of this exhausting week was that I learned how to use an AI graphics program. Well, more or less learned. In many ways, it was harder than I expected and easier than I expected.

Harder? Because it requires far more hours of time and endless trial and error to create an image suitable for a book cover, i.e. an image that looks "real" and is specifically tailored to an element of the book.

Easier? Because with just a little effort you can create an interesting graphic good enough for marketing purposes. The image at the beginning of the post is one I made in about 5 minutes time. Of course, it took me about 4 hours of learning time to be able to make the image.

LAST THOUGHTS

I've always been willing to try new things and learn something new. However, I have conflicting emotions about using AI. I'm sure there are photographers and musicians who are also upset that AI is being used to create images that look like photographs and music that doesn't come from a real person.

I know I hate the thought that unscrupulous would-be writers will use AI to write novels. They're already doing it.

I will never do that. In fact, I think I'm going to put something in my book blurbs that goes something like this: "The content of this book was created entirely by the author, Joan Reeves. No artificial intelligence was used to create any part of the text."

I've heard other authors are inserting that into their blurbs and into the book's front matter. Do you think this is a good idea? As a reader, do you want to know that a real, live human created the book you're reading?

Image created with AI by Joan Reeves

 Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Trick or Treat by Bea Tifton

Yesterday at the grocery store I pondered that oh, so important question, What Halloween candy will we buy? We really don’t need to buy any, because we don’t have any trick or treaters. I don’t think many kids even go door to door now. When I was a kid we did. We planned our costumes carefully and greeted the holiday with anticipation and excitement. We would go door to door. If we knew the people, we were allowed to take cookies or the ultimate fun Halloween homemade treat, popcorn balls. Word quickly traveled when one house had particularly good candy. Some people I knew piled into a parent’s car and drove to the wealthy parts of town, but to my friends and I that was cheating. It was a neighborhood thing. We would go door to door, escorted by our parents when we were very small, then allowed to go on our own. When we got tired, we would come home and gorge ourselves. Mom and Dad would pick through our haul to get their favorites as well.  After a few years people began to circulate rumors of razor blades or candy poisoning, and while we still got to trick or treat, Dad would buy our candy from us. It wasn’t quite the same but as an adult I understand. (Hey, at least we got money to replace the candy if we wanted.) 

Now I see elaborate Halloween yard decorations, but I think most kids go to Trunk or Treat celebrations instead of going door to door. I think those are nice but not the same as the neighborhood celebrations. It’s a little sad. Today’s kids don’t know what they’re missing, but I do. And my father really misses opening the door on Halloween. He loved the little ones the best because they just looked so cute in their costumes and the proud parents would be hovering nearby.

We have a new routine where we buy some candy “just in case” and order pizza for Halloween. We watch the original “Ghostbusters” and “Practical Magic” and snack. I enjoy it. Last year I had choir rehearsal on Halloween night and we did the pizza thing the day before, but it wasn’t the same. This year, the way is clear for pizza and candy on Halloween night. I may even put a Halloween shirt on the dog.

 

Do you have trick or treaters? Do your kids do something for Halloween?

  

Photo Credits:Pexels.com
Terrance Barksdale "Pile of Halloween Sweets"
Yuting Gao "Group of Children in Halloween Costumes"
Charles Parker "Little Girls in Halloween Costumes Standing on Stairs"
Sam Lion "Small Dog Sitting in Light Studio"
Kaboompics.com "A Room with Halloween Decorations" 

Fiber Fest 2024 is on the Books~ Sherri Easley

Well, after months of preparing, my big show ended with a twisted finale.  DFW Fiber Fest is an annual three-day event held at the Irving Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Next year will be their 20^th year. With over 100 vendors of fiber related products such as hand dyed yarn, project bags, raw wool, spinning devices, weaving looms, supplies and classes, it is a playground for the crafter.

I worked for months to prepare for this event, planning everything in minute detail, such as the placement of my items, what to sell, and my list of tools and things I needed to be my best for the big three-day show.

By all standards, I had a great show, except for that little thing I mentioned in the beginning…

Being a hyper independent person, I set up my booth all by myself, grid wall and all. After about 5 hours, it was ready. I put everything extra back on my dolly, more than I should have to save a trip, and headed for my car.

As I moved across the parking garage, eyes on my car, something fell off my dolly, causing me to trip. I face planted in the parking garage. My glasses broke and left a C shaped cut around my eye that bled like the victim in a teenage horror movie. I sat in my car feeling my arms and wrists and felt no protrusions and held McDonald napkins on my face to stop the bleeding. Then, after convincing myself I did not have a concussion, and putting on the extra pair of glasses I always carry, I drove the hour and half home.

The next morning, I put a band-aid on my eye and did my show. Repeat on Saturday and Sunday, and yes, my arm was a "little sore".

After the show, I tore everything down, moved it to my car and went home. By Monday, dark bruising showed up. My eye was completely black and my fingers tingled. I went to Minor emergency on Tuesday, 5 days after the event and guess what? My elbow is broken.

That’s been a couple of weeks now. My black eye is gone, and my cut has almost healed. My arm still hurts at night and getting new x-rays on Tuesday.

I hope all of you started your October on a much brighter note. 

Anticipation

 Stephanie Suesan Smith writing for Caroline Clemmons

It is fall in Texas and the temperatures are starting to drop enough to go outside during the day.  I am eagerly waiting for November.  I have a birthday then.  More importantly, a book comes out I want to read.  

Amazon Link

The Mirror, the second book in the Lost Brides Trilogy, by Nora Roberts comes out November 19, 2024.  I read the first book in the series, Inheritance, when it came out in the spring.  I also read Nora Roberts series In Death that she writes as J.D. Robb.  They come out in February and September.

I eagerly drop whatever book I am reading when a new In Death comes out and read it.  I usually finish it in two or three days.  Then I have book regret.  I have to wait six months for the next one.  Do you ever have problems with book regret?

As authors, having readers so excited about reading your books must be wonderful.  I usually write nonfiction articles and I don't know of anyone watering with baited breath to read my next gardening text.  

Of course, I have lots of books in the to-be-read pile to fill in the time between the publication of another book in the series I am reading.  

I had to switch to collecting ebooks when I moved from a house to an apartment, so the stacks ar metephorical.  I am always adding to it, but I miss real books.  I had a full room just for my books.  Somehow, it isn't the same to curl up with my phone to read them.  Do you prefer ebooks or physical books?  I still have some physical reference texts, but just don't have room for my library anymore.

What series do you rush to read?  Many of Caroline Clemmons' books are now in audiobook format, great for listening to while driving back and forth to work or on errands, or cleaning the house.