Books, Flu, TV, and Eyes, Oh My!

Happy Mid-March everyone! I apologize that it’s been three months since my last blog. I have no excuse except I’ve been trying to stay warm this winter. We’ve had a few nice days in the 70s, but a LOT of COLD days in the 30s. And I thought this was the sunny South! I guess I haven’t moved far enough south yet.

Now that I’ve made my apologies, let me bring you up to date.

1.      Testing Michael, my seventh novel about children in the Civil War, is going to be taught in the history class of a private school in St. Augustine, FL this semester. I am thrilled beyond belief. If all goes well, I’m planning a trip down there this spring to meet the students.

     2.  My eighth novel, Restoring Simon, is finally finished, other than some last minute editing and designing a cover. Hurray! This story is about Simon Epstein, from Buffalo, NY, who goes to France to join the fight in WWI. If you remember, and I don’t blame you if you don’t, Simon is the father of Danny in my book, Remaking Danny.

  3.      Six members of my writing group, NC Scribes, have had a combined total of 56 stories published in various Chicken Soup for the Soul books, so many that the publisher calls us The Chicken Coop. Last month we met at a member’s house for a TV  photo shoot for a local television show, The Tar Heel Traveler.  The five-minute show was recently aired. Two years ago, the NC Scribes published an anthology called 9/11: That Beautiful Broken Day, about our reminiscences of the day the towers came down. We were on The Tar Heel Traveler at that time, as well.  So, I’ve been on television twice! The line forms at the left for my autograph. 😊

 4.  I received word recently that I may have a third story coming out in Chicken Soup for the Soul, this time for the Out of Your Comfort Zone edition. I’ll let you know if I make the final cut.

.      5.  In January I had cataract surgery on my right eye. The next day I got the flu, the regular kind people have been getting for ages. That laid me up for a week or more. In May I’m having my left eye done; hopefully, without the flu or any other disruptions.

I hope you all had a productive winter, in addition to trying to stay warm. This has been an unusually bad winter all across the country.

I’m open to any suggestions for my next novel; the only rule is, it has to refer to someone in one of my other books, as they are all connected to each other in one way or another. All are available on Amazon in print, digital, and audio. My books have all been about young boys, because I find boys to be more interesting and way more daring. However, gulp, I may consider doing a girl this time. 

I plan on getting back to you sooner next time. Until then, Happy St. Patrick’s Day. 

Quote of the Day: The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day. Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat

Your Christmas Memories

 

I very much hope you all are able to enjoy this season, whether you’re celebrating Christmas or Hannukah. It’s the season of joy and love that brings smiles to all our faces.

Sunday, I had lunch with Cyndi and Bill at their house—roast chicken, baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar, fresh salad and topped off with her homemade chocolate pecan pie and brownies. It was a good deal more than lunch; it was more like a scrumptious Sunday dinner!

I brought along a small tin of Christmas questions to be used as a memory jogger and conversation starter. What a hit that was! Questions like: What is your favorite Christmas song? What is a treasured memory you have of Christmas? Do you have a special ornament and what memories does it evoke? What is your favorite Christmas food and what story is associated with it?  What is your favorite Christmas tradition? And a few other questions, all of which got us thinking and remembering and sharing stories from long ago. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and telling stories the others hadn’t heard. I highly recommend this activity when you get together with loved ones, or even not so loved ones, this week. You never know what you might learn about a person and what that person realizes he/she hadn’t thought about in years. You’ll bring a smile to that person’s face as well as your own. What better gift is there?

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah to you all and may we all go into 2023 with a renewed spirit of hope and love. And above all, let us not forget the reason, and the child, we celebrate this time of year.

I’ll see you next year!

 

Quote of the Day: Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  Norman Vincent Peale