A series of severe thunderstorms came through Central Florida Saturday night, with tornado warnings in several counties, including ours. As usual, the brunt of it went north or south of us, leaving us with periods of heavy rain off and on, but that was about it. But it was still a tense night around here. […]
Even though I am enrolled in the VA healthcare system, now that we both qualify for Medicare I get most of my treatment through civilian doctors. It’s quicker and easier, and frees up the VA system for veterans who need it more than I do. Yesterday Terry and I had our regular routine checkups with […]
When Jake from Lindley’s Garden Center planted our new citrus trees on Saturday he said they needed to be watered every day for four weeks, and to continue watering our perennial peanut plants with the soaker hoses once every three days or so for a while yet. I always try to listen to the experts, […]
I think most of America has spent the last two days on pins and needles, wondering what was going to happen on Election Day and then how the final count would come out. As of midnight last night, it was still up in the air, although Joe Biden had a commanding lead. But as they […]
When my friend Linda Sand sent me this yesterday, I had to laugh. You have to wonder how something like this slips past the proofreaders. Don’t ask me, but it happens all the time in the publishing business, whether you’re putting up newspapers, books, or magazines. I’ve had my share of gaffes, that’s for sure. […]
Yesterday was another good writing day for me. I cranked out 6,300 words and finished my newest Big Lake book. It came in at 83,265 words and took me three weeks and three days from start to finish. And I wasn’t writing every day. I will spend today and maybe tomorrow reading through it and […]
Thanks to a lot of hard work by Miss Terry and my proofreaders, “Cool” Judy Rinehimer and Roberta Jensen, my newest John Lee Quarrels mystery, The Road To Wrinkle Ranch, is now available on Amazon. At present, there is the e-book you can purchase, or you can read it for free if you are a […]
I’ll tell you what, self-isolating may not be very exciting for some people but it sure has helped me get a lot of work done. Yesterday I beat my own personal record. I started working at noon and by the time I knocked off at 6:15 I had written (actually dictated) 12,050 words, and I […]
As a former newspaperman and an independent book author and self-publisher, I hate typos. But I’ve also been at this game long enough to know that they are a part of life, and no matter how carefully you watch for them, they slip in. I have at least three or four proofreaders for every book […]
Well, I said I was going to do it and I did. I sat down at my computer yesterday and started working my way toward the end of my new book, Dead Romeos, and except for a few breaks to get up and move around a little bit, and go to the bathroom, I kept […]
Thank you to everybody who was patient with the problems I was having with yesterday’s blog. After getting some sleep, yesterday morning I tried to correct some places in the blog where the text was running together to form one long word that some people were getting, but not everybody. I’m not sure what caused […]
Before I do anything else, I want to wish my buddy Greg White happy birthday. Years ago Miss Terry read something that said more Americans were born on October 5th than any other day. I think that’s because they all just wanted to copycat Greg because he gets to hang out with me. But that […]
Miss Terry and my other proofreaders all went the extra mile, like they always do, and finished with my latest book, Strawberry Slugbug, Monday evening. So yesterday I went through the manuscript making their corrections and getting it formatted to publish. It’s always a crap shoot as to how long Amazon’s Kindle publishing program takes […]
Wow, I was really surprised by how much feedback I got from yesterday’s blog when I asked about readers’ experiences using Airbnb instead of staying in motels or hotels. Between blog comments, emails, and Facebook messages, over 30 of you responded, and everybody seemed to be very pleased with the places they have stayed using […]
Last night Terry finished the editing and first proofing of my new Big Lake book and I made the corrections. Then I sent it off to my other two proofreaders. It should be live sometime early next week. The book came in at just a little under 77,000 words. In looking at my notes, I […]
As much as I’m sure she would’ve preferred to be weaving, Terry spent a lot of time this last week getting my new book, Black Friday, proofed. Yesterday I finished the last of the corrections and revisions she suggested, then sent it off to my cousin Beverly down in Tucson so she could give it […]