DOG SITTING, THE LAKE, FUN AND FAMILY

Good morning all. Once again we are at Lake Cumberland for the weekend. My daughter’s little dog is blind and is terrified of the boat, so since I don’t swim, we said we would stay with Zoe. Plus we love the peace and quiet here.
I was supposed to do this blog yesterday, but by the time I finished all I had to do, plus throw my rags in a bag, then sit still as a stone on the I75 due to rush hour traffic, we did not get here till late and I just deflated like a blow up doll.
I love it when I am with family. We have such a good time when we are together. After all, family is what it’s about, and with the world going to Hell in a hand basket, we need to stick together.
Okay, so much for preaching. I hope y’all have been able to get some work done this week. I am going to try and work on THE STONE KILLER some, but it is a two hour trip to any large super market.  That’s fun.  But then, it is Saturday and all country people go to town on Saturday.  So, that is my day.  So much for relaxing amid the peace and quiet. I just realized. Today is the first of the month, so it is bill paying day. Lordy, I love when your plan works out. Ha.
Y’all take it easy if you can. I hope you have a Blessed day and we’ll talk later.

1/2/DREAMAH

 

COMING SOON AUDIOBOOK: FOR LOVE OF HANNAH, GRAY, CLOUDY DAY, ALREADY THE LEAVES ARE TURNING, WINTER IS COMING, MY FLORIDA FAMILY STILL SICK WITH COVID

I have spent all yesterday afternoon and this afternoon preparing information and uploading a script for the audiobook. As soon as it becomes available, I will post it on my website, dreamahhlockwoodauthor.com, Facebook and my blog. So keep watching for it.

We’re supposed to have rain this evening. The radar shows a large storm moving toward our area from the south. Since we haven’t had rain for awhile, it will be welcomed even if it causes a gray cloudy day. As hot as its been, the cloud cover was a relief.

Outside my bedroom window I can see the back yard maple tree. There are gold and orange clusters of leaves already. Starting this Thursday the night time temps are going to be in the low fifties and high forties. The day time in the sixties. Winter is rushing this way. Too soon it will be time for boots, warm clothes and heavy coats. I’ve the winter is supposed to be longer and colder this year. I’m so happy I have warm Sherpa lined sweatpants and tops to wear. And yes, I have several pair of boots. I pray all the homeless find shelter in the coming cold weather. Hot chocolate or hot spice wine before a fire is wonderful too.

My family in Florida is still ill with the Covid. I haven’t heard how they are doing today. Please keep praying for their full recovery. They need all the prayers they can get during this time. While you’re at it, say a prayer for me. I’ve been diagnosis with a Thoracic aortic aneurysm. The VA is going to schedule an appointment with a Vascular Surgeon locally. They say I am not in danger of it rupturing so far, but now I’ve managed to develop two ulcerated plaques or whatever the heck that is. I’ve looked at numerous picture and still am not sure where my is. Even if I didn’t have these health issue, I need all the prayers you can send my way. Thank you in advance for praying for me and my family.

I hope the week ahead is great for each and every one of you. Please stay safe, and always remember: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

WHEN YOU THINK SOMETHING IS DONE, IT ISN’T, SEPTEMBER IS WINDING DOWN, NEXT BOOK IN THE WORKS.

In June I said I was done with FOR LOVE OF HANNAH. I fibbed. You know how something will bug you until you discover what is wrong? Well, that was Hannah. So I went over Hannah three more times, added things, deleted others. The last read through told me I had done the best editing job I could and to leave it alone. The Kindle edition and paperback have been upload. Unless someone tells me how to improve this book, I won’t touch it again. I do have to arrange for an audio book to be done. Hopefully it won’t take long.

My next novel in the Jonas Black series has been on the shelf for two years. Time to dust off the pages and finish the story. The characters have been waiting patiently for me to work on their pages. Time to get it done. In between working on THE SNATCHER I’ll do a bit of editing on my other novels to fine tune them. With the programs I have now, I’ve learned a lot about editing and writing. So I’ll keep you posted as to how everything is going. One reason I want to get back to this story, I need to work on a mystery. Have you ever had one of those weeks or days when you’d like to commit murder, but it’s too damn messy. Not to mention I don’t look good in stripes or orange jumpsuits. That’s one reason I write murder mysteries. I don’t have to clean up or dispose of a body. And I won’t go to jail. My week so far has been such a time. So I’ll work on my murder mystery and feel better. I hope you all have the same type of outlet.

My niece’s garden this has produced an abundance of tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes. We can’t eat them fast enough. She ended up with six cherry tomato plants by mistake. They are delicious, but too many to eat. Sorry to say a lot will rot on the vine.

I want to wish you all a great upcoming weekend. Have fun, get vaccinated, stay safe, and wear a mask. REMEMGER: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER

Dreamah

MAY SAYS GOODBYE, JUNE IS HERE, COMPANY IS HERE, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH IS DONE, FINISHED, NOT TO BE TOUCHED AGAIN, ON TO THE NEXT STORY

I can’t believe May will say goodbye in three more days and June will burst into view.  Even with Covid, time has flown like a bird escaping a predator.  My nephew, his wife, and a friend arrived for an extended visit.  It has been great to see them.  Unfortunately, one of my small dogs, the oldest and mostly toothless Chihuahua, Titan, doesn’t like my nephew’s friend.  The man is a jewel and has tried everything to make friends with the pup.  So I keep him separated as he is determined to bite the poor man’s shoes.  Silly dog.  These three people have worked continually since they’ve been here.  My sister’s yard looks fantastic, everything cut, trimmed, raked, and the heap of wood from a fallen tree burned.  They are appreciated for all their efforts and greatly loved. 

I am declaring FOR LOVE OF HANNAH finished, not to be touched again.  That’s been said before, but this time I mean it.  Everything possible has been done to make the manuscript error-free and the story flow.  A rewrite of the entire book to add more suspense, and edited the thing so many times I’ve lost count.  On this last read through, the storyline was consistent and read well.  I was happy with the way the book sounded.  So all I can say is IT IS DONE.

I am on to the next story.  I have three to choose from, THE SNATCHER, TO CATCH A DREAM, or ON GABRIEL’S WATCH.  THE SNATCHER is a continuation of the Jonas Black series.  The first two novels have been uploaded to Amazon, THE STONE KILLER, and THE HANGMAN.  Over time, I plan to re-edit all of my books displayed on Amazon and republished them.  TO CATCH A DREAM is a romance with a touch of fantasy mixed in.  ON GABRIEL’S WATCH is another suspenseful ghost story.  Which to choose, which to choose?  It will be one of the three. 

The hot weather here in Ohio has made way for cooler temps.  Even when the temperature was in the high eighties, a breeze kept the back porch cool.  My niece had readied her garden for planting and chosen her pepper, tomatoes, and green beans.  Hopefully, she’ll have a bountiful crop this year even though green beans are not my favorite thing to string.

I wish everyone a great weekend.  Have fun and stay safe.  Remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, THANK YOU, GOD, THIS PAST YEAR, BUSY DOING REWRITE, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH, LOTS AND LOTS OF EDITING

I can’t believe May 15, is here.  I had to stop and think where last year and the first four months of this have gone.  I know I’ve been busy rework my novel, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH, and editing the new version.  I am thankful for the editing programs I’ve purchased.  I’ve also discovered a program that reads my novel to me, Natural Reader.  I wish I had known of and bought these years ago.  Writers who have never heard of these writing tools, check out ProWritinAid and Natural reader.  You’ll be far ahead in your craft.

It is surprising no matter how many times you review your manuscript for errors, how your eyes and brain will skip a mistake.  I’ll bet I’ve gone over FOR LOVE OF HANNAH  a dozen times since I finished the rewrite and still when I used Natural Reader I found multiple goofs.  I’m on the second reading and hope and pray this is the final edit. 

When I finished Hannah in 2019, I wasn’t happy with the storyline even though it had a beginning, middle, end, and everything was consistent.  Somehow it lacked the emotional impact I wanted to achieve.  I published the book anyway.  A mistake.  I wasn’t happy with the final result.  I unpublished it and spent 2020 rewriting the first half of the story.  I feel it is a much better book for the effort. 

Outside of working on my novels, staying home, and going out only if necessary, I watched a TV series I’d never seen, Game of Thrones, which I loved, and a lot of movies.  A few were a big disappointment.  I’m not a big fan of remakes.  Few are as good as the original version.  I could name several, but won’t as I do not wish to offend anyone.  There are so many marvellous stories written I do not understand why they are not chosen for new movies.  Anyway, enough hashing over something out of my control.

Canadian Geese

Our winter wasn’t too bad even if we did had three days of continual snow that reached the top step of the porch.  It took a long time to melt.  My pups were not happy, as it would have been over their backs.  I am glad to say once the weather changed, the Canadian geese, Ozzie and Harriet, returned to the pond this year.  The ducks came back as well.  Since the middle of May has arrived and all the trees are green, spring is a welcome change from the cold.  A fresh new year for all of us with better days ahead. 

Everyone stay safe and well.  We’re not totally out of the wood yet, folks.  Always remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

PLEASE, EVERYONE STAY IN AND STAY SAFE

During this pandemic of the coronavirus, I pray eveyone will stay in and go out only if it is absolutely necessary. Please stay safe. Write, read or watch movies. Those are the things I’m doing. Always remember: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

WORKING ON THE SNATCHER, WRITING ABOUT CURRENT WORLD SITUATION, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, PEDOPHILES, ABDUCTIONS, AND LOST LOVED ONES AND SUCH, STAYING HOME, LOTS OF RAINY DREARY OHIO DAYS, TAKING BREAKS BY WATCHING OLDIE BUT GOOD MOVIES.

I now have completed almost ten thousand words to THE SNATCHER. The story is moving along slow but sure.  I have a rough outline that I am working from, which is good.  There is a lot to go into this book.  The characters have changed direction on me somewhat.  I wasn’t expecting that to happen, so I was surprised.  It will be interesting to see where it all leads.

For those of you who have read my novels, you know I write about things I have read in the newspaper or saw on the TV news.  I take the event and create a book.  CREATING KATHRYN CROWN, about a woman who wakes in a city two thousand miles from home with someone else’s face, was created because I wanted to escape my unhappy marriage.  Then I read in the newspaper about two women who were friends and resembled each other.  They were in an auto accident. One lived, and the other died.  Due to severe facial injuries and bandages, the survivor was given the identity of the person who died.  It wasn’t until she regained consciousness that her true identity was established.

A CIRCLE OF MURDERS was created from the abduction of a young child in Tampa, Florida.  The child was never found.  I wanted to bring her home even if it was a fictional story. 

THE STONE KILLER happened because I read about a woman being stoned to death in India or one of the Muslim countries because she had an affair.  So did the husband, but nothing happened to him.  He went on to marry his mistress. 

FOR LOVE OF HANNAH was created because of all the families who have lost their loved ones to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I wanted to let them know they are being watched over by those who have passed.  They continue to live in our hearts, memories, and can never altogether leave us. Ghost do exist.  I have seen them.  My house in Florida was haunted by an elderly woman.

Other than writing, I haven’t been doing much else besides taking care of the fur babies and helping my sister.  All these dark rainy days do drive me nuttier than I am.  I need to see the sun.  Ohio doesn’t appear to have a lot of sunshine.  Rain and gray days, yes.  Sunshine, no.  I do take a break in the evening a watch a movie.  I love movies, especially a lot of the old ones.  I have one recorded I’m going to watch this evening, VON RYAN’S EXPRESS. It’s an old Frank Sinatra movie and a good one.  Look it up and watch it some time.

Well, time for me to feed the pups.  Everyone have a great week and stay safe.  Remember:  NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER, especially now.

Dreamah

FOR LOVE OF HANNAH, DONE AND PUBLISHED, ON TO THE NEXT: TO CATCH A DREAM, CREATING A SYNOPSIS CHAPTER BY CHAPTER, THE SNATCHER, FOUND TWO NEW GHOST NOVELS PARTIALLY WRITTEN, THE GROUNDHOG IS OUT, THE DUCKS AND GEESE HAVE RETURNED

Well, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH is done and published in Kindle format and paperback on Amazon.com.  I worked hard to make that story as perfect and well written as possible.  If you purchase a copy, please write a review.  Thanks to Janice Franklin, my friend in Florida, who read the manuscript for me and loved the story.  I hope the rest of you feel the same.

My novel, TO CATCH A DREAM, has 66,000 words written.  I am in the process of writing a chapter by chapter synopsis of the book, 1. To refresh my memory of what I have written and 2. To have a long summary so I can condense it later into a one or two-page version.

The third book in the Jonas Black series, THE SNATCHER, will take longer for me to write as I have a shorter amount completed.  I have the outline to follow, which should help, but I want to finish TO CATCH A DREAM first.  All I have to do is follow the outline I have for it.

The other day while checking my list of novels, I came across two other ghost stories.  The first one, ON GABRIEL’S WATCH, is loosely based on an actual murder that happened in Florida back in the 1980s.  The other, STEALING TIME, just popped into my head several years ago about a woman who owns a used bookstore.  Both stories have almost 30,000 words written.  Once THE SNATCHER is done and published, they will be my main focus, as well as the next book in the Jonas Black series, TEARS OF THE INNOCENT.

Spring can’t be too far away.  When I took my pups out this morning, JoJo went crazy.  The groundhog had gone into the fenced garden, the gate is open, and when Jo started barking, the frightened animal went nuts trying to find his way out.  The poor thing was so scared he kept running into the wire fencing until he finally succeeded in escaping.  He made a beeline for his burrow under the shed.  He hasn’t ventured too far out since.  Also, this morning, the ducks were having a good time playing in the pond, and I heard the honking of the Canadian Geese from somewhere on the water.  Spring is on the way, thank you, God.

Well, the weekend is here.  Everyone have a great one and stay safe.  Remember: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

CHRISTMAS, THE NEW YEAR, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH THE REWRITE, TO SUBMIT OR NOT TO SUBMIT TO AN AGENT, TIME TO FINISH TO CATCH A DREAM, AND THE SNATCHER, NEW TITLE RIPPLES

Every December, my niece, my sister, and I help where I can, collect money, and buy gifts for the children and parents at the Domestic Violence Center.  Christmas time seems to be the worse time of year for domestic violence.  Not that any part of the year is better than the other.  Domestic violence should never be allowed.  But back to the subject.  Most of December was spent shopping for the center, wrapping the gifts and making sure each new name added, and there are a lot of folks, are not left out.  Once wrapped, the presents are placed in a bag with each child’s name listed.  Then the day of the center’s Christmas party the bags are delivered for Santa to give to the children that night.  This year, we had to make three trips to deliver everything because there were so many.  My focus was not on anything other than helping, decorating the house, and putting up our tree.  Then making pies for Christmas dinner.  My writing took back seat to all the other activities.  So FOR LOVE OF HANNAH was not worked on at all. 

The New Year came in quietly for sister and I.  We stayed up until midnight to watch the ball drop in Times Square but didn’t get to see it because they focused on the crowd.  Oh well, maybe next year.  So the first week of January, I returned to rewriting and editing FOR LOVE OF HANNAH.  Everything has gone fairly well, but I still have those last twenty pages to finish.  Tomorrow at the latest it will be completed.

Next comes the rewrite of the synopsis and the decision of whether or not to submit to an agent.  I have self-published four novels, but I am lousy at marketing.  I need a partner who is great at marketing.  Each book has received five-star reviews, CREATING KATHRYN CROWN, A CIRCLE OF MURDERS, THE STONE KILLER, and THE HANGMAN.  I am leaning toward submitting to an agent as it was an agent who told me the rest of the story wasn’t as suspenseful as the first two chapters.  Hopefully, I have rectified that problem with the rewrite.  I will submit to that agent again before returning to self-publishing.  Nothing ventured, nothing gain, I say.

My next project will be to complete TO CATCH A DREAM, then THE SNATCHER, the third book in the Jonas Black series.  A new story jumped into my head the other day and I jotted down a brief outline, RIPPLES.  That book will be cooking in my brain for a time before being put to paper.  Wish me luck, everyone.

Have a great weekend and stay safe.  Remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

THANKSGIVING, OVEREATING. THE DAY AFTER, RAIN, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH, TO CATCH A DREAM, THE SNATCHER, AND THE OTHER BOOKS

Our Thanksgiving Day was a reflection of what a lot of people experienced across the country, delicious food and drink.  Too much for anyone to consume at one sitting, but try we all did, overeating until I was uncomfortable and tired from helping sister prepare the meal.  Then after dinner, you all know how it is, comes the cleanup.  By that time you’re not in the mood to do much of anything let alone fill a dishwasher or scrub a pot, platter or carving board.  But it has to be done.  No one wants to face the next day with a sink full of dirty dishes, pots or pans.  So, as a good sister, I cleaned up the kitchen.  I have to say, it was nice having family around me this year.  By not living close to sisters, many holidays, I spent alone or with a couple of friends.  The day after we lazed around recouping from too much food, and pumpkin pie.  I do love pumpkin pie. 

Last night, of course my pups had to go out around 3:00 a.m.  The rain was blowing across the back porch and drenching everything.  JoJo and Titan hurried off the deck and peed then rushed back inside so I could dry the poor babies off, me included.  Then we went back to bed, the pups went to sleep, while I fought with Stanley my big Ragdoll cat.  Lately, every morning around 3:30 or 4:00 he decides he wants a drink of water from the bathroom faucet.  To wake me up, he bangs the shower doors against each other.  The sound is loud enough to wake me, but not break the glass in the doors.  I have a spray bottle and use it on him.  After a couple of times getting hit with a shot of water, he’ll settle down in his bed, and I go back to sleep.  It isn’t that the fur babies don’t have water available; two bowls of fresh are in the bathroom day and night.  Stanley happens to like running water from the spigot, and during the daylight hours that’s where he gets a drink.  Yes, all my animals are spoiled, and it’s my fault and my sister’s.   

This past year has been a lesson for me in writing my novel.  When you rush to complete a book, sometimes you have to do a LOT of rewriting.  Such was the case with FOR LOVE OF HANNAH.  I wrote like a manic for several months to finish the story.  First, after I sent the book to literary agents, and post-editing the manuscript numerous times line by line myself and with the aid of three editing program, I discovered numerous mistakes.  So I did another round of edits.  One agent was kind enough to tell me what kept her from representing my book.  The suspense was not consistent throughout the story.  I pulled the submissions from any agency I hadn’t heard from and did a review of the events in the novel.  All the necessary suspense was there, but all grouped together and not spread throughout the storyline.  I did a lot of rearranging and adding to the plot.  The book has gone from a little over 82,000 words to almost 88,000.  And, I’m not done yet.  As sister says, the book will be completed when the story is as well written as I can make it.  Keep an eye out FOR LOVE OF HANNAH, TO CATCH A DREAM and THE SNATCHER in 2020.  Check out my published novels on amazon.com. 

Well, back to work.  Everyone have a great week and stay safe.  Remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

DAMN, HANNAH IS NOT DONE YET, ADVICE FROM LITERARY AGENT, REWRITE IN PROGRESS, THE GARDEN IS FINISHED, CHILLY DAYS AHEAD

I received feedback from a literary agent I submitted FOR LOVE OF HANNAH to hoping to obtain representation.  I kept reading her rejection over and and over.  Then I reviewed HANNAH again.  She was right.  The order in which I had the events in my novel made the storyline drag.  There has always been something about the book I felt was out of whack.  She pointed out the flaws within a few words, “The rest of the book doesn’t grip me like the first two chapters.  So, FOR LOVE OF HANNAH  is undergoing a rewrite.  I am rearranging all the different things which happen to my character to keep the reader guessing.  Anyway, I hope so.  I know I am much happier with how the story is flowing and I believe my readers will like the changes.  So, if you get a rejection letter from an agent and they state why they are turning down the book, pay attention to what they have to say.  Take their advice to heart and do a rewrite. I have been working like mad on the rewrite is why I haven’t posted a blog lately.  Bear with me folks; I’m a workaholic, and my novels are my main priority.

Well, there has been frost the last two mornings.  Today out near the pond, the ground looked as if it was covered with snow, it was so white with frost.  Sister and I both are dreading when winter arrives full blast with zero temperatures and the fluffy white stuff.  Or the heavy wet type which downs power line and breaks tree limbs.  And no, I won’t move to Florida.  Been there, done that, and will not go back.  Too much humidity, bugs, and heat.

I was surprised when my niece came over yesterday and picked all the remaining tomatoes on the vines.  They’re green but will ripen if placed in a window.  Or we can chop them all and make a green tomato relish.  Personally, I love fried green tomatoes. 

I checked the weather forcast for the week ahead.  Some days the high will be in the low fifties and chilly at night.  Time to put the down comforter back on the bed. 

Well a new week lies before us.  Everyone have a great time and stay safe.  Remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah