Ho-Ho-Ho!

     It's been a busy week. I've been working on The Falls: County Fair, the 18th in The Falls small town mystery series, every day in the morning and in the afternoons I've been editing The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, 7th in the series, getting it ready for publishing as a paperback in CreateSpace. What I do when I edit and change over is I have up two document on the screen. The Word doc of The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, which I edit and clean up, and the template that I will use to transfer the book to CreateSpace. I edit a few chapters in Word, then copy them onto the template, careful to avoid any formatting errors (I use the special paste when I place in the template, not the normal paste in order to ensure that). Then I change the font to Callibri and clean it up. I usually do nine to twelve chapters from the Word doc each day placing three or four of them into each chapter in the template with *** separating them. Anymore at one time and I lose focus.

     I went to my ENT doctor for my fourth post-op visit this last Thursday. He cleaned out my sinuses again and this time he extracted a piece of bone fragment. It still hurts some. Made an appointment to see my dentist to get my front tooth either ground down and capped or extracted with an implant. Good grief! Falling apart, huh?

     Then there's Christmas decoration duties. Put up the nine foot tree, and the outside wreaths (on every downstair window and door), and wrapped the back palm tree in garland as well as placing the other decorations we have accumulated over the years. Now we're on to the inside. Garland on the stair bannisters, the two cresh sets (nativity scenes) go up today as well as a small decorated tree in every room in the house. Colts and Seahawks stockings are up as well...chuckles. Hope they bring good luck for our teams. We are NFL fanatics.

     Got to get to work on the cover for The Falls: Cupid's Arrow (changing over from the Kindle cover to a CreateSpace one) and making a myecovermaker.com cover for the newest Falls book, County Fair. It has been chilly here in Tradition (Port St Lucie) the past few mornings for our 7 AM walks. In the forties. Chilly for Florida anyway. The Christmas Cactuses hanging in the trees aren't amused by the cold. But the other hanging plants and potted plants don't seem to mind.

     Time to get to work. May your day be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you all...

Back!

     Well, like in the scary movie, we're back. After spending the last week or so in Carlsbad, California, we're home. Thanksgiving was a good one, with our son Chris, his wife Cheryl, our granddaughter Chelsea and Carolyn's sister's family. Chris' family is always so supportive and wonderful to us. We used to have Thanksgiving with them every year when both families were in New Mexico, but since coming to Florida, we have been spending Thanksgiving with our son Patrick (in North Port, other side of Florida). They went on a last minute cruise this year and we headed off to Carlsbad (near San Diego). It was great.

     Now we're home and we've spent the day getting things back into our pattern, like setting up computers we hide away, watering plants, picking up packages and mail. doing laundry, getting a few things at the neighborhood Publix, etc. I bought a MacBook Pro 13" laptop online in CA...($250 off for Black Friday...although technically bought on Saturday). That's the best I've ever seen off on it, got it at Best Buy. I've been watching them for about a year now. Wanted a compatible computer to go with my iMac during all the long thunderstorm season here in Florida.This way I can write during the lightning strikes. The iMac had to be plugged in daring the storms means the danger of losing everything. I can use the external hard drive and passport I have with the laptop as well. Just downloaded Word onto it and ordered a wireless mouse. (Yes, I'm addicted to mice...not a fan of the finger swoop and tap.)

     The order of three The Falls: Fourth of July author books came in and I wrote the next chapter of The Falls: County Fair this morning. Spent a couple of hours getting my MacBook Pro set up with favorites, etc. and emailed myself the latest County Fair document and downloaded it onto the MacBook Pro.

     I'm really enjoying the two new wooden storage units under the stand up desk. They are very close to the same wood grain as the credenza and storage unit on the near wall, even though in the picture they look a good deal lighter.

     If I missed any messages, birthdays or whatever over the last week, my sincere apologies. The white board on The Falls: County Fair is beginning to fill up. I'm about 70 pages (about half) into the book. I have included the white board as of this morning and the standup desk storage units as I said I would.

     I hope you all have a wonderful day! Great to go away, but I'm a home boy, I'm afraid. Chuckles. Tomorrow I return to the ENT doctor. Whoop, whoop! Cleaning out my sinuses and finding out where we go from here. May the dragons watch over you all...

Fourth of July...

     No, I'm not chronologically challenged. The title of the entry refers to the book, The Falls: Fourth of July, the 6th in The Falls small town mystery series. The first proof is edited (by me and my patient and wonderful wife Carolyn) and the corrections to the text and the cover submitted on CreateSpace. The book has been reviewed and I have ordered the second proof. If that comes back looking good, then within a week or ten days, I will submit Fourth of July to be published on CreateSpace, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, etc. 

     The cover needed some major revisions. The black type against the dark blue background of the cover didn't work. Very hard to see. So I opted for white and Carolyn seconded the opinion. I also changed the cover picture, the background from white to black (night sky) and added a firework. All in all a much better cover. Sometimes, you just need to see the cover on a paperback, compared to seeing it on screen as you are creating it on CreateSpace, to know it needs a little something. That was the way this time around for this book.

     The Falls: County Fair is coming along well. On page 55 of probably 140-150 pages in Word format. That will translate to about 325-350 pages in the CreateSpace template. That's what most of The Falls series is running at the present time. The first Falls novel, In the Dead of Winter, went over 500 pages and I had to do a few things to economize space. That's one thing to think about when working on your ebooks to convert them over to paperback. In the Kindle edition, it can be as long as you want, size doesn't come into question, but in the paperback version number of pages, distance between lines, font size, and margins (all four sides) start to make a difference.

     Finished putting together the new wooden cabinets for beneath the stand-up/sit-down desk. They are dark wood, like the two shelving units next to the desk and look pretty good! Next edition of the blog I will include a picture. Also had to get a new 'garage refrigerator' yesterday. You know how when you get a new fridge you place the old one out in the garage for food that overflows from the inside one? Well we had just barely gotten used to having the convenience of having one when it died. So we got a basic fridge at Sears yesterday and it will be delivered soon. 

     Getting close to Thanksgiving. All the folks in The Falls are gearing up for the celebration! They are inviting anyone over who'd like to come to an old-fashioned country Thanksgiving! The 13th volume of The Falls series is The Falls: Thanksgiving, case you didn't know. If you haven't read it...it's just waiting for you at the Kindle Store, $2.99!

     May the dragons watch over you...and roast your turkey just perfect! Have a great Thanksgiving!

FREE THIS WEEKEND!

     The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, Kindle Edition, the first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, will be FREE this weekend at the Kindle Store! Winter is rearing it's ugly head and it's a perfect time for In the Dead of Winter! The snow falls as the bodies pile up! Take advantage to get the story for your new Kindle, your phone or your computer via Kindle App. It's one small way I can say thank you for the readers who have bought the series over the years. Thank you all...and may the dragons watch over you. Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B008G4X28O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415971411&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+In+the+Dead+of+Winter

Post Op...

     Post Op sort of sounds like a trendy new music group, doesn't it? This is the day after my 5, or was it six, related sinus procedures plus a biopsy, I'm feeling a little groggy (now, now, be kind...I'm usually semi-lucid) with painkillers but okay. Got to get on serious antibiotics, saline spray which really felt good (after a few moments go Ahhhh!) this morning and the latest oxy-whatever for pain along with Afrin sprays, etc. 

     The surgery was done at the Blue Water Surgery Center in West Port St. Lucie. (Love the name, huh? You can tell it's Florida!) It's very modern, yet warm, homey and beautiful. Cutting edge I would say. My doctor, Dr. Slack, my ENT doctor, was wonderful, as always and I even had an anesthesiologist with a sense of humor. Nurses were very pleasant and on the top of their game. All in all everything couldn't have been better. (Except it was a procedure...or operation...or a surgery...whatever you want to call it. The dragons weren't nervous...I was a tad...shhh!)) A week with not lifting over ten pounds, no nodding forward and the interior splints come out Monday the 17th, our youngest son's birthday. (His age is easy to remember, he's 30 years younger than me, to the month. His birthday is the 17th of November and mine the 25th).

     I've had pain for about six months now. Hoping this will deal with most of it. Bone spur is gone, sinus straightened and several other parts adjusted. The biopsy said that there is no reoccurrence of cancer on the side of my nose. The doctor took that off a year or two ago. Sounds like I'm falling apart, huh? Naw...I'm a tough old Scotsman. No worries. But my wife says I'm stubborn and don't want to let anyone do anything for me. Probably true. She's the smart one.

     The edited proof of the CreateSpace paperback of The Falls: Fourth of July, the 6th in the series, is almost ready to edit on CreateSpace (the cover as well) and then it will be ready to publish. Then I'll order 3 author copies (usually about half the price). I always start off with three copies to start with and buy more as needed.

     That reminds me, I'm entering three of The Falls books in a local Book It program. (In the Dead of Winter, Making a List, Checking it Twice and Coldblooded. The first two as paperbacks, the third as a Kindle book.) You can do either or hardcover if you have one.) If accepted, I will be part of a program at the Port St. Lucie Library Book It Day in February. I'll be able to have a table and sell/advertise the books. Never done that before, but as an artist in oils I used to exhibit at art shows on the green with a tent and setup twelve to fifteen times each spring/summer/fall back in Vermont. We'll see how that goes...if I'm chosen of course.

     Well, I missed writing yesterday...working on the eighteenth of The Falls series, The Falls: County Fair so I'm off to do my daily chapter. I'll edit this afternoon, painkillers allowing. May your day be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you...

SALE!

     The Falls: Coldblooded, the latest in The Falls small town mystery series, is on sale this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 7-9 at the Kindle Store on Amazon.com for only $.99!!!! Don't miss the opportunity! Ruth Graham returns! There's a food truck invasion of the town square and robberies are popping up! Sylvia Jean finds herself in a precarious position in her chosen field of study at the University of Maine, and a foreshadowing of the next Falls novel, The Falls: County Fair. May the dragons watch over you...

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Coldblooded-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00O6FTWWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412675330&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Coldblooded

iAuthor...

     Just thought I'd pass this along. I have started an account at iAuthor.com. It advertises books and other things for free. It will take me awhile to get it arranged the way I want it, but it's begun so we'll see what happens. I am also putting my name in for a county library Book-It fair in February. More info to come on that! Advertising is not really my thing. I'm an old story-teller. But it seems that I have to do the other as well...nobody else will...chuckles. Have a great day and may the dragons watch over you...

Poll Workers...

     Well, yesterday Carolyn and I worked at our local polling place. We were there from six o'clock in the morning until a little after 8:00 PM. Long day. Carolyn worked the EVID machine, the computer that finds voters in the polling area, checks on their right to vote in case they had voted early or by mail, etc. and then  gives them the "OK"to be given a ballot. I worked as the person checking the slips given out by the EVID machine and then handing out ballots in security shields while telling the voter where to go and what to do. Our team had two EVID operators, two people handing out ballots, a person trained to run the ICE voting machine (it take the ballot after it is filled out and submits the choices into the machine, then tabulates them and gets them ready to be sent in to election  headquarters after the polls close), an assistant clerk, a sheriff's department deputy and a clerk. We work pretty well together. We set up in Tradition (Florida)Town Hall. The ages range from eighteen all the way to almost seventy. {No there are no hanging chads.)

     The job is grueling and it was made more-so because we had a particular heavy turnout for a non-presidential election. We had a steady flow all day and had several long lines as we went along. Have to admit, the voters were particularly supportive and kind to us yesterday. Most voters usually are, in fact we usually see a number of friends as they come to vote, but we normally get some disgruntled ones. Even God, Mahatma Gandhi and St. Peter would get disgruntled ones...and that's a fact.

     I have to admit, it takes me a day to get back into rhythm again after a day at the polls. My back aches, I'm beat and I feel like an eighteen-wheeler ran over me. So aside from writing in this morning and editing this afternoon, I haven't done much. We did go to BJ's.

     Finished editing The Falls: Fourth of July, and tomorrow I'll work on the cover photo again. The story in The Falls: County Fair is beginning to come together. Bought a white board, about four by two feet, and have already laid out the story board. I have vertical columns dealing with a specific storyline, such as Jeremy and Sylvia Jean in college. I add a line or two about each scene after I write it so I can keep track of where it's going, what I need to remember and the distribution of scenes to different story lines. On the back of the white board I add notes to remind myself later on in the story. Unlike some authors, I let the story twist and turn as it will, I don't have an outline from start to finish...that's not the way my creativity works best. I feel the direction of the story, and at times, surprise myself with which what it's headed. It's kind of funny. I'm very organized in most ways, but not with a story line. I have a general idea where I'm going but I listen to my gut as I go along. (It's a lot more fun that way as well!)

     I hope you all got out and voted. I'm not really very political, and refused to be as a principal, but I do find some of the twists and turns of the world of politics fascinating at times. May the dragons watch over you and char the hind ends of any new or old legislator who doesn't work for and think about the people they represent all the time...

Thanksmas or Christgiving...

     Okay, the kids are thoroughly gorged with candy and on a sugar high and the Halloween decorations and trimmings haven't been taken down yet and yet there it is! Ads for Christmas, Christmas decorations and the stores all decked out in holiday cheer! I hate the way holidays now run into each other. When I was a kid there was a reasonable time to get over and savor one holiday before moving onto another. It felt like a holiday, not a fast moving vision of some sort. Now, the greed and competition of stores, websites and the pursuit of the almighty dollar pushes everything together in a mash of holiday themes and overwhelms our senses. Can you tell I'm not a fan?

     Okay...okay...I'll back off my post-Halloween rant. Had lots of ghosties and ghoulies last night as always. We're too far from grandkids to see them on Halloween night but we enjoy all the other kids (from less than a year to over forty) who came to our door with an open bag and a "Trick or Treat!" My wife is the official greeter. I simply hang back and peek. Funny, all those years as a school principal I was always the welcoming one,with a big smile and a warm hug or handshake but at home, I'm much more private...always have been.

     I'm working on editing the first printed proof for The Falls: Fourth of July from CreateSpace. Almost three fourths of the way through and I am still amazed that I like my own stories. Chuckles. I have to remember to edit sometimes, rather than just get caught up in the story and read quickly on. Should be done in a couple of days, then turn it over to Carolyn to read as well. I need to change the cover. Add a fireworks to the picture and change the print to white from black. The cover is a very dark blue and the black doesn't show up well. This will be the first time that any of The Falls paperback books will have any color print than black. We'll see how it goes.

     I'm working on the eighteenth The Falls small town mystery series book, The Falls: County Fair. Just purchased a white board to keep track of story lines. I can do it with post-its and notes...but decided it was time for the storyboard approach. I'll keep track of each story line (I usually have at least three or four, maybe more) and I'm no spring chicken. I need help reminding self where to go next, what time it is for scenes, etc. I'm sure you all have your own methods.

     The stand up desk and I are simpatico. Haven't used a chair yet. You should try it. I feel better and I know my back does as well. Burn a few calories at the same time. Not bad and I like the two their approach...wasn't sure about that when I bought it.

     Went for my preop visit to my ENT doctor on Thursday. I had gone to my own doctor to get scheduled for an EKG, a chest X-ray and blood test...all the treats are now done. Surgery is November 10th. He's going to go into my left sinus and take out a bone spur and do some other things as well. Roto-router treatment I believe. Been hurting for a while now, it will be a relief to get it done. I will be back writing the next day...you can count on it...chuckles.

     It was actually down in the fifties for our walk this morning! Yeah! Florida's heat just gets to me at times. Tomorrow morning might be in the forties...a real treat! It will still be in the mid seventies during the middle of the day. Anyone willing to box up some cool Scottish weather, I'll trade a box of Florida warmth any day!

     On to Christmas...oops! Thanksgiving! Hmmm...maybe Thanksmas or Christgiving! May the dragon watch over you...

The Fourth of July...

     Okay, so it's October 21st. But to me it's the Fourth of July. Just submitted the re-edited and templated manuscript/cover/etc. of The Falls: Fourth of July to CreateSpace. I should be able to order a proof tomorrow sometime. That will make the sixth The Falls book in print...paperback print not digital print. Not bad...

     It's been a hectic few days. We just got back from a trip to VT (sister) and CN (son) and were preparing to leave on a Disney 4 night cruise (from Port Canaveral, FL to Nassau, Castaway Cay and back) this last Sunday. But we received news that Carolyn's mom, Felicia, who has been in a wonderful medical/wellness facility in CA had passed away Saturday night. We cancelled the trip and Carolyn and I (mostly Carolyn) have spent the last few days on the phone with our kids, her sister and arraigning things to bring her mom from CA to VT where she will be buried next to her husband, Frank, Carolyn's dad. She'll be headed there for a few days. Her mom and dad were great people...they will always be loved and will be missed by the whole family.

     I have to stay home. I have several doctors' visits in the next few days for tests and prep appointments that can't be rescheduled or missed. I will have a little procedure to straighten my sinus and remove a bone spur that's been bothering me for some time now the second week in November. That will be good so I'm actually looking forward to it. (Don't remind me I said that the day after the surgery!)

     Back to writing. I'm busy writing the eighteenth in The Falls small town mystery series. No title yet...waiting for inspiration. I seem to have more and more fun with each book. I wondered if I would get tired of writing one series but it seems that I have fallen in love with the little town in Vermont and the lovable, colorful and sometimes unpredictable inhabitants. I can honestly say that I have never had 'writers' block'. I walk up to the sit down/stand up desk and simply start writing. I write a chapter a day, edit it right afterwards and then in the afternoon, I work on transposing the digital Kindle versions into CreateSpace worthy paperbacks. Carolyn reads the chapter from the day before and gives me feedback on our daily walks. It works for me. Everyone has their own process.

     So for now, may the dragons watch over you and don't forget to get the candy for all the spooks and goblins for Halloween!

From Vermont to Connecticut and Back Again...

     Hey there! We've been gone for awhile...traveling up to Connecticut to see our wonderful son Craig and his lovely wife Debbie and then on to Vermont visiting with my sister, Ann McFarren and her husband Don. Ann is the most gifted oil painter I now. She also does great watercolors. We helped Ann and Don work Art in the Park up in Rutland ( we were the grunt help!)and got a chance to experience New England in the fall. Cool nights, foliage and breakfast at Sugar and Spice, the famous pancake house up on the mountain road. Had two great dinners with my sweet niece Sheri and her wonderful family and my wonderful cousin Judie.

     I arrived back home to find that the last The Falls small town mystery series book, The Falls: Coldblooded, that I had hurried to publish on Kindle before I left, needed a good edit. One of my writer friends, Kate Shannon, was kind enough to gently let me know. So since Wednesday, I have been busy editing and then republishing Coldblooded. It's now back on Amazon Kindle, absent a few dozen typos and glitches. Thanks Kate.

      At this point, The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice, the fifth volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now in paperback at Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace, Amazon, etc. Just received three author copies in the mail. I always send for 3 author copies after okaying the last proof, just to have them on hand. I brought my sister copies of the first four books when we visited. Seems so nice to have the actual book in my hands. I am constantly amazed at the high quality of paper that CreateSpace utilizes.

     I'll be starting the 18th volume of The Falls series this morning. The plot has already been hinted at in the last book Coldblooded. But there are always several story lines running through the books. It is based on a town after all! Everybody needs to get into the act!

     We finally sold our house on North Padre Island just off Corpus Christi in Texas. Praise be! We had originally bought it as a retirement home because we couldn't afford any houses in Florida where our youngest grandkids live. Then the market in FL crashed and suddenly we could. That's when we bought in Tradition (Port St. Lucie). We have hung onto the house in Texas so we wouldn't be selling for a loss. One thing I do know...the taxes and insurance costs in Texas were astronomical! We won't miss those even though the house itself was beautiful and on a canal that went right into the Gulf. It had a dock and a double lot. I truly hope the new owners enjoy it.

     So, now I'm off to write, at my standup desk of course, and wish you all the best of Saturdays! May the dragons watch over you all...

The Falls: Coldblooded...

JUST RELEASED! The Falls: Coldblooded, the seventeenth and latest in The Falls small town mystery series, is at the Kindle Store! Ruth Graham, rogue ex-FBI agent has returned. Fresh from murdering her former FBI supervisor, Rich Meadows, she travels north to hunt down Sergeant McNealy of the Vermont State Police and Sheriff Cash Green. At the same time, the food truck caravan invades The Falls and a rash of home and business robberies ensues! Alice Farmington Puddlington finds that a charming and handsome Irish writer has found his way into her heart! It's August, so return to The Falls, and follow Cash Green, Ericka Yamato, Horace Scofield, Doc Stone and Meg Monroe as they find out 'who dunit'! Grab a frosty lemonade and put your feet up! Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Coldblooded-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00O6FTWWM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412513870&sr=8-2&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Coldblooded