GRAY DAY, BUT 65 DEGREES TODAY, THE HANGMAN, ALL FOR THE LOVE OF HANNAH, DEATH OF A NEIGHBOR

So far today it is cloudy and looks kind of gray, almost as if it might, and that’s a big might, rain. No rain is forecasted. Instead we are supposed to reach 65° today and in the 60s again tomorrow. This has been one crazy winter weather wise. We have not had more than a total of 3 inches of snow spread over two months. We are so dry here in Colorado that you don’t really want to blink in case you start a grass fire. It’s terrible. All the cold weather is going north and east of us. We haven’t gotten any real moisture for quite a few months. I think anybody who is living here would be happy to see a nice heavy snowstorm dump about a foot on us. We really need snow or rain. So pray that we get some rain or snow soon.

The Hangman is coming along steady but slowly, as I am reviewing everything I have written to make sure the storyline is consistent. I’ve added things and deleted others, especially when they didn’t make any sense. This is such a slow process, because I’m looking for all the mistakes I’ve also made along the way. I think by the time I finish trying to make it as perfect as possible it will be a much better story. I am considering submitting The Hangman, The Stone Killer, and the two romantic suspense novels we have written, to literary agents. Anyway, A Circle of Murders for certain. So wish me luck in finding a literary agent. I will keep plugging along until I succeed.

All for the Love of Hannah is coming along nicely. As I told you before I’m using that software Dragon Naturally Speaking, which helps me keep from making typing errors. I really like this program because you can continue with your thought and not have to stop in the middle and lose half of it. This program is a godsend for a writer. You do have to remember to put in your quote marks, commas and periods. That’s no big thing to do. Once you get in the habit of doing that it comes so easy. You do have to speak distinctly. Especially since I have a tendency to slur a word now and then. Then I do have to go back and make corrections. Otherwise I am so glad I have this program.
I got some bad news last Friday. When I lived in Florida I had this wonderful neighbor and her daughter, I lived next door to them for close to 30 years. Ellie’s daughter called me to let me know she had passed away on January 22. She was a delightful woman with a great sense of humor and a very, very kind heart. After my mother died, whenever she would cook dinner, she would fix a plate of food for me, and call me to come to the gate in our fence between the houses and give me that plate of food to make sure I was eating. Her death was sudden and has left her daughter devastated. I will make a conscious effort to keep closer touch with Robin. It’s a hard thing to lose your mother, so I know how she feels.

Okay everyone, keep writing, editing, editing, and more editing. That will make your novels so much more professional. And always remember NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.
Everyone stays safe until we talk again,

Dreamah

FANTASTIC WEATHER, HEALTH ISSUES, WRITING, PAINTING, THE NEXT BOOK, THE HANGMAN

The weather was bright and sunny today.  The temperature was a lot warmer, you still needed a coat, but it was such a beautiful day.

I appreciate a gorgeous day much more lately; maybe because I had a terrible three months which started with November 1st 2016.  I had a series of health problems causes by my system’s reaction to medication.  I have a terrible time taking medicine.  My problems in November were caused by a pill, the generic form of Prilosec.  When you buy the OTC box of Prilosec, it clearly states do not take for more than 14 days.  Since that is the case, why would my doctor put me on it for 4 months?  It caused me a lot of problems which my doctor, who I couldn’t get in to see until the end of November, seemed unconcerned about.  I looked up the side effects of that drug, discovered it was behind my problem and stopped taking the medicine.  My problem went away.  Thank you God.

The end of November I got a flu shot and came down with the flu for most of December.  Still, I had a wonderful Christmas and was on the mend.  When you feel crappy and all you want to do is sleep, you can’t write because your brain will not function.  Once again I was on the mend until the 12th of January when I came down with that esophageal spasm.  I spelled it wrong in the other blog.  It inflamed my upper torso so badly I had to take pain pills and use an inhaler.  So when this past Monday, I got out of bed and NOTHING hurt, I’ve never been so thankful to God for feeling so good. Also people, sugar will inflame your joints.  I am off sugar also, and feel fantastic.  I intend to continue this state of being.

THE HANGMAN  is coming to its end and I will be happy to see it completed.  Then comes the tough part of editing, rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing and finally formatting and uploading the book to Amazon.  The good thing about doing a series, you don’t have to say goodbye to your characters.  You follow them to the next crime.  I have so many stories planned out for Jonas Black and his team.  They will be around for some time.

TO CATCH A DREAM is over half-finished and has been waiting in the wings for me to get off my butt and tell the story.  I dreamed this book from beginning to end when I was living in Florida, got up, wrote the idea down and later wrote most of it.  That book is on my agenda to be completed this year along with another romantic suspense.

I also have several painting I need to finish during my breaks from writing.  I don’t have enough hours in a day folks.

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

Dreamah

 

DUST FREE CAT LITTER, COLD BUT SUNNY, GOING TO THE STORE, THREE SCENES TO GO, THE HANGMAN

I have been on a mission to find a dust free cat litter.  I found one made by Arm and Hammer called Clump and Seal.  Great, right?  The problem is the verbiage on the box.  It come in 9 lb boxes or a 15 lb box which says “Same uses as 30 lbs”.  The statement is true, but also misleading.  The 15 lbs box can certainly be used in the same way as a 30 lb box, but will it last as long as 30 lbs could, NO.  But, it implies that it will.   I must have a dust free litter, so I’m stuck buying this one unless I can find something else.  It cost $16.63 per box at Wal-Mart.  Oh by the way, if a company claims theirs is 99.9% dust free, don’t believe it.  I bought one made from pine, that is just as dusty as my old litter.  Enough said on the subject.

It turned out to be a sunny and nice day here in Colorado Springs. Chilly, but nice.  Tonight, we getting down to 9 degrees.   I am one of these people who hates to go to the store.  I’ve been out of bread for a week.  Today I forced myself to get out of the house and buy a loaf so I can at least make toast if I want it.  I bought a few other things as well, including litter.

I calculate I have approximately three scenes to go on THE HANGMAN and it will be finished.  Anyway, that’s my belief.  The characters may have other plans.  We will see what happens.  The do have a way of taking control at times of a story.  It is great when that happens.

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

Dreamah

CONFUSED, STILL CHILLY, SNOW?, WRONG WORD USAGE, THE HANGMAN

Well, talk about being mentally out of it, I had to call my sister in Ohio to find out what day it is, Friday or Saturday.  Boy was I surprised to find out I somehow missed Friday even though I watched Trump being sworn in.  Brain is not working.  I was supposed to do this post yesterday.  Oh well, I’m a day late.

It is 40 degrees outside with a humidity of 52% which makes it feel damp and chilly.  The weatherman says possible snow?  I hope not.  We’re supposed to have snow on Tuesday as well.  This year, winter seems a little harder, but if you check the statistics, I’m sure it hasn’t been.  I think my problem is caused by the Burgess Seed Catalog I received in the mail.  I want to plant something.  If we had more sunshine, that would help a lot.  I don’t handle a lot of gray cloudy days in a row.  We’ve barely started winter.  Spring is not too far away, thank you God.

Folks, there is a little book called THE WRONG WORD DICTIONARY, by Dave Dowling.  BUY IT!  I am talking about this because of the misuse of words I see every day on the news crawls and on Facebook.  Granted, the English language is not the easiest to conquer.  We have:  to, too, and two, there, their and they’re, your, you’re, it’s and its, gored, and gourd, gorilla, and guerrilla plus many more I’m not listing,  If you’re going to be a writer, you need to know this, otherwise you’re going to appear uneducated.  Believe me, I’m far from perfect in this matter.  I have numerous dictionaries and book on the English language to help keep me on track.  I still goof.  When I was in high school, we won’t say how long ago, I had an English teacher that was as bad as a dictator when it came to the English language.  If you didn’t know what word to use, look it up.  And don’t put that comma in the wrong place.   Isn’t it funny how you remember your toughest teachers and how much they helped you.

I’m working at getting THE HANGMAN done.  For some dumb reason, it seems to be going slow.  It’s all in my brain, all I have to do is get it into the computer.  Give THE STONE KILLER a read while you’re waiting on my slow posterior to finish the second book in the series.

Everyone have a great weekend and stay safe.  Remember: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

 

SUNSHINE, WARMER WEATHER, GOING TO LUNCH, THE HANGMAN

I was happy to open my eyes this morning and see the sun shining bright outside.  That isn’t to say it’s not still a little chilly at 40 degrees.  But, the clouds are gone.  So far today, I am doing better.  My chest and ribs are still a little sore, but not as bad.  Each day will see an improvement.  Our high today is going to be close to 50, and I need to get out of this house.  It is time for a lunch out.  It will be nice.  I haven’t seen my friend since before Christmas, mainly because she was out-of-town and I was down with the flu.  Then January we had snow(?) and I ended up in the ER.  So today is the day.

I have come to the conclusion that doctors do not pay any attention to what a patient tells them.  Example 1, I hurt my back, my doctor knows I have a high blood pressure problem, so what does she do, orders a muscle relaxer which causes high blood pressure.  I end up in the ER for high blood pressure.  Example 2:  I love OJ.  I have been drinking a lot of orange juice this month.  Which is what I think caused my acid reflux problem and sent me, again, to the ER.  It was my fault, not a doctor’s.  But I’m in the ER telling the doctor how I have big problems taking medication.  He orders me a stomach pill which gave me severe stomach pains.  A side effect of the drug.  I can’t take it.  Oh well, we all know doctors have to play a guessing game when treating a patient.  Dammit!  I’m craving a big glass of OJ and I can’t have it or a lot of other foods.

I made a list of the scenes I have to complete for THE HANGMAN.  There are five plus the conclusion.  That shouldn’t take too long if I keep my butt in this chair working.  It all depends on how I feel, and if the brain is working.  I’ll keep at it, and as soon as it’s finished, I’ll shouting YEAH, on to the next book.

Everyone have a great rest of the week, and stay safe.  Remember:  NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

 

 

GRAY AND CLOUDY, ENERGY LEVEL LOW, THE HANGMAN

A gray cloudy day here in Colorado Springs so far.  It’s not overly cold, the temperature is 33.  At least it is above freezing.  I know that will sound cold to those who live in the South, but I have seen it get a lot colder here like wind chill of -24.  Now that is so COLD it will make any exposed skin hurt.

Gray days, of which we have had several lately, drains my energy level even though I slept well.  But I have things that need to be done, so I can’t let it stop me.  Still, I would love to see sunshine.  Great, the sun just came out.  I think I have a case of Cabin Fever, so tomorrow, I’m having lunch with a friend here in the Springs and then to the grocery store.  That will get me out for a while.  Outside I can hear a flock of Canadian Geese flying over the house.  They’re beautiful birds and seem to stay around for most of the winter.

Well, THE HANGMAN is coming along.  A couple more scenes and the book will be finished.  Then, while sister is doing her editing, I’ll be onto the next one.  It’s a romantic suspense I want to get finished.  I have three I want to complete along with the next book in the Jonas Black series, THE SNATCHER.  Cross your fingers and say a prayer for me that I am able to complete this goal I have set for myself during this year and part of the next.  Sister will be busy editing.

Well THE HANGMAN won’t write itself, so I need to get busy.

Everyone have a great week and stay safe.  Remember:  NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

 

 

SNOW, SUNSHINE AND A WARM UP, SISTER, MY BLACK CAT, WRITING, THE HANGMAN,

It was only four degrees when I rolled out of bed this a.m.  to bright sunshine.  Not even the pups wanted to get out from under their warm blankets.  We got an additional inch or so snow last night on top of the five or six inches we already had.  The pups made a quick trip outside and ran back to the house to get warm.  Even with their coats on, they still get cold quickly.  They have short hair and seem unable to stand much frigid weather.  Me neither.  We are supposed to have a warm up starting tomorrow and by Monday be almost sixty degrees.  I’m not complaining.

Today my sister, on her mountain top in Kentucky, is having snow.  From what she has told me, they can get snow in and not be able to get off the mountain.  As for me, I don’t drive on snow unless it is absolutely necessary.

I’ve told you about my fur babies, Stanley, my Ragdoll cat, Pyewacket the black one, and Bandit the Siamese.  Plus I have two pups, Titan and JoJo.  Well I hate to say this but Pyewacket is way over weight so I have put him on a diet.  He wasn’t happy about it, but he is adjusting.  The only problem I have encounter is, he was a stray and even though I have taken good care of him with lots of vet visits, I’m afraid he is not doing as well as he should be.  I will have him checked out and pray he’ll be alright, but he definitely has a problem.  He is the sweetest cat I have ever encountered.  Not once has he ever tried to scratch or bite me.  From the first time he showed up at my house in Florida, all he has ever done was let me doctor his poor skinny body and give me lots of love.  I pray he is all right.

THE HANGMAN is progressing nicely and will be completed soon.  If I can get a thousand or more words done a day, it shouldn’t be long.  Pray I reach my goal.  Then comes the really hard part of rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing, and editing some more, formatting and doing the upload.  Then onto the next story.  Lord knows I have lots of story outlines to work on.  My poor brain is overloaded with story ideas.

Until next time, keep writing and doing lots of rewriting and editing.  You improve your craft that way by finding new ways to say things.

Everyone have a great weekend and stay safe.  Always remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER.

Dreamah

 

ROUGH 2016, THE NEW YEAR, BACK TO WORK WRITING, AND PAINTING, THE HANGMAN

Don’t fall over in a faint, folks, but I’m back.  I have to say that 2016 was partially a productive year of writing and painting.  I was glad to be able to help my sweet adopted sister pack up her house so she could move everything back east.  The home inspectors have been a real pain in the ass to say the least.  We roasted during our yard sales and finally came to the end of all our hard work.  The house is up for sale.  Crocheting captured our attention for several weeks until almost all the Afghans were finished.  They were presents to my other sisters for Christmas.  Then Sis left the first week of November and the house was empty and seemed to echo at times.  I came down with some type of stomach problem which was caused by a medication I was taking.  That went away as soon as I stopped the meds.

Got a flu shot the 28th of November and came down with the flu.  When they tell you, you can’t catch the flu from a “dead virus”, I no longer believe them.  For most of the month of December I was down with the flu.  The new year brought an end to most of the symptoms, thank you God.  The cough is lingering, but I feel 98% better.  I had a great Christmas and so far, the New Year is looking good.  I hope you all had the same and 2017 will be a fantastic year for everyone.

 

On January 1st I started working on THE HANGMAN again.  After a short review to see where I left off in the story, I began putting words to paper and the story flowed.  So today I am back at it.  I want this book finished and up online.  The others are in the wings and screaming to be written, not to mention all the painting I have to do.  As you can see, my life is one long creative process as well as taking care of my fur babies.  I am NOT anti-social, I am just busy all the time.  When you have as many stories as I do crowding my brain and waiting to be put into the computer, I don’t have a lot of time for anything else.  I do make myself go to the store or to visit a friend, otherwise I’d never leave the house.  Well this book won’t finish itself, so back to work.  Everyone have a great week and 2017.

Remember, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER

Dreamah

FINALLY, THINGS HAVE SETTLED DOWN

I can’t begin to tell you how happy hubs and I are. We now live in THE ENCHANTED FOREST. We moved into the cabin Oct. 21st. It was tough going for a few days. It seemed that what could go wrong did. But things got all straightened out and yesterday, our fireplace was put in. We are happy campers.
Sister’s life has settled down and we both are anxious to get back to writing THE HANGMAN. It is practically finished so it won’t take long to get it up on Amazon.
I swear I can’t believe summer has come and gone. Tomorrow is pie baking day for Thanksgiving and I am in time machine shock. Of course, today is grocery day and that usually takes hours. But the holiday aromas in the grocery store make me want to run home and bake and cook.
I know this isn’t much, but it is a start. I will write more later. After Thanksgiving, of course Y’all take care and try not to eat too much on Thursday and we’ll talk later.

DREAMAH

WEATHER, THE END OF PACKING, NOW SHIPPING AND HOUSE FOR SALE, UNFINISHED NOVELS, THE HANGMAN

It has been a long three months for my sweet adopted sister,  Her grief is a tangible emotion having to relive the memory of each item selected to be pack for keeping and shipped back to Ohio.  It is doubly so for everything that must be gotten rid of.  You spend a lifetime with someone and then lose them, that is a pain that time can’t “heal”.  We only learn to cope with always missing them.  There are people who don’t or won’t try to understand this.  When I lost my youngest sister years ago, I had a Hospice nurse tell me if I was still grieving after a year there was something wrong with me.  I guess there is something wrong with me.  I still miss those I have lost and YES, there are times I still cry from the pain of losing them.  It doesn’t go away.  We just shove it to the back of your minds so you can get on with your life.  But it still exists and always will.  So to those of you who don’t or won’t understand, screw you and the camel you rode in on, is my philosophy.  I miss my sisters and mother!!!  Soon the house will be emptied out, the rug shampooed and a For Sale sign stuck in the yard.  I completely understand how Sis feels and what she is having to cope with daily.  One part of your life ends and the road stretching before you must be traveled.  I pray her journey down that road ahead is filled with happy times and wonderful adventures.  I am going to miss her terribly when she goes back to Ohio.

I printed off a copy of all the partially written novels I have on this computer.  They are romantic suspense and after re-reading them, sound good.  One is so close to being completed, I plan on finishing it as soon as THE HANGMAN is completed.  I want to upload it this year as well.  It is called TO CATCH A DREAM.  I would like your opinion as to which book cover you all think is best, the blue one or the orange one.  You can post your choice on my Facebook page or e-mail me at dreamah.lockwood@aol.com

Well, I must get back to work on THE HANGMAN.  It has to be finished so we can get the editing done and it can be uploaded.

Everyone have a great week and I will talk at you later.  Stay safe.