Aloe Vera Juice!! (Again)

     I called my local Akins Health store to find out what the average price for their 100% natural aloe vera juice was/is. It's a whopping $37.99 (WHAT?) Yep, that's for a gallon of course, but still, that's really expensive. Amazon has the EXACT brand for $25.00.  Yeah, looks like I'm doing Amazon. I'll keep an eye out for other places in town; the Asian market may have their brand. I love that place. I get my loose-leaf tea there for literally 1/4 the cost that it is being sold in the city just miles from that store. WOW....when I think about how people outprice and screw people, it is just amazing. 

    So, aloe vera juice is good for so many things. You may already know this, but I'm going to rattle off a few of its benefits for the sake of those who may not know it. I am getting my information straight from the internet and will link the article I got my information from so folks can go read all the juicy news about the plant. (Did you see what I did there?) https://getgrowfit.in/blogs/grow-fit-blog/18-reasons-to-drink-aloe-vera-juice-everyday

      I'll start with the obvious; aloe vera is good for your skin, your digestive, and it hydrates you. We get that, but for the money you dish out for it, it'll need to do a lot more than that; and it does. It helps with clearing skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne. It works from the inside out. It helps keep you regular and loosens stool that may be stuck inside your colon. It works to clean your whistle, as my Grandpa Edwards would say. He used prune juice, but you get the picture. Aloe vera is also good for lowering your bad cholesterol and helping with any inflammation that may be hanging out in your muscles and tendons. It helps to regulate your blood sugar, so if you're pre-diabetic or even have Diabetes (check with your doctor first) you can drink aloe vera (up to 8 oz recommended a day) and it may reduce those symptoms as well. Notice, I said MAY, I'm not a medical doctor. 

    There are just so many things that it does for you, the price then becomes a non-issue. I wanted to know specifically if it worked to help burn fat. I want to burn my fat. It does. It boosts your metabolism so your body burns the fat on its own. This was the #1 reason I bought the jug. I'll drink four ounces of it daily in my smoothie and use it to down my supplements such as the psyllium husks that I take, zinc, Dhea, and all the wonderful vitamins. You'd think I'd be 125 pounds and as healthy as the proverbial horse; I am not. I am closer to the size of a smaller horse though. LOL, if that counts. I have struggled with my mid-section for years. I hope this will help.

    About 12 years ago I remember drinking very herbal tea; I made it myself from raw materials, and I drank aloe vera juice every day. It was the smallest I had ever been as an adult after having the kids. I think I was 148.  I'll take that again. I'm 5'7" so that's not too much. I can do that. I promise I'll be a good girl, God, please, just do that without having to do all the damn cardio! I love walking, but with all the training I'm doing for work I don't have time. I just have to walk in place with my Bluetooth headphones on while I listen to someone rattle on about how to measure a house for drywall replacement after a flood. It's what I do for fun these days. Riveting!

    There you have it, aloe vera! I did it before, I can do it again. I just had NO IDEA how danged expensive it is. I think it was expensive 12 years ago too, but I don't remember. I was too busy working and traveling. I will forever remember Amazon's price over Akins though...not a hard thing to do. That, and going to the Asian market soon will be a good and happy thing. I can get the teas I need to make the herbals I used then as well. I would LOVE to be 148 again...OK, 143. I'd LOVE IT. Thank you in advance God....thank you.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Font Thief!!

 How many of you knew, and be honest, that when you use certain fonts you are supposed to pay a fee for using it? Some fonts are trademarked, and copyrighted, and you can't use them without permission or having a license. It was something I found out today!! No, really, today!! I had zero clue or knowledge regarding the matter before this very day (in fact, about an hour ago).  

    I am writing another book, and I have joined several online self-publishing groups on Facebook. I know I shouldn't do that, so many people on those things are so freaking weird, but you know what, I have to put up with them, and they have to put up with me. I posted that I was looking for someone to take my Word document of 83600 words and convert it into a print-ready high-resolution PDF so I could upload it onto Ingram Spark to go into the book's exterior. I also posted that I needed an exterior cover created as well.  (and both needed to be converted to eBook)

    Well, I got quite a few people writing to say one of three things: (1) Some said they could do it, and they shot me a price. (2) Some said they could do part of it, but not the other part. Since I got both parts I was OK with that. (3) Some said I could do it myself. I started thinking about it, and I'm going to do that if I can. It's going to be a bit difficult for this old dog to learn that particular new trick, but I'm absolutely ready to learn.

    So, one guy who wanted me to use his company shot me a price of $999. (I laughed) I laughed because I already had four other offers for literally $200, $225, $250, and another for $315.  Why on EARTH would I use his service for $999?  He then told me I would be paying more because his company had the licenses needed to produce and reproduce all the fonts I would need for my book. That was just the weirdest and strangest thing I had ever heard  -- and I laughed again. I mean, it's real, he's telling the truth; but is he?

    Turns out there are licensed and trademarked fonts that if you use them you either have to be licensed to do so, or you need permission. Well, as one young man in Scotland knows, (Hi, Tex) I don't ask permission very often, if ever. I do what I am going to do. I may apologize, but I really don't ask permission. So, after digging into the matter I found that there are literally hundreds of fonts that are OPEN SOURCE and the one I'm using now is NOT one of them. I am using Georgia, but it's on this site, and this site has the license to share it. Oh, there you go. Loophole!! Well, there are a few fonts out there that are so close to Georgia that you and I couldn't tell the difference if we used a magnifying glass! I will be sure to use one of them when I download my book into the converter.

    The converter has a 30-day trial so I downloaded it, and I'll use it to download this particular book. Then, I'll buy the thing and use it to download the others if I am successful with this one. If I am NOT successful with this one I'll keep reading and studying the methods because others are successful and I will force myself to learn. It makes 100% sense to me to buy a converter for $59 and use it as many times as I want to; rather than paying someone $100 to do it for me.

    One woman I found told me she would do the download for $10 and the cover for $5 if I shot her the cover I wanted to use. SO CHEAP. In other words, I go to the app PAINT on my computer, upload a photo, use the tools to add text and whatever and she'll put it together in her converter and trim it up to the size I need. OK. If the new software I'm getting does that I may still give her the chance to teach me. That's worth not only my $5 but I'll give her more to train me. She's really funny too; nothing like me. We don't see eye-to-eye on any subject whatsoever except putting the screws on people who try to overprice their services. When I asked the woman why she charged so little she said she is trying to bring up her reviews, so if she can do 1000 or so books at $10 and/or $5 for covers, we'll give her great reviews. She's not wrong.

    This is a side note, but it's funny: on one of the sites I was telling you about, I received two (count them, two) separate comments about my post being "aggressive" and "defensive" I was apparently "offensive" as well. Could it be the TRUMP shirt I had on in my photo? I don't know, but when I re-read my post it was "assertive" not "aggressive" and it was "confident" not "defensive". I did take a moment to explain the differences between the two sets of words. I was met with a know-it-all who tried to argue a point with me. I asked her to back off, to understand that not only am I a Southern woman, we talk differently, and I am also a Professor of English. I told her if she wanted to argue car mechanics that would be OK, but not to try to have a battle of connotation with me. It would not end well for her. I signed off with "Bless your heart" and left it at that.

    Some people!!  Anyway, I just wanted to chime in and ask you if you knew about the need to be licensed to use a damn font of your choice. You may want to think about it before you add it to your website. Apparently, some of these font creators are hell on wheels!!  You can go about your business now, I just thought I would break in with a bit of new knowledge. You're welcome.

Photo Credit: Mocko Fun

"PINBALL" and "Of Kilted Love" Have Begun.

     When I write one book I am so excited about the sequel that I just start putting things to paper.  I need to pace myself, because I'm thinking very seriously about writing two books at the same time, one being the sequel to "Of Kilted Pleasure", which is titled "Of Kilted Love" and the other is the sequel to "Murder Book", and the title is "Pinball".  I'm literally doing that right now. I'm literally writing notes for both at the same time. It's hilarious and fun.

    I should probably watch myself, and be careful with the whole two-at-a-time thing. It didn't work out so well for the Dalton Gang.  I'm actually going to be talking about the famous attempt in "Pinball".  It will lead into the story of the Three Guardsmen, and that will lead to the murder of one of them, Bill Tilghman, who was a personal friend of  Nick Posh. 

    "Pinball" refers to the game of course, but also to the psychosis of the killer who has escaped the UK to bring his mayhem back to the U.S. where Nick will get another shot at him. Speaking of getting shot, someone close to home gets shot in "Pinball" and by the least likely person to do so. You'll just have to read it. I haven't actually written it yet, but I will. I have it in my notes.

    As far as Ewan and Aria are concerned in "Of Kilted Love", their lives will start fresh together, and no one asks them about the death of her husband James; which is a great burden off of them both. Ewan's anxiety kicks in and he nearly confesses to killing James, but he's stopped when Ginger literally bites him to bring him to his senses. Ginger is getting very old, and it is believed she bit him out of confusion; he decides it's time to let her go on to greener pastures. This is a sad moment in the book but will be handled with love.

    Aria realizes she's pregnant after she and Ewan have been married for a minute. This is toward the end of the book maybe; but the interesting thing is, James had always told her she couldn't have children. He was the one who couldn't produce, and he murdered his first wife for not bearing a child. This is a tender moment too, and will be handled with joy and celebration, Ewan will absolutely do things differently than he did when Tarah was carrying their child. 

    So much to think about. So much to write. So much to do. One thing I have done is buy little 4"x5" notebooks for each of my books. I'm writing notes in them, all the notes will then go online in digital form, and I'll print them and put them in another folder that I can sell someday as a book. LOL.  Not really, but it's a thought. I love these notebooks because they are made by Waverley of Kinloch Anderson. They are really pretty. I have seven, so far. I've split them up between the two series. I'll need more eventually, but for now, they're good. I truly love them and as I read the books I'll write notes in my notebooks to say what I thought of my books after I wrote them. I love love love both "Of Kilted Pleasure" and "Murder Book". I'm not just saying that.

    If I could pick one job to do forever, it would be to write. I don't care if I don't earn a lot of money at it. I'm not interested in that really. It would be great, but I would rather write than do just about anything else. That fact may be obvious by the number of journals and blogs I have. Just saying.  OK, so both book sequels have begun in that they are being pinned down and penned down at the same time. I'm breaking so many rules. Gotta love that. REBEL!!

Photo Credit: Pinterest  (Nick's Fedora)

REVISIONS: (I LOVE My Job)

     Someone asked me today if I would consider being picked up by a major publishing house after my book sold enough copies. The first thing you think is, "Of course, that's the dream, right?" but then after I thought about it, I decided I wouldn't. Nope. If I went with a publisher I would make a bunch of money, but I'd end up giving up my words. I'd end up being paid to do what they wanted me to do. I'd wind up like everyone else who does that; a tool. No, thank you.

    I mean, I suppose if I had a contract that was iron-clad that read that no one could tell me what to write, how to write, when to write, etc., then maybe, but they don't do that. They want to be in full control, and they give you the advance for that control. Nope. I'll stay poor and keep my words. I know that sounds so stupid to most people, but I won't allow anyone else to edit my books for the same reason. I don't want them telling me I didn't do it right. Hell yes, I did it right. I did it MY WAY! It's MY DAMN BOOK, and if I choose to use contractions, or allow (by mistake) a misspelled word, or even make a total fool of myself by saying this author wrote that book, which is clearly not the case; that is ON ME.

    It's OK if I stay poor. I'm not used to being rich. I may freak out or something if I had a lot of money. I can do poor. I'm very familiar with it. If no one buys my books I'm OK with that too. I write them to write them. I publish them to share them. If someone doesn't want to share them; that's on them. I made it available. I have read this book, Murder Book, four times now, because I'm making changes, going over it for editing, grammar, etc., and let me just say, I freaking love this book. That being said, I also really love "Of Kilted Pleasure". I have read it about eight times so far. I sometimes pick it up to see how Ewan and Aria are. I miss them.

    The characters are mine. I made them. They live and breathe, die, fight, and get married. They have babies, and they eat sometimes. I created them and I know them. If I wanted to, I could just write a book as if I'm in the middle of their time period, and they could carry on a conversation with me. It may be more of a fan-fic at that point, but it's mine to do; why would I want anyone else having control of it? I don't.

    Today, after reading it for the fourth time, I think I'm ready to set it down, and wait a week to read it one more time, go over it, and go through it one more time before I send it off to be published. First, actually, I have to send it off to be formatted. I'm in the process of interviewing folks who format documents into perfect bound trimmed files as well as EPUB files so I can upload them to the printer. They also need to create a cover for the book and the book for me. The formatting and trimming, as well as the cover, will be about $300, which is literally 1/4 of what I paid before. I was so silly to listen to people telling me that only certain places could do a good job. It's not true. There are dozens of Facebook pages full of editors and formatters.

    There are dozens of people who are out of the country who do the work for a heck of a lot less, but I'm going to be a bit picky. I want to see evidence of their work, and have some sort of promise in writing; references, that sort of thing. Still, I'm pretty sure I can find someone in the U.S., U.K., Canada, or even Australia that I can trust. I have an idea now of what to expect. So cool. 

    Self-publishing is way cooler than having a book picked up by a major house if you're like me and you're a complete and utter control freak. If you're wanting to be rich and famous, that's a whole other story; a good story, don't get me wrong, but a story that maybe is suited for someone else. My characters are just as alive, just as wonderful, just as giving, caring, and sharing as anyone J.K. Rowling or Mary Higgins Clark can conjure. If they aren't as well known, well, I know them. I love them, and they know that. That's enough.

    I think I may have mentioned before that I'm a little different than most. This is just one more way to prove it.

Photo Credit: Me.

MURDER BOOK - POST WORK.

     Interestingly, at least it is to me, I am now reading through the book and finding so many tiny changes and corrections that I ask myself how it is that I made so many mistakes just typing the words out. I think about a dozen times I must have added the word twice such as saying "the the" or "me me" and I laugh because when I'm typing it I don't think that; I just let the words fly out of my head. It's almost as if I don't see the words as words, but as dialogue and structure; imagery, scenery, etc.  I was so close to the end when I realized I hadn't really taken a moment to have Nick find a good home for his dog because he can't take the dog with him back to the States. No worries, he finds a good home. Keeper is fine.

    I used the "find" function and realized I had used the two-word phrase "would be" more than 140 times in the 82,000 words.  I went through it, and if I could use another word, or reword it I did. I kept 76 of them in the manuscript.  I used "favorite" 14 times. I got that down to 3. You just don't realize how often you say something; I don't anyway.

    I'm going through it now for its first real re-read. First, I went through it to be sure I had the spacing correct, then the dialogue needed to be separated. Now, I'm going over the dialogue while I read it to be sure I have the punctuation correct; there are ways to do it, you know. If you start a dialogue and in the middle you interrupt it by saying "she said"  you have to use the commas correctly, and let me tell you, I screwed the pooch on the first book probably, but I'm simply not going back to fix it.  Not after the fiasco I had trying to just correct the other issues. It is what it is!!

    I'll do my best to fix this one and of course all the others. Maybe if I think about it later I'll go through the first book and do the whole editing process for tags and commas, but really, most readers just don't care. I also used far more contractions in this book. REALLY...I used a lot of contractions, but it's because it's a murder thriller in the 1930s and the characters talk that way. They would say "wouldn't" instead of "would not" and so forth. It's cool. I researched that too.

    Basically, I'm going over the book at least 6 full times to catch mistakes, comma splices, spacing, and other issues. I am also checking to be sure I didn't say a guy's name was Albert then turn around and call him Alfred. I've done that. In the first book, I did that; that was one of the big mistakes I had to correct. I also forgot some of the names of the characters, the lesser characters, and I had to use the find feature again to check and double-check who I said had crossed over to Fife, or who I said had been so-and-so's girlfriend, it's a mess. I have more than 50 names in this book! Some of them only appear once, but I don't want to overuse a name.  I'm also adding the Surgeon's Hall Museum to the book. It's a must.

    I was going to have a bad guy named Wade, but my really cool neighbor in real life is a Wade, and I didn't want him to think I thought he was a murderer. I chose Frank instead. I don't know anyone named Frank; not really.  It's hard coming up with names for some of the non-essential characters because I may want to use a cool name in another novel but I don't want someone reading this one to say I was lazy and couldn't come up with another name. I do, too!!

    I simply Google it. I go to "Scottish names for girls" or "Scottish names for boys" and then when they're Americans, I just pick names of people I went to school with, and mix their first names and last names up so they can't say I picked them out or singled them out for some reason. I'm so funny. I haven't talked to any of these  people in over 40 years, but I don't want them reading my book and asking "What did ever do to her?" LOL

    OK, well, I'll finish the first reading tomorrow, and be ready to set the book down for a week, before reading it again. I want a freshness with each reading. Then, after I've made the corrections, and it's ready to go, I'll have Jeannie read it, Yvonne, Tammie, Robin, Julie, Marty, Delore, Gordon, and probably Leti again, she likes to read. I'll see what they think and I'll get my friends to chime in on what they like or hate. I'm not going to change anything probably, but it gives me food for thought.

I like the book. I really do. I'm glad I wrote it. Don't worry Tex, I didn't use your image, name, character, life stories, or ....well, hell, sure I did, but that's OK. You come out smelling like dog piss at first, but in the end, you get the Librarian. Oops, almost gave that away!

Photo Credit: Edinburgh Tourist

MURDER BOOK - - IS DONE!!!

     ....and with that, it is DONE.  It is not finished, but I have ended the book. I have ended Murder Book. It is now ready to be gone through, tweaked, flushed, fluffed, stuffed, and propped. It will be wonderful.  Here is a portion of the last page for those of you who like to skip ahead:

"As the carousing increased and became at one point all but venomous, vulgar to the core, the woman stopped just inside the door frame to ask a less bawdy patron if he had seen a man, a certain man, did she come to the right place? Her would-be knight pointed directly without hesitating toward the ancient solid oak bar where Montgomery and Posh had taken their perch. Standing now only feet from him, and removing one glove to reveal small dainty yet well-formed fingers, the woman quietly spoke words that seemed to stop all time;

 “Hello Nick, it’s me, Elaine.”

 

The End"

Let me just say that writing this book was so much fun. I had started writing it in April, but after being terminated from my job, as I was before I wrote the last book I completed, I wasn't in the mood to "stick it to them" like I was when I wrote, "Of Kilted Pleasure".  This book was going to need my attention. I didn't want to rush it or blow through it. I thought maybe I would have to put it off until I was employed again, so that I could relax and write a chapter a night, pulling it out of my head slowly and with more purpose than just pushing a narrative; this is my first Nick Posh book, so it had to be perfect. 

Well, as it turned out, I started using Nick as a way to take my mind off the fact that I wasn't being hired. I knew I was training to become a Claims Adjuster, but with Hurricane Season still a ways off, I knew I had time to do the training and the writing, so I let the good detective have his way with my brain. Turns out he is really quite the nice guy! He's not as hardened or as brash as I first thought he would turn out to be. He has a sensitive side, though only a few are apt to see it. They do see it. The reader will see it and hopefully appreciate it.

That's it then.  DONE!!  At this point, it is 37 chapters long, 81502 words, and 215 pages typed on the computer using Word. My book "Of Kilted Pleasure" is 79,370 words I think, and 216 pages. That means I did more separating in the first book where the quotes are concerned. I'm not finished with the book, so it may turn out to be fewer words, more words, fewer pages, more pages. I can't tell you. I haven't gone through it all the way to make the changes. I'm just telling you it is DONE in that it has been written. 

Now the real fun begins. Woot!!

 

Photo Credit: FoodandWine.com  (This is the Sheep's Heid Inn, where the last scene of the book takes place.)

MURDER BOOK: I Just Killed a Man (in the book...in the damn book)

     Whenever I make bold statements in writing such as "I just killed a man" I feel as if I need to further clarify that I am a novel (fiction) writer and that killing people is something I do quite often. I never take my actual hostilities out in the real world. I promise. I'm truly one of the most law-abiding souls you'll find. I will however, if you piss me off, send you flying over the side of a cliff and then have some random stray dog piss in your face allowing the scratches and the bug bites to be naturally disinfected...in writing. In the pages of a book that may or may not be published.

    I am going to take a breather and eat dinner before returning to the book. I'm really so close to finishing it that I think it would be best to get back into the grove this evening and do that. I am at 74,000 words and I think the book will be around 80,000 so yeah, I'm there. I will also go back through it and take things out that don't need to be there. I will add stuff, fluff stuff, mix in about 3,899 more adjectives and if that's not enough, I'll find a way to make it really pop using more. I love a good adjective. I really should have considered using more than just the word "good" to describe that fact. Oh, well.

   I just pulled the trigger in the truest of ways possible in the book, not in real life, and ended the life of an amazing soul. He was in fact, one of my favorite characters and the purpose of letting him go see Jesus was because if I loved him the chances are that my readers will love him too; they'll be so very very upset with the bad guy that they will find themselves standing on the edge of their seats, not sitting on them, so they can assist in the capture of the bastard!  How could that guy die? NOOOOOOOOO...but he did.

    I'm over here crying because I have to arrange a funeral now. Actually, I'll probably end up glazing over it, and mentioning it, but not actually staging one. I only have about 6000 more words to go, and if I use them up talking about the different lives the man touched, or the cases he worked, I'll likely be there for two chapters and have to ditch the Scott Monument scene - - who would want to do that? Well, as it stands, it is now just after Christmas in 1929, all is not well in the City of Edinburgh, but they are making headway on these murders and they do have a few suspects and bad guys in custody. It may be time to plan Hogmanay!!

    Oh, look at the time. I have to run. I'm about to dine well with the kid and then get back to the grind. On a VERY VERY good note, and I'll blog about this tomorrow, I am happy to say that "Of Kilted Pleasure" has been corrected and is back up for sale. I ordered two today.  Woot!!  I made 10 corrections. It did cost me $25, but so very worth it. YEA.

See you soon! Next time I'll be able to tell you that the book is fully written and ready to be tweaked.  

Photo Credit:Four Guests, USA.

MURDER BOOK 85% Finished.

     I think by now, ya'll know that when I say it's finished, I mean the ink is on the paper so to speak, but it's not anywhere near done. Nope. I'm 85% finished with writing the book, but now I'll need to go back and fluff and stuff it. I've been doing a bit of fluff and stuff along the way, to be honest, but I do and will need to go through it chapter by chapter, literally line by line to open it up, fill in the blanks, make changes, and create a more flowy-flowy atmosphere for my characters. I can't believe all the mistakes I make when I write. Just like when I write blogs. I find 10-20 mistakes and either go back and change them, or I leave them in and say phooey...get it next time. I can't do that with the books.

    With "Of Kilted Pleasure" I'm dealing with the creators at the publishing house to allow me to resubmit the old PDF with corrections without charging me more than just a small revision fee. It's sort of like asking the wind to stop blowing in Oklahoma, but there are times when you can. It's hard to get these people to even get off their duff to assist; they don't do phone assistance, only email  -- so it's a complete and unnecessary waste of time! But, in the end, if they can do it for me, I know I won't make the same mistake with the Murder Book; or any other book for that matter. NOPE, never again.

    I am now 85% finished if I am going with the goal of 80,000 words for the manuscript. I have 68,000+ words now. I'm on Chapter Thirty-Four and it's going to be a catch-up chapter. It's an intel chapter in that it is written to inform the reader about the past, current events, and the things to come. It sets up situations and puts some things to rest. Nick will have a telephone call from Edinburgh to Oklahoma City; wishing his family back home a very Merry Christmas. He'll explain Hogmanay to the folks back home, he'll tell them what all he's been up to, but leave some of the scary parts out so his mom doesn't worry.  He'll be asked a few questions, and that will be the setup part. The audience will hear his mom ask about so-and-so, and this or that; Nick has to explain to her, and thus the audience, what will happen.

    I feel like I have four or five chapters to go. If they are all about 2500 words, it makes perfect sense. It's getting really good. One bad guy was caught, but he wasn't that bad. The next one was caught, she's bad, and won't get away with anything. The one coming up will be a challenge for sure; he's really sleazy and a bit greasy as well. That's a clue, but you don't know that. We'll see what happens to him. For that matter we'll both see because I've not got it all worked out in my head yet, so it's not worked out on the computer either. This thing lives, it breathes, and I work with it. I don't tell it what to do.

    I may throw a Scottish recipe for something in the book just for fun. MacRae may have to have his girls help him prepare a little something something for the holidays. The next few chapters will be written this weekend. I'll have the book completed as far as the word count goes by Sunday night. I'll spend next week reading it, going through it, and making changes. I'll take the next week to correct that. I'll wait two more weeks, re-read it, find more errors, and finalize it. So, by August the book will be ready to send to the publisher. Sounds good.

    I'm not going to spend a lot of time, effort, or money on the cover of the book since it's a murder book, and I'll have several to follow in a series. I'll be sure to have an art deco-style front since it takes place in 1930, but it won't be anything too spectacular. I won't spend money on it. I need to publish more books. If they sell then maybe I'll go back and redesign the covers. You just never know. There's so much that a person can do nowadays with self-publishing. I am not a graphics person, but others are and for a very cheap price I can get something created if I need to.

    OK, so that's it, I'll be writing tomorrow and all weekend. I'll keep you posted.

Photo Credit: BuyBackdrop.com

Kind of Keto. Not Quite.

 I've done this before, but now, I'm doing it a little differently. I'll explain. I am not the type of person to go on a diet and just starve myself or do things I wouldn't want to do on a regular basis. I'm not going to drink lemon water with cayenne pepper and vinegar to make myself thinner (maybe) but at the same time, create such an acid response in my body that I make myself sick. It is NOT worth it. 

    There is a powder out there called MCT or something. I tried it, and then my dumb ass decided to overdose myself (accidentally) and I ended up feeling sicker than I have in so many years. I think I relate it to the time I over-smoked a really fat, rich cigar without knowing that a person who doesn't ordinarily smoke them shouldn't do that. Both times, I was flat on my belly in bed, with my head about to fall off. I was just gone. It could not have been...well, maybe it could have been worse, but I don't ever want to find out if it can be. I was SICK.

    So, the lemon water is fine. I'll do that all day, and by that I mean literally all day I can do that.  I can put a lime in my water too, and be really happy. The thing that I have the most trouble with is not sugar. I can quit sugar like no other. I have. I do so much less sugar now than I have ever done. I still have sweets. I just use monk fruit instead of granulated sugar; it's literally sweeter than sugar, has zero calories, and there are no side effects. Why the UK has all but banned it, I don't know. Well, I  do know actually, they say they don't have enough evidence; so maybe in time, they will sell monk fruit there as well.

    The hard thing for me is bread. Doing without pasta is OK, doing without potatoes is good. I can do that. I can do the other things too; things Keto diets say are bad for you. I can eliminate them, but bread seems to kick my butt. I find myself trying to return to it. I've gone 7 days now without it though. It's hilarious. I tend to go on these kicks of mine where I swear by all things I need to swear by that I'm going to stop eating bread, but it comes the day after I bought a whole loaf, or a can of biscuits, or something. No. I am doing this. I've been doing this. The can of Grands is still in the fridge and I have to find someone to give them to. 

    My best friend's birthday was June 22 and my birthday is November 22. I'm going on a bread fast from June 22 to November 22 to see what if any changes I can see. I'm also eating better, exercising, drinking lemon water, and being an overall good person to myself, but the bread thing slays me; I need strength!! I am also giving up cereal, but not oatmeal or grits.  The oatmeal I eat is steel cut, and I eat it with walnuts, cranberries, cinnamon, and a bit of heavy cream. Good for me. Grits are the same, but I do the monk fruit and walnuts, and honey with them. 

    If you ask me, and some do, I think that making decisions for myself is easier than making them for someone else. I don't ask permission usually, I just do what needs to be done. When I make decisions for others, I need to either be over them personally, like when my kids were of minority age, or I need to be their guardian owner, such as I am for Ginger my dog. I do, and I will make decisions about what Ginger will or will not eat. She truly doesn't get a say in the matter. She really (probably) doesn't even realize she may have the option to do so. Making the decision for myself is just easier.

    I need to lose a huge amount of weight (not really, but it is to me) so that when I step off the plane in Edinburgh next summer I won't be ginormous or cause any scenes. I hate causing scenes. I do. It's just so...brazen. Well, I don't mind a little brazen, but I don't want to be fat when I do that. I want to be healthy, fit, and happy so I can walk the streets, climb the hills, keep up with my friends, and fully enjoy myself. I am currently making plans to visit next summer before Hurricane season, but the friend who says she'll go with me is likely to back out; if I'm honest. I don't mind, I can do the trip solo; again.

    Kind of Keto is how I describe my diet when I'm asked. I am heavy on egg protein, meats, and cheeses. I load up on fruits and veggies, and my trail mix is 100% fantastic and wonderful. I tend to stay clear of desserts, but I do have them; just not with sugar. I eat yogurt, usually Greek plain, with honey, and again, walnuts and cranberries. You'd think I'd be fit already; damn it, I should be. I have no idea why the body refuses to read the scientific evidence online; so it can just do what it's supposed to do. C'mon, body!! Geez.

    Day 7 of the no-bread thing.  I'm earning my stripes.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

MURDER BOOK: 78% Written

 OBVIOUSLY, I am making an assumption if I say that with 62,839 words written of my new book, I am at the 78% mark. I don't know what the end word count will be, and I'm using a basic guideline of 80,000 words. I think the last book I wrote was just shy of 80,000 so it seems like a good number to choose. I may be 100% wrong. I may be writing on this dang thing for a while, but there will come a time when I tell myself that enough is enough, and the characters will need to hold their breath until I can release them into the first of several follow-up books. They'll be thrilled.

    One of the fun fun fun parts of the books is writing the historical parts where I can really get into it and find cool facts that I think people will want to know about. I use Wikipedia of course, and in some cases, I use my own personal memories regarding what I know about this or that. This book, takes place in 1930, in both the United States as well as the United Kingdom; I'm not sure I have much to offer in terms of personal memory. Luckily for me, my son was in a movie that was a 1930s period film, and though it was filmed in Oklahoma's city of Guthrie in Logan County, it was supposed to look as if it was taking place in New York City. The costumes, the automobiles, and all the glitz and glamour, were just amazing. 

    Today, I had the honor of writing four chapters of the book. They sort of just rolled out of me. Mostly fluff pieces, as I am about to write a more down and gritty action scene where the good guys corner a killer and she is captured in the most unique way, I need to say that I have enjoyed just letting the information flow out of me and on to the pages. When I write fluff and stuff, I tend to just go with whatever is in my head, and after I read it, I make needed changes; honing it up, shoring it up, to create the needed setup for the critical pieces.  It can't all be car chases, and shoot-em-ups, right? Or in Roy Roger's case, neck break horse chases and shoot-em-ups. There have to be some lulls and ebbs to support the flows and tides.

    I made the decision today to make the good man who dies have a real purpose and a true romantic backstory. The reader will miss him, be upset at this falling, and want true revenge for his killer. It should be that way. We should hate the bad guys enough to want to see them get their justice!  Still, even as I'm writing the last words of the good man, I am secretly whispering in his ears that he's not really going to die, he's going to a fictional ever-after where he'll wait for his true love to arrive in due time. I may mention him from time to time, bringing him another wave of admiration from my readers. This guy deserves admiration. He put in the years. He made the road easier for those who came behind him - - I can't say more without giving it away.

    Funny, as I'm writing this blog I chanced to glance at my keyboard. Keep in mind this is a NEW keyboard that goes with my  NEW computer. Already, and it's been less than 3 months, certain keys have been completely worn down, and rubbed off, and the lights from the LED base on the keyboard are glaring at me! E, A, S, D, C, V, N, M, L, and the period key are all gone. The left Shift and the Space bar have issues as well. That's hilarious. Oh well, they all work, I don't need to see what the letters are to know where to put the tips of my fingers. It will make my friend a bit nervous t though when she comes over; she hates not being able to know what keys to use. She doesn't need them, but not being able to see them will freak her out. She's gonna love the book - - I'm not letting her read it until it's 100% finished. She'll read it before it's published, but not until the curtain falls...actually after the curtain falls, but that's another clue you'll have to find out about; read the book when it comes out.

Photo Credit: Reddit