Hello again

It’s been almost a month since I posted. Dealing with being shut in more than usual. Kansas City has been on lock down for just over 24 hours now. I hope this stuff is over in time for my grandson’s wedding in July.

I’m still trying to figure out a newsletter. Did two webinars on Mailchimp, and I think I know how to start. Need to format a couple of books for Smashwords so I can send free copies to people who sign up for it.

Sent the start of book 4 of The Shifter Force to my co-author. I’m kind of at a burned-out stage right now with the weather and the shut down.

Hope everyone is staying safe and well. I’m aiming at a monthly post.

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Another update

Trying to get everything current. Had to update the ‘About Me’ page. We lost Cleopatra in October of 2018. She was 16 1/2 years old and apparently developed kidney failure. Kiyah is much happier being and ‘only child’, but is till a handful.

Updates

I think I finally have all of the books updated. Not sure if this will post to Facebook. It says it will, but we’ll see.

News: Working on book #4 of Shifter Force

Co-author A.M. Burns has the first book of a new series out. As usual, I did a beta read on this. It’s a new genre for the author, but his usual attention-holding ability had me not wanting to put it down.

The strange is normal in Cottonwood Colorado. Sometimes the unusual becomes deadly. When it does, special people have to step up and stand between their loved ones and the danger.

All Cin has is a flashlight, a screwdriver and a handyman, will that be enough?

The Stone place was just another house to redo for Cin and Chad Kilkari. Skeletons in the backyard were an unexpected complication. Magic and house flipping collide as the Kilkaris struggle to keep their budget from getting out of control while containing an evil that threatens them and the small town of Cottonwood, Colorado. Will Cin’s own magic be enough to keep them all from becoming the next skeletons in the backyard?

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For some reason it isn’t posted to FB.

I’m still here

It’s been over a year since I updated this blog. I have decided to attempt to start a newsletter and use this site.

First order of business – update.

Oops! Before I updated, I signed up with Mailchimp. Now figure out how to do this.

About me

I guess I really need to update my ‘about me’ page since I lost Cleopatra in October. She was 16 1/2 years old. I miss her quiet gentleness when she’d place her front paws on my knee and look up at me, never making a sound, wanting attention.

Rant

“If I could give this book negative stars, I would. I’ve never read such a misogynist m/m romance in my life. The characters call women who go to drag queen shows “skanks” repeatedly and tell them they’re not welcome there repeatedly. I was willing to carry on even though I was pissed, but a couple chapters on and the characters were still bringing up “the skanks” who dared to go to a drag queen show.

I’m pretty sure the people who are putting on drag shows want as many people as possible to attend. Drag shows aren’t just for gay dudes.

The woman who wrote this book (a self-professed “Christian” great grandmother according to her description on Goodreads) clearly hates women. Hard pass for me. She’s on my blacklist. I don’t support misogynists. Good luck finding your very slim target audience of people who love m/m and hate women.”

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I’ve been thinking about this review ever since I read it.

Obviously the reviewer cannot separate the author from the character. It was the characters who called the bachlorettes  who have their parties at gay bars (not just any women who attend drag shows) ‘skanks’. The gay men I know complain often about the behavior of women at these parties. The men go to a gay ‘bar’ (not a drag show) to be with other gay men. These women invade their territory and act like they belong there. They seem to think the gay men present are there for their pleasure.

As to the term ‘skanks’, that’s one of the milder names I’ve heard my friends call them.

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Tom is 23 and has been disowned by his father. Ken is 48, and after losing his partner of twenty-five years two years ago, is starting to think about finding someone to spend the rest of his life with. When they meet, each worries about the age difference. They first become friends, and over time, they find their common interests overshadow the age problem. Tom moves in with Ken and over Christmas learns what a loving family means.

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Two weeks later, Ken pulled into Tom’s parking lot after the game and killed the engine. “Did you have a good time tonight?” “I did. Thanks for introducing me to a great bunch of guys.” Ken tilted his head to one side and frowned. “What’s that look for?” Tom asked. “Got something on your mind?” Ken took a deep breath. “I was just wondering what you’d do if I kissed you good night.” His heart beat a little faster in anticipation of Tom’s answer. “Uh….” Tom ducked his head and knitted his brows together. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.” He raised his head and looked at Ken.

River City Chronicles – Review

“Everyone in the River City has a secret, and sooner or later secrets always come out.
A group of strangers meets at Ragazzi, an Italian restaurant, for a cooking lesson that will change them all. They quickly become intertwined in each other’s lives, and a bit of magic touches each of them.
Meet Dave, the consultant who lost his partner; Matteo and Diego, the couple who run the restaurant; recently-widowed Carmelina; Marcos, a web designer getting too old for hook-ups; Ben, a trans author writing the Great American Novel; teenager Marissa, kicked out for being bi; and Sam and Brad, a May-September couple who would never have gotten together without a little magic of their own.”

• * * *

I started reading River City when the author was serializing it on his blog, but decided to wait until the book was complete. I’m glad I did.

I was worried that it would be difficult to follow so many main characters and plots without getting confused. I’m happy to say it was easy to follow. The way the lives of the characters and the various plots are woven together is the way life is. Admittedly, some of the plot twists were predictable, but not to the point of causing me to lose interest.

One thing I liked was the ‘cast of characters’ in the beginning. That used to be common practice, but is rare today. When I read the names, the fact that some were listed as ‘deceased’ made me wonder, but it became clear as I read the book.

One of the best scenes, in my opinion, was Carmelina’s disastrous dinner party. It was a ROFL moment.

This book is heartwarming, sad, funny, and happy. An author’s job is to hold the attention of the reader and make them feel. Mr. Coatsworth has done a good job.

 

The Splinter and the Tilt O Whirl

Now I know you’re going to ask what a splinter has to do with a Tilt O Whirl. As I near the three-quarter of a century mark, things from my younger days often pop into my head from something that happens or something someone says. The pain from the shot I got last week made me think of an incident from the summer I was either twelve or thirteen.

It was either the first or second year I was in the saddle club, and a group rented a school bus and went up to Sidney, Iowa to the annual rodeo. There was a carnival on the rodeo grounds also. Now my favorite carnival rides have always been the Tilt O Whirl and the Scrambler, and I wanted to ride the Tilt O Whirl. My mother wouldn’t let me ride alone, and no one would ride with me. Like a typical twelve or thirteen-year-old, I was pouting.

A group of us went over to the corral where they kept the bucking horses. I immediately climbed on the wood fence and ran a HUGE splinter under the fingernail of my left index finger. By huge, that thing was almost 1/4” long and close to 1/8” wide. AND IT HURT!

Of course, no one had a needle to try to get it out. So Dave Hull – who was in his mid-twenties and on whom I had a gigantic crush – pulled out his pocket knife, ran the blade through the fire of his cigarette lighter and prepared to remove the splinter.

His fiancé, Jean Ann, handed me a coin purse and told me to bite down on it. It was one of those plastic coin purses that was clear on one side and black on the other. I bit.

Dave cautioned me to hold my hand still. I mean, his pocket knife wasn’t sharp enough to cut my finger off, but it could have caused some damage if it slipped.

When the splinter was finally gone, I took the coin purse out of my mouth. I had bitten down on it all right – I hadn’t quite bitten a piece off, but there were holes through both layers of plastic.

But, I DIDN’T CRY!

When it was all over, Dave took me for a ride on the Tilt O Whirl since I had been so brave and not cried.

• * * *

I only remember one other thing about that trip. Johnny Treadway was sitting in the middle of the back seat of the bus and had those long legs of his stretched up the isle of the bus.