The Night the lights went out…

It was late, we will just say 0-dark thirty (oh dark thirty) which is slang for late or really early in the military. I was pounding keys, hubby was napping on the sofa. (I gave up on him going to bed hours before this.)

When all of the sudden it went dark, not just the room I was in but, the entire neighborhood. Given I was working on a particularly violent scene, this truly startled me. With some effort I roused hubby from his sleep, but the spell was broken, even after securing an oil lamp I could not go back to that scene.

Normally I would have begun pacing, however since I’m recovering from ankle surgery this was not an option. After contacting housing, hubby dutifully went back to sleep! I was stressed the scene I had been writing began playing itself out in my mind. (Remember I’m writing a thriller, this happened to be one of most intense scenes in the novel.) I had to stop the scene in my head, it was haunting me.

I finally managed to get Philip (one of our cats) to join me in the recliner. His lovely comforting purr was soon chasing the scene from my head. Then I was able to drift off to meet with the zzzz monster.

An 8 sentence excerpt from my manuscript…..

Dominic lay in the prone position under the pews his weapon trained on the door. Kate took up a position just inside the door and sent a series of three clicks over the radio. There was no response. Kate wanted to go outside and help her partner, but knew that if anyone came in here Dominic might not be able to stop them from taking the prisoners. Several moments passed, she exited the church to find Collin loading an unconscious bound and gagged man into the back of the van.

“Don’t tell me we are ignoring the radio again, “ she called out.

Nope I won’t tell you where in the manuscript this comes from….

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The New Prince and a bit of a rant

I watched along with the rest of the world as the new Prince of Cambridge made his first public appearance. I was then amazed at the normalcy displayed by the simple act of his father Prince William driving his family home. This made me ponder the young child’s upbringing.

The fact that he is royalty will most certainly have an impact however I can also see William and Kate insisting on some normalcy. My guess (no I’m not an avid royal watcher) is that they will raise him with morals, values and teach him the value of hard work. The young prince might even have chores, gasp. Yes, I bet he will be made to pick up his own toys. I can also see him being taught the value of money and that it is not something to be wasted, but spent wisely, after you have earned it. All of this being said it made me think about a large number of things.

First I must admit I try very hard to keep politics out of my blog, that being said I felt the need to say something.

If his parents can teach this young Prince how to live within his means, and that he must work to make money why can’t everyone learn this lesson.

1. Our politicians here in the USA have not been doing their job. (No budget)

2. Our country is in debt and that debt is growing.

3. A large number of people in our society expect things to be given to them, just because they want them.

4. Hard work can change anything.

5. Prince William works, despite his royal status. Prince Harry deployed with his military unit to Afghanistan.

These royals have not tried to sit around and do nothing despite their vaulted titles. They have given of their time to serve not only the people of Great Britain but the people of the world.

My challenge to everyone is the try and instill these values in yourself and your children. Don’t let them grow up thinking they can have anything they want, without working for it. Teach them the value of money, and that it has to be earned and will not just be handed to you.

My second challenge is that everyone give back. It need not be a monetary gift, in fact I think your time is more valuable. Author Brad Thor said that you can always make money to buy another book, but you can’t make more time. (paraphrased since I didn’t write it down, Brad if you read this feel free to correct me.)

If you follow my blog, you know by now I volunteer with a number of organizations. I give one afternoon a week to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, the only cost the me is time. When is the last time you gave of your time to help others?

No I’m not saying all parents fail to teach these lessons, but I have seen a large epidemic of it. (Just read the news, or better yet visit an inner city.)

An apology to my regulars who follow me for updates and flash fiction, but this was something I could not keep bottled up any longer. I promise there will be some flash fiction later this week.

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Another weekend rolling around

At some point last week, I decided it was time to stop letting my ankle surgery from keeping me down. It started with my husband David needing a new cover for his ACH (army helmet). So being the good army wife I was off to clothing and sales. (That’s the place on base where you buy uniforms and related items.) I got the cover and rank sewn on, nope they don’t use velcro on the helmets. I then ran a few other errands, alone. This was something I had not attempted often since the surgery.

I even managed to cook dinner. I still avoid the stove top, since I don’t want to spill anything hot on my lap.

I will say I have gained a huge new perspective on life in a wheelchair. I am thankful that my stair in the chair is temporary, and I have the option to use crutches. I now have a glimpse into the lives of our wounded warriors. Just reaching items on the shelf at the grocery store can be a real challenge. I will say my arms have grown stronger due to my time in the chair.

All of this rolling around has caused a few plot bunnies to bounce around so I need to get back to pounding keys. Everyone just towers over me for now….

My hat’s off to all of our wounded warriors. You are true heroes.

Brad Thor, A Penley Painting and more

The day had a rough start. I was having trouble getting out the door. We had no hot water, so a shower was not possible. I sighed and just figured I’d showered at the hotel before the event, so I loaded the last few items and pulled out. I will say my hubby took 5 minutes to load six jars of his homemade beer into the van, in hopes Brad would enjoy it since he couldn’t accompany me.

(For those of you who do not know I am recovering from ankle surgery, so I’m using a wheelchair and crutches to get around.)

The details of the actual trip will be another post.

I arrived at the Books For Heroes event about three hours early. The place was already buzzing with activity. People were stopping in to buy books, others were setting up the microphone, food was starting to arrive.

There was one final touch a Penley painting mentioned in the book was being hung. The best part was Brad Thor had no idea the painting was going to be there.

The Penley painting mentioned in Brad Thor’s Hidden Order

The look on his face when he saw it was amazing, sorry I couldn’t capture it. I was in the back of the room. After admiring the painting the next item Brad Thor noticed was the American Flag. So he asked that we say the Pledge of Allegiance , which everyone did happily. Then he went on to speak about his writing, including how he got started. His advice to anyone wanting to write, is “Write what you read.” After his talk he started signing books. The first people invited up the get their copies of Hidden Order signed were those with young children. Then were people with numbers. He happily took photos with everyone there. I was floored by his energy level. I was thrilled when my turn arrived. Yes, he even happily enjoyed one of hubby’s home brews.

Brad Thor enjoying the home brew sent by my husband David.

He was so upbeat, enthusiastic and happy to meet all of his fans. Everyone who wanted was able to get their picture taken with my favorite thriller writer.

I learned one other interesting thin on my trip. Jeff Foxworthy is also a huge fan.

Yes I got to meet both Brad Thor & Jeff Foxworthy in one day. Jeff said he would have loved to stay for the event but had family obligations.

As far as the event itself went, 200 books were sold!!! I could write pages about this event, however I wanted to keep it short.

Note to Brad Thor: Thank you for the opportunity to say the Pledge of Allegiance. It is something that seems to be getting lost and overlooked lately.

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