Writing Words And Killing Weeds

After my regular morning routine of feeding Alli and Declan the porch cat, posting the blog to Facebook, and answering emails, I spent some time making corrections to several chapters of my new Tinder Street book that Roberta had finished proofreading. It always amazes me that no matter how many sets of eyes look at a manuscript, there’s always something that gets missed.

In this case, it’s even more amazing because, while I said “sets of eyes,” Roberta has been blind since she was a little girl. She uses a text-to-speech program to listen and do her proofreading. In addition to a few little typos, she found one glaring mistake that the rest of us had all missed. In a recent chapter, I called a character by someone else’s name several times, and none of us caught it until Roberta did.

After I finished making her corrections, I wrote another 2,600-word chapter in the new book. When I finished that, Terry was outside working in a part of the yard where she wants to plant some fall flowers. I went out and used a sprayer to kill some obnoxious weeds that we have not been able to get rid of yet, and when I was done with that, I helped Terry with her project.

By then, the mosquitoes were feasting on us, and we decided to call it a day. Back inside, Terry made a delicious dinner of pork cutlets, smashed red potatoes with parmesan, and sauteed veggies fresh from her garden for her. When she’s been busy doing other things all day. I tell her I’m fine with something quick like a grilled sandwich, or even a cold sandwich. But Terry loves to cook, and who am I to stand in her way?

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for a copy of A Game of Chess, the 23^rd title in Karen Harbert’s Murder at the Dog Show series. I featured Karen in last week’s Author Spotlight. A finalist in the 2025  Dog Writers Association of America competition in two categories, Karen considers it one of her best books.

When the much-loved relative of a friend is killed in a so-called hunting accident, his family members are suspicious. Especially since the guy who pulled the trigger is now trying to pressure the widow into selling their valuable property to him. Young forensic examiner Sabrina gets involved and has to convince a rural county attorney to reopen the investigation, over the objections of a small-town sheriff.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). If you enter the drawing under this page, it will automatically be deleted by the program. You have to enter under the drawing page. Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

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Did you know that you can find all of my books and sign up for my free author’s newsletter on my website at www.nickrussellbooks.com?

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. I don’t blame the meter reader. If I saw that, I would be looking for a new job.

Thought For The Day – Aim for a life full of “we saw so many cool places and had so many adventures together” instead of “we have so many cool things.”