Month: March 2017

My week was awesome! I’m still on the road in a northern suburb of Fort Worth, Texas visiting my girlfriend. We drove northwest earlier in the week and hiked at Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyon State Parks in the Panhandle. What amazing views nature gives when you respect its beauty. Caprock Canyon is home to the official buffalo herd of Texas. When we returned to the visitor center after an early afternoon of hiking, the herd crossed the street and entered the watering hole, just ten yards away. It was great seeing these wild animals up close.

Thursday evening we ate supper with her father, stepmother, and step-grandparents. Her step-grandfather was in the Army Air Corps in WWII. For those who don’t know, this was the predecessor to the US Air Force. Sitting next to him and helping him eat was a great honor and pleasure. It is a memory I’ll cherish for a very long time.

Throughout this week, being far from home, I encountered different people and new things. All of which can be used as character traits in future stories. Just because you go on vacation, doesn’t mean you stop looking and researching for unique character traits. You never know what you’ll find where. Be alert and make note of your findings. After all, history doesn’t write itself.

 

Reminder – come see me at the Boone County Library Writer’s Round Table on April 1 in Harrison, Arkansas from 1:00 to 3:00.

 

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read.  I’m still reading  An Unwelcome Quest. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

Greetings from the road! I drove 360 miles today and through north Dallas Friday afternoon rush hour traffic to hand deliver a get well card to my girlfriend. Not trying to brag on myself, or anything like that, just wanted to set the scene. Our plans for tonight changed, but I’m still excited to be here with her. I feel great that we are together and get to share this wonderful week in each other’s company.

Life is grand when you share it others. The whole range of good emotions opens up when you have a girlfriend in your life. Food tastes better when she cooks it. Beautiful pictures at state parks tremendously improve when she is the focus of them. Conversations with her in person are way better than over the phone. I feel blessed to have her in my life.

Speaking of the road, I’ll be on the road on April 1^st, no fooling!, at the Boone County Library in Harrison, Arkansas from 1-3 for an author’s roundtable.  Visit me, and others, to see how setting becomes character. Just think how different events would be if the setting changed.  I believe several of them would change. After all, history doesn’t write itself.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read.  I finished Spell or High Water by Scott Meyer. My review is on Goodreads.com. I’m currently reading the third book in the series: An Unwelcome Quest. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.

I turned my manuscript over to my publisher on Wednesday. I have the Grammarly add-on, and it helped me tremendously in writing a better story. I’m looking forward to working with my editor and producing a great book for you to enjoy as your summer beach read for 2018. One step closer to being a published author.

I’ve learned a lot during this journey, and there is still more to learn. It is a lot of hard work, which I hope you will enjoy tremendously next summer. I hope you have enjoyed this journey as well. History doesn’t write itself, but it is so much fun to intertwine fiction with historical events. Remember Forrest Gump?

Next month I’ll be traveling to Harrison, Arkansas for a talk about setting. My story takes place in a bordello in the swamps of Louisiana. I really could have set my story anywhere, but by putting it where I did, a vast amount of data opened up to me. No matter my setting, the data opportunities would still be there. However, I hope you agree with me, the swamps of Louisiana are a great setting for a bordello. It’s a romp in the swamp. What more could you ask for?

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read.  I finished Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer. My review is on Goodreads.com. I’m currently reading, and almost finished with, the second book in the series: Spell or High Water. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.