COLD, COLD, COLD. CATS, WORKING HARD WRITING THE STONE KILLER, THE MAGIC OF BEING AN AUTHOR

Adult female Balinese cat (siamese longhair) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I went to bed last night, my little female Siamese cat, Bandit, decided to give me some loving.  She wrapped herself around my head on the pillow and washed my forehead and hair.  It was as if she only wanted to say goodnight.  She gave me several kisses and then got down off the bed and chased the other two cats through the house.  I was never a cat person, but now that I am, they give me such love and companionship.  They are always glad to see me when I come home and even meet me at the door.  They are great.

Anyway, I couldn’t believe they let me sleep in until 8:30 this morning.  I don’t think the furnace kicked off at all last night.  When I rolled out of bed, after feeding the cats, turning on the coffee, brushing my teeth and making my bed,(my usual morning routine), I turned on the TV to the weather channel.  it was -5 degrees and the temperature topped off today with a high of 7 degrees.  At least the sun was out bright and shiny.  It melted a little of the four inches of snow on my car.  No my car was not in the garage, unfortunately.  I hope the owner of the house cleans out the garage soon.  The Colorado high altitude and dry climate  is hard on a vehicle’s paint and trim.  The sun is more intense here being over a mile above sea level.

Since I had no intentions of driving on the slick roads, I stayed in and worked on THE STONE KILLER.  I had this happen with CREATING KATHRYN CROWN, where the characters take over and begin writing the story.  It was wonderful.  The word flowed from my fingers as if by magic.  And writers do create magic.  We, as authors, create all these people and through the magic of a pencil, pen or a keyboard bring them to life and let them tell their story.  I feel so lucky to be able to work at something I love and so wonderful as writing.

Homicide Detective John T. Huntington has informed me that he has a lot of stories to tell me. We are so excited and willing to listen to his stories.  So far, he had mention six different cases he wants us to explore.  Marilyn Heddrix’ s tale of REDEMPTION is only one of them.   JT is determined to solve Kelly Burton’s murder.  And Eppie, what is the real story behind the disappearance of her father ten years ago?   Looks like we are going to have a series going be busy for some time.

Well, right now, here in Colorado Springs, it is a whopping 2 degrees and the furnace has kicked on.  The predicted low is -4 degrees.  Even with that temperature, it isn’t going to be as low as it was last night. Bandit is curled up in her bed next to my desk.  She is usually close by.  I swear she is a reincarnation of my dog that died last Dec 3rd.  She acts and does things just like he used to do.  Of course, his being raised by a cat made him think he was a cat.

Well folks, as the weather across the country is supposed to be a hazard, please take care of yourselves and be safe.  Goodnight for now.

CATS VS DOGS, KEEPING A WRITING SCHEDULE

English: A blue color point male Ragdoll cat with blue eyes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My dear sweet sister says cats do not destroy furniture, chew up blankets, or jump on you causing bloody wounds.  I beg to differ.  When I lived in Florida, I had a sofa that, at the time, my two cats loved to shred with their claws.  Oh, did they have fun.  They destroyed that sofa.  When I moved to Colorado, I put it at the curb for trash.  Now I have three cats and believe me,  my newest family member can put a hole in a blanket with her claws and her teeth.  When I play with either her or the big Ragdoll cat, they love to hold onto me with their claw.  The Ragdoll slit my finger open one morning, so I keep lots of Band-Aids handy.  Also my cats love to climb on anything that is high, even the folding door to my closet.  But they are really great company and I love them dearly, but  I am thankful that my cats use a litter box.

Well I am trying to stick to my writing schedule, but sometimes it is difficult.  Like right now, I need food or this brain in my head will not function.  I have to get at least 1000 words written today.  Pray for me.  I need all the help I can get.  Shortly, I have to kill another person off in The Stone Killer, a naughty priest.  2014 is not that far away and there will be a lot of adding to the story and editing to do.   Sister is going to love that.

Well, food first and then back to work.  Everyone have a fantastic day.  It is another sunny blue sky day here in Colorado, and I am so happy to finally be back home in the Rockies.  Talk with you later. We would love to hear from you.  Email us at dreamah.lockwood@aol.com and we’ll respond.  Put a Hello in the subject line.  Until then, please, all of you stay safe and love each other.

SNOW, DOGS AND BOOKS

I got up to snow yesterday morning. The earliest I’ve seen it since we moved here.
I know it has been a while since I blogged, but life took over and I am swamped with just trying to stay on an even keel.
My sweet sister thinks she has a busy life. She has 3 cats. I,however, have 3 dogs. Cats do not destroy furniture, eat bedspreads, jump on you causing bloody wounds, nor do they potty in the backseat of the car from fear.
My sweet belgian had an appt. to be spayed yesterday. The next time she has to leave the house, I’m calling a cab. What she did to the backseat of my car is unspeakable. And we put a blankie in the car. Finally, we smartened up and asked for some kind of drug for this fur baby. She got her surgery and I don’t have to worry about a passel. of puppies.
she will be drugged froM now on if she has to get in the car.
I am so glad CREATING KATHRYN CROWN is up on Amazon (Kindle and paper back). Now let’s get to buying, people.
I am working on the edit of THE STONE KILLER which will be up in 2014. Hopefully we have learned a lot from the other two books and the editing will go smoother. I can hope can’t I?

Well, it;s about time for sister to call and I can say “yes, I posted a blog.”

You all have a wonderful day. Be sure to get a few minutes writing and editing. Stay safe and I’ll talk later.1/2 DHL

WRITING VERSUS OIL PAINTING, CHILLY WEATHER, CLOUDS, A NEED FOR SUNSHINE

Downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pikes Peak (Photo credit: Markusnl)

Yesterday was bright and sunny for most of the day.  It did rain a little in the late afternoon.  But, It is a chilly here in Colorado Springs today.  The high is supposed to reach the mid fifties.  Clouds cover most of the sky with a patch of blue here and there.  The wind is whipping the tree branches back and forth and adding to the chill.   I haven’t seen the sun as yet and Pikes Peak is socked in, thus hidden from my view.  Maybe farther up Ute Pass, they could have a touch of snow.  In town, winter is nipping at the foliage and trees along the streets vary in color from gold to rust and then red.  It is all so beautiful which creates a dilemma for me.  I need to be working on ‘The Stone Killer’, but also need to finish setting up my art studio, and I want to be outside photographing the fall foliage.  I do all types of oil paintings which I sell.  It is part of my income.

My schedule dictates that I write a minimum of a page a day, more if I am on a roll and the story is flowing.   In the afternoon, I would like to put at least three to four hours on a painting, but that does not always happen.  Sometimes this schedule works and sometimes it doesn’t.  Life interrupts all schedules.  There are times I need to paint for therapy.  Today feels that way.  As it is so chilly, going out to take photos for any reason can wait until tomorrow.

As you probably know, I’m a nut case, as most writers or artist have to be in order for us to have the wild and crazy imagination we have to create the stories we write.  The words we put on paper or a computer screen comes from the depths of us, our life’s experiences, the good and the bad and outside events.  We are exaggerators and elaborators.  We take a simple act and expound on it, stretching that incident to the limits and then ask, what if?  And so we create a story.

Boy, did I get off the subject.  A canvas is calling to me to finish a painting of flowers.  It is 12:36 here so I will write my page and then work on the studio.  I need to buy a carpet remnant as I have a problem with paint loaded brushes flying out of my hand at times and hitting the floor.  I don’t think my landlord would appreciate me staining his new wood floors.  So thank you all for listening,  I have solved my dilemma, I can do both today.

Oh, by the way, Bandit the cat is sleeping soundly in her bed next to my desk and near the heat vent.  My little girl is tired after chasing Stanley through the house this morning.  She is such a baby.

It’s lunch time, so everyone take care and stay safe.

CREATION OF AN IDEA, NIPPY WINTER, CATS AND SEX, AND CAR PLATES

Cat (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

For those of you who  have not read ‘A Circle of Murders’, give it a try.  No, there is not a lot of sex in the book, but it is a good story.  The story happened due to an actual abduction of a young girl in Tampa, Florida.  Her body was never found. To say that her story haunted us does not fully describe it.  We couldn’t forget that lost child.  But we knew that if all the resources at hand could not find her, the only way  she could be brought home was to create a story of how a young abducted did find her way home.  So we wrote Sarra’s story.  Give it a try, you might like it.

A fact that fills me with joy, we only have another 106 pages to go on editing Kathryn Crown and then it is format time and upload to CreateSpace and Amazon.   And there is sex in Kathryn Crown.  And keep and eye out for ‘The Stone Killer’, you can’t have romance without sex.

Speaking of SEX, my young and small female cat, Bandit, who I thought was a male thus the name, has come into heat.  I now know more than I ever wanted to know about the mating ritual of cats.  Oh, as soon as I find a veterinarian this problem will be resolved.  If not for my sanity, which is undoubtedly questionable, but for my cat’s.  So needless to say it is a bit noisy in my house.  She is very vocal about her what she wants.  And my neutered male cat, Pyewacket, seems to say, “Oh yes, I remember that activity, but I can’t help you now”.  I don’t need kittens running around, so Bandit is not allowed outside.  In fact, my cats are house cats.

Anyway, winter is again nipping at the door and it is wonderful to see the slashes of gold on the mountains.  I am filled with happiness from being back in Colorado.  I am also thrilled I now have new Colorado license plates to put on my vehicle, even if it did cost a couple hundred dollars.  My life is filled with writing, oil painting and the joy and hard work these two crafts I have been blessed with.  My sister and I work hard to make our stories, which are based on actual incidents, as well written and entertaining possible.

Well, it is late here in Colorado and my bed is calling me.  I hope you all had a fantastic day.  Take care and stay safe.