The Truth About Osama

Osama Bin Laden was living with three wives in one compound and never left the house for 5 years.

It is now believed he called the Navy Seals himself.

A Visit From Sandy

By all accounts, weather on the east coast appears to be a doozy. An epic storm; hurricane winds, cold front, and the high tides from a full moon. In the Midwest, the most we’ll see of the system is the clouds blocking the sunrise.

We've had ice storms and tornadoes. One tore through our front yard uprooting a cherry tree and turning a hog shed into a less appealing image of Dorothy’s house. That sow was never the same, btw. 

An ice storm in ’07 left us without power for five days, an experience that started out as board games played in the candlelight to filling water jugs at the local Coop.

I've never experienced a hurricane or nor'easter  So I call on my followers to fill me in with as detailed a description as they care to give; rain, wind, power outages.

Comment below when you can and I’ll keep this post up to date. Or, if you are blogging this experience, leave the link to your post.

Thanks and take care all.

Let Me ‘Splain

“No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” – Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

I had an anniversary (39^th) and finally saw The Avengers (excellent) and Dark Shadows (eh). 

Harvest is done as of today. Here in the NW part of Missouri the drought was bad but nothing, nothing like the central and eastern part of the state. Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee were even worse. Yields were down by about a third to half what the usual crop is supposed to be. Expect to pay more for everything at the store.

All But.

We started on the renovations that were supposed to be finished by September so that harvest wouldn't interfere. *snarl*

But the new kitchen/family room is done.

My old kitchen became a laundry room/mud room. The bathroom remodeling went well. 

The 'but' is the new bedroom that was once upon a time a laundry room.

We had to 'drop' or knock the ceiling down. That meant more 100 year old dust and 'stuff'. Lots more work.

But we figured better fix it now than have it fall in the middle of the night.

In the coming weeks, I'll review various products and services. I bought several products online such as Select Blinds and Mitsubishi Ductless unit and did a ton of research into everything from how to lay tile to the best kind of countertop.

Writing? 

Our critique group, Unicorn Bell, is composing an anthology set in a world of intrigue and mystery. I completed my part, a short story dealing with assassins and the black arts. It is now in the editing and review stage.

Revisions and Queries? Sad news there since a full manuscript was rejected. Clearly, a ER of that magnitude is more painful than an ER of a query or partial.

But onto the Good News. Two friends begin their blog tours soon, Charity and Sharon Bayliss. Tara Tyler struck it big by signing with Curiosity Quills. Or maybe it’s the other way around :)

A Big Congrats to all.

And if you are contemplating a blog tour for that soon-to-be-published book, check out http://blogtourexchange.blogspot.com/

To sum up, I'm not gone, not by a long shot. Life has a way of making its demands known. Now that the house crap is nearly done, I heartily echo my hubby's words today:

God forbid we ever add onto the house again.

Orneriness Abounds and Official Release Date

Mix flour, sugar, eggs, shortening, leavening, and chocolate chips and you get cookies.

Whole-wheat flour, yeast, salt, butter makes into some dang fine bread.

Get tagged by the First Look Challenge and receive an official date for a book release and you get:

Charity Bradford  

Talia has a secret, one that will save her world and yet rip it apart. Only she can decide if the price is worth it.

Scientist Talia Zaryn has always had visions of an alien invasion and of her own death. She’s kept it a secret, hoping they are nothing more than childish nightmares. But when her face in the mirror matches that of her dreams, she fears the dreams are prophetic. Talia must prove that life exists beyond their planet, Sendek; perhaps then people will prepare to fight.

Talia's work at the Space Exploration Foundation leaves no time for personal relationships, but Major Landry Sutton isn’t looking for a friend. He is looking for a traitor. His ability to sense emotions convinces him Talia is that traitor until a touch sizzles between them. In an instant their minds are connected and they can communicate telepathically. Just as the two begin to trust each other, the invading force arrives.

Talia and Landry must uncover the secrets of Sendek’s past if they hope to defeat these terrifying creatures. And Talia is the key—if only she can learn to trust the magic coursing through her veins.

The Magic Wakes is due out on February 19, 2013 from WiDo Publishing
Goodreads
Facebook
Website
Twitter-@charitybradford

Tagged! First Look Challenge

This is how it works; I searched my WIP for the word “look” and posted the scene that surrounds the first occurrence of “look”.

Since ‘look’ appears on the first page of Diamond Black, my wip, and I've posted the first page several times, I went for another pop-up of the word.

Even as I had moved, the figures of Marv and Rachael had turned hazy. By my reckoning, they had some catching up to do and why stick around with mortals if better company was available.

“So, is it there?” I said, gesturing to Thorne's cellphone. I didn't need his nod to tell me that it would be. Specters can be a pain but they give in with the right carrot.

“Yep.” Thorne shoved his cell into his back pocket and glanced up at the sky. “Hey. Looks like it could rain anytime.” He left me standing alone by the bench and started down the sidewalk to his car in the parking lot. People joined him running to their cars from the flashy red and yellow hamburger dive. Fat drops splattered the pavement just as Thorne opened the door of his dusty SUV. At least a good downpour would wash it off.

“Hey,” he said. “See you later then?”

“Yep. Good job today.”

“You got that right.”

A couple did a double take as they ran to their car beyond Thorne. They looked at him then at the bench where I was standing.

“Who the hell was he talking to?” the older man said.

Just then, the skies opened up and all the rain ever created fell. But none of it touched me.

“Beats me,” his companion said. “There’s no one there.”