Half Time!! (50% done with the book)

     I am so tempted to tell you the book's title, but I'm not going to. I can't. I have to wait, and there's a reason, but the thing is, it's a good title, and I really just want to blurt it out right now. I'm halfway finished with the book. I can start there and say more later. 

    Though I only have 38,000 words, and 38,000 x 2 is 76,000, which is at least 10,000 words shy of being finished, the fact is that I'm finished with Chapter 15. I've written 15 chapters of a book that will likely be 30 chapters, give or take, and then there's the fluffing and the stuffing, and that's where the other 10,000 will come into play. I like to stuff. I like to fluff. It's one of the fun things to do - - it makes me happy.

    I have 30 pages of notes. I'll go through each page and see if I can go through the book to stuff that tidbit, that thought, or that little extra this or that into the book, and if I can, where do I stuff it? I find myself adding paragraphs to accommodate the stuffing. I don't typically reduce words; that wouldn't be stuffing now, would it? I add words. I add thoughts. I add ideas, and I add adjectives. One can scarcely have too many adjectives until one actually has too many adjectives.

    I'm using the AI again, but this time, I'm asking it questions, getting the answers, reading the answers, and rewriting it. I don't take the things it spits out verbatim. I do use a great deal of it, but then I reword and throw in my personal style to make it mine. I still struggle with crediting the AI, so since you don't need to at this point and time, I won't do it, but I may have my characters thank the AIs they use; that may be a good way to compromise without truly compromising. 

    The book is halfway finished, and it's getting pretty good. I'm hacking away at the keyboard, drumming up situations, challenges, commitments, compliments, and chaos. I'm forging and forming fundamental fairplay as well as frivious frollick. It's awesome to be this abandoned and feel nothing remotely close to responsibility. That's what the book is about; being unknown, unseen, unexpected, unnoticed but when you are seen, heard, known, or otherwise noticed, there's a reason you chose to be so. 

    The book is fun to write. I'm trying to get into the characters now and develop them to the point of being interesting without being too much or too anything. I want a balance. There can't be too much taking place; writing out the smallest of activities takes too long. It took a whole chapter for a police captain to question a suspect, and really, we didn't get as far as I would have liked. Not many details were given, which need to be addressed during the fluff. I need to pinpoint and push the proverbial envelope on that one.

    As it is now, I'll probably take off tomorrow and even Tuesday. I will write on Wednesday, probably Thursday, and pick it up again over the weekend. I'll do next weekend what I did this weekend and slam out 6 chapters. That will be 16, 17, then 18, 19, 20 plus 21, 22, 23 - - so by this time next week, it should be 3/4 of the way finished. I can still finish it by or close to the end of August.  No matter when I send it up for publication, I will choose a publishing date of September 1 to remember when it was published. It will be close enough to it to say it. I may end up sending it on September 1 and then approving it on September 4, only to have a copy sent to me by September 16 and reapproving it around the 20th, and BAM...there you go -- the full truth. 

    You can't, I can't...simply send a book up and not have a copy printed so I can hold it in my hands, go through it with a pen, and mark out what I don't like. It's a thing, and in every case so far, that's what I've done. That's why I don't publish the EPub at the same time as the print. I have to be sure the print is correct first. I'll EPub this one right after it's printed. It will skip the queue, as it were, and be published for Kindle in September. Why wait? This is THE book to read. 

Photo Credit: Hilanddairy.com

NOT Expected to Teach!

     Today is some schools' first day of school here in Oklahoma City. I think my grandkids also went to school today for their first day. I have to think about it; one is 13, and the other is 11, so I think that's 7th grade and 5th grade. If that's true, it means I'm definitely getting old. I was with them over the weekend, and they have just shot up to great heights. Their mom is about 5'6", but their daddy is 6'4" or more, and he's left his mark on both of those kids. They are stretching it!

    The first thing I noticed this morning, as I woke up and the dogs demanded to be let outside, was that I was not getting ready to go to school to teach. Nope. I was not there, I was not doing it, and there was just simply no way I would. No, thank you, I am excited to say I will not teach again. If I ever changed my mind, it would be if I taught remotely from home. I will not teach in the classroom again. You couldn't pay me to go through that again.

    Three years ago, I was hired to replace a teacher who, on her first day of class, decided it wasn't worth it. She left. This has happened to me 3 times in my teaching career because I wasn't hired at first due to the fact that I had been fired several times, and it was on my record. Now, in my defense (you knew I had one, right), I was fired for being ethical and not changing grades or for turning the principal in for stealing. One time, I was fired for not accepting a date with the Vice Principal when SHE asked me out. Yeah, not only do I not bend that way, but I don't play that way either.

    Of course, when the school administration decides to get rid of you, they make up a story and try to get folks to go along with them. They threatened staff members with losing their jobs if they didn't side with them saying I had done what they actually put on paper that I had done - in each and every single case (there were 7 cases) I won. I wasn't hired the first day, but the schools knew they needed someone, so they called me -- when I said yes, I showed up, and the games began - - literally the second I walked through the damn doors. These people do not change!

    It was three years ago, and I was fired at THAT time for writing a murder blog about a student killing her Science teacher and burying the body at the school. Some twenty years later, the student became a teacher herself at the same school - - she knew where the body was buried and needed to move it because the district had decided to improve the stadium...oops!! I was FIRED for being creative and writing a FICTIONAL story about FICTIONAL people!  Remember that I was also the creative writing teacher at that time! IRONY!

    That was my last adventure with taking on the huddled masses. I had been through about a dozen half-incidents before that happened, with students threatening me and one physically attacking me. I put his ass on the ground, and yes, you guessed it, I was called to the office about it. The first thing out of my mouth was, "Union rep, NOW!"  They wouldn't comply, so I walked out of the room, got my things, and left.  Three long days later, they finally called me back to say they were sorry, they had seen the video, and they sided with me. Oh, you think? Yeah, go on, and not for nothing, but maybe now you can tell the students you lied to about me that I wasn't reprimanded and wasn't fired.

    About three weeks later, right after my last class, I was summoned to the office to be told I was being put on administrative leave for the blog situation. I asked them if they were sure they wanted to do that; after all, I was writing a new murder book and needed names and personalities for a few of the new characters. They let me go - I called my rep, and then they paid me for the rest of the year! That was September 20, 2021. They had to pay me through the entire year because they had NO RIGHT and no valid reason to put me through what they put me through. I say it over and over again, the worst part about teaching isn't the kids...it's the admin. After the admin, there are the other teachers. After the teachers, it's the parents, and then, it's the kids. Kids are kids. They are the way they are because of bad parenting and years of being given too much -- not enough of that old-fashioned child-rearing going on these days.

    Well, it's true. I woke up this morning, the first day of school, and I had a message in my email asking me if I would like to be a long-term sub for a particular local school for an undetermined amount of time. Nope. No thank you, I don't want to do the job in the first place, why would I want to do it for less than I would normally be paid?  As a teacher, I normally made about 40% less than what I make now, wearing my jammies, working from home, and taking breaks when I want. I don't have to dress, I don't put makeup on, I don't drive anywhere. I don't plan lessons. I don't buy things to make a room seem inviting. I don't fight with people. I don't argue with children. I don't put up with lying sacks of crap - - and I don't have to worry about anyone at my house pulling a gun on me because I know the woman in my house, and she knows I have just as many guns as she has!

    The only thing I have to worry about here, at home, is the dog barking when I'm on the phone with a client -- and with my noise-canceling headset, I don't worry about that either! Woo Hoo!! Let them all have the best year possible. I almost sent an email back that read, "Oh, hell no," but instead, I simply said I wasn't interested. I hate it when Jesus makes me say nice things.

Photo Credit: Three Rings Ranch School. 

Eight and Nine - - Complete.

 OK, so I cheated a little bit. Chapter Nine in the book is actually no more than another chapter of another book I wrote. I just admitted to plagiarism! I just plagiarised myself!! I wrote the chapter "The Blanket" in my Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book 2 (or was it 3? I can't remember now), and it was fitting to add it to this book, so I gave myself credit, and I added my own chapter to my own chapter - - don't get too lost down that rabbit hole! 

    I wasn't going to make this book romantic, not really, but then the characters started blushing around one another and saying things that made their hearts skip, and before you knew it, I've got two people trying not to show their cards too soon, and it's my job to deal the hand! Have I told you how much I really love writing? I really, really love writing!

    Chapter Eight is all about the beach, the walk, the talk, the things they see, the people they don't try to meet, and how the sun sets perfectly over the South Florida horizon, just like in the movies. Who knew?  Well, I knew, and they knew, and God knew, and just about anyone who has ever seen it set knew too, but somehow you just have to keep telling that same old story over and over again because if you told it any differently, no one would be interested in anything else you had to say; you'd be a liar.

    Chapters 10 and 11 will be about the people of the projects, the stories that lead up to the harder, more delicate portion of the book; some would say the challenging part or where all the conflicts come in. They'd be right if they said that, too. I'm at 22,000 words or 1/4 finished, so it's time to start hitting the rocks and losing paddles because the river is about to get ugly -- metaphorically speaking, the book doesn't take place anywhere near a river -- maybe a creek bed...but mostly just big fat oceans or great lakes if we're talking about Chicago.

    We're not talking about Chicago much, but when we do, you'll know it. I'll add a recipe or two to go along with the storyline and the atmosphere of Chi-Town...gotta talk about pizza when you're up that way. Again, if you don't, you're a liar, and no one likes a liar -- no one.

Photo Credit:  ChewOutLoud.com 

    

Chapter Seven - - A Walk on the Beach.

 So, as I began writing Chapter Seven, I wasn't sure how to get the two characters out of the condo and onto the beach to take that "long walk on the beach" thing that everyone talks about. Everyone loves a long walk on the beach, and my two main characters are no exception to the rule. We have sunsets, beach sand, volleyball, open bars, rowdy people, and the glances that get given and moments stolen in time that make the book worth reading.

    There's something else going on in Chapter Seven, too. Leigh tells Mathew about the book her cousin wrote, the title of it, and why it's so important. She's pretty excited about the book and wants her new friend to read it if he has time. She knows he doesn't have the $18 to buy a copy on Amazon, and since he doesn't own a Kindle, she decides to lend or give him her copy of the book to read. He's not much on reading, he tells her, not stories anyway. He's always been an articles kind of guy, but if she wants him to give into it, he'll do it for her. She wants him to give in to it.

    There we are - - Chapter Seven...done!  Next, we'll see the two engaged in their personal lives and individual goal-setting and achieving. Mathew will read the book and find out what he thinks about it. It's the only book he's ever read cover to cover, and he had the sad and heartbreak yearning when he reached the next to the last page, too - - I hate it when that happens, but that's when you know it's a good book! You're really sad that it's about to end. You've really invested your soul, and it's gone.

    Well, I have decided who I will dedicate the book to, and I've decided to have a "mention" in the back as well. I'm mentioning Charlie and Hideko Garrett, who I memorized in the pages. They are the only real-life people in the book. I say that; I mention a singer or two, and yeah, an author and her family are talked about.  The book will be finished around the end of August and will be published around the 1st of September, with a publishing date of September 1, so I can remember when it came out.  My last book came out on my best friend's birthday - June 22. I do that so I can remember.

    ENJOY!! Wait, you can't enjoy it yet - - never mind.

Photo Credit: SecondLife.com

Five, Six, Seven....well, Five and Six.

 I have successfully finished Chapters 5 and 6 of the book. YEA! It's getting to the point where I can start writing now. I know that sounds funny, but the first few chapters of any book explain what will start, maybe happen, or there are at least a few foreshadows of what can or will happen. My books will not vary too far from those of other authors who I feel were successful in their pursuits.  Copy the best, mimic, and try to do what they do - - but give it your own spin; make it yours.

    When I taught students how to write in my Creative Writing classes, I would tell them they need to know the end of the book before they can presume to know how it starts. This is an age-old concept, not my own. It's something I picked up along the way, and it's always served me well. I know exactly how the book ends -- no, I'm not telling you, that would not be fun. You have to read the book just like me...and everyone else. 

    Chapters 5 and 6 deal with Leigh volunteering at the projects, her interactions with a few of the people there, and the reason the church people go to the projects in the first place. It's not what you may think. They're not out there bible-thumping and making it about salvation. They're out there helping, being who and what they can be with a more humanitarian approach. They are first interested in gaining the people's trust, then, and only then, will they introduce their beliefs and really only if they're asked about them.

    Leigh also finds Mathew interesting enough to have an evening walk with him, something that she's always wanted to do; walk the length of a good sandy beach at sunset and watch the waves crash over gently while the sun burns the water in the horizon. But it wasn't safe to do this alone, and she knew that. It's not 1800; it's not even 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, or 1960...it's the present day, and women need to be protected when they walk the shoreline. Mathew volunteers to walk with her. It will give them a chance to get to know one another, as well as to express any seeming awkwardness between them. 

    Leigh is a wealthy, younger, stronger, and far more confident person than Mathew. He's experienced lawsuits, arrest, addiction, fighting, feuding, anger, anxiety, and angst. She was raised by Mr. and Mrs. Christian Wholesome, who brought her up correctly and gently, with an inner belief in herself and a long-standing faith that she leans on when times get too rough to handle. Mathew is just now learning to trust anything other than life's rocky waves. He needs to put his best foot forward, but doing it is a little nerve-wracking.

    Chapters 7 and 8 will cast light on things other than the main characters. I will delve into ways, means, and methods of those who are unseen, unwanted, abused, and often set to the side in order for others to be and feel more comfortable with life. Chapters 7 and 8 will be fun to write, and I'll probably end up writing them together like I did 5 and 6. Sometimes I just get on a roll and keep it going, but today, only two chapters will be written. I have all the time I could ever need. I'm not under a deadline.

    

Photo Credit: sunsetnc.com

Comic Con 2024 -- I Went!

     So, if you know me, you know I'm not someone who gets all dressed up and goes places. For me, dressing means I put on my shoes. Most of the time, I wear sweatpants, tee shirts, undergarments (of course), and socks. I don't like wearing shoes! If I have to put on my shoes, it means I'm leaving my house, and if I'm leaving my house, that means I'll end up seeing people! 

    Believe me, I'm not an introvert. I love being the center of attention, and I love engaging in conversations with people I know and people I don't know, but lately, because I work from home, all the people are communicate with are online or on the phone because they're either people calling me about work stuff, or I'm calling them about work stuff. I just don't do people really. I mean, I do go to stores, shop, socialize, and whatever, but I'm not going out of my way these days - - it just doesn't happen.

    When Laura asked me to drive her to the Comic-Con about a month ago, I thought it was in Oklahoma City. It wasn't. It was in Tulsa!! Let me just say if I didn't have another kid in Tulsa, I wouldn't have agreed to take one kid halfway across the state so she could dress up and mingle with other anime and comic characters. I just don't -- until I did. I did, and I think I'll do it again, too. Laura really doesn't drive anymore, she's got a bit of anxiety going on, so it's me behind the wheel and this last trip sort of shocked my "Snap Shot" from Progressive. I fully expected Progressive to write to me to ask me if I knew I drove over 250 miles in one day. I don't usually drive 150 miles in a month!

    Comic-Con was fun. Jeannie went with us, and she was cute in her shiny little cat ears!! I wore summer joggers and a "Go Dog Go" tee, but Laura dressed up as a really fun and cute Mahito—don't ask me who he is. Caity dressed up as some sort of anime sorcerer who gets "burned," and she was adorable, too.  My grands dressed up, and Sailor even made her own mask for whatever creature thing she was...very cute, very green.   Brandola, my son-in-law Brandon, was a minimalist like myself. We did the observation thing.

    While at the Con, I met about 2000 new friends and talked to a few more. I got a free book from Eryn Adams, author of KING OF THE SHORE.  I met too many Batman characters, a Joker, and a few cartoon things and people that I recognized, but so many of the cosplays were people or things I'd never seen before - Laura and Caity had to tell me who they were. It was fun, though, and I'll do it again.  Laura met her co-worker and friend Sarina for the first time in real life! She and her mom, another CMR worker, drove up from Ardmore! Woo Hoo!! They were fun.

    Though it was a bit expensive and took a minute to drive up to Tulsa, there was something worthy about it all -- I did something I don't normally do, and that felt pretty good. I got some steps in too, about 8000 or so, which wasn't as many as I thought I would, but the convention wasn't as big as I thought it would be either - I guess I was thinking it was going to be massive, but it was rather ordinary - - but packed...absolutely jammed with authors, artists, gamers, people, costumes, and the like. There was one thing that was cool - - cool for people who like celebrities and the such. There were anime and character voice actors there, and the kids met a few. There was also a famous composer and actor, Paul Williams. He was nice. Then, there was this other guy - - I heard them announce his name over the intercom; John Schneider.

    I first met John Schneider in 1972 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He was about 17, and I was 10, almost 11.  It was in August. The sands were white, and the trees were tall and green. I think, if I had to be honest, he was my first real crush.  He grew up to be Bo Duke, and I grew up and went to Hollywood soon after he did; we ran into each other a few times, and today was the first time we'd seen each other in about 40 years. It was fun to talk to him. There were only a few people at the table where he was, so I waited to speak to him. When his "bodyguards" asked if they could help me because they didn't want me just approaching him - - I laughed.  I don't do the whole "I'm so famous I need bodyguards" type of thing, and really, John doesn't either -- it's probably something the event thought was necessary. 

    We talked, and he was the same old John. He's always been a bit bigger than life, and he hadn't changed. He's down to earth and normal and every day.  John is a lot like Jim Garner in that sense; what you see is what you get. He's not going to put on any airs. It was good to see him and good to know that after all the years that have passed since The Dukes of Hazzard, he hasn't lived as some secluded, stuck-up celebrity who can't hug people and take a few minutes to talk- - he can. He's from the South (born in NYC but raised in Georgia) he gets it.  I hadn't been to any cons before, so I didn't know what to expect; this one was really fun. I'm glad I went. 

Copeland, Brandon, Caity, Sailor, Laura - - Comic Con 2024, Tulsa

Gotta Lose The Weight! Gotta!

     Tomorrow is the day I put away as much as possible to make sure the house is free and clear of boxes so I can finally get my treadmill set up - - and not a minute too soon. I'm telling you. I took a few snapshots of myself today with my family, and DAMN, I am NOT where I want to be weight-wise. NOPE...no, I am not, and it's not fat shaming if you personally think you could lose 40 pounds. It's not shaming; it's putting things in perspective!

    I have about 40-45 pounds to lose, which is exactly what I think I need to do. It will take a full year. I know that; I do not think it will happen overnight - I have work to do. I have already started eating better, and I'm working on my stress levels. I get plenty of sleep, plenty of water, and plenty of prayer. It's exercise time. It's walking on the treadmill, stretching, yoga ball bouncing, and weight lifting time. No, I'm not going to go the gym - - I'm not doing that. I'm making use of what I have in the house.

    I have walls to do push-ups on. I have the treadmill, the weighted balls, the weighted bars, the stretch bands, and the boxing stand. I can do this. It will just take a little while. I would rather go slowly than try to crash diet and burn out. It's going to take dedication, routine change, and the knowledge of what needs to be done before I make any real change. I believe in the concept behind the NOOM program. I'm just not going to pay anyone to tell me how to lose weight in a healthy way. I can study it and do it myself. 

    I eat too many empty calories and that has to stop. I'd say I'm addicted, but I'm not; I'm in a rut - I can stop, and I will stop. I won't give up sugar 100% because I think moderation is better than sacrifice, but I can do without most of the things that I eat that have sugar - - and just do what I know to do; that's been a better plan for years. I just get away from the facts and start binging whenever something happens to set me back. In 2023, I lost my job at the end of 2022. I didn't get over it for a year, and although I used the time to write, I didn't use the time to stay healthy.

    That changes, and it changes now. I'm OK being a little over what I should be, but I'm NOT healthy, and I won't tolerate that from myself. I won't punish myself either, but I will work with myself and praise myself when I do what I should do. Positivity beats negativity every time! I can do this. I really can. I have pictures to prove it—and I'll get more later down the road, too. It will happen.

Photo Credit: DeerRun.com

Spoiling Myself a Little.

 I'm not actually writing a chapter tonight; I decided to take a break and let the creative tidbits that I've been overworking take a little time off to rejuvenate so that I'm ready to spring back into action either tomorrow evening or Sunday. I'll travel on Saturday and visit my other kid in Tulsa while taking in the Comic Con. I've never been to one, so it will be fun.

    My bestie is coming with us, and she's been talking to Laura about what she should wear. I'm going the very simple route, only donning a pair of loose-fitting summer joggers with a "Go Dog Go" tee shirt and some barefoot shoes. I've really been cutting back on the whole dress-for-success theory. In fact, if what I wear these days covers me and keeps me out of jail, I'm good.  I don't even put on jeans anymore, not if I don't have to. It's really funny - - but some would say sad. Nope...not me. I feel so relaxed and so not going anywhere - - that's how I feel.

    The one thing I did decide to do to make my life that much easier, is to buy another monitor for my home office. This one, a 27" curved 4K Spectre monitor, is the same size as my other 27" monitor, but this one is curved, not flat. The only, and I do many ONLY, reason I'm doing it is so I can watch my Law & Orders (and Perry Mason) on the new monitor while I'm writing - - I'll write on the flat one, and watch my shows on the curved one. If anyone picks up one of my murder books and reads a relatively familiar scene from, say....1963 Los Angeles...just let me live like I wrote the thing myself.  (LOL...if you know me, you know I'm rolling about now.)

    The monitor is a needed treat, and I think I've actually earned it after the many years I've watched shows in my office while writing. Currently, I have a 27" screen to my right and my 24" flat on the left...the one I'm writing on now. Tomorrow that all changes; Amazon is my friend. They have promised me fast delivery. Tomorrow, I'll have the 27" flat on my left and the curved on the right - - and Perry and Della Street will be working late, I'm sure.

    I have every Perry Mason episode there is to have - - and I think I've memorized them by now. I will soon have the entire 24+ seasons of Law & Order. I don't think I'll buy the SVU, but I may end up watching Law & Order UK...that could happen. I'm sort of a purist, I still have a hard time forcing myself to watch Law & Order Organized Crime. It's not the same...it is just not the same...but good.

    When I go to Sam's, and I do, I look at monitors and think to myself maybe I'll do that. Maybe I'll buy another monitor. When I get into trading Forex on a realistic basis in March, I'll need at least three screens - - but that's down the road, and I'll need to practice my skills a little longer before taking the plunge into reality trading. I'm pretty good at "Monopoly" money, but giving up my own could be another story. I'm teaching myself to be emotionless and not to care if I don't win. It's not always about winning; sometimes it's about learning. I would rather (of course) win more than I learn -- LOL.

    Oh, and since I was at Sam's, I decided to buy another canister of dark chocolate caramel sea salt candy. You can't leave it on the shelf at $10 a canister! Nope...that would be a tort. I'm almost pretty sure of it. I could look it up.

Photo Credit:  Sam's Club

FOUR!! (Yes, I Know, You Don't Spell it THAT Way!)

     Chapter Four is in the can! Yes, yes, it is. It was a relatively easy chapter to write; I didn't have to do too much thinking. I described the housing authority projects and the types of people that Leigh, Mathew, and others will encounter. That and Leigh was given a crash exam by the city's brave and handsome fire Chief, Doug Dempsey, who has, for the past quarter century, been putting out fires all over Sarasota, Florida.

    Dempsey will be instrumental in bringing peace and awareness to the people of the housing projects when it comes to dealing with the cops, and he'll be sure to put in a good word for one of the local boys who is about to graduate high school and wants to do more with his life than simply join the military. He feels he can put his wits and strength to good use on the fire force - - if he can get past the requirements of having at least an associate's degree to apply. It didn't seem fair, but it is what it is.

    When it comes to understanding those less fortunate, Leigh has had little firsthand experience, but her heart has always been in the right place. Though she wasn't born with a silver spoon to suck on, she was born among a group of solid salt-of-the-earth types whose idea of inclusion meant allowing the Hatfields and the McCoys to come to the Sunday picnic now and again. When Leigh's grandmother, a faithful and devout Christian woman, refused her little black friend inside the house for ice cream once, it wasn't her friend who felt the jolt of racism; it was Leigh. She couldn't believe her own kin would be so backward; she had a lot to learn about living in the South.

    Chapter Four is about understanding ground zero of the most economically challenged people in the state and what it will feel like, look like, smell like, and be like to be among them for several hours and to try to not only not stick out like a sore thumb, but to be useful, helpful, understanding, and giving without any type of judgment no matter what she saw,  heard, smelled or felt. Chapter Four is the beginning of the book in some ways; it gets the characters set and ready to rumble.

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

More Done -- Chapter 3!!

     I don't always write one chapter a night, but when I do, I'm pretty happy about it.  If I could just do this one a consistent basis. I would write 360 chapters, or roughly 12 books a year if I could manage it. Something tells me that's not going to happen. I don't know about you, but I feel that the pressure to do something like that would somehow be too demanding.

    Today, however, this evening, I did manage to write Chapter 3 of the new book. Just think, in 27 more chapters, I'll stop calling it the new book and tell you what the title is -- how exciting is that? The real title!! It's a secret for now, but maybe I've already let the cat out of that proverbial bag. To the best of my knowledge, cats have never really liked hanging out in closed bags for much longer than a few minutes.

    The book's third chapter finds Charlie, Leigh, and Mathew enjoying a good and hearty Thai lunch; Leigh's treat! They talked a bit about Mathew's past, and we were able to find out a little about his anxiety and how it affects him when he remembers certain things at certain times. He's not ready to let just anyone into his world, and that includes Charlie. He loves Charlie, and he even trusts him, but he's still a bit too closed to be able to let the new friend in on much more than what she may have been able to glean from his social media accounts from yesteryear - - nothing is really deleted, is it?

    Leigh remembers she's not in Kansas anymore - - then again, DeQueen, Arkansas isn't exactly Kansas. Leigh has uprooted herself a couple of times, the most recent being a decision to move to Florida and not sulk around her hometown for too long. She enjoyed the month's reprieve while she licked her professional wounds, having been ousted from a very prestigious position in the finance world. She's living alone in the Sunshine State, on the beach, and fully capable of going anywhere, doing anything, and being anyone she dreams of being. It's just her and her grandfather's old...we'll say "vintage" Ford truck.

    I'm using Grammarly heavily in this book. I'm also relying on the suggestions and workability of the AI program my daughter hooked me up with. This way, I can remember to be thoughtful and thought-provoking and include all the right tidbits of interesting things I think I'm adding. However, I do actually forget to add cool words until I realize the AI has remembered to remind me. I love that. I really do love that.

    I also keep Thesaurus.com open at all times when I write. I like changing up ordinary words for a little more interesting words—it makes me feel all smart and cozy. In one of the chapters, I'll be using the word "tendril" because Laura suggested it—it's a good word. I promise it's a good word, and you'll start using it, too. You can thank me later.

 

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