Posted by: Author | October 6, 2014

Good Times!

I had a wonderful time on Saturday evening this past weekend. I have some dear friends that I’ve known since I was in elementary school. We all lived in Virginia in the early 1970s. My dad worked with the father of this family in Washington D.C.

In 1972, the unit they worked for transferred to Pensacola and so, when we moved down, we already had some built in friends. This family who also moved when we did had three children close in age to me and my sister. We would bake Christmas cookies in winter and play outside together in summer.

All of the kids attended high school together and then went our separate ways to college, post grad, law school and medical school but we always maintained the friendships. Sadly, one of these dear friends passed away close to two years ago of cancer and we miss her every day. The other two live one in Atlanta and one in Houston.

The parents of these awesome friends still live in Pensacola and I make a point to see, call or email them often to keep them close. I adore these people as if they were family and they pretty much are.

Saturday, the mother and father planned a surprise party for the oldest son who flew in from Houston a few days before to be here for his birthday. His younger brother came in from Atlanta as well.

The party was a huge surprise and success. We laughed, we cried (and laughed til we cried) and it was just a blessing to all be together again. It was bittersweet due to the loss of their daughter but we celebrated her as well by the stories we shared.

I wouldn’t trade the love in that room for anything.

The birthday boy was my medical expert for my blind character in Moon Dance and he’s encouraging me to write a gay romance next. I told him I had an old one that I wrote back in 2007 but it was so bad, it couldn’t be fixed. He offered to help on that, too.  LOL

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Posted by: Author | October 3, 2014

Friday Facts- October 3, 2014- Peanuts

I thought I’d take a break from Paris-based Friday Facts and share something I particularly love. I grew up reading the Peanuts comic strip in the newspaper. We also had a collection of the strips in a boxed set of books. It was something my father shared with my sister and me. We still quote lines to each other all the time- like at Christmas, we might say, “I got a rock” which of course comes from the Halloween strips. One strip we quote a lot is “I’m lookiting.” It seems more and more television reporters are saying “lookit” instead of ‘look at”- what’s up with that?

Anyway, the anniversary of the first Peanuts comic strip was yesterday. It first appeared in papers in 1950 on Oct. 2. This was way before I was born but since they are still running today – many years after the awesome Mr. Schultz’s death- they are obviously still relevant. Interestingly, that first strip was only in seven newspapers. WOW! Hard to believe since at the height of its popularity, it was in over 2,600 papers and in 75 countries.  It reached over 355 million readers and was translated into 21 languages.  Now that is some impact, isn’t it?

Mr. Schultz published 17,897 strips – how massive is that number? I have to say WOW again. This number is pretty daunting, isn’t it? To draw that many comic strips and always have fresh material? Amazing.

As a history buff, some of my favorites were the ones where Snoopy was the WWI flying ace. They always made me laugh- “Curse you, Red Baron!”

Here is the Lookiting strip and the first strip, too:

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Posted by: Author | October 1, 2014

Wordless Wednesday

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Posted by: Author | September 29, 2014

Tuesday Tales- September 30, 2014- Pretty

This week’s word is Pretty and when I was working on writing to this prompt, I realized that I have actually overused the word pretty in this manuscript. Pretty sure I didn’t want to do that, I did a search and destroy (which wasn’t pretty) and got rid of a bunch of them- so, here’s one that survived. See how easy it is to add pretty to anything? Pretty awesome, huh? LOL! Check out the other Tales this week as well here. 

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“Thank you,” Natalie said as she crushed the note to her chest. She took a deep swig of her wine and tossed some money on the table. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, Kat. Please pay my bill.” Natalie stood. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Baker.”

“What about me?” David asked.

“Not so much, sir, since you had to be forced to talk to me.” With those words, Natalie sailed out of the bar.

Kat wanted to laugh out loud at Natalie’s words and exit. She did nail that on the head for sure. Putting David in his place was a welcome sight.

Sadly, it didn’t work. “Your friend is rude, Kat my dear. I can hardly fathom that she’s someone you would want to hang out with.”

Even though she really wouldn’t want to be closer friends with Natalie, the mere fact that David would presume to tell her who to hang out with was maddening. “I can’t believe you. Who are you to judge my friends?”

“I’ve told you who I want to be. If you’d give me a chance, we could be a couple and you’d be happier than you’ve ever been before.”

“I’ve told you I’m not interested,” Kat said. “Now leave me alone about it.”

David reached over and placed his hand on top of hers where it sat on the table. She jerked back but he tightened his grip.

“I say, old chap, the lady says she’s not interested. Let her loose,” Paul said.

“Mind your own business, mate.” David spoke in a false British accent with a hard emphasis on the word mate.

“I suggest you remove your hand from her person unless you want me to have you tossed out of here.”

“Oh, big brave rock star is going to throw me out? What about the possible damage to your fingers? How will you play your instruments with a broken hand?” David did move his hand then. He made a fist.

“Stop it. This is ridiculous. No one is going to get in a fight here.” Kat wanted nothing more than for David to leave but she wasn’t going to sit by while the two of them pulled out their macho personas.

“I’m not leaving so I suggest you get the Brit to go.” David practically snarled the words.

“I’m pretty hacked off right now, mister and I’m not going anywhere either. You treat this lady as if she’s property and I won’t stand for it.”

“Cut it out, both of you. I’m my own woman and I don’t need anyone to defend me.” This was awful. She had to get out of here. Kat stood and shoved her chair back. So much for having a drink and hoping to meet Paul to get to know him better.

Posted by: Author | September 29, 2014

Cover Reveal- Thanks for Giving- a Thanksgiving Story

I got the cover for my Thanksgiving story due out with Sweet Cravings Publishing in November. I wrote it last year as part of a Tuesday Tales project and am excited to have it finally come out. Since it is a Thanksgiving story, I’m glad the publisher didn’t put it out in the spring or summer. LOL! I love all the fall colors on this cover, don’t you?

Part of my inspiration for this story was that I’ve been on the bone marrow donors list since the 1990s when I was tested to see if I was a match to a friend’s daughter with leukemia. I wasn’t a match and I’ve never been called to serve but I stand ready if needed.

Here’s a link if you want to learn more.

ThanksForGiving_MED

Posted by: Author | September 26, 2014

Friday Facts-September 26, 2014- Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was designed and constructed by Gustave Eiffel, an engineer. It is made of iron lattice and was first opened as the entrance arch to the 1889 International Exhibition commemorating the one hundred year anniversary of the French Revolution. It’s the tallest structure in Paris and the second tallest in France, behind the Millau Viaduct in the southern part of the country (and when it was built, it was the highest in the world until the Empire State Building was erected about 40 years later.)

It is the most popular tourist spot in the world. Yep, you read that right- the world. It has close to 7 million visitors a year. Speaking of visitors, the English Prince of Wales at the time, later King Edward VII, was the person who opened the tower and accompanied Mr, Eiffel to the top when the Exhibition started.

The tower was almost pulled down in 1909 when the lease for the real estate expired but the antenna on top was being used for military purposes so it survived.  The tower also played a role in capturing Mata Hari in WWI when that antenna intercepted a message from the Germans. The French decoded it and realized the person referred to as H-21 was Mata Hari and they arrested her.

Oh, and lest I forget, Eiffel even had an apartment at the top where he conducted experiments on weather phenomenon as well as air resistance on falling bodies (volunteers anyone?). I’ll pass on that – but wouldn’t it be a cool premise of a story?

The tower is gorgeous and offers some lovely views from the upper decks. The day I was there, the topmost deck was closed due to wind and expected rain so we were a bit disappointed not to be allowed up there. It was spectacular anyway.

A view from the second tier

A view from the second tier

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Posted by: Author | September 24, 2014

Wordless Wednesday

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Posted by: Author | September 20, 2014

It’s Release Day! Senior Assassin

New book out for my friend! Check it out.

Author's avatarRamblings of a Writer

It’s here!  YAY- I’m excited to say that Senior Assassin is out in the world. I checked on my publisher’s website for the link but the site appears to be down for maintenance. I found the link on Amazon for the paperback but not kindle. I found the e-version on Kobo and both at Barnes and Noble.

Here are two editorial reviews:

http://www.blackopalbooks.com – Taylor Jones
The story is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie mystery, a cross between Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. The storyline is intriguing, the characters charming, and the romance sweet. Chancellor gives an authentic view of what life was like for a “middle class” librarian, trying to mingle with “upper class” aristocrats on a luxury train. If you’re looking for something an old-fashioned mystery/romance, it would be hard to go wrong with Senior Assassin.

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http://www.blackopalbooks.com – Regan Murphy
I thoroughly enjoyed Senior Assassin. Since I’m…

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Posted by: Author | September 17, 2014

Wordless Wednesday

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Posted by: Author | September 15, 2014

Tuesday Tales- September 15, 2014- Curly

This week’s word for Tuesday Tales is curly. I’m still working on the rock star story and it’s very slow. I’m about ready to toss it out. LOL

Check out the other tales here.

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As she slammed the locker door shut and spun the lock, her co-worker, Natalie, smiled. “Want to go grab a drink?”

“Sure. I know the perfect place.”

The look on Natalie’s face almost made Kat crack up. She’d always turned the woman down before for a drink so she knew she had to have shocked Natalie.

“Sounds good.” Natalie took her own handbag from her locker and followed Kat out of the building.

Once they were on the steps, Kat pointed to her car. “I think we should each drive in case one of us wants to head home sooner than the other.”

Natalie lit a cigarette and as the curly smoke wafted over her head, Kat was even more grateful she’d suggested the separate cars since she wasn’t a fan of smoking and didn’t allow it in her auto.

“That’s a good idea. Sorry about the cigarette but I was dying to get a puff.” Natalie took a long drag on the thing before adding, “I want to quit and have tried but I can’t do it. It’s a horrible habit but I can’t seem to kick it.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you were a smoker. I never smell it on you.” Kat was regretting saying yes to the drink but she couldn’t get out of it now without seeming to be rude. “Do you know where Amos’ Place is?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen it. Never been there.”

“He’s a friend of mine. Let’s have that drink there.” Kat moved toward her car. “I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

“Sounds great.” Natalie walked to her own car.

Once Kat was buckled in, she turned the key in the ignition and put the car in drive, hoping to see Paul at the bar. She forced herself not to drive over the speed limit. It was a strange sensation to want to see a man again especially since that horrific anniversary had just passed. Maybe it was time to move ahead and put the past behind her.

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